Response to Richard Dawkins

Response to Richard Dawkins

One time I heard a video on youtube* by Richard Dawkins.** Dawkins said religion is an “accident of geography.” What did he mean by that? Basically, the idea is that almost everyone in the world thinks their parents have the right religion. It would be a most remarkable coincidence if this was by chance. The more likely explanation is that people are following in their paths of indoctrination. Thus, Dawkins would say, that I, a Jew of Jewish parents only believe in Judaism because I was born to Jewish parents.

Nice try Dawkins, but not so fast!!

Dawkins violates a key epistemological ontology by inferring a metaphysical tautology.

In other words, Dawkins is right when he considers religions in general, but it would be a false jump of logic to conclude that that is true of Judaism as well.

Here’s the way I see it. Judaism is the right religion. There is evidence to support it. Jews also raise their kids to be critical, thinking people. Most Jews therefore go to university and take courses in comparative religion, evolution, archeology, philosophy, biblical criticism, cosmology, and history and carefully consider all the evidence. They correctly conclude that Judaism is the right religion. The people that are biased towards their parents’ point of view are everyone else in the world. So, Dawkins would ask, is it coincidence that all the non biased people happen to be those people with Jewish parents? Not at all! It is the Jewish system of fair rational logic that we bring up our children with that imbues them with a sense of intellectual honesty. In short, we are not biased, but everyone else is.
Besides, Jacob Stein converted.
Vehal lehavin

* 21st century yetzer hurrah box
** On my neighbor’s computer