Library Recycled Books
This is a free book. bath book.
Finally I got my hands on the "Old Testament". It was unthinkable five years ago.
It was fun. It is easy to understand for beginners, and I think it tells the essence of the Old Testament that the author thinks.
Although I have never read the Old Testament, I don't even own one. Half a century has passed while I thought I should read it (I have to read it). Now you can read it for free online, but thank you.
Most of my life has been spent in denial of religion. The main purpose was to fight against beliefs, superstitions, and so on, and to scientifically clarify the facts (truths). I thought it was my “mission” and I thought I could “do it”.
I still feel that way (that's why I'm thinking about it and writing about it), and I haven't developed any particular faith.
Religion
The (former) Unification Church is a hot topic right now. There should be a precedent for Aum Shinrikyo, but the media keeps calling out the word "first time." Religious incidents (or rather, gossip) such as Jesus' Ark never end. Even the Soka Gakkai has a very suspicious terminal organization.
What does it mean to "believe" in something? First, we need to “know”. There are several ways of knowing. The "experience" method seems to be the most reliable. seeing, hearing, and touching.
In this book, there is another word, "knowledge" or "wisdom," which means "it is the beginning of knowledge" or "it is the beginning of wisdom." It does not have the meaning of learning or knowledge that we think of, but originally comes from the verb "intersect". (Omitted...quote) This means that Adam and Eve had matrimonial fellowship. is. (P.190)
I'm not sure about the etymology, but "to know" is not static or passive, but dynamic or active. It's a thing. And regarding the Book of Job,
"Hearing with your ears" means hearing indirectly. Until now, I have heard people talk about God and faith, but that is no good. "In my eyes", on the other hand, means directly. (P.185)
"Hearing" sounds "passive" even if you're not facing it, but "seeing" sounds that way. You can't see it if you don't face it. It comes down to being “active”.
The author says that both the New Testament and the Old Testament are "word religions" (p.19). The “words” are active and tangible.
Assuming that "what is behind" is meaning, what comes before means that its meaning is < em>concretize. In other words, if the words of the Bible are not realized as facts, they cannot be called "words." As you know, the Greek word for "word" is logos, which means "logic," "law," and "reason." In Hebrew, on the other hand, it is more concrete and includes the embodiment of an idea. In other words, the word becomes the body. --That is Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, man's salvation was promised to God. However, it will be said that it was historically realized as Jesus Christ, without leaving the promise. (P.20)
Others and Self
Before returning to the subject of belief, let us consider this 'Job's Confession'. I would like to try it. This means that when you hear and see, it's not just about passive and active, but the other and the self (ego) are clear.
After two trials, Job distrusts God. In a debate with his friend,
Job said, ``I am right, God has deprived me of my justice. Though I was righteous, I was made a liar. I am blameless, but my arrow wounds cannot be said.' (The Book of Job Wikisource, Chapter 34)
. It was also "human distrust". Until then, I could hear the voices of my friends (others) and accepted them as a matter of course, but now I can no longer trust others.
God then speaks to Job "directly."
At this time the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, "Who is this that darkens the deliberations of God with a word of ignorance? I ask you, answer me.(ibid., chapter 38)
And Job answers.
“Listen! I will speak to you, I will ask you, answer me.' I heard you with my ears, but now my eyes see you (ibid., chapter 42).
The word of a friend (other) is "indirect" and the word of God is "direct." Here I see walls with others and the germination of the ego.
Monotheism
According to religious scholars, later in Judaism or Christianity, there is only one God in all mankind, Yahweh. However, in the time of Moses, it was not a monotheism, but a religion that worshiped only one God, Yahweh—this is called monotheism. . It is said that it was a faith that recognized that other peoples had other gods. (P.81-82)
It is natural to speak Japanese in Japan. In South Korea, it is natural to speak Korean. Taking off your shoes at the entrance is also normal for those who grew up in that culture. My grandmother couldn't tell the difference between cheese and soap. I love octopus sashimi.・・・
Once you learn about the culture of not taking your shoes off at the entrance and not eating octopus, you'll realize that it's not something you take for granted. There are various cultures, such as the culture that thinks the earth is round and the culture that thinks it is on top of a tortoise shell.
Mysticism does not fade away for the sake of civilization. Rather, civilization is what gives mysticism great strides.
The ancients believed that our ancestor was Adam. This means that he believed in Genesis. Now people, even junior high school students, believe that they are monkeys. This means that you should believe in Daawin's writings. In other words, believing in books has not changed between modern people and ancient people. Moreover, the ancients at least had their eyes on Genesis. Today, except for a few specialists, people have a habit of not reading any of Dawwin's writings, and they openly believe that theory. Ape ancestry is no more brilliant belief than ancestry to Jehovah-breathed soil--Adam. Moreover, today people are content with these beliefs.
This is not just about evolution. Even though the earth is round, few people really know about it. Most of them just believe in the same way as they were taught at some point. (Ryunosuke Akutagawa "Kidoku no Kotoba" Complete Works Volume 7 1978/02/22, Iwanami Shoten, p.391)
Human beings are not born to take off their shoes at the entrance. There is no necessity that you have to take off your clothes. Just as the people of the mountains eat the bounty of the mountains, the people of the sea eat the bounty of the sea. Those are cultural differences.
The neighboring country believes in another religion. Calling it "wrong" is the same as saying that Japanese is correct but Korean is wrong.
Ruling Classes and Religion
I don't know the details, but many rulers in ancient times promoted a particular religion. In the 4th century, ancient Rome adopted Christianity as the state religion, and in Japan, Buddhism has been around since ancient times, and since the early Meiji period, Shinto has been the center of politics. There was a time when Confucianism was the center of attention in China and Japan.
To unify religions (which is impossible) means to unify (unify) and homogenize (homogenize) cultures (the key to this is "education"). It means to unify the "way of thinking" without changing it. That way of thinking should not be disadvantageous to the rulers.
The homogenization of the world
It is said that modern Western civilization is taking over the world. Whether this is true or not is another matter, but Japan is one of them, and the Japanese way of thinking is that modern way of thinking. About 150 years after the Meiji Restoration, about five generations of Japanese people (the parents of great-grandparents or their parents) have come to take Darwin's theory of evolution as a matter of course and think that there is no other way of thinking. .
In the meantime, urban and rural areas are homogenizing despite widening disparities. This means that the "way of thinking" is homogenized, not materially. No, in order to homogenize materially, we homogenize our thoughts. That substance is a “commodity”. In order to be able to buy the same thing wherever you go, in other words, to sell the same thing everywhere, you have to have the same way of thinking. It doesn't mean that things are the same no matter where you take them. Because things are given meaning by culture. If you don't eat octopus, you can't sell octopus. Culture, or way of thinking, gives meaning to things.
And if you don't feel a shortage, you can't sell anything. Even if you create a new product, if you are satisfied with the existing product, it will not sell. Old things should be thought of as "bad" just because they are "old" and want to throw them away (if the iPhone 14 is released, people who have an iPhone 13 will buy it). It is important to create a culture (awareness) that constantly feels dissatisfaction and lack.
The other day, my mother, who lives alone, broke her TV. I can hear sound, but no image. When she went to an electric appliance store, she was told that it would cost more than 30,000 yen to repair it. It's a small TV, so similar products sell for less than 30,000 yen. I ended up buying a new TV. Returned to her mother's house and installed. Her mother said, "Sometimes I watch a video (VHF) of my father," so when she tried to connect it, she found that her new TV didn't have an RCA port.
There is war going on all over the world. Some of them are said to be caused by conflicts of "religion". Different religions are different ways of thinking. Modern Western countries tried to homogenize (Christianize) the world in the name of "enlightenment". The name has changed to "democracy", but the essence remains the same. I think it's clearly to sell "merchandise". In order to sell goods to Islamic countries or buy oil from Islamic countries, we need a shared sense of values. But oil has a different meaning for Muslim countries. It may not even be a "commodity". "Commodity" is nothing more than the "meaning" given to things by Western culture.
The meaning of things (or "value" in the Western way of thinking) varies from culture to culture. The meaning of petroleum, the meaning of rare metals, the meaning of flowers, and even the meaning of water differ from culture to culture.
Others
I don't think God made the world. I have my doubts about the theory of evolution. Is it "right", "bad" or "wrong" for one person to believe in evolution and another to believe in Genesis?
We cannot weigh the right and wrong of "democracy". The Classical Greek δημοκρατία is one of the polities and could be examined. Now, "democracy" has "positive values" by the West. Democracy can be considered how to realize it, but it is taboo to put democracy under consideration. This is because it is about questioning Western culture and Western thinking itself.
The basis of democracy is the individual.
A striking example that speaks exclusively to the problems of an individual's life is the later-mentioned Book of Job. This "Book of Job" was written much later than the rest of the Old Testament. It can be said that we are moving in the right direction. (P.24)
What is most unique about Ezekiel is his strong emphasis on the individual responsibility of each human being. (Omitted...quote) Therefore, I am emphasizing that while the nation as a whole must repent, individuals must also repent. (P.146)
Thus, it is not for the sake of the ancestors, but for the descendants themselves that people suffer. (P.147)
However, in Ezekiel, the relationship between God and Israel is the basis, but at the same time, each Israeli individual should be responsible to God. is emphasized. (P.148)
The idea of being an individual creates "self" and "others." While calling but arguing, friends are not strangers. When Job said, "I am right," his friend became "a wrong man," a "different man." Differences in thinking created the self and the other. Job seems to have made peace with God.
So I resent myself and repent in the dust and ashes (Job, chapter 42)
Then, What happened to your friend? God says
I will not punish your folly by accepting his prayer. For ye have not said the right things about me as my servant Job did.
In other words, Job and his friends said, We will restore the connection under the intermediary. Individuals cannot directly reconcile with others.
The god becomes 'Christianity', becomes a 'state', and transforms into 'democracy'. For Western culture, it is not possible to directly "dialogue" with other people, other cultures, other countries, etc. We need something different from ourselves, something above us, something beyond the individual.
Believing
Can I not be reconciled to others unless I am reconciled to God? Crusaders marched with Jesus Christ. Now, war is justified under "democracy", "freedom" and "justice". When we say that a war for justice, a crusade, is not justice or a denial of democracy, we still believe in justice and democracy.
"God", "justice" and "democracy" are just cultures like "sushi" and "science". There are cultures that believe that illness is something that can be cured. I believe that illness is something that can be cured. There are cultures that believe that schools and education are necessary. I think "learning" is more important. There is a culture that believes that buying things (products) is taken for granted. I don't think so, but I have to buy it. There is a culture of driving to convenience stores that are within walking distance. There is me who believes that I cannot go back to my parents' house without transportation. I can't believe that transportation separated me and my family. But without transportation, I might never have left my parents' house.
I received a democratic education after the war, and although I did not believe in "justice," I believed in "democracy," "freedom," "logic," and "science." I have also strongly believed in the “existence” of “myself”. None of them come true. As long as it doesn't come true, the last "self" has become very weak. I have believed that "it's okay to be weak. Science and institutions will take its place." The car will take the place of your legs. A computer will take the place of writing with a writing utensil. The supermarket will do it for you instead of making your own food. Instead of memory, letters (books, computers, hard disks, etc.) will do it. I will surely die weak while believing in those things.
However, I also know that there are cultures where this is not the case. I have never lived in that culture, and I may not be able to live in it, but there is such a culture.
I will die feeling unsatisfied and missing something. Because we live in such a culture. Now, while looking at a different culture from afar and turning my back on others, I dream of "reconciliation."