还是拉回来谈“宗教“的定义是什么。前段时间读到波士顿大学哲学系教授Peter Kreeft 写的一本新一点的论宗教哲学的书“Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion”,其中有他自己对“宗教“的定义如下:(如果你读得懂英文就别读我后面的翻译,拿“信达雅”做标准,我的翻译水平实在不怎么样。)
What Is Religion?
The word “religion” is easy todefine. It comes from the Latin word religare, which means to relate, toyoke together, or to bind back. And this tells us something about religion:that its essential purpose is to relate us, or yoke us, or bind us to somethinggreater than ourselves—something like God. (“宗教”这个词很容易定义。它来自拉丁词“religare”,意思是关联,结合或绑定在一起。这告诉我们宗教: 它的基本目的是把我们与比我们更大的对象,比如上帝,关联, 结合或绑定起来。)