Saturday, May 16, 2009

Our kind of Lennonism

Hundreds of people gathered to hear the bells of Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral ring out the tune of John Lennon's Imagine. Lennon described the song as "anti-religious, anti-conventional". He also said it was "anti-capitalistic".

A spokesman for the Anglican Cathedral said: "The cathedral feel this performance has inspired many to think about their relationship with God in their lives."

My , how the churches can adopt such hypocritical positions simply to remain popular .

Let us remind ourselves of the lyrics to the song :

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

From World Socialist Movement , an article about John Lennon :
"...Lennon's understanding that he dwells in a godless universe is revealed in different places. For example, in "I Found Out," he stated: "There ain't no Jesus gonna come from the sky," and in the song "God" he goes one further: "God is a concept by which we measure our pain," a Feuerbachian and Marxian rooting of God in human psychology and material culture...."

"Imagine' there's no countries" John Lennon sang. "Nothing to kill or die for". Imagination only needs consciousness for it to become reality. As Lennon states , "It's easy if you try." His words echo our vision of a society . Humanity possesses not only the imagination but also the physical ability to make such a society possible.

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