基督教与中国文化的对话——以林语堂《信仰之旅》为中心

The Dialogue Between Christianity and the Chinese Culture——Based on From Pagan to Christianity by Lin Yutang

林语堂作为中国近代化进程中知识分子的独特典型,在他晚年的精神自传《信仰之旅》中,他描述了他“从基督徒到异教徒,再从异教徒到基督徒”的内心旅程,其中对儒、道、佛等哲学和宗教体系和基督教之间的相异与互通之处,多有独到的发掘与心得。本文以该书为探讨对象,结合林语堂人生和创作活动,说明中国近代知识人为什么和怎么样来面对基督教的体认问题以及“信仰回归”的基本主题。

LinYutang is regarded as a unique model of the intellectuals in the Chinese modernization advancement. In his spiritual autobiography From Pagan to Christianity,written in his remaining years, he described his inner itinerary that had gone ‘from Christianity to Pagan, and then from Pagan back to Christianity'. In this book he did a lot of exploratory studies on and then drew his conclusion of the similarities, differences, and intercommunity between Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and other religious systems. Taking this book as a focus of the study, this article goes further to discuss Lin Yutang's life and his creative writings and explains the fundamental theme why and how the modern Chinese intellectuals faced the issues related to Christianity and those brought forth by From Pagan to Christianity.