神的無所不知   The Omniscience of God 

作者: 史鮑爾 (R.C. Sproul) 译者: 姚錦榮

摘自《神學入門》《Essential Truths of the Christian Faith》P41 ,更新傳道會出版

我第一次接觸到無所不知這個觀念，是與童年時代的聖誕老人有關。家人告訴我，聖誕老人「有一份完整的送禮名單，且不停地一再核對」。我也相信復活節才出現的小神仙平時是住在我們家的閣樓上，常在暗中觀察我的一舉一動。

無所不知（ omniscience) 就是「擁有所有的（omni) 知識(science) 」之意，這個名詞只能用在神的身上。只有具無限且永恒實存的神，才能知道一切的事。有限的受造物，其知識是受到有限實存的限制的。

神是無限的，因此能知道、能明白、也能理解一切的事。祂不用學習或汲取甚麽新的知識。對未來、過去和現在，神都一摡全知道，沒有任何事的發生會使神驚訝。

由於神的知識遠超過我們（屬另一更高的層面），所以有些基督徒認為，神的思想與我們的，在本質上截然不同。比方說，就有不少基督徒認為，神的邏輯與我們的不同。這種看法使我們可以將一些神學難題自圓其說，當我們在思想上陷入兩種對立的局面時，我們推說神是運用不同邏輯，這個講法的確可以抒解矛盾的張力。我們只需輕松地說一句：「在我們來說這是矛盾，但在神看來卻不是」，好像就可以把問題給解決了。

可是這樣的推理是基督教的致命傷。為什麽呢？如果說，神運用的是另一種邏輯，對我們來說是矛盾的事，對神卻可能是合乎邏輯的，那麽，聖經中就沒有一句話是我們可以相信的了。因為凡聖經所說的，對神來說也有可能是完全相反的意思---------善與惡可能不是對立的，敵基督可能就是基督！

因為神有超越的知識，所以祂能夠解決那些困擾我們的奧秘。但這𥚃所指的是，神知識的水平與我們不同，而不是神邏輯的本質與我們不同。神是理性的神，祂不能夠容納矛盾。

神的無所不知是來自祂的無所不能。神並非運用了超越的智慧，對全宇宙和萬物加以冷靜研究之後才變得全知，神知道萬物乃是因為神創造萬物，命定萬物，並以宇宙至高統治者的身分管理全宇宙。雖然有些神學家嘗試將神的這兩種身分區分開來，但事實上，神不可能知道萬物卻又管治不了萬物，祂也不可能管治萬物卻是不知道萬物的。無所不知和無所不能像神一切其他的屬性一樣，二者互相依存，是一體的兩面。

神對萬物的知識是一把兩刃的利劍，對信徒來說，這是一種保障---------一切都在神的管治之下，神知道一切，祂也不會被那些困擾我們的問題所困擾。但是對不信的人來說，這教義道出了人不能向神隱藏自己的事實。人的罪惡必然顯露出來，正如亞當犯罪之後想向神隱藏自己，但在宇宙間沒有一個角落是神的目光--------無論是忿怒的、是慈愛的-------不能達到的。

神的無所不知對於神應許將在世上施行公義來說，也是一個關鍵真理。一個法官要想作出一份完全的判決，他必須先知道一切的事實。而在神的視察下，沒有任何證據能夠隱藏，若有什麽可使人的罪行減輕的，祂也是一目了然的。

總結

1. 無所不知就是「全知」的意思。

2. 只有無限的實存才擁有無限的知識。

3. 神擁有比受造物更高水平的知識，但是神與受造物的知識屬於同一種邏輯的秩序。

4. 誤以為神用的是另一種邏輯，這種講法對基督教是致命傷。

5. 神的無所不知建基在祂無限和無所不能的屬性上。

6. 神的無所不知對於神作世界的審判者來說，是非常重要的。

思考經文

詩一四七5；結十一5；徒十五18；羅十一33-36；來四13

15. THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD

My first exposure to the concept of omniscience was linked to my

childhood understanding of Santa Claus. I was told that he was “making a list and checking it twice.” I also thought the Easter Bunny lived in our attic (in the off-season) where he could invisibly keep his eye on me.

The word omniscience means “to have all (omni) knowledge (science).” It is a term that is properly applied to God alone. Only a being that is infinite and eternal is capable of knowing everything. The knowledge of a finite creature is always limited by a finite being.

God, being infinite, is able to be aware of all things, to understand all

things, and to comprehend all things. He never learns anything or acquires new knowledge. The future as well as the past and present are completely known by Him. He is surprised by nothing.

Because God’s knowledge far exceeds our knowledge (it is of a higher sort), some Christians believe that His thinking differs radically in kind

from ours. For example, it has become commonplace for Christians to

assert that God operates with a different form of logic than ours. This

concept is convenient when we run into snags in our theology. If we find ourselves affirming both poles of a contradiction, we can alleviate our tension by appealing to God’s different order of logic. We can say with ease, “This may all be contradictory to us, but it isn’t in the mind of God.”

This kind of reasoning is fatal to Christianity. Why? If God in fact has a

different order of logic whereby what is contradictory to us is logical to

Him, then we have no reason to trust a single word of the Bible.

Whatever the Bible says to us could then mean its exact opposite to God. In God’s mind good and evil may not be opposites, and the Antichrist might really be Christ.

God’s superior knowledge allows Him to be able to resolve mysteries that baffle us. But that points to a difference of degree in God’s knowledge, not a difference in the kind of logic He uses. Because God is rational, even He cannot reconcile contradictions.

God’s omniscience also grows out of His omnipotence. God is not allknowing simply because He has applied His superior intellect to a soberstudy of the universe and all its contents. Rather, God knows all because He created all and He has willed all. As sovereign Ruler over the universe, God controls the universe. Though some theologians have tried to separate the two, it is impossible for God to know all without controlling all, and it is impossible for Him to control all without knowing all. Like all attributes of God, they are codependent, two necessary parts of the whole.

God’s omniscience, like His omnipotence and omnipresence, also relates to time. God’s knowledge is absolute in the sense that He is forever aware of all things. God’s intellect is different from ours in that He does not have to “access” information, like a computer might retrieve a file. All knowledge is always directly before God.

God’s knowledge of all things is a two-edged sword. For the believer the idea offers security—that God is in control, that He understands.

God is not puzzled by those problems that puzzle us. For the unbeliever, however, the doctrine highlights the fact that people cannot hide from God. Their sins are exposed. Like Adam, they seek to hide. However, there is no corner of the universe that God’s gaze, either in love or wrath, fails to reach.

The omniscience of God is also a crucial part of God’s promise to bring

about justice in the world. For a judge to render a perfectly just verdict he must first know all the facts. No evidence is hidden from the scrutiny of God. All mitigating circumstances are known to Him.

Summary

1. Omniscience means “all knowledge.”

2. Only an infinite Being can possess infinite knowledge.

3. God has a higher degree of knowledge than His creatures, but it is of the same logical order.

4. To attribute a different kind of logic to God is fatal to Christianity.

5. God’s omniscience is grounded in His infinity and His omnipotence.

6. God’s omniscience is crucial to His role as the Judge of the world.

Biblical passages for reflection:

Psalm 147:5

Ezekiel 11:5

Acts 15:18

Romans 11:33-36

Hebrews 4:13