Why I Am Not a Christian

The great mathematician/philsopher Bertrand Russell used secularism as a foundation for his similarly entitled essay. I am certainly not going to argue on the basis of secularism, as I find it more dangerous and damaging than Christianity.

Rather, though still attempting to "cold logic", I will base my argument against Christianity from the textual basis it espouses as its own foundation. It is remarkable to me that Mr. Russell whose work in the logical foundations of arithmetic and axiomatic theory was unable to find the inconsistency inherent in the Christian system.

I understand that Christianity takes the position that the "Old Testament" is useful mainly as a moral guide and a "fire and brimstone" counterpart to Jesus's messages of love and mercy. The Ten Commandments and patriarchal narratives are OK, but kashrus laws and circumcision practices are no longer necessary. As odd as this "pick-and-choose" basis of a religion is, Christianity still incorporates the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) as the Word of G-d.

The smoking guns is found in this week's parashah, Re'eh. The first gun, as it were, is found at the end of the second aliya where the general principle of Jewish observance is recounted:

Safeguard and hearken to all these words that I command you, in order that it be well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of HASHEM, your G-d. (Deut. 12:28)

While a modern Protestant might point to the last phrase "do what is good and right" as the ethical imperative to live "a good, Christian life" regardless of observance of the laws, Rashi puts the emphasis on the first two phrases. The first phrase, says Rashi, implies that one has to safeguard what one knows by reviewing it and committing it to understanding; thereupon one can then hearken to the commandment by performing it correctly. The next phrase "all these words that I command you" says Rashi teach that all of the mitzvos, whether obviously important or seemingly minor, should be treated equally (cf. Pirke Avos 2:1), blatantly refuting Christianity's customized choice of "applicable" laws.

In the next aliya, the Torah goes on to declare its own completeness. Here, we are not referring to mathematical or logical completeness of Russell or Gödel. Clearly, there are certain situations in life which are not specifically touched upon in the written Torah or even legislated by the Rabbis in the Talmud. Rather, Moshe exhorts the Israelites:

Everything I command you that you shall be careful to do it. You shall neither add to it, nor subtract from it. (Deut. 13:1)

The aliya then goes on to speak about the dangers of and punishments for a false prophet. The Sages relate in Sanhedrin 89a that anyone, even one that was previously confirmed to be a true prophet of G-d, is automatically discredited if he claims that any commandment of the Torah should be permanently repealed. Clearly even without the Talmudic extension, Christianity paradoxically acknowledges that Deut. 12:28 and 13:1 were at one point valid but somehow, despite their textual warnings, have been superseded and abrogated by the words of some new prophet.

I cannot vouch for others' justifications for not being Christian, but for me it lies in these contradictions. Of course I can understand that ex post facto, if I were a Christian, these contradictions may be easier to stomach. But that makes a rather flimsy basis for leaving the Jewish faith.

A little review

Well hello again, it has certainly been a while since we've caught up. Reading the sixth aliyah of this week's parashah, Eikev (Deut. 7:12-11:25), I was finally compelled to start posting again. In the sixth aliyah, which is found in Deut. 11:10-21, we find the second paragraph of the Shema, a three paragraph prayer said twice daily by Jews worldwide. Had I been more diligent, I would've talked about the first, most famous paragraph (Deut. 6:4-9) last week when it is read as the sixth aliyah of parshas Va'eschanan, but so it goes.

The Shema prayer declares HASHEM's unity and sovereignty over the universe. The first paragraph then commands each individual Jew to devote his entire heart, soul and resources to loving HASHEM. The second paragraph then switches tense and addresses the Jewish community as a whole in the plural and again commands the community to love HASHEM through performance of His commandments.

Let's take a step back for a second. We are currently three parshiyos into the book of Devarim (meaning "words"). Christians and other English speakers might know it better as Deuteronomy, which is from the Greek for "second law" (deutero- + nomos). In many ways this is true. Moshe is standing above the eastern bank of the Jordan River giving his final spiel to the people Israel. There is a second recitation of the Ten Sayings (or Ten Commandments, as you may know them). The entire story of the wanderings in the desert are retold. This is Moshe's time to review and make sure everyone is on the same page with the mitzvos before entering the Land.

The Hebrew wording of the first line of the second paragraph of the Shema (v. 13) is a bit curious: אִם-שָׁמֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ

Literally, "if hearken you will hearken" (notice the repeated shoresh ש-מ-ע, meaning "to hear" or "to listen"). While a little repetition is good every once in a while, like say the bulk of Devarim, this back to back repetition clearly strikes us as a bit odd since the Torah will sometimes not even address significant characters by name.

So what gives? Rashi indicates that the double form of the verb implies the maxim "If you forsake me [i.e.,Torah study] for one day, I will forsake you for two days." That is, if you neglect your studies, you'll forget what you learned earlier in addition to not adding more knowledge. Conversely, if [you] hearken [to the things you've already learned by reviewing them, then] you will hearken [to new insights as you study them anew]. A little review is essential to complete understanding.

I wish you all a wonderful, safe, happy, meaningful Shabbos. I'll drop some parshas Re'eh knowledge on you next week.