It’s Not Me, It Really Is Them

Last updated on: September 28, 2010 at 6:42 pm by Jeffrey L. Falick

It’s Not Me, It Really Is Them 2010-09-28T18:42:00-05:00 Jeffrey L. Falick

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The beginning of the end of my efforts to remain in the theistic fold came with the publication, in 1991, of Eugene Borowitz’s book, Renewing the Covenant: A Theology for the Postmodern Jew. I read it three times over the years and never really understood what the heck he was talking about. I used to blame myself for my inability to comprehend books like that. Then it began to slowly dawn on me that their propositions were mostly incoherent. It wasn’t me, it was them.

Borowitz and all the other “sophisticated” theologians are desperately trying to re-create the idea of God. Mordecai Kaplan’s attempt at this was at least clear – and even somewhat compelling – to me. He posited that all God-language was just the expression of a purely human process. Theologians like Borowitz assign a kind of reality to God while claiming that God is not supernatural. They propose that God is, instead, the “ground of our moral values,” whatever that means.

So with this background, and as a dues-paying member of the Center for Inquiry, I could not have been angrier at the article written on The Huffington Post by John Shook, CFI’s Director of Education and Senior Research Fellow:

Astonished that intellectual defenses of religion are still maintained, many prominent atheists disparage theology. They either dismiss the subject as irrelevant, or, if they do bother to acknowledge it, slim refutations of outdated arguments for a medieval God seem enough. Atheists cheer on such bold leadership, but what is really being learned? Challenging religion’s immunity from criticism is one thing; perpetuating contempt for religion’s intellectual side is another. Too many followers only mimic the contempt, forgetting that you won’t effectively criticize what you would not understand. The “know-nothing” wing of the so-called New Atheism really lives up to that label. Nonbelievers reveling in their ignorance are an embarrassing betrayal of the freethought legacy.

Speak for yourself, John. I had a good rabbinical education and over twenty subsequent years of study. The modern intellectual side of religion is worthy of contempt, or at least giggles. To paraphrase the Bard, modern sophisticated theology is a tale told by well-meaning-way-too-smart-for-their-own-good professors, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing.

In response to Shook’s article, Sandwalk has issued a challenge to theists to post their very best twenty-first century arguments for the existence of God. I will be watching closely. Maybe I should forward it to Rabbi Borowitz.

Blog Entries

Atheism

Liberal Judaism

Liberal Religions and Theologies

Non-theism

Secular Humanistic Judaism

Previous Post

September 27, 2010

Don’t Come To My Brother’s Funeral And Tell Me He’s With God

Next Post

September 29, 2010 Pew Survey: Atheists/Agnostics More Religiously Knowledgeable

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Entries

Select a Month January 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 March 2015 December 2014 February 2014 December 2013 October 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 September 2012 August 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A blind man A centurion A leper A tax collector