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Chapter 3: Good and Evil Are No Illusions
第3章 : 善恶并非幻象
I mean, in a way, I feel that one of the reasons for learning about Darwinian evolution is as an object lesson in how not to set up our values and social lives.
—RICHARD DAWKINS¹
There must be an absolute if there are to be morals, and there must be an absolute if there are to be real values. If there is no absolute beyond man's ideas, then there is no final appeal to judge between individuals and groups whose moral judgments conflict. —FRANCIS A. SCHAEFFER, HOW SHOULD WE THEN LIVE?²
IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIE OPENINGS IN history: The Dark Knight Rises. Literally millions of people around the world counted the days until the premier of Christopher Nolan's final film his Batman trilogy. In Colorado, a real dark night was rising. Bursting into Theater 9 was a twenty-four-year-old man, dressed as the Joker, the central villain of the second Nolan film. Wearing a gas mask and a bulletproof vest, he began firing a gun randomly into the panicked crowd, killing twelve and wounding fifty-eight. Terrorized children and their parents huddled in horror and prayed to be spared from this madman's attack. I recall a survivor saying one televised report, "I'll never look at life the same again."
Once evil has touched our lives, we never look at life the same either. These tragedies are like birth pangs that seem to be coming more frequently. The outcry in the aftermath of the tragedy was voiced in questions such as, “How could something like this happen?" and “What is wrong with our world?"
There are real answers to these questions. The short answer? Evil exists. So many used the adjective surreal to describe the shooting in Colorado. Why describe it this way? Maybe it's an attempt to say that this happens in movies all the time, but it's not supposed to jump off the screen into the real world. Sadly, these kinds of acts are gradually becoming more common because of the decreasing presence the knowledge of God in society. This knowledge is an immune system in our souls. The less of that knowledge in people's minds, the more evil rises in any culture. The apostle Paul knew this: "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice” (Romans 1:28–29). This is an apt description of the daily headlines of depravity, hate, and cruelty carried out by those who have learned to shut down their consciences.
When people dismiss belief in God as illusory, they tend to view the concepts of good and evil as illusory as well. Larry Taunton, a Christian author and debater, recounted a conversation with Richard Dawkins at his home in Oxford, England, and asked him whether humans were intrinsically good or bad. Taunton recounted his response: "Predictably, Dawkins deemed notions of good and evil to be mere artificial human constructs, opting instead to speak of ‘genetic predispositions.' "³
Most of the world is not so naïve. If nothing else, the record of human history gives testimony to humanity's proclivity toward evil. The real mystery is in understanding what is good. Taunton summed it up: “God also blesses mankind by restraining our evil nature.”⁴ Although evil exists, there is also a force of good that keeps evil at bay. As astronomer Hugh Ross explained, "Evidently, God designed the laws of physics so that the more depraved people become, the worse consequences they suffer." In the case of the shooting rampage, police arrived and kept the crazed person from destroying everyone present. In reality, the existence of good is actually a bigger question to answer than the problem of evil.
第3章 : 善恶并非幻象
我的意思是,在某种程度上,我觉得学习达尔文进化论的原因之一是作为一个关于如何不建立我们的价值观和社会生活的实物教训。 —理查德·道金斯¹
要有道德,就必须有绝对;要有真正的价值观,就必须有绝对。 如果不存在超越人的观念的绝对,那么在道德判断发生冲突的个人和群体之间就没有最终的评判诉求。
—弗朗西斯·A·谢弗,那么我们应该如何生活?²
这是历史上最受期待的电影首映之一:《黑暗骑士崛起》。 全世界数百万人都在数着克里斯托弗·诺兰最后一部电影《蝙蝠侠三部曲》首映的日子。 在科罗拉多州,真正的黑夜即将来临。 一名 24 岁的男子冲进了 9 号剧院,他打扮成诺兰第二部电影的主要反派小丑。 他戴着防毒面具,穿着防弹背心,开始向惊慌失措的人群随意开枪,造成十二人死亡、五十八人受伤。 受到惊吓的孩子和他们的父母惊恐地挤在一起,祈祷免受这个疯子的袭击。 我记得一位幸存者在电视报道中说过:“我再也不会以同样的方式看待生活了。”
一旦邪恶侵入我们的生活,我们就不再以同样的方式看待生活。 这些悲剧就像产痛一样,似乎越来越频繁地发生。 悲剧发生后,人们提出强烈抗议,提出诸如“怎么会发生这样的事情?”和“我们的世界出了什么问题?”等问题。
这些问题都有真正的答案。 简短的回答? 邪恶是存在的。 很多人用超现实这个形容词来形容科罗拉多州的枪击事件。 为什么要这样描述呢? 也许这是试图说这种情况在电影中经常发生,但它不应该跳出屏幕进入现实世界。 可悲的是,由于社会上对上帝的认识越来越少,这种行为正逐渐变得越来越普遍。 这种知识是我们灵魂中的免疫系统。 人们头脑中的知识越少,任何文化中的邪恶就越多。 使徒保罗知道这一点:“而且,既然他们认为对上帝的认识不值得,上帝就任凭他们存着败坏的心,去行不该做的事。他们就充满了各样的罪恶。 “他们满心是嫉妒、凶杀、纷争、诡诈、恶毒”(罗马书 1:28-29)。这是对这些人每天头条新闻所犯下的邪恶、仇恨和残忍的恰当描述。 他们学会了关闭自己的良心。
当人们认为对上帝的信仰是虚幻的时,他们往往也会将善恶的概念视为虚幻的。 基督教作家和辩论家拉里·汤顿(Larry Taunton)讲述了在英国牛津的家中与理查德·道金斯(Richard Dawkins)的一次谈话,并问他人类本质上是善还是恶。 汤顿讲述了他的回应:“可以预见的是,道金斯认为善恶的概念仅仅是人类的人造产物,而是选择谈论‘遗传倾向’。 ” 立方
世界上大多数人都没有那么天真。 如果不出意外的话,人类历史的记录证明了人类有邪恶的倾向。 真正的奥秘在于理解什么是好的。 汤顿总结道:“上帝也通过抑制我们邪恶的本性来祝福人类。”⁴虽然邪恶存在,但也有一股善良的力量驱赶邪恶。 正如天文学家休·罗斯所解释的那样,“显然,上帝设计了物理定律,以便人们变得越堕落,他们遭受的后果就越严重。” 在枪击事件中,警察赶到并阻止了疯狂的人摧毁在场的所有人。 事实上,善的存在实际上比恶的问题更需要回答。
NO GOD—NO EVIL
Once I sat next to a distinguished gentleman on a flight and struck up a pleasant conversation. He taught philosophy at a major university in England, so I had many questions about his favorite writers, although I was a little nervous about not confusing the philosophers and their philosophies. Finally I asked him if he had any religious faith, to which he replied with a smile, “I'm a militant atheist.” I also smiled and shook his hand and thanked him for being so straightforward about it.
My next question was easy: “So why are you a militant atheist?" He replied, “Two reasons. First, I believe in evolution.” We talked about fossils and genetics and Darwin for several minutes, and I even pulled out the motion sickness bag and drew pictures on it to illustrate the geological layers of the earth. It wasn't long until I realized that he wasn't really comfortable with the details of evolution. Just because someone has a PhD doesn't mean he is an expert in every area of life; he may be a microspecialist in only one or two subjects. The reality was, this professor of philosophy had not done his homework on the one thing on which he was basing his entire worldview and belief system. The professor changed his course, announcing that evolution was not his main reason for rejecting God.
I paused for just a moment in anticipation of what his real reason for rejecting God might be. I actually braced myself for some incredible philosophical challenge I had never heard before, as if I were about to take a punch from Mike Tyson himself. When he finally told me his real reason for not believing, I was completely surprised.
“If there is a God,” he said, “why is there so much evil in the world?”
I didn't say it, but I sure thought very loudly in my mind, That's it? Is this the real reason for you being a militant atheist? I was ready for this one. I turned over the motion sickness bag and wrote the words “No God— No Evil." Borrowing the logic of theologian Cornelius van Til, I explained to him, “If there is no God, there is no such thing as evil.” You see, without God evil doesn't really exist. The unbeliever can't describe the world we live in without borrowing the biblical concepts of good and evil.
In the end this thoughtful atheist said I raised an excellent point, a concession that happens rarely from the ranks of the militant atheists.
没有上帝,没有邪恶
有一次,我在飞机上坐在一位尊贵的绅士旁边,并进行了愉快的交谈。 他在英国一所主要大学教授哲学,所以我对他最喜欢的作家有很多疑问,尽管我有点担心不要混淆哲学家和他们的哲学。 最后我问他是否有宗教信仰,他微笑着回答:“我是一个激进的无神论者。” 我也微笑着与他握手,感谢他如此直言不讳。
我的下一个问题很简单:“那你为什么是一个激进的无神论者?”他回答道,“有两个原因。首先,我相信进化论。” 我们讨论了化石、遗传学和达尔文几分钟,我什至拿出了晕车包,在上面画了图来说明地球的地质层。没过多久,我就意识到他不太舒服。 进化论的细节。仅仅因为某人拥有博士学位并不意味着他是生活各个领域的专家;他可能只是一两个学科的微观专家。现实是,这位哲学教授并没有完成他的任务 教授改变了他的路线,宣布进化论并不是他拒绝上帝的主要原因。
我停顿了一下,猜测他拒绝上帝的真正原因可能是什么。 事实上,我已经做好了迎接一些我以前从未听过的令人难以置信的哲学挑战的准备,就好像我即将受到迈克·泰森本人的一拳一样。 当他最终告诉我他不相信的真正原因时,我完全感到惊讶。
“如果有上帝,”他说,“为什么世界上有这么多邪恶呢?”
我没有说出来,但我心里确实在大声地想,就这样了? 这是你成为激进无神论者的真正原因吗? 我已经准备好迎接这个了。 我把晕车包翻过来,写下“没有上帝,没有邪恶。”我借用神学家科尼利厄斯·范蒂尔的逻辑,向他解释说:“如果没有上帝,就没有邪恶这回事。” 你看,没有上帝,邪恶就根本不存在。非信徒如果不借用圣经中的善恶概念,就无法描述我们生活的世界。
最后,这位深思熟虑的无神论者说我提出了一个很好的观点,这种让步在激进的无神论者中很少发生。
ALL MORALS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL
The American Declaration of Independence declares that it is "self-evident, that all men are created equal,” yet it is also self-evident that the morals they live by are not equal. To say that everyone's beliefs are equally valid is self- refuting. Not everyone can be right. But without God, the absurd notion that everyone's morals are true becomes a living nightmare. Someone who says it is permissible to hurt children or neglect the disabled and infirmed does not have the same moral status as someone who protects children the disabled, elderly, and infirmed.
But if there is no God, there couldn't possibly be a transcendent morality that everyone should obey. Good and evil would simply be illusions, man-made and arbitrary. Certainly without a transcendent God source of moral authority, it comes down to whatever are the opinions of the majority. So from where does this universal sense of right and wrong come?
C. S. Lewis said, "My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?"? Because there are things that are wrong, regardless of the country or context, there is a real moral law that we did not invent and from which we cannot escape. We no more invented morality than we invented numbers even reason itself. These are things that are written on our hearts by our Creator.
The problem of evil has plagued the minds of men and women since the beginning of time. Yet God intends for us to understand its source, not just be aware of its existence. The real challenge is this: whether you are a believer an unbeliever, atheist theist, evil is not just around us-it is in us. That is why it is safe to say the existence of evil is not evidence of God's absence in the universe but evidence of His absence from our lives. Rejecting God won't necessarily make you some horrible criminal, just like saying you believe in God won’t automatically make you a saint. The Bible says, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19). Just because you believe the highway patrol exists doesn't necessarily mean you obey the posted speed limit. People who merely believe God exists and don't follow His commands receive the highest condemnation from Jesus Himself. “Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
道德并非生而平等
美国《独立宣言》宣称“人人生而平等”是不言而喻的,但他们赖以生存的道德是不平等的也是不言而喻的。要说每个人的信仰同样有效,这是不言而喻的。 反驳。不是每个人都是对的。但是如果没有上帝,每个人的道德都是真实的荒谬观念就会变成一场活生生的噩梦。那些说可以伤害儿童或忽视残疾人和体弱者的人与那些认为可以伤害儿童或忽视残疾人和体弱者的人并不具有相同的道德地位。 保护儿童、残疾人、老人和体弱者。
但如果没有上帝,就不可能存在人人都应该遵守的超然道德。 善与恶只是幻象,是人为的、任意的。 当然,如果没有超然的上帝道德权威来源,它就取决于大多数人的意见。 那么这种普遍的是非观念从何而来呢?
C.S.刘易斯说:“我反对上帝的论点是,宇宙看起来如此残酷和不公正。但我怎么会有公正和不公正的想法呢?一个人不会说一条线是弯曲的,除非他对直线有所了解。什么? 我是否正在将这个宇宙与我称之为不公正的宇宙进行比较?”? 因为无论在哪个国家或背景下,总有一些事情是错误的,但有一条真正的道德法则,它不是我们发明的,我们也无法逃避。 我们没有发明道德,就像我们没有发明数字甚至理性本身一样。 这些是我们的创造者写在我们心里的事情。
自古以来,邪恶的问题就一直困扰着人们的心灵。 然而上帝想让我们了解它的来源,而不仅仅是意识到它的存在。 真正的挑战是:无论你是信徒、非信徒、无神论者,邪恶都不仅仅存在于我们周围——它就在我们之中。 这就是为什么可以有把握地说,邪恶的存在并不是上帝在宇宙中缺席的证据,而是他从我们的生活中缺席的证据。 拒绝上帝并不一定会让你成为可怕的罪犯,就像说你相信上帝不会自动让你成为圣人一样。 圣经说:“你们信独一神。 你做得好。 就连恶魔也相信——并且颤抖!” (雅各书 2:19)。 仅仅因为您相信高速公路巡逻队的存在并不一定意味着您遵守张贴的速度限制。 那些只相信上帝存在而不遵守他的命令的人会受到耶稣本人的最高谴责。 “为什么你们称我‘主啊,主啊’,却不遵照我所说的去做呢?” (路加福音6:46)。
9/11/2001
If evil has an anniversary, this might be the date. It was on this day that our world changed forever. Lives were lost because of the acts of terror; our vulnerability was exposed. Everyone alive knows those images of planes crashing into the World Trade Center, people fleeing in terror, and New York's Finest searching for survivors. The scenes of hundreds of people holding posters of their missing loved ones and friends are still etched in my mind. Time and time again we all wondered, How could something like this happen?
That moment sparked a new mission in my heart, a mission to help the people of New York in the best way I knew how: starting a church in Manhattan that would minister to the city on a daily basis. Week after week we watched people grow stronger in their faith in God and in their battles over fear. That was really the big issue—fear. After all, the goal of terrorists is to inflict terror that lingers beyond their acts of violence.
For atheist writer Sam Harris, 9/11 was the moment that convinced him to launch his own attack—against religion. In his book The End of Faith, he calls for the recognition of the evil of religion and the reality that faith is a bad thing, picking up Lennon's theme in “Imagine." Harris wrote, "The men who committed the atrocities of September 11 were certainly not 'cowards,' as they were repeatedly described in the Western media, nor were they lunatics in any ordinary sense. They were men of faith—perfect faith, as it turns out-and this, must finally be acknowledged, is a terrible thing to be."⁸
Harris takes the reader through a discourse on the difference between rational thought and what he calls “blind faith” (as we discussed in chapter 2), gathering the worst aspects of various expressions of faith into one big picture of what he calls "religion." Indeed many cries against religious extremism came after the 9/11 attacks in New York and rightly so. However, people such as Harris and Maher used the events of that tragic day to call for the end of all religion, demonstrating their own form of irrationality and extremism. Somehow these people can’t tell the difference between a suicide bomber and a Sunday school teacher.
2001年9月11日
如果邪恶有周年纪念日,那么今天可能就是这个日子。 正是在这一天,我们的世界永远改变了。 恐怖行为造成人员伤亡; 我们的弱点暴露了。 每个活着的人都知道那些飞机撞上世贸中心、人们惊慌失措以及纽约最优秀的人寻找幸存者的画面。 数百人举着失踪亲人和朋友的海报的场景仍然铭刻在我的脑海中。 我们一次又一次地想知道,怎么会发生这样的事情?
那一刻在我心中激发了一个新的使命,一个以我知道的最好方式帮助纽约人民的使命:在曼哈顿建立一座教堂,每天为这座城市服务。 一周又一周,我们看到人们在对上帝的信仰以及与恐惧的斗争中变得更加坚强。 这才是真正的大问题——恐惧。 毕竟,恐怖分子的目标是制造超出其暴力行为的恐怖。
对于无神论作家山姆·哈里斯来说,9/11 事件促使他发起自己的攻击——反对宗教。 在他的《信仰的终结》一书中,他呼吁承认宗教的邪恶,并承认信仰是一件坏事,并继承了列侬在《想象》中的主题。哈里斯写道,“那些犯下 9 月 11 日暴行的人 他们当然不是西方媒体反复描述的“胆小鬼”,也不是一般意义上的疯子。 他们是有信仰的人——事实证明,他们是完美的信仰——但最终必须承认,这是一件可怕的事情。”⁸
哈里斯带领读者了解理性思维与他所谓的“盲目信仰”(正如我们在第二章中讨论的)之间的区别,将各种信仰表达方式中最糟糕的方面收集到一幅他所谓的“宗教”的大图景中。 ” 事实上,在纽约 9/11 袭击之后,出现了许多反对宗教极端主义的呼声,这是理所当然的。 然而,哈里斯和马赫等人利用那悲惨一天的事件呼吁结束所有宗教,展示了他们自己的非理性和极端主义形式。 不知何故,这些人无法区分自杀式炸弹袭击者和主日学校老师。
IN SEARCH OF A MORAL FOUNDATION
Knowing that morality must be grounded in some authority, the skeptics' desperate struggle is to find any alternative other than God. The real issue becomes identifying the basis for morality.
So if God does not exist, why think that we have any moral obligations to do anything? Who or what imposes these obligations upon us? Where do they come from? It's very hard to see why they would be anything more than a subjective impression ingrained into us by societal and parental conditioning.³
While the New Age movement, characterized by a belief in the spiritual world where all beliefs are equal, offers God without morals, the new atheists attempt to offer a world with no spiritual dimension and give us morals without God. This creates an extreme dilemma. If you try to build a world without God, something else will take His place.
When humans play God they usually act in their own self-interests, not the interests of others. Harris proposes that science be the source and arbiter of ethics. Others in the atheist camp think that science can tell us what is good and evil. Most academics would admit that ethics is in the arena of philosophy, not science. However, when you hold to a worldview that only science can give you truth, you're forced to look to it for all your answers. This again is the philosophy of scientism. As Melanie Phillips said, “Take those scientists who promote not science but scientism-the belief that science can deal with every aspect of existence. The scorn and vituperation they heap upon religious believers is fathomless. And yet their materialism leads them to say things which are just .. . well, nutty."¹⁰
寻找道德基础
怀疑论者知道道德必须建立在某种权威的基础上,因此他们的绝望斗争就是寻找除了上帝之外的任何替代品。 真正的问题变成了确定道德的基础。
因此,如果上帝不存在,为什么认为我们有道德义务去做任何事情呢? 谁或什么将这些义务强加给我们? 他们来自哪里? 很难理解为什么它们只不过是社会和父母的条件下根深蒂固的主观印象。
新纪元运动以相信所有信仰平等的精神世界为特征,提供了没有道德的上帝,而新无神论者则试图提供一个没有精神维度的世界,并给我们提供了没有上帝的道德。 这就造成了一个极端的困境。 如果你试图建立一个没有上帝的世界,其他东西就会取代他的位置。
当人类扮演上帝时,他们通常会为了自己的利益而不是他人的利益而行动。 哈里斯提出科学是道德的源泉和仲裁者。 无神论阵营的其他人认为科学可以告诉我们什么是善恶。 大多数学者都承认伦理学属于哲学领域,而不是科学领域。 然而,当你坚持只有科学才能给你真理的世界观时,你就被迫从科学中寻找所有答案。 这又是科学主义的哲学。 正如梅兰妮·菲利普斯所说:“以那些提倡的不是科学而是科学主义的科学家为例,他们相信科学可以处理存在的各个方面。 他们对宗教信徒的蔑视和谩骂是深不可测的。 然而,他们的唯物主义导致他们说出一些正确的话…… 好吧,疯了。”
CAN HUMANITY BE GOOD WITHOUT GOD?
The short answer to this question is yes, but not because humanity doesn't need God to be good. God made us and put the moral law within us. That this moral law points to the existence of God was a central claim in the writings of C. S. Lewis. However, there is also the reality that though people know right and wrong, they many times don't do what they should do. This is true whether they claim to be religious or not. Lewis would make this clear in his classic work Mere Christianity.
没有上帝,人类还能善良吗?
这个问题的简短答案是肯定的,但这并不是因为人类不需要上帝善良。 上帝创造了我们,并将道德法则置于我们之内。 这个道德法则指向上帝的存在,这是 C.S. 刘易斯著作中的一个核心主张。 然而,还有一个现实是,人们虽然知道是非,但很多时候却没有做自己应该做的事情。 无论他们是否声称有宗教信仰,这都是事实。 刘易斯在他的经典著作《纯粹的基督教》中明确表达了这一点。
These, then, are the two points I wanted to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in. ¹¹
那么,这就是我想说的两点。 首先,地球上的人类都有一种奇怪的想法,认为他们应该以某种方式行事,并且无法真正摆脱它。 其次,他们实际上并没有这样做。 他们了解自然法则; 他们打破了它。 这两个事实是对我们自己和我们所生活的宇宙进行清晰思考的基础。
The moral law is written on the heart of every person. If there are things that are wrong, regardless of the country, culture, or context they are committed in, then there is an ultimate law and therefore lawgiver. Lewis spoke about the existence of a transcendent moral law that is pressed upon the hearts of every person.
Harris, on the other hand, attempts to establish a “moral landscape” without God: "Science can, in principle, help us understand what we should do and should want to live the best lives possible."¹² But science has its limits. Even British agnostic David Hume, famous for his writings against belief in miracles, argued that no description of the way the world is scientifically can tell us how we ought to live morally. ¹³ But Harris attempts the impossible in trying to do just this. He states his own version of a universal moral truth very succinctly: “I am arguing that, in the moral sphere, it is safe to begin with the premise that it is good to avoid behaving in such a way as to produce the worst possible misery for everyone. ¹⁴
道德法则写在每个人的心里。 如果有什么事情是错误的,无论其发生在哪个国家、文化或背景,那么就有一个最终的法律,因此也有立法者。 刘易斯谈到了压在每个人心中的超然道德法则的存在。
另一方面,哈里斯试图建立一个没有上帝的“道德景观”:“原则上,科学可以帮助我们理解我们应该做什么以及应该过上尽可能好的生活。”¹² 但是科学有其局限性。 就连以反对相信奇迹的著作而闻名的英国不可知论者大卫·休谟也认为,任何对世界的科学描述都无法告诉我们应该如何道德地生活。 但哈里斯试图做到这一点,这是不可能的。 他非常简洁地陈述了他自己的普遍道德真理版本:“我认为,在道德领域,从这样的前提开始是安全的:避免以可能产生最严重痛苦的方式行事是好的。 为了所有人。 ¹⁴
So according to Harris, morality comes down to this: judge your actions by whether they hurt everyone. Does this mean that if my actions hurt only a few, I'm okay? That's like someone who committed a murder standing before the judge and saying, “I know I killed that man, but think of all the people in this town that I didn't kill."
因此,根据哈里斯的说法,道德归结为:根据你的行为是否伤害了所有人来判断你的行为。 这是否意味着如果我的行为只伤害了少数人,我就没事? 这就像一个犯了谋杀罪的人站在法官面前说:“我知道我杀了那个人,但想想这个镇上所有我没有杀的人。”
THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
In direct contrast to Harris is Immanuel Kant, an eighteenth-century philosopher who spoke of the evidence of God coming from the “starry sky above me and the moral law within me.”¹⁵ In other words, the natural order of the cosmos spoke of the existence of God, and the moral order within us does as well. Kant explained morality in terms of this axiom, possibly giving a hint of the type of language Harris attempts to employ: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become universal law."¹⁶ This was what Kant called the categorical imperative.¹⁷ In other words, judge the rightness of your actions by asking this question: What if everyone acted this way? This truth is synonymous with what Jesus taught in the golden rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).
绝对必要的
与哈里斯形成鲜明对比的是十八世纪哲学家伊曼纽尔·康德,他谈到上帝的证据来自“我头顶的星空和我内心的道德法则。” ¹⁵ 换句话说,宇宙的自然秩序谈到了 上帝的存在,以及我们内心的道德秩序也是如此。 康德用这条公理解释了道德,可能暗示了哈里斯试图使用的语言类型:“只按照那条格言行事,你同时可以希望它成为普遍法则。” 康德将其称为绝对命令。 他们这样待你们”(路加福音 6:31)。
It’s almost humorous how atheists both affirm this moral law taught by Jesus and simultaneously downplay its importance, referring to it as common sense. That's because they are projecting the cultural backdrop of the twenty-first century on previous generations. Historically the golden rule is a complete reversal of the survival-of-the-fittest mind-set of the past. Can you imagine Alexander the Great Napoleon agreeing live by that rule?
无神论者既肯定耶稣教导的道德法则,又同时淡化其重要性,将其称为常识,这几乎是幽默的。 那是因为他们将二十一世纪的文化背景投射到前几代人身上。 从历史上看,黄金法则是对过去优胜劣汰的心态的彻底逆转。 你能想象亚历山大大帝拿破仑同意遵守这条规则吗?
The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, who heralded the phrase "God is dead," also asserted that with the death of God came the death of morality. The first instance of this statement in Nietzsche's writings is in his 1882 The Gay Science, where it appears three times. By saying God is dead, he did not mean he believed in a God who existed then literally died. He saw it as the death of the idea of the Christian God. He understood the implications of eliminating this ideal in terms of its impact on morality. "When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one's feet. This morality is by no means self-evident. . . . By breaking one main concept out of [Christianity], the faith in God, one breaks the whole: nothing necessary remains in one's hands "¹⁸
德国哲学家弗里德里希·尼采宣称“上帝死了”,他也断言,随着上帝的死,道德也随之消亡。 尼采著作中首次出现这一说法是在他 1882 年出版的《同性恋科学》中,其中出现了 3 次。 他说上帝死了,并不意味着他相信上帝存在,然后就真的死了。 他认为这是基督教上帝观念的消亡。 他理解消除这种理想对道德的影响。 “当一个人放弃基督教信仰时,一个人就将基督教道德的权利从脚下拔了出来。这种道德绝不是不言而喻的......通过打破[基督教]的一个主要概念,即对上帝的信仰 ,一个人打破了整体:没有什么必要的东西留在手中“¹⁸
When the restraining force of God and His knowledge are removed, evil is free to fully express itself.
当上帝和他的知识的约束力被消除时,邪恶就可以自由地充分表达自己。
DARWINIAN ETHICS?
Let's for a moment look at the primary scientific story of our existence and major alternative to believing in a divine Creator, Darwinian evolution. It claims all of the species that exist today have come through the process of natural selection, or as Herbert Spencer called it, “survival of the fittest.”¹⁹ Weaker organisms are eliminated as natural selection picks the stronger genes to pass to the next generation. Elements of this theory are unquestioned and verified from a scientific standpoint, yet the real question remains: Is that the whole story; is there no other law influence at work in our midst?
达尔文伦理学?
让我们暂时看一下我们存在的主要科学故事以及相信神圣造物主达尔文进化论的主要替代方案。 它声称当今存在的所有物种都经历了自然选择的过程,或者正如赫伯特·斯宾塞所说,“适者生存。”¹⁹ 随着自然选择选择更强的基因传递给下一代,较弱的生物体被淘汰 。 从科学的角度来看,这一理论的要素是毫无疑问和验证的,但真正的问题仍然是:这就是整个故事吗? 难道没有其他法律的影响力在我们中间起作用吗?
Let's return to the question of why humans possess this universal sense of right and wrong. Good and evil exist, and we know it. How could a blind process such as natural selection, which came into existence by chance, produce this universal sense of right and wrong? If life arose spontaneously from random chemical processes, we would have no more moral obligation than a bowl of soup. Amazingly, evolutionists tend to distance themselves from the ethical and philosophical implications of Darwinian evolution. Thomas Huxley, known as “Darwin's bulldog," tried to say that this instinct of survival of the fittest should resisted. "The ethical progress society depends, not on imitating the cosmic process, still less in running away from it, but in combating it.”²⁰ Combating it? That would mean denying our evolutionary instincts programmed into our DNA. As Richard Dawkins insisted, “DNA neither cares nor knows. DNA just is. And we dance to its music.”²¹ If DNA neither knows nor cares, then how do you explain the fact that we can know and care? Why would we care if our genetic wiring were just the opposite?
让我们回到为什么人类具有这种普遍的是非感的问题。 善与恶是存在的,我们都知道。 像自然选择这样偶然产生的盲目过程怎么会产生这种普遍的是非感呢? 如果生命是由随机的化学过程自发产生的,那么我们就没有比喝一碗汤更多的道德义务了。 令人惊讶的是,进化论者往往与达尔文进化论的伦理和哲学含义保持距离。 被称为“达尔文的斗牛犬”的托马斯·赫胥黎试图说,应该抵制这种适者生存的本能。“社会的道德进步不是依赖于模仿宇宙过程,更不是依赖于逃避它,而是依赖于与之作斗争。” .”²⁰ 对抗它? 这意味着否认我们的 DNA 中的进化本能。 正如理查德·道金斯所坚持的那样,“DNA 既不关心也不知道。 DNA 就是这样。 我们随着它的音乐起舞。”²¹ 如果 DNA 既不知道也不关心,那么你如何解释我们可以知道和关心的事实? 如果我们的基因线路正好相反,我们为什么要关心呢?
Why do we know that we should fight these instincts? In a debate with the archbishop of Sydney, Dawkins flatly stated that living by Darwinian ethics wouldn't be pleasant, demonstrating the inconsistency and contradictory nature of those who claim there is no God and we are the product of blind forces:
为什么我们知道我们应该对抗这些本能? 在与悉尼大主教的辩论中,道金斯断然表示,按照达尔文伦理学生活不会令人愉快,这表明那些声称没有上帝并且我们是盲目力量的产物的人的前后矛盾和矛盾本质:
I very much hope that we don't revert to the idea of survival of the fittest in planning our politics and our values and our way of life. I have often said that I am a passionate Darwinian when it comes to explaining why we exist. It's undoubtedly the reason why we're here and why all living things are here. But to live our lives in a Darwinian way, to make a society a Darwinian society, that would be a very unpleasant sort of society in which to live,²²
我非常希望我们在规划我们的政治、我们的价值观和我们的生活方式时不要回到适者生存的观念。 我经常说,在解释我们为何存在时,我是一个充满热情的达尔文主义者。 毫无疑问,这就是我们在这里以及所有生物在这里的原因。 但如果我们以达尔文主义的方式生活,让一个社会成为一个达尔文主义的社会,那将是一个非常令人不愉快的社会,²²
This attitude seems to be in direct contrast to the emphatic statements that our purpose is simply to propagate our DNA, and our DNA doesn't care, and the universe doesn't care.
这种态度似乎与我们的目的只是传播我们的 DNA,而我们的 DNA 并不关心,宇宙也不关心的强调陈述形成鲜明对比。
Why do we still care? Aldous Huxley, grandson of Thomas, would see the evolutionary worldview as liberation from that struggle. Far from an object lesson on how not to live life, Darwinian evolution was freedom to live as one pleases. He said, “For myself, no doubt, as for many of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially liberation from a certain political and economic system and liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”²³
为什么我们仍然关心? 托马斯的孙子奥尔德斯·赫胥黎将进化论世界观视为从这场斗争中解放出来。 达尔文进化论远不是关于如何不生活的实物教训,而是随心所欲地生活的自由。 他说:“毫无疑问,对我自己来说,对我的许多同时代人来说,无意义哲学本质上是从一定的政治经济制度中解放出来,从一定的道德制度中解放出来。 我们反对道德,因为它干扰了我们的性自由。”²³
WITHOUT GOD, ALL THINGS ARE PERMISSIBLE
During the nineteenth century, Russia was experiencing the birth pangs of its future upheaval. In the face of a rising tide of atheism and nihilism, Fyodor Dostoevsky's books such as Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov spoke to the sluggish conscience of a nation. The warning rang out through his writing: "without God all things are permissible." Jean-Paul Sartre, himself an atheist, connected the absence of God with the absence of real moral foundations.
没有上帝,一切都是允许的
十九世纪,俄罗斯正在经历未来剧变的阵痛。 面对不断高涨的无神论和虚无主义浪潮,陀思妥耶夫斯基的《罪与罚》、《卡拉马佐夫兄弟》等著作诉说了一个民族迟钝的良心。 他的写作中发出了这样的警告:“没有上帝,一切都是允许的。” 让-保罗·萨特本人是无神论者,他将上帝的缺席与真正道德基础的缺乏联系起来。
Existentialists ... find it extremely distressing that God no longer exists, for along with his disappearance goes the possibility of finding values in an intelligible heaven. Nowhere is it written that good exists, that we must be honest must not lie, since we are on a plane shared only by men. Dostoyevsky once wrote: "If God does not exist, everything is permissible."²⁴
存在主义者... 上帝不再存在,这让人们感到极其痛苦,因为随着上帝的消失,在可理解的天堂中寻找价值的可能性也消失了。 没有任何地方写到善的存在,我们必须诚实不能说谎,因为我们处于一个仅由人类共享的平面上。 陀思妥耶夫斯基曾写道:“如果上帝不存在,一切都是允许的。”²⁴
Dostoyevsky's own suffering led him to a religious awakening that gave him relief for the rampant despair the age. While in prison he read the New Testament and discovered the difference between a dead religion and a relationship with Christ. "It is the belief that there is nothing finer, profounder, more attractive, more reasonable, more courageous and more perfect than Christ, and not only is there not, but I tell myself with jealous love that there cannot be.”²⁵ The rationale that if you eliminate God, you've taken away the foundation morality still must be addressed. In an almost blind leap of faith, by denying God, atheists simply assert that they are moral and have a basis for morality without God. The problem is, they never identify it. It's simply asserted and assumed. Dawkins made this assertion in a public debate in Birmingham against John Lennox: “I cannot conceive of a logical path that says because I am an atheist therefore it is rational for me to kill or murder or be cruel.”²⁶ It was precisely this fact of the logical movement of atheism toward violence and cruelty that made the twentieth century the bloodiest in history. The godless regimes of Stalin, Hitler, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot eclipsed the horrors previous centuries primarily because the moral restraint was removed when God was eliminated from their thinking. Without God, moral commands are met by the schoolyard cry of, “Says who?" Why should we obey any moral commands if they are simply one group's opinion?
陀思妥耶夫斯基自身的苦难导致了他的宗教觉醒,这使他对那个时代猖獗的绝望感到宽慰。 在监狱里,他阅读了《新约》,发现了死亡的宗教和与基督的关系之间的区别。 “相信没有什么比基督更美好、更深刻、更有吸引力、更合理、更勇敢和更完美的了,不仅不存在,而且我以嫉妒的爱告诉自己,不可能有。”²⁵ 理由 如果你消除了上帝,你就拿走了道德的基础,这仍然是必须解决的问题。在几乎盲目的信仰飞跃中,通过否认上帝,无神论者简单地断言他们是道德的,并且在没有上帝的情况下有道德的基础。问题是 道金斯在伯明翰针对约翰·伦诺克斯的公开辩论中做出了这样的断言:“我无法想象一条逻辑路径说,因为我是无神论者,所以我杀人或杀戮对我来说是合理的” 正是无神论向暴力和残酷的逻辑运动这一事实,使得二十世纪成为历史上最血腥的世纪。斯大林、希特勒、毛泽东和波尔布特的无神政权使之前的恐怖黯然失色。 几个世纪以来,主要是因为当上帝从他们的思想中被消除时,道德约束就被消除了。 如果没有上帝,道德命令就会被校园里的喊声所满足:“谁说的?”如果任何道德命令只是一个群体的意见,我们为什么要遵守它们呢?
MORAL LAW EXISTS TO PROTECT US
Skeptics claim that if God is a loving Father, then He should be held responsible for not doing something about evil and suffering. Let me offer an analogy from my own life. As a father of five children, I prepare my children to face the challenges of evil in the world. The most important lesson I try to teach them is to first keep evil subdued their own hearts. They are taught to walk wisely in their relationships with others. They are also taught to care for their physical health and protect themselves from being exposed to harmful influences. I do everything to prepare them to face people who would intentionally hurt them or circumstances that could be dangerous. Using wisdom and common sense, they can avoid an enormous amount of pain, at least the part that is self-inflicted. The other pain that comes from the evil actions of others can be either avoided or understood in a clearer way.
道德法的存在是为了保护我们
怀疑论者声称,如果上帝是一位慈爱的父亲,那么他应该对不采取任何关于邪恶和苦难的行动负责。 让我用我自己的生活做一个类比。 作为五个孩子的父亲,我让孩子们做好准备面对世界上邪恶的挑战。 我试图教给他们的最重要的一课是首先让邪恶制服他们自己的心。 他们被教导要明智地处理与他人的关系。 他们还被教导要照顾自己的身体健康并保护自己免受有害影响。 我尽一切努力让他们做好准备面对故意伤害他们的人或可能危险的情况。 运用智慧和常识,他们可以避免巨大的痛苦,至少是自己造成的部分。 来自他人邪恶行为的其他痛苦可以避免或以更清晰的方式理解。
In the same way, God gives us instructions on how to live our lives so as to avoid the maximum amount of pain. His commandments are like signs in the road warning us of coming danger. If these signs are heeded, we have a better chance to experience greater joy and peace in the long run. God is not just a Father. He is the Creator who designed a planet with a multitude of interconnected parts, systems, and processes. Imagine stepping into a complex factory where the activity is necessary for the successful operation of the systems but hazardous to the humans if they come in contact with it without taking the necessary precautions. Understanding your environment would be crucial for your survival. God created a world where humans are exposed to factors that are necessary to their ecosystem and the proper functioning of the planet at large but are also harmful to people if they come in contact with these elements in a wrong way. Science, medicine, and reason are helping us become aware of ways to avoid these things and find cures when we are afflicted. Technology that can help humanity can also be harmful if abused. God gives us wisdom to improve our lives and rid our world of disease, poverty, and abuse. To be angry with God for allowing evil is to be angry with Him for allowing you to be born and live.
同样,上帝也指示我们如何生活,以避免最大程度的痛苦。 他的诫命就像路上的标志,警告我们危险即将来临。 如果注意到这些迹象,从长远来看,我们就有更好的机会体验更大的喜乐与平安。 神不仅仅是一位父亲。 他是造物主,设计了一个拥有众多相互关联的部分、系统和过程的星球。 想象一下走进一家复杂的工厂,其中的活动对于系统的成功运行是必要的,但如果人类在不采取必要预防措施的情况下接触它,就会对人类造成危险。 了解您的环境对于您的生存至关重要。 上帝创造了一个世界,人类接触到生态系统和整个地球正常运转所必需的因素,但如果人们以错误的方式接触这些元素,也会对他们有害。 科学、医学和理性正在帮助我们意识到避免这些事情的方法,并在我们遭受痛苦时找到治疗方法。 可以帮助人类的技术如果被滥用也可能有害。 上帝赐予我们智慧来改善我们的生活,让我们的世界摆脱疾病、贫困和虐待。 因为上帝允许邪恶而对上帝生气,就是因为他允许你出生和生活而对他生气。
He gives us not only understanding to harness the physical world around us and the dangers that are present but also insight into the unseen spiritual world. There are not only evil humans but evil spirits. Far from premodern view that all disease and mishaps are due to spirits that must be pleased and appeased, there are evil entities that we must be aware of. Jesus dealt first with these evil entities at the beginning of His earthly ministry (Mark 1:21–27). Later Peter would tell the Gentiles, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil" (Acts 10:38). God's mercy is demonstrated by His becoming a man in Jesus Christ and dealing with our ultimate enemy who lives in the unseen world.
他不仅让我们了解如何利用我们周围的物质世界和存在的危险,而且让我们洞察看不见的精神世界。 不仅有邪恶的人类,还有邪恶的灵魂。 前现代观点认为所有疾病和不幸都是由于必须取悦和安抚的灵魂造成的,但我们必须意识到邪恶的存在。 耶稣在地上事工之初首先对付这些邪恶实体(马可福音 1:21-27)。 后来彼得对外邦人说:“神用圣灵和能力膏了拿撒勒人耶稣,他就周流四方,行善事,医治凡被魔鬼压制的人”(使徒行传 10:38)。神的怜悯通过他的成为而彰显出来。 一个在耶稣基督里的人,正在与生活在看不见的世界中的我们的终极敌人打交道。
The skeptical mind scoffs loudly at this, but there is evidence of this unseen evil entity that inspires and energizes evil in humans. This evil may be ignored by Western culture and its naturalistic worldview, but evil is understood very well by the non-Western developing world, which constitutes two-thirds of the planet.
持怀疑态度的人对此嗤之以鼻,但有证据表明,这种看不见的邪恶实体激发并激发了人类的邪恶。 西方文化及其自然主义世界观可能会忽视这种邪恶,但占地球三分之二的非西方发展中国家却非常理解这种邪恶。
THE ORIGINS OF EVIL
So where did evil come from? Did God create it? How could a loving, all powerful God subject us to this kind of a world? The answer is straightforward: God created beings who had the capacity to fail. Failing meant making the choice not to do good. From the beings we call angels to the humans made in His image, God's creations have real power to make real choices. If God created us without that right and ability, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
邪恶的起源
那么邪恶从何而来呢? 是上帝创造的吗? 一位慈爱、全能的上帝怎么能让我们陷入这样的世界呢? 答案很简单:上帝创造了有失败能力的生物。 失败意味着选择不做好事。 从我们称之为天使的生物到按照他的形象创造的人类,上帝的创造物具有做出真正选择的真正力量。 如果上帝创造我们时没有这种权利和能力,我们就不会进行这样的讨论。
In countries where dictators rule, fundamental freedoms such as freedom of speech and freedom of expression are missing. We live in world where God allows the atheist, skeptic, and believer to express themselves. Christopher Hitchens used to say that he refused to believe in God as a Supreme ruler because a world ruled by God he envisioned as “a celestial North Korea.”²⁷ The irony is that the world he lived was made by God and was the furthest thing from the cruel dictatorship he wrongly compared it to. In North Korea, Hitchens never would have been able to voice such an opposing view of the leader. He never would have been heard from. In God's world, Hitchens had a real choice. God gave us this right to choose, realizing that we would make the wrong choice. This started with angels and spread to men. The fact that God didn't create a species of robots that had to obey Him blindly underscores the awesome privilege and responsibility we have for making choices.
在独裁者统治的国家,言论自由、言论自由等基本自由都缺失。 在我们生活的世界里,上帝允许无神论者、怀疑论者和信徒表达自己的观点。 克里斯托弗·希钦斯曾经说过,他拒绝相信上帝是最高统治者,因为他所设想的上帝统治的世界是“天上的朝鲜”。 讽刺的是,他生活的世界是上帝创造的,是最遥远的东西 他错误地将其与残酷的独裁统治相比较。 在朝鲜,希钦斯永远无法对领导人表达如此反对的观点。 永远不会有人听到他的消息。 在上帝的世界里,希钦斯有一个真正的选择。 上帝赋予我们选择的权利,知道我们会做出错误的选择。 这始于天使并传播到人类。 事实上,上帝并没有创造一种必须盲目服从他的机器人,这一事实强调了我们在做出选择时所拥有的令人敬畏的特权和责任。
God created a world that runs by laws, and He allows real decisions to be made by men and angels. The ability to make good choices and to perform heroic acts also gives the opportunity to do the opposite, which is evil. God gave us His moral laws to reveal His character and nature, which are pure and spotless. “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). He also gave us His laws so that we would function properly as people and could minimize the damage to our lives that breaking those laws results in. “In reality, moral rules are directions for running the human machine. Every moral rule is there to prevent a breakdown, or a strain, or a friction, in the running of that machine. That is why these rules at first seem to be constantly interfering with our natural inclinations.”²⁸
上帝创造了一个按照法律运行的世界,他允许人类和天使做出真正的决定。 做出正确选择和做出英雄行为的能力也提供了做相反事的机会,即邪恶。 神赐给我们他的道德法则来揭示他纯洁无瑕的品格和本性。 “神就是光,在他毫无黑暗”(约翰一书 1:5)。 他还给了我们他的法律,以便我们能够作为人正常运作,并最大限度地减少违反这些法律对我们生活造成的损害。“事实上,道德规则是运行人类机器的方向。 每条道德规则都是为了防止机器运行过程中出现故障、紧张或摩擦。 这就是为什么这些规则起初似乎不断干扰我们的自然倾向。”²⁸
THE BEST POSSIBLE WORLD?
When we see evil and suffering in the world, we are compelled to ask, with mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, “Is this the best possible world?" He believed that in light of all the contingent factors, this was the best possible world.² This is not to say by any means that it is a perfect world.
最好的世界?
当我们看到世界上的邪恶和苦难时,我们不禁要和数学家、哲学家戈特弗里德·莱布尼茨一起问:“这是最好的可能世界吗?”他相信,考虑到所有的偶然因素,这就是最好的可能世界。 ² 无论如何,这并不是说这是一个完美的世界。
Christopher Hitchens would strongly disagree, citing a world with disease and collapsing stars as evidence of poor engineering.30 He and others feel that the imperfections in the universe point to the absence of an intelligent Designer. However, anything created that is finite is subject to death and deterioration. God did create us as humans with an eternal
spiritual dimension. At our core we are spiritual beings who live in physical bodies. Though these bodies decay, the spiritual parts will live forever.
As the apostle Paul said in the first century, "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The short lives we live on this planet don't even register in significance, if this life is all there is. In light of the vast eons of time and the ominous backdrop of eternity, we are less than a drop in a bucket. This existential crisis has gripped people for centuries. There are primarily three worlds God could have created:
正如使徒保罗在第一世纪所说:“我们外面的人虽然灭亡,内心却一天新似一天。”(哥林多后书 4:16)我们在这个星球上短暂的生命甚至没有 如果今生就是一切的话,那么我们就没有什么意义了。在漫长的时间和永恒的不祥背景下,我们只是沧海一粟。这场生存危机已经困扰了人们几个世纪。主要有以下三个方面: 上帝本可以创造的世界:
1. Control
God could have created us without the capacity or option to do evil. No choices, just programmed goodness. As I just mentioned, if this were the case, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. We as humans would be nothing more than the animatronic characters at Chuck E. Cheese. We tend to demand our freedom and then curse the fact that we have such a thing. Though God is in control history, He has allowed us real choices that have real consequences.
1. 控制
上帝本可以创造我们,让我们没有能力或选择作恶。 没有选择,只有编程的善良。 正如我刚才提到的,如果是这样的话,我们就不会进行这次讨论。 作为人类,我们只不过是 Chuck E. Cheese 的电子动画角色。 我们倾向于要求我们的自由,然后诅咒我们拥有这样的东西。 尽管上帝掌控着历史,但他允许我们做出真正的选择,并产生真正的后果。
2. Chaos
God could have created a world with absolutely no intervention on His part. He creates everything and lets it take its own course. An individual can do whatever he or she wants without consequence. Without any intervention at any time, it is truly the survival of the fittest. I don't think anyone really would want to live in a world where there is no hope for any help beyond human effort.
2. 混乱
上帝本可以在完全不干预的情况下创造一个世界。 他创造了一切,并让它顺其自然。 一个人可以做任何他或她想做的事,而不会产生任何后果。 任何时候都无需任何干预,真正做到了适者生存。 我认为没有人真的愿意生活在一个除了人类努力之外无法获得任何帮助的世界。
3. Cooperation
God could have created a world in which He gives us real choices to make. He works among us and acts according to His purposes and promises. By making a covenant with humanity, He enters our lives as we invite Him to come in. He first invite us to His love. That's the reason we pray and ask Him for help as well as choose to follow His commandments.
3、合作
上帝本可以创造一个世界,让我们在其中做出真正的选择。 他在我们中间工作,并按照他的目的和应许行事。 通过与人类立约,当我们邀请他进来时,他就进入了我们的生活。这就是我们祈祷并请求他帮助以及选择遵循他的诫命的原因。
Option 3 seems to be the world God has created. There are real choices with real consequences for our actions. At the same time, God is able to interact in His creation. He is not just the playwright who sits and watches, but is an actor in His own story. As the great writer C. S. Lewis pointed out,
God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong, but I can't. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to e bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata-of creatures that worked like machines—would hardly be worth creating.³¹
选项3似乎是上帝创造的世界。 真正的选择会对我们的行为产生真正的影响。 同时,上帝能够与他的创造物互动。 他不仅仅是坐着观看的剧作家,更是他自己故事中的演员。 正如伟大作家C.S.刘易斯所指出的,
上帝创造了具有自由意志的事物。 这意味着生物可能会出错,也可能会正确。 有些人认为他们可以想象一个自由但不可能出错的生物,但我不能。 如果一件事可以自由地向好的方向发展,那么它也可以自由地向坏的方向发展。 自由意志使邪恶成为可能。 那么,为什么上帝赋予他们自由意志呢? 因为自由意志虽然使邪恶成为可能,但它也是唯一使任何值得拥有的爱、善良或快乐成为可能的东西。 一个由像机器一样工作的生物组成的自动世界几乎不值得创造。
WHY DOESN’T GOD REMOVE EVIL FROM THE WORLD?
There could be no knowledge what good is without the contrast of evil. How could you know what light is without the existence of darkness? Hot without the existence of cold? God allows us to comprehend reality through His use of contrasts.
By creating beings that were spiritual and not physical and giving them the right to choose as well, God gave the possibility for unseen evil beings to exist. Somehow these beings have the capacity to inflict harm as well as inject disease into the human condition. By allowing free will into the universe, God knew He would give these creatures the option to commit evil, but He prepared us with spiritual weapons, insight, and prayer to combat the evil.
God defines evil. He tells us what it is. His commandments aren’t burdensome but are there protect us. Like warning signs on the highway or warning labels on chemicals, God's laws are acts of mercy not anger.
God denounces evil. He commands us to avoid and abstain from evil. No one is against evil more than God. His very nature is the opposite of evil. He calls us to turn away from evil, yet He allows us the choice and opportunity to disobey Him.
上帝为什么不把邪恶从世界上铲除?
如果没有邪恶的对比,就不可能知道什么是善。 如果没有黑暗的存在,你怎么知道什么是光明呢? 热而不冷? 上帝让我们通过对比来理解现实。
通过创造精神而非物质的存在,并赋予它们选择的权利,上帝为看不见的邪恶存在提供了存在的可能性。 不知何故,这些生物有能力对人类造成伤害,并给人类带来疾病。 通过允许自由意志进入宇宙,上帝知道他会给这些生物犯下邪恶的选择,但他为我们准备了精神武器、洞察力和祈祷来对抗邪恶。
神定义了邪恶。 他告诉我们那是什么。 他的诫命并不繁琐,但却能保护我们。 就像高速公路上的警告标志或化学品上的警告标签一样,上帝的律法是仁慈的行为,而不是愤怒的行为。
神谴责邪恶。 他命令我们避免邪恶。 没有人比上帝更反对邪恶。 他的本质是邪恶的对立面。 他呼召我们远离邪恶,但他却给我们选择和机会来悖逆他。
God defeats evil. By His life and death on the cross, Christ came to break evil's power over mankind. At His crucifixion, He absorbed the punishment for our evil and provided forgiveness for it and freedom from it.
God destroys evil. Just as evil had beginning, it will have an end. Hugh Ross explained that God allowed the possibility of evil space and time so that He could eliminate it for all eternity in a new creation that will replace the universe:
As an expression his love for humanity, God created the universe the way he did to protect us from a future touched by evil. He made this cosmos to serve as an arena in which evil and suffering can be rooted out, finally and eternally—while simultaneously maintaining the human capacity to exercise free will and, thus, to experience and express love.³²
By allowing evil a momentary presence human existence, He not only defeated it on the cross but also will ultimately remove it forever.³³ Because of this, in eternity, we will be able to exist with our free wills intact without the presence of evil.
神战胜邪恶。 基督借着他在十字架上的生和死,来打破邪恶对人类的权势。 当他被钉在十字架上时,他吸收了对我们罪恶的惩罚,并为我们的罪恶提供了宽恕和自由。
神消灭邪恶。 正如邪恶有开始一样,它也将有结束。 休·罗斯解释说,上帝允许邪恶的空间和时间存在的可能性,以便他可以在取代宇宙的新创造中永远消除它:
为了表达他对人类的爱,上帝按照他的方式创造了宇宙,以保护我们免受邪恶的未来影响。 他创造了这个宇宙作为一个竞技场,在这个竞技场中邪恶和痛苦可以被最终和永恒地根除,同时保持人类行使自由意志的能力,从而体验和表达爱³²
通过允许邪恶在人类存在中短暂存在,他不仅在十字架上击败了它,而且最终将它永远消除。³³ 因此,在永恒中,我们将能够在没有邪恶存在的情况下以完整的自由意志存在。
A TRUE PICTURE OF OURSELVES
People who are delusional think they are something they aren't. The question is, who decides what reality is? When you look in a mirror, you see an image that corresponds to what you know to be true. Seeing yourself as you really are is the beginning of improving your life. On the other hand, ignoring reality leads to futility. As Christian philosopher Ravi Zacharias noted, “That is why atheism is so bankrupt as a view of life, for it miserably fails to deal with the human condition as it really is.”³⁴
Sitting on an airplane at thirty-five thousand feet is one of the best places to have a discussion about God and spiritual things. Maybe it's the turbulence just being a little closer to heaven. Regardless, when you are seated next to a stranger for a few hours on a plane, you can speak more honestly than in any other place on earth. I have had some remarkable, unforgettable moments on airplanes when it comes to sharing the gospel. These encounters have ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime.
One of those took place when I was next to a man in seat 14D. As soon as we started talking and he found out I am a minster, he loudly stated that there was no way God could exist because "all the evil in the world." Whenever this issue is raised, I'm careful not to trivialize evil and suffering because bad things may have happened to the people I'm talking to or to the ones they love. It's important to ask discreetly about the other's pain.
In this case I felt the evil excuse was more of a smokescreen. I told the man in 14D, “God could get rid of all of the evil in the world in a moment. All He would have to do is kill everybody.” Think about it. That's exactly what happened in the biblical account of Noah and the flood. God “saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:5–6). He eventually destroyed the majority of living things and saved one family of eight. The virus of evil was in them as well, though not fully manifested, and it has grown into the world we have today.
I continued, "God has a plan to get rid of all the evil in the world without having to destroy us.” The man was now somewhat stunned that his reason for rejecting God was being critiqued. “He wants to remove all the evil in your heart without having to destroy us for being a carrier of this virus. God wants to get rid of all the evil in the world, starting with seat 14D." The problem was the passenger wanted to get rid of others' evil, but he wasn't willing to give up his. The truth is, we want God to stop evil consequences but not our own evil actions. We want evil to stop happening to us, but not through us.
While in New Orleans few years ago, taking my three boys to a basketball game, we passed the table of a palm reader promising to “read your palm and predict your future.” Feeling a tug on my heart from the Lord, I asked my friend Troy to wait for a moment with my sons while I talked to this palm reader.
I introduced myself, sat down at his table, identified myself as a minster, and asked if I could ask him some questions. My first one was, “Why did you become a palm reader?"
His answer surprised me. “I was a Christian and spent a lot of time at a revival in Florida searching for the power of God. When I couldn't seem to find it, I started dabbling in the occult and even voodoo. All that scared me, and I decided to study palm reading because it seemed safer.”
I continued asking him questions and genuinely listening to his answers. I purposely refrained from challenging him too quickly. After fifteen to twenty minutes, he looked at me and said, “Now tell me, why do you do what you do?"
“I preach the gospel for two primary reasons. First, the gospel is the only thing on this planet that can tell a person what is really wrong with him or her. A few years ago my wife was sick, and we couldn't figure out the source of her pain. While in Israel a sweet little doctor at Hadassah Hospital diagnosed her condition, and that knowledge brought us great hope that she could now be properly treated. You see, the gospel tells us that the source of our pain is our separation from God because of sin. As we have broken God's moral laws, it has resulted in our lives and our souls becoming broken."
John (let's call him) was genuinely listening as I explained the gospel. Like a doctor delivering tough news, I did my best to be kind while honestly telling him his real condition. I didn't soften the message in the name of some twisted version of being loving. I then concluded, “The second reason I preach the gospel is because it is the only thing on this planet that can tell us what to do to heal our condition." I then stated the gospel clearly and offered him God's answer for his life.
He thanked me and allowed me to pray for him. He then said, “I have a mother in Nashville who is praying for me every day. I bet you are sitting here because of her prayers."
我们自己的真实写照
有妄想症的人认为他们不是他们。 问题是,谁来决定现实是什么? 当您照镜子时,您会看到与您所知道的真实情况相对应的图像。 看到真实的自己是改善生活的开始。 另一方面,忽视现实会导致徒劳。 正如基督教哲学家拉维·扎卡里亚斯(Ravi Zacharias)指出的那样,“这就是为什么无神论作为一种生活观如此破产,因为它悲惨地未能处理人类的真实状况。”
坐在三万五千英尺高空的飞机上是讨论上帝和属灵事物的最佳场所之一。 或许这就是动荡,只是离天堂更近了一点。 无论如何,当你在飞机上坐在陌生人旁边几个小时时,你可以比地球上任何其他地方都更诚实地说话。 在分享福音方面,我在飞机上经历了一些非凡、难忘的时刻。 这些遭遇的范围从荒谬到崇高。
其中一次发生在我坐在 14D 座位上的一名男子旁边时。 我们一开始谈话,他发现我是牧师,他就大声说上帝不可能存在,因为“世界上有所有邪恶”。 每当提出这个问题时,我都会小心翼翼,不要轻视邪恶和痛苦,因为不好的事情可能发生在与我交谈的人或他们所爱的人身上。 谨慎地询问对方的痛苦很重要。
在这种情况下,我觉得这个邪恶的借口更像是烟幕弹。 我对14D里的那个人说:“上帝可以在一瞬间消灭世界上所有的邪恶。 他所要做的就是杀死所有人。” 想一想。 这正是圣经中诺亚和洪水的记载中所发生的事情。 上帝“见人在地上罪恶很大,终日所思想的尽都是恶。 耶和华造人在地上就后悔了,心里忧伤”(创世记 6:5-6)。 他最终消灭了大部分生物并拯救了一家八口。 邪恶的病毒也存在于他们体内,尽管还没有完全显现出来,但它已经发展到了我们今天的世界。
我继续说:“上帝有一个计划,要消灭世界上所有的邪恶,而不必毁灭我们。” 这名男子现在有些愕然,因为他拒绝上帝的理由遭到了批评,“他想要清除你心中所有的邪恶,而不是因为我们是这种病毒的携带者而毁灭我们。上帝想要清除你心中所有的邪恶。” 世界各地,从 14D 座位开始。” 问题是,这位乘客想除掉别人的恶,却又不愿意放弃自己的恶。 事实是,我们希望上帝阻止邪恶的后果,而不是我们自己的邪恶行为。 我们希望邪恶不再发生在我们身上,但不是通过我们发生。
几年前,在新奥尔良,带我的三个儿子去看篮球比赛时,我们经过了一个看手相的桌子,承诺“读你的手相并预测你的未来”。 感受到主在我的心上拉扯,我请我的朋友特洛伊和我的儿子们等一会儿,同时我和这位看手相的人交谈。
我介绍了自己,在他的桌子旁坐下,表明自己是一名牧师,并询问我是否可以问他一些问题。 我的第一个问题是:“你为什么成为一名看手相的人?”
他的回答令我惊讶。 “我是一名基督徒,花了很多时间在佛罗里达州的复兴中寻找上帝的力量。 当我似乎找不到它时,我开始涉足神秘学甚至巫术。 所有这一切都让我感到害怕,我决定学习看手相,因为它看起来更安全。”
我继续问他问题并真诚地倾听他的回答。 我故意没有太快地挑战他。 十五到二十分钟后,他看着我说:“现在告诉我,你为什么这么做?”
“我传福音有两个主要原因。 首先,福音是这个星球上唯一可以告诉一个人他或她到底出了什么问题的东西。 几年前,我的妻子生病了,我们无法弄清楚她痛苦的根源。 在以色列哈达萨医院的一位可爱的小医生诊断了她的病情,这一知识给我们带来了很大的希望,她现在可以得到适当的治疗。 你看,福音告诉我们,我们痛苦的根源是我们因罪而与神隔绝。 当我们违反上帝的道德法则时,就会导致我们的生活和灵魂破碎。”
当我解释福音时,约翰(我们就这样称呼他吧)真诚地倾听。 就像一个医生传达坏消息一样,我尽最大努力表现出善意,诚实地告诉他自己的真实情况。 我并没有以某种扭曲的爱的名义软化这个信息。 然后我总结道:“我传福音的第二个原因是因为它是这个星球上唯一能告诉我们该怎么做才能治愈我们的状况的东西。”然后我清楚地讲述了福音,并向他提供了神对他生命的答案。
他感谢我并允许我为他祈祷。 然后他说:“我在纳什维尔有一位母亲,她每天都在为我祈祷。 我敢打赌你坐在这里是因为她的祈祷。”
SUMMARY
The moral law is written on every human heart. Good and evil are very real and only truly understood in light of the existence of a transcendent authority. This is because there are moral principles that are universally true, regardless of culture or context. The existence of evil is not evidence of God's absence in the universe but evidence of His absence from our lives.
Yes, the world is filled with evil and suffering, but humans are the only creatures to realize this and the only creatures capable of an intrinsically evil or good act. Man is moral, yet atheism cannot really explain why. Naturalism offers no help in answering the question of why evil exists, outside of the belief that man, unlike other animals, simply has this inborn proclivity.
As Dr. William Lane Craig said his debate with Sam Harris at Notre Dame:
Thus, Dr. Harris's naturalistic view fails to provide a sound foundation for objective moral values and duties. Hence, if God does not exist, we do not have a sound foundation for objective morality, which is my second contention. In conclusion then, we've seen that if God exists, we have a sound foundation for objective moral values and objective moral duties, but that if God does not exist, then we do not have a sound foundation for objective moral values and duties. Dr. Harris' atheism thus sits very ill with his ethical theory.
What I'm offering Dr. Harris tonight is not a new set of moral values-I think by and large we share the same applied ethics rather what I'm offering is a sound foundation for the objective moral values and duties that we both hold dear. ³⁵
This same offer for a solid moral and ethical foundation is available to every person. That is why believing God exists is so vital to our existence. As we have looked to the moral law within to see the evidence for this Creator, let’s now turn our gaze to the starry skies above as Kant suggested.
概括
道德法则写在每个人的心里。 善与恶是非常真实的,只有在超验权威的存在下才能真正被理解。 这是因为,无论文化或背景如何,都有普遍正确的道德原则。 邪恶的存在并不是上帝在宇宙中缺席的证据,而是他从我们的生活中缺席的证据。
是的,世界充满了邪恶和苦难,但人类是唯一意识到这一点的生物,也是唯一能够本质上邪恶或善良的生物。 人是有道德的,但无神论却无法真正解释其原因。 自然主义对于回答邪恶为何存在的问题没有任何帮助,除了相信人类与其他动物不同,只是具有这种与生俱来的倾向之外。
正如威廉·莱恩·克雷格博士在巴黎圣母院与萨姆·哈里斯的辩论中所说:
因此,哈里斯博士的自然主义观点未能为客观道德价值观和义务提供坚实的基础。 因此,如果上帝不存在,我们就没有客观道德的坚实基础,这是我的第二个论点。 总之,我们已经看到,如果上帝存在,我们就有客观道德价值观和客观道德义务的坚实基础,但如果上帝不存在,那么我们客观道德价值观和客观道德义务就没有坚实的基础。 因此,哈里斯博士的无神论与他的伦理理论格格不入。
今晚我向哈里斯博士提供的并不是一套新的道德价值观——我认为总的来说,我们拥有相同的应用伦理学,而不是我提供的是我们双方所持有的客观道德价值观和义务的坚实基础 亲爱的。 ³⁵
每个人都可以获得同样的坚实的道德和伦理基础。 这就是为什么相信上帝存在对我们的存在如此重要。 正如我们已经通过内在的道德法则来寻找造物主存在的证据一样,现在让我们像康德所建议的那样,将目光转向头顶的星空。
Next is Chapter 4: There Was a Beginning ; 接下来是第四章:有一个开始
(Click here)
Previous is Chapter 2: Real Faith Isn't Blind ( Click here )
上一页是第二章:真正的信仰不是盲目的
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