I almost decided not to read this book. I have a great sense of humor and often use humor and sarcasm, sometimes bordering on irreverent, both online and in the pulpit. I thought a book about using comedy as a resource for evangelism and fostering unity among Christians would be right in my wheelhouse. While the use of comedy is what Jordan Hathcock is advocating his excessive use of profanity is what almost turned me away completely. On the dedication page, which is only a sentence or two, he refers to himself as “batshit crazy.” On the acknowledgment page he calls himself a “lucky son of a bitch.” One page into the introduction, as he describes the events of human history, he summarizes by saying “we’ve done some f***ed up s***. I’ve added asterisks, he did not. He frequently uses all the words which I found alarming. The back cover explains the premise of the book but doesn’t use any stronger language than “dog doo doo.” The about the author page, found near the back of the book, describes Hathcock as a “father, husband, son, brother, friend, profanity devotee…” Like I said, he makes a case for the use of comedy but says nothing about finding expletives funny yet his bio describes him as being devoted to the use of profanity. He only used the GD phrase once, but it is in there.
If this were Christian fiction, we could have a discussion about the use of language to make certain characters more believable or relatable. If there is a nonbeliever character in a Christian novel it would make sense for that character to not be christ-like. But this is non-fiction. Hathcock is a Christian explaining to other Christians how we could be doing a better job as the church when it comes to building the kingdom. From a purely pragmatic point of view he runs the risk of offending potential buyers of his book. From a moral standpoint this is not the kind of language I want to read and would certainly not recommend to my family, friends or congregation.
In his book Hathcock explains that conservatives and progressives have done some things right and others wrong. Similar to Republicans and Democrats, both sides want the same things to a great extent but disagree about how to get there. I agree that we can accomplish more by working together than expending time and energy working against each other but he leans more liberal than I (and I imagine my readers) are willing to.
The book is in two parts and I found the second half more helpful than the first half (once I committed to reading the whole thing and writing the review as I had agreed to do). There’s a whole chapter dedicated to how the church needs to adopt more of a Goonies approach to ministry; Goonies, as in the 80’s movie with Corey Feldman and Jeff Cohen as Chunk. Like a modern parable, he outlines how each major character exemplifies the “regular players” in a church congregation. He also suggests that a roast of the pastor would be good for his humility and foster a cooperative spirit in the church. He imagines God doubled over in laughter at the way his children try to obey the commandments and follow rules and regulations with staunch seriousness. That’s not the way I picture God looking at humanity; scripture supports more of a heart-break motif. Think about Jesus as he wept over Jerusalem. He knew that rejecting him as savior meant that God’s wrath remains on them. But Hathcock is clear that he does not believe in original sin, eternal conscious torment or penal substitution so if none of those exist maybe God could be laughing his head off in heaven. I might question then why Jesus came to earth and died on the cross; since that’s not funny it never comes up.
Hathcock has a very low view of theologians (despite quoting a few in his book) and of theology in general. He considers theology part of the problem. I almost think at times he is using the word theology when what he really means is doctrine. Here are a few direct quotes:
We must come to grips with the fact that when we say “God is” what we really mean is “I think God is.” I believe all theology is theologoumena, I.e. theological opinion. So, relax and have a beer!
I think theology should be more about how we believe than what we believe.
When we become looser with our theologies, we become more grace-filled towards others and ourselves.
I do not disagree with everything he says, particularly his assessment of the church in America being more of a social or civil religion than a counter cultural movement. He talks about the things that divide us and points out, as I often do myself, that the Kingdom will be made up of people from every tribe, tongue and nation. But he thinks the solution is to loosen up our theology and make more fart jokes. (That’s not an exaggeration, by the way, there’s a whole chapter on fart jokes.)
I do not recommend this book. I do not find him particularly funny but others have. You can learn more about Jordan Hathcock and this title at christianitycrackingup.com or order from the publisher SacraSage.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
The Master's Table 