"In these meditations upon Scripture, the author quickly, lightly opens up the sacred text to us in a way that--to my knowledge--has never been attempted in the entire history of the Christian faith. Through irony, pun, parody, spoof, and joke he reads Scripture with tongue in cheek, a rhyme in his pen, and a smile on his face. If you ever wondered what the Bible would sound like if it were written by Ogden Nash (and who hasn't?), here it is, Charlie Barrett's religious rhymes."--William H. Willimon, acclaimed author and Dean of the Chapel emeritus, Duke University

Proceeding from Voltaire's conclusion that "God is a comedian playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh," this book seeks to uncover some of the many instances in which biblical texts offer readers grace and insight through the divine gifts of humor, wit, and laughter. Readers are invited to take a strikingly unusual, if not unique, approach to the texts, imagining not only the voice inflections but also the body language of their narrators to capture the humorous nuances and ripples of laughter that likely attended the first telling of many biblical stories.

In this collection of nearly four thousand Bible verses, author James Larson highlights the humor-and sometimes tragedy-of Scripture through his original and eye-opening interpretation. Respectfully presented with unique commentary and thought-provoking questions, this compilation will be sure to pique interest, inspire deeper contemplation, and launch the curious reader on a journey of reading and reflecting upon God's Word every day.

This volume collects the most important writings by Mark Twain in which he used biblical settings, themes, and figures. Featuring Twain's singular portrayals of God, Adam, Eve, Satan, Methuselah, Shem, St. Peter, and others, the writings stand among Twain's most imaginative expressions of his views on human nature and humankind's relation to the Creator and the universe. Composed over four decades (1871-1910), the writings range from farce to fantasy to satire, each one bearing the mark of Twain's unmistakable wit and insight. Among the many delights in store for readers are Adam and Eve's divergent accounts of their domestic troubles; Methuselah's discussion of an ancient version of baseball, complete with a parody of baseball jargon; Shem's hand-wringing account of how material shortages and labor troubles were hampering the progress of the ark his father, Noah, was building; a description of the disruptive actions of the fire-and-brimstone evangelist Sam Jones upon arriving in heaven; Captain Stormfield's revelations of what heaven is really like; Satan's musings on our puerile concepts of the afterlife; and Twain's advice on how to dress and tip properly in heaven. Twain's humor, however, is never gratuitous. As readers laugh their way through this volume, they will find ample evidence of Twain's concerns about scriptural fallacies and inconsistencies, the Bible's rather flat portrayal of important characters, and our limited notions about the nature and meaning of our own--and God's--existence. Many of the pieces in this collection, even the most lighthearted, might still be considered controversial; of some of the darker pieces, Twain himself acknowledged that they would be heretical in any age. Moreover, these writings are valuable cultural artifacts of a time when, across the Western world, fundamental religious beliefs were being called into question by the precepts of Darwinism and the rapid advances of science and technology. Several of this volume's selections are previously unpublished; others, like Letters from the Earth, are classics. Virtually all have been newly edited to reflect as closely as possible Twain's final intentions for their form and content. For serious Twain devotees, editors Howard G. Baetzhold and Joseph B. McCullough have supplied an abundance of background material on the writings, including details on the history of their composition, publication, and relevance to the Twain canon.

"Join Emmy-nominated comedy writer Martha Bolton on an absolutely hilarious journey through the Bible in this laughter-packed book. Her zany wit will brighten your day and leave you chuckling with joy as you rediscover the Bible through the eyes of humor.Comments that might have been overheard during Egypt's plague of flies:You left the screen door open again, didn't you, Abigail?Waiter, I think there are 4,000 flies in my soup.Where are all those frogs now that we need them, huh?Just how many pounds do these 'No-Pest Strips' hold anyway?All I know, Omar, is you can't have a beauty contest when the contestants are drawing this many flies.""

A collection of humorous sketches and monologues based on familiar Bible stories.

Is the Bible a humorous book? Probably most people wouldn’t think of it as being funny at all. Even as the Bible is regarded as the Word of God, we find considerable ungodly human activity, immorality, wars, rebellion, murder, adultery, demon possession, and just about every other facet of what we call the human condition. Yes, the Bible is full of some pretty serious and heavy stuff. In spite of all this, is there a remote possibility we might discover something amusing, something to bring a smile on our face, something that might even cause us to laugh? Author Dale Stanton says, “Yes!” In his book, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Communion, Dale explores some of the subtle, camouflaged, and elusive gems of humor in the Bible that don’t exactly leap out at you as one would find in a comic strip or a TV sitcom. These hidden treasures of humor come alive in the biblical characters themselves, revealed in all their human quirks, foibles, and idiosyncrasies, which remind us that, in many ways, these biblical personalities are just like us. Referring to many of the Scripture lessons that are read in church on Sunday morning, Dale, in his tongue-in-cheek style, brings to life this collection of inconspicuous and sometimes wry nuggets of humor that might just make you laugh.