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AnonymousHey folks – hope you enjoy this :). I was sondering – is there something prophetic about what comedians do? Your thoughts?
i would agree they are among the prophets. a fan of izzard!
Izzard is a legend! xD
I think the legendary Tim Minchin needs a say here:
Andddd this one (LOTS of swearing but so funny!)
My days, the Tim Minchin songs are genius… The Good Book just sums everything up perfectly.
Also piano skills, man…
But yes, I’d agree, they’re probably the modern day philosophers too in a way. Hardly anyone listens to or reads /actual/ philosophy unless they’re studying it academically (and if you’re not, it’ll probably be seen as stuffy and pretentious), but everyone likes a good comedian and people will talk about things they bring up. Yeah, I think we need them.
Yeah Tim Minchin is just awesome, so skilled! And yeah comedians have the means to forward modern philosophy and be out-spoken about things, and because its in the frame of comedy, people laugh, but they also listen. I definitely think they are needed and I am glad many are actually standing up against oppressive ways of thinking, not just religion but politics, equality etc.
Also, I think everyone HAS to see this from Ross Noble on Christian dogma. I saw him live recently and I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in my entire life
Rosss Noooblblllee!
Seen him twice, brilliant guy :3
AnonymousHow about a bit of Tom Lehrer?
Anonymous… that is if I can work out how to embed it…!
Definitely think comedians can be a type of prophetic voice. Entertainment in general really, because it has the potential to bring people together regardless of beliefs and doesn’t require that you join any groups or say any creeds or read or believe any books.
I think one of Bill Hick’s pieces is vastly more profound than any sermon or book I’ve read yet it is short. I’ll give the link:
Just post the youtube link and the forums does the rest
And yes, get some Tom Lehrer in here too, another brilliant comedian/musician! I have been meaning to listen to more Bill Hicks, he definitely had some awesome things to say. I’m a big fan of the band Tool who have delved into his philosophies a lot
AnonymousI think they may be the best physicians too! I see laughter as healing in many ways, healing the past, present and preparing us for more openness in the future. I love to see a great comedian at work. These are some great comedians listed.
AnonymousOK an opportunity to post my favorite comedian.. I will try to embed it, but you might actually have to go to the link to view this, guess it’s copyrighted or something. I swear he did his homework on this skit…
Louis C.K. – Christians Against Masturbation – More amazing videos are a click away
AnonymousOOOOOOO thanks everyone for the input. I’m personally finding this very fulfilling. I’ll share a little about my story. I came to church later in life. The first church I went to was a conservative evangelical church. I was on a course there in discovering spiritual gifting. What came top of the list for me was discernment and then prophecy. The prophecy thing is something other church leaders have commented on. At other times church leaders have said I am “guilty of the good old fashioned sin of pride” or “We haven’t got the resources to deal with your issue” or “I have real concerns over your insensitivity” or “this church is not for you”.
I started having a go at stand up comedy a couple of years ago and have now don 7 or 8 gigs. I’m finding a place in the arts and in sport with organinsing a ski meetup group where I have a sense of belonging and fulfillment that I never have had in a church.
I study a Masters in Theology and was having a real tough time over this a few months ago I mean real down in the dumps time. It just so happened that Iwas having lunch with two of the lecturers there that knew me best. One said that because I am creative and a performer, people who are comfortable with their structures and authority in church will gind me threatening. And the other said that I would find a sense of belonging in creative and the arts environments. Because I had that affirmation form people who I respect and who are held in high regard in the bible college, for me that was powerful.
I look back a few years ago to where I went for a “prophetic check up”. I was told at that time that it would be a time for me to be having fun with God and that I would be teaching but in unconventional ways. It just so happened that this was the same day I started a comedy workshop! More recently I went for another one of these check ups and had been told I had been misunderstood by people that ought to have been there for me (the church). And that now was a time for things to come good.
I do believe that people will listen to comedians and I’m just glad to have the opportunity to have discovered that this possibility could be a place where I can do good where my attempts at contributions to what happens in church have often led to hurt and frustration for me.
I know maybe folks here have been let down by and harmed by church experiences. I hope what I have written can be an encouragement that there is life out there and not as the church knows it often! I love it when I see people reach their potential. And I loved it when I was introduced recently for my stand up as someone that started off shy and now has emerged like a beautiful butterfly!
It’s OK to blow your own trumpet on here isn’t it? *wink*
Now I don’t know if I am a prophet or just a plain old troublemaker but I;m having fun with all of this!
Anonymous@Kathy that’s how I got into comedy – through having had ill health and it being helpful for recovery. Got started with these folks. http://universalcomedy.info/index.html I think a good laugh and a good night’s sleep can be a cure for a lot of things
AnonymousHow about this one – Billy Connolly on Religion
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