THE UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences AN EXAMINATION OF THE CONCEPT OF A THEOLOGY OF LAUGHTER, AND THE USE OF LAUGHTER AND HUMOUR AS ‘WORDS AGAINST DEATH’ AS DEFINED BY DOUGLAS DAVIES IN DEATH, RITUAL AND BELIEF (1997) BARRY JAMES FRY Doctor of Philosophy June 2015 This Thesis has been completed as a requirement for a postgraduate research degree of the University of Winchester I declare that no portion of the work referred to in the Thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. I confirm that this Thesis is entirely my own work. Copyright in text of this Thesis rests with the author. Copies (by any process either in full, or in extracts, may be only in accordance with instructions given by the author. Details may be obtained from the RKE Office. This page must form part of any such copies made. Further copies (by any process) of copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the permission (in writing) of the author. AN EXAMINATION OF THE CONCEPT OF A THEOLOGY OF LAUGHTER, AND THE USE OF LAUGHTER AND HUMOUR AS ‘WORDS AGAINST DEATH’ AS DEFINED BY DOUGLAS DAVIES IN DEATH, RITUAL AND BELIEF (1997) Abstract The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the further development of a Christian theology of laughter, and to present a little-discussed aspect of laughter as a ‘word against death’. The methodology employed is that of historical theology. In seeking to further develop a Christian theology of laughter, the thesis considers the initial ground-breaking work in this field of theological research suggested by Richard Cote in Holy Mirth: A Theology of Laughter (1986), together with that of Karl-Josef Kuschel in Laughter: A Theological Reflection (1994) concerning the positive aspects of laughter and humour, together with the more recent work of Jacqueline Bussie on that negative laughter which is devoid of either humour or comedy, which she entitled The Laughter of the Oppressed (2007). Held in tandem and further developed, I argue this provides us with a Christian theology of laughter with a more balanced approach to use as a tool for further theological research. The thesis includes a critical review of how laughter is treated in the Bible , together with a consideration of how early Christian Gnostic texts (including material from the Nag Hammadi Library discovered in 1945) contribute additional evidence of Christian approaches to laughter. With these historical foundational texts in place, further treatment of how laughter has been viewed in the Christian tradition is critically considered, from its negative condemnation by various early Church theologians and in monastic circles, to its persistence during the Medieval period in both carnival and Church feasts, through to its gradual rehabilitation, particularly during the Renaissance and Reformation periods, and then through the period of the enlightenment into the modern and post-modern eras. Because the theme of laughter is broad and many-hued in its nature, and because scholarly discussion of Christian laughter has not yet produced a ‘critical mass’ for providing a recognisable Christian theology of laughter, a preliminary discussion of how laughter and comedy need to be distinguished, and a survey of key contributors to the debate, forms an introduction to this thesis, further developed in a literature review. The specific nature of Christian laughter as it may be used in several contexts to challenge the view of death has the last word, particularly in its own resurrection hope in providing the ‘last laugh’ against death, is a distinct lens through which Christian laughter is focused in this thesis, making a distinct contribution to a theology of laughter. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Douglas Davies and ‘Words against death’ 12 Methodology 19 CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW 29 Reconstructing Laughter in Religion 29 Constructive Theologies of Laughter 43 Conclusion 50 CHAPTER TWO: LAUGHTER IN THE BIBLE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR ADDRESSING DEATH 53 Introductory Remarks and Scene-Setting 53 The Old Testament/Hebrew Bible 60 The Laughter of Mockery, Scorn and Derision 70 Summary of findings with regard to the Old Testament, and their implications 82 CHAPTER THREE: LAUGHTER IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND GNOSTIC TEXTS 85 3.1 The Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke 88 3.2 Laughter implicit in the parables 93 3.3 Clashes with religious authority figures 96 3.4 Humour in the Fourth Gospel 102 3.5 The Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus 108 3.6 The Letters ascribed to Paul 113 3.7 The Gnostic Beliefs and Relevant Texts concerning Laughter and the Laughable in the Christian 'Gnostic' Writings 116 Summary of Conclusions to be drawn after Examination of the Biblical and Gnostic writings 126 CHAPTER FOUR: A BRIEF HISTORY OF LAUGHTER IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH FROM THE ‘FATHERS’ TO THE MODERN ERA 129 Evagrius Ponticus, John Climacus, and the Desert Fathers 131 John Chrysostom 137 Augustine of Hippo 138 The ‘Holy Fools’ 141 The Rule of St Benedict 143 Laughter in the Medieval Period and Renaissance Era 145 Erasmus and Rabelais 151 CHAPTER FIVE: LAUGHTER AND ITS ROLE AND FUNCTION IN MODERNITY AND POST-MODERNITY FROM A RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE, AND THE LINK BETWEEN LAUGHTER AND THEOLOGY IN RELIGIOUS LIFE 157 Umberto Eco and his Novel The Name of the Rose (1980) 162 Mikhael Bakhtin on the Laughter of carnival and the Grotesque 168 CHAPTER SIX: THE SOCIOLOGY OF HUMOUR AND LAUGHTER, THE THEOLOGY OF LIBERATION, AND THE VOICE OF THE VOICELESS EXPRESSED IN LITERATURE 183 The Sociology of Humour and Laughter 183 Liberation Theology 189 Jacqueline Bussie and The Laughter of the Oppressed (2007) 192 CHAPTER SEVEN: TOWARDS DEFINING AND APPLYING A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY OF LAUGHTER, IN PARTICULAR ITS USE AS A ‘WORD AGAINST DEATH’ 199 7.1 A review and comment of the thoughts concerning a theology of laughter as outlined by Cote (1986) and Kuschel (1994) 199 7.2 The role of the ‘Laughing Jesus’ of Gnosticism, and ideas of continuity after death within the ‘life dream’ 212 7.3 The role of the Grotesque in laughter and in death 215 7.4 Death where is thy sting? A consideration of laughter and humour as ‘words against death’ 223 7.5 Jacqueline Bussie’s interpretation of a Theology of Laughter 233 CHAPTER EIGHT: A LIFE OF TEARS, A LIFE OF LAUGHTER, AND DEATH DEFEATED! THE END OF THE MATTER, AND A MATTER OF THE END … A SUMMARY AND MY CONCLUSIONS 237 Bibliography 245 INTRODUCTION “Every time a man smiles, but much more so when he laughs, it adds something to this Fragment of Life” (Laurence Sterne in the Preface to The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, 1759). This thesis has two aims: first, to recover and reconstruct theologies of laughter in the Christian tradition; second, to attempt a theology of laughter which incorporates the possibility of some laughter qualifying as ‘words against death’ as defined by Douglas Davies (1997) (see pp.17-27, below). I will argue the general context of why tackling a theology of laughter is important is connected with the need to establish a positive and vital link between Christian laughter and joy resulting from the resurrection of Christ from the dead, which I suggest immediately links with a consideration of Christian laughter and humour as a potential 'word against death'. I will be employing Davies's work and definition as a basis for critical appraisal. But this is a project which also requires looking at both the positive and negative aspects of laughter; there is a contrast to be drawn between laughter which is flippant, facile, or pejorative, from what I would envisage as Christian laughter as an expression of joie de vivre, basically connected to joy as the fruit of the Holy Spirit, in which joy through the resurrection of Christ and Christian living are intimately linked, and I believe provides a more healthy expression for Christian faith and witness. Although joy and laughter differ, they are nonetheless connected, with laughter often arising from joy (but not necessarily). I therefore consider that joy in the resurrection should reside in any Christian response to death, and to the evil in this world which leads to suffering for so many. My analysis and critical understanding of the material I have looked at in seeking to construct a theology of laughter within the Christian tradition leads me to suggest such a distinctive theology of laughter is possible. John Climacus, seventh-century Abbot of St Catherine's Monastery in Sinai asserted: 'God does not want human beings to be sad due to pain in their soul, but rather that their souls may laugh and be joyful out of love towards him', that: 'God does not demand or desire that someone should mourn out of sorrow of heart, but rather that out of love for Him he should rejoice with the laughter of the soul' (http://www.scribd.com/doc/72993714/St-John-Climacus-The- Ladder-of-Divine-Ascent#scribd trans. Eusebios Christofi p.23). This encapsulates much of what I shall argue, and why tracing the not-so-straight path of laughter and joy through the Bible, Christian tradition and history will become a way to establishing a Christian theology of laughter for today. This can then be applied specifically to the role of laughter as a ‘word against death’. The discussion will oscillate between these two 1 distinct but interlocking aims. I believe the development of a robust Christian theology of laughter is needed: (1) for the Church, because the Church has become too serious and does not understand how to handle laughter in its message and ministry; and, (2) it calls into question how the Church addresses the wider society, and how it gives an example of authentic human living in all its potential as an expression of being made in the 'image of God' (see Genesis 1.27).