Posted on 11/22/2008 5:05:20 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican's newspaper has finally forgiven John Lennon for declaring that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, calling the remark a "boast" by a young man grappling with sudden fame.
The comment by Lennon to a London newspaper in 1966 infuriated Christians, particularly in the United States, some of whom burned Beatles' albums in huge pyres.
But time apparently heals all wounds.
"The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a 'boast' by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll," Vatican daily Osservatore Romano said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
What was their hurry?
As much as I Respect the Holy Father, I would have thought forgiving John Lennon of his blasphemy would have been above the Pope’s pay grade...
The Reuters reporter didn’t even get the story right.Lennon said the Beetles were more “popular” than Jesus.
I always thought Lennon was lamenting the idea, not celebrating it.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure John Lennon’s still dead. A great creative talent, but not really a great intellect. Those two thing seldom reside in the same person. I’m surpised the Vatican would even bother to comment.
As with most quotes which sparked controversy, it was taken out of context.
I remember when Lennon said it. Late 1966 or early 1967.
The air was polluted with burning vinyl. You do remember vinyl records don’t you?
I’m old enough to remember Beatlemania.
It was like Obama but with substance—at least John Paul George and Ringo had actually done something to warrant the world’s worship.Sure their music was not exactly the Sermon on The Mount,but unlike Obama,they DID SOMETHING!
Ignorant starry-eyed idol worshiping morons of the 60s were a whole lot smarter than those today.
Only 42 years later. Dang. That church really holds a grudge.
Guess they finally took another gander at the scriptures?
Sorry, but it’s not his apology that counts.
I still remember the stories of people burning their Beatle albums in my hometown. I wasn’t about to part with my Rubber Soul and Yesterday And Today albums though. Rubber Soul is an alltime masterpiece!
It’s nice of the Vatican to forgive Lennon but from the sound of it, the Vatican is forgiving Lennon for completely the wrong reason. Seriously, for 40 years now a good portion of us have known the gist of the remark he made that brought so much controversy, and the man must have explained it a hundred times during their ‘66 US tour.
So did I.
Funny how people want to be famous, until they get famous.
Apologists try to explain the quote away, but the full quote was:
“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue with 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.”
So, on balance, Jesus comes out as “all right” in Lennon’s profound analysis.
Really the remarks of someone who was taking himself way too seriously at the time. Long after he has gone and has even been forgotten completely Christianity will still be here. The church has always waxed and waned - it seems that when people have it too good that they abandon the church and her teachings for the easy life but when times get tough (and they surely will again and soon) people return to the one true source of hope and inspiration.
Mel
The Beatles just never was something that I simply had to know everything about, and I was 10 years old at the time.
I thought he just said that they “were more popular than Rod”, as in Rod Stewart.
Oh wait, that was The Rutles.
Oh, what the heck, let’s post the full story of that incident in the fictional career of the Rutles:
In 1966 the Rutles faced the biggest threat to their careers. Nasty in a widely quoted interview had apparently claimed that the Rutles were bigger than God, and was reported to have gone on to say that God had never had a hit record.
The story spread like wildfire in America. Many fans burnt their albums, many more burnt their fingers attempting to burn their albums. Album sales sky-rocketed. People were buying them just to burn them.
But in fact it was all a ghastly mistake. Nasty, talking to a slightly deaf journalist, had claimed only that the Rutles were bigger than Rod. Rod Stewart would not be big for another eight years, and certainly at this stage hadn’t had a hit. At a press conference, Nasty apologized to God, Rod and the press, and the tour went ahead as planned.
You’re exactly right.
That was a funny show.
“and the man must have explained it a hundred times during their ‘66 US tour.”
Correct. For those who haven’t heard it here’s one of those explanations,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ6NL3iNNMs&NR=1
what? no fatwa? no beheading? or burning and hanging from a bridge?
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