Bono & Grace

This comes to you courtesy of The Nord Report... thanks for the heads up, Jeremy. Always interesting to hear the lead singer of U2 say something profound about God besides his classic sneer "My God's not short of cash, Mister." (BTW, ask Shari sometime about how she got her parents to let her go to see U2 because they were a "Christian" band.)

Here's a very cool excerpt from the book Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas (Riverhead Books).

Bono: I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.

Assayas: Well, that doesn't make it clearer for me.

Bono: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.

Assayas: I'd be interested to hear that.

Bono: That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep s***. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.

Preach it, Bono...