A little humor goes a long way when explaining philosophy

"Dimitri: If Atlas holds up the world, what holds up Atlas?

"Tasso: Atlas stands on the back of a turtle.

"Dimitri: But what does the turtle stand on?

"Tasso: Another turtle.

"Dimitri: And what does that turtle stand on?

"Tasso: My dear Dimitri, it's turtles all the way down!"

That's the way Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein begin "Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar" (Abrams Image, New York): "The construction and payoff of jokes and … of philosophical concepts are made out of the same stuff," they contend.

So, they proceed to explain philosophical concepts with a series of jokes, some of which give the impression they came straight from the comedians of the old resorts of New York's Catskill Mountains.

For example: Does the universe have a purpose? Are our lives planned and programmed?

"Mrs. Goldstein was walking down the street with her two grandchildren. A friend stopped to ask her how old they were. She replied, 'The doctor is 5 and the lawyer is 7.' " Who cares about divine determinism when you have this kind of grandmother?

As you might expect, my favorite chapter is "The Philosophy of Religion." "Philosophers agreed long ago that it is fruitless for believers and atheists to argue with each other. This is because they interpret everything differently," say the authors.

For example:

"A little old Christian lady comes out onto her front porch every morning and shouts, 'Praise the Lord!'

"And every morning, the atheist next door yells back, 'There is no God!'

"This goes on for weeks … As time goes by, the lady runs into financial difficulties and has trouble buying food. She goes out onto the porch and asks God for help with groceries, then says, 'Praise the Lord!'

"The next morning when she goes out onto the porch, there are the groceries she asked for. Of course, she shouts, 'Praise the Lord!'

"The atheist jumps out from behind a bush and says, 'Ha! I bought those groceries. There is no God!'

"The lady looks at him and smiles. She shouts, 'Praise the Lord! Not only did you provide for me, Lord, you made Satan pay for the groceries!'"

Philosophy is important. We all have a philosophy of life, a set of guiding principles by which we understand the world around us.

At the same time, anyone who has taken Philosophy 101 in college knows how unbearably dull this whole discipline can be. So thank God for people like Cathcart and Klein who can help us laugh at ourselves at the same time as we take ourselves seriously.

And now, a correction: The Rev. Rick Warren, of Saddleback Church in California, e-mailed me that Saddleback is not a "seeker-driven church" and shouldn't be lumped in with them. He also said the church's ministry isn't single-purpose driven, but actually focuses on growth in five areas: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. Saddleback is a fine church, and I am happy to correct any misconceptions I may have generated.