Videos worth checking out

There is a very funny series of videos on YouTube called "Mr. Deity" that spoofs conventional theism in a brilliant way. The characters in the series include Mr. Deity, who is, of course, the Man in Charge; Larry, his harried assistant; Lucy (short for Lucifer), a feisty, attractive woman and Mr. Deity's nemesis; and Jesus, whose name Mr. Deity seems to have trouble getting right. This Mr. Deity uses cell phones, holds press conferences, and manages to give an irreverent perspective that does George Burns one better. It is unfortunate that the Mr. Deity web site provides quotes of praise from someone like Julia Sweeney who is rather hostile to religion, because this gives the wrong impression about who would enjoy this series; in fact, these videos should be quite entertaining to religious progressives, or anyone with an open mind and a sense of humor.

Another interesting YouTube series is God, Inc., which imagines heaven as an impersonal corporation, complete with with departments for marketing, miracles, disasters, and so on. Office politics abounds, some employees have to worry about layoffs, the staff has to submit proposals for approval, the IT department sometimes screws things up, and there is even sexual harassment training. The God character in this series is never actually seen, although his secretary does show up in one episode. It is very well-done; the episodes are only a few minutes long, but I think it has the quality of an actual television series.