海德堡要理問答生日快樂！Happy Birthday Heidelberg
作者：Kevin
DeYoung 譯者/修訂：楊忠道/駱鴻銘
今天（1/19/2017）是海德堡要理問答455歲生日。
Today is the 455th birthday of the
Heidelberg Catechism.
我是跟海德堡問答一起長大的，我不記得我必須一字不漏地背誦它，像是背誦某種有機化學的噩夢。在我的生命中，它不總是在前面和中心，但它始終不離左右。
I grew up with the Heidelberg. I
don’t recall having to memorize it cold like some organic chemistry nightmare.
It wasn’t always front and center in my life, but it was always there.
我會永遠感謝我童年的牧師要我朗讀海德堡要理問答，並且在我四年級作出我的信仰認信之前，跟他在他的大辦公室裡碰面，和他討論這個問答。我見他面時很緊張，甚至比見所有長老的面更緊張，但是這兩次會談都很愉快。此外，我在九歲時就被強迫讀過所有的129條問答，那是我當時未能明白的祝福。從那時起，我心中就存放了一本要理問答，並且隨著時日愈來愈明白它，也更珍惜它。
I’ll forever be grateful to my
childhood pastor for making me read the Heidelberg Catechism and meet in his
big office with him to talk about it before I made profession of faith in the
fourth grade. I was nervous to meet with him, even more nervous to meet before
all the elders. But both meetings were pleasant. And besides, I was forced to
read through all 129 questions and answers at age 9. That was a blessing I
didn’t realize at the time. Ever since then I’ve had a copy of the catechism
and have grown to understand it and cherish it more and more over the years.
一個古老的故事
An Old Story
1562年，普法爾茨（神聖羅馬帝國的君侯領地，把它想成是今日的德國就對了）的選侯腓德烈三世，下令為他的領土準備一份新的要理問答。這份新的問答有三個目的：(1)
作為教導兒童的工具；(2)
作為傳道人的指南；(3)
作為在普法爾茨許多抗羅宗分支當中、統一的信仰告白形式。腓德烈想要一個避免神學標籤並且明顯根植於聖經經文的統一要理問答，為此他委派一個由神學教授和傳道人（包含腓德烈自己）組成的的團隊來草擬一份新的要理問答。雖然這份問答真的是團隊的成果（包括俄利維亞努[Caspar
Olevianus]，他在過去被認為是這個問答的合著者，如今卻只被視為這個委員會中的一個寶貴成員），但是主要作者毫無疑問就是烏爾西努（Zacharius
Ursinus）。
In 1562, Elector Frederick III of
the Palatinate, a princely state of the Holy Roman Empire (think Germany),
ordered the preparation of a new catechism for his territory. A new catechism
would serve three purposes: (1) as a tool for teaching children, (2) as a guide
for preachers, and (3) as a form for confessional unity among the Protestant
factions in the Palatinate. Frederick wanted a unifying catechism that avoided
theological labels and was plainly rooted in the texts of Scripture. To that
end, he commissioned a team of theological professors and ministers (along with
Frederick himself) to draft a new catechism. Although the catechism was truly a
team effort (including Caspar Olevianus who used to be considered a co-author
of the catechism, but now is seen as simply one valuable member of the
committee), there is little doubt the chief author was Zacharias Ursinus.
烏爾西努是海德堡大學的教授，在1534年7月18日出生於今日的波蘭，那時還是奧地利的一部份。烏爾西努是海德堡要理問答的主建築師，許多的問答是根據他自己的小要理問答，也有一小部分是根據他的大要理問答。海德堡要理問答反映了烏爾西努的神學認信（受加爾文主義影響的堅定的抗羅宗），以及他熱情的、愛爾蘭精神。
Ursinus, a professor at the
university in Heidelberg, was born on July 18, 1534, in what is today Poland
but at that time was part of Austria. Ursinus was the chief architect of the
Heidelberg Catechism, basing many of the questions and answers on his own
Shorter Catechism, and to a lesser extent, his Larger Catechism. The Heidelberg
Catechism reflects Ursinus’s theological convictions (firmly Protestant with
Calvinist influence) and his warm, irenic spirit.
這份新的要理問答於1563年1月19日在海德堡（普法爾茨的首府）首次發行，同年歷經幾次的修訂。這份問答很快地被翻譯成拉丁文和荷蘭語，之後又很快被翻成法文和英文。除了聖經、約翰本仁的《天路歷程》和多瑪斯．金碧士的《效法基督》之外，海德堡要理問答是世界上最廣為流傳的書。自從它在1563年出版以來，海德堡要理問答已經被翻譯成數十種語言，並且被廣泛讚譽為最敬虔、最受人喜愛的改教運動的要理問答。
This new catechism was first
published in Heidelberg (the leading city of the Palatinate) on January 19,
1563, going through several revisions that same year. The Catechism was quickly
translated into Latin and Dutch, and soon after into French and English.
Besides the Bible, John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, and Thomas a Kempis’s
Imitation of Christ, the Heidelberg Catechsim is the most widely circulated
book in the world. Since its publication in 1563, the Heidelberg Catechism has
been used in scores of languages and widely praised as the most devotional,
most loved catechism of the Reformation.
一位老友
An Old Friend
不是每一個人都像我那樣熱衷於要理問答。對某些人來說，要理問答太過於平白直敘、太系統化、太多前提假設。對其他人來說，這個要理問答的口碑很差，無論公平不公平，我們唯一聽過關於要理問答教導的故事就是那個叫「老Domine
Vander誰誰誰……」的故事，他威脅說，如果我們不記得神在第八條誡命要求我們什麼，就要打我們的屁股和大腿。
Not everyone is as keen on
catechism as I am. For some, catechisms are too linear, too systematic, too
propositional. For others, the catechism gets a bad rap because, fairly or
unfairly, the only stories that we hear about catechetical instruction are the
stories of old Domine Vander SoAndSo who threatened to smite us hip and thigh
if we couldn’t remember what God required of us in the eighth commandment.
更常見的情況是，根本沒有人要試著去讀要理問答，因為它們據說是有關神學的，而神學據說是很無聊的，而且像「海德堡」或「西敏」這樣的字眼，甚至更加無聊。（順道說，我從來不是一個時髦的主日學課程的粉絲，試著假裝要理問答不是關於聖經問答的其他東西。你可以把它叫做「與上帝從普法爾茨出發的旅程」或「海德堡真理火箭」，但它仍然是一個要理問答，而且我們的孩子們心知肚明。）
More often, catechisms simply never
get tried because they are said to be about theology and theology is said to be
boring and words like “Heidelberg” and “Westminster” are even more boring.
(Incidentally, I have never been a fan of snazzy Sunday school curriculum that
tries to pretend that a catechism is something other than questions and answers
about the Bible. You can call it “Journeys with God from the Palatinate” or
“Heidelberg Truth Rockets” but it’s still a catechism and our kids know it.)
可是即使有那麼多不好的評論，我仍然是要理問答的堅定相信者，特別是像西敏或海德堡這種最好的。我永遠不會忘記，在我的福音派的、非荷蘭的、無宗派的神學院裡，坐在我的「基督徒教育」班上的那一幕。我們的指定閱讀，其中一本就是海德堡要理問答——這本會不斷成長的小書，對那些眼高於頂、不知天高地厚（原文直譯是：老是翻白眼到他們小腦袋瓜後頭）的學生來說，通常是很好的書。但我神學院的同學們對這部小作品感到非常驚訝：「他們以前為什麼從來沒有見過這本書？」「這會是主日學最好的教材！」「我要用這個給教會新會員的上課！」我所認識的大部分的荷蘭改革宗教會的小孩，都已經作好心理準備，要看見海德堡要理問答即將從世上絕跡。但是在神學院裏，我的同學看到了許多和我同輩的人所錯過的：海德堡要理問答真的、真的很棒。
But even with all this bad press, I
am firm believer in catechisms, especially the best ones like Westminster or
Heidelberg. I’ll never forget sitting in my Christian Education class at my
evangelical, non-Dutch, non-denominational seminary. One of our assigned texts
was the Heidelberg Catechism—this little book that growing up was usually good
for rolling the eyes of students into the backs of their little heads. But my
fellow students at seminary marveled at this piece of work. “Where has this
been all their lives?” “This will be perfect for Sunday school!” “I’m going to
use this for new member’s classes!” Most of the Dutch Reformed kids I knew were
ready to see the Heidelberg Catechism go the way of the dodo bird. But at
seminary, my classmates were seeing something many of my peers had missed: the
Heidelberg Catechism is really, really good.
生日快樂！老朋友！願你在未來的歲月中結交到許多新朋友！
Happy birthday, old friend. May you
make many new friends in the years ahead.