Auctoritas maiorum is a fancy Latin phrase associated with the tradition of ancestral authority. Appeals to ancient authorship are no different than we find today. When I write a paper or present at a conference, I often support my thesis by appealing to others who have agreed with me. In the tradition of the great religions, this was important.
I thought it interesting that when making their cases for the seminal origin events that helped conceive of Christianity and Judaism, Paul the Apostle and Judah HaLevi appeal to this concept. In these cases, there is an appeal to numbers. Defending one's position became a matter of how many followers one could boast.
Speaking about the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, Paul concatenates a list of followers who saw the risen Lord. Including in this list, he writes, "After that, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep." (1 Corinthians 15:6)
In another passage, not entirely different, but more theologically sophisticated, the gospel writer of Matthew records that "the tombs of were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many..." (Matthew 27:52)
Again, we see the apologetic emphasis on sheer numbers.
Judah HaLevi, in the famous medieval work, the Kuzari, puts on the mouth of his antagonist Al Khazari, the admission that the Exodus story was "irrefutable" because "a thing which occurred to six hundred thousand people for 40 years," is not easily undone. Top that Paul! (The Kuzari, 60)
Earlier, Al Khazari admits that agreement among the Jewish people in a similar Jewish calendar was an amazing show of unity. "Not ten people could discuss such a thing without disagreeing, and disclosing their secret understanding. (The Kuzari, 50)
In 2011, Miroslav Volf wrote an article for the Huffington Post about the continued need for Muslims and Christians to work together. Interestingly, he appealed to the very argument we've been looking at here, noting, "Christianity and Islam are today the most numerous and fastest growing religions globally. Together they encompass more than half of humanity. Consequence: both are here to stay." Certainly, this was not an apologetic meant to argue for divine truthfulness, but the responsibility to do what is right seems to originate from a meaning often used for this very purpose.
Certainly, there is a completely "other" strain of religious self-perception in the world. The "truth" of one's religion, while supported by numbers, in some way or another is put up in contrast to the persecution of that religion in the world. Muslims complain about their persecution in Western countries and Israel. Christians complain about their persecution by their own secular culture. And Jews have historically complained about their persecution everywhere and for just about everything perceived as Jewish. Surprisingly, persecution is ALSO considered a top-tier contender in ancient religious apologetics. "My religion is persecuted; therefore, God is on my side," has been a particularly effective campaign platform to bring in converts, at least where conversion is important.
Nevertheless, we can see the problem. Appealing to mass numbers and claiming you are persecuted by those around you who do not hold the power to do so creates an awkward intellectual relationship. Progressive thinkers in the United States often scoff at the travails of Evangelicals this time of year who decry a "War on Christmas." This is true of Muslims in some Arab countries who must look to the "temptations of the West" as a power too strong for them to resist, as propaganda that is destroying their culture. But this marriage of sheer numbers and a persecution mentality shows us that where there would seemingly be illogic, a logic of its own can form. A persecuted majority rises up against the power of the Other.
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