Christianity and the Triumph of Humor: From Dante to David Javerbaum by Bernard Schweizer

Abstract

Reviewed by: Christianity and the Triumph of Humor: From Dante to David Javerbaum by Bernard Schweizer Jahdiel Perez (bio) Christianity and the Triumph of Humor: From Dante to David Javerbaum Bernard Schweizer Routledge, 2020. vii + 254 pp. $160 cloth, $48.95 paperback, $44.05 ebook. Schweizer's Christianity and the Triumph of Humor is a well-written gem of interdisciplinary research. Its synthesis of religious studies, theology, social science, and humor research into a coherent argument is insightful and impressive. [End Page 229] Chapter one questions and refutes the notion that humor is an inherently liberal phenomenon, that "all laughter has an anti-authoritarian function" (14). Schweizer observes how humor has historically thrived under authoritarian conditions. He notes that the Nazi regime encouraged jokes as a way to alleviate grievances against totalitarian policies. Then, Schweizer draws upon the social scientific data of a "humor appreciation survey" he conducted in 2016, which studied how nearly 800 liberals and conservatives responded to twenty-four different jokes. He found that there was no significant influence of political ideology on humor appreciation. In chapter two, statements from the Bible and some Patristic theologians, like Tertullian, Basil, Augustine, and Jerome, among others, seem to denounce laughter and festivities. Since these statements are listed in isolation from relevant context, Schweizer's analysis here is objectionably thin. However, his citation of the 1431 condemnation of the Feast of Fools, the 1534 ban of popular mystery plays by English Protestants, and the prohibition of Easter Laughter throughout the 1670s as examples in which church authorities "sought to curb the people's inclination toward mirth and levity" (51) supports his overall point. A significant shift occurred in the 1970s, when some Christian theologians sought to overturn this "long and regretful history of denunciations of laughter" by affirming the theological significance of levity and comedy (31). These "theologians of laughter" include Conrad Hyers, Richard Cote, Karl-Jusef Kuschel, J. William Whedbee, Gerald Arbuckle, James Martin, Jaqueline Bussie, Charles Campbell, and Johan Cilliers, among others. Schweizer criticizes their approach by denying three propositions that he thinks most of them affirm—namely, that laughter is a gift from God, that Scripture is replete with humor, and that laughter can be neatly divided into positive and negative expressions. Chapter three is a diachronic view of religious comedy from the Middle Ages to the present century. Schweizer selects several works that he thinks represent the high points of religious humor: Dante's Divine Comedy, Boccaccio's The Decameron, Erasmus's In Praise of Folly, Rabelais's Gargantua, Voltaire's Candide, Twain's The Mysterious Stranger, France's The Revolt of Angels, Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk, Morrow's The Godhead Trilogy, Currie Jr.'s God is Dead, and Javerbaum's The Last Testament. The account Schweizer offers here is that of a gradual progression up a hierarchical scale of comic objects. The lower-order targets of the hierarchy range from laypersons to lower clergy like monks and priests to higher-ranking clerics like bishops, cardinals, and the Pope. The higher-order targets range from ecclesiastical institutions to orthodox doctrine to Scripture to the Trinity and religion in general. Where Dante playfully ridiculed individual Christians and lower clergy, Javerbaum irreverently mocks the Bible and the Trinity. [End Page 230] Admittedly, the inclusion of such atheistic or "misotheistic" authors (76) as Voltaire, France, and Javerbaum into a historical survey of specifically religious humor is innovative, some might even say objectionable. However, it is only problematic if one understands the term to mean humor produced by and for religious people. Schweizer defines religious humor as humor about religion (203), which does not refer to the religious sensibilities of its producers or intended audiences. As such, he can group Christian and atheist writers into the same historical account of religious humor. A synchronic view of religious comedy in contemporary Anglo-American popular culture is provided in chapter four. Schweizer begins with Christian stand-up comedians Mark Lowry, Brad Stine, and Anthony Griffith, proceeds to the Life of Brian film by Monty Python, the atheist YouTube channel DarkMatter2525, and ends with comic skits by Rowan Atkinson, Robin Williams, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carell. The point Schweizer makes...