[Paboberto]

<<Based on this conversation, now you might understand why I had a hard time understanding "Gospel clowning."

I understand where she is coming from, but this is exactly one of the difficulties I found; the stretching to find a religious connotation in a lot of what a clown is and does.>>

I think there are some great and wonderful spiritual implications of clowning and being a clown... but Chrisianitian worship and clowning don't seem to mix well. The main problem is that Christians take worship very seriously. So anything you put into the worship has to also be serious. Clowning is can be serious. But it cannot only be serious... or for the kiddies, which tends to be vapid for their own good.

Thus, appears to me, though it certainly might not be the case, that to get into church, clowning is toned and dumbed down a whole lot. So much so that much of the deeper spiritual value that clowning intrinsicly has is lost. We use clowning as a teaching tool, when really by its nature it is much more suited for prophecy. Clowns keep on claiming the medieval fool for an ancestor, and how they could speak the truth through thier humor when no one else dared to those in authority but clown ministers don't do that! The difference between what clown ministers do and what they could do, is the difference between "Veggie Tales" and Monty' Pythons "Life of Brian." The first taeches kids bible stories in a cute and somewhat amusing way, and the second makes you laugh very hard and then think very very carefully and hard about what you believe.

Anyone up for starting a new clown ministry movement?