Any critic of Christians and culture always has his or her pickings of what element within our culture one wants to target as a great threat to the development and purity of the Christian soul. Although I might be wrong to say “friends, here is our greatest threat,” I have long been convicted of deceptive and dangerous nature with which Western Christians indulge in comedy.
We are in a golden age of satire, when vulgar and brutal roasts are now mainstream comedy, and mainstay even in conversations. In an age where The Soup and Tosh.0 can steal a gag-reflex from even the wrinklisest prune, and a time when programs like the Office, How I Met your Mother, and many sitcoms delight many Christians with the employment of shock-value humor, one must pause and think- how does DVR’ing these episodes fit into an honest theology:
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent and praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil 4:8)
I fear that for the majority of self-identified Christians, there is hardly a whisper of critical thinking that takes place with regards to what a believer should guard themselves from participating in. Although we wouldn’t say we seek it, unknowingly far too many of us allow our culture to define what is admirable (biting wit, boldly breaking boundaries?) and what is praiseworthy (whatever get’s the greatest laugh out of us, regardless of the cost or content) with regards to humor.
Somehow, we talk ourselves into thinking that such critical thinking is legalism. Or, believe the fallacy that unless we watch and know the characters and jokes of TV’s hottest comedy, we doom ourselves to being unable to connect with youth and with our peers. Thus, like an unshrewd traveler in a foreign land, many in the church will drink of the ubiquitous water of humor that the country around us offers, without much concern for the parasitic effects that it will have on the inner parts of one who’s citizenship is not of this world. I fear that some of us even gulp such water.
This danger being identified, I begin a small series to explore: Comedy and the Christian.
Today, let’s establish the basic prolegomena…
What is Humor?
First, let’s define terms (definitions below according to Merriam-Webster):
Humor: “a secretion (as a hormone) that is an excitant of activity…” Just Kidding! Actually, this is a Dictionary Definition.
In our context, though, its “that quality that appeals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous. Something that is or is designed to be comical or amusing.”
Comedy: “a. A literary work written in a comic style or treating a comic theme
b. a drama of light and amusing character and typically with a happy ending
c. a ludicrous or farcicial event or series of events”
So, what makes something funny? At its core, it is the ludicrous, the unexpected element. Put simply, the surprise. Whether it’s the plot of a story (or maybe the events of your own life!), that 90 degree turn in the direction of conversation, comparing something to something ridiculous but still with some faint trace of similitude or connection, a spontaneous reaction that contradicts cultural proprieties… we laugh when the “punch line” or outcome is unexpected, outlandish, or the laughter inducing “worst possible outcome” that the odds of normal life would never seem to actually create.
So, if humor is the surprise that elicits laughter, next we must ask…
Is Humor Morally Good?
I believe I am without need to explain that humor itself is a good thing, or at least according to the deepest skeptic and kill joy, morally neutral. It measured in a utilitarian fashion, evidence and antidotes provide abundant testimony to healing, restorative, and invigorating effects of laugher. Science tells us we love our endorphins, and we are designed to pump them out when humor gets the best of us. And certainly, there is plenty of evidence that means of humor, or the content of the joke, or the “punch line” itself involve nothing offensive or damaging. Even the most concerted effort to villianize my joke above by providing the contextually inappropriate definition of “humor” (it creates confusion in conversation, a person outside of our culture or learning our language would be confused, and perhaps feel alienated by not being capable of understanding and enjoying the joke with others in his or her company, alienation can breed hurt, and depression, etc…) is unconvincing, and doesn’t take into account the wonderful complexities of the interplay of culture and humor (to be described soon).
So, next thought…
Is Humor Biblical?
Is it orthodox, or blasphemous, when you hear your friend say “Wow, God must have a sense of humor!” Does our craving for comedy, and our appetite for humor, come from being made in His image?
Well, if the aptitude to create, interpret, and enjoy humor , and all its restorative and life giving manifestations is not an aspect of God’s good character passed along to man, one then has to ask- where else does this phenomenon specific to persons come from? Or, if “healthy” humor is but a disguised version of an only evil element, what could its antithesis be? Would the opposite of laughter be anger? Or, sadness? Depression? Certainly Scripture testifies to God experiencing emotions like these (as He is indeed a person), but it’s difficult to imagine these emotions in a pre-fall world, or in a post-final judgment New Heavens and New Earth.
If God is the measure of what is good, we can suffice to say that humor is of God (being confined to brevity in a blog). While others may point to 1 Samuel 5:1-5 as God’s hand at work in situational irony (and I think it’s somewhat valid). Furthermore, Jesus speaks much of joy (an appropriate and almost automatic outcome of experiencing humor), and promises in the beatitudes a divine promise that “Blessed are those who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:21).
So, (super) short survey now laid, let the Christian rejoice! For humor is good, and more than sanctioned, we are obedient to operate out of our very design to enjoy and to offer humor to one another.
But, this means that returning to the concern at the beginning, our society still has a tremendous problem with the depth and the expanse at which humor has been corrupted. Yes, although humor is universal, it is almost inseparably joined within specific cultures. But remember- embedded in fallen culture.
So, how does comedy thrive in Gospel-culture?
The simple rule we can all think of is to measure it’s appropriateness by its fruit. Does it tear down or degrade a person or an institution? If the subject is a Christian brother or sister, I think with confidence we can say “throw it out” (Col 3:8).
But, can we say that humor that degrades something is always in appropriate?
Two questions come to mind- where does one draw “the line?” Let’s look at Weird Al- do his song’s offend some parties (“Amish Paradise,” “White and Nerdy,” “F.A.T.”)? Or, is there a moral innocence there?
Or, what about political satire? Is this a form of art, manifested throughout the annuals of human history? Or, what if the purpose of such satire is to expose corruption, or to reveal or purport truth, that the current state might be concealing (intentionally or unintentionally)? Can’t political satire also play a powerful prophetic role? For this reason, is it to be sanctioned?
The line get’s pretty foggy with parody, irony, and especially, especially satire. Most of us will let out a laugh at a witty roast. But, are we laughing out of our brokenness to do so?
Tune in next week (or more accurately, June 19th)…
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