The great misconception is that "polytheism is tolerant and monotheism is intolerant".
//Summary - Level-C2//
The article explores the misconception that polytheism is tolerant while monotheism is intolerant. It discusses the complexity of religion and its role in conflicts, illustrating that intolerance and violence can arise in any belief system, polytheistic or monotheistic. Examples include Buddhist violence in Myanmar and Sri Lanka and Japan's past violence under polytheism. It also examines the nature of monotheistic religions like Christianity and Judaism, suggesting that the perception of intolerance or tolerance is more nuanced than simply the number of gods worshipped. Additionally, the text delves into human nature, fascism, and martyrdom, proposing that war and conflict might be rooted in human instincts rather than solely religious beliefs.
A)
People's distrust of religion continues to grow, with religious feuds such as the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war, and the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe in the country. Why does religion lead to conflict? A theologian familiar with international affairs and a master of ancient Roman history will discuss the mysteries of faith in depth.
B)
Mr Motomura) Come to think of it, what surprised me when I published "Polytheism and Monotheism" was that people who read it asked me: "Are you a Christian?" For some reason, something about it seemed to make me think so.
Mr Sato) I see. But if you compare your work with Nanao Shiono in "The Romans", for example, some parts make you think so. Shiono says that Rome became increasingly narrow-minded after the introduction of Christianity. She pushes the message that polytheism is tolerant and monotheism is intolerant.
C)
Mr Motomura) Many things have indeed changed since Rome introduced Christianity. But I do not think that Christianity is violent because it is a monotheistic religion.
Mr Sato) Many people, including Mr Shiono, think that monotheism is more intolerant than polytheism. But in Myanmar, for example, it is the Buddhists who are persecuting the Bengali Muslim Rohingya. Or perhaps the majority of the Sinhalese who are fighting a civil war with the Tamils in Sri Lanka are Buddhists. We can disprove the theory that "polytheism is tolerant" with just two examples.
First, the Empire of Japan, known as the "8 million gods", was quite violent under the reign of Emperor Arahitogami, the living God whose ancestral deity was Amaterasu Omikami, the head of the 8 million gods. For the Japanese to brush this aside and say things like "polytheism is tolerant" is too low a level of discussion.
D)
Mr Motomura) Well, it's at the level of a conversation in a bar. I think it's understandable to say that because there are many gods, it's tolerant, and because there's only one God, it's intolerant.
Because even though there is only one God, the God of Christianity is originally a selfless God and a God who can forgive. When we repent of what we have done, we acknowledge that human beings are fallible. Making room for forgiveness looks pretty forgiving. On the contrary, the God of Judaism is very strict, and it is natural for him to punish.
E)
Mr Sato) On the other hand, a degree of tolerance comes from being a monotheistic religion. This is because believers in monotheistic religions are only interested in the relationship between "God and themselves". Therefore, it is possible to be tolerant in the sense of being "indifferent" to others. Even at home, if a wife loses interest in her husband, she can't complain, no matter what she does.
That is why even in Jerusalem in the past, when various sects, including the Russian Orthodox Church and the Jacobites (Syrian Orthodox Church), came into the area, no one knew or cared what their neighbours believed. This is indifference because it is a monotheistic religion.
F)
Mr Motomura) It's like an apartment building without a name on the sign. I don't know who lives where or what kind of life they lead. So there can be no conflict.
Mr Sato) That's right. Around the time of the founding of Israel, the controversy over religion began there. It is not a "conflict between monotheistic religions" but a problem of nationalism.
Ultimately, I believe that wars occur because humans are pack animals. Because they form groups, territorial disputes arise.
G)
Mr Motomura) That is human nature.
Mr Sato) It's probably not only humans. My family used to keep gobies and hermit crabs together. At first, the goby was about the size of a killfly, so I was surprised. When it grew to about five centimetres, all the hermit crabs were wiped out one day. A goby was eating a hermit crab. So, I split the tank in two.
The gobies went off and caught a crab. When I put two crabs in the same tank, they started killing each other.
H)
Mr Motomura) Amongst the crabs? It's not like they don't have enough to eat.
Mr Sato) It's not a food fight; it's an automatic thing. If you keep a tank about 30cm wide, they'll start killing each other, so owning more than one crab is difficult. That's why we separated the tanks, and when I look at them, I think crabs and humans are the same.
So, we need to think carefully about whether the approach of interpreting war by linking it to religion is appropriate. Belief can accelerate wars and violence, but this may only be superficial.
I)
Mr Motomura) As you said earlier, religion can be a shortcut to explain the "great cause". Even though people are instinctively in a state of war, since people have a reason, it is necessary to have the sense to wage war. Religion satisfies all this reasoning.
Nazism and Fascism Are Different
Mr Sato) There is a book called "Eternal Fascism" written by Umberto Eco in his later years. I think it is very insightful when thinking about war.
J)
According to it, the origin of fascism was a biological problem because humans are herd animals. They eat lizards, "these people eat garlic," and that's why they're different from us. So, let's start eliminating them. Animals that form herds are fundamentally endowed with the archetypes of fascism, so we must constantly strive to deconstruct them through anti-fascist education.
I think he is an intellectual from the country where fascism was born. I guess explaining war from the perspective of human nature would be more convincing.
K)
Mr Motomura) Mr Sato wrote somewhere earlier that ``Nazism and Fascism are different,'' but there are many people who cannot distinguish between them.
Mr Sato) Nazism is an exceptional and absurd case. They shared the uniqueness of Germany, the myth of "blood and soil," and the feeling that "Germany has been hurt".
L)
Mr Motomura) Fascism, on the other hand, is more universally embedded in human nature.
Mr Sato) The Italian Vilfredo Pareto, known for his "Pareto optimality", was presented as a "fascist economist" before and during the war. Pareto himself was on good terms with Mussolini. There was a "Fashion International" at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, which was involved in the international movement for fascism.
M)
Maria Montessori, who invented Montessori education based on a model of child development, is also understood in the vein of fascism. Mussolini also held her in high esteem. For Mussolini, a person who works hard for Italy is a worthy Italian.
This has nothing to do with men or women. Furthermore, since people have different abilities, it is a natural assumption that there are people with disabilities. Montessori education is accepted in Japan as education for gifted children, but it was initially an education for children with disabilities.
N)
Considering this, fascism has not used its potential yet, so there is a possibility that it will rise again in the future. I think Nazism has used its full potential. It won't happen again in the future.
Mr Motomura) The word "fascism" comes from the word "fascia", initially referring to decorations that Roman officials wore on their sticks when they went out. It's like a symbol of power. It is also a word that means 'bundle' in Italian; from there, it represents 'group'.
O)
Mr Sato) It's where people gather. It had the role of "binding". Mussolini made maximum use of the images of ancient Rome.
Mr Motomura) That's right. He built a vast street next to the Colosseum. There is also a museum of ancient civilisations near modern Rome and a diorama of ancient Rome about 20 metres square. It was also built during Mussolini's time.
P)
Mr Sato) This is probably also to "unite" the people. In any case, since humans are pack animals, it is difficult to avoid the rise of nationalism and fascism. That's why wars happen.
The problem of "martyrdom" accelerating war
Mr Motomura) But there is an aspect in which religion accelerates and overheats war. If you sacrifice your life for God, you will be ready to engage in fierce battles.
Q)
As Christianity gradually became more rigid in Rome, the idea of "martyrdom" emerged. One of the earliest known examples is a woman called Perpetua of Carthage.
Mr Sato) The story is that she didn't mind being eaten by a lion for the sake of her faith.
R)
Mr Motomura) That's right. He was arrested in 203 and sentenced to beastly punishment in an arena. He refused to kneel before the Roman emperor because he served his God.
People around her tried to convince her that she didn't have to go that far, but she chose to die defending her faith. This would have been incomprehensible to the Romans at the time.
S)
Mr Sato) On the other hand, there are cases like the Jesuits who knelt before Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, who banned the spread of Christianity. As long as we don't compromise the essence of our faith, we won't get hung up on formal issues like doge.
Mr Motomura) In Shusaku Endo's "Silence", on the other hand, a Jesuit missionary from Portugal succumbs to Japanese logic. Japanese Christians have a stronger tendency towards martyrdom. Recently, a book entitled "Japan of Martyrdom: Missionary Rhetoric in Early Modern Europe". Even reading it, it seems that "martyrdom" is effortlessly glorified in Japan.
T)
Mr Sato: Regarding the "Silence" episode, I think the Society of Jesus' leadership is wrong. All you have to do is step on the fumi-e as you are told.
The Dutch trading post people probably stepped on it. What is drawn on such a board is an idol, so, strangely, such a thing should be considered an object of worship. Although Shusaku Endo is a Catholic, I think he was aware of this. Stepping on it will strengthen your faith.
U)
A young assistant professor at the School of Theology showed his students Martin Scorsese's "Silence", adapted from Shusaku Endo's original novel, and said, "It's a great film." Then, the student I was most interested in raised her hand and stated, "It's a terrible film. Isn't it just Catholic propaganda?"
V)
The Thirty Years' War was in full swing then, and the war against Protestantism was being waged. I can't imagine that people in Japan would think otherwise. Before the situation depicted in the film, there were many incidents of burning shrines and temples.
Focusing only on the part where they were forced to apostatise and saying, "Missionaries suffer terrible things", is a ridiculous prismatic effect. In the first place, since they forcibly evangelised Japan while ignoring Japanese culture and customs, it is only natural that such things should happen to them, and I believe that Inoue Chikugo no kami is right.
W)
Mr Motomura) She's a very talented student.
Mr Sato) "She understands things quite well," I complimented her. She was also upset that the film was different from the original. Weirdly, Father Rodrigo is forced to hold a statue of Christ in the coffin at the end, which means he didn't convert until the end, which is different from the purpose of the original story, and in two ways, it's the worst film. She criticised it.
We are students of Protestant theology, so the class topic is how to evaluate a movie from a Protestant perspective, not from the perspective of a film director.
X)
Mr Motomura) Do you often use films as teaching material?
Mr Sato) Yes. I also showed them the film "New Ground" I mentioned earlier. What I found interesting was a film made in North Korea in 1982 called Wolmido. The story is based on the legend that during the Korean War, an artillery company of about 100 people was ordered to "delay the landing operation of the US military for three days", and they carried out the order against 20,000 US troops and were annihilated.
Y)
It ends with him running out of ammunition and jumping into an enemy tank with a grenade, but when I showed it to my students, they said, "This is very Christian."
Kim Il-sung is Jesus Christ, and the Korean Workers' Party is the Church. If a person dies for Kim Il Sung or the church, his life will live forever.
Z)
Mr Motomura) This is the same composition as Christian martyrdom.
Mr Sato) "Teacher, this composition is very Presbyterian," I said, "Kim Il Sung is a Presbyterian Christian. Christianity is embedded in secularised values."
The great misconception is that "polytheism is tolerant and monotheism is intolerant".
https://www.gentosha.jp/article/24769/
