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Bob Dylan: Prophet Without God
Throughout his career, Bob Dylan has always been more than a musician. Whether as an icon of the social movements of the 1960s, a convert to evangelical Christianity publicly wrestling with his faith, or simply a poet of genius, Dylan has occupied a position of moral leadership for more than half a century.
Examining these roles collectively, the award-winning political philosopher Jeffrey Edward Green offers a vision of Dylan as a modern-day prophet, providing an overarching account of the significance of Dylan's political, religious, and ethical ideas. Green suggests Dylan is not a prophet of salvation, but rather a "prophet without God." Dylan speaks to the ideals that have animated earlier prophets--social justice, individual freedom, and adherence to God--but breaks from past tradition by testifying to the conflicts between these ideals. By examining Dylan's work across his career, Green shows how the humble folk singer from Minnesota who went on to win the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature has made novel contributions to the meaning of self-reliance, the quest for rapprochement between the religious and non-religious, and the problem of how ordinary people might operate in a fallen political world.
Examining these roles collectively, the award-winning political philosopher Jeffrey Edward Green offers a vision of Dylan as a modern-day prophet, providing an overarching account of the significance of Dylan's political, religious, and ethical ideas. Green suggests Dylan is not a prophet of salvation, but rather a "prophet without God." Dylan speaks to the ideals that have animated earlier prophets--social justice, individual freedom, and adherence to God--but breaks from past tradition by testifying to the conflicts between these ideals. By examining Dylan's work across his career, Green shows how the humble folk singer from Minnesota who went on to win the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature has made novel contributions to the meaning of self-reliance, the quest for rapprochement between the religious and non-religious, and the problem of how ordinary people might operate in a fallen political world.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published August 23, 2024
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September 13, 2025
This is one of the more scholarly books on Bob--not for the lighthearted, for sure. I liked/enjoyed it quite a bit, though I do not like Green's subtitle: "prophet without God." I don't think that communicates his main thesis, which is that Bob is more of a "secular" prophet who--given his stature & experiences--is able to speak truth into *both* unbelievers (& atheists), as well as to believers. Bob has never wavered from speaking boldly/courageously about the sorry state of the world--"a world gone wrong"--and of the inability of humans to bring about any kind of political solution that would result in a utopia. No, there's darkness (evil propagated ultimately by the devil/satan) and there's light--and only in the end, when God sees fit, will the light triumph & evil/sin be done away with in the final judgment. Don't believe them when they arise saying "Peace, Peace" has come... No, be alert and wake-up to the realities of this world warped by the sin nature of humanity trying to live without God.
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