Parody
and Spoof Sites That Claim to Be Christian
(Examples
of such sites are below, in Section 3) |
I'm writing
this for Christians who may be fairly new to the web or those who
are extremely naive.
If you're a
Christian: beware. Many Non-Christians
think it hilarious to make sites that appear to be by Christians.
These guys get their jollies mocking Christianity in a subtle way.
Some of them implement this "flame bait" or "troll
bait" because they hope you fall for the hoax and send them e-mails
or post in their guestbooks. Why? They find it funny to see Christians
get angry and worked up, especially if it's over a fake page.
I
generally don't mind t.v. shows or web pages that take a poke or two
at Christians (or Christianity), but I do object to sites that
(1) try to mislead
people into thinking their site (or whatever form their spoof takes)
is real; and
(2) use a parody
site to mask hatred of Christianity, i.e., to portray all Christians
(or Christianity) in a derogatory way - ones that are ultimately
nothing but mockery and disrespect hiding under the guise of being
for laughs
One
of the few positive things that can be said for for some of these
parody sites is that they actually reveal the anti-Christian bigotry
held by many atheists.
On
one discussion board (Whistle
Stopper: "And religious folk wonder why they aren't taken seriously"),
many on both sides (theist and atheist) assumed that the parody site
"Christian Ministries" was genuine.
Along
the way, the atheists at the board either implied that (or outright
made the predictable comments) about Christians supposedly being narrow
minded, stupid, and idiots, all citing comments from the fake "Christian
Ministries" site (or just its sheer existence) as their proof.
So
it turns out that a site which appears to be by Non-Christians for
the purpose of making Christians look like morons has the reverse
effect, for it demonstrates the uncritical thinking that some atheists
engage in, and how eager they are to misrepresent
Christians.
(For
some reason, it's very important to most atheists to believe that
all or most Christians are brain dead.)
(1)
Parody by Christians: Apologetix
(a band that does parodies)
(2)
Christian
Hoax Page
"The
power of the gospel is found in the saving grace of Jesus through
what he achieved on the cross. We do not need to add fake stories
and feel goods. If Jesus does not attract then anything else is
but shadow and dust!"
Section
2
LINKS
AND COMMENTARY ON CHRISTIAN PARODY SITES & RELATED INFO
BY NEUTRAL SOURCES
|
A Hotbed
of Anti-Triclavianism
Objective: Christian Ministries is on the radar again due to its
new campaign against the heresy of triclavianism (the belief that
only three nails were employed in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ).
Previously
known for its campaign to shut down the arch-satirical Landover
Baptist Church, as well as the shocking allegation that Apple Computer,
Inc. is a 'front for evolutionism,' the site is so deadpan it may
may seem real on first viewing, but in fact it's a spoof. (If you
don't believe me, check out the products in its online store —
the Ruby Matrimony Thong, for example — for clues as to just
how serious these 'Christians' really are.)
(2) Blog
o Dob
Excerpt from Blog
o Dob on Religious Parody:
The
website ["Christian Ministries"] itself is in fact clever
and rather funny. What bothers me is the way our culture has got
us reacting to it. I was a little disturbed that my friend's first
reaction was to say things like "these idiots must be stopped."...
We
hear this kind of thing all the time, especially when people talk
about the "Religious Right" as though it's some kind of
dangerous cabal. But look, even if the made-up views on "Objective:
Christian Ministries" were somebody's real beliefs... really,
"must be stopped"? Stopped from doing what? And what would
we do to stop them?
....
Anyway, what bothers me is how easily we--those of us both with
and, worse, without an anti-Christian axe to grind--accept that
this is what Christians are like.
Examples:
This
online diarist expends a good number of pixels ridiculing
the ignorance of the "moronic" fundamentalists on "Objective:
Christian Ministries" and deriding the "hypocracy [sic]"
in their article
about reclaiming Halloween for Christianity (and arguing indignantly
that Christianity itself lifted Halloween from the pagans).
The
author of this site is rendered speechless. "This
would be really, really funny if these people weren't attempting
to counter argue the overwhelming body of science. Why is the
Church so woefully out of touch with reality?" asks a commentator,
neglecting the status of his own perception of same.
[snip
other examples]
Why?
Well,
here's my answer: Anti-Christian bias has pervaded our cultural
zeitgeist to the point where, instead of recognizing a piece of
satire--albeit a very well-done piece of satire--for what it is,
we are willing--even eager--to jump all over it as an example of
some percieved dangerous, dark side to Christianity, and to denounce
Christians as "idiots."
I
am not even exempting myself from this criticism--I was almost suckered
by the thing, too. We're trained to think that all evangelical Christians
are frightening, agenda-driven weirdos, even though it simply isn't
true.
I have
sat in classrooms and listened to people say with total earnestness
that there is a fundamentalist Christian conspiracy to seize power
in America and do barbaric things like stone homosexuals to death.
....
It seems to me, however, that our culture at large is in many ways
rejecting the hermeneutics of respect where Christianity is concerned,
and this should be of much greater interest to real Christians than
a mocking website made by fake ones.
[NOTE
by Lion of Judah Site Owner: I do not entirely agree with
this blog's author on this last point.
The sites
by "fake" Christians which mock Christianity are only adding
to the climate of intolerance of Christians in the world today,
and should not be brushed aside so easily or shrugged off.
Such sites are
adding to the erosion of respect for spirituality, especially if that
spirituality is expressed from a Christian worldview.
It's
a twisted sign that in postmodern
society, ridiculing any group is deemed unacceptable, unless
it's Christians, Americans, or white males who are the targets of
derision]
common
e-mail / web- based petition hoaxes and scams
| Section
3
PARODY
SITES / HOAX SITES / PARODY DISCUSSION BOARDS
(The
Following Are By Non-Christians having a laugh at the expense
of Christians - these sites are FAKE, guys): |
Adult
Christianity
|
