God Collar
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Product Description
Book Description
Join Marcus Brigstocke on his hilarious, touching and futile search for faith.
Product Description
'There's probably no God ... but I wish there was. I've got some things I need to ask him.'
Based on Marcus Brigstocke's award-winning Edinburgh and West End show, God Collar focuses on the 'God-shaped hole' that opened up in Marcus's life following the death of his best friend. Exploring his own issues surrounding faith - his lack of it, his need for it, some people's waste of it and what good purposes it might serve if he could get hold of it - he rails against the holy trinity of Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) while atheists, agnostics and believers of all faiths get it in the neck too. God Collar is a scathing look at modern faith that will leave you laughing out loud and examining your own beliefs in equal measure.
'As luck would have it, my relationship with God is as dysfunctional and peppered with resentment and recrimination as ever, so this should make for a good book.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Religion is something comedians have always mined for humour, but the tendency lately has been for stand-ups to merely pick holes in the most ludicrous parts of religious scripture or gain easy laughs merely through `shock' humour, by making deliberately offensive jokes. As an atheist myself, I found Marcus Brigstocke's book a hugely refreshing take on religion. As Brigstocke makes clear, this isn't a book which is going to convert you one way or another, but rather it offers a brilliant insight into what surely the most hardened of atheists has felt at one time or another - those elements of doubt about our lack of faith, and even envy of those who do believe in some form of God. I've always found Brigstocke extremely funny in his stand-up and TV appearances, and there are some hilarious turns of phrase in the book, but we also get to see an unexpectedly sensitive side, as he writes very movingly about the death of his close friend, the event which lead him to question his atheism. All in all this is a very funny, refreshingly honest book about faith, and a great antidote to the usual self-satisfied atheist books currently out there
59 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Marcus Brigstocke has commented on religion before. A few years back his stand-up routine on "The Now Show" asking the followers of the three Abrahamic faiths "Not to kill us all...please" was as funny as it was thought provoking, and was one of a number of catalysts for me personally to become an Atheist (we don't have a special name for the conversion process, maybe we should)
It's hard for none -believers to form "groups" or "committees" because nothing unites us other than our lack of faith. But for me personally, Marcus is about as close as it comes.
This book (which is loosely based on his Edingurgh Festival show of the same name - but with much more content)explains why he has no faith in terms that would feel probably familiar to many who claim to have faith.
He explains why God (I'll use a capital "G" - though I may stop doing so in the future..it's habit) is not for him, and how terrifying a literal biblical (or quran based, or tora based) god would be.
He explains why, if the Bible were to be taken literally, he would not know of one person who would qualify for eternal life at God's side. Certainly not Mother Teresa et al. Brigstocke rails at the hypocracy of "revisionism" and "believing the bits you like and ignoring the bits you don't" of each holy book - and altering those bits around as the social zeitgeist demands it. It was less than 100 years ago in most of the world when the Bible was used as a solid argument that god was FOR slavery, even now hundreds of thousands of African children are born condemned to a life (mostly without parents) and an early AIDS stricken death because the Bible condemns barrier contraception.
There are passages where Brigstocke enters into dialogue with a biblical version of god and explans his problems and tries harder than most to rationlize a good reason why these holy canons "are what they are". The fact that he fails is more down to the twisted logic and duplicitous nature of the books rather than his own effort in trying to make sense of them.
Of course we are only human, as ours is "not to understand". There is no book that will "convert" the faithful, none will ever be written.
By definition faith does not require a logical basis for belief - if it did it wouldn't be faith - ergo - there is no point really railing against it.
So this book is "preaching to the unconverted" or at best those who are questioning their belief with an open mind.
As such, it's a book that is both serious and funny in equal measure. There will be reviews here that detest this book for it's topic and tone, and that's a good thing.
Just becasue you can't win an argument against faith, it doesn't mean you should stop challenging it. Faith unchallenged becomes a terrifying prospect - a potential "big brother" world with self appointed Demigogs ruling over us as if they were the proxy of a higher power, perverting the world to their own will. There are places in the world where this still goes on today, books like this form a small part of a "barrier of logic" that might just prevent a sectarian and religion based holocaust... but probably won't.
To go back to Marcus "Now Show".."To the Abrahamic faiths...Please don't kill us all"
It's hard for none -believers to form "groups" or "committees" because nothing unites us other than our lack of faith. But for me personally, Marcus is about as close as it comes.
This book (which is loosely based on his Edingurgh Festival show of the same name - but with much more content)explains why he has no faith in terms that would feel probably familiar to many who claim to have faith.
He explains why God (I'll use a capital "G" - though I may stop doing so in the future..it's habit) is not for him, and how terrifying a literal biblical (or quran based, or tora based) god would be.
He explains why, if the Bible were to be taken literally, he would not know of one person who would qualify for eternal life at God's side. Certainly not Mother Teresa et al. Brigstocke rails at the hypocracy of "revisionism" and "believing the bits you like and ignoring the bits you don't" of each holy book - and altering those bits around as the social zeitgeist demands it. It was less than 100 years ago in most of the world when the Bible was used as a solid argument that god was FOR slavery, even now hundreds of thousands of African children are born condemned to a life (mostly without parents) and an early AIDS stricken death because the Bible condemns barrier contraception.
There are passages where Brigstocke enters into dialogue with a biblical version of god and explans his problems and tries harder than most to rationlize a good reason why these holy canons "are what they are". The fact that he fails is more down to the twisted logic and duplicitous nature of the books rather than his own effort in trying to make sense of them.
Of course we are only human, as ours is "not to understand". There is no book that will "convert" the faithful, none will ever be written.
By definition faith does not require a logical basis for belief - if it did it wouldn't be faith - ergo - there is no point really railing against it.
So this book is "preaching to the unconverted" or at best those who are questioning their belief with an open mind.
As such, it's a book that is both serious and funny in equal measure. There will be reviews here that detest this book for it's topic and tone, and that's a good thing.
Just becasue you can't win an argument against faith, it doesn't mean you should stop challenging it. Faith unchallenged becomes a terrifying prospect - a potential "big brother" world with self appointed Demigogs ruling over us as if they were the proxy of a higher power, perverting the world to their own will. There are places in the world where this still goes on today, books like this form a small part of a "barrier of logic" that might just prevent a sectarian and religion based holocaust... but probably won't.
To go back to Marcus "Now Show".."To the Abrahamic faiths...Please don't kill us all"
31 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I really like Marcus Brigstocke. So many times, listening to The Now Show has been made bearable by Brigstocke's five minutes of comedic rantings.
However, this book was a chore to get through. It's unclear what Brigstocke was really aiming for with this meandering set of thoughts. There's no clearly discernible theme to each chapter, and the tone lurches from light whimsy to dry thoughts.
For example, one chapter, titled "Where to look for God...", discusses Brigstocke's efforts to hunt for God. No, not in any metaphorical sense, he's actually physically looking for God. On eBay, amongst other places. This allows him to shoehorn a clumsy couple of pages about the operation of the Royal Mail - amusing material, but otherwise irrelevant to a book ostensibly about religion and faith. There's another couple of pages about how Brigstocke likes to imagine iPhone users are "pleasuring gerbils" - a surreal image that pleases him sufficiently that we are presented with it on several occasions through the rest of the book.
By contrast, another chapter, "God Delusion - the modern atheist" is almost devoid of humour altogether. This section deals with Brigstocke's disappointment with the atheist movement - a group that he is often lumped in with, seemingly much to his frustration. All of which seems odd, given how many of his own observations about the unjustness and seeming irrationality of the Abrahamic God in the Koran, Torah and Bible, are remarkably familiar from other works by contemporary atheists. In an almost astonishing piece of irony, Brigstocke states that he finds Dawkins's 'The God Delusion' to be incredibly smug, an effect "enhanced by the fact that... I had heard Professor Dawkins speak" and that "Once you have that clipped, humourless and unrelentingly posh tone in your head, it's very hard not to read the book in the same voice." He does have the good grace to concede that some of his readers may struggle with the same problem - but I was disappointed by the lack of any critique beyond perceived "smugness".
The same chapter goes on to comment on 'The Four Horsemen', a filmed conversation between Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, and comments that several of the participants were drinking alcohol, before launching into a frankly puzzling passage about the similarities between drinking alcohol and participating in religion. It's a lighthearted observation, but one which completely overlooks the somewhat glaring point that there is no debate about whether or not alcohol exists.
In any case, lurches in tone and style aside, the fundamental problem that I had with the book was that it reads like a long, transcribed comedy routine. Given its roots in Brigstocke's Edinburgh show, this is unsurprising. However, there are points where Brigstocke's delivery style does not lend itself well to written prose. At times, he is wont to provide examples that prove a point. In his stand-up delivery, it undoubtedly works well to go off on flights of fancy providing four or five examples - in his prose, it serves to bring a developing argument to a shuddering halt.
There are moments of genuine entertainment in the book - particularly toward the end where Brigstocke introduces some personal anecdotes about his family, and his friend James to whom the book is dedicated. I got the impression that the book would have been much more entertaining if Brigstocke had told more such stories, which explain his interest in, and fascination with, the world of religion and faith... rather than trying quite so hard to be both funny and profound.
However, this book was a chore to get through. It's unclear what Brigstocke was really aiming for with this meandering set of thoughts. There's no clearly discernible theme to each chapter, and the tone lurches from light whimsy to dry thoughts.
For example, one chapter, titled "Where to look for God...", discusses Brigstocke's efforts to hunt for God. No, not in any metaphorical sense, he's actually physically looking for God. On eBay, amongst other places. This allows him to shoehorn a clumsy couple of pages about the operation of the Royal Mail - amusing material, but otherwise irrelevant to a book ostensibly about religion and faith. There's another couple of pages about how Brigstocke likes to imagine iPhone users are "pleasuring gerbils" - a surreal image that pleases him sufficiently that we are presented with it on several occasions through the rest of the book.
By contrast, another chapter, "God Delusion - the modern atheist" is almost devoid of humour altogether. This section deals with Brigstocke's disappointment with the atheist movement - a group that he is often lumped in with, seemingly much to his frustration. All of which seems odd, given how many of his own observations about the unjustness and seeming irrationality of the Abrahamic God in the Koran, Torah and Bible, are remarkably familiar from other works by contemporary atheists. In an almost astonishing piece of irony, Brigstocke states that he finds Dawkins's 'The God Delusion' to be incredibly smug, an effect "enhanced by the fact that... I had heard Professor Dawkins speak" and that "Once you have that clipped, humourless and unrelentingly posh tone in your head, it's very hard not to read the book in the same voice." He does have the good grace to concede that some of his readers may struggle with the same problem - but I was disappointed by the lack of any critique beyond perceived "smugness".
The same chapter goes on to comment on 'The Four Horsemen', a filmed conversation between Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, and comments that several of the participants were drinking alcohol, before launching into a frankly puzzling passage about the similarities between drinking alcohol and participating in religion. It's a lighthearted observation, but one which completely overlooks the somewhat glaring point that there is no debate about whether or not alcohol exists.
In any case, lurches in tone and style aside, the fundamental problem that I had with the book was that it reads like a long, transcribed comedy routine. Given its roots in Brigstocke's Edinburgh show, this is unsurprising. However, there are points where Brigstocke's delivery style does not lend itself well to written prose. At times, he is wont to provide examples that prove a point. In his stand-up delivery, it undoubtedly works well to go off on flights of fancy providing four or five examples - in his prose, it serves to bring a developing argument to a shuddering halt.
There are moments of genuine entertainment in the book - particularly toward the end where Brigstocke introduces some personal anecdotes about his family, and his friend James to whom the book is dedicated. I got the impression that the book would have been much more entertaining if Brigstocke had told more such stories, which explain his interest in, and fascination with, the world of religion and faith... rather than trying quite so hard to be both funny and profound.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An Honest comedy book, but no atheistic apologetic for sure
I have found Marcus Brigstocke funny on TV comedy panel shows, and I do appreciate his honesty that he does want to believe in God, but he cannot find a God he can believe in. Read more
Published 10 days ago by superslip103
A thought provoking read
I thought I was agnostic but now i'm not so sure thanks to Marcus and his musings (or should that be amusings?). Read more
Published 27 days ago by Mrs. T. N. Henshaw
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I am a fan of Marcus. I like his sense of humour, but having read this book (I have a Dog Collar myself), and I assure you I do not take myself or religion too seriousy, I found I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rev. HUGH PURCELL
funny, moving but verbose
Having said that Christopher Hitchens was verbose, the author then spends over four pages telling us he hasn't been abused as a child, but I suppose that is how stand-ups talk. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. D. P. Jay
Loved it so much I bought it for my boss
Even genuinely funny books don't always make me laugh out loud: this one did, repeatedly. But so much more: at several points I found myself wanting to cheer and at least once to... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Richard J. Bradshaw
Fence-sitting at its highest
I was eager to read this and it does have a few funny bits (as you would expect), but on the whole it's nothing more than a load of old self-centred rambling. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. D. N. Rooney
Ramblings in no particular order.
I am a big fan of Marcus. I have heard him a lot on TV and radio and he is coherant and very funny on occasions. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Tony Burton
The Brigstocke Delusion
Marcus Brigstocke is a comedian, writer, and atheist. Or at least, he used to be. Now, he's not so sure. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Paul D
Expressive
Marcus expresses everything I feel about belief and non-belief. Wonderfully written if occasionally a tad repetitive. Read more
Published 6 months ago by reynard
You know you hate a book when even the white spaces between the lines,...
I am a big fan of comedy fact based books and thought that this would be a perfect genre to explore. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jonny Fiasco
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