Title Author Date

Reply to A List of Some Problematic Issues Thomas, Dylan Dec 05, 2003

I just finished reading Zeligman's 48-page "A List of Some Problematic Issues Concerning Orthodox Jewish Belief."

He's obviously very intelligent and very deeply into what I as a Christian call the Old Testament, not to mention the Mishnah, Talmud and other halachic works related to it.

I can't fault his work. But I do have something of a "so what?" attitude. Learning of these errors, inconsistencies, etc., doesn't bother me or my faith, because I do not and never have accepted the idea that God dictated to Moses every word or anything remotely close to that. So I haven't been riding some delicate glass chariot in the sky to have shattered under me, leaving me to plunge down into the canyons of atheism or agnosticism.

For me, whatever else God may be, God is also mystery. Different people become inspired in various ways, and with their inspired imaginations they write within the cultural context of their times.

If the Torah writers (J, E, D, P & R) believed in the kinds of miracles described could happen and if their readers also believed, then who are we to scoff at them? Maybe by the sixth millennium CE people will look back at us and our spiritual writings (say, John Polkinghorne) and think we are as superstitious as we think J, E, D, P & R are.

I've recently read William James' VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE and agree with him almost 100 percent. Religion does not arise from rational sources, nor necessarily from irrational, but from non-rational or a-rational sources.

I personally have had religious experiences that lead me to believe I have encountered the God who is mystery. And I haven't lost my grip on reality.

I have read enough of relativity theory, quantum theory and evolutionary theory to accept them, and to condition my religious experience accordingly.

I really don't have a problem with this, my friends. I just don't see what Zeligman sees as "problematic issues."
Here's what I believe in regards to evolution:

1. God created evolution, both in its inception (abiogenesis) and in its ongoingness: random changes in alleles in a gene pool acted on by natural selection.

2. Consequently, God allows for randomicity to occur in nature, including the creation of new and novel DNA.

3. New insights by brilliant thinkers (I'm thinking of Stephen Gould now) will continue to appear. And new discoveries will be made, such as the observation of "dark energy" theoretically linked to the equally startling observation that the expansion of the universe is speeding up!

This last example is not biological evolution, I know, but to my mind everything is linked. For instance, the so-called anthropic coincidences are interlinked with biological evolution.

So why do I have a Creator God at all? Why do I worship? Because the fruits of my religion are love, justice, mercy, kindness, faith, hope, etc. This is all the justification I need.

My God is an evolutionist and does roll dice!

Therefore, love, mercy and justice to all,

Jude

Related Articles: A List of Some Problematic Issues