「神學的目的就是頌讚之道」：悼念恩師巴刻"THEPURPOSE OF THEOLOGY IS DOXOLOGY": A TRIBUTE TO J.I. PACKER
文/Shao Kai 「Alex」 Tseng（曾劭愷）
本文系合並Frank譯自SOLA Network網站：「The Purpose of Theology is Doxology」: A Tribute to J. I. Packer
文章與作者本人發表於《恩福雜誌》同名文章而來，福音聯盟蒙允翻譯與轉載。
東亞文化視師徒關係形同父母兒女，正所謂一日爲師，終身爲父。歐洲傳統文化其實也有類似的觀念，譬如德國人稱博士導師爲博父（Doktorvater，德語中的「博士生導師」，由德語中的「博士」和「父親」合並而成，類似於英文中的doctor-father——譯註）。我在北美長大，通常對於這種觀念較爲缺乏認同感，甚至在理性上認爲這種情感上的鏈接踰越了恰當的職業關係。對於英國人來說，這種情感更是只能放在心中，不能表達出來。然而在我心目中的巴刻博士是極少數能視之如父的人物之一——儘管我從未直接向後來成爲我導師的這位英格蘭人表達過這些情感。
我第一次遇見巴刻博士是在溫哥華的奧芬劇院（Orpheum
Theatre），那時我還只是一位大學生，但對他仰慕已久。當我在演出結束後望見他在劇院門口，難已激動之情（那晚演出的指揮碰巧是我的朋友林望傑Jahja Ling，他也是主基督忠心的僕人），就跑到後臺一把抓住林望傑，告訴他巴刻來參加音樂會了！林望傑因爲剛剛投入到《勃拉姆斯第四交響樂》（Brahms’s
Fourth Symphony）的精彩演出中而面色疲憊，且佈滿了汗水，但他一聽到我說的話，就立馬精神了起來，徑直跑到了前門。我們在人行道那裡趕上了巴刻博士，又蹦又跳高興得像個小孩子（這樣說一點都不誇張）。
最後一次見到巴刻教授，是在他的教會，那時我還在讀博士。本來是想要趁返回溫哥華的時候去看看他，也確實遠遠見到了他，卻沒有跟他打招呼。我擔心自己跟他重逢，會在這位內斂的英國老人家面前掩飾不住超越文化界線的情感。那天我坐在教會後排，遠遠望著他坐在對面的前排，見他以耄耋之齡，剛動完髖關節置換手術，拖著衰殘的身體，抖擻著精神，來到教會崇拜主，我臉上兩行淚怔怔流下。
看著老教授全神貫注在敬拜當中，我內心浮現了初次踏入巴刻講堂的場景。那天早晨，全班同學都提早抵達教室，全場鴉雀無聲，等候大師到來。巴刻教授準時進入了教室，站定後用他那儒雅而堅定的語氣說道：「在這間學院，你們大概都聽過一些『巴刻箴言』。可能已經有人對你們說過，『神學的目的就是頌讚之道』（"The purpose of theology is doxology"）。如果你在這所學院待了夠長時間，你或許會知道，每一堂巴刻的課堂，都以《三一頌》開始。」
恩師的歌聲十分洪亮，但聽過他唱歌的人大概就能明白，爲什麼麥葛福（Alister McGrath）教授在傳記中暗示，巴刻教授年輕時意圖成爲爵士樂手的夢想並非基於可靠的自知之明。然而，在一種相當獨特的意義上，他的歌聲可謂天籟：這位老神學家窮盡一生智慧，思想神的榮耀，用筆墨、言行，以及生命的每個氣息來敬拜神，以致他的歌聲似乎打開了一扇窗，讓我們一窺天上聖徒如何不分晝夜地敬拜主。
當年課堂上，恩師展現了一項奇能，令學生歎爲觀止。老人家身體疲倦，經常在學生報告及討論的時候打瞌睡，然而學生發言完畢後，他的點評卻似從頭到尾一直認真聆聽，甚至好像做了詳細的筆記，也知道討論的時候每個人都說過些什麼。我不確定他是否知道我們對此奇景津津樂道，但他也不吝主動告訴我們他的祕密：「咖啡是上帝的恩賜。它使你的心思保持清醒。」然而，恩師也說，到了他那年紀，身體很容易疲憊，不由自主地打盹，他甚至謙卑地說，他希望我們不要介意。
我在維真學院求學時，恩師已經卸下教職，但他經常強調，他從未退休。他並非「不服老」，他在晚年著作《榮耀神的夕陽》（Finishing our Course with Joy）中提出，基督徒必須接受年老體衰的狀態爲上帝在人生最後階段的呼召：「我只能說，當一個人心智與身體的能力衰退時，他對於自己可以作什麼──應當作什麼──以達成其呼召的理解，也應當以『我無法再從事這工作了』的認知爲基礎而有所調整。而基督教的現實主義在此就顯出它的重要性了。神不會呼召我們去作我們已經不再有能力去作的事。」
然而，恩師也在書中強調，老年退休這概念對於聖經而言是全然陌生的。聖經用各種異象將基督徒的一生描繪爲旅程、賽道，而「奔跑的異象是保羅理解他自己生命的中心，我也力主這是所有年長基督徒心思與心靈的主要焦點，當他認識並感覺自己的身體正逐漸遲緩。我們所面對的挑戰就是不讓這事實使我們在屬靈上也慢下來，而是培養最大的熱忱，在我們地上生活的最後階段」仍然直奔標竿。這也是爲什麼，恩師垂暮之年一度因眼疾而暫停授課，但當他奇妙地因主恩典恢復視力時，又重新開始開課講學了。
理查德. 巴克斯特（Richard Baxter）《聖徒永恆的安息》（The Saint's
Everlasting Rest）一書，是恩師生前最喜愛的著作之一。巴克斯特是一位清教徒牧師，在英國內戰時曾出任軍牧，目睹許多年輕的士兵在戰場上慘死。他壯年時痛失愛妻，自己又一生體弱多病，數次瀕臨死亡邊緣。他隨時作好了準備，迎接自己的死亡。《聖徒永恆的安息》原是他爲自己的追思禮拜所預備的講章，但他屢次瀕臨死亡時都活了下來，最後以76歲高壽辭世，於是他這篇講章愈寫愈長，就成了一本書。巴刻博士的寫作方式力求不單單「將正統神學付諸筆墨」，也要「鑑查讀者的心」。對巴刻博士而言，巴克斯特的文字是這種寫作的最佳榜樣；而巴克斯特爲自己葬禮預備的講章見證出的盼望又是何等親切。
論及基督徒面臨死亡時的盼望，恩師生前最愛的一段文字出自清教徒作家本仁約翰（John Bunyan）《天路歷程》中的「堅定先生」（Mr. Standfast）：「這條河對許多人來說是恐怖的；的確，想到它的時候，我也經常會害怕... 。這裡的河水對於舌頭如此苦澀，對於肚腹如此冰冷；但當我想到我所要去的地方，以及彼岸等候我的眾聖徒，這念頭就像炙熱的火碳放在我的心中。」
就像他生前鍾愛的清教徒先賢一樣，恩師隨時作好了面對死亡的準備。他生前極少使用強烈的言語，但他卻不留情面地批評當代基督教的一大異端信念，就是人們不該死。他在課堂上曾經提到一位與他年齡相仿的基督徒，七十多歲時失去了九十多歲的母親。這位年長姊妹對恩師說，她無法理解慈愛的上帝爲何會讓她母親死去，因此她決定拋棄信仰。提及此事時，恩師難得地對當代教會表現出憤怒的情緒。他以巴克斯特爲榜樣，視自己爲「垂死之人，對垂死之人傳道」（"a
dying man preaching to dying men"）。
現在他已經安息主懷，我回想他的生活和服侍，以及我個人與他的相遇，情不自禁地想起這個宣告：「在耶和華眼中，看聖民之死極爲寶貴。」（詩116:15）至於我，我已迫不及待地想要目睹和聽見巴刻博士現在向我們的三一真神所唱的新歌。
注：「doxology」原意是對神的頌讚或讚美詩，碰巧也是詩歌《三一頌》的英文名；而按詞源學而言，可以理解爲「讚美學」或「崇拜之道」。對巴刻而言，神學乃是在神與一切被造物的關係中研究神（「Theology is the study of God in relation to everything
that is not God.」），所以關乎我們在這世界中生活涉及的一切事物，而基督徒最高的智慧正是在所有生活細節上都榮耀神和享受神，這就是「頌讚之道」。簡而言之，神學就是爲了敬拜神。
"THE
PURPOSE OF THEOLOGY IS DOXOLOGY": A TRIBUTE TO J.I. PACKER
SHAO
KAI “ALEX” TSENG | JULY 21, 2020
In
East Asian traditions, the relation of pupils to their masters is often
described in filial terms. It’s like how doctoral students in Germany would
look up to their supervisors as “Doktorväter” (doctor-fathers). Dr. Packer was
one of very few such fatherly figures to my Asian-Canadian mind — though I
never expressed these feelings directly to the Englishman, who became my
mentor.
The
first time I saw Dr. Packer was at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, B.C., when
I was still an undergraduate student. I was already a huge fan, and when I saw
him at the doors after the concert, I was overwhelmed with excitement. The
conductor of the performance that evening happened to be my friend, Jahja Ling,
a faithful servant of our Lord Jesus. I went backstage and grabbed Jahja, telling
him that Packer had attended the concert. Jahja’s face, at first wearied and
covered in sweat after a splendid performance of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony,
suddenly brightened up. He literally ran to the front door. When we caught up
to Dr. Packer on the sidewalk, we started jumping up and down (not literally)
like little boys.
Dr.
Packer was still offering seminars when I began my M.Div. at Regent. The words
with which he began the first session of the semester have been sealed upon my
heart: “At this institution, you’ll probably have heard a number of ‘Packer
proverbs’. You may have been told, ‘The purpose of theology is doxology.’ Every
Packer class starts by singing doxology. So, let us stand up.”
From
the way he sang, I could see why Professor Alister McGrath would insinuate in
his biography that Dr. Packer’s early aspirations to becoming a jazz musician
was not built upon sound self-awareness. His musicality notwithstanding, Dr.
Packer’s voice was heavenly in the sense that he sang with a worshipful heart
that gave me a glimpse of the saints singing praises to the Lord face-to-face.
One
of the marvels in these seminars was how Dr. Packer would fall asleep during
student presentations, only to wake up afterward and comment on extremely fine
details of the papers, as if he had taken meticulous notes. I’m not sure if he
was aware that we were wondering about his ability to listen attentively while
in “napping mode,” but he told us his secret: “Coffee is a gift of God. It
keeps your mind awake.”
Among
Dr. Packer’s favorite books was Richard Baxter’s The Saint’s Everlasting Rest.
As many of us know, the way Dr. Packer writes is characterized by his urgency
to not only “set forth orthodoxy in ink,” but also to “search the heart” of the
reader. To Dr. Packer, Baxter’s opus was a prime example of this kind of
writing. The hope to which Baxter’s text attests in preparation of his own
funeral was dear to Dr. Packer’s heart.
Another
passage that Dr. Packer was exceptionally fond of is from Mr. Standfast in
Bunyan’s Pilgram: “This river has been a terror to many; yea, the thoughts of
it also have often frightened me… The waters indeed are to the palate bitter,
and to the stomach cold; yet the thoughts of what I am going to, and of the
convoy that waits for me on the other side, do lie as a glowing coal at my
heart.”
Like
his beloved Puritan predecessors, Dr. Packer was a man who was always ready to
come face-to-face with death. One of his deepest regrets about Christianity
today was the popular “heretical belief” among Christians, that “people
shouldn’t die.” He followed the example of Baxter and saw himself as a “dying
man preaching to dying men.”
Now
that he has gone to be with the Lord, I think back to his life and his
ministry, as well as my personal encounters with him, and I can’t stop thinking
of the proclamation, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his
saints” (Ps. 116:15). As for me, I can’t wait to see and listen for myself the
new doxology that Dr. Packer is now singing endlessly to our triune God.
