Customer Reviews

Permission To Believe: Four Rational Approaches to God's Existence

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In this slim volume, Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen sets out to grant "permission to believe" to those who would believe in God if they didn't think theism was irrational and/or unscientific.

He succeeds in his limited aim, namely, that of providing short overviews of broad areas of thought (e.g. morality, cosmology, teleology) that tend to converge on theistic belief. And he is sometimes incisive in his critiques of opposing viewpoints.

But not always. For example, in his opening chapter he argues that atheism is irrational, on the (sole) grounds that positive knowledge of God's nonexistence would require an exhaustive knowledge of everything that exists. But we can know that, say, there are no square circles without knowing _everything_ there is; what if -- as some atheists allege -- the idea of God is somehow self-contradictory? It isn't, but R. Kelemen doesn't address the point at all.

Similarly his views on "morality" depend on an odd view of reason that already concedes too much to the other side. Reason is not an adequate foundation for morality, he argues, because (in effect) "reason" really amounts to nothing more than logical deduction.

Here I'm afraid he missed an opportunity to argue for God based on the very _rationality_ of ethics (and Torah ethics in particular). Indeed, the existence of rationality itself could have been the foundation for a powerful argument; in Maimonidean tradition, the faculty of reason is the precise respect in which humans are said to be made in God's image. Here as before, R. Kelemen seems to depend on an inadequate (and thoroughly "modern" and "secularist") account of reason and rationality.

But we should not make too much of such oversights. R. Kelemen's goal was not to provide a solid and irrefutable case for theistic belief, but only to provide a short introduction to several fruitful lines of thought that suggest the rationality of theism. His book will be useful to those who have never considered such arguments before, though anyone seriously pursuing these topics will undoubtedly want to move on to other literature.

Since I got this book,I've read it a few times,concentrating on the information it presents and analyzing it in relation to my worldviews.I find all that he says to be compelling one to research it further,if one is willing to be honest with himself.The book itself is written in an understandable language,which is often a problem with other books on this subject. I think it should be read by one who is willing to honestly consider the possibility of G-d's existence.

This is an excellent book that introduces you to the basics of belief (and not blind faith) in God. It is suitable for everyone that wishes to try and leave the "blind faith" principle of The Church behind and start to really think. Yes, there will be questions afterwards, many of them. That's just fine. It just means that one should go and learn more about God, this time without blinkers.

A reviewer from the UK wrote, "For those who are familiar with the philosophy of Randian Objectivism this philosophy will be weak. For those without a deep understanding of science or philosophy this book will be very persuasive. This book must be read critically and the science used must be questioned."

If the reviewer found the arguments weak he either does not fully appreciate the illogical conclusions of Ayn Rand which is that "Life is meaningless and I refuse to even consider any other view" or the reviewer is a confirmed Randian and is applying his own narrow minded view and refuses to even consider a rational approach to whether Life has any meaning.

Randian philosophy like many other philosophies grew out of a society that when confronted with Science and rationality, found the primitive paganism of The Church complete nonsense. However, one should not paint Judaism with the same brush.

Judaism, (unlike all the other systems of faith that "claim" to have superseded it), does in fact hold up to a rational and scientific approach. There is a God. He does care. There is meaning in Life. Go Learn!

Keleman won't try to convince you that his is the ONLY truth. He won't tell you how to change your life overnight. He doesn't make any extraordinary claims for Judaism or religion in general.

All Keleman does is take you by the hand and reassure you that the faith you were born with -- for we all innately believe in *something* -- may not have been so off-base after all.

For anyone who suspects that cynicism will never lead to contentment, or anyone who wonders if there might indeed be room for faith in the modern world, this book is a comfort and a refuge. Enjoy!

I earlier reviewed a later book written by Lawrence Kelemen entitled "Permission to Receive." I stated that although well written and interestingly argued, I was left unconvinced that there was literally a revelation at Sinai. I read "Permission to Believe" several years ago and I have found it to be more convincing. What Kelemen does in both books is to use rational arguments to prove the existence of G-d (Permission to Believe) and the literal giving of the Torah by G-d (Permission to Receive). In searching for G-d, there have always been both rationalists and mystics. Kelemen argues the rationalist position well. He attempts to reason the reader into believing that G-d exists. Although reason cannot prove the existence of G-d, it can leave us convinved of the logic that G-d must exist. He advances four arguments to support his position in each book and in "Permission to Believe, I am convinced by the argument which could, perhaps, be summarized "something could not have been created from nothing."

The reason why this book is more convincing than the later book is because here, it is quite possible to conclude that the divine is part of the nature of existence; that creation and life could not logically have come from nothing. In other words, he is trying to argue the natural order with logic. On the other hand, in "Permission to Receive," he is attempting to argue a subjective, supernatural event by using logic. A divine revelation is a supernatural event rather than being part of the natural order. Accordingly he was attempting to use reason to prove the mystical. In Permission to Believe, on the other hand, he is using logic and reason to prove the more general concept that philosophers have reasoned over for millenia; that G-d must exist. This argument, without trying to prove supernatural specific events, is stronger and I remain convinced in the existence of G-d in some meaningful form.

Kelemen offers the most powerful challenge to atheists and agnostics I have ever read. When I finished the book, I felt I would have to take a leap of faith to DENY God's existence. This is essential reading for any open-minded skeptic.

A real mind opening book for those whom are willing to let their minds be opened. The author objectively shows how even the most logical of minds is able to admit logically that it is G_D whom created our world and all that is within it. He uses straight forward logic and documented sources. He quotes well known and respected personalities with a complete bibliography. Plus the book is very well written and very enjoyable to read. A must for everyone to better understand the world we are in.

This book sets Judaism apart from every other religion by unveiling the fundamental principal that Orthodox Judaism is essentially the most logical way to live your life. Notice how people who have issues with it never state what their issues actually are....

This is an excellent book that introduces you to the basics of belief (and not blind faith) in God. It is suitable for everyone that wishes to try and leave the "blind faith" principle of The Church behind and start to really think. Yes, there will be questions afterwards, many of them. That's just fine. It just means that one should go and learn more about God, this time without blinkers.

A reviewer from the UK wrote, "For those who are familiar with the philosophy of Randian Objectivism this philosophy will be weak. For those without a deep understanding of science or philosophy this book will be very persuasive. This book must be read critically and the science used must be questioned."

If the reviewer found the arguments weak he either does not fully appreciate the illogical conclusions of Ayn Rand which is that "Life is meaningless and I refuse to even consider any other view" or the reviewer is a confirmed Randian and is applying his own narrow minded view and refuses to even consider a rational approach to whether Life has any meaning.

Randian philosophy like many other philosophies grew out of a society that when confronted with Science and rationality, found the primitive paganism of The Church complete nonsense. However, one should not paint Judaism with the same brush.

Judaism, (unlike all the other systems of faith that "claim" to have superseded it), does in fact hold up to a rational and scientific approach. There is a God. He does care. There is meaning in Life. Go Learn!

In this volume Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen deals with the unfortunately widespread misconception that believe in the Almighty is neccesarily irrational.
On the contrary Rabbi Kelemen loggically explains why belief in G-D is rational and logical and that it is atheism that is irrational.
He explains that to be sure that no G-D exists , one has to know all that there is to know in the universe , which is impossible.
He deals with ethical and moral approaches to G-D's existence , pointing out that the truth of the absolute distinction between right and wrong , which underpins all decency and civilization, has to come from some supreme being.
He provides hard scientific evidence with the cosmological and theological approaches to G-D's existence , and he provides an outline of Jewish history , explaining why the miracle of the survival of the Jewish people over four thousand years , points to the existence of G-D.
He outlines the beginnings of the Hebrew nation , and the millenia of persecution , to the miraculous re-establishment of the State of Israel , and how Israel has survived against a massive Arab world dedicated to it's destruction through seven wars.
In fact this book was published in 1990 before [...] rained thousands of deadly scuds into Israel's population centers , the following year , leading to not one single Israeli fatality.
Israel has also in the last six years faced a concerted war of terror by the Palestinians , with the support of most of the world. considering that almost daily attacks are launched ta Israeli civillians , the 1000 c death toll is miraculously small.

These events bare out further the Jewish history approach to G-D's existence.