If we compare Tao Te Ching or I Ching with Christian culture, it seems understandable and acceptable. However, if someone compares the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Mansion with Christian culture, it will inevitably make him or her confused. It so happened that I came across such an article the other day, and it appeared in the form of an essay. Its author was definitely serious and earnest. Perhaps it was the humble wording of the author that influenced me, which made me read on. Otherwise, like many Christians, I would have made a quick judgment and firmly denied it before I finished reading it.
Leaving aside whether the argument in the text is right or wrong, and whether the discussion in the text is far-fetched, I think, in the first place, the author's courageous attempt in his essay should be appreciated and encouraged. As the article suggests, the author is obviously not a believer but a scholar who specializes in Christianity. In the Dream of the Red Mansion, the novelist perceives the way of the world, an essayist folk custom, poetically fantastic and artistic conceptions, and philosophically profound philosophies. In the eyes of a scholar specialising in Christianity, it is reasonable to find cultural Christian elements in this magnificent masterpiece.
In fact, this is true not only for Dream of the Red Mansion but also for any other work of literature that everyone, when reading it, will have their own perspective. Because everyone has their own perspective, standing at a different place will naturally lead him or her to notice "different pictures from different angles", something that is not surprising. Therefore, it is normal for Christians or scholars specializing in Christianity to find some elements consistent with Christian culture from the vast historical data. Not only did God's actions occur throughout the Bible but also existed widely in various classical works. This is because any classic is a true reflection and record of human society and life. That is to say, God has not only given His special revelation to His chosen people but has also given His universal revelation to the whole of mankind. As Paul said, "God's eternal power and divinity are clearly known".
At present, a large number of scholars specialising in Christianity have been raised by God, and their contributions to Christian culture are particularly remarkable. If you browse online bookstores, you will see many works written by many scholars specialising in Christianity. Some of these scholars are not Christians, but their rational understanding of Christ is far deeper than that of many Christians. It can be seen that God's grace towards human beings and opportunities for people to know him are not unique to Christians alone.
However, when we Christians, who are chosen by God, admit that God's actions can be seen everywhere, we are actually denying it at the same time. It is believed that as long as we are loyal to God, we should reject culture and think that culture belongs to this depraved world. To those non-Christian scholars specialising in Christianity, believers are always despised with disdain and they even refuse to read their published works.
In fact, this tendency towards "anti-intellectualism" is not just occuring now. As early as the time of the early church Fathers, when Christians were being persecuted, there was a negative attitude towards Greek and Roman culture. The most typical representative figure was Tertullian, the Latin Father of North Africa. At that time, Christians generally insisted on being loyal to Christ, refused bowing to the emperor, refused to be a soldier, refused participating in politics, and refused Greek philosophy and popular culture.
The influence of this belief led to the emergence of monks and nuns who lived in seclusion in the desert during the Medieval Ages. Many believers fled the world and tried their best to pursue the so-called holy "Dojo". Even after the Reformation, "Anabaptism" came on to the scene along with its "Mennonite Society" as well as British "Quakers", and even the famous Russian writer Tolstoy who once insisted on complete isolation from the surrounding culture. According to rumours, even now, there are still some believers in the United States and Canada who insist on rejecting modern civilization. They refuse to use electricity and drive cars and are isolated from the world. They make a living by farming.
The main reason for equating "culture" with "the world", for opposing culture, and for totally denying the inherent value of culture is that the devil can use culture for his purposes. So it is believed that culture itself must be evil. This type of idea causes a dilemna for a Christian's faith, namely that they unconsciously think that they can be holy by dying to the flesh, but forget that the "world" is still in their minds, and that original sin in them is always remains.
Another idea is that Christ is within culture, that culture and the church can coexist, and that we can interpret culture through Christ or know Christ through culture. The most typical representative of this idea is Gnosticism which appeared in the 3rd century. Gnosticism changed Christianity into a philosophical ideology. After the Reformation, many thinkers took similar positions. For instance, John Locke, a famous British writer, wrote the book "The Rationality of Christianity".
Yet another idea is that "Christ is above culture", advocated by Titus Flavius Clements in the second century, and by Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century. It is believed that Christ is not opposed to culture but instead uses the fine elements of culture as tools to achieve His goals. On the one hand, Aquinas accepted Christ and culture, but on the other hand, insisted that Christ was far above culture. It is believed that Aristotle's philosophical system and human reasoning are gifts of God and should be accepted without hesitation.
However, Martin Luther, the leader of the Reformation, believed that God is all good but human beings and culture are evil, and that Christians are in tension, living between the two in kind of a paradox. Christians are both sinners and righteous, believing, and questioning. Therefore, Christians are not only the people of the kingdom of God, but because they are human beings, also belong to the culture and cannot exist apart from it. Christians have the responsibility to participate with others in the system and affairs that this degenerate world pursues. However, it is not because of the perfection of this system nor its affairs but because "no authority is not from God". Because of Martin Luther's viewpoint, Christians are encouraged to join the army and be involved in politics, doing all kinds of work and devoting themselves to society.
However, in the elaboration of culture, the views of Augustine and Calvin should be used for reference. They believed that although culture is degenerate, it can be transformed, and may even be redeemed by God's power and grace. That is to say, although culture is tainted, its essence is not evil, and history shows a landscape in which God transforms and renews human beings and culture.
This is mainly manifested in three aspects. Firstly, from the perspective of creationism, everything is created by God, including culture which was originally beautiful. Although everything has been corrupted by sin, Christ’s having come into human culture is continuing this creative work. Secondly, from the perspective of human depravity, culture has been polluted by sin but is not evil in its essence. God naturally desires to redeem it, not replace and destroy it. Thirdly, from the point of view of historical progression, the entire history of humanity is a magnificent picture in which God's actions blend together with humanity's responses. What is displayed here is God's redemptive mind and expectation for mankind.
God not only wants to redeem mankind but also expects culture and the social climate to be redeemed and renewed. Jesus warned that Christians should be "salt and light" in this finite world in order to change this corrupted world and to show His love, thereby expecting mankind to be redeemed. Because of the influence of Christ, the culture of this world can be transformed and changed.
What we call "Christian culture" is actually the product of the influence of the Christian faith. Christians have gradually developed it over a long period of time and it is the major part of Christian civilization. Our prayers, hymns, lectures, works, spiritual values, and moral ethics from the Bible, as well as other things exist because of Christianity. Christianity's unique theological ideas, methods of philosophical reflection, linguistic forms of expression, and artistic styles of writing make up this culture.
We need, however, to be clear about one thing, namely that the concerns of non-Christian scholars who specialize in Christianity are settled mainly by Christian thoughts and culture. The lack of profound religious belief experiences makes it difficult for them to be spiritually born again. This is also the most striking difference between Christians and non-Christians. Therefore, non-Christians must not be measured harshly by Christian standards.
- Translated by Charlie Li
如果说把《道德经》或者《易经》什么的，拉出来与基督教文化相比较，还似可理解和接受。但如果有人把四大名著中的《红楼梦》也扯拽出来，与基督教文化相对比和论证，自然会给人一头雾水。偏偏这几天真就读到过这么一篇文章，而且是以论文的形式出现的，作者也是一脸的严肃和认真。也许是作者谦卑的话语影响了我，才使我继续阅读下去，否则，我就会像很多基督徒那样，不等读完便会下其断语，加以坚决的否定。 且不论文中内容的是与非，也不论文中论述是否牵强，仅就作者的这番探讨的勇气和胆量，我倒觉得就应该得到赞赏和鼓励。以文章内容来看，作者显然不是一个信仰者，只能说是一位基督教研究学者。一部《红楼梦》，小说家读到的是人情世故，散文家看见的是风土习俗，诗人领悟的是奇幻美妙的意境，哲学家窥见的是洞明幽深的哲理。在一个基督教研究者眼里，能在这部宏伟的大作里发现其中蕴含的基督教文化元素，自然也在情理之中。 其实，不但对《红楼梦》是这样，对其他任何一部文学作品，每个人在读它的时候，都会有各自独特的一圈一点。因为，每个人有每个人看问题的视角，所站位置的相异，自然会产生“横看成岭侧成峰，远近高低各不同”情况，这也没有什么奇怪的。因此，基督徒或者基督教文化研究者，能够从浩瀚的古典文化中发现一些与基督教文化相吻合的元素，这是再正常不过的了。也是因为，神的作为不但充满在《圣经》里，也普遍存在于各类文化典籍之中。因为，任何一部文化典籍都是人类社会与人生的真实反映和记录。也就是说，神对这个世界，不但有祂对祂选民的特殊启示，也充盈着祂给以整个人类的普遍启示，正如保罗所说的那样：“神的永能和神性是明明可知的”。 当下，被神兴起了一大批基督教研究学者，在基督教文化方面的贡献是特别显著的，如果到网络书店去浏览，会看见许多基督教研究学者写出的一些论著。这些学者，有些并不是基督徒，但对基督的理性认识却远比基督徒深刻的多，这就可以看出，神给以人类的恩典、给以人认识祂的机遇，并不是仅仅基督徒所独有的。 可是，当我们这些被神拣选的基督徒，一方面在承认神的作为无处不在，一方面却在实际的认知上否定这一点。认为只要忠于神，就应该排斥文化，认为文化是属于这个堕落世界的，对那些非基督徒的研究学者，总是以鄙夷的姿态加以蔑视，甚至拒绝阅读他们所出版的著述。 其实，这种“反智主义”的倾向不是现在就存在的。早在初期古代教父时代，基督徒遭遇迫害之时，就对希腊与罗马文化持否定的态度，最典型的代表人物就是北非的拉丁教父特土良。这时的基督徒普遍坚持应该效忠基督，拒绝向皇帝低头，拒绝当兵，拒绝参与政治，拒绝希腊哲学和通俗文化。 正是这一信仰观念的延伸与影响，使得中世纪出现了修士和修女以及隐居沙漠苦修的修士等，许多信徒逃避世界，极力追求所谓圣洁的“道场”。即便在宗教改革后，依然出现了“重洗派”与由此衍生出的“门诺会”，英国的“贵格会”信徒等，就连大名鼎鼎的俄国文豪托尔斯泰，都曾经坚持与周围的文化完全隔离。据传说，即使到了现在，美国和加拿大仍然存在一些坚持拒绝现代文明事物的信徒，他们拒绝用电，拒绝开车，与世隔绝，以务农为生。 这种将“文化”与“世界”等同起来，把基督与文化对立起来，对文化内在的信仰和价值进行全盘否定的主要原因，就是认为魔鬼可以利用文化，便认定文化本身必然是邪恶的。这种观念让基督徒的信仰，在不知不觉之中陷入一种困境之中，自以为肉身离世而居便能圣洁，却不知道“世界”依然在他的心中，心中的那种来自原罪的罪性，更是永远挥之不去的。 另一种观念是，认为基督就在文化之内，文化与教会之间完全可以互相融通，认为可以透过基督来诠释文化，或者透过文化来认识基督。这种观念最典型的代表就是主后3世纪出现的“诺斯底主义”。他们将基督教变异为一种哲学的思想体系。宗教改革后，采取类似立场的思想家很多。比如英国著名的洛克，还写出一部惶惶大作《基督教的合理性》一书。 再一种观念认为“基督在文化之上”，如二世纪的革利免，十三世纪的阿奎那等。认为基督并不与文化对立，而是利用文化中的优良成分作为工具，来达成他的目的。阿奎那一方面接受基督与文化，但又坚持基督远在文化之上。认为亚里士多德的哲学体系和人的理性，都是神的恩赐，应该毫不犹豫地接受。 但宗教改革领袖马丁路德认为，神是全善的，人类和文化却是罪恶的，而基督徒正活在这两者之间，处于一种“悖论”的张力之下。基督徒既是罪人，又已被算为义人，既相信，又有疑问。由此，基督徒既是神国的子民，又是人类的一份子，既属于这个文化，也无法置身事外。基督徒有责任同其他人共同参与这个堕落世界所必须奉行的制度和事务。但不是因为这个制度和事务的完美，而是因为：“没有权柄不是出于神的”。正是在马丁路德这种观点的影响下，鼓励基督徒参政从军，去做各种工作，投身于社会之中。 但在对文化的阐述方面，奥古斯丁和加尔文的观点，倒是应该成为我们的借鉴。他们认为，文化虽是堕落的，却是可以被转变的，甚至有可能籍着神的能力和恩典被救赎。也就是说，文化虽然有污点，但其本质并非是罪恶的，而历史展示的正是神在转化及更新人类与文化上的一道景观。 这主要表现在三个方面，第一，从创造论角度上看，神所创造的万物，包括文化，原来都是美好的，虽然它们被罪侵蚀，但基督的“道成肉身”在人类的文化中，就是在继续这种创造的工作。第二，从人的堕落性角度上看，文化是因人的罪而受到了污染，但其本质并不是恶的，神自然要救赎它，而不是取代和毁灭它。第三，从历史的进展角度上看，整个人类的历史就是神的作为与人的响应交融在一起的宏伟图画。这里展示的是神救赎的心意和对人类的期待。 神不但要救赎人类，也期待文化和社会风气等都得到救赎和更新。耶稣告诫我们基督徒在这个有限的世上要做“光和盐”，让我们在这个堕落的世界中转换成一个特定的角色，来彰显他对世人的爱和期望人类都得到救赎，因其有了基督的影响，这个世界的文化是都可能被转化和改变的。 而我们所称谓的“基督教文化”，其实就是在基督教信仰影响下的产物。这一产物，是由历代基督徒在长期的信仰生活中逐渐累积形成的一种文化，并构成了基督教文明的主体。所以，基督教是这个产物存在的基础，如我们对上帝敬拜的祷告词、赞美诗、讲章及一些论著、圣经中的精神价值和道德伦理观念等。正是这一文化形态构成了基督教独特的神学理论、哲学思辨方法、语言表达形式和文学艺术风格。 但有一点是需要我们清楚的，就是那些非基督徒研究学者的关注点，主要落定在对基督教思想和文化上的兴趣上，缺乏深刻的宗教信仰体验，灵性生命很难得到重生。这也是基督徒与非基督徒最鲜明的一道分水岭，所以，绝不能苛刻地以基督徒的标准来衡量非基督徒。
从《红楼梦与基督教文化》谈：透过基督来诠释社会文化
If we compare Tao Te Ching or I Ching with Christian culture, it seems understandable and acceptable. However, if someone compares the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Mansion with Christian culture, it will inevitably make him or her confused. It so happened that I came across such an article the other day, and it appeared in the form of an essay. Its author was definitely serious and earnest. Perhaps it was the humble wording of the author that influenced me, which made me read on. Otherwise, like many Christians, I would have made a quick judgment and firmly denied it before I finished reading it.
Leaving aside whether the argument in the text is right or wrong, and whether the discussion in the text is far-fetched, I think, in the first place, the author's courageous attempt in his essay should be appreciated and encouraged. As the article suggests, the author is obviously not a believer but a scholar who specializes in Christianity. In the Dream of the Red Mansion, the novelist perceives the way of the world, an essayist folk custom, poetically fantastic and artistic conceptions, and philosophically profound philosophies. In the eyes of a scholar specialising in Christianity, it is reasonable to find cultural Christian elements in this magnificent masterpiece.
In fact, this is true not only for Dream of the Red Mansion but also for any other work of literature that everyone, when reading it, will have their own perspective. Because everyone has their own perspective, standing at a different place will naturally lead him or her to notice "different pictures from different angles", something that is not surprising. Therefore, it is normal for Christians or scholars specializing in Christianity to find some elements consistent with Christian culture from the vast historical data. Not only did God's actions occur throughout the Bible but also existed widely in various classical works. This is because any classic is a true reflection and record of human society and life. That is to say, God has not only given His special revelation to His chosen people but has also given His universal revelation to the whole of mankind. As Paul said, "God's eternal power and divinity are clearly known".
At present, a large number of scholars specialising in Christianity have been raised by God, and their contributions to Christian culture are particularly remarkable. If you browse online bookstores, you will see many works written by many scholars specialising in Christianity. Some of these scholars are not Christians, but their rational understanding of Christ is far deeper than that of many Christians. It can be seen that God's grace towards human beings and opportunities for people to know him are not unique to Christians alone.
However, when we Christians, who are chosen by God, admit that God's actions can be seen everywhere, we are actually denying it at the same time. It is believed that as long as we are loyal to God, we should reject culture and think that culture belongs to this depraved world. To those non-Christian scholars specialising in Christianity, believers are always despised with disdain and they even refuse to read their published works.
In fact, this tendency towards "anti-intellectualism" is not just occuring now. As early as the time of the early church Fathers, when Christians were being persecuted, there was a negative attitude towards Greek and Roman culture. The most typical representative figure was Tertullian, the Latin Father of North Africa. At that time, Christians generally insisted on being loyal to Christ, refused bowing to the emperor, refused to be a soldier, refused participating in politics, and refused Greek philosophy and popular culture.
The influence of this belief led to the emergence of monks and nuns who lived in seclusion in the desert during the Medieval Ages. Many believers fled the world and tried their best to pursue the so-called holy "Dojo". Even after the Reformation, "Anabaptism" came on to the scene along with its "Mennonite Society" as well as British "Quakers", and even the famous Russian writer Tolstoy who once insisted on complete isolation from the surrounding culture. According to rumours, even now, there are still some believers in the United States and Canada who insist on rejecting modern civilization. They refuse to use electricity and drive cars and are isolated from the world. They make a living by farming.
The main reason for equating "culture" with "the world", for opposing culture, and for totally denying the inherent value of culture is that the devil can use culture for his purposes. So it is believed that culture itself must be evil. This type of idea causes a dilemna for a Christian's faith, namely that they unconsciously think that they can be holy by dying to the flesh, but forget that the "world" is still in their minds, and that original sin in them is always remains.
Another idea is that Christ is within culture, that culture and the church can coexist, and that we can interpret culture through Christ or know Christ through culture. The most typical representative of this idea is Gnosticism which appeared in the 3rd century. Gnosticism changed Christianity into a philosophical ideology. After the Reformation, many thinkers took similar positions. For instance, John Locke, a famous British writer, wrote the book "The Rationality of Christianity".
Yet another idea is that "Christ is above culture", advocated by Titus Flavius Clements in the second century, and by Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century. It is believed that Christ is not opposed to culture but instead uses the fine elements of culture as tools to achieve His goals. On the one hand, Aquinas accepted Christ and culture, but on the other hand, insisted that Christ was far above culture. It is believed that Aristotle's philosophical system and human reasoning are gifts of God and should be accepted without hesitation.
However, Martin Luther, the leader of the Reformation, believed that God is all good but human beings and culture are evil, and that Christians are in tension, living between the two in kind of a paradox. Christians are both sinners and righteous, believing, and questioning. Therefore, Christians are not only the people of the kingdom of God, but because they are human beings, also belong to the culture and cannot exist apart from it. Christians have the responsibility to participate with others in the system and affairs that this degenerate world pursues. However, it is not because of the perfection of this system nor its affairs but because "no authority is not from God". Because of Martin Luther's viewpoint, Christians are encouraged to join the army and be involved in politics, doing all kinds of work and devoting themselves to society.
However, in the elaboration of culture, the views of Augustine and Calvin should be used for reference. They believed that although culture is degenerate, it can be transformed, and may even be redeemed by God's power and grace. That is to say, although culture is tainted, its essence is not evil, and history shows a landscape in which God transforms and renews human beings and culture.
This is mainly manifested in three aspects. Firstly, from the perspective of creationism, everything is created by God, including culture which was originally beautiful. Although everything has been corrupted by sin, Christ’s having come into human culture is continuing this creative work. Secondly, from the perspective of human depravity, culture has been polluted by sin but is not evil in its essence. God naturally desires to redeem it, not replace and destroy it. Thirdly, from the point of view of historical progression, the entire history of humanity is a magnificent picture in which God's actions blend together with humanity's responses. What is displayed here is God's redemptive mind and expectation for mankind.
God not only wants to redeem mankind but also expects culture and the social climate to be redeemed and renewed. Jesus warned that Christians should be "salt and light" in this finite world in order to change this corrupted world and to show His love, thereby expecting mankind to be redeemed. Because of the influence of Christ, the culture of this world can be transformed and changed.
What we call "Christian culture" is actually the product of the influence of the Christian faith. Christians have gradually developed it over a long period of time and it is the major part of Christian civilization. Our prayers, hymns, lectures, works, spiritual values, and moral ethics from the Bible, as well as other things exist because of Christianity. Christianity's unique theological ideas, methods of philosophical reflection, linguistic forms of expression, and artistic styles of writing make up this culture.
We need, however, to be clear about one thing, namely that the concerns of non-Christian scholars who specialize in Christianity are settled mainly by Christian thoughts and culture. The lack of profound religious belief experiences makes it difficult for them to be spiritually born again. This is also the most striking difference between Christians and non-Christians. Therefore, non-Christians must not be measured harshly by Christian standards.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Dream of the Red Mansion and Christian Culture: Interpreting Social Culture through Christ
