Elsa Waithe (right) and Andrew Pabon of High Bible Stories
New York-based comedian Elsa Waithe, a 29-year-old queer woman who describes herself as ‘more or less atheist,’ is putting together a web series called High Bible Stories.
Along with her friend, 26-year-old Andrew Pabon (who identifies as Christian), the two are looking to emulate Comedy Central show Drunk History—only with cannabis and the Holy Bible.
‘We’re smoking weed. We’re getting high. We’re reading the bible. By this point you might be asking yourself, Is this blasphemy? Well my friend, we surely hope not. Now would be a good time to mention that there are 40,000 Christian church organizations and they all have a different interpretations and rituals. We are no different,’ Waithe tells GSN.
Each episode, Waithe explains, the two read a specific bible story.
‘[We] react organically to the funny, interesting, curious, and mysterious parts of the story throughout. Singing impromptu songs, discovering biblical truths, and stumbling all the way through the haze to [our] own personal understanding of the Good Book.’
Background
Pabon, a pastor’s kid from Virginia, had a different experience than Waithe, who left the church shortly after she came out to her family. Still, Waithe never lost her curiosity and inquisitiveness about what lies beyond the human realm.
‘I came out to my father when was 14, but it was my mother I was afraid of because my father wasn’t religious,’ Waithe recalls. ‘I came out to my mother 2 years later when I was 16 after she found a love letter from a girl and grounded my for two weeks and we had to “pray about it.” I stopped liking church pretty much around that time.‘
‘While I’m not apart of the LGBTQ+ community proper, I believe that The Word is for everyone no matter how distant you feel from the gospel of Jesus Christ,’ Pabon says.
‘Although I’m not devout or “churchgoing”, The wise words of Bible still give comfort and inspiration, something that is so important for queers,’ Waithe explains.
‘I feel like bible study is important because the bible is full of good spiritual advice regardless of your belief in Christ and I think a lot of people in the community have had so many negative relationships with religion and Christianity in particular that they divorce themselves completely from religion thus missing out on a lot of the positives. The bible can be intimidating. I’ve always thought that being a little stoned helps curb the anxiety.’
‘I left the church very angry for a while because I didn’t feel accepted but I always found wisdom and comfort in the bible,’ Waithe says. ‘And smoking weed and reading the bible kept me open to the positive and inspiring messages of the bible regardless if the stories are true or not. I find truth in all sacred texts. I think there’s wisdom in all sorts of stories. Love the book, not the religion.’
On Cannabis
When it comes to the benefits of cannabis, Waithe finds ‘it lets [her] further open [her] mind to abstract ideas and pondering the mysteries of the cosmos.’
‘Honestly, socially, the ideas of the Bible could be disregarded as “high thoughts” anyways. Marijuana helps me give an excuse to read more than I might have otherwise,’ Pabon states. ‘I feel like people who like the feeling of being high would also vibe well with the enlightenment, excitement, and adventures of the Bible.’
‘The stories of the bible are awe inspiring and being stoned allows the words to hit my mind in a different than the way and paint vivid pictures,’ Waithe says. ‘ Also parts of the Bible can be silly, and when I smoke, I picture things like a movie and think of how hilarious the Bible movie would be. It’s a crazy book, yo!’
‘High Bible Stories is an digital video experiment in faith and understanding. The low-budget shooting style gives an intimate feel while the jump-cut editing keeps the audience engaged,’ Waithe says of the show.
What’s next?
In the future, Waithe and Pabon hope to receive funding for the web show so they can expand the cast, sets, and scriped segments. They also would like to do spin-offs such as ‘High Torah’ and ‘High Koran.’ Additionally, they’d like to explore children’s fables and possibly create some merch.
Watch a preview of High Bible Stories below. Check out full episodes on their Facebook page.
