What's wrong with the world? Women wearing pants!

I paraphrase Wikipedia here: Satire is a type of comedic writing where vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement. While it is meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon.

In my blog Christwire, Satire, and Anal Bleach, I talk about running across a satirical web site called Christwire.Org. In reading over various articles, I realised that it was difficult to determine if the web site was serious about religion or was surreptitiously poking fun at it. Is that a quality of good satire? That is, good satire may be difficult to discern?

I ran across the strangest of videos (thanks to Elijah Rising) where a bearded gentleman who looks, for lack of a better word, a little "crazed", discusses the bible. Did I say crazed? Maybe it's his t-shirt which reads "Turn to Jesus or Burn". It's kind of like the state motto of New Hampshire "Live Free or Die". There doesn't seem to be any room for negotiation; there is no middle ground.

The video starts out with the man quoting from Deuteronomy chapter 22, verse 5 which reads, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God." He then goes on to preach to women that they can't wear pants. Yep, you hear me. Women can't wear pants. Or pantsuits. Or pyjamas. Oh yeah, baseball caps and neckties are also verboten.

2013-07-02: Unfortunately, the following video has been removed. This gentleman went at great length to explain how the Bible says that women wearing men's clothes is an abomination.

Ah, this is a joke, right? It's April 2011. The Middle East is in turmoil. Japan is contending with both an earthquake and a tsunami. Let's not forget global warming, pollution, and gawd only knows what else and I'm watching a guy tell me women can't wear pants. A guy who looks like the Unabomber or some other such anti-social nutbar. I ask again, "This is a joke, right?"

The video has been uploaded by a user called "OnKneesForJesus". After a little hunting around, I find a YouTube channel filled with other such videos which leads to me home base, a web site called "On Knees For Jesus". Is this serious or is this a joke? I read the About page:

My life is all about getting on my knees and faithfully serving Jesus until He comes.

"What a minute..." I say to myself suspiciously. Yes, I'm starting to "get it". This is satire in its purest form. The author of this site is publishing uncommented videos of right wing religious fundamentalists who are preaching a Christian extremism as a means of exposing them, of letting them hang themselves as it were.

As I go down the list of various postings, I begin to see the extent of the craziness being espoused by those who originally made the videos.

"Buddha is a Demonic False Idol" shows Pat Robertson telling me that I should take down a painting of Buddha in my living room and burn it because it contains demon prayers which can give me headaches or cause marital discord.

"The Supernatural Evil Spell of Homosexuality" talks with Dr. Michael Brown who warns that there is a diabolical spell being cast on TV, in Movies, on the Internet and EVEN in public schools to control your children and your grandchildren. His new book was so explosive that no major publisher, secular or Christian, was willing to publish it! Find out how YOU can help protect your children from this demonic onslaught!

"Japan Disaster a Sign from God" talks about a survey where 38% of those polled believe the Japanese disaster is a sign from God.

I found "Hating Gays Doesn't Make Us a Hate Group" to be an anti-gay message based on biblical teachings.

"Girl Finger-Banged by Jesus" showcases one Todd Bentley whose article in Wikipedia paints the portrait of a very disturbed and suspicious individual.

"Christian Pole Dancing" is, ah, different. Do I hear Strippers For Jesus?

Final Word
On the one hand, like the guy who preaches against women wearing pants, this all seems quite funny. It's so far out there, it's fairly ludicrous. However, it is disturbing to realise that there are people out there who subscribe to these belief systems. Westboro Baptist Church has the dubious practice of picketing the funerals of American soldiers killed overseas with outrageous signs like "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". Mr. Fred Phelps, the minister of this church, believes America's acceptance of homosexuality is the cause for all her ills. (see my blog God Hates Fags)

Hats off to the author of this web site. This is quite the collection of videos both funny and disturbing.

By the way, the essay The Truth About Deuteronomy 22:5 gives a good interpretation of this Bible verse by going back and looking at the original words. The Bible of today is a translation of the ancient tongues and that translation may be disputable. When somebody like the Unabomber here spouts off a Bible verse as justification for something which seems at face value as a little wonky, he's relying on a literal interpretation of a passage which in English may not reflect the meaning of the original tongue.


References

web site: On Knees For Jesus

YouTube channel: OnKneesForJesus

Does the Bible Say It's a Sin for Women to Wear Pants?
The Truth About Deuteronomy 22:5 by Jason Young

2011-04-06

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