Monday, March 3, 2014

Humor as a Part of Theology

Laughter in the bible is portrayed equally as positive and negative. The role is based on context.

God is one who laughs at the folly of men. Jesus promises to bring the oppressed laughter.

There is laughter which is linked to unbelief and thus put into a negative context. But you see that laughter in and of it is good.

Its connection to the fall at times has turned it into an ugly thing, but in its nature there is nothing wrong with laughter.

There are those in the church which seem to have lost the idea of a joke as having an appropriate context. The bible does not follow this viewpoint.

Ultimately the Christian life is about joy. It is about real joy though. Not some canned joy that the world provides that is here today and gone tomorrow.

God wants us to be happy, but not some fleeting happiness mixed with misery and pain. The problem often is that as C.S. Lewis says that "we are far too easily satisfied."

Paul counted all things as loss for the surpassing glory to come. Why? Because to see correctly is to see that real joy and real happiness is found in relation to Jesus.

The bible is concerned with the happiness of men. But it is concerned about eternal happiness and not in a quick fix here and now immediate happiness.

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