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've got one for you....
I'm definitely NOT a Christian, but I think that just gives me a unique perspective on this that's important for others to read.
Once, I was walking with a couple of fellow students, among which there was one really devoted Christian. This guy is really intelligent - he'll have the highest SAT and GPA of his graduating class, even over my brother. I admire this quite a lot, particularly since he knows his bible, and can provide at least a quasi-logical explanation for most questions I have on the subject. Anyway, this day, I was prompted to make a rather cruel joke about Christianity. [In case you were curious, he dropped the bible he carries with him, and I said, "Oops! God just killed a kitten!"] The Christian didn't react at all, and I immediately felt bad for what I'd said, so I apologized. He just shrugged, and said, "That's alright." I was really taken aback, so I asked him further, and he just replied that he wouldn't be a very good Christian if he let things like that get under his skin, or even worse, if he let me get a poor impression of Christianity from his ungodly anger.
This whole situation was absolutely stunning to me. I have a huge amount of respect for this kid, and I had a lot more respect for his religion since that moment. I went through a huge revolution in my thinking - from hating all religion as evil and a waste of time, to understanding its positive role in the world and in the lives of individuals. I wish that more people in the world could be like this - Christian or not, and it was inspiring to see someone so positively affected by his faith.
Let him be an example for your behavior, and you might change the mind of a sarcastic, caustic atheist/agnostic like me.
as onjerusalemhill already mentioned, what the joke is really about.
if it's a fellow Christian and the joke is really rude, i tell him/her that it's not funny. if it's a person who does not know God, then i just shrug and basically say that it's not funny, too.
otherwise, i've been thinking about how we get defensive so quick sometimes and try to prove that it's all wrong and stuff... IMHO, if someone is trying to prove something to me, i put up barriers unless i trust this person's opinion or what he/she says makes sense. i guess i tend to be over analytical which leads me to carefully dissecting the point before i agree with it. sometimes it's just because i do not want to agree, i do not agree with the point.
all this to say, sometimes we overreact to jokes.
Usually when the joke's against Christians, there's some truth to it. The jokes make me think, and I explain to the joke-teller why the stereotype or insult or whatever is the way it is, but then I explain how and why it became that way, and also how it shouldn't be that way and not all Christians succumb to it. When the "joke" is against the Trinity, I ask the person to stop spreading this kind of nonsense because I don't spout out tales against other people's beliefs, and I'd appreciate the same treatment.