Recently the steel web of scaffolding was removed from York Minster following the completion of extensive restoration. Once again it will become the unencumbered hub of York for worshipers and tourists.
Deists, of course, do not have religiously dedicated buildings: the whole of creation is God’s house. In truth, York Minster and similar imposing cathedrals were built as an expression of human power, a demonstration by the new feudal regime of who was in charge spiritually as well as temporally.
This doesn’t detract from the sheer magnificence of the Minster, and it does have a symbolic relevance for deism. It is beyond all doubt an expression of purpose. There can be no question of it being a random structure that emerged through sheer chance.
As humans patently construct purposefully, why should it be presumed that the very much grander scale of the universe has no meaning or significance? The recent restoration shows how intent maintains the structure.
An indication of the greater purpose of nature can be gleaned from firstly admiring one of the Minster’s soaring columns and then taking a trip out into the woods. There contemplate some tall tree and reflect that, unlike a stone column, however well crafted, the tree not only exists for itself, but is home and shelter for birds, mammals and insects.
York Minster is an expression of human creative capability, but it’s also a reminder of our limitations. Compared to the universe the Minster isn’t even a mote, so it’s hardly surprising we cannot really comprehend the Creator of the cosmos. However, just as York Minster is undeniable evidence of human being, so creation is the indication of Creative Being.
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