耶稣其人（9/9）

Many such thinkers downplay the idea that Jesus was God, let alone a member of a complex theological partnership called the Trinity. They emphasize his human qualities, in the hope that believers might better identify with him. But will most people be inspired by this sort of Jesus, who is so different from the Christ of the New Testament, who has captivated artists and peasants alike over the centuries? Will they want to stake their lives on a person about whom so little is certain and who is only dimly divine?许多这样的思想家并不重视耶稣的神性，更别提三位一体[译注1]里的那个概念了。他们强调的是他的人性，希望籍此能让信徒更亲近他。但是这样的一个耶稣与新约上的那个千百年来让艺术家和庶民着迷的基督形象是如此不同, 他能感动世人吗? 他们会把自己的生命赌在一个身份不明而又神格并不显著的凡人身上吗?

One of the respected voices in England calling for moderation, Canon Harvey, remembers a mentor remarking that in any historical investigation, "if you tear up the only evidence you've got, you can say anything you like." That is not a bad one-sentence summary of what has happened to higher biblical criticism. In fact, just about anything is said nowadays. Most churchgoers will prefer the assertion of Dean Robert Meye of California's Fuller Theological Seminary that "faith depends on a robust Jesus -- tangible, real, vital -- and a robust view that the Jesus available to us in the Gospels was the Jesus of history."英国的一个有份量的人物，Harvey教士，牢记着一位精神导师的评论：“在任何历史研究里，如果你把唯一的证据弄得支离破碎，那你随便怎么说都行了。” 这句话用来总结“历史批判”可谓恰如其分。实际上现在说什么的都有。大部分虔诚的信徒会支持来自加州Fuller神学院的主持牧师Robert Meye的主张：信仰来自于一个鲜活的耶稣 -- 有形的、真实的、充满活力的 -- 以及一个坚定的信念，即福音书里现有的耶稣就是历史上真实的耶稣。

Indeed, one major lesson in the ruckus over Scorsese's Last Temptation is that believers do care about the historical Jesus and urgently want him to square with the figure they know through faith. They are not likely to be stirred by the less-than-robust Jesuses resulting from higher criticism. The piling up of sheer historical fact about the Galilean, however, is not sufficient. Even a clearer, more traditional Jesus of history is inadequate if he does not evoke spiritual awe. "We can, of course, discuss our different pictures of the historical Jesus until the end of time," says Tubingen's Hengel, "but to examine the biblical texts and fail to deal with questions about the truth of faith is quite uninteresting." If Jesus is uninteresting, whether in a movie or a scholar's reconstruction of the Gospels, no one will follow him.的确，Scorsese的电影《基督最后的诱惑》引起的纠纷说明信徒们确实在意耶稣的真实面目并且迫切地希望他符合他们所信仰的那个对象。他们不大可能会被“历史批判”不可靠的研究成果所困扰。光是把有关耶稣的史料堆积起来是不够的。即使是一个更清晰，更传统的耶稣真人形象也是不够的，如果他不能唤起精神上的敬畏的话。“我们当然可以对这个千面耶稣一直争论不休到底”，图宾根的Hengel说，“但是对经文咬文嚼字却不能探讨信仰的真义实在让人乏味。” 如果耶稣让人乏味，不管是在电影里还是在学者对福音书的重新解读里，没有人会跟随他了。

With reporting by Michael P. Harris/New York, Marlin Levin/Jerusalem and James Willwerth/ Los Angeles（记者Michael P. Harris/纽约，Marlin Levin/耶路撒冷，James Willwerth/洛杉矶共同报道）

[译注1：Trinity，三位一体或三位一神、圣三一。基督教教义之一，指圣父，圣子（肉身即为耶稣），圣灵三者合一，同一本质为神，即上帝]