1966
"In the popularity poll in Jesus' time, he came out second to Barabbas ..."
~The Rt. Rev. Kenneth Maguire, Angelican Bishop of Montreal
"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that;
I'm right and it will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now;
I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was
all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them who's twisting
it that ruins it for me. "
~John Lennon
"John Lennon's remarks were taken out of context and did not accurately refelect the article or the subject as it was discussed. What actually occured was a lengthy conversation between me and John in which the subject of Christianity was discussed. He observed that the power of Christianity was on the decline in the modern world and that the things had reached a ridiculous state that human beings - such as the Beatles - could be worshipped more religiously by people than their own religion. He did not mean to boast about the Beatles' fame." ~Journalist Maureen Cleave
"Beatle-burning teenagers, joined by a surprising number of adults, turned a huge pile of Beatle lore, records, and pictures into a pile of ashes near radio station KLUE Friday night. Tony Bridge, station owner, joined the campaign along with staff members. Lowell Wolfe, station manager, aided Donna Woods, of Longview, at the bonfire, spreading kerosene on the pile." ~The Longview, Morning Journal, 1966
"I've nothing really against the ideas of Christianity and their ways. I suppose i wouldn't make that Jesus remark today. I think about things differently. I think Buddhism is simple and more logical than Christianity, but I've nothing against Jesus." ~John Lennon
"I will revoke the membership of any member of my church who agrees with John Lennon's remark about Jesus." ~Reverend Thurman Baba, Cleveland, Ohio
"Deport the Beatles. They are unworthy of a decent American reception. They should be fumigated. They are undesirables and enemy agents to the Christian cause. They have been a corrupting influence. Parents in our country have no time for their lousy, low and lewd forms of so-called entertainment. Let them go back to Britian!" ~Carl L. Estes, newspaper publisher
"I'll let Julian learn all about Jesus when he goes to school, but I'll also tell him there has been lots of other Jesuses. I'll tell him about the Buddhist ones; they're good men as well." ~John Lennon
"When I heard in Datebook that John Lennon was playing the role of Christ in The Jesus Saga, I nearly died. I have always admired the Beatles, but this has shaken my loyalty to the core. It was shocking enough to hear John announce that heaven-shaken boast that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus, but now to hear that hypocrite is actually playing the role ofthe greatest man on Earth, well, it's enough to make the angels wipe their glasses and clean out their ears! For John's sake I do hope John has repented that statement a million times." ~Jennifer, Waco, Texas