Laughing with God: Humor, Culture, and Transformation - Paperback

by Gerald a. Arbuckle (Author)

When Sarah overhears God tell Abraham that she will give birth to a son, she laughs. Of course, Sarah does give birth to a son and names him Isaac, whose name means "to laugh." But can we in modern times recover the divine humor, the paradox and promise, in this and other biblical accounts? Can we use that sacred laughter as a means to evangelize a world that longs for God every bit as much as the ancients did? In Laughing with God: Humor, Culture, and Transformation, Catholic priest and cultural anthropologist Gerald Arbuckle helps us do just that. With Arbuckle, readers will enter many rich biblical stories and come away laughing, not laughter as in response to a joke or comedy, but a "profound laughter of the heart." Readers will discover divine humor in the parables of Jesus and even in his suffering and death, the ultimate paradox for Christians. In addition to uncovering and recovering humor in Scripture, Arbuckle's work is a treasure trove of modern examples of humor-from literature, movies, and television-that surprisingly can be a means of transforming cultures to better refl ect the kingdom of God.