摘要
趙紫宸的《耶穌傳》完成於1935年，是第一部由國人完成關於耶穌的詳細傳記，書中大量運用想像與杜撰手法，加上作者獨到的解釋，本色化地將耶穌塑造為中國人心目中完善的君子、聖人的形象，可以說是一部成功的文學作品。趙紫宸根據「心靈對於耶穌的了解」，將福音書合而觀之，以揆情的、直覺的方法，呈現出耶穌那清晰的、統一的、不可偽造的人格，以及耶穌那符合時代需要的新理想、新精神、新事業。趙氏以這樣的筆法所描繪的耶穌，具有犧牲、博愛的精神，是一個愛國青年、受難者、革命家的形象，正好符合二十世紀初中國的需要，使我們看見如何以基督教救中國正是趙氏此時的思想關懷。 《耶穌傳》行文流暢，且蘊涵豐富的神學思想，本論文除了簡單的梳理趙氏的生平及思想轉折，分別以三個段落來探討其文學特色、神學爭論，及本色化課題，並提出趙氏是以人文主義的進路來塑造耶穌的人格及形象。 趙紫宸早期深受自由主義思潮影響，因此將福音書中的神蹟、超自然現象等不符合科學的成分刪除，另作他解，並將耶穌的神性排除，完全以一個「人」的角度來詮釋耶穌的一生，許多學者因此而給予《耶穌傳》較為負面的評價。然而，筆者卻要站在認同、理解趙紫宸的立場，對趙氏而言，真正的神蹟在於人格的提昇、改變，他認為學習、模仿耶穌的人格，中國才有希望。因著文字本色化的成功，此書在知識界大受好評，多次再版，也使教外作家對耶穌產生了興趣，在在說明了此書在中國現代基督教文學上的價值。
並列摘要
Completed in 1935, T. C. Chou's book The Life of Jesus is the first detailed biographical work of Jesus written by a Chinese author. T. C. Chou's imaginative fabrication and ingenious interpretation made the book a successful literary work, indigenizing Jesus into what the Chinese people would regard as a saint of impeccable integrity. Basing on his "heart's knowledge of Jesus", T. C. Chou intuitively wove the Gospels together to portray Jesus as one whose character is distinct, consistent, and truly, one who conformed to the needs of the age, brandishing new ideals, new spirits, and new undertakings. T. C. Chou's Jesus is a patriot, a willing sacrifice, a revolutionary holding out selfless love to all. This Jesus was an exact answer to China's predicament in the early twentieth century, reflecting Chou's concern at the time—Christianity to save China. While The Life of Jesus reads smoothly, it is abundant in theological reflections. This paper, in addition to introducing T. C. Chou's life and major philosophical turns, will discuss the work from three aspects—literary feature, theological controversy, and indigenization. The paper also suggests T. C. Chou's humanistic approach in shaping the personality and image of Jesus in his composition. Influenced by liberalism early on in life, T. C. Chou consciously replaced the unscientific miracles and supernatural phenomena in the Gospels with his own interpretation, while also eradicating the deity in Jesus, illustrating his life as one that is solely human. Many scholars have thus viewed The Life of Jesus negatively. However, this paper finds sufficient reason to identify with Chou's stance. T. C. Chou's idea of a true miracle is in the elevation and transformation of one's character, and it is only by emulating Jesus' character that there would be hope for China. The successful adoption of indigenization brought the book high acclamation among intellects so that it was reprinted several times, but more notably, it aroused the interest of non-Christian writers in Jesus. All these are evidence of the undeniable value of T. C. Chou's The Life of Jesus in contemporary Chinese Christian Literature.