Church signs can be hilarious -- some favourites:

"Liked the wedding. Invite me to the marriage -- God"
"Sex: God's gift"
"Feeling taken for granted?  Imagine how God feels"

Had a great time at the Philly Folk Fest...really good and fun show (always is) -- made me homesick for Canada.  It must be all those songs about leaving home and not making it back.
Trying to convert as many Americans as possible....

I used to go "down the shore" in New Jersey every Easter Sunday to spend the day playing boardwalk games and eating fresh cut fries (nothing says easter like fresh cut fries).

One year while walking the boardwalk, with all of the little kids from the local easter parade running up and down a "gentleman" walks by wearing a shirt that says only "Un-F*#king believable" (except with the UC in place of the *#. Keeping the site family friendly ). No additional information or images provided

While a first glance it would seem very inappropriate. Upon further review, by those in our group, isn't the entire Easter mystery just that.. "Un-F*#king beleivable"?

What?!? Alan aren't you counting the seconds until you play your Secret Show? LOLOL

I love that god vs neitzsche shirt! (I've seen it on other people too, I'm not creepy obsessive or anything)I'm surprized at how nervous people can get at the use of God outside of approved contexts. To each their own - or as my grandfather used to say "you go to your church and I'll sleep in mine".

Hey there Alan.  I usually don’t comment on stuff ‘cause I try to avoid confrontation and conflict like the plague.  But this time I thought I might have something to contribute to the discussion, so here goes.  I know what you mean about people that have no sense of humor when it comes to religion.  But you only have to think about two things to agree that God has a sense of humor – your story about the puppy trying to eat the food off his ears and the platypus.  Hilarious!  As far as people that can’t find the humor in your shirts, I think they fall in to two camps.  One camp is the group that is self-righteous about everything and it just gets magnified when it comes to religious belief.  I think the other camp has a more benign objection.  These are the people that really believe that Jesus does save.  They believe that everyone is going to hell and that Jesus is the only way out.  To them, your shirt is a sad reminder that lots of people will be spending eternity away from God.  Think of it like this: you are a doctor and you figure out the cure for cancer.  All cancer, period.  So, you start telling people about this cure.  The downside is that the results are not immediately noticeable, so people don’t believe you.  They think you are crazy, they make fun of you and they don’t try your cure.  If you saw a shirt making a joke about your cure, it might hurt your feelings to think that people could be so cavalier about something that you think is of ultimate importance.  I know it isn’t the perfect allegory, but you catch my drift.  As far as the love comment, it also comes from people with a certain mindset.  To them, Jesus is God.  If that is true, there isn’t a nail on the planet that could have held Him on the cross if He didn’t want to be there.  This is the same guy who raised people from the dead, healed them without even being in the same town with them, fed thousands with a kid’s lunch, etc.  If you believe that He did all those other miracles, then it is ridiculous to think that a couple pieces of galvanized steel could hold Him against His will.  So, their answer to why He stayed up there if it wasn’t the nails – Love.  He knew that His sacrifice was the only way to truly save people (back to the benign camp above).  Anyway, just thought I’d put my two cents in (maybe it’s more than that now with inflation, I can’t keep track).  BTW – FF is great, can’t wait to see you guys live again – once in Sept. and once in Oct, Yippee!  Safe travels until then.

I figure that Jesus can see into people's hearts, and can tell when people are just being happy about Him in a particularly goofy way.  Wanting to protect Jesus from humor seems to me like wanting to protect Arnold Schwarzenegger from some high-school stalker - somebody who might not have all their ducks in a row, but they're not exactly what you could call a threat.

I particularly like a cartoon I saw of Jesus in line at a recycling center, captioned "Christ the Redeemer."

Alan, your shirt also reminds me tangentially of The Divine Ryans, in which Draper Doyle (!) is referred to as the Holy Goalie because he's so bad that the puck seems to go right through him...

Of course, there's also the other version of Alan's shirt that not only says "Jesus Saves" but also adds "Gretzky shots, he scores!"

Have you ever seen the bumper stickers that say "God is my co-pilot"?  It may be a fitting T-shirt to add to the wardrobe, considering this, your last FTR...Maybe the same would be true for the Cessna Pilot?  
At least you scored one for the Optimists, getting on the early flight this time.
Sending Travel Zen for the next one...

"Love bites, love bleeds
It's bringin' me to my knees
Love lives, love dies
It's no surprise
Love begs, love pleads
It's what I need"


Four-inch galvanized love is a darn good answer back to Croce's "Lover's Cross" lament too.


No clue why anyone has trouble with your "Jesus Saves" shirt. If Jesus were to play hockey, of course he'd be a goalie. And he make some heavenly glove saves too.

I hope you catch lots of new ears at the Urban gig.

WG:  "Four inch galvanized love" is a darn good one, period.

If you're going to go buying galvanized love, you'll probably want to go for at least six inches ...

Alan ~ Keep wearing the Great T-shirts!
LOVED the Nietzsche shirt on the FF DVD : )
Maybe those offended people could pick up a book of his philosophies to find out why that is so funny. Learn a little -broaden their horizons... open their minds.
Like Russell Crowe said of your college minor -
       Religion, how amusing.
People sure do get their shorts in a bunch about all things religous.
God knows you have a great heart & a great sense of humor!  
Can't wait to see you in London & Ann Arbor : )
Cheers ~ Brenda

Good words Shade!  And when I first saw the shirt, Alan (I think it was sept.1st in Vancouver http://www.bassdrum.ca/v2/photogallery/06.09.01/pages/06.09.01.140.html) I loved it, I thought it was funny, witty, and at the same time entirely true.  He can save every one, even if the shot had sold it's soul to the devil ;)  Keep up the great shows!  I'm looking forward to seeing you guys in Edmonton this fall, and I can't wait for Ships n Dip again!  Such a blast last year (funny, there's the shirt again... http://www.bassdrum.ca/v2/photogallery/08.01shipsandsip3/pages/08.01.28.026.html)

Well, yes.  It does give a bit of a different connotation to the idea of "getting nailed" by the one you love,doesn't it?

I'm not a bit religious, but my own spin on the topic at hand (ouch, bad pun) would be that it was love that made Jesus willing to allow the nails to hold him to the cross. But, not to be blasphemous here or anything, I'd still bet good money that while he was hanging there, Jesus was thinking more about the nails than about the love.

If somebody (or Somebody) is willing to suffer and sacrifice for your sake, there's no sense in trying to make their pain more palatable by turning it into some kind of Warm Fuzzy Feel-Good.

I could be quite happy with four-inch galvanized love. Size isn't what matters, after all. It's that galvanization that counts most. :)

Love your Jesus saves shirt... actually saw it last summer in Jasper, AB when we went to the mountains... I was like hey... I seen that shirt somewhere before... lol..

To each thier own... if what a person believes makes them grounded and happy... then go for it... its all good...

"Four inches of galvanized love- BAHA! Sounds like the name of a club or two I could've been found at on a late Saturday night when I lived in NYC. :p That's some kinky business right there. Make sure to use safer sex practices for yer galvanized love, kiddies!

The shirt is bloody brilliant by the way. I've seen the Nietzsche one before, cracked me up. If you did the funny tees, I HIGHLY recommend the site BustedTees.com. Hilarious stuff there.

I'ma attempt html here, hopefully this works. Here's a good Jeebus one for ya!
<img alt="" src="http://6.media.bustedtees.com/bustedtees/mf/d/4/bustedtees.3486b3fd5f4b8d2b9c7108b41b0b9c0e.gif" />

Unrelated but a personal fave you may enjoy:
<img alt="" src="http://8.media.bustedtees.com/bustedtees/mf/9/a/bustedtees.def04fd9fbc53933c761f26afd6c9dfb.gif" />

This could be an ironic funny one for gigs!
<img alt="" "src="http://8.media.bustedtees.com/bustedtees/mf/1/6/bustedtees.988a4391c19a77e86f1ccd56de96faf7.gif/>

Enjoy :)

Teh interwebz: I don't know how it works *EPIC FAIL AMANDA*

Sorry bout that. Normal linkage in the order above:
http://www.bustedtees.com/jesus
http://www.bustedtees.com/canadaamericashat
http://www.bustedtees.com/obscureband

I think the shirts are awesome! Keep wearing them. I love the discussion on this thread too.

holy puck. funny.

Jesus Saves? Is he available to play for the Leafs? :D

Tricia, if only, we need Him badly.

Too funny.  I love your sense of humour.  Discovered on a recent trip to Newfoundland that everyone I met from your home province has a great sense of humour.  Keep smiling!

Yes, Jesus saves and some times we wear our faith and belief on our clothes.  Hope to see GBS soon, in Minneapolis

The church sign down the road from my place once read:

"Being on your knees screaming Oh God, does not constitute praying".  

God bless the United Church, they have a sense of humour too!!!

Pick up "Lamb" by Christopher Moore if you really want to have a sense of humour about religion.  It's the story of the missing 33 years of Christ's life written by his best friend Biff.  I laughed out loud all through this book...cheers!

Hey
I love your shirts! I've seen the Jesus scores one around quite a bit. It's really hilarious and I don't understand why people are having a cow about it :)
By the way, I'm so excited to see you guys when you come to Vancouver in December!
Rock On!

I just have to jump in the controversial pool! God (whoever that may be) does have a sense of humour. If we look closely, we can see examples of this in everyday life. Most clergymen/women have a sense of humour too; I have met many who will pass on jokes involving God, Jesus--without crossing the "line". For those who feel that God, Jesus has no place in anything humourous: "Lighten up!!!"

Not really related to the topic of discussion, but thought this was funny to throw in: My husband & I visited a church where the ministers' parking place was marked with a sign, "Thou shalt not park here"! Loved it.

I second Dawn!  Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal was hilarious!  Highly recommended.

Alan, I'm with everyone else on this one.

I absolutely love your god vs neitzsche shirt, and as for the 'Jesus Saves' shirt, well that's even better. Perfect way to combine hockey and religion...

Never take those shirts out of your wardrobe. Screw everyone else, if you want to wear those shirts, wear them. People are just too sensitive these days.

As for the love held Jesus to the cross bit, I'm on the fence. I'm not overly religious, but I think it was a bit of love AND the nails that held him there. But the 'four inch galvanized love' bit, really funny dude...you had me laughing out loud.

This is the second FTR in a row that you've made me laugh. Keep the laughs coming...I certainly needed them today.

Always nice to be home with the ones that you love, and I'm glad that you were able to get home early to see your fair one and H, even if it was only for a short time.

Have a good time at the Urban gig. I hope you guys win over some new fans while you're there.

Krista

P.S: Did you know that Keith Urban has a black Les Paul just like yours? I noticed it on his CD cover and thought of you. Hot guitars for HOT guitar players. Rock on!

Brilliant!

The way I figure it, if God is perfect (according to everyone), and if having no sense of humor is a serious imperfection (duh), then God must have a sense of humor.  Too bad many of his flock don't.

Hey Alan...
My best friend is a very religious fellow, and I still can't help make jokes he finds in bad taste. If I had a dime for everytime I said "Have you found Jesus?  No! But He's usually in the last place you look. Did you try behind the desk?" I'd be rich.
I make T-Shirts in my free time, and it's all I can do to keep from making a shirt that says, "I FOUND JESUS: Hide & Seek Champion since 0010 AD".

For the record, I want to say: I am a Christian. Jesus is my Saviour, and God is the reason I live. And while I don't like truly disrespectful, irreverent humour, I thought the "Jesus Saves" shirt was really amusing! JimmyD: your hide-and-seek T-shirt is pretty funny, too.

And I would definitely wear that Nietzsche shirt. I really would. I love that. I can't imagine why any Christian wouldn't love that shirt (unless they stopped reading after at first quote).