The New Testament, and in particular the Gospels, are missing something imporant: jokes.
OK, there is one sidesplitter in Galatians, where Paul wishes those who believe circumcision is essential for salvation would "cut the whole thing off," but other than that ...? Not really.
One might argue the Bible deals with serious matters. Salvation and damnation aren't really the stuff of knock-knock jokes. Or worse, puns.
Humor is a big part of the human condition. You'd expect Jesus, as the perfect Man and Son of God, to be at least Shakespeare's equal in mixing the serious and comic. I mean, there aren't a lot of laughs in the Iliad and Odyssey, but Homer was pagan.
In researching this post I was reminded (see this essay) that there's some buffoonery around Jesus' disciples, especially Peter. There's also Jesus nicknaming the "Sons of Thunder" after they over-react to a slight.
But on the whole, the New Testament is not a chuckle-fest. There's no Falstaff to liven things up.
Perhaps it comes down to the whole "punch up vs. punching down" issue. If you're God, you can't effectively "punch up," and if you're a perfect God, even Reagan style self-deprecation doesn't ring true.
The other alternative, that god is a self-satisfied prig, is appropriate to a flawed Demiurge, but not the New Testament deity. Draw your own conclusions.
OK, there is one sidesplitter in Galatians, where Paul wishes those who believe circumcision is essential for salvation would "cut the whole thing off," but other than that ...? Not really.
One might argue the Bible deals with serious matters. Salvation and damnation aren't really the stuff of knock-knock jokes. Or worse, puns.
Humor is a big part of the human condition. You'd expect Jesus, as the perfect Man and Son of God, to be at least Shakespeare's equal in mixing the serious and comic. I mean, there aren't a lot of laughs in the Iliad and Odyssey, but Homer was pagan.
In researching this post I was reminded (see this essay) that there's some buffoonery around Jesus' disciples, especially Peter. There's also Jesus nicknaming the "Sons of Thunder" after they over-react to a slight.
But on the whole, the New Testament is not a chuckle-fest. There's no Falstaff to liven things up.
Perhaps it comes down to the whole "punch up vs. punching down" issue. If you're God, you can't effectively "punch up," and if you're a perfect God, even Reagan style self-deprecation doesn't ring true.
The other alternative, that god is a self-satisfied prig, is appropriate to a flawed Demiurge, but not the New Testament deity. Draw your own conclusions.
Comments
Post a Comment