Intended to be a satirical guide for pubescent Christian teens, “What Would God’s Pottery Do?” has succeeded in offending Christians and non-Christians alike with its obnoxious humor and over-the-top political inaccuracy. The book, about 275 pages long, was written by Gideon Lamb and Jeremiah Smallchild, two comedians from New York.
In beginning my assignment to read and review “What Would God’s Pottery Do?” I was fairly open-minded. The front cover was brightly colored and aesthetically pleasing, if rather cheesy. Two middle-aged males with musical instruments making frighteningly jolly faces is not usually an image that attracts me, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the bright orange shirt Lamb was wearing with a large “Virginity Rocks!” logo made me hesitate to crack open the book a bit more. My curiosity prevailed, though, and I began to read the first few pages of the book.
I was annoyed by the end of the first page, and irritated by the second footnote. Shock and offense revealed themselves as the pages went on. There was no clear definition of whether the authors were trying to be serious or making fun of Christian ideals. The writing was sloppy and the ideas immature. By the end of the first chapter, I had made a clear judgment on the book, and the only reason I read on was to satisfy my sick curiosity.
There were literally a couple times when I flipped through the pages, trying to find some sign that these guys were kidding. There had to be a giant “JK!!” written somewhere. These guys couldn’t be serious. The humor was too much and not enough all at the same time, and it ended up to be a big jumble of ridiculousness.
My religious views popped in mind more than a couple times. I wanted to be the judge of the authors and bang my large wooden gavel,” I object!”
Whether to play the Devil’s advocate for myself, or come up with some rational reason to continue reading, I pushed my values out of my sphere of concentration and attempted to be non-biased.
If I were a Christian, I would be offended by the inaccurate descriptions of my beliefs, and what I preach with my life and my word.
If I weren’t a Christian, or even particularly religious, I would read the book and be offended by the so-called “Christian views.”
When Gideon Lamb and Jeremiah Smallchild decided to take on a parody of a widely known and accepted world religion, I think they could have planned the execution with more tact and consideration.
The blurry line between funny and distasteful has clearly been breached in this book.
Some of you will want to read the book after reading my review. I know this is true, because I’ve done it myself. I suppose it would suffice to say, “One man’s trash, another man’s treasure.” Trash is a harsh word, but in this circumstance it’s definitely not TOO harsh. I would be hard-pressed to find someone who could call this religious parody a treasure.
As I close the pages of “What Would God’s Pottery Do?” I feel a sigh of relief coming on. I sigh, and as my first step to healing from the waste of my life that was the hours I spent reading this book, I exclaim,” Gideon Lamb and Jeremiah Smallchild, you FAIL.”