Does God have a sense of humor?

As I wrote in an earlier blog post on Tom Waits lyrics, the unique singer/songwriter has a devilishly entertaining and thought-provoking outlook on life and religion.

He has made, in my opinion, some of the most intriguing music since the 1970s, singing in a voice that writer Daniel Durchholz said sounds like “it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car." (For the record, Waits has been sober for decades.)

His songs have many — but often cryptic — references to Christianity, laced with what some may view as sacrilegiously sarcastic spirituality soaked in a cynical skepticism.

With tongue in cheek in the song Down in the Hole, Waits takes on the persona of a hell-and-brimstone preacher wrangling donations as he challenges his flock to “come up with a number that matches your faith.”

And in this video, he wonders if God is away on business as the world runs amok.

Faithfully Funny?

While religion is no laughing matter, laughter is, as the saying goes, the best medicine. It helps us all navigate this crazy and challenging world.

I, for one, certainly hope that a forgiving God has a sense of humor. Any pitch or plea at the Pearly Gates would not be that amusing if He didn’t.

And I hope He’s a Monty Python fan, too. I don’t want the last thing I hear to be “none shall pass.”

"Did the devil make the world while God was sleeping?"

— Tom Waits (from A Little Drop of Poison)

"Does God have a sense of humor? He must have if He created us."

— Jackie Gleason