Theological Humor: Barth, Tillich and Bultmann Fishing on Lake Geneva

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Here is something to laugh at over the weekend.

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Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann and Paul Tillich are taking a break together, fishing on Lake Geneva. They are having a lovely time, smoking their pipes, chatting idly.

It's hot and they are getting thirsty. So Karl Barth gets up, steps out of the boat, and walks across the water to the shore, gets some beers and returns.

It's quite hot so the beer doesn't last long. Barth tells Bultmann: "your turn, Rudy". Bultmann gets up, steps outside the boat, walks across the water, and fetches some beer.

It is getting really hot now, and the beer is finished once again. Tillich is beginning to sweat particularly profusely... and finally Barth asks him too: "Come on, Paul, your turn now." With a slight tremor in his knees, Tillich gets up, steps out of the boat, and sinks like a stone. Fortunately he is a good swimmer; he drags himself back into the boat and sulks at the far end.

Bultmann turns to Barth and says: "Do you think we should have told him where the stepping stones are?"

Barth looks at him in astonishment and replies: "What stones?"

Comments

Timothy R. Butler said…
That's just great. I've seen something like that before, but not with Barth & Co.
September 01, 2007 9:46 PM
W. Travis McMaken said…
It is a great joke, and I laughed for quite a while when I found it. But, even better, it has some interesting interpretive judgments hidden in it that lend it an impressive depth for such a whimsical story.
September 04, 2007 6:02 AM
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