ArticleBlog | Rolling in the aisles – why it’s good to laugh in church
Rolling in the aisles – why it’s good to laugh in church
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 13.09.16
So a priest, a rabbi and an imam walk into a bar… Actually let’s leave the imam. And the rabbi. They can laugh from within, but as a Christian, I’m better sticking to what I know. So a priest walks into a bar. And the barman says, ‘Is this some sort of joke?’
Christianity has been the punchline for so long, we’ve become suspicious of laughter. Religion and comedy are not happy bedfellows. Yet the world keeps turning and laughing and making merry. We Christians are in the world but not of the world, but I wonder if we are in on the joke? Surely laughter is God-given, and his plan for us is to be a joyful people? ‘Isaac’ was so named because it means ‘he laughs’. (I’ve done stand-up gigs when I’ve heard ‘You suck’ which means ‘I didn’t laugh’.) Proverbs continually tells us that ‘a glad heart makes a cheerful face’ and ‘a joyful heart is good medicine’ (15:13 and 17:22, NASB). Yet if we’re looking to the Scriptures for advice on our humour subjects, there’s also Ephesians 5:4: ‘Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking…’
