Gospel Soundcheck

Were the Beatles a Christian Band?

Monday July 14, 2008

TheBeatles.jpgIn 1966, John Lennon boasted that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus and that "Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary," setting of a spiritual controversy that follows the band to this day.

But the UK Telegraph now reports that an interview Lennon did in 1969 with Ken Seymour of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has been made public, and in it Lennon says that his comments were misinterpreted, and that, in fact, he was one of Christ's "biggest fans."

"If the Beatles get on the side of Christ, which they always were," Lennon told Seymour, "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 comment about the Beatles being bigger than Christ, he explains, was actually a commentary about the band's influence over youth, as opposed to Christ's. "Now I wasn't saying that was a good idea, 'cos I'm one of Christ's biggest fans," he said. "And if I can turn the focus on the Beatles on to Christ's message, then that's what we're here to do."

This, of course, from a man who sought spirituality in every avenue, but it is great to hear his comments, even if it is three decades after his death. Maybe he really did believe, and if so, he wouldn't be the first person to point people to Jesus, posthumously.

What do you think? Does this new interview shed any light onto the "We're bigger than Jesus" comments Lennon made in 1966? Does it change your views of the Beatles or their spiritual example?

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Comments
noname
July 18, 2008 7:23 AM

WE ARE IN THE LAST DAYS-------IT IS WRITTEN------MANY ARE CALLED ----AND ONLY FEW ARE CHOSEN----------ARE YOU READY TO MEET YOUR MAKER---------------ARE YOU SAVED-----------THE CHOICE IS UP TO YOU-----------WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME----------SO WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE-HEAVEN OR HELL--DONT WAIT TO MAKE A CHOICE----JESUS IS RETURNING---THE RAPTURE IS NEAR--DONT BE LEFT BEHIND---DONT PUT IT OFF--GET SAVED NOW--YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN TO ENTER HEAVEN---------WHAT WILL BE YOUR CHOICE--TIME IS RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK IS TICKING

Rick Tuesday
July 18, 2008 11:08 AM

The Beatles were a band from Hell. They're responsible for our drug culture who eventually became malcontents. They rebeled against our established system. Very immature fools who have long since sold out to conformity. By no means were they Christians.

Rick

s.p
July 18, 2008 2:08 PM

...amen brother!!!

Cynthia
July 18, 2008 4:04 PM

I'd never thought of The Beatles as a Christian or an anti-Christ band. To me they were just a pop/rock group. I'm a lifelong Christian who had enjoyed their music for many years with no problems from anyone. I'd understood John's comments after I'd first heard them when I was a kid. He was right. At that time most kids had spent more time listening to their music (and/or other rock groups) than attending church, but certainly not out of hate for Jesus Christ.

Kacie
May 14, 2009 8:24 PM

I'm 13 right now and am both a Christian and a HUGE beatles fan. After I got into them, I started looking up stuff on Wikipedia about them. My respect for them sort of went down a bit after learning that they most of them were into Hinduism and all of that stuff. Some of their songs are references to drugs, some are not. Either way, I don't think anyone should hate them necessarily. They are all gods children and I know for a fact that He doesn't hate them, so why should we? That comes into context for most bands today. We don't have to be avid fans or big supporters of their music or what it says, but maybe some of them are just confused and don't know god yet or are being influenced by the wrong kind of people, so we should be praying for them instead of complaining about how much we hate them.

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Award-winning freelance writer and columnist Joanne Brokaw covers entertainment for The Christian Examiner newspapers, The Minnesota Christian Chronicle, and The Ozarks Christian News. Her other writing credits include Breakaway and Brio Magazines, OnCourse Magazine, ChristianMusicPlanet.com, BuddyHollywood.com and AGreaterFreedom.com. Her humor column, A Big Slice of Life, appears monthly in the Christian Voice Magazine and she pens a regular humor column on The Writing Life for ByLine Magazine. Joanne lives in Western New York with her darling husband David, their Border collie Scout and their cat Murphy. Their almost adult daughter Cassie drops by often. Find out more about Joanne at JoanneBrokaw.com.

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