I have never accepted irrational religious beliefs. If something in my — or any — religion doesn’t make sense, I don’t accept it. That’s why my five-volume commentary on the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) is titled “The Rational Bible.”
This strikes more than a few religious people as problematic, since many religious people thrive on irrational beliefs. There is a famous Latin phrase, Credo quia absurdum, “I believe because it is absurd,” which has long been attributed to the Church theologian Tertullian (early third century). Tertullian did not in fact say that. But he said something somewhat analogous: “The Son of God died; it is credible, because it is (foolish, absurd, unfitting); and he was buried and rose again; it is certain, because it is impossible.”
I do not mention this desire to believe in the…
