Can We Joke about God?
The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
Ascension
4.9 • 7.1K Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2019
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If we can’t use the Lord’s name in vain, can we joke about God? Fr. Mike makes the case that there is room for humor about God in the context of love.
No one in the universe or beyond it deserves more honor, respect, and reverence than God, and we jeopardize our souls if we fail to see this. At the same time, though, Jesus called us his friends (John 15:15). Friends can joke about each other because they know there is mutual love and respect there.
It goes even deeper than that though, Fr. Mike argues. God is calling us to a whole different kind of relationship, a whole different kind of intimacy, through his son Jesus. If we enter into that relationship and nurture it, we may discover that God does indeed have a sense of humor, a whole new sense of humor we didn’t even think was possible.
Catechism paragraph on the Second Commandment:
“Blasphemy is directly opposed to the second commandment. It consists in uttering against God - inwardly or outwardly - words of hatred, reproach, or defiance; in speaking ill of God; in failing in respect toward him in one's speech; in misusing God's name. St. James condemns those "who blaspheme that honorable name [of Jesus] by which you are called" (James 2:7). The prohibition of blasphemy extends to language against Christ's Church, the saints, and sacred things. It is also blasphemous to make use of God's name to cover up criminal practices, to reduce peoples to servitude, to torture persons or put them to death. The misuse of God's name to commit a crime can provoke others to repudiate religion” (CCC 2148)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, my name is Father Mike Smith and this is Ascension Presents. |
| 0:06.7 | So someone had recently asked me this question, I thought was a really, really good question |
| 0:10.9 | about sins against the Second Commandment of keeping God's name holy. |
| 0:16.4 | Second Commandment? |
| 0:17.4 | Yeah, yeah. |
| 0:18.4 | The sin of blasphemy was what it came down to. |
| 0:21.9 | And the catechism, the modern catechism of the Catholic Church defines blasphemy like this. |
| 0:25.8 | Actually this is just a partial definition, but here's the beginning. |
| 0:28.8 | It says this, blasphemy is directly opposed to the Second Commandment. |
| 0:31.9 | I was right, second. |
| 0:32.9 | I consist in uttering against God, inwardly or outwardly, words of hatred, reproach or |
| 0:37.8 | defiance, in speaking ill of God, failing in respect towards Him in one's speech and misusing |
| 0:43.4 | God's name. |
| 0:44.9 | So the person went on to say, but what about humor then? |
| 0:49.1 | Does that mean in failing in respect towards God? |
| 0:52.0 | That's the big thing that was concerning them was, like, okay, so I like you. |
| 0:58.8 | Humor. |
| 0:59.8 | And it's sometimes there are some things about God and about the church and about the saints |
| 1:04.4 | and about some that are genuinely funny. |
| 1:08.5 | But if a sin against blasphemy is failing in giving God the respect that is His due, well |
| 1:16.5 | then wow, it seems like maybe there's no room for humor. |
| 1:20.2 | And now it's a, you know, that's a phenomenal question to be asking in the first place, |
... |
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