Life after death and the sense of humor are concepts
that, at first, seem poles apart. However, after a little reflection,
we can see that they are inseparably connected at a very profound
level. For one thing, they are both among the deepest unsolved
mysteries of the human mind and spirit.
It is easy to understand that the afterlife is a deep, unsolved
mystery, but that is not so obvious in the case of humor. Once
we delve into the history of philosophy and psychology, though,
we soon see that humor, too, is truly an enigma. After more than
twenty-four centuries of trying, scholars are not much closer to
comprehending what makes human beings laugh, and what the ultimate
purpose of humor is.
Plato and Aristotle thought that laughter is an expression of ones
feelings of superiority over someone else. It was not until the
nineteenth century that Herbert Spencer and Sigmund Freud formulated
an alternative theory. They claimed that laughter is a mechanism
for releasing pent-up emotional energy. In the twenty-first century,
however, most psychologists who think about humor believe that
incongruity is what makes people laugh.
The trouble with all these theories is that one can think up plenty
of objections to each of them. They are plenty of things that make
us laugh that do not seem to involve feeling superior to anyone
else, for example. The same could be said of the release theory
and the incongruity theory.
The same or similar clouds of unknowing that surround humor surround
questions about what happens to the human personality after the
death of the body. Forty years of thinking about the afterlife
convince me that the biggest question of human existence is closely
tied up with the riddle of the sense of humor. After all, if you
think about it, it becomes obvious that life after death is an
inherently comic notion. And I do no mean that to be disrespectful,
but, rather, as a deep, spiritual truth. Let me explain.
Comedy is the kind of written work that presents us with a happy
ending.And life could not possibly have a happier ending than there
being life after death. Not only that, tragedy is usually contrasted
with comedy by saying that a tragedy ends in death. So, the prospect
of an afterlife is a form of comedy that swallows up death, the
outcome of tragedy. Besides, there is a long tradition in many
religions of linking comedy with spirituality.
Since 1965, I have interviewed thousands of people from all over
the world who had profound, life-changing experiences as they teetered
on the threshold of death. Their hearts stopped beating; their
doctors believed they were dead, yet they felt more alive than
they had ever been. They left their physical bodies, floated through
a tunnel, and entered into a brilliant, unearthly light of joy,
peace, and love. There, they encountered the spirits of their departed
loved ones and met with a being of light, a presence of complete,
unconditional love and compassion. |
any of these people commented to me that the being
of light they met appreciated the humorous aspects of human life.
As one woman, a nurse, said, “ He had a sense of humor, too—definitely!” Dr.
George Ritchie, a wonderful, Virginia psychiatrist who was the
first person I ever heard relate a near-death experience, also
emphasized this point. Dr. Ritchie saw a full color panorama of
everything he had ever done in his life when he was pronounced
dead of double lobar pneumonia. He was in the presence of Christ
during this part of his experience. He says that Christ actually
lit up with laughter as some of Dr. Ritchie’s human foibles
showed up in the panorama. Dr. Ritchie relates that Christ’s
laughter was like that of a loving parent who chuckle at some of
their children’s innocent adventures.
Dr. Ritchie’s experience and many others like it lead me
to believe that the sense of humor is sometimes a vital link to
the divine. As I often say to friends, I am depending on three
things being true of God. First, God is a wise and loving parent.
Second, God is a wonderful educator. And third, God is a terrific
humorist. I figure that if anyone of those three things is not
true, I am in big trouble!
How many jokes have you heard that invoke the image of the afterlife?
Often, these jokes have to do with getting into heaven, and are
set at the pearly gates, where St. Peter is evaluating someone’s
life. My friend Dr. Joe Schultz, a professor of religious studies
in Colorado, informs me that there is a long tradition of jokes
about the afterlife in Judaism. Surely, this fact reflects the
connection between comedy and the idea of life after death that
I mentioned earlier.
Over the years, I have asked hundreds of people about what they
expect the next world to be like. I always ask specifically about
whether they think there will be humor in the hereafter. Virtually
everyone tells me that they feel sure there will be plenty of laughs
on the other side.
It is interesting to note that Mark Twain took the direct opposite
stance. He said that there is no humor in Heaven. He reached that
conclusion since there is always an element of sorrow in humor,
but there is no sorrow in Heaven. Still, Mark Twain’s is
distinctly a minority position. Most people think here would not
be much of a point to the afterlife, unless we could laugh.
Author, researcher, teacher and world renowned
expert on Near Death Experiences. He has over 25 years of experience
working with the bereaved. The phrase “Life after Life” has become synomous
with Dr. Moody’s work www.lifeafterlife.com Dr. Moody is presenting
a weekend workshop in Atlanta GA Sept 8, 9, & 10 call 404-252-4540 |
