纪录片《文明》 第106期 信仰之眼（5）

It's the figure of Jesus himself.

那就是耶稣本尊的形象

And it was he who lay at the heart of early Christianity's

就是他身处早期基督教

theological battles.

神学之战的中心

The early centuries of Christianity were not a period

早期基督教并非充满

of peace and goodwill¹. Far from it.

和平和善意 而是恰恰相反

They were torn apart by religious controversy² about the nature

有关耶稣本性和神圣本质的宗教争论

and divine essence of Jesus.

让整个教会四分五裂

There were crucial religious issues at stake.

有些关键性的宗教问题必须解决

What was the exact relationship

耶稣和上帝之间

between Jesus and God?

到底是怎样的关系

What and where had Jesus been

在圣母玛利亚未诞下耶稣之前

before he was born to Mary?

耶稣是谁 又在哪里

How could a perfect and indivisible God

一个完美而不可分割的上帝

give up part of himself to create a son?

如何用自己的一部分赋予儿子生命

And, so - and this was the killer³ question for many -

还有这个对大多数人来说致命的问题

were Jesus and God made of the same substance?

耶稣和上帝是一体的吗

Or were they just very like each other?

还是他们只是非常相似

The mosaics⁴ here make a very strong case

这里的马赛克为

for the divine status of Jesus,

耶稣的神圣地位提供了有力论据

as if to erode⁵ any misunderstanding

它好像能消除任何误解

because he appears as part of a calculated scheme of images

因为他出现在一系列旨在结束争论

designed to end the controversy,

而被精心安排的图像中

telling the viewer exactly what to believe.

告诉观赏者该相信什么

In perfect alignment⁶

在一条完美的直线上

are three different aspects of Jesus.

是三个不同模样的耶稣

The apse, there's the beardless Jesus, young,

半圆壁龛上画的是没有胡子的年轻耶稣

the son of God.

是上帝之子

The centre of the ceiling,

在屋顶中央

there's Jesus as the symbolic⁷ lamb of God,

耶稣表现为上帝的羔羊

the Jesus who's to be sacrificed on behalf of humanity.

是那个为了人类而献身的耶稣形象

And, at the top of the entrance arch,

而在入口拱门的上方

there's the older, bearded,

是年老 留有胡须

all-powerful Jesus,

全能的耶稣

who's about as indistinguishable

此时他和圣父

as you could get from God the Father.

几乎难以区分

So, there's a lesson here

所以这就是辨识耶稣形象的

in seeing Jesus.

一堂课了

And, also, particularly in that last image, a clear steer⁸.

特别是最后一幅 明显有所指向

1 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 mosaics   

n.马赛克( mosaic的名词复数 )；镶嵌；镶嵌工艺；镶嵌图案

参考例句：

• The panel shows marked similarities with mosaics found elsewhere. 这块嵌板和在其他地方找到的镶嵌图案有明显的相似之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The unsullied and shining floor was paved with white mosaics. 干净明亮的地上镶嵌着白色图案。 来自辞典例句

5 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

6 alignment   

n.队列；结盟，联合

参考例句：

• The church should have no political alignment.教会不应与政治结盟。
• Britain formed a close alignment with Egypt in the last century.英国在上个世纪与埃及结成了紧密的联盟。

7 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

8 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。