I Won't Joke About Jesus Or 'take The Mickey' Even Though I No Longer Believe.

[Mike D]

 

 

Why be respectful of people who aren't respectful of you - especially when their own religion tells them otherwise?

Because that is what mature people do. Everytime I hear that out of the mouth of someone who isnt a teenager I do not get it.

 

 

So mature people should sit quietly and be insulted and disrespected.... because you say so?

[Galien]

 

 

 

Why be respectful of people who aren't respectful of you - especially when their own religion tells them otherwise?

Because that is what mature people do. Everytime I hear that out of the mouth of someone who isnt a teenager I do not get it.

 

So mature people should sit quietly and be insulted and disrespected.... because you say so?

Not at all. But neither do I always think that reacting in kind is the best way either and certainly not when dealing wiht christians. They are retarded you know

[pratt]

not sure about mockery thing,,,

 

most joke almost about everything under the sun,,,,,

 

bill clinton, george bush or even the current obama,,,,,

 

if it is funny, it is funny,,,,, but is it offensive? It would be offensive if it is not funny,,,

 

anyway, jesus is just another dude, even if he existed,,,,

[Mike D]

They are retarded you know

Some are for sure. It's the fundies that actually are somewhat intelligent that I have a problem with. They should know better.

 

When a presumably intelligent person tells me that I deserve to be tortured for all eternity because I question the reasonableness of a story about some dude from the ancient middle east dying on a cross and then coming back to life as a zombie to be launched into space to live happily ever after, I find it really hard not to mock.

 

Take those kooks at Westboro Baptist for example - Landover Baptist is an entire parody website devoted to nothing but mocking them and their beliefs, and I think it's hilarious!

[Guest r3alchild]

I notice how many atheists and ex-Christians take the mickey out of Jesus (e.g Jebus). Even though I no longer believe in Jesus, I still 'love' the idea of Jesus, and I would never joke about him. I've been angry and pissed off with Jesus when I believed in him, but I figured that was similar to how you can be with your parents.

 

My favourite 'film' Jesus, was the guy in 'The Passion'. He was how I had imagined Jesus to be. That 'man' gives me no reason to mock- pity maybe, for being mistaken (if he was a real person).

 

What are your thoughts guys?

People mock things for diffrent reasons, I have mocked so much in my short life and I know that mocking things is not a quality I want to have.

[Vigile]

 

Why did Jesus cross the road? He was nailed to the chicken.

 

I don't care who you are, that there's funny.

 

Of course I wouldn't mock Jesus in the presence of a Christian, nor would I mock Scientology in front of one of its members. The shit's still funny, though.

 

How anyone could find the  murder of a man funny, by imagining him to be nailed to a chicken instead of a cross, is way beyond me, but then we're all different.  That is offensive to me, so it seems a part of me still 'believes' in Jesus...................

 

It's funny like Wile E Coyote falling off a cliff is funny.  Jesus isn't real.

 

Dunno.  Maybe there's something wrong with me, but when there's a wet blanket in the room I feel the urge to mock when I normally don't.  IMO, valid offense is over something real.  Be offended that xians held the crusades, tortured people for unbelief and heresy, argued in favor of slavery and today in favor of discrimination against gays.  Don't be offended when someone makes a joke about a symbol.  That's silly. 

 

Like Florduh, I don't joke about him in front of my mom and dad out of respect for them.  I could care less about the symbol though.  It deserves no respect. 

 

[Vigile]

I wouldn't mock other similar 'virtuous characters'.

 

Uh, if that asshole were real, he most certainly would not be virtuous.  Unless you consider megalomaniac cult leaders who do psychological numbers on their followers virtuous, you might want to check that. 

[midniterider]

I don't mock Jesus either.  It's not out of some respect I have for Jesus.  I simply believe that the topic of Jesus is too serious to be made light of.  Jesus is a figure who, according to Christians, will send me to eternal hell for not believing in him.  That's terrible and morally wrong.  I want to explain to Christians how horrible the idea is of burning in eternal hell just for not believing in Jesus.  Mocking him and making light of their beliefs will make them less receptive to my arguments, and make the true horror of Christian beliefs out to be less serious than it really is.  Maybe this analogy is a bit of a stretch, but mocking Jesus makes about as much sense to me as mocking an incoming nuclear warhead.

 

So really, mocking Christianity doesn't do me or Christians any good, and so I see no reason to do so.

 

 

Mocking an incoming nuclear warhead? You mean like Slim Pickens? 

:-)

[midniterider]

Mocking is perfectly in order when confronted with a Christian of the rabid fundy persuasion.

 

Especially Bible literalists who mock the scientific method, rationality or critical thinking.

 

Why be respectful of people who aren't respectful of you - especially when their own religion tells them otherwise?

 

If a Christian is being a fucktard to you about how you are going to burn in hell or something, mocking the person's holy deity will surely take away the power they think they (and their deity) have over you. Mocking destroys their power play.

[SquareOne]

I don't think anyone tends really to mock Jesus or Yahweh directly.

 

I think we mock the belief in their existence held by Christians.

[Inqui]

Why did God outlaw homosexuality?
His boyfriend thought that would make it hotter.

 

I make fun of a lot of things. Honestly, I don't see what gives God a free pass. It is important to be mindful of the time and place (as always....), but I'm still not letting the holy spook off the hook just because some people sincerely believe in him.

 

And while we're at it, here's my impression of Jesus dying on the cross that I did in front of some muslim guy I met on a public bus once:
"Myself, myself, why have I forsaken me?"

 

Am I going to hell for that? Probably. I don't care. The guy laughed and made a note of it for future use, and that's good enough for me.

[BlackCat]

Thanks for all the replies.  I understand better why some people mock Jesus. 

 

Boftx- that stoning joke is funny and Mike D's 'zombie Jesus' comment is also funny or rather highlights the ridiculousness of 'some' Christian beliefs or rather how some people interpret who Jesus supposedly was and what he was supposedly achieving.

 

I think how I titled this thread was misleading.  I'm not saying that we should never joke about God or Jesus e.g the stoning joke.  When you're highlighting the absurdity of something like hell, it's hard not to resort to some kind of mockery in trying to reason with people,  I think the specific area of mockery I had in mind was the kind of jokes or mockery that are personal about Jesus and that ridicule him.  I still feel some loyalty to him I suppose. 

 

Here's an example of attacking the doctrine of hell, by Martin Zender, who I've linked to before.  He has a zany personality and really mocks the absurdity of teachings like 'hell'. 

 

 

If that was too 'way out' for you, this one is more down to earth:

 

[Thackerie]

 

Why be respectful of people who aren't respectful of you - especially when their own religion tells them otherwise?

Because that is what mature people do. Everytime I hear that out of the mouth of someone who isnt a teenager I do not get it.

 

I DO get it, but I'm only an immature 55-year-old.

[roadrunner]

How can you "MOCK" him if you don't "BELIEVE IN" him. TAKE THAT ATHEISTS! You're subtly admitting that you believe in him. BAAA-ZIIIING WITH BAD LOGIC!!!!

 

P.S. I openly mock when the opportunity presents itself mainly because people don't know Im an atheist yet. Its sort of like joking about fat people if you're fat or getting a pass to use the N word because you're black (dont get me started on this non-sense but you know what I mean). When you're not in the "club" something about the mockery changes from fun joke to just insulting. so once Im completely out of the closet I'll probably have to forfeit my smart comments bc of all the xians at my job that would be offended. The chrisitian comedian Tim Hawkins has xians ROFL but the same jokes told by George Carlin are insulting and not funny to them.

[Galien]

 

 

 

Why be respectful of people who aren't respectful of you - especially when their own religion tells them otherwise?

 

Because that is what mature people do. Everytime I hear that out of the mouth of someone who isnt a teenager I do not get it.

 

I DO get it, but I'm only an immature 55-year-old.

Everyone is different. Temperamentally I try not to be an asshole unless I am attacked first. The rest of my family ate different, they are highly reactive and take the piss out of everything. They Are extroverts and I am an introvert. I am allowed to think it us immature to bait and mock people for fun.

[Jose]

The more stuffy someone is about their ridiculous beliefs, the harder it is for me not to deliberately annoy them with brutal mockery.

[midniterider]

The more stuffy someone is about their ridiculous beliefs, the harder it is for me not to deliberately annoy them with brutal mockery.

 

If someone cant handle mockery then it might be better to be completely silent about one's religion. A couple of xians used to mock me all the time for my Buddhist/Hindu/New Agey beliefs. And I think most of the time I laughed along with them thinking to myself that A) They really knew nothing about my belief system I wouldnt want to be trapped in their Xianity  C) It's just fun to poke fun at yourself sometimes.

 

But if you said, "Oh my God!" watch out, they just got offended. lol. I said "What the hell" once to some apparently super-fundy who said we shouldnt just use that phrase frivolously...wtf?

[ClaraOlive]

I think that "mock" is a loaded word.

 

I can't mock Jesus because there is no Jesus. I could mock Christians if I wanted to, but I would do it by pointing out the inconsistencies and stupidities of the Bible, not by making jokes about Jesus.

 

However, I can make and laugh at jokes about religion and religious belief in the same way that I might joke about anything. I agree that a joke about Jesus nailed to a chicken is on the same level as laughing about Wile E. Coyote or Elmer Fudd or the invented traumas of other fictional characters.

[owen652]

I've heard many many Christians make jokes about Jesus; is that like black people being able to say the 'n' word? I dunno. Personally, I think if the Bible is literally true, then Jesus is just as big of a prick as Yahweh, and just as worthy of mockery. Having said that, I am trying very hard these days to curtail my mocking.

[Guest r3alchild]

 

 

 

I notice how many atheists and ex-Christians take the mickey out of Jesus (e.g Jebus). Even though I no longer believe in Jesus, I still 'love' the idea of Jesus, and I would never joke about him. I've been angry and pissed off with Jesus when I believed in him, but I figured that was similar to how you can be with your parents.

 

My favourite 'film' Jesus, was the guy in 'The Passion'. He was how I had imagined Jesus to be. That 'man' gives me no reason to mock- pity maybe, for being mistaken (if he was a real person).

 

What are your thoughts guys?

People mock things for diffrent reasons, I have mocked so much in my short life and I know that mocking things is not a quality I want to have.

No I don't want to mock things but sometimes its the only way to cope with the horrors of this reality. So I say mock away, but know you have to face what you mock one day.

[florduh]

...but know you have to face what you mock one day.

Huh? I will have to face L. Ron Hubbard and Wile E. Coyote?

[Vigile]

 

...but know you have to face what you mock one day.

Huh? I will have to face L. Ron Hubbard and Wile E. Coyote?

 

Where you're going, it will be the Tasmanian Devil. 

[Bhim]

I was thinking about this more today.  One other pitfall of mocking Christians is that it feeds their need for persecution.  Because of statements in the Bible about enduring to the end and holding firm to one's faith, derision is often seen as a validation of a Christian's faith.  I remember when I first became a Christian, virtually everyone mocked me.  It was actually strengthening to my faith (unfortunately) that what the Bible promised would happen was indeed coming true.  There's a saying that "reading the Bible is the fastest way to become an atheist."  I'd likewise say that Richard Dawkins and his New Atheism movement did more for my faith in Jesus than anything a pastor or even the words of the Bible could have said.  And that's too bad, because I ended up wasting years in this religion.

 

I'd respectfully disagree with the common claim that Christians are stupid.  Yes, it's true that most Christians are stupid.  But most Americans in general are.  Most people on this forum have spent a lot of time thinking about why we believe what we believe (or rather don't believe), but we are by no means a random sample of people.  I'll certainly grant that Christianity breeds idiocy, but it doesn't necessitate it.  There are plenty of Christians who are deep thinkers and intellectuals and yet remain fundamentalist Christians.

 

Christians have some pretty horrible doctrines, but they don't understand how harmful they are until they are personally affected by them.  That's why Republican politicians oppose gay marriage until their children become gay.  Of course, Christian views on gays are just the tip of the iceberg.  We're talking about people who believe that you will burn in hell for all eternity based solely on your failure to believe in a religious doctrine (yes yes, they say the doctrine will transform your life).  But most of these people come from Christian families and grew up with Christian friends.  How much do you want to bet that when a Christian's unbelieving relative dies, they at least stop and think about whether God is just to send that person to hell?

 

Now I'm not here to tell anyone how to behave.  After all I don't believe that anyone's immortal soul is in jeopardy here.  But instead of mocking Christians, would it not be more productive to take them through the logic of their beliefs, and lead them to the conclusion that according to them, some very good people will burn for all eternity?  Heck, take a page out of the evangelical handbook and challenge them in the midst of a personal tragedy like what I described above.  Or go and target young evangelicals who just left home for college and are surrounded by new ideas (and of course sexual temptation).  Better yet, babysit small children for evangelicals and indoctrinate them into "lies from the pit of hell" like Bill Nye the Science Guy.  These are the sorts of things that evangelicals do to the Hindu community to try and make us Christian, and I'd love to see their own ideas used against them.  But if you mock them, it's not going to make them think, "gee, maybe biblegod really is 'the suX0rz' like that rude person on the Internet said."  It's going to inspire them to give a reason for the hope that is within them.

 

Again, I don't want to dictate behavior to anyone.  If mocking evangelicals makes you feel better, go for it.  I don't really feel bad for them.  I'm just saying that I don't think it'll change anyone's mind.  Appealing to someone's better nature will probably have a more profound effect.  And since I'm not a Calvinist anymore, I'm able to believe that most people have a better nature.

[Guest r3alchild]

 

 

 

...but know you have to face what you mock one day.

Huh? I will have to face L. Ron Hubbard and Wile E. Coyote?

Lol, I mean you have to face it and move on not that you have to face it and accept it.

[RipVanWinkle]

Bhim: I pretty much agree with you in principle, but the hard headed Xtians will simply not concede any fact or truth that they perceive to be inconsistent with their rigid beliefs. Believe me, I have heard their inflexible responses first hand many times. The better educated they are the more rigid they become. They use their good brains to

rationalize, not to seek the truth because they have convinced themselves that they

know all the truth they need in order to please god.

 

So (and I'm not exaggerating) if, for example, you have pointed out two verses in the

bible which are clearly inconsistent with each other, their response will

something-anything that,if true,would make the verses consistent with each other,

no matter how absurd that something might be. I have seen apologists' books that advise christians to interpret the bible in just that way. Why? Because they "know" that the

bible is divinely inspired, with no mistakes. So the bible cannot be inconsistent with

itself. It's crazy, I know, but that is their approach. So appealing to Xtiians'

reasonable side is a noble goal, but unlikely to succeed at best. bill