Do you believe in ghosts? This question has haunted mankind for millenniums. It is the topic of many spirited conversations. Ultimately, our beliefs regarding ghosts are not gravely important which is why I can ask that question without raising the specter of conflict and disagreement. So why don’t we talk about faith like we talk about ghosts?
I’ve gotten myself into trouble lately by posting controversial things online. Sometimes I expected people would get upset. I know the mere mention of political parties, racism, suicide, quarantine protocols, and anything regarding LGBT issues will provoke people. As a comedian, I’m supposed to create laughter, not hurt feelings. I’m not supposed to make people angry. We elected Trump to do that. (That’s intended to be a joke.)
A friend told me recently that it’s difficult to tell when I’m trying to be funny and when I’m trying to be serious. I appreciate the courage it took to say that to me. I’m grateful for friends who say the truth ESPECIALLY when it’s hard. This is my attempt to describe my sense of humor. I am confident that I’ll create more questions than answers and hurt more feelings than I heal. Whenever I explain my point of view, I turn into Chris Farley selling brake pads.
Humor is subjective. The clip above is hilarious to me, but I know some people who don’t think it’s funny. More importantly, I know some people find it offensive. I posted it anyway. When avoiding offense is my top priority, I will say nothing. Comedy requires subjecting myself to judgment.
Which brings me to this meme:
Why I Think This Is Funny
The best way to destroy comedy is to analyze it. Explaining a joke will knock the funniness right out of it. I wrote a book on this subject and you should read it if you’re curious about the philosophy of comedy. I’m willing to sacrifice this meme for the sake of improved communication and understanding among friends.
The phrase, “In God We Trust” appears on United States currency. From a comedic perspective, this is an example of irony. Money is frequently the object of our trust. When we have cash, we don’t need God. The object of our trust LITERALLY proclaims that it is NOT the object of our trust. Is this “hilarious”? No.
During the pandemic, the world’s supply of hand sanitizer was depleted. Millions of people snatched up as many bottles as they could carry. We believed that sanitizing our hands would protect us from catching COVID-19. To say it another way, we put our faith in hand sanitizer. Is this “hilarious?” The answer is still, “No.”
There are many different degrees of humor. We can appreciate comedy without doubling over with laughter. And again, we don’t all agree about what’s funny.
Why This Got Me In Trouble
The criticism I got for the meme came in the form of a question: “It sounds like you’re saying that if I use hand sanitizer, I don’t have faith in God.” That is a reasonable interpretation. Here is my response: “Do you believe in ghosts?”
It is not upsetting to have our faith in ghosts questioned. But for some reason, we are deeply offended when someone questions our faith in God. We get our feelings hurt when someone suggests that we’re trusting in the wrong things. Which is another example of irony! We have put our faith in the strength of our faith. We trust in our infallible ability to trust God. Is this “hilarious?” You can decide that for yourself.
What I Hope Happens Now
Jesus never minced words when he talked about my pathetic faith:
The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”
Luke 9
“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
Jesus seems a little exasperated by the “unbelieving generation.” I would not have fared better than the disciples at driving out that demon. That reality leaves me with two options:
- Be offended with Jesus for questioning the strength of my beliefs.
- Question the strength of my beliefs so I grow in faith.
I hope my fellow Christians ask me questions about my faith. I’ll try not be offended if somebody asks, “Aren’t you showing a lack of faith when you use hand sanitizer?” It’s a good question. It deserves consideration. Perhaps the answer is no. Perhaps the answer is yes. More likely, the answer is somewhere in between those two extremes.
To have the ghost of a chance of growing, I must not dismiss questions about my faith.
3 Responses
Thank you. I have been saying this so much. Where is our faith? If we aren’t growing in faith and being willing to examine it and say “why did that bother me so much?”, then we are getting stagnant or moving backwards in our faith. We should get a little twinge when our faith is questioned. It wouldn’t be questioned if it were obvious where we stand. We need to take that twinge and use it to examine ourselves and have God examine us and then use it to grow our faith.
Lately, when I’m bothered by something someone says, I ask myself why. Does it cut too close to the truth? If so, is that something I need to work on? Am I feeling misunderstood? If so, does it matter?
I’ve often wondered why some people who claim to not believe in God get upset when people bring God into the discussion. Do they get this upset when people talk about leprechauns, sprites, and fairies? According to them, there’s no real difference.
I may start asking about ghosts.
I was going to write about something along these lines today… “Do I feel misunderstood?… DOES IT MATTER?” What can I realistically control?
Our culture is constantly boiling in fear and reactionary anger. It’s so easy to get caught up in that.