Steven Wilkens - What’s So Funny About God?: A Theological Look at Humor

None of the book projects Ive undertaken up to this point has relied so heavily on the support and patience of family, friends, and colleagues, and I am truly grateful for the advice, feedback, and encouragement of so many. Indeed, the scope of those who have offered help is so broad that I know names will be omitted that surely should be here. Ill trust in your forgiveness where that has occurred.

First and foremost, my thanks to my wife, Debra, and children, Zack and Zoe. Over the years, they have been subjected to frequent barrages of dad humor and have been gracious enough to translate them as exactly what they are: awkward attempts to express my deep love for them. I forgive all three for erroneously insisting that sometimes I have a tendency to tell the same joke more than once.

A heavy debt of gratitude is owed to my colleagues in the School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University. They have helped me field-test jokes and quips, read portions of drafts, and acted as a sounding board for ideas, sometimes involuntarily so. Key among those individuals are Don Thorsen, Gregg Modor, Roger White, Justin Smith, Paul Shrier, and Keith Reeves, who put up with a lot of discussion about humor and theology during coffee breaks and cafeteria meals. Brian Lugioyo, Rob Muthiah, Kelly Thomas, Deona Hairston, Jill MacLaren, Sarah Montez, Jacque Winston, Barbara Hayes, and many other staff and faculty colleagues found themselves trapped behind desks and unable to escape my requests for ideas and responses. Nonetheless, all kindly offered feedback on snippets of humor. It is such a privilege to work with people who are not just highly competent at their work but are truly nice folks.

Several of my colleagues have been quite helpful in sharing their deep knowledge of Scripture. Of particular note, Justin Smith, Fed Roth, Eunny Lee, Bob Mullins, Traci Birge, Keith Reeves, Tim Finlay, and Bill Yarchin have all provided guidance on the nuances of Scripture that elude amateur exegetes such as myself. Readers of this book will no doubt conclude that I should have consulted their advice on numerous other issues, and they will be right.

I have been blessed to teach philosophy at Azusa Pacific University for the past thirty-two years and appreciate the research and writing opportunities they provided through my sabbatical, a CREV Fellowship, and the summer writers retreat.

Finally, my history with IVP Academic stretches back almost thirty years, and my appreciation for their expertise, patience, and kindness continues unabated. I want to express special thanks to my editorsDavid Congdon, who was willing to take on an outside-the-box book idea, and Jon Boyd, who ushered the project through the final stages. Their wise guidance and the skills of the entire team have once again smoothed the path through the long process.