In a speech to an audience of comedians Pope Francis said, “Can we laugh at God? Of course, we can, and this is not blasphemy, we can laugh, just as we play and joke with the people we love. The Jewish wisdom and literary tradition is a master in this!”*
Let’s see what the Bible says.
Fear God
When God rescued His people Israel from their slavery in Egypt, He brought them to Mount Sinai in the desert of Arabia, and there He met with them in order to introduce Himself, deliver His law and make His covenant with them. It was an awesome experience, which was intended to impress upon them His majesty.
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin” (Exodus 20:18–20).
The relationship between God and Israel was based on their appreciation of the greatness of their Creator and Redeemer.
It’s not necessarily an easy principle to understand. God is love (1 John 4:8). He showed His absolute and unfathomable love for us by giving His Son to die for us (John 3:16). It’s not only a New Testament characteristic, He has always been the same. Love was the reason He did what He did for Israel: ‘When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son’ (Hosea 11:1).
His love, pity and forbearance towards His wayward people shines through the story of the Exodus. And yet there was no familiarity in the relationship. His holiness is continually stressed (for example Leviticus 11:45). When the priests Nadab and Abihu decided they’d make an offering in an irreverent way, He killed them. Their shocked father Aaron was warned, ‘This is what the Lord has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified’’ (Leviticus 10:3).
Are you getting the impression that actually there’s a difference between our relationship with God, and other relationships we have?
Taking God’s Name in Vain
In Exodus 20 we see the Ten Commandments—the fundamental rules which were at the heart of the Law which God gave to govern the national and religious life of Israel. The first commandment was, ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ (v. 3). The second commandment was that they must not make themselves images to worship (vs. 4–6). The third commandment was, ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain’ (v. 7). What does that mean? Basically it means to misuse it—for example this might be by using it irreverently, or as an oath to reinforce an empty promise, or using it as a casual exclamation.
The Old Testament’s ‘wisdom’ books stress the absolute importance of treating God with reverence. The Proverbs of Solomon begin, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge’ (Proverbs 1:7). And drawing together its treatise on the meaning of life, Ecclesiastes concludes: ‘The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man’ (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
The Example of Christ
As in every matter of behaviour, Jesus Christ of course provides the ultimate example. Jesus was God’s Son—he enjoyed a relationship with God which is beyond what we can experience or even imagine. Throughout the Gospels we see him continually at prayer, and frequently conversing with angels. He said, ‘I speak of what I have seen with my Father’ (John 8:38).
Every human father enjoys playing and joking with his children, and most can take a joke at their own expense. Is that the kind of relationship Christ had with his Father? Jesus evidently had a good sense of humour (for example Matthew 23:24). But there’s no indication, in his prayers and in his teaching, that he approached God with anything but the utmost reverence. And he instructed his followers to do likewise: ‘Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”’ (Matthew 6:9).
God is love, and the only appropriate response to the love He has shown to us is that we return it with all our being. But He is not a man. He is the Creator of heaven and earth. This is how the Apostle Paul expressed his love for his heavenly Father:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen (Romans 11:33–36).
Laughter is a gift from God. The ability to make people laugh is a wonderful thing. Some of the best comics are those who laugh at themselves, and invite their audience to laugh with them. It’s OK to make comedy out of others, as long as they’re happy with it. Otherwise, it’s not: ‘Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets’ (Matthew 7:12).
It’s absolutely not OK to laugh at God.
Doug Potts
*Friday 14th June 2024. The transcript is on the Vatican website.