"The perception is that if you're Christian and you're a comedian, you're not very funny," he said. Allen, 49, wants to change that.

Allen, who is from the Nashville area, will perform at 7 and 9 tonight at Hope Community Church in Raleigh. In a telephone interview earlier this week, he talked about his faith journey, his jokes, and how he quit using the f-word.

Q. What's so funny about God?

A. I like to think God has a sense of humor. If you don't think so, look in the mirror. I sometimes look at my body and it makes me crack up. But I don't do religious humor. The one line I really like is about teenagers. I think teenagers are God's revenge on mankind. God looked down one day over his creation and said, "Well, let's see how they like it, to create someone of their own image who denies their existence." Nowhere in the Bible does it say how old Satan was when he rejected God's authority. I think he was 15.

Q. So if you don't do religious humor, what do you talk about?

A. I talk about my family, my kids. At the end of my church shows, I share my journey to faith. That's the difference between what I do for a secular audience and what I do for a church audience.

Q. That journey of faith has been through some dark alleys, right?

A. When I got married, I was an alcoholic and a drug addict. I quit drinking and doing drugs a year into my marriage. I was clean and sober, but I was still looking, and still miserable and still angry and still bitter. The cap came off the anger. I'd have rage fits. Out-of-body rage experiences. I woke up, literally, every day with the question "Why? What's the point?"

Q. So what happened?

A. My marriage fell apart. We were 10 minutes from divorce court, at one point. We had papers notarized. Tami [his wife] decided to give me another chance. So we turned around and went home. She was leaving for the summer with the kids. And I was going to be home alone for three months. She said, "Get your life together." So I threw in one tape [a Bible study tape a friend had given me]. It was Ecclesiastes. I just believe that was the moment God revealed himself to me. I couldn't get enough of Ecclesiastes. I couldn't even pronounce it.

Q. So what's your routine like now?

A. I talk about my wife. She started menopause two years ago, so I started talking about that -- with her permission. I'd have women come to me, throw their arms around me and say, "That's the first time I ever laughed about menopause. Thank you." Other women sent me hate mail. I always tell people, "If you like Bill Cosby, you'll like what I do." I'm nothing like Cosby, but the topics and the parameters of what he talks about are what I talk about.

Q. How do you cut out the f-word that's so prevalent in stand-up comedy?

A. I did it by paying my kids. "Every time Dad cusses, I'll give you a quarter." I became aware of it. I don't think people are aware of how often they swear. It really helped my comedy. I tell young comics today, "You'll be amazed how good you'll get when you start using other words. We have a wonderful language."

Q. Anything else?

A. Woody Allen said, "Comedy is tragedy plus time." I took that to mean that if you can heal from the wounds in your life you should find the humor in them. I still believe that.

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