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Introducing the God Who Laughs!

For far too long theologians have insisted that God must be understood, only and ever, as grave and severe. However the truth is that He does have a lighter side. God knows that His human creatures are quite the comic figures; thus we find Him from time to time responding to their comedy with a holy guffaw. At least that’s the way the Psalmist depicts Him (Psalm 2:4).

So what does this have to do with satire? Just this. When we look at the Bible we discover that as a part of His revelational method God tends to make sport of humankind. In fact He often enjoins his spokesmen to expose error and folly by means of satire in order to draw attention to those things in need of correction. When regular instruction fails, comedy can be summoned to do the job!

But the purpose of comedy and satire is actually more profound than even this. If God and humans share the attribute of comedy, then presumably there is something redemptive about our ability to laugh at ourselves. As Christians we are the heirs of a rich legacy of Christian literary satire; and it’s something of a tragedy that it’s been neglected and rejected as a remedial instrument. As this book’s title suggests, it is high time that we revive the art.