OK, I got your Religious Tolerance right here:

[Tyler Durden]

I told a couple of the MOST INNOCUOUS religious jokes from that list before (the one about Jesus playing golf and thinking he's Tiger Woods comes to mind) and SOMEONE just showed me an email joke about Hindus and Indians that was about one step away from being outright racist (paraphrase: when hindu couple marries, husband scratches off dot on the brides forehead: winners get a 7/11 in the US, losers get a job with Dell Service in Calcutta).

Just to show a level of religious tolerance, I hinted that the joke was not funny due to its making fun of a religious practice.
Person in question brought up my joke, and I tried to point out the difference: that it would be like me saying if you pull the cross around the neck of a christian and let it go they'll say a bible verse. This person did not see the point at all: "Well, that's just what I think."

OhhhKay.

See what I'm saying here? The Hindu joke is JUST FINE to this fundamentalist, while Jesus walking on water to make a golf shot on a water hazard is SACRELIGIOUS.

THAT is the difference: THEY can throw as many snakes as they WANT into OTHER RELIGIONS, but if you do it to THEM (and it's up to them to make the decision on both sides of the argument)...KATY BAR THE DOOR.

[EstimatedProphet]

1. Of course! They're right after all

They can do whatever they want, because their beliefs are right. Anyone who believes anything else is wrong, so they deserve ridicule. Didn't you know that?

[Tyler Durden]

3. Remember to limit that to SOME FUNDAMENTALISTS.

I'd say most or all, but that would be intolerant!

[EstimatedProphet]

5. I thought you were talking about Christian conservatives

Which I think describes them well. I know that some fundamentalists are very open-minded - Carter comes to mind.

[Tyler Durden]

7. You know, we have to be so careful about how the argument is framed...

...sometimes, I just want a scorecard or a rulebook.

Besides, I've always felt the words "CHRISTIAN" and "CONSERVATIVES" were mutually exclusive (at least in this incarnation) as Christians are supposed to be liberal in their religion and tolerance, while Conservatives (Neo's) behave in the least Christian fashion imaginable.

[sutz12]

43. A rulebook wouldn't help...it gets revised more often than the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. nt

:evilgrin:

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. Carter is not a fundamentalist - he is an evangelical.

BIG difference.

He does NOT believe the earth is 6000 years old. He believes the bible to be divinely inspired, not inerrant.

[EstimatedProphet]

27. That's true. I stand corrected.

[BOSSHOG]

2. Hey, this is a Christian Country what do you expect?

I have a hard time turning christianity into humor, unless of course maybe a big stoning at Wal-Mart's parking lot on Sunday Morning. Or the ever hilarious torching of a gay bar, talk about wacky christian humor. I am amused at those who depict Christ on the cross on Easter by having themselves tied to the cross (just like Jesus) or the guys who carry the cross through town or on a highway or through the french quarter, with a wheel on the long end of the cross. (Jesus had a wheel didn't he?) Hey lighten up a bit, making fun of non-white, non-christians is fair game. After all this is the land of the free.

[Nunyabiz]

6. Actually this is a "Secular Country"

that unfortunately has approx. a 70-72% of its population that claim to be Christian.
Fortunately the sheer insanity of religious belief is waning at about 1% per year and has been for the last 17 years.

Religious zealots are incapable of laughing at a joke based on their Psychosis.

Anytime a human has a "strongly held belief" threatened, the brains natural self defense mechanism kicks in "Cognitive Dissonance".
Religion becomes an obsession, the more Religious you are the more obsessed you become, the more obsessed you become the more important this "belief" becomes.
With religion this belief will generally take over your entire life, quite often making IT the most important THING in your life, such is the NATURE of an OBSESSION.
How many times have you heard some deeply religious nut when asked "What is most important, or comes first in your life"?
Without a seconds hesitation even with this zealots spouse & or children sitting right there, what do you more often than not hear?

"JeeesaaaSuuuSaa" or "my lord and savior Jesus Christ" etc.

Now to me that just sickens me to no end, that poor deluded human needs desperately to be yanked up right then and there and forcibly Deprogrammed back to REALITY.

This person you can be certain has lost all grip on reality, has become absolutely obsessed with this fictitious father figure that doesn't really exist in a physical sense, just in their MIND.

Now once a person gets this messed up, this obsessed, in what they believe to be completely real, totally infallible, absolute truth.
Then when they hear anything that does not agree with their obsession, they can and all to often will become militant in their defense of this cognition.
It becomes not much if any different than someone attacking your Mother, you will jump all over them in instant defense. That is inherent to being human, it's a natural reflex.

The BIG difference is your Mother is REAL, your "Belief" is just in your MIND, but it makes no difference, because that obsession has become real to YOU. It doesn't matter how wrong it is, how absurd it is, how much hard tangible empirical evidence there is that clearly shows your obsession to be pure mythology, to be just a figment of an active imagination, because to you its just as real as your mother sitting there.

Such is the Mind Plague called Religion, now your religion, your "relationship" with this fictitious father figure gets attacked in whatever manner, be it by other zealots saying your father is wrong, theirs is right, or that your father has said that Gays are an abomination and are to be despised to be treated as less than human because they are going to hell.
Or maybe your father/religion has told you other races of people are not to be trusted because they will lead you away from me, and my teachings, and you know son that I would not lead you away from heaven, so you MUST distrust these other races.
Many times this distrust turns into HATE.

It would really be the same as your REAL parent instilling in you their belief that Gays are bad, Blacks are bad, etc.
Except as a general rule you stop believing that your REAL parent is some knowing all, does all, supplies all, can defeat all, can protect you against anything, super human, by the time you are about maybe 5 years old.
Now your "Lord Parent" has taken over that role that made you feel so safe as a child, this lord parent can do all, is all, was all, will heal you, help you, feed you, clothe you, and all you have to do is "pray" to him.

The perfect parent/child relationship.

Yet is only in your Mind.

This is why Religion is a diabolical insidious Mind Plague.
It is NOT real, it does NOT make you a better human being, I will not save you from anything especially death.
In some people it is almost dormant, in many others it is extremely debilitating even contagious.
In ALL humans it only serves as the most divisive behavior the human animal has against it, without it we would all be much more tolerant towards our fellow humans, be much more willing to accept factual reality & scientific fact thus move on as a growing species.

Authoritarian social control (religion) has brought humanity to its present most dangerous condition, an explosive mixture of over-population, mass ignorance, anger, frustration and power mongering, where the technological ability to destroy a planet comes under the control of people with essentially the mind-set of savages.

This is the scary part, we have scientist which have for years broken out of that primitive ignorance that society in general tries to impose upon them, this is why we have the technological advances we do today most are harmless, many very helpful such as medications etc. but there are also the areas of science that have brought into light very destructive forces such as all the various WMD be they Chemical, Biological, Nuclear created by those on a higher level of Consciousness , which is handed to what amounts to humans with no more base intelligence (George Bush) than that poor deluded human several thousand years ago whom perceived that thunder storm that just rumbled though his campsite as a sign of some supernatural Godman that’s pissed & hurling thunderbolts at him for reasons he can only imagine.

[libodem]

11. Very thoughtful comment Nunya

I was just watching the Inquisition on PBS last night. What absolute ignorance. I thought, I know what side Bush-co would be on. The Catholic Church's offense on Lutherans and heretics sounds like our excuses for warrantless wiretaps and Gitmo rolled into one nightmarish scenario. Welcome to DU. I need a lot of tolerance for most religion. The stuff we do in the name of, God.

[rasputin1952]

23. I watched that as well, as I have always been interested in that

time period. Ghastly things were done by sadistic zealots in the name of a God they spoke of as merciful, hypocrisy manifested to a new degree af absurdity.

It was, and sometimes still is, a "crime" to think! That poor student who was boiled in water, oil, tar and turpentine, just for seeking truth...what is the matter w/people? This is NOT the God I know, it is evil wrapped in vestments of purity, I wish I had been around back then, no way I'm going to get boiled w/o a fight, that bishop would have been toast, he ruled through fear, he should have felt some himself...:grr:

[rasputin1952]

22. Welcome to DU Nunyabiz

:hi:

[Nunyabiz]

25. Thanks

[rasputin1952]

28. People need to lighten up, the whole...

"Wrath of God/Fire and Brimstone" aspect needs to sit down and relook at what religion is all about.

If they are going to base their 'fight' on a lack of a sense of humor, they are in big trouble anyway...:)

[Lance_Boyle]

39. Howdy from Durham, Nunya.

:hi:

[Nunyabiz]

42. Howdy back from Raleigh

:hi:

[hfojvt]

40. given that analysis

then it should be perfectly okay to make fun of the Hindu's mind plague as well.

Welcome to DU Nunyabiz. :hi: We need more religion bashers here. Because, bashing religion is the best way to get more of the 72% who claim to be Christians to vote for Democrats.


Okay, maybe not, but it is a holy mission from either the FSM or Darryl Dawkins or his other brother, Sam-bam.

[Bluerthanblue]

54. hmmmm......

you express a pretty "strongly held belief"-

And I won't use your post to conclude that means you are:

Psychotic

Obsessed

Suffering from a "Mind Plague"

Consider yourself "better" than others

Intolerant towards those who don't agree with you

Angry

Suffering from primitive ignorance

Believe you have a "higher level of Consciousness" than anyone else

......

:crazy:

:shrug:

peace,
blu

[madokie]

4. life is tough enough without throwing religion in the mix, methinks

[seabeyond]

8. i might be confused. please clarify. you throw out a jab at christianity?

then someone comes back to throw a jab at hinduism? you say the hindu joke not funny? they say christian joke not funny? then you say fundamentalist oversensitive and wrong and one step away from being outright racist?

?

[sheerjoy]

9. Get used to it here. n/t

[Tyler Durden]

12. Nobody picked on you until you got condescending about it.

When someone is treated as foolish because they don't believe as you do, that's over the line and whatever you get you provoked.

[Bluerthanblue]

57. so tit for tat eh?

we've been doing that since the begining of time, and where has it gotten us???

If something is wrong, does it become 'right' for us when we employ it?

[Goblinmonger]

37. Yeah, Christians are SOOOO persecuted here

:nopity:

[Bluerthanblue]

58. think this through

and change "Christians" to any other group-

Perhaps one that you don't find immediately offensive.

Persecution can begin 'innocently' enough- but it matures into an ugly destructive force.
Always-

Why can't we learn from the past??? How many times do we need to go through this?

[Bluerthanblue]

56. why?

being silent is giving approval.

Is it really ok?

[Tyler Durden]

10. Where was the jab at christianity?

Jesus walked on water, but doesn't play golf as well as Tiger Woods, Moses says so.

WHERE is the jab at Christianity? I made no joke about one of their symbols being silly or foolish.

HOWEVER, a RELIGIOUS SYMBOL of Hinduism is made fun of as if it was a "Scratch off lottery card."

I see a distinction. If you don't then I do what I've been told is appropriate: I apologize and shut up, BUT I expect something more than "WELL, that's what I THINK," in regards to Hinduism.

[seabeyond]

13. Jesus walked on water, but doesn't play golf as well as Tiger Woods, Moses says so.

that was the joke. jesus walks on water and doesnt play golf as well as woods, moses says so.

ok

dont get it.

hm

since you didnt share what the christian joke was, how in the world could i see any kind of distinction.

and no.... by posting what i did i am not defending the person telling the hindu joke. i dont believe in hurting others, period. when they are around or not around. that is not what my post is about. i am also not an oversensitive christian that feels the need to defend christ. not my job i am sure. not to mention i have my own HUGE issues with the religion and take personal responsibility for the damage they have caused last decade. just so no more assumptions are made about me, the christian... i am a defender of those angry at my religion

[Tyler Durden]

15. fine. here it is.

Jesus and Moses are playing golf. Jesus says "I'm going to try a 5 Iron off the tee," Moses says, "You've got to be kidding. Tiger Woods couldn't clear that water hazard with a 5 Iron." Jesus takes the shot and dumps it in the water hazard, so he strolls across the water to take his second shot.

Two other golfers see Jesus, one says, "LOOK, that guy is walking on water! Who does he think he is, Jesus Christ?"

Moses says, "No, that IS Jesus Christ. He THINKS he's Tiger Woods."


It makes fun of no religious symbols, it invites no disbelief. The Hindu joke does both.

[Clark2008]

18. Yes it does: walking on water IS a symbol.

They're both intolerant. I would argue both a relatively funny, but if you're going to preach (no pun intended) about intolerance, don't go telling jokes about ANY group of people, which, of course, would be boring.

[Tyler Durden]

20. Fine, then I appologize. HOWEVER...

I would equate making fun of a crucifix with the joke about Hindus, and also, it's racist.

Making fun of the TILAK to a devotee of Shiva is similar to making fun of Christ on the cross. Walking on the water hazard makes no fun of the fact...in my mind. The joke is he may be Jesus, but he's not Tiger Woods.

[Nunyabiz]

24. This argument shows quite clearly

just how everything about religion is viewed as intolerant.
Just making a simple joke is considered sacrilegious, this is because those messed up on religion are obsessed with it and view this "belief" as THE most important thing in their life.
There is no winning when talking about religion it is always a lose/lose situation, this is what makes it THE most divisive factor that the human species has wrought upon itself.

[Bluerthanblue]

60. sacrilegious? could it

be that a person doesn't like to have an aspect of who they consider themself to be made the brunt of a joke?

Personally I don't find "________" jokes funny- (blond, Polish, any other 'group')

The Tiger Woods joke used the play on names cleverly- and didn't offend me, but I can't dictate another persons comfort, or sensitivity.

What do you consider "winning" when talking about anything Nunyabiz?

As for humor, there are many people who are offended by things that others find 'hilarious'- Things that have nothing whatsoever to do with "religion". But everything to do with being HUMAN.

The human species is full of many different individuals. With many different 'humor/insult' thresholds.

[seabeyond]

62. my nephew told son lets play "smear the queer". a football game

i called nephew in and told him use a different name for the game. we dont like that name in this house. i understand his household sees it differently, but we dont like it.

he told his father

i got my ass chewed out by father for hurtig sons feelings and i am just overly sensitive because my two brother in laws are gay. he KNOWS that gays are not offended by this and his boys should not have to tippy toe in our house cause we are overly snesitive here

this whole argument doesnt work. getting to tell some jokes, not others, who is suppose to be offended who is not.

[Bluerthanblue]

64. I understand- actually

the 'jokes' my children pick up and bring home to share has been very telling, and sometimes discomforting. We have become much more aware of the words we use, and the way we treat each other. My youngest son is extremely sensitive, and also very 'literal'- He has taught me a lot about myself. Much of it pretty humbling.

Quite a bit of anger and hostility gets disguised as "humor" or "sarcasm"- And it has gotten worse and worse under *. If you listen to his "jokes"- they are - almost without exception- very thinly veiled "put-downs"- It's rare for him to do jokes where he is the 'brunt'-of one.

I like humor that pokes good fun at "myself"- or "us"- but that is my own preference. Or jokes where our humanity in our sometimes ridiculous positions are exposed- but which is "inclusive" rather than a "oh you know how stupid they are.

I hope you hold your ground with your b/i/l. We have rules in our home too- Your nephews need to have your family in their circle of influence. It isn't about "tippy-toeing"- It is about being genuine.- and learning to live together happily.

peace,
blu

[dogday]

35. Very well stated nt

[Goblinmonger]

38. Give it a rest

walking on water is NO WHERE NEAR the same as the racist, bigoted joke that was told about Hindus. One is about the diety alone. The other is a stereotype of the people following a religion and the occupations they have because they are Indian. Not even close.

[Nunyabiz]

41. Yet BOTH

are about the figments of very vivid imaginations.
In reality it is basically the same as making a joke about Zeus or Leprechauns.

Far as I am concerned the figments of imaginations should all be fair game in the joke category.

[Goblinmonger]

44. One is about a figment

the other is about a practice that people actually do and then the racist assumptions about what those people do for a living.

If it were a joke about a Hindu god, I would have no problem. But it wasn't. It was a racist, bigoted attack at a group of people. Big difference.

[Bluerthanblue]

61. who are you to

tell anyone what they are allowed to be offended by?

I can't tell you what you feel. You have every right to state your opinion, but you don't have the right to dictate to others what feelings they must feel.

Nothing wrong with asking others to question themselves, but "Give it a rest"- as if your take on their perception was the only acceptable one is kind of intolerant, no?

[seabeyond]

21. i dont care about either joke, because i dont think either belief is that

weak or in need of defense. i do say though that i think your argument is weak on this one. it seems to me the very thing you are arguing about the christian is exactly what you are doing to the christian. which i find ironic and always the amusing in life. so i guess in the scheme of life, this would be my funny.

i have plenty of things i challenge the christian on. your post brings me more to challenge your own view.
that doesnt happen with me often on this board. generally i am on your side.

peace to you

[iverglas]

26. Tiger Woods??

Jeez, I'm old. I'm still telling it as Arnold Palmer. ;)

From the perspective of the kind of Christianity I was reared in (and left at 15), it might actually be a very Christian reminder of the humanity of Jesus. Funnier than the fit he threw at the Pharisees, anyhow.


and PS -- I would be very surprised if that joke had never been told by a United Church of Canada minister from the pulpit, perhaps for that very purpose.

[iverglas]

29. oh, and by the way

You gave an abridged version.

Jesus is insistent on using a particular golf club for the shot (I know nothing of golf clubs), which Moses advises against. Jesus tries it three times. The first two times, the ball lands smack in the middle of the pond, Moses parts the water, goes and picks up the ball, hands it back to Jesus and says "for god's sake, use a <insert name of golf club more likely to succeed>". The third time, he washes his hands of it, and Jesus heads off across the water.

So then we'd need to be asking a Jew whether s/he is offended ...

It's actually one of my favourite jokes. ;)

[iverglas]

33. and on a more serious note

I think maybe the distinction not being articulated is: would a believer of the religion involved in the joke tell the joke him/herself? People's religions really are their own business, unless *they* choose to try to make them someone else's business. How ridiculous or reasonable their beliefs might be just isn't my business.

I'm not a Christian, but I know for sure that all the Christians I know would tell the Jesus and Moses playing golf joke, so I have no compunctions about telling it. (In fact, as I said above, I think it is a *Christian joke*.) Would a Hindu tell the forehead spot joke? I tend to think not. I think it both mocks a religious symbol and mocks people, partly by conflating Hindus with a stereotype of Indians. It is bigoted, both based on religion and based on ethnicity. Now, a Hindu might tell it to bemoan a particular state of affairs, but I don't think that's how non-Hindus are telling it.

I mentioned the United Church of Canada in my other post. It recently stirred up controversy over an ad campaign to generate interest among the 30-45 age group where it was losing membership.

An op-ed piece in a Canadian newspaper:
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Opinion/Religion/2006/11/18/2404393-sun.html

As for the campaign itself, it is consistent with our United Church ethos, warts and all, which is more about making you think than telling you what to think.

I think the ads are brilliant.

The bobble-headed Jesus ad asks whether it's funny or a ticket to hell. I don't own a bobble-headed Jesus. I do own a Jesus action figure to go along with my Moses action figure. Am I going to burn in hell for blasphemy? Or am I keeping my faith light-hearted? Hmmmmm.

The decision as to whether to keep one's "faith" (a term I vehemently object to) light-hearted is one to be made by its adherents, each for him/herself or as a group, I'd say.

http://www.wondercafe.ca/

The ad campaign link is in the bottom left corner. And don't miss the E-Z Answer Squirrel video (in the bottom right corner): E-Z Answer Squirrel, does God hate me 'cause I'm gay? Do it in honour of Jerry. ;)

But sheesh. The United Church of Canada should know that it's the E-Zed Answer Squirrel.

The bobble-headed Jesus ad in question:

[sutz12]

45. I don't care if it rains or freezes....

Long as I have my plastic Jesus
Sittin' on the dashboard of my car.

Cool Hand Luke

[iverglas]

47. I can never remember that one when I want it!

So now you made me go looking. At least I remember the tune!

http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/plastic0.htm

ARTIST: George Cromarty and Ed Rush
TITLE: Plastic Jesus
Lyrics and Chords

{There is considerable debate about the actual authorship of this song, with partisans leaning to Ernie Marrs, Ed Cromarty and George Rush (the Goldcoast Singers), and to old revival-tent spirituals. It seems that the original was in fact the Goldcoast Singers, but in the context of a fake spiritual radio broadcast, including only two verses and no chorus. Marrs developed it into a much more complete song, and apparently took credit. Below is Marrs' version, and a considerable number of additional verses.}

I don't care if it rains or freezes
'Long as I got my plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Through my trials and tribulations
And my travels through the nations
With my plastic Jesus I'll go far

Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
I'm afraid He'll have to go
His magnets ruin my radio
And if I have a wreck He'll leave a scar

Riding down a thoroughfare
With His nose up in the air
A wreck may be ahead, but He don't mind
Trouble coming He don't see
He just keeps His eye on me
And any other thing that lies behind

Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Though the sunshine on His back
Make Him peel, chip and crack
A little patching keeps Him up to par

When I'm in a traffic jam
He don't care if I say "damn"
I can let all my curses roll
Plastic Jesus doesn't hear
'Cause he has a plastic ear
The man who invented plastic saved my soul

Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Once His robe was snowy white
Now it isn't quite so bright
Stained by the smoke of my cigar

If I weave around at night
And policemen think I'm tight
They never find my bottle, though they ask
Plastic Jesus shelters me
For His head comes off, you see
He's hollow, and I use Him for a flask

Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Ride with me and have a dram
Of the blood of the Lamb
Plastic Jesus is a holy bar

{Plastic Jesus has become quite entrenched in the folk tradition, so there are considerably more folk verses than there were original ones. Following are folk additions and emendations, as well as additions from recording artists who have covered this song.} ...

[Goblinmonger]

36. Do you really think those are the same?

One is a joke about a diety and the miracles in the bible. How is that a "jab"? The other is clearly racist and bigoted. Scratch the dot off of the head--you REALLY think that is the same as a walking on water while playing golf joke.

Wow, it amazes me how much Christians look to be persecuted.

[seabeyond]

48. you ask your question, have your whole argument without me then condemn

me before i even have a chance to say a word. not to mention your selective reading of my posts filling it with a bunch of assumption to then attack me. smooooooth.

my guess is you dont need nor want an answer for me. your intent to attack. just as you did

those were questions in that post because the op did not say what the christian joke was. hence me asking for "clarification PLEASE". i didnt have a clue what the joke was.

[Goblinmonger]

49. I made a response to you

in light of the OP. I don't know how that is having my "whole argument" without you. The OP made it clear it was a Jesus playing golf joke vs. scratch the dot off the Hindu joke. You then said they were both jabs. I questioned that. You can certainly respond, but I didn't make too much of a leap, there.

[zappa_parappa]

14. I find all religious practices inherently stupid

and therefore very funny.

[seabeyond]

BUT if a religious person were to say that to you it would be offensive

wrong and so many other things, correct? or would you have a sense of humor about it? i dont have a clue. just a question. and i personally do not care that you find all religious practices inherently stupid ergo funny. i am sure you would seeing how you dont believe there is a god (another assumption). i dont take you comment as a personal insult and i can see you points in many ways. my belief structure is convoluted at best.

really my point is in our anger what a sect of christianity has done in this nation has put us in a real bind as far as accepting each other on all sides. it seems to me. and for me that is the issue. how to heal.

[Tyler Durden]

17. If he said to you outside of a legitimate context....

...like a formal religious discussion or if you were evangelizing him...just like out of the blue, then yeah, he'd be offensive.

[Tyler Durden]

16. Which is of course, your right....

BUT it is NOT your right to walk into one of their churches or gatherings and ridicule them.

It IS your right to ridicule them IF and WHEN they decide to aggressively proselytize you.

[zappa_parappa]

31. What people do in their own churches is up to them

I keep my ridicule silent until they ask my opinion, or try to convert me.

[Bluerthanblue]

63. I actually agree with you Tyler!

if someone is proselytizeing you- you have every right to state your position in what ever way you like.

We do all have our own prejudices and prefrences. It is part of being human. It is when we gather together in 'gangs' or 'groups' based on the prejudices that great harm often follows.

What bothers me about this thread is that you began with your perception of an experience with your co-worker. In subsequent replies this quickly turned into an opportunity for people to post their own personal prejudices about 'christians' and other 'religious' people. No one has "proselytized' about 'christ' here, but the ridicule is obvious. Do you see it?

thanks-
blu

[Beelzebud]

30. I believe in free speech.

Jesus walks into an inn. He hands the guy behind the desk three nails and says: "Could you put me up for the night?"

[sutz12]

46. I'm sorry, but that is just hilarious.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Kazak]

32. Why did Jesus cross the road?

He was nailed to a chicken?

:shrug:

[seabeyond]

34. oooosh... wink. those too sensitive christians. no sense of humor

huh

[DemBones DemBones]

50. Here's the key question: does the person you told the joke to

KNOW that the bimla is a symbol with religious significance?

I would guess not. I would guess most Americans don't know that.

If you simply said "that it would be like me saying if you pull the cross around the neck of a christian and let it go they'll say a bible verse," you didn't give the person any real information but confused the issue.

Your analogy only works if a person understands the significance of the bimla/tilak to a Hindu and the significance of the cross to a Christian -- and if the two are fairly equivalent. It also requires the person to compare the two jokes to get your analogy. That's a lot to expect of a person who's being put on the spot.

Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent analogy if it's analyzed but it's not easy to think analytically when you're feeling defensive, as I think the other person must have been.

You are correct that the person did not see the point at all but it seems that's because you didn't really explain it. If you had said "Did you know that the mark symbolizes that a person is a Hindu in the same way that wearing a cross symbolizes that a person is a Christian? The mark is a religious symbol," the person might have seen your point.

As a Christian, I don't find the joke about Jesus offensive and I wonder if the average Hindu would be as offended by the joke you were shown as you were. I wasn't offended by your "if you pull the cross around the neck of a christian and let it go they'll say a bible verse," either.

[seabeyond]

51. or it could be that the offended person knows how the op feels about christians

he has certainly made it clear on ths thread. and maybe that is the sensitivity. this is why all of this is so hard. i like your approach cause it works with compassion and respect and even in the explaining to correct it is from the heart. regardless of my disagreements with christians, when i speak it is not to hurt, and they can hear that. so regardless if it is harsh, it allows us to be open to one another. not defensive.

[DemBones DemBones]

52. That's a good point. I was surprised by the OP because

I didn't recall that the poster had expressed anti-Christian attitudes before.

If the OP has expressed anti-Christian attitudes to the person, and the person is Christian, the Jesus/Tiger Woods joke takes on a different context. Some Christians might be quite offended by the joke, though I haven't known any Christians who were that humorless.

OTOH, if someone often told me jokes that are slightly offensive to Christians, I would eventually be offended because his/her prejudice would be clear.

As I remember, the OP doesn't tell us that this person is Christian or was offended, just talks about Christians being intolerant and racist.

Maybe the person thought "Hey, this Indian joke is kind of funny, like the Jesus/Tiger Woods joke," and didn't see either one as disrespectful or racist.


Oddly enough, two or three weeks ago, I was asked what that red dot on the forehead means and I wasn't sure. I've read the Bhagavad Gita, some of the Upanishads, a lot about Indian art, both by Western authors and by the great Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (spent a lot on one of his books when I was a poor college student), read about the Sepoy Rebellion as well as Ghandi, fell in love with the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore when I was 17 and have read a lot of novels and short story collections by contemporary Indian authors -- so I think I know more about Indian culture than many Americans do, but I didn't know the bindi or bimla was a religious symbol and am still a bit unsure.

My husband also has studied Indian art (we've also studied Chinese and Japanese art) and the Bhagavad Gita and the Sepoy Rebellion and Ghandi. But he came home one day and said he'd seen an Indian woman we've known for several years and she had a red dot on her forehead that looked like it was plastic. (We've never seen her wear one before.) He asked me if I knew what they signified and I told him they were called bindi and I'd seen the plastic stick-on ones for sale; I think that's how I knew the name "bindi." I thought there were different markings for different castes and for married and unmarried women. We were without internet service at the time so we couldn't look it up.

When I looked it up the other day, I learned that it symbolizes being Hindu and is a religious symbol -- but on the same page it said Hinduism is not a religion!!! I'm not sure exactly what to make of that. :shrug: Maybe our Indian friend can explain it to me.

I also read about the different caste marks and the red mark that signifies a woman is married. Also, people wear different marks to show devotion to Shiva or Vishnu, etc. This was either at Hindu.net or Tamilnation.net (or .org.) if anyone's interested. Both sites were interesting.

[Marr]

53. You sound like the hypersensitive party here, sorry.

You told them a Christian joke, knowing they were Christian. They responded by sending you a (admittedly tasteless) joke of their own, and you go out of your way to tell them it's not funny.

Do I have this backwards or something? If your skin is that thin, perhaps you shouldn't be poking people.

[treestar]

55. Jokes like these should only be told about one's own religion

A friend of mine asked me how the Grand Canyon was made, and I said how, and he said, "A Jew lost a nickel." Then he said, "I'm Jewish, so I can tell that joke." Seems like a pretty good rule to me. I'd never tell that joke. I'd just tell the Jesus golf jokes.

It's funny how right wingers get critical of how violent the Muslims alledgly are when some Christian insults their religion - yet it's hard for me to picture these fundies tolerating the Muslims making fun of Christianity. They claim they would not march in the street shouting "Death to the Muslims" or whatever, but they'd do it on their computers, and there it's just a matter of each culture's access to different forms of communication.

[toddaa]

59. Blasphemy v. Racism

That's the distinction that no one seems to be making about the OP. The Jesus golfing joke is apparently blasphemous to some, whereas the scratch the dot joke is clearly racist. Now, I love a good blasphemy joke as much as the next heathen scum, but I draw the line at racist jokes. Why? Because blasphemy jokes are about mythological creatures and racist jokes are about real flesh and blood people. There's your distinction.

Also, it helps to know your audience.

[sheerjoy]

65. Oh well....

A father is in church with three of his young children, including his five year old daughter.

As was customary, he sat in the very front row so that the children could properly witness the service.

During this particular service, the minister was performing the baptism of a tiny infant. The little five year old girl was taken by this, observing that he was saying something and pouring water over the infant's head.

With a quizzical look on her face, the little girl turned to her father and asked: "Daddy, why is he brainwashing that baby??"

[rucky]

66. Christ is the one true path

silly Rabbai!