The Liturgical Bob Dylan

Back in the day, I was a college freshman with
Mike Gilmour at the same institution where he’s now a New Testament professor. I didn’t know at the time that he was a Bob Dylan fan, but he’s since written a book about the biblical themes in Dylan’s music, so I guess one could say he’s well-versed in the topic. I imagine books like his Tangled Up in the Bible: Bob Dylan & Scripture (CBD Link) represent an awakening to the spiritual themes ushered forth from places long-considered by the church to be simply “unspiritual.” This is a good thing, but let’s come back to it. CLICK HERE to read more

Interview explores Bob Dylan's faith

Kasha said that one of the regulars at his Bible study in 1979 was Bob Dylan and at the recent 10th Annual Media Fellowship International Praise Brunch at the Beverly Hill Hotel in Beverly Hills, he agreed to talk about what happened to Dylan for an interview I was doing for Safe World's IPTV and ANS. CLICK HERE to read more

DylanTube Bob Dylan - In The Garden, Live in 1980

I started getting into Bob in about 2001 and it took me until last year to find that his Christian work is the most compelling he has done - in my opinion anyway. There is no doubt that Bob Dylan was very high off Christianity, possessed by God and on a mission to sing these songs. I’m sure these songs would have easily come to Bob Dylan after the overload of information he received during Bible School. This was clearly a very important part of Dylan’s life. CLICK HERE to read more

Album Of The Day #99: SAVED - Bob Dylan

I bought this album with the lowest expectations possible. I had heard nothing but awful things about it. When I first put it in and sat through it, I realized immediately that the critics had no idea what they were talking about. This album’s got some great material on it.  CLICK HERE to read more

BROKEN

As a priest, I stand Sunday by Sunday before a worshiping community and I break a piece of bread. It strikes me as a deeply profound and important gesture. "Everything is broken." CLICK HERE to read more

Sermon Notes from 19 October

A few weeks back I was sitting in the library at St. John’s reading through some commentaries on today’s lectionary readings. I had my Ipod on random play and while I was sitting there thinking about how I was going to approach today’s texts, this song came on and the lyrics stuck in my head:

You may be a state trooper, our you might be a young Turk CLICK HERE to read more

The Biblical Roots of 'Blowin' in the Wind'

Everyone is familiar with these lines from Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind": 

"How many times must a man look up 
Before he can see the sky? 
How many ears must one man have 
Before he can hear people cry?" 

Oliver Trager, author of Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, apparently had no idea what he was stepping in when he wrote of Bob Dylan's most famous song: 

“… this song for the ages could have been spoken by the ancient sages—it seems to have been around at least that long.”   CLICK HERE to read more

Beatles songs as likely to explain Christianity as the Bible, says bishop

The Rt Rev Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon, has urged churches to use hits by bands such as U2 and the Beatles in their services.

In a book backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, he argues that pop music writers can convey deep theological concepts in a way that is more accessible to the younger generation. CLICK HERE to read more

It's alright, ma. I'm only preaching (2007)

The latest study of Bob Dylan's work could have Christian scholars singing in the aisles

In his new book, Dylan Redeemed: From Highway 61 to Saved, the University of Chicago-educated theologian seems destined to raise even more hackles among his subject's secular followers than did the brief time in the late 1970s - date stamped by three muscular evangelical recordings, Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love - that is commonly regarded as the sum total of Dylan's flirtation with an aggressive "born-again" stance. CLICK HERE to read more

Restless Pilgrim

The decade-spanning career of Bob Dylan intersects with nearly every major movement of our times. CLICK HERE to read more

Fandemonium: 18+ Bob Dylan Fan Sites

Bob Dylan has had a unique and sometimes contentious relationship with his fans. As JBev notes in his review of the new Bootleg Series release, Tell Tale Signs, Dylan has been “loved, hated, electrified, wrecked, forgotten, deserted, misunderstood, saved, overrated, and restored.” Even Dylan himself has been quoted as saying, “What good are fans? You can’t eat applause for breakfast. You can’t sleep with it.” Well, no matter how much he might alienate or piss off his legions of followers (whether “going electric,” releasing a lousy Christian album a la Saved or playing mind-numbingly horrific live shows) Dylan will always have his fans, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. In honor of these diehard Dylan disciples, JamsBio has rounded up 18 of the best Dylan destinations on the World Wide Web. Whether you’re a Dylan neophyte or a certified Dylanologist, there’s something out there for to enjoy. CLICK HERE to read more

The Great Bob Dylan Conspiracy

Yesterday, there was a link on Expecting Rain to an article called “Exhuming Bob X: Lubavitcher Bob.”

If you don’t have the patience to click on the link and read the article, let me summarize it: The writer asserts as a premise that Jews, in their synagogues, are taught that “Jews are to rule the world and all the peoples” and that it “is the duty of every Jew to further that work.” CLICK HERE to read more

“What Happened?:” Paul Williams’s take on Bob Dylan’s ‘Born Again’ Period

Bob Dylan’s turn to premillenial, charismatic Christianity in the late 70s is a baffling chapter in his career. From writing anthemic ‘protest’ songs to introspective love songs, Dylan had spent more than fifteen years speaking into the lives of countless fans. Although he had renounced all prophetic mantles, Dylan couldn’t live up to or escape his iconic status. Even when he found Jesus. CLICK HERE to read more

Art And Astrology… Another Example Of Saturn Opposing Uranus : Bob Dylan

On the blog controversy, there is another analogy that comes to mind. I have been a Bob Dylan fan since I was 11 years old and there was a point in the late 70’s he started writing God music. CLICK HERE to read more

Pluto Direct In Sagittarius - “Gotta Serve Somebody” By Bob Dylan

If you want the history on this… Bob Dylan being booed in concert when he came out with these songs circa 1979 and the like you can see part of a documentary here The Gospel Songs Of Bob Dylan. CLICK HERE to read more

CONCERT REVIEW: Crowd energized by Bob Dylan's mix of new and old

"I Believe In You," a gospel song originally recorded on "Slow Train Coming," was a departure from his normal setlist. It was, however, well-received, and Dylan seemed to enjoy playing it. CLICK HERE to read more

Bob Dylan Performs ‘Changing of the Guards’ from 1978’s Street Legal

To many, this album is all gloss with a level of slickness which undercuts the depth of the songs. But, I really like this tune in particular; this is classic Dylan in the role of the aging prophet, with spiritual imagery presented on a Biblical scale. The song’s lyrics are firmly in Dylan’s own world of watchtowers and wicked messengers. I actually think the lush arrangement and call-and-response backing vocals helps this effect. This is big music, even if it’s a little bit of its time. CLICK HERE to read more

Bob Dylan, won't you please come home? What could have been — and yet be

It was something I learned from Bob Dylan songs that helped to get me here. It's not that I owe Dylan a special debt of gratitude. As he would probably be the first to admit, he was just doing what he had to do. He was part of the great orchestration of the world by The Master Composer, and if it hadn't been him, there would have been someone or something else to do the job. CLICK HERE to read more

Jerry Wexler, famed record producer, dies at 91

In the '80s, he made albums with Dire Straits, Carlos Santana, and George Michael, among others. His 1979 album with Bob Dylan, "Slow Train Coming," Dylan's first recording after his conversion to Christianity, won Dylan his first Grammy Award for "Gotta Serve Somebody." CLICK HERE to read more

Jerry Wexler, R&B Impresario, Is Dead at 91

Jerry Wexler, who as a reporter for Billboard magazine in the late 1940s christened black popular music with the name rhythm and blues, and who as a record producer helped lead the genre to mainstream popularity, propelling the careers of Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and other performers, died on Friday at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 91. CLICK HERE to read more

John Lennon: Serve Yourself

Shortly before his December 1980 shooting, John Lennon, a skeptic of organized religion, recorded "Serve Yourself", a negative response to Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody". CLICK HERE to read more

U2: Love Rescue Me

The song that probably comes across as most epic, however, is probably “Love Rescue Me”; 6:23 doesn’t make it the longest song on the album, but the quiet start with harmonica builds up to something huge, bringing in the brass along with the big rock setup (for some reason, U2 have never used brass before or since Rattle and Hum in any big way), before bringing in a final calm. Bob Dylan supposedly turns up, although which bits of the lyrics are Dylan’s is anyone’s guess. CLICK HERE to read more

eMusic Q&A: Sinead O'Connor Posted By : Alan Light

Her new album, Theology, is a two-disc set offering parallel versions - one disc acoustic, one with full-band arrangements - of new compositions by O'Connor that interpret Biblical texts, plus a few appropriate covers. The afternoon following a stellar performance at a small New York City nightclub, O'Connor - now a 40-year-old mother of four - settled in over coffee and cigarettes to discuss her musical, spiritual and personal journeys. CLICK HERE to read more

Go & Do - U2charist anniversary

St. George's Church in York, Maine, will host a third anniversary U2charist on Sunday, Aug. 3, at 5 p.m., to honor the work that has been accomplished by the U2charist movement that began at St. George's on July 31, 2005. CLICK HERE to read more

Fri 07/25/2008 The Cleveland Museum Of Art

Screening:
Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan
The Cleveland Museum Of Art
Lecture Hall 7:00 PM

This Friday 7/25
PURCHASE TICKETS

Trailer

Bob Dylan Song #13: See That My Grave Is Kept Clean

I'm not exactly what you'd call a theologian by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think that there's any mystery as to why a) people in abject poverty, like most bluesmen, would write songs dedicated to death and the everlasting beyond, and b) why people in abject poverty often turn to Christianity as inspiration for their lives. CLICK HERE to read more

Which musician inspires you?

Dylan has consistently channeled American religious idioms through biblical allusion. Among scores of examples: “All Along the Watchtower” essentially paraphrases Isaiah 21:5-9; “The Times They Are A-Changin,’” “Slow Train A-Comin,’” Other words and music are eschatological, about “last things”; and apocalyptic imagery, alluding to the end of world history, fills “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Desolation Row,” “Angelina” and more. CLICK HERE to read more

Thirty years late-Bob Dylan’s Christian music

I am aware that I am thirty years late for discussion concerning Bob Dylan and the Christian faith. I remember some years back my partner in the ministry David listening to a cassette of of Dylan’s “Slow Train Coming” and his comment that it was some of the best Christian music he knew of. CLICK HERE to read more

Church hopes U2 can help orphanage Fundraising worship service Saturday at First Presbyterian

This Saturday First Presbyterian Church will be rocking out to U2, raising money for charity and worshipping while they’re at it. First Presbyterian plans its third U2 Eucharist starting at 6 p.m. to raise money for the Olof Palme Orphanage in Tanzania, Africa. CLICK HERE to read more

'Bigger than Jesus? The Beatles were a Christian band'

John Lennon claimed the Beatles were a Christian band

But 28 years after his death, in an interview being broadcast for the first time, he claims that on the contrary, he hoped to encourage people to focus on the Christian faith. CLICK HERE to read more

Dylan and Bunyan on Faith vs. Unbelief

Q: What is the opposite of faith? It’s unbelief. CLICK HERE to read more.

Joe Cocker: Hymn 4 My Soul

Cocker covers George Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness”, Bob Dylan’s “Ring Them Bells”, Stevie Wonder’s “You Haven’t Done Nothin’” and songs by soul luminaries Solomon Burke and Percy Mayfield. CLICK HERE to read more

“Even Jesus could never forgive what you do.” – Bob Dylan

I was listening to Pearl Jam today and it got me to thinking. Pearl Jam is a grunge rock and roll group from Seattle which was very popular about a decade ago and still enjoys some following. They were singing a song entitled “Masters of War” which was written and sung by Bob Dylan back in the sixties. In the song Eddie Vedder (lead singer for Pearl Jam) rails against all those who are responsible for the travesty of war. He gets kind of worked up toward then end of the song and croons this telling lyric. “Even Jesus would never forgive what you do.” CLICK HERE to read more

The Freewheelin' Robert Zimmerman

Bob Dylan's lyrics never explicitly invoke his Jewish roots, but Jewish influences are never far from the surface. CLICK HERE to read more

It's Unbelievable

Below, you will find an article by David Cloud of something called The Fundamental Baptist Information Service. As a Christian and fan of the music of Bob Dylan, I find this piece of 'writing' extremely disturbing. Not only is it ill-informed and factually inaccurate, it spills the sort of utter crap that gives Christianity a bad name. This does no service to Christ or to the Truth. CLICK HERE to read more

See also Bob Dylan's "Conversion" - (Lighting The Way Worldwide)

The Gospel According to the Beatles

Forty years ago, John Lennon famously commented that he believed that the Beatles had become "more popular than Jesus." At the time the comparison seemed absurd. The Beatles were a pop group. CLICK HERE to read more

Dylan 1983 Kotel

We have finally found a reasonable-quality image of Bob Dylan during his famous tefillin-wearin' appearance at the Kotel. Here is an amazing and totally-Israeli eyewitness: "In the summer of 1983, Dylan visited Israel and was famously photographed wearing tefilin -- leather straps and boxes worn during Jewish prayer -- at the Western Wall. CLICK HERE to read more and see the photo

Ira Tucker, Gospel Singer Who Gave Dixie Hummingbirds Emotive Edge, Dies at 83

Ira Tucker, a little man with a giant vocal range and acrobatic stage antics who as lead singer of the Dixie Hummingbirds helped propel gospel music toward a harder-edged, more emotive style, died on Tuesday in Philadelphia. He was 83. CLICK HERE to read more

Dixie Hummingbirds recorded a very fine version of Bob Dylan's unrecorded City of Gold for their Diamond Jubilee album produced by Larry Campbell.

The Chief Justice, Dylan and the Disappearing Double Negative

The last chief justice liked light opera. The new one cites Bob Dylan. CLICK HERE to read more

AUDIO: The Jewish Bob Dylan (June 15, 1972)

Bernard Timberg analyzes the songs of Bob Dylan looking for Jewish themes and imagery. He identifies messianic longings in Quinn the Eskimo, references to Jewish burial practices in Masters of War, and finds significance in the fact that the initials of John Wesley Harding can be interpreted as the name of the Jewish God, YHWH. Issues such as social justice and a sense of out-sideness imbue the songs of Dylan as they do the history of the Jewish people. Timberg also interviews a number of people who knew Dylan when he was still Bob Zimmerman in an effort to investigate the Jewish roots of his music, including a woman that was at his Bar Mitzvah and a counselor at a Jewish summer camp Dylan attended as a child. Also explored are a number of myths about Dylan that touch upon his Jewish identity. CLICK HERE to listen