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In the past few months, I have noticed non-religious groups encouraging others to be more outspoken on their beliefs. However, it seems as if some non-religious people are spending much of their time mocking others for their religious beliefs. For example, the Rational Response Squad started this idea called the Blasphemy Challenge where people were challenged to send in a tape that blasphemed against the Holy Spirit to prove that they weren’t scared of eternal damnation. I can understand some of the reasons (i.e. a cathartic release from a lifetime of religious oppression) but I wonder about those who seem to be just as ignorant about the majority of Christians but then act as if they are more “enlightened” and “rational” than the rest of the world. Personally, to mock an entire group of people’s beliefs (especially those shared by a large percentage of people who don’t even act like complete tools) to build up another group doesn’t seem to be the rational approach (pun intended) to promote atheism.
Challenges like these make me think of other areas where the Christian faith is mocked.
Now when I mean mocked, I don’t mean calling out certain discrepancies in the Bible or saying that there is an inconsistency with the God of the Bible and the God that people talk about. Critiques like these don’t bother me. It’s when people resort to disrespectful mocking that makes me angry.
For example, in the movie Saved, I was offended when one of the characters comments about the guy playing Jesus in the crucifixion with his loincloth and him being “hung” on the cross. Double meaning intended. I mean why was this necessary if it was suppose to be a satire on Christians (as said by the actors of the movie)? Or the T-shirt that says “Your God is an atheist. (What they mean is that since God does not believe there is not a higher power since He IS the higher power, then by definition He is an atheist. If you have this shirt, I’ll just go ahead and say that it doesn’t make you look witty or clever. It makes you look obnoxious. Not saying that you are but you look like a tool.)
Now before you start to say I don’t have a sense of humor, I do. But sometimes I feel like people take it too far to prove a point. And it doesn’t help in the long run. Not too long ago, I took a public speaking course and I learned about “trigger” words. These words are suppose to be so controversial that the audience would not focus on the rest of the speech and only focus on these words. I have a feeling that certain tactics like the “trigger” words do more harm than good. If you want people to listen, speak out. By all means. Just don’t be a jerk about it.
And yes I am very aware that Christians do the same thing as well so this post also goes out to them too. Christians, PLEASE for the love of all that is holy, stop trying to argue the idea of atheism more likely breeding amoral heathens who rape babies to compare the holiness of Christ and his followers. Those arguments suck and they don’t prove jack.
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Not to excuse it, but my guess is that for every Atheist who vocally mocks a Theist there is a Theist who vocally delights in an Atheist’s supposed fiery eternity in Hell.
I don’t think any theist delights in anyone going to hell.
More than you would like to think Darla, I’m sad to say. Remember, you were unaware of WBC’s existence before the other day…
The mocktastic atheists in my life think they’ve found a good way to get a point across. It drives me nuts, because it means there are that many more theists in the world that look at me like I’ve got horns or something until they get to know me. It’s frustrating, and it’s not polite behavior.
Some of the biggest mockers I’ve met are people who have been hurt worst by religion, religious communities, and religious individuals. Sometimes, pain comes out as humor and sometimes it comes out as inappropriate humor. This doesn’t excuse the behavior, but it does explain it.
Then, there are the others who just don’t think, and I suspect it’s that subset that frustrates us all so much. Sometimes it’s more fun to be clever than kind, and one hopes that’s a worldview to be outgrown sooner rather than later…
Blogging and on-line discussion are unique in that anyone can get in on the action, which leaves the field wide open for all sorts of garbage. In light of this, people I will never meet in person who have no impact whatsoever on my day-to-day life mocking my faith don’t bother me. I have a theory (or speculation, if you prefer) that the more vicious somebody is on-line, the smaller and sadder their real life is.
In the blogging world, when I see a more mocking tone in Atheist, Skeptic Blogs.
Based solely on the blogs I have read a believer posting in a skeptical, or Atheist blog is very likely to be attacked. That has not been the case for me when I post in the Christian blogs.
In the public I don’t think there isn’t any difference in the tone of any group of leaders when they speak of their opposition. Most of American leaders are Theist so in terms of having power us Atheist are pretty much screwed.
We have to be aggressive because we are out numbered.
[...] Kristina, a contributer to FriendlyChristian.com, wonders when it became vogue for mockery to be equated with rational debate. [...]
It is unfair to mock someone when it isn’t deserved. An error in fact should be corrected. However some things just deserve a good mocking. Claiming the earth is flat or that it’s only 6000 years old or that dinosaurs walked the earth with man or that God literally told you to go to war in Iraq. These things need to be mocked because the person claiming them is deliberately avoiding the facts or using religion to do what they want. If someone does that then I will mock them with my monkey pants until they stop. Cruel humour being the most effective weapon against the entrenched.
If you want to avoid being mocked then I suggest that you do two things:
Firstly follow the words of St. Augustine on applying reason to your actions and words.
(De Genesi ad litteram, Book I, Chapter 19)
Secondly if someone mocks you for what you have said and it isn’t called for then you need to call them on it. Get them to explain. Be polite but stick to the point. If they are mocking because they don’t believe what you believe then ask them to clarify and present evidence.
If I were to mock you for stating that dinosaurs living in the garden of Eden with man then you probably deserve it, even if it is cruel to mock you for it. If I mock you because you believe that Christ was a real person who was a visionary and teacher who wanted to make things better for people then tell me that it is uncalled for. Ask me to show you in the Bible where Jesus’ words were ever cruel or unkind.
Also the “Your God is an atheist” is just silly. An atheist doesn’t believe in God or Gods. If God exists then he cannot not believe in his self. Granted he may be an atheist with respect to Ptah or the Flying Spaghetti Monster but that’s really extending the definition of atheist too far and making it ridiculous.
and breathe.
Ed, I agree and it is often not pretty. However, when a believer starts posting things at an atheists site from the bible/koran, telling us we have no morals, and throwing around Pascals Wager, like we have never heard it before, what do they expect?
This is more of a problem on the internet than in real life. It is eay to throw around smug comments when you can’t see a person face to face. I don’t own any offensive t-shirts, although I do have and FSM on my car, but that is just stating my beliefs.
A large number of Americans believe the Sun orbits the Earth. Does that make this belief immune to mockery? How many adherents does Jediism have to get before that belief is considered immune from mockery?
Beliefs only ‘deserve’ to be evaluated. They can be true or false, they can be well-supported or ill-supported, etc. For ill-supported beliefs, the fact that a large group of people hold the beliefs is the large group of people’s problem, not the person pointing it out.
An attack on beliefs - even a strong one - is an attack saying that those beliefs are false. It is NOT necessarily an attack on the believers.
Oh? If someone names a Teddy Bear Jesus, are you going to wish they were thrown in jail? Beliefs are not to be given respect. They are not people, they cannot feel pain, and they have no rights.
Was the author of Psalms 14:1 wrong to mock atheists? Note that the passage isn’t even mocking beliefs but directly attacking disbelievers. I would be curious to see your position here.
I hardly count labeling a teddy bear Jesus as disrespectful mocking if it is like the example of the teacher who let her students (six to seven year olds) name the teddy bear. When I mean disrespectful mocking I mean more of the “F*** Jesus” and statements of that nature.
As for Psalms 14:1, David isn’t attacking the idea of atheism. But he is going after those who are morally deficient which happen to be the ones who say in their heart “there is no God”. In my post, I talk about those who attack Christianity as oppose to going after Christians. There is a difference between having a person state that Christians are not being scientifically logical when they say that evolution never happened (or continues to happen) and having a person state that Christianity is stupid because it’s not based on science. To mock people is different than to mock a set of beliefs because at least with people, they don’t represent the entire group. Beliefs, however, can represent the entire group and mocking that includes people a person may not mean to attack.
@Sara Aside from the WBC reference, can you give me more examples of theists who would delight in atheists burning in hell? One of the reasons many Christians are so passionate about sharing the gospel is to
others from going to hell.
whoops! I meant for the prevent to be bold and not block quote. My bad.
kwrigh5, as far as I know the Bible isn’t a scientific text book. It should not be treated as such by atheists or by Christians. Christianity is not based on science. It wasn’t until the Enlightenment that the church was even challenged on it’s stance on the natural world (science). The scientific method didn’t exist 2000 years ago.
Biblical literalists who claim that the bible is scientifically accurate either don’t know their bible or don’t know anything about the natural world. Mocking the bible because it is unscientific is like mocking Alice in Wonderland for not being realistic. The mocker is sort of missing the point. Now mocking someone who claims that the bible is scientifically accurate is an entirely different thing.
The bible isn’t supposed to be taken literally. Why would it have Jesus using so many parables if it were. The Blasphemy Challenge is pointless for this very reason. It takes a literal reading of a passage that says deny God and you will never get to heaven. Yet the bible has other passages that says all you need to do to get to heaven is to accept Jesus as your saviour. There is a contradiction there but only if you take both passages literally. The same thing goes for homosexuals being consigned to hell.
The modern day “Christ follower”, as opposed to the traditional Christian, takes the spirit of the message in the New Testament over the words that describe it. I can (and probably will) mock the inconsistencies and errors in the text but I’d feel less comfortable doing the same to someone living to the modern spirit of Christianity. I think that this is what separates Bill and the Christians on this site from Fred Phelps and the bigots of Westboro Baptist Church. The latter read the words while the former read the message.
I might have to have a lie down after that. #:-s
Thanks for the St. Augustine quote, Hover! I like that.
And, to clarify, I think it is unkind to mock someone just because they believe in a deity, but I stand firmly with the others who state that foolishness about a 6000 year old earth, dinosaurs and people together etc. should be pointed out for the stupidity that it is. Mocking can be a good tool, but I think you have to know your audience and use it sparingly or it loses effect.
It may be that I read the wrong skeptical and atheist blogs, but I don’t see believers being attacked for commenting just because they are believers. I do, however, see waaaay too many believers show up in atheist forums with an apparent desire to pick a fight. I came across this post on Radical Atheist which does seem to describe my experience with Christians who visit atheist forums.
That explains in a nutshell why I hang out here. It reminds me again and again that not ~all~ theists are “the enemy.”
Wow. You hold that attacking people is OK but attacking beliefs as false is wrong. I note that you dodged the questions about mocking beliefs like the sun orbiting the Earth or mocking Jediism.
Beliefs don’t represent people. They represent opinions HELD by people. If you care about the veracity of beliefs, you must be willing to expose those beliefs to ridicule, falsification, mockery, confirmation, etc. Otherwise all you’re doing is preventing yourself from finding out which beliefs are false or unsupported.
“Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity.”
— Thomas Jefferson, letter to Francis Adrian Van der Kemp, July 30, 1816
Open Atheists of even moderate celebrity get often get hate mail. For example, author Brian Flemming (of The God Who Wasn’t There fame) received the following letter: **
“You’ve definitely got some nerve. I’d love to take a knife, gut you fools, and scream with joy as your insides spill out in front of you. You are attempting to ignite a holy war in which some day I, and others like me, may have the pleasure of taking action like the above mentioned… However, GOD teaches us not to seek vengeance, but to pray for those like you all… I’ll get comfort in knowing that the punishment GOD will bring to you will be 1000 times worse than anything I can inflict. The best part is that you WILL suffer for eternity for these sins that you’re completely ignorant about. The Wrath of GOD will show no mercy. For your sake, I hope the truth is revealed to you before the knife connects with your flesh. Merry CHRISTMAS!!!… P.S. You people really don’t have a clue as to what is in store for you… I thank GOD I’m not you.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has received the following letter (I censored this one slightly): **
“Hello, cheese-eating scumbags. Their are way more of us Christians that you losers. Their is NO separation of church and state and you heathens will lose… Satan worshiping scum… Please die and go to hell… I hope you get a painful disease like rectal cancer and die a slow painful death, so you can meet your God, SATAN… Hey dude this freedom from religion thing sux… So you fags and dykes take it easy and watch where you go cuz wherever you least expect it god will get you… If you don’t like this country and what it was founded on & for get the ____ out of it and go straight to hell… P.S. ____ you, you communist whore… Get your black ____es out of the U.S.A. … You are without excuse. Creation is more than enough evidence of the LORD JESUS CHRIST’S omnipotent power… We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence just remember you brought it on. My rifle is loaded.”
A more personal anecdote, not quite as sinister as those letters: One of my friends from high school was (and still is) an Atheist (raised that way), and people used to taunt and ridicule her for her supposed future in Hell the way kindergarten children might tease a kid with a funny name or a speech impediment. It was really quite juvenile. Mind you, she rarely spoke up about her Atheism and never made a big deal of it. She would simply say, “No thanks, I don’t believe in God,” when people offered to take her to their church to get saved (time and time and time again), after which a handful would reply with something like, “Well, fine just go to Hell then, see if I care,” to which her usual reply was, “No thanks, I don’t believe in Hell either.”
It’s probably because of situations like those listed above that some non-theists go to seemingly great lengths to mock Christianity. Are most Christians like that? Oh my goodness no. But there are, like I said, more than anyone would like to think, and they are so very loud and often more impressionable than the rest.
** source: Dawkins quotes the two above letters in The God Delusion, pages 211-213
The kind of dialogue that is needed can be found in the following group. I never heard of them until I did a google search. These guys should be in the headlines not the WBC.
The Christian Alliance
http://www.christianalliance.org/site/pp.aspx?c=bnKIIQNtEoG&b=592941
“The success of the Religious Right in appropriating the language of Christianity has led many people to become generally wary of religion in the public sphere and of Christianity in particular. The Religious Right has used the language of Christianity to promote an extreme and divisive political agenda that has helped polarize our nation. But foundational Christian values like compassion, justice and peace are largely absent from our political discussion. And there are millions of Christian Americans who share progressive views, or, at a minimum, are increasingly turned off by the extreme rhetoric and political agenda of the Religious Right.”
“We believe we have an obligation to speak out about politics from our deep beliefs; but we do so in the tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr, we speak to the government as conscience. We do not seek to be the master of the government. We affirm a well-established American commitment to a clear separation of church and state.”
I guess the majority of Christians need to speak out then don’t we?
HappyNat, us Pastafarians have to keep together.
If you believe in jesus come to my site and learn a thing or two: http://www.christianpwnage.com
Please don’t assume that just because I don’t try to refute every single point that you make means that I am automatically “dodging the questions”. I have other things to do in my life than blog. If I answered every question on this site, I would be on friendlychristian all day and I cannot sacrifice that time. I’m only able to argue some now because I haven’t started full time back in grad school.
I do not mean to come across that I hold to that theory. For Psalm 14:1, it appears that David is focusing more on the “fool” or the morally deficient and what type of characteristics he has. These people happen to say “there is no God” in their hearts. Is he saying that all atheists are fools? I dunno. We can’t assume either way.
On the flip side, if someone were to say that the people who believe that the earth was created in six literal days (which is scientifically illogical) are people who get their resources from the Bible alone. This is a characteristic of a group of people that do not hold to certain scientific logic. They aren’t mocking every single Christian on the face of the planet.
This is different from saying “Screw Jesus, the entire religion of Christianity and the people who follow it.”
Also, I have to disagree with Jefferson on the whole “mocking is the best method” to education. Even on this site and in real life, I have seen non-theists ask about certain parts of Christianity that don’t make sense to them and Christians listening and responding back. But if somebody’s just going to say that my religion is just awful, how credible does that person look? Would you see someone as credible if someone were to come right out of the blue and just say that atheists are more likely to rape people? People may respond to such statements but it creates unnecessary emotions that hinder a rational and respectable conversation. Also those who do respond back to mockery may not be doing it because they heard where you were coming from but because of those “trigger words” used. It’s not effective if the point is to defend atheism or to be taken seriously.
PS As for Jediism, if I felt it was a real threat to society (as it appears that many non-theists see theism), I would talk to them about the flaws of their logic (whatever they may be due to the fact I know nothing about Jediism and I would have to study what they believe)
As for those who believe that the sun revolves around the earth, I would show them evidence contrary to their beliefs. (However, this example doesn’t work in this argument because this is a specific belief as opposed to an entire religion.)
What? That passage is absolutely saying that all atheists are fools who are corrupt, whose deeds are vile, and who do no good. There is no assumption required, just read what it says.
Jefferson was saying that was the best method for unintelligible propositions like the Trinity. The Invisible Pink Unicorn would also fit in this category.
They at least look like they are oversimplifying. The only thing that all Christians have in common is that they call themselves Christians. From the context, though, one could probably work out what they sub-group they meant by the Christian religion, and then they could either support it or not.
So the counter-example to mockery like saying a Jesus character in a movie was well-hung is to say that atheists are more likely to rape people? That’s not mockery, it’s a claimed fact. They would have to support it with actual evidence. For example, someone could say atheists are more likely to commit suicide than theists and they would be correct - whether it paints my beliefs in a flattering light or not. You’ve lost your point. Mockery of atheism would be things like:
http://friendlyatheist.com/2007/10/06/i-think-im-offended/
“The belief that there was nothing and nothing happened to nothing and then nothing magically exploded for no reason, creating everything and then a bunch of everything magically rearranged itself for no reason whatsoever into self-replicating bits which then turned into dinosaurs.
Makes perfect sense.”
Did it make any of us reconsider our position? Of course not. Were some of the posters offended? Yup. Too bad. It was funny. I’m a frequent commenter over there as well as over here, and you’ll notice no outraged comment from me.
Jedi are creating a religion out of Star Wars mythology. NPR just did a bit about it.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18409014
…That census report became their impetus to start the U.K. Church of the Jedi.
Daniel took on the name Master Morda Hehol and opened the main chapter in Anglesey, Wales, where he lives. Another is open in Surrey, England, and they’ve had calls from would-be Jedis in Washington and Colorado, people hoping to open chapters stateside. It’s no joke to Daniel, who was atheist before adopting Jediism.
“We don’t have a deity, we have the Force,” says Daniel. “It’s more like self-belief. If you believe in yourself, and you manipulate the Force, you can achieve great things.”
Services have been held in his backyard garden, with plans to move to a building soon.
“The first part of the sermons we do ‘Theory of the Force.’” The group then moves on to classes. “It may be lightsaber training, one month. The next month it may be technology and mind control.”
Yes, that includes Jedi Mind Tricks.
If you’re going to tell me their beliefs shouldn’t be mocked…
That is immaterial. If you can mock one belief, you can mock a collection of beliefs.
It’s not really being outspoken for the sake of being outspoken, as Ed said up in #6, the only way to be heard is to be loud and I’ll be the first to admit that atheists get frustrated by their lack of power, just as theists would in the same situation. That’s largely the reason the Blasphemy Project is so widely accepted, it’s a way to tell theists to leave us alone, we don’t want to be bothered by religion. If you can commit the so-called “unforgivable sin”, then there’s no point in preaching to the individual, is there? They cannot be saved, at least according to some segments of Christianity.
Maybe if Christians respected the rights of non-Christians not to be disturbed, then there wouldn’t be nearly as much frustration involved. Stop trying to impose your beliefs on others, regardless of how important you might think that it is that you do so. It’s our life, let us live it!
I am reading what it says. I just have a different interpretation than you do. I see that a fool happens to be (insert whatever) but it doesn’t necessarily mean the other way around.
This example doesn’t seem to compare well with the idea of someone playing Jesus being “hung on a cross” especially with the sensitivity brought on by the Crucifixion. Atheists (as seen on the website) don’t seem as religious in their atheism as Christians are in their Christianity which is probably why many atheists would not find what the guy said to be insulting. The Crucifixion is something that Christians value highly and when someone mocks it for whatever reason especially in a sexual sense it’s not funny. Ever. If you want to find humor in this, that’s all you.
As for the Jedi faith, if I wanted to show Jedis the flaws of their religion, I wouldn’t be a tool about it, making stupid shirts that say “the force sucks” or whatever. So in a way, no I don’t think it should be mocked in order to disprove it not because I believe it has merit to it. It’s because mocking would likely lead to unnecessary anger and dismiss any attempt of mine to prove them wrong. Mocking doesn’t help in the long run. It only makes the gap between belief systems wider.
Maybe. But again, I go back to my “mocking mostly pisses people off” theory, for one or more than one belief.
Admiral Motti: Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they have obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe. I suggest we use it.
Darth Vader: Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
Admiral Motti: Don’t try to frighten us with your sorcerous ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the rebels’ hidden fortress…
[Vader makes a pinching motion and Motti starts choking]
Darth Vader: I find your lack of faith disturbing.
That’s what you get for mocking the force.
And, finally, we get to the crux of this complaint. You want exceptions for your religious beliefs because you identify with them too strongly. It’s a form of tribalism.
“The other concept to which the word “tribalism” frequently refers is the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates oneself as a member of one group from the members of another. This phenomenon is related to the concept of tribal society in that it is a precondition for members of a tribe to possess a strong feeling of identity for a true tribal society to form.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribalism
You have based your group’s identity on Christian beliefs. As such, mocking Christian beliefs is seen as an attack on your ‘us’ from ‘them.’ If you stop considering yourself as part of a Christian tribe / gang and instead see yourself as a person who holds Christian beliefs then the mockery is annoying at worst.
Dividing people into groups of ‘us’ and ‘them’ with strong feelings is a prerequisite for considering people unequally. It is a negative influence to be overcome, not something to make exceptions for (as you are requesting.)
I’m not trying to “divide the masses”. I’m just being honest. People can be different and feel strongly about different areas of their lives without trying to play a game of “us vs them”. I’m not going to just see my beliefs as “just beliefs” because of how’s my life has been changed because of it. Are you saying that valuing my beliefs is a bad thing? Take something you value highly. If someone were to just mock it, would you not get more than “merely annoyed”?
@ ben again
Everybody has a belief in something. For example, you may say your wife is the most amazing and strong woman out there. It’s been proven to you by her personality just as Christ has proven his reality to me. Now if someone were to say something horrible about her, would you be “merely annoyed” by the statement?
You already have, or else you wouldn’t be tying your identity so strongly to your beliefs.
Yes, I am saying that, pretty much. Beliefs are not sentient, cannot be harmed, and are not you. They are just conclusions. To the extent they are more than that to you is to your detriment.
Take something you value highly. If someone were to just mock it, would you not get more than “merely annoyed”?
To get me more than merely annoyed, it would have to be someone, not something.
I very much doubt that Christ has proven his reality to you in the ways my wife has proven her reality to me. Where did you see him with your eyes? Touch him with your skin? Hear him nag you with your ears?
Yes, because my wife is not a belief. She is a person. Attacking, mocking, or criticizing beliefs is not an attack on a person. Debating beliefs is not assault.
You basically say that I should devalue my value in my beliefs. I choose not to. This is where we disagree I guess.
In fact, it’s the identity of Christ and not just my belief in Him that has affected my life. To me, He is just as real as your wife. I have heard Him speak to me. I have felt his presence, To me, Jesus is not just something but someone. You have your explanations and theories for that and although they are interesting, I don’t agree with them.
And I am sorry that you think I am “dividing the masses”. One of the reasons I joined this site was to bridge gaps. But you have your opinions and I have mine.
also, I think for me personally it comes down to what you mock. I may be contradicted myself but as I think about it, I get more offended when people mock things like the Crucifixion. It depends on the degree of the joke I guess. There seems to be a big difference between someone saying “Gee I wish I could walk on water.” as opposed to “screw Jesus with a crucifix up the whatever.”
Kristina, where do you think that self-deprecation comes into the idea of mocking religion? I’ve seen Bill post comment that he is stupid, irrational and dishonest but only in a self-deprecating way to highlight a point about misconceptions. Is saying that Christians are stupid because some believe in New Earth Creationism mocking if it comes from a Christian or only from an unbeliever?
I’m sorry. Can you clarify the question? I think I see where you are going with it but I’m not 100% sure how to answer it.
OK. Bill has mocked himself and the stereotype of a religious person. he’s done it in good humour. I can think of several Jewish comedians who mock the stereotype of a Jew for cheap laughs. I’ve seen a few Christian joke videos on YouTube mocking the extremes of their own faith.
Is this still wrong in your view or is it OK because a person who has faith is doing it to themselves.
Lies! I would never do such a thing……..
Ok. I see what you mean. I don’t really have a problem with certain people mocking stereotypes as long as they recognize that it is not the entire representation of a group of people. For example, my friends give me a hard time (jokingly of course) that I’m not “black” enough because I talk a certain way and I’m not all that hip
I get more offended if someone were to mock Christ himself or certain parts of Christianity like the Crucifixion. That stuff is not so funny.
No, I imagine that Crucifiction is no laughing matter.
If you want to laugh at the Bible but not in a mocking way then I suggest reading http://www.thebricktestament.com/ where Lego is used to portray the characters and lessons of the Old and New Testament.
or, you could try my favourite ever version of the bible - http://www.lolcatbible.com
(is it weird that an atheist has a favourite version of the bible?) /:)
hang on a sec - am i the only person who saw Monty Pythons Life of Brian and found it hilarious?
No, you’re not.
Definitely not.
MATTHIAS:
Hm. Could be worse.
CENTURION:
What do you mean, ‘could be worse’?
MATTHIAS:
Well, you could be stabbed.
CENTURION:
Stabbed? Takes a second. Crucifixion lasts hours! It’s a slow, horrible death!
MATTHIAS:
Well, at least it gets you out in the open air.
I’ve seen the brick testament website. It’s pretty interesting.
I dunno guys. I mean I saw a clip on youtube about Life of Brian and stuff on wikipedia and like Saved it looks like it has its moments.
It really depends on the situation and what is the purpose of the mocking. I just feel a little uncomfortable about the whole bringing humor to a sensitive subject as the Crucifixion. Not to make anyone (Christian or not) feel guilty), but it’s just weird I guess. I dunno if Saved is the best example but I just don’t like it.
I wonder about the intent of the writers of the movie or any movie that tries to put a humorous spin on sensitive subjects. I’m sure it was to make people laugh not at the nature of the Crucifixion but something else (but Monty Python rarely makes sense to me anyways. Darn British humor.)
I guess it’s one of those things where “is “such and such” necessary to demonstrate a point” (whatever that point may be)
also, in “life with brian”, the character is not suppose to actually be Jesus just a mistaken identity.
I get more bothered when it’s Jesus and someone tries to be funny.
ok last comment when I mean interesting about the brick testament I mean fun to watch.
As someone who grew up in a small town in the rural Bible Belt South, I found “Saved” to be - while exaggerated for movie’s sake (but only slightly exaggerated) - rather spot on. And so I found it quite enjoyable. Maybe you have to have grown up in a town like that to appreciate it. ::shrug::
I grew up in Aiken, SC and went to school at Clemson University.
Bible belt till 21 years of age.
Although I have my issues with Saved, I must admit they did bring up some good points.
And I found it to be amusing for the most part. I just had some issues with certain things I guess.