Christian Philosophy of Comedy: Physical Comedy

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Physical comedy is a form of humor that is "focused on manipulation of the body for a humorous effect" [1]. In other words, physical comedy is a form of humor in which the body is controlled in such a way where it induces laughter. So, how can physical comedy be used to glorify God?

My answer is going to be simple and abstract, but I think a general answer will serve as a principle that is broad enough to show how this form of comedy can be used to magnify God. So, in sum, physical comedy can glorify God like this: if you can manipulate the body in such a way where it causes people to laugh NOT in mockery of God but in joy of the truth about who He is, then you can glorify God in physical comedy.

Okay, but how could this work? Well, imagine there was a really muscular man who boasted of his physical strength and, because of his pride, defied God to overcome him (such presumption would be a sign of insanity, but let's go with it for the sake of illustration). And, to make this example more vivid and emotionally gripping, let's imagine that this man used his bodily strength to oppress his fellow man out of his contempt for God, in whose image his fellow man is made in. Then, imagine God (whether directly or by means of His creations) stripping this bully of all his strength, enabling all his victims to overcome him in his attempts to continue treading them down and scare him off from ever bothering them again. In such a scenario, instead of telling people that God defends the oppressed (since it is a Biblical term, let's not be afraid of using terms like "oppressed" because of their misuse and perversion by false teachings like Progressive "Christianity" and Liberation Theology), you can SHOW them how God can defend the oppressed. And this is only one example of how physical comedy can work in a Christian context!

This is how physical comedy can be used to glorify God!

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_comedy (accessed 06-21-2025)