Leonard Cohen Concert review – and a beautiful song

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Just been over at Faith and Theology where Ben Myers has posted on a Leonard Cohen concert he was fortunate / blessed / lucky enough to attend. Apart from a great review and a serious plug for Cohen as a prophet, there is a superb link to a clip of The Webb Sisters singing "If it be your will". A long time since I heard anything so beautiful, haunting and full of resigned longing.

Cohen is described as follows in some of the advance blurb for his US tour:

The poet, singer/songwriter and novelist's intense and complex
explorations of interpersonal, romantic and political themes have
resulted in a life's work that has impacted countless contemporary
recording artists and writers.

Comments

14 responses to “Leonard Cohen Concert review – and a beautiful song”

3 February 2009

Sean

Hi Jim
He is in Melbourne later this month – I have friends who have tickets, but alas, no spares at the moment. Hope all is well.

Reply
3 February 2009

Sean

Hi Jim
He is in Melbourne later this month – I have friends who have tickets, but alas, no spares at the moment. Hope all is well.

Reply
4 February 2009

Jim Gordon

Hello Sean. Life’s good – and if I could get you a ticket I would!How come you’ve got a heatwave and we have the worst snow for 18 years – though in Scotland some centimetres of snow isn’t seen as a rare natural disaster that closes schools, airports, underground and the entire fleet of London buses!!!
Make sure you use the suncream. 🙂

Reply
4 February 2009

Jim Gordon

Hello Sean. Life’s good – and if I could get you a ticket I would!How come you’ve got a heatwave and we have the worst snow for 18 years – though in Scotland some centimetres of snow isn’t seen as a rare natural disaster that closes schools, airports, underground and the entire fleet of London buses!!!
Make sure you use the suncream. 🙂

Reply
4 February 2009

ASBO Gardener

Yeah really good thought and review at “FAITH AND THEOLOGY” which challenged me even further when reading Thomas N. Finger “CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY: AN ESCHATOLOGICAL APPROACH” Vol 1(Pennsylvania: Herlad Press, 1985),43f. He writes “To effectively proclaim and apply the kerygma, then, the Church must keep its cosmic dimensions in view. No intellectual, personal, or social issue is beyond its range. Accordingly no limits may be set to the issues on which the Church might have to speak and act. And often this speaking and acting will require much comprehensive thought…The Church often faces urgent situations with limited resources. It may need to think deeply now in one area, now in another, without being able to pull together all of the issues involved.WHAT KNOWLEDGE IT DOES ACQUIRE SHOULD BE READY FOR USE, NOT DEPOSITED IN STOREHOUSES SO COMPLEX THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO FIND.” There is a sense that this is what Cohen and Dylan are doing putting that prophetic knowledge into use and stirring within the hearts of their listeners a challenge to respond, change and address those situations that are raised, just a thought, who knows I may be way off beam?

Reply
4 February 2009

ASBO Gardener

Yeah really good thought and review at “FAITH AND THEOLOGY” which challenged me even further when reading Thomas N. Finger “CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY: AN ESCHATOLOGICAL APPROACH” Vol 1(Pennsylvania: Herlad Press, 1985),43f. He writes “To effectively proclaim and apply the kerygma, then, the Church must keep its cosmic dimensions in view. No intellectual, personal, or social issue is beyond its range. Accordingly no limits may be set to the issues on which the Church might have to speak and act. And often this speaking and acting will require much comprehensive thought…The Church often faces urgent situations with limited resources. It may need to think deeply now in one area, now in another, without being able to pull together all of the issues involved.WHAT KNOWLEDGE IT DOES ACQUIRE SHOULD BE READY FOR USE, NOT DEPOSITED IN STOREHOUSES SO COMPLEX THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO FIND.” There is a sense that this is what Cohen and Dylan are doing putting that prophetic knowledge into use and stirring within the hearts of their listeners a challenge to respond, change and address those situations that are raised, just a thought, who knows I may be way off beam?

Reply
4 February 2009

Jim Gordon

Nah Asbo. Not off beam. More on song! Thanks for the quote from T Finger. The sentence in capitals shows what’s needed – question though, so how do we [as a community of Christ’s followers]keep our knowledge ready for use?

Reply
4 February 2009

Jim Gordon

Nah Asbo. Not off beam. More on song! Thanks for the quote from T Finger. The sentence in capitals shows what’s needed – question though, so how do we [as a community of Christ’s followers]keep our knowledge ready for use?

Reply
4 February 2009

ASBO Gardener

Your question is very pertinent, however in the words of a U2 song “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” with regards to keeping our knowledge ready for use. Part of it for me is engaging in dialogue with those in our community who have stated they no faith in God, those in our community who have walked from church stating that it is irrelivant for them. Asking two simple questions (1) Why is church so irrelivant to you? (2)If church was to become relivant to you what would it look like? The tentative dicussions are quite amazing. I have found that in the dialogue I must be prepared to de-jargon and simplify what some theological terms mean in order to assist the dialogue to continue. Yeah Thomas Finger (once again)states “To communicate, one must either use them and define their meaqnings carefully or find new, roughly equivalant terms.’ At present I have taken the later route. Will keep you posted of any progress made.
Thanks for your encouragement, always good to dialogue.

Reply
4 February 2009

ASBO Gardener

Your question is very pertinent, however in the words of a U2 song “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” with regards to keeping our knowledge ready for use. Part of it for me is engaging in dialogue with those in our community who have stated they no faith in God, those in our community who have walked from church stating that it is irrelivant for them. Asking two simple questions (1) Why is church so irrelivant to you? (2)If church was to become relivant to you what would it look like? The tentative dicussions are quite amazing. I have found that in the dialogue I must be prepared to de-jargon and simplify what some theological terms mean in order to assist the dialogue to continue. Yeah Thomas Finger (once again)states “To communicate, one must either use them and define their meaqnings carefully or find new, roughly equivalant terms.’ At present I have taken the later route. Will keep you posted of any progress made.
Thanks for your encouragement, always good to dialogue.

Reply
4 February 2009

Jim Gordon

Restored your chosen alias, ASBO!And thanks for the further comment about de-jargoning. That said, one person’s jargon is another person’s usual discourse, from computer programmers to social workers, from plumbers to preachers, from artists to football pundits. Another way of looking at it – would the words we use, the “jargon”, the usual discourse of Christianity, be much more worth people’s time and trouble to ‘get it’, if the difference Christian commitment made was more demonstrable, radical and downright attractive? So I’m not sure the primary obstacle is the language – it might just possibly be the mis-match between Christian claims and Christian character. Anyway – some further suggestions………..

Reply
4 February 2009

Jim Gordon

Restored your chosen alias, ASBO!And thanks for the further comment about de-jargoning. That said, one person’s jargon is another person’s usual discourse, from computer programmers to social workers, from plumbers to preachers, from artists to football pundits. Another way of looking at it – would the words we use, the “jargon”, the usual discourse of Christianity, be much more worth people’s time and trouble to ‘get it’, if the difference Christian commitment made was more demonstrable, radical and downright attractive? So I’m not sure the primary obstacle is the language – it might just possibly be the mis-match between Christian claims and Christian character. Anyway – some further suggestions………..

Reply
4 February 2009

ASBO Gardener

“Bang on” Jim your right there a “CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT MADE WAS MORE DEMONSTRABLE, RADICAL AND DOWNRIGHT ATTRACTIVE.’ Yeah that is it.
For me jargon is a language that those who use that language know and understand. It can, sadly, be used to continue to separate and divide people groups in order to maintain some form of power. Sometimes we who profess Jesus Christ as Lord ashamedly use it in this way. Those outside the know need language lessons and interpretation. Those lessons & interpretations are/should be given in two steps(1) by those who know the language, (2) those who embody the language who demonstrate the radical downright attractiveness of knowing and living the language. So for me it is imporatnt to develop both these points above. Implimenting both these points means that I must listen within the dialogue which takes place (a 3 step). Maybe there are more steps, possibly so but that makes the journey a great adventure does it not…?
Thanks for restoring my chosen alias? This alias was given to a group from my local church by a member of the community where I live because of some of the work we are currently undertaking to clear and restore it and therefore humbly used as an alias.

Reply
4 February 2009

ASBO Gardener

“Bang on” Jim your right there a “CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT MADE WAS MORE DEMONSTRABLE, RADICAL AND DOWNRIGHT ATTRACTIVE.’ Yeah that is it.
For me jargon is a language that those who use that language know and understand. It can, sadly, be used to continue to separate and divide people groups in order to maintain some form of power. Sometimes we who profess Jesus Christ as Lord ashamedly use it in this way. Those outside the know need language lessons and interpretation. Those lessons & interpretations are/should be given in two steps(1) by those who know the language, (2) those who embody the language who demonstrate the radical downright attractiveness of knowing and living the language. So for me it is imporatnt to develop both these points above. Implimenting both these points means that I must listen within the dialogue which takes place (a 3 step). Maybe there are more steps, possibly so but that makes the journey a great adventure does it not…?
Thanks for restoring my chosen alias? This alias was given to a group from my local church by a member of the community where I live because of some of the work we are currently undertaking to clear and restore it and therefore humbly used as an alias.

Reply