Such kind of conversation, as includes folly, and can no ways be profitable and interesting, Ephesians 5:4 . Facetiousness, indeed, is allowable, when it ministers to harmless divertisement, and delight to conversation; when it is used for the purpose of exposing things which are base and vile; when it has for its aim the reformation of others; when used by way of defense under unjust reproach. But all such kind of speaking as includes profane jesting, loose, wanton, scurrilous, injurious, unseasonable, vain-glorious talk, is strictly forbidden.
See Barrow's excellent Sermon on this subject in his Works, vol. 1: ser. 14.
Despite a stated reliance on the plain meaning of the Bible and the dictates of common sense, Buck's Theological Dictionary, first published in London in 1802, seeks to provide a textual basis for the evangelical community. By combining brief essays on orthodox belief and practice with historical entries on various denominations, Buck provided an interpretive lens that allowed antebellum Protestants to see Christianity's almost two millennia as their own history.Wikipedia
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