美国大型教会吸引大批群众

Big Churches Drawing Big Crowds in US

美国大型教会吸引大批群众

 

There is plenty of spirit in the spirituality at the Lakewood church. Services here sometimes resemble a rock concert or theatrical¹ event. The music is provided by a 10-piece orchestra and an onstage choir², with church-goers joining in, reading the lyrics⁴ from overhead television screens.

 

Close up images of pastor⁵ Joel Osteen and others are provided by cameras on cranes and platforms placed in and around the congregation.

 

At the age of 41, Joel Osteen is a religious superstar, reaching not only the more than 40,000 members of his church in Houston, but millions of people around the world through his televised ministry⁶ and his best-selling book, Your Best Life Now -Seven Steps to Living at Your Full Potential. The book has sold over one and half million copies and been at the top of the New York Times bestseller list.

 

The Lakewood church is growing so fast that its present building is no longer adequate, so in July, the congregation will move to the former Compaq Center sports arena⁷, near downtown Houston. Joel Osteen, who is overseeing the remodeling of the huge building says this will help draw even more people to his weekly services.

 

Mr. Osteen: It will hold 16,000 people, where our church we are in now holds eight, plus it is on the major freeway here in town, and we are more centrally located. It is just a dream come true to come out from where we are to this place, so we are excited about it.

 

Critics of the Osteen approach to Christianity note that the millions of dollars being invested in the new venue⁹ could have been directed to charity. There are also some more traditional Christian⁸ leaders who object to the whole megachurch trend, describing it as "watered-down Christianity."

 

But Rice University sociologist¹⁰ and religion expert William Martin says there is no question that the high-energy entertainment of the big churches is growing in popularity.

 

Mr. Martin: Often these large buildings look more like civic¹¹ auditoriums¹³ than they do like sanctuaries¹⁴, typical sanctuaries. Some people are put off by that, others are very much attracted by it. I think you would have to say the balance is on the attracting side since these are the churches that are growing and attracting thousands and even tens of thousands of people.

 

Professor Martin also notes that part of Lakewood's success has to do with its openness to people from all races, ethnic¹⁵ groups and walks of life.

 

Mr. Martin: One of the remarkable¹⁶ things I think attractive things about the Lakewood church, I think, is its diversity. You have 25,000 people [who attend services each week] and it is approximately a third, a third, a third - black, Hispanic and white - with some Asians in there as well, a growing number.

 

Joel Osteen says he believes people from all different backgrounds are drawn¹⁷ to his message.

 

Joel Osteen: I think when you have a message to help people and you are sincere, it does not matter what color or what social status you are.

 

He says his spirited sermons on self-improvement through religious faith are a departure from what he believes was a far too dark approach by preachers in the past.

 

Joel Osteen: A lot of it in the old days was kind of condemning¹⁸ people, beating them over the head, let them know what they were doing wrong and you would leave the church feeling, 'Oh man, I am really terrible. I just don't think that is the approach that God has put on our heart. The Scripture¹⁹ says it is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance²⁰.

 

That approach to religious celebration has drawn people from all over the United States and all over the world to this church.

 

This woman, who now lives in Houston, but was born in Britain.

 

The woman: It is non-denominational, number one, number two you have a lot of people from all over the world, which is very nice and number three, there is no limit, in terms of dress code, or how you appear, or what job you do and so forth²¹. So, just in general, it is very nice.

 

Through his global television broadcasts, Joel Osteen's ministry reaches 150 million people worldwide each week. He also tours frequently, filling auditoriums all over the country.

 

Greg Flakus, VOA News, Houston.

 

注释：

spirituality [7spiritju5Aliti] n. 灵性

Lakewood church 湖林教会

resemble [ri5zembl] vt. 相似，类似

theatrical [Wi5AtrikEl] adj. 戏剧性的

choir [5kwaiE] n. 唱诗班

lyric³ [5lirik] n. 抒情诗

platform [5plAtfC:m] n. 讲坛

congregation [7kCn^ri5^eiFEn] n. 圣会

entertainment [entE5teinmEnt] n. 娱乐表演

auditorium¹² [7C:di5tC:riEm] n. 观众席

sanctuary²² [5sANktjuEri] n. 圣堂

nondenominational [nRndinRmi5neiFEn(E)l] adj. 与宗教宗派无关的

1 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

2 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

3 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

4 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

5 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

10 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

11 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

12 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

13 auditoriums   

n.观众席( auditorium的名词复数 )；听众席；礼堂；会堂

参考例句：

• The walls and ceilings of contemporary auditoriums usually conceal light, sound, and air-conditioning equipment. 当代观众厅的墙壁和天花板常设灯光、音响以及空调设备。 来自互联网
• The interior follows an exceedingly compact plan of different types and sizes of rooms and auditoriums. 在室内装饰方面，不同类型不同尺寸的空间以及观众席都追寻一种极端简洁的装饰风格。 来自互联网

14 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

15 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

16 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

17 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

18 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

20 repentance   

n.懊悔

参考例句：

• He shows no repentance for what he has done.他对他的所作所为一点也不懊悔。
• Christ is inviting sinners to repentance.基督正在敦请有罪的人悔悟。

21 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

22 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。