While Jerry Coyne has been \u201ccrossing swords\u201d with Rabbi Alan Lurie on his site<\/a>, the good rabbi and I have been engaged in a more collegial dialogue via e-mail.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll recall that I\u2019ve been a little harsh on some of Lurie\u2019s factual claims about God, though not nearly as brittle as Coyne, who calls him the \u201cwacko rabbi.\u201d\u00a0 In fact, he\u2019s not wacko at all.\u00a0 He\u2019s pretty representative of most liberal rabbis.<\/p>\n After my most recent critique<\/a> (okay, attack) over his recruitment of Einstein into theological service, he sent me a short quote by Einstein and I replied and published it<\/a>.<\/p>\n After I received his second reply, he gave me permission to publish the whole dialogue.\u00a0 It\u2019s rather long as is befitting any discussion between rabbis, but I hope you enjoy it:<\/p>\n Hi Jeff,<\/p>\n Thanks for writing back.<\/p>\n As I wrote in my blog, I was not trying to convince anyone of God\u2019s existence \u2013 this must be a personal position. As we know as Rabbis, what matters is how we treat each other.<\/p>\n I was only questioning why there are those who absolutely refuse to consider the possibility of a Creator and who, like you, demean those who believe in God (as you consistently do). Of my 100+ blogs, I have only written two directed at atheists, which I regret because I fear that they only made the possibility of constructive communication worse.<\/p>\n What surprised and now frustrates me are the often very nasty, sarcastic responses to blogs about God \u2013 like your very personal responses to my earlier blogs, and your recent accusation that I deliberately lied \u2013 and the insistence by many that reason and faith can not exist together. This seems to me to be illogical, untrue, and demonstrates an extremist mindset.\u00a0I am concerned about the overt hatred toward religion and faith, and as a Jew we should all be on alert for this.\u00a0I\u2019m also shocked by so many, again you included, who define themselves by what they don\u2019t believe in, and hover around the Religion section eager to argue. These arguments are usually based on subjective and stereotypical views of religion, and show little true understanding.<\/p>\n My point in mentioning deistic and theistic scientists is to note that an intelligent, educated person can and does believe in God.\u00a0I admire Collins, and his belief that Jesus rose from the dead is not a proof proposition, but is a personal orientation that is not inconsistent with his scientific commitment.<\/p>\n For me, God is a living experience. I was an adamant atheist until the age of 37, when I suddenly had a \u201ccall.\u201d Now, I do not wonder if God exists, but I explore the nature of God. If you do not feel this, that\u2019s fine, but I really do not understand why you feel the need to write aggressive blogs arguing why God is a delusion, and to define yourself as \u201cThe Atheist Rabbi.\u201d You realize that as a Rabbi you are also considered delusional by other more militant atheists.<\/p>\n While we need to ensure that religion does not enter in to social policy, we must also ensure that religion is protected and that we do not fall in to an either\/or extremism.<\/p>\n Shavua tov,<\/p>\n Alan<\/p>\n My reply:<\/p>\n Hi Alan:<\/p>\n Well, I prize dialogue and we\u2019re having one so I thank you for your thoughtful response.<\/p>\n I actually spend most of my time talking about what I do believe, but it is no doubt inseparable from that that which I don\u2019t. \u00a0I\u2019ve critiqued your claims about God because you state them as a matter of fact, presenting your ideas as if the fundamentalists have the wrong idea of God and you have the right one. \u00a0When you write that \u201c\u2026the very question of \u2018How could God have allowed the Holocaust?\u2019 represents a profound misunderstanding of the nature of God, creation, and the spiritual dimension, because it is based on very faulty assumptions,\u201d you\u2019re stating that hundreds of millions of people don\u2019t understand the God in whom they profoundly believe. \u00a0How is that any different than my saying that you have faulty assumptions about the very existence of a deity?\u00a0You think they\u2019re wrong and I think you\u2019re all wrong, but my assertion is demeaning and yours is not? \u00a0I know some Orthodox Jews (there are many in my family) who prefer my apikorsus [heresy] over what they consider to be liberal Judaism\u2019s destruction of the authority of God. \u00a0I don\u2019t agree with them because I support liberal Judaism for re-fashioning God with a significant upgrade<\/p>\n This is because I believe that what you do greatly contributes to compassion in the world and I respect that. \u00a0I may have critiqued liberal religious claims, but I have saved my real attacks for beliefs and practices that are actually harmful to people, such as homophobia or misogyny. \u00a0I can hardly imagine such an issue about which you and I would disagree. \u00a0In fact I\u2019ve rarely encountered a liberal rabbi or pastor who disagreed with me about the abuses of power among Orthodox Jews, Catholics, fundamentalist Protestants or radical Muslims. \u00a0But after we come to our meeting of minds, they invariably explain to me that it\u2019s because those people have the wrong understanding of God and that they possess the correct approach. \u00a0My response is that all religious people are making it up.<\/p>\n I have stated repeatedly on my blog that I do not wish or hope for the elimination of liberal religion. \u00a0It is of great comfort and inspiration to many millions. \u00a0On the other hand, I do enjoy challenging the factual claims of my liberal colleagues and I have found that it usually leads them to greater clarity about the way they express their beliefs. \u00a0From them I\u2019m just looking for a little Kaplanian-style honesty about the completely human-made foundations of their theologies. \u00a0I\u2019m also asking them to ally themselves with us rather than the fundamentalists. \u00a0We all share the knowledge that goodness can only spread through human action even if we bicker about the source and inspiration of that goodness.<\/p>\n Since my \u201ccoming out\u201d out I have met hundreds of other Jews who feel as I do. \u00a0They are very connected to their Jewish culture but also often repelled by many of our texts and traditions. \u00a0I write for them and, admittedly, sometimes I do get a little too snarky. \u00a0I understand that this is how you perceived my tone and for that I offer my apology. \u00a0I try\u00a0never\u00a0to attack ad hominem and I sometimes fail.<\/p>\n As for the militant atheists finding me delusional, I can assure you that while we argue vociferously about how we should regard religion and whether we should engage in its non-theistic practice or even in \u201cinterfaith\u201d activities, we are on the same page about how we understand reality. \u00a0My colleague, Rabbi Greg Epstein, humanistic chaplain at Harvard, just debated PZ Myers about this very topic. \u00a0And by debate, I mean that they had a pleasant conversation about how humanists should organize and whether the enterprise of religion offers any positive value. \u00a0But make no mistake, we all regard it as a fabrication of human culture. \u00a0We simply differ on whether our relationship with it should be more critical or constructive. \u00a0(See Alain de Botton\u2019s latest book, \u201cReligion for Atheists,\u201d for example of the latter.)<\/p>\n With your permission, I would like to publish the complete text \u2013 unaltered, of course \u2013 of your reply to me here and my response. \u00a0What you wrote is a powerful reminder of the importance of civility in this debate and I appreciate it. \u00a0Those who do share your faith are fortunate to have in you a model of its caring expression.<\/p>\n Best,<\/p>\n Jeff<\/p>\n My apology is sincere.\u00a0 I\u2019ve really been trying not to get all ad hominemy with the \u201ccritiques.\u201d\u00a0 Here\u2019s his final reply:<\/p>\n Hi Jeff,<\/p>\n Thanks for your thoughtful reply. As you see, passions run high around issues of faith and religion. And much of this passion is based, I believe, on misunderstandings from both sides \u2013 each who truly cares about truth and peace, and each who fears that the other is threatening this vision. After writing for HuffPo for over four years my equanimity sometimes runs thin as I\u2019ve read many responses \u2013 often sarcastic and dismissive \u2013 that are so far off from the intent of my blog and my actual position as to make my head spin.<\/p>\n My goal is to present an image of faith and religion that helps to bridge difficulties and encourage deeper thought, from one who used to be an atheist and understands the contentions. But as you noted there is always a sore toe ready to be stepped on. Of course we can challenge each other, but the conversation becomes demeaning when one denigrates the other\u2019s character and assumes bad intention or deliberate deception. I confess to have stepped over that line in moments of frustration, for which I am sorry \u2013 and human.<\/p>\n Jewish teaching is abundantly clear that what matters most is how well we treat each other, and that theology is meant to be a tool than encourages us to be kinder and more considerate, as we see that all humanity \u2013 and all of creation \u2013 shares a common face. When theology becomes a tool for condemning others and is used to divide and label \u2013 instead of love and heal \u2013 then it has become truly sinful.<\/p>\n Please feel free to post this dialogue which is, I hope, in the name of truth.<\/p>\n All the best and, at risk of heresy, may God bless you!<\/p>\n Alan<\/p>\n I thank Rabbi Lurie for corresponding with me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got to face it, outside the world of freethinking non-theists, I\u2019m the one who\u2019s considered the \u201cwacko rabbi.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While Jerry Coyne has been \u201ccrossing swords\u201d with Rabbi Alan Lurie on his site, the good rabbi and I have been engaged in a more collegial dialogue via e-mail. You\u2019ll recall that I\u2019ve been a little harsh on some of Lurie\u2019s factual claims about God, though not nearly as brittle as Coyne, who calls him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,24,25,35],"class_list":["post-391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogentries","tag-atheism","tag-liberal-judaism","tag-liberal-religions-and-theologies","tag-rabbinical-dialogue"],"yoast_head":"\n