Video: Islam vs. Christianity

Who get's smitten? It's the logic, stupid. "We know the Bible is true because the the Bible says it's true." On the other hand, "What part of 'There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet' don't you understand?"

At least they can agree on something.

In this video clip, Stephen Colbert and The Daily Show explain it all for you. (Five months old, but, hey, if you missed it like I did, you need to see it.)




Technorati Tags: Islam,
Christian humor, satire, humor

The envelope, I pray thee...

As millions watch the Oscars tonight, let's not forget Movieguide's 15th Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala, hosted by the Christian Film & Television Commission at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Participants in the event a few days ago could get goody bags containing a DVD on the 23rd Psalm, a pocket-size copy of the U.S. Constitution and a leather-bound, gold-edged Bible.

Best picture went to The Nativity Story, a feature film about the events leading up to Jesus' birth, and The Ten Commandments, a made-for-television movie about the biblical prophet Moses. The prize was $50,000 from the Templeton Foundation.

Sure, this is another crass mirroring of the world's institutions, with a tacked-on Christian values veneer. But no TBN-sponsored or Left Behind movies took the prize this year. And for that we can be thankful. In fact, I'd like to thank the commission, the wonderful Templeton Foundation people, my fourth grade Sunday School teacher....


Technorati Tags: Oscars,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Video: No plasticos!

This could completely change the debate over illegal immigration.

Here's a youtube video that asks the question: "What if God were Mexican?"

At right is a comparison of the Sombrero Galaxy with an actual sombrero. Now, why would God create a Sombrero Galaxy, unless....



Technorati Tags: Illegal immigration,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Web: Ask the Buddha Britney!

I've been trying to work Britney Spears into this blog for a while, and now I've succeeded.

Here's a website that has "compiled the wisdom and zen of the Buddha Britney, so that you might discover the answers to your own spiritual questions. Just type them below and prepare to have your minds blown - and maybe your heads shaved."




Technorati Tags: Britney Spears,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Televangelists' resolutions

It's been just about long enough, so let's do the research and find out how long it took the televangelists to break their 2007 New Year's Resolutions.

Pat Robertson: I resolve to not make any more embarrassing and asinine predictions about catastrophes that don't happen.
Broken after one day, Jan. 2.
"Pat Robertson predicted Tuesday that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in 'mass killing' late in 2007." (Also see video clip here).

James Dobson: I will try to maintain some influence over the Republican agenda by not alienating the leading Republican candidate.
Broken after 12 days, Jan. 12.
“I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances,” Dobson said last month on KCBI, a Dallas Christian radio station. “I pray that we won’t get stuck with him.”

Ted Haggard: I resolve to go into intense counseling, deal with my struggle with homosexuality, and find true repentance.
Broken after 36 days, Feb. 06.
"The Rev. Ted Haggard emerged from three weeks of intensive counseling convinced he is 'completely heterosexual.'"

Pat Robertson: I will not disparage Asians by referring to people who get plastic surgery as having "Oriental-looking eyes."
Broken after 37 days, Feb. 7.
Uh, you'll have to see it to believe it.

Franklin Graham: Even though I still believe Islam is an "evil and wicked" religion I will not compound the problem by publicly trying to convert a dangerous Islamic dictator.
Broken after 45 days, Feb. 15.
"Franklin Graham met with Sudan’s Muslim president Omar Hassan al-Bashir this week and confirmed his aim of converting the leader whom many say is behind the Darfur genocide."

Benny Hinn: I will resist going to HD on my TV broadcasts so people will be less able to see how strange my comb-over hairstyle looks in detail.
Broken after 50 days, Feb. 20.
"TV Magic Performs HD Upgrade For Benny Hinn Ministries."


Technorati Tags: Pat Robertson, James Dobson,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Uglyband: Panheads! Listen up!

First, a little background.

Last week we decided to bring back our "Ugly Christian Band of the Week" feature because... well, this is a crucial moment in Gospel music history. This feature will appear every Friday, methodically, like the incessant, rhythmic pounding of a middle-school garage band next door just when you're trying to watch CSI:Miami. It will grow on you in time, and, very soon, you'll not even realize you're reading it. Now, on to the review...



Skillet
Latest release: Comatose
http://www.skillet.com/

Since we last checked in with Skillet, the band has gone through several style management upgrades, changed their website and apparently dived into the spiritual and musical equivalent of a vat of quaaludes.

C'mon folks, where's the joy? I thought you were supposed to be a Christian band, not followers of that albino monk in The Da Vinci Code.

See the photo (above) of the band in 2004? Would you call the cops if these people walked into your convenience store at 2 a.m.? At least the guy on the left has donned a stylish vest, but the untucked shirt says "sloppy" to me, and possibly "incompetent." The other fellow is not Elvis. I know Elvis, and he's no Elvis.

The girls, surprisingly, are not mere window dressing. One plays keyboards and the other is "an animal" on the drums. They also make her drive the van and pack up the equipment.

But they all look tired. Too many nights on the road. The CD ad copy says of their music, "The heavy riffs are hewed with beautiful melodies and often, uplifting lyrics." Often? And, isn't that "hewn" rather than... Oh, forget it.

Their new CD is called Comatose. The newest photo of Skillet (left) reflects a sudden interest in polish, but to no avail. The lead singer is wearing a "Paul is dead" kind of suit. Taking a cue from the CD title, all life has been drained from their demeanor, and the guy in the background actually has expired and is being propped up for the photo session. It's sad, really.

I will not mention the lead singer's odd, moused-up curls. That would be cruel.



Technorati Tags: Skillet,
Christian humor,
Christian music, satire, humor

Lent is.... fun

The Church of England launched a stand-up comedy club yesterday at the start of Lent, as part of a wider effort "to make the period more fun."

Hmm. Making Lent more fun. This could be why the Anglican franchise is going out of business. Next week we'll see the headline, "Henry VIII back in rehab" or something.



Technorati Tags: Anglicans,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Video: Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show

Could this be why the Raelians are moving to America?

Mr. Grey Spaceman sings Christian Science LA public access "hymns" in this weird youtube video.

It's produced by David Hart, apparently some kind of L.A. public access TV legend.

A creepy looking demon-like alien puppet sings sincere Christian Science New-Agey hymns on Los Angeles public access TV. It's interspersed with lessons from the Bible, Mary Baker Eddy, the Book of Enoch and "Lost Books of the Bible." The darn thing is 20 minutes long, so settle in.

We're nothing if not eclectic here at the Wittenburg Blog.



Technorati Tags: Christian Science,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Web: Run out of town on a Rael?

I know what you're thinking: "Whatever happened to those Raelians?"

The bizarre, quasi-scientific movement believes in extraterrestrials and that an alien leader, Yahweh, visited Earth in a UFO. They're also known for their free sexual lifestyle and for triggering a flurry of media attention in 2004 when the group's leader, Rael, claimed to have cloned the first human.

In January they reinstated the combination Star of David/Swastika as their official symbol. After that public relations coup, they decided to sell their Quebec headquarters, world embassy and theme park called UFOLand. It features campgrounds, lakes, an amphitheatre, offices and a condominium building in the shape of a spaceship. Price: $2.95 million.

The bad news--they're all moving to America.

And the good news? None... unless the Scientologists buy the place and they all move to Canada.



Technorati Tags: Raelians,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Web: Original-recipe Catholics

The Dallas Morning News religion blog alerts us to this breaking story:

"The world's most popular chicken restaurant chain is offering fish for the first time nationally with the introduction of the new KFC® Fish Snacker. The company has asked the Pope himself for his blessing, with KFC President Gregg Dedrick sending a personal letter to the Vatican."

The press release says Vatican officials have "confirmed they received KFC's request, and the company is hopeful to get the Pope's blessing this Lenten season." The new product will be "ideal for American Catholics who want to observe Lenten season traditions while still leading their busy, modern lifestyles. We believe it will be especially popular on Fridays," said James O'Reilly, Chief Marketing Officer for KFC.

Combined with our earlier chicken story below, a trend is developing that we've got to get on top of.

In their Social Responsibility section of the website, the KFC folks say "Yum! Brands, parent company of KFC, is committed to the humane treatment of animals."

I suppose that means all those fish and chickens are persuaded--perhaps after a clergy counseling session-- to sacrifice their lives for American obesity.

Yum. Thou hast almost persuaded me to become a vegetarian.



Technorati Tags: KFC,
Christian humor, satire, humor

He who has ears to hear...

Shock jock Howard Stern has always been overpowering, but now he's rolling over Christian radio stations and offending sensitive commuters.

The King of all Media is transmitting on Sirius Satellite Radio, and a change in the fm transmitter used to send signals from satellite radio or iPods through the air to a car's antenna is causing problems for others on the highway. New units overpower all surrounding cars.

So commuters tuning in for a little contemporary Christian music on 88.7 Way-FM in southwest Florida heard the raw, unbridled Stern instead, complete with four-letter words and a discussion about out-of-the-closet former NBA player John Amaechi and the homophobic reaction by former Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway.

Even NPR is complaining, but the FCC has yet to address the issue.

Strangely, The Wittenburg Door anticipated all this in a prescient article a while back.


Technorati Tags: Howard Stern,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Monks running Abu Ghraib chicken coop?

It's Ash Wednesday, and with it comes the age-old question: Which came first, the chickens forced to observe Lent or the illegally produced eggs exposed by PETA?

A Trappist monastery in South Carolina is the center of controversy today, with PETA charging in a video that the monks subjected thousands of chickens to stress to make them molt faster and produce more eggs. That practice has been banned by most commercial egg producers.

The Trappists protested the charges, according to the New York Times.

“It’s like a fast,” one of the monks explains on camera. “Like a long fast when the chickens stop laying eggs for a while because they’re not eating and they cycle them back in.”

Would waterboarding make the eggs pop out even faster?

Lets at least hope the poultry had a rousing Fat Tuesday.


Technorati Tags: Trappist monks,PETA,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Weekly Beastie: Is De Jesus De Antichrist?

Have you got your's yet? I'm talking about your "666" tattoo.

Maybe you've seen the news. Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, a 61-year-old pastor in Florida, says he is Jesus. And the Antichrist. Yep, he says he's both.

With thousands of followers in more than 30 countries. church members say they have proof that their minister is divine and that their church will one day soon be a major faith in the world.


But isn't that a rather limited goal for a divinity? Sure enough, there's more. The church calls itself the "Government of God on Earth" and uses a seal similar to the Great Seal of the United States.

All I know is they'll have to arm wrestle the Religious Right for the "Government of God on Earth" title.

Anyway, back to the tattoos. De Jesus (yeah, that's his last name) has a "666" tattoo that he got it in prison in Puerto Rico. Now all his followers are gettin' 'em.

In the interest of truth, we decided to put De Jesus through the The Weekly Beastie Challenge, in which we apply our Beastiecode algorithms, using ancient cabalistic gamatria numerology (the accepted method to pinpoint the Antichrist). Does his name add up to 666? Alas, we were disappointed. Here are the results:

"De Jesus"= 4+5+10+5+100+300+100 (Total: 524)

For the full name "Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda" the breakdown is "Jose"= 10+60+100+5 (175) "Luis"= 30+300+9+100(439) "De Jesus"= 4+5+10+5+100+300+100 (524) and "Miranda"=40+9+90+1+50+4+1 (195). That's a grand total of 1,333.

Even taking the consonants only in Hebrew, "De Jesus" adds up to only 604--not the winning number.

And, even if you take the latest scholarly research that proposes 616 as the Number of the Beast, De Jesus fails the test again.

I'm afraid De Jesus isn't Jesus or the Antichrist. He's neither.

And I hope that tattoo you got is the rub-off kind.



Watch for more Weekly Beastie calculations. And please post a comment with any names you suspect may fit the bill.



Technorati Tags: antichrist,
Christian humor, satire, humor

The Church of the Latter-day Dude

Just got word. Our friend God Girl (religion journalist Cathleen Falsini) has been ordained a priest in The Church of the Latter-day Dude. It's a religion based on the philosophy of Jeff Bridges' laid back character in the movie The Big Lebowski.

She explains in her blog that "apparently the Chinese Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu was the original Dude because, in part, he taught the idea of wei wu wei, or "non-doing doing."

Bottom line is Bridges' signature quote: "Well, ya know, the Dude abides."

(Our beliefs are similar to the Dude's: we believe in non-doing non-doing).



Technorati Tags: The Big Lebowski,
The Church of the Latter-day Dude,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Video: 'Me' Worship

Let's launch the week with a youtube music video: Me Worship by Capt. "Bobcat" Parker, a Salvation Army minister in Atlanta, Ga.

It's a collection of all your favorite songs praising "me." I especially like the Christmas favorite Come Let Us Adore Me.

(Uh, where does satire end and CCM begin?)

Thanks to Mike Atkinson over at thinkchristian.net for sharing the link.


Technorati Tags: video,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Gaither/ Gothard: Separated at birth?

Is this a widespread misunderstanding? 'Cause it could explain a lot.

We were taking a group of foreign exchange students from Dallas to Fort Worth on the train yesterday, and I overheard a couple discussing why the train was so crowded.

"I think they're having a concert at the American Airlines Center," one woman said.

"Who?" another asked.

"I think it's Bill Gothard."

A Bill Gothard concert? This, of course, would be a first. Gothard's Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts has preached often about the evils of contemporary Christian music. I've still got my syllabus somewhere to prove it.

"I didn't even know that guy could sing," I said to nobody in particular.

Another woman looked around. "I think it's probably Bill Gaither, not Gothard."

"That makes more sense," I nodded.
Indeed, we soon passed a sign that said Bill Gaither and his Homecoming Friends were playing two concerts that day.

I was a little sad, because I hoped Bill Gothard had finally found his voice. Although I always say his Institute saved my first marriage, I have strayed from most of his teachings in the past 30 years. I haven't even thought of him in a long time, not since his organization attempted to set up a school in downtown Dallas a few years back.
But I know one thing. Even if Gothard starts singing, I'm not going to review him for "Ugly Christian Band of the Week."

Ever.

But Gaither on the other hand. Hmmm.


Technorati Tags: Bill Gothard,
Bill Gaither,
Christian humor, satire, humor

The Borat Translation

There's talk of a second Borat movie, a follow-up to his wildly popular Borat: Cultural Leanings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

If the Jew-phobic Borat (played by Sacha Baron Cohen, who actually is Jewish) should ever take a break from man-on-man wrestling, making "sexy-time" and disco dancing, and get it in his head to do a Kazakh Bible translation, it might look like this:

In Beginnings: The Borat Translation of Genesis 1

In beginnings, false Jewish God made glorious Kazakhstan and rest of whole plant earth, besides heaven, which was color of horse p*ss. At least so my country.

But everything was blob of dirt like in latrine, slump as dead dog two days floating in fish pond. God saw stinky stuff and thought "Must change before Gypsies come with bags to sell in market." So blew on pile to say, "Lighten up! Or I crush you like we do small weasels in national game of Grazpech."

And God liked blazing light he made.

But soon come time for second morning nap, when grog shops close, and he split light in two so half died. He called Day and Night, and was pretty good. This where comes interesting pastime-- we crack stick in half and push half into ear before nap sleep. In my country all know this.

Technorati Tags: Borat,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Uglyband: PO'd at the P.O.D. people

P.O.D.
Latest Release: Greatest Hits
My wife, Mrs. Skippy, recently returned from a visit to San Diego, home of the Christian rock band P.O.D.

It's a beautiful, bright metropolis with many military families and an interesting racial mix, a wonderfully developed downtown area. Just a delightful place, she says.

So the members of P.O.D. are obviously lying when they claim to have started out there. Just look at 'em. OK, maybe they came from "bizarro world" San Diego, the dark inverse of the shining California jewel by the sea. But all I see in their publicity shot is a black-and-white world of dazed and scowling people in need of a fresh shirt and bus tickets back from a long weekend in Tijuana.

"Escape from Balboa Park" just doesn't resonate. The post-apocalyptic Frank Lloyd Wright/Burning Man/Lego background is confusing. The army-surplus jackets and ill-fitting trousers just scream "homeless shelter." (Or is that a Chinese-y type jacket on the frontman? If so, not an improvement).

The Billy Jack haircuts on the two gentlemen on the right suggest they've been on tour too long. (The bowler hat and cane on the guy second from left, while a nice touch, is too little, too late).

The whole effect is not helped by the scary, antique font in their logo and "Greatest Hits" title on their website.

They'd do better to get matching uniforms and conform, like the fellows in that nice Blue Men Group.

Or go with a blonde surfer motif.

Don't watch the music video of Going in Blind from their Greatest Hits CD if you're easily depressed. It's a downer, with several people sitting in parked cars arguing or looking sad. And cold. The cars are older, unstylish models. Hey, did anybody ever tell these people that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile?

Update! I just realized that P.O.D. stands for "Payable on Death." It's all making sense now. It's Gospel of Grunge music. They WANT to look this way.

Let 'em. Whatever.


Technorati Tags: Christian Music,
Christian humor, satire, humor

NASCAR Victory Lap

NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip must not have been praying to the Baby Jesus.

He apologized for his role in NASCAR's biggest cheating scandal after his team was caught using a fuel additive. NASCAR fans were shocked at having to confront ethics at the racetrack, which, after all, is not why they came. They came to watch people win... and crash. And to slowly lose their hearing.

For Waltrip's sake, repeatedly replay the Dear Lord Baby Jesus prayer from the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby so this won't ever happen again.



Technorati Tags: NASCAR,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Web: An Eye From On High Watchin' You

Don't stare too long at the photo. Is it funny? All I can do is laugh nervously and shift uneasily in my chair.

A recently released infrared Hubble photograph of the "Eye of God" on MSNBC's Cosmic Log is pretty hypnotizing. Although the Snopes rumor-busting website assures us that this is not actually the "Eye of God," you've got to admit it's certainly BIG enough.

I couldn't help recalling a BBC report about a Newcastle University experiment in the UK. Turns out that the feeling of being watched makes people act more honestly, even if the eyes are not real.


And then I remembered reading that 7,500 years ago in the ancient city of Jericho, the city's walls were embedded with the skulls of their ancestors enhanced with facial features reconstructed from plaster and the large eyes inlaid with shells.

And then I started hummin' the old Gospel song:

As you make life's big flight, keep the pathway of right
There's an eye watchin' you.

Every step that you take, this great eye is awake

There's an eye watchin' you.

Chorus--
Watchin' you, watchin' you

Every day, the course you persue.

Watchin' you, watchin' you

There's an overseein' eye watchin' you.

And then.... I, uh, hit the back button.


Technorati Tags: Eye of God,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Web: I Am Trying To Believe Dot Com

Oh My Gosh. Prepare to be creeped out. Browsing through Metafilter today I ran across a strange and radically weird series of a dozen websites tied together to tell a story of a future devastated by biological warfare and reactionary groups... or something.

If you've got eight or ten hours, take a look at churchofplano.com and iamtryingtobelieve.com and start the adventure.


A new drug, Parapin, is introduced into water systems to boost immune response, but has serious side effects. An addictive drug called OPAL plagues the cities. And the 105th Crusaders leave for fighting in Syria. Mass hallucinations occur of an arm reaching down from heaven to earth. Is it supernatural or psychological? There's even a church at the center of it all, The First Evangelical Church of Plano.

All I know is it's scarier and cooler looking than any of the Left Behind movies.

Bottom line: Apparently it's some kind of publicity ploy for a new Nine Inch Nails CD. But even so, doesn't this kind of marketing manipulation prove that the end is near?

Technorati Tags: Nine Inch Nails,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Video: The Jesus Tree

It could be a sign of the apocalypse, it could be a big "thumbs-up" at the genesis of our blog, or it could be nothing at all. But here's video clip of a "Jesus-like image" appearing in a tree in Texas.

Decide for yourselves, then discuss.

[Updated: The original MSNBC link we posted is gone. We replaced it with a new one]

Technorati Tags: video,
Christian humor, satire, humor

Video: Religious Romance Novels

This youtube video is offensive in several different ways, but it's still sorta funny....um, isn't it?

"Religious Romance Novels" by stand up comic Peter Anthony.

Joke Update: Romney, Britney

Sorry, but because you need to know, here are two jokes from Conan O'Brien's Late Night show last night that touch on religion:

Earlier today, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced he's running for president. If he wins, he'll be the first Mormon president. Apparently Romney plans on winning the soccer mom vote by marrying all of them.

And then there's this:

Everyone's angry at Britney Spears these days. A prominent rabbi in California wrote a letter to Britney Spears where he tells her to start wearing underwear. The rabbi said, "At the very least, put a Yarmulke on that thing."

An Anti-Valentine for You

“To mortals, what a dreadful scourge is love!” --Euripides, Medea

I stapled it on the wall in plain view.

But this morning when I got to the office, the crumpled little white paper lunch bag with my name on it didn't contain any Valentines.

Not that I really expected any.

A few cubicles over, I heard the secretaries talking about a new Valentine's Day phenomenon this year called "say it with bitterness" cards.


One card starts out with the traditional, "Happy Valentine's Day" but continues, "Even though we both know it's over."

Some overly syrupy Christians portray the Bible as a Valentine from God to the world. But what's the hidden Valentine's Day message in, say, Jeremiah 7:

"I called you, but ye answered not.... therefore I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren"?

Today, Jeremiah instead might have opted to send this actual "bitter" Valentine card:

“They had shared a moment,” it reads, “A lifetime commitment was completely out of the question. Happy Anti-Valentine’s Day (for the woman who knows what she doesn’t want.)”

At any rate, we chose Valentine's Day to start our new Door blog, and we hope it will contain as much zip as those hot cinnamon Valentine hearts. (Didn't get any of those, either. Darn).


What to Look For--


This blog will have some regular weekly features, like the Ugly Christian Band of the Week, where we'll review the most important aspect of any Gospel/ Christian music group-- its style.

We also plan to have a Weekly Beastie, in which we'll apply numerology to current news to find out the latest candidate for the AntiChrist.

And as soon as our tech guru can put it together, we'll have a weekly Mime Audio Podcast. That's the feature where celebrity mimes act out significant religious news of the day, like Ted Haggard getting a massage.

There'll be a lot of other surprises, too. Parody songs, loopy religious news. Plus comments from readers to sift through.

Even links to videos like this one, a Fayetteville, Ark., church whose ads are too steamy for local newspapers. (PG-13-rated Valentine's Day message included).

Stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: valentines,
Christian humor, satire, humor

What's Ugly Christian Band of the Week?

The Ugly Christian Band of the Week feature was created to fill a need in the popular Christian music scene. Many sites review and critique the music and lyrics of Christian bands. But none evaluate what the scene is really all about-- style.

Unless the style and attitude of a Christian band is just right, it may stick out as different from the genre it's attempting to emulate, and thus fail to attract notice from the listening public.

Of course there's a limit to how closely bands can or should imitate the secular music cosmos. We wouldn't want any hip-hop type "jive" talking or "rapping" to distract from the message. Style review is an art not a science, so just take off those sunglasses so we can see your eyes. And, hey--matching paisley shirts worked fine for the Kingston Trio. Give 'em a chance at least. And smile for God's sake.


Technorati Tags: Ugly Christian Band,
Christian humor, satire, humor

What is the Weekly Beastie?

"Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six." --Rev 13:18

We put people in the news through the The Weekly Beastie Challenge, in which we apply our complex, mathematical Beastiecode algorithms, using ancient cabalistic gematria numerology (the accepted method to pinpoint the Antichrist). Does the name add up to 666, the Number of the Beast discussed in the Book of Revelation? Pretty much everyone's name does, in a manner of speaking. No one gets a pass. You'll be surprised at what we find. Surprised and shocked. Surprised and shocked and dismayed.

Watch for more Weekly Beastie calculations. And please post a comment with any names you suspect may fit the bill.




Technorati Tags: number of the beast,
Christian humor, satire, humor