安息日:被篡改的历史
4月 30, 2017
如今,大多数教会在星期日举行礼拜,并称之为“星期天礼拜”。安息日则鲜为人知。即便听过这名词,可能也不了解它的由来与意义。在基督教的漫长历史中,上帝的律法安息日经历了压迫和更改,最终被我们遗忘。
安息日被禁止
公元135年,罗马帝国对安息日下达了禁令。为什么罗马在当时要禁止一个属于殖民,以色列民族的礼拜日呢?
1) 安息日被暂时禁止
地中海一带的国家被罗马帝国政府后,隶属于不同种族的众多宗教都愿意接受罗马政府的管制,并为迎合新政权而做出了一系列调整。然而,唯独犹太人拒绝敬拜罗马皇帝或向罗马帝国缴纳供奉。这种顽抗频频触发罗马人的担忧,为后期的冲突埋下了祸根。
公元40年左右,罗马人把罗马皇帝的雕像搬进了埃及犹太人的圣殿,由此引发犹太人的抗议并爆发了骚乱。此次暴动的结果导致安息日遭到了暂时的禁止。
2) 持续的冲突
罗马政府的宗教压迫与犹太人的反抗冲突并没有因此结束。公元66年到73年间,犹太战争爆发。该战争在历史上称为“大起义”,是犹太人反抗罗马帝国的三大起义中的第一次起义1)。随后,在公元115年至117年,犹太人第二次揭竿而起(克托斯战争)2),并在公元132年至136年爆发了第三次起义(巴尔科赫巴起义)3)。
此后,罗马人将犹太人赶出耶路撒冷,并在耶路撒冷多处设立异教神庙。在此期间,耶路撒冷被更名为“爱利亚·卡皮托林纳(Aelia Capitolina)”,犹大国土也被改为“巴勒斯坦(Philistine)”,耶路撒冷圣殿则被变为崇拜丘比特神的神庙4)。
3) 安息日禁令
持续不断的反抗加深了罗马帝国与犹太人之间的仇恨。公元135年,为了瓦解犹太人之间的团结,罗马政府颁布了禁止遵守安息日的法令,以避免犹太民众聚集5) 。
事实上,罗马政府针对犹太人的宗教压迫反而对基督徒造成了更大的影响。尽管犹太教和基督教是不同的宗教,但是因为都遵守安息日并且信奉同一位独一的神,所以罗马人无法区分犹太教和基督教。另外,由于当时大多数基督徒出身犹太民族,基督教又被罗马误解为犹太教的一个分支。因此,下达禁止安息日的法令后,基督徒也受到了影响。为了应对禁令,犹太人以家庭为单位聚集敬拜。然而基督徒的礼拜必须由能够教导圣经的信徒带领,所以基督徒无法以家庭为单位敬拜。最终,虔诚的基督徒只能秘密集会,举行礼拜。
安息日进一步遭压迫
1) 谣言
根据罗马帝国制定的十二铜表法,入夜后的一切集会是被严厉禁止的6)。基督徒因在安息日聚会被视作肮脏的存在,并被冠以各种谣言。
After some of and Christians’ pagan slaves falsely accuse the Christians of “thyestean feasts and Oedipodean intercourse, and other things which it is not right for us either to speak of or to think of or even to believe that such things could ever happen among men”, the persecution begin to intensify.
Figure 1. Rumours pertaining to the early day Christians, recorded in the book “The Suffering Servant: Isaiah 53 in Jewish and Christian Sources”7), Eusebius, “The Ecclesiastical History”, p242
2) 驱逐
由此,基督徒遭到亲友的排斥和躲避,甚至到了无法继续日常工作的地步。
None can tell to you in speech or fully set forth to you in writing the weight of out misery, the madness and rage of the Gentiles against the saints, and all that hath been suffered by the blessed martyrs.
Figure 2. Sufferings of the saints recorded in A letter from Gaul, from the book “The Great Events by Famous Historians”8)
They were cast into the darkest and most unendurable place in their prison; their feet were dragged out and compressed to the utmost tension of the muscles; the jailers, as if instigated by a demon, tried every sort of torture, insomuch that several of suffocation in prison.
Figure 2. Sufferings of the saints recorded in A letter from Gaul, from the book “The Great Events by Famous Historians”8)
安息日作为通往天国的道路,成了基督徒在艰辛中唯一的慰藉。在初代教会的历史环境下,遵守安息日需要至死忍耐的决心。
渐渐地,基督徒开始在地下公共墓穴聚会,遵守礼拜。然而,由于需要时刻警惕罗马士兵的搜查和追捕,即使是在这样的藏身之所也无法放松神经。
信仰生活带来的疲惫随着时间的流逝逐渐加剧,为了生存而被迫在罗马神庙中祭拜的基督徒不在少数。一些拒绝向压迫低头的人逃到荒野和深山之中,过起了禁欲的生活。但是,多数人因为肉身生活的枷锁不得不在信仰和现实之间挣扎。
安息日被更改
1) 护教士:为迎合罗马皇帝而提出“星期日”
公元150年左右,罗马出现了一批积极为基督教辩护的人群,称为护教士(原为哲学家的基督徒,以基督教的立场进行辩护的著述家)。
其中一位显著的代表是希腊人查士丁(公元 110-165年)。他提出犹太人和基督徒的安息日意义不同,因此基督徒因安息日而受到逼迫是不公正的。
查士丁代表基督徒撰写了《辩道》并上书罗马皇帝。他在文字中数次提到了罗马皇帝喜爱的属于太阳的日子——“星期日”(太阳日)。这样做是出于什么理由呢?查士丁希望通过强调崇敬太阳的日子“星期日”来迎合罗马皇帝和市民的口味。为了让星期天礼拜与基督教挂钩,查士丁还列举了“上帝创造天地始于星期天”、“耶稣在星期天复活”这样的例子来说明星期天的合理性。然而,纵使星期日代表了很多意义,在这一天敬拜上帝并非出自圣经,而是来自异教传统。
Pagan Sunday worship, By their own admission, was also introduced from paganism, and this is confirmed by standard dictionary definitions.
The church took the pagan philosophy, and made it the buckler of faith against the heathen. She took the pagan Sunday, and made it the Christian Sunday. There is in truth something royal, something kingly about the sun, making in a fit emblem of Jesus, the son of justice. Hence the church in these countries would seem to have said, “keep the old pagan name. It shall remain consecrated, sanctified.’ And thus the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder, became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus.
Sunday – so called because this day was anciently dedicated to the sun, or to its worship. The first day of the week.
Figure 3. Record of the origin of the Sunday worship in the book “Truth Matters”9).
2) 诺斯替教徒:为合理化其主张而贬低安息日
在同一时代,一种名为诺斯替主义的教派非常盛行。
诺斯替主义 = 巴比伦的神秘宗教 + 波斯的密特拉教 + 希腊哲学 + 东洋世界观 + 基督教 = 混合宗教
诺斯替主义者把旧约与新约的上帝视为不同的神。他们把旧约上帝看作创造物质世界的邪神,而耶稣则是仁慈的救主。
他们主张得救不在于遵守旧约律法,而是靠信心。
The system was eclectic and its materials were drawn from many quarters such as the mythologies of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and India, and from the philosophies and theosophies of these lands.
Figure 4. Christianity went through a lot of influence from other cultures and philosophies during the history, “Religion in Social Conflict” 10)
诺斯替教徒的代表之一马吉安(公元 85-160)主张安息日是被废除的律法,并诅咒了安息日。
Presumably, Marcion wanted in this way to discredit the Sabbath, which was an image of the completion of creation. For him, creation was the work of the God of the OT who was evil.
Figure 5. Marcion had a very different belief on the Old Testament and the Sabbath, as seen in the book “Ecclesiasticus II: Orthodox Icons, Saints, Feasts and Prayer” 11).
马吉安极力主张新约中仁慈的救主耶稣是在星期日复活的,所以要庆祝并遵守星期日礼拜而非安息日礼拜。
3) 星期日礼拜被接受:结束苦难的出路
在各个地区的基督教会中,罗马教会最先接纳了星期日,并鼓励信徒们以此日代替安息日。
The transformation of the Sabbath from a day of feasting, joy, and religious celebrations to a day of fasting, mourning, and no religious assembly represents concrete measures taken by the Church of Rome to force Christians away form the veneration of the Sabbath. On the other hand, this practice enhanced Sunday, a day of rejoicing and feasting when the Sabbath fast was over.
Figure 6. Record of how Sabbath was forcefully changed to Sunday worship in the book “The Sabbath in Scripture and History”12).
遵守安息日带来饥饿和悲哀,星期日却像庆典一般,因此形成了强烈的反差。对于长期受尽折磨和压迫的基督徒来说,将敬拜上帝的日子改为星期日似乎成为了一个结束苦难的出路。他们渐渐认为,即使信奉上帝也没有必要过分强调安息日,给生活造成痛楚。
4) 基督徒与太阳神崇拜者之间的界限坍塌
至此,越来越多的基督徒和太阳神崇拜者一样,加入了遵守星期日礼拜的队伍,两个群体之间的界限也逐渐变得模糊。一些太阳神崇拜者虽然改信了基督教,却依然去太阳神的神殿参拜;与此同时,也有基督徒面向太阳祈祷。
…Tertullian says that many pagans imagined the Christions worshipped the sun because they met on Sundays and prayed towards the East.
Figure 7. Evidence of inclusion between Christianity and sun-god worship from the book “The Early Church”13).
失去安息日的基督徒忘记了他们的身份,不记得自己是信奉上帝还是敬拜太阳神。
许多改信基督教的信徒认为耶稣只是罗马的诸神之一,或是把耶稣当做太阳神。于是,耶稣和使徒们的画像上开始出现象征太阳的圆盘。
安息日的消失
公元313年,君士坦丁皇帝颁布了米兰敕令,开始实施优待基督教的政策,甚至宣布基督教为罗马国教。这背后的理由是什么呢?
公元312年的米里维桥战役中,君士坦丁与马克森提乌斯为争夺罗马皇位展开了殊死搏斗。君士坦丁在寡不敌众的劣势中大获全胜,这其中的秘密就是“基督教”。
根据传说,上帝在君士坦丁的梦中向他显现,吩咐他在手下的士兵盔甲上画上PX十字架的记号,并应许不会杀死带着这记号的士兵,只杀死没有记号的。当时,君士坦丁的阵营里有许多基督徒。因此,可以推断士兵们因为这个传说士气高涨,最终取得了胜利。
君士坦丁在登基后的次年颁布了米兰敕令,建起了教堂,并减免了神职人员的税金。然而,即便实施了这些优待基督教的政策,君士坦丁的信仰动机依然值得质疑。
It was only as a superstitious soldier that he has embraced Christianity. At that moment he was ready to welcome the assistance of any tutelar divinity in his struggles for universal emprire.
Figure 8. Evidence suggesting the intention of Constantine embracing Christianity, from the “Miller’s Church History”15).
君士坦丁在战役中见识了基督徒的力量,并看到了通过基督教统一罗马帝国的可能性。尽管君士坦丁意图利用基督教的优势统治罗马,但与此同时,他也不能弃异教徒于不顾。在这种必须让两种宗教兼收并蓄的政治需求中,君士坦丁在“星期日”政策中找到了需要的答案。
首先,君士坦丁将这一日宣布为崇敬太阳的日子,让太阳神崇拜者没有理由反对,而基督徒则因终于能聚集礼拜的喜悦无暇顾及其他。
从年轻时起,君士坦丁就是个野心家,为了争权夺利往往不择手段。例如,他曾逮捕并处决自己的儿子克里斯普斯,将自己的妻子法乌斯塔淹死在沸腾的浴池里,将姐姐的儿子鞭打致死,又勒死自己的姐夫。因此大多数历史学家认为君士坦丁公认基督教的动机并不单纯。
不仅如此,君士坦丁持续参与太阳神的祭祀,并终身履行了太阳神祭司的职责。君士坦丁的称号之一是“Pontifex Maximus”,即最高祭司长(或译大祭司长,大臣官)。
此后,教会步入世俗,并由罗马皇帝全权掌控。
有人认为对星期日与安息日的区别是吹毛求疵,没有意义。然而,这二者并不只是相隔一天的差别而已。星期天是人设立的日子并与救赎无关;而安息日,则饱含了上帝丰盛的祝福。
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