That's the whole thing in three words. Must be funny. It's the name, the whole doctrine and belief system, the one commandment, the discipline practiced by the faithful, the spiritual goal.
MUST BE FUNNY
It's the next stage in our evolution. The Age of Aquarius will be funny. Being funny is the higher consciousness we've been looking for.
Our mission is to save souls from the sin of seriousness, become funny people, and build a funny world. And party a lot.
On the day of judgement, only those laughing will be saved.
ONE COMMANDMENT
Other religions have ten commandments or hundreds of rules. Must be funny is the first to recognize that the maximum number of things we can ask people to do is one.
CLEAR MORAL GUIDANCE
Must be funny: a rule for resolving every question in life. Whenever we face a dilemma we ask, which way is funnier? Must be funny provides clear moral guidance in every situation.
LOVE AND SEX IN FUNNY WORLD
Fooling around is OK, but couples who get serious are living in sin.
PARTY A LOT
The standard format for every funny function is the party. Parties tend to produce laughter, which is a good measure of the success of the mission. Design and promotion of parties is a major missionary activity.
FUNNY GODS
Everybody starts at the entry-level position as god of funny world. They get at least 15 minutes of omnipotence, and serve until they can find a replacement. Then they work their way down to their level of competence.
NO BELIEFS REQUIRED
Religions succeed by giving people something to do. Beliefs are usually irrelevant. Sometimes they produce religious wars, so it's best to minimize them. Must be funny reduces them to three words. And, since belief is serious, we're not allowed to believe even that much. Disbelief is required.
FUNNY IS AS FUNNY DOES
What does funny do? It makes people laugh. Our religious duty is to make people laugh, to contribute to the funniness of the world.
FUNNY SACRIFICE
People will reject a religion that offers only benefits. Must be funny should demand sacrifice as well. We're slaves in the funny factory, under the lash to increase funny production. Or we're missionaries who've given up everything to spread the funny message and save souls. We can do penance for our sins of seriousness. We can borrow familiar sacrifices from other religions -- but only if they're funny.
FUNNY PARANOIA
A major success factor for new religions is a siege mentality, us versus them, a beleaguered minority struggling for existence. If there's no actual threat or persecution, then we have to make some up.
Warning: Must be funny challenges the very basis of society. We can expect opposition. We have to stick close and be careful who we bring in. Our meetings are disguised as house parties, a different house each time.
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