U2Charist: Original of the Species

Hey all,

This week, the devotional uses the U2 song “Original of the Species,” which is also from U2’s recent (2004) album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. If you don’t already have the CD or song, here are two electronic outlets. Through iTunes (http://www.itunes.com), you can buy and download the track at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=29600302&id=29600233&s=143441. Or you can order the full CD through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/How-Dismantle-Atomic-Bomb-U2/dp/B0006399FS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1205248428&sr=8-1.

Original of the Species
What does it mean to be human? How would you teach a child what it means? Would you tell them they’ll screw up repeatedly in their lives and always need second chances, even though they don’t deserve them? Would you explain a lack of fairness to the world? Would you teach them how humanity is full of creativity and constantly going ‘beyond its own imagination?’ Would you explain that humanity is fully destructive – both physically and relationally? What’s your picture of humanity?

In fancy, technical language, this is called a theological anthropology. The best-known example of this is how people explain the lives of Adam and Eve in the beginning of Genesis. Created perfect and good, humanity somehow disobeyed and creation was no longer perfect. Some theologians stick to the story of Adam and Eve and argue about what can or can’t be done because of their actions. Some theologians venture to other pictures of human nature, such as in the first creation story in Genesis 1 where humanity is created in God’s image and given a different charge and purpose in life. Is humanity “Fallen” or “Blessed” or both? Are humans permanently disabled by sin or can sin be dismantled and washed away.

Needless to say: there’s no one picture of humanity constraining theologians. And Rock stars don’t have a standard either — which helps their songs give different pictures.

“Original of the Species” paints a picture from a parent’s perspective. Humanity isn’t distant or separated – it’s ironically independent, headstrong, and yet needlessly constrained (almost as if it has the potential to be so much more).

Bono wrote the lyrics to this song to the daughters of the band’s lead guitarist, The Edge. But it works just as well to imagine God blessing us like a parent with these words:

Baby slow down
The end is not as fun as the start
Please stay a child somewhere in your heart

I’ll give you everything you want
Except the thing that you want
You are the first one of your kind

But then, in the chorus, come lyrics that could be either Creator’s or created’s – words saturated with need and with reverence:

And you feel like no-one before
You steal right under my door
And I kneel, ’cause I want you some more
I want the lot of what you got
And I want nothing that you’re not

And imagine: how would God bless humanity? What words could encourage to be more like we’re created to be? What words would we need to hear so we knew we could and should be the best versions of ourselves?

Everywhere you go you shout it
You don’t have to be shy about it, no
Come on now show your soul
You’ve been keeping your love under control

“Original of the Species” is a tribute song. Like all tributes, its words are laced with admiration. Like all tributes, it tries to redefine something’s worth so that it’s easier to see how valuable something is. What does it feel like to hear such a tribute song? Could God utter such tributes to humanity? Do we deserve them? Could we ever live into them? Take the time in the coming weeks to notice the theological anthropologies (pictures of human nature) inherent in the songs, objects, and other things you interact with. If you’re in doubt, think of any adjectives that describe humanity and the reasons those adjectives are used. There’s a theological anthropology in there somewhere. Here are some of the key phrases for noticing them:

weak, finite, fallen, compulsive, ‘only human,’ limited, destructive, ‘be more than you can be,’ strong, resilient, creative, resourceful

These words are extremes that we often mix and match when describing what it means to be human. “Come on now show your soul / You’ve been keeping your love under control.”

Other Resources
Here’s an interview Rolling Stone did with Bono back in 2005. The written article is at http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/8651280/bono But if you’re extra-curious with some time to listen to the man himself, they did audio recordings (available through iTunes for free at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=83282454)

Peace and Blessings,

Adam