Bono and Eugene: Learning to cuss without cussing

Bono and the Edge Eugene discuss the Psalms

No, Bono doesn’t have a new lead guitarist but he does sit down for a discussion about the psalms with Eugene Peterson. Bono, I’m guessing, needs no introduction. Eugene Peterson is the author of numerous books. He is best known for his paraphrase of the Bible, The Message. Another book that was impactful for me early on was his Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity. Pastors today would do well to make this book a regular companion.

But it was The Message that put Bono and Eugene Peterson together, given that the paraphrase gave something of a lyrical expression to Scripture that was attractive to Bono. Bono became a fan of Eugene Peterson (catch that irony!) and his writing, and a friendship ensued.

Cussing in the Bible

Probably my favorite part of the clip is when Eugene Peterson says “we need to learn to cuss without cussing” as a way to mirror the imprecatory psalms (these are psalms that call God to judgment against enemies). The Psalms are honest. This is a running theme throughout the clip. What does it mean to cuss without cussing? Perhaps there is a sense in which we are dishonest when we overstate with a full blown cuss. The psalmist doesn’t drop the F-bomb, or whatever the equivalent would be in Ancient Hebrew, as this would be overblown and, thus, dishonest. The psalmist has a way in which he speaks with brutal honestly without overdoing it even in the very language that he uses.

The piece closes with Peterson praying “Be with us as we continue our lives of serving you with poetry, with the arts, with song…”

This is worth watching: