In Defense of Biblical Humor

Mark Driscoll (a.k.a. "The Cussing Pastor") is a pastor that I have a lot of respect for. Like any man, he's not perfect, so all of his theology isn't going to be either, but he is, nonetheless, quite solid. One subject where I have questioned him as of late is his use of humor. This isn't random--I think the guy is hilarious. And I think he often uses humor quite well. For example, the following quote:

"There is a strong drift toward the hard theological left. Some emergent types [want] to recast Jesus as a limp-wrist hippie in a dress with a lot of product in His hair, who drank decaf and made pithy Zen statements about life while shopping for the perfect pair of shoes. In Revelation, Jesus is a prize fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up. I fear some are becoming more cultural than Christian, and without a big Jesus who has authority and hates sin as revealed in the Bible, we will have less and less Christians, and more and more confused, spiritually self-righteous blogger critics of Christianity." (1)

Recently I started reading his book Religion Saves: And 9 Other Misconceptions. In it, Driscoll addresses 10 common misconceptions that Christians have, one of them being that the Bible is always serious, and so good Christians must be very serious people. But Driscoll argues that the Bible is full of humor (which I certainly think it is), and that Christians should use humor effectively like Jesus did (which in principle, I have no problem with). I think my biggest hangup was how cutting his humor can be sometimes when directed at certain groups. But after having read the whole chapter, I think I understand what he is saying. And he admits that he has crossed the line and addresses that issue. Perhaps the most compelling argument he makes he borrows from Charles Haddon Spurgeon (who also is solid):

"I do not know why ridicule is to be given up to Satan as a weapon to be used against us, and not to be employed by us as a weapon against him. I will venture to affirm that the Reformation owed almost as much to the sense of the ridiculous in human nature as to anything else, and that those humorous squibs and caricatures, that were issued by the friends of Luther, did more to open the eyes of Germany to the abominations of the priesthood than the more solid and ponderous arguments against Romanism....'It [humor] is a dangerous weapon,' it will be said, 'and many men will cut their fingers with it.' Well, that is their own look-out; but I do not know why we should be so particular about their cutting their fingers if they can, at the same time, cut the throat of sin, and do serious damage to the great adversary of soul."

In addition to making his case for why he thinks humor is biblical and helpful, he supplied a "Ten Commandments for Sanctifying Comedy." Number 8 on the list I think is a particularly important one that helps shed light on the heart behind properly used humor, and helps keep those who use humor accountable so they don't become prideful or arrogant in their humor:

"Don't forget to laugh at yourself--often. The best material is the stuff of your own life. You know better than anyone that you are a nut job, so do not waste such precious comedic fodder. Tell stories about yourself, pointing out your imperfections, folly, stupidity, pettiness, self-righteousness, and the like before you turn your funny guns on anyone. By doing so you will reveal that your humor is not scorn but, rather, the acknowledgment of a common mess we are all in as sinners [emphasis mine]. In the end, we are all hypocrites and good for a laugh. By laughing together at one another and ourselves, we are experiencing biblical fellowship and celebrating gift-righteousness from Jesus; his gift removes our pride and vain attempts at self-righteousness, which in the end make us deadly serious defenders of our goodness, as if we had any. In short, we are all Pharisees to varying degrees."

In his conclusion, Driscoll poses one last question to those who might be offended by him:

"To those who have been offended by my comedic banter, I would simply ask why. If it is because I have sinned, then I ask your forgiveness. But if it is because I have hit a nerve of sin or self-righteousness, then I would welcome you to repent and have a good laugh with me."

So have a laugh today. Be like Jesus, and as ridiculously intelligent as he is, not like Spock:

"Cultivating your sense of humor heightens all your other emotions. The person who can laugh deeply is passionate enough to also weep deeply. Those who bottle up their emotions in a Spock-like existence display little if any of the characteristics of their passionate God, who both laughs and weeps, as Scripture says. Scripture also commands us to 'rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.' "