Saturday, March 15, 1997

Easter favorite time of year for Merry Christians

"Christianity has died many times and risen again, for it has a God who knows the way out of the grave." - English writer G.K. Chesterton.

By DAVID BRIGGS AP Religion Writer

You can't keep a good faith down.

That is the motto of a group of Christian comics who have turned to Easter humor to keep spirits high in the pews during the Lenten season when some church leaders focus almost exclusively on the pain and suffering of Jesus.

The Fellowship of Merry Christians, in its latest Joyful Noiseletter and in a new book from Thomas Nelson Publishers, delivers an impassioned defense of the resurrection and a plea to the faithful to take joy in their religion.

"I guess our theme is Christ is risen: Smile," said Cal Samra, president of the Portage, Mich.-based group. "They've taken Christ out of Christmas. I don't think we ought to let them take Christ out of Easter."

There is plenty of biblical evidence for a joyful attitude toward faith, say Samra and his wife, Rose, in "More Holy Humor," the second collection of religious humor published by the fellowship.

A post-resurrection account in the Gospel of John says that when his followers saw Jesus, "The disciples were filled with joy."

But try and find a portrait of a smiling Jesus after the resurrection. The few that exist are overwhelmed by hundreds of more somber portrayals of Jesus on the cross.

"If we really have a joyful Christ, we really have to make a little effort to imitate him," Samra said.

That does not mean downplaying the crucifixion, according to the fellowship.

"Good Friday is a very important day, a holy day," Samra said. "But I guess we see Jesus is the door to joy ... and that joy can be found on both sides of the cross."

In the book and the fellowship's upcoming April "Resurrection Extra," members offer one-liners for the faithful:

-"Eat drink and be merry in Christ, for tomorrow we live forever."

-"What can you say about a society that says God is dead and Elvis is alive?"

-"We certainly believe in the resurrection at our church. If you doubt it, just visit our offices sometime and watch our staff come back to life at quitting time."

If they are going to stop being so serious all the time, religious folk first have to learn to laugh at themselves, many fellowship members say. Much of the holy humor material is devoted to the foibles of the faithful.

In one cartoon, a minister in shorts waves goodbye as a bus departs. The caption reads: "Sure, it cost more, but Pastor Lou enjoyed staying home while sending his congregation on vacation."

Asked once why so many Christians seem less than perfect, the writer C.S. Lewis responded, "You should have seen them before they were Christians."

Still, they cannot resist taking a couple of digs at the skeptical.

One joke tells of a minister's take on the Jesus Seminar, a California-based group of critics who have raised doubts about many of the Gospel accounts, including the resurrection.

The Rev. Ronald B. Hall of Newark, Ohio, said when members of his congregation ask about the group, he explains how seminar members go over a New Testament text, then vote on its authenticity by placing a red, gray or black marble into a box.

"I would tell them about the careful scholarship that went into their semi-annual meetings and about their three-color voting system," Hall said. "I would tell them that after many years, they finally lost their marbles and published their findings."