Jewish-specific books that respond to atheism

Question

Aside from there being (relatively) few online debates by eminent Jewish scholars with atheists, what would be considered recommended reading for a religious Jew who is interested in learning how to respond to criticism from atheism?

(Aside from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' "the Great Partnership")

UPDATE: I just found this online resource (soon to book in 5 parts, ~70 pages each part) by Rabbi Michael Avraham in hebrew. Summarised as follows:

מחברת 1 – הראיה האונטולוגית

מחברת 2 – הראיה הקוסמולוגית

מחברת 3 – הראיה הפיסיקו-תיאולוגית

מחברת 4 – על טיעונים ‘פילוסופיים’ ו’תיאולוגיים

מחברת 5 – מדאיזם לתאיזם

Not a book but you might like to see "THE GOD DEBATE: AC Grayling vs Rabbi Daniel Rowe | J-TV" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTezZFZH098 — Avrohom Yitzchok, Jun 23 '16 at 09:43
@AvrohomYitzchok, thanks, I saw this when it came out. Its difficult to get a deep insight from such a short debate. I also feel that (as I said) because there are so few authentic Jewish scholars debating atheists its hard to get a bigger picture of the overall approach. Conversely, you could watch hundreds of hours of Dawkins (and others) to understand his full 'canon' and approach to the topic. — bondonk, Jun 23 '16 at 09:58
How about "Permission to Believe: Four Rational Approaches to God's Existence" by Lawrence Kelemen - see the "Customer Review". https://www.amazon.co.uk/Permission-Believe-Rational-Approaches-Existence/dp/0944070558 — Avrohom Yitzchok, Jun 23 '16 at 10:15
@AvrohomYitzchok, I read this a while ago. I think its more suited as a beginners guide. It doesn't go into great depth or scour the literature for the real challenges to his arguments. I would be worried if people were to call this a 'conclusive guide', as i know some people hold it to be. — bondonk, Jun 23 '16 at 11:28
If you could clarify what's wrong with "The Great Partnership", that would help potential answerers know what not to recommend for you. Likewise, I think your question should clarify in the question post itself that you're seeking a deep and conclusive guide that scouts the literature for counterarguments, as you indicated in the comments; otherwise, people will post answers that don't address your needs. — msh210, Jun 23 '16 at 13:02
Take a look at Two questions for Atheists by Dennis Prager to explain what I mean. Google Prager Atheism for some interesting articles. — sabbahillel, Jun 23 '16 at 14:19
@sabbahillel Pragers questions are addressed many times, as he professes, with the people he's debated even in writing e.g. see AC Grayling's 30+ books related to atheism. — bondonk, Jun 23 '16 at 14:29
Are you simply asking for material about why atheism is wrong, or are you asking for material that offers a specific defense of Judaism against those attacks against Judaism that are typically posed by atheists? — Fred, Jun 23 '16 at 16:58
Are you looking for something along the lines of Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb's Living Up to the Truth or Ner LeElef's Proofs? — Fred, Jun 23 '16 at 17:03
Read Rabbi Kook, he speaks about the good that Atheism does. It's important to have that perspective when responding to criticism from an Atheist. Rav Kook thought God needs atheism.”Because atheism cleanses the dross of ‘petty religion,’ the narrowness and provincialism of established Jewish religion that frequently becomes arrogant, rigid and judgmental. We need these people, these atheists, whom seek to befriend.” — Aaron, Jun 23 '16 at 19:55
@bondok i'm quoting from this article quoting Rav Kook https://engagingorthodoxy.internationalrabbinicfellowship.org/2015/04/23/a-change-of-heart-rav-kooks-religious-zionism/ however, i have this book, which i remember said this same statement, a few different ways, in a few different places. https://www.amazon.com/Abraham-Isaac-Kook-Principles-Spirituality/dp/080912159X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1466714150&sr=8-3&keywords=rav+kook — Aaron, Jun 23 '16 at 20:38
http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/13764/how-do-we-know-that-god-exists — michael, Jun 24 '16 at 07:28
A very different kind of approach than the usual frum book (i.e. Permission to Believe, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, and Living Up to the Truth) is taken by Shalom Carmy, "Forgive Us, Father-in-Law, For We Know Not What To Think: Letter To A Philosophical Dropout From Orthodoxy" — הנער הזה, Nov 15 '16 at 18:44
Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/18653/2091 See terrific answer there by @Aaliyah — Lee, Jan 31 '17 at 06:25

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 15 '16 at 20:28

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The Confused World of Modern Atheism by Moshe Averick might work for you.

answered Nov 15 '16 at 20:28

Mark A.

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https://www.amazon.com/Nonsense-High-Order-Confused-Atheism/dp/1535018348 I think – Double AA Nov 15 '16 at 20:45
Double AA's comment is the right reference - and it is a truly fantastic book on the topic, fascinating reading - the reference in the answer is to the title of the first edition, the comment has the reference to the second and latest edition – mbloch Mar 12 '17 at 18:19

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 31 '17 at 12:44

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A great book is Search Judaism: Judaism's Answers to a Changing World written by Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer

edited Jan 31 '17 at 12:44

Danny Schoemann

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answered Jan 31 '17 at 11:45

Avi

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 23 '16 at 14:38

You can look into the Ani Maamin Foundation which specializes in such issues and has shiurim available on the topic . Rabbi Dovid Sapirman also put out a book Emunah, A Refresher Course which you can purchase directly from the foundation or from Feldheim. The content deals primarily with answering Atheist claims. I believe the author also answers claims from Richard Dawkins and the like.

Hope this will be helpful.

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Nov 16 '16 at 11:36

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I attach a summarised version, a concise devastating attack on modern atheism.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxwYM1lVw9-9Rm1qZ29QZkhkWm8/view

This is a summary of a 300 page book Pollution of the Mind; A modern attack on Atheism, by Rav Chaim Rosenblatt.

It successfully tears apart the neo-Darwinian theory of evolution.

It is probably the only work out that does it in such a successful and concise way

edited Nov 16 '16 at 11:36

Mark

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answered Nov 15 '16 at 20:53

Mark

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Hi Mark. What is this a version of? Is it a Jewish based work? Please [edit] to include more details about the work and in what way it particularly addresses the question's parameters. – Double AA Nov 15 '16 at 21:09
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The link leads me to a "Sorry, the file you have requested does not exist" page, and googling the title doesn't help either. – Tamir Evan Nov 05 '17 at 14:06

score -1 · Answer 5 · edited Feb 09 '17 at 17:10

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I put together what I believe is a comprehensive list here of the types of arguments you can raise.

see the sections "Truth of Monotheism" and "Evidence of the Soul".

if you know others let me know. though keep in mind that God built the world around free will so it is impossible to completely corner an atheist.

also note that it is a complete waste of time to debate with atheists and may even damage you as the Mesilat Yesharim writes in ch.4

For not only do they lack the [proper] vision to see the truth, to perceive the evil right in front of their eyes, but they also see fit to conjure up great proofs and convincing evidences to support their evil logic and false ideas...

Also note, In order to make this paper comprehensive i also included evidence from controversial sources (ex. seances).

edited Feb 09 '17 at 17:10

Isaac Moses

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answered Jun 23 '16 at 18:46

ray

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Comments have objected that several claims here are not scientific or unanimous. For a discussion of some specific issues, in addition to the general question of which criteria should be used to determine reality, e.g. anecdotal evidence, theoretical evidence, repeatable phenomena, etc., and for some dissenting views within the Jewish community, and to continue the conversation, please visit this chat room. – Monica Cellio Nov 16 '16 at 21:46
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Here's another fake miracle for you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRzcXbQaJDg – Double AA Feb 09 '17 at 17:15
@DoubleAA so what's your point? that all miracles are fake? – ray Feb 15 '17 at 06:18
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No, you just seemed interested in collecting even disproven things in the apparent hope that collectively they sum to more than zero. – Double AA Feb 15 '17 at 15:10
@DoubleAA so you are saying there is nothing of value there. it all adds up collectively to zero? – ray May 12 '17 at 14:58
@DoubleAA also what has been disproven there? i will change it if you can show this – ray May 12 '17 at 15:04
@ray Things were pointed out to your already in what's now archived in the above chat room, and you didn't change anything. – Double AA May 12 '17 at 15:24
@DoubleAA did not see anything disproven there. just lots of dodging questions. i see you are doing the same thing. if you can ever disprove something like you claimed, would love to hear it. though i expect more dodges – ray May 13 '17 at 20:01

Jewish-specific books that respond to atheism

5 Answers5