Tyrades! by Danny Tyree

Let’s face it: America’s Bibles have seen more dust than the Joad family in Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.”

So, I’m tickled to see a flurry of articles about renewed interest in spirituality, even as I mark the fifth anniversary of my first inspirational book, “Yes, Your Butt Still Belongs in Church” (still available via Amazon).

I know there are myriad reasons we’re witnessing an upsurge in Bible sales, Bible app downloads, streaming of contemporary Christian music and church attendance, but I’d like to think I played some small part.

(I’d also like to think that I live in a land “flowing with milk and royalties” rather than a land of “Don’t give up thy day job,” but I digress.)

Certainly, the tragic death of Charlie Kirk spurred much of the renewed interest in the Hereafter, but I’m overjoyed to learn that hearts and minds were already moving in a positive direction two or three years before that.

I would hate to think that humans are incapable of being self-starters and require a public assassination before they’ll crack open Life’s Instruction Manual. (“I’ll read my propane-heater manual just as soon as there’s a train derailment.” “Has the dam burst yet? When it does, I’ll open my mammogram results.”)

I am also encouraged that much of the religious zeal involves millennials and Generation Z. Older generations did not exactly prepare them for reverence. (“Why do you need a Crown of Life when I’m presenting you with your Trophy Stepmom?” “Yes, faith can move mountains, but right now I’m more interested in what dietary fiber can move.”)

And it has been difficult for youngsters to focus on eternity when Boomers worship at the altar of Planned Obsolescence. Granted, you start questioning materialism when the materials are so shoddy. (“Sorry your Kevlar® jacket fell apart the first time you needed it. Just throw it out and buy a new one. Er, I mean, get your survivors to throw it out and buy a new one.”)

Political activism has also been a stumbling block for promoting worship. It’s hard to finish delivering a sermon that begins with “In my Father’s house are many mansions…” when you’re met with knee-jerk responses of “Rent control! Rent control! Rent control!”

Don’t get me started on the damage caused by the alleged incompatibility of faith and science. Fortunately, new research makes people more willing to return to church or experience it for the first time. (“Peer-reviewed studies coordinated between the Centers for Disease Control and the Large Hadron Collider indicate that you will NOT, in fact, spontaneously combust if you sit within 500 feet of a hypocrite, miss a chance to ‘sleep in’ or pay the preacher a living wage.”)

Part of the revival is because of God using crises to nudge reluctant congregants, but savvy marketing also plays a part. Many churches have become less “There is power in the blood” and more “There is a charcuterie board in the annex.”

I am cautiously optimistic, but I am keenly aware of the cyclical nature of religious fervor. Historians/sociologists acknowledge at least three (arguably four) Great Awakenings in American religious life. Sadly, much of our nation’s existence has been an era of the Great Snooze Button.

Don’t grow weary in well-doing. Knock and it shall be opened unto you – even if the doorbell camera was a shoddy Chinese import!

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Copyright 2025 Danny Tyree, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at [email protected] and visits to his Facebook fan page “Tyree’s Tyrades.”