Another part of a video series from Wordonfire.org. Bishop Barron will be commenting on subjects from modern day culture. For more visit www.wordonfire.org/
@PrometheanRunGood Well friend, I never made any claims about what the Chinese thought about Bob Dylan's songs. I simply observed that singing about Jesus in an officially communist state, where Christians churches are routinely persecuted, is pretty edgy.
I agree, Fr Barron. I think Bob builds his set lists very carefully and with a lot of thought. It is no accident he *opened* those concerts with two very clear statements of Christian faith from Slow Train Coming. BTW, I think far too many people have dismissed Dylan's Christianity as a "phase". He may not be preaching in concert anymore, but I see no evidence that he's abandoned his Christian faith.
I only just this week discovered your work, and it appears I have a lot of catching up to do. But my first impression is that the perspectives you articulate strongly affirm my own. I'm very glad to add myself as a subscriber!
Hats off to the Bishop,as they used to do here in Ireland, he s spot on. The Holy Spirit does what it wants, It blows in the wind. The wind cries Mary (Magdalene)(Hendrix), your stairway lies on the whisperin wind(Zeppelin)(Stairway to Heaven)(90 per cent of all songs are secretly written by Dylan), the first one now will be last(the last shall be first and the first shall be last), she never stumbles, she got no place to fall ( gospels), He say I know you, you know me (Come Together, Beatles),(I am the Good Shepherd, says the Lord, I know my own and my own know me. The list is endless. Too bad the Catholic Church has been all but destroyed in Ireland and with it went all the Irish people s beauty,charm pride and dignity. We're cowardly baby killers now, just like all the rest, as Bobby would say, though we think we re enlightened and sophisticated. Only a miracle can save us now.But what an excellent, straight talking Bishop his Excellency is.
@Neddhartha As I specified in the video, love is not a matter of "feelings," tender or otherwise. I for one don't have any warm and fuzzy feelings toward Osama bin Laden. As I said a number of times in the video, he was a wicked man. Nevertheless, we are commanded to love even those whom we don't like, even those for whom we have nothing but cold feelings.
I agree with the Bishop that you can tell that Bob Dylan has read and appreciated the bible in his songs, though Elton John had greater insight into Bob Dylan's songs when he said that no one on the planet can put three words together better than Bob Dylan.
Had Maureen Dowd done her homework and checked his set lists from that period as now, she would know Dylan concerts are not 60s revivals. Dylan is an ever and still evolving artist. True, many fans only know his 60s songs and are disappointed in his concerts when those songs are only a portion of his show. In the end, Dowd was actually complaining about Dylan NOT satisfying HER idea of what a Dylan concert should be.
"Here's the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don't find it anywhere else. Songs like "Let Me Rest on a Peaceful Mountain" or "I Saw the Light"-that's my religion. I don't adhere to rabbis, preachers, evangelists, all of that. I've learned more from the songs than I've learned from any of this kind of entity. The songs are my lexicon. I believe the songs." Bob Dylan ~ 1997
Facts are hard to come by these days: Gonna Change My Way of Thinking (Alternate Version w/ original last verse) opened in both Beijing and Shanghai as re-written by Bob Dylan and recorded by Bob Dylan & Mavis Staples on the compilation album Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan.
I checked out the bob links site, and according to their lists he doesn't play songs like hard rain or blowing in the wind all that often, and the two Christian songs he opened up with even less and in the case of serve somebody, not at all, so that he dug those out of the vault to do in china goes to prove that he knew what he was doing, which was getting one over on the government censors.
Clearly she’s not a Dylan fan. He does what he wants, period. He speaks his mind but he’s not a crusader, either. Guarantee he sang exactly what he felt was right.
I'm kind of puzzled how none of the commentators complaining about "censored" set lists missed out on the inclusion of "Ballad Of A Thin Man" in all the Asian shows (and beyond): "Something is happening here / but you don’t know what it is / do you, Mister Jones?". Apparently the Chinese officials didn't have a clue, and Ms. Dowd does neither.
@benabaxter Excellent analogy, as there are many maps that will get you to America, and many possible routes. I agree with Fr. Barron that Dylan has always been spiritual, but I believe he has grown to see, as the quote from my post illustrates, that Christianity is but one "map". Dylan claims to find the experience of music to be closer to God than any doctrine of words put forth by "rabbis, preachers, evangelists, all of that". He actively advocated Christianity for only a short time.
5:03 The answer is blowing in the wind. For me is that we perhaps can never be found the answer. Because we can't see the wind or try to grab the wind. So, for me, well I think the wind is not the Holy Spirit.
Ever think of doing a book or a CZcams series just on Bob Dylan? I like the overall message of Jesus but the thought of the devil actually existing scares me and doesn't seem like a it would be good for my mental health to worry about such an entity. Although yes, evil exists... but it's source being metaphysical rather than human all too human. That's a different kind of question.
I keep coming across some secular voices who claim that Bob Dylan has put Christianity behind him. I've not see any statements straight from the horse's mouth and, like Bishop Barron, I believe Nobel Laureate Dylan still practices Christian virtues.
Dylan just doesn't want to be that political these days thats all I guess, but apperantly he smuggeld some Christian messages in by the backdoor - but still "You gotta serve somebody" at least superficially sounds bettter for the Chinese then "the times they are a changing"
I also want to say that I was a Dylan fan and when I realized how biblical and Christian most of his songs were my fellow fans seemed to think I was crazy. It's nice to hear you hear that message too. I love ya for that.
Zit veel in, in deze redenering. Maar je kunt Dylan niet zomaar het Christendom intrekken. Dylan heeft vele kanten, vooral kritische kanten. Je kunt hem niet voor jouw karretje spannen.
I checked out the bob links site, and according to their lists he doesn't play songs like hard rain or blowing in the wind all that often, and the two Christian songs he opened up with even less and in the case of serve somebody, not at all, so that he dug those out of the vault to do in china goes to prove that he knew what he was doing, which was getting one over on the government censors.
@PrometheanRunGood Well friend, I never made any claims about what the Chinese thought about Bob Dylan's songs. I simply observed that singing about Jesus in an officially communist state, where Christians churches are routinely persecuted, is pretty edgy.
You made me giggle when you said what Bob opened with. And I too, hear that thread of gold in every one of Bob's song. Bless his heart ♥
His childhood pics are so funny since how chubby he was ❤
I agree, Fr Barron. I think Bob builds his set lists very carefully and with a lot of thought. It is no accident he *opened* those concerts with two very clear statements of Christian faith from Slow Train Coming. BTW, I think far too many people have dismissed Dylan's Christianity as a "phase". He may not be preaching in concert anymore, but I see no evidence that he's abandoned his Christian faith.
agree
@AndoDouglas I spoke of two concerts, the first opening with Gotta Serve and the second with Change My Way of Thinkin'.
I only just this week discovered your work, and it appears I have a lot of catching up to do. But my first impression is that the perspectives you articulate strongly affirm my own. I'm very glad to add myself as a subscriber!
Hats off to the Bishop,as they used to do here in Ireland, he s spot on. The Holy Spirit does what it wants, It blows in the wind. The wind cries Mary (Magdalene)(Hendrix), your stairway lies on the whisperin wind(Zeppelin)(Stairway to Heaven)(90 per cent of all songs are secretly written by Dylan), the first one now will be last(the last shall be first and the first shall be last), she never stumbles, she got no place to fall ( gospels), He say I know you, you know me (Come Together, Beatles),(I am the Good Shepherd, says the Lord, I know my own and my own know me. The list is endless. Too bad the Catholic Church has been all but destroyed in Ireland and with it went all the Irish people s beauty,charm pride and dignity. We're cowardly baby killers now, just like all the rest, as Bobby would say, though we think we re enlightened and sophisticated. Only a miracle can save us now.But what an excellent, straight talking Bishop his Excellency is.
The Bishop is such a beautiful example of someone who has chosen who he serves
@Neddhartha As I specified in the video, love is not a matter of "feelings," tender or otherwise. I for one don't have any warm and fuzzy feelings toward Osama bin Laden. As I said a number of times in the video, he was a wicked man. Nevertheless, we are commanded to love even those whom we don't like, even those for whom we have nothing but cold feelings.
I agree with the Bishop that you can tell that Bob Dylan has read and appreciated the bible in his songs, though Elton John had greater insight into Bob Dylan's songs when he said that no one on the planet can put three words together better than Bob Dylan.
Grateful you are in his corner...truly.
Had Maureen Dowd done her homework and checked his set lists from that period as now, she would know Dylan concerts are not 60s revivals. Dylan is an ever and still evolving artist. True, many fans only know his 60s songs and are disappointed in his concerts when those songs are only a portion of his show. In the end, Dowd was actually complaining about Dylan NOT satisfying HER idea of what a Dylan concert should be.
Yes, we are so very lucky.
My thoughts exactly when i saw the set lists to those Chinese concerts.
"Here's the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don't find it anywhere else. Songs like "Let Me Rest on a Peaceful Mountain" or "I Saw the Light"-that's my religion. I don't adhere to rabbis, preachers, evangelists, all of that. I've learned more from the songs than I've learned from any of this kind of entity. The songs are my lexicon. I believe the songs." Bob Dylan ~ 1997
Facts are hard to come by these days:
Gonna Change My Way of Thinking (Alternate Version w/ original last verse) opened in both Beijing and Shanghai as re-written by Bob Dylan and recorded by Bob Dylan & Mavis Staples on the compilation album Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan.
He did not play 'Gotta serve somebody' in China at either gig. Both shows opened with 'Change my Way of Thinking'.
Marueen Dowd gets it wrong...I'm soooo shocked
I really like this Bishop's views and style. And of course I'm gobsmacked with Dylan the artist.
I checked out the bob links site, and according to their lists he doesn't play songs like hard rain or blowing in the wind all that often, and the two Christian songs he opened up with even less and in the case of serve somebody, not at all, so that he dug those out of the vault to do in china goes to prove that he knew what he was doing, which was getting one over on the government censors.
Clearly she’s not a Dylan fan. He does what he wants, period. He speaks his mind but he’s not a crusader, either. Guarantee he sang exactly what he felt was right.
He didn't open with Gotta Serve Somebody, Fr. (Friar?) it was 'Gonna Change My Way of Thinking'
I'm kind of puzzled how none of the commentators complaining about "censored" set lists missed out on the inclusion of "Ballad Of A Thin Man" in all the Asian shows (and beyond):
"Something is happening here / but you don’t know what it is / do you, Mister Jones?".
Apparently the Chinese officials didn't have a clue, and Ms. Dowd does neither.
@benabaxter Excellent analogy, as there are many maps that will get you to America, and many possible routes. I agree with Fr. Barron that Dylan has always been spiritual, but I believe he has grown to see, as the quote from my post illustrates, that Christianity is but one "map". Dylan claims to find the experience of music to be closer to God than any doctrine of words put forth by "rabbis, preachers, evangelists, all of that". He actively advocated Christianity for only a short time.
5:03 The answer is blowing in the wind. For me is that we perhaps can never be found the answer. Because we can't see the wind or try to grab the wind. So, for me, well I think the wind is not the Holy Spirit.
Praise God for Bob Dylan!
@Zv5Q8
"ALL of the commentators, I meant!
What do you think about Bob Dylan doing Pepsi commercials?
@wildhias I don't see where one message is less political than the other.
Ever think of doing a book or a CZcams series just on Bob Dylan? I like the overall message of Jesus but the thought of the devil actually existing scares me and doesn't seem like a it would be good for my mental health to worry about such an entity. Although yes, evil exists... but it's source being metaphysical rather than human all too human. That's a different kind of question.
I keep coming across some secular voices who claim that Bob Dylan has put Christianity behind him. I've not see any statements straight from the horse's mouth and, like Bishop Barron, I believe Nobel Laureate Dylan still practices Christian virtues.
Google: "Facebook and TANGLED UP IN THE BIBLE: A BOB DYLAN QUIZ"
Dylan just doesn't want to be that political these days thats all I guess, but apperantly he smuggeld some Christian messages in by the backdoor - but still "You gotta serve somebody" at least superficially sounds bettter for the Chinese then "the times they are a changing"
It's talkin john birch paranoid blues friend
I also want to say that I was a Dylan fan and when I realized how biblical and Christian most of his songs were my fellow fans seemed to think I was crazy. It's nice to hear you hear that message too. I love ya for that.
Doesnt China recognize Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism separately). So wouldn't those songs be appropriate and not revolutionary?
Love Bob Dylan.
hehehe! Yeah Baby!!!
Zit veel in, in deze redenering. Maar je kunt Dylan niet zomaar het Christendom intrekken. Dylan heeft vele kanten, vooral kritische kanten. Je kunt hem niet voor jouw karretje spannen.
New York Times gets worse everyday :P
Dylan denied being censored.
MoDo is nutz. she aint been right since she got stoned in Colorado
Rubbish!
I checked out the bob links site, and according to their lists he doesn't play songs like hard rain or blowing in the wind all that often, and the two Christian songs he opened up with even less and in the case of serve somebody, not at all, so that he dug those out of the vault to do in china goes to prove that he knew what he was doing, which was getting one over on the government censors.