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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Kerygmania: Humour in the Old Testament?
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
There has been some mention of this before the thread was re*bumped* - but it has to be Jonah! He's a uniquely comic character and the short story of "go right, go left, go down, come up, do good and get cross anyway" always makes me chuckle.
The thread reminds me of David Kossoff, whose memorable and often very humourous unpacking of Bible stories (in print and on TV/radio) were a real delight. He died a couple of years ago and I suspect his stuff is out of print, but you can probably get copies via Amazon. Lovely, gentle, funny man.
[ 24. January 2007, 08:16: Message edited by: Barnabas62 ]
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Malin
Shipmate
# 11769
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Posted
quote:
Deuteronomy 3:11
11 (Only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
I mean ... would you want to move an iron bed of that size!? ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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'Is it a true bird or is it something that exists within a-'
'It's a thing that is,' said Granny sharply. 'Don't go spilling allegory all down your shirt.' Terry Pratchett
Posts: 1901 | From: Norwich | Registered: Aug 2006
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Malin
Shipmate
# 11769
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Posted
... and I can't resist also this utterly fantastic sarcastic retort of Job to his 'comforters' ...
quote:
Job 12:2
2 "Doubtless you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
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'Is it a true bird or is it something that exists within a-'
'It's a thing that is,' said Granny sharply. 'Don't go spilling allegory all down your shirt.' Terry Pratchett
Posts: 1901 | From: Norwich | Registered: Aug 2006
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
Hmmmm - it's still not exactly funny, is it? I'd put it somewhere between Keeping up Appearances (completely unfunny) and Are you being served? (occasionally raises a wry smile).
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Barnabas62
There has been some mention of this before the thread was re*bumped* - but it has to be Jonah! He's a uniquely comic character and the short story of "go right, go left, go down, come up, do good and get cross anyway" always makes me chuckle.
Someone once suggested on this board that Jonah was a parody.
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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Calindreams
Shipmate
# 9147
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Posted
I have heard that in The story of Tamar and Judah also has humour contained in the items she requests on the road - the seal, the ord and the staff in his hand (oo er). Apparently the Hebrew word for each are similar to the words, father-in-law, idiot and tribe/penis. So it could be read as "Father-in-law, you idiot, give me tribe with the rod in your hand. Maybe not exactly like that but my memory of the Hebrew is a bit sketchy.
Can anyone shed more light on this or confirm/deny this?
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Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore
Posts: 665 | From: Birmingham, England | Registered: Mar 2005
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Nigel M
Shipmate
# 11256
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Posted
Calindreams,
To be honest, the passage doesn’t read as though there were intentional double meanings. The three nouns are not that similar: Hatham (seal); Pathil (cord); and Mateh (staff). Even when looking that their construction in the text (with 2 person masculine singular suffixes = hothameka, pethileka and mateka), there isn’t much commonality in assonance or metre.
There’s probably enough sex in the passage already without there being an intent to hide more; also the fact that Tamar produces the three artefacts as evidence of her innocence in verse 25 indicates, I think, that the author was entendring in the singular here!
Nigel
Posts: 2826 | From: London, UK | Registered: Apr 2006
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Calindreams
Shipmate
# 9147
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Posted
Nigel M - thanks for filling me in with more detail. Was you already aware of the theory?
I'm not saying that the author is wanting to hide the sexual implications from us, but rather Tamar is hiding what she knows from Judah.
As for the assonance and metre, could you explain that a little more because there does seem to be quite an uncanny resemblance in the words on reading them, especially since the Hebrew wasn't originally pointed.
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Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore
Posts: 665 | From: Birmingham, England | Registered: Mar 2005
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Knopwood
Shipmate
# 11596
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Posted
My favourite: "Who told you that you were naked?" (Genesis 3:11)
A friend of mine particularly enjoyed: "Oh, yes, you did laugh." (Genesis 18:15)
[ 24. January 2007, 16:30: Message edited by: Liturgy Queen ]
Posts: 6806 | From: Tio'tia:ke | Registered: Jun 2006
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
Someone once suggested on this board that Jonah was a parody.
How odd. I don't mind "parable", though I see a historical basis as well. But parody?
David Kossoff, who I mentioned earlier, brought out all the implicit humour in the story in one of his TV presentations - it was a long time ago now, but I wish I'd recorded it. No longer available, unfortunately.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Nigel M
Shipmate
# 11256
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Calindreams:
As for the assonance and metre, could you explain that a little more because there does seem to be quite an uncanny resemblance in the words on reading them, especially since the Hebrew wasn't originally pointed.
Yes, we don’t have the pointing in the early texts, but I’m assuming that the vowel patterning that became part of the Masoretic system (and use of stand-in consonants before that, e.g. he and yod) were on the right track, rather than completely made up. So we have three vowel patterns in the nouns: o-a-e-a; e-i-e-a; and a-e-a; which don’t really sound similar. The metre differs, too: nouns one and two have 4 syllables, noun three only 3.
Usually when an author is playing around in Hebrew with words to indicate there’s another level to look for, there are clues in the way he patterns the words – that was what I was looking for.
As far as the words sounding similar to others, I assume the connection the theory makes is as follows:-
Seal (hatham) = Father-in-law (ham);
Cord (pathil) = Simple / foolish (pethi);
Staff (mateh) = Tribe (also mateh).
Where Hebrew writers make plays on words they do tend to do so with the consonants, but in this text there are differences from the norm: ham misses out the middle consonant from seal; foolish has only two consonants, compared to Cord’s three, and Mateh is a homonym (possibly because the tribal leader carried a ceremonial staff?).
Compared to other examples of Hebrew punning or synonymity, this particular passage just feels a bit too loose for me.
Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if young Jewish lads listening to that episode all those years ago were whacked about the ear for sniggering when 'staff' was mentioned...
Posts: 2826 | From: London, UK | Registered: Apr 2006
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Nigel M
Shipmate
# 11256
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Barnabas62:
quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
Someone once suggested on this board that Jonah was a parody.
How odd. I don't mind "parable", though I see a historical basis as well. But parody?
I was wondering about that, too. What was being parodied? The only link I could think of was the theory that places Jonah in the role of Israel, called to be a light to the Gentiles (Abraham's blessing to the nations), but who signally failed to be so. Big fish, then, is the exile.
Not sure that Jonah was intended to ridicule Israel's history, though.
Posts: 2826 | From: London, UK | Registered: Apr 2006
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Calindreams
Shipmate
# 9147
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Posted
Thanks Nigel - I must agree the ham/hatham parallel is a bit tenuous. However, the 'staff in your hand' is still funny to my peurile brain!
I would be interested, still, if I could find the scholar who first fowarded the idea. Can't seem to find it on the net.
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Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore
Posts: 665 | From: Birmingham, England | Registered: Mar 2005
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Nigel M:
I was wondering about that, too. What was being parodied?
It's been a few years and I don't recall the details. IIRC there was a genre of religious stories about people told by God to do various things. Jonah was a parody of that genre.
Let's face it. What happens is a bit OTT.
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
< a bit tangential>
For Moo and Nigel M. Isn't it a type of Midrash? Humour works well in that genre. In short, Jonah could be rabbinical teaching on God's judgment and mercy, couched in a tale connecting a rebellious people (fact) with a rebellious jew (Jonah as a type). Then the comic or OTT details can be understood as a way of helping the hearer to remember. And Jonah is really memorable.
</tangent>
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Nigel M
Shipmate
# 11256
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Barnabas62:
< a bit tangential>
For Moo and Nigel M. Isn't it a type of Midrash? Humour works well in that genre. In short, Jonah could be rabbinical teaching on God's judgment and mercy, couched in a tale connecting a rebellious people (fact) with a rebellious jew (Jonah as a type). Then the comic or OTT details can be understood as a way of helping the hearer to remember. And Jonah is really memorable.
</tangent>
<swings tangent wide open again>
I suppose it depends on when the story or book of Jonah was composed and whether midrash, as a form of exegesis, was around at that time. As a story it certainly works and it has that twist in the tail (tale?) usually associated with parables. An extended parable, perhaps, as you suggested?
<leaves tangent wide open so horse can bolt...>
Posts: 2826 | From: London, UK | Registered: Apr 2006
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georgiaboy
Shipmate
# 11294
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Posted
In reference to above comments on the 100-200 Philistine foreskins that David paid for Michal:
In my long-past time in seminary, the frequent appearance of Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast on the refectory menu was always called "David's Dowry."
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You can't retire from a calling.
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Scooby-Doo
Shipmate
# 9822
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by georgiaboy:
In reference to above comments on the 100-200 Philistine foreskins that David paid for Michal:
In my long-past time in seminary, the frequent appearance of Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast on the refectory menu was always called "David's Dowry."
![[Projectile]](graemlins/puke2.gif)
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Friendships multiply joy and divide grief.
[URL=http://https://[/URL]
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the giant cheeseburger
Shipmate
# 10942
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Cottontail:
I know it's New Testament, but I asked my Greek tutor if the bit from John 1:46, 'Can anything good come from Nazareth?' was a joke, and she said that Jesus' comment, 'Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!' could well be a kind of riposte.
Seemingly the Greek for 'false' here has some connotations of 'fish', so the repartee goes: 'Can anything good come from that backwater town full of rednecks and country bumpkins?' while Jesus's comment is implying, 'Ah, you city slickers from the teeming metropolis of Bethsaida whose wealth is built upon the fishing industry, you think you're so cool!'
Of course, it loses something in the translation!
A pastor I heard speak late last year said he thought it basically meant "you can't talk, you stink like fish!" It seems to come through a bit better than your version.
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If I give a homeopathy advocate a really huge punch in the face, can the injury be cured by giving them another really small punch in the face?
Posts: 4834 | From: Adelaide, South Australia. | Registered: Jan 2006
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BroJames
Shipmate
# 9636
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Posted
I think there is comedy in Jonah especially at the beginning when God asks to get up and go up to Nineveh and he gets up and goes down to Jaffa and down into the ship and down into the hold and down into etc. etc.
I think there is also a rather rough folk humour at the beginning of Job as the disasters pile up and the varous servants come along to report them each conlcuding with 'I alone was left' or words to that effect.
[ 09. February 2007, 12:04: Message edited by: BroJames ]
Posts: 3374 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2005
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adso
Shipmate
# 2895
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Posted
There's always the story of Micaiah in I Kings 22.
King Ahab hasn't had a battle for three whole years and is getting a bit bored, ![[Cool]](cool.gif) so he and his mate King Jehoshaphat (king of Judah) plan to attack Ramoth Gilead. "Hang on," says King J ![[Ultra confused]](graemlins/confused2.gif) . "Better double check it with God first - ask the prophets if we'll win." So they do, and the prophets all say yes. Then King J (who possibly has cold feet about this ) says "Did you ask all of them?" Ahab admits he's missed out Micaiah because Micaiah always prophesies bad things, ![[Paranoid]](graemlins/paranoid.gif) but reluctantly agrees to ask him.
Enter Micaiah. "Will we win?" asks the king.
"Yes, of course," ![[Biased]](wink.gif) says Micaiah.
The king gets cross. "How many times do I have to tell you to speak the truth?"
"OK then," says Micaiah. "God says you are going to be completely wiped out."
"What did I tell you?" says King Ahab to King J. "Micaiah never prophesies anything good about me!"
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
They do get defeated. King Ahab persuades King J to swop robes, to increase his chance of survival, but gets mortally wounded by a completely random arrow and the dogs lick up the blood from the chariot. ![[Devil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
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os justi meditabitur sapientiam, et lingua eius loquetur judicium. lex dei eius in corde ipsius, et non supplantabuntur gressus eius. alleluia.
Posts: 688 | From: pays de galles | Registered: Jun 2002
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
Adso, I always got a bang out of that story, too. Thanks for reminding me of it.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
I always loved the Judges 3 story of Ehud the Left-Handed and Eglon the Fat.
Eglon the Fat is the nasty overlord of the Israelites, and Ehud the Left-Handed is the "judge" that saves the nation. He goes to visit Eglon, and takes out his sword (which, being on his right thigh, presumably was missed by the bodyguards) and stabs Eglon so the blade comes through the other sidebut he's so fat that his fat folds around the hilt and Ehud can't withdraw it.
Ehud then locks the doors and goes out, and Eglon's dying moans are interpreted by his servants (just outside the door) as the noise he makes on the toilet ("spreading his feet" is the dainty Biblical bowdlerism), so they don't go in to save him until it's too late.
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
Bump!
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Quam Dilecta
Shipmate
# 12541
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Posted
Fifty years ago I heard an Old Testament scholar preach. He explained that the prophet Amos made liberal use of puns. The only example which I still remember had God asking Amos, "What do you see?" and Amos replying, "A begonia", to which God responded "Today you are here, and tomorrow you'll begonia". I hope that the Hebrew it not quite so groan-inducing.
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Blessd are they that dwell in thy house
Posts: 406 | From: Boston, Massachusetts, USA | Registered: Apr 2007
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la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688
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Posted
Re-reading Proverbs this morning reminded me that I do think that some of them are pretty funny. My personal favourite is 11:22:
"Like a gold ring in the snout of a pig,
Is a lovely woman who lacks discretion"
Never fails to bring a smile to my face
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Rent my holiday home in the South of France
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
I like Proverbs 27:14, (which has already been mentioned on this thread) quote:
Whoever blesses a neighbour with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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flickeringflame
Apprentice
# 12703
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Karl - Liberal Backslider:
I must be sense of humour impaired. I've always found the attempts to describe bits of the bible as funny to be strained.
But that's just me.
Me too. Whenever someone tries to point out biblical humour - well, let's be honest, you can't force a laugh. The Bible/Jesus, hmmm...
That's why I was so pleasantly surprised when I read Epictetus - that's when I realised how much we owed to the Greeks. It took humour to do that.
Posts: 46 | From: England | Registered: Jun 2007
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Bullfrog.
Prophetic Amphibian
# 11014
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Posted
I think some parts of the OT are great for black humor, and the kind of laughing that comes of understanding how fucking hysterical life is (to paraphrase a movie).
Then again, I'm weird. ![[Two face]](graemlins/scot_twoface.gif)
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Some say that man is the root of all evil
Others say God's a drunkard for pain
Me, I believe that the Garden of Eden
Was burned to make way for a train. --Josh Ritter, Harrisburg
Posts: 7522 | From: Chicago | Registered: Feb 2006
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by flickeringflame:
Me too. Whenever someone tries to point out biblical humour - well, let's be honest, you can't force a laugh. The Bible/Jesus, hmmm...
That's why I was so pleasantly surprised when I read Epictetus - that's when I realised how much we owed to the Greeks. It took humour to do that.
The concept of what's funny is not the same in all cultures. Modern Jews and Arabs see a great deal of humor in the Bible.
Epictetus was Greek, and our culture was heavily influenced by Greek culture.
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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tclune
Shipmate
# 7959
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by flickeringflame:
quote:
Originally posted by Karl - Liberal Backslider:
I must be sense of humour impaired. I've always found the attempts to describe bits of the bible as funny to be strained.
Me too. Whenever someone tries to point out biblical humour - well, let's be honest, you can't force a laugh.
Try reading the book of Jonah. To my mind, it is just plain slapstick from end to end. It may not be your kind of humor, but I can't imagine anyone reading it and not recognizing it as bathos (despite those humorless Christians who insist on reading it as history!)
--Tom Clune
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Posts: 8013 | From: Western MA | Registered: Jul 2004
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tclune
Shipmate
# 7959
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Posted
Oops! My mistake. This thread is about humour in the OT. As an American, I don't find humour in anything...
--Tom Clune
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Posts: 8013 | From: Western MA | Registered: Jul 2004
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flickeringflame
Apprentice
# 12703
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Posted
I suppose the person we should really blame is Benjamin Franklin who was actually involved in changing humour to humor, American style.
As for Jonah - I see what you mean, maybe the thing about the cattle at the end?
Posts: 46 | From: England | Registered: Jun 2007
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
Jonah, if you read it as a little piece of instructive literature, is really freaking snide, dark, and ludicrous. Jonah being the clown in the whole situation-- the kind of Everyman who is so xenophobic and self-protective that he'll go through incredible lengths to get out of challenging his personal comfort level. But then he forms an intense emotional attachment to a flipping shrub. What priorities.
And God in the story matches his bad attitude with sarcasm. (You're right flickeringflame- ""Geez, whiz, if you aren't worried about the people, think of the cows, man!")
Are we moderns really arrogant enough to think we invented hyperbole and satire?
I kinda wonder if, somewhere in the bowls of history, this story was a pointed flip-off to a specific person or class of persons. But that might be stretching it.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves
kinda wonder if, somewhere in the bowls of history, this story was a pointed flip-off to a specific person or class of persons. But that might be stretching it.
I have heard that this was a parody of a whole class of literature, stories where God told people to do something, and they did it very well.
I'm trying to think of a modern equivalent of that kind of writing.
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
The Ship of Fools Torrid Romance Novel.
Or that bizarre Hemingway contest they have/ used to have.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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rahamim
Apprentice
# 12887
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Posted
funniest bit is when aaron says i threw the gold into the fire and this calf came out. i am surprised moses didn't hit him for not comming up with a better answer.
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Nunzia
Shipmate
# 4766
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves
kinda wonder if, somewhere in the bowls of history, this story was a pointed flip-off to a specific person or class of persons. But that might be stretching it.
I have heard that this was a parody of a whole class of literature, stories where God told people to do something, and they did it very well.
I'm trying to think of a modern equivalent of that kind of writing.
Moo
The equivalent might be the fractured fairy tale
I suspect that term originated with a segment by that name of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show.
So this is fractured scripture, huh?
Fripture?
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Posts: 1903 | From: Crazy-glued to the ledge | Registered: Jul 2003
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tclune
Shipmate
# 7959
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Posted
I find the whole calling of Gideon rather humorous. It starts out with irony that sure strikes me as funny: an Angel greets Gideon
--Tom Clune
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Posts: 8013 | From: Western MA | Registered: Jul 2004
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
Time for me to say again that these bits are vaguely amusing, but frankly not as actually funny as even the jokes I learnt when I was 12. I get more of a laugh out of "What's brown and sticky?", myself.
The answer is, of couse, a stick.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Timothy the Obscure
Mostly Friendly
# 292
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Posted
Try to imagine them as a Monty Python sketch--in Tom's example above, John Cleese as Moses and Eric Idle as Aaron.
"I just threw the gold in the fire and then there was this calf there. It's not my fault!"
(Cleese does his long-suffering, why-do-I-have-to-spend-my-life-surrounded-by-idiots look, before exploding...)
In fact, I really think much of the Bible makes more sense that way.
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When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion.
- C. P. Snow
Posts: 6114 | From: PDX | Registered: May 2001
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pimple
Ship's Irruption
# 10635
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Posted
The story of Gideon reminds me of the time I thought I had a vocation. I said to God "If you are really calling me, let Fulham win 5-0 next Saturday. And they did! So I said "Lord, far be it from me to call that a coincidence. If you really want me, let there be an appeal against the last four goals, and let half the Fulham side be banned for the rest of the season, and the Fulham manager sacked." And God said "Don't be bloody cheeky" and I woke up.
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In other words, just because I made it all up, doesn't mean it isn't true (Reginald Hill)
Posts: 8018 | From: Wonderland | Registered: Nov 2005
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:
Try to imagine them as a Monty Python sketch--in Tom's example above, John Cleese as Moses and Eric Idle as Aaron.
"I just threw the gold in the fire and then there was this calf there. It's not my fault!"
(Cleese does his long-suffering, why-do-I-have-to-spend-my-life-surrounded-by-idiots look, before exploding...)
In fact, I really think much of the Bible makes more sense that way.
You mean it becomes funny if you inject some humour into it? Most things do.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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georgiaboy
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# 11294
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Posted
One more bit on Jonah:
Some years ago I saw a play (can't remember author) called "East of Nineveh." Lead character is an elderly preacher somewhere in the American south. He is working his way through Jonah and spends considerable time wondering why Jonah set up his camp EAST of Nineveh.
His conclusion was that because of the prevailing wind, that was where Jonah could best smell the burning bodies after God killed all the Ninevites.
He didn't consider who would set the funeral pyres if God killed them ALL.
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You can't retire from a calling.
Posts: 1675 | From: saint meinrad, IN | Registered: Apr 2006
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otyetsfoma
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# 12898
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Posted
Whenever I read Exodus 14:11 I seem to hear a Yiddish (rather than its original hebrew) accent- or even Jackie Mason - speaking it.
Hostly note: here is Exodus 14:11 quote:
They said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt?
[ 02. November 2007, 00:38: Message edited by: Moo ]
Posts: 842 | From: Edgware UK | Registered: Aug 2007
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
bump
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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gaudium
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# 13365
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Posted
Going with the "dark humor"/distruction theme, if you don't mind a jump to the NT:
I was just recently thinking how funny all of the merchants must have looked while Jesus was cleansing the temple (Matt. 21:12f). He turns over the money-changing tables, and all the coins go flying. So everyone is on hands and knees grabbing for the money, when they get run over by the stampeding flock of sheep and the flapping, squawking doves which Jesus has just released.
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Comely as Jerusalem, Terrible as an army with banners.
Posts: 70 | From: USA | Registered: Jan 2008
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St. Sarcastica
Apprentice
# 13405
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Posted
Job is wonderfully sarcastic to his friends:
"Doubtless you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!"
Job 12:2
Posts: 14 | From: Europe | Registered: Feb 2008
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Wiffle
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# 12872
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Posted
I know Mark Driscoll isn't to everyones taste (I've not seen enough to know if I like him yet) but he delivers a talk on exactly this topic which might be worth a look.
Mark Driscoll on the place of Humor in the Bible and the Church
I know a lot of his jokes aren't PC but I have no idea how closely they tie in with his worldview (he's a Calvinist who describes Calvinism as "Duck, Duck, Damn!").
Posts: 338 | From: Brighton(ish) | Registered: Jul 2007
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
{bump}
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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