When I sat down to write this article, I knew it was going to have to be long.  Very long.  U2 have been climbing over the sheep wall for a LONG time.  But then, it occurs to me, there's far too much evidence out there that U2 are false prophets that a lengthy expose is just not necessary.  For one group of people, it will be completely unnecessary, and for the other it will be competely futile.  

Seriously, if you are one of the brainwashed U2 worshippers, there's probably not much here (like the truth, for instance) that's gonna change your mind.  I could write a three week mini-series to be aired on HBO, and it would be merely "preaching to the choir" or else "casting of pearls before swine". 

So I opted for for a relatively short article with some useful photos and quotes, and a haphazzard, take it off the cuff approach.

Make no mistake.  There's a long, exhaustive expose to be written.  I just don't want to do it when a cursory treatment will suffice for 99% of the people.  And the other 1% can look elsewhere.  Lord knows, there's no shortage of info out there.

U2 - A conversation stream about coexisting, compromise and Cain.

Let's start here.  It's recent.  It's relevant.  (No seriously, I mean it is directly related to the matter at hand.  I mean "relevant" in a way that actually means something. I don't mean it's "relevant" in that vapid, meaningless, post-modern, emergent, noncommittal way that [ahem] christians today use the term). 

To wit:

U2 has made no attempt whatever to hide or conceal their "interfaith" approach (ie, which God calls the blasphemous mixing of Christ and Belial, or Satan) to what they mistakenly think is "Christianity".  They are active and open proponents of the "Coexist Foundation."  On the surface (and only on the surface), the Coexist Foundation talks about the Coexist purpose being a missional approach to integrating Islam, Judiaism and Christianity.  But below the surface, you find that their goal is the integration of ALL belief systems, with the emphasis being on "opening new streams of conversation" and "relationship building".

They are especially adept at co-opting (ie, hijacking) existing religious terminology (such as "scripture reasoning") in order to give their humanistic and political goals a religiously enticing veneer.

From the CoExist Foundation - Let's see how many buzzwords we can find):

Scriptural Reasoning is the communal practice of reading sacred scriptures, in small groups, together. Normally the passages of scripture chosen are Jewish, Christian and Muslim and are linked together by a particular issue, theme, story or image.  When read together in this way participants – or “reasoners” - have found that astonishing, powerful and, at times, quite surprising, new conversations and relationships may open up.

For what it's worth, the letters in "coexist" EACH stand for something.  Not just the C (Islam), X (Judiaism) and T (Christianity) which the philosophy's practicioners are willing to engage publically when in the company of the "Big Three".  For instance, the "O" is for the politically motivated "peace movement" (you know, the upside down cross with broken arms), and the "I" is for Wicca, Witchcraft and Pagans. 

Religious people, willing to be spoon-fed their theology by others without question and without resistance, will glom onto U2's supposedly "Christian" lyrics, generally have neither the faintest idea what the terminology that's been hijacked actually means, and/or are willing to compromise what they do know it means in other to continue their fellowship with the world.

Most of the religious U2 fans will conveniently tout the "Yeah, but it's Psalm 40, word for word" but then get strangely quiet when asked, "Well, what does he mean when he says "I stand with the brothers of Cain?", of whom God says "[for them] is reserved the darkness of hell forever." 

And they simply get flustered and embarrassed (in an "Oh, you had to bring that up" kind of way, as though you had asked them about their pedophile uncle whom everyone had tried to forget was part of the family) when asked about Macphisto, Bono's self-proclaimed "other half":

And... no.  The horns are not my clever photoshop work.  They are part of the costume.

"Macphisto" is not a random, made up name, either.  It is a deliberate play on the already established nom de plume "Mephisto" - short for Mephistopheles - the Devil (in Faustinian theatre terminology).

And save the "Oh yeah?  Ever heard of playing 'devil's advocate?'  Ever heard of Parody?" 

My advice?  Re-read this article and ask yourself if you really, really, wanna go there.  Do you really think I don't know what these things are?

Yeah... I have heard it.  This ain't it. 

It ain't Christianity, either.