I've learned to laugh it off.

I think much of what we hear from church pulpits is funny. Humorous. Sometimes, it's not intended as humor. But that's the way I construe it. I don't take it all that seriously. As for people who take it seriously -- well, I think that's funny. Preachers have all sorts of zany ideas. Doesn't make any difference if it's a conservative preacher or a wild-eyed liberal preacher. They're all equally funny. Take the furor over what's being preached from the pulpit of Barack Obama's former church. Some folks got all hot and bothered over it. They characterized it as hate speech. But much of it was really satirical reflections. Parodies. A way to see the funny side of life. And it worked within the congregation, at least. The laughter was uproarious at times. And then some of the stuff made it on to YouTube and on newscasts and pundit shows. And Obama was being taken to task for ever attending the church. My gosh, every church I've ever attended has aired its share of way-out thought. Doesn't mean I believe it. Yes, I've learned to laugh it off. --Jim Broede