No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor
No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from the party yet
…
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
–Laughing With, Regina Spektor
I found this song extremely thought-provoking. Why is it that God is only funny in some circumstances? Why do we laugh at God at all? Why wouldn’t we laugh at God?
In order to understand the logic in the circumstantial humor about God, we have to get deep into semantics. What is God? Who is God? Is He an independent being? Or is He actually our creation? How does He function? What is His function?
One interpretation of Nietzsche’s famous claim, “God is dead,” is that the god of religion is dead, but the god of metaphysics lives on. So it seems that there are multiple conceptual gods.
We’re commonly taught that “God” (with a capital G) is the god of Christianity while “god” is any other deity or power. But it’s clear that this is far too narrow of a definition. I would assert that “God” (with a capital G) is the concept of a higher power, of fate, of “the universe,” of Nature. It is Truth, Love, and Power. And “god” (with a lower case g) is any deity, named or unnamed, powerful or powerless, real or unreal. Any caricature, mock-up, model, or perception of God is actually a god.
God (capital G) is a concept; It is Truth, Love, and Power.
Truth, Love, and Power aren’t inherently funny. Tragedy certainly isn’t funny. But it can be funny when people claim their caricatures and personal deities as “God.” It can be funny when one thing tries to be something it’s not. Like when a bird mimics your car alarm, or a child tries on an adult’s shoes.
So here is a case where language blurs categories and inhibits thinking and understanding. And yet we try to think and understand anyway. God help us all.