John Lennon, bigger than Jesus

[Mattio]

'Christianity will go,' he said. 'It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that. I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first---rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.'

Amen. Except for the actually having more followers than Jesus, obviously. I hate how this is always taken out of context though.

[RossN]

Originally posted by Mattio
'Christianity will go,' he said. 'It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that. I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first---rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.'

Amen. Except for the actually having more followers than Jesus, obviously. I hate how this is always taken out of context though.

Er, how is it being taken out of context? It's seen as a wankerish thing to say and it is a wankerish thing to say.

Do chuid

[Sinister]

God - John Lennon

God is a concept
By which we measure
Our pain
I'll say it again
God is a concept
By which we measure
Our pain

I don't believe in magic
I don't believe in I-ching
I don't believe in Bible
I don't believe in tarot
I don't believe in Hitler
I don't believe in Jesus
I don't believe in Kennedy
I don't believe in Buddha
I don't believe in Mantra
I don't believe in Gita
I don't believe in Yoga
I don't believe in kings
I don't believe in Elvis
I don't believe in Zimmerman
I don't believe in Beatles
I just believe in me
Yoko and me
And that's reality

The dream is over
What can I say?
The dream is over
Yesterday
I was the Dreamweaver
But now I'm reborn
I was the Walrus
But now I'm John
And so dear friends
You'll just have to carry on
The dream is over

[butterfly]

The Beatles were more popular than Jesus in the UK at the time, probably still are. I don't agree with the rest of it. It may seem like a pop star just spouting rubbish like they always do, but at least he was taking an interest in Jesus. Most pop stars before that period, and indeed these days, didn't bother with anything beyond talking about their favourite colour or what they had for breakfast.

At least John was struggling with Christianity rather than ignoring it, it's obvious he put some thought into it, especially in view of the fact that he talked about Jesus later in his career. Like his and Yoko's peace campaigns of 1969, when he said that if Jesus was around now, He'd be using the media to get His message across. OK, he ultimately rejected religion on the 'Plastic Ono Band' album of 1970, notably in the song 'God', but at least he thought about religion. Quite a lot, by all accounts.

I think maybe he was too cynical by nature to embrace religion. He did good things though, he did write 'All You Need Is Love' and 'Give Peace A Chance', he asked a lot of questions about life, which is always a good thing. He gave us as much as he could, which was a lot, and he was an honest bloke, and that's what really matters.

[Mattio]

Christianity WILL shrink and die. I needn't argue about that, I'm right and I'll be proved right.

[pinky]

Actually, at the time John said that, he had been asked about the state of Christianity. His response was not trying to imply that the Beatles were somehow better than Jesus, or more important.

His point was that Christianity had declined to the point where something or someone, such as the Beatles, could be considered more popular. In a later explanation, he said that he could just as easily have said "television" instead of "We" (meaning "the Beatles").

Coincidentally (?), after his comments, a radio station in Texas held a record-burning party, and lots of people brought their Beatles' records to the fire. During a thunderstorm the same day, a lightning strike took out the station's transmitter!

John was actually a very spiritual person. He just didn't conform to anything, let alone something as conservative as any organized religion!

[Mattio]

Originally posted by RossN
Er, how is it being taken out of context? It's seen as a wankerish thing to say and it is a wankerish thing to say.

Do chuid People often paraphrase it as 'Bigger than God', or that he was suggesting The Beatles were more important than Christianity.

[Mattio]

Throughout his life he changed his opinion on religion. He was very troubled.

And thanks pinky - I didn't see your post before I made mine, but a lot of that is what I was trying to say.

[butterfly]

Pinky's right, he said "bigger", not "better". I don't think he would have been asked about it if Maureen Cleave didn't know he was interested.

Yep, he was indeed very spiritual, and he changed his position a lot, just like I used to.

[bekahbeans]

eh, I think George was cooler, but they all rock(ed).