由兩篇講道文論湯瑪斯．格林哲學之當代宗教意涵

Exploring the Religious Implications of Thomas Hill Green's Philosophy through his Sermons “The Witness of God” and “Faith”

湯瑪斯．格林（T. H. Green, 1836-1882）是英國唯心論哲學傳統重要奠基者。相對於格林之政治關切，格林之宗教信念與神學思想相對較不受後代研究者重視，本文盼能彌補此方面之不足。作者企圖透過回歸19 世紀宗教脈絡，重建宗教之於格林生命與哲學中之重要地位。第一部分首先考察格林所處時代及其信仰危機；第二部分追溯格林個人的宗教養成；第三部分主要透過格林著名的兩篇平信徒講道文，探討其神學觀及其所仰賴的唯心論哲學。我將指出，透過唯心論哲學，格林建立了一個超越證據、憑藉神聖意識且存乎於實踐之信仰觀。此信仰觀不但得以化解科學與宗教之衝突，重建道德實踐之熱情，並開拓一條超越教義、教派乃至教會等外在形式之寬廣信仰道路。

Thomas Hill Green (1836-1882) is one of the most important founders of British idealism. Compared with the interest paid to Green's political ideas, his religious thought has received less scholarly attention. This article seeks to redress this imbalance by turning to the centrality of religion in Green's life and work and the connection between his philosophical and religious ideas. The first section surveys the “Victorian age of faith” in which Green lived and its “crisis of doubt”. The second section traces Green's early education and the formation of his religious character. The third section turns to Green's two lay sermons, “The Witness of God” and “Faith”, delivered at Balliol College, Oxford, in 1870 and 1877, respectively, and discusses their wider religious implications and the connection between his theological view and philosophy. The article points out that, through the aid of an idealist epistemology and metaphysics, Green promoted an immanentist faith that rested on the concept of “the eternal consciousness” and its realisation in human thought and action. Green's religious vision was not only able to withstand the demand of external evidence and reconcile belief and rationality in the age of science, but was also broad enough to encompass all creeds and sects and to sustain the moral pursuits and social activism of all. In Green's cogent responses to the Victorian crisis of religion lay his immense influence over his age.