基督教與人的生存－約翰．麥奎利的人觀

CHRISTIANITY AND THE EXISTENCE OF HUMAN-John Macquarrie's Anthropology

關啟文(Kwan Kai-man)

《建道學刊》 14期 (2000/07) Pp. 87-103

摘要

基督教與存在主義有著千絲萬縷的關係。在二十世紀，布特曼（Bultmann）和巴理（Buri）等數位存在主義神學家，嘗試結合基督教與存在主義，其中以約翰．麥奎利（John Macquarrie）的存在主義神學最為平衡，並且特別值得研究。本文起首闡釋了麥奎利最為強調的三項要點：人在旅途中的存有、在世界中的存有、及與他人同在的存有。接著，作者撮錄了麥奎利在《基督教神學原理》中的討論。麥奎利在書中詳述人類生存的四種兩極性：可能性與事實性、理性與非理性、社群與個體、責任與無能。他直言生存的混亂已植根於人類生存結構中，而且這現象十分普遍，但信仰卻能藉委身和接納處理這些混亂。文中論及幾個對麥奎利人觀的評價，就是指麥奎利的人觀太過中產階級導向，並指出存在主義神學需要和解放神學結合。雖然如此，麥奎利人觀的要點仍甚具說服力。評論說麥奎利提出的，由需要推斷到現實，全是謬論；作者卻以為這些評論乃屬誤解，有礙客觀。本文末部討論基督教是否真的需要與存在主義連結。作者批評那些認為基督教信仰需要存在主義詮釋之廣泛說法；這些說法在實際上和神學上也是毫無基礎的。可是，作者總結時指出我們可以在神學上用上存在主義的詮釋，只要我們避免落入還原主義的陷讲，存在主義神學誠然可豐富基督教信仰的理解，並有助建構基督教的世界觀。

並列摘要

The relationship between Christianity and existentialism is complicated. In the twentieth century, there are several existentialist theologians who try to combine Christianity with existentialism, such as Bultmann, Buri. The author believes John Macquarrie's existentialist theology is the most balanced, and his anthropology is especially worth studying. This paper begins with an explanation of Macquarrie's three major emphases: man as being-on-the-way, being-in-the-world, and being-with-others. A summary of Macquarrie's discussions in his Principles of Christian Theology is introduced, in which Macquarrie dwells on four kinds of polarity inherent in human existence: possibility vs. facticity, rationality vs. irrationality, community vs. individuality, and responsibility vs. impotence. Macquarrie argues that a widespread disorder of existence is rooted in this structure of human existence. Religious faith can repair this disorder by providing commitment and acceptance. The author discusses several lines of criticism of Macquarrie's anthropology, conceding that his analysis may be too middle-class oriented, and existentialist theology should be complemented by liberation theology. However, the outline of Macquarrie's anthropology is still fairly convincing. Having examined the rationalist criticism that Macquarrie has committed a logical fallacy, inferring from a need to a reality, the author replies that this reflects a misunderstanding, and the strait-jacket of objectivism. In the final section of this paper, whether Christianity really needs existentialism as an ally is discussed. The author criticizes the excessive claim for the necessity of an existentialist interpretation of the Christian kerygma. This claim is unfounded, empirically and theologically speaking. However, the author concludes that using it as one approach to theology and eschewing the traps of reductionism, existentialist theology can enrich the understanding of Christian faith, and help in the task of constructing a Christian worldview.