Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians - Way of Life Literature

Bono’s passion in recent years has been AIDS and povertyin Africa. He has petitioned Western governments to cancelthe debts of African nations and to increase foreign aid.While Bono does call upon African leaders to “practicedemocracy, accountability, and transparency,” he does not tiethis in with foreign aid and does not put the blame of Africa’sAIDS and poverty problem where it truly belongs, which isgovernment corruption, pagan religion, and its corollary, thelack of moral character and immorality. If the entire wealth ofAmerica, the United Kingdom, and Europe were transferredto Africa tomorrow, it would not result in significant andlasting change unless these factors were first addressed, andBono’s plan does not significantly address them nor requireany such radical systemic change. Instead, Bono puts thelargest part of the blame for Africa’s ills upon the unfair tradepractices of and lack of aid by Western nations and an allegedlack of compassion on the part of Christians.Speaking before Wheaton College in December 2002, Bonosaid, “Christ talks about the poor [and says] ‘whatever youhave done to least of these brothers of mine, you've done tome.’ In Africa right now, the least of my brethren are dying inshiploads and we are not responding. We’re here to sound thealarm” (Christianity Today, Dec. 9, 2002). Bono thus grosslymisapplies Christ’s statement in Matthew 25:40, applying it tothe unsaved in general rather than to the nation Israel. is isthe Fatherhood of God heresy that Mother Teresa also held,that all men are the children of God regardless of whetherthey have faith in Christ. Further, if Matthew 25:40 is areference to the unsaved in general, the apostles and earlyChristians failed miserably, for there is no record that theyattempted to relieve the social ills of the Roman Empire ingeneral. In fact, the context of Matthew 25:32-46 isimmediately following the return of Christ at the end of theTribulation, and it describes how Christ will judge thenations on the basis of how they treated His people the Jews,388