By D. E. McElroy • World Christianship Ministries (WCM)
Framing Note (Research Philosophy): I’m not writing to protect sacred images or avoid offense. I’m writing to understand real human behavior—how people actually spoke, related, taught, and used humor. When later institutions polish founders into perfect icons, humanity (including humor) is often edited out. So I lean toward early sources, parallel traditions, and context, while staying honest about uncertainty. This is a book about humanity first—not divinity.
Humor is not one thing. It is many things. Sometimes it heals. Sometimes it harms. Sometimes it tells the truth when we are afraid to speak. Sometimes it breaks tension and gives us air to breathe. And sometimes it becomes a weapon in the hands of a bully.
This book is about the full range of humor—good and not so good. We will look at what humor does to the mind and body, why it can lift a heavy heart, and why certain kinds of laughter can damage a person’s dignity. We will also look at how wise teachers used humor, irony, and playful exaggeration to help people see more clearly.
The goal is not to “be funny.” The goal is to understand humor as a human tool. Used with compassion, it can restore perspective and reduce suffering. Used without compassion, it can add suffering.
1. What Humor Is (And Why It Matters)
2. Humor as Relief and Emotional Release
4. Humor and Humanity in Early Spiritual Figures
5. The Shadow Side: When Humor Hurts
6. Sarcasm, Satire, and Truth-Telling
7. Humor, Humility, and the Softening of Ego
8. Humor that Builds Connection
9. Dark Humor, Grief, and Survival
Humor is a shift in perspective. It is the mind’s ability to see two meanings at once, or to notice something unexpected, or to catch an exaggeration that reveals a truth. Humor often arrives when we stop gripping life too tightly.
A laugh can be small and quiet, or big and loud. But the effect is often the same: the body loosens, breathing opens, and the mind gets a little more space. That space can be the difference between panic and calm.
Humor also carries information. What we laugh at shows what we value, what we fear, and what we excuse. That is why humor is never “just” humor. It points to character and to culture.
One of humor’s most common gifts is relief. After a stressful moment, laughter can feel like a pressure valve opening. The nervous system settles. The mind stops racing. Even if the problem is still there, we can face it with more steadiness.
This is why people sometimes laugh after bad news or during a hard time. It is not always disrespect. Often it is survival. The mind finds a crack of light, and the body takes it.
Healthy relief humor does not deny pain. It gives pain a break. It says, “Yes, this is hard—and we are still here.”
Humor can heal in at least four ways. First, it eases stress. Second, it restores perspective. Third, it reconnects people. Fourth, it reduces shame.
Shame is one of the most painful emotions humans carry. It makes people hide. It makes them feel unworthy of love. Gentle humor—never cruel—can loosen shame’s grip. It can help a person feel human again.
Humor can also help the body. Laughter changes breathing. It relaxes muscles. It can reduce the sense of pain for a short time. It can improve mood and sleep.
Healing humor does not aim to win. It aims to comfort, to restore, and to help the heart come back online.
Before we begin, here is the simple point of this chapter: I am not trying to prove anyone’s divinity. I am trying to show their humanity—because humans laugh, tease, exaggerate, and use humor to teach. Religious institutions often “polish” founders into flawless icons, and humor is one of the first things to get edited out.
Also, a note about sources. I do not treat later institutional texts as automatically reliable history. For Jesus, that means I’m willing to look outside the standard Bible tradition, including early sayings material and texts preserved in collections like the Nag Hammadi library. For the Buddha and Muhammad, that means paying attention to early traditions, context, and the human tone of the stories, while recognizing that later communities often shaped narratives for doctrine and authority.
In early Jesus traditions—especially sayings-style material—the humor is often a quiet “turn” that flips the listener’s certainty. It is not stand-up comedy. It is the kind of wit that disarms pride. Many of the best examples are built on reversal: the one who thinks they are first ends up last; the “holy” person is exposed as shallow; the outsider becomes the moral mirror.
Some Nag Hammadi texts preserve a Jesus who speaks in riddles, paradox, and sharp little shocks that can read like dry humor. The point is not to insult people, but to loosen their grip on rigid religious seriousness. When a teacher uses paradox, the mind often reacts with a half-smile before it reacts with insight. That half-smile matters. It is the ego relaxing for a moment.
Even without quoting any single “official” line, the pattern is clear: a human teacher using irony and playful exaggeration to help people see themselves honestly—without fear. That is a very human kind of humor.
In early Buddhist tradition and especially in later Zen stories, humor often appears as a sudden misdirection. A student asks a grand metaphysical question, and the response is unexpectedly simple, sideways, or even ridiculous. The student’s mind stalls—and then laughs.
That laugh is not disrespect. It is release. It is the nervous system letting go of a mental knot. This is why Buddhist humor is often “quiet”: it is aimed at awakening, not entertainment. A teacher may use a playful response to show the student that their question is built on a false assumption. When the assumption collapses, laughter is a natural response.
With Muhammad, one of the clearest signs of humanity in early narrative tradition is warmth. Leaders who are only stern become symbols; leaders who show ordinary human ease remain relatable. In many early accounts, humor appears as gentle teasing, wordplay, and light moments that lower tension in relationships.
This is important: the healthiest humor is rarely cruel. It is relational. It reassures people. It reduces anxiety. It reminds a listener that a moral teacher is still a person among people.
Across all three figures, the common thread is not “divinity.” The common thread is emotional intelligence: humor used to soften fear, cut through pretense, and make difficult truths easier to receive. That is wisdom expressed in a human way.
Your Spirit Guide “download” was right on target: we must not forget harmful humor. Some laughter is not joy—it is dominance.
A bully can hurt someone and laugh. In that moment, humor is not humor at all. It is cruelty wearing a mask. The laughter signals power: “I can do this to you and feel nothing.”
Harmful humor often includes ridicule, humiliation, and “jokes” that target a person’s weakness. It can happen in families, schools, workplaces, and online. Sometimes it is called “teasing,” but it leaves real wounds.
A simple rule helps: healthy humor reduces suffering; harmful humor increases it.
Sarcasm can be funny, but it can also be sharp. Sometimes sarcasm is a shield for anger. Sometimes it is a way to speak truth without direct conflict. The intent matters.
Satire is different. Satire points at hypocrisy and absurdity in systems of power. It can protect society by making corruption look foolish. That is one reason powerful people often fear comedians.
But even satire should aim upward, not downward. Punching down—mocking the vulnerable—is not truth-telling. It is cheap and damaging.
One of the most spiritual uses of humor is humility. When we can laugh at ourselves, we stop acting like we must be perfect. We stop taking every opinion as a war. We become teachable again.
Ego hates laughter when it is self-aware. Ego wants to be right and important. But the soul—at least in many NDE accounts—seems to value love, learning, and honesty. Humor can help the ego relax so those deeper values can rise.
A person who can kindly laugh at their own mistakes often becomes safer to be around. That safety is not small. It heals relationships.
Healthy humor often builds bridges. It creates shared air in the room. It says, “We are in this together.” It can lower tension between strangers. It can repair moments after conflict.
This kind of humor is usually inclusive. It invites, rather than excludes. It helps people feel seen, not judged. It does not require someone else to be the “loser” so others can feel like winners.
If you want a quick test: after the laugh, do people feel closer, or do they feel smaller? Healthy humor leaves dignity intact.
Dark humor is often misunderstood. Sometimes people use it in hospitals, in war zones, and in hard seasons of life. It can sound harsh, but it may be a coping tool.
The difference again is compassion. Dark humor that helps people keep going can be healthy. Dark humor that dehumanizes others is not.
In grief, humor can return like a small candle. Not because loss is gone, but because the heart is trying to breathe. A short laugh in grief can be a sign that love is still alive inside the pain.
Here is a simple “code” you can remember. It is not perfect, but it is practical.
When humor is guided by compassion, it becomes more than entertainment. It becomes a kind of medicine. When it is guided by ego, it becomes a weapon. The direction is your choice.
D. E. McElroy is an independent researcher, writer, and lifelong observer of the intersection between spirituality, power, and human consciousness.
Through decades of study across religion, science, philosophy, near-death experience research, and modern medicine, McElroy focuses on how narratives are constructed— and how compassion and clarity can restore human dignity.
His writing is hosted at wcm.org, where readers can explore additional works on spirituality, consciousness, and independent inquiry.