There are many hospitals in the USA that are called Good Samaritan Hospital. People from Asia are sometimes confused because of the name. Who is Samaritan? Is it some famous governor or president? And why is he “good”? It turns out that these are nearly always church run hospitals, that take the name “Good Samaritan” from a very famous story that Jesus told, and which has profound meaning. So, keep your eyes and ears open, because once you recognize the name, you will realize that it is used quite a bit.
在美国有多所医院被称为善良的撒玛利亚人医院(Good Samaritan Hospital)。亚洲来的人往往对这个名字感到困惑。谁是撒玛利亚人？著名的州长抑或总统？他为什么“善良”？推究其原因是这样的：这些医院基本上都是教会开办的，取名“善良的撒玛利亚”源于耶稣所讲述的一个著名的、意义深远的故事。好了，聚精会神了，因为一旦你了解了这个名字，你会发现它用得好广泛。

For example, the very famous charity, “Samaritan’s purse” does a lot of very fine relief work, especially in impoverished and war-torn areas of the world. Its name is directly related to the same story. And there is an Asian connection: the founder of Samaritan’s Purse is Franklin Graham, whose mother was born in China, her own father being a famous missionary surgeon in Jiangsu province. As you will see later, it all fits the story.
例如，著名的慈善团体“撒玛利亚人钱袋Samaritan’s Purse”做了非常多的卓有成效的救援工作，尤其是在全世界的贫穷和战乱地区。它的名字直接与那个故事相关。这里还有点亚洲情结：撒玛利亚人钱袋的创始人是Franklin Graham，他的母亲生于中国，他的外祖父是江苏省的著名的传教士外科医生。你后面还会看到，这些都和那个故事相呼应。

In America, if you see a traffic accident, and someone seems injured, there is a strong tradition that people might quickly stop, and try to help. In fact, when I was in active medical practice, I was one of the doctors that kept a laryngoscope (a light to look into the throat, to allow placing a tube into the windpipe), and some basic medical instruments, in my car, “just in case” it was needed. Some people from overseas might be surprised, and worry that this action could lead to trouble for the person trying to help. This is where the “Good Samaritan Law” comes into play.
在美国，如果看到车祸，有人可能受伤，传统上人们都可能会立即停下来施救。实际上，我在行医过程中，我和一些医师一样，车上经常携带有可以探查咽喉，利于气管插管的喉头镜和其他的简单的医疗器械，“以防万一”的时候可以派上用场。其他国家来的人会很惊异，担心会给施救者带来麻烦。这种情况下“善意的撒玛利亚人法律”就发挥作用了。

This law protects the person (the “Good Samaritan”) trying to help. He/she might accidentally cause a problem when he is helping, such as when there is a back injury, and he somehow moves the victim, which can twist and injure the back or nerves. Even in such a circumstance, the law protects him because of his good intentions. It is definitely a comfort to the doctor or nurse who volunteers to help, since as a professional, his/her actions could theoretically result in even medical lawsuits, if something goes awry. Actually, in my 51 years in the USA, I really don’t remember anyone getting into trouble from helping someone in need, so I assume this law could be an important restraining factor.
这部法律保护要去帮助别人的人（就是那些“善良的撒玛利亚人”）。他或者她在施救过程中可能意外造成伤害，例如伤者脊柱受伤，而他不小心搬动了伤者，就可能扭曲、损伤脊柱或者神经。即使是这种情形，法律也会因为他的善意保护他。这对于自愿施救的医生和护士是一个安慰，作为一个专业人员，如果某个环节出错，他或者她的行为理论上讲甚至会导致医疗诉讼。然而我在美国呆了51年，我真没有听闻有谁因为帮助他人导致无妄之灾，我推测是因为这个法律发挥了重要的遏制作用。

I often had the experience, on airplane flights, when the stewardess announced over the intercom, “is there a doctor on the plane?” One time, there were 9 neonatologists (doctors specializing in sick babies) from our institution going to a meeting, and we all shot up, which is what “action orientated” neonatologists like to do. There was a man having a heart attack. So, all of us got into action, starting with putting the patient flat on his back in the center of the aisle. It was a pretty dramatic heart rescue, even if it wasn’t a baby. Fortunately, the man survived, at least until emergency services met us on la-nding.
在飞行途中，我经常遇到机组人员通过对讲机疾呼：“机上有医生吗？”。一次，我们一行9个新生儿专家（专门治疗生病的新生儿的医生）从我们的医院出发乘机去开会，听到召唤后我们都一跃而起，这是新生儿医师常有的迅猛反应。有一位先生心脏病发作，我们立即施救，首先把他平卧在走道中间。即使他不是新生儿，这也是相当惊心动魄的心脏营救。幸运的是，这人活下来了，至少坚持到飞机着陆后急救人员和我们交接。

At times, on transoceanic flights, I might be the only person who got up in answer to the call. Frankly, nearly every time it wasn’t anything that serious. And often I received a nice bottle of wine for my trouble, and a couple of times a good note from the pilot or the airlines afterwards. But at least I did not have to trouble the Good Samaritan Law.
有时在越洋飞行中，我可能是起身回应那个呼唤的唯一的人。坦率的讲，每一次都没有什么大不了的事。因为给我添了一点麻烦，我经常收到一瓶好酒，好几次收到飞行员或者航空公司事后给我的感谢信。但是至少我没有涉及到善良的撒玛利亚人法。

I know that, in countries where there is no Good Samaritan Law, the kind helpful person, trying to help a person in need, say from an accident, could run into trouble. You could say he was being a Good Samaritan, without the Law. Sometimes he is even accused of causing the accident, by the hospital or family, and even saddled with the medical bill, because others may feel, who is this person, and why did he help? Or the family sues him, or beats him up, because they are suspicious of him! A Good Samaritan without the Law can be put in a very difficult position.
我知道在没有善良的撒玛利亚人法的国家的人如果要去帮助落难的人有可能意外的给自己带来麻烦。你也许认为他是善良的撒玛利亚人，不需要法律。但是有时他会被医院或那家人控为肇事者，甚至摊上医疗费，因为人们会质疑他是谁？他平白无故为什么会帮忙？。那家人怀疑他，起诉他，毒打他。善良的撒玛利亚人没有法律保护是很窘迫。

Actually, I like to joke that if I were walking around in Hong Kong, or any big city of the world, and I had a sudden stroke and fell down on the ground, I would not be surprised if people walked by me without noticing. That would not be a joke. I’ve watched people in huge cities walk with their eyes straight forward, ignoring everything happening around them. So, somebody slumped on the ground might not provoke a response, because big city folk are so busy with life and focused on getting somewhere, fast. Or they might even think that, oh well, that must be a man who just had too much to drink. It might be hard to find a Good Samaritan, with or without the Law.
事实上，我经常开玩笑说，如果我在香港或者世界上的其他大城市闲逛，我突然中风倒地，我会毫不惊讶路过的人们对我的视若无睹。这真不是笑话。我留意到大城市里行进中的人们，他们两眼直勾勾的向前，毫不理会周边所发生的事。因此，如果谁倒地引不起别人的注意，因为大城市的人忙于生计，急于赶路。他们甚至会认为，呵，好家伙，喝高了。有没有这个法律都很难找到一个善良的撒玛利亚人。

So maybe the problem is not just the law, but a moral-ethical problem of, do we ignore what happens to others in trouble, or how far do we go to help a stranger in need. Especially if it will complicate our own lives (Chinese like to use the word “ma fan” for things like that), or we could even get into trouble ourselves. The underlying deeper issue might also be simply trust: if I am trying to help, can I trust the person on the ground, his family, people on the streets, hospital staff, or even police. I am glad some societies are trying to grapple with this complicated issue. And, it is quite possible that, obversely, we are the person who is actually an accident victim, and wouldn’t we like to have a Good Samaritan to help us?
因此症结不仅仅是法律的问题，而是伦理道德的问题，我们是忽视别人的困境，还是考虑我们帮助陌生的受困者到什么程度。尤其是可能扰乱我们自己的正常生活，（中国人爱称这种事为“麻烦”），还有可能让我们自己摊上大事。其潜在的更深层次的问题可能就是一个简单的信任：如果我去帮助别人，倒在地上的人，他的家人，旁边的路人，医务人员甚至警察，我能相信吗？让我很高兴的是已经有社会团体关注到这个复杂问题，换位想一想，事情也可能是这样：我们是受害人，难道我们不希望有个善良的撒玛利亚人来帮助我们吗？

Laws help to shape people’s thinking and concepts, and they might indeed provoke right-thinking for an emergency on the streets. After all, this could be a life or death situation, where seconds or minutes might count, and it’s important not to delay responses. For example, during a heart attack, critical care often needs to start quickly, in the first “golden hour,” otherwise the victim can rapidly deteriorate and even die. A quick response, even an instant 911 call, can make a world of difference.
法律帮助人们规范思想和理念，激发起他们面对街头的紧急情况的善念，毕竟是分秒必争的生死攸关，迅速反应尤其重要。例如，心脏病突发，在第一个“黄金时间”里紧急救护需要快速反应，否则，病情就会迅速恶化甚至死亡。快速反应，甚至立即呼叫911、120，都会带来不同的局面。

So, by now, I have probably sufficiently piqued your interest in what exactly is the Good Samaritan story? It is truly a very basic and important story. Jesus was often challenged by lawyers to explain his radical counter-cultural concepts, usually in an attempt to harass him or try to trip him up, hoping they could bring him to court. But on one occasion, there was a very serious young lawyer, who asked Jesus a basic question about eternal life. In this dialogue, Christ gave the classic iconic command, “love your neighbor as yourself.” The lawyer, trying to be clever, and lawyerly, but hopefully trying to learn, asked Christ, “then, who is my neighbor?”
到此时，我是不是激发了你的兴趣，想知道什么是善良的撒玛利亚人的故事？这是一个很经典的重要的故事。基督经常被法学者、律师责难，要求解释他的激进的不同寻常的理念，他们总想难住他，绊倒他，总想把他送上法庭。但是有一次，有一个非常严肃的年轻的律师，他要求耶稣解答关于永生的基础性问题。这次对话里，基督提出了经典的、形象的指导：“爱邻如己”。那名律师，试图显示很聪明和更像个律师样，但是私底下却很想学习，他问基督：“那么谁是我们的邻居？ ”

To which, Christ responded, as was his style, by answering the question with a story, now known as the “Good Samaritan story.” In this truly iconic story, a man was traveling along the road from the great city of Jerusalem, down to Jericho, a city that is still there, known as the lowest city on earth. I have been on this road, nowadays a modern motorway, but I can imagine the original unpaved road would not be easy to travel, being very steep, over rocks and mud, and through shrubs and trees. Worse, the traveler in the story was beaten up, robbed by thieves, and left to die on the side of the road.
对这个问题，基督以他的风格，以一个故事作答，这就是我们所知道的“善良的撒玛利亚人的故事”。在这个真实的、形象的故事里，一个人从圣城耶路撒冷一路前往耶利哥城，耶利哥城如今仍在那里，现在成了世界上最低的城市。我曾在这条路上走过，现在是高速路，但我可以想象得到那时没有铺路面的原始道路是很难走的 ，很陡峭，布满大石头和泥泞，要穿越灌木丛和树林。更糟糕的是，故事里的行者被盗贼毒打、抢劫，被扔在路边等死。

Two very important religious people passed by him. They had all kinds of excuses to pass on. As Jesus described the story, the victim and these 2 people were from the same majority race in that land, and one might have expected some sympathy from seeing one of your “own people” injured by the roadside, in a lonely spot. But not really. The 2 people who rushed on were too important, and too busy to stop.
两个重要的宗教界人士经过他，他们有各种理由继续前行。正如耶稣在故事里描述的那样，伤者和这两个人都来自那个国家的同一个大部族，伤者还盼着那两个看在“自己人”在路边受伤、孤苦无助的份上给点同情。然而却没有，这两位匆匆离去，他们的事情太重要了，他们无暇顾及他。

However, a third man passed by, but stopped. He was of a different race, actually a minority race usually despised by the other 3 people, a race of mixed heritage and considered inferior. He was from Samaria, a place that normally the other 3 would not think of visiting, or even going through to reach a spot beyond. Such was the animosity and tension between these races, even though they were geographically, but not truly, neighbors.
然而，第三个人经过并停下来。他来自另外一个部族，而且是一个被这三个人经常轻视的混血的、低劣的少数民族。他来自撒玛利亚，这个地方那三个人一般都不会去，甚至都不愿意经过这个地方去别的城市。这些民族的关系多么仇视和紧张，虽然比邻而居，但真不是邻居。

With this setting as background, as Jesus was telling the story, it was uncomfortable and shocking to the listeners of the story, who were of the majority race, that the Samaritan, the man from Samaria, actually was the only person who stopped, and attended to the robbery victim. He not only bandaged his wounds, he put the injured man on his own donkey, took him to the nearby inn, and paid for the lodging, so that the man could survive and recuperate. So, then, who do you think was the neighbor? And who was a good neighbor? And who was the person who “loved his neighbor as himself?”
耶稣讲述这个故事所描述的故事背景，听众听了后都有一些不安和震惊，因为他们都是那个大的部族，反而是那个来自撒玛利亚的撒玛利亚人，只有他停下来看护那个抢劫的受害者。他包扎他的伤口，扶他上了他的毛驴，带到就近的旅馆，并付了房费，这个伤者能够幸存并恢复元气。因此，你认为谁是邻居？谁是好邻居？谁是那个“爱邻如己”的人？

Indeed, “who is my neighbor?” resounds even to us today! When we pass by someone struck by a car, or in sudden need on the side of the street, by this story, no matter what difference there is in race or social status, the Great Teacher gives us a clear challenge. It’s helpful if there is a Good Samaritan Law, but it’s more important that we are all Good Samaritans in heart and action.
事实上，谁是我们的邻居？这个话题在今天我们也经常提及。我们路过一个被车撞伤的人，或者街边一个急需帮助的人的时候，通过这个故事，不管种族或者社会地位的区别，伟大的老师已经给了我们一个明确的指引。如果有一个善良的撒玛利亚人法律是有助的，但更重要的是我们心里和行动上都要是善意的撒玛利亚人。

Samaritan’s Purse founder Franklin Graham, comes from this tradition. His grandfather Nelson Bell (father of the renowned Mrs. Billy Graham, Franklin’s China born mother) was a true “Good Samaritan,” who served faithfully as surgeon in China from 1916 to 1941, during 25 years of wars and tragedies, to help “bind the wounds” of many “neighbors.” He dedicated the best years of his life as an example and inspiration for many. The Samaritan’s Purse puts this dedication into worldwide application today, to help many people of all races in dire need.
撒玛利亚人钱包的创始人Franklin Graham的初衷就来于这个传统。他的外祖父Nelson Bell 就是一个真正的“善意的撒玛利亚人”，他是著名的Billy Graham（葛培理）夫人的父亲，Franklin Graham的妈妈葛培理夫人出生于中国。Nelson Bell 从1916年到1941年作为一名外科医生在中国忠实的服务，经历了25年的战争和灾难，给许多的“邻居”“包扎伤口”。他奉献了他生命中最好的年华给许多人树立了榜样和启示。今天撒玛利亚人钱包把这种奉献推广到全世界，给不同种族苦难的人们以帮助。

To finish our story, then, Good Samaritan Hospital, the name we often see, is another clear reminder for all to be concerned about those in need, of any race or social status, as truly “neighbors” that we should love. To be Good Samaritans.
要结束我的故事了，善良的撒玛利亚人医院，这个我们时常看到的名字，对每一个人都是另一个清晰的提示，要我们去关注需要帮助的人们，不分种族与社会地位，都是我们要热爱的真正的“邻居”。做一个善良的撒玛利亚人。