Being Jewish without God (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, April 07, 2013, 17:48 (4249 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: If a man relates positively and kindly to other humans (I would add "and enjoys life to the full while doing so"), but fails to acknowledge God, my own "framework of religious engagement" suggests this proves we don't need God to create a balanced, ethical and enjoyable way of life. If non-acknowledgement doesn't bother God, why should we worry, but if it does, and "a good human being" is therefore regarded as unbalanced, one can only conclude that God needs us more than we need him!-That no one is required to believe in God is obvious. Religion's threat that punishment awaits those who do not believe is infantile stupidity. If there is an afterlife, one can surely enter without belief, and will be surprised. My issue is at a different level. I am looking for a cause for the creation we live in, and I put it that way because I must accept the existence of a first cause. I must point out that religions accept a first cause and then mistakingly apply all sorts of anthropomorphic qualities to that cause. How do they know what they claim? They conjure up divine revelation.