Does God Have A Sense Of Humor?

[Nihil Obstat]

太错了。 I typed out a response, then lost my internet connection. <_<

 

I have thought about this topic a fair bit in the past, and I have never been satisfied with my own conclusions. Here is what I am confident in saying:

 

If humour truly is rooted at its most basic in the unexpected, which many people agree with, then I do not think that there is humour, as we understand it, in heaven, or in God's Will. I do not think the unexpected has a place, per se, in the beatific vision.

On the other hand, I am not convinced that the unexpected is truly the most basic part of humour. Perhaps it is joy, like you said, or resignation to Divine Will, who knows. I am more than willing to accept, especially from a Catholic perspective, that there does exist a theological basis for humour. I simply am not sure how to articulate it. 

But if we can find a deeper, theological basis for humour, then I am sure that we could conclude that God or heaven do incorporate humour in some way that we understand.

[KnightofChrist]

太错了。 I typed out a response, then lost my internet connection. <_<

 

I have thought about this topic a fair bit in the past, and I have never been satisfied with my own conclusions. Here is what I am confident in saying:

 

If humour truly is rooted at its most basic in the unexpected, which many people agree with, then I do not think that there is humour, as we understand it, in heaven, or in God's Will. I do not think the unexpected has a place, per se, in the beatific vision.

On the other hand, I am not convinced that the unexpected is truly the most basic part of humour. Perhaps it is joy, like you said, or resignation to Divine Will, who knows. I am more than willing to accept, especially from a Catholic perspective, that there does exist a theological basis for humour. I simply am not sure how to articulate it. 

But if we can find a deeper, theological basis for humour, then I am sure that we could conclude that God or heaven do incorporate humour in some way that we understand.

 

I most certainly agree that for God there is nothing that can be unexpected, or of a surprise. But for man, even when he becomes like God, dwelling in heaven, in the beatific vision, I'm not sure all the mysteries of the God head will be revealed to us all at once. I may be wrong, or not have the correct way of express my thoughts on this, but will we not always and forever in our adoring God in heaven, be forever in awe of the mysteries of God? Our existence and knowledge of God will most certainly be transcended by our existance and knowledge of God in the beatific vision. As it is said all things will be revealed, and all that is secret will be known, but if God's beauty, knowledge, etc, and God Himself are infinite it may take a infinite amount of time to learn all the infinite mysteries of God. If that is so, it may well be that for us there could be some room for surprise.

[Nihil Obstat]

I most certainly agree that for God there is nothing that can be unexpected, or of a surprise. But for man, even when he becomes like God, dwelling in heaven, in the beatific vision, I'm not sure all the mysteries of the God head will be revealed to us all at once. I may be wrong, or not have the correct way of express my thoughts on this, but will we not always and forever in our adoring God in heaven, be forever in awe of the mysteries of God? Our existence and knowledge of God will most certainly be transcended by our existance and knowledge of God in the beatific vision. As it is said all things will be revealed, and all that is secret will be known, but if God's beauty, knowledge, etc, and God Himself are infinite it may take a infinite amount of time to learn all the infinite mysteries of God. If that is so, it may well be that for us there could be some room for surprise.

Yeah, good call. That would potentially allow humour to apply to created beings experiencing the beatific vision, although it would not allow God to have a sense of humour.

[KnightofChrist]

Yeah, good call. That would potentially allow humour to apply to created beings experiencing the beatific vision, although it would not allow God to have a sense of humour.

 

Perhaps, perhaps not. As we can see in the example of our Lord telling us that only the Father knows the day and hour of the Apocalypse, there is a way in which one Person of the Trinity does not 'know' something another Person of the Trinity does 'know', or is a mystery in some way to one, but not another. In a similar way it may be possible for a type of surprise between the Persons of the God Head. Perhaps, or perhaps not. We'll find out when we die, if we go to heaven. :p

[Nihil Obstat]

Ahhh, you are good. You are very good. Consider me pwnd.

[tinytherese]

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.

[BarbTherese]

 A sense of friendly humour (about myself usually) comes to my rescue rather often and rescues me from some pinprick or other alleviating any necessity to take myself too seriously  - and since all good comes from God and it is a decided good to be rescued from taking oneself too seriously, I think God has a sense of humour and shares it with us.

 

 

 

James 1 - V17       [17] Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration.

Edited January 11, 2014 by BarbaraTherese

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

Also i think that God is not comical in the hollywood sense but i believe he has a sense of humour. He has caused me to laugh before with a sign in the clouds and my dad says he heard him laugh once before. 

[add]

 

There is hope for the future because God has a sense of humor and we are funny to God.

- Bill Cosby

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2014 by add

[TheLordsSouljah]

He plays tricks on me and trust games all the time. Defs has a sense of humour! Mine aint as good :P Oftentimes we focus way too much on the seriousness of everything. Okay, so obviously there are a lot of things we need to be serious about and have respect for, but when it comes to living life in general, humour helps us to laugh and spread the joy that it is to follow Christ :)

[BarbTherese]

An interesting read "Between Heaven and Mirth" Fr James Martin SJ http://www.americancatholic.org/samo/books.aspx?IssueID=32 - I'm reading it for the second time.

 

"CAN GOD TAKE A JOKE? After reading James Martin, S.J.’s, new book, one gets the idea that laughter is indeed divine. This unabashedly Jesuit author (culture editor for America magazine) penned The New York Times best-seller The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything (we’d have to infer that almost refers to the missing Franciscan knowledge). With high-powered advance praise, Between Heaven and Mirth is an attempt to hit the charts again. ..........edit.........He proves the point with a look, from many angles, at humor in Christian life (mostly Catholic life, with a few nods toward other traditions). One angle that might be most useful is the humor found in Jesus’ teaching, especially the parables. Another might be the recommendation for a bit of self examination: Does God find you to be funny? Others are some of his Top 10 lists, reminiscent of the way things get packed in on late-night television appearances (he is “resident chaplain” with occasional appearances on The Colbert Report). I found it hard to pick my favorite. Two were his favorite films (in a footnote) and his 11-and-a-half “serious reasons for good humor.”

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

how do you all define humour ?

[BarbTherese]

I guess I would think of it as something which induces laughter that is not cruel or hurtful in any way.

The Catholic Catechism mentions humor, which I think is a by product of Joy, one of the Fruits of The Holy Spirit.

 

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c4a1.htm

 

1676 Pastoral discernment is needed to sustain and support popular piety and, if necessary, to purify and correct the religious sense which underlies these devotions so that the faithful may advance in knowledge of the mystery of Christ.¹⁸² Their exercise is subject to the care and judgment of the bishops and to the general norms of the Church.

 

At its core the piety of the people is a storehouse of values that offers answers of Christian wisdom to the great questions of life. The Catholic wisdom of the people is capable of fashioning a vital synthesis. . . . It creatively combines the divine and the human, Christ and Mary, spirit and body, communion and institution, person and community, faith and homeland, intelligence and emotion. This wisdom is a Christian humanism that radically affirms the dignity of every person as a child of God, establishes a basic fraternity, teaches people to encounter nature and understand work, provides reasons for joy and humor even in the midst of a very hard life. For the people this wisdom is also a principle of discernment and an evangelical instinct through which they spontaneously sense when the Gospel is served in the Church and when it is emptied of its content and stifled by other interests.¹⁸¹

[chrysostom]

Rather than the unexpected, you might say that humour is rooted in recognizing incongruities.  But then think also of the laughter of a baby which needs only a smile to set it off.  It must be a gift from above.  :)

[BarbTherese]

Typed into Post from book "Between Heaven and Mirth" James Martin SJ :-
 

 

"Pope Benedict: "I believe (God) has a great sense of humor. Sometimes He gives you something like nudge and says, "Don't take yourself so seriously!" Humor is in fact an essential element in the mirth of creation.  We can see how, in many matters in our lives, God wants to prod us into taking things a bit more light; to see the funny side of it; to get down off our pedestal and not to forget our sense of fun"

 

 

As an example from my own life.  I have recently applied for voluntary work that really does interest me and right up my alley - my prospective employer wanted verbal references.  One of them I gave was my parish priest.  I then began to be concerned because Father has not been in our parish for a full year as yet and though I have conversed with him rather lengthily on a couple of occasions, my concern became that he might feel that he does not know me well enough to refer me.  So I worried about it for a while thinking perhaps I should not have mentioned Father at all - and then it hit me that it is all in God's Hands.  So I mused "I guess all will be ok then, no matter what happens"...............and then shortly began to worry again - until I started to laugh at my own shallow trust and the stupidity of worry, the very real stupidity, when it all is in God's Hands for sure after all.  I do feel that The Lord had a giggle too.

 

Another time, I was really worried about something years ago.  Then I thought to myself "I have to pray about it! .......... as I reached for my mobile!"  I am very confident that The Lord really laughed that time!   Ahh modern times and modern technology it often confuses me!