What's So Funny About Faith

Do you ever feel as if your passion for pop culture and faith might be at odds? Do you ever wonder how your desire to be a part of present-day culture and your longing to grow spiritually can be reconciled? Thirty-something Jake Martin, a professional comedian who also just happens to be a Jesuit, believes that contemporary culture and spirituality do go hand in hand and that our faith can grow through the medium of humor and laughter. What’s So Funny about Faith? is Martin’s wry, heartfelt memoir detailing his attempts to successfully navigate a world steeped in irony while staying true to his calling to love and serve God. Martin explores the oftentimes complicated relationship between faith and humor as he examines the contemporary landscape of humor in film, television, and the Internet while communicating timeless truths about the redemptive value of humor. Martin’s humorous anecdotes span his relatively young life—from growing up on the South Side of Chicago to becoming a stand-up comedian to joining the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). Whether he’s reminiscing about his female-dominated, Irish-Catholic family (he affectionately recalls the howls of laughter when more than one woman would convene) or recollecting his movie-inspired greeting to the Jesuits (“You know how the priests in The Exorcist were Jesuits?”), Martin continually validates not only the role humor played in developing his spiritual life, but the role it can play in developing ours as well.