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2018-01-21

改教家如何看待伊斯兰教?How Did the Reformers View Islam?

作者Matthew Miller  译者:  Duncan Liang

宗教改革期间,伊斯兰教的推进是“新闻”大事。土耳其帝国的推进在16世纪中期达到高峰,在政治和军事方面威胁欧洲基督教王国。虽然欧洲军队在1529年维也纳城门外将土耳其人赶了回去,但伊斯兰势力已如此纵深进入这事实,在接下来几十年间让基督教欧洲“极其惊惶”。[1]因此,虽然改教家首要与罗马天主教会争战,但他们也不时关注伊斯兰教。改教家除了解释伊斯兰教的性质,还思想上帝要教会从“土耳其人”(当时与“穆斯林”是同义词)向外表作基督徒的人推进这件事上吸取什么教训。
During the Reformation, the advance of the Muslim religion was very much “in the news.” The advancing Turkish Ottoman Empire, which reached its height in the early to mid-sixteenth century, posed an unnerving political and military threat to European Christendom. Even though the armies of Europe turned back the Turks at the gates of Vienna in 1529, the fact that the forces of Islam had made it that far left Christian Europe “severely rattled” for decades to come.1 Thus, while primarily doing battle with the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformers also gave occasional attention to Islam. In addition to explaining the nature of Islam, the Reformers pondered what lessons God wanted the church to draw from the advance of “the Turks” (synonymous then with “Muslims”) upon an outwardly Christian people.

我们刚刚记念了宗教改革五百周年,发现自己被同样的问题困扰。看起来是时候问,改教家如何看待伊斯兰教?
As we’ve just recognized the five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, we find ourselves troubled by these same questions. It seems timely to ask, how did the Reformers view Islam?

伊斯兰教的性质
THE NATURE OF ISLAM

改教家并不认为伊斯兰教是世界其中一种大宗教”,与亚伯拉罕有关三大信仰之一。他们而是最主要把穆罕默德的教导看作是一种偏离基督教信仰的异端。
The Reformers did not consider Islam “one of the world’s great religions” or “one of the three Abrahamic faiths.” Rather, they predominantly thought of Muhammad’s teachings as a heretical deviation from Christianity.

  “异端”一词源自于希腊文,意思就是“挑选”,按此理解,一种基督教异端,就是不领受基督教整体信仰,而是挑选某些元素,牺牲其余元素。剩下来的,就是从基督教信仰中抽取,但已不再是基督教信仰的事情。教会历史上两种最有名的异端就是亚流派异端(这异端否认亘古三位一体),以及伯拉纠主义(这种异端否认原罪,教导人可以靠行为得救)。教会与异端的争战是一场持久战。
The word heresy comes from the Greek meaning “to pick, to choose,” and as such, a Christian heresy does not receive the Christian faith as a whole but rather selects certain elements at the expense of others. What’s left is something that has been extracted from Christianity but is no longer Christianity. Two of the most well-known heresies in church history are Arianism (a heresy that denies the eternal Trinity) and Pelagianism (a heresy that denies original sin and teaches salvation by works). The church’s struggle against heresy has been perennial.

伊斯兰教于第七世纪在一个曾受基督教影响的地区兴起声称保留了上帝在旧约和新约圣经原来的启示虽然伊斯兰教宣称基督教的圣经已经败坏。它也保留了一神论的认信以及相信灵魂不死。但它拒绝几样至关重要的基督教信仰元素主要就是三位一体和道成肉身的教义。换言之,它在基督教信仰里挑选,和众多异端的做法一样。
Arising in the seventh century in a region once influenced by Christianity, Islam purports to retain the original revelation of God given in the Old and New Testaments (though Islam claims that the Bible possessed by Christianity is corrupted). It also retains the confession of monotheism and a belief in the immortality of the soul. It rejects, however, several critical elements of Christianity, chiefly the doctrines of the Trinity and of the incarnation. In other words, it picks and chooses from among Christian beliefs, as heresies do.

因此,在伊斯兰教成立后不到一个世纪,那位叙利亚人,伟大的基督教神学家,大马士革的约翰把伊斯兰教归类为众多异端的一种。在约翰的《论异端》一书中,他最详细关注伊斯兰教,讲到穆罕穆德,“这人偶然读到旧约和新约圣经和相关书籍之后,似乎与一位亚流派(异端)修道士交往,发明了属于他自己的异端。”约翰凸显了极多关注点,包括(1)穆罕默德宣称领受了启示,却没有见证人;(2)穆斯林容许人娶超过一位妻子(最多四位);(3)他们容许丈夫轻易与妻子离婚。
Accordingly, writing less than a century after the founding of Islam, the great Christian theologian (and native of Syria) John of Damascus categorized Islam as one among many heresies. In his book Concerning Heresy, John gave his most extended attention to Islam, writing of Muhammad that “this man, after having chanced upon the Old and New Testament and likewise, it seems, having conversed with an Arian (heretical) monk, devised his own heresy.” John then highlights numerous points of concern, including that (a) the revelation Muhammad claimed to receive was received without witnesses; (b) Muslims allow men to take more than one wife (up to four); and (c) they allow men to divorce their wives easily.

12世纪,真福彼得(Peter the Venerable10921156)专注使用第一手资料研究伊斯兰教,甚至委托人将伊斯兰教的圣书完整译为优雅的拉丁文。彼得然后写书论述伊斯兰教,坚持认为它是一种基督教异端,一种已经如此偏离,接近异教的异端。[2]
In the twelfth century, Peter the Venerable (1092–1156) devoted himself to studying Islam in its original sources, even commissioning a complete translation of Islam’s sacred writings into elegant Latin. Peter then wrote about Islam and maintained that it was a Christian heresy, one that went so far afield as to approach paganism.2

到了十六世纪改教家的时候,我们看到慈运理在苏黎世的继任人布林格(15041575),他查考并广泛著述伊斯兰教,超过所有其他改教家。布林格也把伊斯兰教看作是由几种异端组成的一种异端——否认三位一体,否认基督中保赎罪的工作,以及断言人类可以靠行为得救,他把这一点与伯拉纠主义异端联系在一起。[3]布林格认为,穆罕默德宣称是上帝的先知,这就应验了耶稣在约翰福音5:43的教导:“我奉我父的名来,你们并不接待我;若有别人奉自己的名来,你们倒要接待他。[4]
As we come to the Reformers in the sixteenth century, we encounter Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575), Huldrych Zwingli’s successor in Zurich, who studied and wrote more extensively about Islam than any other Reformer. Bullinger also viewed Islam as a heresy composed of several heresies—the denial of the Trinity, the denial of Christ’s atoning work as mediator, and the affirmation that human beings can be saved by works, which he connected to the heresy of Pelagianism.3 Bullinger understood the claim that Muhammad was God’s prophet as fulfilling what Jesus taught in John 5:43: “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.”4

 我们有名的先辈加尔文又如何看待伊斯兰教?他在写于1550年的帖撒罗尼迦后书注释中简单提到了“土耳其人”,那是在讲解帖后2:3的地方。加尔文描写伊斯兰教是一种“背叛”,已经“广泛传播”,认为穆罕穆德的作品是“让跟从他的土耳其人离开基督”。结果就是,加尔文说伊斯兰教“用暴力将教会几乎一半撕裂抢走”。[5]
And what of our celebrated forebear John Calvin? In his commentary on 2 Thessalonians, written in 1550, Calvin briefly references “the Turks” when commenting on 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Describing Islam as a “defection” that has “spread more widely,” Calvin understands Muhammad’s work as that of “turn[ing] his followers, the Turks, from Christ.” Consequently, Calvin says that Islam “in its violence tore away about half of the Church.”5

加尔文描写伊斯兰教的影响时,也诊断了伊斯兰教神学错谬的根源。加尔文大力倡导唯独圣经,把这错谬归咎于他们错误的圣经论。虽然穆斯林表面持守旧约和新约圣经的启示,但他们承认另外的启示(就像今天的摩门教),因此他们“并不保守自己紧紧停留在圣经范围之内!”[6]
In describing its effects, Calvin also diagnoses the root theological error of Islam. Ever the champion of sola Scriptura, Calvin lays the blame at the feet of their faulty doctrine of Scripture. For though they ostensibly hold to revelation given in the Old and New Testaments, Muslims recognize additional revelation (in much the same way that Mormons do today), and thus they “keep not themselves fast enclosed within the bounds of Holy Scripture!”6

总结来说,改教家普遍认为伊斯兰教是一种基督教异端,选取了一些基督教信仰元素,拒绝其他元素,在真基督教信仰已被信仰和生活实质堕落遮蔽的地方扎根传播。那么改教家为当时的教会吸取了什么经验教训?
In summary, the Reformers broadly viewed Islam as a Christian heresy that, having selected some elements of Christianity and rejected others, took root and spread in areas where true Christianity had been eclipsed by substantial degeneration in faith and life. What lessons, then, did the Reformers draw for the church in their day?

给教会的教训
LESSONS FOR THE CHURCH

布林格观察说,伊斯兰教在历史上是在基督教信仰已经严重降格,脱离圣经规范的地方兴起。因此布林格认为,伊斯兰教实际上是上帝对基督教信仰整个地区邪恶生活的审判——他留意到,这就正如上帝在旧约圣经中使用外邦人(如非利士人、亚述人和巴比伦人)惩戒祂走偏路的百姓。[7]因此布林格祷告上帝让教会看到伊斯兰教的推进要求她作出两种回应:第一,为她自己的罪和失败悔改,第二,(相应)就是向穆斯林宣教的回应。[8]
Bullinger observes that Islam historically rises in those places where Christianity has severely degenerated from biblical norms. Accordingly, Bullinger suggests that Islam is actually God’s judgment on the evil lives of whole regions of Christianity—just as, he noted, God used foreign peoples (such as the Philistines, Assyrians, and Babylonians) to chasten His wayward people in the Old Testament.7 Thus, Bullinger prays that the church will see the advance of Islam as requiring two responses: first, the response of repentance for her own sins and failings, and second (and subsequently), the response of missions to the Muslim people.8

加尔文也把伊斯兰教看作是对各地基督徒发出的警告:“因此让我们认真留意,我们必须让自己持守纯正的信仰。”[9]这要从坚定委身圣经开始。加尔文在一篇根据约伯记所作的讲道中重申:“魔鬼般的好奇并不甘于单纯受教于圣经!也要留意——土耳其人的宗教在建立在什么基础上!穆罕默德记载说自己是要带来完全启示的那一方——在福音之上,超越福音。[10]
Calvin also sees in Islam a warning for Christians everywhere: “And therefore let us mark well, that we must hold [ourselves] to the pure religion.”9 This begins with a steadfast commitment to the Holy Scriptures. In a sermon on Job, Calvin reiterates: “Devilish curiosity is not contented to be taught simply by the Holy Scripture! Behold also—whereupon the religion of the Turks is founded! Mahomet [Muhammad] has reported himself to be the party that should bring the full revelation—over and besides the Gospel.”10

改教家认为,伊斯兰推进到从前相信基督教地区,这是上帝对于从前基督徒堕落灵命光景的审判。因此他们呼吁,基督徒每次听到伊斯兰教威胁和成功的消息,就要聆听上帝要人悔改的呼吁,特别要听到上帝要人持守圣经、唯独持守圣经的呼吁。只有因着这样的悔改和对圣经的忠心,教会才能期望上帝祝福他们向穆斯林宣教的工作。我们很难看不到今天对应的情况,在五个世纪之后,我们见证伊斯兰教正正就在西方推进兴旺,而在西方,宗教改革的信条和普世基督教传统已遭破坏,被人拒绝,人转而相信世俗人文主义。
The Reformers understood the advance of Islam into formerly Christian regions as God’s judgment on the degenerate spiritual state of formerly Christian peoples. Accordingly, they called Christians to hear God’s call to repentance whenever they heard news of Islam’s threats and successes, and especially to hear God’s call to hold to Scripture and to Scripture alone. Only out of such repentance and faithfulness to Scripture can the churches then expect God’s blessings on their mission efforts to the Muslim peoples. It is hard to miss the parallels today—five centuries later—as we witness Islam advancing and flourishing precisely in the West where the tenets of the Reformation and of the universal Christian tradition have been corrupted by, or rejected in favor of, secular humanism.

描述今天的伊斯兰教
DESCRIBING ISLAM TODAY

改教家的洞见并不局限于他们才有。罗马天主教学者别洛克Hilaire Beloc20世纪写作强调同样的基本立场:“穆罕穆德主义伊斯兰教是一种异端必须首先把握这基本点然后才能再进一步。它开始的时候是一种异端,不是一种新宗教……它扭曲了基督教教义。它的生命立和持久力很快为自己披上一种新宗教的外衣,但与它兴起同时代的人,是按它的真相看它——不是否认,而是采用和误用了基督教的事情。”有名的C.S.路易斯同样简明讲到伊斯兰教:“伊斯兰教只不过是基督教各种异端当中最大的而已。”(God in the Dock
The perspective of the Reformers did not remain confined to them. Writing in the twentieth century, the Roman Catholic scholar Hilaire Beloc maintained the same basic posture: “Mohammedianism [Islam] was a heresy: that is the essential point to grasp before going any further. It began as a heresy, not as a new religion. . . . It was a perversion of Christian doctrine. Its vitality and endurance soon gave it the appearance of a new religion, but those who were contemporary with its rise saw it for what it was—not a denial, but an adaptation and a misuse, of a Christian thing.” And the renowned C.S. Lewis spoke succinctly of Islam in the same way: “Islam is only the greatest of Christian heresies” (God in the Dock).

在今天的政治讨论中,人敦促我们的领袖要正确“认出敌人”,意思就是按伊斯兰教恐怖主义的本相看待它。但作为基督徒,我们也必须正确认出伊斯兰教本身。把它称为“世界上重要一神论宗教的一种”,这就掩盖了这事实,即从基因方面来说,伊斯兰教认定自己有特权从基督教信念中作挑选,确立它自己的信念——这就正如教会自从存在以来不断与之争战的其他大型异端一样。
In political discussions today, it’s been urged that our leaders properly “name and identity the enemy,” which means calling Islamic terrorism what it is. But as Christians, we must also name and identify Islam itself properly. Calling it “another of the world’s great monotheistic religions” hides the fact that Islam, genetically speaking, assumed the prerogative to pick and choose from among Christian beliefs to establish its own—just as other great heresies that the church has battled throughout her existence have done.

保罗劝勉提摩太“嘱咐那几个人不可传异教……但命令的总归就是爱,这爱是从清洁的心和无亏的良心、无伪的信心生出来的。有人偏离这些,反去讲虚浮的话,想要作教法师,却不明白自己所讲说的、所论定的。”(提前1:3-7)。人很难找到比这更贴切的描述,用在默罕默德身上。
Paul exhorted Timothy to “charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine. . . . The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions” (1 Tim. 1:3–7). A more apt description of Muhammad one would be hard-pressed to find.

认出伊斯兰教是一种异端,这让我们能把它逐点与基督教信仰作对比,认出伊斯兰教具体的多个偏离点,重新坚持强调我们特有的教义(三位一体、道成肉身、圣经的全备性、唯独因信唯独靠恩典得救)。
Identifying Islam as a heresy enables us to contrast it point by point with Christianity, marking Islam’s specific and several points of departure, and to lay claim to our distinctive doctrines (the Trinity, the incarnation, the sufficiency of Scripture, salvation by grace alone through faith alone) with renewed devotion.

认出伊斯兰教是一种异端,也有助于我们相信,防备伊斯兰教的最好办法,就像防备任何异端一样,就是我们自己要坚持不加掩饰和不加妥协的基督教信仰,不管我们这时候,在我们国家,这样的基督教信仰是多么不受欢迎。正如伊斯兰教第七世纪在堕落的基督教地区兴起,同样今天它在世界一些地方传播,那里的人已偏离了一种不妥协的全备基督教信仰。
Identifying Islam as heresy also helps us to be confident that the best defense against Islam is the same as that against any heresy—namely, our own commitment to unvarnished and uncompromised Christianity, however unpopular that may be in our time and in our land. For just as Islam arose in the seventh century in an area of degenerated Christianity, so it spreads today in those parts of the world where people have turned away from an uncompromised, full-orbed Christian faith.



按同样脉络,一位从前的阿拉伯穆斯林,后来成为一位基督教牧师的贾迪德牧师(Rev. Iskandar Jadeed)曾经说过:“如果所有的基督徒都是名副其实的基督徒,今天就不会再有伊斯兰教。
It is in that vein that a former Arab Muslim who became a Christian pastor, Rev. Iskandar Jadeed, once said, “If all Christians were Christians, there would be no more Islam today.”

或者正如加尔文在四个世纪以前说的:“因此让我们认真留意,我们必须让自己持守纯正的信仰。
Or, as Calvin put it four centuries ago, “Let us mark well that we must hold [ourselves] to the pure religion.”


[1] Stuart Bonnington, “Calvin and Islam,” The Reformed Theological Review, vol. 68, no. 2 (August 2009): 77.
[2] Emidio Campi, “Early Reformed Attitudes towards Islam,” Theological Review 31 (2010): 134.
[3] Ibid., 144.
[4] Bullinger, Reply to SevenCharges (1574), Reply 34r-v, quoted in W.P. Stephens, “Understanding Islam– in the light of Bullinger and Wesley,” EQ 81.1 (2009): 24.
[5] Calvin, Sermon on Deuteronomy,quoted in Campi, 146.
[6] Campi, “Early Reformed Attitudes towards Islam,” 146.
[7] Ibid., 145.
[8] Ibid., 145.
[9]Ibid.,146–47.
[10]Ibid.,146–47.

 Rev. Matthew Miller is director of the Greenville campus of Erskine Theological Seminary in Greenville, S.C.


本文原刊于Tabletalk杂誌2018年一月号

2016-12-23

伊斯蘭教是否必然會導致暴力? Does Islam Inevitably Lead to Violence?

 作者:Caleb Greggsen  譯者:駱鴻銘

不久之前,多數美國人不知道或不關心伊斯蘭教。它只不過是另一個富有異國情調、與美國沒什麼關聯的宗教,只有宣教士或國家地理雜誌會偶爾提到它。有一位學者指出,「在2001年九月11日之前不到一年,當時專家的共識是...... 伊斯蘭教的影響力早在文藝復興之前就已經結束了。」一個大規模的對美國本土的恐怖攻擊,美國人才突然意識到伊斯蘭教這個宗教。Not that long ago, most Americans didnt know much or care to know much about Islam. It was just one more exotic but irrelevant religion that missionaries and National Geographic occassionally talked about. One scholar noted, “Less than a year before September 11, 2001, the consensus of expert opinion was . . . that [Islam’s] impact had ended long before the Renaissance.” It took a massive terrorist attack on U.S. soil to abruptly bring Islam squarely into the center of the American consciousness.

從那時起,有關暴力和伊斯蘭教的問題就開始縈繞在美國人的心中:這些暴力的恐怖分子真的能代表伊斯蘭教嗎?暴力真的是穆斯林信仰(或譯為回教信仰)的本質嗎?我曾經在一所為宣教士的兒女所設立的寄宿學校作過學生。這所學校曾經遭到伊斯蘭教恐怖分子的攻擊,為的是要恐嚇基督教宣教士,把他們趕出這個國家。因此,這些問題對我來說,並不是陳腔濫調,無關痛癢的空想。Since that day, questions about violence and Islam have lingered in the American mind: do these violent terrorists truly represent Islam? Is violence intrinsic to the Muslim faith? Having once been a student at a boarding school for missionary kids that was attacked by Islamic terrorists in an effort to frighten Christian missionaries out of the country, these questions are not hackneyed abstractions for me.

在我觀察試圖去了解伊斯蘭世界的基督徒的同時,伊斯蘭教內的暴力仍然是一個非常重大的問題。身為基督徒,這個問題之所以重要,不只是因為我們相信基督教是真理,而所有其他宗教都是假宗教,更是因為我們有向所有的人宣講福音的責任和義務,包括穆斯林。儘管其他人也許會認為我們應該把「那些穆斯林」盡可能排除在我們的視野之外,但是基督徒必須親近他們,與他們做朋友。As I observe Christians trying to come to grips with the Islamic world, violence in Islam remains a deeply important problem. As Christians, the issue is important to us not simply because we believe that Christianity is true and all other religions are false, but because we have the duty and privilege of proclaiming the gospel to all peoples, including Muslims. While others may have the option of keeping “those Muslims” out of sight and mind as much as possible, Christians must draw near them.

更好的問題Better Question to Ask

我們手上的問題,假設了我們有可能決定真正的穆斯林信仰是怎麼一回事,而這是甚至在伊斯蘭教內也沒有定論的事。事實上,最近由穆斯林團體所犯的暴力事件的高漲,和這個事實脫不了關係,即有許多團體在爭奪伊斯蘭教「真正的傳人」這個名正言順的頭銜。就像基督新教和天主教為誰是使徒的傳人而爭論一樣,伊斯蘭教也要面對這個誰具有穆罕默德真正傳人的身份的問題。但是和聖經不同,古蘭經並沒有提供足夠的立足點,來解答這個問題。The question at hand presupposes the possibility of determining the true Muslim faith, which is something not even settled within Islam itself. In fact, the recent upsurge in violence perpetrated by Muslim groups is related to the fact that multiple groups are contending for the undisputed title of the “true successors.” Much as Protestants and Catholics argue over the true successors of the apostles, Islam faces the question as to the identity of the true successors to Mohammed. But unlike the Bible, the Qur’an does not really provide enough footing on its own to resolve the question.

因此,一個更好的問題是問:在伊斯蘭傳統,暴力是否具有合法的地位。答案是:有的。在伊斯蘭教決定繼承權的主要途徑是權勢。根據伊斯蘭教的想法,如果你有權勢繼位,那麼上帝很明顯是在賜福你,支持你。如果你沒有能力,那麼上帝就是選擇了不賜福於你。在穆罕默德過世後的四個「卡里發」(caliphs;伊斯蘭教中穆罕默德的繼承人)中,有三個人被暴力所謀害,包括暗殺,暴民,或死於戰爭,都是被支持其他領袖的穆斯林「同胞」所殺害。伊斯蘭的頭兩個王朝,是靠殺戮前任的掌權者而登基的。伊斯蘭的歷史從此只有更加血腥,因為勝者為王,而這是猶太-基督教世界非常陌生的模式。儘管基督徒或非關宗教的西方人遭到穆斯林所殺害,死於穆斯林之手的穆斯林甚至更多。A better question to ask is whether or not there is a legitimate place for violence within Islamic tradition. The answer is yes. The primary means of determining this right in Islam is power. According to Islamic thinking, if you are in power and succeeding, then God is clearly blessing and supporting you. If you are not, then God has chosen not to bless you. Of the first four caliphs after Mohammed, three of them were violently murdered, either by assassination, mob, or in battle, all by “fellow” Muslims who supported other leaders. The first two Islamic dynasties came into power by slaughtering those who held power before them. Islam’s history only gets bloodier from there, since might makes right in a way that is foreign to the Judeo-Christian world. Despite the shocking number of Christians or secular Westerners being killed by Muslims, Muslims are killing even greater numbers of other Muslims.

政治領袖和恐怖分子集團都用強力的手段來確立自己是穆斯林世界正統的領袖。政治領袖會用一種更文明的方式來描繪自己,但是像沙烏地阿拉伯、伊朗這類地方的政府,也會為了獲得或維持權力而不惜投入暴力的舉動,甚至這意味著要對他們自己的國民(或其他剛巧住在他們邊境內的民族)施暴。華盛頓郵報最近的一則報導比較了沙烏地阿拉伯和ISIS(伊斯蘭國)的公義體系。基本上,唯一的差別是伊斯蘭國在全球吹噓他們的豐功偉業,以證明他們的獻身。Political leaders as well as terrorist groups use force to establish themselves as the rightful leaders of the Muslim world. Political leaders might portray themselves in a more civilized manner, but the governments of places like Saudi Arabia and Iran are just as willing to commit violent acts for the sake of gaining and maintain power, even if it means commiting them against their own citizens (or other people groups that happen to live within their borders). The Washington Post recently ran a story comparing the justice system of Saudi Arabia to that of ISIS. The only difference, basically, is that the Islamic State brags globally about their enforcement in an effort to prove their devotion.

三個基礎原則Three Undergirding Principles

為何在伊斯蘭傳統裏,暴力會保留一個合法的地位?我認為有三個神學和文化的議題構成了伊斯蘭教的暴力基礎。Why else does violence broadly retain a position of legitimacy within the Islamic tradition? I think three theological and cultural issues undergird violence within Islam.

強迫和信仰  1.  1. Coercion and Belief

基督信仰教導上帝所要的,不只是外表的順服。祂所要的是真心的順服和活潑的信仰。如同保羅所說:「你若口認耶穌為主,心信神叫祂從死復活,就必得救。」(羅十9)因此,我們無法強迫一個人成為基督徒。通過強迫,我們所能達成的只是假冒為善。不過,你可以強迫一個人成為一位穆斯林(雖然也許不是很虔誠的穆斯林)。伊斯蘭教的五個支柱都是屬於行為上的,你不必真心相信也可以履行。Christianity teaches that God does not desire mere outward obeisance. He wants heartfelt obedience and living faith. As Paul says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). Therefore, we cannot coerce someone into becoming a Christian. All we can make through coercion is hypocrites. However, you can force someone to become a Muslim (though probably not a truly devout one). All five pillars of Islam are behavioral. Each one can be fulfilled without heartfelt conviction.

「伊斯蘭」的意思是順服。「基督徒」的意思是「小基督」。在不同宗教之間,即使從它們的標籤,你也可以在其優先順序上看到一個明顯的不同。一個是提倡作主門徒——教導其他人來遵行。另一個是提倡征服(內在的和外在的)。一位在歐道明大學(Old Dominion University)講課的著名穆斯林思想家阿克塔達(Shabbir Akhtar),在卡森(D. A. Carson)的書,《對寬容的不寬容》(The Intolerance of Tolerance)中論證說,「最終伊斯蘭教會(也應該)會贏得普世的統治,因為唯有伊斯蘭教,而顯然不是基督教,從其內部的結構來說是一個專橫的宗教。」這類的思想在聖經基督教內是沒有地位的。Islam means submission. Christian means little Christ. Even in their labels, you can see a clear difference in priorities between the religions. One promotes discipleshipteaching others to follow. The other promotes conquest (internal and external). Shabbir Akhtar, who lectures at Old Dominion University, argues in D. A. Carson’s book The Intolerance of Tolerance, “Ultimately Islam will (and ought to) win worldwide dominion, because Islam alone, and certainly not Christianity, is internally constituted to be an imperial religion.” This kind of thinking has no place in biblical Christianity.

2.  土地2. Land

你可以去看穆罕默德在伊斯坦堡的托普卡珀皇宮(Topkapi Palace)的刀。在據稱是基督所有的擁護者的遺物中,從來沒有人宣稱找到過祂的刀。耶穌對彼拉多說:「我的國不屬這世界;我的國若屬這世界,我的臣僕必要爭戰,使我不至於被交給猶太人。」(約十八36)耶穌責備彼得,因為他為了使耶穌不被逮捕而「發動戰爭」。作為一個基督教國度,這類的事是不存在的,因為新天新地還沒有完全開展。但是作為一個穆斯林國家,這樣的事是存在的,因為任何一塊屬於穆斯林國家的土地都是屬於阿拉的。You can see Mohammeds sword in Topkapi Palace, Istanbul. Of all the supposed relics of Christ, no one has ever claimed to have found his sword. Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my disciples would fight to keep me from being handed over” (John 18:36). Jesus rebuked Peter for “going to war” to prevent his arrest. There is no such thing as a Christian nation, because the new heavens and the new earth have not been fully inaugurated. There is such a thing as a Muslim nation, because every piece of land that belongs to a Muslim nation belongs to Allah.

儘管基督徒對例如像在歐洲這樣的地方的衰退而感到傷感,我們卻沒有合法的理由去為基督發動戰爭,去重新奪回這塊土地。相反,我們是靠禱告和傳福音。此外,基督的國度不在於領土上的拓展,而在於人宣告基督是他們的君王(當人心裏尊基督為主,基督的國度就得到擴展)。然而,當穆斯林在穆斯林土地上變得越來越少時,對伊斯蘭教來說,這是一種直接的侮辱,是必須立刻補救的。While Christians grieve the decline of Christianity in places like Europe, we cannot legitimately go to war to reclaim it for Christ. Instead, we pray and evangelize. Furthermore, Christ’s kingdom advances not in territory but in and through the people who claim him as their King. However, when Muslim lands become less Muslim, that is a direct affront to Islam that must be redresssed.

3.  榮譽與羞辱3. Honor and Shame

對榮譽的重視是西方和大部分穆斯林國家的關鍵文化差異。拒絕或調侃穆罕默德或伊斯蘭教,是對每一個穆斯林個人的攻擊。每一個脫離伊斯蘭教、成為基督徒的人,都是在羞辱伊斯蘭教,因為他所傳遞的信息是伊斯蘭教是個沒有價值的信仰。基督教導我們,要為基督的名而受世人的辱罵(彼前四14)。穆斯林對接受這類的辱罵,作為他們對阿拉的忠誠的獎賞,並沒有清楚的定義,因為只有成功是上帝賜福的記號。因此當伊斯蘭教被人貶低時,它就必須強烈地反擊。?The importance of honor is a key cultural difference between the West and most Muslim countries. Rejection or mockery of Mohammed or Islam is a personal attack on every Muslim. Every person who leaves Islam to become a Christian shames Islam because he communicates that it is unworthy of belief. Christ teaches us that to be shamed by the world for the sake of the Lord is honorable (1 Pet. 4:14). Muslims have no clear category for receiving that shame as a commendation of their faithfulness to Allah, since only success is a sign of God’s blessing. So when Islam is undermined, it must be fiercely defended.

人心中的暴力Violence in the Human Heart

這些因素都促成了伊斯蘭教的暴力,但是比起其他,他們最譴責的是人心。自從創世記第四章以來,身體的暴力就是所有人類的一個顯著特徵,不是只有伊斯蘭教才有暴力。這是犯罪的人心的特徵。換句話說,使人產生暴力的不是伊斯蘭教,而是罪。作為一個人為的宗教,伊斯蘭教只是人們使內心剛硬並接受罪惡的另一個工具。These factors contribute to violence in Islam, but more than anything else they condemn the human heart. Physical violence has been a distinguishing mark of all humanity ever since Genesis 4. Violence is not unique to Islam. It’s a distinctive of sinful human hearts. In other words, Islam does not make people violent. Sin does. As a man-made religion, Islam is just one more tool people use to harden the heart and embrace sin.

但是上帝的普遍恩典也擴及到穆斯林身上。不是所有的穆斯林都會屈服於暴力,雖然這個體系有可能會合理化暴力,正如你的無神論/世俗的鄰居不會完全接受所有有罪的行為一樣,而這是無神的世界觀有可能合理化的行為。But common grace also extends to Muslims. Not all Muslims are given over to the violence that the system could potentially justify, just as your atheist/secular neighbors don’t fully embrace every sinful behavior that their non-theist worldview could justify.

基督徒對暴力迫害者的回應Christian Response to Violent Persecutors

基督徒該如何回應伊斯蘭教暴力的事實呢?西方的世俗世界勉強拼湊出一個答案,但內容非常空洞。每次我們看到穆斯林恐怖分子展開另一次攻擊,公眾人物就趕忙衝到對立的兩極。一邊說暴力證明了恐怖主義是伊斯蘭教無可避免的結果,另一邊則說伊斯蘭教和暴力毫無瓜葛。How should Christians respond to the reality of Islamic violence? The secular West is scrambling for an answer but coming up empty. Every time we see another attack by Muslim terrorists, public figures sprint to opposite sides of the ring. One side says the violence proves terrorism is the inevitable outworking of Islam, the other that beliefs had nothing to do with it.

我們身旁的世界在這件事上感到掙扎,是因為他們無法把穆斯林的價值看成是在於他們個人的特質,而不在於他們的信念。世人是以二進位的方式來看人的。穆斯林要麼是「好人」,要麼是極端份子,像希特勒、史達林和波爾布特(Pol Pot)一類的人。The world around us struggles because they are unable to see Muslims as people whose value exists in their personhood, not their beliefs. The world thinks of people in binary terms. Either Muslims are “good people” or extremists who belong with the likes of Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot.

但是我們知道——或應該知道——穆斯林也是按照上帝形象被造的人,也被墮落所扭曲。他們和我們一樣都需要福音。穆斯林不是我們的敵人,但是他們也被撒但所捆綁。But we knowor should knowthat Muslims are humans created in Gods image and distorted by the fall. They need the same gospel as we do. Muslims are not the enemy, but they are in bondage to him.

此外,我們不能被身體的暴力所威脅,而使我們不去履行傳福音的大使命。福音不只是給「正常的」和平的穆斯林的。福音也是給那些想要殺害我們的人的。暴力的威脅,挑戰我們信仰的真實性,因為福音是無限寶貴的,也值得被帶給所有的人。我自己的父母曾面對他們的兒女會死在穆斯林恐怖分子的手的可能性。感謝主,靠著祂的恩典,這件事並沒有成為他們的攔阻。威脅著要減慢福音廣傳的暴力,的確是攸關生死的事。對不認識耶穌是君王的人來說,這是一件攸關永生和永死的事。Moreover, we cannot let the threat of physical violence prevent us from fulfilling the Great Commission. The gospel is not just for “regular” peaceful Muslims. It is also for those who will try to kill us. The threat of violence challenges the validity of our belief that the gospel is infinitely precious and worthy of being taken to all peoples. My own parents faced the possible death their children at the hands of Muslim terrorists. Praise the Lord, by his grace, that hasn’t stopped them. The violence that threatens to slow the spread of the gospel really is a matter of life and death. It’s a matter of eternal life or death for souls who do not know Jesus Christ as King.

伊斯蘭教可以培養為了他們的志業而願意殺人的戰士。我們也必須為我們自己的志業而願意捨身。Islam may raise up soldiers willing to kill for their cause. We must be willing to die for ours.

連使徒保羅也曾經迫害並壓迫基督的教會。願主繼續從伊斯蘭國(ISIS)、基地組織(al-Qaeda)、博科聖地組織(Boko Haram)當中興起更多新的保羅,以至於他們不是把福音傳給他們的同胞而已,更把福音帶給全世界。願主從我們當中差遣更多的司提反,興起更多願意為宣講同樣的福音而捨身的戰士。Even Paul was once a persecutor and oppressor of the church. May the Lord continue to raise up many new Pauls out of ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram, so that they may take the gospel not only to their own peoples, but to the entire world. And may the Lord send out from us many Stephens, soldiers willing to die to proclaim that same gospel, no matter the cost.

葛迦勒(Caleb Greggsen)在中亞、歐洲和澳洲長大。他在南方神學院獲頒道學碩士。他和妻子住在肯塔基州路易維耳市,也在那兒工作。他們都是第三街浸信會的會員。Caleb Greggsen grew up in Central Asia, Europe, and Australia. He earned his M.Div from Southern Seminary. He and his wife live and work in Louisville, Kentucky, where they are members of Third Avenue Baptist Church.