The Bible and the Headlines: News You Can Us

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By David Bachelor, PhD

Judging by some recent headlines there is at least one person who has not been touched by Surgeon General Murty’s “We Are Made to Connect” tour. This tour emphasizes (from a secular perspective) what God said in Ecclesiastes 4:9, “It is better that two should be together, than one: for they have the advantage of their society.” Recording artist Daryl Hall would beg to disagree.

On November 22, The Tennessean newspaper had the headline, “Daryl Hall Files Lawsuit, Restraining Order Against Former Bandmate John Oates in Nashville.” For 53 years Daryl Hall has been fifty percent of the eponymous group Hall and Oates which, the Tennessean notes, is “the number-one selling duo in music history.” Speaking about Hall and Oates the article states, “They never publicly split up, but in recent years the two have mentioned to several media outlets that they have been interested in exploring individual careers.”

The New York Times on November 22 published, “Hall Is Suing Oates. Over What Is a Mystery.” This piece is light on the details of the suit, but it does provide a little personal trivia concerning the origins of the group. Hall and Oates claim they met in 1967 when they were students at Temple University and playing in other bands. Shortly after their initial meeting, “Oates’s band split up… and Hall invited Oates to play guitar for his group.” In 1972 they landed a deal with Atlantic Records that propelled them to pop stardom.

The November 23 edition of The Guardian featured, “‘He’s a Man with a Fork in a World of Soup’: The Bitterest Music-Duo Spats.” This piece started with the Hall and Oates schism and then branched off into other musical teams that ended in Splitsville. After the college-based partnership of Hall and Oates, the split between former elementary school buddies Simon and Garfunkel was analyzed: “Conventional wisdom has always had it that Garfunkel grew to resent the fact that Simon wrote all the songs.” Next up was Liam and Noel Gallagher: “The Gallager brothers’ feuding started well before Oasis split.” The list also included Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, “Two pop queens [who] were duet partners.” Each of these duos tried a reunion but it never really jelled.

The best-known split in the Bible was between the Apostle Paul and Barnabas. the man who initially accompanied Paul on his apostolic journeys. The duo split over who should be on their road crew: “Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul did not because John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia. Their sharp disagreement made them part company. Barnabas took John Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas to continue his work in the Lord” (Acts 15:37-40). The difference between the apostolic duo and these contemporary partners is that Paul and Barnabas were able to reconcile. So much so that Paul eventually collaborated with John Mark. The proof is in Paul’s prison letter to the church in Colossae where he told them, “My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have received instructions about John Mark; if he comes to you, welcome him” (Col 4:10).

The Apostle Paul did not need a Surgeon General to convince him “We are Made to Connect,” It only took the instructions of His Lord who taught him to pray, “Forgive us our offenses as we forgive everyone who offends us” (Luke 7:14).