| Part 1 The Theory of Faith | Hirohumi Hoshika |
Not just in Christianity, but religious teachings in general, can be said to be "superfluous interpretations" of specific phenomena. The Christian doctrine of atonement is also an superfluous interpretation of Jesus' crucifixion in the first century.
Jesus' execution is adequately explained by the conflict between his teachings and Judaism, as well as the political situation in which Jews found themselves at the time. The Christian doctrine that Jesus "died for the atonement of the sins of men" is merely an superfluous explanation, at least for non-believers.
Modern Logic provides a good explanation for why religious doctrines are "superfluous" or "unnecessary". I plan to set up an “Easy Study” section on the "Theory of Faith and Reason" website to provide more details on this logic, but the fact that all religious teachings take the form of "affirming the consequent inference" is the structure of "superfluity".
A affirming the consequent inference asserts that "if A then B is true, and consequent B is true, then the antecedent A is true." However, this inference is logically fallacy, and this form of inference does not guarantee that A is true. This does not mean that the antecedent A is necessarily wrong, but rather that the truth value of A is uncertain.
For example, the Christian doctrine of original sin teaches that "all humans are born as sinners because they fell from the state in which they were created by God." When we first hear these teachings, we might simply think, "So that's the kind of religion Christianity is," but if we actually reflect on ourselves and those close to us, we realize that indeed, no one can deny sin, and we come to the conclusion that "the Bible is indeed teaching the truth."
This is a understanding based on a affirming the consequent, where the statement "If all humans bear original sin, then all humans are sinful" is expressed as "If A, then B," and the consequent B is affirmed through observation as "In reality, everyone is sinful."
However, this reasoning is usually difficult for anyone other than the person who is convinced by it to accept. This is because, when it comes to the cause of human sin, we can find various explanations based on similar logic not only in the Christian concept of “original sin” but also in other religions. Beside, from evolutionary standpoint, it's also possible to explain that in the competitive process of biological evolution, being evil worked to one's advantage, leading to the survival of more evil beings. That is to say, the "superfluous" of religious doctrine here means that it is merely one of several theories explaining the cause of the situation.
In fact, even for the person who was convinced, their understanding of the teaching stemmed from the fact that the consequent part of the doctrine that "everyone is sinful" which matched the surrounding circumstances they had re-examined, did not stem from their understanding of the antecedent part of the doctrine, "Adam's original sin". However, religious doctrines often function as a deceptive logic that by convincing one part convince them of the whole.
Moreover, from a psychological perspective, the following can be pointed out regarding the "superfluous" of religious doctrines.
According to A.H. Maslow's well-known "Hierarchy of Needs," religious needs are the last needs to be met, after physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs have been fulfilled. It is the most luxurious desire, and as our reality clearly shows, most people are busy fulfilling the fourth or fifth stage of needs that precede religious desires, and go through life without any religious desires at all.
Religious figures often say that "the yearning for God is humanity's most fundamental desire," but this is largely sophistry; the religious desire that we perceive as our own is actually quite small in its original form. While this may not be the case for those who have made religion their profession, religious desire is something that can be managed even if it is not fulfilled, compared to other desires.
So then, these are the fundamental reasons why people, not limited to Christiaity, generally do not feel the need for religion. Namely, for many people, religion is an "superfluous" part of their lives, and they don't feel the need to seriously commit to it.
As a result of these factors, aside from situations of rites of passage, there are only two opportunities for people to personally engage with religion. One is when people are in distress, and another is when people look at religion with surprise.
In these circumstances, religion is at least no longer "superfluous". In the former case, it is considered not "superfluous" but "necessary," and in the latter case, it becomes an object of curiosity or interest. We could call the faith of people who came to believe in religion due to the former trigger "faith that asks for specific help", and the faith that arises from the latter trigger "spontaneous faith".
These two types of people also appear in the Gospels. People with disabilities affecting their limbs, eyes, ears, or mouths, as well as those confined to necropolises (Mark 5:1) or isolated villages (Luke 17:12), needed Jesus' healing work. Besides, those under the Roman Empire who longed for the return of David expected Jesus to be the "King of the Jews". Jesus' disciples, too, were trying to see him in that way.
Some argue that the sight of these people, who need healing and look upon the founder who provides it with both astonishment and expectation, represents the true nature of the relationship between religion and people. Jesus' religion embodies this very idea, and it answers John Hick's words, "their deepest desires", we saw in Chapter 1 - Essay 3.
On the other hand, the Gospels record that Jesus did not approve of this situation (John 4:48). This makes his religion difficult to understand, but it must be noted that the faith Jesus sought from people was neither a faith based on personal gain nor a faith that arose spontaneously.
The Gospel of Mark contains numerous accounts of healing miracles, including those performed on the sick, those possessed by demons, the physically disabled, and the dead. Naturally, given the circumstances, it appears that a certain kind of faith was immediately formed in these healed individuals as a result of their impression of the power of Jesus they experienced. It is recorded that some of them tried to join Jesus' group (Mark 5:18, 10:52).
However, it is noteworthy that Jesus does not necessarily fully endorse the simple faith in Him held by those healed through miracles.
The "command of silence (command people to keep quiet)" given after healing miracles, known as the "Messianic secret" (Mark 1:43, 5:42, 7:36, etc.) referred in Chapter 2 - Easy Study 2, is indeed the same as the "command of silence" that Jesus commanded to demons (Mark 1:34, 3:12, etc.). That is to say, it's as if healed people's faith in Jesus was inappropriate.
In the Gospel of Luke, it is stated that the demons were commanded to be silent "for they knew that He was the Christ" (4:41). The statement "Jesus is the Christ" is the very content of the missionary work that the apostles proclaimed at Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection, and is therefore religiously sound.
Was this forbidden to the evil spirits because Jesus judged that allowing untrustworthy individuals to spread the mysteries of faith, which people should acquire, would do more harm than good?
同様に、癒しを受けた者にその事実を秘すことを度々命じたのは、人々が誤って自身を理解することを避けさせるためだっただろうか。
「沈黙命令」の真意は謎のままだが、これらのことから、イエスが特別な力によって恩恵を受けた人々を回りにおき、自身を教祖として崇める宗教団を築くことは彼にとって容易であったことは想像に難くない。しかしイエスは困窮者達を引き連れることをせず、彼らを弟子たちの列に加えることをしなかったのである。
そしてこの傾向は最初の12人の弟子の集め方にも見られる。
イエスが使徒として選んだのは、そういった恩恵を我が身に直接体験することになるような困苦の状況にある者ではなく、むしろ職業人としての社会生活をごく普通に営んでいた者たちであった。その中にはヤコブとヨハネ兄弟のように富裕層に属しているとみられる者さえあったのである。
つまり、イエスが選んだ弟子たちは、危急的には貧しくもなく病気に苦しんでもいなかったのであり、その意味ではイエスへの信仰を持ちにくい人々だったといえる。
このことは、イエスは自らへの信仰を、単に彼の特別な力からそう信じ込むというのではなく、それとは異なる何らかの経緯を経て獲得することを弟子たちに求めたこととして理解されるのである。
弟子たちはイエスの奇跡を幾度も経験し、彼の超自然的な力が現実のものであることを知らされていく。そしてその知識は彼らに信仰が成立するために必要であり、イエスは自然奇跡、治癒奇跡を繰り返すだけではなく、ときにごく少数の弟子だけを伴い、死者の復活をも三度行っている。
ただしそれがいかに驚くべき業であったとしても、その行為から生じる理解だけでは、イエスは人が自分を理解したことにはならないとしたのである。弟子たちがイエスを眼前にしながらも置かれ続けたイエスの「隔絶性」とは、これら自然発生的に生じる信仰に対するイエスの不承認のことなのである。
一方で、弟子たちはイエスを十分に信じていると思っており、彼らはイエスが捕らえられようとするときには行動を共にすると断言していた。危険が予期されるエルサレムに戻ろうとする時のトマスしかり（ヨハネ11.16）、イエス逮捕前夜のペテロしかりである（ヨハネ13.37）。
しかしイエスは彼らの信仰の不十分さを嘆き（ルカ8.25、マルコ8.21）、ときに憤り（マルコ8.33、ヨハネ11.38）、最後には裏切りを予告する（ルカ22.33）。
そのように告げられた弟子たちは、しかしイエスをキリストであるとすでに告白しているのであって（マルコ8.29）、これ以上どうすればイエスを「本当に信じた」ことになるのか、それがわからなかったのである。弟子たちにおけるイエスの「隔絶性」とは彼らのこの困惑であった。