{"id":30095,"date":"2025-01-09T22:48:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T22:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/09\/social-media-erupts-over-funeral-rendition-of-jimmy-carters-reported-favorite-song-imagine\/"},"modified":"2025-01-09T22:48:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T22:48:46","slug":"social-media-erupts-over-funeral-rendition-of-jimmy-carters-reported-favorite-song-imagine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/09\/social-media-erupts-over-funeral-rendition-of-jimmy-carters-reported-favorite-song-imagine\/","title":{"rendered":"Social media erupts over funeral rendition of Jimmy Carter\u2019s reported favorite song, \u2018Imagine\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The late former President Jimmy Carter<\/a> reportedly held the 1971 John Lennon hit “Imagine” as his favorite tune. But its use as a song at his state funeral ceremony has set a firestorm on social media from critics saying it wasn’t fit for use in what in a memorial service in a Christian church.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the tune was performed by fellow Georgian Trisha Yearwood and her husband Garth Brooks during Carter’s Washington National Cathedral funeral service. One year earlier, Brooks and Yearwood performed it at former first lady Rosalynn Carter\u2019s wake, as well. The country star couple previously worked with Carter on several Habitat for Humanity home projects, according to reports.<\/p>\n

Social media lit up later Thursday, calling into question the performance of the song, given its lyrical rejection of religion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Imagine there’s no heaven \/ It’s easy if you try \/ No Hell below us \/ Above us, only sky,” the first line goes.<\/p>\n

HARRIS, EMHOFF APPEAR TO IGNORE TRUMP, OBAMA AT CARTER FUNERAL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

On X, several observers, including top conservative figures, questioned the use of the song, while others differed.<\/p>\n

“Having Joe Biden lecture us about what a strong Christian Jimmy Carter was before the crowd sits through \u2018Imagine\u2019 with the lyrics \u2018Imagine there’s no heaven \/It’s easy if you try\u2019 makes me question the authenticity of the assertion,” said commentator Erick Erickson, who also served on the Macon City Council in Carter\u2019s home state.<\/p>\n

“Imagine there is no heaven — Sung for someone who is a devout Southern Baptist,” one X user added.<\/p>\n

TRUMP CHATS UP OBAMA WHILE CLINTONS, HARRIS IGNORE PRESIDENT-ELECT AT CARTER WAKE<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t think Jimmy would appreciate the \u2018no religion\u2019 part,” another said.<\/p>\n

Self-described “Trumpocrat” Steve Carlson, a perennial Minnesota Democratic candidate now running for governor in 2026, wrote that it is an “insult” to have “Imagine” played at Carter\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n

REV GREG LAURIE DETAILS HOW LENNON FOUND GOD<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“Why would any Christian have that sung at their funeral? Imagining there is no heaven and no Christianity at a Christian funeral is dark, indeed,” said Mollie Z. Hemingway, Federalist editor and frequent “All-Star Panel”-ist on Fox News\u2019 “Special Report with Bret Baier.”<\/p>\n

A prominent member of the Catholic clergy also chimed in on X, saying he was “appalled” by the performance.<\/p>\n

“Under the soaring vault of what I think is still a Christian church, they reverently intoned, \u2018Imagine there\u2019s no heaven; it\u2019s easy if you try” and “imagine there\u2019s no country; it isn\u2019t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too.\u2019 — Vested ministers sat patiently while a hymn to atheistic humanism was sung,” said Bishop Robert Barron, prelate of the Catholic Archdiocese<\/a> of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

“This was not only an insult to the memory of a devoutly believing Christian<\/a> but also an indicator of the spinelessness of too much of established religion in our country,” the bishop said.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The National Review\u2019s Jim Geraghty said the fact “Imagine” asks the listener to imagine the absence of heaven is a “de facto concession” that it exists, in an apparent defense of the rendition.<\/p>\n

“Otherwise, there would be no need to ask us to envision otherwise,” Geraghty said.<\/p>\n

Lennon himself had a complicated view of Christianity and organized religion, but notably corresponded with Christian preachers like Oral Roberts.<\/p>\n

“I was brought up a Christian and I only now understand some of the things that Christ was saying in those parables,” Lennon also has been quoted as saying. “God is a concept by which we measure our own pain.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The late former President Jimmy Carter reportedly held the 1971 John Lennon hit “Imagine” as his favorite tune. But its use as a song at his state funeral ceremony has set a firestorm on social media from critics saying it wasn’t fit for use in what in a memorial service in a Christian church. On … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30095\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}