Naomi Mourra was brought up as a Jehovah's Witness. She left the church at age 21 and came out to her family as gay.
"I learnt a lot about the Bible growing up," Naomi said.
Now aged 45, she sees the humour of that way of living and thinking.
After a sold-out run at Sydney Comedy Festival, she will perform her comedy act - Work Hacks From The Holy Book - at Adamstown in three shows from Friday to Sunday at the Newcastle Fringe Festival.
"My parents are still Jehovah's Witnesses. I ended up in HR," she said.
"This show is about how I take some lessons from the Bible and apply it to work. For example, I'll take a Bible story, such as Noah and the Flood and compare it to how you would approach a restructure at work, when people lose their jobs."
Conflict management is another topic.
"King Solomon once had two women who were fighting over a baby. They both had babies, but one died. The woman whose baby died was claiming that the other baby was hers as well," she said.
King Solomon declared that the baby would be cut in half with a sword, with each woman to receive half.
"This is in the Bible, right. I'm not joking. So he's about to cut the baby in half. Then the real mother stands up and goes, 'don't worry, give it to her'," Naomi said.
The king declared this woman to be the true mother, as only she would give up her baby if it was necessary to save its life.
"That's how he resolved conflict," Naomi quipped, adding that she compares this story to a modern-day tale of "vegans fighting over non-dairy milk".
Religion is a tough area for comedy, yet ripe for those who see the funny side of life.
"I have religious people come to the show. Because mainstream religion sees Jehovah's Witnesses as really wacky, they can remove themselves a little bit from it," she said.
When she uses Bible stories in her comedy, she's "not saying people are stupid for believing it". "It's literally saying here's what it says in the Bible and I thought I'd apply it in today's world."
She said "highly religious people" probably wouldn't want to see the show, but "that's fine".
The show is promoted as starring "Sydney's only Lebanese, lesbian, ex-Jehovah's Witness, comedian".
She is depicted as the "gateway woman to chicks, chickpeas, cults and culture".
Her main reason for leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses was "I realised I was gay".
"That religion doesn't tolerate it at all, so I knew I had to leave. My parents are also Lebanese. I had to come out to them as gay, which was really hard for them to get their head around."
Asked when she first started seeing the funny side of religion, she said: "Initially I saw the funny side of being gay more".
She had been reluctant to use religion in her comedy. "I was a bit worried about my family's reaction. That's what made me hesitate at first," she said.
Her dad avoided her when she left the Jehovah's Witnesses and her mum was concerned about her comedy. She sees them more now.
"When I left I still believed, but just thought 'Oh well, I'll just die at Armageddon', which is what I was taught.
"Dad has dementia now. Maybe he's starting to forget or rethinking his life. I came out to him again. It was funny, he was fine."
The show will be held at Brunker Community Theatre in Adamstown on Friday and Saturday at 6pm and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets at newcastlefringe.com.au.
