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This is an album made by middle-aged men still playing a kid's game, well aware of the ridiculousness of the trappings (see the humorous, self-deprecating lines in the funk-driven "Standup Comedy"), and searching for and sometimes finding reasons to go on. As such, these are songs that could have never been written by Bono Vox, the naïve, idealistic youth of early albums. And as such, these are songs that could only have been written by Bono, the aging, iconic rock star in love with Jesus and himself in equal measure, and bothered by the incongruity. They are great spiritual and human songs.

No Line on the Horizon sags a bit in the middle, as "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" borrows a little too liberally from '80s band Journey's "Faithfully." Yes, that's as problematic as it sounds, although the Edge does his best to energize the flaccid chord progression. The first single, "Get On Your Boots," merely reprises Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up," which is a transparent reworking of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but in this case, it makes for tired music.

But the album ends well, with the lovely, minor-key "White as Snow" (which cribs its melody from the Christmas carol "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"), the arena shaker "Breathe," and the forlorn "Cedars of Lebanon," a disquieting ballad about a journalist stationed far from home and family. It's not an unqualified success. But on the best of these tracks, the band steps outside time and finds the eternal. It's a neat trick, and if U2 has done it before, that doesn't make it any less thrilling.

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Other Christianity Today articles on Bono and U2 include:

Calvin College on U2 | College class on U2 explores religious influence of a rock band. (Feb. 23, 2005)

Pop Love for a War-Torn World | Atomic Bomb is classic U2, with a prescription for healing the world. (Nov. 23, 2004)

The Dick Staub Interview: Exegeting U2 | Get Up Off Your Knees preaches U2 from Boy to All that You Can't Leave Behind. (April 20, 2004)

Bono's American Prayer | The world's biggest rock star tours the heartland, talking more openly about his faith as he recruits Christians in the fight against AIDS in Africa. (Feb. 21, 2003)

'Pop Music with Brains' | From the beginning, U2 has engaged spiritual questions. (Feb. 21, 2003)

Bono's Thin Ecclesiology | Any person can stand outside the church and critique its obedience to the gospel. (Feb. 21, 2003)

Bono Tells Christians: Don't Neglect Africa | He urges evangelicals to take a lead in fighting AIDS and poverty. (April 19, 2002)

Inside CT: Bono's Burning Question | Evangelicals and the U2 front man try to figure each other out. (April 19, 2002)

Honest Prayer, Beautiful Grace | The messianic and passionate U2 sounds like itself again. (Feb. 8, 2001)

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