[Avodah] skeptics

[T613K at aol.com]

From: R' Saul.Z.Newman:

>>does everyone agree with the  claims of this skeptic blogger [ i can supply 
the source], that
:  'proving' the tenets of Orthodoxy is essentially not doable ie the
: 'proofs'  don't hold up when put to the EXPERT's eye? .... 
: ..... the proofs for Orthodoxy
: don't  exist<<




>>>>>
I think it's a truism that if you could absolutely slam-dunk PROVE the  truth 
of the Torah, bechira would be eliminated.  So there is no such thing  as 
that "one perfect proof."
 
Instead there is the "preponderance of evidence" which of course is not  
"proof."  There are many, many pieces of evidence for the truth of the  Torah -- 
textual, historical, social, experiential, emotional, intellectual,  mystical 
-- but even when you put them all together, there is still no  "proof."  All 
the pieces together are like the dots in a pointillist  painting -- they add up 
to a compelling picture.
 
I have given this a lot of thought over the years -- as I'm sure we all  have 
-- and what I have concluded is that, even though we really don't have the  
absolute proof that would eliminate doubt once and for all, we do have 
extremely  strong evidence for the following propositions:
 
1.  Belief in atheism is based on even weaker and more tenuous  evidence than 
is belief in G-d.  Atheism is every bit as much a religion  (i.e., a system 
of faith without proof) as is any G-d-based religion.
 
2.  Every other religion other than Judaism has truly major,  significant 
flaws.  In particular, the two major world religions that  actually derive from 
Judaism are shot full of logical holes, if -- as they  themselves posit!   -- 
our Torah is essentially true.
 
3.  Any new (last two centuries) form of Judaism which claims to be  
"authentic" but 
a) does not derive in any logically or historically consistent way  from any 
Judaism known and practiced before the 18th century and 
b) cannot maintain itself for more than three generations 
--is certainly false.  This doesn't prove that Orthodoxy  is "true" but only 
that IF Judaism is true, then the Judaism that  is true is Orthodox Judaism.
 
Since we already know that all other religions are [probably] false and  that 
atheism is [probably] false, we are left with the deduction that the  
overwhelming probability is that Judaism is true.
 
Please don't point out to me that I have proven nothing:  I only said  that 
proofs exist, many many proofs, or rather, many many pieces of  evidence.  I 
haven't actually said what they are.  That would take a  book, of course, but we 
have all heard those pieces of evidence before, we have  all read those books.
 
In the end we are left with existential uncertainty and -- because we are  
human, and because we are Jews -- a profound yearning to know the Truth and an  
even more profound yearning to connect with the Almighty, the Master of the  
Universe, the Creator, the Father of all Humanity.
 
When I say "we are left with existential uncertainty" I do not mean that  all 
Jews are uncertain of their faith.  On the contrary, to many Jews the  weight 
of the evidence is such that it amounts to certainty, and many Jews have  a 
very deep and profound emunah which is not at all uncertain, shaky or  foggy.  
But what I do mean is that there is no absolute proof, no one sure  thing that 
you can show a skeptic and say, "Here it is, here is THE  proof."
 
Many Torah writings -- e.g., much of Shir Hashirim -- gives voice  to the 
intense yearning that lies behind religious faith -- the  yearning to connect 
with Hashem when He is not visible to us, when He is  hidden, when we sense His 
presence "behind the wall" but cannot actually  see Him.  For Jews the yearning 
is both intellectual and emotional -- an  intense package that is 
quintessentially Jewish.
 
Recently I saw an article -- if only I could remember where -- that  
discussed the difference between "gentile atheists" and "Jewish atheists."  
 
Although it sounds like a joke -- and indeed, the very distinction does  lend 
itself to humor -- we also sense that there is a profound truth in the  
distinction.  
 
Jewish atheists /are/ different.  They are so intense.  They are  so 
emotional, and so intellectual, all at the same time.  And their  yearning not only to 
know the truth, but to tell the whole world the truth, is  so very Jewish, so 
messianic.  Of course "the truth" they want to tell the  world is the very 
opposite of our truth -- they are missionaries of atheism,  after all.  But the 
fervor with which they operate, the very intensity of  their grappling with 
these issues, testifies that they  have Jewish souls.
 
A Jewish atheist can never leave the subject alone.  He is forever  compelled 
to wander the world, crying out, "G-d I don't believe in You.  Do  You hear?  
I don't believe in You!  You have done cruel things, I am  very angry at You, 
I don't understand how You run Your world, so G-d, I  cannot believe in You, 
do you hear me?  Do You hear me?"


--Toby  Katz
=============



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