Ian M. Anderson

I spent some time recently writing about silliness. Since then, I've remembered one of my favorite quotes. It's from a book called Orthodoxy , by G.K. Chesterton. A book with that title doesn't immediately inspire silliness, I know, but -- as I've written elsewhere -- I imagine he wrote it with a smile on his face, maybe even while laughing aloud. The passage I have in mind is the final paragraph of the book. It is about Jesus, and joy, and sadness, and anger. I quote it in full because I wanted to type it and share it: "Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian. And as I close this chaotic volume I open again the strange small book from which all Christianity came; and I am again haunted by a kind of confirmation. The tremendous figure which fills the Gospels towers in this respect, as in every other, above all the thinkers who ever thought themselves tall. His pathos was natural, almost casual. The Stoics, ancient an...

On February 8th, I posted an introduction of sorts called "Toward a Manifesto of Silliness." Every week since then I've written about silliness, mostly as a way to meditate on and answer the question: What makes silliness important? My family and I talked it over, and here are our answers: "Silliness is a Sign of Joy." "Silliness is Important Because We are Silly." "Silliness is Just Fun." "Silliness Helps Bring Balance." Thinking on and writing about those answers helped this last silly answer grow -- I had an idea at first, but those initial answers shaped how I thought/think about silliness. It was a suspicion that began the day my youngest son and I played our game of nothing. Remember? All this began with nothing. Try to imagine: First, we sat side by side, the whole room bright from the sun. Soon, he draped his arms around my neck, and because of the faces we'd been making, laughter took over. His brothers were close by, ...

If you've been with us for the last few weeks, you're beginning to see what we feel about silliness. If you haven't been checking in on us, however, here's what you've missed: * We asked some initial questions about why silliness is important . * Firstly, we said, silliness is a sign of joy . * Secondly, we are obviously silly and obviously important. You are, too, if you were wondering . * Thirdly, silliness is just fun . Don't worry, we'll wait while you catch up on all that reading. ... Good, I'm glad you're back! We're just giving another answer: Fourthly, silliness is important because it helps bring balance. I hope you know we're being earnest, if not completely serious. That last sentence made me smile, and I needed it at the moment. You see, even though all this writing and posting amounts to little, there's a feeling that begins at the back of my mind when I think I'm doing something good, especially when I'm glad about m...

A small look back at what I've shared so far reveals the moment all this silliness began: It was after a game of nothing my son and I played . The game stuck in my mind for some reason, and so I asked the whole family, "What makes silliness important?" They gave their answers, going round the table quick-like, and I was stunned by the ease with which they replied. First answer: "It's a sign of joy."  And it is. Second answer: "Because we are silly."  We are. Silly. And important. Then came the third: "It's just fun." So here we are. I still use the Bible my youth group leader gave me in junior high. It's an NIV Study Bible with helpful notes and explanations. Sometimes I see the notes I wrote in the margins and cringe; other times I'm thankful to have a history of my errors, my growth, and God's faithfulness. As I thought about my son's answer -- It's just fun -- I remembered a small note I jotted down next to Psal...