A God We Can Believe In
Questions, Dialogues, and Practica
by Rabbi Richard Agler
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On a Believable God
If God is not, in significant measure, as he (sic) is described in Scripture, describe a God that is more believable for you.
If God is neither supernatural nor a miracle worker nor mythical, again as described in Scripture, how might God still be worthy of our service, devotion, and loyalty?
How does God reward the faithful and righteous and punish those who do evil? How does God not reward the faithful and righteous and punish those who do evil? Neither of these is meant to be a simple question. Contemplate, write, discuss.
A familiar view is that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. Another is that God is all-powerful, all-caring, and all-just. Can God be all of these, both of these, each of these? Or just some of these? Base your answers on either your personal experience or on history as we know it.
The authors of this book present God in many different ways. Among them are:
an Ordering Mind, Power, and Energy
Law and Spirit
the Power that Makes for Salvation
the Laws of Science and the Principles of Morality
the Creative Spiritual Seed of the Universe
the expression of the Laws of Nature
the All-Present, Ever-Present, Now
Develop a God-understanding that resonates more fully with you. Take your time.
Maimonides wrote that evil is caused by nature, by other human beings, or is self-inflicted. (Guide for the Perplexed, 3:12) Interestingly, God is absent from his formulation. Can the same case be made for goodness, i.e., that it is either caused by nature, by other human beings, or is self-generated? And might God be part of this formulation?
Rabbi Harold Schulweis taught that God is best understood without resorting to nouns, as they inevitably fall short in attempting to capture God’s essence. He described what he called Predicate Theology, where it is the “divinity of qualities,” as opposed to the “qualities of divinity,” that bring us closer to God-understanding. Explore this idea by creating sentences with a divine attribute as part of the predicate.
Jewish faith has been described herein as Reverent Agnosticism. Explore and discuss what makes this an intriguing and challenging formulation.
At its essence, monotheistic faith holds that the universe is ordered design, not random chaos. Yet much that we observe seems chaotic and purposeless. Is it possible for us to reconcile these two perceptions? Can they both be true?
How can understanding God in non-personal terms, e.g., as Energy, Being, Conscious Force, Law, Spirit, etc., make faith more real? How does it make it more complex?
Talk, or write, about your own search for God. What have you discovered? What have you experienced? What mysteries remain? What might your next spiritual step(s) be?
2. on believable words
We appreciate that the Torah and other sacred Scriptures are products of their times. They contain much that is eternal, but also much that no longer aligns with our moral, scientific, or spiritual-religious understanding. Given this, how can we best incorporate them into our lives?
God is often portrayed in Jewish sacred texts as a Guardian and Protector, a shomer—שומר. How is this, and how isn’t it, a fitting description for God’s relationship with the people Israel?
How can the Jewish tradition of interpreting scripture creatively and non-literally be a path to greater faith and belief? In what ways might even this technique be limited?
How can perceiving occurrences as miraculous, even when there is a natural explanation for them, facilitate our spiritual journeys?
Supernatural tales are pervasive throughout most religious traditions, including ours. Should we understand them:
As a literal description of God’s powers
As an expression of the ancient religious imagination
As a relief from the pain of everyday reality
As a reminder to appreciate the miraculous in our own lives
In some combination of the above—or in some other way? Describe, discuss, compose, contemplate.
God is often portrayed in Scripture, as Maimonides teaches, in clearly metaphorical terms, e.g., King, Judge, Father, Warrior, etc. What metaphors might we use that would point us to a more believable God?
Who, or what, commands you? What is the source from which your personal moral imperative and ritual practices, whatever they may be, derive? Is it the traditional God of Scripture or something else? Describe that Source/source.
“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh—אהיה אשר אהיה—I will be what I will be” (Exodus 3:14) is the Name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. Yet this Name almost never appears in the traditional liturgy. (Extra credit if you know where!) Write a prayer that incorporates the Name Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh.
If God, in the traditional sense, neither hears our prayers nor answers them, what should prayer be? And how should we pray?
Are there things that God cannot reasonably be expected to do? Can praying to God actually free our captives, heal our sick, keep us from harm, bring peace where there is strife, etc.? If our prayers do not have the potential to change God’s mind or to direct God’s attention towards our specific needs, should we be praying for God to do these things? How might the liturgy be reframed to make such prayers more efficacious? Start by rewriting a problematic prayer.
Review the prayerbook (siddur) that you use, or have at hand, closely. Identify traditional prayers that make sense to you. Also, note those that sound like they are addressed to a God in whom the ancients believed but by your lights, is not sufficiently real. Look for prayers that might be considered tefilot shav—empty, vain, or futile. Identify prayers that might be considered superstitious. How might these might be reworded to express more fitting sentiments or aspirations? Are there some that it might be better to remove from the formal liturgy altogether?
The Greek philosopher Epicurus offered, “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then from whence comes evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” A corollary posits that either God wants to intervene but is not able to, or God is able to intervene and does not want to. Discuss the issue of believing in and addressing prayers to an intervening God.
The verb “to pray” in Hebrew—להתפלל—l’hitpalel, is reflexive. How might this guide us to a possible approach to prayer?
When we sincerely pray for something and it does not come to be, how does that impact our relationship with God? How does it impact our overall religious and spiritual life?
Identify some of the prayers that are set to music where you pray. Which of them genuinely reflect your beliefs? Are there some that don't? What might be done about this?
Create a religious experience using only Shabbat candles, a small amount of kiddush wine, the people in the room, and their thoughts. Then, reflect on what made it meaningful.
Major project! Fashion a Jewish prayer service, or a portion of one, from scratch. It can be for waking up in the morning, retiring at night, before or after eating, for a Shabbat or holiday, or any other occasion. Which prayers speak believably to you? Include those. Which ones are problematic for one reason or another? Can they be reworked or reworded to make them acceptable? If so, do that. If not, set them aside for the moment. Endeavor to create prayers that are coherent, joyful, and thankful and that deepen our spiritual awareness.
3. on believable holiness
In our day, scientific knowledge is often privileged, and rightly so. Given this, how can religious faith continue to enable us to come to terms with the world around us?
What should be the place for God in each of these life cycle moments and ceremonies?
Brit milah, brit banot, baby namings, and other rituals for welcoming newborns
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Kabbalat Torah—Confirmation
Chuppa v’Kiddushin—Weddings
Gerut—Conversion
Gittin—Divorce
Death—Funeral, shiva, sheloshim, kaddish, yahrzeit.
How should we order the concepts of Believing, Belonging, and Behaving as they apply to Jewish life? Which do you think should have priority? Which comes second, and which third?
What parts of Jewish faith should we be most intent on passing to the next generation? In a world that is so often divided and divisive, what parts of that message can help unite all of God’s children?
How might it be possible to be an intellectually skeptical and a practicing, faithful Jew at the same time?
Take a look at the Jewish holiday calendar. Consider the themes, messages, and rituals connected to each day. In which of them do you find God’s traditional role more believable? In which ones is it less so? How might you modify your observance of the days to align them better with your understanding?
It is a core Jewish teaching to love God. (Deut 6:5) Is it possible to love a God who is non-personal? (Hint: The word for “love” in Hebrew—אהבה, can also be understood as “serve.”)
Rabbi Rami Schwartzer suggests that a way to approach God, and perhaps to feel God’s Presence, "is to do nothing, to simply—stop. Stop trying, stop thinking, stop doing, stop achieving, and just be. Notice. Listen to what it sounds like for the breath to move in and out of your own nose. That’s it — don’t write about it, don’t think about it, don’t move any appendage or adjust your posture. Just stop, until another process in the body demands your attention and action with true urgency: hunger, thirst, expulsion, exhaustion. With those exceptions, just do nothing. This puts us in touch with the basic life functions, which of course puts us in touch with the source of those functions and reminds us what we are, what’s important, and that everything else — everything — is ancillary. It is easy to describe—and extremely hard to do. But that’s where we find God.” Try it.
What do you think/believe happens to us after we die? How does your answer impact how you live?
Science tells us that matter and energy are equivalent. And, while they can take on new forms, they cannot be destroyed. With this in mind, contemplate what shapes or forms life after death might take.
Barukh Dayan HaEmet—Blessed is the True Judge, El Male Rahamim—God filled with Compassion, Adonay Natan, v’Adonay Lakah—God gives and God takes away, and the Kaddish prayer are all familiar from the Jewish funeral liturgy. Which of these prayers do you find comforting? Do you find any of them disturbing? Why or why not?
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If you’ve reached this point, congratulations! Since these are questions that can be pondered for a lifetime, take a break, go back, and look at them again. May your journey bring you ever increasing understanding, meaningful days, and peace. Shalom!