In this chapter, Lewis explores several common and practical questions related to Christian belief.本章,Lewis探讨了与基督信仰相关的几个常见且实际的问题。
Christianity introduces the concept of a new kind of man—the new life that began in Christ is put to us. But how is this done? Lewis tackle this question by pointing out the oddness of natural birth and suggests that since both natural and spiritual births are designed by God, it's not surprising that this new birth is also odd.基督教引入了一种新人类的概念——我们被赐予了在基督里开始的新生命。但是这是如何做到的呢?Lewis通过指出自然出生的奇特性来回答这个问题,并提出,既然自然和属灵的出生都是由上帝设计的,那么这种属灵的新生的奇特性就并不令人惊讶。
He then discusses the three conductors of this new life:baptism, belief, and Holy Communion. Lewis cautions against focusing solely on these practices while neglecting our efforts to copy Christ. Just as we inherit our natural life from our parents and must maintain it, Christians must also actively sustain the Christ-life within them.接着,他讨论了这种新生命的三个媒介:洗礼、信仰和圣餐。Lewis提醒我们不要只关注这些仪式,而忽视了我们模仿基督的努力。正如我们从父母那里继承了自然生命,并必须维持它一样,基督徒也必须积极地维持内在的基督生命。
Lewis then differentiates how Christians view good deeds from how others might. "People hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or—if they think there isn’t—at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian believes any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good,but that God will make us good because He loves us." This statement perfectly explains the difference between Christianity and other religions:doing good is not the cause of God’s love but a consequence of it. While we are sinners, Christ died for us. We don't need—and indeed are not able—to perform good deeds to meet His holy standards.然后,Lewis区分了基督徒如何看待善行与他人可能的看法。“人们希望通过行善来取悦上帝(如果有上帝的话);或者——如果他们认为没有上帝——至少他们希望得到好人的认可。但是基督徒相信,他所做的任何好事都来自他内在的基督生命。他不认为上帝因为我们是好人才爱我们,而是因为上帝爱我们,所以使我们成为好人。”这段话完美地解释了基督教与其他宗教的区别:行善不是上帝我们的原因,而是其结果。当我们还是罪人时,基督为我们而死。我们不需要——也确实无法——通过善行来达到祂的圣洁标准。
Lewis also addresses concerns about "outsiders,"those who haven't heard about Christ. He asserts, "We do know that no man can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him." In other words, it's uncertain whether those unaware of Christ have another way to be saved through Him. Meanwhile, it is unreasonablefor someone to remain an outsider while worrying about other outsiders. Lewis还回应了关于“局外人”的担忧,即那些没有听说过基督的人。他指出,“我们知道的是,没有人可以不通过基督而得救;我们不知道的是,是否只有那些认识祂的人才能通过祂得救。”换句话说,对于那些不认识基督的人是否有其他方式通过祂得救,这个问题尚不确定。同时,一个人一边担心其他局外人,一边自己保持局外人的身份是不合理的。
Lastly, Lewis responds to another frequent inquiry: Why did God come to Earth in a subtle rather than forceful manner? The answer is straightforward: God wants us to freely choose to align with Him before His inevitable and forceful return, at which point no choice remains. "Thereis no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to standup.", “ We must take it or leave it”. 最后,Lewis回应了另一个常见的问题:为什么上帝以一种温柔而非强制的方式降临地球?答案很简单:上帝希望我们在祂不可避免的强制再来之前,自由选择与祂保持一致,因为到那时,我们将不再有选择的余地。“当站立变得不可能时,说你选择躺下是没有用的。”,“我们必须接受它或放弃它。“
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