We end Glass Onion's 6th year with the start of another multi-part series, the first 4-parter in the history of the podcast.

Using (mostly) the John Lennon parts from Steve Turner's excellent 2006 book 'The Gospel According To The Beatles', we trace our hero's religious, spiritual and philosophical journey through its many twists and turns in his intense four-decade ride through life. Antony also comments on his own journey in these areas, some of which overlaps with that of John Lennon and The Beatles.

Part 1 looks at the first two chapters of Steve's book, focusing a lot on the 'Bigger Than Jesus' controversy of 1966. This is preceded by an attempt to lay some groundwork for this series by defining 'religion' and 'spirituality' and pondering what the differences (if any) between them are.

There are multiple audio clips at the start to help us along, and you will find many useful web links in the show notes below

Enjoy! And see you in January 2025 for part 2.

Best wishes from Antony

Feedback to [email protected]

Support the show at

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/antonyrotunno

OR

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno

Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/glassonionjlpod

Twitter handle

https://www.twitter.com/OnionLennon

Antony's website (music, podcasts, blog, life coaching)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

Antony's 'Life And Life Only' podcast (on Psychology and Alternative media)

https://www.lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com

episode links

Steve Turner's book

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22515.The_Gospel_According_to_the_Beatles

Jon Stewart's book 'Dylan, Lennon, Marx & God'

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59593530-dylan-lennon-marx-and-god

Steve and Jon on the 'Unbelievable ?' podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COHA7qRQX5o

John defends 'Bigger Than Jesus' in Chicago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZaI7m1xpAg

Brian Epstein speaks about the controversy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsqdzC2kFeA

John Lennon- God 'video'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX7GsonWTJA

Andrew Hickey's podcast on the Beatles in 1966-67 (including 'Bigger Than Jesus')

https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-150-all-you-need-is-love-by-the-beatles

Beatles interviews database

http://beatlesinterviews.org/

Joe Goodden's superb book on the Beatles and drugs

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36379732-riding-so-high

'The Rest Is History' podcast about Jesus's existence (2 parts)

https://therestishistory.com/287-jesus-christ-the-mystery/

https://therestishistory.com/288-jesus-christ-the-history/

John Cleese and Michael Palin defend 'The Life of Brian' in 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYMpObbt2rs

Band Aid 40th anniversary documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6_6PzRQ9sQ&t=1s

William Mann 'oustanding composers' article in The Times in 1963

https://www.beatlesbible.com/1963/12/27/the-times-what-songs-the-beatles-sang-by-william-mann/