신학-정치의 문제틀로 본 스피노자의 성서해석

Abstract

In this article, I reconstruct Spinoza's method of interpreting the Bible in the context of the relationship between theology and politics. By doing so, I highlight a number of points. First, Spinoza's method of biblical interpretation is a method of understanding the meaning of the Bible through its history. His method aimed to prevent religious superstition due to misinterpretation. Second, Spinoza denied that certain individuals or groups were in a privileged position to interpret the Bible. He thus tried to control the theoretical and practical influence of the mainstream theologians of the time. Third, Spinoza did not find the source of the sacredness of the Bible in the belief in the continuity of biblical literature, but in whether the Bible could motivate people to practice justice and mercy based on seven doctrines extracted from the sacred book. Fourth, some scholars of Spinoza have argued that the view of religion and salvation presented in the Theological-Political Treatise is incompatible with the view of religion and salvation presented in the Ethics. However, these critics overlook the fact that Spinoza asserts that universal religion is necessary to break free from superstition. Furthermore, criticism that the philosophical concept of salvation in the Ethics and the non-philosophical concept of salvation in the Theological-Political Treatise are incompatible ignores that both have in common elements in terms of content and form and that the latter can contribute to the former. My discussion is limited in that it does not sufficiently deal with whether universal revelation religion is consistent with Spinoza's ontology, epistemology, and ethics. Moreover, my analysis is limited in that it does not discuss the problem of intervention and control of politics in theology, which is another axis of the relationship between theology and politics.