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Rabbi sets out to dispel myths about faith in new book

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SAN FRANCISCO--Rabbi David Wolpe admits some of the terms he uses in his new book, "Why Faith Matters," might make some Jews feel uncomfortable.

Terms like "faith."

"Christian audiences are more used to faith language," says the best-selling author. "Jews more comfortably speak the language of peoplehood, tzedakah and mitzvah, and not so much belief in God, which is kind of odd since we introduced it."

In a book intended for Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike, Wolpe collects all the arguments directed against religious faith over the years--the kind of arguments routinely debated in the halls of academia--and attempts to parry them one by one. Is religion a panacea because everyone's afraid of dying? Nonsense, says Wolpe. How then to account for the countless acts of courage performed in the name of faith?

Religion disproved by science? Rubbish, he says. What about the countless scientists who profess faith, and who assert that science cannot answer every question?

And he's gone into the debate arena with prominent atheists like Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, both of whom wrote bestsellers on the subject.

Wolpe has a national reputation as an author and rabbi. His previous volumes include "The Healer of Shattered Hearts" and "Why Be Jewish?" Last year, in a decidedly unscientific survey, Newsweek named him one of America's 50 most influential rabbis (No. 1 pulpit rabbi, No. 12 overall).

Today he serves as spiritual leader of Sinai Temple, one of Los Angeles's largest Conservative congregations.

But all the fame and glory meant nothing when he was diagnosed first with a benign brain tumor in 2003 and, in 2006, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (he is currently in remission).

Without the shock of life-threatening illness, Wolpe says he isn't sure he could have written a book about why faith matters.

He recalls telling his wife the impetus for the book originated after he read a newspaper op-ed by Harris defending a world without God--an essay that greatly irked the rabbi.

Says Wolpe: "She smiled at me in that indulgent way wives have when they know their husbands don't know what they're talking about. She said 'You started this book when you finished chemotherapy.'"

The son of a rabbi, Wolpe had already made a long journey of faith before his illness. He had gone through an early atheist phase, during which he was enthralled with British philosopher Bertrand Russell. Over time, he returned to the Jewish fold, more secure in his faith than ever.

Today he is convinced that faith and reason can happily coexist. At the same time, he concedes religious faith is a tougher sell for many Jews. That's because a Jewish atheist is just as Jewish as the most pious Chassid.

"Judaism is more of a familial tradition," he says. "You're born into it. Judaism fits a faithless age much better than Christianity, but I would say that Judaism without faith cannot survive very long."

Even if some skeptical Jews were to feel somewhat drawn to faith, Wolpe acknowledges that the public face of religion--too often Christian televangelists with feet of clay--can be a big turnoff. Not to mention that some Christian denominations have a "my way or the highway" attitude about their religion.

"While God may be infallible, people are not," he explains. "Since there have been so many different understandings of God throughout history, a decent respect for the fallibility of the human mind reminds us that we may not actually have it right. I always say that I am not interested in arguing Judaism's superiority, just its excellence."

Jewish audiences routinely agree with that sentiment when he's out on the lecture circuit. And though he never experienced a "Billy Graham" moment, in which a Wolpe-inspired audience member suddenly professes allegiance to religion, he keeps at it, trying to persuade others to come to faith.

"You can be modern, thoughtful, enlightened and deeply faithful, "he says. "Faith not only can enrich your life, but it is a powerful and true way of looking at the world."

"Why Faith Matters" by Rabbi David Wolpe (208 pages, HarperOne, $24.95).

Reprinted with permission from), the Jewish news weekly of Northern California, www.jweekly.com.



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