My Take: What all those Jesus jokes tell us

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/10/my-take-what-all-those-jesus-jokes-tell-us/?hpt=hp_c3

By Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey

The authors both first establish their ethos as historians of race and religion and writers. They  start by showing examples of different types of Jesus jokes. They then segued to how it has become acceptable to mock Jesus in Christian society, whereas in other religions insulting sacred figures is an act of heresy. The authors cite the rise of such beliefs as  agnosticism, atheism, and secularism  to be part of the reason. The emergence of a new diverse group of Americans who take religion less seriously and literally is also a cause. The authors then delve into the origin of Jesus jokes which started in the 70's, a time of urban decay, civil rights, and an influx of immigration. They cite different television shows through history as part of logos to show how Jesus jokes were introduced to the mass media. The authors finally finish with the point of their article, that these Jesus jokes reveal the insecurities and problems within our society regarding our religious, racial, and economic differences. Jesus jokes have become an odd way to laugh over our various differences, rather than fight over them- "to talk about the problems without killing each other".