H. L. Mencken called Puritanism, " The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."
But even the biblical Proverbs declares, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."
And Jesus was funnier than translation lets on. For instance, when he said to the Pharisees, "You blind guides! You strain gnats (out of your wine), but you swallow camels" (Matt.23:24) we might be amused, but, out of context, we still miss the greater portion of his wit. Stephen S. Bilynskyj explains that the Aramaic for gnat is "galma" , and the word for camel is "gamla" so the pun is lost as the joke gets ensnared in the language barrier.
Jesus made himself accessible to everyone, accepting of all and judgmental of none, although today some versions of Christianity bear little resemblance to his original concepts.
Theologian Leslie Weatherhead has noted, "The trouble with some of us is that we have been inoculated with small doses of Christianity, which keep us from catching the real thing."
Nevertheless, Jesus' invitation to the spiritual mysteries of life, love, and the afterlife was clearly designed to be offered freely to all humankind, regardless of color, creed, sexual preferences, or even the ability to appreciate a good joke.
RESOURCES & INFO
Greg Tamblyn
The video embedded in this article can also be seen at http://www.gregtamblyn.com/blog/?p=173
You can listen to the full, audio-quality version of Jesus was a Bachelor, as well as purchase it for a buck, at http://broadjam.com/gregtamblyn . See the singer-songwriter-humorist's website at http://GregTamblyn.com , where you can download free music, and enjoy his humor blog at http://www.gregtamblyn.com/blog/ Accessed April 18, 2011.
See also "Greg Tamblyn: Saving the World From Whiny Victim Love Songs" published on OpEdNews on Dec. 7, 2009, at click here
See also quicklink to the video of Greg's song, "Prostitution is Illegal" at click here
Mormons
http://www.i4m.com/think/bible/mormon-jesus-married.htm Accessed April 14, 2011
Elton John
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