Comedians Are Our Prophets

The word prophet hasn’t been so popular since the original Hebrew prophets spoke hard truth to God’s people. The Independent Network Charismatic (INC) is crawling with prophets. These Christians believe God has raised up prophets for our time to lead a great revival.

INC prophets have deep affinities with Seven Mountains Dominionism. Historian John Fea explains, “INC prophets want to reclaim seven cultural mountains: family, government, arts and entertainment, media, business, education, and religion. The goal is to place God’s anointed leaders atop these cultural mountains.”

The new “prophets” are not prophets at all, but false prophets unwilling to speak truth to power. Oddly, it is hard for preachers to be true prophets in our divisive society. Unless a preacher speaks to a crowd already in full agreement with him, he will not have a prophetic voice to speak God’s contrary truths.

Preachers and Politicians Struggle to Speak Truth to Power

Preachers and politicians have trouble speaking truth to power. Many sermons and speeches are more pandering to the crowd than speaking the truth. Gaining the attention and assent of an American audience without insulting at least half of us has become the primary challenge of all speakers. I argue comedians are the true prophets of our time.

Speaking truth to power, addressing crucial social/political issues, naming the transgressions and moral failings of society, and exposing injustice and oppression has become a hazardous occupation. People don’t honor prophets, especially not in church.

Who will volunteer to be Elijah to the “Jezebel and Ahab” politics of our nation? Who has the prophetic ego integrity to play the role of John the Baptist to the power of American politics? Prophets speak truth to audiences not prepared for truth. Prophets are bold, forthright speakers, willing to take risks. Prophets require courage in the face of opposition.

Comedians as Truth-Tellers

Humor provides cover for the truth so comedians can allow people to think critically about painful issues. As Richard Pryor once said, “The truth is gonna be funny, but it gonna scare the shit outta folks.” The truth spoken in Black humor, for example “is very often true – and the truth strikes deep into the pulpy moral fiber of American life,” claims critic Saunders Reddings. Richard Pryor was that voice in an earlier generation. One could point to other Black comedians such as David Chapelle, Chris Rock, Trevor Noah, or Wanda Sykes, but also comedians from a range of racial identities, Margaret Cho, Russell Peters, and Stephen Colbert, but the discussion would become unwieldy.

Comedians make us laugh and think; preachers make us angry and resentful. I suggest that the rod of Moses, the mantle of Elijah has been passed to certain stand-up comedians. I concentrate on recently released Netflix specials by Chris Rock and Trevor Noah.

Chris Rock

Comedian Chris Rock may not have known that he hit the central nervous system of American political culture with his Netflix special, “Selective Outrage”. Rock’s performance is a devastating critique of the entire outrage industry now driving the politics of America.

Yet Rock publicly addresses an audience of white and African Americans on subjects that are usually taboo in our culture. And the reason he can do so: Comedy produces a different atmosphere than a pulpit sermon or a political rally.

Rock goes right to his topic: “Selective Outrage” – “You never know who might get triggered. Words hurt. Anybody who says words hurt has never been poked in the face. Everybody’s scared. They wait for you to say some dumb stuff. Get you in one of those “woke” traps. The thing I have a problem with is ‘selective outrage.’”

Rock claims that the best way a person can get attention is by being a victim. “Be a victim.”

“Everybody trying to be a victim. People who know they aren’t victims. Like white men. They think they are losing the country. To who? It ain’t us. We got some boxers and a couple of record companies. White men trying to overthrow the government that they run. We gotta get them out of office? Who? Us. What kind of white planet of the apes stuff was that?”

Can you imagine Rock performing at the First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas or at a Trump rally in Iowa?

Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah’s Netflix special, “Where Was I,” also boldly verbalizes controversial social issues that divide and anger so many Americans.

Like the prophet Amos condemning Damascus, Gaza, and Edom before thundering, “For three transgressions of Judah,” Noah discusses his visits to Berlin, Germany, and Paris, France before calling America to judgment. “You can’t escape the past in Berlin. They memorialize what Hitler did. They teach their children about it in school. They don’t make them feel guilty about it.” They tell the young people of Germany, “It is your responsibility to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Noah says, “I wish America could do this. How awkward speaking about history in America. Get’s tense.”

For instance, Noah brings up Columbus Day. Is it Columbus Day or Indigenous People Day? Noah says, “That is white man confidence. Go the wrong way. Go to the wrong place, go to the wrong people, give them the wrong name. I’m right give me a holiday.” According to Noah, if Columbus had been a black man, he’d “probably get arrested for trespassing.”

Noah’s audience roars in laughter and erupts in applause. In church he would be lucky if all the congregation did was boo him.