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撮要

本文試把儒家對死後世界的靈魂觀與基督教的靈魂觀作一比較，儒家自先秦開始，便確認人生的重要，但死的靈魂世界，則放入存疑不論的範圍，「未知生，焉知死」，是一注腳。而子產對靈魂的看法，則為漢以後儒家論死後靈魂的理論基礎，但這基礎並不能成為儒家靈魂學的知識論。宋明儒甚至把生死作一自然現象，把鬼神物化，靈魂作為生的延續活動而矣。西方基督教對靈魂有相同看法，基督教神學有末世觀，由創造到復活，是首尾呼應，但死後到復活之間的靈魂，早期教父並沒有詳細探討，因為人死後，人的整存性分離，靈魂要等待復活後與肉體結合，真正的人才出現，故人死後的靈魂，基本上是沒有活動的，也不值得去探索，最有意義的事還是生前的工作。

儒家和教父同樣顯出生的重要，如果人終日耽於死後的不可知境域，則人將失去生的意義。

ABSTRACT

This paper attemps to compare the two pictures of life after death between Confucianism and early church fathers. We found that in Chinese Confucianism life after death is alway unknown. The theory of spirits and gods is seemed to be the appendix of human beings activities. The later Confucianism even maintainsed that the life after and before death is one. Life after death is just a natural phenomenon. There is no epistemology on life after death.

The similar view point is also held by early church fathers. They are sure that the doctrine of creation and eschatology should be co-related. However, the soul departs from body at the time of death, the situation of soul is quiet and non-active. Souls are waiting for the day of resurrection. The importance of life is in life before death.

Both of Confucianism and early Church fathers are deemed that we should have a meaningful life before death, rather than wasting our time to investigate in the unknown realm after death.

原載於《建道學刊》9期（1998年1月），頁173-189。