HA! I KNEW this would happen

A few days ago, The Simpsons aired their new annual Halloween episode, ‘Treehouse of Horrors XX’. Most of it was a bit bland, as has regrettably been par for the course for the Simpsons of these past few years (they need to get their late-90s/early-2000s style back), but the second clip was actually pretty decent. Entitled ‘Don’t Have a Cow, Mankind’, it seems to be an homage (of sorts) to both 28 Days Later and I Am Legend as it deals with a zombie-creating burger that quickly turns the whole of Springfield into a bunch of flesh-craving undead … except for the Simpsons, of course. (Well, not so much for Homer.)

Bart, however, is revealed to be immune to the burger’s zombification, so he becomes the “Chosen One” and is escorted to the Safe Zone where he will help create an antidote. Unfortunately, though, the manner in which his immune body will help others turns out to be a bit unsavory:

Guard: ‘Welcome, son. To survive, all we must do is eat your flesh.’

Marge: ‘Hold it right there, bub! What kind of civilized people eat the body and blood of their savior?’

Rev. Lovejoy: [Groans nervously]

Seriously, that was quick and awesome. Also, completely inoffensive. We’re talking about a joke that probably wouldn’t even offend your average fundy. (Maybe.) It’s also interesting to note how The Simpsons takes such a light-hearted and even mocking look at religion these days, particularly Christianity. Older episodes show the family being torn apart by Homer refusing to attend church, or Bart selling his soul (literally) and subsequently losing all livelihood until he gets it back, and several other prominent pro-Christian themes. It’s fun to see how shows like The Simpsons know how to adapt over time.

But, hang on – did I say even fundies wouldn’t be offended by such an offhand joke? Well, I wonder what that makes Bill “Jackass” Donohue, then?

What kind of uncivilized people work at Fox? Last year, when they poked some gentle fun at the Apostle’s Creed on the Halloween episode, we said nothing. That’s because it didn’t cross the line. This year is different: mocking the heart of any religion always crosses the line, and mocking the Eucharist does it for Catholics. They know this at Fox, which is precisely why they did it.

Okay. I’ll resist the temptation to point out how stupid that whole whine was, not to mention how how Donohue completely (and conveniently) neglected to actually address the point itself (eating the flesh and blood of the one you cherish as your savior doesn’t sound icky to you, Bill?), and instead settle with this: if you are so insecure in your faith and beliefs that a simple, one-liner, offhand and harmless joke like the one in this Simpsons episode is enough to offend you, and especially if you then choose to lash out like an idiot rather than actually question what is so horrible about said benign joke, then you deserve to be offended. Case close.

(via Friendly Atheist)