John Lennon once famously said:
"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. ... I don't know what will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity. We're more popular than Jesus now. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
(Source of quote: Wikipedia).
This one sounds ripe for discussion! Were (or are) the Beatles bigger than Jesus?!?
2006-08-01 22:46:50 · 20 answers · asked by grpr1964 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
For those who said I have misquoted - please read the quote! Referenced from Wikipedia (I'm not quite old enough to remember him saying this myself).
"WE'RE more POPULAR than Jesus right now"
2006-08-01 23:01:15 · update #1
This is what was said in the aftermath of these controversial comments:-
Lennon: "Well, originally I pointed out that fact in reference to England. That we meant more to kids than Jesus did, or religion at that time. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this."
Reporter: "But are you prepared to apologise?"
Lennon: "I wasn't saying whatever they're saying I was saying. I'm sorry I said it really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing. I apologise if that will make you happy. I still don't know quite what I've done. I've tried to tell you what I did do but if you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then OK, I'm sorry."
2006-08-01 23:20:07 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
The Beatles were a piece of markting genius but the perception they thought everybody had was somewhat delusional. John sometimes came across as having a Messianic complex, but I think that was all part of the hype game. Many people were astonished and mesmerized by the constant game of "what's next?" It keep people waiting in the wings for the Beatles to do something out of the norm that they could imitate. It was almost cultish in a weird record selling way.
They will be long gone before Jesus is that is for sure and I think John is wishing he hadn't said some of the stuff he did now.
2006-08-02 06:03:45 · answer #2 · answered by happylife22842 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the beatles were heard of in more places than jc,and didnt cause problems we have now with christianity,and of course they were more popular,there was and still is more people listening to them than go to church,and john lennon didn't say they were bigger ,what he said was they are more popular so please correct your question,and another thing is that the beatles were "real" ,jesus was just a myth.beatles music is the best there ever was and the best there ever will be.and americans being what they are, had a record burning as they over react as usual which didn't happen anywhere else,(reminds me of germany in the 30s with anything jewish)one thing this proves that the beatles are still popular otherwise we would't be talking about them,ps the beatles still sell millions of records a year worldwide.
2006-08-02 05:57:46 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
John Lennon was a prideful self-richeous idiot who thought he was God. The Beatles are old, half dead, and have been fading for a long time. The only people keeping their "popularity" alive are elderly "baby boomers" and some shallow younger people who think it's hip to be "retro" or "old school". The new generations couldn't care less about the Beatles and probably don't even know who John Lennon is. Chistianity has been around for 2000 years and has like 2 billion members. Just try and find 2 billion people who would die for John Jennon. Not gonna happen.
And to the second poster who said Jesus wasn't real, you need to take some serious history lessons.
2006-08-02 06:05:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
I prefer to listen to the music of John Lennon, than the rantings of some bible basher.
having said that i think Jesus will always be the most popular amongst the brainwashed, ill informed and frightened
2006-08-02 06:03:14 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
JOHN LENNON:
Some years before during his interview with an American Magazine, he
said:
"Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue
about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple.
Today we are more famous than Him" (1966).
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus
Christ, was
shot six times.
TANCREDO NEVES (President of Brazil):
During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500 votes from
his party,
not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the
votes, but he got
sick a day before being made President, then he died.
CAZUZA (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet):
During a show in Canecão
(Rio de Janeiro), whilst smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some
smoke into the air and said:
"God, that's for you."
He died at the age of 32 of AIDS in a horrible manner.
THE MAN WHO BUILT TITANIC:
After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the
Titanic would be.
With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it"
The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic.
MARILYN MONROE:
She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He
is a preacher and Evangelist and the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to
her.
After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said:
"I don't need your Jesus"
A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.
BON SCOTT:
The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang:
"Don't stop me, I'm going down all the way,
Wow the highway to hell".
On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been
choked by his vomit.
CAMPINAS/SP IN 2005
In Campinas, Brazil a group of friends, drunk,
went to pick up a friend.
The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the
drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter - holding her hand,
who was already
seated in the car: "MY DAUGHTER, GO WITH GOD AND MAY HE PROTECT
YOU",
She responded: ONLY IF HE (GOD) TRAVELS IN THE BOOT, COZ INSIDE HERE
IT'S ALREADY FULL"
Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal
accident,
everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car
it had been,
but surprisingly, the boot was intact.
The police said there was no way the boot could have remained
intact. To their
surprise, inside the boot was a crate of eggs, none was broken.
Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other
name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus.
Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still
alive. JESUS!!!
2006-08-02 05:57:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
I guess people from other religions might actually like John Lennon but will surely not like Jesus, don't you think?
2006-08-02 05:55:22 · answer #7 · answered by kichka_2002 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lets just make this clear....JL said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. JL did not say he was more popular than Jesus.
At least we can prove JL actually lived on the planet which is a lot more than we can say about Jesus.
2006-08-02 05:55:19 · answer #8 · answered by Pete Sweet 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Popular meaning what ?????? The bible has sold more copies than all the beatles albums and johns solo stuff together so JESUS is the answer.
2006-08-02 05:52:12 · answer #9 · answered by soccermonkeyuk 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Beatles were too big for their boots, over-rated hippy crap.
Never will John Lennon be bigger than Jesus.
2006-08-02 05:51:08 · answer #10 · answered by super_star 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋