Your index finger is not fat. Anyway, thankyou so much for this wonderful insight. I’m wondering if Saint Basil and Saint John and others were referring to a type of worldly laughter which is more akin to mockery. I think you make such an excellent point when you talk about The Lord rejoicing, I agree. It seems likely that our Lord delighted (rejoiced, laughed) but that he did not derisively scoff at or mock etc…. Different types of laughter

I believe i remember hearing Jonathan pageau comment on this, he said "true laughter come involuntarily due to a loss of control, and Jesus was always in control", so i took that as spontaneous and uncontrolled laughter as well as mocking laughter to be something God DOES NOT do. But ultimately does knowing this affect our faith much? Not really.

I think its humidity

Short awnser its boring i get cheese withdrawal

I think that Jesus smiled and laughed the most when the children where around him.

Of course Christ laughed. Who even argues against this?

The monks I know, do believe, that Christ did laugh, because he is God. God is joyful and the source of joy.

Christ never laughed! These are the same people that converted to “masculine” Islam.

Just because Jesus was capable of laughing, doesn't mean he did. I can't say with any certainty whether he did or did not. But since there are prominent saints who said that he did not, and I don't know of any saints who said that he did, I think it is pretty shaky ground to say that he did laugh. As for why he did not laugh, the only speculation on that, I'll entertain, is whatever the church fathers said.

Again, the modern sensibilities of our age are creeping in again. The text is completely silent on this for a very particular reason. Christ never laughed because laughter is involuntary. The Logos never gave into the world. Laughter is always invoked with things that do not fit in a category (clowns, jokes, bodily accidents etc.) Whether there was a cause and effect of Him laughing the text is not arguing for and should not argue for, as the reason for Christ not laughing is more cosmic. You could argue Christ laughed but the text is silent for a very particular reason and for that reason should remain silent.

I find it hard to believe that Chrsit didn't laugh. He made jokes that were recorded in Scripture.

This is why I only acknowledge Catholic and Orthodox Church doctrine as valid.

It is safer to listen to what the fathers say than our own opinions.

It's funny how all the arguments for him laughing are based on personal opinion, never facts. "B-b-but I think this!". I'd rather trust the divinely inspired St. Justin Popovich.

let's also not think that god cant laugh in mocking. psalm 2: he who sits it the heavens laughs, the lord has them in derision.

I've never seen the objection that it's sinful. What I've seen about this topic is that to laugh authentically one has to be surprised and not see it coming, and as the Logos He isn't surprised by what happens and therefore cannot have an authentic reaction to something funny. Of course in His humiliation He limited some knowledge but wouldn't that be matters pertaining to salvation, such as the time for Him to die, and not more trivial things, like jokes or funny moments? I don't know. I think this dilemma can get autistic if pondered for too long.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has an amazing sense of humor all throughout scripture. How can you not see some funny things that God’s goodness allows throughout nature?

Here in Vienna people care more about dogs then for each other .

If it is true that Christ liberated the souls Hades and let them into Abraham's Bosom *at the moment of His resurrection*, how is it possible for Peter to see Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration event? Shouldn't they still be in Hades? I am an Orthodox Catechumen and a former protestant, it's a genuine in question and I would really love to know what I am missing here.

"To quote Chesterton from his book "The Great Divorce" I think you mean C.S. Lewis

Long live spaghetti and ketchup!! (Fasting reminds me of my youth! 😀)

Are you saying that John Chrysostom and Basil the great are hypocrites? The fathers of the Church reflects the perception of their time of laughter and humour. The Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle considered laughter and work of comedy mind degradation. Laughter is a work of the devil and lead to craziness. Of course Christ was correct in everything he did and when he smiled he didn’t smile like crazy. He definitely didn’t laugh out loud. The gospel is not a work of comedy.

Bullshit....kzbin.infoqPCSv2ImMpA

Bojan what is the Eastern Orthodox view on St Francis of Assisi

"Laughter and familiarity are the beginning of a soul's corruption. If you see these in yourself, know that you have some to the depths of evils. Do not cease to pray God that He will deliver you from this death... Laughter removes from us that blessing which is promised to those who mourn (Matt. 5:4) and destroys what has been built up. Laughter offends the Holy Spirit, gives no benefit to the soul, dishonors the body. Laughter dives out virtues, has no remembrance of death or thought of tortures" (Philokalia, Russian edition, Moscow, 1913: vol.2, p. 488)

For me, the main problem of fasting is it causes tension in my home since my mom gets confused and irritated easily. Also autism and OCD doesn't help with strange textures and stuff like that haha, in fact it causes much guilt when my mind refuses to ingest something. I can actually easily go long without even water (but this isn't great with medicine I take), I just get worn down easily. Oh and lastly, as if God's sense of humor, we all have seen bigger vegans out there and Oreos and rice are full of calories, but since earliest childhood, I have never ever liked myself and especially others to look quite thin, let's say, which is its own silly subject but whatever. Besides all that though, I try to keep to the full fasting calendar it's fine, it just causes weird reactions by others,and it's more out of OCD fear that God will punish me. :( 🙏 i know, bad mindset. Lord have mercy! Edit: incidentally I write this on a day suffering IBS pain after eating pizza night before. Fasting helps with that at least

laughter is part of being human.

The Gospels never mention Jesus using the bathroom

Psalm 2 says "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." So, He will have the last laugh

I'm a huge dog person, had multiple dogs most of my life and loved them all. But I can never wrap my head around the "dog parent" thing. Not that I don't understand the love people have for their pets, I absolutely do, but I feel like it's a sort of disordered thinking, a twisting of proper hierarchies. An (actual) child is a dependent that you raise to adulthood to take on their role as an adult human, with all the attendant rights and responsibilities that role entails. A pet is a dependent who remains a dependent their whole life. They don't inherit your position in society, they don't pass on your name, they don't carry human civilization on that next step into the future. Maybe they don't want or need my sympathy, but I always feel bad for "pet parents" when I hear the term. It's not everyone's vocation to raise children, and that's fine, but "raising" pets AS children feels like a parody of the vocation of parenthood. Like it's a path they felt called to, but never walked.

Since Jesus was fully human as well as fully God, then I tend to believe His humanity laughed. I do not think I have ever seen a child that didn’t laugh sometimes, so I would guess He laughed at some point in His humanity.

I find this funny: "Jesus never laughed because laughing is a lost of control." But what about crying? Isn't it a form of losing control? Because Christ has cried.

We like food.

The short answer is: people just don’t stay hydrated during a fast period. I figured this out. You need to have plenty of water to curb hunger to make it through the day. I am speaking from personal experience of course as well as medical journals.

First

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. [Isaiah 53]

Saints believed in many things, and some of them were Dumb. It is the same low-brow thinking as Nuclear Energy prophecies that Fr. Peter Heers talks about.

"pet parents" always make me cringe, it feels wrong at a fundamental level. If you wish to be a parent, try marriage and having children.

That demons sight not Jejsus

But You, O Lord, shall laugh at them; You shall hold all the nations in contempt. Psalm 58:9 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh at them; The Lord shall mock them. Psalm 2:4

Christ took on our human nature, but not all of our human experience (not just sin). The supposition that He never laughed -- even if we grant the claim -- doesn't me we (in the world, at least) should not. He also didn't marry or have children. It's true that our monastics abstain from these, but us "normies" aren't meant to, just because Jesus did. 🙏🕯️☦️

Lots of contradiction and cope here against what the Holy Fathers wrote.

So many comments, so little time....😂 I live in the country (acres of woods) with 3 Chihuahuas & 3 (outdoor, working) cats.... I casually and somewhat in jest think of myself as the "mom," because they are dependent on my care (and it's hard to escape this sense when they are also physically small). I have enough humans regularly in my life, but I still welcome the company of my menagerie in my large space. As littermates, the dogs sleep in mutual comfort on a different floor of the house from me 😁, and the cats, all related, have their own "family group," too -- plus, the pups & kittens grew up together, so they get along & play well together outside -- snow or sun! "Gifts" are things they need anyway; I just try to get the dogs excited about -- or at least to tolerate -- sweaters (for our current 20° days!) by wrapping them at Christmas, and using the "happy voice" while we open them! 😂 It sort of works. In America, the widespread replacement of child-rearing with pet-ownership (not only for single people but also for presumably stable &/or fertile married couples) is deeply disturbing*, though I think the ADDITIONAL appropriate companionship of animals can be very beneficial for people of all ages in nearly any situation. (Our monastics traditionally relate well to animals; I don't think they have their affections lopsided, though!) My priest makes the observation that unlike humans, animals honor God in that they don't act contrary to their created nature.... 🤔😉 [*Seriously, what is with the "I love my dog/cat, but I don't like other humans"-themed t-shirts?!? They're everywhere....I think they were the "Wine Mom" shirts of 2024. 😬] Happy New Year 🎉, and good riddance! Lastly, on pets & nature "red in tooth & claw" -- you haven't lived until your outdoor summer evening lounge chair reading has been rudely interrupted by the wild shreiking of a vole (a small, but pesky, garden rodent), and, after following the whirling mob of critters in pursuit, you finally identify the successful hunter as your most adventuresome Chihuahua -- its prize dangling from its teeth. God-willing, all critters will continue to respond as fervently to my calls of "Big Bird! House! Now!" as they do placidly to the KZbin stylings of St. Tikhon's monks. 🎶💙🐕🎵 Soothing the savage beasts, indeed! 🤗🙏🕯️☦️

I think I can sympathize with people who say such things a little more, although I disagree with them and tend to think that Christ did laugh. For me the logic is more apparent when we apply to not laughter itself, but to comedy. So much comedy seems to be born off of exaggerations, understatements, or simply distortions of the truth. This is most noticeable when we make fun of the good. In the opposite case when we make fun of sin, it still feels immoral, as if prideful and hypocritical, then though according to Psalm 37:13 "The Lord Laughs at the wicked, " So when it comes to most comedy, laughter feels like a lose-lose situation. It is easily to imagine that in heaven there will be no need for comedy, as all truth is present fully and everyone is fully satisfied in the truth. I do think they have something of a theological consideration, but it can be easily warped by the personal desire for a stern Christ, and should not be stated forcefully.

God forcing a laugh. That would be terrifying, not comforting.

Yes -- so thankful for you in general, and especially for the "Becoming an Orthodox Christian" video. I can't tell you how many FB posts I have responded to in comments with a link to it. A worthwhile life's work (even if my linking it did get me temporarily banned from one group whose "no links" rule I had forgotten! 😂) -- may there be many more! 🙏🕯️☦️

As he should.

If Christ never laughed, then our laughter is not redeemed and is inherently evil (which I know sure as hell it isn't, so Christ did laugh)

Brother Onion, "Jesus wept." If He wept, He probably laughed a little. Probably as part of a smile when children were near Him.

@Bojan, I fully agree with your thoughts on this. Number one, we can't know for sure because there is no witness for or against it. Number two, laughter is part of our human nature (and as you rightly said, not the sinful part) and is inseparable from joy and love--and those same Christians who would say that Christ never laughed would also tell us that a Christian should always be full of joy and love.