The Successful Paul Of Tarsus

　　Most of the people who lived near Jerusalem1 wereJewish. The Romans were pagans2 , but they allowedthe Jews to practice their faith and did not forcethem to worship Roman gods. About A. D. 30, aholy man named Jesus began to attract a following inthe Roman province of Judea. Judea is part of themodern nation of Israel. His followers came to believethat Jesus was the son of the God of the Jews and that he performed miracles3 . The followersof Jesus angered Roman authorities because they refused to follow either Jewish or Romanlaws. The authorities arrested and crucified4 Jesus. Three days after his execution, Jesusfollowers said they saw him rise from the dead.

　　The followers of Jesus called him Christ5. Christ is a Greek word that means“ chosen one”,because they believed he was chosen by God to be his messenger. In time the followers ofJesus became known as Christians. The Christians taught that people’s sins would be forgiven ifthey became Christian. This message was not successful with many Jews, but many pagansresponded to the idea of Christian salvation.

　　Many fervent believers carried the message of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire6 . One ofthe most successful was a Greek-speaking Jew named Paul of Tarsus, known to Christians asSaint Paul. As a young man, he helped to persecute Christians, but one day he had a vision inwhich he believed Jesus spoke to him from heaven. Paul spent the rest of his life thinking andwriting about Christianity and winning new converts to the faith. Through the persistence ofPaul and other Christian missionaries, small Christian communities developed throughout theRoman Empire.

　　The first Christians believed that Jesus would quickly return to earth, so there was no need tocreate any written records of his life . After about thirty years, Christians began to see a needto write down an account of the life and wisdom of Jesus. About fifty years after Jesus died,Christians combined the stories of the life and wisdom of Jesus into four books known asGospels. Gospel means“ good news”. The holy book of Christianity is known as the Bible andhas two parts. The Old Testament consists of the sacred writings of the Jewish people and waswritten long before the time of Jesus. The New Testament of the Bible includes the Gospels,along with letters written by Paul and other Christian writers. The Bible has been translated intomore than 1, 000 languages and has been read by more people than any other book.

　　閱讀自測

　　Ⅰ. Fill in each blank:

　　1. The Romans were pagans, but they allowed the Jews to_________ ( 實踐) their faith and didnot force them to _________( 信仰) Roman gods.

　　2. His followers came to believe that Jesus was the son of the God of the Jews and that heperformed _________( 奇跡) .

　　3. The Christians taught that people’s sins would be_________ ( 寬恕) if they became Christian.

　　4. About fifty years after Jesus died , Christians _________( 組成) the stories of the life andwisdom of Jesus into four books known as _________( 福音) , which means “good news”.

　　5. The holy book of Christianity is known as the _________( 圣經) and has two parts: the OldTestament and the New Testament.

　　Ⅱ. Questions :

　　What is the holy book of Christianity and how many parts does it have ? What are they about?

　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. practice / worship 2 . miracles 3. forgiven 4.combined / Gospels 5. Bible

　　Ⅱ. The holy book of Christianity is known as theBible and it has two parts. The Old Testamentconsists of the sacred writings of the Jewish peopleand was written long before the time of Jesus. TheNew Testament of the Bible includes the Gospels,along with letters written by Paul and other Christian writers.

　　參考譯文

　　成功的塔爾蘇斯人保羅

　　居住在耶路撒冷附近的人大多都是猶太人。羅馬人雖然是異教徒, 但是他們允許猶太 人進行自己的宗教活動, 并不強迫猶太人信奉羅馬神。大約公元30 年, 一位名為耶穌的圣 人在羅馬朱迪亞省城附近吸引了一大群信徒。朱迪亞是現代以色列的一部分。信徒們相 信耶穌是猶太人的上帝的兒子, 并且會創造奇跡。他們既不遵奉猶太法也不遵奉羅馬法, 從而激怒了羅馬當局。官方逮捕了耶穌并將他釘死在十字架上。行刑后三天, 耶穌的信徒 說他們看到耶穌死后升天了。

　　耶穌的信徒稱他為基督。Christ 是個希臘詞, 意思為“ 被選中的人”, 因為他們相信耶 穌是被上帝選中充當信使的人。最終, 耶穌的信徒們也就成了大家所知道的基督徒。基督 徒教導人們如果他們成為基督徒, 他們的罪惡就會得到寬恕。這個說法雖然對很多猶太人 沒什么效果, 卻讓許多異教徒接受了基督救世的思想。

　　許多狂熱的信徒在羅馬帝國到處傳播耶穌神示。最為成功的信徒之一是叫保羅的塔 爾蘇斯人, 他是個說希臘語的猶太人, 也就是基督徒們知道的圣保羅。保羅年輕時, 曾幫助迫 害基督徒。但是有一天, 他看到了一幅幻景: 耶穌自天國對他說話。保羅傾其余生都在 思考和寫基督教方面的東西并最終皈依基督。在保羅和其他基督教傳教士堅持不懈的努 力之下, 許多基督教小團體在羅馬帝國發展起來。

　　早期的基督徒都相信耶穌很快就會重返人間, 所以他們認為沒有必要對他的生活經歷 作任何書面記載。大約30 年后, 他們開始認識到記錄耶穌的生平及其思想的必要性。耶 穌死后大約50 年, 基督徒們將記錄耶穌的生活和思想的內容合在一起編成四本書, 這就是 大家熟悉的《福音》。“ 福音”即“ 佳音”。基督教的圣書是《圣經》, 它分《舊約》與《新約》兩 部分。《舊約》包含記載猶太人祭祀神的文章, 寫成于耶穌之前很久的年代。《新約》則包 括了《福音》及保羅和其他基督教作者寫的書信。《圣經》已經被翻譯成一千多種語言, 比 其他任何書的流傳都要廣。

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