和平之子的奇迹：从背叛到和平的旅程
- Olive Qin
- 3月19日
- 讀畢需時 3 分鐘
2025年3月19日 星期三
使者有声杂志编辑部
基督使者协会门徒培育资源中心
1962年，年轻的传教士唐·理查森携妻子卡罗尔和襁褓中的儿子斯蒂芬，乘独木舟沿着河流进入一片热气腾腾、树屋高耸的的沼泽地——新几内亚的萨维部落。土著人早就听说过，高大、苍白的陌生人会带来药物和工具，这令他们兴奋不已。可他们不知道的是，唐带来的礼物，除了药物和工具，还有他们从未听过，却比药物和工具还要宝贵千万倍的耶稣基督的福音。
唐和卡罗尔在没有书籍和老师的情况下，凭借耐心和努力，不仅学会了萨维语，还翻译成萨维语版《圣经》。然而，令他们大为震惊的是，当萨维人听了耶稣基督的故事后，竟然对加略人犹大大为赞赏和喜爱。原来在他们的观念中，“背叛和欺骗”是一种英雄的行为。可想而知，在这样的观念环境中，暴力冲突在萨维村庄之间时有发生。唐一再恳求他们要和平相处，可谁都无法信任彼此。绝望之中，唐威胁要离开！可他们已经依赖唐带来的工具和药物，于是同意通过一个神圣的传统——“和平之子仪式”来实现和平。
这个仪式主要是由交战双方的首领彼此交换婴儿，即“和平之子”来保证和平：只要孩子活着，和平就会持续，相反则战争再次爆发。看到这一幕，唐与妻子意识到，这不就与那个故事相似吗？于是他们向萨维人解释到：上帝就是通过派出自己的儿子耶稣作为永恒的和平之子，带来了人与神之间的和解。
这一解释深深地影响了萨维人，很多人开始接受基督信仰。直到唐·理查森一家离开时，已有超过1000萨维人归信基督，他们甚至还建造了一座宏伟的教堂来聚会和敬拜。50年后，当唐和儿子重返萨维部落，萨维人依然在坚定地信奉着基督，而且因为暴力冲突减少，部落人口显著增长，跨部落团结意识也有所增强，其中年轻的属灵领袖们正逐渐崭露头角。
唐·理查森的故事在《和平之子》一书出版后广为人知。他向世人表明，分享福音要从母文化元素中寻找“救赎的类比”来阐释基督信仰的真理。如今，关于这种方法虽然存在一些争议，有人担心会削弱福音的信息，有人批评会淡化基督信仰的唯一真理性，也有人提醒须谨慎处理本体和喻体之间的差异；但毋庸置疑，这是关于同理心和创造性的有力提醒——即使在最不可能的地方，最出乎意料的人身上，也能找到其与福音之间的联系。
查看短片《不再一样：庆祝和平之子50周年》
English：
The Peace Child’s Legacy:
From Treachery to Peace
In 1962, missionary Don Richardson, his wife Carol, and their infant son arrived in New Guinea to share Christianity with the Sawi tribe, a people who revered betrayal as an honorable trait. Upon arrival, they were met by warriors, but the sight of the baby ensured their peaceful reception. The Richardsons faced linguistic barriers, slowly learning the Sawi language and culture. However, they were stunned when the tribe praised Judas, seeing his betrayal of Jesus as admirable, aligning with their customs of deception.
Complicating their mission, inter-tribal violence erupted around them. Desperate to stop the bloodshed, Don told the Sawi that they would leave if the warfare continued. The Sawi, valuing the Richardsons' presence, sought peace through an ancient custom—the peace child ceremony. Warring chiefs exchanged infants, symbolizing trust; as long as the child lived, peace endured. Seeing a parallel to God offering His Son, Don shared that Jesus was the ultimate, eternal peace child. This analogy resonated deeply, leading many Sawi to embrace Christianity, abandon violence, and share the Gospel with neighboring tribes.
Fifty years later, when Don and his son returned in 2012, they found the Sawi still devoted to their faith, having flourished in peace. Don’s experience, detailed in his book Peace Child, influenced modern missionary work, advocating “redemptive analogies” to bridge cultural gaps. However, some critics argue this approach risks distorting Christian doctrine by merging it with local beliefs. Despite the debates, the Peace Child story remains a powerful testament to cross-cultural empathy and transformation, showing that even those who once glorified treachery could become ambassadors of peace.
View the short film, Never the Same: Celebrating 50 years since Peace Child