Religion and Popular
Culture
Religion and Humour
The aim of this topic is to analyse and evaluate the Humour in Religion and asses its
place in today’s society.
What defines Religious Humour?
As the writer of Ecclesiastes says “there is a time to weep and a time to laugh” but how
does this fit in with Religious texts, in particular the Bible? When is it time to laugh or
weep? Is it appropriate to even search for humour in the Bible? Can it even be found?
Hans Geybels and Walter Van Herck in Religion and Humour argue that The New
Testament is filled with many kinds of humour. They state that the intention of the New
Testament is to “respectfully communicate many claims and truths.” They talk of Jesus’
subtle humour, his irony, using humour as a way of ‘delivering a message without
moralising.’ In other words, it is too simplex to simply say that the New Testament and
Bible are just teachings and guidance on how to live a good Christian life. Instead, they
offer teachings with humour to elevate and to guide, otherwise it would be a boring
sermonising book that would not have gotten very far after a few years. The humour
within the text is integral to the teachings and guidance given.
The Role of Humour IN Religion
Key Terms:
1. Pun – word play suggesting two or more meanings
2. Irony - the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal
meaning
3. Absurd – the ridiculous, outside of normal human rationality.
Main roles of Humour IN religion:
1. Teaches a message without Moralising.
Hans Geybels and Walter Van Herck in Religion and Humour argue that The New
Testament is filled with many kinds of humour. But their main argument for the
evidence of humour in the New Testament, is that it is used to teach and educate,
without the need for moralising. Moralising can often lead to
dry, uninteresting and uninspired messages, but using humour
as a tool is very different.
The Story of Zaccheaus in the tree (Luke 19:1-10),
illustrates how Jesus would be friends with anyone. The
humour of him having to climb a tree just to see, mocks the
fact that firstly the tax collector was small – a punch line for
the hated tax collector, and secondly illustrates that he
wanted to see Jesus so much, he climbed a tree. It needs no
‘and the moral of the story was that Jesus was friends with
everyone’ because it is clear to see when Jesus calls him down
and talks with him.
2. Memorable
The idea is that Humour In religion is used as a tool to guide people on how to live and
how to behave is seen most clearly through the letter of Paul, about the Body parts: 1
Corinthians 12 (below). One definition for the letter is that it is a metaphor. The Body
Parts are believed to symbolise the different denominations or groups of the Church that
were starting to break away from each other. The message is believed to be that the
Church should be one body joined together, and in no way separate.
One Body with Many Members
12
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one
body, so it is with Christ. 13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or
free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a
hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear should
say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the
body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear,
where would be the sense of smell? 18But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them,
as he chose. 19If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, yet one
body.
21
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of
you." 22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and on those parts
of the body that we think less honourable we bestow the greater honour, and our unpresentable parts are
treated with greater modesty, 24which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed
the body, giving greater honour to the part that lacked it, 25that there may be no division in the body, but
that the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together; if
one member is honoured, all rejoice together.
27
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28And God has appointed in the church first
apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and
various kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all
possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
3. Memorable
Sometimes humour is used in religion as a teaching aid, or a tool to make an event or
teaching more memorable. It is often used today in schools and lessons to make a bigger
impact. This is very evident from the story in the Bible of when Peter visits others in
Rome:
“When she [Rhoda] recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back
without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"” Acts 12:14.
Whilst the tale initially sounds absurd, and ridiculous, it does leave an impression, and it
is easy to see how much of an important event it was for Peter to visit people. For the
early Christians, Peter was a key figure, he had seen and spoken to Jesus, knew his
words and messages first hand. So to impress on just how excited people were, humour
is a tool to drive this message home.
4. Translation
Sometimes, the humour is lost in translation. In other words, the Bible was written over
2000 years ago, in another language and has been translated twice before being written
in English. Idioms and metaphors can often be lost in translation, as well as down right
obvious mistakes.
Peter’s name, some scholars have claimed, is a pun or play on words. Jesus names one
of his followers, Simon, Peter, after a shaky start to their friendship. Simon Peter is a
highly unstable character, often given to loosing his temper, or not keeping his word (he
denies having been a follower of Jesus’ after his death 3 times). Yet, Jesus gives him the
name Peter. In Greek the word Petra means rock, and Petros is the Greek version of
Peter. Is this a pun that is missed due to translation? Jesus is often
quoted by Christians as saying “the rock on which I build my church”
Matthew 16:18. Is this a joke because Peter is anything but stable,
and a church, a building or otherwise, would surely need strong and
firm foundations.
Humour can be caused by translation. York Minister has a stained
glass window of Moses (left) with horns due to a mistake in
translation – it should have been translated ‘shining forehead’ but
they misunderstood it to be ‘shining horns.’
5. Detracts from the message
Critics sometimes argue that Humour IN Religion can sometimes
cause the reader or intended audience to miss the actual message
due to the hilarity in the situation. For example Pauls’ Letter
about the Body Parts (1 Corinthians 12), can be simply read as a
piece of absurdity; a ridiculous tale of body parts talking to one
another.
Acts 12:14 when Peter visits Rhoda’ and she leaves him standing
at the door, could cause the message the joy caused by Peter’s
visits to be missed.
6. Not always recognisable
Reinhold Niebuhr in Humour and Faith agrees with “critics who regard Scripture as
deficient in the sense of humour” and “who point out there is little laughter in the
Bible.” A reasons for this, Niebuhr suggests, is that humour is not always easy to
recognise. One example of this is the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37):
A man asked Jesus a question, "Teacher, what should I do so I can go to Heaven and live forever?"
Jesus replied, "What is written in the Bible? What do you think?"
The man answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength, and
love your neighbour as yourself."
"That is right!" Jesus said. "Do this and you will live forever in Heaven."
Jesus said: There was once a man walking from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him,
and beat him up, leaving him half dead.
A few minutes later a priest was walking down the same path and noticed the man lying on the side of the road.
He crossed the road and walked on the other side and acted like he didn't see the man.
About an hour or so later another man called a Levite appeared He slowed down and walked a little closer to the
man, but then kept walking without helping him at all.
Then another man appeared. He was a Samaritan. As soon as he saw the man he went over to him and felt
compassion for him. He put bandages on his sores and poured oil and wine on the sores to prevent them from
getting worse. Then he lifted the man on his own donkey and took him to a hotel to take care of him. The next
day the Samaritan took out enough money so the man could stay at the hotel until he was well enough to leave.
He paid the man at the front desk and asked him to take care of the man. If he wasn't better after about two
months the Samaritan would come back and pay for any extra cost.
After Jesus finished the story he asked, "Which of the three men do you think was a neighbour to the man who
was left beaten on the side of the road?"
The man who asked him the question at the beginning replied, "The one who had compassion and helped him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do the same."
The Role of Humour ABOUT Religion
Most humour about religion, is at the expense of religion. In other words it is mockery,
and most often looking down upon religion. It highlights flaws, inconsistencies and
idiocies that may otherwise be missed, or seem inconsequential to most people. It takes
different forms: satire, absurd, puns, and the outright obvious mockery.
Ex-Leper: Okay, sir, my final offer: half a shekel for an old ex-leper?
Brian: Did you say "ex-leper"?
Ex-Leper: That's right, sir, 16 years behind a veil and proud of it, sir.
Brian: Well, what happened?
Ex-Leper: Oh, cured, sir.
Brian: Cured?
Ex-Leper: Yes sir, bloody miracle, sir. Bless you!
Brian: Who cured you?
Ex-Leper: Jesus did, sir. I was hopping along, minding my own business, all of a sudden, up
he comes, cures me! One minute I'm a leper with a trade, next minute my livelihood's gone.
Not so much as a by-your-leave! "You're cured, mate."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U74s8nFE7No
The above script conversation is from a scene in Monty Pythons Life of Brian. Rather
than simply mocking Jesus through Brian’s life, this is a more direct approach to
mocking religion. It attacks the concept that the healing stories in the Bible never deal
with the after effects of being cured. Whether or not we want to look at it, there are
questions of the psychological issues connected to being miraculous cured, along with
what do they now do for a livelihood. An example of this is the Healing of the Leper
(Mark 1:40-45):
40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto
him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth
his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. 42 And as soon as he had
spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 43 And he straitly
charged him, and forthwith sent him away; 44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to
any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things
which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch
that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and
they came to him from every quarter.
There are many questions raised by reflecting on the concept of mocking religion for the
healing stories. Why doesn’t he want anyone to know he healed him? Why does the
Leper ignore him? What purpose can Jesus have in healing the Leper but keeping it a
secret? Do you think allegories and parables like this make it easier for people to mock
religion?
There are several issues raised in looking at humour ABOUT religion:
Issue
Ideas of God
Discussion
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•
•
•
•
•
Authority of
Scripture
•
•
Sin and Evil
•
•
•
Religious Leaders
•
•
Ideas of God are something that Writers seem drawn to,
particularly to poke fun at.
Think of the clip we saw last week with the Search for the
Holy Grail. God was depicted as a sarcastic ruler who was
very annoyed by all the grovelling that went on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ42IMu7HIQ
In an episode of the Simpsons, for a Science Project Lisa
creates a mini-world. Lisa takes on role of God – the Life
Giver, and Bart the devil – the Life taker.
Some would argue the humour in both stories to be
blasphemous, taking God’s name in vain, and mocking it,
and the religious laws connected to it.
Some argue that it is trivialising religion, which in turn is
seen to require serious moral self discipline and respect for
the sacred
The stories and words of Scripture (in other words the Bible or
religious text) are often challenged and contradicted.
Humour is one of the methods people choose to do this.
Some of Jesus’ words are very ambiguous and could mean
anything ‘consider the lily in the field’ Why? It’s never
really clear – comedians have taken this metaphor and
mocked over and over. The aim is to trivialise religion and
show it as something that is not consistent or important.
Some mock the way that the words are sometimes not really
considered. In the Holy Grail, they use the language of
scripture to explain how to use the holy hand grenade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOrgLj9lOwk
It’s easy to mock sin and evil, they are topics most people
feel uncomfortable with. Think about Adam and Eve, many
jokes are made about how they walked around naked; how
Eve was tempted, and tempted Adam.
In some cases discussing Sin and Evil can be dangerous and
actually cause the listeners or observers to rise in Racial
Hatred: the Jewish concept of Kosher Meat is one
example.
Moral implications should always be considered in cases of
Sin and Evil: why Quakers do not believe it is right to fight
in war.
Quite often Religious Leaders are easy targets for those who
will mock them. Humour can be seen at the expense of
others:
– They wear funny clothes
– They have funny ideas – how to live/worship/eat
– They follow ancient beliefs which sometimes are
unsuitable for the modern world – Pope and Contraception.
Think about the Jewish Priest in the life of Brian who is
stoned at the stoning of the man who said the word Jehovah.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNeq2Utm0nU
Women Priests
•
•
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Miracles
Confessions
•
Women Priests is a fairly new concept in the timeline of
Christianity. The first Christians merely followed the
traditions from Judaism, in which there are no female
Leaders.
Due to the new appearance of Women Clergymen, jokes have
naturally followed. This may partly be due to fear of
change, but also likely because it is an easy thing to poke
fun at.
Again Humour can be seen at the expense of others
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV_vacJFlDM&feature=rel
ated
• The issue with miracles, is how they are understood. Reflect
back to your work last year. Think how easy it is to dismiss
Miracles, then consider how easy it is to mock them.
• In the How I met your
Mother clip, Marshall is
very clear in his
definition of a miracle,
but does it have any
religious significance at
all?
• Confession is often used to mock religion. Sometimes the
question, do they really need to ask a priest forgiveness for
that!
Religion and Fiction
Key concepts:
1. Is religion a legitimate subject for fiction?
2. Does fiction have a positive contribution to make to religion?
Topic trail:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Is religion a good subject for fiction?
The place of religion in Fiction
How is religious fiction represented on film/stage/tv
What makes religious fiction popular?
Responses to religious fiction
Secular responses to religious fiction
Books to consider for this unit:
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The Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling
Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Phil Pullman’s Northern Lights
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis
Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Scenes from a Clerical life by George Eliot
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
1. Is Religion a good subject for
Fiction?
In discussion the concept of religion and fiction, it is important to firstly reflect on what
the two terms actually mean:
Religion is defined in the dictionary as:
1.
a. Belief in and reverence for a
supernatural power or powers
regarded as creator and governor of
the universe.
b. A personal or institutionalized
system grounded in such belief and
worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a
religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices
based on the teachings of a spiritual
leader.
4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued
with zeal or conscientious devotion.
Fiction is defined in the dictionary as:
1.
a. An imaginative creation or a
pretence that does not represent
actuality but has been invented.
b. The act of inventing such a
creation or pretence.
2. A lie.
3.
a. A literary work whose content is
produced by the imagination and is
not necessarily based on fact.
b. The category of literature
comprising works of this kind,
including novels and short stories.
4. Law Something untrue that is
intentionally represented as true by the
narrator.
Whilst the above definitions may be described as accurate they are simplistic in form.
Fictional books offer a range of different styles as well as genres. Consider works you
may be familiar with that also include the following: fictionalised History – Phillippa
Gregory’s Other Boleyn Girl; Fiction that contains elements of Fact – Dan Browns Da
Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, full fiction – C.S.Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.
Ninian Smart, University professor (he set up the Religious Studies course at Lancaster
University), wanted a more solid understanding of what Religion is. Whilst many religious
vary in belief and practice, he identified 7 key areas of communality. Whatever else
religion may or may not be – whether theistic or non-theistic, religions possess certain
recognisable elements, which can be studied. These dimensions vary in importance but
are almost always present. Smart divided these into "historical" and "para-historical,"
meaning by the latter those dimensions that take the investigation into the experience,
or inner lives, or religious people. The "historical" can be studied empirically, the parahistorical takes the student into the realm of belief and concepts and requires dialogue
and participation; Smart himself said in 1968:
"since the study of man is in an important sense participatory
– for one has to enter into men’s intentions, beliefs, myths,
desires, in order to understand why they act as they do – it is
fatal if cultures including our own are described merely
externally, without entering into dialogue with them.”
The Seven Dimensions of Religion by Ninian Smart
Ritual
Narrative and Mythic
Experiential and
emotional
Social and Institutional
Ethical and legal
Doctrinal and
philosophical
Material
Forms and orders of ceremonies (private and/or public) (often
regarded as revealed)
Stories (often regarded as revealed) that work on several
levels. Sometimes narratives fit together into a fairly
complete and systematic interpretation of the universe and
human's place in it.
Dread, guilt, awe, mystery, devotion, liberation, ecstasy,
inner peace, bliss (private)
Belief system is shared and attitudes practiced by a group.
Often rules for identifying community membership and
participation (public)
Rules about human behaviour (often regarded as revealed
from supernatural realm)
Systematic formulation of religious teachings in an
intellectually coherent form
Ordinary objects or places that symbolize or manifest the
sacred or supernatural
How do Smart’s dimensions relate to Fiction?
1. Ritual. Ceremonies and practices can be seen in many
different works of fictions:
In Harry Potter and Hogwart’s system of house selection,
the practices and beliefs connected with the houses –
Slytherin’s are all bad, and Gryffindor’s mainly good.
In the Lord of the Rings, Aragorn’s coronation contains
ritual, of being dressed appropriately, stood before the tree of Gondor, with all the
Kings of Men and his people watching as Gandalf the White crowns him, before he sings
his Kingly acceptance.
2. Narrative and Mythic. Stories within stories appear
throughout fiction:
In Harry Potter the tale of beadle the Bard appears,
along with myths and legends of other creatures of fantasy.
In the Lord of the Rings, there are several times when
other tales are told, Frodo and Sam even discuss what tales and
legends are likely to be told of them and their quest in the
future.
3. Experiential and Emotional. Many successful works of literature inspire our emotions
and draw upon experiences the writer may have been through which the reader is also
more than likely to have experienced e.g. love, fear,
sorrow, grief, heart-ache.
In the Chronicles of Narnia, when Edmond betrays
his siblings to the White Witch, he feels guilt and his brother
Peter expresses anger at his betrayal. The sisters, Lucy and
Susan experience grief at the senseless death of Aslan.
In Harry Potter many feeling and emotions are raised
by the main characters. The character of Luna Lovegood raised such feelings on one
reader, that she wrote to the author to explain about her fears and problems with
Anorexia. "I told her the books gave me hope, particularly Luna Lovegood," said Evanna.
The pair struck up such a friendship, that Evanna went on to play the character in the
films.
4. Social and Institutional. Most successful literary works include society with some sort
of rules and laws, not too far removed from our own laws. Even the extreme differences
of another galaxy keep to rules that stealing is wrong, for example in Star Wars.
In Harry Potter, the Death Eaters have strict rules and
orders they must follow in order to be a part of the cruel group.
Each wears a mark, showing they are part of the group, they
have a uniform, they meet together to hear orders from their
leader, and are punished if mistakes are made. In the same way
the Order of the Phoenix meet at the same place, to hear orders
from their leader and live by a certain code ‘constant vigilance’.
In Da Vinci Code, Christians and monks live their lives in accordance to honoured
traditions and beliefs, even those slightly removed from the usual practices, still have
codes and practices they must honour and obey.
5. Ethical and Legal. Rules about how people should behave, connected often to ideas
of morals and beliefs are found throughout literature. This is partly because it is
something we recognise and respond to, the fantasy fiction film Barbarella created a
storm because it had rules and morals with which many people did not understand or
recognise.
In the Chronicles of Narnia the rules appear at first to be very simple, the
siblings must fight the White Witch to return the ‘normal’ order to the land, then comes
Prince Caspian and so on, until the final dramatic ending, where it is revealed that the
four siblings are actually in their own version of heaven,
where rules do still apply. Yet the belief systems the
children had grown up with were so heavily ingrained into
their souls, that they had never challenged or questioned
things.
In The Northern Lights, the rules are strict and
enforced quite harshly. Lyra is a little girl, and little girls
should know their place and do as they are told. But she
challenges this concept and fights against it.
6. Doctrinal and Philosophical. Religious teachings and beliefs shown in an intellectual
and clear format appear in some fictions but not always, sometimes it is key to the
story, other times they appear on the periphery of the story.
In the Lord of the Rings, there are clear belief systems
in place, which are shown often by speech “by the Varda!”.
The Elves sing praises to Elbereth Gilthon, also called "Varda".
Tolkien does make reference to the Good God, Eru, and Dark
One, Melkor, but they do not play any real part in the stories.
In Harry Potter, the expletive appears to be “Merlin’s
beard” showing that the belief system connects not quite to a
higher being or God, but to a human from the past who is
exalted (not unlike Buddha). The belief in Magic is not so much a religious belief, more
akin to breathing, but how it is used is clearly heavily moralised. Bad magic is known as
Dark Arts, and is something all children are warned to keep away from as it corrupts the
soul. Clearly some religious themes do exist within Harry Potter.
7. Material. Objects that that have symbolic significance and importance can be found
through fictional works. They may play a key part of the story, they may merely be
something that is overlooked, or play a minor role in the main part of the story.
In Harry Potter, the Horcrux, fractions of Voldemort’s soul that are broken and
housed into different objects, plays a key part in the story. Just as without his wand
Harry Potter is defenceless.
In the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf’s staff is a key
part of his power, something he is reluctant to be
parted with: when he enters the hall of Eadorlass in
the Kingdom of Rohan and is asked to leave his staff he
asks “you would not remove an old man from his
walking stick?” but within moments it is clear it is
much more than that as he battles Saurumon from
possessing King Theoden.
What is the Purpose of Religion in Fiction?
Before we can honestly consider what the place of religion is in fiction, we must first
reflect on what the actual point of religion in fiction is. Why is it there? What is its
point and what does it hope to achieve? Is it merely the fight between good and evil:
Harry and Voldemort, Frodo and Gollum? Or is there more going on?
Many religious texts have stories within their teachings that sometimes are pulled out
and stand alone. In this case, the stories and texts are treated as works of fiction. To an
atheist, this would be all the stories and texts ever work, a work of fiction. But in truth,
they are religious teaching in story form. Many of Jesus’ teachings are told through
parables and allegories which are a form of story.
Pushing one
view forward
against others
What the
reader has
experienced
Propaganda
Human
Experience
Answering
Ultimate
Questions
Explicit
Curiosity
Connects to
readers’
experiences
Without it
there would
be no story
Implicit
Resonates
human
Exp
Only part of
the story
Author’s
thoughts
What is the Place of Religion in Fiction?
There are many reasons why religion appears in fiction. Firstly that it is something all
humans experience whether they claim to agree with it or not. Morality by its very
design affects all our lives: stealing is wrong, murder is hateful, violence is
unacceptable. So it is no surprise then that it should filter into fiction.
Religion can appear in fiction as a form of Propaganda. The aim of this purpose of
religion in fiction, is to either persuade the reader of a particular idea or agenda, or
point out the dangers of not following what the religion says: For example, In Nathaniel
Hawthorne’s the Scarlet Letter, set in Puritan America, the main character Hester
Prinne is a woman who is known to have an affair, and produces a child. Her
punishment, as judged by the town council is to wear a Scarlet Letter on her chest, thus
marking her as a scarlet woman. Throughout the story, the child does not know her
father and is wild and capricious, but suddenly calms when she learns who her father is:
the religious concept that all children should be born to parents who love and respect
each other. The Anglo-saxon poem Beowulf, which has been made into many films and
translated many times, is an example of Christian Propaganda. Throughout the story of
Beowulf, there are several circumstances and coincidences that directly related to
Christianity. The story was written in the 8th Century, when Britain was converting from
paganism to Christianity. The belief is that the work is from an older Pagan story, that
has been Christianized to help slowly convert people to Christianity. Beowulf is the hero
of the story who fights a monster called Grendel from attacking King Hrothgar’s
territory. Beowulf is not a perfect hero getting everything right, but this is in order to
show that only Christ could be a true perfect hero as he was God incarnate (in human
form). Grendel is the personification of Satan, angry, wild, unyielding, everything
dangerous in one form. When Beowulf and Grendel finally fight, Beowulf gives his life in
order to save the people. This is compared to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, saving
humans.
Sometimes in fiction, religion plays a large role in the texts, having explicit religious
themes. In other words the over-arching theme of the story is either about religion or
deeply affected by it. Consider Dan Browns Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons.
Whilst one can still argue they are in their nature a detective story, without the
religious theme, there would be no story.
In opposition to this, religion can be an implicit, or implied theme. Think about
C.S.Lewis’ the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In the story, when Edmond the
younger brother, betrays his family to the White Witch for a Turkish Delight, she claims
his life for his crime. Aslan, the lion, offers himself up in Edmond’s place, knowing the
Witch would gladly accept his life. He is tortured and mocked on the stone table, before
the Witch takes his life. According to the rules of Narnia, an innocent cannot die at the
stone table, and so Aslan is returned to life. This clearly parallels the death of Jesus. He
is tried for his alleged crimes, he is tortured and mocked before his execution, and
according to Christians he rose from the dead to help the living. The purpose of
including this in the story, according to Lewis, is not to preach, or to try and convert,
but to remind people about what Jesus did for others. A more informed way of
explaining this concept is to say: Lewis does not have a proselytising agenda in his
work, he merely wishes to use the concept in his work.
We can also see in implicit religious themes, Smart’s 7 dimensions, again going
back to the idea that religion plays such a large part of people’s lives that it is not
surprising it should filter into fiction.
Some religious themes appear in fiction, due to general curiosity about different
concepts. For example, is there life after death? Rowling’s Harry Potter books suggest
there is a possibility with ghosts and spirits. What is the meaning of life? If we are to
believe Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy the answer to that last
question is 42. Religion is an interesting concept, with seemingly large various, yet
themes that also cross all religions – think of Smart’s Dimensions again.
But perhaps the clearest reason for the inclusion of religion in fiction, is that it
resonates with the human experience. It is something we understand and ultimately
question ourselves. Think about the Japanese earthquake and the questions people have
raised: why did god let this happen? How can people suffer that way? And so many, many
more.
Religious Fiction
In some cases, religious stories and texts are treated as works of fiction. This is
particularly true of the Atheists view of Religious works; they are works of fiction. But
consider how religious teachings sometimes come across. Many of Jesus’ teachings are
told through parables which are a form of story:
The Rich Man & Lazarus: Luke 16:19-31
Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury
every day. A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to
be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked
his sores. It happened that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels to
Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being
in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the
tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’
But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and
Lazarus, in like manner, bad things. But now here he is comforted and you are in anguish.
Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass
from here to you are not able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’
He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house; for I have
five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’
But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’
He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’
Other examples of religious teachings as fiction include the story of Jonah and the
Whale, of Ester, and many other tales and parables from the Bible. Some fear this takes
away from their original intention of teaching and moralising. Others argue that they
still do that, even if the recipient is not Jewish or Christian, but they can take from a
story such as the Good Samaritan, that it is kind to help others (or as the joke goes – get
off your ass and help someone).
Secular Responses to Religious Texts
Secular Responses, what does that mean? Secular Responses merely means, the
responses of other people in society – Christians, Muslims, atheists, non-believers,
humanists etc. What do you think their thoughts are likely to be regarding Religious
texts? – consider what The Pope might say, or what Richard Dawkins would say.
There are two manifestations of secular responses:
– Positive
– Negative
And two ways these responses occur:
– Formally
– Informally