新冠疫情下基督宗教醫治觀念及實踐的倫理糾結

The Ethical Challenges to Christian Healing in the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

基督宗教自創教以來，其信息和實踐都與醫治息息相關。人類犯罪墮落的肉身和靈魂，雖然有「因信稱義」之拯救，但更需要教會的聖禮及群體生活來使之潔淨與得醫治。它們都是信徒需要親身參與的活動，被視為不能隨意缺席的集體活動。

另外，教會一直在瘟疫流行時贈醫施藥、照顧病者。基督徒無私的醫治服務，雖然在歷史上為大眾所尊崇，但這些舉動也令他們冒上受感染的風險。在前現代的社會裡，教會的「醫治」仍能對民眾的健康作出貢獻，但現代社會已不需教會扮演公共保健和醫療的角色。尤有進者，基督宗教的醫治觀念和實踐，在今次的新冠病毒疫情裡，被描述為危害公共健康的行徑。本文旨在探討這種變化背後的倫理糾結，並分析教會的回應策略，如何重新詮釋基督宗教的醫治觀念，及應對現今的倫理挑戰。

From its very beginning, the message and practice of the Christian faith have been inextricably related to healing. Although the eternal salvation of sinful human beings' body and soul is provided by justification through faith, the Church teaches that our soul and body should be purified and healed by sacraments and communal Christian life. These in-person activities are essential to Christian practice. Moreover, historically, the Church has dispensed medicine and taken care of the sick during pandemics. Christianity's caring service has been well respected by the public throughout its history, and in pre-modern society, Christian healthcare services often contributed substantially to the psychological and physical wellbeing of many people. In modern society, however, the role of the Church has been replaced by the public healthcare and medical systems. Particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Christian understanding and practice of healing has sometimes been accused of endangering public health. This paper therefore investigates the ethical landscapes behind the change of public opinion and the strategies used by Christian churches to meet this challenge.