Possibly the most chilling use of the Scriptures in a U2 lyric is 1991’s “Until the End of the World,” in which the speaker is Judas, addressing Jesus after the Last Supper: “We ate the food, drank the wine . . . in the garden I was playing the tart, kissed your lips and broke your heart.” The song pushes on toward a climactic verse relating the traitor’s last thoughts as he commits suicide: “Waves of regret, waves of joy, I reached out for the one I tried to destroy.”…

Although they are flawed messengers, that U2 can get stadiums full of people singing along to Christian lyrics makes them a countervailing cultural force.

U2 in general, and Bono especially, have proven themselves to be fully attuned to what it means to be a Christian, weighing its mysteries and ecstasies and pains and doubts. Yet Christianity and the culture it built are dissolving so rapidly before our eyes that even nonbelievers should be startled by the loss. Supposedly Christian churches are backing away from the rich and complicated legacy of the Bible and tossing out everything in the creed except vague, watery injunctions to be nice and maybe spare a thought for the poor. At weddings, we hear the occasional smiley-faced reference to love as spoken of in Corinthians. Weak sauce. Love is not proud, and Christianity is not a collection of inspirational kitchen magnets.