胡適留學日記卷九二六、星期日之演說詞

卷九二六、星期日之演說詞

　　（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."

　　〔中譯〕

　　在做慈善事業方面，在處理個人事務、國內事務方面，耶教徒確實無愧為耶教徒。然而，一介入國際事務時，他們便搖身一變，不是耶教徒了。他們「小事拘謹，大事馬虎」！只要這些自稱信耶教之國家只認暴力，不認別的；只要他們對弱國之權利和權益不理不睬；只要他們仍置法律與正義於不顧，只管攫取國民和貿易收入，只管侵略別國領土——那麼，耶教便不會成為世界上具有權威性之宗教，傳教士之傳道工作便不會持久地進行，一遇到戰神馬斯，便會被一掃而盡。

　　這是一個名叫胡適的著名中國人昨晚在長老會所作之演講，題目為《耶教在中國之機會》。這是系列演講「世俗感召之精神意義」之第五講。他認為，德國藉口兩名傳教士被暴民殺害，於一八九七年佔領了膠州灣；法國也藉口一名傳教士被殺，於一八九八年佔領了廣州灣。他們之上述行徑，對一九〇〇年中國發生義和團運動負有責任。胡適繼續說：

　　「倘若耶教要成為一種世界宗教，每一個耶教徒乃至每一個教會應督促他（或她、它）自己下決心去盡之責任，乃在於提高現行國際道德水準。你們大多數人理所當然地認為，所謂『文明』是奠基於耶教之堅固磐石之上的。然而，我要真心實意地告訴你們，現行文明並不是建立在耶教理想之愛和正義之上的，而是建立在弱肉強食法則之上的——這個法則就是：有力即有理！請大家想像一下：許多耶教國家此刻正在教堂裡祈禱，請求上帝賜予他們勝利與成功，好去摧殘他們的耶教兄弟。接下來，請大家再想一想耶教之戒律：『愛所有人，愛汝之敵人，對惡人也不要抵抗。』」

　　然後，胡適又談到，在中國信奉耶教之人數在漸漸地增多，早期來華之傳教士在中國所遭遇到的重重困難，也在慢慢地消除。接著，他又講了一大段，關於傳教士在此泱泱大國已做的和可做的那些工作。耶教徒有三項工作可做；第一，勸教；第二，傳道，即傳播耶教之思想與理想；第三，事功，即做許多實際的服務工作。

　　「傳教士之功績一度是按他們勸教之人數來衡量。可是，這卻不是中國所需要的，也不應是教會當初派遣他們來華傳教之目的所在。

　　「傳播耶教之精華，才是至關重要的。這個精華並不是所謂什麼神學之教條，諸如聖母誕生說、原罪說、贖罪說等等；而應該是耶教真正的愛的學說，諸如愛汝之鄰人、甚至愛汝之敵人、不爭主義、原恕、自我犧牲和服務等等學說。傳教士應廣泛傳播這些耶教之理想，並將其恰當地植入人心，不論採用何種方式。他不應只看重呈滾動式增多之教民人數，而應努力使這些理想深入人心，生根發芽，開花結果。

　　「傳教士第三個目的，也是更為重要之目的，就是做些實際的服務工作。例如，在教育、社會改革、醫療和手術等方面，傳教士大有可為。誠然，在此方面，傳教士們已經頗有成就，尤其是醫療衛生工作。以余觀之，傳教士四處佈道，其至高無上之光榮即在於此，其最大之成功亦在於此。

　　「傳教士之真正價值體現於下列事實之中：一位外國傳教士，好比一位學成歸國之學子，總是帶著一種觀念，一種批判精神，回到故里。正當國民對現存之社會秩序已經習以為常，並漠然處之之際，上述種種正是該國所最為匱乏的。就任何社會改革而言，上述種種亦正是改革所絕不可少的。」

　　昨日星期，此間十六七所教堂之講演無一見諸報章者，獨我之演說詞幾占全欄，不可謂非「闊」也，一笑。首末兩段自謂大有真理存焉。

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