Abstract
Through an analysis of Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee’s memoir, Mighty Be Our Powers, as well as the story of the biblical Sarah, this essay argues that laughter is a liberating means of ethical and theological resistance, a manifestation of the “hidden transcript” constructed by the marginalized to reclaim hope and dignity in the face of oppression’s radical negation and dehumanization. This essay also argues that laughter helps the suffering faithful resist despair, “Pollyannaism,” evil, either/or dichotomous thought, and the spiritual and social paralysis induced by paradox.
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