Imagine No "Imagine"

A Church of England school has dropped John Lennon's song Imagine from a concert - because it was not felt to be "an appropriate song to perform publicly".

The lyrics of the late Beatle's song - known throughout the world - contain the words "and no religion too".

Children at St Leonard's Primary School in Exeter, Devon, were planning to perform Imagine at their recent concert - but it was replaced by another song after a teacher expressed concern.

Geoff Williams, the head-teacher, said today: "We have not banned the song Imagine.

"We chose not to perform it at our public concert but to perform another song we had practised which better reflected the theme of Songs for A Green Earth.

"We are a Church school and we believe God is the foundation of all we do.

"As such we did not feel that Imagine was an appropriate song to perform publicly."
(Original article here.)

Good for them! Imagine could easily be the Internationale for the secular humanists of the world; the lyrics proclaim the wonders of a world with no heaven, no hell, no religion, and no property – filled with people “living for today.” Sounds very nice, until you start to wonder what all these people have to fall back on when life turns sour and the darkness closes in. If you really think about it, it’s a recipe for a Brave (and very sad) New World. Of course, that doesn’t even address the question of whether heaven and hell are objectively real, and whether true religion provides a framework for finding one and avoiding the other.

Several years ago, at the church I then attended, Imagine was the centerpiece of a performance by the EYC (youth group) at the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. I wasn’t there, having to lecture to a class that night, but my wife was present to be appalled. A close friend of ours apparently turned white and quit breathing for a bit. It certainly wasn’t the youth’s fault, but one wonders what the adults were thinking.

By the way, the youth group leader at the time is now finishing up studies for the priesthood.