上帝為何容許墮落發生？WhyDid God Allow the Fall?

作者：James Anderson  譯者：駱鴻銘

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/why-did-god-allow-the-fall

http://www.crtsbooks.net/blog/post/2017/07/08/Why_Did_God_Allow_the_Fall.aspx

https://plus.google.com/u/2/105106813742373627205/posts/VvUAC9gtFBA

這是個經常會讓剛信主的人感到困惑，也讓主日學老師感到害怕的問題。的確，這是我們大多數人都曾經搜索枯腸的謎題，而且是有很充分的理由的。亞當的墮落不單單是人類所犯的第一宗罪，更是給全世界和全人類帶來巨大災難的行動。因著墮落，「全人類......喪失了與神的交通，落在祂的震怒與咒詛之下，所以，應受今生的一切愁苦、死亡、地獄永遠的痛苦。」（威斯敏斯特小要理問答19）It’s a question that puzzles new converts and terrifies Sunday school teachers. Indeed, it’s a conundrum most of us have wrestled with, and for good reason. The fall of Adam wasn’t merely the first human sin. It was an act that was calamitous for the world and the human race. Because of the fall, “All mankind . . . lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q19).

上帝為什麼在完全知曉其可怕的後果下，卻仍然允許如此可悲的事件，如此明目張膽的背叛行動發生呢？Why would God permit such a tragic event, such an act of flagrant rebellion, in full knowledge of its horrific consequences?

我的一個朋友語帶嘲諷地說道：「我可以用四個字回答這個問題：我-不-知-道-！」除了開玩笑外，他的回答的確會引發一個重要的議題。對這個問題，如果我們沒有一個好答案，會是個大問題嗎？我們無法回答這個問題，是否能給我們任何理由來質疑基督信仰嗎？A friend of mine quipped, “I can answer that one in three words: I don’t know!” Joking aside, his response does raise an important issue. Would it be a big problem if we didn’t have a good answer to that question? Would our inability to answer it give us any reason to doubt Christianity?

幾乎不會。實際上，每一種世界觀都會引發一些其提倡者無法回答的問題，因此，單單存在一個無法尚未回答（或甚至是無法回答的）的問題，不必然會對一種世界觀不利。這也許只是暗示缺乏足夠的資料，而在基督徒世界觀的語境下，意思是在這個特定的問題上，缺乏上帝的啟示而已。我們也許可以合理地這樣論證說：Hardly. In reality, every worldview raises some questions its advocates can’t answer, so the mere existence of an unanswered (even unanswerable) question doesn’t necessarily count against a worldview. It may simply imply a lack of information, which, in the context of a Christian worldview, would mean a lack of divine revelation on that particular point. We might justifiably reason like this:

a. 上帝容許墮落。

God allowed the fall.

b.  上帝所作的任何事情都有充分的理由，包括祂所容許的事。

God has good reasons for everything he does, including what he allows.

c.  因此，上帝有很好的理由容許墮落的發生，無論我們是否可以明白。

Therefore, God had good reasons for allowing the fall, whether or not we can discern them.

聖經沒有直接告訴我們上帝為什麼容許罪惡進入這個世界。但是聖經的確提供我們一些素材，我們可以從這些素材建構出一個前後一致和合理的解釋。Scripture doesn’t tell us directly why God permitted sin to enter the world. But it does provide us with materials from which we can construct a consistent and reasonable explanation.

一個差勁的答案One Bad Answer

基督徒之間流行一個膚淺而且問題多多的答案。這個答案是說，上帝容許墮落發生，是因為祂要給人類的自由意志留下空間。自由意志對美德和有意義的人際關係來說是必要的，這個論證說道。但是這打開了一種可能性，就是我們會選擇惡，而不是善。

One popular answer among Christians is superficial and deeply flawed. It says God allowed the fall because he wanted to make room for human free will. Free will is necessary for moral virtue and meaningful relationships, the argument goes, but it opened up the possibility we would choose evil rather than good.

這個問題在許多方面都是不足的。我會提出三點。

This answer falls short for many reasons. I’ll mention three.

1. 有自由意志不必然會導致行惡的可能。上帝也有自由意志，祂有高度的美德，也可以與人建立有意義的關係，但是對祂來說，祂是不可能行惡的。上帝難道不能給我們同樣的不會行惡的自由嗎？Having free will does not necessarily entail the possibility of doing evil. God has free will, is morally virtuous, and can enter into meaningful relationships, yet it’s impossible for him to do evil. Couldn’t God have granted the same kind of non-evildoing freedom to us?

 2. 基督徒一般都同意，上帝預知亞當會犯罪。但是上帝這是否是上帝預定（forordain）的呢？如果我們的回答是不是，因為我們認為人類的自由選擇並不在上帝的掌控之內，那麼，我們問上帝為何容許亞當犯罪，就沒有什麼道理了。上帝所預知的任何未來的事件必須是已經塵埃落定了，連上帝也無法改變的。上帝無論是想要預防或容許，都已經「太遲」了！Christians generally agree that God foreknew Adam would sin. But did God foreordain it? If we answer no, because we think human free choices are beyond God’s control, it makes little sense to ask why God permitted Adam’s sin. Any future event God foreknows must be already settled, such that not even God can change it. It’s “too late” for God to either prevent or permit it.

 3. 聖經清楚說到人的自由選擇無法超越上帝主權的掌管（創五十20；拉一1；箴廿一1；徒四2728；弗一11）。上帝有能力確保亞當會自由地順服，而不是悖逆。因此，上帝有能力給亞當自由意志來確保亞當不會犯罪墮落，因此，這意味著上帝必然有其他理由容許墮落發生，而不僅僅是希望把自由意志賜給受造物。The Bible makes clear that human free choices are not beyond God’s sovereign control (Gen. 50:20; Ezra 1:1; Prov. 21:1; Acts 4:27–28; Eph. 1:11). It was within God’s power to ensure that Adam freely obeyed rather than disobeyed. Hence, it was within God’s power to give Adam free will and to ensure that Adam did not fall, which means God must have had some other reason for allowing the fall than merely a desire to bestow free will on his creatures.

上帝為何要作任何事？Why Does God Do Anything?

我們有必要思考一個更廣的問題：上帝為什麼要作事？在祂所作的一切事上，祂全盤的目的是什麼？如果我們能回答這點，就會更明白我們的具體問題：上帝為何容許墮落發生？It’s vital to consider a broader question: Why does God do anything at all? What is his overarching purpose in all he does? If we can answer that, it will shed some light on our more specific concern: God’s reasons for allowing the fall.

關於上帝創造世界的目的，沒有比愛德華茲有力的論文所給的答案更好的了：《上帝創造世界的目的》（The End for Which God Created the World）。愛德華茲論證說，舊約和新約給了我們一個前後一致的圖象：上帝創造世界的主要目的不是為了促進人類的幸福，而是要彰顯祂的榮耀。確實，上帝創造世界的目的必須是祂自己的榮耀，因為上帝在本質上就是萬事萬物最大的善和最終極的目的。祂當然關心人類的幸福——這不是個零和遊戲——但是我們的幸福是要服務於一個更高的目的，要在上帝終極的良善和美妙中找到其真正的滿足。Regarding God’s purpose in creating the world, no better answer has been given than the one developed in Jonathan Edwards’s powerful essay, The End for Which God Created the World. Edwards argues that the Old and New Testaments present one consistent picture: God created the world not primarily to promote human happiness, but to manifest his own glory. Indeed, God’s purpose in creating the world had to be his own glory, because God is by nature the greatest good and the ultimate end of all things. He is surely concerned about human happiness—it’s not a zero-sum game—but our happiness serves a higher purpose by finding its true fulfilment in God’s supreme goodness and beauty.

聖經也讓我們直接看到上帝在救贖裏的目的，最清楚的地方是保羅在以弗所書第一章裏所寫的。使徒用了三個目的子句來描述上帝慷慨地施予在我們身上的救贖福分：「使祂榮耀的恩典得著稱讚」（第6節），以及「使祂的榮耀得著稱讚」（兩次，見12、14節）。如同在創造裏，上帝在救贖裏終極的目的是祂榮耀的屬性可以顯明出來，得著頌讚。Scripture also gives direct insight into God’s purpose in redemption, most clearly through Paul in Ephesians 1. The apostle uses three purpose clauses to describe the salvific blessings God has lavished on us: “to the praise of his glorious grace” (v. 6) and (twice) “to the praise of his glory” (vv. 12 and 14). As in creation, God’s ultimate purpose in redemption is that his glorious attributes be showcased and celebrated.

同樣的主題在羅馬書九章22～24節裏再次浮現出來。保羅在那裏說到上帝揀選的目的：The same theme surfaces in Romans 9:22–24, where Paul speaks of God’s purpose in election:

倘若神要顯明祂的忿怒，彰顯祂的權能，就多多忍耐寬容那可怒預備遭毀滅的器皿，又要將祂豐盛的榮耀彰顯在那蒙憐憫早預備得榮耀的器皿上。這器皿就是我們被神所召的，不但是從猶太人中，也是從外邦人中。這有什麼不可呢？（羅九22～24）What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

這樣，上帝一切作為的全盤目的，就是在祂神性的光輝中彰顯祂的榮耀，以及對一切受造物的喜悅。God’s overarching purpose in all he does, then, is the manifestation of his glory and the delight of his creatures in his divine splendor.

啊！蒙福的墮落O Blessed Fall

倘若創造和救贖的主要目的是彰顯上帝的榮耀，關於祂為何容許墮落發生，告訴了我們什麼呢？無論從邏輯上還是時間順序上，我們都知道墮落發生在創造和救贖之間。若沒有創造，就不會有墮落的世界；沒有墮落的世界就不會有得贖的世界。救恩是以犯罪為前提的；復原預設了墮落。因此，合理的推論是上帝容許墮落發生的主要目的是既在原始的創造中彰顯祂的榮耀，也在祂大能憐憫的恢復行動中，也就是使被造界脫離背逆和敗壞的行動中彰顯祂的榮耀。If God’s primary purpose in creation and redemption is the display of his glory, what does that tell us about why he allowed the fall? Both logically and chronologically, the fall comes between creation and redemption. Without a creation there could be no fallen creation; without a fallen creation there could be no redeemed creation. Salvation presupposes sin; restoration presupposes a fall. Thus it’s reasonable to infer that God’s primary purpose in allowing the fall was to showcase his glory both in the original creation and in his powerful and merciful restoration of that creation from its rebellion and corruption.

但是要讓上帝得著榮耀，救贖真的是必要的嗎？難道一個不會墮落的世界，無法和一個被恢復的世界同等地榮耀上帝嗎？But was redemption really necessary for God to be glorified? Couldn’t an unfallen creation glorify God as much as a restored creation?

思考這個問題促使一些基督徒思想家發展出所謂的「我的罪過真是有福」（O Felix Culpa）的神義論。（字面意義是「蒙福的罪過」，而「神義論」是解釋上帝為何能夠合理化祂為何容許邪惡。）這個基本概念是這樣的：儘管墮落是巨大的罪惡，這卻讓上帝有可能在其餘波蕩漾中帶來更大的美善：從它們而來的、足以榮耀上帝的道成肉身、贖罪、復活，以及一切的救贖福分。Reflecting on this question has prompted a number of Christian thinkers to develop what’s called the “O Felix Culpa” theodicy. (Literally “O blessed fault,” and “theodicy” is an explanation of how God can justly allow evil.) The basic idea is this: While the fall was a great evil, it made it possible for God to bring about even greater goods in its wake: the God-glorifying goods of the incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and all the salvific blessings that flow from them.

我們或許會認為一個未曾墮落的世界會比一個墮落的世界更好——若其他一切都沒有變，這就是真的。然而，不是其他一切都沒有變，因為我們的世界不僅僅是一個墮落的世界。上帝永恆的兒子耶穌基督已經進入到這個墮落的世界裏，祂穿上了人性，在我們當中完美地表達出上帝的樣式，活出了在道德上毫無瑕疵的人生；藉著祂贖罪的死，為我們的罪完成了救贖，並且從墳墓裏凱旋地復活了，如今升到天上，不斷地為我們代禱，以確保我們在上帝的同在中可以得到一個永恆喜樂的居所。One might think an unfallen creation would be preferable to a fallen creation—and all else being equal, that’s true. But all else is not equal, for our world is not merely a fallen creation. It’s a fallen creation into which the eternal Son of God has entered, taking on human nature, perfectly expressing God’s likeness in our midst, living a morally flawless life, making atonement for our sins through his sacrificial death, rising in triumph from the grave, and ascending into heaven where he continually intercedes and secures for us an eternal joyful dwelling-place in God’s presence.

總的來說，一個有悲慘墮落、卻也有一個美妙救恩的世界，比起一個沒有墮落、沒有救恩的世界，更能榮耀上帝。A world with no fall and no salvation is altogether less God-glorifying than a world with a tragic fall but also a wondrous salvation.

這重要嗎？Does It Matter?

這對我們的意義是：上帝已經預定了一個世界，在這個世界中，我們可以認識祂，毫無隔閡地與祂同住——祂不僅是一位創造主，更是一位救贖主。神學的類比往往會帶來危害，不過，也許這個說法是走在正確的方向上：儘管通姦是一個極為嚴重的罪，一個不忠卻得到完全的赦免，並且與妻子和好的丈夫，從他心底發出的感恩的愛，甚至會比他在婚禮當天所經歷到並表達出來的愛更加豐富。

What this means for us is that God has ordained a world in which we can know and intimately live with him—not only as Creator, but also as Redeemer. Theological analogies are always hazardous, but perhaps this gestures in the right direction: While adultery is a grievous sin, the grateful love of an unfaithful husband who has been completely forgiven and reconciled to his wife will be deeper and richer even than the love he experienced and expressed on their wedding day.

以一個按照祂形象被造的被造物的身份來認識上帝、與祂相交，是極大的祝福；而以一個得贖罪人，按照祂兒子的形象得著恢復的身份，來認識上帝、與祂相交，是更大且無法估量的祝福。

To know fellowship with God as a creature made in his image is a great blessing; to know fellowship with God as a redeemed sinner restored in his Son’s image is immeasurably greater.

我們一旦明白，這種永恆的榮耀若非有墮落，就是不會發生的，我們就可以開始領悟並感謝我們最有智慧和最有恩典的創造主為什麼竟然容許墮落發生的最重要的理由了。Once we grasp that such eternal glories could not have been realized apart from the fall, we can begin to appreciate the foremost reason why our wise and gracious Creator allowed it.

James N. Anderson在夏洛特的改革宗神學院（RTS）擔任助理教授，著有Paradox in Christian Theology (Wipf & Stock, 2007) and Why Should I Believe Christianity? (Christian Focus, 2016)等書。