Anonymous asked Staff ago In arguments I have often come across the claim that “archeologists/historians/biblical critics/biologists want to contradict the Torah to escape their obligations.”
My answer is generally a snide, “Oh, yeah, it’s a giant conspiracy by scientists, and incidentally, the Freemasons want to rule the world.”
Or sometimes I answer “So who should we rely upon?”
What do you think?
Duck, a pseudonym
jsadmin Staff answered 20 years ago
Hello,
It is the way of religious people to ignore the claims and focus on the claimant, “the plaintiff claims wheat, and the defendant admits barley.” Thus is man from his creation: what he believes in his soul he guards (Benedict Spinoza).
One who closes his eyes and shuts his ears against hearing words of reason, one who digs into the caves of darkness and does not wish to come out into the light — it is not our duty to force him out of the prison where he has locked away his mind.
Daat Emet talks only to those ready for a discussion based on scientific, rational, and reasonable methods. If we were to use the language of the Sages, we would say “Open for me as the eye of a needle and I will open for you as the entrance to a hall” (Pesikta d’Rav Kahana, pesikta 24) — one who wishes to benefit from the light of reason we will assist.
Sincerely,
Daat Emet
jsadmin Staff answered 20 years ago
Dear Yochanan,
Scientific methodology is not a faith. It is a method of rational research which is forced, psychologically speaking, on any reasonable person. Research methods in medicine, astronomy, physics, engineering…are not “faith” but the very essence of their existence and achievement by all people, everywhere — those who are cured by a doctor, fly in planes, drive cars, live in skyscrapers — so it is a reality forced on every reasonable person.
All other things, not measured using instruments of reason, are given to the faith-based decision of each and every individual, with no reliance upon reality or facts. This is why people are so divided on issues of faith between nations or even between people of the same nation. Each man has his own faith, based on his own random feelings and rationalizations. In contrast, topics which rely upon research are agreed upon by everyone, in every corner of the world and in its center. Hospitals, cars, planes, and skyscrapers are all made in the same manner. Therefore issues like the splitting of the Reed Sea and whether Moses ever existed can be examined — accepted or denied — only according to scientific methodology, and anyone who ignores the findings and makes claims with no rational basis has removed himself from the company of reasonable men. It is inconceivable that a person should argue the validity of the medical cures in the Talmud yet go to a modern doctor for his own healing nor that a person should support the notion of Chazal as understanding the process of ovulation and menstruation yet visit a gynecologist. This is the way of madness.
Sincerely,
Daat Emet