当好友詹和泉推荐傅峻《西方文明的历程——从古罗马英国到美国独立》一书时，我一则以欢喜，一则以怀疑。

欢喜，是我相信多年好友和泉，他是一位热爱阅读、功底深厚、见识非凡的隐者和智者，他推荐的书一定有过人之处。怀疑，是我不太相信中国学者能写出好的关于西方文明的书来，因为不懂基督信仰人隔行如隔山，一定写不好；懂基督信仰，但缺乏学术功力的人，仍然写不好。

当我打开书来，不曾想却收获了一次大喜过望之旅，可谓大喜过望。傅峻，不仅深察基督信仰奥妙，又具雄厚的学术功力，更能坐得板凳十年冷，以致这部120万字的巨著，会吸引人几乎恨不得一口气读完——虽然一口气无论如何是读不完的。

文明研究的大学者是英国的汤因比。他把人类5500年的人类历史划分为21个成熟的文明：埃及、苏美尔、米诺斯、古代中国、安第斯、玛雅、赫梯、巴比伦、古代印度、希腊、伊朗、叙利亚、阿拉伯、中国、印度、朝鲜、西方、拜占庭、俄罗斯、墨西哥、育加丹。其中前6个是直接从原始社会产生的第一代文明，后15个是从第一代文明派生出来的亲属文明。另外还有5个中途夭折停滞的文明：玻里尼西亚、爱斯基摩、游牧、斯巴达和奥斯曼。

遗憾的是，这么多的文明，大多数都夭折或消失在历史的夜空中。以我之见，至今仍长存且有活力的不多，其中能够进入现代文明的只有三大“天道文明”：犹太文明、基督文明、中华文明（包括受中华文化影响的地区如日韩等）。这三大文明的共同特点是：敬畏上天、渴慕天道、崇尚天人合一。

如果将犹太-基督文明看为精神一体的话，这就是今天所谓西方文明的主体了。

西方文明同是基督化的文明，但又包括了新教、天主教以及东正教等基督教的不同流派，好比同是手机却有苹果、三星、华为一样，同时西方文明中又还包含着源自古希腊、罗马的影响，所以西方文明有时被人称为“两希文明”即希腊文明与希伯来文明的融合。

那如何去探讨以及看待西方文明的历程呢？傅峻别出心裁地以基督信仰为主线索，梳理了西方从古罗马、英国到美国独立的历史进程，进而概括、归纳出西方文明特别是我们经常说的“英美新教文明”这一主流。

这真是一个了不起甚至称得上是伟大的工作！5年准备，然后是每天长达6小时的5年的写作，120万字的结晶！

福建出才子，林语堂之后，现在又有了傅峻，真是有福之州啊！

为帮助读者消化傅峻的大部头，评述之前，先简略介绍一下此书的思想脉络。

首先，傅峻开宗明义：人类的感性，也是人类的本质，就是贪婪堕落，而理性无法从中得到提升，也就是理性无法超越感性。

为超越贪婪堕落本质，走向文明，人类希冀于道德或者说伦理引领。这在儒家文化为主流的中国尤甚。“以德治国”种种，表明国人今日仍在寄希望于这一古老传统。

但傅峻雄辩地论证：离开上帝，纯世俗的道德哲学无法撑起人类道德的天空。

傅峻为此梳理了人类的道德哲学，从亚里士多德、霍布斯、洛克、康德、叔本华、尼采、祁克果到中国的儒家、墨家，结果是此路不通。

这是因为，人类道德哲学的本质都是“虚空的虚空”。 归根结底，包括儒学在内的人类的道德哲学只是一门学问，一种学说，自身不是生命，当然也难以滋养生命、哺育（高级）文明！

不仅如此，傅峻发现，哲学家们“绝对不是在思考人生的本质这些哲学问题，而是在思考如何使自己成名立世，于万人之上， 他们将人类社会作为自己标心立异的陪葬品，甚至想充当人类的导师，新的上帝，将人类的命运作为自己野心的垫脚石”，他们的思想非但不足以为人类构建文明，反而可能带来祸害。

有句话说得好，“人的尽头是神的开头”！人类的道德哲学破产后，人性只能求助于神性的拯救了，人类文明的跃迁唯有靠宗教的引领！

傅峻由此转向“宗教决定论”文明史观的建构。他指出，宗教在人类生活中有着最重要的地位，如果没有宗教，人类将永远沉迷于物质享乐中；所以基督教决定了西方的历史，也奠定了西方文明，甚至可以说宗教决定了人类的历史。

社会学家路易斯·亨利·摩尔根将社会演化分为蒙昧（savagery）、野蛮（barbarism）及文明（civilization）三个阶段，以技术发明作为各阶段的分界，他认为文明阶段的代表性技术发明是标音系统及文字。据维基百科，英文中的“文明（civilization）”一词源于拉丁文“civilis”，有“城市化”和“公民化”的含义，引申为“分工”“合作”，即人们和睦地生活于“社会集团”中的状态，表明出先进的社会和文化发展状态，以及到达这一状态的过程。

傅峻坚持认为：宗教是社会的决定性因素，一个社会离开宗教很难持续存在下去的观点。傅峻在《西方文明的历程》一书中自始至终要阐述、证明的核心论点就是：宗教对社会的影响大于物质基础、经济利益，信仰大于政治理念。

据此，作者从基督信仰的核心理念为出发点，展开了对西方文明的生长与成熟历程的叙述，形成全书的脉络。

“宗教决定论”对文明的理解，显然对立于卡尔·马克思的“唯物史观”，也迥异于罗伯特・卡内罗的“地理决定论”、卡尔·威特·福格尔的“水利系统论（在笔者看来可称之为“公共建设论”）”以及相类似的“贸易网络论”。因此，不仅与中国当下主流意识形态绝然对立，也与高举“相对主义”、“多元主义”的当今西方白左思潮针锋相对，却深得马克斯·韦伯、塞缪尔·亨廷顿等保守主义学者的真传。

在人类学和考古学中，文明指有人居住，并且有相当程度的文化与经济发展的地区，例如“两河文明”、“黄河文明”，这显然主要是以地域和经济作为标识；然而，文明，也可以指文化类似的人群，例如基督教文明、儒家文明，这显然是以文化和发展作为标识。傅峻的做法，是更多地采纳后者（“基督教文明”），同时兼取了前者（“西方”）。

傅峻在书中谈到，享廷顿的“西方文明观”，包括这几个方面：古希腊罗马的古典遗产，天主教和新教，欧洲语言，精神权威与世俗权威的分离，法治，社会多元化，代议机构，个人主义。

此其中，天主教与新教赫然在列并且成为其核心线索。

我曾经谈到，享廷顿是一个先知性的学者，不仅提前预见了今天的“文明的冲突”，更为西方文明特别是美国社会敲响了警钟： 对美国这个西方文明的最大承载者的主要威胁是国内的多元主义文化，由于大量的移民坚持自己的信仰造成的多元文化削弱了基督教的影响，这将使美国衰弱甚至崩溃分裂成多个国家。

傅峻对享廷顿极为敬佩，故采用其“宗教主导文明”的思想来铺陈本书：基督教主导了西方文明并推动其进入到现代文明。当然，傅峻对亨廷顿不敢阐述“基督教主导西方文明”这一明显的事实深感遗憾！

这让傅峻进入到“宗教决定论”之文化保守主义学者的行列！我由衷高兴见到他登顶这一光辉的圣山。

什么决定西方历史的进程？傅峻毫不犹豫的回答： 宗教，宗教的冲突；何种宗教最接近文明、理性？傅峻同样毫不犹豫地回答：基督教，基督新教。

在“政治正确（多元主义、相对主义、身份政治等）”的后现代，你不能不赞叹傅峻的诚实、勇敢、真理性的告白！傅峻原非历史学者，他本是学工的；也许正是学工的那种丁是丁、卯是卯的一丝不苟、实事求是精神，让他得以不受学术陈见+政治正确的拘束，大胆地说出真理来！

傅峻本书中阐述的文明，不仅关乎道德、教化，也不仅仅是通过文明，理性的方式解决冲突，争端，更是一种人与人之间关系的解放，人性的解放，每个人都能够享受到自由，平等的幸福。

很显然，傅峻心目的文明，不同于文化（文化可多元，但文明有高低），不同于传统（传统文明下人活着就行，现代文明追求人尊严地活着），而是基督教所哺育的尊重人权、自由民主、宪政公义、持续发展的现代文明。

马克斯·韦伯在名著《新教伦理与资本主义精神》一书中论证：基督教是市场经济的妈妈；托克维尔在名著《论美国的民主》一书中论证：基督教是宪政民主的妈妈；霍肯弟兄在《清教徒的礼物》一书中论证：基督教是现代管理的妈妈；而现在，一位来自中国福建漳州的学者横空出世，以120万字论证了：基督教是现代文明的妈妈。

西方基督文明源自于基督教道德的影响。傅峻对于基督教道德总结如下：它是以信仰为基础，认为道德是天堂，伊甸园的神圣秩序，人们只有奉行美德才能获得拯救进入天堂，伊甸园，才能获得永生、永恒，找到人生的意义，生命的真谛；并且它以罚入地狱作为违背道德的惩罚手段，使人们心存敬畏之心，不敢胡作非为。

傅峻认为，基督教信仰最关键之处就是我们必须相信：只有根据圣经行事奉行美德，我们才有可能来到天堂，于是基督教信仰也在最高层面上决定我们的人生，指引我们的生活，使我们在这种最高信念的驱使下行事，人生也就有了最强劲的动力，生活已经有了最甜蜜的幸福。

众所周知，基督教是爱的宗教，基督教道德教导的核心是在人间践行天上的圣爱， 即超越出于喜欢的爱以及情欲的爱，活出耶稣在十字架上谦卑舍己、牺牲奉献的圣爱，表现为：弟兄相爱、邻舍之爱、仇敌之爱等。

傅峻高度评价基督教所倡导的圣爱尤其是兄弟之爱。他认为，只有基督教将“爱”作为人生的终极目标，将爱视为自己的生命，将爱视为上帝，甚至直接表明爱就是上帝（准确地讲应该是“上帝就是爱”——笔者）。他引用使徒约翰的话说，“4:7亲爱的弟兄啊，我们应当彼此相爱，因为爱是从神来的。凡有爱心的，都是由神而生，并且认识神。”“4:8没有爱心的，就不认识神，因为神就是爱。”

傅峻敏感地注意到：上帝就是爱；只有爱，你才能认识上帝；爱其实是一个很普遍的概念在许多宗教、学说中都有提及，但是没有一个宗教或者世俗学说如同基督教一般将爱置于这样崇高的地位。

傅峻因此强调指出：从来没有哪一个宗教象基督教一样将爱提升到如此之高的地位。只能通过爱才能救赎，才能见到上帝，这样简单的论述就将利己与利他，公共利益，社会牢牢的绑定在一起，通过信仰，通过爱，实现人生的伟大超越。

在傅峻看来，文明就是能够将各种物质财富、科学技术、文化成果保留下来延续下去的东西，而能将这些保留下来的唯有基督教的兄弟之爱（笔者认为，乃是基督神性拯救后的兄弟之爱）与理性（笔者认为，可称为“理性之光”，即上帝启示后的理性）。

傅峻指出：人类生存的第一要素，最伟大的感情，人类存在的意义——兄弟之爱。真正保证心理健康的唯一方法就是去信仰，去爱，只有信仰、爱才能让我们的灵魂充实甜美，才能使我们的心理健康，人生也才能快乐幸福。

傅峻谈到，兄弟之爱在西方，不仅通过生命关系来体现，在英国还通过教会法来保障。教会法的终极目的就是兄弟之爱，对异教徒，异端审判的最终目的就是着眼于异教徒的皈依与异端的改正，为了每一个人的灵魂死后能够上至天堂。

基督教道德通过信仰，兄弟之爱，很好的解决了自私天性与美德之间的矛盾，通过对永生，永恒，终极世界的信仰，通过对上帝与圣经的信仰，通过兄弟之爱，使人类产生无穷无尽的内在动力，实现了对自私天性，对世俗的超越而趋向美德，这也尽量避免了无休止的战争，维护了整个社会的秩序与稳定，创造了美好的幸福生活。

傅峻因此直接将文明与信仰，兄弟之爱联系在了一起。温家宝总理曾说过，没有爱就没有一切。而傅峻通过《文明的历程》有力地证明：没有基督谦卑舍己、牺牲奉献的那种从天上来的大爱的浇灌，人类不可能超拨自己，也就不可能生发出文明的进步、大地的更新。

在“宗教决定论”思想殿堂的建构完成之后，傅峻转向了宏大的历史叙述，并进一步完善其“宗教文明学“思想。

不同于蔑视天主教对人类文明贡献的流见，傅峻指出：在新教之前，教皇、教廷以及整个天主教世界确实为人类文明做出了杰出的贡献，可以不夸张地说，没有他们，也就没有人类今天的文明。从英伦三岛到欧洲大地的遍布教堂，修道院，育婴室，看护所，教理基本问答学校，大学就是他们劳苦功高的明证，他们将兄弟之爱播撒在广袤的土地上，将公平正义浸润在每一片土壤中，他们将知识传播给每一颗心灵，没有他们绝对没有我们今天幸福的一切。

中国人已经习惯了对天主教的批判与否定。但事实上，众多严肃的著述都表明，尽管出现过教皇等“教权的腐败”，但天主教对人类文明的贡献仍然是巨大的，即便中世纪的历史，也绝非用“黑暗”二字就可以书写概括。

傅峻指出：在新社会的支柱基督教的呵护下，从五百年开始，欧洲社会慢慢从这场大浩劫中恢复过来，开始平稳有序地快速发展，一千年左右在农耕技术上已经超越中国，其他各种工业技术更是普遍超越。同时人口也快速增长，他们不是通过内战消耗人口，而是将人口的压力向外释放，使欧洲形成一种不断向外殖民，扩张的传统。整个欧洲社会形成欣欣向荣，繁荣昌盛的局面。 

接下来是1507年之后的新教的登台。新教大步提升了基督教对人类文明的影响。就如同中国改革开放是从“真理标准的讨论（实质上是从个人崇拜或个人标准，转向了真理权威、真理标准）”这一思想革命开始的一样，“新教革命”也是从思想革命开始（从宗教权威转向上帝权威，而上帝其实是真理的本体）。

在傅峻看来，马丁·路德所高举的“因信称义”， 强调上帝的公义不是所谓的善行，而是对上帝的信仰，上帝的审判不是审判我们尘世的所作所为，而是审判我们对他的信仰。这一下子就将拯救与真理的权威从教权转向了上帝。

路德进而提出：人人皆可为祭司，每个人都是自己的牧师，每个人都可以通过自己获得救赎，在信仰领域内每个人是平等的。在否定了教皇，教廷这个金字塔形权力机构的存在意义之后，路德得出了他最伟大的思想，上帝之下，人人平等。

在这基础上，路德又提出： 每个人都可以阅读圣经，解释圣经，都可以通过圣经与上帝交流，上帝也可以通过圣经来到我们每个人心中。

因信称义，人人皆可为祭司，人人可以阅读理解圣经这三个思想就构成了路德新教的重要组成部分，它们彻底摧毁了压在人们信仰头顶上的教皇，教廷这座金字塔形的权力机构。

加尔文在路德的基础上，进一步推演出基督徒的诸多权利。例如，他通过圣经中的“十诫”推演出私有权神圣不可侵犯，人有持枪保护自己的权利等等。在枪支问题上，加尔文指出，拥有枪支保护自己的生命财产是最基本最重要的一条，因为人性是贪婪堕落的，随时可能腐败变质；而政府是由人形成的，所以政府的本质也是恶的，随时有可能侵犯个人权利。

今天美国的共和党人坚持认为：拥有枪支是一个基督徒的尊严与荣誉，是用来捍卫自由与平等的，是不可剥夺的权利，这些思想正来自加尔文。

这些基督教的精神 DNA 正是西方文明起源中的源起，也是所谓资本主义奠基的基石，也是现在所谓人权概念的基础。

在完成对天主教及宗教改革的论述之后，傅峻很自然地带领大家走进了“英国革命”和“美国革命”的历史长廊。

众所周知，西方文明起源于欧洲，但在欧洲，西方文明也有二条走向：欧陆与英伦三岛。欧洲大陆的文明主要发生在意大利，法国，德国，西班牙等国家，欧陆国家的总体特征是受天主教影响，后来又受到对天主教逆反的“人文主义“、“理性主义（所谓“文艺复兴”与“启蒙运动”）的影响，因此与神本主义、经验主义的英伦在道路上渐行渐远。

傅峻不同寻常之处，是将西方文明的起源定位于古罗马的英国，从使徒保罗，约瑟在古罗马在英伦三岛的传教，建立原初的使徒教会开始。傅峻创见性地指出，也正是由于这些使英伦三岛的土壤中浸润着基督教的兄弟之爱，文明、理性也流淌在英国人的血液之中，才有了完全不同于世界其他地方的安格鲁—萨克逊贵族，才有英国完全不同于世界其他地方的发展历程。

在英伦，人与人之间的关系亲切、自然，国王、贵族自然而然地将自己的不当权利让渡给骑士，乡绅，平民，让他们在议会中行使自己的权利，没有出现其他地方的绝对君主制，英国在13世纪末就完成了大宪章，形成了稳定议会制，王权受到严格的限制，在这种条件下产生了真正的资本主义。这些都与他们独特的，充满着兄弟之爱，理性、文明的土壤有关。

傅峻论证：通过法治传统，通过衡平法庭，英国很自然地实现资本主义完全战胜封建主义，很自然地实现了从封建主义到资本主义的过渡，这是世界其他地方绝无仅有的，在世界上的其他地方，为了从封建主义过渡到资本主义，到处是人头滚滚，血流成河。

最重要的是，从英伦三岛出发前往北美殖民的清教徒催生了美国，一个今天世界上最强大的国家，一个上帝的“山巅之城”，一个被称为“人类灯塔”的国度。

笔者想指出的是：英美英美，常联一起：英美文学、英美传统、英美海洋法系、英美保守主义。其实，关键在于英美共同的血脉：新教文明……

傅峻引人深省地指出：按理说，儒家金字塔型的官僚等级制度是人类最自然、最符合人伦常理的制度，而自由、平等反而是最不现实，最不符合人伦常理的一种人类存在方式；然而清教徒将自由、平等作为一种信仰坚持、也就产生了许多世俗社会所没有的革命性思想，将人类带入一个前所未有的文明世界。

傅峻耗尽心血，通过几十本零星的美国学术专著，细述温斯罗普等清教徒在马萨诸塞治理的详情，论证了正是由于清教徒完全不同于英国，更不用说世界其他地方的，全新的社会治理模式，才产生了后来的美国，这种治理模式的最主要的特点就是民主选举、市镇自治、州长制、两级议会等，这在人类社会的其他地方是不可能品尝到的，最终成为今天美国宪法的雏形。

傅峻还意识到，虽然今天全人类无不崇尚自由、平等，但温斯罗普等清教徒其实还有着更高的目的，那就是建立一个充满兄弟之爱的社会。因此，北美殖民地的自由、平等，所有这些治理模式都与清教信仰有关，很多概念如圣人之治、民长制、圣经共同体，为大家闻所未闻，却是形成今天美国宪政的思想根源与社会基础，也因此才显得如此独特，如此恒久常青。

相比之下，人类历史上其他政治学说从来没有将兄弟之爱作为国家存在的意义。

为什么新教国家可以稳定地维持几百年，在其他社会却很难？傅峻给出的答案就是：因为大家共同信仰上帝，信奉同一本《圣经》，相信上帝之下人人平等，大家充满兄弟之爱。

美国的本质是什么？大多数人或许会说，信仰美国宪法。但傅峻坚持认为，正确的答案应该是：兄弟之爱！美国，不是因为美；而是因为爱，基督之爱、天上之爱生出的兄弟之爱国度。

傅峻随后详述了美国革命、美国的独立进程，可谓非常详细、独到、深入、深刻，我就不一一展开介绍了。

我想指出的是，傅峻的论述依然贯穿了其“宗教决定论”的主线索。例如，美国革命的起因一般人都认为是税收引起。但我们也知道，经济只是表面，事实上英国的税并不高甚至可以是低的；原因在政治，“无代表不纳税”，这是美国人民认可的政治规则，因此不接受英方随意征税。而傅峻强调指出：还有更深层的信仰冲突的原因，即新英格兰的清教徒四州对英国政府试图在殖民地推行圣安甘宗，建立主教制的想法极为抵制、无法接受。

在傅峻的叙述中，美国革命和英国革命一样，本质都是宗教革命；而更加纯正的基督信仰的胜出与确立，往往意味着更加文明、进步、发达的社会与国家的生成。这正是基督教对人类文明的伟大贡献！

也正是基于基督教决定西方文明的角度，作者独具眼光地提出了美国建国的5个国父的新颖看法：温斯罗普（新教移民第一人、确立“山巅之城”伟大异象）为第一国父；马瑟英·克里斯为第二国父（他为麻省争取到了珍贵的第二份宪章）；塞缪尔•亚当斯（在美国独立战争中的作用傅峻认为无人出其右）位列第三；约翰•亚当斯（美国第二任总统，《独立宣言》五位起草成员之一，被誉为“美国独立的巨人”）列第四；华盛顿（不用说了）只能排在第五位。

我想指出的是，美国建国之初约300万人口，绝大多数接受加尔文思想，因此也有不少人推崇加尔文为美国的“建国之父”。

傅峻《文明的历程》一书先以网络版面世，许多网友读过此书后大呼过瘾，甚至盛赞此书可与托克维尔《论美国的民主》，韦伯《新教伦理与资本主义精神》等经典名著相媲美，是近年来难得一见的思想巨著，将在世界思想史中占据应有的位置。

接下来，请允许我将谈谈我的评述和建议。

When my good friend Zhan Hequan recommended Fu Jun’s book “the course of Western Civilization: from ancient Rome to the independence of the United States”, I rejoiced but doubted.

Why do I rejoice? The reason is that I believe Zhan Hequan, a good friend for many years, is a hermit and wise man who loves reading and has profound knowledge and extraordinary insight; the book he recommends must have something outstanding. The doubt is that I don’t believe that Chinese scholars can write excellent books about western civilization. Those who don’t understand Christianity can’t write well; Those who understand Christianity but lack academic ability still can’t write well.

When I read the book, I was overjoyed by a trip I had never expected. Fu Jun deeply understands the mystery of the Christian faith and has strong academic skills. He can sit on the cold bench for ten years, resulting in this 1.2 million word masterpiece that can attract everyone to want to read it all in one breath; nevertheless, no one can read the whole book in such a way.

Toynbee of Britain, the great scholar of civilization studies, divided the 5500 years of human history into 21 mature civilizations: Egypt, Sumerian, Minos, ancient China, Andes, Maya, Hittite, Babylon, ancient India, Greece, Iran, Syria, Arabia, China, India, Korea, the West, Byzantine, Russia, Mexico, and Yucatan. Among them, the first six are the first generation civilization directly derived from primitive societies, and the last 15 are the relative civilization from the first generation civilization. Besides, there are five dead Civilizations: Polynesia, Eskimo, nomads, Sparta, and Ottoman.

Unfortunately, most of the civilizations referred to above died or disappeared in the night sky of history. In my opinion, only three “heavenly civilizations” can go into modern civilization: Jewish civilization, Christian civilization, and Chinese civilization (including the regions affected by Chinese culture, such as Japan and South Korea). The common characteristics of these three civilizations are: awing the heaven, longing for heaven, and advocating the unity of heaven and human.

Western civilization is a Christian civilization, but it also includes different sects of Christianity, such as Protestantism, Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodox. It is like the mobile phone, with different brands such as Apple, Samsung, and Huawei. At the same time, Western civilization was influenced by ancient Greece and Rome. Therefore, Western civilization is sometimes called “two Greek Civilizations,” the integration of Greek civilization and Hebrew civilization.

How to explore and regard the course of Western civilization? Fu Jun, taking Christian faith as the main clue, combs the process of Western history from ancient Rome, and Britain to the independence of the United States, and then summarizes that “English American Protestant civilization” is the mainstream of Western civilization

It’s a brilliant job, even a great job! Five years of preparation, followed by six hours of writing every day for five years, resulted in the crystallization of 1.2 million words!

After Lin Yutang, the talent, there is now Fu Jun again coming out of Fujian. What a blessed place! Fujian!

To help readers digest the tome of Fu Jun, before commenting, let’s briefly introduce the context of this book.

First of all, Fu Jun come straight to the point: human percept, that is, the essence of human beings, is greed and depravity, and reason cannot promote from that; namely, rationality cannot transcend percept.

In order to transcend the essence of greed and depravity and move towards civilization, humans hope to lead by morality or ethics. These are obvious in China, where Confucian culture is the mainstream. The “ruling the country by virtue” prevailing in contemporary china shows that today’s Chinese are still pinning their wishes on this ancient tradition.

But Fu Jun eloquently argued: Without God, pure secular moral philosophy cannot hold up human morality.

Fu Jun combed the moral philosophy of humans, from Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard to Confucianism and Mohist in China, resulting in that the road of pure secular moral philosophy will go nowhere

Because the essence of human moral philosophy is ” empty of emptiness,” in the end, the human moral philosophy, including Confucianism, is only knowledge, a theory, not life itself. Of course, it is difficult to nourish life and nurture a high level of civilization!

Moreover, Fu Jun found that those philosophers “are not thinking about the essence of life, but rather about how to make themselves famous, stand out in the world, and override thousands and millions of people. They regard human society as burials of their innovation and ideas, even want to act as a human mentor and new God, and utilize human destiny as the stepping stone of their ambition”. But unfortunately, their thoughts are not enough for humans to build a civilization. Moreover, they may bring humans many disasters.

There is a good saying, “the end of man is the beginning of God”! After the bankruptcy of human moral philosophy, human nature can only resort to divine salvation, and the transcendence of human civilization only depends on the guidance of religion!

From this, Fu Jun turned to construct the “religious determinism” theory of civilization history. He pointed out that religion has the most critical position in human life. If there is no religion, humans will always be addicted to material enjoyment, so Christianity determines the history of the West and established Western civilization. It even can be said that religion determines the history of humans.

Sociologist Louis Henry Morgan divides social evolution into three stages: savagery, barbarism, and civilization. With technological invention as the boundary of each stage, he thinks that the representative technological invention in the civilization stage is the phonetic system and the text. According to Wikipedia, the word “civilization” in English comes from the Latin “Civilis,” which has the meaning of “urbanization” and “citizenship.” It extended to “division of labor” and “cooperation,” which means that people live in “social groups” in harmony, indicating the state of advanced social and cultural development and the process of reaching this state.

Fu Jun insisted that religion is the decisive factor in society, and it is difficult for a society to survive without religion. The core argument that Fu Jun continuously expounds on and proves in the book “the course of Western civilization” is that religion has more influence on society than material basis, economic benefits, and belief overweights political ideas.

Based on the above, Fu Jun starts from the core concept of Christian belief and then describes Western civilization’s growth and maturity, forming the context of the book.

The understanding of civilization by “religious determinism” is clearly opposed to Karl Marx’s “materialistic view of history,” and it is also very different from Robert Carneiro’s “geographical determinism” and Karl Witt Fogel’s “water conservancy system.” (which in the author’s opinion can be called “public construction theory”),” and similar “trade network theory.” Therefore, “religious determinism” theory not only is opposition to the current mainstream ideology of China but also in opposition to the current western’s ideology, the left’s thought of “relativism” and “pluralism.” And “religious determinism” gains the authentic tradition of conservative scholars such as Max Weber and Samuel Huntington.

In Anthropology and archaeology, civilization refers to the areas where people live and have a considerable degree of cultural and economic development, such as the “two river civilization” and “Yellow River civilization,” which are marked by region and economy; However, civilization can also refer to people with a similar culture, such as Christian civilization and Confucian civilization, which is clearly marked by culture. Fu Jun’s approach is to adopt the latter more (“Christian civilization”) while taking some of the former (“the west”).

Fu Jun said in his book that Huntington’s view of Western civilization includes the following aspects: the classical heritage of ancient Greece and Rome, Catholicism and Protestantism, European language, separation of spiritual authority from secular authority, the rule of law, social diversity, representative institutions, and individualism.

Among them, Catholicism and Protestantism are listed and are the core factor.

I have talked about that Huntington, a prophet scholar, foresaw the “clash of Civilizations” in advance and sounded an alarm for Western civilization, especially American society: the main threat to the United States, the most prominent bearer of Western civilization, is the multiculturalism. Multiculturalism caused by many immigrants insisting on their beliefs has weakened the influence of Christianity, which will undermine the United States and even break down the United States into several countries.

Fu Jun admires Huntington extremely, so he uses Huntington’s idea of “religion dominated civilization” to start the book: Christianity dominates Western civilization and promotes it into modern civilization. Of course, Fu Jun deeply regrets that Huntington dare not elaborate on the apparent fact that Christianity dominates Western civilization!

That makes Fu Jun enter the ranks of cultural conservatism scholars of “religious determinism”! I am so glad to see him ascend this glorious holy mountain.

What determines the course of Western history? Fu Jun replies without hesitation: Religion, religious conflict; which religion is closest to civilization and rationality? Fu Jun also answers without hesitation: Christianity, Protestantism.

In the postmodern era of “political correctness (pluralism, relativism, identity politics, etc.),” you can’t help admiring Fu Jun’s honest, brave, and truthful confession! Fu Jun is not a historian initially; he majors in engineering; perhaps the meticulous and realistic spirit of the engineering scholar makes him speak out the truth boldly without academic stereotypes and political correctness!

The civilization described in Fu Jun’s book is not only about morality and religious education, about resolving problems through civilization and rationality, but also about liberating the relationship between people and freeing people from human nature. Everyone can enjoy the happiness of freedom and equality.

It is clear that Fu Jun’s civilization is different from culture (culture is diversified, but civilization has ranks) and is different from tradition (in traditional civilization, people only live to survive, and modern civilization pursues human dignity). However, modern civilization is nurtured by Christianity, which respects human rights, freedom and democracy, constitutionalism, justice, and sustainable development.

Max Weber argues in his famous book”Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”: that Christianity is the mother of the market economy; Tocqueville argues in the book “On American Democracy”: that Christianity is the mother of constitutional democracy; Brother Hawken contends in the book “the gift of Puritans”: Christianity is the mother of modern management; and now, a scholar born in Zhangzhou, Fujian, China, proves with 1.2 million words: Christianity is the mother of modern civilization.

Western Christian civilization originates from the influence of Christian morality. Fu Jun summarizes Christian morality as follows: it is based on faith and believes morality is the sacred order of heaven and Eden. Only by practicing virtues can people gain salvation and enter heaven. Only in the Garden of Eden can they attain eternal life and eternity and find the meaning of life, the truth of life. It uses punishment to hell as a penalty for violating morals, which makes people feel awe and dare not do anything wrong.

Fu Jun believes that the most critical aspect of the Christian faith is that we must believe and act according to the Bible and practice its virtues, only by which we can come to heaven. Therefore, the Christian faith also determines our life at the highest level, guides our lives, and lets this highest faith drive us; life will have the strongest motivation and the sweetest happiness.

As we all know, Christianity is the religion of love. The core of Christian moral teaching is to practice the divine love in the world, that is, to transcend the love of enjoyment and lust, and to live in divine love. It represents Jesus’ humility and self-sacrifice on the cross, and it expresses the love of brothers, love of neighbors, love of enemies, etc.

Fu Jun highly praises the holy love advocated by Christianity, especially the love of brothers. He thinks that only Christianity regards “love” as the ultimate goal of life, regards love as own life, regards love as God, and even directly indicates that love is God (to be exact, it should be “God is love” – the author). He quotes the apostle John’s saying, “4:7 Dear brothers, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who practices love is born of God and knows God.” “4:8 Without love, you don’t know God because God is love.”

Fu Jun subtly notices that God is love; only love can you know God. Love is a very common concept mentioned in many religions and theories, but no religion or secular doctrine places love in such a sublime position as Christianity.

Fu Jun, therefore, stresses that no religion has ever promoted love to such a high level as Christianity; only through love can we save and see God. This simple discussion will firmly bind self-interest with altruism, public interest, and society. Through faith and love, we can achieve the great transcendence of life.

In Fu Jun’s view, civilization can preserve material wealth, science and technology, and cultural achievements. And preserving these is only by the brotherly love of Christianity (the author believes that it is the divine nature of Christ, is a brotherly love after salvation), and rationality (in the author’s opinion, it can be called the “light of rationality,” namely rationality after God’s revelation).

Fu Jun points out that: the first element of human existence, the most incredible feelings, and the meaning of human existence is the love of brothers. Therefore, the only way to ensure mental health is to believe and love. Only faith and love can make our soul rich and sweet, our mental health, happiness, and bliss of life.

Fu Jun says that the love of brothers is embodied not only by life relations but also secured by church law in Britain. The ultimate purpose of church law is brotherhood. The ultimate aim of the trial is to focus on the conversion of pagans and the correction of heresy so that everyone can go to heaven after death.

Christian morality helps people solve the contradiction between selfish human nature and human virtue through faith, brotherly love, through belief in immortality, eternity, and the ultimate goal. And through faith in God and the Bible and brotherly love, humans also avoid endless war as far as possible, generate endless internal power transcending selfish human nature to virtue, secure the order and stability of the society, and create a beautiful and happy life.

Fu Jun directly links civilization with faith and brotherly love. Premier Wen Jiabao once said that without love, there would be nothing. Through “The Course of Western Civilization,” Fu Jun powerfully proves that Without Christ’s humility, self-sacrifice, and dedication to the great love from heaven. Humans could not overpower themselves, nor could it initiate civilization and the earth’s renewal.

After constructing the “religious determinism” ideological palace hall, Fu Jun turns to a grand historical narrative and further perfects his “religious civilization” theory.

Unlike the popular opinion that the Catholic Church contributes little to human civilization, Fu Jun figures out that before the Protestant church, the Pope, the Holy See, and the whole Catholic world made outstanding contributions to human civilization. It is no exaggeration to say that without them, there would be no human civilization today. From the British Isles to European, the pervading churches, monasteries, nurseries, nursing homes, catechism schools, and universities are verification of their hard work. They spread their brotherhood on the vast land, infiltrated justice and fairness in every piece of land, and disseminated knowledge to every soul; without them, there would be no happiness for us today.

Chinese people have been used to criticism and denial of Catholicism. But in fact, many profound writings show that, despite the “corruption of religious power,” such as the Pope, Catholic contribution to human civilization is still enormous; even the history of the Middle Ages is not written in the word “dark.”

Fu Jun points out that: under the care of Christianity, the pillar of the new society, from ad 500, European Society slowly recovered from catastrophe and started to develop orderly. About ad 1000, it has surpassed China in agricultural technology and other industrial technologies even more. At the same time, their population also increased. Instead of consuming the population through civil war, the European Society released the population pressure outwards so that Europe formed a tradition of constant colonization and expansion. As a result, the whole European society had shaped a prosperous and prosperous situation.

Then comes Protestantism after 1507. Protestantism has dramatically increased the influence of Christianity on human civilization. Just as China’s reform and opening-up started from the ideological revolution of “the discussion of the standard of truth” (essentially from the worship of the individual or the standard of the individual to the authority of truth, the standard of truth),” the “Protestant Revolution” also starts from the ideological revolution ( From religious authority to the authority of God, and God is actually the body of truth).

In Fu Jun’s view, Martin Luther’s “justification by faith” emphasizes that God doesn’t judge the so-called good deed but belief in God. God doesn’t judge what we do in the world but judges our faith in him. At this moment, the authority of salvation and truth shifted from religious authority to God.

Luther further proposed: that everyone can be a priest, everyone is his own pastor, everyone can obtain salvation through himself, and everyone is equal in the realm of faith. Finally, after denying the existence of the pyramid-shaped authority of the Pope and the Holy See, Luther came to his most brilliant idea that everyone is equal under God. On this basis, Luther further proposed that everyone can read the Bible, explain the Bible, communicate with God through the Bible, and God can come to our hearts through the Bible.

Justified by faith, everyone can be a priest and read and understand the Bible. These three ideas construct a vital part of Lutheran Protestantism. It destroys the pyramid-shaped authority of the Pope and the Holy See, which is pressure on the head of faith.

Calvin further promoted the rights of Christians based on Luther. For example, he deduced the sacred and inviolable private right in the Bible, and the people have the right to protect themselves with guns through the Ten Commandments, and so on. Calvin pointed out that possessing guns protects their lives and property is the most basic and essential right because human nature is greedy and depravity, which may be corrupt and degenerated at any time. Furthermore, humans form the government, so the spirit of government is also evil. Therefore, the government is possible to violate individual rights at all times.

Today, Republicans in the United States insist that possession of guns is the dignity and honor of a Christian, a defense of freedom and equality, and an inalienable right, which is coming from Calvin.

This Christian spiritual DNA is the origin of Western civilization, the cornerstone of capitalism, and the foundation of the concept of human rights.

After finishing the discussion on the Catholic and religious reform, Fu Jun naturally led us into the historic corridor of the “British revolution” and “American Revolution.”

As we all know, Western civilization stems from Europe, but in Europe, Western civilization also has two trends:  Europe and The British Isles. The civilization in the European continent is mainly in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and other countries. Catholicism influenced the general characteristics of the European countries, and these countries later also were influenced by “humanism” and “rationalism” (the so-called “Renaissance” and “Enlightenment”) which rebelled against Catholicism. So it is far from the road of empiricism in The British Isles.

Fu Jun is unusual because he points out the origin of Western civilization in the British Isles of ancient Rome, starting with the missionary work of the apostle’s Paul and Joseph. They established the original apostolic church. Fu Jun creatively points out that because the soil of The British Isles permeated with Christian brotherhood, civilization and rationality also flowed in the blood of the British people. So the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy was utterly different from other parts of the world, and so was the development of Britain.

In England, the relationship between people was kind and natural. Kings and nobles naturally transferred their improper rights to Knights, squires, and civilians to exercise their rights in Parliament. As a result, the absolute monarchy didn’t emerge there like in other places. Britain completed the Magna Carta at the end of the 13th century, forming a stable parliamentary system, and the Royal power was strictly limited. Under these conditions, naturally, capitalism came into being. All these are related to their unique, rational, and civilized soil, full of brotherly love.

Fu Jun argued: that through the tradition of the rule of law and the court of equity, Britain naturally realized the complete victory of capitalism over feudalism and the transition from feudalism to capitalism, which was unique in the world. In other parts of the world, to transition from feudalism to capitalism, there was the rolling of heads and blood flowing in the river everywhere.

Most importantly, the pilgrims from the British Isles to colonize North America gave birth to the United States, the strongest country in the world today, “a city on the hill” of God, and a country called the “Lighthouse of humans.”

I want to point out that Britain and the United States are often associated: the British and American literature, the British and American tradition, the British and American maritime law system, and the British and American conservatism. In fact, the key lies in the common blood of Britain and the United States: Protestant civilization

Fu Jun points out that the pyramid organizational Structure of the Hierarchical bureaucracy of Confucianism is the most natural and reasonable system for humans, while freedom and equality are the most unrealistic and the most unreasonable way of human existence. However, the Puritans insisted on equality and liberty as a kind of faith, generating revolutionary ideas that the secular society did not have and bringing humans into an unprecedented civilized world.

Fu Jun exhausts all his energies through dozens of sporadic American academic monographs to detail the government of Puritans, such as Winthrop governing in Massachusetts. And demonstrate that they were utterly different from Britain, let alone other parts of the world. As a result, a new social governance model emerged, which gave birth to the United States. The essential characteristics of this governance were that democratic election, municipal autonomy, governor systems, two-level Parliament, etc., which is impossible to taste elsewhere in human society. And eventually, it became the prototype of today’s U.S. constitution.

Fu Jun also realized that although today all humans advocate freedom and equality, the Puritans such as Winthrop had a higher goal: to build a society full of brotherly love. Therefore, the equality and freedom of the North American colonies were all related to Puritanism. Concepts such as the rule of saints, the chief system, and the biblical community were unheard of by anyone else. Still, they were the ideological roots and basis for the formation of today’s American constitutionalism. Therefore, it is so unique; it is so everlasting

In contrast, other political theories in human history have never regarded brotherly love as the meaning of national existence.

Why can Protestant countries maintain stability for hundreds of years, but it is difficult in other societies? Fu Jun’s answer is: that people there believe in God, believe in the same Bible, believe that everyone is equal under God, and are full of brotherly love.

What is the essence of America? Most people might answer they believe in the Constitution of the United States. But Fu Jun insists the correct answer should be: love of brothers! The United States is not because of beauty but because of love, the love of Christ, heaven, and the love of brothers.

Fu Jun then elaborated on the American Revolution and the process of American independence, which was detailed, original, in-depth, and profound. Therefore, I will not introduce them one by one.

I want to point out that Fu Jun’s exposition still runs through the main thread of his “religious determinism.” For example, the cause of the U.S. revolution was generally considered to be taxation, but we also know that the economy is only superficial. In fact, the British tax was not high or even low; The reason lay in politics. “No taxation without representation” was a political rule recognized by the American people, so they couldn’t accept taxes levied by the British at will. Fu Jun emphasizes a deeper cause of belief conflict: the Puritans in New England resisted and could not accept the British government’s attempt to promote Anglican in the colonies and establish the bishops system.

In Fu Jun’s narration, the American Revolution, like the British revolution, is essentially a religious revolution; The victory and establishment of a more pure Christian faith often mean more civilized, progressive, and developed societies and countries. It is a significant contribution of Christianity to human civilization!

From the perspective of Christianity determining Western civilization, Fu Jun puts forward new ideas of the five founding fathers of the United States: Winthrop (the first Protestant immigrant and the grand vision of establishing the “city on the hill”) as the first father of the nation; Mather Interest is the second father of the nation (he won the precious second charter for Massachusetts); Samuel Adams (who played the main role in the American War of independence, according to Fu Jun), ranked third; John Adams (the second president of the United States, one of the five drafting members of the declaration of independence, known as the “giant of American independence”) ranked fourth; Washington, needless to say, can only come in fifth.

I would like to point out that at the beginning of the founding of the United States, there were about 3 million people, most of whom accepted Calvin’s thoughts. Therefore, many people praised Calvin as the “father of the founding of the United States.”.

Fu Jun’s “the course of western civilization” was first published on the Internet. After reading this book, many netizens express great satisfaction and even praise it compares favorably with Tocqueville’s “on American democracy” and Weber’s “Protestant Ethics and the spirit of capitalism.” It is a rare ideological masterpiece in recent years and will occupy its due place in the history of world thought.

Next, let me talk about my comments and suggestions.

After reading Fu Jun’s book “The cause of West Civilization,” the most critical enlightenment to people is that human civilization can be briefly divided into two types: civilization with Christ and civilization without Christ.

At the same time, a key question is: What kind of civilization do you recognize and choose?

Due to limited space, I will only state three points on the concluding theme of “Civilization with Christ and Civilization without Christ.”

1 、 The civilization of Christ is based on the belief in Christ, which is the civilization of enlightenment, not the civilization that stays on the rational level of humans; The non-Christian civilization lacks faith in Christ, and it comes from human reason, ideology, moral philosophy and so on.

Rationality is a gift from God to humans, but when humans reject God, Rationality is tainted by sin and even becomes a weapon for man to reject God. However, people from Jews to Christians who accept God have realized God’s revelation in the “Bible” by reason and spirituality, transcending human instinct and reason to construct a brilliant Hebrew- Christian civilization.

The most obvious is monogamy. Fu Jun’s book also mentions that this is a unique rule in the Christian world. This marriage rule conflicts with other religions’ doctrines, secular society’s customs, and human instinct and rationality. Because of the greed and depravity of human nature, it is more inclined to polygamy or polyandry. In the traditional secular Society of China, the emperor could have countless concubines, the scholar-officials, three wives, and four concubines. Ordinary people could also have groups of wives and concubines as long as economic conditions permitted. Monogamy can be said to be anti-human and anti-life, but monogamy is from God’s revelation in the depth of the soul, the subconscious. It comes from the moral law established by God in the deep universe. It is the utmost respect for husband and wife, the greatest love. When Christianity determines it through the doctrine, it becomes the symbol of civilization and is accepted by all people.

Similarly, the pyramid organization construct of the hierarchial bureaucrat of Confucianism is the most natural and reasonable system for humans. Freedom and equality are just anti-human and anti-life, like monogamy, but finally are accepted and considered as the universal civilization of humans by everyone. at the same time, The initial formation of these ideas (natural human rights, etc.) comes from the inspiration of God, and the power of Christianity drove their practice and formation

The United States is evolutionary, secular, scientific, modern, and democratic in the Chinese impression. In fact, the background and pillars of the United States are divine, faith, moral, ancient, and Republican……

The book “leap 5000 years” points out that 28 great ideas (28 Great Ideas That Changed the World) of founding the United States, each principle is derived from the Bible, and none of them was invented by the founding fathers, and they only discover, not create them.

The Christian “theory of God creating man” has revealed the concept of “natural human rights.” Locke pointed out that God creates humans, orders humans to reproduce, and gives all humans the right to use food, clothing, and daily necessities. It means that all power comes from God; God grants the power of governance and management to the people instead of the monarch, and the people entrust them to the government in the form of a “social contract.”

Freedom comes from God, and no one can take it away. When The king deprives the people of their freedom, he is a tyrant; If it is deprived in the name of law, the law is evil. Citizens have the power to disobey and the responsibility to disobey; If it is robbed by the majority in the name of “democracy,” that is, “tyranny of the majority,” citizens have the power to overthrow tyranny.

The “separation of powers” — the design of the republican system is to limit the power of the government, and it is derived from the enlightenment of the Christian view of original sin. In the Bible, God has repeatedly emphasized that human nature is evil through the prophets, especially Jesus Christ. Everyone is sinful and owes to the glory of God; because of human’s sinful nature, power inevitably leads to corruption, and absolute power leads to absolute corruption. Montesquieu pointed out in the “Spirit of the Law” “It is a constant experience that all those who have power are prone to abuse power,”

Fu Jun’s book shows before “the United States of America” wasn’t on the horizon, the spiritual DNA of the “religious refugees” determined that this country would be a “city on the hill.”. It also means: This country must stand for Jesus Christ and let the world see the light of Jesus Christ and the glory of the cross.

Not for eating, not for drinking, not to die for wealth, not to die for food, but strive to pursue freedom of faith. The “divine order” inspired by God guides the United States (in Liu Junning’s language)”, and a city on the hill was built by modeling heaven. This is the unique DNA of the United States.

The most important thing to shape the United States is the ” United States Constitution.” The United States Constitution was born out of the Christian faith. In 1787, 55 representatives of the United States Constitutional Convention discussed and passed the “United States Constitution” in Philadelphia. Among the 55 representatives who signed the U.S. Constitution, 28 were Anglicans, 8 were Presbyterians, 7 were Congregationalists, 2 Lutherans, 2 Methodists, and 2 Dutch reformers. 2 Roman Catholics, 1 unidentified denomination, 3 deists.

That is, among the 55 founders of the Constitution of the United States, 94.5% are Christian believers, and only 5.5% are deists.

Two of the three Deists are Christian preachers or believers, but they are only affected by the deism and did not declare their abandonment or opposition to the Christian faith. There is only one true deism.

For more than 100 years, the six generations of Chinese intellectuals, who have explored the whole world, trapped in the thought cage of their own cultural ontology, especially because of the influence of the thought of ” “Chinese Learning as the Fundamental Structure, Western Learning for Practical Use” .therefore, they declined to go into the Christian faith, nor could they understand the enlightening “Protestant civilization.” the most they could understand and accept was the humanism and rationalism represented by the European continent, so they emphasized “Mr. Sai, Mr. De,” and then further emphasized materialism and atheism.

But the founders of America humbled themselves in front of God with devout faith. They believed that human is always human, God is always God, and man can never replace God. The most function of human reason is to realize that rationality is incomplete and not to hold up human rationality. Then they turn to God’s Enlightenment.

This God, of course, is the God of the Hebrew-Christian faith, that is, the God revealed in the “Bible” rather than the “God” about which Chinese people generally talk.

Of course, to depend on their ideas to build a country or to rely on God’s revelation to build a country, for humans, are two opposite ways, tremendous difference!

In Europe, the “Renaissance” in Italy and the “Enlightenment” in French all held high human rationality, so they were on the road to humanism and even atheism. As a result, ” As soon as humans think, God laughs, “the French Revolution was bloody, and Italy fell into fascism. And then Paris Commune, Soviet Russia totalitarianism, global atheism movement, and violent revolution were all born out.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the United States was on the opposite path, which was theism instead of humanism, conservatism in place of liberalism, empiricism in lieu of rationalism, marine law system rather than civil law system; Its aim is also clear, not to stay at the human level of freedom, equality, philanthropy, and other human cultures, but to pursue “orderly freedom”: democracy, constitutionalism, Republic, etc. Moreover, there are more sacred pursuits: the city on the hill, the love of brothers……

For the Chinese people, freedom, democracy, constitutionalism, and Republic are all strange things. But for Americans, this is their way of life, something they are familiar with.

Before the founding of the United States, the United States had civil society, which was conducive to shaping the United States’ national governance. Tocqueville particularly underlined this on “democracy in the United States” and Huntington in his “civil Society: the exception of the United States”

In the church, Americans learned how to govern in a way similar to constitutionalism and Republic. In the community, Americans knew how to manage through Parliament.

First, there is the church, then society. And civil society first, then the United States. On this basis, Huntington refutes the idea that the United States is an empire and concludes that the United States will not fall into the “decline of a great power” predicted by Paul Kennedy.

“In God, we trust” is still engraved in American coins today.

Therefore, to understand China, we must know Confucius and Taoism. To understand America, we must understand Jesus Christ. To understand modern civilization, we must know God’s revelation, divine order, conservatism, etc.

Unfortunately, not to mention the ordinary Chinese, even Chinese elites have not paid full attention to the establishment by Christ of the United States. These Chinese elites include entrepreneurs who often stay in the United States, Mr. Zi Zhong Yun, the former senior capital of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the best intellectual representatives of China that I respect,. Mr. Zi Zhong Yun and Mr. Chen Ping talked about “the United States of a century”; They hardly mentioned Christ and Protestantism. When I listened, I guessed they were talking about France (joy)!