February 5 2001

ARTICLE TOOLS

Find similar articles E-mail this page

Tompkins grew up Episcopalian in an upscale Massachusetts town, attending the same church as the novelist John Updike. He remembers a childhood of watching Davey & Goliath, an early animated show produced by Lutherans, before leaving for church on Sunday mornings. Tompkins drifted from faith in his 20s. Tompkins had what he calls a "reconversion experience" while writing for The Simpsons, though he emphasizes it was unrelated to his work.

Tompkins showed clips from Simpsons episodes when he spoke as part of Fuller Theological Seminary's Reel Spirituality series last fall. His topic: "Does God Have a Sense of Humor?" Writing for Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa was a challenge. "There were some rabid atheists at The Simpsons," he says, but "no matter how twisted the story, no matter how profane the jokes, goodness wins, goodness prevails. No matter how much those writers pride themselves as being atheists, probably deep down they're not.

"At The Simpsons you are reined in," he says. "You can't stick your neck out and do anything that's overtly religious on its face. You must undercut it. There's a gag reflex in comedy writers to undercut any honest religious sentiment. It is easier to pass a ...