Q&A: Consultation About Faith
Consultation About Faith
Question
Hello Rabbi.
I wanted to consult with you about something connected to faith. I’m 18 and very conflicted about this issue.
In an answer here you wrote that there is no prohibition against investigating faith, though it may exist for people without philosophical skill or for people whose inclination drives them to cast doubt and lure them into sin. In any case, I’ll tell you roughly how this meets me: I come from a traditional-religious home, and until a few years ago I became somewhat more observant, and a little after that strengthening (which came from completely simple faith), I was exposed on the internet to a site where several users discussed religion and philosophy. That exposed me to two main things: 1. doubts that arose in me because of that knowledge; I really remember moments when I was very troubled by biblical criticism and the like, 2. growing curiosity. The broad knowledge I was exposed to (which was in other subjects besides philosophy) really stimulated the curious sense that already exists in me and made me want to become a person with broad knowledge too.
I understood that investigating faith could both answer my questions and make me a wiser person. In any case, at a certain stage I realized that I wasn’t mentally built for investigating faith (young age, confusion, etc.), and I decided to leave the subject alone (I didn’t really leave it completely, because it did interest me, but I didn’t build a systematic inquiry and I also didn’t read books). Today I’m already out of school and feel much more ready. I also sometimes come into contact with philosophical content and get exposed to knowledge that once frightened me מאוד. But I don’t know how much doubt I actually have. If someone asks me, I’ll say that I believe in God, but inside I don’t really know that He exists. In addition, I tend to be more careful with commandments that are more between one person and another person (probably connected to my OCD), or the laws of the Sabbath and holidays are more important to me; by contrast, I don’t really feel obligated to say a blessing over food. I very much want to be a person who has views and knows what he’s doing in life, so a traditionalism that isn’t committed to Jewish law and just comes from inertia is not an option for me, and if I serve God then I want it to be grounded and committed. And the same the other way around, with any position. I do have philosophical questions—but more in the direction of political philosophy, or whether I really have free choice or a soul. When I’m exposed to biblical criticism, it doesn’t stress me out, even though I don’t really have much to argue against it. Until recently I was stressed by the thought that Christianity might be the truth, but even that is starting to leave me indifferent. Maybe it’s the OCD, the fact that I was born into this, and maybe also a bit of logic, but I don’t really know why I feel obligated to certain commandments.
The curiosity remains as strong as ever; I would be very happy to become wiser, and I really want to develop habits of quality learning and a better understanding of the world, but I’m really confused whether I’m allowed to do that in light of the link to the above question. You could say that I’m even afraid that I’ll violate that prohibition.
I hope I explained myself properly. Basically, my question is what you think the Jewish law is on this matter in my case, and more generally how you would recommend that a person in my situation approach the religious, philosophical, and related issues. I’d be glad for advice from someone who understands more. I regret and apologize for the length, but I would very much appreciate an answer that brings clarity and peace of mind and understanding 🙂
Answer
Hello David.
First of all, there cannot be a prohibition on thinking and forming positions. And if you make a mistake, then you made a mistake. What can be done?! If you don’t think, then who will form your positions for you? Your home? Society? Someone else was born in a pagan home, and he too won’t investigate and will leave it to his home to form his positions for him. That’s not serious. Therefore you have nothing to fear from the prohibition of “do not stray after.”
Of course, OCD should be treated, and it can interfere greatly with clarifying these matters, because you don’t arrive at conclusions that calm you down and you never get rid of the fears. But that isn’t my field.
It’s important to understand that there is no way for a person to arrive at certainty. If a person insists on not accepting claims unless he has certainty about them, he might as well shut down the shop right now. You will never arrive at certainty. We’re talking about probability and common sense. If you’ve reached conclusions that seem probable to you, you can stop, despite the ongoing concern (especially for someone who has OCD), because you won’t manage to reach more than that. And if you were mistaken, the Torah was not given to ministering angels, and the Holy One, blessed be He, does not come with unfair demands upon His creatures. Our intellect is what we have.
Discussion on Answer
I have no advice. Someone who is in doubt is in doubt. What can I tell you—that you shouldn’t be in doubt? You need to wait until you reach a decision, and after you understand what seems probable to you, leave these endless hesitations behind (maybe with professional help).
Thanks anyway. I hope I’ll have a decision at some point. Just what do you mean by professional help? Like what?
A psychologist for OCD
I didn’t mention OCD. I’m a different user from the one who posted the question yesterday, not David. I don’t have OCD or any psychological issues. I’m just really confused about the topic, and I’d also say obsessed with the question of God’s existence.
As someone who went through experiences similar to David’s and Ohad’s (though without the OCD part), it seems to me that there’s something else important to point out here: there is a certain psychological component that one needs to pay attention to. The discovery that faith depends on the intellect, the thought that there is a practical possibility of abandoning the commandments if one reaches the conclusion that the Torah is not true, and the understanding that you will never discover an answer that gives you certainty and that you always have to live with some degree of doubt—all of these are very unsettling discoveries on an emotional level. Beyond that, even on the level of the arguments themselves for and against the Torah, it takes time until you understand what actually convinces you. If you’ve ever learned a Talmudic passage in depth, it’s like learning a heavy topic in depth—you can have an enormous mess in your head from all the details, and you need to give things some time to settle until you manage to navigate within the mess. Give yourselves time to digest it, and with time all these things become more settled and internalized in the soul.
(Of course, all this has nothing to do with the fact that if there is a psychological problem, it needs to be treated.)
My apologies. I didn’t notice that this was a different questioner. So delete the comment about professional help.
Honorable Rabbi, and what should one do in a situation of uncertainty about the probability of the beliefs? I completely understand that certainty in matters of faith is totally far from us, but what about a situation in which I’m not even sure what is more probable? For months already (maybe even more than a year) I’ve been consuming content from the atheist-creationist debate online and from books, including biblical criticism and philosophical debates, and I’m not sure of any position. Arguments keep coming up that make me think faith is more probable, and then the opposite. I feel that I’ve reached a point where I think faith is improbable just because of so much uncertainty and ongoing indecision. Unfortunately I don’t feel that I’m going to reach a conclusion anytime soon, or feel good with myself without the fear that it’s very likely I’m wrong. What do you say about this situation.. ?