You hit the nail on the head.
The issue isn't whether one believes in God, but whether one should be able to joke about one.
And let's be clear....that silly Petition to the Lord was not exactly "over the top" offensive. In fact, the Petition acknowledges the existence of a God. The same people that were offended probably tell jokes about lawyers or others who find themselves at the pearly gates and are greeted by a none-too-impressed God, and these people probably enjoyed listening to the comedy of Sam Kineson.
When I mentioned that someone's "joke" about a cat being ripped apart by a rottweiler was in bad taste, Matt told me to lighten up because the author was simply being sarcastic. To me, that was offensive, and given the fact that I had recently seen just that thing happen....the "joke" caused me mental suffering. Nevertheless, I didn't report a TOS violation. I simply told the author that I thought he had a sick mind. His response was to make more references to cat killing. Bully for him; I moved on.
I could go on, but I'm off to enjoy the day.
