Alasdair Mackintosh says: "Having despatched the fools, jesters and
limerick writers, howsabout a good rousing debate on why Christ
never laughed..?"
I would imagine that much of one's belief here hinges on the
Calvin/Luther debate: Since the Bible doesn't say that Christ
laughed, then he didn't; OR since the Bible doesn't say that Christ
didn't laugh, then he did.
Personally I think there are references to the fact that Christ must
have laughed. He was known to be a friend of wine-drinkers and party
types: indeed, the Pharisees attempted to ridicule Him for this. Is
it really possible as a human being to be friends with this type of
person without having the occasional laugh?
One also has to look at the fact (taking the stance of the Creed
which says he was truly human) that it is generally accepted to be a
vital part of human nature to laugh. To be true man, therefore,
Christ probably laughed, as I think the great majority of humans do
laugh sometimes (even Boris Yeltsin laughs occasionally). And there
were some rather quaint circumstances which certainly would have
brought a smile to my mouth, like Peter attempting to walk on water
and making a total botch of it.
The problem is though that it was not part of the Gospel writers'
objective to tell us whether or not He smiled. They knew whether or
not He did but felt it unnecessary to tell us. Or is it a case that
the Evangelists themselves didn't smile very much? Paul appears to
have been particularly dour - I know he wasn't an Evangelist, but he
was nearly there (or did he roll over laughing when that fellow fell
asleep during his sermon and fell to his death through the window?
One can afford a rare smile when one knows one has the gift of
healing.)
We are also faced with a question of interpretation. Some say that
one may not interpret the Scriptures (but they usually do anyway!).
My interpretation, however, is that Christ must have laughed or else
he just wouldn't have been fully human.
Keith Tankard
Rhodes University
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