You’d think that people would have had enough of silly faith based beliefs

You’d think that people would have had enough of silly faith based beliefs.
But I look around me and I see it isn’t so.
Some people want to fill the world with silly faith based beliefs.

And what’s wrong with that?
I’d like to know,
cause here I go, again

I believe in You, I believe in You
I believe in You, I believe in You

I can’t explain the feelings plain to me, say can’t you see?
Ah, it gives me more, it gives it all to me
Now can’t you see,
What’s wrong with that
I need to know, cause here I go again
I believe in You, I believe in You

Faith doesn’t come in a minute,
Sometimes it doesn’t come at all
I only know that when I’m in it
It isn’t silly, no, it isn’t silly, faith isn’t silly at all.

How can I tell you about the ultimate One?
How can I tell you about the ultimate One? ?

Some people want to fill the world with silly faith based beliefs.
And what’s wrong with that?
I’d like to know

I’m starting to see the value in having a certain amount of faith. Not faith in specific unbelievable historical events, but rather faith in an overall religious worldview. Faith that life is meaningful, that spirituality has value, and that morality is ‘objective’ (kaveyochol).

I’m also starting to appreciate something that Mis-nagid once said – that The Torah is the sacred text of our people. In fact, I’m starting to see that the Chareidi approach to Torah might make more sense than the MO approach.

Even scarier, I find myself agreeing with Sholom Carmy, in his latest Tradition article, decrying the tendency amongst the MO today to analyze the Avot (for example) as very human characters:

An educational mission dependent on the fleeting morbid pleasures of debunking, relying on the desperate stimulation of reflexive skepticism cannot stand. It cannot “endear the Torah and those who study it.” Let us not deliberately, coldly, indifferently, cheapen the characters of the Avot or the integrity of the Torah.

But how so? Surely the Avot weren’t really malochim who learnt Torah all day as the Chareidim maintain? Isn’t it more historically accurate to treat the Avos as regular people?

LOL. Of course it isn’t more historically accurate!

The Avos didn’t exist, and even if they did, the stories we have been passed down are hardly accurate in any way. The whole point of learning the stories of the Avot in the first place is as religious archetypes, or role models, or something like that. Studying them as regular Joes defeats the whole point.

It turns out, if you really think about it, the MO approach to Torah is actually much sillier than the Chareidi approach. The MO devalue the text and the characters within it (to some extent), but insist they are doing it out of historical accuracy! Right, because the stories we have about Avraham are historically accurate. Sure! Duh!

And this isn’t just about the Avos, it applies to many more areas as well. The MO insistence on ‘rationalism’ in understanding Genesis for example, as if religion or the Torah is some rational exercise! Religion is about values, and embodying those values in practices. It’s not about rationalism. Torah is about religious mythology, not historical truth.

This is why reconciling Torah with Science is so not necessary. As I always say, what’s the conflict? One is a man made invention, and the other reflects ultimate reality. And that answer works for me equally well either way. We honor Genesis as our sacred mythical cosmology. And as mythical cosmologies go, it’s really pretty good. But of course it doesn’t reconcile with 21st century science! Duh!

Now, some might object and say that even though these values might sound Orthodox, or even Chareidi, because they are based on a reconstructionist basis they aren’t in fact Orthodox, and are certainly not Chareidi. When Chareidim say Avraham Avinu was beyond our comprehension, they really mean it – they don’t mean the mythical Avraham Avinu was beyond our comprehension. And of course that’s true for the masses. 

But are you really telling me that every member of Chazal, every Rishon, every Acharon, was a plain thinking fundie? Was Acher the only skeptic in Chazal? I find that hard to believe. More likely, throughout our entire history the secheldick people (the ‘brights’) knew what was going on, but bought into it anyway. Not as a ‘noble’ lie, but as valuable mythology.

Is it our fault that the simple folk take it all literally? I don’t think so, it’s clearly their fault. Should I have to apologize for my sechel? I don’t think so. Though for the sake of the simple people, I can see why it might make sense for the brights to not rock the boat too much. I mean, we have a responsibility for the simplefolk's emotional and moral welfare.