The Death of Comedian George Carlin
29 Jun 2008
I was sorry to hear of the death of comedian George Carlin. It wasn’t that I was a big fan of his, but that I am convinced that he was a man ill-prepared to meet his Maker. Perhaps, more than anyone else, George Carlin was responsible for turning the profane and irreverent into comedic material. Thanks to this so-called pioneer of comedy, blasphemy has become regular fare for stand-up comedians and stand-up routines laced with vulgarity are all the rage.
In Carlin’s mind, decency was a silly taboo that modern-man needed to trample to death in order to untangle himself from made-up moral standards. Morality was our foe, not our friend, according to Carlin. If we could break free from its stifling restrictions we would find ourselves in the glorious liberty of licentiousness—unrestrained decadence. It is stooping down to wallow in this immoral mire that Carlin believed emancipated man so that he could rise to his full potential. Thus, Carlin aimed at gunning down godliness with his sharp shooting slapstick.
As a professed atheist, Carlin loved to quip that belief in God should be taken with the same grain of salt as belief in flying saucers. To him, the claims of Christ were to be given no more credence than claims of alien abductions. Although Carlin’s fans got a chuckle out of his poking fun at people’s faith in God, God got the "last laugh" on George. It occurred last Sunday when Carlin suddenly—without any “two minute warning,” which Carlin once joked was given to everyone just before they died—slipped out of this world for the next.
I guess it’s safe to say that George Carlin lived his life as a man dying for laughs. He was willing to forfeit his soul for a snicker. Carlin worshipped the punch line, and was willing to sacrifice anything at its altar. For example, he even tried to turn 9/11 into some funny one-liners.
Carlin’s most famous routine—Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television—was so obscene that he got arrested for performing it. Afterward, his challenge of the constitutionality of our nation’s laws against indecency went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Carlin firmly believed that his right to free speech meant freedom to say whatever he wanted, to whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and wherever he wanted.
Carlin now stands before a much higher tribunal than our nation’s Supreme Court. He now stands before the Heavenly bar. There, he will find himself with no case, no defense and nothing to say. Without an Advocate—“Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1)—his case is hopeless and his condemnation assured. Unfortunately for George, there are seven words that you can never say in Heaven—“I’m sorry Lord, I was just joking.”
Don Walton
|
