Humor und Glaube

Abstract The article seeks to counter the common impression that the existential seriousness of religion and the playfulness of humor are incompatible. It does so by arguing that humor is actually a form of resilience. It distinguishes between two forms of such resilience: “eschatological” humor informed by God’s grace overcoming both sin and death, and natural humor, defusing everyday adversities by a sense of comic. The former kind is viewed as the fulfillment of the latter, made possible by the ultimate victory of Jesus’ death of atonement.