Toronto, Canada -- Amid speculation that he had abandoned the project, Dov Wisebrod released new material today on DETOX, the "religious recovery webzine," after nearly three months of relative inactivity. He blamed the "silliness" of religion for the unprecedented delay.
"How can I make fun of something so ridiculous?" Wisebrod asked rhetorically. "Not only is it unnecessary to satirize what is already hysterically funny, but it's terribly difficult to use satire to demonstrate what is utterly obvious: religion is ridiculous!"
In September 1998, Wisebrod began writing and posting on DETOX satirical articles mocking all features of religion. Although the website had been launched at the beginning of that year, it was only after he was able to appreciate the grave attitude others had toward his subject that he could begin writing.
"I had to understand, at least a little bit, how it is that many people still believed in a hilarious fantasy world as if it was reality," he explained. "Satire requires a serious subject, so I had to think about religion without laughing. It hasn't been easy to warp my mind this way."
Scholars of the theological sciences cited the satirist's creative difficulty as further evidence that their ancient tradition of surrealist philosophy can survive opposition by ridicule as easily as it withstands attacks by reason.
"We're invulnerable," said Dr. Beau Zough, professor of theology and alchemy at Testament University. "We are the caretakers and marketers of a very special way of thinking. Not only is it immune to heretical argument, thank God, but our intellectual opponents are frequently paralyzed by laughter."
Wisebrod agreed that the "unassisted silliness of theological theory and practice is an impediment" to the steady production of works of satire, but he assured concerned readers that he would continue to write new articles for DETOX.
"At the risk of my own sanity," he said. "However, because I plan to write less often, I will begin to accept submissions from other people. If I like them, I'll put them online to be read by the hundreds of DETOX subscribers and the rest of the world."
In his new editorial role, Wisebrod invited interested parties to contact him and directed them to the archive for samples.
He refused to comment on allegations that he was just a lazy ass.
