作者: Doug Powell
譯者:
誠之
不，信仰本身不是目標。事實上，不同宗教，其差別在於各自有不同的信仰對象。信仰的內容才是關鍵。而信仰的內容是我們必須好好調查，然後接受或棄絕的。No, faith itself is not the object. In fact, what differentiates religions is the object of each faith. The content of faith ultimately is what matters. And the content of a faith is what must be investigated and then embraced or rejected.
保羅的論證是根據一些可以被任何有興趣的人調查的事實。他承認說，基督信仰若是真的，就必須根據事實。保羅在耶穌一生的歷史、物理、時間層面上看到了接觸點。耶穌是一個真實的人物，祂曾經在某時、某地作過一些事，說過一些話。關於這些事，我們可以從耶穌生平和教導的見證人身上看到，也可以質問他們。Paul argued based on facts that could be investigated by anyone who was interested. He recognized that if Christianity was true, it must be rooted in facts. Paul saw the contact point in the historical, physical, temporal aspects of the life of Jesus. Jesus was a real person who did and said certain things in certain places at certain times. Witnesses to Jesus’ life and teaching could be found and questioned regarding these things.
耶穌的實況——祂的歷史真實性——是基督信仰的根基。缺少這個根基，基督信仰就是不存在的。保羅對這個根基如此有把握，以至於他（在哥林多前書十五章12～19節）指出了基督信仰最脆弱的宣稱：Jesus’ reality—His historicity—is the foundation of Christianity. Without it, there is no Christianity. Paul was so sure of this foundation that he went so far as to point out the most vulnerable claim of the Christian faith [in 1 Corinthians 15:12–19].
若耶穌不像使徒們所宣稱的那樣曾經活過，作過一些事，說過一些話，那麼，基督教就是假的。如果還有比復活更好的解釋，那麼，基督教就是在浪費他們的時間。If Jesus did not live, do, and say the things claimed by the apostles, then Christianity is false. If there is a better explanation for the resurrection, then Christians are simply wasting their time.
通過指出其脆弱之處，保羅實際上是在指出基督信仰的力量。他如此深信復活——可以證實耶穌所宣稱的一切的事件——是真實的歷史，也是可以證明的，以至於他指出如何證明其為假——幾乎是一種挑戰。基督徒的宣稱是可以被調查、被檢驗的。這個挑戰在其他宗教裏是找不到類似例子的。沒有任何其他宗教經典會告訴你如何摧毀自己的宣稱。By pointing out this vulnerability, Paul was really pointing out the strength of Christianity. So convinced was he of the historicity and verifiability of the resurrection, the event that confirmed the claims of Jesus, that he pointed out how to prove it false—almost as a challenge. Christian claims can be investigated and tested. This challenge has no parallel in other religions. No other sacred text shows how to destroy its own claims.
初代教會的教父們，當他們製作了尼西亞信經——普世教會所接受的信經——時，說明他們明白耶穌的歷史性的重要性。信經說：「祂為要拯救我們世人……在本丟•彼拉多手下，為我們釘在十字架上，受難，埋葬。」為什麼要提到本丟•彼拉多呢？哪一條教義是以他為根據的？答案是：沒有任何一條教義是以比拉多為根據的。提到他只是為了提醒我們，這些事情是發生在歷史上某個特定時間，發生在一個真實的人身上的真實事件。The church fathers showed they understood the importance of Jesus’ historicity when they crafted the Nicene Creed, the universally accepted creed of the church. The creed says, “For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.” Why mention Pontius Pilate? What doctrine is based on him? The answer is: none; there is no doctrine based on Pilate. He is mentioned to remind us that these were real events happening to a real person at a particular point in history.
(Doug Powell, Holman Quick Source Guide to Christian Apologetics, pp. 11, 16, 18)
