人可以在没有神的情况下活着吗？

问：“人可以在没有神的情况下活着吗？”

答：与无神论者和不可知论者千百年来的主张相反，人并不能在没有神的情况下存活。人可以在不承认神的情况下拥有一个肉身的生命，但如果没有神存在这个事实，人根本不能存活。

东九龙的冬日（2020年1月16日，段晓冬摄）

作为创造者，神是人类生命的起源。如果说即使没有神也可以有人的存在，那相当于说即使没有表匠也可以出现手表，或者即使没有讲故事的人也可以出现故事。我们的存在是因为神，因为我们是按他的形象造的（创世记1:27）。无论我们是否承认神的存在，我们的存活都系于他。

作为维系者，上帝持续赋予生命（诗篇104:10-32）。他是生命（约翰福音14:6），万有都靠他而立（歌罗西书1:17）。甚至那些拒绝神的人也因他才得以维系：“他叫日头照好人，也照歹人；降雨给义人，也给不义的人”（马太福音5:45）。若认为人可以在没有神的情况下生存，那相当于设想向日葵在没有光的情况下仍可以生存，或者玫瑰在没有水的情况下仍可以生存。

作为救主，神赐给相信他的人永生。生命在基督里面，这生命就是人的光（约翰福音1:4）。耶稣来，是要让我们得生命，“并且得的更丰盛”（约翰福音10:10）。凡信靠他的人，都得到永远与他同在的应许（约翰福音3:15-16）。人若想活着——真正地活着——就必须认识基督（约翰福音17:3）。

若没有神，人只能有一个肉体的生命。神警告亚当和夏娃，在他们拒绝他的那天，他们“必定死”（创世记2:17）。众所周知，他们确实悖逆了神，但在那天他们并未肉身死亡，而是灵命死亡。他们内在的某些东西死了——他们曾有过的灵命，与神的相交，享受神同在的自由，灵魂的纯真和纯洁——一切都消失了。

亚当本来在被造后可以享受与神同在的生命以及与神的相交，但最终受到诅咒，只能有一个单纯肉体的存在。神的本意是让他从尘土升至光荣，现在只能从尘土归回尘土。与亚当一样，今日没有神同在的人依然可以有一个尘世的存在。这等人可能看起来是幸福的；毕竟，今世确实可以有些快乐和享受。但若没有与神的关系，即便是这些快乐和享受也无法充分得到。

有些拒绝神的人过着放纵愉悦的生活。他们对肉身之乐的追求似乎带来了一种无忧无虑和满足的生存状态。圣经说，确实会有某种罪中之乐（希伯来书11:25）。问题在于，它是很短暂的；这个世界上的生命转瞬即逝（诗篇90:3-12）。享乐主义者迟早会像比喻中的浪子那样，发现世俗的快乐难以持久（路加福音15:13-15）。

然而，并不是每个拒绝神的人都是空洞的享乐主义者。有许多未得救的人也过着严肃认真、颇有自律——甚至幸福充实的生活。圣经提出的某些道德准则会让这个世界上的每个人受益——忠心、诚实、自制，等等。不过还是那句话，如果没有神，人只有这个世界。在这个世界上顺利过一辈子，丝毫不能保证我们能够为死后的另一个世界做好准备。请参阅路加福音12:16-21中那个财主的比喻，以及马太福音19:16-23中耶稣与那个有钱（但很有道德）的少年人之间的对话。

若没有神，人即使在肉身的生命中都无法满足。人之所以不能与他人和平相处，是因他不能与自己和平共处。人之所以对自己感到不安，是因他未能享受在神里面的平安。为快乐本身而追求快乐是内心动荡不安的迹象。自古至今，享乐主义者已经一次又一次地发现，生命的暂时放纵带来的是更深的绝望。“有些事不对劲”的感觉总是挥之不去、令人愁烦。所罗门王不遗余力地追求这个世界的享乐，他将自己的发现记录在传道书中。

所罗门发现，知识本身是徒劳的（传道书1:12-18）。他发现，快乐和富裕是徒劳的（2:1-11），物质主义是愚蠢的（2:12-23），财产是短暂的（第6章）。

所罗门得出结论，生命是上帝的恩赐（3:12-13），唯一明智的生活方式是敬畏上帝：“这些事都已听见了，总意就是：敬畏神，谨守他的诫命，这是人所当尽的本分。因为人所做的事，连一切隐藏的事，无论是善是恶，神都必审问”（12:13-14）。

换句话说，生命不仅仅属于物质层面。耶稣如此强调这一点：“人活着，不是单靠食物，乃是靠神口里所出的一切话”（马太福音4:4）。使我们活着的不是食物（物质），而是神的道（灵性）。我们在自身之内寻找可以治愈我们一切痛苦的药方是无用的。人只有认识神，才能找到生命和满足。

如果没有神，人的命运就是地狱。没有神的人在灵上已经死了；当他的肉身生命结束时，他面临的是与神的永久隔绝。在耶稣讲的那个财主和拉撒路的故事中（路加福音16:19-31），财主过着轻松自在的快乐生活，丝毫未想到神；而拉撒路一生穷困潦倒，但认识神。直到他俩死后，两人才真正领悟到他们在世上所做选择的分量。财主终于明白，生命不仅仅在于追求财富，但已经来不及了。同时，拉撒路在天堂中得享安慰。对两人来说，与永恒的灵魂相比，世上的短暂生命实在微不足道。

人是一种独特的创造。神将永恒的意识安置在我们心里（传道书3:11），而这种永恒命运的意识只有在神那里才能得到满足。

（原文链接：https://www.gotquestions.org/man-live-without-God.html）

Can man live without God?

Question:

"Can man live without God?"

Answer: Contraryto the claims of atheists and agnostics through the centuries, man cannot livewithout God. Man can have a mortal existence without acknowledging God, but notwithout the fact of God.

As the Creator, God

originated human life.To say that man can exist apartfrom God is to say that a watch can exist without a watchmaker or a story canexist without a storyteller. We owe our being to the God in whose image we aremade (Genesis 1:27). Our existence depends on God,whether we acknowledge His existence or not.

As the Sustainer,

God continuously confers life (Psalm 104:10-32).He islife (John 14:6), and all creation is held togetherby the power of Christ (Colossians 1:17).Even those who reject God receive their sustenance from Him: “He causes his sunto rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and theunrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). To think that man can livewithout God is to suppose a sunflower can continue to live without light or arose without water.

As the Savior, God

gives eternal life to those who believe.In Christ islife, which is the light of men (John 1:4). Jesus came that we may have life“and have it to the full” (John 10:10).All who place their trust in Him are promised eternity with Him (John 3:15-16). For man to live—truly live—he mustknow Christ (John 17:3).

Without God, man

has physical life only.God warned Adam and Eve that onthe day they rejected Him they would “surely die” (Genesis 2:17). As we know, they did disobey,but they did not die physically that day; rather, they died spiritually.Something inside them died—the spiritual life they had known, the communionwith God, the freedom to enjoy Him, the innocence and purity of their soul—itwas all gone.

Adam, who had been created to live and fellowship with God, was cursed with acompletely carnal existence. What God had intended to go from dust to glory nowwas to go from dust to dust. Just like Adam, the man without God today stillfunctions in an earthly existence. Such a person may seem to be happy; afterall, there is enjoyment and pleasure to be had in this life. But even thoseenjoyments and pleasures cannot be fully received without a relationship withGod.

Some who reject God live lives of diversion and merriment. Their fleshlypursuits seem to yield a carefree and gratified existence. The Bible says thereis a certain measure of delight to be had in sin (Hebrews 11:25). The problem is that it istemporary; life in this world is short (Psalm 90:3-12). Sooner or later, the hedonist,like the prodigal son in the parable, finds that worldly pleasure isunsustainable (Luke 15:13-15).

Not everyone who rejects God is an empty pleasure-seeker, however. There aremany unsaved people who live disciplined, sober lives—happy and fulfilledlives, even. The Bible presents certain moral principles which will benefitanyone in this world—fidelity, honesty, self-control, etc. But, again, withoutGod man has only this world. Getting smoothly through this life is no guaranteethat we are ready for the afterlife. See the parable of the rich farmer inLuke 12:16-21and Jesus’ exchange withthe rich (but very moral) young man inMatthew 19:16-23.

Without God, man is

unfulfilled, even in his mortal life.Man is not at peacewith his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself. Man is restlesswith himself because he has no peace with God. The pursuit of pleasure forpleasure’s sake is a sign of inner turmoil. Pleasure seekers throughout historyhave found over and over that the temporary diversions of life give way to adeeper despair. The nagging feeling that “something is wrong” is hard to shakeoff. King Solomon gave himself to a pursuit of all this world has to offer, andhe recorded his findings in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Solomon discovered that knowledge, in and of itself, is futile (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18). He found that pleasureand wealth are futile (2:1-11), materialism is folly (2:12-23), and riches arefleeting (chapter 6).

Solomon concludes that life is God’s gift (3:12-13) and the only wise way tolive is to fear God: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shallbring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, orwhether it be evil” (12:13-14).

In other words, there is more to life than the physical dimension. Jesusstresses this point when He says, “Man does not live on bread alone, but onevery word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Not bread (the physical) butGod’s Word (the spiritual) keeps us alive. It is useless for us to searchwithin ourselves for the cure to all our miseries. Man can only find life andfulfillment when he acknowledges God.

Without God, man’s

destiny is hell.The man without God is spiritually dead;when his physical life is over, he faces eternal separation from God. In Jesus’narrative of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man lives apleasurable life of ease without a thought of God, while Lazarus suffersthrough his life but knows God. It is after their deaths that both men trulycomprehend the gravity of the choices they made in life. The rich man realized,too late, that there is more to life than the pursuit of wealth. Meanwhile,Lazarus is comforted in paradise. For both men, the short duration of theirearthly existence paled in comparison to the permanent state of their souls.

Man is a unique creation. God has set a sense of eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and that sense of timelessdestiny can only find its fulfillment in God Himself.