丛日云
论文题目：基督教二元政治观与近代自由主义
作者简介：丛日云，男，1956年10月出生，1997年09月师从于天津师范大学徐大同教授，于2001年07月获博士学位。
摘 要
本文系统地阐述了基督教二元政治观的基本内涵和主要内容，包括对人及人的生活的二重性解析，对国家的神圣性与世俗性的体认，以及对精神权力与世俗权力、教权与王权、“上帝的物”与“恺撒的物”的区分及其相互关系的认识等。通过对基督教二元政治观与近代自由主义的逻辑联系的分析和历史联系的描述，以及通过将其与其它两种政教关系模式进行跨文化的比较分析，揭示了两者的内在联系并具体描述了由前者向后者演进的历史轨迹。
基督教的二元政治观不仅是一种政治哲学，还是基督徒大众的政治认知方式、政治信仰和政治态度。本文证明，基督教这种政治信仰和态度内化为人们的深层意识，透入西方的社会政治结构，形成政治文化的深层积淀。它构成自由主义产生的政治文化母体。
个人主义是自由主义的理论前提和精神基础，个人及其权利是近代自由主义政治哲学的基石。自由主义者之所以将个人作为出发点和终极价值，是因为基督教为其提供了理论的前提和文化上的深层积淀。
基督教政治哲学对个人主义的贡献在于，它将个人分解为灵魂与肉体、将人的生活分解为精神生活与世俗生活两部分。通过把前者从后者中剥离开来并与上帝建立起直接的联系，赋予人的精神生命以某种神圣的意义，使其具有超脱世俗社会关系的独立价值，从而将人的内在精神生命的价值和尊严提升到前所未有的高度。它的超越主义的价值取向使人们以一种全新的态度对待世俗秩序和国家，它在承认世俗奴役制度的同时，也赋予个人的内在精神生命以自由特征；在接受外在世俗等级秩序的前提下，也确认了人内在精神价值上的平等。它从有机的整体主义的世俗社会中，将人的精神生命剥离出来，赋予其独立性和个体性特征，从而确立了“另一世界的个人主义”，为自由主义的形成创造了思想前提。
近代的世俗化进程和新教改革，一方面摧毁了教会对个人的压抑，另一方面将基督教的个人主义精神渗入世俗领域，使基督教的“另一世界的个人主义”转变为近代世俗的个人主义。
基督教政治哲学将其关于人的二元性观念投射到国家，形成了对国家的新认识。受基督教影响，西方人的国家观出现了重大转变。基督教对国家的认识浸透着二元主义精神。它通过对世俗权力的神性的确认，为国家的存在提供了宗教的合法性，从而抵制了教会内滋长的无政府主义倾向；它又通过对世俗权力及统治者的俗性的确认，拒绝了国家僭越的企图，从而消解了国家主义毒素。它肯定了国家的有限价值，但拒绝对它的无限信赖。它以冷漠与疏远的情感对待国家，只赋予国家工具性价值和主要是消极性的职能。它坚持基督徒有服从世俗权力的义务，但当世俗权力与上帝的权威发生冲突时，应该服从上帝而不是人。
当自由主义从基督教政治文化中脱胎而出的时候，它继承了基督教对国家既肯定又消极的态度。基督教将国家视为人的堕落的产物，是对人的罪的惩罚和补救，自由主义将国家视为人性缺陷的产物，是不可避免的恶；基督教剥去国家的神性，将其贬谪到世俗领域，自由主义剥夺了国家的道德权威，将其道德价值定位于中性之物和低俗之物；基督教将国家视为帮助人灵魂得救和满足人现世需要的辅助性工具，自由主义将国家视为保障个人权利的工具。基督教对国家的定位经过现代的转换，被自由主义所继承。
基督教的二元政治观落实到关于精神权力与世俗权力或教权与王权的区分，以及关于上帝的物与恺撒的物之间的区分。按基督教政治理论，上述两种权力是不同性质的权力，具有不同的职能。前者负责人的精神生活，使人们得到天堂的幸福；后者负责人们的世俗生活，使人们得到世俗的幸福。精神权力由教会掌握，世俗权力归国家，两者不能合并。在两种权力孰高孰低和两权的界限问题上，中世纪神学家展开过激烈的争论，但争论双方都坚守二元主义的底线，争论的结果是两种权力的区分更为鲜明。
二元化权力体系使个人与国家的单向关系转变为“个人——教会——国家”的三角关系，它使个人与国家间有了一个仲裁者。它分割了个人的生活，使个人处于一仆二主的境地。在两种权力的竞争中，个人有了一定程度的判断和选择的自由。这有助于个人的成长。
基督教二元政治观的流行，在西方形成一种二元主义的思维定势，直接影响了近代自由主义的政治思维方式。基督教关于人的精神生活与世俗生活的区分，在自由主义这里转变为私域与公域的区分；精神权力与世俗权力、教会与国家的对立到自由主义这里演变为市民社会与国家的对立；上帝的物与恺撒的物的对立演变为个人权利与国家权力的对立。持续上千年的二元化政教关系模式在西方人深层心理上积淀为一种根深蒂固的意识，即国家的权力是有限的，不是绝对的和万能的。个人生活有一部分内容是国家无权干预的。个人权利与国家权力的区分和对立是自由主义的核心。通过宗教改革和17—18世纪的革命，教会的权威被摧毁，国家权力的扩张受到抵制，个人获得了信仰自由，并由此泛化为一般人权。作为近代自由主义理论基石的个人权利正是基督教二元化政治观的遗物。
Abstract
The dissertation presents a systemic
expounding of Christian dualistic conception of politics, its connotation and
contents, including the analysis of dualistic character of man and man's life,
the observation and understanding of divinity and secularity of state, the
separation between spiritual power and temporal power, ecclesiastical power and
imperial power, the things that is
Caesar's and the things that is God's, and so on .The internal connection
between Christian dualism and modern liberalism is revealed by the analysis of
their logic relation and description of their historical connection, and by the
transcultural comparison with the other two models of relationship between spiritual
power and temporal power.
The individuals and their rights are the
cornerstone of political philosophy in modern liberalism of which the theoretic
premise and spiritual basis is individualism. The reason why the liberals
regard the individual as starting-point and end is that Christianity provides
it with premise in theory and deep sediment in culture.
The contribution of Christian political
philosophy to individualism consists in that it divides individual into spirit
and flesh, and divides human life into spiritual and temporal aspects. By
peeling the former from the latter,
and establishing the relationship
between man's soul and God, it endows human's spiritual life with certain
divine character . So man possesses the independent value detached from the
secular relationship, which exalts the value and dignity of human's inner
spiritual life to such a high level that it has never had before. Its
transcending orientation of value brings human a new attitude toward temporal
order and state. It attaches the liberal feature to individual's spiritual
inner life as well as accepting the secular institution of slavery. It
acknowledges the equality of human in spiritual value on the premise of secular
hierarchical order. In the meantime it separates human's spiritual life from
integrative secular society and endows it with the character of independence
and individuality, thus setting up "individualism in the other world"
which constitutes prerequisite of modern liberalism.
Christian dualistic conception of
politics is not only a kind of political philosophy, but also a model of
political cognition, political belief and attitude of Christians. Such a belief
and attitude is internalized into subconsciousness of the Westerners and
penetrates the social-political structure of Western society .Therefore a deep
cumulation of political culture comes into being. The conception becomes matrix
of political culture for liberalism.
The secularization process and the
Reformation of modern time destroys the church's oppression on individuals .
Christian individualism penetrates secular sphere, and the transformation from "the individualism in the
other world" into modern civil individualism occurs.
Christian dualistic conception of man is
casted on the state and forms a new conception of state. Influenced by the
Christianity, Westerner's idea of
state makes a dramatic change. Christian understanding of state is saturated
with the spirit of dualism. By affirming the divinity of secular power and
legitimating the existence of state, Christianity resists the tendency of
anarchism within the church. By affirming the secularity of the temporal power
and the ruler, it restrains the state's attempt to overstepp its power, and
dissolves the toxin of nationalism. It affirms the limited value of state but
refuses the infinite trust and dependence on state. It treats state in apathy
and alienation, and endows state with negative value and instrumental function.
It insists on obligation of Christian to civil power. But when the conflict
between civil power and authority of God takes place, one ought to be subject
to God, rather than the secular ruler.
Liberalism inherits both a negative attitude and a
positive attitude to state while
it sprouts out of Christian political culture. Christianity regards state as
the result of the Fall of man, a
kind of punishment and remedy for human sin, and liberalism regards state as
the result of human's defect and inevitable evil. Christianity deprives the
state of its divinity and banishes it to the temporal field, and liberalism
deprives state of its authority of morality and defines its moral value as
neutral or vulgar thing. Christianity regards state as secondary instrument
which helps to salvation and meets man's worldly needs, and liberalism regards
state as instrument which guards individual rights. After its transformation in
the modern time, Christianity's idea of state is inherited by liberalism.
Christian dualistic conception of
politics rests on the division between
spiritual and temporal power , ecclesiastical and imperial power, and
the things of God and the things of Caesar. According to political theory of
Christianity, the two kinds of power mentioned above differ in quality and
function. The former is in charge of man's spiritual life and brings man
blessings from heaven, the latter is in charge of man 's temporal life and
offers man with temporal well-being. The spiritual power is held by church
while the temporal power by state. Such two kinds of powers should not be
merged. Theologians in Middle Ages had much controversy on which is superior
and where is the border of the two kinds of powers. However, both sides stuck
to their baseline. As a result,
the division of the two kinds of power became more evident.
Dualistic system of power turns the
one-way relationship between individual and state into triangle relationship
among "individual-state-church", which inserts an arbiter between
individual and state. It divides individual life, which makes individual get
into such a condition as "one servant, two lords". With the conflict
between two kinds of power, individuals have to some extent liberty to judge
and choose, which helps to the growth of individual.
The wide spread of Christian dual
conception of politics helps to form a dualistic pattern of thinking, which has
immediate influence on the style of political thinking of modern liberalism.
The division in Christianity between
spiritual and temporal life
transforms into the division in liberalism between public and private sphere; the confrontation between
spiritual power and temporal power, between church and state, turns into the
confrontation between civil society and state, the confrontation between things
of God and things of Caesar turns into confrontation between individual rights
and power of state. The dual model of relationship between ecclesiastical power
and imperial power which lasts over a thousand years influences the mind of the
Westerners and brings a kind of deep-rooted consciousness: the power of state
is limited, not absolute or all-powerful. There is a part of
private sphere the state can't interfere. The division and confrontation
between individual right and state's power is the very core of liberalism.
Through Reformation and bourgeois revolution, the power of church is destroyed
and the expansion of state's power is restrained, and individuals obtain
freedom of religion which extends to general right of individual. Modern individual
right is nothing but the heritage of Christian dualistic conception of
politics.
