"Imagine"?

With 9/11 still so sensitive a subject, I cringe as I bring this up. I've seen several posts on facebook sharing a photo of New York City with the word "Imagine" - alluding to that famous song - as a memorial and a hope.  Most of the words of John Lennon's "Imagine" echo the thoughts of so many of us who hate the destruction brought on by selfishness, greed, muddled understandings of Truth and real reward, and false teachings so sincerely believed in that they are not reasoned out before acted on. And so on.

But I cannot quote even the title of Lennon's song in good conscience, because I know what he believed. And I don't need a biography.

The same man who wrote: "Imagine all the people living life in peace" also wrote:

"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"

Most folks I know who love and sing this song sing about how beautiful heaven must be every week; why would you want to imagine there not being one? Why would you want to imagine that today is all there is, if you believe in Something More, in a spiritual world?

I understand his reasoning that if we were all one citizenship there would be no warring countries fighting for boundaries, and yet I can't agree with his full sentiment:

"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"

He lumps in killing and dying for countries with killing and dying for religion - all religion, even that religion which teaches not to kill for religious reasons.  Notice: there is no clarification for any specific kind of religion that he would like to see the world without. He wants all religion gone, if there is to be peace.

I can't recommend the song. It's kind of like a diabetic saying that it doesn't matter if there's white sugar in this pretty candy, or saying that there's only a little poison in that cute alcoholic drink, or only a little dog poo in a great looking brownie. I know many people who watch evil movies "for entertainment's sake", or listen to foul language laced music, or read raunchy books "because there's such a good message in it". And even I will admit that the music to "Imagine" is lovely and that some of the lyrics bring out the hippie in me:

"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"

We should be careful what we imagine. We cannot blindly (deaf-ly?) follow along with the thoughts of John Lennon and other brilliant minds of this world. They don't merely want to have the freedom of speech to state their beliefs, they want us follow us into getting rid of all reference and remembrance of God, heaven and hell, past and future, even True Religion.

"You may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one"

Yes, there's a Great Day coming when the world will be as one, but it won't be because we've dreamed and imagined a world without spiritual things and heavenly places so that we can all live in quiet, ungodly peace.

I'm sorry. I used to really like that song too.