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Sullivan had put up a post called "The Scientific View of Man." He ended it with an aside, saying, "If I could disbelieve in God, I would," and two days later, one of his readers wrote back: "Funny, I'm the exact opposite; if I could believe in God, I would."
The rabbi goes on to make the point that either God exists or he doesn't; and that we really have no control over that fact.Â
"And so because there's nothing we can do about whether there is a God, I've never found that question to be a particularly interesting one to ask.," stated the rabbi.  "After all, when the question is framed in that way, there are really only three answers people can give: "Yes, I do," "No, I don't" or "I'm not sure.""Â
But there's an even deeper reason for not asking, "Do you believe in God?" according to the rabbi. When people ask that question, they are usually expecting to get the answer "No" or "I'm not sure".
As the rabbi points out, " When you're asking a question with an expected answer -- and that answer is the opposite of what you hope it will be -- there's no constructive dialogue. Instead, when someone asks "Do you believe in God?" it simply comes off as a judgmental."
So, what is the right question to ask? The rabbi has two.
1. How can we bring more justice and kindness into this world?Â
I think most of us would agree with the rabbi that "regardless of whatever particular worldview we hold, we have a responsibility to find ways to improve ourselves, our society and our world. Now, reasonable people can certainly disagree about the specifics of how we do that, and our personal outlook will obviously affect our ultimate decisions, but most people I have met are striving to create a more just and more kind world."
The rabbit states, and I concur that Author (and athiest) Sam Harris got many things right in his book, The Moral Landscape, when he argued that human and societal well-being are directly related to the state of the world and our own mental state, and that "morality" is about how we improve those two states.Â
When there's chaos in our world--whether we speak of our small, incapsulated environment or the larger global sphere, both can affect our sense of well-being and oneness with the universe. Both can and do introduce anxiety and stress into our lives. So it behooves all of us to do as the rabbi states--to "find ways to improve ourselves, our society and our world."
2. When have we felt moments of deep connection?
We can probably all agree with the rabbi and others that we are happiest when we have solid relationships, whether it be with people or our universe.
It is a certainly, according to the rabbi, that we cannot put into words our most important and most life-changing encounters. Indeed, the more we try to analyze and explain them, the less power they have.
Not only that, we cannot ever expect or plan to experience these moments that elevate our soul -- we can only be open to them and hope we are aware enough to feel them and appreciate them when they arise.Â
I found these words from the rabbi inspiring on this Sunday. Perhaps they might also resonate with some of you.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-geoffrey-a-mitelman/why-asking-do-you-believe_b_844500.htmlÂ
