The Utilitarian Proof
That said, let me point out something that's rarely cited as a proof of Moses' idea, but in my mind wins hands down: It works.
Modern society is grounded lock and barrel on Moses' idea: The idea that all people are created by a single G‑d who cares about each one of them. That is the basis of modern democracy and all civil rights. Because to lay a claim to human rights or equality before the law is ludicrous under any other system. The horrors of the twentieth century proved this better than any textbook could and authors such as George Orwell made it lucidly clear to us: There is no rational basis for human rights or justice for all men.
Yet without these things today, society is simply not sustainable--and neither is life on the planet. If G‑d just is and life just is and everything is therefore without innate meaning or value--then dog-eat-dog with the weapons of modern technology is as ugly--and sure--as can be.
So Moses wins in the end. And if Moses is right that G‑d cares, then what is so impossible that G‑d might wish to communicate exactly what He cares about and that it actually happened at a certain point in time at a certain place to a certain mass of people?
Which is just what I believe.
How and When Was the Torah Written?
On a side note: Today for the first time in my life I placed the Torah against my shoulder and held it in arms. It was an experience and joy I never felt before - today I have been blessed.
That said, let me point out something that's rarely cited as a proof of Moses' idea, but in my mind wins hands down: It works.
Modern society is grounded lock and barrel on Moses' idea: The idea that all people are created by a single G‑d who cares about each one of them. That is the basis of modern democracy and all civil rights. Because to lay a claim to human rights or equality before the law is ludicrous under any other system. The horrors of the twentieth century proved this better than any textbook could and authors such as George Orwell made it lucidly clear to us: There is no rational basis for human rights or justice for all men.
Yet without these things today, society is simply not sustainable--and neither is life on the planet. If G‑d just is and life just is and everything is therefore without innate meaning or value--then dog-eat-dog with the weapons of modern technology is as ugly--and sure--as can be.
So Moses wins in the end. And if Moses is right that G‑d cares, then what is so impossible that G‑d might wish to communicate exactly what He cares about and that it actually happened at a certain point in time at a certain place to a certain mass of people?
Which is just what I believe.
How and When Was the Torah Written?
On a side note: Today for the first time in my life I placed the Torah against my shoulder and held it in arms. It was an experience and joy I never felt before - today I have been blessed.
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