THREAD: On Jewish Atheism. People frequently ask whether you can be a Jew and be an atheist. When speaking to Jews about atheism, Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi would famously say “I don’t believe in the same God you don’t believe in.” This is the basis of my answer. 0/

Atheism as we think of it in common popular culture in America is primarily based on a Christian worldview. Atheism in this form is in contrast to Christian views of belief, belief in Christ being the integral key point to Christianity. This is not parallel in Judaism. 1/
In order to be an atheist in Judaism, you have to actively believe something very specific: The materiality of the world as we see it is definitely all there is, without any meaning or purpose. Arch materialists like this certainly exist, but I find them exceedingly rare. 2/
Throughout Jewish history the theology has been incredibly diverse. The idea of a man in the sky pulling the strings has not been prominent for over a millennium. Even Biblically it wasn't the norm. For great Biblical theology, check out this book: https://t.co/tq6tk2OSUj 3/
Classical Rabbinic ideas varied widely. Merkabah Mystics did transcendental journeying for experience of the supernatural realm; Tzadokim denied the supernatural realm; the Mishnah (below) simply said don't go there. Jews always went There, but never settled on what "There" is.4/
Since Saadia Gaon the Aristotelian (10th c) conception has been widely popular. The Kabbalists went towards something like neoplatonism. Spinoza (one of my favorites) was accused of atheism, but has a whole book of theology. Hasidim took Kabbalah to a pantheistic conclusion. 5/
Early Reformers (18th c) focused on talking about "the God idea" rather than God per se. More recently, R. Mordecai Kaplan denied God as supernatural, and defined God as the power which makes possible personal salvation, or "worthwhileness of life." https://t.co/SpDwlwRQse 6/
These examples are the tip of the iceberg. What it boils down to is that in order to be a Jewish atheist, there would be a denial of all mystery in the world. And, the Rabbis taught us that the Mystery doesn't decide our behavior. 7/
In his powerful book "Nothing Sacred," @rushkoff wrote: "By keeping God unnamable and unknowable, Jews could also keep this deity universal.” I agree, and therefore, atheism (a primarily Christian frame) isn't usually the issue. The actual issue is idol worship. 8/
Rather than atheism, idol worship is the banned theology of Judaism. Idol worship requires clearcut claims of direct and exclusive knowledge of what God (or a god) is. Being b'nei Yisrael is being the people that struggle with God- it is an active, ongoing, undefined process. 9/

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Hi @officestudents @EHRC @EHRCChair @KishwerFalkner @RJHilsenrath @trussliz @GEOgovuk

The Equality and Diversity section of your job application has 'gender' in what appears to be a list of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

However...

1/15


However, 'gender' is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and is not defined in the Act.

https://t.co/qisFhCiV1u

Sex is the protected characteristic under the Act, but that is not on your list.

2/15


You then ask for the 'gender' of the applicant with options:

Male
Female.

3/15


Again, 'gender' is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and is not defined in the Act.

https://t.co/qisFhCiV1u

4/15


Sex is the protected characteristic and the only two possible options for sex are 'Female' and 'Male' as defined in the Act and consistent with biology, but you don't ask for that.

https://t.co/CEJ0gkr6nF

'Gender' is not a synonym for sex.

5/15
It is simply not correct to point fingers at wind & solar energy as we try to understand the situation in TX. The system (almost) had a plan for weather (almost) like this. 1/x


It relied on very little wind energy - that was the plan. It relied on a lot of natural gas - that was the plan. It relied on all of its nuclear energy - that was the plan. 2/x

There was enough natural gas, coal and nuclear capacity installed to survive this event - it was NOT "forced out" by the wind energy expansion. It was there. 3/x

Wind, natural gas, coal and nuclear plants all failed to deliver on their expectations for long periods of time. The biggest gap was in natural gas! The generators were there, but they were not able to deliver. 4/x

It may be fair to ask why there is so much wind energy in ERCOT if we do NOT expect it to deliver during weather events like this, but that is an entirely different question - and one with a lot of great answers!! 5/x

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“We don’t negotiate salaries” is a negotiation tactic.

Always. No, your company is not an exception.

A tactic I don’t appreciate at all because of how unfairly it penalizes low-leverage, junior employees, and those loyal enough not to question it, but that’s negotiation for you after all. Weaponized information asymmetry.

Listen to Aditya


And by the way, you should never be worried that an offer would be withdrawn if you politely negotiate.

I have seen this happen *extremely* rarely, mostly to women, and anyway is a giant red flag. It suggests you probably didn’t want to work there.

You wish there was no negotiating so it would all be more fair? I feel you, but it’s not happening.

Instead, negotiate hard, use your privilege, and then go and share numbers with your underrepresented and underpaid colleagues. […]