I saw U2 in concert Wednesday night. The concert was in Buenos Aires.  No, I didn't jet down to Argentina for the evening.  I had to settle for the silver screen version in Houston.  But it was still quite a show.  My 3-D glasses did their job, and, as I heard one fan say, "I could see the sweat dripping off Bono's nose and could tell which chords The Edge was playing."  The set list included old-school songs from albums like War, and the video/light/computer-graphic displays were spectacular.  I can't imagine what it was like to actually be there, swaying with the massive crowd packed into a football stadium.

But I was struck by the politically-charged nature of the concert.  I guess I wasn't surprised, being long familiar with the band's history of social commentary on everything from the Northern Ireland "Troubles" to the civil rights movement in America.  And U2 is known for it's numerous Christian references and it's heart-felt desire to relieve suffering in places like AIDS-ravaged Africa.  However, this concert was marked by the "Coexist" campaign, something popular in recent years even to the extent of spawning its own clothing line. If you are not familiar with the bumper stickers that are supposedly even being handed out in Houston-area public schools, the "Coexist" moniker is spelled with an Islamic crescent ("C"), a Jewish Star of David ("X"), and a Christian cross ("t"). The huge video screens flashed the symbols before the crowd, and Bono sported a white bandana emblazoned with the word.  As he sang, Bono made reference to the fact that all three faiths can be traced back to Abraham but at times seemed to hint that they were essentially alike.

How is a Christian to process and respond to this--if you will--movement?  Is it simply a call to peace in war-torn areas like the West Bank, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland?  Or is this another example of--not a political pluralism--but a religious pluralism that leads to universalism or neo-pagan spirituality?  Certainly, we want to coexist with other religious groups and be able to use the marketplace of ideas to present our message freely.  However, does this kind of co-existence mean that we have to consider other faiths as equally valid though they may be diametrically opposed to God's plan of redemption through Jesus?

We've all heard stories of evangelical students going off to college and then going adrift.  We notice that we encounter colleagues that regard Christianity's Gospel as biased and backward.  We also recognize that the rich, international fabric of our society means that non-Christian religious groups are growing every day.  How do we present a winsome account of our Lord and foster relationships that open the doors for sharing?  How do we communicate our love for the religious freedoms that have served us so well while at the same time distinguish the unique claims of Christ from that of other religious teachers?  How do we support the kind of openness that allows people to investigate spiritual matters while encouraging people to whole-heartedly turn to Christ without reservations?