Читать книгу There Once Was a Prophet from Judah - Jeff Carter - Страница 6

Chesterton, I believe, said that any religion we cannot laugh at, shouldn’t be believed. This may sound counter intuitive, but in today’s age, maybe laughing at our beliefs will lead to a wonderful examination and a revival of sorts. Or another way to think about holy humor. . . remember the passion plays of medieval times—I know some of you do, because you were there—they were not completely dire tales. I suspect the original languages include a fair amount of humor, especially the Hebrew. How else would you survive exile after exile except for faith in God and some humor along the way?

Don Marquis famously said, “There are three types of limericks: limericks to be told when ladies are present; limericks to be told when ladies are absent but clergymen are present; and LIMERICKS.” I suspect most of these would fall into one of those categories or the other. Just. . . well, knowing Jeff somewhat. . . be ready to laugh inwardly, feel bad about it for a moment, and maybe laugh outwardly. You should be ready to learn a little about your boundaries as well. The limericks below represent years of laborious study, working, and reworking until that moment when all humor has been sucked dry off the page. It is okay, however, as that seems to be the goal—to suck dry at the well of humor found in Scripture, until Scripture no longer sucks.

It is my deep honor to present to you—to commend to you—limericks that should be read and included in most of your daily readings. Just, for your sake, and for Jeff’s, do not use them in the liturgy. One final note: This is not a bible translation. There is no message here. Just love God, read these limericks, and for the sake of all that is holy—laugh! Laugh, human, laugh!

—Joel Landon Watts