Was Jesus dour, or could he tell a joke, did he laugh?

Fireinfolding · Aug 10, 2012

weathered said:
I see what you guys are saying and i agree, im just adding to it. We are not under the law so humor is not against the law. Its more about loving others as our self, Joking can hurt people. And its also about not hurting the gospel and doing all things for His glory.

Would Jesus laugh at someone knowing it hurts them? A joke to one person that gives them joy may be like a knife painfully slicing through another persons heart.

Mathew chapter 5 comes to mind.

People sometimes imagine their own mockings of others as innnocent laughter, its not, and its the apostles (not Moses) who tells us to put off jesting. But I understand, the same can be shown with money loving preachers they will cherry pick rich verses so they can justify that sorta thing too.

He is shown laughing in the heavens at certains calamity, Im sure its not at the broken and the contrite, these he would not despise. And probrobly much like him turning the other cheek to the mockers and the spitters etc.

weathered · Aug 10, 2012

Fireinfolding said:
People sometimes imagine their own mockings of others as innnocent laughter, its not, and its the apostles (not Moses) who tells us to put off jesting. But I understand, the same can be shown with money loving preachers they will cherry pick rich verses so they can justify that sorta thing too.

He is shown laughing in the heavens at certains calamity, Im sure its not at the broken and the contrite, these he would not despise. And probrobly much like him turning the other cheek to the mockers and the spitters etc.

Yes those people who imagine things are the weak or sick, i should know, but we are called to serve those weaker than ourselves.

And sometimes maybe we know others think they are being mocked and we continue to feed their delusion by actually mocking them instead of walking charitably with them, and we have now turned the delusion into reality.

Frogster · Aug 10, 2012

Easy G (G²);61143989 said:
It was actually echoed by the Prophets themselves when it came to the way they often treated idols..with jesting included on a number of occassions. I am reminded of the Elijah - Baal Showdown. The whole incident can be seen in I Kings 18:20-40. As seen in the 27th verse.

"And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened."

An impatient Elijah watched with a smile on his lips when the 450 men of Baal did all kinds of foolish things like jumping up and down around the alter to get Baal's attention. As this show continued on, the smile Elijah's lips became a snicker and finally at noon he started throwing comments at them. He was not afraid because he knew what was going to happen. We further see that God did not mind Elijah's jesting as He hears Elijah's plea and sends fire from heaven as His signature to everything that happened on that day. Bear in mind that many of these prophets stood by while the Lord's prophets were being killed...and thus, to joke on them is something the Lord was not against since it was Biblically allowed when it came to being humbled. God does not mind jokes.

Another example of such mockery is found in Paul's writings. Paul is known to be an excellent debater. He knew that one of the techniques employed in debating is to mock the opponent. In the fifth chapter of Galatians he employs this technique when he tries to show the mistake of some men who advocated circumcision. He first explains that circumcision avails nothing. Then he goes ahead to take a direct hit at the people who advocated that theory. A hit literally under the belt.

"I wish those agitators would go so far as to castrate themselves!" Gal 5:18

There are many more examples in the Bible to prove that God has nothing against good humor. But we must be cautious in exercising our right. There are boundaries to everything. Even humor has a boundary in the Bible. If it ever gets to the point where there's crude joking down toward one another as believers, as Ephesians 5 notes, that's when things cross the line. ADDITIONALLY, we're to be known for our concern/love for one another...and often, many believers are known for simply being sarcastic. That's not helpful in the Body of Messiah.

yes, amen, clean humor.

ture about galatians, and 5;12. then he says "severed' in 5:4

then we got eph 2:11, and the concision of phil 3.

Frogster · Aug 10, 2012

Fireinfolding said:
People sometimes imagine their own mockings of others as innnocent laughter, its not, and its the apostles (not Moses) who tells us to put off jesting. But I understand, the same can be shown with money loving preachers they will cherry pick rich verses so they can justify that sorta thing too.

He is shown laughing in the heavens at certains calamity, Im sure its not at the broken and the contrite, these he would not despise. And probrobly much like him turning the other cheek to the mockers and the spitters etc.

again, no one is talking about lewd jesting.

all the context in eph 5, points to that, not clean jokes.

why would they be clean jesting, while they were being led into all the other bad stuff, or being persuaded that way?

contextual flow, my dear sister.

Frogster · Aug 10, 2012

Easy G (G²);61143912 said:
In the event you've never heard of it, C.S. Lewis --considered to be amongst the greatest of apologists/teachers within the Body of Christ for his many works (including "Mere Christianity")--was married to a Jewish woman who had converted to Christianity. Apparently, he said that she had told him that Jews find parts of the OT very funny and seeing the examples is cool

One that comes to mind is Judges 3, which shows Ehud the left-handed and Eglon the fat king. That one is a trip, especially when Ehud gives the death-stab to Eglon, and then locks him in "the upper room" and his servants outside hear him groaning but figure he's just on the toliet so they don't rush in until it's too late (even then, they wait until the point of embarassment).

Then there's David in what happened when he wanted a wife.

1 Samuel 18:25-27
"Saul replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Phillistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.' "Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Phillistines. When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the alloted time elapsed, David and his men went out and killed 200 Phillistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.

What kind of a bride-price is that? And then David actually went and paid it!!! The story makes more sense when seeing David approach the Philistines and how coming to take parts of their manhood as a bride price was a death sentence. Saul was REALLY trying to find a way to get DAvid killed...even if it was outrageous...and yet the Lord flipped it around and SAUL knew the Lord was with DAvid because He helped David out even with something that was so bizzare.

For another story that trips me out, I'm reminded of the youths who were making fun of Elisaha...and although they thought it was fun, Elisha obviously did NOT have a sence of humor about his baldness!

2Ki 2:23-24
And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

I've always wondered how in the world 2 female bears were able to get that many kids. Seriously, bears can't run in 42 directions all at once...and as my friend/I were discussing it, we noted how it had to be that these bears were somehow supernaturally fast---Kung Fun Panda style---and just breaking necks left and right...or they took their time stalking every one of them. Either way, the story tells in a rather dark sense of humor that the Lord doesn't play.

Another story is the story of Esther. For the juxtaposition of characters is delightful! When reading Esther 7-9 and seeing the ways the Lord had his Hand present in the entire story and people ironically were set up the same way they tried to harm others...that's classic. I'm reminded of how Haman begs for mercy from Esther, but the king comes in and thinks he's making a pass at his wife because Esther was laying on the couch and Haman was beside her....leading to the King becoming infuriated/declaring Haman die on the gallows he made..that's classic

IMHO, there's humor throughout the OT. Of course God's humor is never cruel the way humans twist it to be at times. In fact, God is entirely pure and untainted, thus so is his humor. Such a God inspired the author of Proverbs to write, "A happy heart makes the face cheerful" (Provebrs 15:13), or seen from the opposite point of view in verse 30, "A cheerful look brings joy to the heart." Proverbs 16:24 says, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

u r a blessing to the forum, i don't know if i ever saw humor in the psalms, but we all see truth there, and complaint, and this could be humorous..after your posts, i will keep an eye out though.

psalm 10:1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

Frogster · Aug 10, 2012

Pual talked sooo much..that...Acts 20:9

9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.

Gxg (G²) · Aug 10, 2012

Frogster said:
wow...yes, CS was cool, he even went into "evil pubs" to have a drink..

He was pretty radical...

There must be loads of humor in Ecclesiastes

It's actually one of the saddest books, in light of how Solomon was reflecting on the end of his life and how much many things meant nothing apart from the Lord. However, there's a lot of humorous points in it when it comes to his showing the futility of life for others trying to deny the Lord and yet build something worthwhile.....and some things are highly ironic points he has brought up.

Some points he brings up are so sobering when considering his own struggles with having 700 wives/300 concubines and being divided (I Kings 11):

Ecclesiastes 7:26
I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.
Ecclesiastes 7:25-27

Solomon himself was someone I have had a lot of beef with actually..as some of the things he wrote seem humorous and tragic all at once, even more so when seeing how many idolize what he did. In example:

Song of Solomon 1: 1-4
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth
for your love is more delightful than wine.
3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
...
No wonder the young women love you!
4 Take me away with youlet us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.

I've gone through the Songs of Songs multiple times before. However, reading through Song of Solomon recently for Bible study, it was hard not having beef with Solomon and the girl..or seeing the story more cynical than before. .as it felt like a DayTime T.V romance with issues. For Solomon was already married long before he wrote Song of Songs, with a daughter from Egypt whom he went out of his way to provide/take care of ( 2 Chronicles 8:10-12, I Kings 9:24, 1 Kings 9:15-17, 1 Kings 7:7-9 , 1 Kings 3:1-3, etc )....but Song of Songs is said to show him trying to court a girl who has won his heart...and a girl who wants to win him for herself.

Even though what they do is used to talk on courtship, the background behind it makes it very sad since the man is essentially saying to his wife "I don't really care about you!!" while trying to be a gentleman to another woman he wants to marry..and the girl, knowing he's already married to another woman, is going after him/talking about the Lord giving him to her....and later on having it where the story becomes really hollow because of all the many women he married later on, showing that the girl in Song of Songs really isn't "Number 1" in his heart anymore and she's just like Solomon's first wife in being discarded. I do wonder if there were times Solomon's first wife ever said "I wish I could win/have his heart like that Shulamite girl...but I'm not that girl".....or if the Shulamite girl probably wondered "Why did I let this man win my heart when I should have told him to value the heart of his first wife?"

You know, you bring out a good point about Jewish people, as i was raised with mostly Jewish friends, they do seem to really enjoy a good laugh. They had alot of soul

One of my close friends, a Messianic Jewish rabbi, whom I study with often noted to me how certain things in Jewish culture get misunderstood often. In Jewish culture, one could be a rabbi and get into a debate with another rabbi...one of them going so far as to say "You dirty dog!!!" or other things people may be shocked by----and then right after the discussion, both would be at the pub getting some food/drinks or joking with each other. The reason why is because certain forms of expression are not meant to be taken literally and are instead meant to be forms of expression to make points.

This is why my Jewish friend doesn't see what Christ said to the Pharisees on multiple occassions (Matthew 23) as a matter of being "mean" since the Pharisees did so to one another often. That....and many of the things CHrist noted were not randomly out of the hat since the Talmud/writings of the Pharisees noted the SAME exact things that Christ said to them.....and for many, they invited Jesus to their homes for dinner often after he called them a name or shared a teaching. He was not necessarily thinking all the things they did wrong were not an issue....but neither was it the case that he was against relationship. Even as it concerns the OT when seeing the seriousness of the Lord, there's an understanding amongst many in Jewish culture that the Lord is varied...

Fireinfolding · Aug 10, 2012

Says jesting, but then again mocking is spoken of, putting off jesting isnt same thing as putting off joy, because joy is a fruit of the Spirit

This is how some pervert the scripturess (not endorsing it) just showing really fast (and very simply) how you can make it say something it does not

Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Because we knwo...

Ecc 10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.

And remember...

Duet 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

2Cr 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

And we are his house

Psalm 112:3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

Because...

Prov 10:15 The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

Life abundantly (watch out for the thief)

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Phil 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Looky, rich disciples, thats us

Mat 27:57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:

　
Ridiculous really (simple and ridiculous version)

Gxg (G²) · Aug 10, 2012

Frogster said:
u r a blessing to the forum, i don't know if i ever saw humor in the psalms, but we all see truth there, and complaint, and this could be humorous..

You should consider Psalm 34:

Psalm 34[a][b]

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

Used to love seeing this verse...and yet, I never stopped to see the context it took place in....and when I read the note before the Psalm began and saw the story, I was like "David..really??!" For the man was declaring how he would trust the Lord at all times and always praise Him....and noting how the righteous will never be put to shame. Yet it was said at a time he was living in Philistine territory to escape the hand of Saul ( 1 Samuel 21:12-14 / 1 Samuel 21 )...and after he made the Psalm, he procedded to act insane/have saliva go down his beard so that the Philistines would not think he's crazy. Seeing that really made me see the Psalms differently and realize that the writers of them were human...and in the context they're written in, you can see frailty. For David to act CRAZY like he did after talking on praising the Lord....

This same theme of people tripping and yet the Lord working through them still in humorous ways is seen throughout scripture. In another example, consider Elijah who was brought up earlier.

I Kings 18:21-24
"Elijah went before the people and said, How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.But the people said nothing.22 Then Elijah said to them, I am the only one of the Lords prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire he is God.

Reading through the text before I always used to think it was about the Lord showing His power and the need to stand up...but going through it again made me consider if perhaps it's even more so about the Lord working with imperfect people to create perfection. For it seems Elijah lied/had A LOT of ego in saying he's the only one of the Lord's prophets left since he was just told by Obadiah in I Kings 18:13 that other prophets were being hidden in caves by the man (100 more).....and afterward, he said the same thing in I Kings 19:14 when the Lord confronted him and God reminded him he wasn't the only one sold out.

Seeing that and his reaction to Jezebel by choosing to run away when confronted made me realize how human the man was. The man did have a problem, it seems, with exaggeration...and forgetting the struggles of others and exaggerating his own and forgetting to to mention other believers in their accomplishments when trying to accomplish something for the Lord. God works in many radical ways

Frogster · Aug 10, 2012

Easy G (G²);61144136 said:
He was pretty radical...

It's actually one of the saddest books, in light of how Solomon was reflecting on the end of his life and how much many things meant nothing apart from the Lord. However, there's a lot of humorous points in it when it comes to his showing the futility of life for others trying to deny the Lord and yet build something worthwhile.....and some things are highly ironic points he has brought up.

Some points he brings up are so sobering when considering his own struggles with having 700 wives/300 concubines and being divided (I Kings 11):

Ecclesiastes 7:26
I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.
Ecclesiastes 7:25-27

Solomon himself was someone I have had a lot of beef with actually..as some of the things he wrote seem humorous and tragic all at once, even more so when seeing how many idolize what he did. In example:

Song of Solomon 1: 1-4
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth
for your love is more delightful than wine.
3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
...
No wonder the young women love you!
4 Take me away with youlet us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.

I've gone through the Songs of Songs multiple times before. However, reading through Song of Solomon recently for Bible study, it was hard not having beef with Solomon and the girl..or seeing the story more cynical than before. .as it felt like a DayTime T.V romance with issues. For Solomon was already married long before he wrote Song of Songs, with a daughter from Egypt whom he went out of his way to provide/take care of ( 2 Chronicles 8:10-12, I Kings 9:24, 1 Kings 9:15-17, 1 Kings 7:7-9 , 1 Kings 3:1-3, etc )....but Song of Songs is said to show him trying to court a girl who has won his heart...and a girl who wants to win him for herself.

Even though what they do is used to talk on courtship, the background behind it makes it very sad since the man is essentially saying to his wife "I don't really care about you!!" while trying to be a gentleman to another woman he wants to marry..and the girl, knowing he's already married to another woman, is going after him/talking about the Lord giving him to her....and later on having it where the story becomes really hollow because of all the many women he married later on, showing that the girl in Song of Songs really isn't "Number 1" in his heart anymore and she's just like Solomon's first wife in being discarded. I do wonder if there were times Solomon's first wife ever said "I wish I could win/have his heart like that Shulamite girl...but I'm not that girl".....or if the Shulamite girl probably wondered "Why did I let this man win my heart when I should have told him to value the heart of his first wife?"

One of my close friends, a Messianic Jewish rabbi, whom I study with often noted to me how certain things in Jewish culture get misunderstood often. In Jewish culture, one could be a rabbi and get into a debate with another rabbi...one of them going so far as to say "You dirty dog!!!" or other things people may be shocked by----and then right after the discussion, both would be at the pub getting some food/drinks or joking with each other. The reason why is because certain forms of expression are not meant to be taken literally and are instead meant to be forms of expression to make points.

This is why my Jewish friend doesn't see what Christ said to the Pharisees on multiple occassions (Matthew 23) as a matter of being "mean" since the Pharisees did so to one another often. That....and many of the things CHrist noted were not randomly out of the hat since the Talmud/writings of the Pharisees noted the SAME exact things that Christ said to them.....and for many, they invited Jesus to their homes for dinner often after he called them a name or shared a teaching. He was not necessarily thinking all the things they did wrong were not an issue....but neither was it the case that he was against relationship. Even as it concerns the OT when seeing the seriousness of the Lord, there's an understanding amongst many in Jewish culture that the Lord is varied...

i know whatcha mean, there are actually groups now, that think they are "romancing Jesus", and they use solomon as their theme. real twisting for sure.

Frogster · Aug 10, 2012

Easy G (G²);61144199 said:
You should consider Psalm 34:

Psalm 34[a][b]

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

Used to love seeing this verse...and yet, I never stopped to see the context it took place in....and when I read the note before the Psalm began and saw the story, I was like "David..really??!" For the man was declaring how he would trust the Lord at all times and always praise Him....and noting how the righteous will never be put to shame. Yet it was said at a time he was living in Philistine territory to escape the hand of Saul ( 1 Samuel 21:12-14 / 1 Samuel 21 )...and after he made the Psalm, he procedded to act insane/have saliva go down his beard so that the Philistines would not think he's crazy. Seeing that really made me see the Psalms differently and realize that the writers of them were human...and in the context they're written in, you can see frailty. For David to act CRAZY like he did after talking on praising the Lord....

This same theme of people tripping and yet the Lord working through them still in humorous ways is seen throughout scripture. In another example, consider Elijah who was brought up earlier.

I Kings 18:21-24
"Elijah went before the people and said, How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.But the people said nothing.22 Then Elijah said to them, I am the only one of the Lords prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire he is God.

Reading through the text before I always used to think it was about the Lord showing His power and the need to stand up...but going through it again made me consider if perhaps it's even more so about the Lord working with imperfect people to create perfection. For it seems Elijah lied/had A LOT of ego in saying he's the only one of the Lord's prophets left since he was just told by Obadiah in I Kings 18:13 that other prophets were being hidden in caves by the man (100 more).....and afterward, he said the same thing in I Kings 19:14 when the Lord confronted him and God reminded him he wasn't the only one sold out.

Seeing that and his reaction to Jezebel by choosing to run away when confronted made me realize how human the man was. The man did have a problem, it seems, with exaggeration...and forgetting the struggles of others and exaggerating his own and forgetting to to mention other believers in their accomplishments when trying to accomplish something for the Lord. God works in many radical ways

true...then we got sarah, convieniently not abrahams wife.

Gxg (G²) · Aug 10, 2012

Frogster said:
yes, amen, clean humor.

ture about galatians, and 5;12. then he says "severed' in 5:4

then we got eph 2:11, and the concision of phil 3.

If Paul was against all forms of jesting to make a point, he would not have done so repeately throughout his letters (and thus, been hypocritical) nor would Christ have done so as He often did. There's nothing REMOTELY Biblical about saying joking is not allowed by believers. What is forbideen is COARSE Joking---joking that's crude, dirty (like many movies on sexual immorality) or joking that puts others down for the sake of it. When you're full of the joy of the Lord, you're going to joke and be full of laughter...and trying to say "Well, jesting isn't connected to joy" is like saying that rejoicing isn't connected to smiling/a light spirit....or that being depressed doesn't mean you frown. Some things are natural outworkings and people trying to argue against that are really wrangling against the Word of God as much as it may be claimed that others not agreeing are taking things out of context.

Psalm 126
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of[a] Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.[b]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
The Lord has done great things for them.
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

Rick Otto · Aug 10, 2012

What? He should be chopped liver?
Consider self-effacing humor.

Frogster · Aug 10, 2012

Easy G (G²);61144239 said:
If Paul was against all forms of jesting to make a point, he would not have done so repeately throughout his letters (and thus, been hypocritical) nor would Christ have done so as He often did. There's nothing REMOTELY Biblical about saying joking is not allowed by believers. What is forbideen is COARSE Joking---joking that's crude, dirty (like many movies on sexual immorality) or joking that puts others down for the sake of it. When you're full of the joy of the Lord, you're going to joke and be full of laughter...and trying to say "Well, jesting isn't connected to joy" is like saying that rejoicing isn't connected to smiling/a light spirit....or that being depressed doesn't mean you frown. Some things are natural outworkings and people trying to argue against that are really wrangling against the Word of God as much as it may be claimed that others not agreeing are taking things out of context.

Psalm 126
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of[a] Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.[b]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
The Lord has done great things for them.
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

i totally agree, that's what i keep trying to say about coarse, or crude in eph 5, it is not talking about what we are saying, but just watch, there will be more wrath verses posted, to act like that is all there is to Christianity..

Frogster · Aug 10, 2012

gotta go>>>>>>be back later... :wave:

my wife is yelling for me to go...lol..humore for sure...

Rick Otto · Aug 10, 2012

See? Immediate wrath visited upon you.

Fireinfolding · Aug 10, 2012

Theres nothing wrong with laughing, which would be a strawman really, babies laugh, babies dont mock or jest and arent malicious in their intent, they learn all that as they go.

Rick Otto · Aug 10, 2012

My Anger Management counselor asked my wife if she thought I had mood swings.
She said, "He basicaly has one mood & when he swings, I duck."

Gxg (G²) · Aug 10, 2012

JRSut1000 said:
I dont think there's any reason to think our God doesnt use humor, if humor comes from a merry joyful heart, then why not?

When working with children, if really good at it, one quickly realizes that humor/laughter and joking are ESSENTIAL in being able to connect with kids.

And that's something Jesus WELL understood with those He worked with....and if/when working with kids, people can often forget that even He had to do that toward others

Interestingly enough, it's the many adults often saying "God doesn't laugh and he's always serious!!!" that often have the worse relationships with their children. Working often in Children's Church ministry, we saw this often.....and for anyone working in it, minus the issue that many concepts people fight over in scholarly debates made PERFECT sense to children many times, it was always interesting to see how often it was the case that many times God was portrayed by some of the adults as so serious children didn't want t be around him--even though in the Children's Church, there were activities like games and coloring and crafts that involved showing the playful side of Christ. To see that all of that got less important as people grew up---only to reach the point where the EXACT things taught to children are distained and rejected as being "childish, immature, not sober enough, etc" seems odd to me.....

It does seem to be the case that many times much of the church fails to realize it---often demonstrated in the myriad of ways in which the Lord's portrayed as intensely stern with His children ready to judge them/rebuke them for every little thing.....leading many times to either condemnation or bitterness/resentment wondering how a loving father can be so intensely harsh/never seem to want to encourage his kids....or the other result being that people act out on an image of the Lord where they're ready to give a rebuke at a moment's notice/feeling that God's the same way and advocating it and yet never able to realize that God is not as serious as they may be and actually desires for others to laugh with those who may be flawed as much as they may seek to correct.

I'm reminded of some of the things I've seen after doing extensive work in Children's Church Ministry and having friends and family who do the same see in my work with impoverished children at the organization called-City of Refuge-Bringing Hope to Those Who Live on the Margin

For there, I worked under a man by the name of Pendelton Brown---who has done work with other Well Known preachers such as Jentzeen Franklin and other ministries outside of the camp......and it has been a blessing being able to currently work with him at the Inner-City Ministry I worked at years ago. During my work with him at something known as "Kids Mix"---where we go into the projects and pick up the children to work with them personally in games/activities for Christ---it was always amazing seeing the things we did.

For so many times when working with the children there, it was easy to get frustrated and upset....only to have the Lord check me on it later when realizing the ways in which Jesus interacted with people/loved on them, especially with children. One could not help but think about "If working with kids means one must show joy/excitment over them and let them know how much they're loved, then why in the world do I act as if it's different in the way the Lord relates with us?"

And for the kids I work with, the only way they'll make it out will not be due to telling them how wrong they are/always chastizing them....but loving upon them/letting them know that someone really does LOVE THEM and that they're a DELIGHT---Ones who have value/worth and that people truly believe in. No better way to do that than through laughter/hugs.....

May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant."
Psalm 35

Psalm 147
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Psalm 149

1 Praise the LORD. [a]
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and harp.
4 For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.

When I consider the ways CHrist used humor to teach, to me, the issue is no different that what often occurs with preachers whenever it comes to them seeking to preach the message of the Gospel with MUCH Humour to their audiences so that people can catch the message. Being in many Black Churches, for example, it has been a long-time thing to see many ministers who choose to always implement a humourous perspective whenever portraying CHrist as He was and sharing the scriptures----and on that, of course, there're other things as well that come immediately to my mind such as a preacher who acts very energetic/animated when conducting a sermon (i.e. hoping/hollering, telling the audience Turn to your neighbor and say, using eccentric humor/methods, etc)...and again, being raise around it, I guess Im used to it, and kind of like it too.

However, in many churches where there's discussion of people contending for the faith/trying to show how serious the times are that we live in, people would look at that and say that "They don't take the scriptures seriously enough!!!" or "They're just trying to be too relevant!!!"---for in other churches, what occured in one place can turn others off. But the reality is that though it was different for some people, humour is something that sometimes helped others stay engaged to whats being taught, and even Jesus himself was engaging to His audiences (someone labeling the Men of Gawd of his time as foxes/dogs, or who spoke in mind-blowing parables/illustrations comparing the familiar things of the people to the unfamiliar things of God and again used humour QUITE often)

Romans 12/ Romans 12

Click to expand...

4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I Corinthians 12&version=31#en-NIV-28629

1 Corinthians 12:10
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[d ]? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire[e ] the greater gifts.

And now I will show you the most excellent way.

There's a need for humour in the Body today-----as it's like pain-medicine whenever things occur such as, enthusiasm in the form of greeting with welcome, or giving a word of encouragement, or maintaining a positive outlook on life, getting excited, etc) ...and for many of those taking seriously the theological issue of humour, there're others even taking it to the level of them being like PROPHETS since they're able to examine the issues of life everyone's either dealing with or thinking of but are too afraid to say anything

As one of the guys said in support of Christian Comedy,

"People would ask me what is Christian Comedy?" says IAF founder Dan Rupple, "Is it making jokes about God? I'd reply that we're not laughing at God, but rather at the absurdity of mankind attempting to live a purposeful, meaningful life without a relationship with their Creator.

This, IMHO, I find to be quite true (and I'm sorry....but folks like JOHN GRAY-Comedian on TBN!,

Others coming to mind are people like Small Fire, Michael Junior, Bone, Thor, Chinnitta Morris and numerous others who truly do keep it real a---many times seeming to possess a wisdom equivalent to what would be seen in many of the witty/sharp but insightful statements in PROVERBS...and, IMHO, their styles have been aids to my ministry whenever it comes to discussing many of the pertinent issues that're discussed making them relevant for others to get ahold of)....

My personal favorite will always be Sinbad, who does a lot of CHristian comedy:

Sinbad PFA 2nd Session Feb 2009 Part 1 of 3
Sinbad PFA 2nd Session Feb 2009 Part 2 of 3
Sinbad PFA 2nd-Session Feb 2009 Part 3 of 3

SiNbAd: Brain Damaged (Part 5)
SiNbAd: Brain Damaged (Part 6)

Donnie McClurkin, Sinbad & Carman
Donnie McClurkin, Sinbad & Carman part 2

Sinbad - A woman who understands the signs of stroke

Gxg (G²) · Aug 10, 2012

Frogster said:
i totally agree, that's what i keep trying to say about coarse, or crude in eph 5, it is not talking about what we are saying, but just watch, there will be more wrath verses posted, to act like that is all there is to Christianity..

Yeah..

Some of it seems similar to others who read Ephesians 5 and condemned believers for going to the movies/watching T.V because there was immorality in it and it was made of the world. It seems way too extreme...and the entire thing of trying to seperate laughter/joy from laughter because the context of Ephesians 5 in coarse joking is not understood and instead exaggerated to mean ALL forms of joking....it's needless.

Was Jesus dour, or could he tell a joke, did he laugh?

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