大象传媒

Question, does God have a sense of humour, how would anyone know?

Of course He has a sense of humour. He made Peter and Christopher Hitchens brothers, didn't He?

God definitely has a sense of humour, is light hearted, full of fun and very playfull! :-) Pity more people don't know that!

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Maybe that's why the Pope wears a skirt?

Clearest sign I've ever seen that proves beyond all doubt the existence of God and his awesome power. The next time my bath towel fall down when I have a special but perhaps undecided guest staying, I can explain it by saying that I am an atheist and that these things just happen!

May hope so if he's reading the Galileo thread...somebody open an academic study written in the last thirty years, puh-lease!!!!

Or go on looking for the good guys and the bad guys. Keep Whiggism alive. Whatever suits.

If god existed he could be credited with a sense of humour, though not a good one but instead a slightly nasty one. For instance, look at sensitive male private organs that are located external to the male torso. In his omniscience he would known it was going to go bad at some point, as it has gone for every man in his life at least a few times. So if you thought he existed you should probably imagine him as the sort of type who thinks the accidents shown on Americas Funniest Home Videos are hilarious.

God must have a sense of humour; the same week Richard Dawkins reminded us that a big surprise of the last ten years was finding that we all have far fewer genes than scientists had assumed, this man discovered he had no trousers either...

Graham, this is what blogs are FOR! If Pk and pm and you and chris and the rest of us didn't engage whiggishly, will's blog would collolopse in a cloud of pink pixie dust. This is keeping the dream alive.

But one has to observe: is god is teh funneez, and can intervene in the real world, it would seem that stopping earthquakes and AIDS might be a better use of his time than trouser humour. CS Lewis be damned - you could not argue that stopping tsunamis interferes with free will, while de-bagging doesn't.

PK

Yip, I agree. He gave men a brain and a penis.... but only enough blood to operate one OR the other at a given moment.

Helio (10):

You are surely not suggesting that if there were a god, his sense of humour would be decidedly black, are you? That he would have created life, not so much as a 鈥楥arry on at your Convenience鈥�, more as a 鈥楧r Strangelove鈥�?

If Nelson McCausland (I nearly typed Mandella!!) got his way, the Ulster Museum could exhibit a talking snake which could tell a few trouser-snake jokes. Is that a a compromise that would please both creationists and evolutionists? (I am assuming creationists have a sense of humour).

RJB - Like it - though just as well it came from a man!

Helio: why do you persist with these out-dated models of God to justify why you don't believe there is a God?? It is way too simplistic for you. That God that you talk about does not exist - agreed!! Now when you going to talk about the God that does exist?? :-)
By the way - what's the dream??

PK - I could be provocative and link to the creation/evolution thread and say perhaps he created us but not the form that we are currently in?? So you can't blame God for your tender bits! :-)

To sum up: Mayor introduces more liberal procedures at Council meetings, leaving out traditional majority-cult ritual; later, Mayor has a minor problem with his clothes.

Some people see a connection there. They are obviously still living in the Middle Ages when people saw those connections everywhere. Of course, in the Middle Ages everyone believed in a tribal chief in the sky who took vengeance on all those who irritated him - hence Noah's flood, for example. We have come a long way since then. Or have we? When I read drivel like this, or a report of the Virgin appearing on a bit of toast, or someone killed as an apostate, then I realise that a helluva lot of people have hardly budged at all.

Hi eunice, yeah, whatever, but what is your concept of god *for*? why not call it "wibble"? Wibble is wuv?

God, if he existed, does indeed have a sense of humour: he made a world that looks so much like it didn't need him at all, that when the billions of people duped by the overwhelming evidence against his existance die, he can point at them at Judgement Day and laugh as he condems them to eternal torture.

He can then also have a good laugh at all the people who led pious, holy and virtually sinless lives but happened to either be born before Jesus could die for them, or decided to follow another religion altogether.

What a laugh!

Natman: you are in the Helio camp of talking about a God that does not exist in the way that you portray him .... as he never condemns and also Jesus did not die for us ( another misperception). He was killed by people who did not recognise a soulful master who spoke Truth and lived according to the ways of love/God.

Helio: God is not a concept nor a belief for me. God is real and known. Why invent another name for God when God is God's name? The problem is not the name of God but all the misunderstandings and misinterpretations and projections that get put onto that name. What is God for? Well how long have you got?? Is there any way that your life could do with or cope with any more love/joy/harmony/stillness or centredness /vitality/well-being/meaning/purpose/service to others/connection/fulfillment/healing (not just physical) and with less emotionality - anger/arrogance/frustration/sadness/grief/jealousy/rage/fear/anxiousness etc (even Will says he gets frustrated!) ......and all of that without going to any church or being preached at or getting down on bended knee or giving your power over to any person/agency/institution - but instead finding that it all comes from within you! How cool is that! What's not to like :-)

Eunice, you ARE an atheist! I keep telling you! :-)

Eunice, forgive me, but I'm fairly sure the Bible is quite explicit; if you don't believe in God and accept Jesus as your saviour, then you're going to Hell, regardless of all the good things you may have done (and despite possibly never hearing about it in the first place).

That's either the universes biggest practical joke, or there's something not quite right.

As a liberal Anglican I couldn't possibly comment. You ban prayers, your trousers fall down; you correctly understand the resurrection and the cathedral you were consecrated in gets struck by lightning and part burns down. Whatever about humour doesn't sound much like proportion to me.

If you want to make God laugh,
they say that telling him your plans really sets him off.

Helio : been there, done that and got the T shirt! Atheism vs God - no comparison - God wins by miles and mles.....and miles.....! I just know who I am now instead of who I thought I was and that enables me to know who you are and everyone else and who God is! As Socrates put it 'Know thyself'

Natman: just because the bible says something (all of which is open to different interpretations) does not make it a Truth. Jesus is not my saviour - I can only 'save' myself - but he can be used as a template or role model for how to do that as he lived and embodied the love of God(Christ) and we can all do that - but all comes down to our own choices and how we live each day - nobody can do it for us. I am not going to hell and neither is anyone else for it does not exist. So you are correct when you say ' there's something not quite right' - that something is that although the bible contains much wisdom it also has untruths. It was written by men who did not live as Jesus lived and 2000 ish yrs ago - would you accept a science or a medical book from that era today ?? Part of the problem is that some people are stuck in the bible being the literal truth about God without considering how the bible came to be, who wrote it and when and the factors influencing them etc etc.

"and all of that without going to any church or being preached at or getting down on bended knee or giving your power over to any person/agency/institution - but instead finding that it all comes from within you! How cool is that! What's not to like :-) "

Eunice,

Surely that is the Atheists creed, I am me alone.

Hi Dave - but I am not me alone, I am with, in and from God and endeavour to co-create with God on a daily basis. I know I am interconnected with all that is - so you could say 'I am all-one' rather than alone - just a little play with words based on truth. With God I know I am not alone - even if I am the only physical person present and if I feel alone or loneliness then I have separated from God or rather chosen to live as if I'm separated, as in-truth one can never be separated from God - even an atheist cannot in-truth be separated from God! But of course we all live and make choices as if in separation to God on a daily basis - but that is our choice. :-)

Parrhasios: is it possible that the 'correct understanding of the resurrection' is incorrect?

Eunice, my comment was a bit tongue in cheek, but please,

"even an atheist cannot in-truth be separated from God"

I wish people would stop pushing their delusions onto others. The arrogance that I am in some way lacking, or broken or unfulfilled simply because I do not accept your particular flavour of delusion is insulting and frankly one of the most distasteful elements of religion.

Human rights law gives everyone the right to their beliefs, it also enshrines peoples rights to be free from other peoples beliefs. When Religions actually get their heads round this they will stop proselytising and become less insulting and dangerous.

Eunice - # 25. I shouldn't think so...

* I wish people would stop pushing their delusions onto others. The arrogance that I am in some way lacking, or broken or unfulfilled simply because I do not accept your particular flavour of delusion is insulting and frankly one of the most distasteful elements of religion. *

Dave I never said you are lacking, broken or unfulfilled because you have different beliefs.....I know that is not the case and I totally respect your right to believe whatever you want and I am not imposing mine upon you - just sharing them on a blog- and I am perfectly happy for you to totally ignore them. This is a blog where we share our views and opinions on such matters as God etc and I am just expressing mine - but I am in no-way suggesting you must accept them! Out of interest were you brought up in an evangelical household ?? For some reason you keep thinking I'm saying you are broken etc when I'm not (it's the opposite) and I just wondered if it stems from you having been exposed to that in the past?

The other thing is that when I say *"even an atheist cannot in-truth be separated from God"
- i am simply saying (in different words) that * even an atheist cannot in-truth be separated from his essence of love*
- hardly insulting or dangerous and not accusing you of being broken etc!!
I am not deluded - it is true for me that your essence and everyone else's is love. But of course you are free to ignore/reject/deride/deny/ or do whatever you like or don't like with that! :-)

Dave

This may be the only time I ever say this, but I agree with Eunice.

I really can't for the life of me see how writing, "even an atheist cannot in-truth be separated from God", on a blog counts as, "people... pushing their delusions onto others."

Helio regularly tells me I'm wrong, and, let's face it, you used the word, "delusions".

I understand that there are religious/spiritual people who have, in the most ungracious fashion, stood in judgement on others, I suppose it's one of the dangers of people thinking they know something about 'God', and it's a danger Christians (and other religious believers) would do well to recognise.

Perhaps, however, we all need to seek more understanding of each other. Perhaps I need to learn how to be an atheist. (that's metaphorical, H ;-) Perhaps Christians need to learn how to frame an argument for atheism and perhaps it can work the other way too.

Let鈥檚 get back to the question: does God have a sense of humour? On the face of it, assuming for a moment a god鈥檚 existence as a universe-creator, it would seem that he has a sense of very dark humour indeed. After all, he makes us all die, often in pain. He takes our loved ones, human and animal, away from us forever. He includes phlegm and diarrhoea and tooth decay in his divine system. He generates floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes which may kill thousands. He gives us rain when we want sun and sun when we want rain. He makes us so that we are often cruel and nasty to one another and to other creatures. He instils the fear of Himself into us. As has been said above, he whimsically displays mercy or wrath depending on his mood. And he teases us by playing a universal game of hide and seek, so that millions in remote places have never heard of Him but only of other rival Gods who may share some similar characteristics but are not as great as He.

If God is love, then we might say what a mischievous, nay malicious, devil love is! Didn鈥檛 someone suggest that perhaps the universe was created by the Devil at a moment when God wasn鈥檛 looking. That's just as plausible.

Let me end this post with Robert Frost鈥檚 prayer: 鈥淟ord forgive me all the little tricks I play on you and I鈥漧l forgive the great big one you played on me鈥�. Amen.

Peter, you are looking for the Outsider Test For Faith, as espoused by John Loftus.

Face-palm

Graham, I think you mean date-palm...

2MP - thankyou - I'm sure we can agree on more! :-)
I understand where you are coming from and I take your points on board. I endeavour to say what is true for me without judgment of others (most of the time!) and given that we are talking about God that can get people riled for all sorts of reasons. I was an atheist (Helio tells me I still am!) so I know how I would have reacted to some of what I write on here now and it probably would not be possible to print it on here! However, I now know that if I react to something - then that is telling me something about me, not the other person (esp if they have just expressed a view or opinion that is non-personal and non-judgmental). Also surely a blog allows us the freedom to share opinions/views in an open and respectful way so that it does not degenerate into a politically correct pastiche of nothingness. Next thing we'll not be allowed to use the word God on a blog about God because some people are offended by the word and what it means for them! :-)

Brian - I could say alot but I won't - just that in my view you are mixing up what is God and what is not God.
* He makes us so that we are often cruel and nasty to one another and to other creatures. He instils the fear of Himself into us. As has been said above, he whimsically displays mercy or wrath depending on his mood. And he teases us by playing a universal game of hide and seek, so that millions in remote places have never heard of Him but only of other rival Gods who may share some similar characteristics but are not as great as He.*
In my view - One does not need to hear anything about God to know God (although it can help - it can also hinder as religion often does). God is never wrathful, does not instill fear, and it is our own choice to separate from God that allows evil to work through us and be nasty/cruel etc

GV : ? face-palm

Helio

Not really.


Eunice

Peter, if you applied the same scepticism that you have for the claims of Islam or Zoroastrianism towards Christianity, where would that get you? Why are so many sincere, reasonable and intelligent people Muslims or Zoroastrians? Could it be (gasp!) that the reason is the same one as to why you chose Christianity?

Helio

"if you applied the same scepticism that you have for the claims of Islam or Zoroastrianism towards Christianity..."

What makes you think I haven't? That I still have faith?

All religions contain truth/wisdom and that which is not. They are man's attempt to explain and understand and relate to that which is.....but all to often they get caught up in that which is not and hence they become bastardised and instead of unifying humanity (as a true teaching of God would) they end up promoting separation - them and us, my way or the highway.....

Eunice:

You say: "God is never wrathful, does not instill fear, and it is our own choice to separate from God that allows evil to work through us and be nasty/cruel etc".

The god of your imagination can be whatever you want to make of him. The god presented in the Bible IS wrathful, DOES instill fear and IS cruel. The evidence is there and has been outlined many times. So you won't find the god of your deepest wishes in that collection of stories. The attempt to connect the biblical deity with decency and humanity doesn't work. You cannot marry that being to your ideal.

Eunice,
Apologies for the rant, I tend to be a bit prickly when I feel people making faith claims imply that they apply to everyone, believer or not.

Dave: no probs. I say what is true for ME based on what I know of the human condition. So yes IN MY VIEW they can apply to everyone as everyone is human - but that does NOT mean that I expect everyone to agree with them, accept them, live according to them etc - definitely not. Perhaps it helps to say that for me Truth has to be Universal - applicable to all people everywhere with no-one excluded - otherwise it is not Truth. Again that is MY understanding of Truth (and whilst we can each have what is true for us - eg it may be true for you that God does not exist) I feel there is truth/laws of the universe that are beyond our individual perspectives and play out in our lives whether we are aware of them or not. I share what I share on here because I like discussing these matters and I have spent some time studying the area and I endeavour to live by what I have come to know and understand about God - and for me that is respecting everyone's right to believe whatever they like and I am definitely not saying people have to agree with me. If what I say resonates with some people - fine - I'm happy to discuss more if they wish and if it doesn't resonate that's fine too - I do not think less of people because they have different views or disagree with me....far from it! I feel this is a forum to discuss our views in an open way and a 'take it or leave it' approach and I don't feel sharing one's views is the same as imposing them - otherwise we would share nothing! :-)

Brian: God is not in my imagination. You have just presented why one must use discernment when reading the bible or any writing/scripture/wisdom teaching about God. I suggest the tool used in that discernment is the heart and a useful question is "Is this consistent with a God that is all loving" and if it's not - then bin it! There is more wisdom in one's own inner heart than there is in the bible....it's just that for many it has been covered up and hidden behind walls.

Eunice:

You are effectively suggesting that we bin most of the Bible. What about its alleged literary value? Should we not preserve it for that?

I can readily agree that, in most of its pages, God is a rather nasty specimen ('the Lord thy God is a jealous God', and so on) and is not 'the God of your heart'. But my heart doesn't seek any god. It just seeks a better world here on earth.

Peter, oh Peter, Muslims and zoroastrians come out with the same cabbage you do. I have to conclude that at least n-1 are wrong, and since I know that you have NOT applied scepticism to Christianity, and I have, and know them to be false, I take the massively more probable view that n are false, and, nice guy as you are, you are deluded. Can you HONESTLY say, for instance, that you gave given Islam a fair shot, or that you have subjected your Christianity to scepticism? I take the null hypothesis that you haven't, so instead of asking the silly question as to how I know what is the obvious default, show me that I'm wrong...

Brian: you can do whatever you like with the bible - I was just explaining how for me it has both wisdom and folly and the importance of discernment.
Perhaps we have different understandings of what God is - which would not be unusual! Many people consider God to be something outside of themselves, some outer being etc but for me God is love and is within each person - so whilst you may not use that terminology or have that understanding - it could be the love in your heart that wants a better world and for me that is God !

Seeing as this is a thread about humour...

A Christian priest, Jewish rabbi and Muslim imam are stranded on a deserted island. All of a sudden the world is a safer place.

(cue drum roll)
(pause for laughter)
(exit stage left)

Natman, not a bad idea to roll out a few jokes.:)


One day in the Garden of Eden, Eve calls out to God; "Lord, I have a problem!"

"What's the problem, Eve?"

"Lord, I know you created me and provided this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals and that hilarious comedic snake, but I'm just not happy."

"Why is that, Eve?" came the reply from above.

"Lord, I am lonely, and I'm sick to death of apples."

"Well Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you."

"What's a man, Lord?"

"This man will be a flawed creature, with many bad traits. He'll lie, cheat, and be vainglorious; all in all, he'll give you a hard time. but, he'll be bigger, faster, and will like to hunt and kill things. He will look silly when he's aroused, but since you've been complaining, I'll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs. He will be witless and will revel in childish things like fighting and kicking a ball about. He won't be too smart, so he'll also need your advice to think properly."

"Sounds great." says Eve, with an ironically raised eyebrow. "What's the catch, Lord?"

"Well, you can have him on one condition."

"What's that, Lord?"

"As I said, he'll be proud, arrogant, and self-admiring. So you'll have to let him believe that I made him first. Just remember, it's our little secret; you know, woman to woman."

I would like to think that God would have a sense of humour, but reading the Old Testament seems to suggest this is not the case. Seriously, why did the Israelites have to kill their enemies by hammering tent pegs into their heads? Maybe God is a fan of black comedy...

I take it everyone watches Mr Deity on YouTube?

For those who don't watch Mr Deity, there's Rowan Atkinson:

Helio

#43

"Peter, oh, Peter..."

Flip I thought you were about to burst into song.

Now, let's see where we are with this one.

I said, "Perhaps, however, we all need to seek more understanding of each other. Perhaps I need to learn how to be an atheist. (that's metaphorical, H ;-) Perhaps Christians need to learn how to frame an argument for atheism and perhaps it can work the other way too."

(but it seems there are no takers!)

You said (and you are one of the most likely suspects for being able to argue a case for Christianity), "Peter, you are looking for the Outsider Test For Faith, as espoused by John Loftus."

I said, "Not really."

Graham said, "Face palm"

You said, "Date palm"

BTW did you notice that no one asked Graham why he dropped his head in his hands?

Indeed I wasn't actually thinking about Mr. J. Loftus at all when I made my comments (but maybe you'll be able to tell me I was!)

I said, "What makes you think I haven't?" (Been skeptical about my faith) "That I still have faith?"

You said (and you're a whole two days late!!), "Peter, oh, Peter" (And it still sounds like a song), you can't have been skeptical about you faith because you haven't been a follower of anything else and you still have faith and if you'd been skeptical you wouldn't have faith any longer cos if you're truly skeptical about faith you wouldn't have any, and anyway.... ta,da,da,daaaaaaaaa.... I know what you're thinking!

And it's not the *same* cabbage, so there!

And I have only one more thing to say (until you come up with a witty reply)... donkeys!

So, Peter, *have* you?

Yea, Helio, thou knowest that I have.

I hadn't watched any Mr Deity before, just watched a tiny bit there and it looks pretty good. Some episodes of The Simpsons are also good to watch for their treatment of God/organised religion - one of my favourites is 'She of Little Faith' (where Lisa becomes a Buddhist after becoming disillusioned with Christianity) I also love the quote from Father Ted 'It's no more peculiar than the stuff they used to teach us in the seminary. Heaven and hell and everlasting life and that type of thing. You're not meant to take it seriously' (Father Dougal - the greatest theologian of our time!)

And I'm glad to see you're sticking around Graham :-)

The author Terry Pratchett summed up an atheists view of creation with the following quote: 鈥淚n the beginning was nothing, which then exploded鈥濃�� Personally, I think Genesis makes much more sense.

Pratchett is funnier.

I recommend 'The Last Continent' to all Australians.




(and anyone else who likes a laugh).

>8-D

Keith (#55), I find it amusing that you think an invisible super-being, for whom we have no proof, did some magic and made an entire universe in just six days, for no discernable reason whatsoever.

To top it all off, he then made it look just like he didn't do that at all, but kindly left just one account in a single book (amongst hundreds of other similar accounts) that requires a specific translation and an even more specific interpretation.

Now that's funny!

Natman:

You wonder if the alleged cosmic conjuror performed his tricks for no discernible reason. Perhaps he was bored playing on his own and created us to play with him, but not on a level playing field because he rigged the rules and withheld from us his magical powers. He鈥檚 rather like Geoffrey鈥檚 Howe鈥檚 鈥榗aptain鈥�, Mrs Thatcher. Remember his resignation speech: 鈥渋t is rather like sending your opening batsman to the crease, only for them to find, as the first balls are being bowled, that their bats have been broken before the game by the team captain鈥�. Yes, maybe God is a more powerful version of Mrs Thatcher and we are his playthings 听鈥� some to be born and some to die, some to laugh and some to cry, some to be buried in a gold tomb and some to be buried in an earthquake, some to wallow in riches beyond the dreams of avarice, some to beg for our next meal. Oh, what fun it all must be!