Quote of the Week 112 - Jewish Atheist Spirituality

Is spirituality possible only in the context of divine inspiration? Of course not. Why do you need a god to experience awe at the grandeur and beauty of the natural world? Why do you need a god to feel inspiration and excitement, sometimes to the point of tears, upon seeing a beautiful work of art or hearing an incredible piece of music? Theists have no corner on the spiritual market…Secular Humanistic Jewish organizations eschew the divine and focus on the earthly essence of their existence…Despite the multiplicity of ways of acting out our secular Jewish consciousness, we are united, I hope, in the belief that human beings are in charge of human affairs without the need to seek divine intervention as inspiration or as the object of our supplication.

--Jerald Bain, emeritus professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and endocrinologist at Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto. From an article in the Autumn 2009 edition of Jewish Currents magazine. [Secular Humanistic Judaism is a movement of Jewish atheists who adhere to the perspective described above, with an emphasis on social activism and civil rights based upon ethical and moral principles, with roots in a heritage of left-wing activism and labor union support. Some of the leading organizations are the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations, the Society for Humanistic Judaism, and the Workmen’s Circle. There are Secular Humanistic Jewish congregations and rabbis.]