The Sacred Art of Joking
Ebook
Overview
’An elegant treatise on how [the church] could lighten up its image.’ The Times
’Having worked for many years at the coalface of comedy, sorting the dross from the combustible, James Cary is uniquely qualified to write this book.’ Milton Jones, comedian and panellist on BBC2’s Mock the Week
Every few weeks a politician, pundit or soap star causes a media storm by making a gaffe or tweeting a joke that some people do not find funny. Comedy is very hard to get right and yet we think it’s important to have a sense of humour and not take yourself too seriously. On the other hand, a sense of humour failure can lead to losing your friends, your twitter account, your job, your career and, in some cases, your life.
James Cary knows about this. He is a sitcom writer who’s written jokes about bomb disposal in Afghanistan (Bluestone 42), defended comments about Islam by Ben Elton on Newsnight, been on a panel with radical Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, sits on the General Synod of the Church of England and somehow managed to co-write episodes of Miranda.
An odd mix, but one that makes him very readable. This entertaining, breezy book, explains how comedy works (with jokes and quotes) and gives much-needed insights into the controversy surrounding humour.
Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
Instructions xiii
Part 1
A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR
1 It’s funny because it’s true 3
2 An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman... 9
3 How jokes work (without killing a frog) 13
4 How jokes go wrong 18
5 Punched by a punchline 21
6 Where’s the line? 25
7 Why jokes are no laughing matter 30
8 Rules of engagement 34
9 Leaping from car to car 38
10 Comedy at Ground Zero 43
Part 2
COMEDY AND THE CHURCH
11 Do Christians have a sense of humour? 49
12 The problem with jokes 55
13 The Philippians 4 manoeuvre 60
14 Holy crap! 65
15 No laughing Messiah 68
16 The Supreme Being walks into a bar... 71
17 Was Jesus funny? 76
18 Why Christianity is an easy target 83
19 Why don’t comedians make jokes about Islam? 87
20 Why you shouldn’t start a sermon with a joke 94
21 Notes for readers 100
Part 3
ADVANCED JOKING
22 Betrayed by laughter 107
23 Springtime for pug dogs 114
24 Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! 124
25 Jerry and the lawmakers 133
26 Careful now 139
27 All-American prophet 144
28 What’s so funny about Easter? 154
- Title: The Sacred Art of Joking
- Author: James Cary
- Publisher: SPCK Publishing
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2022
- Pages: 160
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9780281080939, 9780281080922, 0281080925, 0281080933
- Resource ID: LLS:9780281080939
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T22:51:40Z