Whitefield traveled to America with the message of change. Meanwhile, a New England preacher named Jonathan Edwards had been telling his people that going to church was not enough; they must see their sinfulness, cry out to God for mercy, and trust anew in Christ's sacrifice for sin. Thus, what historians call The Great Awakening began in America. As in England, most of those who felt God's Spirit work in their hearts came from the working classes, although not a few members of the upper classes also joined the movement. As other preachers joined in the call for new birth, the Awakening spread to all the colonies. What had been cold, formal religion now became a passion that healed families and brought inner peace to thousands of people.
怀特.菲尔德将这个改变的消息带到美国。同时，一个名叫约翰生.爱德华的新英格兰传道人一直告诉他的会众，光是上教堂是不够的，他们必须看清楚自己的罪，呼求神的怜悯，重新相信基督为我们的罪所作的牺牲。于是历史学家所称的大复兴运动在美国展开了。像在英国的情形一样，大部分感受到圣灵在心里作工的人来自劳工阶层，虽然不少上流社会的人也参与了这个运动。当其它的传道人加入对重生的呼吁之后，大复兴运动传遍了所有的殖民地。以前被称为冷淡，严肃的宗教变成了一种修复家庭并带给千万人内心平安的热情。
With the preaching tours of George Whitefield and others in the eighteenth century, American Christianity began to undergo a major transformation. Previously, all Christian meetings took place in church buildings, under the oversight of local pastors and elders. The itinerant evangelists, however, often preached to large crowds outdoors. They were under the authority of no particular pastor or bishop. Their hearers may or may not have been regular churchgoers. The "congregations" thus overflowed the traditional "boundaries" of the "church."
随着乔治.怀特菲尔德和其它传道人在十八世纪的布道旅行，美国基督教开始进行一项大转变。之前，所有的基督徒聚会都是在教堂里举行，由教堂的牧师或长老来监督。这些旅行布道家们却经常在户外对广大群众讲道。他们不受任何特别的牧师或主教所管辖，他们的听众有经常上教堂的，也有不上教堂的。这些「布道会」因此跨越了「教会」的传统「界线」。
Since thousands either came to faith in Christ or were renewed in their devotion to God as a result of the First Great Awakening, many Evangelicals favored the movement. Others withheld approval, for several reasons:
既然数以千记的人因为第一次大复兴而相信基督或是重新把自己献身给神，许多福音派的人于是支持这个运动。其它的人持保留的态度，由于几个原因:
- Whitefield held Calvinistic views, but Wesley and his followers were militantly Arminian (that is, they stressed the "free" will of man as distinct from the sovereign grace of God.).
- 怀特菲尔德抱持加尔文教派的观点，但是卫斯理和其跟随者却是激进的荷兰新教神学支持者。(也就是说，他们强调人的「自由」意志而不是神的主权恩典)
- Church discipline of new converts at open air meetings was often difficult. No one could ascertain whether they had really been converted or had merely had an emotional experience. Incorporation into a stable congregation did not necessarily result from a profession of faith.
- 对于在户外布道会上得救信主的人加以教会的管束经常是困难的。没有人可以确定这些人是真的重生得救，或者只是情绪上的一时感动，宣称具有信仰并不一定会引导一个人加入某一个固定的宗教聚会。
- Emotional expression came to the fore. Jonathan Edwards' sermons, though scholarly and calmly delivered, provoked outcries of remorse for sin and joy over forgiveness. Whitefield, perhaps the greatest orator of all time, moved the crowds with his passionate preaching. In England, Wesley, though much more restrained in his delivery, began to expect and even to encourage emotional outbursts.
- 情绪性的表现居于首位。约翰生.爱德华虽然以学术性及平和性的方式讲道，却触发了听众对罪恶的懊悔和罪得赦免的喜乐所发出的呼喊。怀特菲尔德也许是历史上最伟大的演说家，他以其充满感情的讲道来感动听众。在英国，卫斯理尽管过去在其讲道中比较节制得多，却也开始期望甚至鼓励感情的宣泄。
Edwards proved that what he called "religious affections" were normal for the truly converted believer. In his massive and classic book of that title, he also warned against false assurance based merely on transient emotional experiences.
His warnings proved prophetic, as we shall see later.
爱德华证明他所谓的「宗教情操」对真的悔改信主的人是正常的。在他「宗教情操」(或「宗教情操真伪辨」)这本经典钜着中，他也对于只是基于一时感动而产生的虚假承诺提出警告。我们之后将要看到，他的警告是预知性的。
The Great Awakening, although primarily a religious and moral movement, exerted untold influence upon American politics. As preachers like Whitefield and Methodists traveled throughout America and as news of the revival spread from one region to another, the colonies found a new unity in their common faith. Distinctions between New England Congregationalists, Southern Presbyterians, Mid-Atlantic Lutherans, and Anglicans became blurred a bit; multitudes saw themselves now not primarily as members of a particular denomination but as re-born children of God and therefore members of the same family. Wesley's activities in England led to the formation of a new organization, nominally within the Anglican Church but practically independent of it, that spanned the distances and differences previously separating colonists as it spread to America.
大复兴虽然主要是一个宗教和道德的运动，却对美国的政治产生数不清的影响。当传道人如怀特菲尔德及其它布道人旅行到美国各地，以及宗教复兴的消息由一地传到另地之时，殖民地之间在共同的信仰上找到新的统一性。新英格兰的布道会信徒，南方长老会信徒，中部大西洋岸路德会信徒，以及英国国教会信徒之间的区别变得有些模糊;信徒们如今不把自己看作哪一个特别宗派的成员，而是神的重生儿女，也因此是同一个家庭的成员。卫斯理在英国的活动导致了一个新组织的形成，名义上是在英国国教派之下，但实际上是独立的。这个新组织在传播到美国后跨越了过去使殖民者分开的距离与差异。
Even more important, however, the Awakening re-introduced into American society a desire for personal righteousness and a deep faith in God. Historians have probed the causes of the huge differences between the French Revolution and the previous events in America. Many of them believe that the conversion of thousands of working-class folk in England spared that nation from the mass carnage and the tyranny that came with the revolution in France. Others think that the Great Awakening enabled Americans to demonstrate amazing patience during their protracted verbal conflict with England before the War for Independence; great restraint in the conduct of the war; and an almost bloodless transition to a new form of government that mostly protected the rights of individuals. The "conservative" character of the American liberation from English rule and establishment of a constitutional republic surely finds its source in the God-fearing attitude of multitudes of ordinary Americans at the time. We shall see how this unfolded.
然而，更重要的是，大复兴将对个人公义的渴慕及对神深刻的信仰重新注入美国社会。历史学家曾探寻是什么原因造成法国大革命和先前发生在美国的事件之间的巨大差异。他们之中有许多人相信，在英国数以千计的劳工阶级之悔改信主使英国免于遭受如法国大革命所造成的大屠杀和专制暴政。其它的历史学家认为大复兴使美国人在独立战争之前与英国的冗长谈判冲突中能表现出令人讶异的耐性;在独立战争中表现出巨大的自制;以及几乎不流血的政权转移，组成一个大多数方面能保障个人权利的新政府。美国由英国统治中得到解放并建立一个宪政共和体的「保守」特质的的确确是源自于当时多数美国一般民众敬畏神的态度，我们将看到这是如何显明出来的。
Some scholars also believe that aspects of American democracy received an impetus from the Great Awakening. For example, people of all classes confessed their sins and expressed faith in Christ. All men were seen as "created equal," equally sinful, and equally saved through faith in Christ, regardless of background. Slaves and their owners together confessed their sins and their faith in Christ, thus leveling a fundamental distinction in society. (Some slave owners opposed the revivals for this very reason.) Furthermore, in some meetings connected with the Awakening, the orderliness for which the Anglican Church was famous broke down as people wept or cried aloud under conviction of sin.
一些学者也相信美国民主的面貌受到大复兴运动的刺激。例如，各阶层的人忏悔他们的罪并信靠基督。所有的人都被视为「生而平等」，罪性平等，也平等地藉由相信基督而得蒙救赎，无论其背景如何。奴隶与其主人一起认罪悔改并信靠基督，因此在社会上铲平了一种基本性的地位差异。(有些蓄奴的人为了这个特别原因而反对宗教复兴)另外，在一些与大复兴有关的会议中，以秩序著称的英国国教因为群众悔改认罪的大声哭泣和呼喊而使会议中断。
Reaction to the Awakening 对大复兴的反应
Others see the Awakening as the precipitating cause of increasing secularism in American colonies. Those who believed in the innate goodness of man opposed the Evangelical preachers. This conflict led to a deeper split between two forms of "Christianity" - one that held to the Bible and another that exalted unaided human reason. Consequently, no religious belief could unify the colonists. They turned to the common desire for freedom to bring people of different faiths together against the actions of King and Parliament. Politics thus became "secularized." Stephen J. Keillor comes to this remarkable conclusion:
其它的人把大复兴看作是加速美国殖民地渐增的世俗主义的原因。那些相信人类天生具有良善性的人反对福音派的传道人，这个冲突导致两种型式的「基督教」更深的分裂─一种以圣经为依归，而另一种高举人类自己的理性。结果，没有任何一个宗教信仰可以联合所有殖民地的人。他们转向于诉求人们对自由的共同欲望，以使不同信仰的人能结合在一起抵抗英国国王和英国国会的行动，政治因此变得「世俗化」(注：Keillor所着之「This Rebellious House」，78-79页)。
司提反.凯勒(Stephen J.Keillor)获致这样值得注意的结论：
The Great Awakening's primary influence on the American revolution came through the secularizing of those who refused the revival... The refuserss increasingly turned to republicanism, partly out of disgust at religious dogmatism and emotionalism, partly out of dissatisfaction with religion's failure to integrate society, partly because fashionable European thinkers were turning to republicanism.
「大复兴运动对美国革命的主要影响来自于那些拒绝复兴的人的世俗化…拒绝者渐渐地变成共和主义者，部分由于厌恶宗教的教条主义和感情主义，部分由于不满宗教在整合社会方面的失败，部分由于时髦的欧洲思想家们正转向共和主义。」(注：Keillor所着之「This Rebellious House」，79-80页)。
Most of these refusers came from the ruling elite, the "gentlemen." Keillor quotes contemporary sources to portray these men as contemptuous of manual labor, ambitious for honor and fame, guilty of conspicuous consumption of luxury goods, and afflicted with a sense of superiority towards the "commoners." Their commanding position in society gave them influence beyond their numbers.
这些拒绝大复兴运动的人大部分是领导菁英，那些「绅士们」。凯勒引用当时的资料来描绘这些人，他们轻视劳力、热衷于荣耀和名声、刻意地使用奢侈品，并且具有一种高于「一般人」的优越感(注：Keillor所着之「This Rebellious House」，83页)。他们在社会中的领导地位使他们影响的人数远超过他们自己。
On the other hand, they kept much of their unorthodox thinking to themselves, confined to their private letters and personal diaries. Thus, we should overestimate the impact of their unbiblical notions upon the society as a whole. What we do need to be aware, however, that their personal beliefs often stood opposed to the teachings of the Bible. When they promoted revolution, they were careful to use terms acceptable to the majority of the population. Furthermore, their own reading tended to exclude the more radical European books; they retained a preference for moralistic works, not anti-Christian ones. They breathed the same religious air as did their fellow colonists, particularly after the Awakening. Thus, they would refuse to launch the kind of revolution which later erupted in France.
另一方面，他们并未把他们许多非正教的思想传播出去，反而只局限在他们的私人信件和日记当中，因此我们可能高估了他们的非圣经想法对整个社会的影响。然而我们必须要注意他们个人的信仰往往与圣经的教导是相对立的。当他们鼓吹革命时，他们谨慎地使用大多数人可以接受的词句。此外，他们的阅读倾向于排除那些比较激进的欧洲书籍；他们还是比较喜欢劝化方面的书，而不是反基督教的书。他们所呼吸到的宗教气息与其它的殖民者是相同的，尤其是在大复兴运动之后。因此，他们会拒绝去发起像后来在法国暴发的那种革命。
Radical Whig Ideology 急进民权党(？)之意识型态
Many of the gentlemen leaders of the Revolution subscribed to Radical Whig political thinking. Drawing upon earlier Protestant leaders who had supported the overthrow of the Stuart kings, Radical Whig thought also drank deeply from the springs of Greek and Roman political theory. The Radical Whigs believed that human nature tended towards evil; that power corrupts; that centralized authority thus tends to concentrate tyranny. Thus they often sounded quite Christian, even though many of them had jettisoned major Christian doctrines.
许多革命的菁英领袖赞同急进民权党的政治思想。除了接受清教徒领袖支持推翻史都华王朝国王的思想，急进民权党的思想也深受希腊罗马政治理论的熏陶。他们相信人类的本性是倾向罪恶的；权力使人腐败；因此中央集权容易形成专政。所以他们往往听起来相当具有基督教精神，尽管其中许多人扬弃了基督教的主要教义。
Protestant ministers could, therefore, support Whig theory because it overlapped with several key Biblical concepts.
因此清教徒的牧师们可能支持急进民权党的理论，因为该理论与一些圣经的关键思想是一致的。(注：Keillor所着之「This Rebellious House」，89-92页)。
Breaking with England 脱离英国
Countless books have described the process by which the American colonies achieved their independence from England. I shall not attempt to duplicate the work of competent historians. Instead, I shall try to point to some of the ways in which Christianity played a key role and offer what I hope will be a Biblical critique of the actions of the Americans during this period.
已经有无数的书描述美国殖民地由英国独立的过程，我在此不会重复那些称职的历史学家的工作。但是我将尝试指出一些基督教扮演着关键角色的行动，对美国人在这段期间的作法提出我希望是符合圣经观点的批评。
- Opposition to British Immorality 反对英国的道德沦丧
Moral repugnance towards the debaucheries of the ruling English aristocracy fueled a great deal of American resentment against British rule. Americans of all denominations recoiled in disgust at the sexual sins - both homosexual and heterosexual - of prominent British leaders. The flaunting of open immorality convinced them, as it had their Puritan forebears during the reigns of the Jacobean kings, that the English had lost the right to rule.
对英国贵族统治者放荡行为的道德厌恶感燃起美国人对英国统治的愤慨。美国所有教派的人厌恶地反弹显赫的英国领导人的性泛滥─同性与异性间的滥交之罪。当他们看到这种公然的不道德行为竟然成为一种夸耀之后，他们相信英国人已经失去统治的权利，情形正如他们的清教徒祖先们在詹姆士王朝时所见所为。
- Opposition to Roman Catholicism 反对罗马天主教
Protestant church leaders had suffered martyrdom under the harsh rule of "Bloody" Mary. Protestant England had barely escaped from conquest by Catholic Spain in 1588. Roman Catholic armies had almost succeeded in snuffing out both political and religious freedom in tiny Holland. The Inquisition had tortured thousands for their faith and had suppressed reform in several European nations. Americans, therefore, perceived Roman Catholicism as an instrument of both political and religious tyranny. When the English king tried to gain support in Canada by establishing the Roman Catholic Church as the official religion of Quebec and then extended the reach of that law to include the western parts of the American colonies, Protestants felt mortally threatened. They swore to resist to the death any encroachment upon freedoms for which their forefathers had died. Samuel Adams, a staunch Protestant, reacted strongly to the Quebec act and tried to warn his fellow colonists against the perils of what he called "Popery" (i.e., Roman Catholicism, which professes allegiance to the Pope).
基督教教会的领袖们在「血腥」玛莉残酷统治期间曾遭受殉道般的苦难(注:英国女王玛莉一世，于一五五三年至一五五八年在位，她恢复罗马天主教并迫害英国国教基督徒)。基督教的英国在一五五八年差一点被天主教的西班牙所占领，罗马天主教的军队几乎消灭了弱小的荷兰的政治和宗教自由。罗马天主教之宗教法庭所对许多信仰不同的人施以酷刑并压制一些欧洲国家的宗教改革，因此美国人把罗马天主教看作是一种政治和宗教暴虐统治的工具。当英国国王藉由建立罗马天主教教会为魁北克(Quebec)的正式宗教并接着将这法令延伸到美国殖民地西部各州，以试图在加拿大得到支持的时候(一七七四年)，基督徒感觉到受到致命的威胁，他们誓言对任何侵犯他们的祖先以死换得的自由之行动抵抗至死。一位忠诚的基督徒撒母耳.亚当斯(Samuel Adams)强烈地反对「魁北克法案」，并且尽力警告他在殖民地的同胞其所谓「教皇制度」(也就是罗马天主教，因其表明对教皇的拥护)的危险性。
- Opposition to the Anglican Church 反对英国国教
As the established church in England, the Anglican Church enjoyed special privileges. Its ministers received financial support from the government through tax revenues. It could - and had, in the not-too-distant past - cause the government to ban all other types of church gatherings. The Church of England had been thus "established" in several colonies, notably Virginia. Virginians' tax money paid the salaries of Anglican clergy while non-Anglicans had to support their own clergy through voluntary contributions.
英国国教享有特权。其牧师支领政府由税收拨出的财务供给；英国国教可以并曾经在前不久促使政府禁止所有其它教会宗派的集会。英国国教因此得以在几个殖民地，特别是维吉尼亚州，「建立」其教会为州政府支持的唯一宗派。维吉尼亚州用税捐付给英国国教神职人员薪俸，其它非英国国教的神职人员则必须依靠会众的志愿奉献。
Other Protestant groups criticized the Anglican Church on various grounds. Some disagreed with the practice of infant baptism. Others thought that the Anglican Book of Common Prayer restricted spontaneity in worship by prescribing certain set prayers. Most, however, strongly opposed the Episcopal system of government: That is, church rule by Bishops, who appointed Priests (Ministers) and Deacons. They saw government by all-powerful bishops as a threat to religious liberty, which it had indeed proven to be for long periods of British history. Furthermore, they connected the monarchial episcopate (that is, one bishop ruling over one diocese, or church district) with the monarchial system of government in England.
其它基督教团体在不同方面批评英国国教。有些不同意对婴儿施洗；有些认为英国国教使用「会众祈导书」来指定祈祷文，因此限制了在崇拜中发自内心的祷告;然而，大部分的团体强烈反对英国国教的管理制度，也就是教会由主教所掌管，牧师和执事由主教任命。他们把大权独揽的主教制度看作是宗教自由的一种威胁，在过去英国历史上这种威胁的确存在了很长的时间。此外，他们也把英国国教的君主制度(亦即一个主教统管一个教区)和英国政府的君主制度联想在一起。
As the King of England revoked the original charters for one colony after another, he simultaneously dis-established whatever denomination had enjoyed special rights in that colony and took steps to establish the Anglican Church as the official state religion. The heightening tension between the colonies and the King, therefore, included a fundamental clash over the right to worship according to one's conscience. Many settlers - not just those of New England - had made the perilous journey across the Atlantic for precisely this right and were not about to accept the revocation of that freedom without a fight.
当英国国王将各殖民地的特许状逐一取消时，他同时也废除了所有宗派在该殖民地曾享有的特别权利并设法建立英国国教成为法定的宗教。因此，殖民地与英王的紧张关系包含了一个根本性的抵触，就是个人根据其意识来崇拜的权利。许多殖民者，不仅是那些在新英格兰的人，冒险横越大西洋确实就是为了这权利，他们不会毫无抵抗地接受其自由被夺回。
- Patient Petition 耐性的请愿
The colonies had enjoyed virtual self-government and autonomy for almost one hundred years. After the French and Indian War, England needed money to refill its exhausted treasury, having spent vast sums to defend its colonies in America from the French. During the war, Englishmen had paid heavy taxes to support the military effort in the New World. The American colonists had helped only when offered compensation by the British government. Some had even hindered the war effort by smuggling vital goods to French-held islands in the West Indies while the British navy was attempting to subdue them through a blockade. Now it seemed only right to ask the colonists themselves to shoulder some of the burden.
美洲殖民地享受了将近一百年实质上的自主与自治。英国在「法国与印地安战争」(注:发生于一七五四到一七六三年间在北美洲英法殖民地的争夺战)之后需要金钱补充秏竭的国库，其经费有一大部分是用于保卫在美洲的殖民地免于落入法国人之手。在战争中，英国人民负荷着沉重的税捐以支持在新世界的军事行动，美洲殖民者只有在英国政府提供偿还的条件下施出援手，有些人甚至阻挠英军行动，当英国海军企图封锁法属西印度群岛迫使法国投降时，偷运重要物资进去。要求殖民地的人自己负担一些财税的重担似乎再正确不过了。
The colonists thought differently, for several reasons:
If the money was to pay for English troops to defend America from continuing attacks by French-inspired Indians on the frontier, why were all the troops stationed in coastal cities. The colonists could now take care of themselves; they didn't need British help. They had always raised taxes through the actions of their own freely-elected assemblies; why should they now have to pay taxes to a government in England in which they had no representation. Were not these new taxes also a means to re-establish the control of the Crown and Parliament over colonies which had enjoyed self-government for a century.
殖民地的人却有不同的想法，原因是:如果钱是付给英国军队在前线抵挡法国唆使的印地安人之连续攻击的话，为何所有的英军都驻扎在沿海的城市？殖民地的人已经可以照料自己的事务，不须要英国的帮助。他们一向都是透过他们自由选举产生的组织来征税，为何现在要付税给一个没有任何他们的代表在其中的英国政府？这些新的税不也是英国王室和国会的一种手段，重建对以经享有自主权一个世纪的殖民地的控制权？
The answer to the last questions was a definite Yes. Successive English governments did seek to reign in the nearly-autonomous colonies and make them just another part of England, revoking the privileges earlier monarchs had given in charters founding the colonies. This the colonial leaders saw clearly. They discerned the aim of the King and his Tory Parliament and they knew that profound constitutional issues were at stake.
对最后一个问题的答案是─完全正确。历届的英国政府的确企图要统治这些近几乎自治的殖民地并把它们变成不过是英国的一部分，收回前面的君王在建立殖民地的特许状中所付予的特权。殖民地的领袖们明白这一点，他们看出英王和他的保守党国会的目的，也知道宪法根本的议题正滨于险境。
As they voiced their opposition to one tax bill after another, they employed legal reasoning, appealing to the (unwritten) English Constitution. They acknowledged the sovereignty of the King, but not of the Parliament, which had played no part in their founding. They would obey the King in matters relating to defense and foreign trade, but would not allow Parliament to usurp powers granted over the years to their local elected assemblies. The pleaded with the King to change his policies. They did not advocate rebellion, revolution, or independence, despite the King's repeated accusations that they were.
当他们对一个接一个的税法表达反对的声音时，他们引用英国宪法(不成文法)作为他们论证的法源。他们承认英王对殖民地的统治权，却不承认国会的统治权，由于国会在建立殖民地的事上未曾扮演任何角色。他们在国防和对外贸易的相关事务上会服从英王，但不允许国会夺取已经付予他们的地方议会多年的权力。他们请求英王改变其政策，他们没有提倡叛乱、革命、或是独立，虽然英王一再指控他们鼓吹这些事。
For a period of ten years, the colonists tried every argument that they thought would persuade their English rulers, to no avail. This remarkably patient, persistent petition of their King reflected, I believe, a generally loyal and submissive spirit, one not bent on violent revolution until they thought it had been become necessary.
在十年的期间当中，殖民地的人用尽了所有他们认为可以说服英王的办法，均告无效。他们对其国王请愿的那种惊人的耐心和毅力，我相信反映出一种忠诚而顺服的精神，不诉诸暴力革命，直到他们认为真的有革命的必要。
- Non-Violent Opposition 非暴力反抗
Throughout those ten years, the Patriots (as they called themselves) acted mostly without violence. When the King ordered them to pay certain taxes on imports, they organized a continent-wide Non-Importation Agreement. They simply refused to buy English goods. They made their own clothes and necessary farm implements instead. This growing self-reliance would serve them well during the War for Independence, but it directly challenged the mercantile system of Europe, including England, about which we shall speak shortly.
在这十年当中，「爱国者」(他们这样称呼自己)的行动大部分是非暴力的。当英王下令要他们对进口商品缴某些税时，他们组织了一个全大陆性的非进口协议。他们拒绝买英国的货物，转而自己制造衣服和农具。逐渐茁壮的自给自足后来在独立战争中使他们获益匪浅，却直接对欧洲(包含英国)的贸易系统形成挑战，我们马上就会谈到这一点。
Most of the early opposition to England's growing oppression took non-violent form. Conservatives in American wanted nothing of mob rule and Christians shrank from armed rebellion against authority. Even at Lexington, the British fired the first shots of the war; the Patriots waited until they were fired upon to shoot back.
早期对英国渐增的压迫之反抗大部分是非暴力的，美国的保守人士不想要任何的暴民统治，基督徒不参与对英国当局的武装反抗。就连在麻州的雷克新顿(Lexington, MA)战役，也是由英国军队先开火，美国「爱国者」直等到他们受到攻击之后才回击。
- Loyalty to the Crown 对王室的忠诚
Christianity also influenced the Loyalists. About one-fourth of the entire population, these Loyalists came largely from the upper classes. They included all the clergy of the Church of England. Besides feeling that their closest ties were with England and fearing mob violence, these men believed that the Bible commanded obedience to the King.
基督教也影响了保皇党员，他们大约占总殖民地人口的十分之一，绝大多数来自上流社会，也包括了所有在美国的英国国教神职人员。除了觉得与英国的关系是最亲密的并害怕群众暴乱之外，他们也相信圣经命令所有人要服从国王。
They referred to passages like these:
他们引用的经节像是：
- Romans 13:1: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities."
罗马书十三章一节：「在上有权柄的，人人当顺服他。」(注：请参照提多书三章一至二节)
- 1 Peter 2:13-14: "Therefore submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good."
- 彼得前书二章十三、十四节：「你们为主的缘故、要顺服人的一切制度、或是在上的君王、或是君王所派罚恶赏善的臣宰。」
They further reasoned that Paul and Peter, who penned those words, referred to one of the worst of the Roman emperors, Nero, when they commanded submission. The Apostles backed their words with their own example; none of them either encouraged or participated in revolution. Likewise, Jesus had allowed himself to be handed over to corrupt Jewish leaders and then crucified by a wicked Roman governor.
他们更进一步论证保罗和彼得写下这些章节时，吩咐的是要顺服罗马帝国最凶残的皇帝之一─尼禄王(Nero)。使徒们以身作则来支持所说的话，没有任何一个使徒鼓励或参与革命。同样地，耶稣基督把自己交给腐败的犹太领袖然后被一个缺德的罗马省长彼拉多钉死在十字架上。
John Wesley, when he saw the rising tide of patriotic fervor in America and the trend towards revolution, expressed his strong disapproval. So did the Anglican clergy.
当约翰.卫斯理看到美国渐增的爱国热潮及革命趋势，他表明了强烈的反对。英国国教的牧师也是如此。
During the War itself, more than fifty thousand Loyalists fought on the British side. The others refused to join violent or treasonous acts, often at the risk of their property and their lives. Rather than being admired for their integrity, they suffered ridicule, abuse, and even violence from the Patriots.
在独立战争期间，超过五万的保皇党人为英国而战，其它保皇党人则经常冒着失去他们的生命和财产的危险，拒绝参加暴力或叛国的行动。他们的正直没有受到「爱国者」的钦佩，反而招致其嘲笑、辱骂、甚至暴力。
- The appeal to law 诉诸英国宪法
The Patriots responded to the arguments of the Loyalists with two types of reasoning, constitutional and Biblical.
「爱国者」对保皇党的论证以宪法及圣经两方面的推理来响应。
According to their understanding of the unwritten British Constitution, taxation without representation violated the law. So did other measures which the Crown began to impose, such as the right of a trial by jury in the area where the alleged crime was committed. Throughout their long debate with the representatives of the King, the colonists appealed to their constitutional rights as Englishmen. They argued with great force that these rights were inalienable - that is, that they could not be stripped from Englishmen, even by order of the King or Parliament. When they finally issued the Declaration of Independence, they claimed that the King, not they, had violated the Constitution and therefore had no proper jurisdiction over them. They appealed to a higher law, the law of Nature, to justify their defiance of the laws of Parliament. How much the Declaration depends upon Christian legal tradition and how much it draws upon Enlightenment concepts, has been vigorously debated in recent years. Perhaps we can say that some features of Christian political theory meshed with similar themes from the Age of Reason to give birth to a document that refers both to Nature and to Nature's God, the one who created all men equal.
根据他们对英国不成文宪法的理解，对没有议会代表的地区课税是违反宪法的。英国王室开始强加的其它措施，如取消陪审团在犯罪所在地区之审判权(亦即某人在一地犯罪可以不在该地受审而到其它地区包括英国接受审判)，也一样违反宪法。在与英王的代表冗长的辩论中，殖民地的人自始至终都诉诸他们作为英国人的宪法权利。他们极力主张这些宪法权利是不可剥夺的─也就是说，他们的英国国民身份是不可被废除的，即使英王或英国国会下令也是如此。当他们最后发表独立宣言时，他们声称是英王而不是他们违反了宪法，因此对他们没有正当的司法权。他们诉诸一个更高的法，自然法，为他们违抗英国国会的法律作辩护。近年来对于独立宣言当中有多少是依据基督教的法律传统及有多少是源自于启蒙运动的观念产生了激烈的辩论，也许我们可以说基督教政治理论的一些特色与理性纪元(Age of Reason)中相似的主题互相结合，产生了一份与自然及自然神(所有生而平等的人之创造者)两者皆有关的文件。
Their Biblical reasoning relied upon the definition of "governing authorities." Which ones should they obey. All the colonies had assemblies elected by the citizens. These assemblies acted on behalf of the people, with broad (although not unanimous) support. At no time did the mob take over. There was no anarchy, no rebellion against the local authorities or even the state governments. Elected representatives finally chose to declare independence from the King of England.
圣经方面的推理仰赖于对「在上有权柄者」的定义。他们该顺服哪些「有权柄者」？所有的殖民地都有经由人民选举产生的议会，这些议会代表人民并受到广泛的支持(虽然并非全体一致性的)。它们从未被暴民把持过，未曾有过无政府状态，也未曾反抗地方政府甚或是州政府。被选举出的议会代表最后选择对英王宣告独立。
They remained obedient to civil authorities and did not throw out their elected governments, to which also they continued to pay the taxes as they had for a hundred years.
他们依旧服从公民政府，不把藉由选举产生的政府废除，也继续如过去一百年一样缴税给该政府。
Furthermore, they considered it their Christian duty to resist tyranny. In other words, they believed that they possessed not only the right, but the obligation to stand firm against the encroachments of King and Parliament when these infringed upon their ancient rights as Englishmen. To submit would be to betray both their ancestors and their posterity.
此外，他们认为抵抗暴政是基督徒的责任。换言之，他们相信他们不但有权利，也有义务坚决反对英国国王和国会侵犯他们久远的英国公民权。屈服就是背叛他们的祖先与子孙。
Many came to America to enjoy freedom of religion. In addition to Pilgrims and Puritans in Massachusetts, Catholics in Maryland, Quakers in Pennsylvania, and Baptists in Rhode Island founded colonies for the express purpose of enjoying religious freedom. If they gave in to George III, they might have to live under the authority of Anglican bishops or even - in western portions of America - the Pope. These religious rulers would compel them to offer worship that - in their opinion - blasphemed God.
许多人到美国为的是享有宗教自由。除了在麻色诸塞州的新教徒和清教徒之外，马里兰州的天主教徒，宾州的贵格会教徒，以及罗得岛州的浸信会教徒都是为了享受宗教自由的明确目地而建立殖民地。如果他们对英王乔治三世投降，他们可能必须要生活在英国国教的主教或甚至是罗马天主教教皇(指在美国西部各州)的控制之下。这些宗教统治者会强迫他们作他们认为是亵渎神的崇拜。
Others had settled the new continent in order to possess land and enjoy the results of their labor. But the English mercantile system threatened to strangle their economy and deprive them of the right to earn money. How could they allow themselves and their children to comply with systematic stealing.
其它人定居在新大陆为的是拥有土地并享用他们劳动的成果，但是英国的贸易系统有扼杀他们的经济以及剥夺他们赚钱的权利之危险，他们怎么能容许自己和子孙们遵从这种系统性的盗窃？
God's Word gives husbands and fathers the responsibility to protect and care for their families. The British intended to quarter troops in homes. The colonists knew from long experience that British soldiers could be brutish, cruel, and vile. They feared for the purity of their wives and daughters. How could they expose these women to temptation and possible violation by acquiescing in the "Intolerable Acts" enacted by Parliament. They remembered the heroic defense by Protestant Holland against the ravaging, raping armies of Catholic Spain a century before and decided to imitate the courage of the Dutch in the face of British aggression.
神的话指示丈夫和父亲有保护及照顾家庭的职责。英国政府计划由家庭供养士兵，殖民地的人从长久的经验中知道英国士兵有些会是粗野的、残酷的、卑鄙的。他们为妻子及女儿的贞洁担心害怕，他们怎么可以默许英国国会所制定的「无可忍受的法案」，使得这些妇女处于诱惑与可能被强暴的环境中？他们记起一个世纪之前荷兰的清教徒奋勇抵抗西班牙天主教军队的蹂躏与强暴，遂决定效法荷兰人的勇气对抗英国的侵略。
The Bible says, "Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free." The Puritans had always seen themselves as spiritual descendants of the Old Testament nation of Israel. God had ordered the Israelites to wage war on wicked, pagan nations, so they could possess the land he had promised them. Was not now the time for American Christians to take up the sword against wicked, pagan, England, so that they could possess the land God had give them.
圣经说：「基督释放了我们、叫我们得以自由、所以要站立得稳…」(加拉太书五章一节)清教徒一直把自己看为旧约以色列国的属灵后裔。神命令以色列人对败坏的人和外邦异教国家发动战争以取得神应许给他们的地，难道现在不正是美国基督徒拔剑对抗败坏的异教英国以拥有神所给与他们的地的时候？
With these and other arguments, the colonists persuaded themselves that nothing less then obedience to God commanded them to resist King George and his Tory-dominated Parliament.
根据这些和其它的一些论点，殖民地的人说服自己，抵抗英国乔治国王及保守党控制的国会完全是顺服神的命令。
- The conduct of the War 战争的进行
The War for Independence last eight long years. You can read about it in many stirring history books. My theme, however, allows me to mention only the ways in which Christianity affected the conduct of the war.
独立战争持续了八年，读者可以在许多扣人心弦的历史书籍中找到这段历史。然而，本书的主题只注重在基督教如何影响战争的进行。
George Washington possessed a strong Christian faith. He prayed and read his Bible daily. He provided chaplains for his army, and ordered the men to attend worship on Sunday. He forbade all swearing and cursing among the men - most unusual in any army. He regularly called on Providence (by which he meant God) to provide for and protect his men and their cause, and he gave glory to God for success.
乔治.华盛顿(George Washington)具有坚固的基督教信仰。他每天祷告读圣经，在其军队中安置了牧师，并要求属下在礼拜天参加崇拜。他禁止属下说亵渎神的话或诅咒，这在任何一个军队中都是最不寻常的。他定期地请求神的旨意来供养及保护他的属下和他们的争端，也把成功的荣耀归给神。
Although the British harshly treated their prisoners and allowed thousands to die of starvation, the Americans respected the rights of prisoners of war to human treatment. Only spies and traitors were hanged.
虽然英国人残酷对待美国战俘并使数千战俘饿死，美国人尊重英国战俘的权利并以人道对待，只有间谍和叛国者才被吊死。
One small incident highlights the difference between a "Christian" war and others with which we are all too familiar: When the British surrendered at Yorktown, Washington invited General Cornwallis to his headquarters for dinner. Seeing this example, Washington's staff and other officers imitated him: For several days, the Americans invited their British counterparts for the evening meal.
一个小事件可以彰显出「基督徒」的战争与其它我们再熟悉不过的战争之间的差异：当英军在约克镇(Yorktown, Virginia)投降时，华盛顿邀请英军的首领康华理斯(Cornwallis)将军到其指挥总部共进晚餐。当华盛顿的部属和其它的军官看到这个榜样后，他们群起仿效，在接下来几天当中邀请英军中与他们位阶相等的人共进晚餐。
On the other hand, the British, knowing that Reformed clergy had taken the lead in promoting independence (see below), targeted their churches for desecration: They would find the local Presbyterian (or Congregational) church and turn into a stable for their horses, thus "desecrating" it. Both they and their American opponents saw the religious component of the American cause and conceived of the war as, in part, a religious war.
另一方面，当英国人知道改革宗的牧师领导提倡独立(见下)之后，就以他们的教会为玷辱的目标；英国人寻找地方上的长老会(或公理会)的教堂，把这些教堂变为他们的马厩，藉此「玷辱」其教会。他们和美国的反对者皆看到美国独立原因中的宗教成份，并把独立战争想象为一部分是宗教战争。
A Biblical Critique of the Independence Movement 以圣经观点对独立运动的批判
As a descendant of several men who fought in the War for Independence, I hesitate to criticize my forebears. They lived in perilous times. The saw tyranny approaching like a tidal wave and chose to stand fast for liberty and justice. I admire their keen understanding of the constitutional issues; their long forebearance in the face of approaching despotism, their trust in God; their courage in defending themselves against the mightiest military and naval power in the world. I would have been hard-pressed to know what to do in their circumstances.
作为一个参与独立战争的一些人之后代，我对批评祖先感到犹豫。他们处在一个危险的时代，目睹暴政如海啸般逼进，选择了为自由与正义挺身而出。我钦佩他们对宪法议题的深刻了解；他们面对步步逼进的暴政的长期忍耐；他们对神的信靠；他们为保护自己而抵抗世界上最强的军事及海上强权的勇气。换成我处在他们的状况下，我将陷于不知该做什么的困境中。
Nevertheless, as a Christian I must use the Bible to evaluate their response to King George and his power-hungry ministers. Since I have already shown how Christian ideas played a part in their actions, I shall now concentrate on a negative critique of the Revolution, based on my understanding of the Bible.
虽然如此，身为一个基督徒我必须用圣经来评断他们对乔治王(King George)以及他手下那些充满权力欲的部长的作为之响应。既然我已经说明了基督教的思想如何在他们的行动中扮演一个角色，现在我就根据我对圣经的了解，将重点放在批判独立战争的负面性。
- Misunderstanding of Biblical liberty 误解圣经当中所指的自由
Many Patriots mistakenly identified political liberty with spiritual freedom. Citing Biblical passages dealing with deliverance from sin, they applied them to freedom from domination by the British crown. This was a major theological mistake and a serious misunderstanding of Christian liberty. For example, when Paul said, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ as made us free," he referred to freedom from the obligation to keep the Old Testament Law as a means of justifying ourselves before God. We find righteousness not by obedience to the law of God but by trusting in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. The Patriots totally misconstrued this passage and ignored its context.
许多「爱国者」错误地将政治的自由认定为心灵的自由。他们引用圣经里关于罪得拯救的经文，应用在他们从英国王室的控制中的到自由。这是一个极大的神学错误以及对基督教自由思想的严重误解。譬如说，当保罗提到：「基督释放了我们、叫我们得以自由、所以要站立得稳」，他指的自由是我们不再有责任藉由遵守旧约律法在神面前称义(加拉太书五章一节)。我们称为义并不是藉由遵循神的律法，而是藉由相信耶稣基督为我们的罪而死。「爱国者」完全曲解这段经文并忽略其上下文。
- Confusing Old Testament Israel with the New Testament Church 将旧约中的以色列与新约中的教会混淆
The Puritans considered themselves spiritual descendants of Israel. In a sense, all Christians believe that, for the New Testament teaches that those who trust in Christ are "children" of Abraham, who believed God. But the Puritans went further: They believed they had entered into the same kind of covenant with God that the nation of Israel did after receiving the law of God at Mt. Sinai and then on later occasions. Their political state, in other words, could claim the same special treatment that the nation Israel enjoyed, as long as they kept the obligations of the covenant.
清教徒自认为是以色列的属灵后代。就某种意义来说，所有的基督徒相信如此，因为新约中说相信基督的人都是相信神的亚伯拉罕的「儿女」(罗马书四章十二节)。但是清教徒更进一步；他们相信他们与神所订的圣约，与以色列人在西奈山以及后来的一些场合接受神的律法之后所订的圣约是相同的。换言之，只要他们履行圣约的义务，其政治状态就可以向神要求以色列过去享有的特别待遇。
This Puritan idea blossomed into a full-fledged conviction that America was, in a sense, God's chosen nation, just as Old Testament Israel was. Therefore, Americans could go to war to defend their "promised land," assured of God's protection (.). We shall encounter this notion throughout American history and note its baneful effects.
这一个清教徒的思想的开花结果，使他们深信美国在某种意义上如旧约中的以色列，是神所拣选的国家。因此，美国人可以用战争来护卫他们「被应许之地」，有神的保护作保证。我们将在整个美国历史中遭遇这个观念并指出它的不良影响。
- Failure to understand the true nature of the Kingdom of God 未能了解神的国度的真正本质
In the opinion of this writer, the Patriots did not appreciate the radical nature of Christianity. Like the Jews of Jesus' day, they looked for God to grant them political liberation. They forgot the parables Jesus told about the gradual, almost secret, growth of the kingdom of God in this age; they seemed to ignore Jesus' patient endurance of injustice at the hands of both Jewish and Roman political leaders; they appeared to ignore the example of the Apostles, who were willing to suffer for the Gospel and only disobeyed the authorities when they were told not to preach about Jesus' resurrection; and they failed to deal with the explicit teaching of both Jesus and the Apostles concerning non-violence and submission to authority.
我个人认为，「爱国者」未能完全了解基督教的根本性质。就像耶稣基督时代的犹太人，「爱国者」期待神应允他们政治上的解放。他们忘记耶稣基督所说的比喻，就是关于这个时代神的国度之延伸是逐渐而几乎秘密的；他们好象忽略了耶稣基督被交在犹太人和罗马人的政治领袖手中时，对加诸于祂的不公平所表现的忍耐；他们似乎忽略了使徒们情愿为福音受苦而只有在被要求不可传讲耶稣之复活时才不服从执政者的榜样；他们未能遵守耶稣基督和使徒们关于反对暴力及顺服权威的清楚教导。
They believed that they could not worship their God without political freedom. Although I greatly appreciate the freedom to gather with Christians without fear of reprisal, we must insist that Christians do not need to be free in order to serve God. Untold millions of believers have served him faithfully under despotic governments.
他们相信没有政治的自由就无法敬拜他们的神。虽然我非常感激能自由地与基督徒聚在一起而不必惧怕遭受报复，我们必须坚决主张基督徒并不一定要有自由才能事奉神。数不清的信徒是在暴虐专横的政府之下忠心地服事主。
- Misunderstanding of Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 误解罗马书十三章和彼得前书二章
As one writer said, "The colonies were settled largely by emigrants who were discontented or rebellious in spirit - by people who had failed to adjust themselves to their harsh lot (.) in the Old World. ... Some of them were tired of taking off their hats and standing bareheaded in the presence of their 'betters.'" Thus, they tended to interpret the Bible differently from those who had remained in Europe.
就如一个作家说过：「定居在殖民地的人大部分是心灵上不满或是抵抗的移民，他们无法适应在欧洲的一些无理要求…他们有些人厌倦了在所谓「比他们有社会地位」的人面前要脱帽起立的规矩。」(注：参见Thomas A. Bailey所着「The American Pageant」，Boston:Little，Brown & Company，1956，84页)因此，他们会倾向于对圣经的诠释不同于那些留在欧洲的人。
Paul commanded, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities..." and said, "Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men."
保罗吩咐：「在上有权柄的，人人当顺服他…」(罗马书十三章一节)他也说：「你要提醒众人，叫他们顺服作官的，掌权的，遵他的命，预备行各样的善事。」(提多书三章一节)
Peter, like Paul writing in the time of wicked Nero, said, "Submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good." The Patriots, following earlier Reformed theologians, argued that they need obey only when a ruler carries out God's will by seeking justice. Evil rulers did not deserve obedience, they concluded.
彼得同保罗一样在乖戾的尼禄王(Nero)时代写道：「你们为主的缘故，要顺服人的一切制度，或是在上的君王，或是君王所派罚恶赏善的臣宰。」(彼得前书二章十三、十四节)「爱国者」遵循早期改革宗的神学家，主张只有当统治者以寻求公正来执行神的旨意之时，他们才需要顺服。他们的结论是，邪恶的统治者不配教他们顺服。
The flaw in this reasoning shows up in their teaching about the duty of children to submit to parents, wives to husbands, and slaves to masters. They never excused disobedience on the grounds that the one in authority acted unjustly. In fact, the Apostles commanded obedience to authority because they knew that we all tend to chafe under it. We find fault with those over us and use their faults to justify our insubordination.
这项立论的缺陷显现在他们教导孩子顺服父母，妻子顺服丈夫，以及仆人顺服主人的责任上。他们从未因为有权柄者的行为不公正而原谅孩子、妻子、或仆人的不顺从(也就是说，他们有双重标准)。事实上，使徒们命令我们要顺服有权柄者，乃是因为他们知道我们都容易对权威感到反感。我们找出那些上位者的过失，然后用他们的过失来为我们的不愿从作辨护。
Jesus could have raised a revolt against Rome by justly reminding the people that the Jewish High Priests were usurpers and that the Romans were cruel conquerors who had defiled the Promised Land; the Apostles could have fomented rebellion against both Jews and Romans on the grounds that they were persecuting Christians and misusing their authority by punishing good people.
耶稣当初并没有指出犹太人的大祭司是僭位者，及罗马人是玷污神所应许之地残酷侵略者，藉以举发革命推翻罗马帝国；使徒们也没有用犹太人和罗马人迫害基督徒及误用他们的权力虐待好人的理由煽动叛乱。
- Failure to pay taxes. 不付税
For a hundred years, England had levied taxies on the colonies. These were imposed upon imports and collected at customs houses in port cities. They were designed to regulate trade, as a part of the mercantile system by which the mother country controlled the economy of its colonies. The idea behind mercantilism was simple: The mother country controlled the economies of the entire empire. Colonies existed to enrich the mother country; they could not develop competing industries; they had to trade exclusively with England. They must be forever dependent upon England.
一百年来，英国在殖民地征税。这些税是针对进口商品在港口城市的海关征收，用以管制交易，是母国控制殖民地经济的贸易系统之一部分。该贸易系统背后的想法很简单：母国控制整个帝国的经济─殖民地存在的目的是要使母国富裕；殖民地不得发展与母国竞争的工业；殖民地只能与英国进行贸易；殖民地必须永远依赖英国。
Mercantilism both helped and hurt the American colonists. The tobacco-growing plantation owners in the South enjoyed a monopoly in the British Empire, but the manufacturers in New England were prohibited from making certain products for export. The Navigation Acts regulated colonial trade, always favorable to England. When they found these laws too restrictive, Americans either ignored them or engaged in wholesale smuggling, a practice in which John Hancock excelled. This smuggling continued throughout the period leading up to the Revolution, greatly provoking the British. Such flagrant violation of English law also transgressed Biblical law, but the Americans justified their disobedience by pointing to the inequities of the mercantile system.
商业主义既帮助又伤害美洲殖民地。在南方种植烟草的地主在大英帝国之下成了大富翁，但是在新英格兰的人被禁止制造某些产品外销。航海法限制殖民地的贸易，总是图利于英国。当美国人发觉这些法令太严苛，他们不是忽视法令就是参与大量走私，走私正是约翰汉库克(John Hancock)所擅长的。这种走私一直持续进行到美国革命，极度地激怒英国人。如此恶名昭彰的违反英国法律的行为也触犯了圣经的律法，但美国人以贸易系统的不公平来为他们的抗命作辩护。
In 1763, the English tried a tax on all official documents (the Stamp Tax). Americans responded vehemently. Unlike the import duties, this was a direct tax. Since they had no elected representatives in Parliament, they cried, "Taxation without representation is tyranny." In this they acted hypocritically: Members of churches other than those established in each colony had been taxed for the maintenance of the established churches for many years. Furthermore, the colonists did not want representation in Parliament, for "their" representatives would simply be outvoted.
英国在一七六三年试图将税加于所有的官方文件上(印花税)，美国人强烈地反弹。印花税是直接税，不像进口关税。既然美国人在英国国会中没有选举产生的代表，他们抗议道：「没有国会代表却被课税是专制暴政。」在这一点上他们是口里不一，那些不是殖民地正式设立的教会之成员多年来都被征税以供养那些正式设立的教会。尤其甚者，殖民地的人自己不想要有国会代表，因为他们认为其代表只会被其它地区的代表以多数胜过。
As part of their opposition to the Stamp Tax, the colonists formed a Non-Importation Agreement. In effect, they agreed to boycott English-made goods. Since America lacked industries, that entailed sacrifice. For long periods of time, ladies and gentlemen wore homespun garments in testimony to their patriotism and their resistance to what they considered to be unjust taxes.
殖民地的人组织了一个「非进口」协议，作为他们反对印花税的一部分，执行的方式就是抵制英国制的货品。由于美国缺乏工业，这样做需要牺牲。很长的一段时间当中，淑女和绅士扪穿著朴素的衣服以显示他们的爱国心和抵抗他们认为不合理的税。
As a Christian, I applaud the Non-Importation Agreements as a method of resistance. The Bible does not command us to buy or sell anything against our will. This boycott worked; England repealed most of the taxes. If that method had been adhered to, further trouble could possibly have been avoided.
作为基督徒，我赞扬他们以「非进口」协议作为抵抗的一种方式。圣经并未命令我们购买或出售任何不合我们心意的物品。这项抵制奏了效：英国废除大部分的税目。如果这种抵抗方式一直被采用的话，其它的麻烦可能就可以避免了。
On the other hand, the colonists' motive for non-payment of taxes was not altogether praiseworthy. They may have seen the constitutional issue clearly, but they were also shirking their responsibilities as beneficiaries of British protection against the French and Indians. England could not pay off its massive war debt without more revenue; the English had borne the brunt of taxation all during the long Seven Years' War. For Americans to help pay that debt seemed reasonable, since they had had the help of the British army and navy. Why did they not suggest that their own legislatures raise a tax to help repay England's debt and defray costs of defending the frontier. That might have helped persuade King George not to levy a tax directly on them.
另一方面，殖民者不缴税的动机并非全都值得赞扬。他们也许清楚明白宪法议题，但身为英国对抗法国和印地安人的受益人，他们却也逃避该有的责任。英国必须增加税收以偿还巨额的战争债务；英国人在长达七年的战争的所有税征中首当其冲。既然美国人接受英国陆军和海军的援助，要他们帮忙偿还这个债务似乎是合理的。为何他们没有建议自己的议会增加税收以帮助偿还英国的债务并支付英国在保卫美国边界时的开销？这么做可能有助于说服乔治王不要直接对他们课税。
To make matters worse, the Stamp Tax encountered some violent opposition. "Sons of Liberty" organized mobs that wrecked houses of unpopular officials, stole their money, and punished violators of the Non-Importation Agreements. The colonists also harmed the officials appointed to collect the tax. They used two methods to intimidate the King's representatives: Putting the man astride a wooden rail and carrying him out of town - an extremely painful procedure - and covering a man with tar and then putting feathers over the tar - a punishment both painful and potentially harmful.
教情况更糟的是，印花税遭遇到一些暴力式的反对。「自由之子」组织暴民破坏不受欢迎的官员的房子，偷他们的钱，而且惩罚违反「非进口协议」的人。殖民地的人也伤害那些被任命收税的官员。他们用两种办法来恫吓英王的税务代表：第一种要这些人跨骑在木头栏杆上然后把他们抬出城去，这种作法使人极端地痛苦；第二种是用柏油(沥青)浇在这些人身上然而放羽毛在柏油上，这种作法既使人痛苦又很危险。
This type of violence flies directly in the face of the Bible, which says Christians are to "be peaceable, gentle..."
这种暴力方式是直接地公然反对圣经，因为圣经说基督徒是「不要争竞，总要和平…」(提多书三章二节)
The response of the King may have been excessive, but rulers do not ordinarily deal leniently with those who violently rebel.
英王的反应也许过于激烈，但是统治者通常并不会宽大地处理用暴力反抗的人。
When Parliament passed new acts to tax various commodities, including tea, American shippers resorted to smuggling. They might justify their actions as legitimate resistance to bad laws, but a Christian can hardly approve of smuggling.
当英国国会通过新的法案对各种货品包括茶课税时，美国的船商就诉诸于走私。他们也许用「对恶劣法律的正当反抗」来为自己的行为辩护，但基督徒几乎不可能赞成走私的行为。
- Spreading lies and stirring up hatred 散播谎言及引发仇恨
With rising frustration over the disobedience of the colonists, the King sent two regiments of soldiers to Boston 1768. Many of these soldiers were guilty of drunkenness and profane language. One day in 1780, a crowd of sixty colonists began shouting insults at a squad of ten Redcoats. Verbal abuse turned to violence as the one soldier was hit by a club and another knocked down. Fearing for their safety, the soldiers opened fire at the crowd, wounding or killing eleven citizens. They had been provoked to the extreme; a later trial found only two of them guilty of manslaughter (not willful murder) and they were branded on the hand(.).
殖民地的人之抗命使英王的失望不断上升，他在一七六八年派遣两个军团到波士顿。这两个军团的许多士兵都有醉酒和言语污秽的毛病。一七七零年的某一天，一群六十个殖民地的人先开口辱骂一班十个红衫军(英国士兵)。当一个士兵被木棍击打以及另一个士兵被击倒时，言语的辱骂转变成暴力相向。英军顾虑到自己的安全，对滋事群众开火，打伤或打死了十一个市民。英国士兵被激怒到了极点；事后的审判裁定只有其中两个士兵犯了过失杀人罪(非蓄意谋杀)而且在他们手上烙印(注：一种刑罚)。
"Sons of Liberty" needed something to arouse anger against England, so they called this incident the "Boston Massacre" and greatly exaggerated the facts. People in other colonies thought that whole-sale slaughter had taken place and began to fear for their own safety. Anger intensified throughout America. Another step toward war had been taken.
「自由之子」要找一件事来提高对英国的愤怒，所以他们称这个事件为「波士顿大屠杀」并且极度地夸大事实。在其它殖民地的人认为大规模的屠杀已经展开了，并开始担忧自己的安全。愤怒在美国各地越来越强烈，战争之路又往前迈进一步。
None of that was necessary. Citizens should not have taunted soldiers. They should have known that soldiers are trained to shoot and kill, not to endure abuse from unarmed civilians. The propaganda campaign that followed this incident resulted from a bitter and hateful spirit and demonstrated that some of the Patriots valued political liberty more than moral integrity.
这些都是没有必要发生的。波士顿市民不应该嘲弄英国士兵，他们应该知道士兵的训练是射击和杀人，不是忍受非武装平民的辱骂。这个事件之后的宣传活动形成一种痛苦和仇恨的情绪，也证明了一些「爱国者」着重的是政治的自由而非道德的诚实。
- Destruction of property 破坏财产
In 1773, the British East India Company had a surplus of tea. The Parliament allowed them to control the tea trade with American colonies and to "dump" the tea in America at a very low price, but added a small tax. The Americans reacted strongly. They feared the monopoly and they saw that even a small tax violated the principle of "no taxation without representation." When ships loaded with tea appeared in several ports, colonists refused to allow them to unload their cargo. At Annapolis, the ship and the cargo were burned. In Boston, the Governor would not allow the ships to return without discharging the tea on the shore. He intended to have the tea landed, stored, and then sold, thus foiling the Patriots. Patriots, led by the fiery Sam Adams, decided to destroy the tea before it left the ships. Disguised as Indians, a group of them boarded the ships and threw the tea overboard.
在一七七三年，英国东印度公司有一批多余的茶。英国国会准许他们控制茶叶交易并将茶「倾销」到美国，但只加了一点点的税。美国人反应非常强烈，他们害怕垄断企业并且将即使很小的税看作违反「没有国会代表就不缴税」的原则。当载茶的船只在几个港口出现的时候，殖民地的人拒绝让他们卸下货物。在安那波理斯(Annapolis，马里兰州的一个港口，现为该州首府)，商船和货物被焚毁。在波士顿，麻州州长不肯让商船载着茶叶原船返回英国，他计划将茶运上岸，储存然后出售，因此他阻挠「爱国者」的行动。「爱国者」在暴烈的山姆.亚当斯(Sam Adams)的领导下，决定在茶卸下船之前予以消毁。他们其中一些人伪装成印地安人，登船把茶叶倒入海中。
- Steps toward War 发动战争
This wanton destruction of property by a few fanatics worried many American leaders and it enraged the British. They responded by sending more troops to Boston, the hotbed of rebellion, closing the harbor and abolishing many of the civil rights long enjoyed by Massachusetts. At the same time, the Quebec Act was passed. Not only did it establish the Roman Catholic religion in Canada (as we have seen); it also allowed French Canadians to govern without assemblies and without the right to jury trials, according to their French customs.
少数狂热份子无理性的破坏财物使得许多美国领袖担忧，也触怒了英国人。英国的响应是派遣更多的军队到波士顿这个叛乱的温床，关闭波士顿港，并废除许多麻州居民长久以来享有的公民权。在此同时，魁北克法案通过了，它不但在加拿大建立了罗马天主教信仰(如我们前面提到过的)，也允许法裔加拿大人根据其法国传统，在没有地方议会及陪审团审判的制度下统治该地。
