More popular than Jesus don't believe in Jesus", but also sang that he did not believe in the Bible, Buddha, the "Gita", and the Beatles. Critics of Lennon's lyrics have also focused on the line "Imagine there's no heaven" from his 1971 song "Imagine". Lennon was murdered on 8 December 1980 by Mark David Chapman, who had become a born-again Christian in 1970 and was incensed by Lennon's "more popular than Jesus" remark, calling it blasphemy. He later stated that he was further enraged by the songs "God" and "Imagine", even singing the latter with the altered lyric: "Imagine John Lennon dead". Notes Citations
More popular than Jesus came into contact with the Revd Ronald Gibbons, who told reporters that a Beatles version of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" might provide the Church of England with "the very shot in the arm it needs". The day after Cleave's article appeared in the "Evening Standard", Beatles press officer Tony Barrow offered "Datebook", a US teen magazine, rights to all four interviews. Barrow believed the pieces were important to show fans that the Beatles were progressing beyond simple pop music and producing more intellectually challenging work. As "Datebook" was a socially progressive magazine that addressed subjects such as interracial dating