Jewish Atheist

An agnostic atheist perspective
from a once orthodox Jew.

Anonymous asked: hey hey! im the one who asked if you believe everything was random... how could all the intricate details of everything be an accident? even one single eyeball has soo much going on and so many details and so many things in our body have to be doing things exactly right for us to be healthy and function...how could it be that thats all an accident? O.o

Did you read what I wrote about evolution? It uses mutations as raw materials - and that part is random - but the process by which certain features are selected, that is “natural selection”, is not random. So evolution isn’t a random process, though it has random elements, but it’s also not an intentional process either.

If you haven’t already, I recommend reading a few books about evolution.

mrs-neildegrassetyson asked: I made a deal with myself to read 2 chapters from a book every day this summer and learn something new so my head doesn't get totally mushy, and I find myself coming to your blog most of the time for the 'something new' part. Just thought you should know how great your blog is.

Thanks so much! I’m actually looking forward to getting my brain real mushy after graduation (today!) and the next few weeks, but yeah, I need some good literature and novel ideas in my life. Cheers =]

thewallsofjerusalem:

Charedi Judaism -

Belt on her Weapons of War*

Thursday, Parshat Chukat, on MA”Sh street

*Yeah it sounds a bit weird but it’s kind of idiomatic, Biblical language - I ran it by a native to make sure I had it right. Basically they’re pi55ed off about the draft and they’re “going to war” about it. The number of times the pashkvilin use this image of “going to war” against going to war is kind of amazing.

Interesting new blog. Just started following and am digging it. Check it out.

“Two nations are in your belly, and two peoples will emerge from your loins…” (Bereishis 25:22-23)

hishbati-eschem:

…We know that the worst enemies faced by the Jewish people are its internal enemies. Jews who dress like gentiles, talk like gentiles, and eat non-kosher food do not have much influence on good Jews. Whatever they say will probably be ignored. The real danger is the Jew who dresses like a Torah Jew, does mitzvos, goes to the synagogue, studies Torah, and yet spreads heretical ideas….

Today we face both the secular Zionists and the religious Zionists. But members of this latter group pose the greater threat because of their observance and dedication to the Torah. Furthermore, secular Zionism as an ideology is becoming increasingly weak over the years as the secular Jews’ connection to Judaism grows weaker. Religious Zionism, on the other hand, continues in full force, and threatens to dominate the Jewish people. We must give our attention to fighting the influence of this dangerous movement.

rofl

I’m not even a zionist or religious, but this insanity is too funny. Classic sect-fighting. “Our way is the only real way!”

Clearly judaism has its own dangerous fundamentalists as well.

(Source: )

What to Want

“The key is wanting what you don’t want.”

I remember hearing and thinking stuff like this in yeshiva. In retrospect, I think it speaks volumes about my former beliefs.

(Source: meirahbookman)

Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.

—

Babylonian Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 37a (via tzilahjewishcultureandhistory)

One of the good bits in the talmud.

Bible Quiz Game Show

I don’t usually post about primarily christian stuff, but this was pretty fantastic.

Mogwai - My Father; My King

Randomly remembered this song last night, which is a great alternative spin on avinu malkenu. I remember listening to this (and similarly alternative jewish music) back when I was frum. cheers

Anonymous asked: im sure you answer this somewhere on your blog but i cant find it....why dont you want to believe in a god? doesnt life seem so pointless without the world having been created for a reason you having been created for a reason?

To be clear, I used to want to believe in god. Back when I was first questioning, I desperately wanted to regain my strong faith. (See my essay, “Confessions of a Would-Be Apathetic Backslider”.)

Similarly, when I first started becoming skeptical, irreligious, agnostic, and eventually atheistic, I did feel pretty lost at first and things did seem pointless, but I got past that. I realized a big part of it was just because I’d been taught that life was about religion. It took me awhile to absorb a more existential approach, that life is about whatever you want to be. And honestly, I’m much happier these days because of it.

These days I would somewhat prefer that god not exist. Honestly, there’s not much about god that would make his existence preferable. While it might lend some potential meaning to existence, it could easily negate my reasons for existence. And while the idea of an afterlife can sound nice, it can also sound terrible. Simply put, god sounds like a tyrannical dictator. While there can be some nice things about such a leader, I’d much rather not have one.

But to be clear, my non-belief isn’t about preferences. It wasn’t when I wanted to believe, nor is it now that I wouldn’t want to believe. It’s always been, primarily, about the reasoning. What is the evidence? What is logical? And for that, preferences make no difference. (Just as I might prefer that aliens and unicorns exist, but that doesn’t make it so.)

Anonymous asked: do you believe that everything is random? the way the world was created, what happens, and everything?

It depends on how you define random. Evolution is a good example. Evolution is given random variations to work with, but natural selection isn’t a random process. Then again, that life exists is probably a fluke chemical reaction - but one strictly allowed by natural law and perhaps a certainty given probabilities.

Then you gotta ask how natural law arose, but we don’t yet really know. Many laws are outgrowths of more fundamental ones (like abiogenesis resulting from chemistry and physics, which in turn are part of more fundamental laws themselves, etc etc), but we don’t know how the first natural laws came to be, nor how the universe came to be.

That said, I don’t believe that earth or its inhabitants were intentionally created. It might not have been random, but I don’t think it was a specific plan that some god or alien or whatever had in mind.

Cheers

Anonymous asked: I love you for what you said about your kids smoking cannabis instead of taking in falsehoods. Hahaha so great. Sorry for my weird English, I'm Finnish. Any who, I don't know many Jewish atheists- come diversify Helsinki!:)

haha, thanks =]

you know you’re part of jumblr when you think it’s about time you watched the boy in the striped pajamas and are considering downloading a Jimmy Eat World album.