Scott Shay on Idolatry, Ancient and Modern

The Tikvah Podcast

Tikvah

Judaism, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.6 • 620 Ratings

🗓️ 17 April 2019

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It was just a few years ago that the so-called “New Atheists” played an outsized role in American culture. Scientists like Richard Dawkins and polemicists like the late Christopher Hitchens wrote page after page lambasting faith as not only illogical, but also immoral and destructive. When Scott Shay—founder of a successful bank and an observant Jew—realized how much purchase their arguments had on his friends and colleagues, he decided it was time to explore this “New Atheism,” investigate its arguments, and refute it.

In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism, is the product of Shay’s efforts. The book is incredibly ambitious, tackling everything from the true meaning of the Bible to the proper relationship between faith and science. But perhaps its most interesting insights are on the topic of idolatry and how this scourge of biblical Israel continues to manifest itself today—albeit in a very different guise.

In this podcast, Shay joins Tikvah Fund Senior Director Jonathan Silver for a discussion of his book and the nature of idolatry. Shay describes what motivated him to engage with the arguments of the New Atheists and offers his thoughts on everything from pagan religion to the perils of tribalism in America. As he does so, Shay helps us see how that the temptation of idolatry did not disappear with the ancient world but persists as part of human nature to this very day.

Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble as well as “Great Feeling” by Alex Kizenkov.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In the early years of the 21st century, a brash new form of atheism captured the public imagination.
0:14.0	Scientists like Richard Dawkins and polemicists, like the late Christopher Hitchens,
0:20.0	described faith as illogical, destructive,
0:23.0	even immoral.
0:23.8	When Scott Shea, a founder of a successful bank and observant Jew, realized how much purchased
0:29.5	their arguments had on his friends and colleagues, he decided it was time to explore
0:33.8	this new atheism and investigate its arguments.
0:44.2	The product of that investigation is Scott's 2018 book, In Good Faith, questioning religion and atheism.
0:49.6	In Good Faith is a very ambitious book, surveying everything from the meaning of the Hebrew Bible to the relationship between faith and science.
0:52.2	As I read the book, I found its most penetrating
0:54.9	insights in Scott's section on the topic of idolatry. Idolatory, ancient and modern, is our
1:01.6	topic today on the Tikva podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver. In today's conversation, Scott
1:07.5	and I discuss how he came to think about idolatry, why he was moved to
1:11.0	write about it, what it has to do with the new atheists, with politics, and with a monotheistic
1:16.6	revolution of Hebrew scripture. If you enjoy this week's show, you can subscribe on iTunes,
1:21.9	Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify, and I hope you'll leave us a five-star review. Those reviews
1:26.8	really help us grow this community of ideas.
1:29.8	We'd love to hear your feedback on this or any of our other podcast episodes, and I welcome
1:34.0	your email at podcast at tikfa fund.org.
1:37.4	If you'd like to learn more about our work at Tikva, you can visit our website, tikfafund.org,
1:42.4	and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Here now is my conversation
1:46.0	with Scott Shea, author of In Good Faith. Scott Shea, welcome to the Tikva podcast. It's a pleasure
	...

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