Reposted from February 2005:

In the past month, The Sacred Sandwich has been challenged by some critics to defend the use of humor as a viable tool for the encouragement and discernment of the saints. Indeed, these criticisms have not been taken lightly by our staff, nor is it a concern that has not been raised by my very own conscience. I, at times, have struggled with this very issue and am quite aware of the fact that this site walks a fine line, which can easily tumble us into error or folly. Let it be known that The Sacred Sandwich is constantly in the process of “fine-tuning” itself in order to stay within an acceptable boundary of theological debate. If it turns out that this cannot be done, then the League of Tyndale will be compelled to abandon this venture. We don’t have a problem with that, as we endeavor to be found in God’s will.

In response to the critics, however, I would challenge them to judge The Sacred Sandwich as similar to a local fellowship of believers, at least in a general symbolic sense. In a local Christian gathering we come together to interact in various levels of seriousness and good humor. We are very, very sober and reverent in our worship, prayer, and Bible study; but at other times, we are not afraid to be found in joy and laughter as we interact with each other. This excludes, of course, gossip, coarse language, mean-spiritedness, etc., but we see no harm in being lighthearted about our common human experience and idiosyncrasies within the bounds of our Christian love and friendship. (Certainly, men such as Charles Spurgeon were known for this kind of playfulness in the midst of their ministry.)

In acknowledging that type of full-spectrum Christian fellowship, The Sacred Sandwich strives to provide a similar environment in which fellow believers can interact on all these various levels. As such, we have tried to be very sober and forceful in our defense of particular issues, namely sola Scriptura and other Reformed tenets, while at the same time providing some examples of parody in order to view these issues from another angle. We have tried to avoid “making fun of people”, and instead focus on theological issues by using parody as a way to disseminate and criticize current teachings which we feel are undermining today’s evangelicalism.

Aye, but there’s the rub! Can we use “humor” effectively to tackle these biblical points and expose current postmodern error? Some would say no, which is a very valid viewpoint coming from anyone who worries about the possible negative implications of such unorthodox tactics. Others, however, would admit that there have been times when humor has communicated an idea better than any other form of human interaction. Some, for example, suggest that Paul was using a type of mocking humor to make the point that if the Judaizers in Galatia wanted to make circumcision a requirement in the church they might as well do the job right and just castrate themselves (Gal. 5:12). It could even be argued, I suppose, that Jesus used a similar tactic when he used absurdity to hammer home some of His hard truths. Surely, “straining out a gnat, and swallowing a camel” is an exaggeration that merits deep and serious consideration despite Christ’s humorous imagery. In a similar way, The Sacred Sandwich is exaggerating issues to satirical extremes in order to obtain a similar effect of insight. Whether or not we have succeeded in this attempt is another issue.

However, don’t misunderstand our humorous leanings: the Fellows do not like jokes for the sake of comic relief in the midst of our worship and reverence of God. We despise the current mentality that has preachers starting their sermons with a joke just to win over the congregation. Such frivolous comedy is more amusing than thought-provoking, and certainly has no place in the pulpit.

On the other hand, I find it hard to believe that humor has no place whatsoever in our Christian lives. Perhaps I see positives in humor because I seem to possess a strong sense of humor (some would disagree), and maybe I am wrongly trying to validate it by blending it with my faith. I have these doubts frequently, along with how other aspects of my life (like work and recreation) should coincide with my faith. Am I alone in this? I doubt it. Many Christians throughout the ages have struggled with how their particular occupations, talents and personalities can be used in the Body of Christ. Where do we draw that dividing line between our temporal and spiritual lives, or should we at all?

Here, then, is the bottom line of my attempted “defense” of The Sacred Sandwich. It is simply a project directed mostly at the Christian community, that strives to effectively proclaim sola Scriptura and other biblical tenets by using both parody and biblical teaching from the Reformed perspective. In the majority of pages on this site, we have tried to provide 100% serious, bible-based teachings on issues of importance to contemporary Christians who are being influence by postmodern thought. Have we used humor alongside this main objective at times? Yes, but the fact is that less than half of our overall content is based on parody or humor. Outside of the front page, silly ads, and picture captions, we have presented many biblical teachings in the Food for Thought section, and also have included several dead-serious articles written by the League of Tyndale. It is our intention to expand that aspect of the site even further in the future.

The lighthearted framework of the site is a creative experiment that was born out of a serious desire to see godly men (and women) unite under the dictates of God’s Word. We long for a return to fellowships like the “League of Tyndale” who truly love the Lord and rely on that simple, but profound, faith of days gone by. Perhaps this is sentimental nostalgia, but today, too often, we feel Christians have been inundated by pluralistic, postmodern philosophies that undermine the authority of Scripture and the sovereignty of God. The League of Tyndale, therefore, is a symbol of that longed-for fellowship that may be lacking today, and The Sacred Sandwich serves to convey those old-fashioned biblical sentiments. We use humor, yes, but I pray that our site NEVER makes light of Jesus Christ, Scripture or any other serious doctrinal matter in the course of this creative process!

I readily admit that nonbelievers and those outside the Reformed tradition may misunderstand or misuse the humorous content of my site. (However, in defense, even our serious material has been attacked and misused by these opposing parties.) We also can admit that we may have sometimes veered off course from our original intent of promoting biblical truth and insight. It is for these reasons that we are constantly evaluating the site, and seeing where we may be stumbling into empty rhetoric or foolishness. We have already had to edit ourselves on certain occasions where the humor was done more out of pride and mean-spiritedness, than enlightenment. It could be argued that some of the content now available has also crossed that line. If so, then we hope that we can modify these things in the future and make this project a more noble, God-honoring endeavor.

We take very seriously the humor that is presented on this site, and as such, every criticism of our content in The Sacred Sandwich always brings us great introspection and sincere humility. It is our hope, therefore, that critics, whether they “get” the humor or not, will understand our only true purpose: we are sincerely trying to utilize our creative talents in such a way that brings exhortation, encouragement and discernment to the Body of Christ. Scripture tells us that there is a “time to weep, and a time to laugh.” I guess you could say that we are only trying to allow for that time of laughter. I sincerely pray that our activities at The Sacred Sandwich have not abused that aspect of joy in any unbiblical way.