The Sourpuss Church of God

 

I was reading yesterday about the recent death of John Rittenbaugh, founder of the Church of the Great God splinter group. Browsing through their website I noticed the following article,  Is God Playful? by Mike Fuhrer. To many in Armstrongism, particularly those with a literalist belief in the Bible and God, finding humor in Scripture is anathema to God's majesty and power. How dare anyone find something funny in the Bible! Just look at Song of Soloman, it's a gigglefest of sexual innuendo from start to finish, but I digress.

After spending over 30 years in Pasadena, far too many there were such dour sourpusses. Nothing ever made them happy and they seemed to make every effort to make all those around them miserable too! Thankfully there were lots of happy people to counteract those grumpy people who later left to start many of the splinter groups we have torturing people today.

Fuhrer writes:

At a previous church of God fellowship, while standing around after services, eating cookies, and drinking coffee, I told a joke. One man listening to my joke later cautioned me that we should not tell jokes "because they are not the truth." I have pondered his statement for quite some time now. 

 

Does everything we say or do have to be "truthful"? By that, I mean, is fiction in any form—even in the service of good—forbidden to us? Certainly, we should not break the ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20), which covers intentionally speaking falsehoods to deceive as well as committing perjury. Nor should we step over the line into harmful practical jokes (Proverbs 26:18-19). But are there times when something fictional, made-up, lighthearted, or playful could be okay for a Christian to say or do?

It was always a trip to watch ministers in Pasadena get infuriated by students joking around and being playful. How dare they! They were at God's West Point and needed to act like it!

Fuhrer continues:

We cannot go too far astray if we allow Jesus Christ to be our Example in this area of life as in all others. Does Jesus have a sense of humor? The clues all point to the answer that He does! The Bible tells us He is the Creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2), and as such, He created humans and their laughter too. Eight billion people, each with a unique sense of humor, tend to support the idea that their Creator has a sense of humor too. 

 

The name of one of the patriarchs, Isaac, means "laughter." And his mother, Sarah, who was in her nineties when God told her she would have a child, laughed (Genesis 18:12). Perhaps God exercised His sense of humor, a grin on His face, when He named her son "Laughter."

Don't forget the talking jackass! No, I'm not talking about Dave Pack, but Balaam's ass.

Our Savior was not above having a little fun with the disciples, either. In John 21, the disciples, having been skunked after fishing all night long, saw Jesus standing on the shore. He casually asked them the question every fisherman has been asked: "Catch anything?" Are we to believe that He did not know? Of course, He knew! He is the One who set up the situation!

Another thing that infuriated the dour ministers and members was people who told stories that were totally fictional. They claimed this was lying. Yet, the Bible is filled with hundreds of parables that were made up of stories. Totally fictional and yet told a truth.

How dreadful our lives would be without at least a little playfulness and laughter! If we cannot tell jokes because they are not strictly "the truth," we should neither read novels nor watch movies because they are fiction—not the truth. By the way, we should take scissors to our gospel accounts because they are chock full of Christ's parables, made-up stories by which He taught His disciples vital spiritual lessons they—and we—needed to know. 

 

We should also be wary of history books because, as it is said, history is written by the victors. They alter the facts to depict the winners—themselves—in a heroic light and portray the defeated as villains. Beware of the daily news, too, because it may well be fake news leading us down a dangerous path. For good measure, we might want to quit reading opinion pieces because they are just that—opinions from the corrupt minds of people saturated with the knowledge of good and evil. 

 

In the end, on the question of whether we should tell jokes, William Shakespeare might have said, it is much ado about nothing! Like the parables, fictional stories—even jokes—can have positive qualities that a wise person can use to convey a piece of wisdom, offer a refreshing perspective, or simply lighten the mood to help others relax. A well-written book of fiction or a movie can impart valuable life lessons or trigger helpful emotions that lead us to think deeply about an issue or situation.

He ends with this:

Yes, God can be playful, and He no doubt enjoys a good laugh from time to time (see Psalm 2:4). Studies have shown that laughing reduces stress, a finding the Bible supports (Proverbs 17:22). But our higher priority is to please God by being a good and faithful servant and one day entering the joy of our Lord (Matthew 25:21, 23)!