What does "Christian Comedian" actually Mean? (Or Christian Comedy)
Every so often I get asked by one of my old friends that has found me through Google, "Marty, what the heck is a Christian Comedian?" It's not as simple an answer as you might think.
There are two distinctly different schools of thought when it comes to what a Christian Comedian actually is. School of thought number one says that a Christian Comedian is a person who only deals with content that is themed in some sort of Christian way. The sole purpose of the comedy is to win souls for Christ somehow. I find this to be sort of strange, but I would never question someone else's calling to this ministry of comedy so - to each his own. The second school of thought, and the one that I subscribe to, is much simpler. It basically says, "I am a Christian person, and I am a comedian, and therefore all of my comedy, whether themed in Christian topics or not, will always be run through my mental and spiritual filter of Christ inside me." Is Jeff Foxworthy a Christian Comedian? In my book he is. At least I have always heard he was a Christian person, I don't know Mr. Foxworthy personally. However, all of his content is not rooted in spiritual messages or Biblical princiiples, but, the vast majority of his material is family-friendly and seems to have been run through some form of "Christian filter" in his mind. So I guess in the case of Jeff Foxworthy I cannot truly say one way or the other. If I ever get the chance to meet him I will ask him and then revisit this article. But the bottom-line for me is whether or not the person "doing the funny" has Christ in their heart or not. If they do, then I count them as a "Christian Comedian." If they don't, then I don't. I am sure I have just made the waters even cloudier with my explanation, but I am hoping you found a way to enjoy it anyway. The truth of the matter is there is truly only one purpose for this entire article, and that is to show up in Google searches for things like "Christian Comedian" and "Christian Comedy." But Google has this incredibly good algorhythm that somehow knows whether or not the article itself presents any content of merit. That's why I wanted to actually write a thoughtful article about the definition of Christian Comedian! You can read my entire spritual testimony over at www.TopChristianComedians.com. |