Am I funny to you
January 7th, 2008 by adminIn a bookstore aptly entitled “giant book sale” a few days ago, I stumbled across this book by A.J. Jacobs. In it, a comedian (at least, that’s how he described himself on the book jacket), tried to live biblically for a year. He claimed he was going to follow all sorts of “wacky” rules like not wearing clothes of mixed fibers, and not shaving the corners of his face. It reminded me of an open letter to Dr. Laura I had read a long time ago. (and managed to dig up). In it, someone who clearly thought themselves to be funnier than they actually were, asked Dr. Laura about various other biblical laws they clearly thought were outdated in an attempt to show Dr. Laura that castigating gays because the bible does so is clearly wrong. While I have no interest in defending Dr. Laura, a woman who views religion in purely political terms (and even went as far as to convert for political reasons), I find the two humorists reactions to religion, and religious people in particular as odd.
I wonder if at the outset either of them knew that there are people who actually do follow those “absurd” rules they try to use as humor, and that all those questions humorously put to Dr Laura, are in fact real questions to many of us. The title of my post is somewhat of a misnomer – I realize that many people find my behavior “funny” and have no problem with that. Many people think it’s unusual that I keep my head covered, or that I claim to be a native Philadelphian without ever having tried a cheesesteak. What I do find interesting, is that some people seem to be shocked when they discover that there actually are people who follow the bible. The reaction seems to me to be something along the lines of “well you can believe that stuff if you want, sure, and plenty of religious people act in a particular manner, but I can’t believe you would base your actions on the bible itself. That’s 5000 years old – why can’t you find a nice good modern day cult to base your actions on instead?”
January 9th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
The Dr. Laura letter is a spoof \ expansion of a scene that they did on West Wing
January 9th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Actually, I think the Dr. Laura letter came before the West Wing. The scene was a spoof on Dr. Laura.
January 10th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Did the book seem to be funny, or just offensive? As someone who lives the lifestyle, you might even find the book funnier than the ordinary person who has a more limited connection. And, it’s also a mitsvah to get divorced.
January 11th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Um, covering your head and not eating cheesesteak are not Biblical commandments. I hope you don’t mind if I say so, but you sure sound like a Rabbinic Jew, not a Biblical literalist. In fact, as Jacobs’ (silly) book showed, it’s impossible to literally follow the Bible – the laws are unclear enough that there has to be some interpretation. At least for Rabbinic Jews, something being “in the Bible” is neither necessary nor sufficient for us to consider it an obligation. So quoting the Bible at anyone – whether it’s Dr. Laura doing it or you doing it – is rather meaningless, and I think that’s the point the letter is making, quite effectively. (On the other hand, I agree with you about Jacobs’ book – he was trying to do something impossible, so it’s no surprise that he failed so completely.)