Does God have a sense of Humor?

[Jeanne1184]

'As John Morreall noted in his book, Humor Works, the long history of those opposed to laughter counts the English poet Shelley as a prominent spokesman. He stated:

“I am convinced there can be no entire regeneration of mankind until laughter is put down.”’

From: *The Philosophy of Laughter and Smiling *by George Vasey, 1875:

CHAP. VII. - On the relation of laughter to wit.

1. Geroge Combe (in his System, of Phrenology), in describing wit, observes : — There may be much excellent wit without exciting us to laugh… Indeed, Lord Chesterfield lays it down as a characteristic feature of an accomplished gentleman that he should never laugh.

Chap XI - 12. Indeed, if a man’s mind be occupied by good and useful ideas, how can it be possible for him to laugh?

1. In the first place, then, what are the words and actions which excite laughter?
2. Are they not the absurd, the ridiculous, the mischievous, the wicked, the lewd, the profane?
3. Are they not words and actions which give pain to others?
4. Words and actions which injure the character of others?
5. Words and actions which cause shame and confusion of face to the innocent and virtuous?

(It’s a rather intense book, eh? But perhaps useful as “…profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;…” Maybe what’s left after weeding is Pure Joy.)

 

[Arizona_Mike]

God didn’t create bad things. Humor helps us deal with adversity and suffering and to see hypocrisy and not to take ourselves too seriously. It’s a gift from God.

Jesus made some comments that are humorous and probably drew on a long Jewish tradition of humor, like the whole comment about criticizing some a speck in someone’s eye when you have a plank in your own, which always stuck me as a joke a carpenter’s son would probably know.

 

[NeedsMercy]

I can’t imagine a Jesus that didn’t laugh when surrounded by children. And why would children come to Him, if He did not make THEM laugh?

 

[clem456]

“It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.”
GK Chesterton

It seems to be a symptom of modern individualism that we have no sense of our own humility before God, and our common foibles. This is not a recipe for good humor. A prideful people is a humorless and fragile people, for whom insults and affronts are actually sought after, and easily felt. Every man’s opinion becomes an inviolable God to be defended. Every event that doesn’t fit our idea of correct becomes an “abuse” calling for our outrage.

If we cannot accept ourselves and others for who we truly are, which is, we are not God, and therefore subject to humor, then we cannot laugh at ourselves and with others, and we are in trouble.
Paraphrasing St Paul…The loving person does not take himself too seriously.

We are funny, you have to admit it. We speak when we should be quiet, and are silent when we should speak up. We have warts. Even the beautiful models get wrinkles and get fat. Most of us can’t sing very well, we fart, we belch, our noses run, we have colics in our hair that won’t straighten out. God is definitely laughing at what he has created. I think we should laugh with him.

 

[HardRockGTR]

LOL.

Yes, because humor is not defined as evil, it therefore follows that God intended for humor to exist, otherwise humor would either A) be inherently sinful or B) not exist.

I’m pretty sure God intended for evil to exist. That’s pretty much a foundation for virtually all theistic religions out there, with the exceptions of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism (basically dualistic religions with an evil materialist creator demiurge in opposition with a good spiritual creator deity).

If evil exists and God didn’t intend for it to happen, God couldn’t possibly be omnipotent. That’s not to say God is evil, but that he allowed it to happen.