Comedy?

I LOVE to laugh! Ask anyone that knows me...I LOVE to laugh and make others laugh. Few things in this life are better to me than laughing about something with friends and family so hard that you cry. And then, hours later, a single word even remotely related to the subject, will make you start laughing again. There are many comedians out there that have the same effect on us. Words and phrases get stuck in our heads and we laugh for days or weeks after. For politeness and legality's sake I will not mention the name of the well known comedian that recently past away. For five decades the Grammy award-winning comedian, actor, and author has been making audiences laugh and think with his salty, provocative style of stand-up comedy. He is best known for his loud, negative thoughts about God and religion. Here is a cleaner version of a direct quote from December 2005: *********************************************************** When it comes to ***, big-time, major league ***, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest *** story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time! But I want you to know something, this is sincere, I want you to know, when it comes to believing in God, I really tried. I really, really tried. I tried to believe that there is a God, who created each of us in His own image and likeness, loves us very much, and keeps a close eye on things. I really tried to believe that, but I gotta tell you, the longer you live, the more you look around, the more you realize, something is *** up. Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed. Results like these do not belong on the résumé of a Supreme Being. This is the kind of *** you'd expect from an office temp with a bad attitude. And just between you and me, in any decently-run universe, this guy would've been out on his all-powerful *** a long time ago. And by the way, I say "this guy", because I firmly believe, looking at these results, that if there is a God, it has to be a man. ************************************************************ I can't believe any person out there, even of the secular world, would ever be so bold.....and so wrong. He found a way to make a living, support his family, achieve all the fame and fortune anyone could ever want.....but at what cost? I read about things like this and it makes me sick, and then it makes me sad. He now knows how wrong he was. Philippians 2:9-11 (The Message) Because of that obedience, God lifted Him high and honored Him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that He is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father. I believe God loved/loves this man. I believe God had great plans in store for him. I believe that the man, not God, made the choice to do something else with his life. Colossians 1:16 (NIV) For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. Now, I am not his judge and I do not know what happened between him and God in his final moments. I would be more than thrilled to see him in heaven but God calls us to act now. Love now. Spread the joy of His love now. To love God first, others second, and ourselves last. When someone you do or do not know is "googling" your name after you die, what will it say? What will you leave behind? Is your life a video worth bringing home from the movie rental? or something those people hide and hope know one they know sees them with it? Jesus left everything we need to know about Him, His life and how we are to live, in black and white. Faith and prayer combined with God's mercy and grace finish it off. It's a perfect package! The first step is you. What do you believe enough to tell other people about it? Romans 1: 18-20 (NIV) The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.