Amidst the gloom of the global financial crisis, a team of Christian comedians has chosen April Fools’ Day to launch a comic take on church life.
Sydneyanglicans.NOT is a satirical news and current affairs program that gently pokes fun at the human problems we bring to God's Great Commission.
The fortnightly podcast is the brainchild of students at Moore Theological College and Sydney Missionary and Bible College.
Producer Joseph Smith says the writers were inspired by Jesus' own use of humour to drive home spiritual points.
"Whether he was teaching about judgement by telling people to remove the plank from their own eye, or using a camel and the eye of a needle to warn them about the dangers of wealth, it seems Jesus regarded such rhetorical devices as appropriate for making some very serious points," Mr Smith says.
Mr Smith believes the longer a person spends in culture, the easier it is to become numbed to its shortcomings.
Is God laughing?
Referring to themselves as "The Four Horsemen of the Apocryphal', the comic team aims to use their mock news format to help Christians consider some of their inconsistencies.
"The best satire will always have a worthy target as its subject matter," Mr Smith explains.
"If humour can be one way of drawing attention to the need for repentance, then I am all for it."
The Four Horsemen are mindful that some people will equate laughing at Christian practices with laughing at God.
Mr Smith says God is their Executive Producer, and as such, is off-limits.
"He is perfect and has never failed to get it right. Humans on the other hand " Christians included " often get it wrong.
"Sadly, Christians, the people who have the truth, often misuse it, obscure it or fail to sincerely live it. When this happens it is worthy of satire because this behaviour needs correction."
Click here to read Sydneyanglicans.net's interview with the creators of Sydneyanglicans.NOT
Sydneyanglicans.NOT will be available from this site as a fortnightly podcast.
Click here to listen to episode one of the Sydneyanglicans.NOT podcast
