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For a few years (ca. 1980) he openly espoused Christianity, releasing
three distinctively “Christian” albums.
Then he seemed to move in different directions, and many folks assumed
he’d abandoned his faith in Christ. But
he still includes some of his Christian songs in his concerts, and (in 1997)
when he received an award at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts he led
a standing ovation in response to Shirley Caesar’s rendition of “Gotta
Serve Somebody,” probably his most famous Christian tune.
“If Caesar had not been permitted to perform that night, Dylan would
have been a no show” (p. 3).
Dylan’s interest in Gospel music began when he listened, late at
night, to music broadcast from Shreveport, Louisiana.
Jewish by birth, he has always read the Bible, and his music has
consistently reflected its influence. He
told a Rolling Stone reporter that
he was a “literal believer” in the Bible, holding both the Old and New
Testaments to be inspired of God (p. 74).
The lyrics of his 1965 album, Highway
61 Revisited–one of his greatest–were described by one journalist
“as a translation of the Bible in street terms” (p. 8).
In his notes to Biograph, a
magnificent multi-record collection of his music, he said he “‘wanted to
expose people to [gospel music] because [he] loved it and it’s the real
roots of all modern music, but nobody cared’” (p. 89).
Dylan’s religious quest became quite public when, in 1979, he
embraced the Christian faith. Influenced
by “born again” musicians, like T-Bone Burnett and Jerry Scheff, he was
“‘willing to listen about Jesus’” (p. 27).
A Vineyard Church pastor, Larry Myers, visited him and remembered that
no one tried to pressure him, but “‘God spoke through His Word, the Bible,
to a man who had been seeking for many years. Sometime
in the next few days, privately and on his own, Bob accepted Christ and
believed that Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah’” (p. 28).
As he explained, in 1980, “‘Jesus put his hand on me.
It was a physical thing . . . I felt my whole body tremble.
The glory of the Lord knocked me down and picked me up’” (p. 143).
To another journalist he said, “Let’s just say I had a
knee-buckling experience’” (p. 143).
Subsequently Dylan involved himself in serious Bible studies and even
attended some classes. He recorded
Slow Train Coming, with its explicitly Christian lyrics, including
“Gotta Serve Somebody.” He
began singing his new faith in concerts–and quickly encountered mounting
hostility. While many of his fans
adjusted to the ever-questing pilgrim, others protested.
Secular critics, particularly, panned his performances.
Ever willing to be controversial, however, Dylan was undeterred,
producing, Michael Long said, “some of the greatest songwriting and
recording of his career’” (p. 59). He
released Saved and Shot of Love, with their fervently evangelical message, greatly
distressing Columbia Records, which had long profited from his productions.
He also spoke his mind, condemning homosexuality for example, eliciting
predictable venom from the Hollywood and media elite, who were “downright
ruthless in their coverage of the ‘new Dylan’” (p. 53).
In a radio interview, Dylan was asked if Jesus is the answer to the
world’s needs. “‘Yeah, I
would say that,’ Dylan replied. ‘What
we’re
talking about is the nature of God . . . in order to go to God, you have to go
through Jesus’” (p. 56).
Then, after publically espousing his faith in Jesus, Dylan seemed to
abandon it. His new tunes moved in
different directions. Some critics
suggested he’d returned to Judaism, others declared he’d lost his religious
interests. Dylan’s explanation is
simple: “‘I’ve made my
statement, and I don’t think I could make it any better than in some of those
songs. Once I’ve said what I need
to say in a song, that’s it. I
don’t want to repeat myself’” (p. 56).
He clearly, in the mid-80s, explored Judaism with new intensity.
An Orthodox Jewish community used one of his songs in a charity telethon
conveniently, though they omitted one of the verses that explicitly acknowledged
Jesus. Indeed “how a Jewish person
can believe in Jesus and still be Jewish–is perhaps the one that ultimately
gets to the heart of Dylan’s spiritual journey” (p. 110).
In Marshall’s judgment, however, this fits in with his “completed
Jew” belief in Jesus as Messiah. Those
who have interviewed him, and musicians who work with him, describe him as still
a believer. Backup singers who have
recently (2001) performed with him
say “they prayed with Dylan before each show.
These were Christian prayers’” (p. 70).
As Marshall explores the past 20 years of Dylan’s life, he finds much
evidence of his continued Christian commitment.
His songs, for example, often deal with biblical themes of sin and
salvation, the need for repentance and righteousness.
In a 1986 tour of Australia, he closed each concert with “In the
Garden,” one of his most moving Gospel songs.
Explaining the song, he said: “‘This
last song now is all about my hero. Everybody’s
got a hero. Where I come from,
there’s a lot of heroes. Plenty of
them. John Wayne, Clark Gable,
Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen.
They’re all heroes to some people.
Anyway, I don’t care nothing about those people [as heroes].
I have my own hero. I’m
going to sing about Him right now’” (p. 86).
In Jerusalem, facing a Jewish audience, he sang “Gotta Serve
Somebody” and “Slow Train.”
Albums like Oh Mercy, recorded in 1989, though not explicitly Christian,
certainly have biblical messages. “Shooting
Star,” the song which rather sums up the album’s message, declares that
it’s the “‘last time you might hear the Sermon on the Mount’” (p. 97).
In Marshall’s opinion, Oh Mercy
“was practically a companion piece to the album of a decade earlier, . . . Slow Train Coming” (p. 98). At
his concerts during the ‘90s he routinely included songs from his “Christian
albums.” For example, in
1991, he sang “Gotta Serve Somebody” some 80 times, “I Believe in You”
29 times, and “In the Garden” 10 times (p. 107).
In 1997 he performed, as requested by Pope John Paul II (who later
spoke), at a concert in Bologna, attended by several hundred thousand people,
singing, among others, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and “A Hard
Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” He opened
a 1999 concert in Pensacola with an old Christian hymn, “Rock of Ages,” and
a few weeks later sang Fanny Crosby’s “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior” in
Buffalo, doing the same a few days later in Amherst, Mass.
Later that year, touring with Paul Simon, he sang “Hallelujah, I”m
Ready to Go,” a song “which became something of a staple during the tour,
[that] included these lyrics: ‘Sinner don’t wait / Before it’s too late /
He’s a wonderful Savior to know / I fell on my knees / He answered my pleas /
Hallelujah, I’m ready to go’” (p. 142).
In 2001, as Dylan turned 60, he “agreed to participate on a track for
the forthcoming tribute album, Pressing
On: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan.
Considering that the project only featured songs from Slow
Train Coming and Saved, his
participation would have seemed odd if he no longer believed in Jesus as the
Messiah” (p. 156). In his 2002
concerts he included “Hallelujah, I’m Ready to Go” and “I am the Man,
Thomas,” a “song about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection” (pp.
170-171). Still more: “when Dylan
included ‘Solid Rock’ in the first set list of his European spring tour of
2002” (p. 172), a song he’d not sung since 1981, he astounded many of his
fans because it is one of his most clearly Christian compositions.
To Marshall, in words summing up this fine treatise, “These are not the
words and sentiments of a man who has forsaken belief in Jesus” (p. 172).
For Dylan fans such as myself, this book provides a handy guide to
Dylan’s spiritual journey. Drawing
upon published interviews, some of them in obscure periodicals, Restless
Pilgrim brings us up to date on one of the nation’s most enigmatic, but
engrossing, songwriters.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In Charles Colson: A Story of Power, Corruption, and Redemption (Nashville:
Broadman & Holman, Publishers, c. 2003),
John Perry focuses on the crucial years when Colson served in the White
House, followed by his spiritual transformation in the wake of Watergate,
emphasizing the difference Christ made in the life of President Nixon’s
“hatchet man.” Though many of
the details will be familiar to anyone who read Colson’s best-selling Born Again, Perry brings to the story information gleaned from Patty
Colson and other sources as well as providing an outsider’s perspective of the
man. Though not an “authorized”
biography, it benefitted from interviews with Colson carries his informal
approval.
Born in 1931 to hard-working parents in Boston, Charles Colson excelled
academically and was accepted by both Brown and Harvard universities.
Harvard’s elitist snobbery alienated him, however, and he attended
Brown on a ROTC scholarship. Fulfilling
his ROTC commitment, he joined the Marine Corps and proved himself to be an able
officer. After two years of active
duty, he joined the reserves, found a job with the Navy Department in
Washington, D.D., and entered law school at George Washington University, taking
evening classes. He would graduate
in 1959 and be admitted to the bar later that year.
The next year he was offered a job in Senator Leverett Saltonstall’s
office, making him “the youngest senior congressional staff member on Capital
Hill” (p. 24). He orchestrated the
Massachusetts’ senator’s successful re-election campaign in 1960 and was
touted as one of the ten Outstanding Young Men of 1960 by Boston’s Camber of
Commerce. The next year Colson
opened a law office as a trade representative of the New England Council in
Impressed with Richard Nixon, Colson supported his 1968 election campaign
and was asked to join his administration as a special counsel.
Though it meant considerable financial sacrifice, Colson readily accepted
the invitation and quickly became a trusted insider, though he often clashed
with others in the Nixon White House. He
particularly delighted the President by getting things done, even when it meant
cutting various bureaucratic corners. “By
the summer of 1970 Nixon was regularly giving Colson direct assignments,
bypassing White House protocol and, in particular, cutting Bob Haldeman out of
the loop” (p. 61). Nixon once
boasted, to some guests, “Colson–he’ll do anything!” (p. 103).
As the election of 1972 approached, Colson supervised various endeavors
to assure Nixon’s re-election. Some
of this involved trying to get him portrayed as positively in the press.
Dealing with the growing dissent concerning the Vietnam War also called
for considerable attention. When
Daniel Ellsberg clandestinely orchestrated
the release of the “Pentagon Papers”--a major setback for Nixon and a blow
to Henry Kissinger’s diplomatic work with the North Vietnamese delegation in
Paris–Colson was ordered to expose Ellsberg.
Complying, he leaked a damaging FBI file on Ellsberg to a reporter, one
step in discrediting him. Colson
also secured the cash which enabled Howard Hunt and associates to break into
Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, hunting damaging details, though he knew
nothing about the burglary itself. The
more famous burglary, at the Watergate Hotel, was also done without Colson’s
knowledge. Though critics sought to
implicate him, the famous “tapes” and other documents demonstrate his
innocence.
Nixon’s landslide victory in 1972 was followed, within a month, by
Colson’s resignation from his administration.
Haldeman and Erlichman, apparently, desired to minimize his influence,
and Colson was disinterested in anything less than a major position, so he left
the White House, still deeply committed to the President.
Quickly reestablishing his law practice, he assumed the next few years
would be devoted to acquiring wealth and solidifying his position within
In the midst of it all, he met Tom Phillips, president of the Raytheon
Company, who briefly testified to “the most marvelous experience of my whole
life,” coming to faith in Jesus Christ (p. 140).
He further encouraged Colson to chat with him about it later.
Burdened by all the pressures of Watergate, Colson decided to visit
Phillips at his home on
Subsequently, Colson carefully read Mere
Christianity and found it intellectually persuasive.
He returned to
The judge, inexplicably, decided to make an example of Colson and
sentenced him to prison. It was
devastating, but it also opened up an entirely new world for him.
While in prison he developed a compassion for inmates and later
established Prison Fellowship to minster to them.
This increasingly led him to speak not only in prisons but in other
venues. He wrote the best-seller, Born
Again, and quickly became one of the most prominent Christians in the
country.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For several years I’ve intended to read Just
As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham (San Francisco:
HarperSanFrancisco, c. 1997), but was put off by its length–750 pages!
Recently tackling the tome, however, proved to be most rewarding.
There is no doubt that Billy Graham is one of the greatest Christians the
Church as produced in two millennia. Though
such calculations are difficult to tabulate, he’s no doubt preached the Gospel
to more people than any other evangelist. He’s
also met–and witnessed to–many of the most notable people of his generation,
served as a trusted counselor for eight (no doubt nine now, since he’s
certainly close to the Bush clan) American presidents, and (most importantly)
distinguished himself with personal integrity and graciousness.
Graham tells us about his early years, working on his father’s farm in
North Carolina, his “180-Degree Turn” in response to a Mordecai Ham revival
message, his call and preparation to preach, culminating at Wheaton College,
where he met his wife, Ruth, and several friends who would become an important
part of his growing ministry. Opportunities
to preach in the
In 1949 a major turning point occurred in Los Angeles, where he preached
for eight weeks, attracting significant numbers of people and gaining national
attention as a result of William Randolph Hearst’s instructions to “puff
Graham” in his newspapers. Prominent
entertainers, such as Stuart Hamblen, were converted, enhancing Graham’s
image. Featured in Time Magazine and other publications, he became (almost overnight)
the spokesman for a resurgent revivalism in
Especially interesting, to me at least, are Graham’s chapters on the
presidents he’s known. Early on
met Harry Truman, but alienated the president through immature aggressiveness.
Having learned his lesson, he developed cordial, and often deeply warm
relationships with every subsequent president.
Though he may have (privately) differed with them politically, he related
to them as a friend and spiritual advisor. He
admires and commends, perhaps a bit naively, each of them.
One certainly finds in Graham a helpful correction to some of the
critical views of Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan, Clinton, all of whom he liked and
trusted. Importantly, we find many of these men sincerely hungry for spiritual
counsel and assurance. One cannot
but be grateful that there was a man named Billy Graham who could speak, with
authority, about God to the leaders of the nation.
Graham also met the world’s most eminent leaders, ranging from Margaret
Thatcher to Jawaharlal Nehru to Mikhail Gorbachev to John Paul II.
In one way or another, he seems to have encountered most of the most
important people of his era. And he
unfailingly sought to talk personally with them about Jesus Christ.
Whether addressing thousands of people in a mass meeting, or speaking
privately and confidentially within the corridors of the Kremlin, Billy Graham
has sought to be an evangelist.
One reads this book with growing amazement at the sheer scope of his
influence around the world!
Graham also tells us much about his family, his many friends, his
personal perspectives. Whatever he
discusses, one senses that Billy Graham is an honest, authentic man, fully
devoted to God, and ever aware of his own limitations.
There’s a winsome humility–never false or overly self-critical–that
explains much of his success. Just As I Am is not only a great invitation hymn (routinely used in
the Graham crusades) but an apt title for his life.
Well worth the reading!
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