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Bigger Than Jesus (view source)

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{{trope}}
[[File:biggerthanjesus_3141.jpg|link=The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|right]]
 
{{quote|'''Lisa:''' I can't believe you're not still popular.<br />
'''Bart:''' What did you do? [[Lampshade Hanging|Screw up like]] [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]] and say you were [[Bigger Than Jesus]]?<br />
'''Homer:''' All the time! It was the title of our second album!|''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]''}}
 
A [[Stock Phrase]] for any good [[Blasphemous Boast]] as well as a [[Stock Shout Out]] and [[Stock Parody]] to be found in any story about characters becoming famous.
 
Its origins, of course, lie in [[John Lennon]]'s famous controversial remarks to the press that [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]] are "more popular than Jesus" but have since come to be remembered [[Beam Me Up, Scotty|a little differently]].
 
[[Bigger Than Jesus]] is a staple for any story about a band that closely mirrors that of [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]] but can be typically found in any story about characters gaining sudden popularity as musicians (or for anything else). Use of the phrase, or a variant thereof, is typically something that is conveyed to be met with shock by the public at large and lead to widespread protests and rallies to [[Book-Burning|destroy the characters' merchandise]] followed by whoever originally [[Invoked Trope|invoked]] the phrase explaining that he meant something completely different, just like what happened with [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]] but [[Played for Laughs]].
 
Not to be confused with the [[Web Comic]] ''[[Bigger Than Cheeses]]''.
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== [[Film]] ==
* The [[Mockumentary]] ''[[The Rutles]]: All You Need Is Cash'', which parodies much of [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]]' own history, includes one segment about a controversy caused by Ron Nasty claiming that The Rutles were "bigger than God." Ron, speaking to a slightly deaf journalist, ''actually'' said that they were "bigger than Rod," as in Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart would not make it big for another eight years.
** The protests and album burnings that were sparked by Ron's comment are said to have seen the sales of Rutles albums and merchandise skyrocket as people were buying their products just to have them destroyed. While the movie [[Played for Laughs|plays this for laughs]], it's actually very reflective of the [[Real Life]] protests against [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]].
* Non-band variant: In ''[[In the Mouth of Madness (Film)|In the Mouth of Madness]]'', Sutter Cane claims several times that more people read, and believe in, his novels than the Bible.
 
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Issue #30 of ''[[The Savage Dragon (Comic Book)|The Savage Dragon]]'' featured a guest appearance of the, at the time, mega-popular [[Spawn]], the issue was one of the best selling issues of the Savage Dragon to that date. Issue #31 of the Savage Dragon featured a guest appearance of God, and did not sell nearly as well. Creator of the Savage Dragon 'Erik Larsen' suggested to the creator of Spawn, Todd McFarlane that he create a new ad campaign saying: 'A lot of people have claimed to be more popular than God, but Spawn is the first with documented proof.' McFarlane declined using it.
 
 
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== [[Music]] ==
* The chorus of the song "Guns And Cigarettes" by the band Atmosphere sees [[Boastful Rap|Boastful Rapper]] Slug profess how he wants to be bigger than Jesus ''and'' [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]], among other things.
* A song by band What I Like About Jew (now Good For The Jews and Jewmongous) describes how they are physically taller than Jesus.
* Source of the name for rockers Joe Christ and the Bigger than God.
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== [[Web Comics]] ==
* [[Fanboys (Webcomicwebcomic)|Fanboys]] puts a twist on this with the Beatles Rock Band Game in a mini strip.
* [[Sinfest]] [[Inverted Trope|inverted]] the trope in a strip titled [http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3218 "Agent"] where the Devil offers to become Jesus's personal agent and make him "Bigger than the Beatles."
 
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* College Humor's article [http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1811645 "If The Internet Had Always Existed"] saw a depiction of what Twitter would have looked like in [[The Sixties]] with [[John Lennon]] tweeting, "We have more followers than @Jesus."
* An index at [[Uncyclopedia]] is titled "Things Bigger Than Jesus, But Smaller Than The Beatles."
* [[The Spoony Experiment (Web Video)|Spoony]]'s version of [[Battlefield Earth|Terl]] makes this declaration at the end of a video where he reveals his [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|instinctive knowledge of how far any given place on the planet is above or below sea level]].
 
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* On ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'' in the episode "Homer's Barbershop Quartet," Homer's titular band with a history that very much resembles that of [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]] is alleged to have frequently [[Blasphemous Boast|boasted]] to be "bigger than Jesus" and even titled their sophomore album as such with a cover that shows the band [[Walk On Water|Walking On Water]] in the [[Abbey Road Crossing]] pose.
** A later episode referenced [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]] controversy when it turns out that Ned Flanders has a huge collection of Beatles memorabilia. Why? Because they were bigger than Jesus!
* One cartoon short on ''[[The Angry Beavers]]'' saw Norbert and Daggett become famous for a hit song, and at one point their manager tells them that they're "bigger than sliced bread," showing them a graph chart that proves this. When Daggett repeats this to the press, people start burning their albums, leading to Daggett explaining that he meant that they're ''physically larger'' than sliced bread. Upon hearing this explanation, people burning their albums are seen putting their hands into the fire to retrieve them.
* One ''[[Alvin and The Chipmunks]]'' cartoon formatted as a documentary on the rise and popularity of the group shows one segment where Alvin shocks everyone at a press conference, including Simon and Theodore, by shouting, "We're bigger than [[Mickey Mouse]]!" People start destroying their Chipmunks merchandise as Alvin is forced to make an apology to the press soon after.
* In the [[Animated Adaptation]] of [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Soul Music|Soul Music]]'', Buddy says, "We're bigger than cheeses," in a dairy-oriented village. Buddy's band is run out of town.
* In the ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]]'' episode "Brian Writes a Bestseller", after Brian does [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|exactly that]], he remarks about his new found fame by sharing his thoughts on [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]]' controversy.
{{quote| '''Brian:''' I used to think that [[John Lennon]] was kind of a jerk for saying The Beatles were [[Bigger Than Jesus]], but now, I mean, I'm not saying that I am, but I ''get'' it.}}
** Also played with in the episode "I Dream of Jesus". When Jesus becomes famous, one newspaper ran the headline "Jesus Is Bigger Than Jesus!"
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