Holy Laughter

John Frame comments:

Sin in Scripture is tragic, but it is also comic. The seriousness of it should not detract from our ability to laugh at it. This laughter is edifying. It shows us how pitiful are man’s efforts to oppose almighty God. That Satan himself should imagine that he can overturn God’s throne is the height of absurdity. That mere human beings join his rebellion is even more ridiculous. The point of comedy is often disproportion, and if we don’t see the disproportion here enough to laugh at it, we have not quite caught the point. And the disproportion between the Creator and his creatures can lead to a holy laughter, in which reverence and amusement coincide. (p506)

Scripture speaks well of a cheerful, merry or glad heart (Prov 15:13; 2 Cor 9:7). That should not surprise us. Laughter is close to cheer, and cheer is close to joy. Christianity is about serious matters, but it does not make us glum. (p507)

Some relevant texts: Ps 2:4; 1 Cor 1:20; Prov 10:23. We may see humour in Prov 19:24; 26:15; 23:5; 27:15; 26:27; 28:10; Ps 7:15; 9:15; 57:6; Ecc 10:8; Num 22:22-41; Mt 19:24; 23:24; Acts 12:12-17.

See further: D. Elton Trueblood, The Humor of Christ (New York, Harper, 1964)

The Doctrine of the Christian Life