Bob Dylan’s religious mystique endures

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(RNS) Through the 1960s, Bob Dylan was hailed as a prophet, first of folk music, then of rock ‘n’ roll—at least by those who forgave him the heresy of having “gone electric.”

But when rock’s best-known Jew famously declared Jesus to be the answer, many fans turned on him.

For five decades, Robert Allen Zimmerman, who turns 70 on Tuesday (May 24), has shocked, mystified, baffled and intrigued fans with songs rife withbiblical references, both Jewish and Christian, and no shortage of religious imagery.

For Michael J. Gilmour, an associate professor of New Testament and English literature at Providence College in Manitoba, Canada, and author of the book “Gods and Guitars,” Dylan proves an irresistible subject for theological analysis.

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/bob_dylans_religious_mystique_endures/