| Part 1 The Theory of Faith | Hirohumi Hoshika |
At that time, I was not particularly committed to Kant's ethics, but I did not find anything particularly surprising when I read the Critique of Practical Reason and Kant's own commentary on it, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. What was stated there with difficulty was, however, nothing special, and I was not put off by the strangeness that I felt, as I did in the scriptures of new religion, the Apostles' Creed, or "The Parable of the Rich Fool" in the Gospel of Luke.
There was a young man of my age who belonged to the church in Nishi-Ogikubo. One time I talked to him about Kant, and I told him my thoughts on "The Parable of the Rich Fool". He told me, "No one comes to church with such lofty ideas as you. I think everyone has it much harder than that."
I didn't really hear if he said "lofty [kômai] " or "prideful [kôman] ", but either way it didn't seem like he meant it in a good way. I didn't pay much attention to his reply, but later I came across a passage in the Bible that reminded me of it.
As I listened repeatedly to the pastor's Bible lectures every Sunday afternoon, I began to understand how to interpret the Bible, and gradually I began to read the New Testament on my own.
In his Confessions, Augustine, who converted from Manichaeism, recalled that when he first read the Bible, he was "disappointed by the simplicity of the style." It is certainly true that most of the Gospels are boring to read through, and there are many parts of the Epistles that are difficult to understand. The Bible is a book that you either need to be taught how to read or you need to learn how to read it yourself.
The passage is in John chapter 4, where the "Samaritan woman" appears, and it is a long article that takes up about two-thirds of the chapter.
Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for water at a place called "Jacob's Well". She, who appears not to have lived an ethically sound life, foresees condemnation in Jesus' every word, and tells him that she lives with a certain hope handed down from her ancestors, and she makes a roundabout request that he not have anything to do with her.
Jesus speaks to her.
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, ...”(John 4:10 RSV)
Jesus' words have a confrontational tone and the scene becomes tense.
― You are ignorant of God's gift. If you knew, you would ask for it. Your "hope" is not really what you call it.―
The Samaritans are a people of Israel who unwillingly lost their pure bloodline during the Assyrian captivity in the 8th century BC. The passage states that "for the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans," but rather than showing sympathy for her pain as Samaritans, Jesus' words sound like a denial of the pride they had maintained.
She says to Jesus.
"Are you greater than our father Jacob?"
"Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst."
"Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
Jesus was not trying to tell the woman, who continued to give an incoherent response, "God accepts you just the way you are," or any other "healing" message.
"Go, call your husband and come back. The man you now have is not your husband." (John 4:12-18 NIV)
Jesus asks, what do you need? Is it that you need to be comforted, or that your faith is recognized and your pride preserved? Is not that what you need, but simply to come into the presence of God?
The Samaritan woman will know here what the person who says "please give me water" wants from her.
― If you knew the gift of God, you seek it. You are such a being.
― If I too agree with Jesus' words, will I lower the flag of my beliefs, along with the Samaritan woman?
At this time, I tried to imitate "applying the words of the Bible to myself,'' as my pastor always recommends, and thought, "Ah, this is what it's all about." I felt as if I was being told, "You are such a being who seeks God."
I once read somewhere in Nietzsche that "Christianity is a cowardly religion that never misses a person's weak spot and takes advantage of it." Pascal was the biggest victim of this, and Nietzsche even said that he wasted his mathematical talent for Christianity. Was Nietzsche's dislike of Christianity due to his fear of Jesus' words?