The outspokenly Christian Baldwin brother, Stephen Baldwin, has an autobiography coming out, and in it, he criticizes Bono for working so hard to help the poor in Africa.
[Baldwin] writes of Bono in his upcoming autobiography THE UNUSUAL SUSPECT: MY CALLING TO THE NEW HARDCORE MOVEMENT OF FAITH, “You would do far more good if you just preached the gospel of Jesus rather than trying to get rid of Third World debt relief.”
Huh.
So… Jesus didn’t want us to spend time taking any action and help the poor?
That parable of the good Samaritan was just a joke?
Jesus just wanted us to go around preaching?
Of course, Looking Closer would like to point out that Baldwin must not understand what Bono is doing at all. Bono is not trying to “get rid of Third World debt relief.” Quite the contrary… he’s trying to provide Third World debt relief.
Meanwhile, Baldwin is participating in events that feature exhibitions of extreme skateboarding performed for God’s glory. Good to see he has his priorities in line. Maybe instead of addressing poverty, they could save Africa by broadcasting those sweet half-pipe stunts to the children who are dying of AIDS.
Suddenly, I don’t think Keyser Soze is the most frightening Suspect anymore.
maybe Baldwin knows something we don’t.
and here we were thinking Bono was trying to help the people of Africa. just for that, he goes with the goats.
i think we should all learn from Baldwin. extreme sports Christian witnessing is the ONLY way to go!
Don’t forget the other AMG link 😉
A Case Against Sufjan Stevens
I guess I’m a little surprised by this post. It’s taking a secondhand posting on a quote given out of context. While it certainly looks damaging, I’d really like to read the whole section of the book at least.
It doesn’t appear to be part of the first chapter available through Baldwin’s site.
you know…i think i understand what baldwin is trying to say BUT i sometimes get frusterated with Bono’s brand of Christianity b/c standing on the sidelines it is easy to wonder about it’s legitamacy and whether he’s acting in the name of Christ or Bono?
but it’s not our place to judge, he’s doing more than I.
–RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com
Hi Jeff…
I’m confused… first you recommend it with strong reservations… and then you wonder aloud as to why “no one is seeing it.” Could it be that many of us will wait patiently until we see the TV version?
Nick: I don’t want to answer for Jeffrey, but I’m not sure the “us” you’re referring to comprises the core audience for a film like this. It’s aimed at art-house crowds, with broader audiences in mind down the road. A traditional “platform release,” in other words. But the movie can’t get to the next platform if it doesn’t perform well in limited release. Right now, it’s underperforming in that arena, which is surprising. More mainstream audiences might be cool to the film, but the fact that they won’t even have the chance to see this movie on the big screen is puzzling.
My bewilderment comes at the studio’s inability to get the film onto screens, not in the lack of moviegoers seeing it. Like “The Passion” or “Mulholland Drive” or “Saving Private Ryan,” there are reasons why I think viewers should proceed with caution. But I certainly don’t understand why a studio would make a powerful work of art and then decide not to make it available.