Book Review: You've Got to be Kidding by Joe Wenke

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know that we believe if you can't laugh about the abusurdities in life, then you're missing a lot. So it shouldn't be a surprise we were willing to review this hilarious, but sometimes irreverent book!

Synopsis: Why did God turn Lot's wife into a pillar of salt? Were there no other seasonings available?

Why don't we know anything about the early years of Jesus? Did someone lose his baby book?

Who reported the desert encounter between Jesus and Satan? Jesus-or Satan?

And why does the Holy Spirit like to show up as a bird?

As irreverent as the musical The Book of Mormon, the book is an engaging, provocative and hilarious investigation into the bestselling book of all time (uh, the Bible, in case any of your were wondering....). Written to "cause trouble", cultural arsonist Wenke, a keen observer of human gullibility, tempts readers to more closely examine the stories they think they know about the Bible. Drawing upon the same pool of incendiary and cerebral humor as Bill Maher, Jon Stewart and the late, great George Carlin, YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING is a call for humor to restore our sanity and our ability to think for ourselves. Just as it was written in the Bible-or was it?

Review: You have to admit it- You've wondered about those 4 questions above before, haven't you? Well, I think you should have-not all the books available were placed into the bible (hence, why the Jewish Torah is longer than the King Jame's bible), so we KNOW there is stuff that is just blank. Like Jesus' childhood. Was it boring? Common place? Did he get into so much trouble (oops, smote an ant hill again!), nobody wants to discuss his juvie record? See THAT type of thinking isn't so bad, right?

And how many of you as kids questioned why all the ANIMALS had to be killed in the great flood- what did THEY do to make God mad? We know what the people did! And wouldn't it make sense that the flying insects all survived by merely landing on the roof of the ark? There is a lot to be said for the questions that Wenke brings up.

Admittedly sometimes Wenke goes WAAAYY out there (and the language goes with it), but generally, you will be laughing yourself silly while reading this book! In fact, you may find yourself bookmarking a bunch of pages to discuss with your pastor, and friends, later!. I also don't recommend reading it all at one time- it can get a little heady at time with so many names and places! It's best read in chapters, thought about and discussed and then come back for more! And yes, some people would say it's the perfect 'bathroom book'!

So if you know somebody who can laugh at obvious questions, aka George Carlin, and isn't offended with humor aimed at the bible, you may have found THE book to give them this Christmas season!

And the book is on this week's Book Trib giveaway list, so if you're a member- head on over and enter to win a copy!

About the Author: Joe Wenke was born the oldest of eleven children in a strict Catholic family in South Philadelphia and attended a long line of Catholic schools including the University of Notre Dame where he received a B.A. in English. He received an M.A. in English from Penn State and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut. A former corporate speechwriter, he is the owner of a leading event marketing company.