I was recently reminded of a wonderful old Jewish tale that explains atheists. This version is from Martin Buber’s Tales of the Hasidim:
A rabbi was asked by one of his students “Why did God create atheists?” After a long pause, the rabbi finally responded with a soft but sincere voice. “God created atheists” he said, “to teach us the most important lesson of them all – the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs an act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that God commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his actions are based on his sense of morality. Look at the kindness he bestows on others simply because he feels it to be right. When someone reaches out to you for help. You should never say ‘I’ll pray that God will help you.’ Instead, for that moment, you should become an atheist – imagine there is no God who could help, and say ‘I will help you’.”
So it might not come as a surprise that there’s a debate that’s been going on in Judaism for a heap of centuries. And even if you’re Jewish, you may not know about it.
It comes down to two questions whose answers aren’t as obvious as one might first think.
Are Jews commanded to believe in God?
Maimonides and others insist that Jews are commanded to believe in God. But other Jewish thinkers like Abravanel and Ibn Crescas dissented, claiming that belief by its very nature must be a fundamental act of the free will God gave us. One Jewish mind even asked, "If one doubts the existence of God, then who's doing the commanding?"
We don’t get any clarity even from something as important as the 10 Commandments. First off, in Judaism they’re not called the 10 “Commandments.” They are The Ten Words (or utterances). The first one is not a commandment but, rather, God’s declaration of being. “I am…” The second one, a negative commandment, just says to not worship anything else. So there’s no actual order from God to believe.
The second question, joined at the hip to the first is, Can one doubt the existence of God, and still be a good Jew?
The second question is a theological treasure to me. Here's why:
Per the Bible itself, the human heart is fucked up. Yours. Mine. Everyone's.
That’s why the best people can experience hideous impulses. Everyone. Even someone like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had occasional thoughts and impulses about ‘whitey’ that flew in the face of his noble life. He was a human being. Considering how white America treated King, he had to have entertained such thoughts. Still, he remains one of the most justifiably respected moral figures in history, because he didn’t try to pray his way into heaven. Rather, he defined himself by his words and deeds.
The flawed human heart is especially problematic for those whose reliance is on faith to be right by God.
Why? Faith, unfettered by reason, is a product of that messed up heart.
But if faith doesn't impress God, what is there that can? The answer is offered in the very next verse, calling for righteous conduct. So for those of you pious reprobates who think you're hot stuff in God's eye because of your faith, think again.
And don't blame me that your faith might not mean anything to God. I didn't write the Bible.