INTRODUCTION 简介
Why this book? 本书的目的？ 〗
　　With America in rapid decline, many might wonder why we should look at the relationship of Christianity and American culture. Actually, the topic deserves our careful study just because the United States is falling so rapidly from its pre-eminent position in the world. We need to understand the causes of America's previous success and current failure. Only thus can we properly interpret the present and prepare for the future.
　　当此美国正迅速没落之际，许多人也许觉得奇怪，为什么我们要研究基督教与美国文化之间的关系。事实上，正因为美国由强权衰落的速度是如此之快，基督教与美国文化的关联就更值得仔细的探讨。我们需要了解造成美国过去强盛和如今衰落的原因，唯有如此，我们才能理解现在并规划将来。
　　The above statement assumes that Christianity played a role both in America's ascent to world dominance and in her rapid plunge. I hope that the following pages will bear out that assumption.
　　前段的叙述，是假设基督教在美国崛起成为世界强权以及后来的迅速殒落过程中，扮演着一个重要的角色。我希望以下的说明，可以支持我的假设。
　　We can make two mistakes of interpretation as we examine the relationship between American culture and Christianity. One is to downplay the influence of Christianity and thus to misunderstand completely both the origins and the subsequent greatness of this unique nation. Or we can exaggerate the influence of Christianity upon America and thus fail to understand the true reasons for America's current problems. I shall seek to avoid both these errors.
　　当我们探讨基督教与美国文化的关系时，可能犯两种错误。第一是看轻了基督教的影响而完全误解这个独特国家的起源和随后的强盛，第二是夸大了基督教的影响而无法探寻到美国现在问题的根源。我将尽量避免犯这两种错误。
　　My purpose is to help us understand what has happened in America, hoping that we may learn from the past, benefiting from both the good and bad examples we find in American history.
　　我的目的是帮助我们了解美国的历史，希望由历史中学习，从好的与不好的事例中获得益处。
Why study about America at all？ 为什么要研究美国？
　　Many reasons lead us to ponder the rise and decline of the United States of America. I shall list only a few.
　　有许多原因促使我们思考美国的兴盛与衰落，我仅列出其中一些原因:
　　- American has played a prominent role in modern history. The American War for Independence influenced the French Revolution (which differed in important ways from it) and countless other revolutions and wars for independence. The Declaration of independence has inspired millions. The U.S. Constitution is the oldest in the world and the most successful (at least until recently). American participation in both World War I and World War II brought victory to the Allies and changed the face of the map. America's conflict with the communist bloc dominated world politics for forty years.
　　美国在世界近代史上扮演着举足轻重的角色。美国独立战争影响了法国大革命(虽然两者在许多重要方面并不相同)，以及其它大大小小的革命和独立战争。美国独立宣言启发了千千万万的人。美国宪法是世界上最早的宪法，也是到目前为止最成功的宪法。美国参与了第一次和第二次世界大战，帮助同盟国赢得胜利，并改变世界版图。美国与共产世界的对峙，更主宰了全球政治达四十年之久。
　　- America has inspired other nations by its way of life. For a long time, Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world. American freedom lured millions of immigrants from all over the world, resulting in the most cosmopolitan nation in history. American advances in science and technology led the world. American business and industry outpaced the world for a long time. American higher education has drawn the leading students from many nations. Even after the dissolution of the British Empire, English advanced to its current position as the international language largely because of American military, economic, and cultural supremacy, as well as through the (largely unnoticed) influence of American missionaries.
　　美国的生活型态，对其他国家也影响深远。长久以来，美国人民享有世界上最高的生活水准。美国的自由空气吸引了世界各地百万计的移民，造就了美国成为历史上最富于民族融合性的国家。美国在科技上的进步领先全球。美国的工商业一直执世界经济之牛耳。美国的高等教育吸引了许多国家的优秀学生来此深造。即使在大英帝国解体后，英语仍跃升为今日的国际语言，这要归因于美国在军事上、经济上、文化上的优势，以及透过美国的宣教工作的传播(但这方面的影响常被忽视)。
　　- Negatively, American entertainment media overshadow the popular culture of many nations. Popular American music and movies have contaminated hundreds of millions with false ideas of materialism, sexual immorality, rebellion against authority, and unrestrained individualism. Perhaps no nation in history has had such an evil influence on the entire globe at one time. At home, Americans are guilty of a high rate of violence, one of the highest divorce rates, a great number of abortions, the lowest academic achievement, and the highest level of debt of any advanced nation. No wonder Chinese governments fear "spiritual pollution" from American influences and Islamic leaders call America "the great Satan."
　　负面的来说，美国的娱乐媒体掩盖了许多国家的大众文化。美国的流行音乐和电影充斥了无数的物质主义、性泛滥、反抗权威、以及过度的个人主义的错误观念。大概历史上没有任何一个国家像美国一样，能同时对整个世界产生如此恶劣的影响。这些错误观念在美国国内的影响，表现于随处可见的高犯罪率、高离婚率、高堕胎率、低学习成就、以及先进国家中最严重的人民负债情况。无怪乎中国政府惧怕美国的「精神污染」，而伊斯兰教的领袖们称美国为「大撒旦」。
　　- On the other hand, America has been influenced by the Christian religion more than any major nation in recent history. Not only the Constitution and laws, but also the culture as a whole, came under the sway of Christian ideas and values to a degree perhaps unprecedented in world history. On the North American continent, many Christians carried out an experiment to see whether a try Christian nation could be forged out of the wilderness.
　　另一方面，美国受基督教的影响，超过了近代历史上任何一个大国。基督教的思想和价值观影响所及，不仅在宪法和一般法上，也在整体文化之中，其影响程度是史无前例的。在北美新大陆上，许多的基督徒建立一个基督教国家，看她是否能在旷野中生存下来。
　　- American Christianity has influenced the entire world. American missionaries (at times as many as 50,000 Protestants alone) have scattered throughout the globe, bringing a life-and society-changing religion to literally hundreds of cultures, both small and great. American religious broadcasting has penetrated the Iron Curtain, the Bamboo Curtain, and the walls erected by Moslem states. Billy Graham, an American preacher, has spoken to more people and has had private interviews with more heads of state than anyone else in all of history.
　　美国基督教对全世界都造成影响。美国的宣教工作(有时多达五万人)散布在世界每个角落，在不同的程度上，改变了数百种文化的社会型态和生活型态。美国的福音传播穿越了铁幕、竹幕(中共)、以及伊斯兰国家的围墙。美国布道家葛培理(Billy Graham)的听众，以及他所会晤过的世界各国领袖，比历史上任何一个人都多。
　　- America has greatly influence upon China and Chinese culture. Ever since American missionaries and merchants arrived in China in the nineteenth century, Americans and Chinese have played a vital role in each other's lives. American Christianity has also had an impact upon Chinese society. Even today, many Chinese either emigrate to America or go there to study; others see America as a "beautiful country" and hope that China can in some ways imitate its culture. At the same time, popular American culture has, as we have seen, brought great moral pollution to China. Even more disturbing is the rise of anti-Chinese sentiment in America, and the growth of anti-American feelings in china. How do we understand this complex relationship.
　　美国对中国及中国文化有极大的影响。自从十九世纪美国宣教士和商人到中国以来，美国人和中国人对彼此的生活影响甚巨。美国基督教也藉此影响了中国社会。到今天，许多中国人移民到美国，或是到美国读书，其它一些中国人把美国看作一个「美丽的国家」，而且希望中国能在某些方面模仿美国文化。在此同时，美国的大众文化如我们所见的污染了中国的道德文化。更糟的是美国的反中情绪，和中国的反美情结的滋长。我们怎么样理解这个复杂的中美关系.
　　To understand the paradox of greatness and the decline of this country, we must trace the relationship of Christianity to American culture.
　　要了解美国强盛与衰败之间的矛盾，我们就必须追溯基督教与美国文化间的关系。
What is "Christianity"？ 基督教(Christianity)是什么？
　　The word "Christianity" has several meanings which must be carefully distinguished from each other.
　　「基督教」一词，有好几个意义，我们必须谨慎地加以区别。
　　In Chinese, for example, "Christianity" (Ji Du Zhao) refers to the Protestant church in its many manifestations. Roman Catholicism is called Tian Ju Chao (Religion of the Heavenly Lord, the Catholic name for God in Chinese.) In English, however, Christianity refers to all branches of the Christian Church, including Roman Catholic, Eastern orthodox, and protestant (which includes Pentecostal) churches.
　　譬如说，基督教在中文里不同于天主教，所指的是宗教改革后的新教派。但在英文里，基督教指的是所有敬拜基督耶稣的教派，包括罗马天主教、东正教、以及宗教改革后的新教派(也包括五旬节派)。
　　"Christianity" may refer to a visible organization like a church or to the system of beliefs held by those churches.
　　「基督教」也可能指的是如同教会一样的组织，或是这些组织所持的信仰。
　　Likewise, "Christian" may denote a believer in Jesus Christ, a member (regardless of how sincere he is) of a "Christian" church, or one who was born into a "Christian" home and perhaps baptized as an infant as a "Christian," as distinct from, say, a Moslem or a Hindu.
　　类似的情况，「基督徒」可以指信奉基督耶稣的人，或上教堂的人(不论其信仰的程度)，或是一个生在基督教家庭也许婴孩时就受洗的人，以这样的称呼有别于回教徒或是印度教徒。
　　A "Christian" nation may refer to a country that has an established Christian church as its state religion, like England or Germany, or it may simply denote a country that has many Christians living in it, like America, as distinct from a Hindu nation like India (which also has more Moslems than any other nation).
　　而「基督教国家」，则可能指的是以基督教为国教的国家，如英国和德国，也可能指有许多基督徒居住的国家，如美国，用以区别于其它宗教国家，如印度是一个印度教国家。(但印度的回教徒也多过于其它国家)
　　Even within Protestantism, "Christian" may refer to evangelicals who believe the Bible or liberals who do not. A "Christian" may be someone who merely attends a Christian church or a person who has repented of his sins, trusted in Christ for salvation, and received new life by the power of the Holy Spirit. The latter is the meaning evangelical Protestants give to the word "Christian."
　　即使在改革派基督徒中，「基督徒」可能指的是相信圣经的福音派，或是不相信圣经的自由派(新派)。一个「基督徒」，也许只是上教堂的人，也可能是一个认罪悔改、相信基督的救赎，藉圣灵的力量重生的人。后者正是福音派对「基督徒」所下的定义。
　　Why have I spent so much time trying to refine our understanding of the words "Christianity" and "Christian"？ Because confusion over these words greatly misleads anyone who would seek to comprehend the relationship of Christianity to American culture. Part of the purpose of this book is to show how different types of Christianity have had different impacts upon American culture.
　　我为什么花这么多力气来厘清「基督教」和「基督徒」的意义？因为对这些名词的混淆会严重误导我们对基督教和美国文化之间的关系的理解。本书的目的之一，就是说明不同的基督教思想如何在美国文化上造成不同影响。
The Scope of this Book 本书的讨论范围
　　Readers looking for an academic treatment of the complex relationship between Christianity and American culture will have to look elsewhere. I am not an expert in American history and religion. I write as an average American who has studied the question afresh only recently.
　　这本书并非以学术性的方式来讨论基督教与美国文化间的复杂关系。我不是美国历史与宗教的专家，我是以一个最近才研究了这个问题的普通美国人的身份来写这本书。
　　On the other hand, I have been intensely interested in American politics, culture, and foreign policy for most of my life. As a Christian, I have pondered the influence - or lack thereof - of the Christian faith upon my native land. Relating to Chinese over the past twenty years has given me a different perspective from the one I learned as a youth. For example, I have benefited much from reading the Analects of Confucius and seeing the impact of Confucianism upon Chinese culture even today. Traveling to India, Europe, and Africa has opened my eyes to yet other religions and cultures. My Ph.D. studies in Greek and Roman civilization shed some light on the role of the classical ideal in the formation of early America and the growing power of classical humanism (and paganism) in America today. Likewise, research on Augustine caused me to evaluate how the early Christians sought to transform the Roman Empire. (Cochrane's Christianity and Classical Culture details their successes and failures, drawing implications for our own time.)
　　然而，我一直对美国的政治、文化、及外交政策有浓厚的兴趣。作为一个美国的基督徒，我一直思索着基督教信仰，或者这信仰的缺乏，所带给这块土地的影响。过去二十年来与中国人的接触，使我学习到与我年轻时所学的不同的看法。例如，研读孔子的论语并亲眼见到儒家思想对古今中国文化的深远影响，使我获益良多。我的印度、欧洲、及非洲之旅，打开我的眼界，让我认识了别的宗教与文化。我对希腊罗马文明的博士班研究，使我对美国建国初期的古典理想以及现在方兴未艾的古典人文主义和古典异教主义都能有了解。同样的，我博士论文对奥古斯丁的研究，促使我对早期基督徒如何改造罗马帝国作了一番评价。(Cochrane在「基督教与古典文化」一书中对早期基督徒的成功与失败有详细的描述，值得作为我们这个时代的借镜)
　　Although Augustine's City of God provided the inspiration for this work, there can be of course no comparison between the great African theologian's magnum opus and my feeble attempt. I only mention him to give credit for the origin of the idea for my shorter essay in critical interpretation of culture.
　　尽管奥古斯丁的「上帝之城」是本书的灵感来源，我这本微不足道的书却无法与伟大的非洲神学家奥古斯丁的堂皇钜着相提并论。这里提到他，是要将本书中对文化的批判性思考的最初想法归功于他。
　　Those looking for another tract proving that this was a Christian nation especially chosen by God will also be disappointed. I have attempted a critical description and interpretation of American history from a Christian standpoint, and have arrived at conclusions different from the assumptions with which I began my study. Bear with me, fellow patriot! The true lover
　　of America will not deny either the magnificent contribution which Christians and Christianity have made to our country, nor gloss over our many faults and failings.
　　如果你想从本书中找到另一项立论，以证明美国是神所拣选的基督教国家，你将会失望。我试图以基督徒的观点，对美国历史作批判性的描述与诠释，而我所获致的结论，却与我一开始的假设很不相同，我的假设正是：美国是神所拣选的基督教国家。爱国的同胞们，请耐心的看完本书。真正爱美国的人，不会否认基督徒和基督教对我们国家的伟大贡献，也不会否认我们信仰上的偏差所造成的错误与失败。
　　With those disclaimers, then, here is what I hope to accomplish: A brief survey of some ways in which Christianity and American culture have affected each other since the coming of English colonists to the New World. Some chapters will focus on politics; some will touch also upon other facets of culture, such as religious practices, family life, education, work, and the arts. Even foreign policy will not escape our notice, since Christianity　has often proved to be the driving force in the formation - or at least the justification - of our relations with other countries. In general, an examination of the development of Christian faith and practice will precede consideration of other sides of American society, since, as Richard Weaver wrote, ideas do have consequences.
　　基于以上的说明，我所希望达成的目标，是简要地检视那些自从英国殖民者来到新大陆后，基督教和美国文化之间相互影响的层面。部份内容会侧重于政治，部份内容则会探讨到文化的其它层面，如各种不同的宗教信仰、家庭生活、教育、工作、及艺术。就连外交政策也在讨论之列，因为基督教的信仰常常成为美国与其它国家交往的原则，或至少是许多政治人物常运用的口号。整体来说，对基督教信仰的检视，将优先于对美国社会其它的方面的探讨。原因在于，如美国作家兼英文教授理察维尔 (Richard Weaver)所写道:「思想必定产生结果」。
　　In fact, the power of ideas to mold a nation stands at the center of the book. My goal: To commend the Christian faith as a source of life-giving concepts, not only for individuals, but also for entire nations. That America has fallen so far from its original vision does not invalidate the Christian faith; I hope to show, on the contrary, that American history　confirms the truths that its Pilgrim Fathers believed.
　　事实上，思想对一个国家的塑造力量，正是本书的中心题目。我的目标是，赞扬基督教信仰是个人及整个国家那种终生奉献的观念之本源，美国今天已偏离建国时理想很远，但这并非否定基督教信仰的贡献；相反的，我希望能指出，美国的历史验证了其基督徒祖先所信奉的基督教真理。
　　Thus, I hope that Americans will understand our culture better and gain insight into its current malaise and possible future course. My desire for non-Americans is that they learn from our successes and from our failures as they seek to apply the truth of the Bible to their own unique culture.
　　因此，我盼望美国读者可以藉由本书对我们的文化有更深的认识，并能洞察当今美国文化的毛病，及未来可能出现的课题。对于其它国家的读者，我盼望他们在尝试用圣经的真理注入其独特文化的过程中，能由我们的成功与失败中学取教训。
One Beginnings 第一章 源起
Why They Came: Mixed Motives 到美洲大陆的各种动机
　　Various desires motivated the Europeans to came to the New World, beginning with Columbus. We may categorize these simply as a search for gold, glory, and God.
　　自从哥伦布发现美洲新大陆后，各种动机促使欧洲人来此。我们可以简单地将这些动机分为:淘金，追求个人名声，以及追求神。
Columbus 哥伦布
　　Columbus wrote, "It was the Lord who put it into my mind... the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies... The fact that the Gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time - this is what convinces me." Some historians believe that his passion for glory and lust for gold marred the success of his discovery of the West Indies and South America. Certainly, his cruel treatment of the natives demonstrates that he shared the current European view that the peoples of the world could be exploited.
　　哥伦布写道:「是神将这件事放在我脑海里…就是可以从这里航行到印度群岛…福音仍必须要在这么短的时间内传到这么多的地方，这就是教我信服的。」一些历史学家相信，哥伦布追求名声的欲望和他对财富的贪婪，使得他发现西印度群岛及南美的成就蒙上阴影。的确，他对当地土著的残暴行为，印证了他具有那个时代的欧洲人的世界观，就是其它的民族是可以被剥削利用的。
　　The Book of Prophecies (published after his second voyage), however, reveals his wide reading of the Bible and his deep commitment to the spread of its message to the peoples of the New world. His journal states that he considered "gold" essential to his evangelistic journeys. At the very least, we must say that his understanding of the Gospel and his practice of it fell far short of that of, for example, the later Pilgrims. At worst, some have accused him of terrible hypocrisy. Both views of this great explorer have truth.
　　然而，在哥伦布第二次航行之后所写的"预言书"中，透露出对圣经广博的研读，以及他极欲将福音传播给新大陆上的民族的决心。他的航行记录中说他认为"财富"是他传播福音的航程中不可或缺的。最起码，我们必须指出他虽然对传福音有兴趣，他对福音的了解和体现，却远不及后来的基督徒如新教徒(Pilgrims)。而对他最严厉的批评，则是有些人认为他根本是虚伪的基督徒。对伟大的探险家哥伦布的信仰这种正反两面的看法，都是有事实根据的。
　　To put the conquest of Latin America by Roman Catholics from Spain and Portugal into a larger perspective, let us quote the words of Steven Keillor:
　　为了对西班牙及葡萄牙的罗马天主教徒征服拉丁美洲有更广泛的认识，我们可以引用司提反.凯勒(Steven Keillor)所写道:
　　[God] used them to accomplish his purposes... but did not excuse their actions. Columbus's view of biblical prophecy does not justify his actions toward the Taino but neither do his actions make biblical prophecies erroneous. One can have truth and still rebel against it.... So， [Columbus's] voyages advanced God's long-range goals and yet were profoundly ungodly. That is so because of a deeper paradox: the Christianity carried by Europeans to the new World was divinely revealed truth， yet those who carried it were in serious rebellion against it.
　　「神使用这些人来完成祂的旨意…但神并没有原谅这些人的行为。哥伦布对圣经预言的错误看法导致他对待泰诺(Taino)族人的不合理行为，而他的行为并非证明圣经预言是错误的。人们可能知道真理却仍然违背真理…所以，哥伦布的航行使神的终极计画向前迈进，但他航行过程中的行为却是非常不合乎神的教导的。这源自于一个看似荒谬，却其实合乎真理的现象:这些欧洲人所带到美州新大陆的基督教是神所启示的真理，但是这批人根本上是违背这个真理的。」
　　The last sentence in that paragraph could serve as part of the message of this book. Christians in America have both succeeded and failed in obedience to their Lord. The truth they have believed, however, shows their failure to be proof that we are all sinners in need of God's grace.
　　上一段引言的最后一句话正是本书所要传达的部份讯息。美国的基督徒在顺服他们的神这件事上，有成功也有失败，然而，他们所信奉的真理显明了一件事，就是他们的失败验证了我们都是需要神的恩典的罪人。
The Virginia Colonists 在维吉尼亚州(Virginia)的殖民者
　　In 1607, settlers landed at Jamestown (now in Virginia) to found the first successful English colony in North America. We know their motives from their actions: Seeking instant wealth from the discovery of gold, the relatively well-born colonists at first refused to work in the fields. The considered manual labor beneath their dignity. After they found out how to grow tobacco (and, later, cotton), they acquired Black slaves to endure the heat and humidity to raise this profitable cash crop. To be sure, they believed that slave labor alone could make such labor-intensive agriculture cost-effective. Nevertheless, a proud plantation-based plutocracy soon arose along the rivers from which they shipped their tobacco to England. To this day, pride and greed prevent the elite of eastern Virginia from relinquishing their dependence on the noxious weed that kills untold millions of people each year.
　　主后一六零七年，殖民者在维吉尼亚州的詹姆士镇(Jamestown)开辟了北美洲最早的英语殖民地。从他们的行为我们可以明了他们的动机.寻找黄金以立即致富。这些贵族殖民者起初是不肯务农的，因为这些粗重的工作与他们的身份不相称。当他们发现如何种植烟草(及后来的棉花)之后，他们使用黑奴在农场上忍受酷热与潮湿为他们种植这些经济作物。毫无疑问的，他们相信只要使用这些奴隶就可以使这项劳力密集农业具有高投资报酬率。很快地，一个因烟草业致富的骄傲族群，沿着运烟草往英国的河畔建立了起来。时至今日，这些骄傲而贪婪的维吉尼亚东部社会与经济菁英，仍然不肯放弃种植烟草这种每年残害千百万人的作物。
　　On the other hand, some sincere Christians came with them and had some influence on the others. As soon as they landed, Captain John Smith raised a wooden cross on the shore at Cape Henry. The Reverend Robert Hunt led the people in prayer to God for thanksgiving for their safe passage and in recommitment to His purposes for them in the New World. It is true that European colonists used the cross as a symbol of conquest around the world, but I believe in this case the cross also represented a commitment to basic Christianity.
　　另一方面,一些虔诚的基督徒也随着这批殖民者过来并对他们有些影响。当他们一登陆，约翰.史密斯上尉(Captain John Smith)就在亨利角(Cape Henry) 立起一个木头十字架，牧师罗伯.韩特(Robert　Hunt)带领群众祷告，感谢神带领他们平安抵达并重伸他们在新世界为神工作的承诺。尽管殖民者往往使用十字架作为征服世界各地的象征，我相信在这件事上十字架也代表了对基督教基本精神的承诺。
　　The Virginia Charter of 1606 states that they came to spread "the Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God." In 1619 their leaders passed laws requiring church attendance and the first American day of Thanksgiving was celebrated in the same year. Public statements and legal ordinances do not necessarily issue from sincere motives, but they do reflect a mindset and a worldview. The English colonists adhered to the Christian worldview.
　　一六零六年的维吉尼亚州殖民特许状中声明他们到新大陆是为了传播基督教信仰给那些生活在黑暗中对神的真理和敬拜毫无所知的民族。在一六一九年，他们的领袖通过法律规定人们上教堂，同一年他们庆祝美国第一个感恩节。公开的声明及法律的规定并不一定表示他们有纯正的出发点，却忠实反映出当时的想法和世界观。这些英国的殖民者赞同于基督教的世界观。
The Pilgrims 新教徒 (The Pilgrims)
　　The next year, Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock (now Massachusetts). They had planned to settle in Virginia. but their unscrupulous ship captain had misled them. As a result, they were forced to found an independent colony. Some Christians see God at work in this. For one thing, they were able to put into practice their ideas about Christian community. For another, they landed in a place where the natives were friendly. Further evidence of God's providential care includes the coming of Squanto, an Indian who taught them life-saving skills and introduced them to other Indians who would form a treaty of friendship with them, thus preserving them from attack and possible extinction.
　　第二年(一六二零年)，一群新教徒在浦利毛斯岩(位于今天的麻色诸塞州)登陆。他们原本打算在维吉尼亚居住，但是他们不诚实的船长误导他们到麻州去。于是，他们被迫建立另一个独立的殖民地。一些基督徒(现在和以前)把这件事看作是神的工。譬如，这群新教徒得以将他们的基督教社区的想法付诸行动。又如，他们登陆之地的原住民很友善。另一项神带领保守的证据，则是一个叫史刚图(Squanto)的印地安人的出现，他教导他们生存技能，并把他们介绍给其它印地安部落。这些印地安部落与他们建立很好的友谊，保护他们免于遭受攻击和可能的灭绝。
　　The Pilgrims were Separatists. That is, they had left the Church of England. Unlike the Puritans, they had no hope of reforming England's established church. They refused to participate in its worship and thus suffered fierce persecution in England. Finally, several hundred of them fled to Holland, where they enjoyed religious freedom. After several years there, however, they discovered that their children were learning Dutch instead of English; worse, they were learning the pagan ways of Dutch youth. They also saw that they could not organize their life together on the basis of God's Word. They resolved, therefore, to seek a home in the New World.
　　这批新教徒是所谓的分离主义者，意即他们脱离了英国国教(所以称为新教徒)。不像清教徒，他们对改造英国国教不抱希望，他们拒绝参加英国国教的崇拜，因而遭到严厉的迫害。最后他们当中数百人逃到荷兰，在荷兰享受到宗教自由。但是几年后他们发现他们的孩子只说荷语不说英语，更遭的是这些孩子从荷兰青少年那儿学习异教行为。他们也看到无法根据神的话在荷兰建立他们的生活，于是他们决定到新世界找一个家。
　　Of all those who arrived in America from Europe, the Pilgrims perhaps had the purest motives. Caring not only for their own purity but for the salvation of the Native Americans, they resolved to spread the gospel to the Indians by all possible means. Accustomed to hard work and suffering, they were not seeking an easy life. They were sturdy middle-class folk and did not dream of riches. They were not criminals running away from the law, except insofar as they were fleeing religious persecution. They stated their goals clearly in many public documents. In summary, they wanted to establish a society that would reflect God's will in all aspects of life. They wished, in a word, to glorify God.
　　在所有来到美国的欧洲人中，这群新教徒的动机大概是最纯正的。由于他们不仅在乎自己信仰的虔诚，也在乎美洲原住民的救赎，他们决心用各种方式传福音给印地安人。他们早已习惯劳苦与辛勤工作，所以他们并不追求舒适的生活。他们是坚强的中产阶级，并不梦想财富。他们不是逃避法律的罪犯，充其量只是躲避宗教迫害，他们在许多公开文件中清楚地声明他们的目标。总而言之，他们想要建立一个在生活各方面都能反映出神的旨意的社会。简要的说，他们希望荣耀神。
　　We do not have space to recount their inspiring history, which other books record in detail. Suffice it to say that these hardy people founded a colony that set a high standard for all who were to come and provided a foundation for America's early culture.
　　我们没有足够的空间回顾他们发人深省的历史，其它一些书中有详细的记载。在此我们指出这群勤奋的人建立了一个殖民地，为后继者立定了一个高标准，也为美国早期文化奠立了基础，这样的评语也就足够了。
　　The Puritans (And Other Early Colonists) 清教徒 (及其它早期殖民地)
　　The Puritans who followed them came in much greater numbers - twenty thousand between 1628 and 1638. Like the Pilgrims, they were also Calvinists. Unlike the Pilgrims, they had tried to reform (purify) the Church of England and then all of England according to their interpretation of God's Word (thus their name, Puritans). They had failed in their attempt and so sought to try again in America. Like the Pilgrims, they were mostly middle-class folk, although some high-born gentlemen joined them. They were solid merchants, farmers, and craftsmen. Also like the Pilgrims, they possessed a very high level of education and mental sophistication. Their pastors could read several languages and were the intellectual leaders of society, preaching long sermons that plumbed the depths of Christian theology and applied the Bible to all of life.
　　清教徒继新教徒之后来到北美，其人数远比新教徒多，在一六二八年到一六三八年间共有两万人。他们如同新教徒一样是属于加尔文教派。不同于新教徒的是，他们曾经根据他们对神的话的了解来试图改造(清净)英国教会及整个英国，所以被称为清教徒。他们在英国的尝试失败了，所以寻求在北美洲再试一次。这些清教徒和新教徒一样是属于中产阶级，虽然其中也有一些贵族。他们是很好的商人，农人，及工艺匠。他们也像新教徒拥有良好的教育和思想。他们的牧师通晓好几种语言，也是有智能和见识的社会领袖，可以传讲极具神学深度的长篇大道，也可以把圣经应用生活的每一方面。
　　Perhaps more than any other group in Christian history, the Puritans (and Pilgrims) believed that God's Word could shed light on practically all questions that face us in our daily living. In the Bible they found principles of conduct for individuals, families, and entire communities. We shall examine some of these principles later. In the Old Testament they saw a form of government that, with modifications, could be copied in modern times. That is why they opposed the absolute monarchy of the Jacobean kings in England.
　　也许在基督教历史上，没有任何团体像清教徒(和Pilgrims)一样，那么相信神的话可以实际的应用在我们每天生活所面临的问题。他们在圣经里找到个人，家庭，及整个社区的行事准则。我们稍后会看看他们这些准则的一部分。在旧约圣经中他们见到了一种只要稍加更改，就可以适用在当代的政府形态，这也就是为什么他们反对英国詹姆士王朝(1601-1623)的集权统治。
　　Later writers have maliciously slandered the Puritans. As one who has read some of their writings, I find some modern criticism to be biased and ignorant, the result more of prejudice than of accurate knowledge.
　　后来的许多书的作者恶意地毁谤清教徒。我读过他们所写的一些资料，发现一些我们这时代对清教徒的批评偏颇而无知，他们的结论基于偏见多过于正确的知识。
- Recreation 娱乐
　　For example, they are pictured as grim and solemn, with no interest in joy or pleasure. It is true that they tried to obey the Biblical commands to be sober and upright. They wore plain dress and avoided vanity in speech and recreation. Their worldly contemporaries in England, who sought happiness in sexual immorality and foolish diversions, misunderstood and maligned the Puritans, as the Apostle Peter had predicted long ago when he said, "We have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles (this is, non-believers) - when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you." The Puritans believed in a final judgment and lived accordingly. They sought joy in other ways: Reading, music, hard work, family life.
　　例如说，他们被视为冷酷而严肃，对欢乐和享受没有兴趣。没错，他们试着遵照圣经的教导以保持良善与正直，他们穿朴素的衣服，避免浪费时间在闲谈和娱乐上。与他们同时代的英国人则耽溺于性滥交和其它愚昧的活动上，对清教徒误解并加以打压。就如使徒彼得老早就预言的:「我们过去已经浪费够多的岁月在外邦人(非基督徒)爱做的事情上了，就是那些充满淫乱邪念、醉酒、作乐、狂欢，和令人憎恨的偶像的事情。如今我们回头了，他们却因我们不与他们同流合污而感到奇怪，甚而毁谤我们。」清教徒相信最后的审判，因此谨守他们的生活。事实上他们透过其它的方式追求乐趣，例如阅读、音乐、勤奋工作、家庭生活等。
- Family 家庭
　　The Puritan family, also maligned by ignorant moderns, stands as a model. Puritans believed that the family was the central unit of society, the microcosm of both church and state. The father ruled supreme, to be sure, but he did so under the authority of God's Word. Preachers exhorted husbands to love their wives tenderly, as Christ loves the church. They taught fathers to care for their children and bring them up to know and obey God. Thus, the patriarchal system was based upon love, not force. Men knew that they were answerable to God who would judge them for any act of unkindness. The Puritans accepted the Bible's teaching about the goodness of sex within marriage. When I was first married, I remember reading a pamphlet that had been reproduced from an early Puritan tract about marriage. Called "Advice to husbands," the essay urged, among other things, that husbands allow their wives to be playful with them, lest they be tempted to play somewhere else. They must have had frequent intercourse, for they brought many little Puritans into the world!
　　清教徒的家庭是模范家庭，却也不幸被无知的现代人所曲解。清教徒相信家庭是社会的中心单位，是教会和国家的缩影。肯定的，父亲是一家之主，但是他的管理是在神的话的权威之下。牧师宣扬丈夫要温柔地爱妻子，如同基督爱教会。他们教导父亲要养育孩子，使孩子认识神也遵从神。所以他们的父系社会是基于爱，而不是力量。男人知道他们任何不慈爱的行为都将被神所审判。清教徒接受圣经所教导「婚姻内的性是美好的」。我刚结婚的时候，记得读到一本翻印自早期清教徒婚姻手册的小册子。册中有篇文章叫「给丈夫的忠告」，鼓励丈夫要与妻子同乐(而不要只是工作)，否则他们会被引诱与其它人同乐。他们必定常享闺房之乐，因为他们把很多的小清教徒带到这世界。
　　Puritan women expected to submit to their husbands and to focus on homemaking as their career. They seldom considered themselves inferior, second-class citizens, however, because their position in society received the honor it deserved. After reviewing the evidence, one modern scholar has noted the absence of most of the problems which afflict today's American wives, such as low self esteem and lack of romantic love in marriage. Everyone expected them to understand and reflect upon the complex sermons in church on Sunday and to teach their children to know and love God and their fellow man. Men realized that their wives were equal to them in God's eyes and were careful not to disrespect them or ignore the tremendous contribution women made to society by their godly example and wise teaching in the home. Several Puritan women, like Anne Bradstreet, distinguished themselves as writers.
　　清教徒妇女期望能顺服自己的丈夫并专注于家务上。然而，她们很少认为自己是低下的次等公民，因为她们的社会地位使她们获得应有的尊重。一位现代学者在回顾这段历史时，注意到当时的妇女并没有今日美国妻子面临的大部分问题，诸如缺乏自尊心和婚姻中没有浪漫的爱等。所有的人都期盼清教徒妇女了解并响应教会里星期日深奥的讲道，教导她们的孩子认识神，爱神也爱其它的人。男人明白他们的妻子在神的面前是与他们平等的，他们谨慎地避免轻视她们，或忽视她们爱神的模范以及在家给孩子们的智能教导对社会的重大贡献。几位清教徒妇女，如安巴蕾史翠(Anne Bradstreet)，是以作家的身份出名。
　　Puritans spent a great deal of time with their children, knowing that God had commanded them to love, pity, and care for the little ones entrusted to their care. At the same time, guided by the Bible's teaching, parents expected, and received, obedience with a cheerful attitude. The State supported parental authority by allowing for severe penalties to be inflicted upon rebellious children. For example, tailors could not make clothes for children contrary to the wishes of their parents and young people needed their parents' permission to marry. On the other hand, parents could not "deny any child timely or convenient marriage." The law also called for punishment of parents who mistreated their children.
　　清教徒花许多时间和子女在一起，因为他们知道神吩咐他们关爱、怜悯、看顾这些需要他们照顾的孩子。同时，父母也根据圣经的教导，期望和获得孩子满心欢喜地的顺从。政府支持父母的权威，允许他们对顽劣的孩子施行严厉的处罚。举例说，裁缝师不可以做衣服给违背父母心意的小孩，年轻男女需要经过父母同意才能结婚。另一方面，父母却不得延迟适婚子女的婚姻，或阻止任何合适的结婚，法律也对不善待孩子的父母加以处罚。
　　The Puritans avoided many heartaches that plague us today by working hard, staying out of debt, and remaining faithful within marriage. They would not tolerate lying or stealing in their communities, nor would they allow blasphemy against God. The society they established was remarkable for its low crime rate, increasing prosperity, and world-class educational standards.
　　清教徒没有许多困扰现代人的文明病，因为他们辛勤工作，不欠债，并且忠实于婚姻。他们不容忍社区中有说谎和偷窃的行为，也不允许亵渎神。他们所建立的社会显著的地方是低犯罪率、经济繁荣、以及世界级的教育水准。
- Education 教育
　　Believing that we must love God with all our minds, the Puritans placed heavy emphasis upon education. First and foremost, children must be taught enough to read and understand God's Word, so that they may serve him and avoid the temptations of Satan. Education's second goal: To equip young people to work.
　　清教徒相信我们必须尽心尽意的爱神，所以他们极为注重教育。第一要务，孩子们必须要被教导如何研读及了解神的话，以使他们服事神并避免撒旦的引诱。教育的第二个目的:使年轻人具有工作的技能。
　　Character formation formed an essential component of schooling, with severe punishment meted out for idleness. They established public schools where boys learned Hebrew, Greek, Latin, history, literature, mathematics, science, and political economics. They founded Harvard College soon after coming to America, partly in order to equip men to preach the kind of learned sermons to which they had grown accustomed, but also to train grammar school teachers, magistrates, and doctors. Their aim: To create and train an entire civilization.
　　人格形成是学校教育主要的一环，用严格的处罚使孩子们不致荒废时间做无意义的事。他们设立了公立学校让男孩子学希伯来文、希腊文、拉丁文、历史、文学、数学、科学、和政治经济学。他们在到达美洲不久就创立了哈佛学院(哈佛大学的前身)，部分原因是装备传道人以传讲他们习以为常的深奥圣经道理，另一方面也是训练初等学校的老师、法律官员、以及医师。他们的目标是创造及训练整个文明。
　　Puritan parents taught their children how to read, write, compute, manage a household and make a living. By the time most children left home, they were ready to make a contribution in the world. Above all, however, Puritans sought to inculcate godly and loving character traits in their children.
　　清教徒父母教育他们的孩子如何阅读、写作、数学运算、管理家务、和维持生计。在大部份的孩子离开家生活之前，他们已经准备好为世界作贡献。然而，父母最重要的是寻求把爱神和爱人的品行放在孩子的心中。
　　The laws increasingly compelled Puritan parents to do what they had been all along: Provide basic education in the Bible, good character, and elementary skills of reading, writing, and working at some trade. Families who would not thus educate their children would be fined. If they persistently failed in their responsibilities, the town might take their child and apprentice him to another family. Those families who could not educate their children could send them to a public school.
　　法律乐发地要求清教徒父母对子女做他们常久以来一直在做的事:提供对圣经和良好品行的基本教育，以及在阅读、写作、维生方面的基本技能。没有做到这些要求的家庭会被罚款，对于一再不履行对孩子教育义务的父母，镇上可能带走他们的孩子交给别的家庭抚养，那些无法教育自己孩子的家庭可以把子女送到公立学校去。
　　As time went on, state compulsion became less and less common in all the colonies. The idea that parents retained both the responsibility and the right to bring up and educate their own children took hold and intrusion by the state into family life declined. A decrease in the power of the Puritans and a loss of religious conviction deprived the state of the original motive for public schools: religious education. At the same time, interference by the state in family life had shown itself to be a dangerous power and the people gradually rejected that concept.
　　时间久了之后，政府对家庭教育的强制执行在各殖民地越来越不普遍。对于政府有权干涉父母抚养及教育自己子女的义务与权利的观念逐渐淡化，清教徒权力的减少和宗教信仰的失落使得政府失去了当初创立公立学校的动机，也就是宗教的教育。同时，政府对家庭生活的干涉往往表现出一种危险的权力，人们渐渐地抗拒这种观念。
　　Settlers in other colonies shared the same basic ideals as the Puritans, although they did not always establish publicly-funded schools. In the colonies where the Anglican church held sway, home education, supplemented by tutoring by the local clergy, educated the youth for service in society. In addition to Greek, Latin, the Bible, and literature, children of planters were also taught agriculture and architecture. Anglicans believed that education was a matter for the family and the church, not the state. Consequently, only those whose parents could afford it received higher instruction
　　其它殖民地的居民与清教徒具有共同的基本理念，虽然他们并非都设立公立学校。在英国国教控制的殖民地，家庭教育教导年轻一代为社会服务的能力，而神职人员也在家庭教育不足的地方提供帮助，除了希腊文、拉丁文、圣经、文学之外，孩子们也学习农业与建筑。英国国教徒相信教育是家庭和教会的事，不是政府所管的。结果是，只有那些父母付得起学费的人得以接受高等的教育。
- Work 工作
　　We have said that the Puritans believed in hard work. In fact, what has been called "the Protestant work ethic" reigned throughout early America, since, at the time of the Declaration of Independence, three-fourths of the colonists identified with major aspects of the Puritans' Calvinistic beliefs (described briefly below). The ancient Greeks and Romans hated work, considering manual labor fit only for slaves. The Jews, however, believed that work was ordained by God, who had commanded, "Six days you shall work." After all, God had commanded Adam and Eve to work before they fell into sin; their disobedience brought weariness and frustration to work, but did not rob it of its meaning or dignity.
　　我们提到过清教徒相信要认真工作，事实上，所谓的「基督徒工作伦理」支配着早期美国殖民地，这可以从在独立宣言时代有四分之三的殖民者认同清教徒的想法看出来，我在下面会简单描述这些清教徒的加尔文派理念。古希腊人和古罗马人讨厌工作，认为那是只有奴隶做的。犹太人却认为工作是神所命令的，因为神的诫命说:「六天中你们要工作」。毕竟，即使在亚当和夏娃犯罪之前，神已经吩咐他们要工作，他们不顺服神为他们带来了工作上的劳累和沮丧，但并未使工作失去原本的意义或或尊严。
　　Thus, Jewish rabbis (religious teachers) accepted no pay for their labors in the synagogue; they earned their living at a trade. The early Christians, following Jesus' example as a carpenter, teacher, and healer, worked hard. The Apostle Paul, a former rabbi, worked with his own hands as a tentmaker and exhorted others to work "heartily, as to the Lord." He enunciated the principle, "If anyone will not (that is, is unwilling to) work, neither shall he eat." He further specified that we should seek to work with our hands.
　　犹太人的拉比(宗教教师)在会堂的工作是不接受酬劳的，他们靠交易维生。早期的基督徒效法耶稣基督为木匠、教师、医病者的榜样辛勤工作。使徒保罗原本是个拉比，他也工作亲手做帐篷，并劝勉他人发自内心的为神而工作。他声明的原则是:「如果一个人不工作(亦即不愿意工作)，那他就不应该吃饭。」他更进一步指出我们要寻求使用我们双手的工作。
　　In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church began to pervert the clear meaning of the Bible by teaching that there were two orders of work, sacred and secular. The priests, nuns, and other "religious" people did the "sacred" work, while everyone else - the "laymen" - engaged in "secular" (worldly) labor. The higher classes shunned manual labor (except for fighting), leaving that to the peasants and the artisans.
　　在中世纪，罗马天主教会开始曲解圣经对工作的清楚意义，他们教导有两种层次的工作:神圣的和世俗的。教士、修女、和其它「宗教」人员做「神圣的」工作，其它的人，所谓的「凡夫俗子」，则做「世俗的」工作。较高阶层的「世俗的」人(如王公贵族等)也远离用手的劳力(除了战斗以外)，将劳力的工作留给农人和工匠。
　　When the Reformation came, Martin Luther and the other Reformers recovered the Biblical view of work. They abolished the sacred/secular dichotomy, proclaiming that all true believers are "priests" and that all legitimate labor is holy in God's eyes. Luther wrote: "In God's sight, (the works of 'religious' people) are in no way superior to the works of a farmer laboring in the field, or of a woman looking after her home." The Reformers encouraged people to leave the monasteries and engage in profitable labor. They taught that each person has a "calling" from God, a vocation that enabled us to cooperate with God in his grand design of ruling the universe. They urged believers to earn more than they needed in order to have surplus to give to the poor. Overturning the notion that the profit motive was evil, they approved of trade and business, as long as they were honest.
　　宗教改革的时候，马丁路德和其它的改教者恢复了对工作的圣经看法。他们废除了「神圣-世俗」的二分法，宣称「信徒即祭司」，「所有正当的劳力在神的眼中都是神圣的」。马丁路德写道:「在神看来，(神职人员的工作)完全不比农夫在田里的工作或妇女在照顾家务来得更重要。」改教者鼓励人们离开修道院并从事具有效益的劳力。他们宣扬每个人都被神所呼召，使得我们与神同工管理祂所造的壮丽的宇宙。他们力劝信徒赚多于所需的钱以便有余分给穷人。他们推翻了「营利的动机是邪恶的」想法，赞成贸易和商业﹐只要这些行为是本于诚实的。
　　As Colson and Eckerd note, "A new breed of workers was born. Out of religious conviction these men and women sought excellence and shunned idleness, vanity, and waste as deadly sins." That teaching unleashed unparalleled prosperity in the Northern European countries where Protestantism flourished. In England, as elsewhere, the Reformation spread most rapidly among the middle and lower classes. Thus, the Pilgrims and Puritans who landed in the New World, unlike the self-styled aristocrats who colonized Virginia, believed in the dignity, even sanctity, of hard work.
　　如同寇森(Colson)和艾克德(Eckerd)所写道:「一个新的工作族群诞生了，这些男女出自于宗教信仰追求卓越而避免怠惰、闲晃、浪费等致死的罪。」这样的教导引发了欧洲北部基督教改革宗盛行的国家无与伦比的繁荣。在英国，改革宗一如在其它国家，在中下阶层的传播最为迅速。因此，登陆新世界新教徒和清教徒不同于那些自命高尚的维吉尼亚殖民地贵族，他们相信辛勤工作是有尊严的，甚至是神圣的。
　　Many of them did not primarily seek wealth, but usefulness to God. Nor did they think that prosperity necessarily indicated God's favor. They knew that an abundance of earthly goods could in fact come as a temptation from Satan. Instead, they saw work as a form of stewardship towards God; the primary rewards were spiritual and moral. They followed the advice of English Puritan Richard Baxter: "Choose that employment or calling in which you may be most serviceable to God... Choose not that in which you may be most rich or honorable in the world; but that in which you may do the most good, and best escape sinning."
　　他们当中许多人主要不是追求致富，而是使钱财为神所用。他们也不认为富有就表示合神的心意。他们了解许多世上的财物可能事实上来自撒旦的引诱。相反地，他们将工作看作是为神管理事务，所获得的酬劳则是属灵上和道德上的。他们遵从英国清教徒理查巴克司特(RichardBaxter)的忠告:「要选择那种你可以最能服事神的工作或呼召…不要选择那种你可以成为世上最富有或最有荣耀的工作，而要选择那种你可以做得最好，而且是不犯罪的事。」
　　We need to realize, however, that these ideals motivated only the most sincere. Other Puritans, like professing Christians throughout the ages, did fall into the temptation to seek worldly prosperity more than God's kingdom. A paradoxial result of their adherence to Biblical principles of work was that they prospered greatly. As a consequence, they fell into the temptations predicted by Jesus and Paul when they warned against the deceitfulness of riches.
　　然而，我们要了解这些理想只能鼓励那些最认真的信徒，其它的清教徒就如每个时代挂名的基督徒，落入了诱惑当中而追求名利胜于追求神的国度。他们遵行圣经的工作原则产生了一个似非而是的结果，他们极为成功富裕。接着他们就陷入了诱惑中，这些诱惑正是耶稣和保罗警告财富的陷阱时所预言的。
- Compassion for the Poor 对穷人的怜悯
　　The welfare state is a modern phenomenon. Until recently, no one thought that the government should care for the poor. The Bible teaches that children should take care of their aged parents, especially widows. Throughout the Scriptures, the duty of each person to give to the poor receives repeated emphasis: In one way or another, God's people are commanded to remember the poor, be gracious to the poor, give to the poor, and not oppress the poor, at least seventy-five times. Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians to care for their poorer brethren in Judea because Christ, "though He was rich, yet became poor."
　　社会福利是现代文明的产物，长久以来没有人想到过政府应该照顾穷人。圣经教导子女应照顾年老的父母，尤其是寡妇。圣经在许多地方中一再强调每个人奉献给穷人的责任:至少在七十五段章节中神吩咐祂的儿女用各种方式记得穷人，怜悯穷人，施予穷人，勿欺压穷人。保罗提醒哥林多教会的信徒要为基督的缘故照顾他们在犹大的弟兄，因为「祂本来富足，却为你们成了贫穷。」
　　On the other hand, the Bible makes no distinction between rich and poor; magistrates were not to be partial to the poor. Furthermore, because of the sinfulness of man, wealth will always be unequally distributed, so that "the poor will never cease to be in your midst." Although oppression and robbery cause poverty, so do sloth and foolishness: "Do not love sleep, lest you become poor;" "He who loves pleasure will become a poor man."
　　另一方面，圣经对穷人和富人并未加以区别;法律官员不应对穷人另眼相看。况且，由于人都有罪性，财富永远都无法平均分配，所以「常有穷人与你们同在」。尽管逼迫和掠夺会造成贫穷，懒惰和愚昧也同样会造成贫穷，「不要贪睡，免致贫穷」「爱宴乐的，必致穷乏」。
　　No one thought of eradicating poverty; everyone, however, had to do his best to alleviate the distress of the poor. Early Americans extended hospitality to those in distress. Sometimes the Town Council would reimburse them for their expenses. Right up into the early nineteenth century, preachers of all denominations often exhorted their hearers - who included almost everyone in the community - to extend a helping hand to the poor. They urged people to take care of the poor next to them, those whom they knew best. First, family, then neighbors, were given aid.
　　没有人认为贫穷可以完全根除，然而每个人都要尽其所能的纾解穷人的困境。早期的美国人将他们的殷懃照顾延伸到有困难的人身上，有时候镇上委员会也贴补照顾穷人所使用的花费。十九世纪初之时，所有教派的牧师都经常鼓励会众(也就包括了社区里几乎每一个人)给予穷人援手。牧师劝勉每一个人照顾身边的穷人，也就是他们最熟悉的穷人。他们把帮助先给家里的人，然后是邻居。
　　On the other hand, no able-bodied man who refused to work would be given help; nor would anyone who was considered "profane, dissolute, or openly scandalous" in his lifestyle. Furthermore, believing that the poor, being sinful, would rather receive charity than work, early American leaders urged people to find jobs for the poor rather than encourage them not to work. "Find 'em work; set 'em to work; keep 'em to work." urged Cotton Mather. To make finding a job easier, "charity schools" were established to provide education for the children of the poor, both black and white. To reduce chronic dependence on the community, laws held families responsible for their members; those who did not care for needy relatives received heavy fines. Instead of cash, the poor were provided with food, coal, and materials for making goods to sell. Even widows were given linen to make clothing at home for sale in the market.
　　另一方面，他们不会帮助任何一个身体健康却拒绝工作的人，也不会帮助那些被认为过着「亵渎、放荡、可耻」的生活的人。而且，早期美国领袖相信，既然穷人也是罪人，他们有可能情愿领取救济而不工作，领袖们遂鼓励人们为穷人找工作，而不是让穷人依靠救济。CottonMather呼吁道:「替穷人找工作，送他们去工作，要他们持续工作。」为了使找工作容易一些，他们办了「慈善学校」提供教育给白人和黑人的穷人小孩。为了减少穷人对社会的长期依赖，法律规定家庭有义务照顾家中成员，那些没有照顾有需要的亲属的家庭会被罚重款。他们给予穷人的并非现金，而是食物、煤、以及可以做东西来卖的材料。即使寡妇也是拿纺纱做衣服到市场上去卖。
　　Orphans received care in homes begun by private societies and then supported by the state. Since women did not work outside the home, they had time for volunteer work. They formed numerous Ladies Charitable societies to aid the poor, widows, orphans, and those suffering from unavoidable tragedies. This tradition of volunteer help by women and, later, men, became a hallmark of American society. We can explain volunteerism as the result of social pressure and recognition; we need to admit, however, that for many, faith in God formed one primary motive.
　　孤儿被放在家庭里照顾，这些家庭原先是私人社团支持的，后来改由政府支持。由于妇女不外出工作，她们就有时间做义工。她们组织了许多妇女慈善社团来帮助穷人、寡妇、孤儿、以及那些遭遇不幸悲剧的人。这个由妇女发起，之后有男性参与的义工传统已成了美国社会的标记。我们可以用社会压力和社会认同来解释志愿服务，但我们也必须承认，对许多人来说，对神的信仰构成一个主要的动机。
　　Two types of aid met two different types of need: Catastrophes, such as floods or accidents, brought sudden destitution; victims would receive help in nearby homes. Chronic poverty resulting from alcoholism or a "disorderly" lifestyle led one to a "workhouse." These houses enforced strict rules, including incentives to work, penalties for laziness, prohibition of the use of alcohol, observance of the Sabbath for rest and worship, and penalties for those who left the house. Calvinists knew that poverty often results from folly, so they urged the poor to study God's Word and learn wisdom so that they could climb out of their condition.
　　两种不同的帮助用以符合两种不同的需要。第一种是灾难如水灾或意外事件，使人在一时之间陷入穷困，受难者可以就近得到帮助;第二种是酗酒或不当生活方式导致的长期贫穷，其人就会被送到「工作所」。这些地方有很严格的规定，包括奖励工作，责罚怠惰，禁止饮酒，遵守安息日的休息与崇拜，以及处罚那些离开该所的人。加尔文教派的人知道贫穷往往是由于愚妄，因此他们呼吁穷人研读神的话并学习智能，以脱离穷困的处境。
- Theology 神学
　　What did the Puritans believe.
　　清教徒相信什么.
　　"Puritanism... is the key which unlocks the meaning of colonial history as a whole." The Puritans were Calvinists. That is, they believed that the Bible contained God's authoritative revelation of truth, truth that applied to all realms of human life. They held that God rules as Sovereign Lord of the entire universe, which he created. He directs the affairs of men and nations, crafting all human action to achieve his goal, which is to glorify himself in the gracious salvation of many repentant sinners and the righteous judgment of unrepentant sinners. History finds its center and focal point in Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Jewish Messiah and the Savior of all, both Jews and non-Jews, who believe in him. Man exists, they taught, not for his own gratification or glory, but "to glorify God and enjoy him forever."
　　「清教徒主义…是解开整个美国殖民历史的意义的钥匙。」清教徒是属于加尔文教派，也就是说，他们相信圣经包含神对真理的权威性启示，这真理涵盖了人类生活的各方面。他们坚信神是至高至善之君，治理祂所创造的宇宙，管理人类及万邦的事务，指导所有人们的行为以达成祂荣耀自己的名的计画。这计画是要以恩典救赎悔改的罪人，以公义审判不悔改的罪人。历史的中心与焦点在于拿撒勒人耶稣，就是被应许的犹太弥赛亚(救世主)，也是所有相信祂的犹太人和非犹太人的救主。他们教导「人的存在并非为了自己的喜乐或荣耀」，而是「永远荣耀神并享受与神同在」。
　　As we have said, they found principles of government in the Bible, principles that they applied to their common life. As later developed in America, these guiding ideas were few but profound:
　　如我们前面提过的，清教徒在圣经里找到政府的准则，也找到日常生活的原则。在后来美国的发展过程中，这些指导性的概念虽然为数不多却影响深远。
　　- As Creator and Sovereign Ruler of the universe, God alone deserves absolute trust and allegiance.
　　- 神是造物主和至高无上之君，祂本身就配得我们无保留的信靠与忠实。
　　- God has revealed his will for mankind in the Bible, which teaches us what to believe and what to do. Specific commands include the Ten Commandments, which remain binding upon us today. These forbid trusting in or worshiping any other "god"; making any idol; using God's name carelessly; working on the Sabbath Day; dishonoring our parents (and others in authority); murder; adultery; theft; lying; covetousness. Other commands in the Bible flow from these basic principles and give specific guidelines for rulers.
　　- 神已经在圣经里启示了祂对人类的期望，藉此教导我们相信什么及做什么事。特别的诫命包括十诫，直到今天仍与我们息息相关。十诫规定禁止信仰或敬拜其它的「神」，不可造偶像，不可滥用神的名，不可在安息日工作，不可侮辱父母(及其它具有权威者)，不可杀人，不可犯奸淫，不可偷盗，不可说谎，不可贪婪。圣经中其它诫命由十诫延伸出来，给地上的统治者明确的指示。
　　- As the first three commandments imply, conscience must be followed by each individual.
　　- 如同头三条诫命所意味的，每个人都要本着良心行事为人。
　　- The uniqueness of God as Lord of the universe also means that civil magistrates exercise delegated authority; they must conform themselves to God's will. They are answerable to God, not to the people in their charge.
　　神为宇宙独一的主宰也意味着政府的法律官员是被委派执行法律，他们必须顺从神的旨意。他们是对神负责任，而不是对他们所管理的人负责。
　　- The primacy of the family in society shows up in the commands to honor parents and to avoid all illicit sexual activity.
　　- 诫命中把家庭摆在社会中的首位以荣耀父母并避免任何不道德的性行为。
　　- The sanctity of human life finds expression in the command not to murder. Man, created in the image of God, has inestimable value.
　　- 人类生命的尊严在「不可杀人」的诫命中可以找到，人是按照神的形象所造的，具有无比的价值。
　　- As the Eighth Commandment states, the right of private property must be strictly protected.
　　- 不可窃盗的诫命指出了个人的财产权必须要受到严格的保护。
　　- Written law takes precedence over the opinions of men, as the existence of a written revelation of God's will implies. Their society was one of laws, not men. Magistrates were to administer the law, not create it.
　　God's law reigned supreme. In that sense, the Puritans wanted to establish a theocracy. The civil rulers would create conditions favorable to the proclamation of the Word of God by preachers. The Church would not rule in the civil arena, but would influence laws through the teaching of the lawmakers. The list of capital crimes in the Massachusetts Bay Colony conforms closely to the penalties found in the Old Testament.
　　- 神启示自己的旨意让人记载于圣经中，意味着圣经的律法优先于人的意见。清教徒的社会是本于律法的，不是本于人的。法律官员的责任是执行律法，不是制定律法。
　　神的律法是最高的统治，从这个角度来看，清教徒想要建立一个类似神权政体。政府的统治者会制造有利于传道人宣扬神的话语的机会，教会并不管理民众的行政和法律事务，但会透过对立法人员的讲道教导来影响法律。麻色诸塞湾殖民地( Massachusetts Bay Colony)的死刑罪条例接近于旧约圣经中的刑罚。
　　- Man's sinful nature makes these laws necessary. Puritans believed that, although created good by God, man had fallen into sin. They had no illusions about the perfectibility of human nature in this life. They thus did not expect a perfect society, either - or should not have.
　　人类的罪性使得这些律法有存在的必要，清教徒相信人类虽然在被神所创造的时候是好的，之后却堕落在罪恶里。他们不妄想人性在今生会有完美，所以他们也不期盼一个完美的社会。他们的想法是对的，可惜的是，他们没有完全按照他们的想法去行，仍然试图建造一个完美的社会，我将在以后加以说明。
　　- As a consequence of their belief in the sinfulness of man, the Puritans held that Christ's redeeming grace alone could save men from their sins. They stressed the sovereign work of God in salvation but also exhorted men to repent and believe in Christ for forgiveness and new life. They knew, moreover, that no government could "save" society or the individuals in it. Only God, working by his Holy Spirit, could change individuals as they trusted in Christ for forgiveness of sins. They believed in limited government, therefore, not the politically all-powerful state of modern times with its pretensions of being able to solve man's problems. Governments were to restrain man's sin and make it possible to proclaim and obey God's Word; they were not to attempt to displace God.
　　由于清教徒相信人类的罪性，他们坚信唯有基督的救赎可以救人脱离罪恶。他们强调神救赎的主权，但也劝诫人们悔改及相信基督以获得饶恕和新生命。除此之外，他们也明白没有一个政府可以「拯救」社会或其中的个人，只有在人相信基督，罪得赦免的时候，神可以藉由圣灵改变一个人。他们因此相信政府的能力应该受限制，而不主张一个可以解决所有人的问题的现代全能政府。政府的工作是制止人们犯罪并制造机会宣扬和遵守神的话语，而不是企图取代神。
　　- Representative government appeared early in the history of Israel, as distinct from the totalitarian governments all around them. The Puritans believed that citizens had the responsibility and right to choose their own magistrates. Their idea of representative government differed radically from later theories, however. Governments derived their authority from God, not from the people. God could rule through either a monarchy or an aristocracy, but had not chosen to rule through direct democracy. Only as people and rulers alike submitted to God's laws as revealed in Scripture could men enjoy true liberty.
　　Democracy, they reasoned, had two fundamental flaws: 1. It derived from humanism, not the Bible, and thus represented a rival to God's sovereignty. Democracy assumes that authority comes from the people, defined as a bare majority; further, it assumes that the people can, at any time in history, understand justice and bring it about in society. But "the people" can be easily swayed by demagogues (as their knowledge of Greek and Roman history taught the early political theorists); unscrupulous men can bend the majority of ignorant masses to their will and deprive many of justice. 2. Thus, majority rule threatened the very civil rights it claimed to promote, for it allowed the will of the majority to trample upon the rights of the minority and paved the way for a few to rule the masses.
　　代议政府在早期以色列历史中就出现了，与当时周围各国的极权政府形成强烈的对比。清教徒相信人民有权利与义务选举他们的政府官员，然而他们对代议政府的概念根本上不同于后来的代议政府理论。他们认为政府的权柄来自于神，而非来自于人民。神可能透过君主政体或贵族政体来统治，却从未选择透过直接民主来统治。唯有当人民和治理者都顺服神用圣经所启示的律法时，人类才有可能享受真正的自由。
　　清教徒论证民主有两个根本的缺点:第一，民主是源自于人文主义而非圣经，因此代表了对神的主权的挑战。民主认定权力来自于人民，也就是勉强的过半数，民主也认定人民有能力在历史上任何时刻明白公平正义并施行于社会当中。但是「群众」可能很容易被煽动家所左右(正如美国早期政治理论家从希腊和罗马历史中所获取的教训)，无节操的人可以操纵无知的多数人以达成其目的并剥夺许多人的公正。第二，因此「多数决定法则」事实上威胁着它宣称要提倡的民权，因为它允许多数人的意愿践踏少数人权利，并促成极少数人统治所有人的结果。
　　- Individual responsibility is assumed in all of God's revelation. Each person will stand before the judgment seat of God to answer for his conduct. Individualism as now understand by Americans, however, would not have been welcome in Puritan society. Each person was to live not for himself but for God and for those around him. Personal sacrifice for the good of others must mark the lives of those redeemed by God's grace. We must not imagine, however, they accepted socialism, which coerces individual submission to the state. They relied on voluntary efforts, motivated by a love for God, to bring prosperity and justice to the entire community.
　　Thus, they opposed laissez-faire economic theory, which calls for selling at the highest possible price and buying at the lowest possible price. They believed that prices should be just, determined by love, not greed. They did not, therefore, subscribe to the theory that sinful men expressing their greed in a totally "free" environment would promote justice and true prosperity, as Adam Smith taught. Government, they thought, must restrain the greed of man, even though it could not eradicate it from the human heart. In other words, they were neither pure capitalists nor socialists.
　　个人的义务被认定存在于神所有的启示中，每个人都要根据自己的行为在神的审判座前接受审判。现在美国人所理解的个人主义在清教徒社会中并不会受欢迎，因为他们认为每个人并不是为自己而活，乃是为神和其它人而活。个人为他人益处所作的牺牲正是那些神的恩典所救赎的生命的标记。然而，我们不要以为清教徒接受那种强迫个人顺服国家的社会主义，他们所倚靠的是以爱神为动机的志愿工作，将繁荣与公义带给整个社会。
　　因此，他们反对自由放任主义的经济理论，也就是以最低价买进货品，以最高价卖出的理论。他们相信价格应该公平，用爱心而非贪心决定价格。所以他们不遵循亚当斯密的经济理论，该理论指出当有罪性的人类在一个完全「自由」的环境下表现他们的贪欲时，将可以提升公平性并获致真正的繁荣。清教徒认为政府必须限制人民的贪婪，即使政府无法根绝人们心中的贪念。换言之，他们既非纯粹资本主义者，也非纯粹社会主义者。
　　- As we saw when we examined the Puritan view of work, since God created the material world, it is good. We should be responsible stewards of our bodies and of the world around us, which we are entitled to enjoy as a gift from God. If motivated by love for God and man, work might be a form of worship. Science, the arts, agriculture, industry - all could be pursued with vigor, as long as men sought to glorify God and benefit others by their efforts.

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