009 基督教成为世界宗教

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Laurie burst into Grandpa's study, blowing on a paper noisemaker

劳瑞吹着纸哨子，冲进了爷爷的书房。

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" Grandpa, will you come downstairs to watch the countdown with us?"

"爷爷，你能下楼和我们一起看倒计时吗？"

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It was New Year's Eve, and Grandpa had been in his study since after dinner

那天是除夕夜，爷爷吃完晚饭后就一直待在书房里。

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" Of course! Is it that time already?" Grandpa said

"当然啦！已经到时间了吗？" 爷爷说。

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" Yep. It's almost 2011!" Laurie looked at the calendar hanging on the wall." You need a new calendar!"

"是啊，马上就是2011年了！" 劳瑞看着挂在墙上的日历。"您需要一本新日历了！"

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" I always find it amazing that humans have been on Earth for well over ten thousand years, but our calendar only says 2011!" Grandpa said

"我一直觉得很奇妙，人类在地球上已经存在了上万年，可我们的日历上才只是2011年！" 爷爷说。

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" What year is it really?" Laurie asked, confused

"那实际应该是哪一年呢？" 劳瑞困惑地问。

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" It depends on when you start your calendar

"这取决于你从什么时候开始计年。

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Most of the world uses a calendar that begins with the birth of Jesus Christ

世界上大部分地区使用的日历，都是从耶稣基督诞生那年开始的。

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Every year before that is marked with ' BC,' which stands for before Christ

在那之前的每一年都标记为'BC'，也就是'公元前'的意思。

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Every year after that is marked by ' AD,' which stands for the Latin words anno Domini, meaning in the year of the Lord

之后的每一年都用“AD”标记，这是拉丁语“anno Domini”的缩写，意思是“主之年”。

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Before Jesus, most calendars were based on the cycles of the moon or the sun, or both

在耶稣之前，大多数历法都以月亮或太阳的周期为基础，或者两者结合。

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It was also common to count years based on the start of a leader's or dynasty's rule

根据某个领袖或王朝开始统治的时间来计年也很常见。

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But Jesus changed the world. In the sixth century, a monk created a calendar that began with the birth of Jesus."

但耶稣改变了世界。在公元六世纪，一位修士创建了一种以耶稣诞生为起点的历法。”

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" So the birth of one man changed the way humans record time?" Laurie asked

“所以说，一个人的出生改变了人类记录时间的方式？”劳瑞问。

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" Yes. And not only that. His life and death also gave rise to the largest religion in the world — Christianity."

“是的。而且不仅如此。他的生与死还催生了世界上最大的宗教——基督教。”

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" I only know a little about Jesus from the stories around Christmas time."

“我只从圣诞节前后的一些故事里了解一点点耶稣。”

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Laurie glanced at the clock. It was 11:46 p. m

劳瑞瞥了一眼钟。已经是晚上十一点四十六分了。

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" What was so special about his life?"

“他的一生有什么特别之处？”

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" I'll tell you as much as I can — but quickly, because I know Mom and Dad are waiting for us

“我会尽量告诉你——但要快，因为我知道爸妈在等我们。

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Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a Jewish city that was part of the Roman Empire

耶稣出生在伯利恒，这座犹太城市当时属于罗马帝国。

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He was the son of a carpenter named Joseph and a woman named Mary, who raised him in the Jewish tradition

他的父亲是木匠约瑟，母亲是玛利亚，他们用犹太传统教导他长大。

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Many people believed he was the leader who would free the Jews from Roman rule

许多人相信，他就是那位会带领犹太人摆脱罗马统治的领袖。

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Others thought he was the son of God

另一些人则认为他是上帝之子。

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Anyway, Jesus studied Judaism carefully and became a preacher

总之，耶稣认真研习了犹太教，并成为一名传道者。

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He preached about love, heaven, and the forgiveness of sins

他传讲关于爱、天堂和罪得赦免的道理。

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He wanted to tell people everywhere that God loved them

他想告诉世界各地的人，上帝爱他们。

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Now, although Jesus worshipped the same god as the Jews, his teachings strayed from traditional Jewish beliefs

虽然耶稣敬拜的神与犹太人相同，但他的教导偏离了传统的犹太信仰。

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So some Jews accepted him, but many others did not

因此，一些犹太人接受了他，但更多的人不接受。

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And the Romans didn't bother him, because they generally allowed their subjects to follow different religions as long as no one harmed the state

而罗马人并没有为难他，因为他们通常允许臣民信奉不同的宗教，只要不危害国家就行。

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As Jesus gained more and more followers, however, many Jews and Romans began to worry about his power

然而，随着耶稣的追随者越来越多，许多犹太人和罗马人开始担心他的影响力。

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When Jesus was just 33 years old, a Roman official ordered him to be killed

耶稣年仅33岁时，一位罗马官员下令将他处死。

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But even after his death, Jesus' followers kept believing in what he had said, and Christianity arose

但即使在他死后，耶稣的追随者们依然相信他所说的话，基督教由此兴起。

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At first this religion was practiced by only a small number of people, and not many others understood it

起初，只有少数人信奉这一宗教，并不为许多人所理解。

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But as Jesus' followers journeyed to tell others about their new faith, Christianity spread throughout the Mediterranean world

但随着耶稣的追随者们四处奔走，向他人讲述他们的新信仰，基督教便在地中海世界传播开来。

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These early Christians weren't treated very well in the Roman Empire

这些早期基督徒在罗马帝国并未受到善待。

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Roman emperors often held ceremonies related to Roman gods and goddesses. They wanted all their people to participate

罗马皇帝经常举行与罗马诸神相关的仪式，并要求所有臣民参加。

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But Christians believed in a single god and wouldn't take part in anything related to Roman gods

但基督徒信奉唯一的神，拒绝参与任何与罗马诸神有关的事。

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So some Roman leaders saw Christians as a threat because they obeyed their faith rather than the Roman emperor

因此，一些罗马领袖视基督徒为威胁，因为他们遵从自己的信仰，而不是服从罗马皇帝。

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These Romans persecuted Christians. But Christianity continued to gain popularity because it gave people hope

这些罗马人迫害基督徒。但基督教仍然日益流行，因为它给予了人们希望。

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Christians spoke of life after death, when people would live in the kingdom of God

基督徒们宣扬死后的生命，那时人们将生活在上帝的国度里。

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They also said that all people were equal before God

他们还说，所有人在上帝面前都是平等的。

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This included everyone — from emperors to commoners."

这包括了每一个人——从皇帝到平民百姓。“

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" So I guess common people liked the religion, but the emperors didn't?" Laurie asked

”所以我猜，老百姓喜欢这个宗教，但皇帝们不喜欢？“劳瑞问道。

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" Right. Not at first anyway. But in 312 AD, the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, and persecution of the Christians ended

”没错。至少一开始是这样。但是到了公元312年，罗马皇帝君士坦丁皈依了基督教，对基督徒的迫害就停止了。

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In 380 Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the empire's official religion, creating the world's first Christian empire

公元380年，狄奥多西皇帝将基督教定为帝国的国教，建立了世界上第一个基督教帝国。

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Gradually Christians began settling in large communities and building churches

渐渐地，基督徒们开始在大社区里聚居，并建造教堂。

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Bishops, who were the heads of churches, became more powerful

作为教会领袖的主教们，变得更有权势。

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In big cities, such as Rome, their authority extended from religion into politics

在像罗马这样的大城市，他们的权威从宗教延伸到政治领域。

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Once Christianity gained the approval of Roman emperors, it grew and grew within the empire

一旦基督教得到罗马皇帝们的认可，它就在帝国境内不断壮大。

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Churches were built using state money. Courts run by churches appeared, and they soon held more power than the Roman government over religious issues

教堂用国家资金建造。由教会管理的法庭出现了，很快，在宗教问题上，它们比罗马政府拥有更大的权力。

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The bishops of Rome, known as popes, became especially influential

罗马的主教，即人们所知的教皇，变得尤其有影响力。

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They claimed authority over all other churches

他们声称对其他所有教会拥有管辖权。

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At the same time, the Roman Empire was being attacked by nomadic troops from Europe and Asia

与此同时，罗马帝国正遭受来自欧亚大陆游牧部落的攻击。

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As the state grew weaker and Christianity grew stronger, people found more security with the church than they did with the state

随着国家日渐衰弱而基督教日益强大，人们发现教会比国家更能提供安全保障。

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Soon Christianity spread beyond the Roman Empire

很快，基督教传播到了罗马帝国之外。

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Part of Jesus' message was that God was universal, so Christians believed they should spread Jesus' teachings throughout the world

耶稣传达的信息之一就是上帝是普世的，所以基督徒们相信，他们应当将耶稣的教义传遍全世界。

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Roman roads and access to the Mediterranean Sea made it easy for Christians to go on missions

罗马的道路和通往地中海的便利，让基督徒们能够轻松地去传教。

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Christians moved north throughout Europe and converted the people there

基督徒们北上横跨欧洲，使那里的人们皈依了基督教。

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By the time the Roman Empire reached its last days around 500 AD, Christianity had become the dominant religion in Europe

到了大约公元500年，罗马帝国进入末期时，基督教已经成为欧洲的主导宗教。

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And that brings us to the eve of the Middle Ages, Laurie, when the Christian church and the pope became the supreme authority on nearly everything."

这就把我们带到了中世纪的前夜，劳瑞，那时基督教会和教皇成了近乎一切事务的最高权威。“

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" The eve of the Middle Ages? Grandpa, it's the eve of 2011 and here we are sitting and talking about stuff that happened over 1,500 years ago!

”中世纪的前夜？爷爷，现在可是2011年的前夜，而我们却坐在这儿，谈论着1500多年前发生的事情！

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Let's go downstairs and celebrate what's happening now!" Laurie grabbed Grandpa's hand

我们下楼去吧，庆祝一下眼下正在发生的事！“劳瑞抓住了爷爷的手。

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" Okay. You have a point," Grandpa said, standing up." I should stop rambling."

”好吧。你说的有道理，“爷爷说着，站起身来，”我不该再絮叨了。“

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" Happy 2011, anno Domini!" Laurie cried as they walked out of the study together

”2011年快乐，公元纪年！“他们一起走出书房时，劳瑞喊道。