Sooo, you're saying I should go with the 30 year mortgage and not the 15?
Posted on 12/07/2010 4:06:21 PM PST by pastorbillrandles
Since I have been exploring the impact of John Lennon on our culture, I have been asked more than once, Why Lennon ? Why single him out as if he was the one who debauched our culture?
I don’t believe he is any more responsible for the decay of our society than any of the other hedonistic rockers of the sixties, so that is a good question. The answer is that Lennon serves as an ideal symbol ,a representative of an entire point of view, that is the sixties anti-christian assault on western civilisation.
I believe that we have demonstrated by quotes and lyrics that all of the Beatles were influenced by Marxism, with its ideal to tear down the existing cultural order and to create a new society. They considered themselves part of the vanguard of the Revolution.
But long before the Beatles, the Marxists had come to realise that one can’t destroy a culture without attacking its cultus, the worship and spirituality of the society. Christianity simply had to be disqualified if the Marxist revolution in America was to succeed.
Lennon the artist and public figure openly and admittedly waged war against Christianity. In this also, he was definitely a man of his times. Much of 20th century art , painting,sculpture, the stage as well as popular music, teemed with irrational and Nihilistic themes as expressions of Atheism.
Derek Taylor, the Beatles press officer ,in an August, 1964 Saturday Evening Post article entitled The Return of The Beatles said;
It’s incredible, absolutely incredible.Here are these four boys from Liverpool. They’re rude, they’re profane,they’re vulgar, and they’ve taken over the world. It’s as if they’ve founded a new religion.They’re completely anti-christ. I mean I’m antichrist as well, but they’re so antichrist they shock me, which isn’t an easy thing to do.(David Noebel, The Legacy of John Lennon, Nelson publishing, pg 43-44)
In an April 1966 San Fransisco Chronicle article, Lennon was quoted as predicting the demise of christianity,
“Christianity will go.It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I will be proven right.We’re more popular than Jesus now.”
When Lennon realised that such remarks could jeopardise ticket sales in an America that was still heavily Christian in name, if not in actual practice, he did offer a slight retraction.
Three examples of Lennon expressing his Atheism in song are “God”, “I Found Out” and perhaps Lennon’s most celebrated song “Imagine”.In the 1970 song ,”God” Lennon proclaims his unbelief in Jesus, Kennedy,Gita, Yoga,Kings,Elvis or the Beatles, therefore , “the dream is over,You just have to carry on”.
In the Blasphemous song “I Found Out” , Lennon celebrates his atheism, supposedly finding out that there is no Jesus coming, and that organised religion from Jesus to Paul is a form of drug abuse.
Now that I showed you what I been through Don’t take nobody’s word what you can do There ain’t no Jesus gonna come from the sky Now that I found out I know I can cry (I Found Out,John Lennon)
Lennon is perhaps best remembered for Imagine, written in 1971. This song touches a deep almost mystical nerve among people the world over that can only be described as religious. This is ironic because the song Imagines a world without God, religion, heaven and hell, and “living for today “.
Amazingly this Anti-Christ anthem is sang and played in apostate churches, at interfaith religious services, and is considered “the Anthem of world Peace”.At a global harmonic convergence in 1987, millions of people around the world were instructed to stop and meditate for world peace at a preordained time, while the song was played simultaneously around the world,in a vain hope for world peace .
Peace will not be coming to this world through Lennon’s godless vision.It cannot, for there can be no Peace on earth, as long as man remains at war with his Creator. Man is estranged from God, “we have turned everyone to his own way”, and as a consequence, man is at war with himself and other men. We have all sinned, this is the reason for war,pain,hurt,suffering and sorrow.
At this time of the year it would be instructive to compare the humanistic and vain idealism of Imagine(a song that has indeed expressed the aspirations of the world, for Peace without God), with the Song of the Angels in the familiar and oft overlooked Christmas story.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.(Luke 2)
The World is coming to an end, Judgment is nigh, and men are being presented with a solemn choice, will it be the humanistic, Atheistic Utopianism as represented by Marx,Lenin and Lennon? Or will peace only be brought about by the Child sung about in the Angel’s carol, peace on earth through reconciliation with God, through Jesus? Which rings true to you?
William Butler Yeats - "The Second Coming"
From back when some poets recognized something bigger than their phantasmic phenomenal shooting stars.
awesome! thank you-
LOL!
“Christianity will go.It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I will be proven right.We’re more popular than Jesus now.”
And people everywhere began to burn Beatles records till his “apology” came. I remember those days!
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Matthew 7:13-14
I’ve always found “Imagine” to be a depressing song, myself. To me, it says “imagine your life with no meaning.”
Imagine is a commie song. Those lyrics: "Imagine there's no country. It isn't hard to do.... And no religion, too...."
"Imagine all the people, living life as one"? Pure collectivism.
When I found out at a young age how bad Communism was, that song always bothered me.
I read years ago about a Jesus Freak who talked about how he and John had had a long talk about how to be Born Again...John wasn’t antagonistic, he was interested. It gives me a bit of hope that, even though his songs were not Christian, he may have made the leap of faith prior to his death.
Praise the Lord, these kind of anecdotes have been pouring in lately- God is so good
John Lennon: One of Jesus’ “Biggest Fans”
By Jesse Carey
Interactive Media Producer
CBN.com During his lifetime, he became one of the most controversial figures in popular culture, effecting not just how people listen to music, but how many view religion and faith. But a recently discovered interview with the late Beatles frontman John Lennon indicates the singer’s real views about Jesus and Christianity. The interview, which was unearthed two weeks ago, took place in 1969 for a segment on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation show before getting lost in studio obscuirty for nearly 40 years.
Lennon’s views on Christianity first came into focus when he made his infamous 1966 proclamation that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus.” The statement drew scorn and boycotts like nothing rock ‘n roll had seen before. Christians decried Lennon and his band, blasting the audacity of such an irreverent statement. But, according to the interview, irreverence wasn’t the singer’s intention. And, as it turns out, he was actually really interested in Jesus.
“It’s just an expression meaning the Beatles seem to me to have more influence over youth than Christ,” he said in the interview. “Now I wasn’t saying that was a good idea, ‘cos I’m one of Christ’s biggest fans. And if I can turn the focus on the Beatles on to Christ’s message, then that’s what we’re here to do.”
He went on to express how he felt many Christians seemed to be very “uptight” and even hypocritical for not allowing him to marry Yoko Ono in church because he had been divorced. He said that his original distaste for church first came at a young age, when he was kicked out for giggling. But, in the interview, Lennon said that his feelings only extended to the organized church, not Jesus Himself.
“If the Beatles get on the side of Christ, which they always were, and let people know that, then maybe the churches won’t be full, but there’ll be a lot of Christians dancing in the dance halls. Whatever they celebrate, God and Christ, I don’t think it matters as long as they’re aware of Him and His message,” his voice says on the unearthed recording.
And though this is the first time many Beatles fans have heard this particular conversation, Lennon’s interest in Christ was no secret in the early ‘70s. In his book, The Gospel According to the Beatles, writer Steve Turner said that there was a period in his life when the world’s most famous songwriter deeply wanted to know who Jesus was. According to the book, in an effort to escape the chaos of public life, Lennon would often retreat to television and became a regular viewer of the era’s most influential evangelists including Billy Graham, Oral Roberts and even Pat Robertson.
In 1972, Lennon even took part in a written correspondence with Roberts, in which he apologized and further explained his statement about being “bigger” than God. The Beatles frontman, who had experimented with a variety of drugs and spiritual ideas wrote this to Roberts:
“The point is this, I want happiness. I don’t want to keep on with drugs. Paul told me once, ‘You made fun of me for taking drugs, but you will regret it in the end.’ Explain to me what Christianity can do for me. Is it phoney? Can He love me? I want out of hell.”
Oral Roberts sent him a long response, giving him a copy of his book Miracle of Seed Faith and a detailed explanation of God’s love for him.
Five years later, in 1977, Lennon became deeply moved by NBC’s broadcast of the movie Jesus of Nazareth and told his friends that he had become a born-again Christian. A week after seeing the film, Lennon returned to church on Easter Sunday with his wife Yoko and son Sean in tow.
It was during this time that Lennon even penned several Christian songs (“Talking with Jesus” and “Amen”), and according to Turner’s book, even called The 700 Club prayer line.
The change in his life disturbed his wife Yoko Ono, who pulled her husband away from his new religion, and eventually, after months of isolation in Tokyo, Lennon found his life going in a dark direction, and ended up abandoning his faith and retreating into New Age practice and further searching. Before he was murdered in 1980, Lennon embraced a universalistic belief of religion and no longer seemed interested in his born-again lifestyle.
Although the new interview doesn’t change what we know about John Lennon at the end of his life, it does shed some light on what help developed his view of Christianity in the first place. It wasn’t confusion about theology or the nature of God. It wasn’t the pull of a conflicting lifestyle. According to Lennon, it was Christians who made him not want to be a part of the church.
Many unbelievers (and believers for that matter) could say that some Christians can be “hypocrites” and “uptight” and may even be responsible for turning people away from church. But that shouldn’t be a discouragement. Rather, it should be an encouragement to prove them wrong.
No one is perfect, and we can’t undo the actions of others (even when they are well-intentioned fellow believers), but we can change people’s perspectives by being the change. Reading between the lines of scripture shows that Jesus was pretty good at that. Even His own disciples couldn’t figure out what He was going to do next. Whether it was healing on the Sabbath (a major taboo in religious circles), dining with sinners or preaching messages of love and forgiveness, Christ didn’t always please the religious establishment of His day.
But He wasn’t out to ruffle feathers and just change people’s minds. He was out to change hearts.
Christ wanted people to see that God desired a personal relationship, and wanted His church to reflect His passion for loving others. Though God is perfect, we (Christians who make up the church) are often victims of our own imperfection. But, as the apostle John noted, a key to becoming effective in reaching the lost is this prayer: “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30, NIV).
So whether it’s an artist looking for answers like John Lennon in the early ‘70s, an “uptight” fellow Christian who is focused more on church rules than Christ’s love, or just an unbelieving neighbor who may have had their own bad experience with church, showing the real message of Christ (and a genuine picture of His Body, the church), a little bit of truth can go a long way.
http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/Books/carey_john_lennon.aspx
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