I do have an understanding of the calmly, unpretentious religious people of the world and rather like this joke.
The Jews of Rome were going to be expelled and they asked the Pope to allow them to stay and after some deliberation with his Cardinals he agreed to let them stay if they could defeat him in an argument on the substantive beliefs of Christianity as against Judaism without saying a word. This gave the Jewish community some heartache as they knew their best scholars could argue but did not have sufficient knowledge of Christianity, so the shoemaker stepped forward and volunteered to argue with the Pope.
On the day appointed the Pope opened up the argument by raising three fingers. The shoemaker raised one finger in response. The Pope then threw open his arms and the shoemaker pointed to his feet. Finally the Pope in desperation showed him the Eucharist wafer and the shoemaker took out and polished an apple and bit into it.
“That’s it,” said the Pope, “you win.”
The Pope looked at his Cardinals and said, “I showed him God was three but he pointed out that God is also one, I told him God is everywhere and he pointed out that he is also in this room. Then I showed him the saving body of Christ and he pointed out that the apple in the Garden of Eden means we are all still fallen.”
The scholars asked the shoemaker what had happened because they were confused. “Well first he said we had three days to leave and I told him not one of us was going. Then he said he was going to cast us all out and I told him I was staying right where I was standing. And then…”
“And then yes,” urged the scholars.
“And then I don’t know because he took out his lunch and I took out mine.”