世界小史 第168期:猶太人

Good news – or glad tidings – is a translation of the Greek eu-angelion, from which we get the word evangelical.

好消息或愉快的消息——是希臘語eu-angelion的翻譯，從而我們得到了單詞evangelical。

And this good and happy news of the mercy of God the Father – the unique and invisible God in whom the Jews had believed long before Christ had lived and preached among them – soon spread throughout the Roman empire.

這條關(guān)于天父之恩惠的好的、愉快的消息，一如猶太人——基督曾在這些猶太人中間生活和傳教——當(dāng)初曾教導(dǎo)過的那樣，這天父是惟一的和看不見的，這條愉快的消息不久便在整個(gè)羅馬帝國傳播開來。

Roman officials began to pay attention.

這時(shí)羅馬官員們警覺起來了。

As you know they hadn't previously involved themselves in matters of religion.

你知道，他們往常是不干預(yù)宗教事務(wù)的。

But this was something new.

但是這里有某種新東西，

The Christians, who believed in just one God, were refusing to scatter incense before images of the emperor, which had been the custom since Rome had had an emperor.

信仰惟一的神的基督教徒們不愿意敬奉皇帝像。但是自從羅馬有了皇帝，這已經(jīng)是流行的做法了。

Like the rulers of the Egyptians, the Chinese, the Babylonians and the Persians, Roman emperors allowed themselves to be worshipped as gods.

他們讓人家像敬奉神靈一樣敬奉自己，一如埃及的、中國的、巴比倫的和波斯的統(tǒng)治者們所做的那樣。

Their statues were everywhere, and every good citizen was expected to place a few perfumed grains in front of these images as an offering.

在全國都有他們的塑像，誰是一個(gè)好公民，誰就必然會(huì)不時(shí)在這些皇帝像前焚上幾柱香。

But the Christians were refusing to do so. And people wanted to make them.

但是基督徒不這樣做，所以人們就想強(qiáng)迫他們這樣做。