美国基督教锡安主义的发展及影响

美国基督教锡安主义是影响美、以关系和中东局势的一个重要因素。美国基督教主流一自由派主要出于世俗的、人道主义的考虑而支持或反对锡安主义,美国基督教福音一基要派则主要出于“神定时代论”的末世信仰而支持锡安主义和以色列。美国基督教锡安主义是美国长期偏袒以色列的社会文化基础。其宗教极端主义的成分加剧了中东的文明冲突,阻碍了中东的和平进程。     

试论美国新宗教右翼

20世纪下半叶是美国新保守主义崛起和活跃于美国政坛的时期。当代美国新保守主义力量主要由新型保守派（Neo—cons）、新右翼（New Right）和新宗教右翼（New Religious Right）所组成。作为以福音派和基要主义派等宗教组织为主体的当代美国宗教右翼,针对美国日益严重的社会问题和急剧下滑的道德价值观,假借“电子牧师”和“超级教会”等方式,以犹太-基督教传统价值观为基准,动员和组织了数千万福音派和基要主义派教徒,掀起了一场规模相当可观的宗教右翼运动,为美国保守主义的复兴和重返政坛立了大功。探讨当代美国保守主义时,新宗教右翼是一个不可或缺的部分。     

基督教与犹太教的渊源关系

基督教原是公元一世纪犹太教的一个新宗派,它继承了犹太教的全部经典,成为基督教《圣经》中《旧约》的部分。以色列曾经以本民族与上帝立约而自豪,后来的基督教却认为上帝已经抛弃了犹太人,选择了基督教徒,并且与之立了新约,所以基督教称犹太人的经典为《旧约》,而与自己定的约为《新约》。他们都属于崇拜独一无二的上帝的一神教,皆以《摩西十诫》为基本戒律,并倡导公正、爱人、和平、诚实、守信、乐善好施等伦理原则和规范。但是两教在教义、礼节和生活实践方面也存在着许多重要的分歧和差别。     

试析1968年美国天主教会内部的"生命权"问题之争

围绕罗马教皇在1968年发布的《人类生命》通谕是否具有合理性问题,美国天主教会内部存在严重分歧,教会上层保守派一方的意见最终占据了主导地位,从而在伦理道德领域确立了美国天主教会延续至今的宗教保守主义立场。教会从此成为反对人工控制生育的中坚力量。其保守立场成为天主教会同其他教派,尤其是新基督教右翼派别的合作基础。     

太平天国领导人的基督教史观

太平天国领导人的基督教史观指洪秀全、洪仁Gan,李秀成等人关于上帝教与基督教史的一些观点,涉及中国人拜上帝的历史,创世纪与人类始祖,洪透全的宗教使命等。他们认为中国人拜上帝是一个曲折的历史过程;他们倾向于认为,中国传说中的“盘古”就是上帝始造之亚当,中国人来自西方,于“代羲前一二代间”“由川陕入中土”; 透全就是《圣经》中的麦基洗德,洪透全不同于耶稣的宗教使命是扫除偶像,建立地上天国,这些观点显然与正统基督教史观不相符合,究其原因,或出于对基督教史的无知和猜测,或出于对基督教史的误解,或出于对基督教史的“修正”,从主观上说,其出发点只有一个,就是使上帝教与基督教史的阐述和解释适合于他们所领导的太平天国宗教与政治运动的需要。     

试论王韬的基督教信仰

王韬与来华传教士、教会以及基督教之间的关系,时间上以1850年代为中心,尤其集中在1854—1857年期间,并以麦都思的去世为时间与信仰上的一个转折点。此间王韬不仅接替其父王昌桂协助麦都思等完成《圣经》翻译,而且还近于重新改写翻译了《宗主诗篇》,积极参与宣教站宣教材料的编写及传播事务,同时还向麦都思提交了一份与自己受洗相关的申请书,王韬与基督教之间的关系至此亦达到顶点。但即便如此,撇开当时的社会文化因素,王韬的不断被自我强化的中国文化立场、世俗与知识理性、比较宗教意识、根深蒂固的文人情怀与生活习气,让他始终陷入到基督教信仰与非基督教信仰的夹缝之间,并最终让他完成了一个晚清民间文人信仰追求、怀疑与自我放逐的思想人生之路。     

评《郊区卫士——美国新右派的源起》

右翼势力一直是美国社会政坛一股不容小觑的力量,也是共和党的政治基础。在美国历史上,右翼力量经历了不断的分化组合,有新老之分。老右派主张地方自治,标榜"管得最少的政府就是最好的政府",在二战后极力反对共产主义。与之相比,美国新右派(New American Right)的政治主张有所不同。右翼势力一直受到学界     

从《西教纪略》到《教务纪略》

山东巡抚周馥在清朝末年组织学者编纂的《教务纪略》一书,今多以为系当时学者李刚己所编,其实李刚己只是为《教务纪略》起草初稿,原稿保存在李氏文集《李刚己遗集》当中,所拟书名为《西教纪略》。对比两书,可以看出,李刚己撰述《西教纪略》的主旨,与周馥编定的《教务纪略》存在重大差别,即《西教纪略》是要给民众讲解什么是西洋宗教,《教务纪略》则是用于指点官吏怎样处理民教关系;前者主张平等尊重中国固有的儒家思想和外来西洋文化,并从中汲取有益成分,使之相辅相成,以此作为中国士民认识西洋基督教及其衍生文化的根本出发点;后者则是主张“中学为体,西学为用”,将李刚己所要切入的中西文化关系问题,转换成为新来西洋宗教与中国旧有之佛教、道教的关系。     

译介再生中的本土文化和异域宗教：以天主、上帝的汉语译名为视角

《圣经》的中文翻译不仅是语言文字译介的问题,而且涉及西方宗教与中国文化之间的适应和转化,以及如何被中国本土社会所认同。在基督宗教唯一尊神的汉语译名问题上,天主教和基督教产生了长达300年的激烈争论。在西方宗教理念的阐释下,中国传统词汇“天主”、“上帝”逐渐地被基督教化,失去了其原有本土宗教的内涵,再生演变为象征西方文化的新词语。除被天主教和基督教接受外,“上帝”译名还被更大范围的中国本土世俗社会接受。考察译名争议和被接受的过程,可知中国社会从传统向现代转型的过程中,外来新概念及内涵对社会改变所产生的影响力。     

十九世纪在华基督教的两种传教政策

十九世纪在华基督教的两种传教政策王立新传教政策与方法是研究传教史时必须着重考察的问题,因为不同的传教政策对近代中国社会的影响是截然不同的。纵观１９世纪,绝大多数传教士采取“直接布道”方式,即宣讲教义、巡回布道和散发宗教印刷品。这种方式既是《圣经》中主...     

Globalising the US Christian Right: Transnational Interchange During the Cold War

This article investigates the Cold War era efforts by self-identified Christian fundamentalists in the United States to export their political agendas and their methodologies of exerting political pressure to the rest of the world. It focuses on the International Council of Christian Churches (ICCC), the era's only worldwide interdenominational association by Protestant Christian fundamentalists, founded by North Americans in 1948 but functioning through autonomous regional and national councils on all continents. The article shows that US fundamentalists affiliated with the ICCC were systematically trying to create a global Christian Right from the beginning of the Cold War, but that their initial agenda – anticommunism coupled with free enterprise capitalism – failed to gain widespread support among their allies abroad. Central in moving both the US and the global fundamentalist community into the politics of morality instead were the ICCC's Northern and Western Europeans, who first had to grapple with and suffered defeats over the moral issues that came to cohere the modern Christian Right – abortion, gay rights, religious instruction versus sex education in schools, free circulation of pornography and threats to the traditional marriage. Through a synthesis of originally European agendas and US-derived methods this politics of morality was significantly globalised already during the Cold War.     

Bush/Harper? Canadian and American Evangelical Politics Compared

Religion and politics remain very complex issues in both Canada and the United States, and ripe for caricature and overstatement. While a Canadian Christian Right has arisen and finds some affinity with the Harper government, we should not assume that Canada will see anywhere near the visibility and influence of the American Christian Right. There is also some evidence of a new, more moderate American evangelical political presence, especially at the dawn of the Obama presidency, although we should be careful not to overstate this either. Differences between Canada and the United States may not be quite as large and clear-cut as they once were when it comes to evangelical Christians and politics, but the role of religion in public life and politics remains distinctly different in the two countries.     

“六日战争”对美国犹太人族群认同的影响

20世纪60年代,"大屠杀"话语的传播引发了美国犹太人对族群命运的担忧。在"六日战争"前,面对阿拉伯国家的反犹宣传及其对以色列的重重围困,美国犹太人担心"再次大屠杀"会发生,从而促使美国犹太人对以色列的生存产生深度忧虑。美国犹太社团逐渐把维护以色列的特殊利益和争取美国社会对以色列的同情与支持,作为游说活动的主要目标。美国犹太游说组织通过舆论引导、公开呼吁、经济动员等方式积极进行游说。"六日战争"后,美国与以色列之间的特殊关系迅速发展。美国犹太人的民族自信心和自豪感显著提升,并自觉地将以色列与自身的命运紧密相连。他们在归属意愿、宗教情感、对以色列的文化兴趣、青年群体族群意识等层面表达对以色列的认同,以色列在美国犹太人族群认同中发挥的作用凸显。     

Can Christian Democracy Be America's Next European Import?

The confluence of the Supreme Court's Obergefell decision on gay marriage and the unusual nature of the 2016 U.S. presidential election presents American Christians with significant political questions. Obergefell's elevation of gay marriage to the status of a constitutional civil right put U.S. law and Christian orthdoxy at loggerheads, thereby raising serious issues with regard to the continued ability of religious organizations to participate in the not-for-profit sector and in higher education. At the same time, the nationalistic turn of the the Republican party under Donald Trump generated dissonance with Christian views of human solidarity. The new situation seems to shift the landscape of American politics and raises the possibility of new alternatives. Contributors to this symposium were asked to evaluate the prospects for an Americanized version of European Christian Democracy. While they generated a diversity of opinion about Christian Democracy, the group pragmatically recognized the many obstacles in place. Some argued against the idea because of reservations about associating the Christian faith with the coerciveness of law. Others noted the proven virtues of such parties in Europe. This article interacts with the different responses and makes a case for why Christian Democracy might have a brighter future in the U.S. than many believe. The primary reason is that Christian Democracy emerged in response to aggressive secularism in Europe's past that may only be reaching similar levels in the U.S. today. Therefore, a new political movement with similarities to Christian Democracy might make sense in the American context.     

The Dimensions and Dynamics of Community Mores

If one posits there is such a thing as an American community, then one must also recognize that that community has been severed into two competing and often diametrically opposed visions of what America should be, with the chasm between them either impassable or potentially bridgeable, depending on your level of optimism. On one side are those who believe in a strong, exceptional America, grounded by those who largely practice the Jewish or Christian faiths but who at least believe in their utility as the basis for a moral code that teaches the virtues that sustain freedom in this country and keep America strong. On the other side are those who believe in an ever-evolving set of mores, based at any point in time on the current state of the collective wisdom of those who believe humanity itself is constantly evolving and improving, so long as it is not impeded by the often-confining strictures of the Jewish and Christian faiths.     

How Would Jesus Vote? The Churches and the Election of the Rudd Government

The Coalition's clear victory over Labor at the 2004 federal election after prominent campaigning by conservative church-based groups – along with the election to the Senate of a member of the Family First party – seemed to many commentators to confirm the growing power of a ‘Religious Right’ in Australia. This paper argues that two features of the 2007 federal election campaign are impossible to square with the rise of the Religious Right thesis. First, Labor won in 2007 without shifting its leadership, policies or electoral strategy to suit the Christian Right. Second, the contributions of church groups to the 2007 election campaign were not dominated by a single perspective but covered a wide range of issues and expressed competing views on key policy issues. This pluralism allowed Kevin Rudd, the Labor Party and even the Greens room to present themselves favourably to significant groups of Christian voters. The 2007 election suggests that, rather than being dominated by a hegemonic Christian Right, church involvement in Australian electoral politics is pluralistic in character.     

Missionary Critiques of Empire, 1920–1932: Between Interventionism and Anti-imperialism

This article investigates the activism of North American evangelical and Christian pacifist missionaries, specifically the leadership of the Committee of Cooperation in Latin America (CCLA) and the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), who took direct action to oppose US foreign policy toward Latin America prior to the promulgation of the Good Neighbor Policy in 1933. These historical actors were struggling to articulate a moral and Christian-based anti-imperialism that would bring Latin Americans and North Americans together. They were doing so at a critical historical moment of high US interventionism. Their respective missionary agendas demanded that they articulate non-violent, ethical and spiritual forms of anti-imperialist dissent as a way to salvage the Western Hemisphere from excessive materialism and unfair governance as well as to bolster the legitimacy of their missionary work abroad. A distinctive feature of the CCLA and the FOR's missionary work was their attempts to forge relationships with sectors of the Latin American anti-imperialist left. Their critiques of empire thus emerged in dialogue with anti-imperialist ideas that came from outside the United States, as they allowed themselves to be instructed by the vision and philosophies of the Latin American thinkers themselves.     

The Politics of Preaching the Promised Land for the Canaanites

Abstract

This paper explores issues around European Christian theological prejudice against Jews and Judaism and asks whether attempts to make amends for the wrongs done to one people have blunted the conscience of Christians to the sufferings of another. It is ironic that the division between those who attribute anti-Semitism to New Testament texts and those who blame the misuse of the texts mirrors division over colonialist ideologies in the Old Testament. Should we blame the text or its interpreters? There is irony in the fact that those who wrestle with anti-Judaic texts in the New Testament are seldom the same people who perceive problems with the land traditions in the Old—or indeed the other way round! Evangelical Christian Zionist insensitivity towards the Palestinians derives from biblical fundamentalism. Mainstream Christian Zionism derives partly from guilt over past Christian crimes against the Jews but it also reveals a residual fundamentalist underpinning.     

Ethics Appropriate for an Empire: A Question Whose Time Has Come

Abstract

This article offers a Christian ethical commentary upon the debate over the contemporary "American Empire." While many decry unprecedented US global dominance based on various secular standpoints, few have articulated religiously-grounded perspectives on this new US relation to the world. The task of mustering religious objections to openly imperial ambitions looms particularly large in light of prominent unabashed defenses of US global hegemony. The paper has three parts: (1) preliminary clarifications regarding terminology and context; (2) a survey of policies (e.g., unilateralism in foreign policy, interventions, a doctrine of pre-emptive war, diminished regard for international institutions) that reflect imperial ambitions and conflict with mainstream Christian perspectives on global justice and self-determination; and (3) a tentative listing of seven criteria appropriate for the pursuit and exercise of power on the part of global hegemons, in light of Christian principles. The constructive task is aimed at offering ethical constraints, such as the judicious correlation of means and ends in foreign policy. We will evaluate the contributions of Catholic social thought and the school of Christian realism on key questions: Is the notion of empire ever morally acceptable? Is "benevolent hegemony" possible in our times? If so, on what terms?