I read a eulogy for the famed Physicist and blasphemer Professor Steven Weinberg who passed away not long ago. The author [himself a Jewish Professor with an IQ of over 2000] concludes
"If God exists, I can’t believe He or She [sic] would find nothing more interesting to do with Steve than to torture him for his unbelief. More likely, I think, God is right now talking to Steve the same way Steve talked to Aristarchus in To Explain the World: “yes, you were close about the origin of neutrino masses, but here’s the part you were missing…”
This is a common theological error. "If" G-d exists [and HE DOES!!! - much more than we exist] then he is inscrutable and incomprehensible. In the Kotzker's inimitable words: I don't want to believe in a G-d that a טיפה סרוחה - putrid drop of semen - can understand. Or as the Navi put it: כי לא מחשבותי מחשבותיכם - Hashem's thoughts are not our thoughts. We are limited, pre-programmed human beings who are FILLED [as social science has definitively proven] with cognitive distortions.
THAT is why we need Torah. The TORAH tells us what is important to Hashem, what He wants and how He relates to us. So if He tells us that one is punished for disbelief - then one is punished for disbelief. If that idea doesn't "work" for a person, if he thinks it doesn't make sense -- he must know that Hashem's "sense" if infinitely different than ours.
Scientists can be great at science but theology is usually not their expertise. A guy may be an BRILLIANT investor but that doesn't mean that he can diagnose an illness. Different disciplines.
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On the note of cognitive distortions - I heard a shiur today. The Rav wanted to bring out a certain idea. He read a Rambam and lo and behold - the Rambam says the OPPOSITE of what he was saying😲😲. So what did he do? He twisted the Rambam's words to say exactly what he was saying. And he MEANT it. He really thought that the Rambam meant to say what this person explained even though it is CLEAR that the Rambam was saying the opposite.
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Moral: We are only human. We must always have an open mind to try to expand, sharpen and clarify our understanding. Fortunately we have Torah and the guidance of Chazal to learn from a Rebbi and with a chavrusa who can challenge our understanding.
