Judaism without God? Yes, say American atheists

[rug]

By Kimberly Winston

BERKELEY, Calif. (RNS) For an atheist, Maxim Schrogin talks about God a lot.

Over lunch at a Jewish deli, he ponders the impulse to believe—does it come from within or without? Why does God permit suffering? Finally, he pulls out a flowchart he made showing degrees of belief, which ranges from unquestioning faith to absolute atheism. He stabs the paper with his pen.

“This is where I fall,” he said. “Zero.”

Still, Schrogin, 64, is a dues-paying member of Congregation Beth El, a Reform synagogue here in Berkeley. He is among its most active members, attending Torah study, and, for a time, heading its social action committee. He organizes its community service projects and works with leaders of other congregations to help the poor.

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/atheist_jews_craft_a_judaism_without_god/

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[edhopper]

2. As a "jewish" atheist

I understand the connection to community. But I find when I do go to Temple for Bar Mitsvahs and such I just think about the great waste of time of reading all these mythological stories and trying to connect imaginary tales of people who did not exist thousands of years ago with people today. I read the OT and think how silly some of the passages truly are and how much time is wasted on fantasy.
So while I still feel a connection to my ethnicity, I also realize it's foundation is based on fiction.

[Meshuga]

4. Jewish "fantasies" and "fiction" are part of Jewish peoplehood

So congregants obviously "waste" their time discussing this "fantasy" and "fiction" but in a critical way at least in non-orthodox synagogues around the country. I often say, the Torah translation with commentary by the JTS (JTS is the body that ordains Conservative Rabbis) is a great source of Torah scholarship, and based on its commentary, the passages are not taken as fact. I point this out since I would see the focus on turning these stories into fact as a waste of time. But that is not the case in shabbos torah study at synogogues.

Judaism is a religion based on the survival of the Jewish people and the Jewish fantasies and fiction are important since they are part of Jewish heritage that is passed down from one generation to the next. The silly stories in what you call the "OT" is a testament of what we once thought or believed as a people even when Judaism has evolved over time.

You seem to look at Judaism with "Christian goggles" and that perhaps explains why you consider yourself an atheist "Jew" as opposed to an atheist Jew. I could be wrong but you seem to think that belief decides whether a person is Jewish or not. However, Judaism is not Christianity where belief defines who is a Christian. In contrast, Judaism considers atheist Jews who have a connection with Jewish peoplehood as practicing Jews in their own way. But again, being a practicing Jew says nothing about belief.

[edhopper]

6. I do understand what you are saying

But if we admit that Abraham, Moses etc. did not exist and the biblical stories of Israel have at most a tangential relation to reality. What is it the Jewish people are spending their days in Temple doing?
I have never been to a Seder where any one mentions that the whole Pentateuch is not true.
I get the community part, but reading over and over again works of fiction to show we are chosen by God, or have some special sanction does seem a waste to me.

[Meshuga]

7. I don't think we use the fiction and mythology to focus on the idea...

...that we were "chosen by God" as you put it. The Jewish story is a story of survival and how we choose to continue. The tales and traditions are only the glue that kept it going and to keep it going.

People spend their days at the temple for three reasons: for community, study, and services.

Judaism has three components: ethics, spirituality, and peoplehood. Jews can adopt one of the three or any combination (as they wish) and still be considered religious. So there are people who enjoy the spiritual component, the people who enjoy the study, and people who adopt the tradition. Or people who adopt all three components. The services at temple are there for those who enjoy the spirituality component in the same way that the studies are there for those who enjoy the ethical teachings. However, neither require the belief that Abraham, Moses, etc. actually existed.

Again, Christianity may require that Jesus existed but the tales in Torah being fact or fiction are inconsequential. Certain belief is not a Jewish requirement. The idea is that there is a glue (our tradition) that made the Jewish people survive. "Am Yisrael Chai" ("the Jewish people lives") is the Jewish motto.

Passover is a time we celebrate freedom, survival, and the birth of the Jewish people. It is our story that we are NOT told to believe but to celebrate every year. Althought they are not required to, people may believe in some form of the story as truth (or not) but the person arguing in favor of its factuality (or mythology) during a seder is totally missing the point.

I certainly do not believe the story is true. It is merely a Jewish myth that created the tradition that my family celebrates every year. In my circles, if I ever brought this up during the seder it would be like arguing and being obsessed with the fact that ghosts, zombies, and other characters don't exist during a halloween party or a haunted hayride.

[edhopper]

8. Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

[Book Lover]

9. I learn something new every time you choose to share

Thank you so much.

[rrneck]

3. Among the various religious gatherings I have seen

the Passover dinner table is the most authentic.

[Meshuga]

5. The article briefly mention Mordecai Kaplan

But Kaplan is perhaps the most influential person in Judaism today. He is not only the founder of the Reconstrucionalist Movement but he is very influential in the Conservative and Reform movements. And more influential in orthodox Judaism then they are willing to admit.