Abstract

As one of the three major religions in the world, Christianity has the most disciples in western countries. The Bible, with the Old Testament written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek, is the holy book of Christianity as the words on it are “the words from God”. The Holy Bible is considered as an important classical religious masterpiece as well as a source of the western culture. It not only establishes the people’s faith in God, helps to bring about the formation of the western countries’ custom，but also has tremendous influence on the English language and literature.
With the methods of illustration and statement，this thesis discusses the influence which the English bible has had on the English language and literature．This study attempts to convince the readers that the Bible does not only act as the history and wisdom book of the Israelites, nor does it only as the important pillar of the western spiritual civilization , with the evangelization of Europe and America, it has helped mold the formation of English language, going into its vocabulary and viewpoints; It has also provided materials, themes, writing techniques, language style and inspiration for English literature, exerting a fundamental influence upon its tradition. The analyses in this thesis aim to stress the necessity of offering biblical cultural knowledge and put forward suggestions on how to impart it among English majors.

Key Words: Holy Bible; English language; literature; influence; methods of teaching

摘要

作为世界上三大宗教之一，在西方基督教拥有最多的信徒。《圣经》是由希伯来语写成的《旧约》和希腊语写成的《新约》组成,是基督教的宗教经典,“上帝的话语”。它不仅是一部基督教的经典著作，也是西方语言文化的源泉，其教义和思想奠定了西方文化和思想的基石。圣经不仅确立了人们对神的信仰，促成了西方国家生活习俗的形成，而且对英语语言和文学产生了巨大的影响。
本文试从英语语言和文学的角度入手，运用举例和叙述等方法对《圣经》及其英译对英语语言和文学的影响进行探讨与总结。本研究所提供的证据表明：圣经不仅是以色列民族的历史书和智慧书，不仅是西方精神文明的支柱，随着欧洲和美洲的基督化，《圣经》极大地影响了英语的形成和发展，其词汇与观点均带上了圣经的印记；圣经同时也为英语文学提供了材料、主题、写作技巧、语言风格和灵感，对文学传统产生了根本性的影响。本文旨在证明在英语专业学生中传授圣经文化知识的必要性以及如何有效地传授。

关键词：圣经；英语语言；文学；影响；教学方法