在整個人類歷史中，人都在和邪惡的問題爭鬥。「一位良善而聖潔的上帝，為何會容許邪惡存在於祂所創造的世界裏？」這是個必須回答的問題。或者，我們也可以問這個更尖銳的問題：「這位良善而聖潔的上帝，怎麼可能對萬事擁有主權，包括邪惡？」在他的《種種觀察》（Miscellanies）的第八十五道題中，愛德華茲（Jonathan Edwards）針對這個問題給出了最令人滿意的答案。在那裏，愛德華茲解釋說，上帝永恆地定旨了人——包括那些會行惡的人——的每個行動，但是祂定旨他們的行動，不是為了他們的邪惡，而是為了會從他們身上產生出來的良善。在這個意義下，我們可以說，上帝所諭旨的一切都是良善的。愛德華茲寫到：Throughout human history, men have wrestled
with the problem of evil. The question, “How can a good and holy God allow evil to exist in the
world that He created,” is one that
demands an answer. Or, to ask the question more pointedly, “How can the good
and holy God be sovereign over all things including evil?” In his 85th entry of
the Miscellanies, Jonathan Edwards gave a most satisfying answer to this
question. There, Edwards explained that God eternally decreed every action of
men–including those that should be sinful–but that He decreed them, not for the
sinfulness of them but for the good that would come from them. In this sense,
we can say that all that God ordained was good. Edwards wrote:
我們該這麼說：神已經定旨人一切的行動，是的，他們所作的每個有罪的行動，以及這些行動的每個處境；祂決定他們日後在每個方面會變成什麼樣子；祂決定未來必定會有這些行動，並確保這些行動和他們本身一樣都會是有罪的；但是神並沒有定旨這些有罪的行動是邪惡的，而是定旨它們是良善的，且這樣的定旨是堅定不移的。我們說定旨一個行動是邪惡的，意思不是要定旨一個行動，好叫它成為邪惡；而是要讓這個行動產生出邪惡來。神是為了要從邪惡中產生出良善，而定旨這個行動是邪惡的，而人是為了這個行動裏的邪惡來定旨這個行動。That we should say,
that God has decreed every action of men, yea, every action that they do that
is sinful, and every circumstance of those actions; [that] He determines that
they shall be in every respect as they afterwards are; [that] He determines
that there shall be such actions, and so obtains that they shall be so sinful
as they are; and yet that God does not decree the actions that are sinful as
sinful, but decrees [them] as good, is really consistent. We do not mean by
decreeing an action as sinful, the same as decreeing an action so that it shall
be sinful; but by decreeing an action as sinful, I mean decreeing [it] for the
sake of the sinfulness of the action. God decrees that it shall be sinful for
the sake of the good that He causes to arise from the sinfulness thereof,
whereas man decrees it for the sake of the evil that is in it.1
這和威斯敏斯特信仰告白關於神的永恆諭旨所說的是完全一致的：「從亙古到永遠，上帝以祂自己的旨意按著祂最智慧、最聖潔的計劃，自由地且永不改變地，預定一切將要發生的事。雖然上帝如此預定，但是祂絕非罪惡的創始者，也沒有迫使受造者逆反其意志；並且不至於剝奪『第二因』的『自由運行』與『或然發生』的性質，反倒使它們得以確立。」（威斯敏斯特信仰告白，3.1）因此，上帝是否預定了邪惡？答案是同時強調「是！」與「不是！」。「是！」是因為，上帝對世上的一切邪惡都有主權，因為祂預定了所有墮落天使和人的一切行動；是的，祂沒有預定墮落天使和人的行動是邪惡的——儘管祂預定這些行動會成為邪惡——但是「為了要從邪惡中產生出良善，而定旨這個行動會是邪惡的」。This is in complete
harmony with what the Westminster Confession of Faith says about the eternal
decrees of God: “God from all
eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and
unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God
the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is
the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established”
(WCF 3.1). So, does God ordain evil? The answer is simultaneously an emphatic
“Yes” and “No!” “Yes,” God is sovereign over all evil in the world in that He
ordained all the actions of all fallen Angels and men; yet, He does not ordain
the actions of fallen Angels and men as evil–though he ordained that they
should become evil–but “for the sake of the good that He causes to arise from
the sinfulness thereof.”
這會帶出第二個無可避免的問題，即：「上帝預定那些要成為有罪的行動，所要成就的良善是什麼呢？」這最終的善，就是顯明祂的屬性。愛德華茲在他的哲學大作《上帝預定這個世界的目的》（The End for Which God Ordained the World）中，訴諸羅馬書九章22-23節來正面討論這個主題。在那裏，使徒保羅寫到：This leads to the
second inevitable question, namely, “What
is that good for which God ordained actions so that they should be sinful?” The
ultimate good that arises from God ordaining all the actions of fallen Angels
and men is the good of God getting glory by a display of His attributes.
Edwards tackles this subject head on in his philosophical masterpiece, The End
for Which God Ordained the World, by appealing to Romans 9:22-23. There the
Apostle Paul wrote:
「倘若神要顯明他的忿怒，彰顯他的權能，就多多忍耐寬容那可怒預備遭毀滅的器皿， 又要將他豐盛的榮耀彰顯在那蒙憐憫早預備得榮耀的器皿上。」（羅九22～23）“What if God, wanting to show
His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the
vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the
riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand
for glory” (Rom. 9:22-23).
使徒解釋說，關於人的命運的永恆諭旨，上帝作了祂所作的一切，是為了彰顯祂屬性的榮耀。對那些還留在祂的震怒裏的人，上帝確保會有永恆的審判，以彰顯祂的公義。上帝既是公義也是聖潔的，必定會懲罰所有的邪惡。祂乃是藉著將祂百姓的罪歸算到祂兒子的身上，或是藉著在地獄裏永遠刑罰那些沒有重生的人，來完成這點。就後一種情況來說，上帝定旨邪惡是為了顯明祂的震怒和權能。這就是上帝定旨邪惡所要成就的善。就選民的情況來說，上帝藉著在祂兒子身上審判他們的罪，使罪人能與祂和好。這是為了在面對他們的罪的時候，彰顯祂的憐憫和恩典。這兩種情況，都是從邪惡中帶出良善。The Apostle explained
that God does all that he does with regard to the eternal decree regarding the
destinies of men in order to show forth the glory of His attributes. Those who
remain in a state of wrath, God has secured for eternal judgment to show forth
his justice. God is a just and holy God and will punish all evil. He does this
either by imputing the sin of His people to His Son or by punishing the
unregenerate in hell forever. In the latter case, God has ordained evil in
order to show forth His wrath and power. This is the good for which God has
ordained evil. In the case of the elect, God has reconciled them to Himself by
punishing their sin on His Son. This is to display His mercy and grace in the
face of their sin. In both cases, good is brought out of evil.
在審判的那日，我們會清楚看到我們掙扎著想要在此時此地見到的。奧古斯丁說得很妙，他說，世上有足夠的憐憫，好叫我們知道上帝是憐憫的；也有足夠的公義，叫我們知道上帝是公義的。在末日那天，我們必定會看到這些滿有榮耀的良善的目的，上帝就是為了這些預定了祂所有被造物的行動——包括那些會成為邪惡的行動。On Judgment Day, we
will see clearly what we so struggle to see in the here and now. Augustine once
put it so well when he said that there was just enough mercy in the world for
us to know that God is merciful and just enough justice to know that God is
just. On the Last Day, we will see the glorious good purposes for which God
ordained the actions of all of His creatures–including those actions that would
be evil.