兩國論與基督徒政治學：五把鑰匙The Two Kingdoms and ChristianPolitics: 5 Keys
作者：Caleb Smith 譯者: 駱鴻銘
很少話題像政治那樣具有爭議性。特別是對於基督徒來說，我們有時甚至會爭論我們應當怎麼作，甚至是否應該參與政治，正如我們在許多具體觀點上會爭論那樣。一些基督徒認為我們必須打一些政治上的戰役才能維護聖經。對於其他人來說，政治是一個邪惡帝國，上帝的所有兒女都不應該參與其中。有些人認為它會分散我們對大使命的注意力，而另一些人則認為它是大使命的一部分。美國在2016年大選期間，有許多分歧特別生動活潑。兩年後，許多基督徒仍然感到困惑。有什麼辦法可以往前進呢？
Few
topics are as controversial as politics. For Christians in particular, we
sometimes argue almost as much about how, or even whether, we should be
involved in politics as we do any specific views. Some Christians think that we
need to fight political battles to stand up for the Bible. To others, politics
is a demonic system that no child of God should have any part in. Some think
it’s a distraction from the Great Commission, while others think that it’s part
of the Great Commission. Many of these disagreements were especially vivid
during the 2016 election. Two years later, a lot of Christians are still
confused. Is there any way forward?
我認為沒有人可以直接回答所有的問題。但是，我確實相信一些基本原則。這些原則不會告訴我們究竟如何處理每一種情況，但它們會教導我們如何起步。我們在基督「兩個國度」（two kingdoms）的經典新教教義中找到了這些原則。我懷疑，如果我們只想忠於我們的政治見證，這些鑰匙將為我們打開一個智慧的世界。
I
don’t think anyone can directly answer everything. That said, I do believe in
some basic principles. These won’t tell us exactly how to handle every
situation, but they give us somewhere to start. We find these principles in the
classical Protestant doctrine of Christ’s two kingdoms. These keys, I suspect,
will unlock for us a world of wisdom, if we seek only to be faithful in our
political witness.
鑰匙1：基督以兩種方式統治
Key 1: Christ rules in two
ways
兩國論的教義有時候被稱為「兩政府論」（two governments；或譯：兩種治理方式），這是有充分理由的。它並不是關於基督統治的不同地方或領域，而是關於祂統治的方式。眾所周知，耶穌是主。父在天上和地上都賜給祂一切的權柄。但是這種權柄以兩種根本不同的方式顯明在我們身上。這些方式就是我們稱之為兩個政府或兩個國度的方式。
The
doctrine of the two kingdoms sometimes goes by the “two governments,” and this
is for good reason. It’s not really about different places or spheres in which
Christ rules, but about the ways He rules. For Jesus, as we all know, is Lord.
The Father has given Him all authority in heaven and on earth. But this
authority comes on us in two fundamentally different ways. These ways are what
we call the two governments, or two kingdoms.
一方面，藉著聖靈，耶穌永遠與我們同在。祂在我們裏面，我們在祂面前。所以我們所做的一切都會立刻出現在祂面前，在那裏祂可以判斷、指揮我們的良心，並且把一些義務放在我們的良心上。最終，祂是我們唯一必須對其負責的主。祂的權威足以推翻地上區區的法官、法庭、主教、牧師、執事或教會所宣告的任何判決。這是一種內向和無形的統治。它沒有中間人，而是直截了當地存在於基督徒和基督之間。我們在這裏的地位完全憑信心，與任何外在的東西無關，因為祂看透這一切，並審斷人心。這些都是對屬靈國度（spiritual kingdom）的描述。
On
one hand, by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is always present with us. He is within is,
and we are before Him. So everything we do is immediately in His presence,
where He can judge, command, and put obligations on our conscience. At the end
of it all, He is the only Lord to whom we are truly accountable. His authority
can overturn any judgment proclaimed by mere earthly judges, courts, bishops,
pastors, deacons, or churches. This is an inward and invisible kind of rule. It
has no mediator, but instead is directly between a Christian and Christ. Our
standing here is strictly by faith, apart from anything external, since He sees
through it all and judges the heart. All of this describes the spiritual
kingdom.
另一方面，耶穌也不在這裏。祂在天上作王，與可見的時空隔開。因此，在這個可見的領域內，耶穌也通過可見的人物來統治。祂允許父母、教師、牧師、君王和立法者，在我們的日常生活中代表祂的權威。路德把這些人物形容為基督所穿戴的「面具」（masks）。他們對生活中外在、可見的問題揮舞權柄。只有耶穌自己的目光可以刺穿你的心，看到它的信賴或背叛，但是地上的權柄可以確保，無論我們的心態如何，我們都不會惹出太大的麻煩。他們可能（應該？）想要並企圖把你的心推向正確的方向，但他們的權威本身只是外在的。他們的命令或教導都沒有來自耶穌的命令或教導的全部力量，所以祂仍然是最後的裁判官。這些權柄就構成了世俗國度（temporal kingdom）。
On
the other hand, Jesus also is away. He reigns in heaven, separated from our
visible time and space. So, within this visible realm, Jesus also rules through
visible figures. He allows parents, teachers, pastors, kings, and legislators
to represent His authority in our daily lives. Luther described these figures
as “masks” which Christ wears. They wield authority over the outward and
visible matters of life. Only Jesus’ own gaze can pierce your heart and see its
trust or rebellion, but earthly authorities can make sure that, whatever the
state of our hearts, we don’t cause much trouble. They might (should?) want and
try to push your heart in the right direction, but their authority itself is
only external. None of their commands or teachings have the full force of those
from Jesus, so He remains a final appeal. These authorities, then, make up the
temporal kingdom.
鑰匙2：世俗國度是有限的
Key 2: The temporal kingdom is
limited
當我們談到永恆時，最重要的是我們在上帝面前的地位。你會記得，這是屬靈國度的問題。除了耶穌之外，沒有人有最後的發言權，祂的判決會貫穿外在有形的一切事物，直達內心深處。任何世俗的權柄對以下這個最終極的問題都無能為力：你是否與上帝和好了？它們既不能決定上帝如何看待你，也不能決定你如何看待上帝。
When
it comes down to eternity, what matters is our standing before God. This, as
you will remember, is a matter of the spiritual kingdom. No one but Jesus has
the final say, and His verdict cuts through everything visible to the depths of
the heart. No earthly authorities have any power over the ultimate question:
are you in the right with God? They can decide neither how God regards you nor
how you regard God.
正因為如此，世俗國度的掌權者，其直接的影響力僅限於地上的事物，即今生之事。政府不能（即：不可能）利用其權力阻止你恨你的兄弟，但警察可以限制你結束他在世上的生命。牧師無法用教會懲戒把自私、淫蕩的心轉變成純淨的心，但他可以阻止一個好色之徒來到聖餐桌前，不讓他領聖餐。當然，牧師可能會想要幫助這樣的人成為清心的人，但他的權柄無法使這件事發生。他只能把聖經的真理帶給他，然後就是這人和耶穌之間的事了。
Because
of this, the direct effects of authorities in the temporal kingdom are limited
to earthly matters, the stuff of this life. The government cannot (i.e. it’s
not possible) use its power to stop you from hating your brother, but a cop can
restrain you from ending his earthly life. A pastor can’t use church discipline
to bend a selfish, lustful heart into a pure one, but he can keep a womanizer
from the Communion table. Now, the pastor may want to help such a man become
pure in heart, but his authority can’t make it happen. He can only serve the truth
of the Word, and then it is between the man and Jesus.
除了能力有限外，世俗國度裏的掌權者，其權柄是有限的。既然他們無法知道、也無法做任何重要的事，他們就不能直接站在耶穌面前。他們只能代表祂到一定的程度。除了重覆基督的命令之外，他們不能提出絕對的要求。他們的判斷並非是無可質疑的，因為耶穌可以推翻他們的判斷。除了神自己所啟示的話之外，他們不能說某些信念和行動會使你上天堂或下地獄。簡而言之，他們無法捆綁你的良心。只有上帝能做到這一點。
In addition
to limited ability, the authorities in the temporal kingdom have limited
authority. Since they cannot know and cannot do everything that matters, they
cannot stand directly for Jesus. They only represent Him up to a point. They
can’t make absolute demands except to repeat those of Christ. Their judgments
are not unquestionable, since Jesus can overturn them. They cannot say, beyond
what God Himself has revealed, that certain beliefs and actions will send you
to heaven or hell. In short, they cannot bind your conscience. Only God can do
that.
鑰匙3：政治在人類（和基督徒）生活中具有合法的地位
Key 3: Politics has a
legitimate place in human (and Christian) life
在上述的基礎上，我們可以討論政治在基督徒生活中的地位。首先，很重要的是要定義什麼是「政治」。許多基督徒（和其他人）對政治一開始就有錯誤的看法，因為他們並不明白政治真正的內涵。政治來自希臘文「politika」，它又來自城邦（polis）或「城市」（city）。Politika單純是指城市的商業，而城市可以廣泛地指代任何社區或群體。
Building
on what we have already seen, we can work on the place of politics in the
Christian life. First, it’s important to define “politics.” A lot of Christians
(and other people) start off wrong about politics because they don’t get what
it really is at heart. Politics comes from the Greek word politika, which in
turn comes from polis, or “city.” Politika simply means the business of the
polis, and polis can be broad enough to refer to any community or group of
people.
所以，基本上，引用維基百科，「政治是制定適用於團體成員的決策過程。」
So,
basically, to quote Wikipedia, “Politics is the process of making decisions
that apply to members of a group.”
政治基本上是一個家庭坐下來談論財務、家務和日常行程時所做的事的放大版。政治是許多家庭處理他們共同的業務，而不是單獨一個家庭處理其業務。有些路需要修補，有些罪行需要懲罰，或者是有令人餓死的饑荒需要處理。生活中的事不止影響一個家庭。政治只是用來描述處理這些事的名詞。
Politics
is basically a bigger version of what a family does when they sit down to talk
finances, chores, and schedules. Instead of one household handling its
business, many households are working on their shared business. There can be
roads that need repairs, crime that needs to be punished, or a famine that’s
causing starvation. Some things in life affect more than one household.
Politics is just a word for handling them.
基於這個定義，基督徒顯然需要參與政治。這並不意味著我們必須跳到各式各樣的政治活動裏，但每個基督徒家庭都應該為了每個人的利益而共同努力。如果我們在任何影響鄰舍的問題上置身事外，我們就無法愛他們。即使我們決定不參加全國大選（舉例來說），我們也應該竭盡所能去幫助我們每天看到的人，他們的生活會受到社區裏發生的事的影響。
Given
this definition, Christians obviously need to do politics. This doesn’t mean we
must jump in to every kind of politics, but every Christian household should
work together their neighbors for everyone’s benefit. We can’t love our
neighbors if we stay out of any issue that affect lots of them at once. Even if
we decided to sit out, say, a national election, we should do what we can to
help the people we see every day whose lives are affected by community
happenings.
鑰匙4：政治只能用於有限的目標
Key 4: Politics can only serve
limited goals
瞭解世俗國度的本質應該有助於我們認識到，政治的合法角色也是非常有限的。政治完全是屬於世俗國度的問題。它是為了今生，為了地上的正義、秩序和維持而存在的。政府的權力純粹是外在的，是刀劍的權柄，因此它只能用於外在的目的。
Understanding
the nature of the temporal kingdom should help us realize that politics’
legitimate role is also a highly limited one. Politics is entirely a matter of
the temporal kingdom. It exists for the sake of this life, for earthly justice,
order, and sustenance. The power of government is purely external, the power of
the sword, and it as such it can only serve external purposes.
這應該會澄清一些問題。當人們主張教會與國家應當分離的時候，或者指出他們不會也不應該藉由政治來推進上帝的國度時，他們是有道理的。政治無法改變人心。你不能通過法律和懲罰把信仰強加給人。因此，我們甚至不應該認為把政治用在傳福音上是合理的，或者認為政治活動可以直接用來為福音服務。上帝國度的權柄是聖道和聖靈的權柄，而不是刀劍的權柄。
This
should give us some clarity. When people argue for a separation of church and
state, or point out that they don’t/shouldn’t advance the kingdom of God
through politics, they have a point. Politics can’t change hearts. You cannot
coerce faith by law and punishment. So we should not even think it makes sense
to use politics for evangelism, or think that political activity can directly
serve the Gospel. The power of the kingdom of God is the power of Word and Spirit,
not the sword.
但是這並不是說政治是沒有用的，或者與福音工作是對立的。絕對不是這樣！政治可以通過堅持它的實際作用，間接地為福音服務：保持人類社會的良好狀態。混亂、無政府狀態、犯罪，貧困、飢餓等等都是問題。它們會阻撓上帝賦予我們的任務，諸如文化使命和大使命。它們是造成苦難的原因，而基督徒的愛和憐憫會要求我們減輕苦難。這些問題往往涉及由某個人對別人犯罪而造成的苦難，在這種情況下，公義也會要求使用政府的刀劍來懲罰罪犯。
But
this doesn’t mean politics is useless or opposed to Gospel work. By no means!
Politics can serve the Gospel in an indirect way by sticking to its actual use:
keeping human society in decent shape. Chaos, anarchy, crime, poverty,
starvation, and the like are problems. They are obstacles to the tasks God has
given us, like the cultural mandate and the Great Commission. And they are
causes of suffering, which Christian love and mercy demand that we alleviate.
Often they involve suffering caused by some person sinning against another, in
which case justice also demands that the sword of government be used against
the offender.
鑰匙5：基督教解釋了實現世俗利益的最佳方法
Key 5: Christianity explains
the best ways to achieve earthly good
所以，考慮到這一點，為了地上的好處而使用政治是好的。你可能會懷疑這種說法是在支持要嚴格地把宗教與政治分開，但那會是一個錯誤。因為，即使只是在地上的層面，關於甚麼才是對人類繁榮有益的東西，不同的人會有不同的看法。其中有許多看法都是錯誤的。
So,
with this in mind, politics is good to use for the sake of earthly goods. You
might suspect that this supports a strict separation of religion from politics,
but that would be a mistake. See, even just on the earthly level, different
people have different ideas about what is good for human flourishing. Many of
these are simply wrong.
設想，任何人都可以勤奮地研究人性和我們在受造界中的地位，來瞭解對於人類在地上的生活來說，甚麼是最有利的事。這之所以可能，就是因為幾乎所有的文化對大多數基礎知識都有一致的看法。但是，因著罪惡和我們有限的思想，每個人和每一種文化對甚麼才是最好的，都會有一些錯誤的看法。有些人的看法則是大錯特錯的。而在政治上對這件事有錯誤的看法，就好像一個外科醫生，對一個健康的人體看起來是甚麼樣子，有非常混亂的認知一樣。它只能帶來災難。
Hypothetically,
anyone can know most of what is best for a human person with respect to our
earthly lives by diligently studying human nature and our place in creation.
This being possible at all is why almost all cultures agree on most of the
basics. But, because of sin and our finite minds, every person and every
culture gets some of it wrong. Some get a lot wrong. And getting this wrong in
politics is like a surgeon with a confused picture of what a healthy human body
looks like. It can only lead to disaster.
身為基督徒，我們有一些「特長」可以貢獻。我們有特殊啟示：聖經。關於人性和甚麼才是對我們有益的事物，聖經裏有無謬無誤的教導（聖經也教導了其他的事）。這包括我們在地上的好處，和在天上的好處。雖然我們理論上可以通過理性，認識到幾乎所有關於地上好處的事物，但是聖經製作了一個無可挑剔的「備忘錄」（cheat sheet）。例如，對於習慣於現代思維方式的人來說，僅僅憑著理性要發現我們為甚麼必須把性愛限制在永久的、異性戀的婚姻當中，可能會很困難，但聖經保證了這一點。我們可以通過合理地研究人性來學習同樣的事情，但是聖經事先就告訴我們了。因此，我們有來自人性的建築師所作的值得信賴的陳述。
This
is where, as Christians, we have something “special” to contribute. We have
special revelation, the Scriptures. Scripture contains, among other things,
infallible teachings about human nature and what is good for us. This includes
our earthly good as much as it does heaven. And while we could theoretically
learn nearly everything about our earthly good by reason, Scripture makes an
impeccable “cheat sheet.” It may be hard, for example, for people accustomed to
modern ways of thinking to discover by reason alone why we should limit sex to
permanent, heterosexual marriage, but Scripture assures us that this is the
case. We could learn the same thing by rationally studying human nature, but
Scripture tells us in advance. Thus we have a trustworthy statement from the
Architect of human nature.
如此，結論就是，基督徒可以毫不羞愧地訴諸於我們從聖經中學到的關於人性的客觀真理。（更不用說基於聖經和理性的基督教傳統中，大量先進的社會和政治思想。）我們可以利用這個真理，來幫助我們以實際有益於鄰舍的方式去參與政治。如果我們只把這個任務留給教會以外的人，或者把神聖啟示留在教會的大門以內，那麼政府就只能成為盲目的嚮導。儘管他們對身體的運作方式或健康狀況有嚴重誤解，卻仍然企圖要對社會這個身體進行手術。
The
conclusion of this, then, is that Christians can unashamedly appeal to
objective truth about human nature which we have learned from Scripture. (Not
to mention the large body of developed social and political thought in the
Christian tradition based on Scripture and reason.) We can use this truth for
helping us do politics in way that will actually benefit our neighbors. If we
leave this task only to people outside the Church, or check what we know from
divine revelation at the door, then governments can only be blind guides. They
try to operate on the body that is society despite serious misunderstandings of
how that body works or what it looks like in good health.
結論
Conclusion
我們從這裏實際上學到的，其實非常簡單。政治是必要的工作，甚至可以是好的工作。它的能力和用途也是有限的。政治可以、而且應該服務於和正義、秩序、鄰舍整體福祉有關的世俗需要上。既然我們的鄰居需要這些東西，我們身為基督徒就應該愛他們。我們不該認為這樣做是一種傳福音的工作。我們也不該把它和藉著聖靈的能力傳揚聖道的福音工作混為一談。但僅僅因為時間上的考量, 我們可以利用我們關於人性的特許知識, 更好地使今生的事務保持在健康的狀態下, 僅僅是因為我們的鄰居需要我們這樣做。
The
practical takeaway from this is actually pretty simple. Politics is a necessary
work, and even can be a good one. It is also limited in power and purpose.
Politics can and should serve earthly needs related to justice, order, and the
overall well-being of our neighbors. Since our neighbors need these things, we
as Christians should serve them in love. We can’t think that doing this is a
kind of evangelism. Nor can we confuse it with the Gospel work of proclaiming
the Word in the power of the Spirit. But for merely temporal concerns, we can
use our privileged knowledge about human nature to do a better job keeping the
affairs of this life in shape, simply because our neighbors need us to.
參看：
論巴文克思想中的自然法和兩個國度
作者：Nelson Kloosterman
駱鴻銘譯自：“Natural Law and the
Two Kingdoms in the Thought of Herman Bavinck”, in Kingdoms Apart: Engaging the Two Kingdoms
Perspective, edited by Ryan C. McIlhenny. Philipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2012。
