John Lennon - Imagine

[Sirona]

John Lennon was born on 9 October 1940, so tomorrow would have been his 80th birthday. On the occasion, I thought about what life might be like if "Imagine" was real. Do you think it would work out? I think no, it would only function if we remained like children forever, without awareness of our own mortality and without the necessity to compete for sexual partners. This may sound biologistical, but that's how I see things. Please share your views on the issue

 

[ecco]

Thanks for the heads-up on his birthday.

I'm always amazed when Christians sing Imagine and have no clue as to what Lennon was really asking for.

 

[Windwalker]

I think it is possible. But it takes us become more than just children, but adults with the hearts of children, without the immaturity of children. What we have now, is children pretending to be adults.

 

[Nakosis]

One thing I remember from the time I was following a Guru.
He said be like the lotus.

 

[Estro Felino]

That is what happiness is. Singing Imagine while my husband plays it...

I think Schopenhauer would have agreed with Lennon...eliminating the superfluous of life to make love triumph.

 

[Stevicus]

John Lennon was born on 9 October 1940, so tomorrow would have been his 80th birthday. On the occasion, I thought about what life might be like if "Imagine" was real. Do you think it would work out? I think no, it would only function if we remained like children forever, without awareness of our own mortality and without the necessity to compete for sexual partners. This may sound biologistical, but that's how I see things. Please share your views on the issue

He seemed to reflect the times he was living in, and there were a lot of people with idealistic notions similar to those Lennon sang about in "Imagine." Of course, there were also those who were looking at what was going on at the time and were quite cynical and bitter about what the world had come to. The desire for change was strong.

But there were also those who saw the hippies as too idealistic and naive about the mechanisms of the world and how it was run. They saw them as protected, insulated, sheltered, and spoiled, somehow blissfully unaware of all the evil that existed in the outside world - and rapidly infiltrating the United States.

Our political culture (as I started to become aware of it) was an absurd mix of naive hippies/peaceniks and paranoid warmongers/Birchers. I guess it's not that much different today.

But you make an interesting point about biology. We're all human and none of us is perfect. For all his idealism, John Lennon was very much a flawed human being, particularly with some of his relationships with women. He also had a bit of a violent temper from what I've heard.

 

[Eyes to See]

I never liked the lyrics to the song. It basically was extolling communistic ideology during a time the U. S. S. R. was a world power. And many under the communistic regimes did not have to "imagine" what it would be like to have no religion. Even the state sponsered religion of the Russian Orthodox Church was persecuted, and many of its adherents and leaders hounded and murdered, and their churches torn down. But when the KGB infiltrated the Church and the ROC agreed to espouse communist ideology instead of Biblical truths, they were allowed to remain.

The reality of living in an atheistic society rid of religion, and "no heaven" too was and is harsh dictatorship far from what this song leads you to believe it would be like. It means the stripping of freedom of belief, expression, press, assembly, religion, speech. It means the suppression of religious liberty. It means death of untold tens of millions that occurred in the atheistic and communistic lands that espoused these ideas and put them into practice.

Perhaps, the people may imagine that ridding the earth of the idea of heaven and God, and destroying religion will bring about peace. But it will not. And it will not solve mankind's problems of natural disasters, disease, old age, death.

The Bible foretells there is a time coming when the world's rulers will indeed turn upon religion and destroy it. But far from being the Utopia communist and atheistic people falsely propagandize, it will be the worst time in human history. Living in a world that enforces atheism earthwide will be the worst type of dystopia this world has ever seen. And it is coming. And I imagine that is why God has had allowed this to be the last form of rule on earth. It will be the worst type of existence imaginable. Far from the propaganda espoused by those who "imagine" the suppression of your freedoms. They will offer no peace, and no real solutions to mankind's problems.

Now I was just watching a song this morning. And this, this is what real peace and happiness will be like:

 

[MNoBody]

Johnny, a real pioneer, outstanding in his field.

 

[Salty Booger]

Please share your views on the issue

Perhaps an examination of the lyrics?

Imagine
John Lennon

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, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will 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, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will live as one
Source: Musixmatch

When everyone is a willing participant, perhaps... It's nothing I would want to force into compliance.

 

[Watchmen]

Was John Lennon much of a philanthropist? I am genuinely curious.

 

[Windwalker]

I never liked the lyrics to the song. It basically was extolling communistic ideology during a time the U. S. S. R. was a world power.

You apparently are confused, like the rest of America when the whole cold war thing was going on. Propaganda distorted the differences and conflated socialism with communism. That's what you are saying here. Which is wrong, of course.

If Lennon's song was in support of communism, then why does the first lyric say, "Imagine there's no country?" Communism is all about country, and government controlling all aspects of life. Socialism is not that however. What Lennon was singing about spoke to an ideal, which, like the early Christians themselves practiced, mirrored socialism - not communism.

I think you heard, "imagine no religion," as "get rid of religion". No, think of it more like a futuristic world where people can love one another as brothers and sisters, like the early church taught, without all these dividing lines between us. "No religion too", means, we've moved beyond the need to do that. We are now, quite literally, in the Kingdom of God. Brotherly love. That is what the song is about.

Imagine, early Christians singing this. I can. Can't you?

 

[ecco]

One thing I remember from the time I was following a Guru.
He said be like the lotus.

Lotus flowers last three days. That's along the lines of Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison.

Not exactly good advice from a guru or anyone else.

 

[ecco]

That is what happiness is. Singing Imagine while my husband plays it...

I think Schopenhauer would have agreed with Lennon...eliminating the superfluous of life to make love triumph.

OK. It's not just Christians who sing Imagine while being clueless about:

...and no religion too​

 

[Father Heathen]

John was an absent father and physically abusive toward women.

That, and the Beatles were overrated.

 

[ecco]

The reality of living in an atheistic society rid of religion, and "no heaven" too was and is harsh dictatorship

Why do you assume that a society built on reason and rational thinking would be a dictatorship?

It means death of untold tens of millions that occurred in the atheistic and communistic lands

Do you mean like the millions of Religious Jews who were slaughtered by Religious Christian Germans following the ideals of Religious Martin Luther?

 

[MNoBody]

Perhaps an examination of the lyrics?

Imagine
John Lennon

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, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will 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, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will live as one
Source: Musixmatch

When everyone is a willing participant, perhaps... It's nothing I would want to force into compliance.

apparently the Mayan culture did this, for about 500 yrs which is the record so far and they had no money to divide. makes one think.

 

[ecco]

And it will not solve mankind's problems of natural disasters, disease, old age, death.

Prayer did not save lives during the bubonic plague, the pandemic of 1918, or our current pandemic. Science will save lives.

Prayer did not save the lives of people trapped in hurricanes. Since the 1960s science has helped prepare people by predicting where and when hurricanes would strike.

Prayer did not save the lives of people crushed by falling buildings during earthquakes or by being overrun by volcanic ash during eruptions. Science has shown how to build structures that are less likely to collapse. Science has saved lives by predicting eruptions.

Prayer does not keep cancer victims alive. Chemotherapy and Radiology help people live longer, better lives.

The Bible foretells there is a time coming...

You folks have been saying "any day now" for 2000 years.

 

[ecco]

apparently the Mayan culture did this, for about 500 yrs which is the record so far and they had no money to divide. makes one think.

If everyone sat around meditating there wouldn't be much abundance. I guess that's why some monks sustain by begging.

 

[Salty Booger]

apparently the Mayan culture did this, for about 500 yrs which is the record so far and they had no money to divide. makes one think.

They had a culture that developed to accommodate the environment. I imagine ours has been and is in that process now. There is no need to force the Universe to bend a knee, it is working on the job now, and always has been working on the job.

 

[MNoBody]

If everyone sat around meditating there wouldn't be much abundance. I guess that's why some monks sustain by begging.

which has what to do with anything?