Something Completely Different: Whatever Happened to Bob Dylan?

Few voices from the tumultuous “Sixties” that defined the young lives of millions of Baby Boomers — more than a few of whom still work on Capitol Hill and elsewhere in the nation’s capital — have survived with influence across the generations into the 21st century.

Among those few, none stands out more than Bob Dylan, the paradigmatic protest song writer and singer who has long commanded public attention among young and old as an independent, contrarian bard critiquing successive conventional cultural waves.

Writing for The Federalist, Barry Lenser captures Dylan in a post that will surely spark the interest of Hill Boomers and should among the teeming masses of Gen Zers and Millennials as well:

“Of all the reinventions Bob Dylan has undertaken in his long, shape-shifting career, none was more radical and jarring than his conversion to Christianity in the late 1970s. In terms of defying expectations, not even going electric can compare with going evangelical.

“This was Bob Dylan after all, a Jewish-born avatar of 1960s counterculture. He could have adopted few other identities that would have felt like such a direct repudiation of everything his fans thought he represented.

“‘Ultimately, it was a fan throwing a silver cross on stage at a San Diego concert, a personal encounter with Jesus in a motel room in Tucson, the influence of his Christian girlfriend Mary Alice Artes, and conversations with Vineyard Fellowship ministers from the West LA congregation that led to Dylan’s born-again experience.’

“Of this encounter, Dylan later recalled, ‘There was a presence in the room that couldn’t have been anybody but Jesus … I felt my whole body tremble. The glory of the Lord knocked me down and picked me up.’”

Contrary to critics who for years have insisted his Christian faith was just a phase among many Dylan transitions, Lenser catalogs the lyrics, character traits and stubborn facts about Dylan that point to his having one of those heavenly places the Lord has prepared for each of His children.

See what I mean. You gotta read the rest of Lenser’s excellent treatment. Just click here.

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