Should Satire Require a Gun Permit?

When your only source is one book, you can never get the whole story.
In this case, Rev. Anderson has consulted a dictionary as his sole, infallible source.
And, it has led him astray.
Note what he says -- the satire targets religion. Not religious persons, not him personally.
This is because satire only works when the target is BIG. There is no earthly reason to write a satire of a homeless man. Ridicule at that level is indeed cruel.
But there is reason to write satire of the people who pass him on the street. Ridicule at that level is JUSTICE.
For you see, the more power you have the more satire you will attract.
Anderson whines as if he and the institution he loves are the most powerless people around.
But they are not. Must he not admit that religious ideas have power? Must he not admit that that earthly power has, over the years, been abused?
Must he not admit that he himself as wished, privately, that the pompous figures in his own church?
If he seeks justice, he would back satire as a weapon. What is the Book of Revelation, but biting satire of the "divine" Roman emperor's pretentiousness?
How can the just use the techniques of that biblical author in our own time be wrong?

Thomas Jefferson had this right when he said,

"Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus."

Religions' bases are predominantly unintelligible propositions. What's left is common sense.

What?,"dangers present in religious ridicule" those dangers are founded and fueled by the zealots of faith who find solace in the intolerance and discrimination disguised as religious beliefs.

I must admit a strong sympathy for Mr Anderson's position.

NO theology or ideology should be immune to satire. I should not be forced to consider Christianity or Islam or Judaism or Hinduism to be beyond lampooning.

because they take themselves too seriously, does that mean the rest of us need to????
No.!!!!

I appreciate the wisdom of ALL these tradiitions, as well as the hypocracies.

Grow Up. Don't think you are beyond questioning or satire or human based fun-making.

I was a Mormon. Make fun of our polygamy. It deserves the puncturing. Even Mitt Romney does it. Lighten up. God won't mind.

Anonymous you missed my point entirely. If the only reason you don't poke fun is fear the eventual response will be large numbers of sharp pointy things headed toward that which we fear.

Fear is a lousy motivator as it generally brings an eventual and unpleasant response.

i took the time to read your article you seem very sincere and you bring up some points that are undeniably true.. but when you use words to compare violence perpetuated with a gun to expressions of voice and words i think you do yourself and everyone else a severe disservice ... words can and do cause emotional pain at times, sometimes deservedly and for good moral and charictar building are actually needed, they are used in error at times as i feel i have pointed out in your article politely...but there is the undniable flipside to your argument... how many times do you think people have been told to shut up and move along during a simple conversation simply because the rude intollerant unsophisitcated, intellectually out done person has nothing to actually say that would change the truth and instead they rely on tactics going back to child hoood like .. idont want to play anymore your stupid because i cant have a disagreemnt about something to where the outcome is either in doubt or more likely is plainly clear the person should take the opprotunity to actually learn a life lesson and put another log on the true list and throw out one that was ment well but just didnt measure up in the real world. the problems with humans at itmes is that some people think they are actually a little bit higher on the very real pecking order of life because they have a little money or who thier daddy is.. i have know a lot of daddys boys.. people who cant actually do thier job but thier daddy got it for them. they pretend and posture but the fact remains they are daddys boys.. it possible there are mommy girls too. it is intirely possible i have been a dadyys boy at least once in my life. i personally dont like being a daddys boy and dont cut daddys boys any slack in the real world just because they think they are intitled to respect and admiration and to have the ability to simply end pleasant conversations simply because they are being shown to be what they are really not. perhaps that is why huumans spend so much on fancy clothes ,... and plastic surgery.. pretending they look like they dont.. perhaps it would be better if all people were alowed to see where they fit in to the intelecuall side of life .. or be taught at a young age to actually look at thier body and know it for its own streanths and possible weaknesses and yes those mean old jokke makers are causeing all the violence in the world... and fredom of speech should not be an american traditin moral and family value like it is i guess, that may not be reality.. reality is whether daddys boys pretend or dont and the sad fact is most daddys boys actually have a talent or ability they could actually be useing in the real world. it is possible i misread your words or possibly you misspoke or were not clear with what your point was buut these are mine..for whart ever they are worth

GARYD:
“So basically rather than not poke fun at others beliefs because such is rude and arrogant we should not do so because we fear they might respond violently? Sorry I don't by it.”

Would you provoke a lion? If you care about the lion’s response and you are a “decent human being” then you should give more credence to the feelings of mankind.

Don’t be surprised when you provoke someone and the law of “cause and effect” comes back to bite you.

So basically rather than not poke fun at others beliefs because such is rude and arrogant we should not do so because we fear they might respond violently? Sorry I don't by it.