China Ministries International

(2012年 10月30日) 

江丕盛
Quest Institute主席 
 

近月來政教關係引起了大眾的關注,也引發網絡上對政教分離的熱烈討論。可惜的是,不少人對政教分離的認識似乎只望文生義,進而對任何政教關係都筆誅墨伐。究竟我們要如何在公共空間解釋政教分離呢?

有人以為政教分離即教會與政治的截然分割,對政治價值絕對中立,甚至不聞不問。對持這樣觀點的人來說,信仰只是純粹個人的生命操練和內在的屬靈修養,與外在的社會秩序和道德價值完全無關。然而,這種極端的詮釋不但與政教分離原則的歷史語境不符,實質上亦有悖基督信仰的社會意義。就實踐來說,這種政教分離最終導致世俗主義成為公共價值的唯一準則。

記得好幾年前我在中國人民大學主辦的一個講座演講時,不少學者對當時天主教香港教區主教很不以為然,認為主教高調批評香港政府是嚴重違反了政教分離的原則,是教會意圖左右或甚至控制政府,進而企圖建立有如中世紀的基督教政權(Christendom)。他們問我的看法如何?

由於語境和文化上的相當差異,我知道要在很短的時間內清楚解釋政教分離的概念是幾乎不可能的。於是我決定借助政治和學術的分離來解釋政教分離,因為學者都明白學術獨立和學術自由的重要性,都知道大學必須竭力維護學術研究不受政權所干預。這也意味著沒有一個學術論說可以假借政治力量而享有特殊的地位或權益,從而提高自己的認受性或甚至被賦予某種「孔恩典範」(Kuhnian paradigm)的崇高地位。簡單來說,學術界需要政學分離來維護諸子百家之間的平等關係,並確保學術研究的獨立,使到學術思想可以正確和自由地宣講,不會受任何的干預或威脅。

值得注意的是,政學分離並不意味著學者因此不再批評政府、或停止對政治意識形態的批判,或放棄對政治議題或社會現狀的關注。相反地,政學分離可以開拓出一個獨立的空間,讓學者忠實地扮演自己的角色,監察政府、批評政策,並積極參與公民社會的建設和公共空間的討論。由於學術平等和自由獲得充分的保障,學術研究與交流的空間不但不會因政學分離而萎縮,反而顯得更為廣敞。[1]

從政學分離來看政教分離,我的學者朋友們馬上恍然大悟了。

事實上,西歐在宗教改革後迅速由中世紀的一個基督宗教進入多元的宗教情況。對當時代人而言,天主教、路德宗、改革宗、聖公宗和重洗派等都是完全不同的宗教。宗教改革運動後的兩、三百年,西歐不斷面對多元宗教衝突的問題。[2]

政教分離的呼聲在君主憲制式微的18世紀出現正是對多元宗教現象的積極回應。它因而不僅是二維的政和教之間關係的反省,更是政權與諸宗教關係,以及諸宗教間彼此關係的多維平衡。這樣看來,政教分離一方面既維護所有的宗教免受政權的強勢干預,另一方面又避免任何一個宗教因政治庇護而享有特殊的地位或權益。政教分離因而確保多元宗教之間的平等關係,並維護每一個宗教的信仰自由,可以在不受任何干預或威脅下正確地宣揚自己的宗教教義。

宗教在政教分離下固然不應該享有政治權力,但教會的言論與活動空間並不因此萎縮,不再批評政府或停止批判公共價值。相反地,政教分離所衍生的獨立和自由空間讓教會可以更奮力為弱勢群體發聲,監察政府施政的成效,以及有更敏銳的觸覺與時代思潮繼續對話。


註:

2011年8月,國務院副總理李克強先生出席香港大學百週年校慶典禮,他的座位被安排在主席台正中間,引起公眾對港大學術獨立和自由的關注。由於李克強的政治地位特殊,不是一般貴賓,港大的安排顯然反映出大學當局對政治與學術的分離缺乏警覺性。
德國的天主教和路德宗早在1555年的奧斯堡和約(Peace of Augsburg)就已經定下「君主的宗教即是其所管轄土地子民的宗教 (cuius regio, eius religio)」的原則。在法國,改革宗因反對國王專權貪婪而遭迫害,被視為法律所不容的異教,最終引致內戰。一直到1598年的蘭特協議(Edict of Nantes),改革宗信徒才被容許在巴黎境外完全享有宗教信仰自由,但在巴黎境內他們只能在家庭或指定的地方聚會。儘管如此,17世紀上半葉西歐各地仍不斷發生各宗派、教派之間的嚴重宗教衝突。奧斯堡和約和蘭特協議的精神在1648年的西法利亞和約(Peace of Westphalia)中重新獲得肯定。有關政教關係的歷史發展,可參 Harold J. Berman and John Witte, Jr., “Church and State”, in Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by Mircea Eliade (16 volumes.  New York, New York: Macmillan, 1987), vol. 3, pp. 489-495。

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Saving Pastor Gong

Please Help Saving jailed Pastor Gong of Huanan Chruch

http://ministrysolar.wix.com/pastor-gong-huanan

~~~

Since Dec 2, 2012, my father Pastor Shengliang Gong had High Blood Pressure and Cerebral Infraction, but he never got the proper medical checkup and adequate treatments. Consequently, my father’s illness got worse and worse. More than once my father almost fell to the ground during last November.

Finally when he got the checkup on November 26th 2013, the doctor said my father’s illness was not very optimistic. He was having Cerebral Infraction, Encephalatrophy, Brain Lesions and Leukoaraiosis, etc. The doctor said that my father needs to have checkup every three months. So we repeatedly requested the prison officials to perform checkup accordingly, once every three months. The prison said that they had one done on April 17th, but refused to release the hospital’s medical treatments records and conclusions to neither my father nor the family members. They would not make any specific statements about my father’s illness. Now, my father and our family have no ideas about the level of his illness.

       Since my father illness, previously we could buy some appropriate medicines for him according to his known conditions pieced together from oral communications of diagnosis, after consulting with doctors. Though this won’t amount to totally healing, it was the only way our family could do for him under the circumstances. But now, as the prison withholding medical records from us, we are unable to know his condition and thus cannot providing suitable medicines for him-the very minimum request was denied of us.

       The inadequate medical treatments within the prison cannot give my father prompt and sufficient treatments. Yet the prison won’t send him to hospitals outside for necessary treatments and regular checkups, causing further serious damages to his health. The prison won’t allow him the fundamental human rights; they also deprive his right to know about his illness condition. The prison as law enforcement agency behaves illegally. Effectively, they are directly pushing my gravely ill father to dead end street of death.

       I appeal to the international communities concerning my father’s health and human rights conditions. Please join us to rally for my father and our family’s rights to medical records and the right to know the situation of my father’s sickness; also his right to have regular medical treatments, thereby saving his life and protect his fundamental rights!!

 

Pastor Shengliang Gong’s daughter: Huali Gong

June 30th 2014

Cell Phone: 13241248388

Han Kou prison department phone number: 027-83556018

Instructor Hanwen Wang: 15327298562

 

 

三化異象
中國福音化
  五十年來,中國大陸的信徒從不到100萬(1949)遽增到八千萬(2000),這是中國五千年來難得的宣教黃金時期;在中國教會裡,也普遍呈現「羊在找牧人」的現象,上帝為中國敞開了大門!現在就是「中國福音化」的關鍵時刻!
教會國度化
  教會是基督榮耀的身體,是一切事工的根柢。今日世界各地的基督教宗派都去中國宣教,如何促使海外教會超越宗派主義,中國教會突破山頭主義,共同營造具有「國度觀」的宣教事工,將是中國教會拓展生根的關鍵時刻!
文化基督化
  1989年「六四」之後,大批的中國知識分子信主,他們承認了理性的局限性,也不再提「反宗教、反帝國主義」,轉而思考基督教對中國現代化有何貢獻?如今正是因勢利導,以基督思想來影響中國文化,以聖經真理來更新中國文化的關鍵時刻!

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