John Lennon Killed in the Name of Christ?

This is from the blog,IP: "Freely"
Monday, July 14, 2008, 12:12 AM CST
by Ian Punnett

It's a few years too late but here's an interview that Mark David Chapman might have been benefitted from hearing--and so would have John Lennnon and his family.

An unheard interview with JOHN LENNON has revealed the late singer believed his group THE BEATLES were a Christian band.
The star famously caused controversy after claiming in 1966 that the Fab Four were "bigger than Jesus" and predicting Christianity would "vanish and shrink".
But in a previously undiscovered 1969 interview with Lennon, aired for the first time on BBC Radio on Sunday (13Jul08), the Imagine singer claims his infamous remark was misunderstood.
And he even hoped his music would encourage people to turn to the Christian faith.
Lennon told a reporter: "It's just an expression meaning the Beatles seem to me to have more influence over youth than Christ.
"Now I wasn't saying that was a good idea, 'cause 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."

(Contact Music.com)

Eleven years after making this claim, John Lennon would be dead from four hollow point .357 magnum bullets fired by Mark David Chapman who claimed he killed the former Beatle in the name of Christ.

And the song that used to make Chapman the angriest? “Imagine.”

Like it or hate it, you know you’re twisted when “Imagine” makes you want to blow your top--and somebody else’s.

Ian read this on the air, Saturday night on Coast to Coast AM.
It got my attention.
I did not know that Lennon was killed for religious reasons.
It is very sad, to me, that someone could use this as rationalization to kill someone.
I guess it could really happen, but I do not know if this was the case, in this instance.
He could have made it up, later, because he had no good reason to kill John.

Originally posted by jmdewey60

An unheard interview with JOHN LENNON has revealed the late singer believed his group THE BEATLES were a Christian band.

Heh, no they weren't. That's a bit of wishful-thinking from the reporter, they were just four fun-loving scousers who conquered the world. Although...

"I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus,
Coo coo kachoo ka coo coo kachoo."

Hmmm, maybe there's a message in the music...

John was a bit of a messed-up dude, tbh. He had quite a depressing childhood in Liverpool, but generally had his heart in the right place.

At one time I was so much involved in the religious bull# that I used to go around calling myself a Christian Communist, but as Janov says, religion is legalised madness. It was therapy that stripped away all that and made me feel my own pain.
John Lennon 1971

www.counterpunch.org...

^ Good interview actually.



Although nice that you don't view them like this...

Devil Spawn

It was a great loss, to be sure.


[edit on 15-7-2008 by melatonin]

Honestly, while they had some good music, the Beatles and the 1960s in general were the worst things ever to happen to the United States.

One good thing came out of the 60s, one.... Civil Rights.

Other than that, not much good came out of it. Even as a "new ager," I will say that...

[edit on 15-7-2008 by SpeakerofTruth]

Ian said something on the air that he did not put into this post he made.
He said that Lennon, in this interview,said that he was misunderstood, and that it was just a figure of speech, that they were "more popular than Jesus".
Also that he was one of Jesus' biggest fans.

[edit on 15-7-2008 by jmdewey60]

Originally posted by jmdewey60
Ian said something on the air that he did not put into this post he made.
He said that Lennon, in this interview,said that he was misunderstood, and that it was just a figure of speech, that they were "more popular than Jesus".
Also that he was one of Jesus' biggest fans.

So is Dickie Dawkins, just not in the worshipping him as a divine god-man way.

I think there's a quote somewhere where Lennon suggests that basically Jesus, Buddha etc were A-OK, just mistranslated or something.

He was just a big hippy peacenik. And I think it's easy to see Jesus as some sort of socialist/communist pacifist revolutionary thinker - so he would easily speak to someone like John. In a similar way to many religious figures.

And I think that's all he's saying in that quote really. So, in essence, what's the Jesus dude's message? I think it comes down to love your neighbour - and I can see John buying that and thinking other people should to.

But that's not the same as what is considered christian rock, which is a form of music that centres on christian faith, no? He does say that he had a christian communist phase, did the rest of the band? Not AFAIK - they never expressed such sentiments in interviews (being a christian band or even being big christians, in fact, nothing like it).

The Beatles were a group of skiffle-loving scousers who grew their music in the clubs in Hamburg and the Cavern/Casbah, taking Ludes and rockin' out, essentially became the biggest 'boyband' around, broke free from the fluff and experimented with all sorts of drugs etc etc, embraced indian philosophy etc, and moved into more mature phase. I think to see them as any form of christian rock is way off the mark.

They had major impacts on many aspects of culture, but I don't think the christian faith was one of them (except perhaps negatively).

However, overall, I think John's message and that of Jesus were very similar. But if it makes you happy to think they were some sort of christian band, that's cool - you won't find any sign of that at the 'Beatle's Story' in their home city though.

[edit on 15-7-2008 by melatonin]

reply to post by melatonin

But if it makes you happy to think they were some sort of christian band, that's cool

You could be perfectly right.
I am trying to get across that if Chapman had this info about Lennon, could it have possibly saved his life.
Remember "conspiracy" in Conspiracies in Religions.
What if this interview was purposely buried all these years because Nixon or whoever wanted to make Lennon seem evil?
Maybe Nixon wanted Lennon dead.
I am going along with Ian, and not with who he is quoting as a commentator of the BBC broadcast.
ALL a big, What IF.

i had been told that it was a misconception when the infamous line "...... bigger than jesus" was said; and it was my mom that told me this which is ironic since she was so anti~john lennon and the beatles (which i am a huge fan of both).

growing up in a christian enviroment, it always confused me that the stance toward john lennon was so negative considering his view in later years and the song "imagine" (which is a beautiful song, IMO).

i would think that christians would be for a peaceful way of thinking regardless if that peaceful way of thinking included the christian god or not.

i figure that everyone has the laws of the Creator written on their heart and whether or not they identify w/ a particular god, so long as they held fast to these ideas, ultimately they are believing and worshipping the Creator.

does that make sense?

i doubt john lennon was killed in the name of christ, but rather in the name of peace (which was also the reason christ was supposedly killed).

those who have been martyred in these ways weren't murdered for their belief in someone, but their belief and active stance on peace.

reply to post by justamomma

my mom that told me this which is ironic since she was so anti~john

The way I remember that time, my mother never seemed bothered by John's quote.
What bothered her was John giving back the medal he got when the Beatles got knighted.
He was protesting the UK being involved, somehow, in Viet Nam.
This irked my mother because she was an Anglophile and had a certain respect for that metal, that John apparently did not share.

i doubt john Lennon was killed in the name of christ, but rather in the name of peace (which was also the reason christ was supposedly killed).

Nice thought and I agree, but my title of this thread has to do with the motivation of Chapman.
And did certain evil people in government try to feed the idea that Lennon was some kind of anti-Christ?

[edit on 15-7-2008 by jmdewey60]

Lennon wasn't a Christian, nor did he claim Christ as his savior.

Lennon was a believer in love, and the idea of christ is one of love and acceptance. He said many times that christs teachings were something that he believed in, but that he could not worship a diety.

It's amazing to me how people can take one quote, change the context, and then claim the history of how things went is false.

I suggest that if you want a great capsule of who lennon was and a mound of evidence (even though it is not intended to be used as such) that Lennon was assasinated by our own governement.

Originally posted by jmdewey60
And did certain evil people in government try to feed the idea that Lennon was some kind of anti-Christ?

[edit on 15-7-2008 by jmdewey60]

hmmm.... very interesting thought and i am not sure, but it would make sense since i was always taught by those who claimed to be christian that he was "evil" which i found ironic since his message was soooo flippin' similar to the teachings of christ.

unfortunately most ppl look at christ the person rather than the "spirit" of christ which carried the message of peace and love.

reply to post by jmdewey60

Mark David Chapman's reason for killing John Lennon had nothing to do with religion. He was a "programmed assassin", a victim/tool of the CIA's MKULTRA program, acting out instructions of which he was not, and still is not, consciously aware. See ciakilledlennon.blogspot.com

reply to post by Anonymous ATS


OK, everything you said could be true.
But, there has to be a plausible cover story.
Like Oswald going to the Russian embassy in Mexico City.
That makes it look like he killed Kennedy because Oswald was a communist.
Or whatever, but I think you can get the point.
If it was well known, because of a widely distributed and commented on interview, that Lennon was not the Anti-Christ, or whatever, then the CIA, or whoever, would not have a presentable reason for his death.
Sorry for the long sentence.

McCartney and boys recall a famous story of John once coming into the recording studio saying "I am the messiah" - may of been high but the reality is John always had a Christ like complex in him. You don't write songs like his or have the impact like his without something like this going on and he was clearly vocal about it. That the CBC and all media outlets buried this interview for 40 years is amazing. It's clear that no one writing here has any real media experience or understanding of how the old world of media worked and still does - but reality is people that reporters editors heard that clip - knew how hugely controversial it was (can you imagine hearing this in 1969!) and chose to bury it. Just a reminder to all of you who claim to know what Lennon meant - or even who he was - your concepts are manufactured. Just be intrigued by the fact that you had no idea of the complexity of Lennon's thoughts and beliefs - these are his own words so to argue against them is a rather inept. Anyway, Lennon's on the other side now - likely enjoying some much needed peace now.

reply to post by Anonymous ATS


May Pang, who was John Lennon's girlfriend for 18 months was on coasttocoastam with Ian Punnit last Saturday night.
Ian asked her about John's religious views.
Ian brought up the topic of this thread, with her.
He quoted from that suppressed interview and part of it was, "If I can turn the focus on the Beatles onto Christ's message, then that's what we are here to do."
She said that he believed there was a Supreme Being.
But she does not remember him saying anything like what he said in that interview.
She said "He was searching, himself. He believed there was something out there."
My personal view is that he found the ideas of Peace and Love to be the heart of Christ's message and he may have felt like he was a kind of christ because he was rather alone in his opposition to the war.
I would like to think of Lennon as a martyr for Jesus, despite the fact that he leaned towards Buddhism.

[edit on 7-8-2008 by jmdewey60]

you people never cease to amaze me with your assessments of Jesus's teachings as if you had just skimmed the cliff notes. His message was not only one peace and love but one of judgment, judgment of those who reject Him as the ONLY way of salvation from our evil selves. lennon's practice of hindu/buddism was and is diametrically opposed to Jesus's words as recorded in the Holy Bible, try reading these first hand accounts of His words instead of blogs about them. may He open your hearts and minds to the truth. with love, one true cristian

There're suppose to be handful of priests and one archpriest leading the earth. They don't live in castles. The archpriest has humble house, 2 servants and he watches TV - they all look ordinary. But he has this gray look in his eyes. He's thinking hard.. thinking what to change and when.

How he can lead the world? He just makes people do what he wants by talking to them telepathically.

And they can do it to anybody if one is weak. You, me - no problem. It's called madness by people. But it's not.

If it's so then take a look back in history and remember what people have done in the name of god or satan. Where those important people who was killed? Was their death good or bad for humankind? Was their death good or bad for priests who lead the world?

Thought by Anastasia from the depths of Siberian taiga.


I was thinking about Lennon, his song Imagine, his good influence on people. Might the story be true about the priests?

It was the kids 15 min of fame,the guy was a loser so his cry for attention and John Lennon was just another musician nothing more nothing less,besides I heard Curt Kobain was the real messiah lol

Originally posted by Oldtimer2
...,the guy was a loser so his cry for attention ...

Pouting in a corner is a "cry for attention". Shooting someone 4 times with a .357 isn't. Learn the difference.

I think Lennon would be aghast if he thought anyone believed the Beatles were a "Christian band" or that he was a Christian.

Lennon went through a lot of ideological fads during the latter half of his life but Christianity wasn't one of them. He appeared to support a few things that run counter to some alleged 'Christian' beliefs but these weren't unique or specific to Christianity.

Here's the lyrics to God:

God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I'll say it again,
God is a concept,
By which we can 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 dreamweaver,
But now I'm reborn,
I was the walrus,
But now I'm John,
And so dear friends,
You just have to carry on,
The dream is over.

[edit on 22-10-2008 by Merriman Weir]

Puhlease. John Lennon was killed because he got out of line and started thinking for himself. How dare he do that?