Divine Comics: (clockwise from top right) Taylor Mason, Thor Ramsey, Michael Jr., Anita Renfroe.

Back in the late '70s and early '80s, comedian George Carlin did a comedy bit about oxymorons—those amusing pairs of opposite words that seem to cancel each other out. In his usual acidic manner he started with jumbo shrimp and ended with military intelligence. At around the same time, a young man in Southern California named Dan Rupple was working hard to keep the phrase Christian comedian from making Carlin's list.

Rupple was a member of the pioneering Christian comedy team Isaac Air Freight. "In those days, Isaac Air Freight and Mike Warnke were the only Christian comedians around," he says. "The church accepted us, but there was a little hesitancy wondering whether laughing in church was appropriate. Nowadays the church is ready to laugh guilt-free."

Rupple isn't joking. In fact, there are now enough Christian comedians out there to form a Christian Comedians Association, for which he currently serves as president.

Let's face it—on TV shows, in movies, and in print and broadcast news the world has gotten a picture of the Christian community that is anything but humorous. In sitcoms we're the obnoxious, self-righteous stick-in-the-mud next door; in the news we're angry protesters punching people in the face with scripture; in movies we're weak saps with an unrealistic view of life; in TV drama we're the legalistic parent who won't get medical treatment for his child because it's against his religion.

	"We poke fun, but we don't slam or dishonor people—that wouldn't honor the Lord."—Anita Renfroe

But funny?

"Christians have always been funny," says Christian comedian Thor Ramsey, "just not on purpose!" But as Ramsey and other Christians choose to be "funny on purpose," the Christian comedy oxymoron is quickly being replaced by hearty, robust laughter.

You can now find bright, faith-filled comics in clubs and churches, on college campuses and cruise ships, in corporate and conference settings, on nightly talk shows and writing for network sitcoms. And they are hilarious!

"I think Christians should be the most exuberant people on the planet," says veteran Christian comedian Chonda Pierce, author of Roadkill on the Highway to Heaven and other books (see related article). "We, who know how the story ends, should be laughing more than most. Yes, we have tough times when we just can't find anything to laugh about. But when we can, we should throw our heads back and laugh out loud, enjoying that joyous emotion God gave us as medicine."

What makes it "Christian"?
What is Christian comedy? Well, for one thing, it's clean. "If you take a comedy bit and remove the foul language, it should still be funny," contends Ramsey. "If it's not, then it wasn't funny to begin with."

	"When I walk on stage for the midnight show at the Improv in L.A., and everybody's been vulgar, I don't do that. I will do what I do no matter what."—Taylor Mason

Another distinctive of Christian comedy is its style. "Christian comedians laugh at the irony of life as opposed to ridiculing individuals with put-downs that are meant to hurt," says Rupple. Anita Renfroe, Christian comedian and author of The Purse-Driven Life and If You Can't Lose It, Decorate It, agrees. "We don't slam or dishonor people. I don't do guy bashing in my concerts, even though my audiences are 90 percent female. We poke fun, but you couldn't say my humor is dishonoring to the male gender, because that wouldn't honor the Lord."

But while it's true that all Christian comedy is clean, the reverse isn't necessarily true: Not all clean humor is Christian. So what's the distinctive?

"It's the heart that's the issue," says Ramsey. "What makes it Christian is it's being done by a Christian. A comedy bit can have a Bible verse in it and not be Christian comedy. It's the motives and condition of your heart in relation to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that make the difference. A Christian comedian can do a set and never mention God or quote the Bible or talk about church, and it's a Christian set because of who you are in Christ."

Taylor Mason concurs. "I feel like I'm living the book of Ecclesiastes," the comic says. "Basically its message is, 'You're here on earth to do a job, and you've been given the necessary skills; now do it to the best of your ability and maintain your faith in Jesus Christ at all times.' That colors everything you do. So when I walk on stage for the midnight show at the Improv in L.A., and everybody's been vulgar and profane, I don't do that. I will do what I do no matter what."

Christian comedian Michael Jr.—who primarily works in secular venues like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and comedy clubs throughout the country—tells the story of a woman who came up to him following a show he did at a club. "She whispered, 'Excuse me … um … are you a believer?' I whispered back, 'Yeah, absolutely! Why are we whispering?' She said, 'I didn't know if I should be here at a comedy club or not. But you were so good, I just knew you were a believer!'"

"Thou Shalt Laugh"
Michael Jr. is one of seven Christian comedians featured in the recently released DVD Thou Shalt Laugh. Developed by Hunt Lowry, who also produced the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, and hosted by Patricia Heaton of Everybody Loves Raymond fame, the project is "the first crossover product that not only reaches the Christian market, but the general market as well," says Ramsey, who is the DVD's opening performer.

Ramsey hopes Thou Shalt Laugh will break some of the stereotypes people have about Christians—that we take ourselves too seriously and are not aware of how funny our own culture is at times. He has an amazing way of revealing some rather unattractive Christian quirks while making his audience laugh. Consider his observations about the fish symbol, one of the most widely used indicators of one's beliefs: "In reaction to the fish symbol, the Darwinists put feet on the fish and wrote Darwin inside it. And the Christian reaction to this? We made a fish symbol eating their fish symbol, which I think is the Christian thing to do! I was on a plane this morning, and I got into a conversation with the man next to me. Turns out he was a Darwinist. He said something I didn't agree with, so I ate him!" Is Ramsey concerned that his sarcastic approach will offend his audience? "I start my act by telling the audience, 'If I say anything tonight that offends you, just remember—you have to forgive me!'"

Taylor Mason, who closes out the DVD's lineup of seven performers, likes to bring puppets into his act. He may appear with a sumo wrestler, his womanizing friend Romeo, or a pig named Paco—whose favorite people are Jews, "because they leave me alone!" Mason started doing "closet ventriloquism" as a child. "It wasn't exactly a hip thing to be doing when you're a kid—to make a puppet talk," he says. "It could actually be considered obnoxious!" Where Ramsey exposes Christian stereotypes to his largely Christian audiences, Mason uses them to connect with all kinds of audiences.

"Stereotypes are great tools for comedians," says Mason. "We make our living off stereotypes!"

He often closes his club act with a phone call from God. "God comes on the phone and says, 'There are a lot of people in the audience who have questions for Me, and I have a few minutes now, so I'll answer them.' So I, playing the part of God, take questions the audience shouts out. It could be anything. I improvise lines back from God. It's an immediate, edgy, funny routine. Plus, it gives me a point at which to show my faith. It works great with secular audiences."

Thou Shalt Laugh isn't intended to be an evangelism tool—simply a laughter tool. "If anyone watches Thou Shalt Laugh and gets saved, then Calvinism probably deserves more credit than I give it," says Ramsey, adding, "That joke's only funny to theologians."

Still, many Christian comedians use comedy as a vehicle to reach the unchurched. Anita Renfroe says her shows are almost always designed as "bridge events." "People can tell their friends, 'We're going to have this night of comedy at our church; we're having three comedians come in, and it's gonna be off the hook!' And a friend who would never accompany you to a Bible study will come to a comedy night. It's incredibly powerful because everybody loves to laugh. It's universal."

And don't think Christian comedians only talk about church-related themes that don't connect with the unchurched. Their humor may focus on marriage and parenting, driving and dating, menopause and mid-life crisis, shopping and careers … life. Not much is off limits.

"Christian comedy has become more sophisticated than ever before," says Chonda Pierce. "We don't have the aid of a couple rounds of alcohol to get our audience loosened up! As a matter of fact, I share with my comedian friends who primarily work comedy clubs that if they want a real challenge, come try to make a roomful of Baptist deacons laugh without a two-drink minimum! Then we'll see how funny you really are!"

Kate V. Bryant is a freelance writer living in Illinois. For more information about the Christian Comedy Association, go to www.christiancomedyassociation.com.

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