Thursday, 26 June 2008
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Question of the Day: Offensive Jokes
Every now and then, someone jokes about Christianity in front of us. Sometimes (and to some of us) the joke seems pretty harmless. Other times, the joke is totally distasteful. This presents the dilemma of whether we should say something or let it slide. On the one hand, it seems right to stand up for what you believe in. On the other hand (and I've heard this argument before), "Christians should just deal with it since it's near-impossible to go through life without hearing something offensive, whether it be about your race, religion, gender... " If you do choose to call the person out, how do you do so in a way that agrees with Jesus' teachings? I fear being too defensive, thus marking the faith as "dangerous territory" and a taboo topic for conversation.
How do you react when someone makes an offensive joke or comment about Christianity in front of you?
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Comments (54)
I tell them to knock it off. I vehemently dislike derogatory or stereotypical comments about Christianity. It's the faith which both of my parents, my boyfriend, and some of my closest friends ascribe to and I'm not going to sit back and let their belief system take abuse simply because someone is ignorant.
You don't have to be a Christian to find insults immature. I don't even believe in god, but many of the people I know do, and I will defend them and their faith if I need to.
I also get irate when people make insulting remarks about non-Christians as well. I mean seriously, if you don't want people knocking your own beliefs, don't do it to others.
turn the other cheek.
We are going to be more of a witness or christian( for lack of better words) by our actions.
By being defensive, we put ourselves, automatically into the ground of radicals.
Would this be considered not standing up for what you believe? Well, there is only one man who can see the inside. So really its up to you.
I usually tell them that it's not funny and it's disrespectful. Though, jokes about Christianity are usually not nearly as bad as Jew jokes. It's horrible that people think it's alright to make holocaust jokes! I usually tell those people to pick up any book about Hitler, so they won't think such jokes are funny anymore.
The only "steryotype" jokes that are funny are blond jokes. XD (LOL, I'm a redhead.)
My husband & I deal with this quite regularly. We attend a so-called "mega-church" and a lot of our friends make jokes about it and say "that place is a cult", or things like that. I guess they think it is a "joke", but we find it hurtful because we are involved there and know the truth about it. We used to just ignore it, but then we started saying things and telling people that it was hurtful to us for them to say that about something we are a part of. Also, we invite people to come & find out for themselves with us. Nobody has ever taken us up on it (yet!), but we have found that the jokes & derogatory comments have almost stopped completely since we started speaking up.
you can take the joke personally or you can let it serve its purpose which is to provide laughter. i've never really heard of a christian joke but a joke about one's religion is probably similar to a joke about one's race, color, sex, etc. and for those jokes, you have to understand that they're just jokes..not insults. sure you can take them to be that way but it all depends on how the person delivers it..if they're clearly trying to offend you or not..
Dep;ends on the person. If I have confronted the person before, or on more than one occassion, I'll just ignore it. But if I haven't I will tell them that I do find it offensive, but most of the time I won't laugh and just look at the person with a straight face. They usually get the idea.
I don't really like the 'I find that offensive' tactic. It has been used before and it has been used wrongly so when you tell the person that they all of a sudden get defensive and rude. At least that is what experience has told me.
And I agree with Be_Still_andknow@xanga.
It depends.. sometimes the jokes can be hilarious. I have seen some episodes of The Simpsons, Family Guy, and SouthPark that are hiarious and then some I think go too far.
Depends upon the joke, the real subject (Christians? The state of the church today? Our Precious Lord and Savior?), and it depends upon who is telling it and why. But I always try to respond (not react) with the love of Christ toward the teller of the joke -- yes, always!
When it is derogatory against my precious Lord and Savior, I might say: "Clearly you do not know Him, and that is sad." Spoken with a sincere smile of love, this line has opened many a good conversation for me. No, sadly, not always.
I don't believe in God myself, but there is only so far people can go with jokes before I feel the need to call them out and point out that what they said is disrespectful. But then again, I am not offended too easily, as I listen to jokes all the time that I could easily take the wrong way (stupid atheist jokes, black people jokes, etc.). I suppose I'm just more of an easy-going person than others.
gonna have to give an example... if it shows they are misinformed about something that could help bring them to Christ, I think it would be good to correct them, but if not, let it go, there is no point in arguing whether or not Mary was a virgin her entire life.
I must say that I have gotten pretty angry with some comments that have been said to me about Christianity and haven't been too polite about my response. In most cases I try my best to be kind and just inform the person that they're entitled to their own beliefs and so am I. It usually shifts the conversation into another area without getting anyone too upset.
It's always good to stand up for what you believe in. And the best way that is still tasteful is to simply stop associating with that individual. They will get the point and clean up their act if they value the relationship. Also if you are very intelligent you can use suble humor to insult their intelligence. Be careful though for this to work they have to realize that they were insulted a couple of hours later or more. This is what I like to do.
Sitting and arguing wont get you anywhere.
if it's not a big deal I let it slide, but if it's really offensive I say something along the lines of "that's not nice!". Depending on the thing being said I can also elaborate on what was wrong and what is the right way to perceive the matter at hand.
I normally let it slide even though I feel I should say something. Thankfully most of my friends don't make those kindda jokes and even when they do, others'll tell them to cut it out cos they know I'm serious about my faith.
@onjerusalemhill@xanga - good point.
I've heard some pretty funny ones. But they're still blasphemy. Praise christ.
What's the difference between a Pizza and a Mexican?
Odds are you know the punch line to this "Joke." There's also a pretty good chance that you would never tell that joke in front of someone of hispanic descent, and if you did, you would probably change it from "Mexican" to Black, Pollock, Irishman, etc.
If you have the decency to do so, for one thing you know that the joke is inappropriate, and for another you are aware that making a derogatory comment about a certain group of people is "in poor taste" when a member of that group is around. This is not to say that all Christian Jokes are bad, in fact not a day goes by when I don't make a "Pastor Joke" of one kind or another. But if something is a truly offensive joke, you have every right, and I would say responsibility, to ask someone to refrain from making it, whether it's about Christians or not.
I'm not a christian, but here is what I would recommend.
Just ask yourself...WWJD...
Turn the other cheek, that's what!
Usually, I just think, "Whatever?" and go on. If I sense a misunderstanding of Christianity, I'll ask where that came from. It's the greatest thing when that springboards to a Gospel presentation. If that doesn't happen, they begin to feel the joke on them when they're called to give substance to their remarks. Whatever the case, don't get mad. "A kind word turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger."
The person that is telling a joke that mocks Christianity is cleary not born again, so I would privately get with the person and ask them questions about their beliefs and show them their need for a Savior by explaining God's moral law(Ten Commandments, then exalt Jesus telling them that He paid their sin penalty on the cross, rose from the dead, and if they repent and trust in Him they can be saved.
Jesus is returning very soon.....Do you know the Lord?
While in Iraq, a group of Sunnis scoffed at me for almost a month because I claimed God as my Father. In English they would point and call out, "Look, the son of God!" They challenged me to show them a sign, a supernatural sideshow. I tried to tell them Isa (Jesus) is THE Son; I'm A son and an ordinary man. They called me a liar. No son of God could be an ordinary man. Finally, I told them, "You're right." I realized I could do one thing. Anytime I can call, "Abba, Father" and the God who placed the stars and holds the moon safely on course is here with me. He may not grant my wishes but is always quick to answer, "I am right here son. What is it?" They never challenged me again but a couple of months later several of them would ask for and receive Bibles in their own language. They treated them as tablets of gold. If only kind words could always be so fruitful.
It really depends on what the Lord wants me to do. Sometimes the Lord may want you to say something and sometimes he won't want you to say something. It all depends on the Lord's feeling.
it depends on the joke.. sometimes they're funny! i take my faith seriously, i love my God, and i'm offended by jokes against GOD - if that's the case, i think it's fair to say it offends me. most people back off.
but i'm not usually offended by jokes against christians. sometimes they're kind of right..?! i think it's ok to laugh ourselves once in a while and even re-evaluate why/how we do certain things.
this is why people say christians have no sense of humor! :P
You could tell them a *CHRISTIAN* joke! Except...mostly all of them are terrible.
Stupid jokes are stupid. It would be more than likely that no one else laughs and if they do, "that was hilarious guys," and walk away.
I ask them to not tell jokes like that anymore. my religion means a lot to me, and it's offensive that they would make fun of it right in front of me. It's all in the way you say it. If you're gentle and nice about it, that's fine. If you get all huffy and defensive about it, you may be giving off the wrong vibe and putting out a bad name for Christians.
It depends how offensive it is. If it's just how weird some Christians behave, fine. Most of the time, it is true. -_____-" But if it's against God or any of the angels or saints, I usually tell them that I'm a Christian, and I find it offensive then ask them to please don't do it anymore.