This hilarious antireligious clip, taken from a 2011 episode of the Australian show “The Chaser”, was sent by reader Barry, who notes:
There’s no chance anything like this would ever appear on American television. Can you imagine the outrage if this appeared on Tosh.O or if Jimmy Fallon or Jay Leno ran such a segment?
Truefact, but a pity, because it’s funny!
The vomiting virgin Mary made my day. If a statue did that instead of crying, or if Jebus was strung up on the gallows instead of having been crucified, the ‘sanctity’ would disappear– who would be motivated to buy a gallows necklace or a statue with vomit painted all over it?
Oh my, don’t put ANYTHING past the religious!
Indeed.
Really, there’s nothing that’s less gruesome about a crucifix as compared to a gallows. It’s just that we’ve been conditioned to think of crosses appearing everywhere as normal.
Actually, while I’m sure hanging is a quite unpleasant way to go, it’s at least over in a matter of a couple minutes, the first part of which is tempered by shock and the last part by asphyxiation.
Crucifixion, on the other hand, is a long, slow, multi-day death by torture. There may be worse methods that humans have come up with to end each other’s lives, but I can’t think of any.
But, hey! Always look on the bright side of life, no?
b&
Flipping hilarious! Good onya Oz!
Here in the Netherlands, we mock religion all the time on television. Except for a few calvinists, no one is really shocked by it these days. (No surprise that the law against blasphemy is about to be repealed.)
Oh you foolish Dutch! You are SO tempting God Almighty to punish you by maybe making the seas inundate your lands, or something. If I were you I’d start building some pretty big dikes … oh, wait.
Dikes? They’ve got lesbians too? Boy, are they going to get it when god hears about this. 😉
It is truly shameful. Especially that bit about Hans Brinker and his propensity for digital manipulation. I simply cannot tolerate such filth. …interferes with my strict prayer schedule.
> Here in the Netherlands, we mock religion all the time on television.
You say “religion” but what you actually mean is “every religion other than Islam”, and particularly you mean “just Christianity”.
Even the linked clip just formally mentions Muslims, no way would they dare to show a vomiting Muhammad. They wouldnt even dare to show him not vomiting, just siting there and looking dull.
Naming the disproportionate mocking of christianity by the generic “mocking of religion” is just a way to fully intentionally disguise that only n=1 religions are actually mocked.
Everything else would be:
1) Racist, so the racist would have to lose his job.
2) Suicidal, because any random butthurt religionofpeacenick would slit his throat the moment he steps out of his workplace after being fired, or bomb the whole company in case he isnt fired.
The lesson Christians can learn here is that there actually is a proven and effective way to stop the mocking: simply start killing everybody who does it, and after the first exemplary public executions they will stop and start attacking christianophobia instead.
Damned god christians always have’n something to whine about. If they’re not going on about not getting enough attention they’re rubbed off about getting too much attention. What ‘ya gonna do?
Perhaps it could appear on Bill Maher’s show. But I can’t imagine it elsewhere.
Seriously, that black guy makes a valid point. Believing the bible is true (is telling true stories about the past) isn’t the same as wanting to apply ancient rules on today’s society.
(Personally, I have no idea if the bible is true, partially true or totally made up.)
No idea? Really? Like maybe there really was a talking snake?
How can one believe that the bible is really true and yet choose to ignore most of its rules and “teachings” (I use the word loosely here)? I have almost more respect (for lack of a better word) for fundamentalist who try to follow their silly sacred texts to the letter than the vast majority of christians who hypocritically pick and choose what to follow, yet still proclaim that garbage to be their god’s word and try to make everybody else live by it. As the ABC sketch notes, where are the asterisks identifying those rules that do not apply anymore? Why does homosexuality make baby Jeebus angry, while eating pork chops is ok? Thanks to 300 years of enlightenment and reason, much of christianity has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, and it is thanks to modern secular morality that most of its adherents would not stone adulterers, kill people for working on the sabbath and the like. If only they could be consistent and let go of the rest of their silly sacred texts, the world would be a much better place.
@Alektorophile 12:49 pm,
Me, too. Go to the Main Man, Jesus Hisself, who is said to have said,
Matt: 19-12.
If cutting off your future generations was good enough for one of the Church Fathers, Origen, it should be good enough for any Christian wanting to get on the guest list to the Paradise gig. It would half sort out the paedophilia shenanigans ‘n’ all.
Now, ask a Christian to cut his family jewels off for Jesus: faith can move mountains. Hyperbollock or what?
On the other hand, if you can’t have any offspring, won’t the Church die? You’re going to need the cojones to knock on strangers’ doors and evangeliiiise. God forbid.
“I have no idea if the bible is true, partially true or totally made up.”
??? What is the likelihood 1 myth in ~ 100 000 has even one fact correct? Zero to none.
But of course, use the usual religious special pleading and suddenly your religion is not 50 % but ~ 70 % apriori likely to have a claim correct.
If you believe that, I have a bridge in SF to sell you.
The only valid point “that black guy” made was an inadvertent one, invoked by his expression, hesitation and body language when being forced to confront his own contradictory view on which rule applies today and which one clearly does not — despite both rules being in adjacent passages “without an asterisk” as the Chaser so aptly put it.
@Peter E. 11:22 am
Peter, I don’t think it’s really the right way to pose the question. Of the 66 books of the Bible – an anthology – some poetical, some theological, some historical, some literary, some mythical, written over hundreds of years, it is evidently a priceless document. A pericope which informs us of the changing intellectual ideas of the Jews, for a start.
The Bible has lots of different points of view and evolving relationships with, and interpretations of, their God and the wider world. To assume that it may be ‘true’ implies its unchanging understanding of life, the nature of God and humankind’s relationship with God. That is not the case. The Jewish view of God was a ceaseless subject of debate; otherwise, why Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes and Christians?
“I don’t know.. I think you are twisting things..”
In the words of Peter Boghossian, “That guy needs to be at the children’s table.. he should not be allowed to make any decisions in the adult world.. no voting no driving.. nothing.”
Oh my head is going to explode from this nonsense.
Paul, not Peter. Otherwise, good point.
No. Peter Boghossian:
http://www.pdx.edu/philosophy/peter-boghossian
I liked their take on the WBC.
I loved that clip they showed of that ghastly woman from WBC appearing on Fox News. I never thought I’d be cheering Faux News but the WBC is obviously too extreme for anybody with even a smidgen of sense.
Oh, and the Chaser’s War reporter who was trying to feel up Fred Phelps should get a medal for bravery. I thought he was going to get lynched.
I think Americans would especially take umbrage over the fact that unsuspecting believers were having their ‘faith’ challenged on camera. Of course, we can all laugh when ordinary people can’t find Canada on a map or reveal that they think the earth goes around the sun every day, but religion is supposed to be a special refuge for the gullible, the simple, the ignorant, and the misinformed. As long as you sincerely believe you’re supposed to get a pass on whatever faith-based nonsense follows — whether you understand it or not.
Yes, Bill Maher could get away with it on US television. That’s probably it, though.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Oz and will be moving there this year having spent several years in the US (Euro/African before) – part of me will almost miss the religio-nonsense in the US, but at least I’ll always have WEIT to keep me up to date.
I wish I could say that CBC in Canada would have the guts to show something like this. They would chicken-out for sure. Great piece. Cuts to the quick. Good for the “Ozzies”.
“We look at agnostics, who’s started nailing themselves to a giant question mark.”
Perfect! No question about about that.
*Knock, knock!* Is there an echo echo in here here?
Okay, I’ll bite.
“Is there an echo echo in here who?”
b&
I’ll bite too too.
“Is there an echo echo in here who who?”
Horton. Horton hear, that’s who.
To be fair, it’s on our government broadcaster, which is only watched by lefties and pseudo-intellectuals (I love the station). The same station also has programs dedicated to religion, and shows Catholic choir on Sundays.
As an Australian, I’m proud of our comic tradition – much more linked to the BBC than anything in the US. I disagree with Kelskye, especially re the ABC TV. All sorts of demographics watch ABC, however our beloved radio station RN, has a following mostly of educated thinkers. The ‘Chaser’ Boys as we affectionately call these envelope pushers, sometimes do go over the edge. Indeed the program they were mocking was another ABC TV program.
George Carlin would love them, however he was never allowed on TV (was he?). I brought in his DVDs from Amazon over a decade ago, and now of course we have YouTube.
“Only” may have been a bit hyperbolic, but I think it is worth pointing out that the target demographic is hardly the mainstream that the three commercial networks vie for.
Thats nothing. Kids in the Hall poked fun at religion fairly frequently. For instance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At-dM_2kEQI
Not to mention Scott Thompson’s “preacher voice”
http://video.tvguide.com/Kids+In+The+Hall/Preacher/8020577
(Not available here in Canada where the show originated)
“(Not available here in Canada where the show originated)”
I believe that’s because the Treaty of Ghent obligates Canada to export all of her comedians to the U.S.
No, just those employing sufficiently simple language for USians. Newfies are rather subtle.
That’s Mark McKinney.
I watched that show all the time on HBO when it first aired here in the US. Hard to believe that was over 20 years ago.
..
I remember coming across that. Excellently funny. Shame you need an HBO subscription to get anything like that here.
I feel kinda dubious about this ambush style humor. It’s one thing to go after someone who’s trying to claim a position of authority and saying stupid stuff, but just walking up to completely random people on the street seems more like trolling.
From The Free Dictionary:
Christians really need to realize what their Holey Book is and we aren’t sending them out to die in the desert as the christians sometimes do with their children.
I’m all for pointing out hows stupid their religion is. I’m just uneasy about running down random people on the street for the purposes of mocking them.
Just my personal opinion, not trying to come across as a concern troll (though I probably already do).
My country isn’t perfect, but sometimes I’m so proud of it! Go Australia. haha
I must admit I felt a little bit that way too. The people they picked on were just perfectly good-natured people minding their own business. I’d rather they’d picked on preachers (as they did with Fred Phelps Junior in the clip Michael posted – that I thought was fair game).
But the agnostics nailing themselves to big question marks – that was hilarious. Not sure what dedicated atheists should do – somehow, not nailing oneself to anything seems somehow… understated. 😉
Oh drat. That post of mine was of course a reply to Microraptor. I always seem to have trouble with WP…
As an Aussie……”gotta love us”
Reblogged this on Mark Solock Blog.