Pale God
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In "The Pale God", Katz deals with the relationship between secularism and religious tradition. Katz begins with a description of the secular options as expressed by Israeli intellectuals, which he claims have led to a dead-end, and that new options must be sought. One of the key sources for this option is the works of Spinoza, which Katz explains is unlike Nietzsche's catchphrase 'the death of God'. In his view, Spinoza tried to undermine the authority of religious virtuosos and establish the image of a rational "Pale God". Such changes could channel religious tradition to the basic principles of secular political rule. Katz then sums up his discussion by showing that the secular option is inherent in Israeli society, and fits the type of secularism that Zionism instilled in the Jewish people and complements the traditional trends already deeply rooted there.
Gideon Katz (Ph.D. Haifa University) is a lecturer at the Ben-Gurion Research Institute, Ben-Gurion University in the Negev. His research focuses on Israeli culture, Jewish Thought and Ancient Philosophy. He is the author of the book The Soul is Big, Life is Small: The Duality of the Soul According to Plato's Phaedo and Republic (Hebrew University Press, 2005), and co-editor of Iyunim bitkumat yisrael.