36 Arguments for the Existence of God

I just finished the great novel "36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction" by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein.  (She's going to be speaking at the San Diego Jewish Book Fair on Monday Nov. 15.)  The book is a funny satire on American academic (or Jewish academic) life.  The main character, Cass Seltzer, is called an "atheist with a soul."  In the novel he writes a book about the psychology of religious belief, but it is the appendix to the book that makes him famous.  It is a series of thirty-six arguments for the existence of God that he then refutes.  The arguments are all found in the end of the novel.

As a rabbi, I am often asked about God, especially by people exploring Judaism.  I think they take if for granted that a religious person is supposed to believe in God, but I think what people are really asking me is what it means to believe in God.  What is belief for a contemporary Jew?  What is contemporary Jewish faith?  I hope to explore what it means to me in the next few posts.