For my birthday, I was given a copy of “Does God LOL” – a collection of brief thoughts by various people working in the field of comedy about the subject of God and humour. I actually found it a fascinating read!
The book is, as you would expect from a compendium of different people’s thoughts, a mixed bag. But the sheer breadth and number of the people involved is – to my mind – pretty staggering: comedy is perceived as being a very ‘godless’ kind of place, and often Christianity is mocked (see my previous post on Comedy and Christianity, for example). But as I turned the pages, I kept seeing names I recognised – or at least, people involved with things I recognised. Tim Vine and Milton Jones have contributed, of course – both are well known Christian comedians. But there are also chapters by other familiar names who aren’t often associated with religious things – Jo Brand, for example. There were also people who were associated with (i.e. writers for or actors in) shows which you probably do know, such as Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow or Miranda. In general, I was pleasantly surprised by how many I recognised and how faith seems to be a really deep-seated thing and real for many of the writers.
Is comedy godless? Well, on the basis of this book – definitely not!
Some of the pieces were very thought provoking, though. (It got me thinking about whether it would be possible to do a Biblical Theology of laughter, although I suspect that any attempt might be a bit forced). One chapter got me thinking about Psalm 2, one of the times in the Bible where God is said to ‘laugh’. (more…)