Ship of Fools: Mary in Sunday school

Thread: Mary in Sunday school Board: The Laugh Judgment / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

Joke submitted by Matt:

Little Mary was not the best student in Sunday school. Usually she slept through the class. One day, the teacher called on her while she was napping: "Tell me, Mary, who created the universe?"

When Mary didn't stir, little Johnny, an altruistic boy seated in the chair behind her, took a pin and jabbed her in the rear.

"God Almighty!" shouted Mary, and the teacher said, "Very good!" and Mary fell back asleep.

A while later the teacher asked Mary, "Who is our Lord and Savior," but Mary didn't even stir from her slumber. Once again, Johnny came to the rescue and stuck her again.

"Jesus Christ!" shouted Mary, and the teacher said, "Very good!" and Mary fell back asleep.

Then the teacher asked Mary a third question: "What did Eve say to Adam after she had her twenty-third child?" Again, Johnny jabbed her with the pin.

This time Mary jumped up and shouted, "If you stick that damn thing in me one more time, I'll break it in half!"

The teacher fainted.

[ 07. July 2005, 00:01: Message edited by: Simon ]

Posted by Anselm (# 4499) on :

It might be helpful to distinguish between whether people find the joke simply 'morally' offensive or more specifically 'religiously' offensive.

Posted by Amazing Grace (# 4754) on :

This is the first one I've seen that I haven't seen many times before.

(Filed in memory banks, to be retold.)

Posted by Back-to-Front (# 5638) on :

Another good 'un.

From what people have posted elsewhere about the offence they have taken in these jokes, either we have a shipful of prudes or I have a much higher offence threshold than average.

Posted by The Bede's American Successor (# 5042) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Back-to-Front:
From what people have posted elsewhere about the offence they have taken in these jokes, either we have a shipful of prudes or I have a much higher offence threshold than average.

Which reduces the chance of Simon posting the joke I sent, unless he really wants to create unrest.

Posted by Back-to-Front (# 5638) on :

If he doesn't, please would you PM it to me?

Posted by Glimmer (# 4540) on :

Just can't find jokes about children uttering blasphemy very funny at all. Heard it a long time ago anyway, probably at school where it belongs. Can't imagine being offended by it though.

Posted by Cheesy* (# 3330) on :

Needs a better punch-line. How about 'if you prick me with that pin one more time, I'll tear you in half'.

Otherwise tedious.

C

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

Best one so far. [Big Grin]

All the jokes have only rated one on offensiveness so far. So try me....

Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Glimmer:
Just can't find jokes about children uttering blasphemy very funny at all.

Blasphemy? She gave the right answers [Snigger]

quote:
Originally posted by Cheesy*:
Needs a better punch-line. How about 'if you prick me with that pin one more time, I'll tear you in half'.

But then it loses the comic touch that it's a concievable answer to the question "what did Eve say to Adam after her 23rd child?".

Posted by EpiscoWhat (# 9660) on :

Funniest i've seen posted so far.

I'm still waiting for Simon to post my joke.....

tommy

Posted by Left at the Altar (# 5077) on :

One of my kids told me this joke last week. I could see the punch line coming from a mile away.

Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :

For some reason I initially equated Mary with the BVM, which made it seem more offensive than it actually is ...

Posted by jlg (# 98) on :

It wasn't the BVM? Rats. Can I down-grade my vote?

Posted by Newman's Own (# 420) on :

This is the funniest joke I've seen on this board thus far.

Posted by Pyx_e (# 57) on :

Go the extra mile, tell us why.

P

Posted by da_musicman (# 1018) on :

The punchline is alright but the construct of the joke isn't. Why would a sunday school teacher be asking about Adam and Eve's 23rd child? For a joke which reads like a true story this inconsistency jarred.

Posted by Newman's Own (# 420) on :

I enjoy jokes which have to do with misunderstanding of what someone says, in whatever presentation. I also enjoyed this joke because it reminded me of how it actually is in a classroom - teacher trying to get the kids' attention, the kid who is not at all interested, the other 'trying to help.'

I agree that the one flaw in this joke is the ending - it otherwise sounds very much like 'true stories' most of us could tell. A variation - perhaps a reference to Eve's pain and suffering bearing children - could work far better. The first two questions the teacher asks are standards, but no one would ask about Eve's words to Adam after 23 children.

I know - perhaps I'm being too analytical. [Smile]

Yet I have found that jokes, religious or not, which I really like usually are amusing because of their relation to 'real life.'

Posted by Zeke (# 3271) on :

I first heard this when I was a schoolgirl(though it was a man in an adult Bible study class and an old lady poking him with her umbrella), and it was very funny then because it was such a naughty joke. The sexual element made it hilarious to us. Now it doesn't seem too funny, though perhaps it's because it's lost the element of surprise.

It's really almost the same joke as the one about the nuns being questioned by Saint Peter, though the part about the self-righteous classmate adds another level.

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

Heard a long time ago, when I was a wee lad. Go0od retelling, though.

Posted by Long-Johns Silver (# 1763) on :

quote:
Needs a better punch-line. How about 'if you prick me with that pin one more time, I'll tear you in half'.

Did you not get the inuendo? (Mary got it in her endo) [Killing me]

I loved this one when I was in primary school 40 years ago, so maybe it's lost it's edge just a bit. The version I knew was simply "what did Eve say to Adam", which perhaps made the punch line a bit less expected. - still good though.

Posted by Papio. (# 4201) on :

It was pretty funny, because it annihilates the idea that Adam and Eve were anything other than human.

Of course, it implies that the Garden of Eden was not a paradise.

But then, as I don't believe in a literal fall from paradise, that does not offend me.

Hilarious!

Posted by Zeke (# 3271) on :

The punchline in the version I heard back in the Stone Age (old lady poking sleepy man) was something like "Stick that in me one more time and I'll wrap it around your neck!"

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

I don't remember that one, love. I think the retelling was just right here.

It reminds me of how I dozed in a night class at University of California San Diego. The girl next to me said I was sleepinig with my eyes open and I did mange to answer the instructor's questions. Just; so a sharp pin to the bum would not have been helpful! I did get a 'B' if I remember...this course at UCSD was called 'California Real Eastate Appraisal'.

Posted by JillieRose (# 9588) on :

*snickers*

I remember this joke. I laughed the first time, I'm still laughing now. [Smile]

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :

quote:
Originally posted by da_musicman:
The punchline is alright but the construct of the joke isn't. Why would a sunday school teacher be asking about Adam and Eve's 23rd child? For a joke which reads like a true story this inconsistency jarred.

That's exactly what I thought too. The 3rd question is obviously contrived just to get to the punch line, and that ruins it for me. But the first 2 questions/responses were funny, so the joke doesn't totally sink or swim depending on its punch line.

Posted by spacecadet (# 10131) on :

i just do not find children blaspheming to be funny. [Frown]

from a South African perspective, it's very much what we hear, and battle with, every day. christians are mocked for objecting when, in our multi-cultural society, the name of our God remains the expletive of choice.

i agree that the third question seems contrived, which detracts from what might otherwise have raised a laugh.

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