Little Zachary was doing very badly in math.

His parents had tried everything..tutors, mentors, Flash cards, special learning centers.

In short, everything they could think of to help his math.
Finally, in a last ditch effort, they took Zachary down and enrolled him In the local Catholic school. After the first day, little Zachary came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't even kiss his mother hello.   Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying.

Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Zachary was hard at work. His mother was amazed. She called him down to dinner.

To her shock, the minute he was done, he marched back
to his room without a word, and in no time, he was back hitting the books as hard as before.

This went on for some time, day after day, while the mother tried to understand what made all the difference.

Finally, little Zachary brought home his report Card. He quietly laid it on the table, went up to his room and hit the books. With great trepidation, His Mom looked at it and to her great surprise, Little Zachary got an 'A' in math.   She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and said, 'Son, what was it? Was it the nuns?' Little Zachary looked at her and shook his head, no.. 'Well, then,' she replied, Was it the books, the discipline, the structure, the uniforms? WHAT WAS IT?'

Little Zachary looked at her and said, 'Well, on the first day of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren't fooling around.'

I am not even Catholic and it takes one whale of a bad joke to offend me, but this isn't necessary.  Quite frankly, it isn't even close to being funny.  I have a feeling that if this were poking fun at Jewish or Muslim folks there would be far more outrage.

I'm all for a dirty joke on this board but this one crosses the line for me.  Sorry.

Joking about crucifixion is way over the line.

I have to admit I found the joke funny.  It was definitely a bit over the line.  Virtually all jokes are at someone's expense, and if that someone is Jesus Christ there are going to be a few people not laughing . . . .

Yeah, except its not poking fun at any religion. The "joke" is in the hilarious way that all children have of filling in blanks when they see something they don't understand.

When I was a kid, my all time favorite book was the Velvetine Rabbit, where the toys come to life if they are well loved. So of course that meant I needed to play with all my toys and give them lots of love. But, the movie Poltergiest scared the ever loving CRAP out of me, particularly the scene where the clown tries to kill the boy. So after that, I spent many a sleepless night waiting for my Strawberry Shortcake doll to gang up with Barbie and Susie Wets Alot and jump me in my sleep. (Ok, I didn't really have a Susie Wets Alot).

So how does a 7 year old solve this dilemma? Every night, I locked my toys in my closet, but before I did, I hugged them all and told them how sorry I was that I had to lock them up.

Now TELL me that isn't funny! The joke is the way the boy misinterpreted something he didn't understand.

Good God, I can't believe someone had to explain this. Seriously, just lighten up.

perhaps a reading comprehension test could help.  It is a joke.  Get over it , click over it, but move on.

... and I approved it with no hesitation.

So to any of you who took offense at this very old and often retold anecdote, don't expect an apology.

Good grief, there is PLENTY of Religious mockery being spread around. Mockery amplified by cynical hubris and hypocritical arrogance!

I was tempted to move this entire thread to the Politics & Religion board, a dark and evil place where even the sharks and barracuda dare not enter; where the people who really DO mock religion and politics thrive and replicate, and where the thin-skinned and politically correct become cannon fodder afterthoughts. A place *I* used to call Home on this board.  (Mu-ha-ha)

In all sincerity, I believe anyone taking offense at this joke, needs to seriously reassess their sensitivity buttons.

(and an aside to SotF - MY old copy of VR has now been handed down through three generations

are u for real?? a priest told me this one yrs ago when I had my daughter in catholic school, jokingly reassuring me they were serious about  education. lol

Man I went to parochial school all my life and nuns and priests told the funniest jokes. A pick and choose religious perspective here.  Ain't got no problem reading about reviews and possibly soliciting providers, but you gonna get religion on a lite joke by most standards.

My comment had nothing to do with religion.

Any joke making light of one of the most inhumane forms of execution (crucifixion) is, in my opinion, not funny and in poor taste.

And is being a hobbyist supposed to make me laugh at cruel humor?????

Hi,

..  back in the day and tried to cover it up w/ hush money from all those unsuspecting people who donated money for his lavish lifestyle!!!! P-T-L no longer stood for praise the lord, but Pay The Lady!!!!

It was poking fun at the mistake an adolescent boy made and very easily could make were he not raised in a Catholic setting. The crucifix is very common place in many Christian churches. Of course they are placing it a a symbol of reverence, but it is the innocent child in the joke that is the butt of the joke not the crucifix. And as for the anti religious bashing critics, the joke was not all blasphemous. It was based on the misunderstanding of a non-believer not anyone criticizing the church.

Again, be offended if you please. I am simply trying to explain how I think you misunderstood the joke.

very good !!!