Convinced of the existence of God but not of the reliability of the Torah, what to do?
Your arguments really convinced me of the existence of God. After years of atheism. I always said that if someone showed me rational arguments I would be honest enough to change my mind and so it happened. I am not here to argue or win the debate, just looking for the truth.
Your argument outside the rules convinced me that someone designed the rules.
As for the continuation, the tradition and the Torah, I can’t believe in that. I can’t see the text in the Torah or the commandments in the halakha as the words of God. I may be wrong, I can fulfill these commandments as Pascal’s dilemma but I don’t think that’s the idea. I truly and sincerely believe in God but not in Judaism (or any other religion).
What do you think I should do?
Again, not asking to bash or win, really want to understand what you think.
The only thing I can know for sure is that God wants me to behave morally because morality is ingrained in me and choosing the good. Beyond that, I have no idea. It could be that God wants me to acknowledge that it exists and try as much as possible through reason to understand what it means.
But beyond that, is there anything I can do on a practical level? I actually divide it into two.
1. Can I do something practical that is “worshiping God,” meaning pleasing God, without believing in religion, other than being moral?
2. Can I take any actions to convince myself that God wants me to keep a commandment?
I am sure that if I knew, with certainty (or as near certainty as rationally possible), that God expected me to keep a commandment, I would do it. And apparently, I am a vegan for moral reasons. For me, the moral imperative requires going beyond veganism, and that is a sacrifice for “pleasure” that I have no problem making because I know with certainty (as far as possible) that it is the right thing to do.
If I knew, for example, that God expected me not to turn on a light on Shabbat, I would willingly sacrifice that pleasure as well.
Discover more from הרב מיכאל אברהם
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Discover more from הרב מיכאל אברהם
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
How does the rabbi know that the very act of examining honestly is fulfilling God's will?
From:
Leave a Reply
Please login or Register to submit your answer