New Life Publishing on John Lennon.
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New Life Publishing is one of the main publishers for Hope ’08 official Magazine
Issue 174, August 08.
They Claim that the Beatles were ‘A Christian Band’.
Here is how the report Gose.
Is this true ?????? This article is not only misleading but deceptive, what did Lennon actually believe ????
After reading the following you may think differently about this article.
John Lennon’s history.
John Lennon and Aleister Crowley.
Band member, John Lennon said…
[1] “Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I’m right and will be proved right. . . .We’re more popular than Jesus now.” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 13, 1966, p.26)
John Lennon, in his book, A Spaniard in the Works, portrays Jesus Christ as…
“Jesus El Pifico, a garlic-eating, stinking little yellow, greasy fascist bastard catholic Spaniard.” (A Spaniard in the Works, p.14).
Yet, these godless and heathen men are praised in society as if they’re heroes. I once told a man that The Beatles were Communists. He said he didn’t believe it, until he heard The Beatle’s song, Back In The U.S.S.R. (…boy you don’t know how lucky you are!). The Beatles praised Communist leaders, promoted illegal drug usage, defiled themselves in backstage sex orgies, and glorified sin with their music.
What happend when the Beatles came to the United States, they had led a whole generation of the youth in the USA and turned them into hippies, drug addicts, rebels, sexual degenerates, and God-haters.
[2] In 1958 John is 18, the Beatles play their first concerts and within two years they are the stars of Mersey Beat in Liverpool. They quickly become serious showmen, playing in larger and larger concert halls in England, and in 1964 the US. Soon they play only in the largest arenas, such as Shea Stadium in New York. Groomed as stars, they become demi-gods to their public, and their shows become rights-of-passage where screams, crying, states of trance and riots become systematic. It’s known as Beatlemania. Of their stardom, John would say “The Beatles are more important than Jesus Christ”.
In unearthed 1969 interview, John Lennon explains “Bigger than Jesus” comment July 14, 2008 5:56 p.m. by Ethan Stanislawski In it, we hear a very spiritual Lennon in touch with his own individualized views of Christianity. Contrary to what is often believed, it was Harrison and McCartney who were more interested in eastern religion. Lennon was an Englishman through and through, even as he dismissed the Church of England.
Here’s his explanation for the “bigger than Jesus” comment:
“It’s just an expression meaning The Beatles seem to me to have more influence over youth than Christ,” he says. “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.”
and on The Beatles and Christianity:
“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 they’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.”
He also mentions how he lost faith in the Church when he was kicked out of his local parish at 14 for laughing. But his own view of Christianity is very interesting:
I haven’t got any sort of dream of a physical heaven where there’s lots of chocolate and pretty women in nightgowns, playing harps. I believe you can make heaven within your own mind. The kingdom of heaven is within you, Christ said, and I believe that.”
[Emphasis mine: this was a perverse distorted view of heaven, this is not even spoken about in the Bible]
The interview puts his comment in a new light. The Beatles were “bigger than Jesus” not because of anything wrong with Jesus, but that to Lennon, the institutionalized church wasn’t speaking to kids of the 60s as much as The Beatles were. As Beatleographer Paul Du Noyer noted, “These comments would have been a great boost for churches if they had come out at the time.”
Paul McCartney said, “We probably seem to be anti-religious. . . none of us believes in God.” (Hit Parader, Jan 1970, p.15)
The cover of Sgt. Pepper’s showed the Beatles with a background of, according to Ringo Starr, people “we like and admire” (Hit Parade, Oct. 1976, p.14). Paul McCartney said of Sgt. Pepper’s cover, “. . . we were going to have photos on the wall of all our HEROES . . .” (Musician, Special Collectors Edition, – Beatles and Rolling Stones, 1988, p.12). One of the Beatle’s heroes included on the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s was — the infamous Satanist, Aleister Crowley! Most people, especially in 1967, did not even know who Crowley was — but the Beatles certainly did.
 Click on the image to enlarge. |
Sgt. Pepper “. . . we were going to have photos on the wall of all our HEROES . . .”
“Hero” Aleister Crowley is second from left on the top row: |
The Beatles apparently took Crowley’s teaching very serious — Beatle John Lennon, in an interview, says the “whole idea of the Beatles” was — Crowley’s infamous “do what thou wilt”:
The Beatles testified that the characters who appeared on the album were their “heroes.” John Lennon explained to Playboy magazine that “the whole Beatle idea was to do what you want … do what thou wilst, as long as it doesn’t hurt somebody” (Lennon, cited by David Sheff, The Playboy Interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, p. 61). This was precisely what Crowley taught.
The very fact that John Lennon and The Beatles would reflect on Crowley teachings would mean one thing they were of the same spirit.
[3] “I simply went over to Satan’s side; and to this hour I cannot tell why. But I found myself passionately eager to serve my new master. . . I was not content to believe in a personal devil and serve him, in the ordinary sense of the word. I wanted to get hold of him personally and become his chief of staff.” (Aleister Crowley, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, p. 67)
Crowley christened himself, The Beast 666, and literally believed he was the anti-Christ, the Beast 666.
“I have never lost sight of the fact that I was in some sense or other The Beast 666.” (Aleister Crowley, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, p. 387)
“Before I touched my teens, I was already aware that I was THE BEAST whose number is 666”. (Aleister Crowley, Magick:Liber ABA, book four, parts I-IV, 1994 Ordo Templi Orientis editon, p. 127)
“For the highest spiritual working one must according choose that victim which contains the greatest and purest force [ed. such as a child]. A male child of perfect innocence and high intelligence is the most satisfactory and suitable victim. . . But the bloody sacrifice, though more dangerous, is more efficacious: and for nearly all purposes human sacrifice is the best”. (Aleister Crowely, Magick:Liber ABA, book four, parts I-IV, part Three-Magick in Theory and Practice, 1994 Ordo Templi Orientis ediiton, pp. 207, 208)
“I do not wish to argue that the doctrines of Jesus, they and they alone, have degraded the world to it’s present condition. I take it that Christianity is not only the cause but the symptom of slavery.” (Aleister Crowley, The World’s Tragedy, p. XXXIX)
“That religion they call Christianity; the devil they honor they call God. I accept these definitions, as a poet must do, if he is to be at all intelligible to his age, and it is their God and their religion that I HATE and will DESTROY.” (Aleister Crowley, The World’s Tragedy, p. XXXI)
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A close up from the Beatles |
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In his Book ALEISTER CROWLEY |
| Dylan Thomas, James Joyce, and Oscar Wilde. It was also Lennon, Hutchinson says, who chose for that famous album cover “a dimly remembered self-styled magician and seminal proponent of sexual and narcotic freedom called Aleister Crowley.” [Pages 10-11] Copyright © Roger Hutchinson, 1998 E.V. £16.99 ISBN-10: 1845961323 ISBN-13: 978-1845961329 | |
John Lennon, The Beatles and
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
[4] John Lennon and The Beatles met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi during 1967 studying with him in Bangor, Wales, and later attended a TM teacher-training course in Rishikesh, India. (Much of their “White Album” was written during their stay in Rishikesh.) While Starr and McCartney left the Maharishi’s camp for personal reasons, Lennon and Harrison departed after hearing a story that he had made sexual advances on Mia Farrow or other course participants.
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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Born January 12, 1917 Died February 5, 2008 (aged 91) Vlodrop, Netherlands Parents Father: Sri Ram Prasad |
John Lennon wrote the song “Sexy Sadie” (“what have you done? You made a fool of everyone”) as he was leaving, the lyrics referring to Maharishi. “Magic” Alex Mardas had relayed the story to John and George, who felt betrayed by the Maharishi. Cynthia Lennon believed that Mardas invented a story about sexual impropriety to undermine the Maharishi’s influence on the Beatles. George Harrison, years later, commented on the contretemps, saying, “Now, historically, there’s the story that something went on that shouldn’t have done—but nothing did.” Paul McCartney, in his biography, likewise says that he does not believe the allegations and also attributes them to Mardas. Farrow’s autobiography is ambiguous about the incident: she describes “panicking” and fleeing after Maharishi put his arms around her in a dark cave, immediately after a private meditation session.
Donovan, commenting on past rumors, said to WNYC New York Public Radio on February 6, 2008: “It was not to do with Maharishi and everything to do with what was personally happening in the lives of the Beatles at the time. In fact, George went to Maharishi and apologized. It was really a complete overlay of falsehood that in reality has nothing to do with this extraordinary man…. It is my great pleasure to speak of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. George and I agreed, this is the one, he can show us the technique. We honour him for his extraordinary work.”
After the Maharishi’s death on February 5, 2008, Sir Paul McCartney released a statement saying, “Whilst I am deeply saddened by his passing, my memories of him will only be joyful ones. He was a great man who worked tirelessly for the people of the world….” Ringo Starr released a statement saying, “One of the wise men I met in my life was the Maharishi. I always was impressed by his joy and I truly believe he knows where he is going.”
On 5 February 2008, the same day Maharishi died, the Beatles’ “Across the Universe” was beamed across the universe to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song, the 45th anniversary of the DSN (Deep Space Network), and the 50th anniversary of NASA. The song’s distinctive chorus ‘Jai Guru Deva Om’ are the Sanskrit words Maharishi once taught the Beatles.
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ABOUT THIS INTERVIEW:
In 1967 John Lennon gave an exclusive interview to The Daily Sketch which was published in their October 9th edition.
Entitled ‘What I Believe – by Beatle John,’ the interview focused on the changing attitudes of the late-sixties, flower power and the Beatles’ spiritual endeavors with the Maharishi. The paper’s conservative slant can be gently felt in the tone of the questions as Lennon is asked about the religious implications of their new eastern interests, and what role it all plays in context with LSD, fame, and Christianity.
Following this interview, after spending time with the Maharishi in Rishikesh in 1968, the group began to denounce, specifically, following the Yogi. What had NOT changed however was that the Beatles still believed strongly that meditation and eastern spiritualism were both beneficial and life-transforming.
The Daily Sketch newspaper was founded in 1909 and was considered Britain’s oldest tabloid when its final issue hit the streets in 1971.
John Lennon is interviewed by Daily Sketch columnist Anne Nightingale. The photographer for the interview is John Kelly.
– Jay Spangler, Beatles Ultimate Experience
Q: “Are you deliberately using the power of the Beatles to spread the word about transcendental meditation?”
JOHN: “Yes, because we’ve never felt like this about anything else. We want the younger generation, especially, to know about it. It’s for everyone. For ‘householders’ as the Maharishi calls them. Just for ordinary people. You don’t have to be some sort of freak to meditate. We’ve got to convince people we are not mystic… get through our million images to show people that what we can do, anyone can do.”
Q: “Are you convinced that meditation will last your life, that it won’t be just a phase?”
JOHN: “I’ve got some reservations, of course, but I’m convinced it works in the way they say it works. There’s a lot more to learn yet. But I’m willing to find out. You don’t have to have a great faith or anything. The whole thing is so simple – as though it’s too marvelous to be true. You think: ‘Why haven’t I heard about it before?’ But in fact, it’s been around for a long, long time.”
Q: “The Beatles must have been the target for every cult imaginable. What made this so different for you?”
JOHN: “It was always the same package before – Billy Graham stuff. Of course everyone’s trying to reach the same thing ultimately. But the Maharishi’s way is natural, not unnatural. You can make it with meditation if you’re a Christian, a Mohammedan or a Jew. You just add meditation to whatever religion you’ve got. It runs alongside Christianity amazingly. Re-read it now, you know, what it’s about. The kingdom of heaven within you. It IS within you.”
Q: “People have been a bit doubtful about the moral issues with transcendental meditation…”
JOHN: “Obviously you put your own code of ethics into it. No one really wants to go around killing and having orgies.”
Q: “People like Malcolm Muggeridge have questioned the validity of the Maharishi’s meditation…”
JOHN: “And where is Malcolm Muggeridge at? The Maharishi is a completely happy man. Malcolm Muggeridge isn’t.”
Q: “Would you have found meditation so acceptable if you hadn’t taken LSD?”
JOHN: “It’s all been misconstrued. We dropped LSD weeks before we met the Maharishi. We were looking for something more natural. But all that has been said about us building gold palaces in India is rubbish. Everyone thinks we are going to freak out into the hills forever! All meditation means to us is that we have more output in our work. More energy for things like recording and filming. It would have worked just the same if we hadn’t taken LSD.”
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Q: “Do you think that flower power is just a commercial craze, or do you think there is some worth to it?”
JOHN: “There will be a sort of core of things that will come out of it which will be worthwhile. Just the love and peace thing is worth it, whatever commercial muck goes on. At least it’s about something nicer than normal. Good things came out of the beats, like (Allen) Ginsberg and all those things.”
Q: “What if everyone drops out?”
JOHN: “I don’t think they go for that over here (Britain). The slant doesn’t seem to be ‘drop-out,’ but just do better or just change it. Not drop-out like they do in the States, but try to change what’s going on, be different yourself in these surroundings.”
Q: “What do you feel about the religious aspect of the flower movement?”
JOHN: “I can understand religion now. I might have come to that conclusion anyway at 25 or 26. But now I understand it – realizing that The Church Of England and all those things, they’re government. We all rejected that. I’m not against organized religion if it’s organized by religious people and not just by politicians disguised. But they’ve got themselves into the position of any big company – they lose touch. I’ve realized religion is personal. It’s ‘Do as you would be done by’ really.”
Q: “Does it involve a superior force, a God?”
JOHN: “It’s an energy. I don’t and never did imagine God as one thing. But now I can see God as a power source – or as an energy. But you can’t see any kind of energy… only track it on radar or things like that. You can be aware of your own energy and all the energy that’s around you. All the energy is God. Your own energy and their energy, whether doing god-like things or ungodly things. It’s all like one big jelly. We’re all in the big jelly.”
Source: Transcribed by the Beatles Ultimate Experience website from original edition issue.
Summery, it is clear that John Lennon denighed Christ, that his view of Christ is not the Bible’s.
Refs
[2] http://www.la-couture.com/news/lennon_us.htm
[3] http://www.inplainsite.org/html/rock_and_the_occult.html
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharishi_Mahesh_Yogi
[5] http://www.geocities.com/~Beatleboy1/db1967.1009.beatles.html
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