So I am a regular reader and blogger at
Beliefnet.com. It is one of the largest gatherings of people across the religious spectrum (more eclectic and inclusive than our community at Conversantlife). Steven Waldman and staff are to be congratulated (hopefully) on their recent sale to Fox. Beliefnet built a brand by offering substantive and entertaining takes on a variety of spiritual subjects, with especially strong insights on
entertainment and
politics. But Beliefnet also brings a certain gravitas to the proceedings, definitely not made for or by Generation Y. Given their authority amongst those who take religion seriously, I suppose it was only a matter of time before they became a satirical target. (Is that still a form of flattery?)
Disbeliefnet.com chronicles all the embarrassing things done in the name of religion. And believe me, they have plenty of hilarious and tragic material to work with. So much of our conversation in
Purple State of Mind is informed by the lamentable things associated with religion, especially Christianity. Our hypocrisy and judgmentalism make it tough to ever recognize what we’re doing right. So much service done on behalf of the least of these is undercut by one preacher’s condemnation of the gay community or another clergyman’s sexual indescretions.
How did I find out about disbeliefnet.com? One of my former students told me. How did he find out about it? He helped create it. Yes, a lifetime of Christian education gave him profound insights into all the sad, silly, and bizarre things we continue to do in God’s name. I am a proud and conflicted teacher. Proud because we cannot shy away from the truth of what we’ve created. Conflicted because I don’t know when we go from being helped to hurt by such an exhaustive chronicle of our folly.
Disbeliefnet.com is actually a clever way to preview the ridicule being stockpiled within Bill Maher’s upcoming film, Religulous. This road movie is being directed by Larry Charles, one of the co-conspirators behind Borat. So expect a heady and hilarious mix of satire. Maher has always been an equal opportunity offender. Lionsgate has come up with a brilliant way to build the buzz months in advance. They remain the smartest, most subversive little studio in Hollywood. We’ll see how much grabbed footage they can clear without an avalanche of lawsuits following.
I agree with G. K. Chesterton’s famous observation that “The test of a good religion is whether or not it can laugh at itself.” Certainly, aberrant and abusive cults deserve all the shaming they can get. Yet, as I survey the Disbeliefnet site, I come away more sad than entertained. So many of these failings have already being discussed ad nauseaum. The virulent strands of religion are so vast that Disbeliefnet becomes not a chronicle of failed beliefs, but of the ongoing fragileness of humanity. We simply cannot help ourselves. We say and do stupid, harmful and regrettable things every single day. It is important to keep ourselves humble, to walk with a certain grace. But to parade our atrocities, well, at some point, it is no longer funny. We’ll see if Maher and Charles tread the line or cross over from comedy into cruelty. How do you respond when you survey Disbeliefnet.com?
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hmm. Yeah it's a fine line between satire and ridicule. I don't know if you've heard os stuffchristianslike.net yet but it does the best job I've seen so far. It's this 30 something copwriter who just started writing everything he found funny and profound about his life growing up in the church. He blogs about 3 times a day, and each one is consistantly well done.
I'm with it! The site is great, I guess I'm just amazed at the amount of fear that many Christians are conformed to. Man...good stuff C-Dubb! Keep up the mix!
I took a look at it, and like you, it left me more with a feeling of sadness than anger. And maybe I was a little frustrated as well. I agree that we need to be able to poke fun at ourselves (I think a site like Lark News does a great job at this), and more seriously, hold ourselves accountable for the dumb things we do as Christians (that's the message Bruce Bickel and I tried to convey in I'm Fine With God...It's Christians I Can't Stand). But the folks behind Disbeliefnet and articulate, intelligent communicators like Bill Mahr seem to be operating out of a deep resentment and perhaps even hurt.
If that's the case, then sadness is an appropriate response. But it's not just sadness for the things being said about religion in general and Christianity in particular, but a sadness that this kind of resentment is keeping people from seeing God for who He truly is. It really puts the burden back in the realm of thoughtful, loving Christ followers to do those things that bring honor to the name of Christ rather than defame it.
Caroline Ferdinandsen makes a terrific point in her most recent blog (see http://www.conversantlife.com/blogs/caroline+ferdinandsen) that these kinds of approaches detract from the real work being done by caring, talented, dedicated Christians who are bringing healing to "the least of these."
The reality is that people of faith can expect to be made fun of, even ridiculed. But rather than lashing back, we need to follow your advice to "keep ourselves humble and walk in grace." Of course, that doesn't mean that we lie down and remain passive. The efforts that you have made through your film and book, Purple State of Mind, show that creative and honest dialog can break down the barriers that exist between people of faith and people who resent faith.
I love this post! And posts like this! Our lack of humility, to me, does appear to be our problem! But I do agree that sometimes our critics can be downright cruel. I remember this one minister was busted for doing something he had just preached against, and the documentary I saw paused the middle of that sermon (he had the goofiest look on his face!) and put in subtitles how he had just contradicted himself. I did laugh at the look he had on his face though! But I am not ashamed because the documentary people looked bad (in that isolated case) because that preacher was humble (they had played a tape before of him saying something funny and sort of mocking his flaws). So, though he made a regrettable mistake, he does not come off as a hypocrite to me (even though the documentary tried to portray him as such) because he never acted like he wouldn't make a regrettable mistake! I don't know if that came out right! But herein is the underlying problem: THE REST OF THE CHRISTIANS PORTRAYED IN THE DOCUMENTARY WERE HYPOCRITES IN MY EYES. I have NO IDEA how to change this. I try to talk to our brethren, but it is like talking to a really arrogant brick wall! Maybe I need to talk to MYSELF! Anyways, thank you for imitating Christ's humility, Craig! It is a great example of faith for me to imitate!