[원문] Red Letter christians
[원문] Red Letter christians
  • Jim Wallis
  • 승인 2007.03.24 22:16
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Somehow, Jesus has survived even the church

“I’m a secular Jewish country music songwriter and disk jockey,” my interviewer on a Nashville radio station said. “But I love your stuff and have been following your book tour.” He told me he loved my “riffs” and would like to spend an evening together just to get some lines for new music. “You’re a songwriter’s dream.” Then he told me he believed we were starting a new movement, but noticed we hadn’t come up with a name for it yet. “I’ve got an idea for you,” he said. “I think you should call yourselves ‘The Red Letter Christians,’ for the red parts of the Bible that highlight the words of Jesus. I love the red letter stuff.”

1. stuff : 물건이나 어떤 특정의 것 ; 어리석거나 가치 없이 여겨지는 어떤 것 ; 어떤 사람의 긍정적인 특성 (any material or substance ; something that is thought of as stupid, worthless, etc ; the characteristics that define someone, especially positive ones)
2. line : 짧은 편지나 기록, 또는 시나 노래의 한 절. ‘어떤 행위, 사고, 추론의 경향이나 방침’ 등을 의미하기도 한다. (a short letter or note ; a series of notes forming a melody ; a course or way of acting, behaving, thinking or reasoning)
3. should call yourselves ~ : 당신 자신을 ~라고 불러야 한다.
4. for the red parts of the Bible : 여기서 for는 ‘~의 이름을 따서’(naming)의 뜻으로 쓰였다. '성경의 붉은 부분을 따서’.
5. that highlight the words of Jesus : that절은 앞의 the red parts of the Bible를 꾸며주는 주격 관계대명사. ‘예수의 말씀을 두드러지게 보여주는’.


The truth is that there are many people who like the “red letter stuff,” and many of them are not even Christians. Try it yourself sometime. Go out on the street or to your school or workplace and take a poll. Ask people what they think Jesus stood for. You’re likely to hear things like “stood with poor people,” or “compassionate,” or “loving,” or “he was for peace.” Then ask them what Christians or the church stand for. And you’re likely to hear some very different things.

1. what they think Jesus stood for : 원래는 간접의문절로 쓰여서 they think what Jesus stood for(그들은 예수가 상징했던 것이 무엇이었는지를 생각한다)인데, think가 주절의 동사로 쓰일 때는 what이 앞으로 간다. 예를 들면, ‘Do you know what it is?’와 달리, know 대신에 think가 쓰이면 What이 앞으로 가 ‘What do you think it is?’가 된다.
2. be likely to ~ : ~할 가능성이 있다. likely는 ‘그럴듯하다’는 뜻인데, ‘적절할 것 같고, 정말 믿을 만하다’는 의미를 함축한다. (probable, suitable or useful for a particular purpose, credible). cf) not likely는 강한 부정의 의미(absolutely not)를 지닌다.


We have a problem. Most people have the idea, as crazy as it may seem, that Christians and the church are supposed to stand for the same things that Jesus did. And when they don’t, people get confused and disillusioned. It’s a problem.

1. have the idea, ~ , that : that 이하라고 생각하다. 중간의 as crazy as it may seem은 삽입절.
2. as crazy as it may seem : 양보 구문(~이지만, ~이건만)으로 쓰였다. 앞의 as를 생략하고 ‘형용사(부사, 관사 없는 명사)+as…’로 더 잘 쓰인다. ‘정신 나간 생각으로 보일 수 있지만’.

When Jesus tells us he will regard the way we treat the hungry, the homeless, the stranger, the sick, and the prisoner as if we were treating him that way, it likely means he wouldn’t think capital gains tax cuts for the wealthy and food stamp cuts for the poor represent the best domestic policy. Or when he tells us “love your enemies” and “blessed are the peacemakers,” it might be hard to persuade him to join our “war against terrorism,” especially when there is so much “collateral damage” to civilians, including women and children.

1. When Jesus tells us ~ : us 다음에 that이 생략되었다. ‘예수가 ~라고 우리에게 말할 때’.
2. he will regard the way we treat ~ as if… : the way we treat ~는 ‘우리가 ~를 대하는 방식.’ regard A as B(명사 형태) 형태로 쓰이나 ‘regard A+부사구(~하게 A를 보다)’ 형태로도 쓰인다. 가정법 if절은 명사절로 쓰이지 않으므로, 여기서 as는 regard A as B의 as가 아니라, as if ~ (마치 ~인 것처럼, 부사절)의 as로 본다.
3. as if we were treating ~ : as if가 이끄는 가정법 과거 문장. ‘마치 그런 방식으로 우리가 (현재) 그를 대하고 있는 것처럼’.
4. it likely means ~ : 앞의 종속절(When~ )에 대한 주절. ‘~ 를 의미하는 것 같다.’
5. wouldn't think A B : B에 해당하는 부분이 the best domestic policy. A를 B라고 생각하지 않을 것이다.
6. it might be hard to persuade him to join ~ : 그로 하여금 ~에 함께 하도록 설득하는 것은 어려울지 모른다.
7. collateral damage : 군사적으로 의도한 목표가 아니었던 시민의 사상과 재산상의 손실을 초래하는 것. (military incidental civilian casualties or damage to property, neither being the intended target)


Yes, Jesus is a problem - for many of our churches, the Wall Street traders, and the powerful people in Washington who maintain the American Empire. But for millions of people, religious or not, Jesus remains the most compelling figure in the world today. The church may not be much more credible than the advertisers, the media, or the politicians, but Jesus remains far above the rest of the crowd. Somehow, Jesus has even survived the church and all of us who name his name but too often forget most of what he said. Two new books are calling us to meet Jesus again.

1. compelling : 동의하지 않을 수 없도록 강력한 ; 저항할 수 없을 만큼 매력적인 ; 압도적인. (powerful ; forcing one to agree, etc ; irresistibly fascinating)
2. figure : 숫자 ; 그림이나 조각에 나타난 인간의 모습 ; 정체가 불명확한 어떤 사람이나 유명한 사람. (a symbol representing a number ; a numeral ; a representation of the human form, especially in painting or sculpture ; an indistinctly seen or unidentified person ; a well-known person)
3. all of us who name his name : ‘그의 이름을 부르는 우리 모두.’ who 이하가 all of us를 꾸며준다.

This issue includes a section of Brian McLaren’s new book, The Secret Message of Jesus - a message often kept secret even by the churches themselves and utterly disguised by many of our television evangelists who seem to preach a different gospel. Brian is the spiritual leader of a new movement called the “emergent church,” which is drawing a generation raised in the churches back to Jesus and attracting many outside the religious community to a Jesus they never heard about from the churches. He knows that people intuitively recognize that Jesus’ message of God’s kingdom is a new world of compassion, justice, integrity, and peace is the good news they’ve been searching and waiting for. Read the excerpt, get the book, and learn the message of Jesus all over again or maybe for the first time.

1. a message often kept secret even by ~ : 여기서 kept는 서술어가 아니라, 수동태로 앞의 a message를 꾸며준다. ‘~의 의해서조차 종종 비밀로 유지되는’이란 뜻.
2. utterly disguised by ~ : kept와 마찬가지로 disguised도 수동태로 앞의 a message를 꾸며준다.
3. called the ~ : called 역시 수동태로 앞의 a new movement를 꾸며준다. ‘~ 라 불리는’.
4. emergent : 보이지 않다가 드러나게 되다 ; 알려지거나 분명해지다 ; 어렵거나 위험한 상황에서 살아남다(견뎌내다). (to come out from hiding or into view ; to become known or apparent. ; to survive a difficult or dangerous situation)


Shane Claiborne is a good example of the old adage, “Be careful what you pray for.” Evangelicals like to pray that Christian young people will learn to love Jesus and follow in his steps. Well, that’s exactly what this young Christian activist is talking about in his book The Irresistible Revolution. But the places that following Jesus have led him are not the comfortable suburbs and cultural habits of many evangelical Christians. Worst of all, his notions of fidelity to the gospel seem to directly counter the political loyalties that many conservatives on the Religious Right have made into an almost doctrinal litmus test.

1. the places that following Jesus have led him are not ~ : that 이하부터 him까지 the places를 꾸며주는 관계절. 그런데 여기서 him 다음에 lead A to B로 B는 the places. 그래서 him 다음에 to가 빠진 것 같다. 직역하면, ‘예수를 따르는 것이 그를 이끌어간 장소들은 ~ 가 아니다.’
2. fidelity : 충실함 또는 정절이나 헌신 ; 어떤 것을 기록하거나 베끼는 데 있어서의 정확성. (faithfulness ; loyalty or devotion often to a sexual partner ; accuracy in reporting, describing or copying something)
3. counter : ~에 반대하다, 대항하다. against의 의미까지 포함되어 있다. (to oppose, act against or hit back)
4. the political loyalties that many conservatives on the Religious Right have made into ~ : that 절 안에 ‘make A into~’ 용법으로, ‘A를 ~로 만들다’는 뜻. 'many conservatives on the Religious Right가 ~로 만드는 the political loyalties'.


For several years, Shane has been living the gospel on the streets of Philadelphia and Calcutta, in the intensity of Christian community, and even in the war zones of Iraq. In his book, he takes us on pilgrimage with him - sharing his passions while admitting his uncertainties, critiquing his society and his church while admitting his own human frailties and contradictions, revealing his hopes for changing the world while embracing the “smallness” of the efforts and initiatives he holds most dear.

1. live the gospel : 여기서 live는 '자신의 신앙 등을 삶 속에서 나타내다, 그 신앙 등에 따라 살다'라는 뜻. (to express one’s beliefs in one’s life; to live in accordance with one’s beliefs, etc)
2. takes us on pilgrimage : 우리를 순례의 여정으로 데려간다.
3. sharing ~ while admitting … : …를 인정하는 한편 ~을 나누면서.
4. critiquing ~ while admitting … : …를 인정하는 한편 ~ 을 비판하면서.
5. critique : 비판적으로 분석하다. (critically analyze)
6. frailty : frail의 명사형. frail은 ‘쉽게 깨어지거나 파괴되는, 섬세한, 허약한, 도덕적으로 유혹받기 쉬운’을 뜻한다. (frail : easily broken or destroyed ; delicate, fragile ; in poor health, weak ;. morally weak, easily tempted)
7. contradiction : 거부나 반대를 주장하거나 진술이나 행동과 관련해 서로 불일치한 것. (assert the opposite of or deny a statement, etc ; inconsistency with another)
8. embrace : 포옹하다, 포함하다 ; ‘어떤 기회나 종교 등을 진심으로 간절히 취하거나 받아들인다. (to hold someone closely in the arms, affectionately or as a greeting ; to include ; to take an opportunity eagerly, or accept a religion wholeheartedly)
9. revealing ~ while embracing … : …를 끌어안는 한편 ~를 드러내면서.
10. iative : ‘어떤 목적을 이루기 위한 첫걸음이나 첫 조치’라는 뜻이 있다. (a first step or move towards an end or aim)
11. dear : 가격이 비싼 ; 사랑스러운, 매력적인 ; 큰 사랑을 받는, 혹은 ~ 에게 있어 매우 중요하고 귀중한. (high in price, charging high prices ; lovable, attractive ; greatly loved by, or very important or precious to them)

They call their community “The Simple Way” and believe that by plunging deeper into what the earliest Christians called “The Way” - the way of Jesus, the way of the kingdom, and the way of the cross - they rediscover the biblical reversal of our social logic: that the foolishness of God has always seemed a little nuts to the world. I found the reading of this book a delight, as I also find the author. Read it and find your hope rise.

1. what the earliest Christians called "The Way" : ‘the earliest christians가 “The Way"라고 부른 것’.
2. believe that by plunging deeper into what ~ “The Way" - 삽입절 - they rediscover ~ : that절에서 by부터 The Way까지는 부사구. 따라서 that 절의 주어는 삽입절 뒤의 they이며 rediscover가 that절의 서술어이다.
3. plunge in(into) something : 자신을 물속으로 던지다. ‘어떤 상태나 조건으로 빠뜨리거나, 급속하고 열정적으로 참여하다’는 의미도 지닌다. (fall or rush headlong in or into it ; to put something or someone into a particular state or condition ; to involve oneself rapidly and enthusiastically)
4. the biblical reversal of our social logic : that the foolishness of God has ~ : that 앞의 콜론(:)은 종속적으로 ‘그런데, 따라서, 왜냐하면’ 등 문맥에 맞게 해석해준다. 반면, 세미콜론(;)은 and의 의미. 콜론 다음의 that은 앞의 the biblical reversal of our social logic을 받는 것으로 보고, that 다음의 the foolishness of God는 that과 동격으로 이해할 수 있겠다. ‘그것, 어리석어 보이는 하나님의 일은 항상 세상이 보기엔 미친 것으로 여겨져왔다.’
5. reversal : 어떤 것을 역전시키거나 전복시킨 상태, 또는 운명의 변화. (an act of reversing something, or the state of being reversed ; a change in fortune, especially for the worse) cf) reverse는 어떤 것의 반대 방향이나 뒤로 가는 것으로 정상적이거나 표준적인 것과 반대로 감을 뜻한다. (to move or make something move backwards or in an opposite direction ; to run backwards or in the opposite direction from what is normal)
6. logic : 특정한 주제나 활동을 통치하는 규칙이나 이성. (the rules or reasoning governing a particular subject or activity)

The landscape of religion, society, and politics in America is being transformed. As I crisscross the country, I feel a new momentum and movement. Perhaps the greatest sign of hope is the emergence of a generation of Christians eager to take their faith into the world. The Christianity of private piety, affluent conformity, and only “God Bless America” has compromised the witness of the church while putting a new generation of Christians to sleep. Defining faith by the things you won’t do does not create a compelling style of life. And a generation of young people is hungry for an agenda worthy of its commitment, its energy, and its gifts.

1. landscape : 넓은 시야로 보이는 지역이나 형체를 가리키는데, 특별히 특정한 형태의 정경을 형성하고 있는 모습을 의미한다. (the area and features of land that can be seen in a broad view, especially when they form a particular type of scenery)
2. transform : 외형이나 본질, 기능 등이 완벽하고 극적으로 변하는 것이나 그러한 변화를 겪는 것. (to change in appearance, nature, function, etc, often completely and dramatically ; to undergo such a change)
3. crisscross : 열십자 형태로 표시하거나 움직이다. (mark with or move in a criss-cross pattern)
4. momentum : 과정에서 지속적으로 속력을 내는 것 또는 그것을 추동하는 힘. (a continuous speed of progress or impetus ; the force that an object gains in movement)
5. conformity : 다수가 표준이라 생각하는 것에 따라 행동하거나 옷을 입는 것. (to behave, dress, etc in obedience to some standard considered normal by the majority)
6. compromise : 동의나 양보(타협)에 이르다 ; 사려 깊지 못한 행동으로 추문에 노출되거나 그럴 위험에 빠지다 ; 원칙 등을 완화하다. (to make concessions, to reach a compromise ; to endanger or expose to scandal by acting indiscreetly ; to relax principles, etc)
7. Defining faith by the things you won't do does not ~ : won't do 까지가 주부이고 does not ~ 이 술부이다. ‘당신이 행하지 않을 것으로 신앙을 정의하는 것은 ~ 하지 않다’.


Brian’s and Shane’s books are evidence that believers are waking up and catching on fire with the gospel again. Their vision can’t easily be put into categories of liberal and conservative, left and right, but rather has the capacity to challenge the categories themselves. These books are a manifesto for all those “red letter” Christians who have fallen in love with Jesus again and want to live their faith in this world, and not just the next. God is again doing something new.

1. catch on fire with ~ : ~를 가지고 불을 피운다는 뜻인데, on은 지속을 의미한다.
2. be put into categories of ~ : ~의 범주에 속하다.
3. but rather has ~ : has의 주어는 their vision이고 '… but rather ~ '는 ‘…이 아니라 오히려 ~ ’의 뜻.
4. manifesto : 특별히 당이나 후보가 정책이나 견해 등을 공개적인 문서로 선언하는 것. (a written public declaration of policies, intentions, opinions or motives, especially one produced by a political party or candidate)
5. all those … who have fallen ~ and want to ~ : who는 주격 관계대명사로, all those 'red letter' Christians를 받는다. ‘ ~에 빠지고 ~하기 원하는 모든 사람들.’
6. not just the next : next 다음에 world가 생략. this world와 대구를 이룬다. ‘다음 세상.’
7. something new : 새로운 어떤 것. -thing의 단어는 형용사가 뒤에서 수식한다. 
 

   
 
   
 

 

Jim Wallis is editor-in-chief of <Sojourners>.
A version of this column appeared on the God’s Politics blog (godspolitics.com)
hosted by Beliefnet.
* 해설 / 최봉실

 

 

<미주뉴스앤조이>는 <Sojourners>의 허락을 받아
Jim Wallis의 칼럼 원문, 번역문, 해설을 동시에 게재합니다.
이 시리즈를 통해 양심적인 미국 지성인들의 생각을 알 수  있을 것이며,
동시에 수준 있는 글로 영어도 공부할 수 있는 좋은 기회가 될 것입니다.



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