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| Do they really believe in God? |
One might think this is a strange question to ask in a community where
most people send their children to a religious school. After all, what is a religious
school if it doesn’t instill that basic in its students? And yet that
the question is being asked at all means that it is a legitimate one. One
that is not so outrageous if you think about the mission of these
schools.
The mission of our schools is to mold committed observant Jews by teaching them about our
heritage, by studying the Torah, Mishna, Gemarah, and Halacha.
Belief in God is assumed and not really discussed. In
my view (and I assume this is what generated Rabbi Goldmintz’s article) that is
a dangerous path to take in our day which is filled with so much skepticism and
doubt. Where one can question their faith and find answers on line or elsewhere
that will satisfy those doubts – leaving God out of the picture altogether.
Rabbi Goldmintz’s concern ought not be taken
lightly. His point being that there ought to be a far greater emphasis on belief
than there is now. Which is practically non existent because of the above
mentioned assumption. As of now, the focus is about how to be Jewish. Not
on why. Religious practice rather than religious belief. He then goes on to suggest some solutions to this problem.
I generally don’t like to talk about belief in God. That’s because
it almost always brings out the skeptics and doubters who have legitimate questions
about faith. From which they will often draw false conclusions. But at the same time I think it
is worthwhile in noting that belief in a Creator is at its core a matter of
pure logic. And that even though there is no conclusive proof of
God’s existence, the evidence is nevertheless overwhelming.
First let me reiterate what I said: Questions on matters of
faith are legitimate. If one is going to be intellectually honest, one will have
such questions. It is the answers leaving God out of the equation that are
mistaken. Those answers are based mostly on the lack of conclusive proof of God’s
existence. And that since God cannot be proven
while so much of nature can now be explained by science without the existence of
God, why bother believing in Him at all?
Skeptics will say that in the past belief in God was the only
way to explain natural phenomena. But with what we know now - that is no longer
necessary. What about the things that science can still not explain? They will
call it the 'God of the gaps' and will assert that it is only a matter of
time before science will be able to explain those gaps without God. Just as science has done in the past.
While this might seem like a logical approach, in my view it
leaves out one very fundamental component that in my view refutes it.
As I have
said many times (and recently) proving the existence of God would take it out of the realm of
faith and make a scientific fact. That God’s existence can’t be proven does not
mean that He doesn’t exist. Although there is no conclusive proof, the evidence
of His existence is overwhelming. I am not going to list all of the things that
lead me to that conclusion. I have done that in the past more than once and it
is beyond the scope of this post. But even overwhelming evidence alone is not convincing
The one thing that logic convinces me about God’s existence is
the existence of the physical universe or nature itself. Nature itself did not
self create. The idea that it has always existed does not satisfy the
logical mind. The only rational explanation is that it had a Creator… an Infinite
Spiritual Being that for His own reasons created it.
Modern philosophers have disputed the notion of a First Cause
with questions like ‘Who created God? But that is exactly what God is: a First
Cause… a Being beyond nature that has always existed. One can make assumptions like
that about a Supernatural Being since we know nothing about the spiritual world. Making that assumption about nature by saying
that matter and energy are eternal and have always exited is a far bigger stretch
then to say a Being outside of nature created it.
Why God has chosen to ‘hide His face’ in our day is a
question that I cannot answer. Surely it would help many skeptics reject the
false conclusions that since He can’t be proven he must not exist. But it is not
within human ability to analyze God’s motives.
For me that God exists is an irrefutable truth despite the
fact that His existence can’t be proven. It is a truth based on logic and on faith. I would hope that this is the kind
of thinking that is part of any attempt to instill a strong belief in God, from
which flows our belief in the truth of Judaism. (A subject that is way beyond
the scope of this post.) Once those beliefs are instilled we can proceed with the
current paradigm of how to be a Jew.
(H/T Alex Fleksher)
(H/T Alex Fleksher)
Warning
This post (as in others like it) is not meant to open up a
debate about matters of faith. It was meant only to reinforce one’s beliefs.
Not to challenge or minimize them. I do not want to be responsible for anyone’s faith to be
shaken by atheists or skeptics and will not tolerate any attempts to do so. Thank
you for your cooperation.
