Humor
While this text does have its theological significance, it can also be simply viewed as a story meant to entertain. Throughout the entire text we find the ever pious Abraham trying to dodge and avoid God’s will. But this does not mean that Abraham is being portrayed in a non-pious light, in fact the opposite, he recognizes how good and devout he has been throughout his entire life, and uses that to his advantage. He is so good at avoiding God’s decree that the only way he finally has his soul taken away is when Death tricks him. Another humorous character that we encounter is the Archangel Michael. God’s “Commander-In-Chief” is an angel who would seem to be able to make decisions on his own and handle the refusals of Abraham, but he can’t. Every time that Abraham does something that Michael doesn’t expect, he comes up with some reason to excuse himself then rushes up to heaven to consult God and find out what he is to do with stubborn Abraham. With the humanizing of heavenly figures, and the trickery of Abraham, this is certainly a text meant to induce laughter and one that, despite its clear theological messages, was also meant to just be read and enjoyed.
Read more about this topic: Testament Of Abraham
Famous quotes containing the word humor:
“The comic is the perception of the opposite; humor is the feeling of it.”
—Umberto Eco (b. 1932)
“To be perfectly, brutally honest, those of us who are still carrying diaper everywhere we go are not at our most scintillating time of life....We need to remember that at one time in our lives, we all had senses of humor and knew things that were going on in the world. And if we just keep our social networks open, there will be people ready to listen when we once again have intelligent things to say.”
—Louise Lague (20th century)
“I made him a low curtsy and thanked him for the honor he intended me, but told him I had no kind of ambition to be his upper servant.... I then asked him how many offices he had allotted for me to perform for those great advantages he had offered me, of suffering me to humor him in all his whims and to receive meat, drink, and lodging at his hands; but hoped he would allow me some small wages, that I might now and then recreate myself with my fellow servants.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)