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CAN CREATIONISM BE PARODIED?

With thanks to Andrew Willet for the helpfully detailed comment to my hasty post of a couple of days ago regarding the Bizarre Creationist Website, which Andrew and many others believe/think/hope is a parody/hoax: after surfing the trail Andrew so kindly provided I went back to the site with parody eyes in place, studied the site in detail and encountered the same blinkered avidity that I don't think can be truly imitated without actually stewing your brain cells in credoplasm.

I concluded, as before, that it is not a parody. But then I thought, if Andrew's hopes are not misplaced, and it is a parody, it has a very tough row to hoe; it can't be too real, it has to be 'fun' somewhere, it has to have a navel to actuality, a relief valve for genuine laughter; and how could one sustain a parody of this magnitude (the parodist's glee is the soul of the parody) without putting in a couple of guffaws, sort of self-pats on the back?

Looking through those eyes, I encountered things like: "If you ever need your taxes filed, come see Tim. He gives a 5% discount for all Christians and 10% discount for non-Christians willing to convert on the spot." Could that not be parody? Isn't that a navel to actuality?

And: "Jack also enjoys vexillology and can signal Bible passages from memory in fluent semaphore." Surely this is big tongue in big cheek.

And: "Though most of the Pastor's [Latino] flock are too poor to own computers, they are still a valuable asset for raising the awareness of more affluent Christians." I hear John Belushi saying this on Saturday night.

And: "She is also the regional head of the League of Women Boycotters, and was personally responsible for the removal of cursing Sesame Street dolls from toy stores nationwide in 1998." Rosanna Rosannadanna?

And: "His parents - being Jewish - were hesitant to accept his new found faith, but they do consider it better that Kyle is now following Jesus instead of Marilyn Manson." Woody Allen's rebel offspring?

So I concluded that it is a parody, by someone who used to be credoplasmed but has somehow since returned to the Big Actual Show, fully aware now that creationism parodies itself better than any neverbeliever ever could.

But then I checked the domains, followed the leads, clicked on the ads, chased the links, and it's all too big and diverse and involves too many parties/personas, all in on one big secret, for it to be a parody. So I concluded that it isn't a parody.

But I BELIEVE, and I believe it's a parody. There is no Fellowship University. Nor is there a League of Women Boycotters. But then again, as anyone in the Big Actual Show can see by now, belief can be a funny thing: at the bottom of the site's main page there's a link to Johnny the Baptist (com net org domains registered to Johnny Campbell, TN), an older Blues Brother who looks genuinely like a parody, but his email is @baptisthost.com, "webhosting for bible believers," and all the blatherfroth there echoes Johnny and the Creationists, so I guess I believe it's really not the parody that it's trying not to appear to be. It's all in the Bible somewhere, more or less; that should be proof enough, if triclavianism doesn't do it for you.