Spoofing the self-righteous

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine,” as the Bible says. But in religion, the medicine doesn’t always go down easy.

On our second day for religious humor sites, we’ll get down to the fundamentals at . . .

Landover Baptist Church

The caustic boundary of religious satire is always pushed at the fictional Landover Baptist. Just about every racist, sexist, isolationist, homophobic, self-righteous blemish of fundamentalism comes under the gun here. FAIR WARNING: The site often gets crude, even R-rated: There's even a caution -- a well-earned one -- against letting anyone under 18 read the site.

Like many fundamentalists, the site obsesses over sexuality. It calls breastfeeding a "gateway sin'" and sees lisping as a sign of homosexuality. And it naturally picks out alleged sexual references in just about every feature film -- even Speed Racer and Chicken Little.

Creator Chris Harper posts frequent messages as Pastor Deacon Fred Smith, including a video of his famous fire-breathing sermon at a 2002 gathering of American Atheists. He also urges his flock to speed up global warming, so that Jesus will come back sooner.

Another regular feature is Betty Bowers, "American’s Best Christian [tm]," casting stones at us in an animated picture. Her ramblings are equal parts conceit over her looks and fashions, and condescension toward nonbelievers.

The “church” highly recommends controlling members’ lives. One article reports the expulsion of several members for texting gossip during worship services – an offense intercepted by network surveillance.

There's more -- Bible quizzes, a Junior Vacation Bible Gun Camp, a sound file saying merely, "Scientists is stupid" -- but here’s a quick test: Do you think a picture of Jesus on a thong -- offered as a sale item -- is clever or offensive? That will help you decide if Landover Baptist is for you.

Laughing at religion

"It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it," the British writer G. K. Chesterton said. This week we'll see how good -- or bad -- the jokes are.

First we set sail on . . .

Ship of Fools

For a spot o' tea with your holy humor, try this breezy offering from across the pond. The England-based Ship of Fools, celebrating its 10th anniversary, twits with a broad array of tools:

• Gadgets for God, including a chair shaped like a sitting Jesus and Jewish-style beer called He'Brew.


• A monthly Caption Contest, posting a picture -- perhaps an old engraving or a photo of skateboarding vicars -- for readers to supply descriptions.


• Volunteer scouts called "mystery worshipers," who write reviews of church services around the world -- from Liverpool to Sydney to Islamabad to Milford, Pa.


• The Fruitcake Zone, surveying lunacies like The Bible Answer Machine and a group that says UFOs are piloted by fallen angels.


• Signs and Blunders, with readers retelling gaffes from church signs and bulletins.

But this so-called Magazine of Christian Unrest doesn't merely smirk; it also carries searching, sometimes outraged essays.

A recent column by cofounder Iwan Russell Jones reflects on Martin Luther King's life. Religion reporter Mark Pinsky fumes at how much Paul Crouch of Trinity Broadcasting Network gets away with. And church historian Stephen Tompkins gives some backhanded praise -- after a slap in the face -- to atheist ideologue Richard Dawkins.

Snickering at saints

Continuing our weeklong series on religious humor sites: Don’t come unhinged, but today we’re walking through the . . .

Wittenburg Door

A pioneer in Christian satire, starting in 1971, The Wittenburg Door has changed hands from a whimsical youth ministry in California to the edgy Dallas-based Trinity Foundation – whose chief, Ole Anthony, is best known for helping ABC News bring down Robert Tilton.

One result: Fewer laughs, more “important” stuff.

Oh, there’s still some arch wit, like a review of an fictional Amish speed metal band. And the 10 worst movies about Jesus, like the incredibly titled Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter. And a peek at Noah’s blog, revealing plans to make a recipe of dove and olives. And a gamer’s mom who says she sees the Virgin Mary on the cover of Grand Theft Auto IV.

But there’s a lot of dark matter, much it by Doorkeeper John Bloom. He catalogues Benny Hinn’s monetary and theological gaffes. He decries a church that’s raffling $10,000 worth of fertility treatments. He does a scalpel-like analysis of the push for school prayer, which has lasted five decades thus far.

Televangelists get some gleeful savaging, but it seems a bit trite and true. How hard can it be to mock The Golfer’s Bible, by Rod Parsley? Or to ridicule a couple like Creflo Dollar and his wife, Taffi?

Still, there are also less-militant, more-thoughtful items. The “Door Interview” series has dialogues with the likes of Anglican Bishop N. T. Wright, and religious journalist Phyllis Tickle (not a made-up name!).

Special mention goes to “Signs of the End Times,” apparently a non-fiction collection of astonishing stories. Examples: General Motors is now smaller than Bed Bath & Beyond; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined the KISS Fan Club; fighting spam costs $140 billion per year; it is now possible to sear artwork onto bologna slices; the U.S. national debt will hit $10 trillion this year. Not laugh-inducing, but it’ll likely make you go “What??”

Birds in dockers?

Welcome back to our week-long look at the risky world of religious humor. Today we take wing with . . .

Lark News

Right from the trademark – a bird in belted Dockers slacks – Lark News shows a birds’-eye sharpness for faith-based foolishness. The Denver-based monthly uses satire in the best tradition: taking odd trends to ridiculous extremes.

This week’s lead spoof has congregants praising a pastor for having supernatural insights into their lives, when he's actually just reading their social networking sites. Another piece tells of a college group starting a ministry to men with ponytails, considering them an “unreached” group.

Check out the past stories, too. They include a man losing friends for constantly asking forgiveness. In another, a pastor turns his church into a coffee bar after finding the frappes got more raves than his sermons. Still another headline: “Small Group Members Decide to Stop Feigning Interest in Each Other.”

Lark News even makes fun of Internet conventions. A giant-print version serves the visually impaired; a computerized voice reads stories for the hearing impaired; and a high male voice recites for the benefit of eunuchs.

The free site gets money partly by selling cheeky T-shirts. They bear slogans like “I Love Cheeses,” or “I Worship Better than You Do,” or “Jesus Loves You! Then Again, He Loves Everybody.”

Obvious target audience for the column is the evangelical world, and much of the humor would be classified as gentle or “cute.” But for others who want to see evangelicals laugh at themselves – or who may want to load up on ammunition against them – it’s a worthwhile read as well.

Either way, take advantage of the pull-down menu at the upper right-hand corner. It’ll yield back issues of Lark News all the way back to January 2003.