Daily Excerpt: A Theology for the Rest of Us (Yavelberg) - "What's all about, Alfie?"

Excerpt from A Theology for the Rest of Us -

“What’s it all about, Alfie?” (Dione Warwick)

Imagine coming into a large, dark room. You flip on the lights and find there are many tables, 50 or more, that are set with centerpieces, dishes, glasses, silverware, napkins and tablecloths. In the front of the room, there is a row of chairs with a podium and a microphone in the middle of the room.

So? What goes through your mind?

If your answer is “Nothing” or “All these things got here by accident somehow...maybe random storage…,” then you can stop reading now. That is not to say you are wrong. After all, you were not there when these items were placed in the room; nor did you meet the individual responsible for putting these items there. There is simply no way of knowing “for sure” whether all this stuff was placed in the room intentionally for some purpose. You also might not care one way or the other. Therefore, it would be understandable if you just turned out the lights and left the room to go about whatever business does concern you.

However, if you have any curiosity about such questions: “Why are these things here?” “Who put them here?” and “What are these things for?” then you are asking the kinds of questions that lead you to a book like this. Alas, I also was not present when these items were placed in the room and nor did I meet the person responsible for putting the items in the room. Therefore, I have no way of knowing “for sure” anything.

Having said that, and with all due respect to Sherlock Holmes, it seems to me a fair number of inferences can be made from the information that is available. These tables and chairs are set; in other words, there is no evidence they were simply thrown into a random empty room for convenient storage. As these tables and chairs are set, it is very reasonable to assume that someone intentionally and intelligently placed these tables and chairs where they are. Unless there is additional information, maybe some banners, place cards or pictures on the walls, we may not know what the purpose was, but we can assume that someone somewhere had some purpose. That purpose may even have been to be available in case someone else might need a room, but that, too, qualifies as a purpose.

If this reasoning makes sense to you, then you essentially have a basis of believing in a Divine Intelligence or DI at work in the universe. I will avoid the term God as that means so many things to so many people as too often be more confusing than helpful. But whatever label is used, the point is that all of what makes the universe the universe—all the natural laws, human intelligence, evolution, the functioning of the eye, the scent of flowers...all of it—is infinitely more complex than a room, however large, filled with intricately arranged furniture. If a room cannot be elaborately furnished at random, then neither can the universe.

The technical term for this line of reasoning is the teleological argument and it has been around a very long time. Still, there clearly are those who reject it. Some of these people are highly intelligent and I respect their viewpoints. I just don’t see how they can look at the same universe and think of terms like random or accident. This is not a question of “blind faith” or “mysticism.” It seems to me that there is an order inherent in the universe that is self-evident—rationally self-evident to the point where other conclusions are rationally implausible. The Psalmist is absolutely right when he declares: “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The heavens declare His handiwork.” (Ps. 19:1)

Further, those who say that they “put their faith in science” must assume the very rationality of the universe I am proposing. The scientific method is, after all, a way of generating and testing hypotheses as to the nature of reality based on observed, reliable principles—the results of which have to be consistent if they are to be accepted as “science.” That is how diseases are cured. That is how technology advances. That is how our understanding of how the universe increases. To dismiss the framework in which such processing takes place as “arbitrary” or “accidental” strikes me as arbitrary to say the least.

So, in this context, if you are with me so far, I have "set the table,” as it were, and we can move on.

A Theology for the Rest of Us has earned the following awards:

Best Indie Book Award
Literary Titan Silver Aware
American BookFest Best Books Award finalist


For more posts about Arthur and his book, click HERE.

For more book excerpts, click HERE.


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