What watch in what field?!?!

Not sure how many people reading this fall into the category of regular “Finding watches in fields…” readers but I thought I might take a moment to explain the title of my blog for anyone finding themselves here now and again and wondering about it. My wife, and I am sure my parents, who read the blog have probably assumed it has something to do with my affinity for nice watches. While that would seem likely, and I do find all of the watch-related titles for the various components of my blog page fun, it isn’t the inspiration for the title. No, the title is a reference to the philosophical writings of a fellow Apologia-driven Christian thinker. (See 1 Peter 3:15)

William Paley (1743-1805) wrote works in defense of theism and Christianity that achieved great popularity in the 19th century. His most famous illustration was that a reasonable man will admit that experience establishes that the intricate and connected parts of a watch can be produced only by an intelligent designer. If evidence suggests that the workings of the present universe are more complicated and interdependent than those of a watch, then a reasonable man must conclude by analogy, that it is highly probable that God exists as the designer of the universe.

Paley’s argument is usually presented by asking the listener to imagine they are in a field and stumble across a watch laying there on the ground. The idea is, as described above, to have the listener realize the probability that the watch did not always exist there or evolve there or come about as the product of some small explosion or lightning bolt. I also find myself many times and in many ways in wonder of this life and this world and all of its intricacies and interdependencies and think; “there IS intelligence to this design.” Thus, as suggested by my title reference, I hope through posting thoughts and ideas related to this world, that someone may stumble across them (like a watch in a field) and wonder about the motivation and legitimacy of their creator.