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The idea of spirituality and its place in our lives has long been a subject of curiosity and debate. While Hollywood often portrays it as a sudden, life-changing event, the reality of spirituality is often more complex and challenging. If Hollywood had its way, TV shows, cinema, and novels would have you believe that spirituality comes to you like a lightbulb- a “eureka” moment out of the blue, perhaps after witnessing something extraordinary.
We’ve all seen it; we’ve all aspired, to some degree, to have that moment for us as well.
Despite this, to some, the concept of spirituality is a subject mired with uncomfortable admissions. Though we admire mysteries, and look at unsolved questions about the universe with admiration, traversing the uncertainties of our personal lives may seem minuscule in comparison. How odd is it that we may fear the dark, or spiders or very, very intricate clown statues but also feel that same kind of trepidation when asked if we believed there was an afterlife?
Arthur Yavelberg’s book, A Theology for the Rest of Us, surprises us with its clarity and offers a personalized guide for readers on their own spiritual journey of discovery.
Drawing on the traditions of both the East and the West, Arthur Yavelberg’s book, A Theology for the Rest of Us, presents a rational and coherent approach to spirituality in a world where faith has been weakened by doubt. Yavelberg, a 40-year veteran in education, presents the idea of spirituality in his book with coherence and compassion, making it accessible to both adults and children. He explores the implications of 17th-century Enlightenment philosophers, quantum physics, and the insights of writers such as Dostoyevsky and Alan Watts to offer a guide that can provide understanding and hope.
From the ancient depictions of deities crafted from imagination, given life to represent the needs and desires of ancestral people, to the unshakeable connection that mankind has with nature, Yavelberg connects these- at once disconnected, at once strikingly sublime- ideas into a greater picture of humanity.
There is something wondrous in the way Yavelberg’s writing opens us to change through historical introspection; the long, varied history of humanity throughout the ages and its inexplicable ties with faith and spirituality can be felt all throughout Yavelberg’s careful descriptions, and reveals to us the fact that even thousands of years ago, the desire to know and understand God has always been a mystery that humanity has been trying to solve is comforting in its own admission of the shared, human need for a spiritual connection with the divine.
Yavelberg compares the findings and foundations that Western and Eastern traditions have arrived at and allows his readers to divest their own belief systems and ideologies into the narrative. This rare and open acceptance of our own subjective experience is like a balm against cynicism and despair, and allows readers to immerse themselves in the narration.
Like the age-old adage, Arthur Yavelberg writes, “be ye lamps unto yourselves.”
