Recently on Rock and Theology we posted a link to a short article on Noisecreep entitled  Heavy Metal Stars Who Found God which Tom Beaudoin noted was “a topic of seemingly perennial interest.”  This is very true.   The fascination people have with rock stars and whether they are ‘Christians’ or not is the subject of a whole sub-genre of rock journalism and other writing dedicated to discerning whether certain lyrical content ultimately points to a professing commitment as understood by institutionalized religion and in particular denotes an Evangelical faith.  This is nothing new as Tom mentioned and is of perennial interest to be sure and not just isolated to rock stars.  Recently Franklin Graham questioned whether President Obama was a Christian.  Graham stated that “I asked [President Obama] how he came to faith in Christ. He said he was working on the south side of Chicago in the community and the community asked him what church he went to. He said ‘I don’t go to church.”

That said, Graham has since apologized for any inference about the state of the President’s salvation but the perennial interest in Evangelical circles to define what a Christian is continues and is now turning its attention it seems to Bruce Springsteen.

Bruce Springsteen’s 17th studio album - Wrecking Ball - was released in the US on March 6th and the critics have been hard at work to make sense of the Boss’ latest outing (I recently posted a review of the lead single “We Take Of Our Own” here on Rock and Theology ).   One reviewer made a rather interesting comment that has had me perplexed and dismayed.  In his review of the album (wonderfully entitled “Stations of the Boss“) Andy Whitman at Christianity Today noted the personal and profound impact Springsteen’s music has made on him throughout his life saying that he became  ”a Christian who is convinced that Bruce Springsteen has more to say to me than any other songwriter.” Many people feel the same way.  At 62, Springsteen is still producing  great music of deeply spiritual and political conviction and while he hasn’t recaptured the “glory days” of the Born in the USA years or the critical excellence of Nebraska, Darkness at the Edge of Town or The River, he is an undisputed American rock icon who has unique crossover appeal in an increasingly segmented music market.  I for one agree wholeheartedly with Whitman’s statement to this effect and resonate with much of his review of the album (Wrecking Ball, by the way,  is a true return to form and a fantastic album worth repeated listens – IMHO).

But that isn’t what caught my attention.

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I am thinking again about the ways in which theologies are committed to practice — across more or less sturdy disciplinary divisions. Theologian John Swinton suggests that when theologians are “faced with the realities of human experience, the theory-practice gap inevitably closes down, offering an important challenge to the disciplinary boundaries within the theology faculty.” He develops the thought in this way: “As soon as systematic theologians, church historians, and biblical scholars begin to deal directly with human experience, they inevitably drift into some form of practical theology.” (Swinton, “Disability, Ableism, and Disablism,” in Bonnie Miller-McLemore (ed.), The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), pp. 443-451, at 450)

For many practice-based (as distinct from text-based or concept-based) theologies, how people really live their faith is a matter of fundamental interest. The capacity and skill to try to tell the truth about the shape of faith in everyday life is something that practice-based theology cannot do without. And we try to tell the truth about the shape of faith in everyday life because of our traditional theological commitment to care of souls, to psychologia. But as has always been true for theology, this psychologia has always been closely linked to psychagogia, influencing souls, turning souls, converting souls. And so this care for lived religion is and should be a critical care. By critical I mean discerning, a care that sees deeply for the sake of a renewed state of being, calling and reflecting and encouraging and intervening toward a way of being more adequate to – to what? That will depend on the practice-based theologian and what they take to be the spiritual equilibrium to which their critical care ought to tend. I would suggest that the critical care we give for lived religion ought to be toward the next stage of depth and growth in the integrity of the faith of the other, which requires in us the attitudes to know two things deeply: first, the shapes of faith suggested by the religious tradition(s) we trust; and second, the shapes of faith present in the lives of those in our care.

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Lent begins on Wednesday. Traditionally an important time for Catholics, I have to confess I really don’t like Lent. While I understand and appreciate its theological significance, I simply find it depressing and dreary. Frankly, I’m a Mardi Gras person. With so much pain and suffering in the world, I think we just don’t spend enough time in our lives celebrating and feeling joy. That’s what Mardi Gras is all about.

Around this time last year I wrote about my favorite psalm and equated it with celebration, rock music and Mardi Gras. While I was trying to decide what to write about this year I came across a copy of a wonderful essay that I’d saved from the September 5, 2008 issue of the National Catholic Reporter. Written by Professor Stafford Betty and titled “Why Did God Create the Universe,” I fell in love with this delightful tribute to what Betty argues is our reason for existence: “to become joyous beings….. to see the joy that resides at his (God’s) core reflected in us.”

Rock music can bring us immense joy. Whether playing it, watching performances or listening to it, rock has special way of touching our souls. So once again I call on rock and theology fans everywhere to celebrate and find joy on Fat Tuesday. To show gratitude for friends and family. To share God’s joy and “multiply without end, the divine delight.” And, of course, to listen to those songs that brings us joy.

There are many rock performances that bring me joy but this one by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band never fails to put a big smile on my face.

Happy Mardi Gras. Laissex les bons temps rouler!

Mary McDonough

This afternoon I was out doing errands. The weather was beautiful. I was driving an old, classic sports car I inherited from my Dad. That thing is fast. As I sped along, my satellite radio was blaring a live concert by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band from June of 1999. While I listened to the music I felt blessed. So thankful for the beautiful car, wonderful weather, great music and the fact that there were no cops around to give me a speeding ticket.

As the concert progressed, the band started playing “If I Should Fall Behind.” The lyrics reminded me of our human frailty. Of the times when things go wrong in our lives, when we need help. How people come to our aid, often without us asking them to. Maybe it’s family, maybe friends. Once in a while a perfect stranger steps into our lives from out of nowhere. These people hold us up—sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally and sometimes through prayer. For me, they truly represent the Grace of God. I feel that grace in this song.

Mary McDonough