经海拾珠 Pearls in the Sea of Knowledge from the Bible
《圣经》片段精选赏析与比较研究—Appreciation, Analysis and Comparative Study of Some Scriptures in the Bible
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“神”是基督教中的一个核心概念，创世纪开篇就是：“起初神创造天地，地是空虚混沌。渊面黑暗。神的灵运行在水面上。神说，要有光，就有了光。”约翰福音的开篇是： “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”翻译过来就是：“太初有道，道与神同在，道就是神。这道太初与神同在。万物是藉着他造的。凡被造的，没有一样不是藉着他造的。” 在启示录中有如下描述：“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” 译文如下：“主神说，我是阿拉法，我是俄梅戛（阿拉法俄梅戛乃希腊字母首末二字），是昔在今在以后永在的全能者。” 从这几段经文中可以看出，根据《圣经》，神是自有永有的，万物是神造的。word 一词，在英语中有“话”、“单词”、“言辞”、“消息”、“诺言”、“命令”等各种意思，大写Word专指基督教的福音。在这里中国人把它翻译成“道”，并且经文说“道就是神”。那么这个“道”与中国道家学说开山太祖老子所说的“道”是不是一样的呢？ 《道德经》开篇是这样说的： “道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。 意思是：道，能够表达出来的，就不是永恒不变的道，名，可以叫得出的，就不是永恒不变的名。可见，老子认为，道，是看不见、摸不着、说不清、写不明的，任何概念无法界定的，而且是永恒不变的自然法则。 第二十五章是如此论述的： 有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，独立而不改，周行而不殆，可以为天下母。吾不知其名，强字之曰道，强为之名曰大。大曰逝，逝曰远，远曰反。故道大，天大，地大，人亦大。域中有四大，而人居其一焉。人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。 意思是：有一个混然一体的东西，在天地出现之前就存在了。既无声又无形，它独立长存而永恒不变，循环运行而不止息，可以说他是天下万物的根源。我不知道它的名字，只好叫它“道”，再勉强命名为“大”。它广大无际而又循环往复，它离开出发点而远行，运行到极点则又返回本源。所以，“道”是大的，天是大的，地是大的，人也是大的。宇宙中有四种大，而人是其中之一。人遵循地的规律，地遵循天的规律，天遵循道的规律，道遵循自己的规律——自然。 第四十二章有： 道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。万物负阴而抱阳，冲气以为和。 意思是：道是独一无二的，道本身包含阴阳二气，阴阳二气相交而形成一种适匀的状态，万物在这种状态中产生。万物背阴而向阳，并且在阴阳二气的互相激荡而成新的和谐体。 从上述引文可以看出，《圣经》中的“道”（Word），和老子认识的“道”有很大的相同之处，但也有差异。相同之处在于，两者都认可“道”是先天而存在的，是自有永有的，是万事万物之根源。不同之处在于：《圣经》中的“道”被具象化了，说，“道与神同在，道即是神”。神又被描述成一个有情有义有意识的万能着，神创造万物，有他的目的性，而且万物都按照他的意志运行。而老子所认识的“道”，则是一种周而复始，循环往复，运行不止的自然规律，或者说是宇宙规律。万事万物的生成，只是道运行的自然结果，不具目的性。道是没有情感喜好的，人只有遵循这个规律行事，就无往不利。这从《道德经》第五章中可以看出： 天地不仁，以万物为刍狗；圣人不仁，以百姓为刍狗。天地之间，其犹橐(tuó)籥(yuè)乎？虚而不屈，动而俞出。多言数穷，不如守中。 意思是：天地是无所谓仁慈偏爱的，它对待万物就像对待祭品一样平等；圣人也是无所谓仁慈偏爱的，他对待百姓也像对待祭品一样，任凭百姓自作自息。天地之间，不正像一个大风箱吗？静止的时候，它只是一个空虚的世界，一旦运动起来，就会运转不息，永远不会枯竭。政令频出使国家迅速穷困甚至灭亡，不如守“无为”之道来治理国家。 这里的 “无为”并非是“无所作为”的意思，而是要顺应自然规律，不要刻意去改变，强求。
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About the Book
The Creation, Eden, the fall of man, Cain and Abel, Noah’s ark, the great flood, and the Tower of Babel from the Old Testament of the Bible are old stories familiar to most people; through thought-provoking exploration and cross-cultural comparison, however, new perspectives and insights are shed onto them. By associating what Jesus preached to people with both history and modern times, some universal truth in His teaching can be found. Read through the book, and you may understand that building a harmonious and prosperous world is the common aspiration of all people in the world, regardless of race or nationality. Jesus and Mohammad are both bridges between God and human beings, as well as bridges between the ideal and reality. Communism is another name of worldly heaven. Believing God, aspiring to worldly heaven and seeking communism are both pursuing the highest standard of truth, virtue, and beauty. Therefore, instead of fighting for a different name, people with different beliefs should promote communication and understanding and develop together.
About the Author
Benedict Wang is a Chinese teacher teaching English for the university students in a Chinese university, Hubei Institute for Nationalities. He became interested in the Bible while he was a university student. Two years ago he began to offer Selective Reading of the Bible Stories as an optional course for the university students. Every year, roughly three hundred students choose this course. While giving lectures, he made further research and improved spiritually together with his students. He organized his thoughts into this book. After getting to Harding University in 2013, he attended the college Church of Christ frequently and was helped by several missionaries, especially Dr. Ed Higginbotham. These experiences cleared his doubts and confirmed his belief in Jesus Christ and the salvation of God.