08-04-2022, 03:49 PM
Curious,
Welcome to the forum. I am not Jewish, but I frequent the forum and have learned some things about Judaism to answer
this.
1) Was there ever a key moment or influences that made you question god?
My own background is Christianity of which I have become atheistic. Just means a non believer. That had taken a good deal of time and study prior to reaching a conclusion that did not occur in a day. There was no one influence, but several.
Within Judaism it is perfectly okay to question God. The Torah contains many stories of Jewish leaders questioning God. Read the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and how each would question what God is doing. Then there is the story of Moses...
All of the characters questioned and debated with God at different times. Did you mean to ask about questioning the belief in a God? I would think the response to that question would be individualistic. Being Jewish does not mean one must be a believer. The story of Jonah and the whale comes to mind, or Balaam and the talking donkey. I doubt that many would receive these stories as literal.
Belief is a criterion within Christianity, however, to determine whether one belongs or not. I could not have sat in on a bible study and told my group that I didn't believe Jesus existed and then expect to be welcomed back the next day. Judaism is not like that.
I found a link, not too long, that I felt was really good and may answer some of your questions. The title is Questioning God and Torah With an Orthodox Rabbi in Tzfat. https://tcjewfolk.com/questioning-god-to...bbi-tzfat/
Towards the end of the article is a quote from Albert Einstein that reads, "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity."
Best of luck to you with your studies and I hope this gives you some answer.
Welcome to the forum. I am not Jewish, but I frequent the forum and have learned some things about Judaism to answer
this.
1) Was there ever a key moment or influences that made you question god?
My own background is Christianity of which I have become atheistic. Just means a non believer. That had taken a good deal of time and study prior to reaching a conclusion that did not occur in a day. There was no one influence, but several.
Within Judaism it is perfectly okay to question God. The Torah contains many stories of Jewish leaders questioning God. Read the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and how each would question what God is doing. Then there is the story of Moses...
All of the characters questioned and debated with God at different times. Did you mean to ask about questioning the belief in a God? I would think the response to that question would be individualistic. Being Jewish does not mean one must be a believer. The story of Jonah and the whale comes to mind, or Balaam and the talking donkey. I doubt that many would receive these stories as literal.
Belief is a criterion within Christianity, however, to determine whether one belongs or not. I could not have sat in on a bible study and told my group that I didn't believe Jesus existed and then expect to be welcomed back the next day. Judaism is not like that.
I found a link, not too long, that I felt was really good and may answer some of your questions. The title is Questioning God and Torah With an Orthodox Rabbi in Tzfat. https://tcjewfolk.com/questioning-god-to...bbi-tzfat/
Towards the end of the article is a quote from Albert Einstein that reads, "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity."
Best of luck to you with your studies and I hope this gives you some answer.