Why are we all guilty of setting the big questions aside?
I think that there are two main reasons.
First, is it because they mostly make us uncomfortable. I mean, really sitting and thinking about your fundamental philosophical assumptions is a taxing endeavor.
Much research into it requires deep thought and extensive reading into both philosophy and theology. Need I say that both of these subjects can often be drier than other reading options?
The second reason is probably an issue of time.
For example, I am enormously interested in these big questions of life. But work and kids and chores and the gym and the dog all compete for my limited time.
The truth is that for most, uncomfortable and difficult introspection can be hard to prioritize.
But if you need a few big questions to start, here are four posts to get you started:
- If God Is Good Why Is There Evil?
- The question of suicide.
- Why does God allow suffering?
- Does science assume anything?
Lepke and Weiss were raised as Jews, with the bar mitzvah at thirteen, the High Holy Days after, and said they believed in God. This belief was not something they talked about. It was probably something they held in reserve, like a gallon of gas in the trunk. When they needed it, there it would be. Like most of us, they probably set the big questions aside, believing they would solve them later, when there was time. And who knows? Maybe there was time, and maybe they did solve them.
-Rich Cohen, Tough Jews