In the White House ceremony marking the signing of the Camp David accords,
President Jimmy Carter, a Christian, Anwar Sadat, a Muslim and Menachem
Begin, a Jew - all quoted the same verse. They all alluded to the immortal
words of the Hebrew prophets who foresaw a time when men shall beat their
swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. [Isiah 2:4]
The
vision of universal brotherhood and international peace so eloquently
spoken by the prophets is part of the heritage of all the great religions
of monotheism. Those who profess belief in the universal Fatherhood of One
God also affirm the brotherhood of all men. Disharmony, hatred, and war
cannot be in harmony with the will of the Father of us all.
The
Judaic tradition has profound words to speak to our situation especially
in the light of the subject we are discussing. There are a series of
antinomies which undergird the view of Judaism regarding the role of
nations and the prospects for their unity.
The first
antinomy realizes that though Man is universal, men are particular.
All men
are created in the image of God. They all share in the same patrimony. Yet
the one-ness of man is not the only testimony to the power and majesty of
God. It is also man's particularity that proclaims God's grandeur.
The
talmudic rabbis, reflecting their awe in the presence of the Creator said:
“A
man of flesh and blood produces many coins from the same die. They are all
identical. But the King of Kings (that is God) stamps out all men in the
die of Adam the first man. Yet not one man is identical with his fellow
man.” [Talmud. Mishna Sanhedrin 4:3]
The
identical origin of human beings in the Divine elevates the grandeur of
human unity - yet the diversities of man testify to God's wisdom.
This does
not only refer to the infinite variety of human talent and experience. It
also posits the existence of a diversity of peoples. "When we see a
soul we always see a community rising behind it "(J. Pedersen). In
the Israelite conception no human being can exist except as a member of an
'am, a people. The belonging to a community, especially of those
who share family ties and ancestral heritage is a prerequisite for shalom
the greatest of all blessings. The word shalom means totality; it means
the untrammeled free growth of the soul. "The soul can only expand in
conjunction with other souls."
Apart
from the family the totality which has the strongest hold is that of the
people. It is a kinship which extends in time. Each people has its own
world.
The
existence of these indispensable particularistic elements in human life
does provoke inevitable tensions. The most effective state of mutual life
is that of berith, covenant. A covenant is a mutual agreement in
which two or more entities agree to share some aspects of common
existence. They enter into a promise to respect bounꗬÂQЁቄ¿ကЀ䤗
橢橢좃좃Ё䘀[1]ꋡꋡ䕡]㉿Ì㍋㍋㍋㍋㍋㍟㤥㤥㤥㤥㤹l㍟挥Ɔ㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥䑑[1]䑓䑓䑓䑓䑓䑓$撫Ǵ暟Ā䑷Ắ㍋㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥䑷
sameness of the loss of communal or national identity. The nations will
jive together in peace: they will not live together a gigantic mass. It is
covenant, not assimilation that is the desideratum. "A man's feet
must be firmly planted in his own country, but his eyes must survey the
world" (George Santayana).
The
second antinomy affirms that the creation of the nation-state is an
outcome of evil. Yet there can be no significant life without some form of
political organization.
If men
were not sinful, there would be no need for the nation state. Men would
live together in harmony, obeying the law of God and respecting boundaries
and the rights of others. In the ideal situation, as Buber [Buber’s
Book: the Kingdom of God] has pointed outs God is the King, and
there is no need for earthly rulers. But men are sinful and therefore the
coercive power of the government is a necessity.
In
Biblical theology, the story told in the first book of Samuel about the
beginning of the Israelite kingship is reflective of the polar evaluation
of political authority. The people had been ruled by the judges and
prophets. They had no permanent political structure,. The elders come to
the prophet Samuel and say: "appoint for us a king to govern us like
all the ations.[Samuel 8:5]. Samuel sees this as a rebellion against God's
rule. He is told indeed by God "Hearken to the voice of the people in
all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have
rejected me from being king over them," [ibid, 6:7]. Samuel
acquiesces and warns the people that the imposition of structured
political authority will cost them dear in the surrender of their freedom
to the sovereign. They continued to insist on the appointment of the king,
despite the negative outcome. The appointment of the king is necessary to
protect the people from the Philistine invaders.
In this
incident, the political philosophy of the nation-state is enunciated. The
state is indispensable, otherwise the threat of internal chaos and
defenseless resistance to aggression will overwhelm the people. However,
the necessity of the nation state does put into power groups of people
over other people. The wielders of power face the constant temptation of
increasing their power at the expense of the people. Therefore, the
nation-state is a defense against sin, but it is also the vehicle of sin.
"Pray for the welfare of the government," advise the talmudic
rabbis, "for were it not for the fear of the government people would
swallow each other up alive."
In the
working-out of this paradoxical situation of the nation-state, the
religious spokesmen have a role which is also fraught with ambiguity. It
is the role of the religious institutions to undergird the common
foundation which is the basis of the commonwealth. They are the guardians
of the historical myths which enrich the culture of the community. They
enunciate the "truths which are held self-evident," which guide
the common life. The priestly function of the religion is vital to the
health of the community. Yet, it is also the role - or perhaps chiefly the
role - of the spokemen of the Deity to warn against the inevitable
pretensions of the political leaders to illegitimately enlarge their power
and to exploit their people. It is also the prophet who warns against
cruelty to other nations. It is the task of the prophet to call to task
the political leader who identifies his (that is the political leader's)
interests with universal interests. The greatest danger emerges when the
political framework becomes totalitarian making total claims on the
loyalty of the people. The political realm has claims upon us, for its
continued authority makes life tolerable. it cannot make claims of
universal rectitude and absolute truth - for the state is only a
concession to human sinfulness. This leads to the paradoxical assertion
that a "secular" state whose laws and policies are provisional,
open to compromise and change is more "religious" than a
"religious" state. In a political system where the governmental
policies are seen as the result of divine imperatives, there is no room
for adjustment of policies to new realities. It is also an open invitation
to tyranny and suppression of opposition - for the dissidents in this
situation go not only against man, but against God. The prophets of Israel
who criticize the king mercilessly represent the critique of religion of
the pretensions of political power.
Therefore,
the second antinomy of Judaic political philosophy recognizes the
indispensability of the nation-state, but also its dangers. It is true to
its task when it continually reminds those who wield power - whether it be
political, economic or even religious - that there is a limit to their
rights of sovereignty over their fellow man. It is only God Who can demand
complete loyalty. All human institutions have a right to provisional
authority - but become extremely dangerous when they identify their own
policies with universal good.
The third
antinomy can be stated in this way: the brotherhood of all men is a grand
and profound dream -. bꗬÂQЁቄ¿ကЀ䤗
橢橢좃좃Ё䘀[1]ꋡꋡ䕡]㉿Ì㍋㍋㍋㍋㍋㍟㤥㤥㤥㤥㤹l㍟挥Ɔ㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥䑑[1]䑓䑓䑓䑓䑓䑓$撫Ǵ暟Ā䑷Ắ㍋㯥㯥㯥㯥㯥䑷to
affect this dream can be destructive. That is because the ubiquitous
tendency of men to convert their own self-interest into a perceived
universal interest. Therefore, attempts at unity which do not take account
of the self-pretensions of those in power ~ or rather especially of those
in power ~ can come to grief. The unity sought becomes a unity which
crushes opposition and increases human misery. The pax romana in
ancient times and the attempts of medieval Christendom in the middle ages
are examples of the pernicious ways in which a great end becomes perverted
by self-pretensions. The other side of the coin is the naive belief that
goodwill alone will curb the appetite of others to swallow up their
neighbors. Utopians of all stripes have to be reminded that the creation
of a perfect society is not possible under conditions of historical time.
Therefore, it is necessary to take precautions against aggression and the
self-aggrandizement of neighbors. The balance of power (and terror) seems
tragically to be the best guarantee of peace and harmony. Of course, there
are breakthroughs. These are in the nature of covenants that are arrived
at out of mutual self-interest or genuine morality. But even these
arrangements are not absolute. They can deteriorate and radically change.
Again we are at a paradox. We can best preserve peace - by being ready for
war.
The
marvelous exposition of the story of the Tower of Babel found in the book
of Genesis by Reinhold Niebuhr sharply and clearly illustrates the
antinomy and tragedy of good intentions frequently resulting in tragedy.
Niebuhr
points outs that man's spirit drives him to seek eternal and universal
goods. "He is not content to be merely American man, or Chinese man.
He want to be man." He therefore, tries to build temples of the
spirit or of the government which will over-arch particularities. This is
a necessary human enterprise. However, sadly, these towers of the spirit
which seek so piously to see above the limitations of finite man
inevitably become Towers of Babel which "pretend to reach higher than
their real height; and claim a finality which they cannot possess." A
striking example of the validity of Niebuhr's insights is the corruption
and the achievements of the United Nations. That organization which sought
to express the universal aspirations of mankind and to bring peace to a
warring world has certainly some significant achievements to its credit.
However, it is clear that the United Nations at the moment at least
represents the interests of the dominant powers or the numerical majority.
It does not represent universal man. As a matter of fact, it becomes
dangerous when it pretends to do so. One can imagine what misery would
ensue if the United Nations indeed had more power than it now has. The
Tower is high. It pretends to reach to the sky, that is, higher than it
really is. The result is confusion, strife, and evil.
The nations should strive to achieve partial unity. These are represented
in what we have called "covenants". However in an unredeemed
world, these are only partial achievements - not to be either
underestimated or overestimated. Utopianism, which is idealism without
realism, is both inevitably disappointing and in the end destructive, even
if some partial good has been achieved.
Therefore,
the antinomy is expressed. Man must dream the dream of a universal
harmony. This dream should drive him toward improvement of the anarchic
state in which we now find ourselves. However, biblical religion reminds
him that in the complexities and ambiguities of contemporary history,
there must be both a profound sense of responsibility to further the cause
of brotherhood and a universal intelligence to recognize our limitations.
This
leads to the final antinomy. In Judaic faith, the unity of man will be
only in the end-time, when the evil inclination will be slain and human
nature regenerated. That time is in the future in the acharait hayamim,
in the end of history. But it is always with us. Every moment, as Buber
said, must have a drop of messianism in it. The swords will be beaten into
ploughshares from time to time but in historical time, not all swords can
be turned into useful implements. What we must avoid at all costs are the
twin dangers of utopianism which believes that the consummation of history
can be achieved through human effort alone. This promises too much. The
other danger is cynicism which posits that nothing can be done to improve
and ameliorate human evils. The religious traditions provide the vision of
human brotherhood. They should encourage efforts to bring the desired end
closer. From time to time we have a taste of what human life can be.
However, in Judaic thought at least, we are denied its full realization
until the coming of the Messiah.
One idea
is paramount in Jewish self-consciousness. That is the idea of exile. The
world is in exile. In Jewish mysticism even God is in exile. Yet, though
in exile we remember the promise and try within our limitations to achieve
that which we can achieve.
In sum,
the religious traditions which we represent here can serve useful, though
limited, purposes in overcoming the evils of nationalism and promoting
international cooperation and brotherhood.
First of
all, to persist in demanding that the dream be part of our action. That is
the duty to deny the present situation ultimately. The religious should be
aliens with uneasy feet. Not satisfied with any level of achievement. They
should push for more and more cooperation.
Secondly,
they should constantly remind those in power that whatever the divisions
of mankind - and they are, as I have said, legitimate - there is an
over-arching unity of mankind rooted in the fatherhood of God. This means
though there are inevitable conflicts between peoples and nations, even
our enemies are endowed God's image. They should be respected even in our
self-defense against their attacks. This should lead to redoubled efforts
to overcome differences and contract covenants.
Religious
groups should help resist efforts at leveling of all men and should
encourage the particularistic as well as the universalistic dimensions of
human life. This group distinctiveness which is a necessary quality for
the full realization of our selfhood frequently requires that groups
achieve national sovereignty so as not to be overwhelmed by majorities or
hostile neighbors. The only real basis for the preservation of separate
national sovereignties is that they are necessary to the preservation of
the soul of the people. They are also indispensable when there are
competing sovereignties who seek the destruction of weakening of the
people. Religions have frequently been irrelevant because they lacked
realism. No ethic is useful if it fails to recognize the factors operating
in the situation to which the faith- communities address themselves. We
are trying to make the real world better - not some imaginary or ideal
place. In the real world there is hostility, aggression, and bogus
attempts at universalism which seek to undermine groups which are small
and relatively powerless. Arrangements are necessary which will minimize
harm but achieve a modicum of justice and assurance for all those who wish
to live productive lives.
Religion
should remind us that we are men and not gods; that we are limited in our
achievements - though unlimited in our pretensions. We are bound by our
limitations - but not paralyzed by them. In this situation there are
enterprises of the human spirit which serve to help people transcend their
national limitations and to associate with others who are of different
allegiances. The work of science, of scholarship, of protection against
the fouling of the atmosphere - these are some activities of men in which
they unite not as Russians or Americans - but as members of the human
race. The more such contacts are established, the more likely it is that
nationalism will be less of a barrier to the achievement of human
brotherhood. When men can establish covenants to make music or to fly to
the moon - they will also be more likely to promote covenants which will
to a modicum, at least, bridge over the barriers of nation, nationality,
and race - to establish relationships which though not diminishing the
distinctiveness of historical groups which are part of our world - will
bring about friendship and cooperation - a relationship symbolized by the
word covenant or berith.
These
observations about the role of religion apply especially to the
monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They all
worship the same God; revere the same historical personalities; and claim
the same revelation. These groups should take the lead in promoting the
brotherhood of man which is still to be realized.
Some will
be disappointed that we cannot hold out the promise of the overcoming of
all of the agonies of men in our world. It is the grandeur of our faiths
that we are called to try to conquer evils one by one - and rely on the
One to finally conquer evil.
