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J.C. Ryle, 1900
J.C. 赖尔,1900年
The word which forms the title of this paper requires some explanation and definition. What are we to understand by “dogma”? Before we go a step further, let us see clearly what “dogma” means.
构成本文标题的这个词需要一些解释和定义。我们应该如何理解”教条”?在我们进一步讨论之前,让我们明确了解”教条”的含义。
“Dogma,” says Garbett, “is to be distinguished from dogmatism. Dogma is a word that simply means a definite ascertained truth, which is no longer the subject of inquiry, simply because inquiry has ended, and the result has been accepted. Wherever there is any fixed ascertained truth whatever, there must be dogma. If there is no dogma — then there is no known truth.”
加贝特说:”教条应与教条主义区分开来。教条这个词简单地意味着一个已确定的真理,它不再是探究的对象,仅仅因为探究已经结束,结果已被接受。无论何处,只要有任何确定的真理,就必定有教条。如果没有教条,那就没有已知的真理。”
“Dogma,” says Dean Hook in his Church Dictionary, “is a word used originally to express any doctrine of religion formally stated. Dogmatic theology is the statement of positive truths in religion.”
胡克院长在他的《教会词典》中说:”教条最初是用来表达任何正式陈述的宗教教义的词。教条神学是对宗教中积极真理的陈述。”
To these definitions I shall only add one more remark, by way of caution. We must never forget that there is a wide difference between dogma in science — and dogma in religion. In religion, to be dogmatic is often a positive duty; in science, it is often sheer presumption. In the study of natural science, on the one hand, we have no inspired book to guide us. We have no revelation from Heaven to teach us about biology, or chemistry, or astronomy, or geology. We can only attain conclusions in these subjects by careful observation of phenomena, by patient investigation and induction of facts, or by a diligent use of such helps as the microscope and telescope afford. Even then, our conclusions are often very imperfect, and we ought to be modest in our assertions, and to beware of overmuch positiveness.
对于这些定义,我只想以警告的方式再补充一点。我们绝不能忘记,科学中的教条和宗教中的教条有很大的区别。在宗教中,持有教条往往是一种积极的责任;而在科学中,这往往是纯粹的自负。在研究自然科学时,我们没有受启发的书籍来指导我们。我们没有来自天堂的启示来教导我们生物学、化学、天文学或地质学。我们只能通过仔细观察现象、耐心调查和归纳事实,或勤奋使用显微镜和望远镜等辅助工具来得出这些学科的结论。即便如此,我们的结论往往非常不完善,我们应该在断言时保持谦逊,并警惕过度的肯定。
“The highest wisdom in many matters of science,” said Faraday, “is to keep ourselves in a state of judicious suspense.” “All human knowledge is but fragmentary. All of us who call ourselves students of nature possess only portions of natural science.” To be always dogmatic in natural science, is a mark of a shallow and conceited mind.
法拉第说:”在许多科学事务中,最高的智慧是保持一种明智的怀疑状态。””所有人类知识都是片断的。我们所有自称为自然研究者的人只拥有自然科学的一部分。”在自然科学中总是持教条态度,是浅薄和自负心态的标志。
In religion, on the contrary, we start with an infallible Bible to guide us. Our only business is to ascertain the meaning of that Bible. When it speaks plainly, clearly, and unmistakably upon any point — then we have a perfect right to form positive and decided conclusions, and to speak positively and decidedly. Dogmatic language in such cases is not only not presumption, but a downright duty — and not to be positive when God has spoken positively, is a symptom of ignorance, timidity, or unbelief!
相反,在宗教中,我们以一本无误的圣经作为指导开始。我们唯一的任务就是确定那本圣经的含义。当它对任何一点明确、清晰、毫不含糊地表述时——我们就有完全的权利形成积极和坚定的结论,并以积极和坚定的态度表达。在这种情况下,教条式的语言不仅不是自负,而是一种绝对的责任——当上帝已经明确表态时,不采取积极态度,是无知、胆怯或不信的表现!
The subject I am going to take up, my readers will now understand, is the importance of holding distinct and systematic theological views — and of making positive statements of doctrine in teaching and dispensing God’s Word. With the Bible in a minister’s hands — there ought to be nothing faltering, hesitating, and indefinite in his exhibition of the things necessary to salvation. He must not shrink from making strong assertions, and drawing sharply-cut and well-developed conclusions. He must not hesitate to say, “This is certainly true — and you ought to believe it! This other teaching is certainly false — and you ought to refuse it! This is right — and you ought to do it. That is wrong — and you ought not to do it.”
我的读者现在会明白,我要讨论的主题是持有明确和系统的神学观点的重要性——以及在教导和传播上帝的话语时做出明确的教义陈述的重要性。当牧师手持圣经时,他在阐述救赎所必需的事物时不应该有任何犹豫、迟疑和模糊。他不能畏缩于做出强有力的断言,并得出明确和充分发展的结论。他不应该犹豫说:”这肯定是真的——你应该相信它!那个教导肯定是错误的——你应该拒绝它!这是对的——你应该去做。那是错的——你不应该去做。”
It is the duty of ministers to speak like men who have quite made up their minds, who have grappled with Pilate’s question: “What is truth?” and are prepared to give the question an unhesitating answer.
牧师的责任是像那些已经下定决心的人一样说话,他们已经与彼拉多的问题搏斗过:”什么是真理?”并准备毫不犹豫地回答这个问题。
In short, if men mean to be faithful ministers of the New Testament, they must hold and teach “dogma.”
简而言之,如果人们想成为新约的忠实牧师,他们必须坚持并教导”教义”。
And of all Christian ministers, there are none, I am convinced, who ought to be so distinct and decided in their statement of “dogma” as the ministers of the Church of England.
在所有基督教牧师中,我确信没有人应该像英国国教会的牧师那样在陈述”教义”时如此明确和果断。
The subject, I venture to think, is one of vast importance in the present day, and it needs to be pressed on the attention both of clergymen and laymen.
我冒昧地认为,这个主题在当今时代是极其重要的,需要引起神职人员和平信徒的注意。
But the subject is a very wide and deep one, and can only be touched lightly in a short paper like this.
但这个主题非常广泛和深入,在这样一篇简短的文章中只能轻触其表面。
I shall therefore limit myself with laying down two general propositions, and offering a few remarks upon each of them.
因此,我将限制自己提出两个总体命题,并对每个命题提出一些评论。
The object of my first proposition will be to prove the peculiar importance of “dogma” in these days.
我第一个命题的目的是证明”教义”在这些日子里的特殊重要性。
The object of my second will be to show the great encouragements there are to hold and teach dogma.
我第二个命题的目的是展示坚持和教导教义的巨大鼓励。
I. My first proposition is this: A strong dislike to all “dogma” in religion is a most suspicious and growing sign of the times. Hence arises the peculiar importance of holding and teaching it.
I. 我的第一个命题是:对宗教中所有”教义”的强烈厌恶是一个最可疑和日益增长的时代征兆。因此,坚持和教导它的特殊重要性由此产生。
This dislike is a fact, I am bold to say, which needs realizing and recognizing.
我大胆地说,这种厌恶是一个需要认识和承认的事实。
It does not receive the attention it deserves.
它没有得到应有的关注。
We have been so much occupied of late years in resisting those who believe too much — that we have somewhat overlooked those who believe too little.
近年来,我们一直忙于抵制那些信仰过多的人,以至于我们在某种程度上忽视了那些信仰太少的人。
Whether we like to hear it or not, there is a sore disease in the land, which is eating like a canker into the vitals of Christianity.
无论我们是否愿意听到,这片土地上有一种严重的疾病,它像癌症一样侵蚀着基督教的生命力。
It is a pestilence walking in darkness, which threatens to infect a large proportion of the rising generation.
这是一种在黑暗中行走的瘟疫,威胁着要感染大部分新生代。
The evidences of this dislike to “dogma” are so abundant that the only difficulty lies in selection.
对”教义”的厌恶证据如此丰富,唯一的困难在于选择。
Unless we are men who having eyes see not, and having ears hear not — we may see them on every side.
除非我们是有眼不能看、有耳不能听的人,否则我们可以在各个方面看到它们。
(a) I might ask any intelligent man, for example, to mark the vague tone of the great majority of newspapers, when they touch religious subjects.
(a) 例如,我可能会要求任何有智慧的人注意大多数报纸在触及宗教主题时的模糊语气。
He will find that while they are generally willing to praise Christian morality — they too often ignore Christian doctrine.
他会发现,虽然他们通常愿意赞美基督教道德,但他们常常忽视基督教教义。
I might ask him to observe the bitterness with which School Boards frequently speak of what they are pleased to call “theology,” and how ready they are to shovel it all aside under the vague name of “sectarianism”.
我可能会要求他观察学校董事会经常以何种苦涩的语气谈论他们乐于称之为”神学”的东西,以及他们如何准备好将其全部推到一边,归入”宗派主义”这个模糊的名称下。
I might ask him to analyze the most popular fictions and novels of the last forty years, which profess to paint Christians, and to notice how the portrait almost invariably avoids everything like doctrine, and exhibits the model Christian like a cut flower at a flower show, a mere bloom without root.
我可能会要求他分析过去四十年最流行的小说,这些小说声称描绘基督徒,并注意到这幅肖像几乎总是避开一切类似教义的东西,将模范基督徒展示得像花展上的一朵剪下的花,仅仅是没有根的花朵。
I might ask him to look at the concern which liberal speakers are constantly showing, in addressing popular audiences, to sweep away all “denominational Christianity,” and to throw aside Creeds and Confessions as old worn-out clothes, which only fetter the limbs of modern Englishmen.
我可能会要求他关注自由派演讲者在向大众演讲时经常表现出的担忧,他们试图扫除所有的”宗派基督教”,并将信条和告白抛到一边,就像旧的破烂衣服一样,这些只会束缚现代英国人的四肢。
In each of these cases let him note one common symptom: that is, a morbid, unreasoning desire to have the fruits of Christianity — without the roots; to have Christian morality — without Christian dogma. And then let him deny, if he can, that a dislike to “dogma” is a widespread evil of our times.
在每一种情况下,让他注意到一个共同的症状:那就是一种病态的、不合理的欲望,想要获得基督教的果实而不要其根源;想要基督教的道德而不要基督教的教义。然后让他否认(如果他能的话)对”教义”的厌恶是我们这个时代普遍存在的邪恶。
(b) I will then ask any intelligent man to examine the opinions commonly expressed in the talk of private life. You have only got to bring up the subject of religion in society, and you will get further proofs still. In five houses out of six, where people have anything like real religion — you will find that they make a regular idol of “earnestness.” They do not pretend to know anything about controversies and disputed questions, or to have any opinion as to who is right and who is wrong. They only know that they admire “earnestness;” and they cannot think that earnest, hard-working men can be unsound in the faith.
(b) 我会要求任何有智慧的人去审视私人生活交谈中常见的观点。你只需在社交场合提起宗教话题,就能得到更多证据。在六个家庭中有五个,只要人们有一点真正的宗教信仰,你就会发现他们把”热忱”奉为偶像。他们不会假装知道任何关于争议和争议问题的事,也不会对谁是对谁是错有任何意见。他们只知道他们欣赏”热忱”;他们无法想象热忱、勤奋的人会在信仰上有错。
Tell them that any “earnest” clergyman whom they name does not preach the Gospel — and they are downright offended. Impossible! Whatever doctrines an “earnest” man holds and teaches — they think it narrow and uncharitable and illiberal in you to distrust him. In vain you remind them that zeal and laboriousness are useless — if a minister does not teach God’s truth; and that Pharisees and Jesuits had zeal enough to “compass sea and land.” They know nothing about that; they do not profess to argue. All they know is that work is work; and that an earnest man must be a good man, and cannot be in the wrong whatever he teaches. And what does it all come to? They dislike “dogma,” and will not make up their minds as to what is truth.
告诉他们,他们提到的任何”热忱”的牧师并没有传播福音——他们会立即感到被冒犯。不可能!无论一个”热忱”的人持有和教导什么教义,他们都认为你不信任他是狭隘、不仁慈和不开明的。你徒劳地提醒他们,如果一个牧师不教导上帝的真理,热情和勤奋是毫无用处的;法利赛人和耶稣会士有足够的热情”走遍洋海陆地”。他们对此一无所知;他们不打算争论。他们只知道工作就是工作;一个热忱的人一定是个好人,无论他教什么都不可能错。这一切归结为什么?他们不喜欢”教义”,不愿意下定决心确定什么是真理。
Hitherto we have seen the evil I am considering in its most common and diluted forms.
到目前为止,我们已经看到了我所考虑的邪恶的最常见和最稀释的形式。
(c) If we want to see it in its more solid and crystallized state, we have only to turn to the preaching and writings of the extreme Broad Churchmen of our days. I will not weary my readers with a catalogue of the strange and loose utterances which come incessantly from that quarter . . .
about inspiration,
about the atonement,
about the sacrifice and death of Christ,
about the incarnation,
about miracles,
about Satan,
about the Holy Spirit, and
about future punishment.
(c) 如果我们想看到它更加凝固和结晶的状态,我们只需转向当今极端广教会派(Broad Churchmen)的讲道和著作。我不会用一连串来自那个阵营的奇怪和松散的言论使我的读者厌烦…
关于灵感,
关于赎罪,
关于基督的牺牲和死亡,
关于道成肉身,
关于奇迹,
关于撒旦,
关于圣灵,以及
关于未来的惩罚。
I will not pain them by recounting the astounding theories sometimes propounded about “the blood of Christ.”
我不会通过重复那些有时提出的关于”基督之血”的令人震惊的理论来使他们痛苦。
Time would fail me if I tried to sketch the leading features of a misty system which appears to regard all religions as more or less true, and in which “tabernacles” seem to be wanted for Socrates, and Plato, and Pythagoras, and Seneca, and Confucius, and Mahomet — as well as for Christ, and Moses, and Elijah — all, forsooth, being true prophets, great masters, great teachers, great leaders of thought!
如果我试图描绘这种模糊系统的主要特征,时间是不够的。这个系统似乎认为所有宗教或多或少都是真实的,在这个系统中,似乎需要为苏格拉底、柏拉图、毕达哥拉斯、塞内加、孔子和穆罕默德建造”会幕”——就像为基督、摩西和以利亚建造的那样——所有这些人,确实,都被视为真正的先知、伟大的大师、伟大的教师和伟大的思想领袖!
I shall content myself with the remark, that dislike to “dogma” is one prominent characteristic of the leaders and champions of the extreme Broad Church party. Search their sermons and books, and you find plenty of sad examples — plenty of great swelling words about “the universal fatherhood of God, and charity, and light, and courage, and manliness, and large-heartedness, and wide views, and free thought,” — plenty of mere wind-bags, high-sounding abstract terms, such as “the true, and the just, and the beautiful, and the high-souled, and the congenial, and the liberal,” and so forth.
我只想说,厌恶”教条”是极端广教会派领袖和拥护者的一个显著特征。翻阅他们的讲道和著作,你会发现大量令人沮丧的例子——大量华而不实的词语,如”上帝的普世父性、仁爱、光明、勇气、阳刚之气、宽宏大量、广阔视野和自由思想”——大量空洞的、听起来很高尚的抽象词语,如”真实、正义、美好、高尚、和谐、自由”等等。
But, alas! there is an utter absence of distinct, solid, positive doctrine! And if you look for a clear, systematic account of the way of pardon and peace with God — of the right medicine for a burdened conscience, and the true cure for a broken heart — of faith and assurance, and of justification, and regeneration, and sanctification — you look in vain. The words indeed you may sometimes find, but not the realities — the words in new and strange senses, fair and good-looking outside, like rotten fruits; but, like them, empty and worthless within.
但是,唉!完全缺乏明确、坚实、积极的教义!如果你寻找一个清晰、系统的解释,关于如何获得上帝的宽恕和平安——如何为负罪的良心找到正确的良药,为破碎的心灵找到真正的治愈——关于信仰和确信,以及称义、重生和成圣——你会徒劳无功。这些词语你确实可能偶尔会找到,但不是真实的内容——这些词语有了新的、奇怪的含义,外表看起来公平美好,就像腐烂的水果;但是,就像腐烂的水果一样,内里空虚无用。
But one thing, I repeat, is abundantly clear — “dogma” and positive doctrinal statements are the abomination of extreme Broad Churchmen. Their cry is continually, “Down with dogma, down with it, even to the ground!”
但是,我再次强调,有一点是非常清楚的——”教条”和积极的教义陈述是极端广教会派人士憎恶的。他们不断呼喊,”打倒教条,打倒它,直到彻底消失!”
(d) I am afraid that time and space would fail me if I traveled outside our own communion, in order to find additional proof of the widespread dislike to “dogma” which we need to realize in this age.
(d)我担心,如果我走出我们自己的教会团体,去寻找更多证据来证明这个时代我们需要认识到的对”教条”的普遍厌恶,时间和篇幅都不够用。
We hear of it among Nonconformists — the oldest and soundest of them complain bitterly that the plague has begun among the descendants of the Puritans, and that old orthodox views are becoming scarce.
我们听说非国教徒中也出现了这种情况——其中最古老和最正统的非国教徒痛苦地抱怨说,这种瘟疫已经开始在清教徒的后代中蔓延,旧的正统观点正变得稀少。
We hear of it from Scotland — not a few Presbyterians are beginning to speak contemptuously of the Assembly’s Catechism as a yoke which ought to be thrown off.
我们从苏格兰听说——不少长老会教徒开始轻蔑地谈论《大会要理问答》,认为它是应该被抛弃的枷锁。
We hear of it from Switzerland — the Churches of Zwingly and Calvin are said to be so deeply tainted with Socinianism, since they threw creeds overboard, that it might almost, to speak figuratively, make their founders turn in their graves!
我们从瑞士听说——兹温利和加尔文的教会据说已经深深被索西尼主义污染,自从他们抛弃了信条,以至于可以比喻说,几乎要让他们的创始人在坟墓里翻身!
We hear of it from America — when Mr. and Mrs. Hannah Whitall Smith addressed the crowds at the famous Brighton Conference, their simple-minded and well-meaning hearers must have been puzzled to hear the often reiterated expression, “We do not want theology!”
我们从美国听说——当汉娜·惠托尔·史密斯夫妇在著名的布莱顿会议上向众人讲话时,他们那些单纯善良的听众一定对经常听到的”我们不需要神学!”这种重复的表达感到困惑。
But I trust I have said enough to convince my readers, that when I speak of dislike to “dogma” as one of the largest and most formidable perils of the day — I do not use any exaggerated language, or speak without good reason.
但我相信我已经说得足够多,足以让我的读者相信,当我说对”教条”的厌恶是当今最大和最可怕的危险之一时——我并没有使用任何夸张的语言,也不是无缘无故地说这些话。
The causes of this dislike to “dogma” we need not go far to seek. There is nothing new about it, and nothing therefore which ought to surprise us.
这种对”教条”的厌恶,其原因我们不必远寻。这并不是什么新鲜事,因此也不应该让我们感到惊讶。
And the older the world gets, and the nearer to the second advent of Christ — the more clearly shall we see that prophecy fulfilled. We only see a full development of an old disease.
随着世界越来越老,基督再临的日子越来越近,我们就会越清楚地看到那预言的应验。我们只是看到了一种旧疾病的全面发展。
There never have been lacking thousands of lazy, worldly Christians, who say with the poet —
从来就不乏成千上万懒惰的、世俗的基督徒,他们和诗人一起说——
“For modes of faith, let graceless zealots fight;
He can’t be wrong, whose life is in the right.”
“让那些无礼的狂热分子为信仰方式争斗吧;
生活正直的人,怎么会错呢。”
Eighteen centuries ago the apostle Paul forewarned us, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear!” 2 Timothy 4:3
十八个世纪前,使徒保罗就警告我们:”时候要到,人必厌烦纯正的道理,耳朵发痒,就随从自己的情欲,增添好些师傅,要满足自己的耳朵。”提摩太后书4:3
The natural man hates the Gospel and all its distinctive doctrines — and delights in any vain excuse for refusing it.
自然人厌恶福音及其所有独特的教义——并且乐于找任何虚妄的借口来拒绝它。
The plain truth is, that the root of the whole evil lies in the fallen nature of man, and his deeply-seated unbelief in God’s infallible Word. I suspect we have no idea how little saving faith there is on earth, and how few people entirely believe Bible truths.
简单的事实是,整个邪恶的根源在于人的堕落本性,以及他对上帝无误话语的根深蒂固的不信。我怀疑我们根本不知道地球上有多少少的得救信心,以及有多少少的人完全相信圣经真理。
One man is proud — he dislikes the distinctive doctrines of Christianity, because they leave him no room to boast.
一个人是骄傲的——他不喜欢基督教的独特教义,因为它们不给他留下任何可以夸口的余地。
Another is lazy and indolent — he dislikes distinctive doctrine, because it summons him to troublesome thought, and self-inquiry, and mental self-exertion.
另一个人是懒惰和懈怠的——他不喜欢独特的教义,因为它召唤他进行麻烦的思考、自我反省和精神上的自我努力。
Another is grossly ignorant — he imagines that all distinctive doctrine is a mere matter of words and names, and that it does not matter a jot what we believe.
还有一个人是极度无知的——他想象所有独特的教义只不过是文字和名称的问题,我们信什么一点都不重要。
Another is thoroughly worldly — he shrinks from distinctive doctrine, because it condemns his darling world.
另一个人是彻底世俗的——他畏缩于独特的教义,因为它谴责他心爱的世界。
But in one form or another, I am satisfied that “original sin” is the cause of all the mischief. And the whole result is, that vast numbers of men greedily swallow down the seemingly new idea that doctrine is of no great importance. It supplies a convenient excuse for their sins.
但无论以何种形式,我确信”原罪”是所有祸患的根源。结果是,大量的人贪婪地吞下这个看似新颖的观点,即教义并不那么重要。它为他们的罪提供了一个方便的借口。
The consequences of this widespread dislike to doctrine are very serious in the present day. Whether we like to allow it or not, it is an epidemic which is doing great harm. It creates, fosters, and keeps up an immense amount of instability in religion. It produces what I must venture to call, if I may coin the phrase, a jellyfish Christianity in the churches — that is, a Christianity without bone, or muscle, or power.
这种普遍存在的对教义的厌恶所造成的后果在当今时代是非常严重的。无论我们是否愿意承认,这是一种正在造成巨大危害的流行病。它在宗教中制造、助长并维持了大量的不稳定性。它产生了我不得不冒昧称之为——如果我可以创造这个词的话——教会中的”水母基督教”——也就是一种没有骨骼、肌肉或力量的基督教。
A jellyfish, as everyone knows who has been much by the sea-side, is a pretty and graceful object when it floats in the sea, contracting and expanding like a little, delicate, transparent umbrella. Yet the same jellyfish, when cast on the shore — is a mere helpless lump, without capacity for movement, self-defense, or self-preservation.
正如每个经常去海边的人都知道的那样,水母在海中漂浮时是一个美丽而优雅的物体,像一把小巧、精致、透明的伞一样收缩和扩张。然而,同样的水母一旦被冲到岸上,就成了一团无助的软体,没有移动、自卫或自保的能力。
Alas! It is a vivid type of much of the religion of this day, of which the leading principle is, “No dogma, no distinct tenets, no positive doctrine.”
唉!这生动地描绘了当今许多宗教的类型,其主导原则是”没有教条,没有明确的信条,没有积极的教义”。
We have hundreds of jellyfish clergymen, who seem not to have a single bone in their body of divinity. They have no definite opinions — they belong to no school or party. They are so afraid of “extreme views” — that they have no views at all.
我们有数百名”水母牧师”,他们的神学体系似乎没有一根骨头。他们没有明确的观点——他们不属于任何学派或派别。他们如此害怕”极端观点”——以至于他们根本没有任何观点。
We have thousands of jellyfish sermons preached every year — sermons without an edge or a point. They are as smooth as billiard balls — awakening no sinner, and edifying no saint.
我们每年都有成千上万的”水母讲道”被传讲——这些讲道没有锋芒或重点。它们像台球一样光滑——既不能唤醒罪人,也不能造就圣徒。
We have legions of jellyfish young men annually turned out from our seminaries, armed with a few scraps of second-hand philosophy, who think it a mark of cleverness and intellect to have no decided opinions about anything in religion, and to be utterly unable to make up their minds as to what Christian truth is. Their proud hearts are not satisfied with truths which satisfied the godly of former years. Their only creed is a kind of “Anythingism.” They believe everything — and are sure and positive about nothing!
我们每年都有大批”水母青年”从我们的神学院毕业,他们武装着一些二手哲学的碎片,认为在宗教问题上没有明确观点,完全无法确定什么是基督教真理,这是聪明和智力的标志。他们骄傲的心不满足于那些曾经满足过往年虔诚之人的真理。他们唯一的信条是一种”万事皆可主义”。他们相信一切——却对任何事都不确定和肯定!
And last, and worst of all, we have myriads of jellyfish worshipers — respectable church-going people, who have no distinct and definite views about any point in theology. They cannot discern things that differ, any more than color-blind people can distinguish colors! They think that . . .
everybody is right — and nobody is wrong,
everything is true — and nothing is false,
all sermons are good — and none are bad,
every minister is sound — and none are unsound.
最后,也是最糟糕的是,我们有无数的”水母崇拜者”——那些体面的教会常客,他们对神学的任何观点都没有明确和确定的看法。他们无法辨别事物的差异,就像色盲无法区分颜色一样!他们认为……
每个人都是对的——没有人是错的,
一切都是真的——没有什么是假的,
所有的讲道都是好的——没有一个是坏的,
每个牧师都是正统的——没有一个是不正统的。
They are “tossed to and fro, like children, by every wind of doctrine!” They are often carried away by any new excitement and sensational movement. They are ever ready for new things, because they have no firm grasp on the old Scripture truths.
他们”像孩子一样,被各样的教义之风摇来摇去!”他们常常被任何新的兴奋和耸人听闻的运动所吸引。他们总是准备接受新事物,因为他们对旧的圣经真理没有牢固的把握。
All this, and much more, of which I cannot now speak particularly, is the result of the unhappy dread of “dogma” which has been so strongly developed, and has laid such hold on many Churchmen, in these latter days.
所有这些,以及更多我现在无法详细说明的事情,都是对”教条”(dogma)的不幸恐惧的结果,这种恐惧在近来已经强烈发展,并在许多教会人士中根深蒂固。
I turn from the sad picture I have exhibited with a sorrowful heart. I grant that it is a gloomy one; but I am afraid it is only too accurate and true. Let us not deceive ourselves — “Dogma” and positive doctrine are at a discount just now. Instability and unsettled notions are the natural result, and meet us in every direction. Never was it so important for laymen to hold systematic views of truth, and for ordained ministers to “enunciate dogma” very clearly and distinctly in their teaching.
我带着悲伤的心情转离我所展示的这幅悲惨画面。我承认这是一幅阴郁的画面;但我恐怕它只是太过准确和真实。让我们不要自欺——”教条”和积极的教义现在正处于贬值状态。不稳定和不确定的观念是自然的结果,我们在各个方面都能遇到。对于平信徒来说,持有系统的真理观从未如此重要,对于已受按立的牧师来说,在他们的教导中”清晰明确地阐述教条”也从未如此重要。
The second proposition I wish to lay before my readers is this:
我希望向读者提出的第二个命题是:
II. In spite of all that is said against dogma, its advocates have no cause to be ashamed.
二、尽管有人反对教条,但其倡导者没有理由感到羞耻。
I launch that statement without the slightest hesitation. The assailants of “dogma” make such boasting, and blow their trumpets so loudly, that I suspect some Christians lately have been rather frightened. They have thought that the ark was in danger, and that we must moderate our tone, and retire from our old paths! Let no man’s heart fail at this crisis. There is no cause for alarm. It is the mark of ill-disciplined and half-savage armies to blow horns and beat drums, and cover their real weakness by noise. The true soldier holds his tongue, and reserves his breath for the actual struggle. “In quietness and confidence is our strength.” In spite of all the hard words poured on “dogma” — as effete, worn out, injurious to free thought, unsuited to the nineteenth century, and so forth — there remains a chain of facts in support of “dogma,” which I believe it is impossible to explain away. In short, there is a mass of evidence which cannot be refuted.
我毫不犹豫地发表这个声明。”教条”的攻击者如此自吹自擂,大肆宣扬,以至于我怀疑最近有些基督徒相当害怕。他们认为方舟(ark)处于危险之中,我们必须缓和我们的语气,从我们的旧路退却!在这个危机时刻,不要让任何人心生畏惧。没有理由惊慌。吹号角和敲鼓,用噪音掩盖真实弱点,这是纪律松散和半野蛮军队的特征。真正的士兵保持沉默,为实际战斗保留力气。”在平静和信心中是我们的力量。”尽管有人对”教条”倾泻了许多苛刻的言辞——如陈旧、过时、有害于自由思想、不适合十九世纪等等——但仍有一系列支持”教条”的事实,我相信这些事实是无法解释掉的。简而言之,有大量无法反驳的证据。
It is not enough to say, “We believe the Bible.” We must distinctly understand what the leading facts and doctrines of the Bible are; and this is exactly the point where Creeds and Confessions are useful.
仅仅说”我们相信圣经”是不够的。我们必须清楚地理解圣经的主要事实和教义是什么;这正是信条(Creeds)和告白(Confessions)发挥作用的地方。
I shall confine myself to a simple statement of certain broad facts, which ought to encourage every loyal Christian to hold distinct doctrinal views, and not to be ashamed of “dogma.”
我将局限于对某些广泛事实的简单陈述,这些事实应该鼓励每个忠诚的基督徒持有明确的教义观点,而不为”教条”感到羞耻。
(a) In the first place, let us turn boldly to our Bibles. Is “dogma” there, or not?
首先,让我们勇敢地翻开我们的圣经。”教条”在其中存在吗?
Of course I do not forget that this witness goes for little with many. They regard the Bible as nothing more than a respectable collection of old Jewish writings, of uncertain antiquity, containing many good things — but not as an infallible book, to whose teachings they must bow.
当然,我并未忘记这一证据对许多人来说意义不大。他们将圣经视为不过是一部值得尊敬的古老犹太文献集,年代不确定,包含许多好东西——但不是一本绝对无误的书,他们必须对其教导俯首听命。
Whenever it contradicts their so-called “verifying faculty, and inward consciousness, and intuitive convictions,” they refuse to accept its teaching! I shall have a word for these gentlemen by and by.
每当圣经与他们所谓的”验证能力、内在意识和直觉信念”相矛盾时,他们就拒绝接受其教导!我稍后会对这些先生们说几句话。
But I thank God that many clergymen and laymen in the Church of England are of a very different mind. There are yet left some thousands among us who have not forgotten their Ordination Vows, in which clergymen profess their determination to “instruct people out of Scripture,” and to “teach nothing necessary to salvation, but that which may be concluded and proved by Scripture.”
但我感谢上帝,英国国教会中的许多牧师和平信徒持有非常不同的观点。在我们中间仍有数千人没有忘记他们的按立誓言,其中牧师们宣誓决心”用圣经教导人”,并”只教导对救恩必要的内容,而这些内容必须能从圣经中得出结论和证明”。
To them and thousands like them, I can confidently appeal.
对他们以及成千上万与他们志同道合的人,我可以充满信心地呼吁。
Do we not, then, all know and feel, as we read our New Testaments, that “dogma” meets us in every book from Matthew down to Revelation?
那么,当我们阅读新约圣经时,难道我们不都知道并感觉到,从马太福音到启示录的每一卷书中都充满了”教条”吗?
Is not the fashionable claptrap assertion, that the chief object of the Gospels and Epistles was to teach us high moral precepts and charity rather than “dogma,” so utterly contrary to the real facts of the case which meet our eyes when we read our Bibles — that it is absurdly untrue?
那种时髦的陈词滥调断言,福音书和书信的主要目的是教导我们高尚的道德准则和慈善,而非”教条”,这难道不是与我们阅读圣经时所见到的真实情况完全相悖——以至于荒谬得不真实吗?
Are not “dogma” and doctrine so intimately woven up and intermingled with moral precepts in the New Testament, that you cannot separate them?
“教条”和教义难道不是与新约圣经中的道德准则如此紧密地交织在一起,以至于你无法将它们分开吗?
We all know that there is only one answer to such questions. As for those unhappy men who can stand in a reading-desk, and there read such books as John’s Gospel, and the Epistles to the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and Hebrews to a Church of England congregation, and then denounce “dogma,” and cry down dogmatic theology, and sneer at Bibliolatry in the pulpit — I can only say that I do not understand them.
我们都知道这些问题只有一个答案。至于那些不快乐的人,他们能站在读经台前,向英国国教会会众宣读约翰福音、罗马书、加拉太书、以弗所书和希伯来书等书卷,然后却谴责”教条”,贬低教条神学,在讲坛上嘲笑圣经崇拜——我只能说我不理解他们。
He who gives up teaching “dogma,” in my opinion, may just as well say that he gives up teaching the Bible. You cannot neglect “dogma” without ignoring Scripture.
在我看来,放弃教导”教条”的人,不如说他放弃了教导圣经。你不可能在忽视圣经的同时不忽视”教条”。
(b) In the second place, we can turn boldly to our Thirty-nine Articles. Is “dogma” in them or not?
(b) 其次,我们可以大胆地转向我们的三十九条信纲。其中是否包含”教条”呢?
Once more, I do not forget that many think very little of that admirable Confession of Faith.
再次说明,我并未忘记许多人对这份令人钦佩的信仰告白不屑一顾。
They coolly tell us in that offhand, conceited style which is so painfully common in this day — that “nobody really believes all the Articles!”
他们以一种冷淡、自负的态度告诉我们——这种态度在今天是如此普遍且令人痛心——”没有人真正相信所有的条文!”
Some tell us plainly that they regard the Thirty-nine Articles as a burdensome stone, and a hobgoblin on men’s consciences — and that we would do far better to abolish them, throw them overboard, and be content with no creed at all!
一些人直白地告诉我们,他们将三十九条信纲视为一块沉重的石头,是人们良心上的妖怪——我们最好废除它们,将它们抛弃,不要任何信条才好!
But all this time every minister on taking possession of a church, is obliged to declare publicly that he will teach and preach “nothing contrary to the Thirty-nine Articles.”
但与此同时,每位牧师在接管一个教会时,都必须公开宣布他将教导和宣讲”不违背三十九条信纲的内容”。
Yet what are these Articles but a wise compendium of dogmatic statements?
然而,这些条文不正是一份明智的教义声明汇编吗?
With few exceptions, they are a series of doctrinal assertions, carefully drawn out of Scripture, which the Church regards as of special and primary importance.
除了少数例外,它们是一系列精心从圣经中提炼出来的教义断言,教会认为这些断言具有特殊和首要的重要性。
Where, I would like to know, is our honesty — if we shrink from teaching dogma, after pledging ourselves to teach the Articles?
我想知道,如果我们在承诺教导这些条文后却畏缩不前,不愿教导教条,我们的诚实又在哪里呢?
Where is plain faithfulness to our ministerial promises — if we do not teach and preach distinct, systematic doctrine?
如果我们不教导和宣讲明确、系统的教义,我们对牧职承诺的坦诚忠诚又在哪里呢?
As for those clergymen who retain positions in our Church, while they openly contradict the Articles, or deliberately sneer at their statements of doctrine, as “narrow, and illiberal, and unsuited to the nineteenth century” — I can only say once more that I do not understand them.
对于那些在我们教会中保留职位,却公然与这些条文相抵触,或故意嘲笑其教义声明为”狭隘、不开明、不适合十九世纪”的牧师们——我只能再次说,我不理解他们。
I can admire their zeal and cleverness — but I cannot see that they are in their right place in the pulpit of the Church of England.
我可以钦佩他们的热忱和聪明才智——但我看不出他们在英国国教会的讲坛上是恰如其分的。
He who is for no “dogma,” no Articles, and no Creeds — in my judgment is no true and loyal Churchman.
在我看来,那些不支持”教条”、不支持条文、不支持信条的人——不是真正忠诚的教会成员。
(c) In the third place, we can turn boldly to the Prayer-book. Is “dogma” there or not?
第三,我们可以大胆地转向祈祷书。其中有”教条”吗?
That famous book, with all its unquestionable imperfections, finds favor in the eyes of all schools of thought within our pale, and of myriads outside.
这本著名的书,尽管有其无可争议的不完美之处,却在我们范围内的所有思想流派和外部无数人的眼中备受青睐。
You rarely meet with anyone, however broad and liberal, however opposed to Creeds and Articles, who quarrels with our time-honored Prayer-book, or would like to see it much altered.
你很少遇到任何人,无论他们多么开明和自由,无论他们多么反对信条和条例,会与我们历史悠久的祈祷书争论,或希望看到它被大幅修改。
Week after week its old familiar words are read all over the globe, wherever the English flag flies and the English language is spoken.
一周又一周,它那熟悉的古老词句在全球各地被诵读,只要有英国国旗飘扬和英语被使用的地方。
The older the world grows, the more men seem disposed to say, with George Herbert on his death-bed, “The prayers of my mother the Church of England — there are none like them!”
随着世界越来越老,人们似乎越来越倾向于像乔治·赫伯特在临终时所说的那样:”我母亲英国国教会的祷告——没有什么能与之相比!”
Yet all this time it is a curious fact that an immense amount of dogmatic theology runs through the Prayer-book, and underlies its simple petitions!
然而,在这所有时间里,一个奇怪的事实是,大量的教条神学贯穿于祈祷书中,并构成了其简单祈求的基础!
He who sits down and makes a list will be surprised to find what a large amount of doctrinal statements the old book contains about the Trinity, about the deity of Christ, about the personality of the Holy Spirit, about the sacrifice and mediation of Christ, about the work of the Spirit, and many other points.
那些坐下来列出清单的人会惊讶地发现,这本古老的书中包含了大量关于三位一体、基督的神性、圣灵的位格、基督的牺牲和调解、圣灵的工作以及许多其他方面的教义陈述。
They occur again and again in sentences with which we are so familiar, that we overlook their contents.
这些内容在我们非常熟悉的句子中反复出现,以至于我们忽视了它们的内容。
Take, for a single instance, the dogma of eternal punishment.
以永恒惩罚的教义为单一例子。
Tim question has been raised of late whether the Church of England says anything about it in her formularies.
最近有人提出质疑,英国国教会是否在其信条中提到了这一点。
Yet all this time the Prayer-book contains three singularly strong expressions on the subject.
然而,在这所有时间里,祈祷书中包含了三个特别强烈的表达。
Almost the first petition is, “From everlasting damnation, good Lord, deliver us.”
几乎第一个请求就是:”善良的主啊,请将我们从永恒的诅咒中拯救出来。”
In the Burial Service we say, by the side of the open grave, “Deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.”
在葬礼仪式中,我们在打开的坟墓旁说:”不要将我们带入永恒死亡的痛苦中。”
Even in the Church Catechism we teach children that in the Lord’s Prayer they ask to be “kept from our ghastly enemy and everlasting death.”
甚至在教会教理问答中,我们教导孩子们在主祷文中祈求”保护我们远离可怕的敌人和永恒的死亡”。
Once more I say, he who thinks little of “dogma,” and yet uses the Prayer-book of the Church of England — is very inconsistent, and is occupying, whether he knows it or not, a most untenable and unreasonable position.
我再次说,那些轻视”教条”却仍使用英国国教会祈祷书的人——是非常矛盾的,无论他们是否意识到,都处于一个最站不住脚和不合理的立场。
I assert confidently that the Prayer-book is full of dogmatic theology.
我自信地断言,祈祷书充满了教条神学。
(d) And now, in the fourth place, I have a word for those numerous opponents of “dogma” who care little for the Bible, Articles, or Prayer-book. I say that the advocates of dogma can turn boldly to the whole history of the progress and propagation of Christianity, from the time of the apostles down to the present day — and fearlessly appeal to its testimony. I challenge anyone to deny what I am going to say, and disprove it if he can.
(d) 现在,第四点,我要对那些不太在意圣经、教义或祈祷书的众多”教条”反对者说几句话。我说,教条的支持者可以大胆地回顾基督教从使徒时代到今天的全部进展和传播历史,无所畏惧地诉诸其见证。我挑战任何人否认我将要说的话,如果他能,就来驳斥它。
I affirm, unhesitatingly, that there never has been any spread of the Gospel, any conversion of nations or countries, any successful evangelistic work — excepting by the proclamation of “dogma.” I invite any opponent of dogmatic theology to name a single instance of a country, or town, or people, which has ever been Christianized, moralized, or civilized — by merely telling men that Christ was a great moral Teacher; that they must love one another; that they must be true, and just, and unselfish, and generous, and brotherly, and high-souled, and the like!
我毫不犹豫地断言,福音的传播、国家或地区的皈依、任何成功的传教工作,都从未离开过”教条”的宣讲。我邀请任何教条神学的反对者举出一个国家、城镇或民族的例子,仅仅通过告诉人们基督是一位伟大的道德导师;他们必须彼此相爱;他们必须诚实、公正、无私、慷慨、友爱、高尚等等,就使之基督教化、道德化或文明化的!
No! no! no! Not one single victory can such teaching show us — not one trophy can such teaching exhibit. It has wrought no deliverance on the earth.
不!不!不!这样的教导无法向我们展示一个胜利——无法展示一个战利品。它在地上没有带来任何拯救。
The victories of Christianity, wherever they have been won, have been won by distinct doctrinal theology — by telling men of Christ’s vicarious death and sacrifice — by showing them Christ’s substitution on the cross, and His precious blood — by teaching them justification by faith, and bidding them believe in a crucified Savior — by preaching ruin by sin, redemption by Christ, regeneration by the Spirit; by lifting up the Brazen Serpent — by telling men to look and live — to believe, repent, and be converted. This — this is the only teaching which for eighteen centuries God has honored with success, and is honoring at the present day both at home and abroad.
基督教的胜利,无论在何处取得,都是通过明确的教义神学赢得的——通过告诉人们基督的代赎之死和牺牲——通过向他们展示基督在十字架上的替代,和祂宝贵的血——通过教导他们因信称义,并呼吁他们相信被钉十字架的救主——通过宣讲罪恶带来毁灭,基督带来救赎,圣灵带来重生;通过高举铜蛇——告诉人们仰望就得生命——相信、悔改并归信。这——这是上帝在十八个世纪里唯一赐予成功的教导,并且在当今国内外仍在赐予荣耀。
Let the clever advocates of a broad and undogmatic theology — the preachers of the gospel of earnestness, and sincerity, and cold morality — show us at this day any English village, or parish, or city, or district, which has been evangelized without “dogma” by their principles. They cannot do it — and they never will!
让那些聪明的广泛而非教条神学的倡导者——那些传讲热忱、真诚和冷冰冰道德福音的传教士——在今天向我们展示任何一个英国村庄、教区、城市或地区,是按照他们的原则在没有”教条”的情况下被福音化的。他们做不到——他们永远也做不到!
Christianity without “dogma” is a powerless thing. It may be beautiful to some minds — but it is childless and barren — it is as cold and sterile as the moon. There is no getting over facts. The good that is done in the earth may be comparatively small. Evil may abound, and ignorant impatience may murmur and cry out that Christianity has failed. But, depend on it, if we want to do good and shake the world — we must fight with the old apostolic weapons, and stick to “dogma.”
没有”教条”的基督教是无力的。它在某些人看来可能很美好——但它是无子和贫瘠的——它像月亮一样冰冷和不育。事实是无法否认的。在地上所做的善事可能相对较少。邪恶可能泛滥,无知的不耐烦可能会抱怨并呼喊基督教已经失败。但是,相信这一点,如果我们想行善并震撼世界——我们必须用古老的使徒武器战斗,并坚持”教条”。
No dogma — no fruits!
没有教条——就没有果实!
No positive evangelical doctrine — no evangelization!
没有积极的福音教义——就没有福音传播!
(e) In the fifth place, we may turn, boldly to the lives of all the most eminent saints who have adorned the Church of Christ, since its great Head left the world — and summon them as witnesses.
第五,我们可以大胆地转向自基督这位伟大的元首离开世界以来,所有装点基督教会的最杰出圣徒的生平——并召唤他们作为证人。
I will not weary my readers with long lists of names, for happily they are legion.
我不会用冗长的名单使读者感到厌烦,因为幸运的是,这样的名字多如繁星。
Let us examine the holiest Fathers, and Reformers, and Puritans, and Anglicans, and Dissenters, and Churchmen of every school, and Christians generally of every name, and nation, and people, and tongue.
让我们审视最神圣的教父们、改革者们、清教徒们、圣公会教徒们、异议者们、各派别的教会人士,以及各种名号、国家、民族和语言的基督徒们。
Let us search their diaries, and analyze their biographies, and study their letters.
让我们搜索他们的日记,分析他们的传记,研究他们的书信。
Let us just see what manner of men they have been in every age, who, by the consent of all their contemporaries, have been really holy, and saintly, and godly.
让我们看看在每个时代,那些经由所有同时代人公认为真正圣洁、虔诚和敬神的人,他们是何等样的人。
Where will you find one of them who did not cling to “dogma” — who did not hold certain great distinct doctrinal views, and live by the faith of them?
你能找到其中哪一个不坚持”教条”(dogma)的人吗——哪一个不持有某些重要而明确的教义观点,并以此信仰生活的人?
I am satisfied that you will not find one!
我确信你找不到一个!
In their clearness of perception and degree of spiritual light, in the proportion they have assigned to particular articles of faith — they may have differed widely.
在他们对信仰的清晰认知和属灵之光的程度上,在他们对特定信条所赋予的重要性上——他们可能存在广泛的差异。
In their mode of expressing their theological opinions they may not have agreed.
在表达他们神学观点的方式上,他们可能并不一致。
But they have always had one common stamp and mark.
但他们总是有一个共同的印记和标志。
They have not been content with vague ideas of “earnestness, and goodness, and sincerity, and charity.”
他们并不满足于对”热忱、善良、真诚和仁爱”的模糊概念。
They have had certain systematic, sharply cut, and positive views of truth.
他们对真理有着系统的、清晰明确的、积极的看法。
They have known whom they believed, and what they believed, and why they believed.
他们知道他们所信的是谁,信的是什么,以及为什么相信。
And so it always will be.
这种情况将永远如此。
You will never have Christian fruits without Christian roots — whatever novel-writers may say.
无论小说作家怎么说,没有基督教的根基,你永远不会有基督教的果实。
You will never have eminent holiness — without dogmatic theology!
没有教条式的神学,你永远不会有卓越的圣洁!
(f) In the last place, let us turn to the death-beds of all who die with solid comfort and good hope — and appeal to them. There are few of us who are not called on occasionally, as we travel through life, to see people passing through the valley of the shadow of death, and drawing near to their latter end, and to those “things unseen which are eternal.”
最后,让我们转向所有以坚实的慰藉和美好希望离世之人的临终床榻 — 并向他们求证。我们在人生旅途中,很少有人不会偶尔被召唤去看望那些正穿越死亡阴影之谷、接近生命终点、以及那些”看不见的永恒之事”的人。
We all know what a vast difference there is in the manner in which such people leave the world — and the amount of comfort and hope which they seem to feel. Can any of us say that he ever saw a person die in peace, who did not know distinctly what he was resting on for acceptance with God, and could only say, in reply to inquiries, that he was “earnest and sincere”? I can only give my own experience — I never saw one. Oh, no! The story of Christ’s moral teaching, and self-sacrifice, and example, and the need of being earnest and sincere and like Him, will never smooth down a dying pillow. Christ the teacher, Christ the great pattern, Christ the prophet — will not suffice. We need something more than this!
我们都知道,这些人离开世界的方式存在巨大差异 — 以及他们似乎感受到的慰藉和希望的程度。我们中有谁能说,他曾见过一个人平静地死去,而这个人并不清楚地知道他依靠什么来得到上帝的接纳,只能在回答询问时说他”诚恳和真挚”?我只能给出我自己的经验 — 我从未见过一个。哦,不!基督的道德教导、自我牺牲、榜样,以及需要诚恳、真挚和像祂一样的故事,永远无法抚平临终的枕头。基督这位教师、基督这位伟大的典范、基督这位先知 — 都是不够的。我们需要比这更多的东西!
We need the story of Christ dying for our sins, and rising again for our justification. We need Christ the mediator, Christ the substitute, Christ the intercessor, Christ the redeemer — in order to meet the King of terrors with confidence, and to say, “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?”
我们需要基督为我们的罪而死,并为我们的称义而复活的故事。我们需要基督这位中保、基督这位替代者、基督这位代求者、基督这位救赎主 — 为了能够自信地面对恐惧之王,并说:”死亡啊,你的毒刺在哪里?坟墓啊,你的胜利在哪里?”
Not a few, I believe, who have gloried all their lives in rejecting dogmatic religion, have discovered at last that their “broad theology” is a miserable comforter, and the gospel of mere “earnestness” is no good news at all.
我相信,不少人一生都以拒绝教条式宗教为荣,最终却发现他们的”宽泛神学”是一个可怜的安慰者,而仅仅”热忱”的福音根本不是什么好消息。
Not a few, I firmly believe, could be named, who at the eleventh hour have cast aside their favorite, new-fashioned views, and have fled for refuge to “the precious blood of Christ,” and left the world with no other hope than the old-fashioned Evangelical doctrine of faith in a crucified Jesus. Nothing in their life’s religion has given them such peace as the simple truth grasped at the eleventh hour —
我坚信,可以列举不少人的名字,他们在最后时刻抛弃了他们喜爱的新潮观点,逃往”基督宝血”寻求庇护,离开这个世界时除了对被钉十字架的耶稣的信仰这一古老的福音教义外别无他望。他们一生的宗教信仰中,没有什么能给他们带来如此平安,如同他们在最后时刻把握的简单真理 —
“Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Your blood was shed for me,
And that You bidd’st me come to Thee —
O Lamb of God, I come.”
“就如我是,无善可陈,
惟你宝血为我流,
你招我来归向你 —
神的羔羊,我来。”
Surely, when this is the case, we have no need to be ashamed of dogmatic theology.
当情况如此时,我们确实无需为教条式神学感到羞耻。
And now, as I leave the subject — let me wind up all I have said with an expression of my earnest hope that all honest, true-hearted Churchmen will walk in the steps of their forefathers, and stick to the old weapons which they wielded so well and successfully.
现在,当我结束这个话题时 — 让我以表达我诚挚的希望来总结我所说的一切,希望所有诚实、真心的教会成员能够追随先辈的脚步,坚持使用他们曾如此熟练和成功地使用的古老武器。
Let no scorn of the world,
let no ridicule of witty writers,
let no sneers of liberal critics,
let no secret desire to please and conciliate the public
— tempt us for one moment to leave the old paths, and drop the old practice of enunciating dogma — clear, distinct, well-defined, and sharply-cut “dogma” — in all our teachings. Let us beware of being vague, and foggy, and hazy in our teachings. Let us be specially particular about such points as . . .
让世界的蔑视,
让机智作家的嘲笑,
让自由派批评家的冷嘲热讽,
让讨好和安抚公众的隐秘欲望
— 都不要诱使我们片刻离开古老的道路,放弃在我们所有的教导中阐明教条的古老做法 — 清晰、明确、界定明确、轮廓分明的”教条”。让我们警惕在教导中变得模糊、朦胧和含糊不清。让我们特别注意这些要点…
original sin,
原罪,
the inspiration and authority of Scripture,
圣经的默示和权威,
the finished work of Christ,
基督已完成的工作,
the complete atonement made by His death,
祂的死所成就的完全赎罪,
the priestly office which He exercises at the right hand of God,
祂在上帝右边所行使的祭司职分,
the inward work of the Holy Spirit on hearts, and
圣灵在人心中的内在工作,以及
the reality and eternity of future punishment.
将来惩罚的真实性和永恒性。
On all these points let our testimony be not Yes and No — but Yes and Amen. Let the tone of our witness be plain, ringing, and unmistakable.
在所有这些要点上,让我们的见证不是是与否,而是是与阿们。让我们见证的语气明确、响亮且不容误解。
“If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” (1 Corinthians 14.8). If we handle such subjects in a timid, faltering, half-hearted way, as if we were handling hot iron, and we had not made up our minds what is truth — then it is vain to expect people who hear us to believe anything at all. It is the bold, decided, outspoken doctrinal man, who makes a deep mark, and sets people thinking, and “turns the world upside down.”
“若吹无定的号声,谁能预备打仗呢?”(哥林多前书14:8)。如果我们以胆怯、犹豫、敷衍的方式处理这些主题,好像我们在处理烫手的铁,而我们又没有确定什么是真理——那么期望听我们讲道的人相信任何事都是徒劳的。正是那些大胆、果断、直言不讳的教义之人,才能留下深刻印记,引发人们思考,并”颠覆世界”。
It was “dogma” in the apostolic ages which emptied the heathen temples, and shook Greece and Rome. It was “dogma” which awoke Christendom from its slumbers at the time of the Reformation, and spoiled the Pope of one-third of his subjects. It was “dogma” which, a hundred years ago, revived the Church of England in the days of Whitfield, Wesley, Venn, and Romaine, and blew up our dying Christianity into a burning flame. It is “dogma” at this moment which gives power to every successful mission, whether at home or abroad. It is doctrine — doctrine, clear ringing doctrine — which, like the rams’ horns at Jericho, casts down the opposition of the devil and sin. Let us go on clinging to “dogma” and doctrine, whatever some may please to say; and we shall do well for ourselves, well for others, well for the Church of England, and well for Christ’s cause in the world.
正是使徒时代的”教条”清空了异教徒的庙宇,震撼了希腊和罗马。正是”教条”在宗教改革时唤醒了基督教世界的沉睡,并夺走了教皇三分之一的臣民。正是”教条”在一百年前,在惠特菲尔德、卫斯理、文恩和罗曼的时代复兴了英国国教会,将我们垂死的基督教信仰重新点燃成熊熊烈火。此刻,正是”教条”赋予了每一个成功的传教事业力量,无论是在国内还是国外。正是教义——教义,清晰响亮的教义——如同耶利哥的公羊角,击倒了魔鬼和罪恶的反对。让我们继续坚持”教条”和教义,不管有人会说什么;这样我们就能为自己、为他人、为英国国教会,为基督在世界上的事业做得很好。
And now let me conclude this paper with two special words of warning. They are warnings so closely connected with my subject that I dare not keep them back. I offer them with some diffidence, for I lay no claim to infallibility. I ask my readers to take them for what they are worth. They are cautions for the times in which we live.
现在让我以两个特别的警告来结束这篇文章。这些警告与我的主题密切相关,我不敢不提。我带着些许谨慎提出它们,因为我并不自诩无误。我请读者们按其价值来看待它们。它们是针对我们所处时代的警告。
(a) On the one hand I desire to raise a warning voice against the growing disposition to sacrifice dogma on the altar of so-called unity, and to give up sound doctrine for the sake of peace and cooperation.
一方面,我希望发出警告之声,反对日益增长的倾向,即为了所谓的统一而牺牲教义,为了和平与合作而放弃正确的教义。
The tide is running strongly in that direction — so we must mind what we are about.
潮流正强烈地朝着那个方向涌动——所以我们必须注意我们在做什么。
Peace is an excellent thing — but it may be bought too dear.
和平是一件极好的事情——但可能代价太高。
And it is bought too dear if we keep back any portion of gospel truth — in order to exhibit to men a hollow semblance of unity.
如果我们为了向人展示一个空洞的统一表象而隐瞒任何部分的福音真理,那么这个代价就太高了。
The divisions of the Church of England are unhappy and dangerous.
英国国教会的分裂是不幸和危险的。
They are the strength of Liberalism, and the laughing-stock of the world.
它们是自由主义的力量,也是世界的笑柄。
They are an evil omen.
它们是一个不祥之兆。
God sees them, and is displeased.
上帝看到了它们,并且不悦。
When children fight about the candle — they are often left in the dark.
当孩子们为蜡烛争吵时——他们常常被遗弃在黑暗中。
But for Christ’s sake let us beware of trying to heal our breaches by lowering our standard of doctrine, and watering our statements of truth in order to avoid giving offence.
但为了基督的缘故,让我们警惕试图通过降低我们的教义标准来弥合我们的裂痕,以及为了避免冒犯而淡化我们的真理陈述。
To skin over a wound externally, while mischief is going on inside, is poor surgery, and not a cure.
在内部仍有问题的情况下,仅仅在外部掩盖伤口,这是糟糕的手术,而不是治疗。
Some men cut the knot — by refusing to show their faces or open their mouths except in the presence of sympathizing and congenial audiences.
有些人通过拒绝露面或开口(除非在同情和志同道合的听众面前)来解决问题。
Be it so, if they please.
如果他们愿意,就这样吧。
I shall throw no stone at them.
我不会向他们投石。
Others think they are more in the line of duty (if not of pleasure) when we stand up boldly in any place where we can get a fair hearing, whether on Congress platforms or in cathedral pulpits, and try to confess Christ, and to confront error by truth.
其他人认为,当我们勇敢地站在任何可以获得公平听众的地方,无论是在国会平台上还是在大教堂的讲坛上,试图承认基督,并用真理对抗错误时,我们更符合职责所在(如果不是乐趣所在的话)。
But, whatever line of conduct we adopt, whether we sit at home at ease, or do battle and jeopardize our lives on high places, and face contradiction — let us never compromise sound doctrine for the sake of pleasing anyone, whether he be Bishop or Presbyter, Romanist or Infidel, Ritualist or Neologian, Churchman or Dissenter, or Plymouth brother.
但是,无论我们采取何种行为方式,无论我们安坐家中,还是在高处战斗并冒生命危险,面对矛盾——让我们永远不要为了取悦任何人而妥协正确的教义,无论他是主教还是长老,罗马教徒还是异教徒,礼仪主义者还是新神学家,国教徒还是异议分子,或者普利茅斯兄弟会成员。
Let us be civil and courteous to every one, however much we may disagree with him.
让我们对每个人都保持礼貌和友善,无论我们与他有多大分歧。
Let us never, never compromise and give up one jot or tittle of Evangelical dogma.
让我们永远,永远不要妥协和放弃福音教义的一丝一毫。
Well says Martin Luther: “Accursed is that charity which is preserved by the shipwreck of faith or truth, to which all things must give place; both charity, or an apostle, or an angel from Heaven.”
马丁·路德说得好:”被信仰或真理的沉船所保全的慈善是被诅咒的,一切都必须为之让路;无论是慈善,还是使徒,或是来自天国的天使。”
Well says Dr. Gauden: “If either peace or truth must be dispensed with, it is peace and not truth. Better to have truth without public peace — than peace without saving truth.”
高登博士说得好:”如果必须放弃和平或真理之一,那应该是和平而不是真理。宁可有真理而没有公共和平,也不要有和平而没有救赎的真理。”
(b) On the other hand, I desire to raise a warning voice against the growing tendency to be dogmatic about things which are not necessary to salvation.
(b) 另一方面,我希望对日益增长的对非救恩必要之事持教条主义态度的倾向发出警告。
To be positive where the Bible is silent, to condemn and anathematize those whom God has not condemned, and to exalt things indifferent and secondary to a level with the primary verities and weightier matters of the gospel.
在圣经沉默的地方持肯定态度,谴责和诅咒上帝未曾谴责的人,并将无关紧要和次要的事物抬升到与福音的主要真理和更重要事项同等的地位。
By all means let us be bold, firm, and unbending as steel, about every jot and tittle of Evangelical dogma and Christ’s truth; but let us not cultivate the detestable habit of excommunicating every man who does not see everything exactly with our eyes, and pronounce Shibboleth precisely as we do.
让我们务必对福音教义和基督真理的每一点每一划都保持勇敢、坚定和如钢铁般不屈的态度;但让我们不要养成那种令人厌恶的习惯,即将每个不完全按我们的观点看待事物的人逐出教会,或要求他们必须像我们一样准确地发音Shibboleth[待确认]。
For Christ’s sake let us make allowances for slight varieties of opinion in non-essential matters.
为了基督的缘故,让我们在非关键问题上容许些许观点的差异。
Let us not out-ritualize ritualists in over-scrupulousness and particularity.
让我们不要在过分谨慎和细节上超过仪式主义者。
Let us not squabble about straws — when the Canaanite and Perizzite are in the land; or bite and devour one another, like the wretched Jewish factions in the siege of Jerusalem, when the Romans were thundering at the gates!
让我们不要在迦南人和比利洗人在这片土地上时为琐事争吵;也不要像耶路撒冷被围困时那些可怜的犹太派系一样相互撕咬吞噬,而罗马人正在城门外雷霆万钧!
Never, never, I am persuaded, was the old saying of Rupertus Meldenius so worthy of daily remembrance:
我深信,Rupertus Meldenius[待确认]的这句古老谚语从未如此值得每日铭记:
“In essentials — unity.
“在要义上——合一。
In non-essentials — diversity.
在非要义上——多样。
In all things — charity.”
在一切事上——仁爱。”
“But even if we or an angel from Heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
“但无论是我们,或是从天上来的使者,若传福音给你们,与我们所传给你们的不同,他就应当被永远咒诅!
As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” Galatians 1:8-9
我们已经说过,现在我再说一遍:若有人传福音给你们,与你们所领受的不同,他就应当被永远咒诅!”加拉太书1:8-9