Oh, wait, hold the Waaambulance, let the burn ward know they can take a coffee break, it turns out that wasn't a joke. False alarm, it was a sincere compliment.

I'm betting most of it is affirmation of Christian identity: it's Christian humor, and if you don't laugh, it calls into question whether you're a real Christian.

Then there's the other side of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMaMjBqEtMU

This group of videos was made by a church, and I think they're hilarious. But the makers insist that they weren't making fun of old Jesus films, they were, uh, just showing how BAD ministries make Jesus look bad. Yeah, that must be it! Because they're afraid that having fun with a crappy old movie would make them look like bad Christians.

The bland, suffocating, unbearable middle-American whiteness of it all. I am so thankful I was not raised in this culture.

I see children in that audience. Maybe it's because I've removed myself from Christianity or that I don't identify with evangelical cultism, but I have no idea who the hell this guy is referring to or these songs or why any of these jokes are funny at all. My feeling is these kids are laughing either because of the crowd's infectiousness or to please their parents.

Leaning toward the latter. I imagine a stern lean-over and whisper from some godbody daddy: "What ain't you laughin? He's talkin bout "He Touched Me." We listen to "He Touched Me" every day after your homeschoolin and you have learned the words to "He Touched Me" by heart and you sang "He Touched Me" at your older brother's confirmation! You better flip that attitude rightside-up and promptly, little lady. I hadn't forgotten how you acted fore your purity ball."

Maybe it's like camp humor. None of it's really funny unless you know the people and were there. And really it's only funny even then because of this weird social bonding phenomenon.

THEY TOUCHED HIM

Thank you for that