改革宗傳統簡介 The Reformed Tradition

摘自《Evangelical Dictionary of Theology》 by Walter A. Elwell (Editor), 中國基督教書刊網站。

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使用"改革宗" (Reformed) 一詞, 乃是爲了使加爾文派傳統 (Calvinistic) 與信義宗 (Lutheran) 及重洗派 (Anabaptist) 傳統有所區別。改革宗傳統的開山鼻祖是蘇黎世第一個改教者慈運理 (Ulrich Zwingli, 1484-1531) 和日內瓦的約翰· 加爾文 (John Calvin, 1509-64), 其中加爾文更是在其聖經注釋,小冊叢書,特別是在《基督教要義》(Institutes of Christian Religion) 一書中,發展出一整套新教神 學 (Protestant Theology) 。從宗教改革時期直到如今都有許多人和團體隨從加爾文的教訓,  但他們並不是完全循著相同的思考或發展路線前進。因此改革宗傳統中的加爾文主義者,  盡管在許多方面基本上都彼此認同且相似,  但因著曆史或地理上的環境,  也存在諸多差異。這些差異就形成了此傳統中的許多路線或門派。

宗教改革和改革宗傳統 改革宗傳統發展出的第一路線, 爲西北歐、瑞士、法國、荷蘭和德國所共享; 並且也影響到匈牙利東部和意大利南方的瓦德西亞教會。改革宗教會在這些地區活躍于編制早期的信仰告白與要理問答,  許多教會視其爲教義標准。1537年加爾文起草了第一篇改革宗要理問答,  並于1541年重新修訂。這項工作被翻譯成數種文字,  並産生莫大影響力。而更爲重要的是1563年出台的海德堡要理問答 (Heidelberg Cathecism),  它至今還是大多數歐洲改革宗教會內標准的信仰告白文件。比利時信條 (The Belgic Confession,1561年) 也清楚說明了加爾文派的教義立場。

越過大不列顛群島的水道, 加爾文主義乃是宗教改革時期英國最具影響力的思想。當時伊麗莎白女王 (Queen Elizabeth)  強迫英格蘭教會 (Church of England) 保留半天主教式的崇拜儀式和管理方式, 但加爾文主義仍如呈現于1563年《三十九信條》(Thirty-nine Articles) 中一樣是基要的神學 (此三十九信條是克蘭麥大主教[Archbishop Cranmer]于1553年所著的四十二信條的翻版)。步入十七世紀,加爾文的《基督教要義》也爲說英語的神學生提供了基礎神學的指導。當時由獨立教派 (Independents), 長老會 (Presbyterians),  以及更爲堅定的加爾文派人士所形成的清教徒 (Puritans),  堅持要根除國立教會中一切羅馬天主教 (Roman Catholicism) 的殘迹。同時,  一群爲數可觀, 受重洗派影響的新教徒,雖然接受爲成人施洗是執行聖禮的唯一適當方式;  另一方面也接受改革宗絕大部分的教義。因著他們相信預定的教義, 因此人稱之爲 "特別 "  浸禮派  ("Particular" Baptist), 以區別那些拒絕預定論的 "自由意志 " 浸禮派 ("Freewill" Baptists)。而這些不從國教的團體也就負起了起草《韋斯敏斯德信條》(Wesminster Confession of Faith) 和《韋斯敏斯德要理問答》(Westminster Catechisms)、教會行政方式和崇拜規程的責任, 直到如今這些都仍然是一切說英語的長老會(Presbyterian Church)的標准。蘇格蘭長老會和蘇格蘭教會最初使用《蘇格蘭人信仰宣言》(1560) 和《日內瓦要理問答》,  後于1647年采用了韋斯敏斯德信仰准則; 在獨立派以壓倒性的多數占據英國國會之後, 他們就拒絕接受英國國教的信仰標准。

十七和十八世紀 在全世界歐洲和英國的殖民地上的改革宗和長老會, 都是十七世紀末移居麻省、紐約、南非、澳大利亞、新西蘭及他處的移民者所建立的。雖然起初母會並未給什麽幫助, 可是他們還是遵循母會的教義、崇拜儀式、和行政傳統,發展了自己的教會。大多數長老會都采用《韋斯敏斯德信條》(Westminster Document) 的基准,  而根源于歐陸改革宗傳統的教會則堅守其原有的信仰告白和要理問答。

改革宗傳統的曆史從來都不是一帆風順,毫無爭議的。有時出現難題, 令那些堅守改革宗立場的人對其基本信仰作重新檢討和辯護。其中最有影響的明證之一,  是一場始于荷蘭神學家雅各·阿民念 (James Arminius)的爭論。阿民念反對加爾文有關恩典的教義。1610年他的信徒發表了一份《抗議文》 (Remonstrance),  反對那些與他們意見不合的人,  使事態陷入白熱化。1618年,來自世界各地的神學家們爲此在荷蘭的多特勒克 (Dordrecht) 舉行了一次專門會議, 與會者譴責了阿民念派的觀點, 確認 : (1) 人類完全墮落; (2) 神無條件揀選;  (3)  基督的贖罪僅限于選民;  (4)  神恩之不可抗拒;  (5)  信徒蒙保守直到永遠。阿民念派 (Arminians) 人士被驅出改革宗教會,  成立了自己的教會,並且聲勢浩大, 成爲衛斯理主義循道派 (Wesleyan Methodism) 及其他非改革宗和抗改革宗教派的根基。多特總會的《多特信經》(Canons of the Synod of Dort)  與《比利時信條》(Belgic Confession)、《海德堡要理問答》(Heidelerg Catechism)合稱爲三項聯合信條 (Three Forms of Unity), 是大多數改革宗教會持守的信仰基准。

在英國與蘇格蘭之間發生了與以上不同的衝突。清教徒試圖完全改革英國國教,  但遭到伊麗莎白女王及其繼承者詹姆士一世 (James I) 和 查理一世 (Charles I) 的反對。由于清教徒在國會的影響很大, 因此能與皇室對抗,  但最後這場對抗演變成戰爭。戰爭的起點是在蘇格蘭,因查理一世想強迫蘇格蘭長老會接受主教制,遭到後者的堅拒。查理一世想用武力鎮壓反抗, 卻受到國會中清教徒的強烈反對。結果是1649年國王戰敗, 被俘, 被國會送上斷頭台, 其後九年就由克倫威爾 (Cranwell) 當政。但克氏去世後不久,查理二世 (Charles II) 登基, 遵循其父查理一世的政策繼續治理英格蘭和蘇格蘭。此時英國的清教徒受到壓制, 但蘇格蘭人卻奮起以武力反抗查理二世, 從此展開了遊擊戰。所謂 "盟約者" (The Covenanters),  乃因共同立約要爲 "耶稣基督的王權" (Crown Rights of Jesus Christ) 爭戰而獲名。他們一直堅持奮戰下去, 即使查理二世的弟弟, 羅馬天主教徒雅各接替其兄即位也未能止息他們的對抗。直到1688年雅各王被迫退位,  奧倫治王子威廉 (William, Prince of Orange) 繼承王位, 他們才放下了武器。

改革宗傳統雖然有其坎坷爭議之處, 但它在世界上具有正面積極的影響。十八世紀時,它在世界福音複興中就占有中心地位。如1700年在蘇格蘭的複興運動是由于湯摩斯·波士頓 (Thomas Boston) 以及清教徒之著述而産生。其中《現代神學的精華》(The Marrow of Modern Divinity) 一書鼓吹加爾文派信仰,  影響巨大。這場複興逐漸與英格蘭在喬治·懷特菲德 (George Whitefield) 領導下的大複興彙合。在美國殖民地,約拿單·愛德華滋 (Jonathan Edwards) 參與大覺醒運動(Great Awakening), 這場運動也與英格蘭的大複興息息相關。在所有這些運動中, 加爾文神學乃具最根本的影響力。

近代的改革宗傳統 在大不列顛群島, 改革宗傳統繼續結出累累碩果。其中最重要的教會事件是絕大部分人脫離了蘇格蘭教會 (Church of Scotland), 成立了蘇格蘭自由教會 (Free Church of Scotland)。盡管直接原因是反對贊助者強迫牧師對會友的權力,  根本原因則是因爲蘇格蘭教會已大規模地放棄了改革宗的立場,  而那些渴望持守這一立場的人就堅持主張他們有自由選擇自己的牧師。這一要求被否決後, 他們就退出成立了自己的宗派。但改革宗信仰的影響不僅只在教會範圍內有所行動。當時産業革命引起了廣泛的社會變化,工場主普遍殘酷地剝削工人。英格蘭的安東尼·阿希理·庫珀 (Anthony Ashley Cooper)、謝福斯白瑞之第七伯爵(the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury)、湯摩斯·錢模士牧師(Rev. Thomas Chalmers)等人大力奔走,  促使國會立法保護工場工人,礦工, 和殘疾人的利益。這些領袖大多數都極力贊同加爾文信仰。到該世紀末不少持同樣看法的人進入了英國國會, 爲其他改善工人階級生活狀況的立法負責。

以改革宗觀念參與社會和政治的慣例被帶入美洲。長老會和改革宗教會許多人參與了廢除奴隸制的運動, 近年來對民權運動和其他類似運動更是非常熱心。

改革宗傳統向來積極支持教會信徒的教育。加爾文堅持對教會青少年進行要理問答的訓練,並建立了今天的日內瓦大學 (University of Geneva)。蘇格蘭的約翰·諾克斯 (John Knox) 參照這一教育模式,在所著的《第一訓誨書》(First Book of Discipline) 中提出了有關教育的條文。在荷蘭,萊登大學 (University of Leiden) 是按照這一教育思想成立的; 在法國則據此設立了數間神學院。美國受同樣教育傳統的影響, 建立了哈佛和耶魯 (Harvard & Yale) 等大學。

改革宗傳統在西方文化占有重要一席, 西人的思想和生活的各部分都受到它的深刻影響。可是逐漸地, 它的許多貢獻被世俗化,信仰上的根也被抛棄忽視。因此人們不禁要問: 西方社會的現況是否就是這種拒絕信仰根基, 以自我中心取代  "萬事爲榮耀神" 的後果。

The Reformed Tradition

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The term "Reformed" is used to distinguish the Calvinistic from the Lutheran and Anabaptist traditions. The Reformed tradition finds its roots in the theology of Ulrich Zwingli, the first reformer in Zurich, and John Calvin of Geneva, who in his biblical commentaries, his pamphlets, but especially in the Institutes of the Christian Religion, developed a Protestant theology. Calvin's teachings have been followed by many different individuals and groups who came out of the Reformation down to the present day, but they have not always followed exactly the same line of thinking or development. Thus in the Reformed tradition Calvinists, while basically agreeing and resembling each other in many ways, have certain differences produced by historical and even geographical circumstances. These differences have resulted in a number of what might be called lines or strains in the tradition.

The Reformation and the Reformed Tradition

The first line of development in the Reformed tradition was that which has been common to northwest Europe, Switzerland, France, Holland, Germany, and has also had an influence to the east in Hungary and to the south in the Waldensian church in Italy. The Reformed churches in the first - named areas were very active in producing the early confessions of faith and catechisms still held as doctrinal standards in many of the churches. Calvin drew up the first Reformed catechism in 1537 and rewrote it in 1541. This work was translated into a number of different languages and was widely influential. Even more important was the Heidelberg Confession of 1563, which is still a standard confessional document in most European Reformed churches. The Helvetic Confessions (1536, 1566), the Gallic Confession (1559), and the Belgic Confession (1561) also set forth a Calvinistic doctrinal position.

Across the channel in the British Isles, Calvinism was a dominant influence in the Reformation. While the Church of England was obliged by Queen Elizabeth to retain a quasi - Romanist liturgy and form of government, Calvinism was the underlying theology as expressed in the Thirty - nine Articles (1563), which were a rewritten version of Archbishop Cranmer's earlier Forty - two Articles (1553). Calvin's Institutes also provided English theological students with their basic theological instruction into the seventeenth century. The Puritans, consisting of Independents and Presbyterians and more consistently Calvinistic, sought to have all traces of Roman Catholicism eliminated from the Established Church. At the same time a considerable number of Protestants influenced by Anabaptism, while accepting adult baptism as the only proper method of administering the sacrament, also accepted most Reformed doctrines. Because of their belief in the doctrine of predestination they were known as "Particular" Baptists, as distinguished from the "Freewill" Baptists who rejected the doctrine.

These nonconformist groups were responsible for the drawing up of the Westminister Confession of Faith, catechisms, Form of Church Government, and Directory of Worship, which have become the standards of all English - speaking Presbyterian churches. The Presbyterian church in Scotland, the Church of Scotland, which had originally used the Scots Confession (1560) and the Genevan Catechism, adopted the Westminister standards in 1647, after the English Parliament, dominated by the Independents, had refused to agree to their becoming the standards of the Church of England.

The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

In the European and British colonies throughout the world Reformed and Presbyterian churches from the late seventeenth century on were founded by the colonists who emigrated to Massachusetts, New York, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and other places. Although they often received little support from the home churches, at least at first, they nevertheless developed churches of their own, usually following the doctrinal, liturgical, and governmental traditions of the ecclesiastical background from which they had come. Most Presbyterian churches accept the Westminister documents as their subordinate standards, while those in the European Reformed tradition hold to the confessions and catechisms of the bodies from which they came.

The history of the Reformed tradition has been by no means peaceful or noncontroversial. Problems have arisen at times that have required those holding to the Reformed position to reexamine and defend their basic beliefs. One of the best examples and most influential developments was that which began with Dutch theologian James Arminius, who rejected Calvin's doctrines of grace. In 1610 his followers set forth a Remonstrance against those opposing them, bringing the matter to a head.

The outcome was a synod held at Dordrecht in the Netherlands in 1618, made up of theologians from a number of countries, who condemned the Arminian teachings, asserting (1) the total depravity of man; (2) unconditional divine election; (3) that Christ's atonement was limited to the elect; (4) that divine grace is irresistible; and (5) the perseverance of the elect until the end. The Arminians were forced out of the Reformed church, but established their own bodies, and have had a wide influence, forming the basis for Wesleyan Methodism and other non - and anti - Reformed Christian groups. The Canons of the Synod of Dort are one of the Three Forms of Unity, the doctrinal standards of most Dutch Reformed churches, the other two being the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism.

In England and Scotland a somewhat different conflict took place. In the Puritans' attempts to bring about a complete reform of the Church of England, they found themselves opposed by Elizabeth and her two successors, James I and Charles I. Influential in Parliament, they were able to oppose the monarchy, but eventually this led to war. The actual cause or starting point of the war was in Scotland, where Charles I sought to force episcopacy upon the Presbyterians. They resisted, and when Charles sought to raise an army in England the Puritans in Parliament made such demands upon him that he attempted to overawe them by force. He was defeated, captured, and executed by the Parliament in 1649.

For the next nine years Cromwell ruled the country, but shortly after his death Charles II, Charles I's son, ascended the throne and sought to follow his father's policies in both England and Scotland. Although the Puritans in England were forced to submit, the Scots by taking up arms against Charles carried on a type of guerrilla warfare. The Covenanters, so called because they had covenanted together to defend the "Crown Rights of Jesus Christ," continued their opposition when Charles's brother James, a Roman Catholic, became king, and did not lay down their arms until James was forced off the British throne and was succeeded by William, Prince of Orange, in 1688.

While the Reformed tradition has had its conflicts, it also has had a very positive influence in the world. In the eighteenth century it was one of the principal centers of the evangelical revival. In Scotland the movement had begun by 1700 through the influence of Thomas Boston and the Marrow Men, so called because they had been greatly influenced by the Puritan work The Marrow of Modern Divinity. The revival associated with the work of this group eventually merged with the Evangelical revival in England through the influence of George Whitefield. At the same time in the American colonies Jonathan Edwards was involved in the Great Awakening, which was again linked to the English movement through Whitefield. In all these cases Calvinistic theology was the underlying influence.

The Reformed Tradition in Recent Times

The revival of evangelical preaching and power did not stop there, for through Scottish influence it was carried to Europe in 1818, when Robert Haldane visited Switzerland on an evangelistic tour. He greatly influenced such men as Cesar Malan and Merle d'Aubigne, and through them the Evangelical revival spread to other parts of Europe. In Holland it had a particularly strong impact, resulting in the labors of Groen van Prinsterer, Herman Bavinck, and Abraham Kuyper. Kuyper was the founder of the Free University of Amsterdam, the leader of the movement that separated from the state church to form the Gereformeerde Kerk, and in 1901, as leader of the Anti - Revolutionary Party, became prime minister. As a result of Kuyper's work a revival of Calvinism took place not only in ecclesiastical circles but in many other aspects of Dutch life, which have had an influence far beyond Holland.

In the British Isles the same Reformed tradition was bearing similar fruit. One of the most important ecclesiastical events was the exodus of a large part of the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. Although the immediate cause was the opposition to the right of patrons to impose ministers on congregations, fundamentally the cause was the fact that the Church of Scotland had largely given up its Reformed position, and those who wished to maintain it insisted that they must be free to choose their own ministers. When this was denied, they withdrew and formed their own denomination. But it was not just in the ecclesiastical sphere that those of Reformed persuasion took action.

The Industrial Revolution in Britain had caused great changes, with widespread exploitation of the workers. To counteract this men such as Anthony Ashley Cooper, the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury in England, the Rev. Thomas Chalmers in Scotland, and others worked to have laws passed to protect factory hands, miners, and those with physical disabilities. Many of these leaders were strong Calvinists, and later in the century many with the same Christian views sat in the British Parliament and were responsible for other laws to ameliorate the condition of the working classes.

This Reformed practice of social and political involvement was carried to America, where those in the Reformed tradition have taken a considerable part in such matters. Many in the Presbyterian and Reformed churches were participants in the movement to abolish slavery, and more recently have been prominent in civil rights and similar movements. Unfortunately in South Africa the Reformed tradition has been involved in support of racial apartheid policies and their application, but this is changing as some of the Reformed elements within the country and Reformed churches outside, through agencies such as the Reformed Ecumenical Synod, are putting pressure on South African churches to change their attitudes toward the government's policies.

The Reformed tradition has always been strongly in favor of the education of church members. Calvin's insistence upon catechetical training of the young, and his establishment of what is now the University of Geneva, was imitated in Scotland by John Knox in the educational provisions in the First Book of Discipline, in the Netherlands by the establishment of such institutions as the University of Leiden, and in France by the founding of various seminaries. Similarly in America this educational tradition was responsible for the founding of universities such as Harvard and Yale. In more recent years Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Redeemer College in Hamilton, Ontario, and similar institutions indicate that Reformed tradition in education is still functioning and is fulfilling an important part in developing an educated, Christian citizenry.

During the latter part of the nineteenth and throughout the twentieth centuries, there has been a growing stress upon the importance of Christian scholarship. Although there had always been Reformed scholars, Abraham Kuyper stimulated a strong interest in this field, which was followed in other countries. Outstanding modern scholars include Herman Dooyeweerd, D H Th Vollenhoven, J H Bavinck, and others in the Netherlands, particularly in the Free University of Amsterdam; James Orr in Scotland; J Gresham Machen and Cornelius Van Til in the United States; Pierre Marcel in France; and many others who have devoted themselves to developing a Reformed approach in many learned fields.

From 1850 another noticeable development has been the endeavors of the various Reformed and Presbyterian churches to cooperate in many ways. In 1875 the World Alliance of Reformed Churches holding the Presbyterian system was organized, and still continues. As some of the churches in the alliance, however, have drifted away from a truly Reformed theological position, as evidenced by new confessions and practices which do not seem to be Reformed, a number of Reformed denominations, particularly recently formed bodies, have refused to join the W A R C.

As a result in the 1960s a new body, the Reformed Ecumenical Synod, was established to ensure that a fully Reformed witness would be maintained. Just prior to this some nonecclesiastical organizations had come into being. In 1953 at Montpellier, France, under the leadership of Pierre Marcel, the International Association for Reformed Faith and Action was founded, and in the United States more recently the National Association of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches was organized. In this way Reformed Christians are increasingly working together to set forth the gospel to the world. The outcome is that the Reformed tradition is exercising an influence not only in the Western world, but even at times more powerfully in such places as South Korea, Indonesia, India, and Africa.

The Reformed tradition has formed an important part of Western culture, influencing many different aspects of thought and life. Gradually, however, much of its contribution has been secularized, the religious roots being discarded and rejected. One cannot help wondering, therefore, if the condition of the Western world today is not the result of this rejection, with selfcenteredness taking the place of doing all things "to the glory of God."

W S Reid

(Elwell Evangelical Dictionary)