the beatles and john lennon in particular. >> well, i became a christian when i was 16. and that lasted about a year of genuine walking with him, through my life, off and on, i have struggled with different things, as we all do. and at those times, i would turn to the lord. >> chapman's new found faith comes into conflict with his feelings about his former idol. according to friends, chapman was notably bothered by lennon's song "god" in which he states i don't believe in jesus. and his hit "imagine" with lyrics, "imagine there's no countries and no religion, too." chapman wrote his own words with the altered lyric, "imagine john lennon dead." >> the defendant claimed that he was offended by the statement that john lennon had made that the beatles had become more popular than jesus christ.