Can a man who acts like God really believe in a higher power? Here Bono answers his cynics, in an exclusive interview.
What is your concept of God? The idea that there is love and logic
behind the universe is something I hold dear. The idea that it should
express itself as a child born in shit-and-straw poverty is one that
gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It’s just
mind-blowing to me. I came home once at Christmas, from tour, and I
went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral to hear the boys’ choir sing the carol
service. I was tired and I was just doing this romantic thing, not
really thinking about it as an act of worship or anything. I was given
a bad seat behind one of the pillars in this huge hall and I couldn’t
really hear the words the choir was singing. So, to stop falling
asleep, as I hadn’t been to bed in days, I concentrated on the sheet in
front of me, and it really dawned on me how perfect it was that this
thing we call God would chose to express itself as a child ‘born in a
barn,’ as we say here in Dublin. That’s the most striking idea we have
of God. I think that wherever you look for God you’ll still have to
pass through that door of humility and that door of complete
vulnerability that a child has. There are very few musicians who don’t
believe in God.
Do you think that this life is all there is, or do you believe in an afterlife? I’ll be very disappointed if this is all there is. I’m having such a great life. I’m never surprised at the ugliness in the world, nor the beauty of it. I understand the survival of the fittest, but people who have a lot less fun still glean from their lives the precious stones of friendship, insight and knowledge that they will take with them forever, no matter what their circumstances. I do think they are the eternal things. I love the idea of hell as a flame that will burn away all the crap and only the precious stones will remain. I think that’s probably where things get evened out and I think that’s probably what the idea of “the first shall be last” means, that if you have spent your whole life accumulating material things and material ideas about your self, you will be left with very little. I feel I have a lot of faith. When you hear one note in your head you have to have faith that there’s another one round the corner. If my first life is going to be the last, I’m probably in trouble.
Do you accept the concept of karma, in the sense of cause and effect? I think that karma is at the heart of the universe, but divine grace can intervene. I’m very much interested in grace. You can’t escape the effect of your actions. But the idea that people are born better off in this life because of what they did in the last life, I think is bollocks. This idea has produced a caste system and a lot of other useless hierarchies.
What is your code, in relation to right and wrong? You know instinctively, always, what’s the right thing to do. And the greatest enemy of that instinct is the din of too many choices. Noise. I think of that story in the Bible of Elijah who was told he should go up a hill and wait to hear from God. A mighty wind springs up and he thinks: “Here it comes, God’s on his way,” Then there’s an earthquake, but no word from God. Then comes a great fire and he thinks that God will speak from the fires, but no. The wind calms down and in the stillness he hears God’s voice. Sometimes you have to quiet your life to hear what is the right thing to do.
Do you believe you have a destiny, and do you see yourself as here to fulfil it? I believe you create your own destiny. You can choose it every day. For me, one of the most important ideas is that you can begin again. It’s one of the reasons I was attracted to the Jubilee 2000 idea of the poorest countries having their debts to the richest cancelled. The ability to start again is enshrined in any worthy philosophy. Putting the past behind you doesn’t mean ignoring the past, but learning from it and moving on.
What has life taught you so far? I’ve learned that I’m a slow learner, but when eventually the penny drops I hold on to it very tightly. I catch it in my hand and I hold on to it. I just wish I were quicker on the uptake.
What advice or words of wisdom would you like to pass on to those close to you? I wouldn’t say it’s advice but to the people close to me I would say I wish I listened to you more.
Do you think our survival is being threatened? The Armageddon scenario is probably a little less of a threat than it was 25 years ago, but we still live in a world where mutually assured destruction is seen as a solution to problems, and I think that is ridiculous.
Who do you most admire in this world? The person I most admire is Jesus Christ.
How do you find peace within yourself? I find inner peace by drowning in music.
Zoe Sallis inteviewed Bono for Ten Eternal Questions, which is published this month by Duncan Baird.
Published in the October 2005 edition of The Dubliner magazine
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