胡适留学日记卷九二六、星期日之演说词

卷九二六、星期日之演说词

　　（三月廿二日）

　　The Christians are Christians in giving charities and in their private and civil dealings. But they are not Christians when they come to international relations. They "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel!" So long as the professedly Christian nations recognize no authority but that of the "mailed fist"; so long as they have no regard for the right and claims of the weaker nations; so long as they place national and commercial gain and territorial aggression over and above the dictates of justice and righteousness, —so long Christianity can never become a world power, so long all your missionary work can never long endure and will all be swept away at a signal of Mars!

　　This was the statement of Suh Hu, a well-known Chinese, in his lecture last night at the Presbyterian Church on "The Christian Opportunity in China," the fifth in a series of talks on "The Spiritual Significance of Secular Callings. " Such was his opinion, he said, after considering the German seizure of Kiac-chau of 1897 and the French seizure of Kwangchow Bay of 1898, under the pretext that two German missionaries and one French missionary had been killed by the mob, both acts being responsible for the Boxer uprising in 1900. Suh Hu continued:

　　"If Christianity is to become a world religion, it is the duty of every individual Christian and every Christian Church to pledge himself, herself, or itself to raise the present standard of international morality. Most of you take it for granted that what you are fond of calling 'civilization' is based upon the solid rock of Christianity. But let me tell you with all sincerity that the present civilization is founded, not upon the Christian ideals of love and righteousness, but upon the law of the jungle—the law that might makes right! Think of the many Christian nations now praying in the churches and to the Christian God for victory and success in their efforts to destroy their fellow Christians! And then think of the Christian commandment: 'Love ye one another; Love thy enemy; Resist not evil'."

　　After showing the growing popularity of Christianity in China and the gradual removal of such difficulties as those which the pioneer missionary had to encounter, the speaker devoted much time to discussing what the missionaries have done and can do in that vast country. There are three lines of work which the Christian may accomplish: First, making converts; second, spreading the Christian ideas and ideals; and third, rendering practical service.

　　"There was a time when the missionaries were paid according to the number or converts they had made. But that is not what China wants, nor is it what the churches should emphasize in sending their missionaries.

　　"More important is the spreading of the essentials of Christianity, by which are meant, not the theological dogmas such as the doctrines of virgin birth, of original sin, of atonement, etc., but the truly Christian doctrine of love, of loving one's neighbor, of even loving one's enemy, of nonresistance, of forgiveness, of self-sacrifice and of service. The missionary should spread broadcast these Christian ideals, and present them to the native minds in whatever way he sees fit. He should not stress the increase of the roll of his church members, but rather leave these ideals to take root and bear fruit in the minds of the people.

　　"A third and still more important object of the missionary is to render practical service, under which we may enumerate education, social reform, and medical and surgical missions. Along these lines the Christian missionaries have accomplished a great deal, especially the medical missions which, to my mind, are the crowning glory and success of the missionary propaganda.

　　"The real value of the missionary lies in the fact that the foreign missionary, like a returned student from abroad, always carries with him a new point of view, a critical spirit, which is often lacking when a people have grown accustomed and indifferent to the existing order of things, and which is absolutely necessary for any reform movement."

　　〔中译〕

　　在做慈善事业方面，在处理个人事务、国内事务方面，耶教徒确实无愧为耶教徒。然而，一介入国际事务时，他们便摇身一变，不是耶教徒了。他们“小事拘谨，大事马虎”！只要这些自称信耶教之国家只认暴力，不认别的；只要他们对弱国之权利和权益不理不睬；只要他们仍置法律与正义于不顾，只管攫取国民和贸易收入，只管侵略别国领土——那么，耶教便不会成为世界上具有权威性之宗教，传教士之传道工作便不会持久地进行，一遇到战神马斯，便会被一扫而尽。

　　这是一个名叫胡适的著名中国人昨晚在长老会所作之演讲，题目为《耶教在中国之机会》。这是系列演讲“世俗感召之精神意义”之第五讲。他认为，德国借口两名传教士被暴民杀害，于一八九七年占领了胶州湾；法国也借口一名传教士被杀，于一八九八年占领了广州湾。他们之上述行径，对一九〇〇年中国发生义和团运动负有责任。胡适继续说：

　　“倘若耶教要成为一种世界宗教，每一个耶教徒乃至每一个教会应督促他（或她、它）自己下决心去尽之责任，乃在于提高现行国际道德水准。你们大多数人理所当然地认为，所谓‘文明’是奠基于耶教之坚固磐石之上的。然而，我要真心实意地告诉你们，现行文明并不是建立在耶教理想之爱和正义之上的，而是建立在弱肉强食法则之上的——这个法则就是：有力即有理！请大家想象一下：许多耶教国家此刻正在教堂里祈祷，请求上帝赐予他们胜利与成功，好去摧残他们的耶教兄弟。接下来，请大家再想一想耶教之戒律：‘爱所有人，爱汝之敌人，对恶人也不要抵抗。’”

　　然后，胡适又谈到，在中国信奉耶教之人数在渐渐地增多，早期来华之传教士在中国所遭遇到的重重困难，也在慢慢地消除。接着，他又讲了一大段，关于传教士在此泱泱大国已做的和可做的那些工作。耶教徒有三项工作可做；第一，劝教；第二，传道，即传播耶教之思想与理想；第三，事功，即做许多实际的服务工作。

　　“传教士之功绩一度是按他们劝教之人数来衡量。可是，这却不是中国所需要的，也不应是教会当初派遣他们来华传教之目的所在。

　　“传播耶教之精华，才是至关重要的。这个精华并不是所谓什么神学之教条，诸如圣母诞生说、原罪说、赎罪说等等；而应该是耶教真正的爱的学说，诸如爱汝之邻人、甚至爱汝之敌人、不争主义、原恕、自我牺牲和服务等等学说。传教士应广泛传播这些耶教之理想，并将其恰当地植入人心，不论采用何种方式。他不应只看重呈滚动式增多之教民人数，而应努力使这些理想深入人心，生根发芽，开花结果。

　　“传教士第三个目的，也是更为重要之目的，就是做些实际的服务工作。例如，在教育、社会改革、医疗和手术等方面，传教士大有可为。诚然，在此方面，传教士们已经颇有成就，尤其是医疗卫生工作。以余观之，传教士四处布道，其至高无上之光荣即在于此，其最大之成功亦在于此。

　　“传教士之真正价值体现于下列事实之中：一位外国传教士，好比一位学成归国之学子，总是带着一种观念，一种批判精神，回到故里。正当国民对现存之社会秩序已经习以为常，并漠然处之之际，上述种种正是该国所最为匮乏的。就任何社会改革而言，上述种种亦正是改革所绝不可少的。”

　　昨日星期，此间十六七所教堂之讲演无一见诸报章者，独我之演说词几占全栏，不可谓非“阔”也，一笑。首末两段自谓大有真理存焉。

梦远书城(guxuo.com)