First, let me say that I\u2019m really happy for those of you who are among the lucky few to secure a ticket to get within 10 miles of the Pope.\u00a0For the record, he\u2019s been calling me for weeks to see if I\u00a0can carve out some time to talk while he\u2019s here (something about evolution), but I\u2019m just too busy at the moment.<\/span> <\/em>(Emphasis added)<\/p>\n I raise this because I have personally received and heard from others comments such as the following:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with you? I mean, when the Pope wants to\u00a0get together with you, you MAKE TIME!!\u201d Apparently, a critical mass of readers took my post\u00a0as a statement of fact, perhaps feeling that \u201cFor the record\u201d was a sure genre indicator that we are dealing here with something that is actually on the record.<\/p>\n But I was joking. \u201cFor the record\u201d was irony to enhance the experience of humor.<\/p>\n This reminded me of the time when I was a student at\u00a0Westminster Theological Seminary in the\u00a080\u2019s. \u00a0I was playing Foosball with a We\u00a0happened\u00a0to agree on this particular matter, and so I suggested that maybe we just kill all those who hold the opposite position.<\/p>\n His response was\u2014and I kid you not\u2014\u201dNo . . . I don\u2019t think we should do that.\u201d\u00a0I heard genuine concern in his voice for my spiritual state.<\/p>\n It sort of ruined the joke for me to say, \u201cUh . . . I\u2019m not serious.\u201d<\/p>\n Granted, the Calvinist tradition has a history, however minimal, of doing God\u2019s work by killing those who have wrong thoughts about God, so maybe this guy was channeling all that.<\/p>\n And Westminster Theological Seminary isn\u2019t\u00a0exactly a feeder for Comedy Central<\/em> writers to begin with, but still.<\/p>\n I realize I tend to have that dry sarcastic sense of humor that\u2019s hard\u00a0to pick up on the internet. I was raised on SNL, M*A*S*H<\/i>, and\u00a0All in the Family <\/em>in the 70s.<\/em> In a way, I never had a fighting chance.<\/p>\n But still, you really thought the Pope was calling me? You really think the Pope knows who I am? And you really think I wouldn\u2019t drop everything including my own funeral to get there?\u2660<\/p>\n![\"disclaimer\"](\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/disclaimer.jpg\")
<\/a>A week or so ago, I posted about the papal visit to Philadelphia<\/a>, and in that post\u00a0I began as follows:<\/p>\n
\u201cEnns is pretty arrogant not to drop everything and meet with the Pope.\u201d
\u201cIf the Pope\u2019s been calling for weeks, I think we can safely assume it must be very important.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"foosball\"](\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/foosball-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a> classmate, and we were discussing something or other theological, and how one position was right and another was wrong.<\/p>\n
![\"humor](\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/humor-meter.jpg\")
<\/a>So as we all move forward from this, if you are offended or think I\u2019ve simply gone off the deep end, make sure your \u201chumor meter\u201d\u2666 isn\u2019t jammed, or check in with a friend\u2014if need be from another denomination\u2014to see if you might be missing some genre clues.<\/p>\n