What's wrong with David Gottlieb, or why we should stop G-d's advocacy

In a recent discussion on Facebook someone brought up David Gottlieb's brochure, named " Living up to the Truth" - as your Final Argument for the Absolute Truth of Torah and Judaism.
Before we examine some of the ideas in this brochure, let me explain to you why am I even bothered to address it, and why I think this issue is so critically important.
Gottlieb represents a particular tendency in the outreach world, that despite it's many failures and obvious wrongs ( both moral and factual ) - is still viewed by many of its adherents as some sort of a Magic Tool, that really "gets you there". Basic idea is this- let's " prove Judaism " to uneducated masses, and bring them forth to become true believers! And since we live in the age of science, all sorts of arguments are used, proving authenticity of the Torah from archaeology and history from natural sciences and statistics ( think of Torah codes and Discovery seminar )
Proponents of this approach fail to see, how often they cross the line of " end justifies means "- when your goal is so holy ( "making people frum" ) that you can use all sorts of arguments in the process, even if only partially true, or biased and selective at best- often going against consensus in the mainstream scientific community, and almost never accurate, if you examine them carefully.
On philosophical grounds, suggestion that We know all the Truth is simply delusional- you are not going to find anyone among major philosophers of today who would even take it seriously. Beginning with Kantian refutation of all "arguments for G-d", that were so popular in medieval philosophy, we are moving further and further away from this absolutist, one-truth-only picture of the world, and here comes a challenge to our conventional religious worldview- are we willing to become a bit more humble in our attempts "to figure out G-d" ?
These questions and tendencies of our Post-modernist world seem to pass unnoticed by our Kiruv Apologists. But my argument against "gottliebs" goes much deeper- I believe that such an approach is  theologically inconsistent and morally wrong ! 
And let me illustrate my point, by bringing a few ideas from Gottlieb's treatise " Living up to the
Truth ", which we shall analyze.

At first he makes an interesting argument that we can't ask a question whether "Torah is relevant"- and here's his reasoning
The only way in which I can ask if the Torah is relevant or not is to have already decided not to treat it as true, not to take it on its own terms, in terms of its own self-conception, but rather to set 
something else up as a standard of what shall or shall not be relevant. 
The Torah is that to which other things have to be relevant, if they are to be relevant at all. 
The question then becomes not: Is the Torah relevant to me, to mankind, to society? and so forth, but the question then becomes: Am I relevant to the Torah? Is my life a relevant life? I become the subject matter of the question, not the one who asks of the question.
Hmm, basically he says that Torah ( before he even brought us any arguments to support his claim that it can be proven True rationally )- is an absolute standard, by definition- and we humans must look at ourselves as mere "tools" to accomplish what the Torah tells us, basically turning our very
existence into machine-like Obedience to the Eternal Law.
 While I must admit that such way of thinking is becoming more and more popular in the Ultra-Orthodox circles ( to which Gottlieb himself belongs ), I strongly reject his claim that this is an authentic Torah-true view, which he clearly suggests.
Two points to consider-
1). Judaism starts with Abraham, who questions G-d and even argues with him, for the sake of humanity and loving kindness - something Noach failed to do, when he simply followed the orders, allowing  the Flood to happen- in other words, he was Gottlieb's role-model of Obedient "subject matter of the question", he didn't question G-d, and it didn't disturb him at all that all of humans are going to die - if G-d wishes so it must be right, he argued. But that's certainly not a Jewish way of thinking.
2). Rav Wolbe at the beginning of Aley Shur, ( volume 2 ) discusses this question, of "who comes first"- Torah or Man- and comes to clear conclusion from the Jewish sources, that although many think "man was created for the sake of the Torah ", in truth the opposite is correct- " Torah was
created for the sake of man" ! At the end of the day, we know this principle ( man comes first ) in our
Halacha- sages interpreted Torah's verse that man should "fulfill the law and live by it" as an
underlying principle- Torah Law is here to allow us live in this world- and should there be 
conflict between the Law and Life- Life comes first ! 
( many Halachic consessioms are based on this understanding- not just in laws of Shabbat )
Gottlieb continues his argument wth the following proposal-
The search for truth requires the rejection of falsehood. Religions contradict one another, so not more than one can be wholly true; to find one wholly true means the others are not. The idea of a common core to all religions fails since the contradictions between religions prevents the proposed core from having any content
This argument would lead him to prove that Judaism is the only true religion, and I'm not even interested in showing an obvious bias and selective thinking he's so notoriously showing there- rather I suggest to look into his argument above. There is just one Truth, he claims, and since religions all
contradict each other, there is only one true religion !
This desire to put G-d into "my box" clearly belongs to the past, and current paradigm in the multicultural world of today is that although we are all very different, we shouldn't look at the world as US and THEM! This way of thinking brought so much destruction and conflicts into the world, and  still continues to do so, by making that arrogant claim that " We are the only holders of the Absolute Truth"- and to make it really easy for us to see, let's think of ISIS for example-
  the only explanation to their violence and butchery lies in their absolute confidence that they are holders of Absolute Truth, and all others are simply heretics 
Rabbi Sacks in his "Dignity of Difference" made bold suggestion ( for an Orthodox Rabbi ) that other religions could also be True. We don't have monopoly on G-d, or as some would put it- G-d has no religion. Does it make us weaker in our claim for Truth? I personally don't think so- Judaism is our unique language and yet there are other languages in the world. Each tradition makes a claim to get all the way to the top of the mountain- and I think, if we share some moral and ethical ideas about what it means to do Good and bring Love and Justice into this world- we should judge them favourably. I may even suggest the following Paradigm of Coexistence between different religious
 traditions- consider Schools of Shammai and Hillel and their disputes. Famously,  Talmud concludes- these and those are the Words of G-d, however the Law follows the school of Hillel.
Hillel and Shammai represent conflicting points of view, and their argument according to Gottlieb should have only one side as True, the other being False. That's exactly the opposite of what Talmud suggests- G-d's Truth is much bigger than our limited perception of it, and even though logically it seems inconsistent ( how come both are right, aren't they saying opposite things? ) - yet that's the World of G-d- and will remain an Enigma, often going beyond our limited human logic.
At the same time, we cannot live in such paradox ( both are right ) when it comes to practice- and here we need to have certainty - Law follows the School of Hillel
Same principle can be applied in our conversation with the bigger non-Jewish world, and it's different religious traditions- we don't have to reject them in order to prove ourselves right  ( especially if we find their values compatable to ours )- however, we should follow our tradition, and nourish its great
and unique language of Truth, as it was revealed to our fathers!

Finally, although I'm not getting into details of Gottlieb's work, here's my last point- besides being philosophically outdated, theologically questionable at best, his approach is also morally wrong! 
In order to make things "that simple", proponents of this approach always have to cut corners to fit the world into their limited pattern of thinking where there is just one truth- and they know it all.
In his attempt to bring an "objective scientific argument " to support his claim,  Gottlieb resides to archaeology- very problematic field indeed, of which I happen to know ( I took a few courses as part of my tour guide training ). It's so problematic when it comes to factual part of the Torah that you have many religious archaeologists asserting that Exodus never happened- that's their scientific position - which I'm not sure how they're reconciling with their beliefs. I asked this question one of these professors, but his answer didn't comfort me- " I put religion aside when I'm dealing wth science"- he said . Not the best answer, I admit, but I think it's more intellectually honest than an attempt to persuade your audience that you possess an Absolute Truth, using in your argument very carefully selected and biased record of " scientific proofs "
My punchline here is really simple- let's stop being G-d's advocates, he really doesn't need it ! 
Nowhere in the Torah it says " be my advocates". Especially in view of Rav Kook's idea ( inspired by our Kabbalists ) that G-d is constantly renewing this world and gives each generation new insights, as this world undergoes constant process of evolvement and growth- we must carefully listen to his voice in the contemporary world, instead of attempts "to prove Him right "

Religion as Force of Change

Religion is often criticized for being dogmatic and resisting the change. Religious people find their inspiration in the great images of the past, and are often told to look up at them as role models for today. " If previous generations were like angels, we are like humans. But if they are deemed humans, than we are compared to donkeys "- famous and popular Talmudic quote.
Such mindset of looking back into the past naturally brings with it little desire to search for new ways of expression and generate new creative thoughts and ideas. Does it mean, that religion will always be "stuck in the past", only reacting to changes in the world - usually resisting them, and never initiating anything new?
If we examine this phenomena in a historical context,we should see that this was not always the case.
Judaism started with the great revolution of monotheism- and our forefather Avraham was certainly not looking into the past to keep the status quo - he became almost a synonym of a new type of religious leader- not your typical "yes-man", simply following the instructions, he had enough hutzpah to argue with G-d, standing for his ideals and principles- even if it meant defending those evil-doers of Sodom.
What kind of world would we be living in, if Avraham remained just a loyal servant of G-d, and not his sincere partner?
We would have been robbed I believe, and our religion would not teach humanity great ideals and concepts, that lately became known as "Judeo-Christian values "-
Individual Freedom, Sacred nature of humanity , Social justice,
Pursuit of Truth and Harmony - both in the world and in personal life- these ideas are so fundamental that should you take them away, and you will decent into abyss of darkness, where "might is right" of human greed is the only language
So why is it that today's Judaism is so often seen as an obstacle to progress ?
While there could be many answers to this difficult question, let me suggest mine.

We became self-assured that we "have all the answers".
And if you have all the answers, you don't need to grow, and you will resist any change.
Rav Kook gives very innovative definition of "Teshuvah"- usually translated as repentance and understood as a process of personal transformation from a "sinner" into a "righteous person". He says, that the energy of such transformation is an all-encompassing Divine yearning for perfection which is constantly changing and renewing this world. So when an individual "sins" he simply detaches himself from this Divine Source- and when he realizes his solitude and detachment, strong desire to reconnect to the Source of Life brings him back!
In this beautiful picture of the world portrayed to us by Rav Kook we cannot escape one clear observation- G-d WANTS CHANGE! In fact, He is the Eternal Change himself!
People of different faiths, Judaism including, saw G-d for a very long time as Static Big Father (SBF) - such G-d demands obedience, and encourages all sorts of dogmatic beliefs, that would never change- as change is the very opposite of the SBF!
Nowadays such concept of the Divine is seen as archaic and cannot attract any following- using the language of Ken Wilber, our understanding of the Divine evolved to a higher level - and we can't accept limited vision of the past anymore.
In other words, we have all the right to look into future and embrace change that makes us more aware of the Divine Presence in the world . Dare I say, this is our calling and religious responsibility !
However, we must establish clear criteria to distinguish "change for the sake of Heaven", one that will bring more Divinity into this world, and "change not for the sake of Heaven"- motivated by our egoistic desires ( greed, lust and power ) . Even as we cannot objectively see "the whole picture", we can test ourselves and others with a simple question-
Should you or anyone in your circle come to an idea of change- ask yourself ( or that person) - " Where is G-d in all of this? "
Ego always keeps G-d out of equation. Communism promised people equality, freedom and justice- and brought them terrible slavery and injustice of the Gulags! How could it happen? Maybe because G-d was never considered a factor!
Even religious institutions often fail the test, but in a more subtle way- think of the Crusades or modern day Islamic terrorism- both done in the name of G-d, and both pretend to put Him on the throne - so how are they wrong?
When we fail to listen to the subtle voice of G-d speaking to us in nature and history, and also in our own mind - it's because we are obsessed with Ego ( greed, lust and honor) And Ego of the religious person would wear very religious clothing, and would look super religious! Back then and now, Ego wants control and power, and it would use all instruments to get it- that's how religion can turn into monster!
Our task, it seems, is to bring the change that G-d wants us to bring- more Love, Unity and Harmony in this broken world, full of suffering and human tragedy.

Jewish Explorer- being a Jew in post-modernist world

These days I keep thinking of what it means being a Jew in the 21st century. Our times of almost unlimited access to information with very limited capacity to adequately absorb this vast ocean of knowledge bring about a significant paradigm shift in our thinking- all possible theories of "know-it-all" become obsolete, as they obviously seem to ignore the present reality.
Somehow humanity became more humble it seems- no one is making a claim that he possesses the Truth anymore - or at least, should be make such a claim, he most likely would be perceived as somewhat naive at best, or simply ignorant and almost irrelevant.
And yet, our religious tradition is based to a large extent on precisely such a claim-
We stood at Sinai, G-d gave us the Torah- the Book that represents the Ultimate Truth and gives us a clear path to follow it ! And despite all the difficulties with such an approach in our times, you can still find significant number of teachers that follow it, times and difficulties notwithstanding
Sure enough, Judaism opposes moral and intellectual relativism, that became so common in our days.
Yet it seems, we can't ignore the challenge of Post-Modernism, which is here to bring us to a point of greater understanding of the world and the mystery behind its Creation. As Rav Kook pointed out each new era brings with it new aspects of Divine Revelation, and if we live at such exciting times of the internet, time that gives us rather unique opportunity to explore the world without even making a step outdoors- basically putting the whole world at our fingertips- it should certainly be seen as a great challenge to our religious worldview, formulated and shaped to a large extent in times when our interaction with the world was very different.
Does it mean that we shall simply reformulate our religious credo and ignore all the aspects of our tradition, that seem to be in conflict with current understanding? As an Orthodox Rabbi I certainly cannot suggest such an approach. In fact, I believe any honest Jew who cares about his faith and tradition wouldn't accept such a suggestion- the moment something in your tradition doesn't seem to fit into "mainstream" of the world around- just dispose of it, as of outdated and irrelevant burden.
Some tried this in the past, and to a large extent they are totally lost to Judaism and to our people.
And if we believe in eternal message of the Torah and our destiny in this world - to make this world a better place, by bringing Divine Presence here, making  it manifest in all aspects of our life- we should certainly think again!
So here we have two extremes that are still so common in our attempts to deal with the ongoing crisis of Faith-
First approach suggests to ignore the challenge of today and deems it irrelevant, locking Judaism firmly within the walls of intellectual and spiritual ghetto. In my opinion, such an approach doesn't allow us to grow and in its desire to adhere to most "authentic" traditional forms, it often ignores the need to EXPLORE and SEEK G-d in this world !
On the other hand, we see various attempts to "water down" traditional Judaism, presumably making it more palatable for human consumption- but as a result, such "parve" Judaism fails to inspire
people, and doesn't give you any valuable message that you can implement in your life- nothing new, that you don't know from your mainstream culture.

We are the nation of Explorers and Seekers, starting all the way from Abraham. Our tradition should GROW and EVOLVE- as a tree, that grows all the way from its roots. This way we can make sure that it stays both authentic ( loyal to its own foundations ), and vibrant at the same time !
We desperately need a PARADIGM SHIFT in our thinking- and here's my suggestion.
In all our sources we find no clear definition of G-d, as here's BEYOND such definitions. We are called to emulate G-d and follow his ways- but how do we accomplish such a lofty mission ?
First of all, we need to consider our understanding of G-d- limited of course, and yet pointing out at our level of connection with Him. If in the past G-d was seen as STATIC- unchanging and unmoving ( Aristotelean view ascribed movement to imperfection - and Maimonides famously accepted this position ) - in our times we understand reality as a process of constant evolvement, orchestrated and managed by G-d. So G-d is not an unmoving Absolute, seating on his Throne of Glory ( something we can hardly emulate at all, with our very limited human qualities )- rather, he's an ULTIMATE
EXPLORER, constantly changing and renewing his world- " renewing with His goodness every day the Original Creation " ( my translation of the words in Siddur ).
Such dynamic G-d of change and renewal is calling us to EXPLORE the world, and make it a better place- this way we can truly fulfill the dictum of "in the Image of G-d" !
What does it mean practically speaking?
If we usually think of religious role-model as some sort of a " I know all the answers " type - here we 
come to discover fundamentally different character- I wish to call him JEWISH EXPLORER ( JE )
JE is in a constant state of BECOMING, he seeks to learn from everyone and sees his interaction with G-d in everyday Life, carefully listening to His subtle Voice- both in the outside world ( "what is this man doing in my life?" "Why am I here? " ) and in his inner world ( notice your "gut feeling", be in touch with yourself ).
As opposed to the great role models of the past, who were perceived as almost super-human, JE IS WELL AWARE OF HIS HUMANITY - which makes him humble and yet encourages him to keep growing !
JE values a good and honest question MORE than a half-honest answer, that pretends to "explain it all", cutting corners in the process.
JE is that part of us that wants more Truth, more Love and more G-d in this world