Saturday, August 20, 2011

Response to "Still the Only Solution to the World's Problems"

Mr. Prager's analysis of the Ten Commandments was a stellar interpolation of current events, eternal values, and pressing import.

Excellent throughout!

Indeed, no one is godless, the greatest folly of atheism. We all answer to someone. The question is, to what, or to whom. The insipidness of modern life has foolishly assumed that "It's my life, I can do what I want." Yet nothing could be further from the truth.

I also enjoyed Mr. Prager's connection with covetousness and class warfare. The haves and have-nots is a false dichotomy created by the political class to incite envy among those who have not because they work not, or ask amiss, that they may spend what is not theirs on their divers lusts.

My only concern is that, for all the holiness and goodness inherent in God's Law, or rather, Instruction-Direction (the literal meaning of Torah), Mr. Prager does not explain how mankind can live up to the standard in the law. For Rabbi Yochanan writes: "But if a man do the whole, with the omission of one, he is guilty of the whole, and of every one".

Knowledge of the Law certainly has not made the race any better, let alone a near-heaven on earth. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, sinned because they wanted the knowledge of Good and Evil, which only instilled in them yetster hara, which undermines any fantastic notion of yetser hatov in humanity today (consider mass murder at the hands of the State, Nazi, Communist, etc.)

The Law is good, Mr. Prager. But it does not make me good. I think we would do well to search for the One who can make us good, true, and holy. The Law is certainly a diligent schoolmaster, but what is the one needful lesson?

No comments:

Post a Comment