The Book of Mormon musical has shot to the top of the charts, raking in Tony Awards, selling out at Broadway, and stirring controversy just about everywhere. Thought up by the irreverent South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, The Book of Mormon is a Broadway production that pokes fun at Mormons, ridicules God, and blasphemes Jesus. And it’s pure entertainment, or so it’s supposed to be.
The Book Of Mormon Broadway Musical – Another attempt to discredit faith, God and Jesus Christ.
Is the play, as the marketing slogan goes, “God’s favorite musical”? The advertisements say it is. They also say that it’s, “a confetti burst of profanity, blasphemy, and hilarity. It’s the Mormon moment.” As CBS reported, the play “leaves no four-letter word unspoken, few taboos untouched.” And this is what people are paying $900 a ticket (scalper’s price) to go see? Sure enough.
“Filthiest…Funniest Musical Ever”
And the attendees are laughing…hard. Vogue magazine calls it, “the filthiest, most offensive…and quite possibly the funniest musical ever.” New York Post reported that playgoers were “sore from laughing so hard.”
Which leads to the question, “What’s so funny about religion?” CBS anchor Rita Braver asked the two creators this very question. Their response? “Everything’s funny about religion!”
“I’m a Mormon. And a Mormon just believes.” [LAUGHTER]
As one of the play’s protagonists overcomes a personal crisis moment, he sings this key phrase: “I’m a Mormon. And a Mormon just believes.” And so, as the song (and the play) implies, “You’re stupid for holding to this belief system. You’re stupid for thinking it can change people.” A Mormon duo journeys to Uganda on their mission. When they do, the destitute and disease-ravaged people curse God in a way that is nothing short of blasphemous.
Ha Ha Sin!
So why, really, is the play drawing so many laughs? Christians have certainly done their fair share of poking fun at the Mormons. Is the play simply a harmless musical comedy about a misguided religious system? Couldn’t we laugh, too?
One of the main reasons why people are chuckling at The Book of Mormon is because the musical makes light of sin. It puts God down. It stuffs religion in the junk drawer. And it makes Jesus out to be a dangerous figment of abused imaginations. In short, the play assures people—through the vehicle of laughter—that their personal depravity is not a problem after all. It addresses those little conscience prickles that people feel from time to time, with a resounding “HA! HA!” And by the way, “have fun in hell” (according to a line in one of the songs).
A lot of people like to laugh at religion, sin, hell, and Jesus because it makes them feel better about themselves, their sin, and their nagging questions that choke out true joy. A couple hours of side-splitting ridicule are a great remedy to the occasional cringing from a nagging conscience.
More than a Joke
The Book of Mormon is much more than a musical satire. It’s more than Mormons. It’s more than hooting crowds and profanity-laced lyrics. It’s more than all that.
The Book of Mormon ridicules God, faith, and truth. It preaches the insensibility of faith and the stupidity of personal religion. Nearly all the overarching themes of the play proclaim a message that is antithetical to God’s message.
We are not trying to heap judgment on the ability of the performers, the artistic merit of the show, nor the quality of the staging. We are simply saying that The Book of Mormon is a symptom of our sick world. It’s not merely some clever satire that compassionately puts its arm around Mormons (or any faith) by the end of the show. It’s flat-out mockery of absolute truth and eternal reality.
What do we do?
So, should we start proclaiming gloom and doom, and “America’s going down the tubes!” Should we start websites to criticize the play? Should we picket the performances? Should we blow up Broadway? Should we call them mean and nasty names? Should we yell in loud voices that they’re all going to burn in hell? Should we team up with the Mormons and shut down the play?
Let me offer some alternative suggestions:
- We can rejoice in truth. There is such a thing as truth. It’s not found in the Book of Mormon, neither in the musical satire form nor the written form. It’s not found in ourselves. It is found in the Bible.
- We can pray with hope. What this world needs is not more picketers, shouters, or doomsday prophets. What this world needs is God’s grace. Our prayers are important—prayers of hope in the midst of a hopeless world.
- We can proclaim with joy. The jeering crowds at The Book of Mormon performances aren’t experiencing joy. But there is a joyful message that we can proclaim. Our message, “the word of the cross, is folly to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Yet in spite of the world’s mocking, “It pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). Our responsibility hasn’t changed: “Go therefore and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19).