---

---

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 22969 • Posted: Monday November 24, 2008  

---

Beatles bigger than Jesus? Just a Lennon joke: Vatican paper

PARIS (AFP) — The Vatican’s daily newspaper marked the 40th anniversary of the “The White Album” by dismissing as a “quip” John Lennon’s notorious claim that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus Christ.

The legendary double album — which came out on November 22, 1968 at the height of the Fab Four’s influence and popularity — was “a magical musical anthology” from a band “full of talent,” L’Osservatore Romano said.

Beatles clarify Lennon’s statement

Rather inevitably, its lengthy article kicked off with Lennon’s remark to a London newspaper in March 1966 that “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink … We’re more popular than Jesus now”.

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.
[...]

“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.

The article, marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ “The White Album,” went on to praise the pop band.

“The fact remains that 38 years after breaking up, the songs of the Lennon-McCartney brand have shown an extraordinary resistance to the passage of time, becoming a source of inspiration for more than one generation of pop musicians,” it said.

See also: ‘Bigger than Jesus? The Beatles were a Christian band’

---

What You Can Do From Here

---

Read More Articles On These Topics Categories: Catholic Church, Music Tags: Beatles, Catholic Church, John Lennon Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article Subscribe Religion News Blog RSS feed [What is this?] RSS by topic: Catholic Church, Music Read Another Article Previous entry: Nigeria sees rise in number of children accussed of witchcraft Next entry: Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology shrouds small town in bad publicity RNB Homepage with latest headlines Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults Find Related Books Catholic Church Most Popular Today NewsChannel 10 allowed inside self proclaimed messiah’s compound Wanda Barzee pleads guilty to charge in Elizabeth Smart case Judge cancels hearing in case against Warren Jeffs Atheists ‘just as ethical as churchgoers’ research shows

---

Share This Article

---

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:

• Post a link on your blog or website:
  
• Send in an email or IM:
  
• Post on a forum:
  

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.