Sam Harris vs. Rabbi David Wolpe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yesterday I listened to a debate between Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe.\u00a0 It\u2019s not unusual for me to listen to these debates, though I\u2019m not quite sure\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sam Harris vs. Rabbi David Wolpe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yesterday I listened to a debate between Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe.\u00a0 It\u2019s not unusual for me to listen to these debates, though I\u2019m not quite sure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Atheist Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-01-12T20:47:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey L. Falick\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeffrey L. Falick\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html\",\"name\":\"Sam Harris vs. Rabbi David Wolpe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-12T20:47:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-01-12T20:47:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95554b64c99ed45146c32bf5cd2372\"},\"description\":\"Yesterday I listened to a debate between Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe.\u00a0 It\u2019s not unusual for me to listen to these debates, though I\u2019m not quite sure\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sam Harris vs. Rabbi David Wolpe\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/\",\"name\":\"The Atheist Rabbi\",\"description\":\"The blog of Jeffrey L. Falick, Secular Humanistic Rabbi.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95554b64c99ed45146c32bf5cd2372\",\"name\":\"Jeffrey L. Falick\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4f93646f1bdd3c145883cb358ed21b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4f93646f1bdd3c145883cb358ed21b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeffrey L. Falick\"},\"description\":\"Jeffrey L. Falick is the Secular Humanistic Rabbi of The Birmingham Temple Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Michigan. He is also certified as a Senior Humanist Celebrant by the American Humanist Association and is president and founder of Humanists of Southeast Michigan.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/author\/jfalick\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sam Harris vs. Rabbi David Wolpe","description":"Yesterday I listened to a debate between Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe.\u00a0 It\u2019s not unusual for me to listen to these debates, though I\u2019m not quite sure","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sam Harris vs. Rabbi David Wolpe","og_description":"Yesterday I listened to a debate between Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe.\u00a0 It\u2019s not unusual for me to listen to these debates, though I\u2019m not quite sure","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html","og_site_name":"The Atheist Rabbi","article_published_time":"2011-01-12T20:47:00+00:00","author":"Jeffrey L. Falick","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeffrey L. Falick","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html","name":"Sam Harris vs. Rabbi David Wolpe","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-01-12T20:47:00+00:00","dateModified":"2011-01-12T20:47:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95554b64c99ed45146c32bf5cd2372"},"description":"Yesterday I listened to a debate between Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe.\u00a0 It\u2019s not unusual for me to listen to these debates, though I\u2019m not quite sure","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sam Harris vs. Rabbi David Wolpe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/","name":"The Atheist Rabbi","description":"The blog of Jeffrey L. Falick, Secular Humanistic Rabbi.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95554b64c99ed45146c32bf5cd2372","name":"Jeffrey L. Falick","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4f93646f1bdd3c145883cb358ed21b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4f93646f1bdd3c145883cb358ed21b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeffrey L. Falick"},"description":"Jeffrey L. Falick is the Secular Humanistic Rabbi of The Birmingham Temple Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Michigan. He is also certified as a Senior Humanist Celebrant by the American Humanist Association and is president and founder of Humanists of Southeast Michigan.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/author\/jfalick"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":572,"date":"2011-01-12T20:47:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-12T20:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html"},"modified":"2011-01-12T20:47:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-12T20:47:00","slug":"sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/sam-harris-vs-rabbi-david-wolpe.html","title":{"rendered":"Sam Harris vs. Rabbi David Wolpe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Yesterday I listened to a debate between Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe<\/a>.\u00a0 It\u2019s not unusual for me to listen to these debates, though I\u2019m not quite sure what deeply felt need I have that motivates me.\u00a0 Typically they are held between non-theistic thinkers and Christians and Muslims, so identifying with the non-theist is easy.<\/p>\n

This debate, however, made me very uncomfortable for a number of reasons.\u00a0 If I\u2019m being honest, part of it is because I\u2019m jealous that there does not exist a non-theistic rabbi with Wolpe\u2019s national platform to teach our very different way of being Jewish.\u00a0 It is an approach that I just know would take off if it could just get some momentum.<\/p>\n

My jealousy was only intensified by the fact that I honestly felt that a lot of what he said was just dumb.\u00a0 He invoked irrelevant arguments about social Darwinism, eugenics, Stalinism and North Korea.\u00a0 He made statements about the existence of the soul and then denied that these were scientific claims.\u00a0 He rejected elements of the modern evolutionary synthesis<\/a>.\u00a0 He elevated monotheism to the status of savior of the world.\u00a0 At one point he said that the moral sense of the bible was against some of the very things it prescribed.<\/p>\n

I have no doubt that Wolpe deeply believes what he says, no matter how non-sensical it seems to me.\u00a0 I\u2019m also increasingly convinced that as American Jews become more and more non-theistic and secular in their Jewish identities, the many rabbis like him will scare some of them away.<\/p>\n

Where are those rabbis who are willing to take a stand and say that their congregants are RIGHT about their growing secular beliefs?\u00a0 I know for a certainty that they are out there but they refuse to speak up.\u00a0 Do they think that it will screw up their \u201cauthority\u201d as interpreters of God\u2019s word?\u00a0 Don\u2019t they know that nobody thinks of them that way anyway?<\/p>\n

Maybe I sound like a broken record on this issue.\u00a0 After all, with so few openly non-theistic rabbis in the world, I do feel a bit lonely.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"