Philosophy 1600 - Honors Seminar

 

Topic 10: Christianity

The Critical Evaluation of Historical Relations

Contemporary philosophers of religion tend to focus upon issues related to the existence of God. This narrowness of focus is unfortunate, since people are interested not just in the question of the existence of God, but also in the question of whether one should accept one of the religions that one finds in the world, and, if so, which one.

When one shifts from the general question of theism to the question of what can be said for and against different religions, a much wider range of considerations become relevant, and this is especially so in the case of historical religions, that is, with religions in which one or more historical figures, and/or historical events, have special significance. To illustrate the range of questions that arise, I shall focus on Christianity, as that is the historical religion with which most of us are most familiar.

Part 1: Some Issues that Arise in the Case of All Historical Religions

Before turning to Christianity, however, it will be useful to set out a general description of some of the more important sorts of questions that one can raise concerning any historical religion.

1. Logically Incoherent Beliefs

Some people have contended that the idea that God exists is incoherent in some way. For example, it has been contended (a) that the concept of omnipotence gives rise to contradictions; (b) that omniscience is incompatible with human freedom; (c) that omniscience is incompatible with divine immutability; (d) that being outside of time is incompatible with creating the world, and with bringing about events in the world. Similarly, as we shall see below, questions of coherence can also arise in connection with specific beliefs associated with historical religions, and this has been especially so in the case of Christianity.

2. Implausible Factual Beliefs

Historical religions, in addition to beliefs concerning the nature and existence of God, typically involves further beliefs about human nature, about human destiny, about historical figures - such as the founder of the religion in question - about various historical events - typically including a number of miracles. In the case of all such beliefs, one can raise the question of whether those beliefs are plausible in the light of what one knows.

3. Dubious Moral Teachings

Historical religions also involve a detailed moral outlook, according to which some actions are prohibited as morally wrong, while other actions are morally required, and one can ask whether the moral outlook in question seems plausible in all respects, or whether, on the contrary, it involves some problematic moral claims.

4. Beliefs that Have Unacceptable Moral Implications

In addition to the explicit moral teaching that one finds in a given religion, there may be beliefs about the nature of God, or about the way the world is that have moral implications. For religions typically involve the belief that God is good, and if this is so, one can ask both whether the characteristics that are attributed to God, in the religion in question, are such as appear good without exception, and one can also ask whether the way that the deity in question is held to have arranged things also appears good without exception.

5. Attitudes Towards Critical Thinking

Historical religions typically emphasize the importance of faith, and an important question to raise is whether faith is compatible with the view that it is important to think critically, to examine in a thorough way one's own most basic beliefs and values.

6. Beliefs that Have Unacceptable Moral Implications

Historical religions typically have a founder, and that person is usually held to have a special significance for the religion. An issue that can be raised, accordingly, concerns the character, beliefs, and attitudes of the founder. Does it matter, for the religion in question, whether the specific individual was a wise and admirable person? If it does, how does the person in question appear to be as regards central beliefs and attitudes, and overall moral character?
 
7. The Historical Record of the Religion

Some historical religions have had a very great influence on the course of history. What has that impact been? To what extent has it been good, and to what extent bad, and does this matter?

Part 2: The Case of Christianity

I shall now illustrate these different types of issues by mentioning some of the ways in which they arise within Christianity. In some cases, as we shall see, the questions are relevant to Christianity in general, while, in other cases, they arise within some versions of Christianity, but not within others.

1. Logically Incoherent Beliefs

The idea that certain beliefs that are widely accepted are in fact logically incoherent is one that, on the face of it, seems rather unlikely. So, aside from the suggestions mentioned above concerning belief in the existence of God, what Christian beliefs might be thought to be incoherent? The most important candidates, I think, are the following three beliefs:

(1) The doctrine of the Trinity: there is only one god, but three divine persons;

(2) The doctrine of the Incarnation: Jesus was both fully God, and fully human;

(3) The Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation: in the Eucharist, bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus, though they continue to have all of the appearances of bread and wine.

2. Implausible Factual Beliefs

What factual beliefs within Christianity might be held to be implausible? Candidates are of two sorts:

Beliefs shared with many other religions:

(1) Belief in the existence of God;

(2) Belief in the individual's survival of death;

(3) Belief in libertarian free will.

Beliefs that are not generally shared with other religions.

Examples of beliefs of that sort that have been held by various people either to be implausible, or, in some cases, actually falsified, are:

(1) Belief in the physical resurrection of Jesus;

(2) Beliefs in other New Testament miracle stories;

(3) The belief in the Second Coming of Jesus;

(4) Various stories in Genesis, and other books of the Old Testament, including creation and the story of Noah's ark, miracle stories associated with Moses, etc.

(5) The belief in the existence of demons, and the belief that various illnesses are caused by demonic possession.

(6) The belief in the existence of witches;

(7) The belief in the existence of faith healing;

(8) The belief in speaking in tongues;

(9) The belief in the non-harmfulness of drinking any dangerous thing.

        3. Dubious Moral Teachings

Does Christian involve any moral teachings that seem mistaken?

The main candidates that have been advanced here are as follows:

(1) Christian teaching concerning divorce. (Some Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic, do not permit divorce under any circumstances, and Jesus himself seems to have held that divorce was permissible at most in the case of adultery.)

(2) Christian teaching concerning sexual morality, including:

(a) Sex before marriage;

(b) Homosexuality;

(c) Contraception;

(d) Masturbation.

4. Beliefs that Have Unacceptable Moral Implications

What are some Christian beliefs that might be held to involve unsound moral judgments? Some standard candidates here include:

(1) The doctrine of original sin. (It is has been argued that this belief has two consequences that are morally unacceptable: (a) That God should have arranged the world so that Adam's sin made it the case that all other humans are very much worse off; (b) The idea that guilt can be transmitted to the rest of us from Adam.)

(2) The belief that God could not simply forgive sin without resorting to the mechanism of becoming incarnate.

(3) The belief that Jesus's death somehow atones for the misdeeds of others.

(4) The belief in the existence of a Final Judgment.

(5) The doctrine of Hell. (Here there are three aspects that have been criticized: (a) The idea that actions done in a finite time should have infinite consequences; (b) The idea that those infinite consequences will take the form of torment that never ends; (c) The idea that most human beings will end up in Hell.)

(6) The idea that salvation depends, not just on the moral quality of one's life, but on what theological beliefs one accepts. (See, for example, the passages on original sin, and on the Eucharist.)

5. Christian Attitudes Towards Critical Thinking

What aspects of Christianity might be thought to be problematic with regard to critical thinking? The main criticisms that have been advanced here concern the following three things:

(1) The general lack of emphasis on the importance of critical thinking, and upon believing things only to the extent that they are supported by the evidence;

(2) The idea that, on the contrary, it is positively meritorious to accept some things 'on faith';

(3) The still further idea that there are some things that it is necessary to believe in order to be saved. Consider, for example, the various Christian Creeds, and Confessions of Faith. (This is perhaps most striking within Catholicism, where it is held that one must accept certain dogmas if one is to remain within the church.)

6. The Character, Beliefs, and Attitudes of Jesus

In the case of Christianity, a number of criticisms have been directed against Jesus, and which have focused upon his beliefs, or his moral teachings, or upon his character and attitudes. Here are some of the more important ones.

A.  Problematic Factual Beliefs

(1) Jesus appears to have believed in the existence of demons, and in demonic possession. (For example, Mark 3:14-15: "And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons."

(2) Jesus appears to have believed that his own, imminent, Second Coming - that is, that he would return to earth to participate in the Final Judgment, and that this would happen within the lifetime of some of those listening to him. (For example, Mark 8:38 - 9:31: "For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said to them, 'Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste of death before they see the kingdom of God come with power'." Similarly, Matthew 10:23: "When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes.")

B.  Problematic Moral Principles Accepted by Jesus

(1) The prohibition of divorce, except possibly in the case of adultery.

(2) The view that fornication is something that 'defiles' a person.

C.  Conceptions of Reality that Are Morally Problematic, and Which Jesus Failed to Criticize

(1) His acceptance of the idea of Hell, thought of as a place of eternal punishment, and indeed, as one where most of the human race will wind up. (See, for example, Matthew 13:41-2, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, and Mark 9:42-8. And for passages concerning the proportion of people who will wind up in Hell, see Matthew 7:13-4, and Matthew 22:13-4.)

(2) His acceptance of the notion of a Final Judgment - as expressed, for example, in Matthew 13:49-50.

(3) His acceptance of the idea that his death was an atoning sacrifice – as expressed, for example, in Mark 10:45.

(4) His acceptance of the idea of a sin that could never be forgiven - as expressed, for example, in Mark 3:28-9.

(5) His frequent appeals to rewards and punishments in setting out his ethical message - for example, in the Sermon on the Mount as set out in Matthew 5:3 - 7:27.)

(6) His strongly negative feelings towards those who disagreed with his teachings - as expressed, for example, in Matthew 10:14-15: "'And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that town. Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town'

7. The Historical Record of Christianity

Why is a religion's historical record relevant to an evaluation of its claim to truth? One reason is that religions often claim to transform the lives of people. So it is appropriate to look at the course of a religion, and to ask whether there is indeed reason for thinking that people who have accepted that religion have been, on the whole, better people. In addition, in the case of Christianity, Jesus expressed the intention to found a very special institution, and indicated that he would be with it always. (See Matthew 16:17-19, and Matthew 28:18-20.)

What does the historical record look like in the case of Christianity? The answer is that while Christianity has made some important positive contributions to society, there have been a number of very serious negative outcomes associated with Christianity, including the following:

(1) Extensive opposition to scientific advances. (The case of Galileo, and the opposition to the idea that the earth goes around the sun, is one of the best known, but there are many more cases. See, for example, Andrew Dickinson White's book A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom.)

(2) The suffering that resulted from the treatment of the insane that was caused by the belief that insanity was a matter of demonic possession;

(3) The suffering and deaths involved in both religious wars and the crusades;

(4) The Inquisition, and the associated torture and execution of heretics, generally by burning at the stake;

(5) The Christian treatment of, and attitudes towards the Jews. (See, for example, Malcolm Hays' book Europe and the Jews: The Pressure of Christendom on the People of Israel for 1900 Years.)

(6) The campaign against women thought to be witches, based on the Old Testament injunction in Exodus 22:18: "You shall not allow a witch to live."