Why Call It God?: Theology for the Age of Science

Why Call It God? contends that God is the order of the universe, including “divine intangibles” such as love, justice, beauty, and compassion, which correctly give us faith that our lives have purpose and meaning. The age-old problem of evil, science increasingly explaining how the world works when we used to turn to God and religion for answers, and rampant secularism have produced a decline in religion, though less a rebellion than simply a drifting away. We need to understand that God is the order of the universe and thus the ultimate source of life, meaning, and spirituality. Since no one fully understands the divine, all God talk is metaphorical and approximate. Many moderns mistakenly think they are religious doubters when in fact they are just holding on to personal metaphors for God as “king” and “judge” when they could, and most often do, believe in the awe-inspiring order of being, a conviction enhanced by science, religion, ethics, and the arts.

Ralph Mecklenburger is rabbi emeritus of Beth-El Congregation in Fort Worth, Texas, and adjunct faculty at Brite Divinity School. In recent years he has developed expertise in the theological implications of cognitive studies and neuroscience, and his first book, Our Religious Brains, was published in 2012.