To acknowledge the First Cause by saying thank or please Goodness for Atheists

The importance of being thankful and hopeful to stay grateful and humble and not turn into a spoiled brat

There exist unpleasant and inconsiderate people who call themselves religious. Yet, how can you truly love G^d and not be nice to all his kids?

Religion should train us to be social. Many Atheists are pleasant too. But is that because they are Atheists, or because they are (grand)children or students of religious people? For how many generations will they be nice?

It takes training and good examples to not turn into a total egotist. In fact, Rabbi Dessler says that the only goal of Judaism is to turn a selfish baby into a giving grownup. (Not that I think that babies are selfish.)

Thank Goodness and Gratefulness

Most people have no problem deflecting guilt over immoral actions to the influence of their surroundings, parents, friends, or parents, all the way back to Adam and Eve who blamed G^d, the First Cause. (There is no need to believe the Paradisiacal Story, but recognize an inevitable First Cause.)

If in the negative, it’s easy to cause ourselves to G^d. Then it should be easier in the positive, to define the beginning of all good to G^d.

Baruch Hashem is Hebrew for acknowledging G^d, for taking nothing for granted. Baruch means the Source of all blessings. (It does not mean: blessed is.) We stop becoming a spoiled brat by saying, ‘Thank G^d for …’

Yet, Hashem is very personal and Jewish. You might want to stay with a more generic: G^d, Elohim, Zeus, Good Fortune, Goodness, etc. Or, at least, include, ‘Thankfully.’

Gratefulness is a must for being a tolerable person. This acknowledgment builds you up, not G^d.

To be ungrateful is extra toxic because no matter how much generosity they meet, they won’t be pleased because they assume they deserve so.

To say Thank you is one thing. Better still is to give a blessing to the one who helped you. They are not your eternal servant. They are your equal.

Crazy Reactions to Crazy Circumstances Are Normal

American culture is so materialistic that maybe there, some norms for how to say Thank G^d may be in order. And in countries where American culture is admired and imitated maybe also. (Americans, it is fine to complain to a friend or G^d to feel a bit better. Being grateful doesn’t have to be buying into the American fake happiness craze. And being grateful for pleasurable feelings doesn’t need to lead to being pleasure-driven.)

But in general, say Thank G^d for your cup of water, the cup, the water, its pureness, its taste, gravity, your thirst, your ability to drink, that drinking helps, doesn’t hurt, etc. If you like, include Evolution, who washed the cup, plumbers who laid the pipes, store workers who sold the cup, transportation workers, road planners, taxpayers, etc.

Thank G^d for waking up, my sweet partner, my plan to change jobs, that I’m not hurting everywhere today, that I can feel pain, etc.

Please Goodness and Humility

A very small step from the above is to say all the time ‘Be’ezrat Hashem,’ Please G^d. Or, at least, ‘Hopefully.’

Which is close to the act of praying. Why wait until you’re in a foxhole? That’s like carrying a weapon for self-defense but never having practiced how to use it. What can you do when push comes to shove? And it will!

That’s to reconfirm our imperfection, to maintain our humility enough to stay palatable to our friends.

***

You might have some explaining to do to your fellow Atheists that you’re still in the fold.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1