New in PJ Media:
Bob Dylan dropped by the Vatican on Wednesday, wearing a black hoodie as if to conceal his identity; after all, as he sang in 1983, “you know it’s not even safe anymore / in the palace of the pope.”
Seriously, though, in one of the more surreal news items to cross the transom since Nancy Reagan sat on the lap of Mr. T (who was wearing a Santa Claus outfit), the Voice of a Generation, the man who was introduced at numerous concerts in the early 2000s as “the poet laureate of rock and roll,” shook hands with the supreme pontiff, and in a private audience, they reportedly exchanged gifts and pleasantries. The photos are intriguing. Two Americans, greeting each other in Rome: The pope is, of course, dressed all in white, Dylan mostly in black, and Dylan never pulls that hood down. Did either of them think, “Just like you, I’m wondrin’ what I’m doin’ here”?
Actually, it was not as strange a meeting as it might have initially appeared. Other Nobel laureates besides Bob Dylan have stopped by the Vatican to pay their respects. Dylan is 85 years old, but he has been on what is often called the “Never-Ending Tour” since 1988, interrupted only when COVID hysteria blanketed the country and the world. He was set to perform in Rome on Thursday evening; Wednesday was a day off, so why not visit the Vatican and say hello to Pope Leo XIV? Dylan played a brief concert for Pope John Paul II in 1997, so in a certain sense, he’s going through all these things twice.
Also, and most importantly, Dylan’s avid interest in spiritual matters, and Christianity in particular, is as well documented as it is widely ignored today. Back in 1979, when many people of his generation still revered him as the “Voice of a Generation” and the bard of Sixties leftism, Dylan surprised everyone by converting to Christianity.
In 1979, 1980, and 1981, Dylan released three Christian-themed albums (Slow Train Coming, Saved, and Shot of Love) that preached the Gospel in uncompromising terms, much to the chagrin of aging hippies who disdained Christianity. In 1980, speaking from the stage in Omaha, he addressed this directly, saying: “Years ago, they used to say I was a prophet. I’d say, ‘No, I’m not a prophet.’ They’d say, ‘Yes, you are a prophet.’ ‘No, it’s not me.’ They used to convince me I was a prophet. Now I come out and say, ‘Jesus is the answer.’ [And now] they say, ‘Bob Dylan? He’s no prophet.’ They just can’t handle that.”
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somehistory says
Dylan meets the pope creature who is the great friend of the muzzies who would gladly murder the singer.
Did he put a bee in the pope’s ear? Did he shower after?
WPM says
What was Dylan purpose for meeting the Pope? Was either of them looking for directions to the famous mythical blues location “The Cross Roads ” ? The last two Popes seem very willing to either ignore or dismissed the bad treatment Christians get from Islamic followers does anyone think they sign the contract at the crossroads ?
Hugh Fitzgerald says
Did he urge the Pope to listen to “Neighborhood Bully”?
WPM says
The “Neighborhood Bully” to the world is Islam and the last two Popes are encouraging the bully by appeasing it .The attacks to Christians in the Americas ,Europe ,Africa ,and Asia has only increased in the last 40 years .Communist always hated Christianity ,but the main threat to it in the year 2026 is Islam .Islam first attacks the Saturday people(the Jews) then it goes after the Sunday people (the Christians) the communist are useful idiots for Islam because Islam will not share power with them .The last Pope to condemn communist was Pope John Paul 11 ,Pope Benedict did have some critical remarks about Islam ,but he was not forceful enough about it. Now with the midterms elections in America and the idiots in America buying the snake oil that communist and the jihadist are selling we are in for some bad time here in the west. We have an unserious Pope again who will not speak up for the sheep in his flock care as he lives in an armed palace .We need a sheep dog Pope who will at less bark at the wolves of Islam and not embrace them for dinner dates in his armed palace that the members of his faith pay for. As far as meeting with Dylan it is harmless ,but I think with limited time he has he should be working harder at his job .Like Trump gushing about his ballroom or the reflecting pool ,it turns people off with both the war in Ukraine also Iran still going on and the unrest in the world .A world leader should address world problems in bad times ,not waste time on vanity projects or fun dinner dates with aged pop stars .
Kepha says
When I first went to Taiwan to teach back in the day, I was sharing an office with a Chinese-American colleague and heard an overtly biblical song with the words “the iron hand ain’t no match for the iron rod”–a clear reference to Psalm 2. I recognized that hasally voice instantly as Bob Dylan, and then my colleague informed me that Dylan was professing the Christian faith.
I pray that Bob and a whole bucnh of “aging hippies” will increasingly be trandformed by the saving power of Jesus the Messiah, and would come to absorb not only the Good News of the forgiveneness of sin, but also go on to some true discipleship. I’m sure a lot of my cohort will probably initially get hooked by the knowledge of a lot of bad choices made along the way, and the bitter experience engendered by them. But Jesus Christ came to save sinners. None of us can call ourselves Christians unless we acknowledge such a need.
I hope Bob has a deep and firm appreciation that Jesus Crhist’s blood atoned for us. AND THAT is a point at which the Islamic “Bully on the Block” gets it all wrong, and deeply and truly fails to honor the Messiah, regardless of all their insistent claims that Jesus is one of their own.
Well, starting to ramble. I pray that the eyes of many–including Chicago Leo– will be opened.