By JD Snodgrass

Religion is great. It helps ground people and give them meaning in a chaotic, unfair world. It gives their life some semblance of order and direction. Buuut… I simply can’t take the idea of a deity seriously. I grew up in an orthodox Jewish community, and from a young age was inculcated with the one tradition that really separates Judaism from other religions: that of questioning absolutely everything, even God Himself, whom as I said I don’t believe exists. The importance of questioning even the Divine Will is illustrated by the story of the Oven of Akhnai. This story appears in the Talmud, which contains the legal and philosophical underpinnings of Rabbinic Judaism and even has a section on how to properly wipe your own ass (the Talmud is very comprehensive). It’s quite telling that “Talmud” is Hebrew for “learning” and that “rabbi” means “teacher.”

Back in the day, a bunch of sages were figuring out what to do with a clay oven that had become impure. One of them, Rabbi Eleazar, believed if it were reassembled with sand between the pieces, the oven would be pure again. The others disagreed, believing it could never be purified. So they did what Jews do best: they argued. Eleazer made his case and threw out every argument and justification he could think of. But the sages held firm in their conviction. Unable to persuade them with words, Eleazer resorted to miracles to show that halakha, or Jewish religious law, was on his side. He first called upon a carob tree to prove him right. And what do ya know, the darn thing promptly uprooted and flung itself a hundred cubits, or about 150 feet. Unconvinced, the others retorted, “Um, trees don’t have anything to do with ovens.”

After performing a few more miracles to no avail, Eleazer eventually called upon the Almighty Himself for support. Of course, God was all too happy to oblige given the vital importance of oven purity and said, “Yeah, um, Eleazer is right, you guys. You should listen to him. The oven is good to go.” Gloating, Eleazer told them all to shove it. But one of the other sages, the ever-obstinate Rabbi Yehoshua, shouted at God, “It is not in Heaven!” This phrase comes from Deuteronomy 30:12. By “it,” he meant the Torah. The idea is that the Law, having already been revealed to man, is no longer God’s preserve. Rather, it is for man and man alone to interpret. In other words, Rabbi Yehoshua had the chutzpah to tell God to mind His own damn business, as this was a purely rabbinic affair. GASP! And what did God do in the face of such willful recalcitrance? He laughed, “My children have defeated me! My children have defeated me!”

Critical thinking, independence, and incessant questioning are cherished values in Judaism to a degree not found in many other religions. Take modern mainstream Christianity. Faith is absolutely central to Christianity. Having faith in God and believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins is what it means to be a Christian. Questioning is encouraged only insofar as you are trying to understand God; you don’t tell God to butt out as Rabbi Yehoshua did. That kind of insubordination is considered blasphemy. But Judaism is different. Faith and belief are only part of the story. To be a Jew really means to question everything and seek the truth. That’s what matters. Faith is secondary. If your quest for truth leads you to clash with your Creator, so be it. The important thing is that you are constantly questioning and learning for yourself.

I spoke at length on this topic with a friend of mine, Steve McCloskey, who is pursuing his Master of Divinity at Princeton. He said the following:

Generally I agree with you. Judaism encourages more questioning of God than does Christianity. However, Christianity goes through periodic identity crises (e.g. the Protestant Reformation, the Great Schism, etc.) and has to re-think itself. In its current identity crisis, issues of biblical interpretation are at the forefront. For instance, how do you reconcile or respond “biblically” to current science and views about human sexuality?

Many contemporary theologians are seeing that Judaism, which is at the foundation of Christianity, has a kind of healthy dynamism built-in that could enrich Christianity and even help Christians understand what the writers of the New Testament, who mostly were Jews themselves, were saying.

I also asked Steve whether he knew of any stories in the Christian tradition like the Oven of Akhnai, stories in which man argued with God and won. He doesn’t know of any.

My own quest for answers has led me to the conclusion that God does not exist. If you spent your life thinking, questioning, learning, and seeking the truth, and you reached the opposite conclusion, then good for you. You exemplify everything great about the Jewish tradition. I might not believe in a deity, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a religion of sorts. I have philosophy and that distinctly Jewish habit of questioning everything. The whole point of religion is to give order to the world and direction to your life. That’s what philosophy does for me. And isn’t theology just one branch of philosophy?

JD Snodgrass is the Executive Producer of The Will to Power Hour. He’s also Jewish. And an atheist. And he likes beer. He also likes his next-door neighbor, Lemar, who often gives him beer. Lemar is a great guy. You should get to know him. He might give you beer, too.