應哲瑋之邀，著手了解十九世紀英國大哲學家羅素生平及著作。何故如此？此大哲學家於邏輯、哲學、數學、文學、社會學、及政治學無所不精，1950 年諾貝爾文學獎得主，其思想立論堪為 20 世紀知識之洪流砥柱，；1927 年 3 月 6 日於英國 Battersea，羅氏應國家濟世學會 (National Secular Society) 之邀，發表一篇名為【為何我不是基督徒？】之演說，由於該標題明確表示其信仰態度，以羅氏之學養見識，其影響所及，不言自喻。
我為罪人，信主愛主。身命低微，賤稗殘穗，蒙主救贖，甘為僕役，惟尚且不配。初見此篇，不無震撼。竊想如羅氏之大家，人中俊傑，尚有此言，豈泛黎之鄉談，莽夫之謬論，不值一哂？故計畫自今起詳細精讀此文，並將羅氏自生平經歷至其思想系統，做一統整性之研究。然全文以英文寫成，用字精鍊典雅，中文讀者咀嚼不易；又由於該篇論文於人類思想歸趨，實影響至鉅，茲事體大，又因市面上該文諸多譯本，偶有誤譯疵漏，故毅然斗膽修改重譯，並分段附註其可能的論證架構及原文，段末再加上本人對該段之疑問與淺見。
僕者，所為何事？捨身為主以明志也。山陰小屋，豈容三緘？於今試會理性批判之際，當先放下身分，究理致知，自不在話下。
一、羅素何許人也？
維基百科如是說：
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was one of the world's best-known intellectuals. He was a philosopher, logician, and mathematician. He was born in Wales, but spent most of his life in England. He worked mostly in the 20th century.
Russell won a scholarship to read for the Mathematical Tripos at Trinity College, Cambridge, and commenced his studies there in 1890. He became acquainted with the younger G.E. Moore and came under the influence of Alfred North Whitehead, who recommended him to the Cambridge Apostles. He quickly distinguished himself in mathematics and philosophy, graduating with a B.A. in the former subject in 1893 and adding a fellowship in the latter in 1895.
Russell first met the American Quaker Alys Pearsall Smith when he was seventeen years old. He became a friend of the Pearsall Smith family—they knew him primarily as 'Lord John's grandson' and enjoyed showing him off—and travelled with them to the continent; it was in their company that Russell visited the Paris Exhibition of 1889 and was able to climb the Eiffel Tower soon after it was completed. He soon fell in love with the puritanical, high-minded Alys, who was a graduate of Bryn Mawr College near Philadelphia, and, contrary to his grandmother's wishes, he married her on 13 December 1894. Their marriage began to fall apart in 1901 when it occurred to Russell, while he was out on his bicycle, that he no longer loved her. She asked him if he loved her and he replied that he didn't. Russell also disliked Alys's mother, finding her controlling and cruel. It was to be a hollow shell of a marriage and they finally divorced in 1921, after a lengthy period of separation. During this period, Russell had passionate (and often simultaneous) affairs with a number of women, including Lady Ottoline Morrell and the actress Lady Constance Malleson.
Russell wrote a lot. He also tried to make philosophy popular. He gave his opinion on many topics. He wrote the essay, "On Denoting", which has been described as one of the most influential essays in philosophy in the 20th Century. He wrote on very serious issues as well as everyday things. Continuing a family tradition in political affairs, he was a prominent liberal as well as a socialist and anti-war activist for most of his long life. Millions looked up to Russell as a prophet of the creative and rational life. At the same time, his stances on many topics were extremely controversial.
Born at the height of Britain's economic and political ascendancy, he died of influenza nearly a century later when the British Empire had all but vanished, its power dissipated in two victorious, but debilitating world wars. Russell's voice carried enormous moral authority, even into his early 90s. Among his other political activities, Russell was a vigorous proponent of nuclear disarmament and an outspoken critic of the American war in Vietnam.
In 1950, Russell was made a Nobel Laureate in Literature 'in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought'.
【譯文】貝特南‧亞瑟‧威廉 羅素，又名艾爾 羅素三世 (1872/5/18 ~ 1970/2/2) ，為世界最著名之智識人士之一：集哲學家、邏輯學家、數學家等頭銜於一身。生於英國威爾斯，平生多居留於英國，並活躍於近乎整個 20 世紀。
羅氏取得就讀劍橋大學三一學院數學資優獎學金，於 1890 年入學，期間結識 G.E. Moore，其後受 Alfred North Whitehead 推薦，進入劍橋大學使徒學院，攻讀數學及哲學雙學位，並分別於 1893 及1895 年畢業。
17 歲時初識美裔桂格會教友 Alys Smith 女士，並成為該家族常客，人皆以「英人領主約翰的孫子」待之，並四處炫耀。 常與出遊，1889 年法艾菲爾鐵塔落成之初，即登頂一覽。隨後羅氏便與賢淑高雅之 Alys 墜入情網，Alys 亦具大學學歷，就讀於美國費城。1894 年 12 月 3 日，羅氏不顧祖母的反對，與之結褵。然此婚姻僅持續 7 年；某日，羅氏騎自行車外出時，忽對其妻表示，他已不再愛她。復問之，答亦若是。以為 Alys 之母霸道無情，故亦厭之。於此了無婚趣，分居多時，終於 1921 年離異。分居期間，羅氏同時與多名女子過從甚密，其中包括 Ottoline Morrell 女士及女演員 Constance Malleson 等人。
著作等身，終生推廣哲學，於多個領域皆有研究發表；其巨著【數學原理】中【符號學】一篇，堪為影響 20 世紀最鉅之哲學論述之一。研究態度嚴謹細密，領域廣闊，無所不論。又因系出政治世家，終其一生亦為顯赫之自由主義成員，倡導社會主義與反戰思想。兼具理性思維和遠見，服膺萬眾。然其諸多論述於當時仍頗具爭議。
生於不列顛霸權榮景，歷經近一世紀，卒因流感病逝，文星殞落，時值帝制受二次世界大戰之累，逐漸式微衰頹。羅氏終生衛道，年近九旬方興。其政治成就以主張裁核與反美干預越戰等為主。
1950 年，羅氏以「多樣且重要且有助於人道及自由思想之論述」，貢獻卓著，獲頒諾貝爾文學獎。
二、【為何我不是基督徒？】大意：
維基百科如是說：
Russell begins by defining what he means by the term Christian and sets out to explain why he does not "believe in God and in immortality" and why he does not "think that Christ was the best and wisest of men", the two things he identifies as 'essential to anybody calling himself a Christian'. He considers a number of logical arguments for the existence of God, including the cosmological argument, the natural-law argument, the teleological argument and moral arguments following what he describes as 'the intellectual descent that the Theists have made in their argumentations'. He also goes into specifics about Christian theology, alleging defects in Jesus's teaching and his moral character, in particular because Jesus believed in hell and everlasting punishment. He argues ad absurdum against the 'argument from design', and favors Darwin's theories:
'That sort of parody has turned out to be not nearly so wide of the mark as it might have seemed in the eighteenth century, because since the time of Darwin we understand much better why living creatures are adapted to their environment. It is not that their environment was made to be suitable to them, but that they grew to be suitable to it, and that is the basis of adaptation. There is no evidence of design about it.'
Russell also expresses doubt over the historical existence of Jesus and questions the morality of religion: "I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. " Russell concludes: 'Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes....A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men.'
【譯文】全文以定義基督徒一詞開始，並說明為何不相信 上帝及永生、為何基督徒並非最佳及最優人選。羅氏認為，所謂的「最佳」和「最優」，乃基督徒之所以為基督徒者。接著質疑 上帝存在的論證；其中包括從宇宙論、自然法則、目的論、及道德觀等角度推得此信仰乃神學人士所進行使知識倒退之論證行為。更精細深入基督宗教神學思想中，指責 耶穌教誨的謬誤，並因為 耶穌相信地獄及懲罰之說，進而質疑 耶穌的道德標準。羅氏利用歸謬證明法駁斥創造論，並崇尚達爾文思想：
「到了 18 世紀，我們藉著達爾文的思想，更加瞭解了生物如何適應環境，而非環境去適應生物，而此正是物競天擇的基礎，於此完全看不出創造的證據；那些可笑的拙劣神話，現在更是相形見拙。」
羅氏並質疑 耶穌的歷史存在意義及基督宗教的道德觀：「我在此要特別地強調，由教會組織的基督宗教，實乃當今世界道德進步之最大阻礙。」進而結論：「我認為，宗教始於人類的恐懼。正如先前所說，部分因為對未知的不解與害怕，並希望有兄長等前輩能於人生之旅途中，給與扶持和解難。.... 然而一個美麗世界所需要的僅僅是知識、良善、和勇氣。我們並不需要對過去懊悔的眷戀，以及因著那一群古老而又無知的人所吐出的言詞，妨礙了我們知識的自由發展。」
愚僕憂曰：「殊不知此言恐害命深極也。若該立論成立，則本無一物；若否，抑或未知，則枉千萬生靈也！雖以羅氏之智能氣度，焉能通曉玄黃奧義，全知全智？何故未曾料此？悲矣！綜觀此篇大意，尚未見嚴密論證支持，多屬個人意見及誤解 (如 the two things he identifies as essential to anybody calling himself a Christian，I say...，I believe...等)，
待將該文細剖之，以視其由，論證之線索，或在其中；或能成立，人類思想文明為之丕變，基督宗教僅為虛言；若無，則其過深矣。哀哉！怎可不慎？」
【待續，今後將陸續分段改譯並解析全文。】
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