The fact is, I don't think the Bible ever describes God laughing. It describes Him getting angry, when His people worship other gods, misuse His synagogue space, or commit injustices against each other. It describes Him being sad, when He approached Lazarus's grave, when He saw His creation corrupt itself, or when the time for his death came close. But I can't think of any time God is described laughing. I can't even think of any time He's clearly portrayed as being happy. There may be a few, but I can't think of any.
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| I can't tell if he's excited to be alive again. |
To be fair, though, I could say the same thing about most of the people in the Bible. Honestly, when I read Gospel as Comedy, I was just as surprised that Buechner imagined Abraham laughing as I was that he imagined God laughing. The Bible doesn't say he laughed. Off the top of my head, Abraham's emotions are only mentioned or alluded to in two situations: 1) when he fears that the nations he visits will kill him for his wife and 2) when he pleads for God to spare the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. Even in that later case, it doesn't actually say that Abraham felt compassion or nervousness; I just imagine that he did based on the quotes.
There's probably something to the idea that we think a perfect God is above emotions, but I think the way we perceive Him also has a lot to do with the way we perceive the Bible. It seems very formal. The people in the Bible seem very formal, except for when they're misbehaving. When God speaks, it always comes across to us as very formal. He's never described as cracking a joke. Except for the situations with Lazarus and with the moneylenders, He always seems to keep his composure. The Biblical authors generally take a minimalist approach when describe events. "He did this." "He said 'Such and such.'" Even when they do mention people's emotions, it's usually stated very matter-of-factually. ("His countenance was downcast.") Couple this writing style with the "strange" habits and customs of the ancient people, and it becomes difficult for us modern readers to discern how people said what they said or how they were feeling. They probably weren't much more serious than we are, but whatever lighthearted side they had doesn't come across very well.
This impression of seriousness permeates the way we do Christianity in general. Church is traditionally formal. Prayer is formal, except for when we remind each other to just talk to God like a friend. I wish there were more Christian comedies (insert plug for Mom's Night Out), but we only seem to be interested in dramas, unless we're targeting young children, then we like to tell silly stories about talking vegetables or bugs. Actually, I have seen a few indie Christian films that might be considered comedies, but the biggest ones are all dramas.
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| A caterpillar who prays? That's blasphemous!! |
I think all this seriousness stems from us trying to separate the sacred from the profane, which I do think is appropriate. Humor is too irreverent, secular, flippant. Surely, something so common can't have any place with a holy God. He deserves "better." We need to respect Him by worshiping in our finest clothes, in fancy cathedrals, with old fashioned hymns, and readings from the Kings James Version, because it's tradition.
Well, that went in a direction I didn't foresee. I should probably end this now. Are jokes irreverent? And if so, is God still okay with that, or even happy to participate? Is the Bible as serious as I think it is, or is it just the way we read it?
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| Let's get real. Anyone who would create chimpanzees can't be strictly business. |
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