God and Jesus' negative portrayal as "Average Joe's"
Throughout all of the pop culture references and political jabs that take place during cutaways and gags throughout the episodes, nothing touches the nerves more with Christian viewers than the jokes made about "the father" or God; and "the son", or Jesus. While the jokes made do show that they are still shown to be holy figures explained by the Bible (I.E. citizens of Quahog view him as a celebrity), the fact that Jesus and God are being portrayed as your everyday person can cause outrage from religious groups. When you see Jesus and God act like everyday men who are looking to get active and letting the testosterone flow, it is obvious to see that the writers are set to make them look as inhumane as possible, knowing that their personalities and ideals are the total opposite. While I happen to find some of these jokes funny, these jokes challenge the fundamentalist Christian's ideals and beliefs and gives them a figurative slap in the face.
Analysis of Jokes in the video
Family Guy vs Christianity
This video from Youtube backs up my argument of the Average Joe label I am giving Jesus Christ and God. This video shows them in several situations where they are either entertaining people doing magic tricks, hitting on women in a bar, or acting as a "macho man" in a movie. Macfarlane's approach to these jokes is to throw away the figurative Christian handbook and promote his type of Atheism on the viewers that watch his show. I feel that the jokes are not meant to teach about morals, but think critically about what is wrong with Christianity.
Takeaways and views from scholars
Turning Water into Funk: Jesus is at a house party and Peter saying that a "Party couldn't be better even if Jesus himself showed up. It shows Jesus turning a water jug into a lively disco party. Since a fair amount of these show challenges the majesty of Jesus and how he has magic that controls the masses is nothing but a myth, this is throwing that magic book out the window.
The Employee of the Week: Peter and one of his workmates are doing inventory and they look at the employee of the week frame to see Jesus Christ as the recipient. They cutaway to Jesus playing a game of golf and using his supernatural magic to get the birdie that he initially missed. Another example of supernatural magic as a myth, this shows Jesus abusing that power.
Please, God, Kill Me Now: Meg shouts to god to kill her and it cuts over to God with a gun looking to do just that. Just as God is ready to shoot, the phone rings and a girl named Karen is calling God. This is one of many portrayals of God as an average man who is just looking to get some action.
Jesus Dance: One of the most iconic jokes of the series involves Jesus doing a dance while using hand signals changing number one to number two, and so on. the joke begins with Stewie's older version of himself talking about his visit to see Jesus Christ and that "his ability might have been exaggerated". For a figure in Christianity that is known for being a figure of the gospel and dying for our sins, showing him as an ordinary man unable to make miracles upsets Christians who view him as a god.
Crucify This: In a parody of the Passion of the Christ, it shows Jesus himself as the man who will "kick the first ass". It is one of the rare cases that a parody of a parody towards Christianity is depicted as just another guy.
Magic Fingers: This joke shows God flirting with a woman at a bowling alley showing off his magic pouring a beer without using his hands. It then cuts away to the Drunken Clam tavern where God lights the woman's cigarette where he showcases his "magic fingers". It then kills the woman and sets the bar on fire. He curses "Jesus Christ" causing is son to arrive at the tavern and then leave in "the Escalade".
A Friend of Mine: In a scene of the Bachelorette, one of the contestants would like to say hello to a "friend of mine". He then says hi to Jesus, and it cuts away to the lord watching g the show and being shocked by the mention. Easily, this is the best scenario for Jesus just being another man.
Garden of Eden: The joke revolves around Adam and Eve asking god if they could sit under the tree. It then shifts to another angle where God has a plethora of Hustler magazines. This makes God look like a chauvinist who only views women as objects.
Giving up on your goals: This would be the most offensive of the jokes as it shows Jesus as a washed-up man who has given up on his life. It shows a conversation between Peter and Lois talking about their goals and not giving up on them. It then cuts away to see if Jesus Christ gave up on his. It shows him in a deflated state with four kids questioning why he did not continue to fulfill the duties as the saviour of our sins.
Big Bang: This joke is the explanation of how the big bang occurred, according to Peter Griffin. It shows God and his "roommate" Chuggs having an arm-wrestling match. In that match, God farts and deflects the smell to Chuggs to win. He then asks for a lighter near his backside to fart and cause "the big bang". This analogy can upset scientists as the big bang was caused by the expansion of the universe, not by passing gas while arm-wrestling.
What I can take away from the select amount of jokes are three main points:
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The miracles Jesus or god makes cannot be achieved in reality according to science
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Jesus and God can be seen as futile and human
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Stereotypes of the superior male can be placed on anybody, especially God and Jesus
According to religious studies scholar, David Feltmate, he feels that:
"Family Guy's portrayal of Christians in these examples reduces all Christians to a stereotype based on vocal subgroups of fundamentalist Christians who interpret the bible literally and hold antagonist positions vis-a-vis other religious groups (2017, 56)]
From the examples provided in this video, I agree with Feltmate's statement on dumbing down the Christian stereotype being denigrated. I feel that it will all come down to personal preference whether Christians find this shows jokes to the Christian bible offensive or sacrilegious. This show clearly has a touch of atheism involved with the characters and the shutting down of miracle magic that Jesus or God shows. Moreover, their magic can be part of a discussion of magical realism. According to media scholar, Alison Crawford, she thinks that "Family Guy wanders the line between realism and fantasy with such aggression that often the viewer is left confused as to what exactly has happened or how to explain it." (2009: 60) It asks the question of if there really is a god above who watches over us or if it is a figment of our imagination and if he is using that magic to create miracle or shock value.
Furthermore, it comes down to the debate of liberals or conservative views on how they perceive the jokes. Liberals would be more than likely to keep an open mind to what they think is funny and what is not; however, Conservatives would not find these jokes as funny as someone like me would find them to be. According to scholar, Silas Kaine Ezell, she feels that this was very prevalent during the peak of the show in the George W. Bush administration:
"Regardless of a particular program's politics and ideology and writers of animated series seem as baffled by the tenor of the political landscape and the marketplace as they are about political ideologies themselves" (2016: 19)
Perhaps that with this being a show that takes on touchy subjects like the second coming of Jesus Christ, 9/11, and cultism, this may have to do with a generation gap. In the book Sitcom Reader: American Viewed and Skewed, Dalton and Linder, scholars of media feel that "in a world where stumbling has become the norm and the possibility of the universal human condition is continually under question, tripping is not as funny as it used to be."(2005: 262) Many of the baby boomers grew up on shows like Cheers, Taxi, and M.A.S.H and the humor of the show did have discussions about feminism and religion. However, with these shows like the Simpsons and Family Guy who make fun of religious groups, ideas, and the human condition on a semi-regular basis, the idea for a casual sitcom like Friends and Seinfeld are not as timely as people think because it gets you thinking about what Jerry or Rachel and Ross are doing next episode, rather while Peter puts forward comments about denigrating women discussing sexual harassment or about the second coming of Jesus speaking about Christianity. Moreover, its more PG-friendly counterpart, The Simpsons "is used to satirize its subjects, revealing hypocrisy through individual characters who act as extended commentaries on American religious life" (Feltmate, 2012: 225).