和平之子的奇迹：从背叛到和平的旅程
The Peace Child’s Legacy: From Treachery to Peace
想象一个与你所知的世界截然不同的地方——一个充满热气腾腾的沼泽、高耸的树屋和崇尚背叛的勇猛战士的世界。这就是新几内亚的萨维部落，1962年，一位名叫唐·理查森的年轻传教士带着妻子卡罗尔和他们还在襁褓中的儿子斯蒂芬来到这里。他们的使命是向从未听过耶稣故事的人分享这一信仰。但他们所发现的不仅永远改变了萨维部落，也改变了全球传教士分享信仰的方式。
Imagine a world far from the one you know—a world of steamy swamps, towering treehouses, and fierce warriors who admire betrayal as a virtue. This was the world of the Sawi tribe in New Guinea, where, in 1962, a young missionary named Don Richardson arrived with his wife Carol and their baby son Stephen. Their mission? To share the story of Jesus with a people who had never heard it before. But what they discovered would not only change the Sawi forever but also transform the way missionaries around the world share their faith.
唐对萨维部落的第一印象令人难忘。当他们的独木舟绕过河流的最后一个弯道时，400名戴着面具、涂着战彩、手持长矛和弓箭的战士迎面而来。唐的心跳加速。他们是要欢迎他们，还是要攻击他们？突然，一声“阿萨！”的呼喊打破了紧张气氛，战士们开始跳舞欢呼。
Don’s first glimpse of the Sawi was unforgettable. As their canoe rounded the final bend of the river, they were met by 400 warriors, masked and painted for war, holding spears and bows. Don’s heart raced. Were they about to be welcomed—or attacked? Then, a shout of “Asa!” broke the tension, and the warriors began to dance and cheer.
唐后来才知道，在萨维人的文化中，当抱着婴孩的陌生人出现，就是表和平的来意。原来在唐来到之前，萨维人就听说过高大、苍白的陌生人，给其他村落带来药物和工具。现在他们听说这些人也要来到自己的村落，大家为此兴奋不已。
Don later learned that in the culture of the Sawi people, when a stranger holding a baby appeared, it signified peaceful intentions. It turned out that even before Don arrived, the Sawi people had heard of tall, pale strangers who brought medicine and tools to other villages. Now, hearing that these people were coming to their own village, everyone was extremely excited.
在唐开始分享他的信息之前，他必须先学会萨维语。没有书籍或老师，他只能通过指着物体并听单词来学习。但这并不容易——萨维人不用手指指东西，而是用嘴唇！每次唐指着某物，他们都说“ririg”，意思是“手指”。进展缓慢，但凭借耐心，唐和卡罗尔逐渐理解并说起了萨维语。他们甚至开始将《圣经》翻译成萨维语。
Before Don could even begin to share his message, he had to learn the Sawi language. There were no books or teachers, so he started by pointing at objects and listening to the words. But even this was tricky—the Sawi didn’t point with their fingers; they pointed with their lips! Every time Don pointed at something, they’d say “ririg,” which meant “finger.” It was slow going, but with patience, Don and Carol began to understand and speak Sawi. They even started translating the Bible into the tribe’s language.
但萨维人并不像唐所预想的那样。他们住在40英尺高的树屋里，狩猎技艺精湛，并且对世界有着令人震惊的看法：他们崇尚欺骗和背叛。当唐终于分享耶稣的故事时，他对萨维人的反应感到震惊。他们喜欢犹大背叛耶稣的部分——他们认为犹大才是真正的英雄！他们对唐说：告诉我们更多关于犹大的故事！他就像我们一样！我们会欺骗其他村落的领袖，让他们来我们的村落吃饭，然后杀害他们再吃了他们！这给唐带来了巨大的难题。他如何向一个为背叛者犹大欢呼的民族分享耶稣的爱与牺牲的故事？
But the Sawi people were not as Don had expected. They lived in treehouses 40 feet high, were skilled hunters, and had a shocking view of the world: they admired deceit and betrayal. When Don finally shared the story of Jesus, he was shocked by the Sawi’s reaction. They loved the part where Judas betrayed Jesus—they thought Judas was the real hero! They said to Don: “Tell us more about Judas! He’s just like us! We trick leaders from other villages, invite them to our village for a meal, and then kill and eat them!” This posed a huge problem for Don. How could he share the story of Jesus’ love and sacrifice with a people who cheered for the betrayer Judas?
雪上加霜的是，萨维村庄之间爆发了暴力冲突。箭矢从唐的窗户旁飞过，战斗就在他的家门外激烈进行。理查森一家被夹在由复仇和不信任引发的战争中。唐恳求萨维人实现和平，但没有人敢信任对方。绝望之下，唐告诉他们，如果战斗不停止，他将离开。萨维人感到震惊——他们已经依赖理查森带来的工具和药物。于是，他们同意通过一个神圣的传统——和平之子仪式——来实现和平。
As if that wasn’t hard enough, violence erupted between Sawi villages. Arrows flew past Don’s windows, and battles raged just outside his door. The Richardsons were caught in the middle of a war fueled by revenge and mistrust. Don begged the Sawi to make peace, but no one dared to trust the other side. Desperate, Don told them he would leave if the fighting didn’t stop. The Sawi were devastated—they had come to rely on the tools and medicine the Richardsons brought. So, they agreed to make peace, but only through a sacred tradition: the peace child ceremony.
唐敬畏地注视着交战村庄的首领交换彼此的婴儿。这就是和平之子——信任的活生生象征。只要孩子活着，和平就会持续。如果有人伤害孩子，停战就会被打破，战争将再次爆发。唐与他的妻子看了一下对方，他们感到这个故事似曾相识，因为那正是上帝将祂的独生子赐给世人的故事。
Don watched in awe as the chiefs of the warring villages exchanged their infants. This was the peace child—a living symbol of trust. As long as the child lived, peace would endure. If anyone harmed the child, the truce would be broken, and war would erupt again. Don and his wife glanced at each other; they felt this story was strangely familiar, for it echoed the story of God giving His only Son to the world.
于是唐重新召集部落，他解释道，就像他们为了和平而献出自己的孩子一样，上帝也派出了自己的儿子耶稣，作为和平之子，为人类与上帝之间带来和平。但与他们的和平之子不同，后者是凡人终将死去，而耶稣是神圣且永恒的。他的和平将永远持续。萨维人仔细聆听，第一次理解了这个信息。耶稣不是愚者——他们将他视为终极的和平之子，是爱与和解的礼物。
So Don gathered the tribe once more. He explained that just as they had offered their children for peace, God had sent His own Son, Jesus, as a peace child to bring peace between humanity and God. But unlike their peace children, who were mortal and would eventually die, Jesus was divine and eternal. His peace would last forever. The Sawi listened intently, understanding the message for the first time. Jesus was not a fool—they saw Him as the ultimate peace child, a gift of love and reconciliation.
这个故事带来的影响非常深远。许多萨维人接受了基督教，部落的生活从此改观。他们放下了刀矛，结束了暴力和杀戮，甚至开始向邻近部落分享福音的喜讯。理查森一家离开时，已有超过1000人皈依基督，萨维人还齐心协力建造了一座宏伟的教堂，作为信仰聚会的中心。
The impact of this story was profound and far-reaching. Many Sawi embraced Christianity, transforming the tribe’s way of life. They laid down their spears, ending violence and bloodshed, and even began sharing the joyful news of the Gospel with neighboring tribes. By the time the Richardsons departed, over 1,000 people had turned to Christ, and the Sawi had united to build a magnificent church as the heart of their worship.
但故事并未就此结束。五十年后的2012年，唐带着他的儿子史蒂夫回到了萨维族人那里。他们的重逢被记录在一部名为《不再一样》的YouTube视频中。令人欣慰的是，他们发现萨维族人对耶稣的信仰依然坚定不移。因为停止杀戮，部落人口显著增长；因为引领其他村落信主，跨部落的团结意识逐渐萌芽。更多人继续追随耶稣，年轻的属灵领袖们崭露头角，开始为部落的未来肩负更重要的使命。
But the story didn’t end there. Fifty years later, in 2012, Don returned with his son Steve, to the Sawi people. Their reunion was documented in a YouTube video called “Never the Same.” Happily, they found the Sawi remained steadfast in their devotion to Jesus. Having ceased killing, the tribe’s population had grown significantly; by leading other villages to faith, a sense of unity across tribes had begun to flourish. More people continued to follow Jesus, and young spiritual leaders emerged, stepping up to play vital roles in shaping the tribe’s future.
唐·理查森的经历在出版《和平之子》一书后广为人知。这不仅是一段冒险故事，更是一堂理解的课程。唐表明，要有效分享福音，必须用心说话。他用萨维人自己的传统来解释上帝的爱。如今，世界各地的传教士都从他的例子中学习，采用“救赎的类比”——深入认识每个文化的元素，寻找类比性的观念来帮助解释基督教的真理。
Don Richardson’s experience became widely known after the publication of his book Peace Child. It was not just an adventure story but a lesson in understanding. Don showed that to share the Gospel effectively, you must speak to the heart. He used the Sawi people’s own traditions to explain God’s love. Today, missionaries around the world learn from his example, adopting “redemptive analogies”—deeply understanding the elements of each culture and seeking analogous concepts to help explain Christian truths.
但并非所有人都认同这种方法。有人担心将文化传统与基督教混合会使人困惑或削弱信息。例如，在另一本书《他们心中的永恒》中，理查森提出上帝可能在每种文化中留下线索，帮助人们理解福音。批评者认为这可能让人觉得所有宗教都同样有效，这与基督教观点不符。其他人指出，类比如和平之子并不完美——毕竟，人类和平之子不是神圣的，他们带来的和平也不是永恒的。传教士必须小心解释这些差异。
But not everyone agrees with this approach. Some worry that mixing cultural traditions with Christianity could confuse people or water down the message. For example, in another book, Eternity in Their Hearts, Richardson suggested that God might have left clues in every culture to help people understand the Gospel. Critics say this could make it seem like all religions are equally valid, which isn’t the Christian view. Others point out that analogies, like the peace child, aren’t perfect—after all, a human peace child isn’t divine, and the peace they bring isn’t eternal. Missionaries have to be careful to explain these differences.
尽管存在这些争论，《和平之子》的故事仍然是分享信仰时同理心和创造力重要性的有力提醒。它表明，即使在最不可能的地方，与最出乎意料的人，也能找到联系的方式。萨维人曾经以背叛著称，如今却成为和平的使者——他们的故事继续激励着人们。
Despite these debates, the Peace Child story remains a powerful reminder of the importance of empathy and creativity in sharing faith. It shows that even in the most unlikely places, with the most unexpected people, there’s a way to connect. The Sawi, once known for treachery, became messengers of peace—and their story continues to inspire.