Former Atheist Artist Shares Story of Conversion and How Faith Impacts His Art

曾经的无神论者艺术家分享信主见证以及信仰对他艺术的影响

Veronica Neffinger | Editor,ChristianHeadlines.com | Friday, April 22, 2016

中文翻译：Ruth Wei

CBN News recently interviewed British artist Charles Mackesy.

CBN新闻社最近采访了英國畫家/雕塑家--查理斯·麥基士。

Mackesy is a well-known artist who has sold artwork to celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg and Sting, but the most compelling thing about him is the way he lives out his faith through his art.

查理斯·麥基士是一位有名的艺术家，他的作品卖给诸如乌比·戈德堡和Sting这样的名人，但最引人注目的事情是他借着自己的作品展现自己的信仰。

One of his most notable works is a bronze sculpture called “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” depicting the father in the parable embracing his wayward son,beautifully capturing the moment. The statue resides at Holy Trinity Brompton,a Church of England church.

在他众多出名的作品中，一个名为“浪子回归”的铜像生动地刻画了父亲拥抱他的任性的儿子那一刻的景象。该铜像现在英国伦敦的布朗普顿圣三一堂。

Mackesy also depicts the beauty in everyday life.

麥基士也描绘日常生活中的美丽事物。

“Jesus quietly introduced me to a journey into finding people really beautiful, which is how my art really began," Mackesy says in the interview. "Because I felt inside me he was going, 'Look. How beautiful is that guy sitting on that bench?' And I would have never noticed him before."

“耶稣悄悄地引导我去发现真正美丽的人，这也是我的艺术的出发点，”麥基士在采访中说到。“因为我可以感觉到祂是如何在我里面做工的，“看，坐在长凳上的那个人是不是非常美丽？”事实上我以前从来没有注意到那个人。”

Mackesy didn’t always have a favorable view of Christianity, however.

但是，麥基士以前却非常不喜欢基督教。

In the interview with CBN News, he tells the surprising and unorthodox story of how hearing a Christian hymn while he was inside a portable toilet was his first  encounter with God.

在CBN新闻社的采访中，他讲述了自己奇妙非同寻常的经历。当他在流动厕所里他听到了一首基督教圣歌，而正是那个时刻他遇见了上帝。

Mackesy heard the song “Oh, Happy Day” and it struck something inside him.

麥基士听到了“Oh, Happy Day”，这首歌触动了他的心。

He found himself “In the loo. Bawling," he said. "Atheist, atheist,bawling,” he says.

他发现自己“在厕所里嚎啕大哭”，他说，“作为一个无神论者，在嚎啕大哭”。

"I didn't really know what had happened to me," Mackesy continued. "But as I was feeling it, my left foot slipped. And I went up to here in..." He lets the audience fill in the blank.

麥基士继续说道：“我不知道怎么了，但是我能感觉得到我的左脚迈开了，然后我到了……”他让听众自己去脑补。

Vicar Nicky Gumbel stated that Mackesy is able to reach people with the gospel because he is humble and lives out his faith in a very real way.

尼克·甘波力牧师说麦基士可以带人接受福音，因为他非常的谦卑并且在自己的生活中真实活出了信仰。

"Charlie appeals to people outside of the church because he's not what they expect," explained Gumbel. "You know, when you have the sort of picture of 'the evangelist,' you don't picture Charlie Mackesy, and I think that's what's so wonderful about him.”

甘波力牧师解释说：“查理斯可以吸引教会外面的人因为他并不是人们所认识的那种刻板的传教者，这个是他的特点。”

Mackesy says that he used to think Christianity was all about being nice and doing all the right things, but now he realizes that the message of Christianity is that “You're loved. You're loved as you are. Covered in whatever it is, on the inside or out.”

麦基士说他曾以为基督教就是要一直和善并且做正确的事情，但是现在他认识到基督教真正的含义是“你是被爱的，因为你是你，所以你被爱。爱包含了你的一切，无论里面或是外面是什么。”

Mackesy is a popular speaker in England and often shares this message with others.

麦基士在英国是一位很受欢迎的演说家，也经常跟别人分享自己的信仰。