One of my goals for this year was to read more and to do so from a variety of different genres (both fiction and non-fiction). As a result, I've been blogging less even though one of my other goals is to write more. Balance has always been tough for me. Anyway, one of those books I'm currently reading is a book about Bob Dylan called "Dylan Redeemed." Here, the author chronicles Dylan's three so-called "Christian" albums from the late seventies and into the early eighties. His first, 1979’s “Slow Train Coming,” is more Christian than much of what passes as Christian music today. Ironically, however, Bob Dylan’s three albums have never been embraced by the Christian community as such. Even more interesting is that for many of the Dylan devoted followers, they too failed to embrace these three albums. In fact, it brought no small amount of disdain and disgust as many of these Dylan devotees saw their once iconic and liberal minded musical companion turn into a hell-bent conservative virtually overnight. What’s a fan to do?
Dylan has always lived with a veil of secrecy surrounding his life but during this period, there is no doubt that Christianity for him was real, and became something he expressed through his music.
I’ll say more about this period in Dylan’s life in the days ahead.
Stay tuned.
