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Why this book? 本书的目的？ 〗 With America in rapid decline, many might wonder why we should look at the relationship of Christianity and American culture. Actually, the topic deserves our careful study just because the United States is falling so rapidly from its pre-eminent position in the world. We need to understand the causes of America's previous success and current failure. Only thus can we properly interpret the present and prepare for the future. 当此美国正迅速没落之际，许多人也许觉得奇怪，为什么我们要研究基督教与美国文化之间的关系。事实上，正因为美国由强权衰落的速度是如此之快，基督教与美国文化的关联就更值得仔细的探讨。我们需要了解造成美国过去强盛和如今衰落的原因，唯有如此，我们才能理解现在并规划将来。 The above statement assumes that Christianity played a role both in America's ascent to world dominance and in her rapid plunge. I hope that the following pages will bear out that assumption. 前段的叙述，是假设基督教在美国崛起成为世界强权以及后来的迅速殒落过程中，扮演着一个重要的角色。我希望以下的说明，可以支持我的假设。 We can make two mistakes of interpretation as we examine the relationship between American culture and Christianity. One is to downplay the influence of Christianity and thus to misunderstand completely both the origins and the subsequent greatness of this unique nation. Or we can exaggerate the influence of Christianity upon America and thus fail to understand the true reasons for America's current problems. I shall seek to avoid both these errors. 当我们探讨基督教与美国文化的关系时，可能犯两种错误。第一是看轻了基督教的影响而完全误解这个独特国家的起源和随后的强盛，第二是夸大了基督教的影响而无法探寻到美国现在问题的根源。我将尽量避免犯这两种错误。 My purpose is to help us understand what has happened in America, hoping that we may learn from the past, benefiting from both the good and bad examples we find in American history. 我的目的是帮助我们了解美国的历史，希望由历史中学习，从好的与不好的事例中获得益处。 Why study about America at all？ 为什么要研究美国？ Many reasons lead us to ponder the rise and decline of the United States of America. I shall list only a few. 有许多原因促使我们思考美国的兴盛与衰落，我仅列出其中一些原因: - American has played a prominent role in modern history. The American War for Independence influenced the French Revolution (which differed in important ways from it) and countless other revolutions and wars for independence. The Declaration of independence has inspired millions. The U.S. Constitution is the oldest in the world and the most successful (at least until recently). American participation in both World War I and World War II brought victory to the Allies and changed the face of the map. America's conflict with the communist bloc dominated world politics for forty years. 美国在世界近代史上扮演着举足轻重的角色。美国独立战争影响了法国大革命(虽然两者在许多重要方面并不相同)，以及其它大大小小的革命和独立战争。美国独立宣言启发了千千万万的人。美国宪法是世界上最早的宪法，也是到目前为止最成功的宪法。美国参与了第一次和第二次世界大战，帮助同盟国赢得胜利，并改变世界版图。美国与共产世界的对峙，更主宰了全球政治达四十年之久。 - America has inspired other nations by its way of life. For a long time, Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world. American freedom lured millions of immigrants from all over the world, resulting in the most cosmopolitan nation in history. American advances in science and technology led the world. American business and industry outpaced the world for a long time. American higher education has drawn the leading students from many nations. Even after the dissolution of the British Empire, English advanced to its current position as the international language largely because of American military, economic, and cultural supremacy, as well as through the (largely unnoticed) influence of American missionaries. 美国的生活型态，对其他国家也影响深远。长久以来，美国人民享有世界上最高的生活水准。美国的自由空气吸引了世界各地百万计的移民，造就了美国成为历史上最富于民族融合性的国家。美国在科技上的进步领先全球。美国的工商业一直执世界经济之牛耳。美国的高等教育吸引了许多国家的优秀学生来此深造。即使在大英帝国解体后，英语仍跃升为今日的国际语言，这要归因于美国在军事上、经济上、文化上的优势，以及透过美国的宣教工作的传播(但这方面的影响常被忽视)。 - Negatively, American entertainment media overshadow the popular culture of many nations. Popular American music and movies have contaminated hundreds of millions with false ideas of materialism, sexual immorality, rebellion against authority, and unrestrained individualism. Perhaps no nation in history has had such an evil influence on the entire globe at one time. At home, Americans are guilty of a high rate of violence, one of the highest divorce rates, a great number of abortions, the lowest academic achievement, and the highest level of debt of any advanced nation. No wonder Chinese governments fear "spiritual pollution" from American influences and Islamic leaders call America "the great Satan." 负面的来说，美国的娱乐媒体掩盖了许多国家的大众文化。美国的流行音乐和电影充斥了无数的物质主义、性泛滥、反抗权威、以及过度的个人主义的错误观念。大概历史上没有任何一个国家像美国一样，能同时对整个世界产生如此恶劣的影响。这些错误观念在美国国内的影响，表现于随处可见的高犯罪率、高离婚率、高堕胎率、低学习成就、以及先进国家中最严重的人民负债情况。无怪乎中国政府惧怕美国的「精神污染」，而伊斯兰教的领袖们称美国为「大撒旦」。 - On the other hand, America has been influenced by the Christian religion more than any major nation in recent history. Not only the Constitution and laws, but also the culture as a whole, came under the sway of Christian ideas and values to a degree perhaps unprecedented in world history. On the North American continent, many Christians carried out an experiment to see whether a try Christian nation could be forged out of the wilderness. 另一方面，美国受基督教的影响，超过了近代历史上任何一个大国。基督教的思想和价值观影响所及，不仅在宪法和一般法上，也在整体文化之中，其影响程度是史无前例的。在北美新大陆上，许多的基督徒建立一个基督教国家，看她是否能在旷野中生存下来。 - American Christianity has influenced the entire world. American missionaries (at times as many as 50,000 Protestants alone) have scattered throughout the globe, bringing a life-and society-changing religion to literally hundreds of cultures, both small and great. American religious broadcasting has penetrated the Iron Curtain, the Bamboo Curtain, and the walls erected by Moslem states. Billy Graham, an American preacher, has spoken to more people and has had private interviews with more heads of state than anyone else in all of history. 美国基督教对全世界都造成影响。美国的宣教工作(有时多达五万人)散布在世界每个角落，在不同的程度上，改变了数百种文化的社会型态和生活型态。美国的福音传播穿越了铁幕、竹幕(中共)、以及伊斯兰国家的围墙。美国布道家葛培理(Billy Graham)的听众，以及他所会晤过的世界各国领袖，比历史上任何一个人都多。 - America has greatly influence upon China and Chinese culture. Ever since American missionaries and merchants arrived in China in the nineteenth century, Americans and Chinese have played a vital role in each other's lives. American Christianity has also had an impact upon Chinese society. Even today, many Chinese either emigrate to America or go there to study; others see America as a "beautiful country" and hope that China can in some ways imitate its culture. At the same time, popular American culture has, as we have seen, brought great moral pollution to China. Even more disturbing is the rise of anti-Chinese sentiment in America, and the growth of anti-American feelings in china. How do we understand this complex relationship. 美国对中国及中国文化有极大的影响。自从十九世纪美国宣教士和商人到中国以来，美国人和中国人对彼此的生活影响甚巨。美国基督教也藉此影响了中国社会。到今天，许多中国人移民到美国，或是到美国读书，其它一些中国人把美国看作一个「美丽的国家」，而且希望中国能在某些方面模仿美国文化。在此同时，美国的大众文化如我们所见的污染了中国的道德文化。更糟的是美国的反中情绪，和中国的反美情结的滋长。我们怎么样理解这个复杂的中美关系. To understand the paradox of greatness and the decline of this country, we must trace the relationship of Christianity to American culture. 要了解美国强盛与衰败之间的矛盾，我们就必须追溯基督教与美国文化间的关系。 What is "Christianity"？ 基督教(Christianity)是什么？ The word "Christianity" has several meanings which must be carefully distinguished from each other. 「基督教」一词，有好几个意义，我们必须谨慎地加以区别。 In Chinese, for example, "Christianity" (Ji Du Zhao) refers to the Protestant church in its many manifestations. Roman Catholicism is called Tian Ju Chao (Religion of the Heavenly Lord, the Catholic name for God in Chinese.) In English, however, Christianity refers to all branches of the Christian Church, including Roman Catholic, Eastern orthodox, and protestant (which includes Pentecostal) churches. 譬如说，基督教在中文里不同于天主教，所指的是宗教改革后的新教派。但在英文里，基督教指的是所有敬拜基督耶稣的教派，包括罗马天主教、东正教、以及宗教改革后的新教派(也包括五旬节派)。 "Christianity" may refer to a visible organization like a church or to the system of beliefs held by those churches. 「基督教」也可能指的是如同教会一样的组织，或是这些组织所持的信仰。 Likewise, "Christian" may denote a believer in Jesus Christ, a member (regardless of how sincere he is) of a "Christian" church, or one who was born into a "Christian" home and perhaps baptized as an infant as a "Christian," as distinct from, say, a Moslem or a Hindu. 类似的情况，「基督徒」可以指信奉基督耶稣的人，或上教堂的人(不论其信仰的程度)，或是一个生在基督教家庭也许婴孩时就受洗的人，以这样的称呼有别于回教徒或是印度教徒。 A "Christian" nation may refer to a country that has an established Christian church as its state religion, like England or Germany, or it may simply denote a country that has many Christians living in it, like America, as distinct from a Hindu nation like India (which also has more Moslems than any other nation). 而「基督教国家」，则可能指的是以基督教为国教的国家，如英国和德国，也可能指有许多基督徒居住的国家，如美国，用以区别于其它宗教国家，如印度是一个印度教国家。(但印度的回教徒也多过于其它国家) Even within Protestantism, "Christian" may refer to evangelicals who believe the Bible or liberals who do not. A "Christian" may be someone who merely attends a Christian church or a person who has repented of his sins, trusted in Christ for salvation, and received new life by the power of the Holy Spirit. The latter is the meaning evangelical Protestants give to the word "Christian." 即使在改革派基督徒中，「基督徒」可能指的是相信圣经的福音派，或是不相信圣经的自由派(新派)。一个「基督徒」，也许只是上教堂的人，也可能是一个认罪悔改、相信基督的救赎，藉圣灵的力量重生的人。后者正是福音派对「基督徒」所下的定义。 Why have I spent so much time trying to refine our understanding of the words "Christianity" and "Christian"？ Because confusion over these words greatly misleads anyone who would seek to comprehend the relationship of Christianity to American culture. Part of the purpose of this book is to show how different types of Christianity have had different impacts upon American culture. 我为什么花这么多力气来厘清「基督教」和「基督徒」的意义？因为对这些名词的混淆会严重误导我们对基督教和美国文化之间的关系的理解。本书的目的之一，就是说明不同的基督教思想如何在美国文化上造成不同影响。 The Scope of this Book 本书的讨论范围 Readers looking for an academic treatment of the complex relationship between Christianity and American culture will have to look elsewhere. I am not an expert in American history and religion. I write as an average American who has studied the question afresh only recently. 这本书并非以学术性的方式来讨论基督教与美国文化间的复杂关系。我不是美国历史与宗教的专家，我是以一个最近才研究了这个问题的普通美国人的身份来写这本书。 On the other hand, I have been intensely interested in American politics, culture, and foreign policy for most of my life. As a Christian, I have pondered the influence - or lack thereof - of the Christian faith upon my native land. Relating to Chinese over the past twenty years has given me a different perspective from the one I learned as a youth. For example, I have benefited much from reading the Analects of Confucius and seeing the impact of Confucianism upon Chinese culture even today. Traveling to India, Europe, and Africa has opened my eyes to yet other religions and cultures. My Ph.D. studies in Greek and Roman civilization shed some light on the role of the classical ideal in the formation of early America and the growing power of classical humanism (and paganism) in America today. Likewise, research on Augustine caused me to evaluate how the early Christians sought to transform the Roman Empire. (Cochrane's Christianity and Classical Culture details their successes and failures, drawing implications for our own time.) 然而，我一直对美国的政治、文化、及外交政策有浓厚的兴趣。作为一个美国的基督徒，我一直思索着基督教信仰，或者这信仰的缺乏，所带给这块土地的影响。过去二十年来与中国人的接触，使我学习到与我年轻时所学的不同的看法。例如，研读孔子的论语并亲眼见到儒家思想对古今中国文化的深远影响，使我获益良多。我的印度、欧洲、及非洲之旅，打开我的眼界，让我认识了别的宗教与文化。我对希腊罗马文明的博士班研究，使我对美国建国初期的古典理想以及现在方兴未艾的古典人文主义和古典异教主义都能有了解。同样的，我博士论文对奥古斯丁的研究，促使我对早期基督徒如何改造罗马帝国作了一番评价。(Cochrane在「基督教与古典文化」一书中对早期基督徒的成功与失败有详细的描述，值得作为我们这个时代的借镜) Although Augustine's City of God provided the inspiration for this work, there can be of course no comparison between the great African theologian's magnum opus and my feeble attempt. I only mention him to give credit for the origin of the idea for my shorter essay in critical interpretation of culture. 尽管奥古斯丁的「上帝之城」是本书的灵感来源，我这本微不足道的书却无法与伟大的非洲神学家奥古斯丁的堂皇钜着相提并论。这里提到他，是要将本书中对文化的批判性思考的最初想法归功于他。 Those looking for another tract proving that this was a Christian nation especially chosen by God will also be disappointed. I have attempted a critical description and interpretation of American history from a Christian standpoint, and have arrived at conclusions different from the assumptions with which I began my study. Bear with me, fellow patriot! The true lover of America will not deny either the magnificent contribution which Christians and Christianity have made to our country, nor gloss over our many faults and failings. 如果你想从本书中找到另一项立论，以证明美国是神所拣选的基督教国家，你将会失望。我试图以基督徒的观点，对美国历史作批判性的描述与诠释，而我所获致的结论，却与我一开始的假设很不相同，我的假设正是：美国是神所拣选的基督教国家。爱国的同胞们，请耐心的看完本书。真正爱美国的人，不会否认基督徒和基督教对我们国家的伟大贡献，也不会否认我们信仰上的偏差所造成的错误与失败。 With those disclaimers, then, here is what I hope to accomplish: A brief survey of some ways in which Christianity and American culture have affected each other since the coming of English colonists to the New World. Some chapters will focus on politics; some will touch also upon other facets of culture, such as religious practices, family life, education, work, and the arts. Even foreign policy will not escape our notice, since Christianityhas often proved to be the driving force in the formation - or at least the justification - of our relations with other countries. In general, an examination of the development of Christian faith and practice will precede consideration of other sides of American society, since, as Richard Weaver wrote, ideas do have consequences. 基于以上的说明，我所希望达成的目标，是简要地检视那些自从英国殖民者来到新大陆后，基督教和美国文化之间相互影响的层面。部份内容会侧重于政治，部份内容则会探讨到文化的其它层面，如各种不同的宗教信仰、家庭生活、教育、工作、及艺术。就连外交政策也在讨论之列，因为基督教的信仰常常成为美国与其它国家交往的原则，或至少是许多政治人物常运用的口号。整体来说，对基督教信仰的检视，将优先于对美国社会其它的方面的探讨。原因在于，如美国作家兼英文教授理察维尔 (Richard Weaver)所写道:「思想必定产生结果」。 In fact, the power of ideas to mold a nation stands at the center of the book. My goal: To commend the Christian faith as a source of life-giving concepts, not only for individuals, but also for entire nations. That America has fallen so far from its original vision does not invalidate the Christian faith; I hope to show, on the contrary, that American historyconfirms the truths that its Pilgrim Fathers believed. 事实上，思想对一个国家的塑造力量，正是本书的中心题目。我的目标是，赞扬基督教信仰是个人及整个国家那种终生奉献的观念之本源，美国今天已偏离建国时理想很远，但这并非否定基督教信仰的贡献；相反的，我希望能指出，美国的历史验证了其基督徒祖先所信奉的基督教真理。 Thus, I hope that Americans will understand our culture better and gain insight into its current malaise and possible future course. My desire for non-Americans is that they learn from our successes and from our failures as they seek to apply the truth of the Bible to their own unique culture. 因此，我盼望美国读者可以藉由本书对我们的文化有更深的认识，并能洞察当今美国文化的毛病，及未来可能出现的课题。对于其它国家的读者，我盼望他们在尝试用圣经的真理注入其独特文化的过程中，能由我们的成功与失败中学取教训。
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