All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And in all seriousness we need to make sure we're not always too serious, because jokes are important in all ways of life.
As 2007 begins to settle into shape, Christmas, Eid and the festivities are over. Oten people tendto look to the New Year with a sense of apathy or a lack of motivation. This is when, particularly in the parts of the world where Christmas falls in the middle of winter, the days are still short and the nights are still long, the weather is still bad. There remains only the summer holidays to look forward to – and those sunny, long days are a miserable six months away.
A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates.
Ahead of him is a guy who's dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans.
Saint Peter addresses this guy, "Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?"
The guy replies, "I'm Joe Cohen, taxi driver, of Noo Yawk City."
St. Peter consults his list.
He smiles and says to the taxi driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
The taxi driver goes into Heaven with his robe and staff, and it's the minister's turn.
He stands erect and booms out, "I am Joseph Snow, pastor of Calvary for the last forty-three years."
St Peter consults his list.
He says to the minister, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
"Just a minute," says the minister. "That man was a taxi driver, and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?"
"Up here, we work by results," says Saint Peter. "While you preached, people slept; while he drove, people prayed."
A good chuckle, but you might ask is this offensive to Christians? As a Christian, I don’t find this offensive at all, while others may be taken aback.
Furthermore, should it matter if we offend someone by telling a joke? After all, it’s only meant to be a laugh. But for some people – and religions – it’s more serious than this. In 1993, Hadi Al-Mutaif, a young man from Saudi Arabia, joked to colleagues about the Prophet Muhammad. He has been held in solitary confinement ever since. Read the blog article on the internet if you dare.
The question is not whether jokes should be banned, or if religion takes itself too seriously, but whether the jokes are disrespectful to the religion. Looking at the comment by Hadi Al-Mutaif it probably was, but not all jokes are offensive or disrespectful. It’s important to remember when something might be offensive to someone else.
But it’s equally important to have a sense of humour because otherwise life would be too serious. It would be dull living a life without fun, without laughs. So, next time you’re about to say something funny, or be offended by someone else, just remember who gave us a sense of humour in the first place. Maybe God’s laughing at you right now.
The copyright of the article Having a Laugh in Religious Intolerance is owned by Ben Hughes. Permission to republish Having a Laugh must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Jan 18, 2007 1:05 AM
Ben Hughes
:
When it comes to telling religious jokes, how sensitive do you think we should be? Is it a case of telling any joke regardless of whether it might offend, or should we tread carefully and take into consideration any religious feelings? As a Christian, I'm well aware that some people might find some jokes offensive; but I also feel that God gave us a sense of humour and it's okay to laugh about religion in some cases as well. What do you think?
Feb 19, 2007 8:20 PM
Smorg
:
Hiya. I'd say it depends on 2 things.. 1. who the audience is 2. do you care how you might be perceived if the joke isn't taken in the same spirit you wanted it to
Even the most innocent jokes can be taken out of context.. so obviously I can't live my life caring if every word I say will be taken the wrong way. But I should take care to evaluate the extent of the 'wrong way' a joke I'm thinking up can be taken, tho. Some mistakes are more forgetable than others.
Feb 20, 2007 12:43 PM
Ben Hughes
:
Hi I'm thinking that maybe some people are just too sensitive these days or perhaps there's too much moaning going on. I know that people find things offensive but sometimes I feel that some people like to stretch things a bit too far. I agree that it's about evaluating the situation though. And I think people should be more prepared to do this and then apologise if they do offend anyone.
Feb 21, 2007 2:11 PM
Smorg
:
Hiya.
You're probably right that folks today are more touchy than a few years ago.
I guess that's especially so on certain things like certain religions and (here in the USA) nationality, because what someone says get around much quicker via the instant media. And perhaps because folks are more bold in admitting that they aren't with the majority on issues like religions (back a few centuries ago that could have been a death sentence, ay?). And the 'vocal' opposition is making the majority, who weren't used to being opposed before, nervous.
Here some Christians are going around claiming to be persecuted for their belief... even though they are still the majority by a lot. The lessening degree of their 'domination' makes them feel threatened, and then they over-react by trying to get religion taught in science class or banning gay marriage (because they think their religion says it is immoral), etc. And some non-Christians over-react and sue for crosses to be moved from monuments and stuff.
Anyhow, so I think folks are less touchy about another person's sexual orientation now (they're used to gays by now), but more touchy on the religion and perhaps politics. So perhaps one should be more careful in making jokes about the 'hot-button' issues of the day.
And I like your concept that "And I think people should be more prepared to do this and then apologise if they do offend anyone."
It does seem some folks associate apologizing with admitting defeat or weakness... and so tend not to do it until it's too late.
Feb 22, 2007 9:05 AM
Ben Hughes
:
Hi I feel that a lot of it is social conditioning (a term I'm not really keen on) and social expectations. Someone who is religious and can speak in tongues is considered gifted in one society and mad in another. Jokes are funny in some contexts and not in others. It's that social understanding - and reading the situation as you mentioned before - which is important. Is a lot of this discussion political correctness gone mad? People don't want to say something which might have any chance of upsetting us, partly due to legal implications as well. I agree that "some folks associate apologizing with admitting defeat or weakness" whereas I see accepting mistakes and learning from them part of the process of living and growing up.
Feb 23, 2007 11:46 AM
Smorg
:
I hope there are more folks like you who would willingly admit mistakes and learn from them. :o)
Here there seems to be an unrealistic expectation of 'not' making mistakes in the first place .... especially in public and in politics. And then when mistakes are made and the person apologizes, instead of accepting the apology and commending that, we like to step on the 'fallen tree'. And so the witnesses learn that apology doesn't bring favorable response and gravitate toward the 'I would have done it all over again because I'm a strong/resolute/faithful/... man. It's a weird phenomenon.
One of the things that made me admire JFK was that he immediately publicly apologized to the nation right after the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba, accepting all responsibility without blaming it on bad CIA info or other stuff. And I think he learnt to be more careful making decisions since. If that happens today, I wonder if the response will be the same way?
On the other hand, I think you're probably right that many folks to day are overly sensitive to 'insults' and political correctness has gone to the extreme. I don't know about England, but in the USA there's way too many lawsuits that it is really affecting how people behave (and causing us to have way too many laws, IMO).
We used to be allowed to use our personal judgement on trivial things, now the big gov is trying to make all the decisions... even medical ones. Most of that is because we're affixing too much importance to individual cases that are exceptions rather than the rule (IMO, of course).
Is there any way of reversing this trend to a degree (wouldn't want to go to the opposite pole of the issue either)?
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Feb 24, 2007 8:13 AM
Ben Hughes
:
Careful Michelle, You'll be giving me a big head with comments like that! I'm not saying I admit to all my mistakes but I try to own up if I do make a mistake rather than cover it up as the politicians and others do. I'm afraid that at least in certain parts of the world outside the USA, your country does have a bit of a litigious reputation. But isn't that a situation caused by those people who want it to be that way. I'm sure none of the politicians would want to admit to liking living in a such a law-based, decieving society but if they want it to change then they're in a position to set an example - like JFK. In terms of reversing the trend I suppose it's about trying to set a good example. In Celebrity Big Brother in the UK a Bollywood star was at the centre of racial tensions and hatred in the Big Brother house. (There were allegations that she was the target.) But her attitude towards the bullies meant that she came out with her head held high and showed that hatred (allegedly) doesn't have to be met with the same attitude. Sometimes it's the little things that make a difference. And without wanting to sound corny, lots of little things make big things and eventually things can change. Whether respect will ever be able to take the place of materialism is another matter and in some respects I think it's an uphill battle. But the fact that Gandhi and Martin Luther King are still taught about in schools today shows that these people have a huge impact on society. I wonder if they'll ever be teaching about the impact of the world's richest people in schools?
