格雷厄姆·沃德 英国曼彻斯特大学
Ward, Graham, University of Manchester
原文Original
Recovering Roots
Christianity, from its earliest records, conceived itself as a Diaspora religion with a missionising impulse. From those same records we understand the religion was not one; rather it was composed of various sects and factions not always peacefully co-existing. We can view ‘orthodoxy’, defined as a common agreement among Christians on its fundamental teachings, as a ‘project’ initiated by Constantine. Orthodoxy is not simply there as a natural given. Constantine’s ‘project’ (he called it his ‘dream’) was both theological (defining who belonged and who were heretics) and political (he saw state-sponsored religion as a means of unifying the different parts of his empire). Its aim was a certain homogenisation of Christianity; but despite the political will for such homogenisation (by the state and then by the Western Church) Christianity has always been culturally syncretic and historical conditioned. There has never been one form of Christianity. Its self-understanding as a Diaspora religion and its missionising impulse ensure it will always adapt to specific sets of social and historical circumstances.
In this paper I wish to explore very briefly what has been termed the ‘making of orthodoxy’ and its implications for the Nestorian roots of Christianity as a public religion in China. Since a religion like Christianity is rooted in the traditions in which it was practiced, then contemporary Chinese Christians need to recover the sense of these earlier traditions in order to recognize the shape of the Christian faith they have inherited. But the recovery has to be critical on two counts: first with respect to the Christianity practiced today (which is also culturally syncretic and historically conditioned). There is a need to assess the history and nature of the missionising impulse behind the form of Christianity in China today. On the second count, with respect to the ‘project’ of orthodoxy which drove the Nestorians out of Assyria and into Central Asia in the seventh century, what can be learnt from the history of this earliest Christian tradition?
译文Translation
追根溯源
从最早的文献记录可以得知，基督教设想自己是一个流散的并带有宣教使命感的宗教。从同样资料可以了解到，这个宗教并不是统一的，在它的内部存在各种派系，而且这些派系之间也并不总是能够和平共处。我们可以考察一下被君士坦丁大帝当做“设想”推出的“正统”概念。所谓“正统”，就是基督徒之间在一些基本教义上达成的一致意见。“正统”并不是一个天然的概念。君士坦丁大帝的“设想”（他称之为“梦想”）既是神学的（它用来判定谁是正统，谁是异端）又是政治的（他把国家支持的宗教当作统一帝国各部分的一种手段）。这一“规划”的目标是实现基督教的某种大一统。不过，尽管有这样的大一统的政治意愿（先通过国家然后通过西方教会），基督教总是融合了其他文化，并受到历史的限制。历史上从来没有单一形式的基督教。它把自己理解为流散的宗教，而其宣教使命感也让它总能适应特定的社会氛围和历史情境。
笔者希望在此简要探讨“正统之形成”这一术语，以及它对中国基督教的景教根源所具有的含义。由于像基督教这样一种宗教扎根于其所信奉的传统中，当代的中国基督徒需要找回这些早期传统的意义，以便能认出他们所继承的基督教信仰之形态。但这种追根溯源需要注意两点：第一点与今日被信奉的基督教有关（它也是文化上融合、历史上受限）。我们需要对今日中国基督教形式背后的宣教使命感之历史和本质做出评价。第二点与正统的“设想”有关。这种“设想”使景教在7世纪被逐出亚述，从而走进中亚。从这一段最早的基督教传统的历史中，我们又能学到什么呢？