文藝復興到啟蒙運動理性神觀念的發展脈絡

Abstract

理性神觀念是認為上帝是「理性的」信仰觀點。在基督教興起以前，西方探討上帝性質的過程中不乏以理性認知神的觀點。基督教興起以後，超越性的上帝信仰觀確立，上帝超越人的理性與經驗而存在，祂是超越的且神秘的，理性的上帝觀點不被強調。中古時代以後，在文藝復興人文主義精神的發揚下，人本理性的精神衝擊了超越性的上帝信仰，人文主義者遂有調整基督教信仰觀念的作為。人文主義強調人性為善良高貴、自由意志為真實，其藝術創作表達自然而然的世界觀，這些觀點裡具有理性神觀念的傾向。宗教改革在信仰教義上重振奧古斯丁主義，路德與喀爾文的學說強調上帝的絕對性、主宰性、超越性、與神秘性，反對信仰的世俗化與理性化趨勢。然而宗教改革引發的宗教戰爭及其後宗教寬容政策的推展，對信仰的超越性有所傷害，宗教改革後期更有學者意欲以「理性神信仰」取代基督教信仰的例子。十七世紀隨著科學知識的興起及其價值的提升，人們發現聖經所示的自然知識為不合理，進而必須調整理性與信仰或科學與宗教二者的關係，於此「理性上帝的觀點」扮演了重要的角色。以基督教信仰內部的發展脈絡來看，十七世紀信仰超越性素質逐漸降低，理性素質提升，這具體表現在人們看待聖經、啟示、原罪等觀點上，反映了理性神觀念的滋長。十八世紀啟蒙運動的自然神論是理性神觀念的成熟表現，自然神論者表面上信仰上帝，然他們廣泛引用科學學說以及理性化的信仰觀念大力批判啟示教義的不當，希冀將基督教信仰的超越性去除。理性神觀念在十八世紀更落實為政治運動的一部份，法國大革命與美國革命援引了自然神論作為革命的依據，它的宗教意涵缺少而政治性質甚強。自然神論的出現為時甚短，英國自然神論流行於十七世紀末至十八世紀前期，歐陸與美洲自然神論至十九世紀初期也大為消退，這是理性神觀念的內在矛盾所致，它一旦較為全面的落實即有崩解的危機。

The idea of Deism was the view to regard God as a rational being. Before the rise of Christianity, there were already some views containing the idea of Deism. When Christianity became dominant in Europe, the view that God is transcendental, that is, beyond the limits of human experience and reason, was stressed; God’s rational property was thus not emphasized. The emergence of humanist movement in the Renaissance changed the circumstances. Under the impact of humanism, the view that God was transcendental became less dominant. Some humanists stressed dignity and goodness in human nature, and were prone to give importance to free will. Other humanists bore the view that physical world was a huge machine, without paying much attention on God’s interference or His providence. Some humanists were likely to view God as a rational being. However, the Reformation emerged. The leaders of the Reformation like Martin Luther and John Calvin lay heavy emphasis on God’s transcendence, omnipotence, and mysteriousness; they revived Augustinianism and were opposed to the secularization and rationalization of the Christian Religion. But the spirit of the Reformation did not have long term influence. The religious wars and the policy of toleration during the Reformation did more damage than good to religious spirit. There were scholars at the end of the Reformation even intending to substitute “Religion of Reason” for Christianity. The increasing significance and value of scientific knowledge in the Seventeenth Century led or compelled people to know that natural knowledge in the Scripture is not wholly correct. How to solve the inconsistency between reason and faith or between science and religion became a crucial problem; the idea of “a rational God” was an important solution. The development of Christian theology in the Seventeenth Century also revealed that religious rationalism was emerging; the view of scholars in regard to the Scripture, Revelation, and original sin reflected the same situation. The rise of Deism in the Enlightenment was the maturalization of the idea of “a rational God”. In appearance, deists believed that there is God, but actually they opposed any supernatural ideas. Making use of scientific knowledge and rationalized religious statements, deists aimed to eliminate all the supernatural elements in Christianity. The idea of “a rational God” also became a part of the French and American Revolutions in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century; the Republicans employed it to justify the proclamation of human rights. Deism waned quickly. In England deism’s heyday last for no more than half a century, and in Europe and America it waned after the dawn of the Nineteenth Century. This was the inner contradiction of the idea of Deism. When this idea was put into practice more comprehensively, its end was not far.