# McDonaldland mocks Christianity **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 16, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706 "2006-11-16T17:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/21 "2006-11-16T20:54:34Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Failing that, we can look at every single advertising or literary creation that contains three protagonists and simply declare that “they” are the “Trinity.” [/QUOTE] Damn you, **Tom**! You’ve spoiled my masterwork explaining the hidden religious imagery behind the [Pep Boys](http://www.pepboys.com/about/pep_boys_story/story.html). Ah well, bless you anyway, in nomini Manny, et Moe, et Spriritus Jack. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/22 "2006-11-16T20:56:43Z")
Either Mr Vaughan or Mr Rumet has been plagiarizing David Mitchell’s [Cloud Atlas](http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Atlas-Novel-David-Mitchell/dp/0375507256). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/23 "2006-11-16T21:12:16Z")
Bummer, this was like robbing a bank of all it’s ballpoint pens. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/24 "2006-11-16T21:22:38Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Either Mr Vaughan or Mr Rumet has been plagiarizing David Mitchell’s [Cloud Atlas](http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Atlas-Novel-David-Mitchell/dp/0375507256). [/QUOTE] Are you sure? Even granting that the reviews are on Amazon, most of them seem to think that Cloud Atlas was written by someone who could both grasp reality and compose good prose. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/25 "2006-11-16T21:23:19Z")
If McDonald’s mocks Christianity, should I only eat at the Burger King of Kings? Also, where does Grimace fit into this? I’m guessing he’s St. Peter. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/26 "2006-11-16T21:24:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you think it’s the brand, or could it be because my old helmet was shiny side out, but my new one is shiny side in? Well of course that’s the problem. Everyone knows that when you have the shiny side out, it keeps Ronald McDonald from putting thoughts _into_ your head. When you have the shiny side in, it keeps him from taking thoughts _out_ of your head (reading your mind.) If RM is doing both, you need to make a hybrid hat with foil facing both in and out. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/27 "2006-11-16T21:26:35Z")
But what about the Hamburglar? What is he really trying to steal? Our very souls? And Grimace? Is his purple hue perhaps the symbol of a royalty beyond royalty? Is he king of kings, or anti-king? And then there’s Birdie the Early Bird. The early bird arises like the risen sun (son). My head spins. And what of the talking trees? (The talking trees of life?) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/28 "2006-11-16T21:34:05Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] And then there’s Birdie the Early Bird. [/QUOTE] I’d say she represents Mary. Is there no help for the McNugget’s son? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/29 "2006-11-16T21:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] If McDonald’s mocks Christianity, should I only eat at the Burger King of Kings? [/quote] If McDonald’s is trinitarian, then BK, with its singular figurehead, would correspond to a stricter form of monotheism – either Judaism or Islam. Your choice. [QUOTE=Marley23] Also, where does Grimace fit into this? I’m guessing he’s St. Peter. [/QUOTE] I read him as a Holy Fool, one of God’s Innocents. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/30 "2006-11-16T21:38:07Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] If McDonald’s is trinitarian, then BK, with its singular figurehead, would correspond to a stricter form of monotheism – either Judaism or Islam. Your choice. [/QUOTE] I dunno. The (new) Burger King strikes me as more of a Moloch. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/31 "2006-11-16T21:39:54Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] I dunno. The (new) Burger King strikes me as more of a Moloch. [/QUOTE] A _fatwah_ will be issued against you. Put your affairs in order, blasphemer! ---
**Author:** ![shizaru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@shizaru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shizaru)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/32 "2006-11-16T21:46:55Z")
OP, what are you drinking and where can I get some…because it must be one wild trip. Everyone knows Snap, Crackle and Pop are the true Unholy trinity. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/33 "2006-11-16T21:47:07Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] If McDonald’s is trinitarian, then BK, with its singular figurehead, would correspond to a stricter form of monotheism – either Judaism or Islam. Your choice. [/QUOTE] This makes Wendy’s the remaining one of the ‘big three’ and Dave Thomas doesn’t look Jewish, so I suppose all-knowing The Burger King himself is King David. So BK devotees wouldn’t accept Ronald as their savior. Wendy’s is the youngest of the chains, so Dave is Muhammad. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/34 "2006-11-16T21:47:10Z")
Hail Wendy, full of grease . . . ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/35 "2006-11-16T21:47:35Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] Does this mean that _H.R. Pufnstuf_ is like Judaism or Mithraism? [/QUOTE] Excellent point. I think H.R. Pufnstuff would more closely align with Dionysus. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/36 "2006-11-16T21:52:34Z")
Let us not forget Ronald’s predecessor, Speedy Hamburger, whose story eerily parallels that of John the Baptist. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/37 "2006-11-16T21:56:35Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Are you sure? Even granting that the reviews are on Amazon, most of them seem to think that Cloud Atlas was written by someone who could both grasp reality and compose good prose. [/QUOTE] If you can believe it, the newspaper reviews are at least as glowing… Sometimes even moreso - and that includes the opinion of [A.S. Byatt](http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,6121,1162871,00.html). Anyway, in one chapter of the book, in a dystopian futuristic Korea, a fast food chain employs cloned checkout staff whose entire construct of reality is nothing other than their own premises, and their experience of life is based only around working in fast food. In a very obvious, but very effective, pastiche of monotheistic religion, the clones are managed and raised by ‘Seers’, who bring them up to worship ‘Papa Song’, the hologram of a clown who juggles hamburgers, and provided they behave themselves and earn enough stars, they are persuaded to believe they will go to an afterlife called ‘Xultation’ which involves them taking a cruise on a ‘Golden Ark’ to a mythical paradise called ‘Hawaii’. The reality of what happens to them once they’ve earned enough stars, however, is more horrific than you could possibly imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/38 "2006-11-16T22:44:26Z")
So does this mean that the Canadian burger chain Harvey’s is like Zoroastrianism? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/39 "2006-11-16T23:46:03Z")
I am irresistibly reminded of a creepy sig picture someone on another board has or had; it shows the Burger King staring down disturbingly at a man, and is captioned “WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW ?!” Does he know something we don’t ? Also . . . where does Cthulhuism fit in all this ? Sushi ? ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706/40 "2006-11-17T00:01:27Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] I am irresistibly reminded of a creepy sig picture someone on another board has or had; it shows the Burger King staring down disturbingly at a man, and is captioned “WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW ?!” Does he know something we don’t ? [/QUOTE] From [YTMND](http://whereisyourgod.ytmnd.com/).[Warning - Sound] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonaldland-mocks-christianity/380706.md?page=3)