The Vatican has officially forgiven John Lennon for his infamous ‘bigger than Jesus‘ comments which caused such a stir amongst the US’ catholic community back in 1966.
John first made the comments in an article for the British newspaper the London Evening Standard in March 1966. When the interviewer quizzed Lennon on his supposed ‘exstensive religious readings’ at the time, he replied: “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll 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.”
The article received very little special attention in the UK but, despite the flippant nature of the interview, was later picked up on by America’s Bible Belt, who called for a complete boycott of the band and arranged public burnings of their music.
When The Beatles returned to the US for the first time after the article had been published in the August of 1966, Lennon, alongwith his fellow bandmates, was forced to defend his interview in a now imfamous press conference in Chicago, during which he said: “…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.” The incident and the security fears which surrounded their US tour at the time was one of the major factors in the group’s decision to quit touring shortly after.
The Beatles face the press in Chicago
However, now an article in the Vatican’s official paper L’Osservatore Romano has stated that the success of the band now renders the comments which caused such a fuss back in the Sixties as meaningless: “It’s true, they took drugs; swept up by their success, they lived dissolute and uninhibited lives,” the article says. “They even said they were more famous than Jesus. But, listening to their songs, all of this seems distant and meaningless.
Their beautiful melodies, which changed forever pop music and still give us emotions, live on like precious jewels.” The band were described as “the longest-lasting, most consistent and representative phenomenon in the history of pop music.”
The Beatles’ classic single from the same period, ‘Paperback Writer‘, is set to be re-issued as part of the UK’s Record Store Day later this month.
John Lennon!
The name associated with love and peace; yet who sings:
“Hatred and jealousy going to be the death of me.”
The man who stood for honesty and wisdom; yet who admits:
“Wasn’t I the greatest pop seer? Hadn’t I written, ‘The dream is over’? Was I not the great John Lennon who could see through all the world’s hypocrisy? The truth is I couldn’t see through my own.”
There certainly is something uniquely special about the man; otherwise how would so much of the world admire – or fear – him as a person of consequence:
“I represent the human race.”
The musician who sang for us to “change your head,” to “free your mind,” to ” feel your own pain”;
The revolutionary artist who set out to change our culture:
“I’m trying to do something different. I’m trying to change people’s minds, to change their attitudes to things.”
For insight into this remarkable duality in his makeup, look no further! For the first time available, a boxed set of Lennon’s edited interviews showcasing his close personal ideas and ideals!
What are we to make of this multi-dimensional man and artist? Of what value besides his music can we expect of him for our self-understanding and self-transcendence? You might want to visit our facebook page for some answers at “Lennon’s Ideas and Ideals”.
Best wishes,
Joseph
The Great John Lennon says the true: for many youngers the Beatles were more famous than Jesus. And not all the World is Catholic, so why protest? He was right. John Lennon was a really genius, not a blasfem guy.