Desolation Row

Although Dylan eventually dropped the overt Christian sermonizing from his songwriting, the scars of his public rejection in 1979-'80 are still evident. From that point on, Dylan seemed to withdraw from the modern world, alternately finding solace in the America of his dead blues and folk idols, or longing for a better afterlife. Even his best post-Christian songs, like "Blind Willie McTell" or "Trying to Get to Heaven," are filled with distaste for the hollowness of contemporary society, and a sense that there's no longer a place in this world for Dylan.

And, however coded his messages may have become in recent years, Biblical prophecy has never left Dylan's work.

Bob Dylan: Spreading the word on his evangelical 1979-80 tour.

Details

Scheduled to perform on Thursday, August 23, Showtime is 8 p.m.

Sundome Center for the Performing Arts in Sun City West

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In his most recent release, the Oscar-winning "Things Have Changed," Dylan sounds remarkably like the same apocalyptic messenger who chastised that Gammage Auditorium crowd more than 20 years ago: "I've been walking 40 miles of bad road/If the Bible is right, the world will explode." Later in the song, he bitterly sings, "All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie."

So, even as the outside world has once again decided to embrace him, the open question is whether Dylan will ever again feel comfortable enough to reciprocate, by embracing the outside world. If not, at least part of his reticence can be traced back to his soul-crushing, two-night ordeal in Tempe.