Articles related to Scott

Cashless society: A huge threat to our freedom

Econgularity, shorthand for economic singularity, is an ugly word I created to describe an unfortunate approaching moment in time when our current technological snooping prowess, the ease of big data manipulation and our sprint to a cashless economy will converge. This will happen in such a way as to permit governments to exercise incredibly powerful control over all human behavior.

The Best Counter to Ever-Aggressive Atheism

It is not news that the Catholic Church is in crisis. It’s a crisis that seemed to unfold in slow motion but is excruciatingly acute. For years the number of young people leaving the Church has been rising.

A Chance To Ask Rabbis Tough Questions

Have you ever wondered how your rabbi would respond to what’s the most difficult commandment in the Torah to deal with, or why Jews should attend synagogue or what represents idolatry today?

One God, No God, Idolatry, and More: A Conversation with Author Scott Shay

Scott A. Shay, founder of Signature Bank, is an entrepreneur, thought leader, Jewish community activist, and author of two books: Getting Our Groove Back: How to Energize American Jewry and In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism, a National Jewish Book Award finalist and voted one of the best books of 2018 by Mosaic Authors.

In Good Faith: Ques­tion­ing Reli­gion and Atheism

At the heart of In Good Faith: Ques­tion­ing Reli­gion and Athe­ism is the endur­ing ques­tion of the val­ue of liv­ing a reli­gious life.

Hong Kong protests: It’s monotheism, stupid

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party domination of China, Chairman Xi Jinping, adorned in a Mao suit, rode in an open-top armored Hongqi Limo. The ceremony he presided over as the guest of honor began with a monumental musical concert, followed by a gargantuan civilian-military parade, and culminating in his rousing speech.

Time for Congress to put an end to CECL

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is considered by people who actually do business to be ridiculously out of touch.

Don’t steer lenders to one Libor alternative

Tucked deeply into Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $193 billion budget proposal is a curious provision that has nothing to do with New York’s finances.

The Case For Belief In A Skeptical World

On the first page of his new 559-page book, Scott Shay tells the story of a life-changing lunch he shared with a business acquaintance in 2013.

ATHEISTS AND MONOTHEISTS: UNITED AGAINST IDOLATRY?

Modern readers often have difficulty relating to biblical polemics against idolatry. Idolatry just doesn’t seem to be a problem for us. But in his book In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism, Scott A. Shay argues that the Bible’s stand against idolatry is still as important as ever.

The Best Books of 2018, Chosen by Mosaic Authors

To mark the close of 2018, we asked a handful of our writers to name the best two or three books they read this year, and briefly to explain their choices

Can American Jews get their groove back?

The synagogue's librarian is well-uniformed in Coke-bottle spectacles and a beige blouse. She is approachable and competent and has just wheeled a large cart to the library's main entrance.

You Might Not Be Interested in China, But China Is Interested in You

In September of 2019, I was invited to a gathering of Jewish Joe Biden supporters. Rather than ask about Israel, the Iran deal, or frankly anything else Jewish, I asked Biden about China.

The Fed’s Libor Replacement Would Shackle Small Banks

The Federal Reserve’s “solution” for one big problem risks creating another. The task force it convened to study reference rates—the interest-rate benchmarks used to determine rates throughout the economy—aims to impose a new standard to replace the London interbank offered rate, which is due to expire in 2021.

PPP left many small businesses behind. Next stimulus cannot do the same

As legislators debate another coronavirus relief package, they must include three components: one stimulus directed toward small businesses, another for individuals and a third that makes bank regulation part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.

Book Review: Getting Our Godliness Back

I spent the holidays with Scott Shay, banker extraordinaire, visionary Jewish community leader, provocative author – and truth seeker. True, he was in Manhattan while I was in Jerusalem. And we’ve actually only met three times. But his latest book, In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism, is so personal and accessible that while reading it, you feel you’re communing with him – and Him!

Book Review: ‘In Good Faith’

Often the greatest critics of religion offer us a series of criticism about the depth of our faith; they confront us with our hypocrisy.

In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism by Scott A. Shay

Religion can be both inspiring and distressing. And many critiques of it are simultaneously compelling and dubious. Shay examines atheist arguments with a refreshing modern eye in this comprehensive look at our most fundamental questions about faith and reason.

Book Review: ‘In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism’

The idea for Scott’s new book began over lunch one day with a friend; naturally the conversation turned to faith and God. The friend commented, “We humans can figure out right from wrong for ourselves without the help of some nonexistent god or his or its imagined laws… humanity should not waste time on worshipping some made-up god.”

A Contrarian’s View of the Uses, and Abuses, of Free Speech

Most citizens in the United States take the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of speech as a source of patriotic pride. We have been taught that all speech is protected. Bad speech is overcome with good speech. No matter how much harm speech inflicts, when the First Amendment is in question, the Supreme Court feels it is its duty to defend all speech.