Joy & Jokes

Chapter 11

Joy

Laughter of this kind does us no good and should always be discouraged. Besides, the phenomenon is of itself disgusting and a direct insult to the realism, dignity, and austerity of Hell.

Fun

...It [fun] can sometimes be used, of course, to divert humans from something else which the Enemy would like them to be feeling or doing; but in itself it has wholly undesirable tendencies; it promotes charity, courage, contentment, and many other evils.

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What are some examples of fun God has blessed you with?
playing with Colin and Reuben
How have you discovered fun to be an aid to spiritual growth?
How does fun promote charity, courage, contentment, and many other evils?
How can we identify when fun is distracting us from things God would like us to be feeling or doing?

Job 8:21 "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouting..." Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Ecclesiastes 8:15 So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

The Joke Proper

Humour is for them [humans] the all-consoling and
(mark this) the all-excusing, grace of life. Hence it is invaluable as a means of destroying shame.

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Do you think that society still sees humor as the all-consoling and all-excusing grace of life?
How is it that a joke can be a means of justifying bad behavior or how does humor destroy our shame?
"Any suggestion that there might be too much of it [humor] can be represented to him as "Puritanical."
How might the advice of Screwtape affect the way you “enjoy” parties and entertainments such as music, movies, and television?

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Flippancy

Among flippant people the Joke is always assumed to have been made. No one actually makes it; but every serious subject is discussed in a manner which implies that they have already found a ridiculous side to it. If prolonged, the habit of Flippancy builds up around a man the finest armour-plating against the Enemy that I know...