Doing versus Believing in Modern Judaism

I subscribe to Biblical Archaeology Review. This morning, I read an interesting article in the January-February 2015 issue. 

In his article "Theology versus Law in Ancient Judaism," Jonathan Klawans wrote about how some Jews ascribe more to what one does than what one believes. To the Christian mind, this is a shocking concept. At least, it was to me when I first realized that this is the way many modern Jews think, particularly academic professionals. 

As Christians, our relationship with God is the premise upon which we build our lives. We work for God and we believe in the laws of God but we are not work and law-oriented to the degree that they override our basic belief in God. In fact, Jesus and the apostles emphasized the necessity of believing. 

German-Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (1726-1786) is credited with propagating this idea in "modern" times. This emphasis on law is found in biblical accounts of the Pharisees and other religious Jewish sects. Good portions of New Testament Epistles - particularly Romans and Galatians - focus on helping Christians adopt a belief system over simply following rules without relationship.

As Jonathan Klawans points out, we can't paint with too broad of a brush. All modern Jews do not espouse the "do and not believe ideology." 

But this article reminded me of a statement I read by Jacob L. Wright in the comments section of an online article I read. (Last year, I took an online course taught by Jacob L. Wright called "The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future.") Here is Professor Wright's quote:

"It's not about believing. It's about doing. Belief comes and it goes, for me, almost hourly." His point was that when you commit to doing, you won't have to worry about your mind changing "from minute to minute like you can do with your most inner beliefs."

Klawans opened his article in Biblical Archaeology Review with this story: "Years ago, I was sitting with a group of young married couples. One of the non-Jewish spouses in the group said something to the effect that he had considered converting to Judaism but decided he could not. Someone asked, "Why not?" To which he replied, "Oh, I can't convert to Judaism. I don't believe in God." Someone else present immediately slammed his hand on the table in objection, "And what does that have to do with it?" 

This might startle many lay Christians. For many of us, we could say that our beliefs do not change minute by minute. Belief in God is absolutely imperative. We commit to this belief and it becomes the foundation of our lives. All we do is based upon what we believe. 

Jacob L. Wright quote taken from http://finkorswim.com/2013/08/21/can-one-be-a-shomer-torah-umitzvos-and-accept-bible-criticism/