An ode to Bob Dylan and the relationship between music and God
In honor of Bob Dylan being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, I wanted to offer some thoughts about the relationship between music and God.
To paraphrase Kant, faith without music is empty and music without faith is blind. Dylan understands this and it is the source of his power and his vision. At a time when popular music is increasingly vulgar and secular and religious music is increasingly banal (except of course for Gospel music), Dylan may be one of the only bridges between truth and beauty in popular culture and this feat alone more than justifies his recent high honor.
The first spiritually significant Dylan song and his best song both make the case for his spiritual and aesthetic greatness.
Here are some verses from his song, "Gotta Serve Somebody":
------
You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
...continued
(c) 2016 THE GOD SQUAD DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
