Colbert University: Course of the Week – The Trinity

Happy Easter, Zoners!  This past Thursday night, Stephen served it to his guest, Bart Ehrman.  One of the topics they discussed was the divinity of Christ, so I thought this week we could take a closer look at the Trinity from THEO 325: Stephen Colbert and Catholicism, which also explores the comedic rule of three.  If you enjoy this topic, you will want to visit The WØRD: A Colbert Blog for Catholic It-Getters for even more on Catholicism from The Colbert Report.

The Trinity

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It’s interesting to reflect on the Catholic belief in the doctrine of the Trinity (one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in light of Stephen’s frequent use of the comedic principle known as the rule of three, which holds that a trio of things is funnier, more interesting, more impressive, and so on. Stephen will often refer to three of something and then call it a trinity, as in the aforementioned “pastel jelly beans, creme eggs, and marshmallow Peeps (The Diabetic Trinity).” In “The WØRD: American Orthodox,” Stephen says the Christian Coalition should stick to reproductive rights and gay marriage, while the Bullet suggests, “Add flag burning for the Holy Trinity.” In another segment he refers to a Three Musketeers bar as a higher moral choice than Combos because it is “all for one, one for all, just like the Trinity.”

When his three terms carry unequal weight, the humor increases. For instance, in criticizing Senator Harry Reid for quoting the Pope, he said, “Knock off quoting the Pope unless you’re willing to buy the total package: transubstantiation, immaculate conception, and seeing the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast.” In another segment, he gave three examples of Catholic atrocities: “the Crusades, the Inquisition, guitar Mass.”

I have a feeling I will be partaking in The Diabetic Trinity a bit today.  If you missed the Bart Ehrman interview, make sure you check it out! —> “What’s the son of a duck?  It’s a duck.“