作者: Carl R. Trueman 译者：James Chan
We
live in a time of exile. At least those of us do who hold to traditional
Christian beliefs. The strident rhetoric of scientism has made belief in the
supernatural look ridiculous. The Pill, no-fault divorce, and now gay marriage
have made traditional sexual ethics look outmoded at best and hateful at worst.
The Western public square is no longer a place where Christians feel they
belong with any degree of comfort.我们正处於「被掳」的时期。对於持守传统基督教信念的我们而言，这个事实至少是肯定的。科学主义至上的人士发出刺耳的言论，对那些相信超自然信念的人士极尽丑化之事。「避孕药」、「无过失离婚」，以及现在的「同性婚姻」等主张，已经使得传统的性伦理变成一种过时的观念，更糟的是，被人当作是一种仇恨不同立场的观点。西方的舆论不再是基督徒认為可以安然表达其立场的言论空间。
For
Christians in the United States, this is particularly disorienting. In Europe,
Christianity was pushed to the margins over a couple of centuries—the tide of
faith retreated “with tremulous cadence slow.” In America, the process seems to
be happening much more rapidly.对於生活在美国的基督徒而言，这种趋势特别令他们感到无所适从。环顾欧洲，仅仅在短短几世纪裡，基督教就被逼到墙角，成為社会的边缘团体 - 信仰的浪潮以「和缓颤抖的节奏」暗暗地退去。转视美国，这衰退的浪潮似乎来得更急更猛。
It is also being driven by
issues that few predicted would have such cultural force. It is surely an irony
as unexpected as it is unwelcome that sex—that most private and intimate
act—has become the most pressing public policy issue today. (Who could have imagined
that policies concerning contraception and laws allowing same-sex marriage
would present the most serious challenges to religious freedom?) We are indeed
set for exile, though not an exile which pushes us to the geographical margins.
It’s an exile to cultural irrelevance.至於其他也会造成此种趋势的诸多问题，过去极少人认為它们会对现今的文化造成冲击。「性」，这一个属於个人最私密生活的主题，居然成為今日亟待解决的公眾政策议题，这的确是一大讽刺。这不但令人出乎意料，人们也儘量避免因此受到波及。(过去的人怎能想像「避孕政策」及「允许同性结婚的法律」，在今日会成為对宗教自由最严重的威胁。)我们的确準备进入一个「被掳」时期，虽然这不是一种迁移他乡的地理上的被掳，它却是一种在文化上被边缘化的被掳。
American
Evangelicalism and Roman Catholicism start this exile with heavy baggage.
Evangelicalism has largely wedded itself to the vision of America as at heart a
Christian nation, a conception that goes back to the earliest New England
settlers. An advertisement for The American Patriot’s Bible (2009) proudly
boasts that it “connects the teachings of the Bible, the history of the United
States and the life of every American” while “beautiful full-color insert pages
spotlight the people and events that demonstrate the godly qualities that have
made America great.” Yet a nation where the language of “choice” and “freedom”
has been hijacked for infanticide, the deconstruction of marriage, and a
seemingly limitless license to publish pornography is rather obviously not
godly. That’s a hard truth for
those who believe America belongs to them by right.美国福音派及罗马天主教背著沉重的包袱，开始他们被掳的旅程。福音派人士多半已经紧紧抓住一个观念，即美国实际上是一个基督教国家，而这个观念的起源要追溯至最早期的新英格兰殖民者。《The American Patriot’s Bible》(美国爱国者圣经，2009 年版) 的广告很自豪地夸讚该本圣经「结合了圣经的教训、美国的歷史，以及每一位美国人的生活」，同时还说：「精美的全彩插图凸显出美国人民及伟大歷史事件，展现出造就美国这泱泱大国的种种敬虔特质。」然而，在这个国家中，「选择」及「自由」这两个名词已被刻意操纵，用来支持谋杀婴儿、瓦解婚姻，以及无限制地出版色情刊物等罪行。这样的国家明显不是一个敬虔的国家。对於那些相信美国按理是属於他们的人来说，这是一个很残酷的事实。
For
Roman Catholics, the challenges of our cultural exile are different. Rome has
somehow managed to maintain a level of social credibility in America, despite
holding to positions regarded as intolerable by the wider secular world when
held by Protestants. Her refusals to ordain women or sanction the use of
contraception do not seem to have destroyed her public reputation. But if, for
example, tax-exempt status is revoked for educational and social-service
nonprofits opposed to the increasingly mandatory sexual revolution, the Church
will face a stark choice: capitulate to the spirit of the age or step out into
the cold wasteland of cultural and social marginality. When opposition to gay
marriage comes to be seen as the moral equivalent to white supremacism, it is
doubtful that the Roman Catholic Church will be able to maintain both her
current position on the issue and her status in society. She too will likely be
shunted to the margins.至於罗马天主教徒，我们在文化上被边缘化时所遇到的挑战是不一样的。罗马天主教在美国还保持某种程度的社会公信力，儘管持守某些同样立场的更正教徒，却不被更為广泛的世俗社会所接受。天主教拒绝按立女人或不同意避孕等立场，似乎都无法动摇其公眾信誉。但是，举例来说，如果教育与社会服务等性质的非营利机构，现在若反对渐具强制约束力的性革命推动的话，则他们的免税优惠地位就会被撤销。教会因此就会面临残酷的抉择，亦即：是否屈服在当今的时代潮流之下，或者走进文化及社会边缘化的旷野中。当反对同性婚姻在道德层面上被等同於白人至上主义时，罗马天主教是否能继续坚持其目前在此议题上的立场，以及在社会中的地位，这是很值得怀疑的。天主教将来很有可能也会被推至边缘的地带。
Elsewhere—in France and in
Poland, for example—Rome has, of course, proved resilient in much worse
circumstances. Yet in America, in recent history, she has no real experience of the
ignominy of marginalization from which to draw strength. The Know-Nothing era
was long ago. It seems to me most Catholics today are very comfortable in, even
jealous of, their place in mainstream America. They may not buy patriot Bibles,
but Catholicism’s institutional footprint is so large—and Catholic theological
(and emotional) investment in it so significant—that the temptation to preserve
the Church’s place in society will be very great. This preservation will
require compromise, even complicity, and it will very likely blur the clarity
and undermine the integrity of Christian witness.在世界其他地方，如法国及波兰，天主教在更為艰鉅的环境中展现了其强靱的力量。但是，美国的天主教会在最近歷史中从未经歷过被边缘化的耻辱，故此无法从中汲取力量。「一无所知运动的时代」(Know-Nothing era) 已经是过往的事了。对我而言，今日多数的天主教徒似乎很满足於，甚至於很珍惜，他们在美国主流社会中享有的地位。他们或许不会购买爱国者圣经，但是，天主教机构是如此地遍佈於美国，加上天主教在神学上 (及情感上) 对自己的投入是如此地庞大，以致於他们在保持教会的社会地位时，将要面临非常大的试探。想要保持这样的地位，就必须付出妥协、甚至成為共犯的代价，如此，就会模糊基督徒见证的清晰度，并且损及其纯正性。
Perhaps
I am mistaken and have portrayed my Christian brothers in a way that
over-emphasizes weaknesses and downplays strengths. But of this I am convinced:
Reformed Christianity is best equipped to help us in our exile. That faith was
forged on the European continent in the lives and writings of such men as
Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Bucer, and John Calvin. It found its finest expression
in the Anglophone world in the great Scottish Presbyterians and English
Puritans of the seventeenth century. It possesses the intellectual rigor
necessary for teaching and defending the faith in a hostile environment. It has
a strong tradition of reflecting in depth upon the difference between that
which is essential and that which, though good, is inessential and thus dispensable.
It has a historical identity rooted in the wider theological teachings of the
Church. It has deep resources for thinking clearly about the relationship of
Church and state.或许我错了，我过份渲染了同為基督徒之弟兄姊妹的弱点，而轻看他们的长处。但是，我却相当确定这个信念：改革宗信仰最能够帮助我们度过这个被掳、边缘化的时期。这种信仰在欧洲大陆经过千锤百鍊，而且反映在慈运理、布塞珥及加尔文等人的生命及著作中。其高峰则出现在大苏格兰长老会的英语系国家，以及十七世纪的英国清教徒当中。改革宗信仰拥有知识上的严谨性，可用於教导，并可以在仇敌环视下勇敢护教。其歷史传承稳固，可区别出哪些信仰内容是绝对不可或缺的，哪些虽是良好，却并非必要，因此可有可无。其歷史统绪则根基於更為广泛的教会神学教导中。其蕴藏精闢洞见的资源，可让信徒清楚地思考教会与国家之间的关係。
It’s
not surprising that Reformed Christianity equips us well for exile, because it
was itself forged in a time of exile, often by men who were literal exiles.
Indeed, the most famous Reformed theologian of them all, John Calvin, was a
Frenchman who found fame and influence as a pastor outside his homeland, in the
city of Geneva. The Pilgrim fathers of New England knew the realities of exile,
and the conditions that it imposed upon the people, only too well. Winthrop’s
famous comment about being a city on a hill was not a statement of messianic
destiny but a reminder to the colonists of the fact that their lives as exiles
were to be lived out in the glare of hostile scrutiny. Exile demanded they have
a clear and godly identity.无怪乎，改革宗信仰可大大装备我们面对被边缘化的光景，因為，此信仰本身不但在一段被掳时期后经过千锤百鍊，而且也是由那些实际上被掳至他乡的信徒所练就而成的。在诸多改革宗神学家当中，最知名的首推约翰?加尔文。他是一位法国人，但他却在家乡以外的日内瓦这个城市担任牧师，為人所敬重且极具影响力。新英格兰的清教徒前辈移民太瞭解被掳的现实，以及被掳之民所经过的坎坷路。温斯罗普 (Winthrop) 著明的「山上之城」讲章，并不是要说明弥赛亚式的命运，乃是要提醒殖民者，他们要在被掳之地且在仇敌怒目相视的困境中，活在眾人之前。被掳的险境迫使他们在人前要保持透明且敬虔的身份。
The
Reformed Church has its own baggage, but given the nature of its origins and
our own moment, it is the right baggage: light when it needs to be light and
heavy with the Gospel when it needs to be heavy. A marginal, minority interest
in America for well over a century, she does not face the loss of social
influence and political aspirations that now confront Evangelicalism and Roman
Catholicism. We do not expect to be at the center of worldly affairs. We do not
imagine ourselves to be running indispensable institutions. Lack of a major
role in the public square will cause no crisis in self-understanding.改革宗教会有其自身的包袱，但是，当考虑到其创始的本质，以及我们现今所处的世代，这个包袱却是有益的。一方面，这个包袱可在必要时变得轻省些；另一方面，它也可在必要时，因為内含福音而变得有份量。在过去一百餘年以来，改革宗教会虽在美国属边缘的、少数的教会团体，但其社会影响力及政治理念并未丧失，并且现在正对福音派与罗马天主教发出挑战，痛下针砭。我们并不期望自己将成為世界舞台的焦点，我们也不会想像自己将来要经营一些至关重要的社会机构。在公眾领域不扮演主要的角色，如此，在自我身份上反而不会產生认知上的危机。
This
does not arise from indifference or a lack of substance, but instead from
clarity and focus. Doctrinally, the Reformed Church affirms the great truths
that were defined in the early Church, to which she adds the Protestant
doctrine of salvation by faith alone. She cultivates a practical simplicity:
Church life centers on the preaching of the Word, the administration of the
sacraments, prayer, and corporate praise. We do not draw our strength primarily
from an institution, but instead from a simple, practical pedagogy of worship:
the Bible, expounded week by week in the proclamation of the Word and taught
from generation to generation by way of catechisms and devotions around the family
dinner table.这并不是因為我们对世事漠不关心或我们的地位无足轻重，反而是因為我们的立场透明而且目标专一。就教义而言，改革宗教会除了坚信早期教会所声称的伟大真理之外，还增加了「救恩唯独信心」的更正教教义。改革宗教会努力耕耘出既实际又简明的原则：教会的生活的重心在於传讲上帝的道、施行圣礼、祷告与集体讚美。我们不会从机构中，但反而会从一个简单而实际的敬拜教育理念中，来支取能力。这理念就是：每週在宣告上帝的道当中阐释《圣经》；并且透过要理问答以及家庭餐桌前的灵修，将《圣经》的道代代相传下去。
What,
one may ask, about liturgy? Is the naked Word preached by itself, without the
force of an institution to support it, sufficient for nourishing a vibrant
Christian faith, particularly in times of difficulty? Is there not an element
of corporate performance beyond simply listening to the Word that is vital in
shaping our understanding of who we are and of the world in which we live?
Every time we switch on the television or go on the Internet, we are bombarded
with a myriad of liturgies that exert an arcane power to shape our identities
in ways of which we are often unaware. Can a thirty-minute sermon once or twice
a week possibly counteract such insidious subversion? Don’t we need ballast to
prevent us from being pushed this way and that by every wind of secular
doctrine?有人可能会问：「那麼礼拜仪式的角色呢？」仅仅传讲上帝的道，而没有机构的力量从旁支持，这样是否足以让基督徒保持著活泼的信心，特别是在艰难的时刻？除了只是听道以外，不是还有信徒集体服事的一面吗？这对於瞭解「我们是谁」及「我们所生活的世界」，不也是很重要吗？每次我们打开电视或瀏览网站，就会看到许多宗教仪式透过一股神秘的力量，以我们通常无法理会的方式塑造出信徒身份的认同。一週一次或两次的三十分鐘讲道是否可以对抗此种对信仰本质的阴险破坏。难道我们不须要一个可以防止我们走向这一条路，而且不受世俗之风动摇之稳定基石吗？
Reformed
theologians understand this point. James K. A. Smith highlights the liturgical
nature of all of life and the need for the Reformed Church to be self-conscious
in its own liturgical performance. David F. Wells underscores the need for an
intelligent and well-constructed liturgy that reflects our theological
convictions. Reformed worship has always involved more than preaching, even
though the sermon is central. Its liturgical form flows directly from our
commitment to the Word and to the catholic foundations of our faith. The Gospel
according to the Reformed faith is straightforward: We are dead in sin and need
to be united to Christ, the God-man, who lived and died and rose again for us
and for our salvation. United with him, we look beyond the ephemera of this
world to the eternity beyond.改革宗的神学家瞭解这一点。史密斯 (James K. A.
Smith) 强调人生礼拜仪式的本质，也强调改革宗教会须要对其礼拜仪式的实践有所自觉。维司 (David F. Wells) 则凸显对有智慧且有完备组织之礼拜仪式的须要，藉以表现出我们的神学信念。即便讲道是改革宗敬拜的中心，但其内含一定不仅止於传讲信息而已。其礼拜仪式的形式直接得自於对上帝之道，以及对我们信仰之大公教会基础的坚持。改革宗信仰的福音信息是浅显易懂的，亦即：我们死在过犯之中，我们需要与这位既是完全人，也是完全神的基督联合，祂為了我们及我们的救赎而受死并且復活了。与其联合之后，我们轻看这世上短暂的享受，而定睛在永恆当中。
Reformed
worship places the Word at the center because the declaration of the truth of
the Gospel is central. Ideally, this truth shapes the liturgical actions of the
Reformed community. For example, in the church service, the minister reads the
Decalogue and brings words of judgment down on God’s people, reminding them of
their death in Adam. He leads them in a corporate confession of sin and then
reads words from Scripture, pointing toward the promise in Christ of comfort,
forgiveness, and the final ?resurrection to come. Fall, death, forgiveness,
resurrection: The basic elements of the Christian message find concise and
precise expression in Reformed liturgical practice.改革宗的敬拜是以上帝的道為中心，因為宣讲福音真理至关重要。理想状况下，此真理会决定改革宗团体礼拜仪式的进行。比如说，牧师或传道人在教会礼拜仪式中宣读十诫，并将上帝有关审判的话语带到子民当中，藉以提醒他们是死在亚当裡的。牧师或传道人带领会眾一起认罪，然后诵读《圣经》的话，藉以指向我们在基督裡获得安慰、赦罪及将来最后的復活等项应许。堕落、死亡、赦罪、復活：基督教信息的基本要素，均以简明及严谨的方式呈现在改革宗礼拜仪式的实践中。
The
congregation responds with a hymn of praise to God for his goodness. Here, the
beauty and the distinctiveness of the Reformed faith become evident. The
congregation, reminded of who they are—sinners who stand before God condemned
for their ?unrighteousness and uncleanness—receive the promise in Christ that, grasped by faith,
seals forgiveness upon their hearts and moves them to praise and thanksgiving.会眾因上帝的恩慈而以讚美诗回应上帝。在此，改革宗信仰之美及其独特性显而易见。当会眾被提醒他们因著自己的不义及不洁，在上帝面前是被判有罪的罪人时，他们接受在基督裡凭著信心所抓住的应许，心中怀有已获赦免的确信，并且受感而讚美感谢上帝。
This
singular focus—the drama of sin and redemption inwardly known—is a great boon
in times of exile. To retain an identity in the face of a hostile culture, one
must belong to a vibrant community of people who know who they are. This is the
New Testament pattern of Christianity. When we hear, in clear and unequivocal
words, who we are declared to us in the sermon each week and when we
participate in liturgical action embodying that identity, we are well prepared
for the hostile liturgies and gospels of the world we encounter from Monday to
Saturday.如此严肃地看待罪，加上内心深知已蒙救赎，这些信仰的执著对於那些处於被掳时期的信徒而言，是大有益处的。面对强敌环伺时，信徒若要保有自己的身份，就要加入一个每个成员都深知自己的身份而且信心活跃的团体。这就是基督教在《新约圣经》所呈现的样式。当我们在每週的讲道中，清楚地听到牧师或传道人向我们宣称我们的身份為何时；当我们参与礼拜仪式以具体表明这个身份时，我们都已经完全预备好了面对仇敌不敬虔的礼拜仪式，并且在週一至週六与世界所宣传的福音周旋。
We
must also have practical confidence in our own identity and destiny as a
Christian people. Paul grounds the imperatives of the Christian life, from
domestic duties to social and political engagement, in the reality of our life
in Christ. There is a robust confidence at the heart of the New Testament’s description of what it means to be a
Christian, and it was vital to Christian flourishing in the world of the first
century.我们对自己做為基督徒的身份及将来的结局，也要有切合事实的信心。保罗对於活出基督徒生命的各方面 (如家务到社会与至政治活动的参与) 所发出的命令，其根基都建立於我们在基督裡之生命的这件事实上。新约圣经对於成為基督徒之意义的关键描述，显现出坚定不移的信心，此种信心对於基督徒如何在第一世纪成长茁壮相当关键。
It is
important to understand that the medieval Church’s failure to produce a
theology that instilled this New Testament confidence contributed in
significant ways to the Reformation. Luther’s notion of Christian freedom
depends upon our clear knowledge of our identity in Christ. The bonds of sin
are broken by faith’s secure hold on the truth of the Gospel. The way in which
faith gives us a place to stand over and against worldliness was picked up and
elaborated by Calvin and other Reformed theologians. The New Testament note of
confidence—we really can know and give ourselves to the saving power of Christ—was
cultivated by preaching and liturgy. This enabled Protestants to survive and
then to thrive in the hostile world of sixteenth-century Europe. Our identity
was not mediated by priest or sacrament. Then and today it is grasped by faith
in the Word.中世纪的教会在建立一种可将此种《新约圣经》之信心灌输在信徒身上的神学上失败了，而此种信心在许多关键方面，对宗教改革发挥了推波助澜的效力。马丁路得对基督徒之自由的观念，取决於基督徒对於「在基督裡之身分」的清楚及彻底的瞭解。因著罪人紧紧抓住福音的真理，罪的綑绑就被此种信心破除了。加尔文及其他改革宗的神学家，看到了信心如何让我们在面对世俗时能站立得住并与之抗衡的这件事实，而且也予以详加解释。《新约圣经》的信心就是：我们的确可以认识基督救赎的大能而且将自己完全交托。此种信心是要藉著传讲信息及礼拜仪式来耕耘的。这样，更正教的信徒即有能力在充满敌对势力的十六世纪的欧洲大陆存活下来，然后茁壮成长。我们的身份不是靠著祭司或圣礼居中促成的。在过去及现在，我们的身份都是因著信靠上帝的道而被紧紧抓住的。
Indeed,
robust confidence of our life in Christ lies at the heart of what it means to
be a Reformed Protestant. The first question and answer of the Heidelberg
Catechism, one of the great statements of Reformation faith, express it
succinctly:的确，我们在基督裡之生命的稳妥信心，其核心及本质在於瞭解成為改革宗之更正教徒的确切意义為何。「海德堡要理问答」是对宗教改革之信心的伟大陈述，其第一问简要地说明此种信心：
What
is your only comfort in life and death? That I with body and soul, both in life
and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ;
who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and
delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without
the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yes, that all
things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit,
He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready,
henceforth, to live unto him.你生与死的唯一安慰是什麼？在生和死两者之中，我的身体，灵魂都不属於我自己，乃是属於我信实的救主?耶穌基督，他用宝血完全涂抹了我一切的罪恶，并且救赎我脱离魔鬼一切的权势；他保守我，若非天父允许，我的头髮一根也不能掉下；他又叫万事互相效力，使我得救。因為我属基督，他借著圣灵使我确实知道有永生，也使我从此以后甘心乐意為他而活。
This
robust confidence will serve us well at a time when the indifference or
hostility of the world presses upon us and encourages crises of
self-confidence. We know who we are. We belong to Christ.当世人以漠不关心或充满敌意的态度逼迫著我们、刺激我们进入信靠自我的危机时，这种稳妥的信心可以大大地坚固我们。我们深知自己是谁，我们是属基督的。
Closely
connected to assurance is one of the key theological emphases of the Reformed
faith: providence. Many see the Reformed doctrines of predestination and
providence as harsh and cold preoccupations of pathologically unhinged people.
In fact, they have both a deeply catholic pedigree and a profoundly pastoral
purpose.与得救确据有密切关係的一个关键改革宗信仰神学重点，即是上帝的护理。许多人认為改革宗预定论及上帝护理的教义，是精神错乱之人严厉且冷酷的偏见。实际上，这两种教义来自大公教会的传统，而且有其深远的教牧用途。
The
doctrines of predestination and providence were not innovations of the
Reformation, but have a history through the Middle Ages back to the early
Church. Love him or hate him, Augustine provided the West with its basic
interpretation of Paul on grace and salvation, and his influence on both Roman
Catholicism and Protestantism remains powerful. One could argue that the
Reformation was itself a debate over the interpretation and application of
Augustine’s theology of grace to reflections on the nature of the Church. Yet
even as they drew on Augustine and his medieval followers, Reformed preachers
and teachers found the doctrines of predestination and providence helpful for
strengthening believers in times of ?difficulty.预定论与上帝的护理这两个教义不是宗教改革所发明的產物，其存在的歷史可向后穿过中世纪，甚至追溯至早期教会。无论你是否喜欢奥古斯丁，他為西方世界提供了保罗恩典与救恩观的基本詮释，而他对罗马天主教及更正教的影响力至今仍屹立不摇。有人会辩说，宗教改革本身实际上是一个有关奥古斯丁恩典神学如何应用在教会本质之反思的辩论。然而，即使这两个教义得自於奥古斯丁及其中世纪的追随者，改革宗的牧师及教师发现它们在坚固那些处於艰难时期的信徒上大有帮助。
For those in physical exile, for those suffering for
their faith, for those despised and marginalized by the world around them, the
knowledge that history is under God’s control provides encouragement. However
weak the Church appears to be, however many setbacks it faces, the end of
history is already determined in Christ. This knowledge allows believers to
taste here and now something of the delights of the end of time. Indeed,
combined with the rich New Testament teaching on resurrection and on the fact
that death is not the final word for those who live in Christ by faith, a
strong doctrine of providence is not only a means of construing the
metaphysical connection between God and his creation, but is also a source of
personal strength, comfort, assurance, and hope for Reformed Christians.对於深处异乡的信徒来说，当他们為了信仰的缘故而受苦、被周遭世人鄙视及边缘化时，如果他们知道歷史是由上帝运筹帷幄的，这会带来很大的安慰及鼓励。无论教会表面上看起来有多软弱，无论面对多少挫败，歷史的结局早已在基督裡底定了。此种认识可以让信徒於此时、此地预嚐末世一部份的喜乐。护理的教义确实结合了《新约圣经》中有关復活的丰富教导，而且是建立在「死亡不是凭信心而活在基督裡之人的最终结局」的这项事实上，此强而有力的教义不仅解释了上帝与其创造在形而上学的关係，也是改革宗基督徒个人的力量、安慰、确据及盼望的来源。
Once
again, there is a liturgical aspect to this. Providence often leads Christians
to dark places, personally and corporately, and yet even as we know that these
temporal trials will ultimately culminate in death, we know that in the
resurrection light triumphs over darkness, life over death. This is why the
Psalter has been so central to Reformed worship. The Psalms’ many notes of
lament, of longing for future rest, and of present discomfort and disillusion
with the status quo reinforce in the minds of the Reformed that our citizenship
is not ultimately in this world. It provides realistic horizons of expectation
for this world—and for the next. It gives us a vocabulary with which to praise
God in the midst of the contradictions of life lived out under the burdens of
the Fall. It reminds us that, whatever good things this world has to offer,
they can only be of passing value. And when suffering comes, we acknowledge and
sorrow over its reality but regard it as nothing compared to the weight of
eternal glory that is to follow. Every time we gather for worship in church or
around the family Bible, the very songs of David we sing speak of exile—and of hope for the better country we seek.再一次说明，护理的教义有其礼拜仪式的层面。因著上帝的护理，基督徒经常被引导至个人或团体的幽暗之处，即使我们知道这些暂时的试验最终会在死亡时达到最高峰，但是在復活之际，光明必定胜过黑暗，生命胜过死亡。这也是為何诗篇集对改革宗的敬拜一直是如此重要的原因。诗篇记录了许多哀歌、对未来永远安息的嚮往，以及现状所带来的不安及幻灭，这些都可以坚固改革宗信徒的心，提醒他们地上的国不是他们最终的归属。这样的理解让他们对於这个世界，以及来世，有切合实际的期盼。活在堕落之世界的我们，是活在矛盾冲突之中，诗篇提供我们用来讚美上帝的感恩之词。我们想到这世界所提供的美事，其价值是无法存到永远的。当苦难来临时，我们承认其真实的存在并為此感到悲伤难过，但是，我们知道它与即将来的、极重无比永恆的荣耀是无法相比的。每当我们聚集在教会中敬拜时，或於家庭中读《圣经》时，我们所唱的大卫之诗，提到了被掳的苦痛，也提到了我们对更美之家乡的盼望。
This
recognition of exile and the hope we find in the Psalms permeate historical
Reformed worship and theology in a way that is not so obvious in other Christian
traditions, even Protestant ones. For example, the worship of the American
Evangelical Church of the last few decades has been marked by what one might
call an aesthetic of power and triumph. Praise bands perform in churches often
built to look more like concert venues than traditional places of worship. Rock
riffs and power chords set the musical tone. Songs speak of tearing down enemy
?strongholds. Christianity does, of course, point to triumph, but it is the
triumph of resurrection, and resurrection presupposes prior suffering and
death. An emphasis on triumph, often to the exclusion of lament, will not
prepare people for life this side of resurrection glory. It will not prepare us
for a life of exile. I fear we are laying the foundations for disillusionment
and despair.我们在诗篇中看到对被掳事实的承认以及对将来的盼望，此种看见普遍见於歷史上的改革宗敬拜及神学中，这在其他的基督教传统中，甚至是更正教的传统中，却不是如此明显。举例来说，过去几十年以来，美国福音派教会的敬拜一直有一种特点，我们可以称之「权能与得胜的美学呈现」。敬拜乐团在教会裡献唱，与传统敬拜的场所相比，其场面更像是个演唱会。摇滚即兴乐及强力和弦的演奏是全场音乐的主轴。所唱的歌曲尽是提到除灭敌人的?阵营。基督教当然指向得胜，但是这是復活的胜利，而復活之前一定有苦难与死亡。强调得胜，却故意排除哀慟的可能性，这样是无法预备信徒度过復活荣耀之前的生活，这不会预备我们过被掳的生活。我担心，这样是种下破灭与绝望的种子。
Christianity needs to be
realistic both in its theo?logy and in its liturgy. With the central place it
gives to the singing of the Psalter, the Reformed tradition ministers to the hearts
and minds of Christians set for cultural exile. The transitions through which
we are living are confusing and at times painful. The Psalms offer us a means
of expressing that confusion and pain in our praise to God, and no tradition
has so placed their corporate use at the heart of its worship as much as the
Reformed.基督教的神学与礼拜都必须实在而且稳妥。改革宗传统的牧师非常看重诗篇集的诵唱，他们在情感及理智方面都预备好基督徒面对文化上被边缘化的困境。我们现今所处的过度时期是相当令人困惑，而且有时痛苦难耐。诗篇提供了一个管道，让我们透过讚美上帝来表达此种困惑及痛苦。没有一个传统会像改革宗一样，将诗篇的集体敬拜用途如此地放在敬拜的核心中。
The
argument so far has been that Reformed worship can sustain the believer in a
time of trial. Yet in the past the Reformed faith has been a dynamic force in
the public square. Reformed theology contributed to the rise of the theory of
just rebellion, played a role in the English Civil War, inspired the Scottish
Covenanters, and gave John Winthrop a vision for building a city on a hill in
the New World. The Reformed faith resists being reduced to a type of private
pietism. On the contrary, it has often proved a potent social force, even in
situations of marginality and exile.截至目前為止，我们讨论的焦点都集中在：改革宗式的敬拜可以坚固受试炼的信徒。然而，过去改革宗的信仰在公眾领域中都大有影响力。助长「正当背叛理论」(Theory of Just Rebelion) 兴起的改革宗神学，在英国内战中佔有一席之地，啟发了苏格兰盟约派 (Scottish Covenanters)，也给了温斯罗普 (John Winthrop) 一个在新世界 (New World) 建立山上之城的异象。改革宗信仰人士拒绝将其信仰缩小成為一种个人式的敬虔主义。相反的，他们经常显出自己是一股具有影响力的社会力量，即便自己是属於少数的边缘团体。
Take
John Calvin as an example. His popular image is that of a ruthless Reformed
ayatollah who ruled Geneva with a firm, icy hand as he imposed a reign of
terror on an unwitting populace. He seems an almost revolutionary figure, a
kind of Robespierre in the Reformation. It is true that he spent much of his
adult life in Geneva and was very influential in the city. But he was a
foreigner, a Frenchman abroad, not even a citizen of Geneva for much of his
time. He was never even powerful enough to persuade the magistrates to allow
him to celebrate communion on a weekly basis. In short, Calvin was an exile,
and he wrote his theology from the perspective of an exile. But this did not
prevent him from speaking powerfully into the world where he found himself.
Indeed, the condensed concentration of Reformed piety gave him not only an
enduring identity in exile, but also firmness of purpose, allowing him to stand
with confidence contra mundum, against the world.让我们举加尔文為例，多数人都以為他是以铁腕手短统治日内瓦的无情的改革宗独裁者，因為他对不明就裡的平民施以恐怖统治。他几乎被人认為是一位发动革命的人物，好像宗教改革时期的罗伯斯庇尔这号人物 (罗氏為法国大革命时期雅各宾派的独裁者)。没错，他的成年期的确大半是在日内瓦度过的，而且在该城裡颇富影响力。但是他不是本地人，他是一位流落异地的法国人，他一生甚至多半不是日内瓦的市民。他的权势甚至不足以说服地方官来允许他每週纪念圣餐。简言之，加尔文是一个离乡背井的人，因此他是以被掳之民的角度来发展他的神学。但是，这不会妨碍他向所处的社会发挥巨大的影响力。没错，改革宗扼要的核心敬虔教导，不仅仅在离乡背井之际提供了一个他可以长久认同的身份，也塑造了他坚定的意志，使他得以凭著信心对抗世界。
Today’s
world is becoming a colder, harder place. Even so, we have ongoing civic
responsibilities. Shaped by our faith, we too can speak to those in power. We
must remind them of their responsibilities to protect the innocent and to
punish the wicked. We must remind them of the fact that they, the magistrates,
will ultimately answer to a higher authority. It is this consciousness of civic
responsibility—and of a firm place to stand in Christ—that frames Calvin’s
Institutes and has served to make Reformed Christianity such a powerful force
for change in history, from the Puritans to Abraham Kuyper. There have
certainly been excesses in the history of the Reformed Church’s engagement with
the civic sphere, but Reformed theology at its best is no clarion call for a
religious war or a theocratic state. It is rather a call for responsible, godly
citizenship.今天的世界逐渐成為一个更為冷酷且艰困的环境。即便如此，我们仍有作為公民应负的责任。我们也可以向当权者发出建言，提醒他们的责任是要逞兇罚恶以及保护无辜之人。我们要提醒他们一件事实，就是政府官员最终要向更高的权柄交帐。就是这种公民责任感的自觉，以及在基督裡稳妥的地位，造就出加尔文基督教要义这一本书，而且使得改革宗的基督教信仰，在清教徒以来到亚伯拉罕凯伯尔 (Abraham Kuyper) 的教会歷史中，成為一股推动改革的庞大力量。在改革宗教会参与公眾事物的歷史中，当然发生过逾越分际的事情，但是，改革宗神学最坏也不会号召眾人从事一场宗教战争或建立神权政治的国家。改革宗神学反而呼吁人们要做一位负责、敬虔的公民。
Here,
the Reformed share a great deal of common ground with Roman Catholics. As David
VanDrunen has shown, both affirm natural law, a better basis for social thought
than the mythological constructions of the American Patriot’s Bible or the
belligerent sense of national identity of the old-style religious right. Yet
there are differences between the Reformed and Rome. Calvin is no Thomas, and
the Reformed faith is not Roman Catholicism. Where Thomas saw sin as
exacerbating the limitations of nature in a fallen world, Calvin saw sin as
bringing a decisive ethical darkness into the world.在这方面，改革宗与罗马天主教有诸多共同点。如同大卫?范楚南（David VanDrunen) 所指的，两者都肯定一件事： 与《The American Patriot’s Bible》(美国爱国者圣经) 的虚构性解释，或与老派宗教右翼人士好战的国族认同观点相比，自然律 (natural law) 是更好的社会思想基础。然而，改革宗与罗马天主教之间仍有不同。加尔文不是阿奎那，而且改革宗信仰不是罗马天主教。阿奎那认為，在堕落的世界中，罪加重了自然本性的限制，而加尔文则认為，罪将具关键性的伦理败坏带进了世界中。
This
difference is important and gives Reformed theology a more realistic
understanding of Christian life in the public square and thus of the limits to
what we might expect to achieve. People do not call evil good and good evil
primarily because they are confused or not thinking clearly. They do so because
they are in basic rebellion against God. It sounds a tad paradoxical: The
Reformed use natural law for public engagement but expect little or no success.
We believe that the world was created with a particular moral structure. Yet we
also believe that fallen humanity has a fundamental antipathy toward
acknowledging any form of external authority that threatens our own ultimate autonomy.
This injects a basic irrationality and emotional passion into moral debates.
This distortion of conscience and reason explains the apparent impotence of
otherwise compelling arguments. And it surely reflects our actual experience as
Christians in exile in twenty-first-century America.此种观念上的歧异是相当重要的，而且使改革宗神学家对基督徒在公眾领域中的生活，以及我们可以达成之目的的限制上，有更切合实际的理解。人们之所以会以善為恶或以恶為善，其主要原因非因他们变糊涂了或无法清楚地思考；其原因乃在於他们在最基本的层次上背逆上帝。以下这种讲法似乎有点似非而是：改革宗在参与公眾事物时运用了自然律的法则，却不期望会有多大的成就，或完全不期望会有任何建树。我们相信，这个世界於被造时已被赋予一个特定的道德结构。然而，我们也相信因著堕落人性的使然，人们基本上会憎恶任何会威胁其自主性的外在权柄。这种倾向会引进一种基本的非理性思维，以及想要进行道德辩论的热烈情感。如此对良心及理性的扭曲，说明了為何其他可令人信服的论据，显然不具说服力的原因。对於处在二十一世纪之美国且被边缘化的基督徒而言，这也的确反映出我们实际的经验。
Today
people describe what was once quite ordinary moral reflection about sex and
marriage as a “hate crime.” Do we need firmer evidence that debates about
same-sex marriage, as well as abortion and the like, are not reducible to
rational discussion? And Reformed theology knows why. Human beings in this
fallen world consistently refuse to acknowledge the obvious: that they are
creatures of God and thus accountable to him. And thus our moral convictions
challenge that most basic belief of the modern world, namely, that the
individual is the autonomous measure of all things and accountable to no one.
Reformed theology understands this dark fact about our fallen humanity. We do
not underestimate the ruthlessness of the opposition. We expect cultural exile.
It actually confirms our deepest convictions about the way the world is.过去人们针对性及婚姻等问题所进行的道德自省，当时是习以為常的，但是，现今人们却将之称為「仇视犯罪」(Hate Crime)。针对同性婚姻、堕胎及类似议题的辩论，人们不愿回到理性的讨论，这已是不争的事实。改革宗神学就此现象可以提供答案。活在堕落世界的人类，一直都拒绝承认以下这件事实：人类為上帝所造，因此必要向上帝交帐。所以，我们的道德信念便挑战著当今世人最基本的信念，此即：人是自主且是万物的度量，因此，人无须向任何人交帐。改革宗神学解释了这个有关人类堕落的黑暗面。我们不会低估反对立场对我们所进行的无情攻击，我们会经歷文化上的边缘化，这早在预料之中。这件事实际上反而肯定了我们对这个世界的坚定信念。
When
I first came to America in 1996, I remember sitting in a service in a church
where the preacher declared that the tragedy of the town in which he lived was
that only one person in two would be in a place of worship that morning. What
was a tragedy then would look like a third Great Awakening today. Christianity
is moving to the margins of American life, and Christians are heading into
cultural exile. The question is: How will we survive? The answer is: as Paul
did in the first century. First and foremost, we need the simple proclamation
of God’s Word in church week by week, reminding us of our identity in Christ.
We need liturgies and worship saturated with that Word. We need engagement with
the world consistent with the identity formed in us by a clear and confident
faith in that Word. In short, we will survive—indeed, we will thrive—through a vibrant commitment to exactly what the
historic Reformed faith has emphasized.当我在 1996 年首次来到美国，我还记得自己参加一场主日崇拜，牧师当场宣布一件令人悲伤的事实：他所住的小镇当日早晨只有一半的人敬拜上帝。当日看為令人悲伤之事，现今可能被看為美国第三次的「大觉醒运动」。基督教正被逼至美国社会的墙角，而基督徒正走在文化边缘化的路上。我们所面临的问题是：我们将何去何从？答案是：如同保罗在第一世纪的生活一样。最重要的是，我们要每週在教会中单单宣读上帝的道，提醒自己在基督裡的身份。我们的礼拜仪式及敬拜都要充满了上帝的道。我们要凭著对上帝的道有清楚且有保握的信心，按著在我们裡面所建造的身份，与这个世界周旋到底。简言之，我们将存活下去；而且我们终将成长茁壮。我们所凭藉的就是对歷史上改革宗信仰所强调之信仰内容的坚持。
Carl R. Trueman is Paul
Woolley Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary.作者 Carl R.
Trueman 於西敏神学院 (Westminster Theological Seminary) 担任 Paul Woolley 教会歷史教授。