Why is God always depicted as utterly humorless?

[Johnnz]

The answer to your question may be that there are a lot of pretty negative, judgement focused preachers out there.

From creation we see beauty, amazing variety and design, and much to arouse wonder. We see kittens, puppies, laughter, celebration - these are derived from God. All that genuinely excites, amazes, creates, investigates, discovers has origins in humanity being created in God's image. Many Christians throughout the centuries have understood this.

John
NZ

 

[cowboysfan1970]

It comes from Gnosticism and an view of God as being very angry and vengeful. This might be hard to believe but there are those that think it's a sin to laugh because there's no evidence in the Bible that Christ did and it's making a mockery of life and not taking it seriously. People that believe that sort of thing are often angry and don't see any good in anything or anyone. I don't think that God intended us to become the most miserable people that ever lived when we accept the sacrifice that Christ made for us.

 

[chestertonrules]

I'm not a Muslim but I appreciate the fact that Muhammad at least seems to be somewhat normal, having owned a cat and had jokes attributed to him whereas Jesus is depicted as a kind of severe God-man.

Cut off there heads!! HAHAHA

 

[bricklayer]

Humor is a mood change.
God doesn't change.

 

[christianmomof3]

Humor is a mood change.
God doesn't change.

God does not change in His essence - in what He is.
However, He can and does change in His economy -in what He does.
He does and did different things at different times - at least it appears that way to us since we are bound within the confines of time whereas God is not constrained by time.
In the Bible we see that Jesus showed anger when He overturned the tables in the temple. He showed sadness when He wept and He also showed love and joy.
God is capapble of expressing different emotions just as we are.
We are made in His image.

 

[xxkingskidlmxx]

 

[chestertonrules]

Cut off there heads!! HAHAHA

I happen to think this is funny:

17Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

18But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

22When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.




It would be difficult to believe that Jesus wasn't smiling when they walked away muttering.

 

[xxkingskidlmxx]

Cut off there heads!! HAHAHA

 

[ebia]

Hi, to start off I am a new user and am a theology student in school.

The thread title is actually one of my biggest complaints with western religion. I don't know enough about eastern religion to comment. Maybe Hinduism is different?

God presumably created comedy, but the Bible basically displays none whatsoever. There are a couple of unintentionally funny parts and that's it.

IMO Scripture does contain quite a few intentionally humourous parts. I find it interesting that you assume that the funny parts are unintentional. But lots of humour is desperately culturally dependent unless forced. Scripture is steeped in irony, but even the ability to spot that varies hugely even amongst modern western cultures (Australians are highly attuned to irony, North Americans relatively deaf to it, Europeans somewhere between). If one starts expecting humour in the bible one will start finding it - but it's more subtle than slapstick.

I'm not a Muslim but I appreciate the fact that Muhammad at least seems to be somewhat normal, having owned a cat and had jokes attributed to him whereas Jesus is depicted as a kind of severe God-man.

The Jesus of the New Testament is certainly not severe and boring - but Western culture has taught people to read him that way. He provided a feast with more wine than they could drink, was regularly accused of partying with all the wrong people, told stories of fathers lifting up their coat-tails to run to meet their sons (unthinkable in his culture), embraced little children (who were expected to keep well out of the way of any rabbi normally), choose a woman (who thereby would not count as a witness in that time) from the very edges of society to be the main witness to the most important event in the history of the world,...

This aloof, radiant, not-quite-human figure gliding around with his feet just off the ground and making pronoucements is a figment of Western imagination, not the New Testament texts.

And, of course, (as someone else said) he created Australian mammals and then hid them away in Australia.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Originally Posted by Kirix

I'm not a Muslim but I appreciate the fact that Muhammad at least seems to be somewhat normal, having owned a cat and had jokes attributed to him whereas Jesus is depicted as a kind of severe God-man.​

Just don't post any cartoons 'bout them, k..

​

 

[laconicstudent]

Just don't post any cartoons 'bout them, k..

[/indent]

 

[ebia]

I thought I would add, according to Bob Jackson (a Church of England Archdeacon and researcher into church growth) there was an international study done to find what common factor was shared by congregations world wide that grew, and the one common denominator they found universally across all cultures in growing congregations was the presence of laughter.

 

[bricklayer]

Humor's all in the timing, they say.
God will never not see that one coming.

 

[Albion]

The Jesus of the New Testament is certainly not severe and boring - but Western culture has taught people to read him that way. He provided a feast with more wine than they could drink, was regularly accused of partying with all the wrong people, told stories of fathers lifting up their coat-tails to run to meet their sons (unthinkable in his culture), embraced little children (who were expected to keep well out of the way of any rabbi normally), choose a woman (who thereby would not count as a witness in that time) from the very edges of society to be the main witness to the most important event in the history of the world...

Exactly so.

Which nationalities are most apt to sense humor aside, Jesus (as depicted in the Bible, which is the only reliable way we have of judging this) was just as you said and not at all a spooky, humorless, not quite human figure. Not at all.

I'd only add this--many theologians see him as having fun when saying "Thou art Peter and upon this rock...." While some people think he was making a big theological point there, it's more likely that this part of the sentence was a pun ("Rocky, it's you, that rock, that I'm counting on to be solid....").

 

[ebia]

Which nationalities are most apt to sense humor aside,

In case it needs saying, I'm neither American nor Australian, and the comment was about one particular type of humour that features strongly in Australian humour, less strongly British humour, and much less strongly still in N. American humour. That's not a slur on any particular nations sense of humour nor one-upmanship on behalf of another, but a reflection on how different sorts of humour work even amongst modern English speaking Western cultures, let alone when we go to a middle-eastern culture of 2,000 years ago. I dare say one could identify other sorts of humour for which the reverse conditions would hold across those countries.

I'd only add this--many theologians see him as having fun when saying "Thou art Peter and upon this rock...." While some people think he was making a big theological point there, it's more likely that this part of the sentence was a pun ("Rocky, it's you, that rock, that I'm counting on to be solid....").

It is interesting to note that one can see that as anything from an almost throw-away line to the foundational verse on which to build one's entire ecclesiology.

On the subject of nicknames of course one also has Jesus calling James and John "the Thunder Boys" for their, um, less than forgiving approach to rejection.

 

[BRISH]

~blind~

I don't know why the view of him is usually without humor.


How can one not have a sense of humor if one created something like this?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TcySxYpZoU8/SpCBTatb-4I/AAAAAAAACUA/V6yb32Ajvcc/s400/Weird-Animals.jpg





I think he has a very funny, and almost twisted sense of humor. It's everywhere.

I don't have literary backing. Just life.

 

[Albion]

In case it needs saying, I'm neither American nor Australian, and the comment was about one particular type of humour that features strongly in Australian humour, less strongly British humour, and much less strongly still in N. American humour. That's not a slur on any particular nations sense of humour nor one-upmanship on behalf of another, but a reflection on how different sorts of humour work even amongst modern English speaking Western cultures, let alone when we go to a middle-eastern culture of 2,000 years ago. I dare say one could identify other sorts of humour for which the reverse conditions would hold across those countries.

I didn't consider it a slur, Ebia. What I said was that I was setting that part of your post aside, not intending to comment on it one way or the other, while I instead turned my attention to other things you had written and which I wanted to reply to.

 

[brinny]

the message in His Word is an urgent one......

however, our God sings and rejoices.....our journey, here on earth, is to get to know our Abba, the One Who:

"... He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." ~Zephaniah 3:17

 

[tulc]

I don't think anyone can study the people Jesus chose as His apostles and not see He had a great sense of humor!
tulc(just sayn')

 

[1Prophetess]

I find God to be very funny. I talk to Him all the time, and He has been kind enough to answer me many times. He is such a good God!

But to respond to your question, I guess you have to know Him to appreciate his sense of humor. In a way, it is tremendously funny that He created us to worship Him--weak, inconsistent, unkind, power-seeking, wrong doing, unloving, hanging on a thread to life (if one doesn't have Him), powerless in comparison to even things and creatures on earth, unable to be anywhere but one place, and liars. Now He'd have to have a sense of humor to do that!

Recently, I was asking God for information on the end times. I know that the Bible says that no man knows the day or the hour, and I know that God the Father does. So I was praying about getting information--not necessarily the last day of the world, but information. So I asked again, and I heard in my head, "I can tell you , but I'll have to kill you." Of course, I know He won't kill me. He still has things for me to do. I had heard people use this expression so many times, but I had never thought of an all powerful God saying it, and I thought how powerful He is that if He chose to, He could kill me at any time even without telling me anything at all. I just laughed out loud.

Another time, I had been complaining that my house had a bad patio roof that was rusty and leaked and just ugly. And I had talked about it to Him several times, and I finally said, "I wish you'd give me the money to fix it." Several weeks later, a huge wind came and blew it backwards and off so I had a patio cover that was bent and twisted. I called the insurance company, and I got it replaced with one that was very similar. The awning company had shown me all the choices I had, encouraging me to get one that rolled back--a little money out of my pocket, but probably a good choice. I chose to not spend any of my money, and I got the same type as I had before.

A few weeks later I realized that I might have been better off getting the roll back one. I said to the Lord, "You know, I think I might have liked that roll back one better now that I think about it. Maybe I should have gotten it." Without a hesitation on His part, I saw in my mind's eye, a scene where the new one I had just gotten was rolled back over the roof. I laughed out loud, and said, "No, thanks anyway Lord. I'll just keep the one I have."

He has a wonderful sense of humor. You just have to get to know Him.