Dear Rabbi,
Turns out that monotheism is a solution to nothing. Before monotheism, we had
barbarians. After monotheism, we have barbarians. Monotheistic barbarians.
What's the difference between them and us? We have one G-d. So do they. We
pray to Him three times a day, they do five. We smash idols, so do they. Our
goal is for all pagans to perish from the face of the earth; so is theirs.
And here's the scary part: They give up their lives in the name of Allah.
Well, what do we have to say about that? We have martyrs galore! Why, Abraham
was ready to sacrifice his own son for G-d's sake. Then there's the story of
Chana and her seven sons. We even have a name for it: Kiddush Hashem --
"the sanctification of G-d's holy name." They say it's the highest
level a Jew could reach. And he goes straight to heaven.
Fact is, this wonderful monotheism of yours has made lush forest and pasture
into desert, shackled the poor into their poverty, and closed one-fifth of
humanity to the advance of humanitarianism. Of the thirty armed conflicts in the
world today, Moslems are involved in twenty-eight of them.
So what was the whole point of this one G-d idea? So that people could get
blown up for eating pizza? So that Allah could delight in the smoke of the twin
towers? How can you tell me that monotheism is such a great idea, when it brings
to such horrifying catastrophe?
The Short Answer:
You're right. Monotheism is a dangerous idea. The most dangerous idea there
is, because it leaves no room for anything else. You could destroy the world
with this belief.
For this idea to enter our world, another knowledge had to be married to it,
a crucial fact about this One G-d: That He is in love with the world He has
made, and especially with the people He has placed upon it.
The Long Answer:
For the "long answer", let me tell you a story from the Holy Zohar,
mentioned also in the Midrash Rabbah. A story I call The Aleph Files
[to view "The aleph Files" click here]
