  Just thought this was interesting. Not conclusive in any way, but interesting: " 'I don't believe in preaching at people,' he told me, during a 1982 interview. A constant theme in his music, he added, is the soul-spinning confusion that results when spirituality, sensuality, ego and sin form a potion that is both intoxicating and toxic. "The truth is that we are all sinners. I always include myself in the 'we. ' ... I'm not telling everybody that I have the answers. I'm trying to get across the difficulty that I have being what I am. " Bono took this inner conflict on stage during the media-drenched Zoo TV shows of the mid-1990s.
The key moment was when the singer morphed into a devilish alter ego named Mister MacPhisto, who wore a glittering gold Las Vegas lounge suit and cheesy red horns. Night after night, Bono would pull some girl out of the audience to join in his "Elvis-devil dance. " Stockman's book includes a fascinating account of what happened one night in Wales, when one of these dance partners had an agenda of her own. "Are you still a believer? ", she asked. "If so, what are you doing dressed up as the devil? " Their voices hidden by the music, Bono gave her a serious answer. "Have you read The Screwtape Letters, a book by C.S.
Lewis that a lot of intense Christians are plugged into? They are letters from the devil. That's where I got the whole philosophy of mock-the-devil-and-he-will-flee-from-you," said Bono. Yes, the girl said, she had read The Screwtape Letters. She understood that Lewis had turned sin inside out in order to make a case for faith. "Then you know what I am doing," said Bono. But no matter what happens on stage, plenty of believers remain convinced that Bono's devil suit was highly appropriate.
While the singer and his band mates have made some mistakes, Stockman said he is convinced that the controversies that continually swirl around U2 are actually evidence of deeper divisions among believers. U2 is attacking, in word and deed, the modern church's retreat from art and popular culture. "  from urlLink http://stocki.ni.org/u2/atu2.phtml As well as this: "As Stockman himself admits in Chapter 6, their lack of commitment to a local church fellowship is a major issue arising from both their peculiar circumstances and the nature of mainstream evangelicalism more generally. Yet, though evangelicalism is chronically deficient in this regard, surely such a context is necessary to have personal faith sustained and artistic visions maintained. Has the lack of such a context meant that the Christianity of U2 has been emptied of its exclusive content? Is there a danger that if we adopt the attitude of U2 to the world and involvement in the church we, at the same time, will capitulate to the ideals of the world? What is more, are all of us called to push the envelope in the imaginative ways U2 have done? offer these comments not as criticisms, but as personal reflections upon an issue that has profound implications for evangelicals.
Steve Stockman rightly sees U2 as a challenge to the church. They display a heartfelt honesty in dealing with spiritual questions arising from the harsh realities and contradictions of modern life. They provoke us to examine our modernity infested and culturally determined beliefs in the light of a radical discipleship predicated upon grace and love for others.
It seems to me that the example of U2 encapsulates the tensions involved in any Christian engagement with the world and the danger of drifting from communities of faith. In that context, the questions asked about U2 should not focus upon their personal faith, but the more important issue of whether or not we should follow their example of engagement with the world. This review was by Andrew Holmes, the only man who could make a PhD in Presbyterian belief and practice in the 19th century seem sexy. "  from urlLink http://stocki.ni.org/u2/studentnet.phtml 
