APPENDIX: THE BIBLE ｜ 附录：圣经

ENTHE BIBLE. A most appropriate—because most comprehensive, exact and inclusive—motto-text for the title-page of the Bible would be the announcement of the Baptist when Jesus approached him for baptism: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" [The Bible was not written for "literature," although it is foremost among literary productions. It was not written for scientific teaching, although its intimations of scientific truth have probably been misunderstood only because men have not discovered the wonders of nature as God knows them. It was not written for history, although its records of ancient nations besides the Hebrews are invaluable. One purpose runs through all the book—in poetry, prophecy, history—only one, that is, salvation. From beginning to end, if we read in the light of the Spirit, we see Christ the Saviour of men. This is the mystery of the saving power of the Word: other books appeal to the mind and the heart; this goes through the mind and the heart into the deepest being, the inner self.] [Historic character of the Bible. Sacred books other than the Bible have no historic character, or will not bear examination in the forum of history; they do not carry history. The Vedas of the Hindoos are poetry and philosophy; the writings of Confucius were mostly of a political character. You will not find the sacred books of any of the heathen peoples that will give a course of history, of biographical cast, like that in the Bible from Christ back to Abraham; nor will you find one of them that will give you a sweep over national histories like that contained in this Book. If the Bible is not distinguished from all these other sacred books by its monotheism and its morality, it is by the trustworthiness of its historic record: just as far back as research has been able to push inquisition, so far has the Bible history been found reliable. C. Caverno.]

BSBJohn 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

中圣经。若要为圣经的扉页选一句最合适的题词——因为它最全面、最确切、最能囊括一切——那就是施洗约翰在耶稣前来受洗时所说的那句话：『看哪，神的羔羊，除去世人罪孽的！』〔圣经不是为『文学』而写的，虽然它在一切文学作品中居首。它不是为科学教学而写的，虽然它对科学真理的种种暗示之所以被误解，多半只是因为人还没有像神所知道的那样去发现自然的奇妙。它不是为历史而写的，虽然它关于希伯来人以外古代列邦的记载价值无量。有一个宗旨贯穿全书——无论在诗歌、预言还是历史中——只有一个，就是救恩。从头到尾，我们若在圣灵的光中读，就都看见基督，就是世人的救主。这正是神的道具有拯救之能的奥秘所在：别的书打动的是人的心思与情感；这一本却穿过心思与情感，直入人最深处的存在，直入那内里的自我。〕〔圣经的历史性。圣经以外的各种圣典，或没有历史性，或经不起历史法庭的检验；它们承载不起历史。印度教的《吠陀》是诗歌与哲学；孔子的著作大体属于政治性质。你在任何异教民族的圣典中，都找不到一段像圣经中『从基督上溯到亚伯拉罕』这样、具有传记笔法的连贯历史；你也找不出其中任何一部，能像这本书那样纵览列国的历史。如果说圣经与所有这些别的圣典的分别不在于它的一神信仰与它的道德，那么这分别就在于它历史记载的可靠：研究的追问推到多远，圣经历史被发现可靠的程度就到多远。卡维诺（C. Caverno）〕

EN[Not words, but deeds, constitute the most impressive revelation of God. He speaks to men through history; He came by Jesus Christ; and the incarnation was only the crown of an unbroken historic revelation. Not in legal codes and in ritual ordinances are we to search for the secret and vital principle of God's self-revelation, but in the historical events in which they are embedded, and which make them radiant with eternal meaning. The whole patriarchal history and the discipline of Israel are luminous with warning and encouragement. We are enriched by the narratives of Abraham, and Joseph, and Moses, and Joshua, and the Judges, and the kings—loyal and rebellious. There are no better stories for our children; there are no more impressive narratives for the oldest; they constitute an invaluable primer of morality and religion. They were written and preserved for our admonition; they are not cunningly devised fables. Behrends.] [Its history is largely biographical. From Christ back to Abraham we have a thoroughly reliable biographical history. I prefer to call this portion of biblical history biographical, because it deals with the fortunes of individual men, and because inherently it is biographical as distinguished from race or national history. The history runs over a large section of the fortunes of the people, to be sure; but all along the eye is made to rest on prominent characters, and where they fail the history fades in respect to definiteness of outline. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob come before you as individual men; the stream of tribal history sinks from view till Moses and Aaron appear; the heroic age has its leaders in Joshua, Jephthah, Gideon, Samson; prophecy you do not see as a movement, but you do see Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel. The history of the kingdoms is a history of their kings. Caverno.]

BSB1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

中〔神最感人的启示，不在言语，而在作为。他藉着历史向人说话；他藉着耶稣基督来到；而道成肉身不过是那一段从未中断之历史启示的冠冕。神自我启示那隐秘而关键的原理，我们不该到律法条文与礼仪典章中去寻找，而应到那些把条文典章嵌在其中的历史事件中去寻找——正是这些事件使条文典章闪耀出永恒的意义。整部列祖的历史、以及神对以色列的管教，都因警戒与激励而通体发亮。亚伯拉罕、约瑟、摩西、约书亚、众士师、以及那些忠心或悖逆的君王，他们的记述使我们得着丰富。给孩子们讲，没有比这更好的故事；给最年长的人读，没有比这更感人的记述；它们构成一部无价的道德与宗教启蒙读本。这些记述被写下、被保存，是为警戒我们；它们不是人巧妙编造的虚言。贝伦兹（Behrends）〕〔圣经的历史大体上是传记式的。从基督上溯到亚伯拉罕，我们有一部完全可靠的传记式历史。我宁愿把圣经历史的这一部分称为传记式的，因为它处理的是个别人物的际遇，也因为它本质上是传记，有别于族类史或国族史。诚然，这段历史也铺陈了这民族相当长一段的经历；但一路上，读者的眼睛总被引到几位突出的人物身上；一旦这些人物缺席，历史的轮廓就变得模糊。亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各是作为一个个具体的人出现在你面前的；此后部族历史的河流隐没不见，直到摩西与亚伦出现；英雄时代有约书亚、耶弗他、基甸、参孙为其领袖；先知运动你看不见其为一场『运动』，你所看见的是撒母耳、以利亚、以利沙、以赛亚、耶利米、但以理。列国的历史，就是列王的历史。卡维诺（Caverno）〕

EN[The Bible and science. Modern science has really raised no new difficulties to faith in the Christian revelation. If it had done so, the company of Christian believers would not be adorned with that remarkable galaxy of great scientific lights which is so conspicuous in modern times. Beginning with Sir Isaac Newton, and ending with Faraday, Lord Kelvin and Clerk-Maxwell in England—and, among many others in America, Joseph Henry, Asa Gray, J. D. Dana, Le Conte and Professor Young—the roll of science has never failed to be adorned with Christian believers of the most pronounced and childlike character. Those who have drunk deepest from the wells of science are those who have thirsted most for the waters which Christ alone has supplied. G. F. Wright.] [The Bible stands firm against assault. If we wonder at the number and variety of the attacks upon the system of truth contained in the Bible, we have equal cause to be grateful for the number and variety of the defenses which have been made of the divine origin of the sacred records. These defenses are not only numerous, but dissimilar and independent of each other; and they become cumulative with advancing time. The providence of God is the interpreter of the truth of prophecy, for as the centuries move on the fulfilled predictions of Holy Writ become more and more impressive. Consider the continued triumph of the Gospel over all forms of opposition; the superiority of its morals as contrasted with all other ethical systems; the perfect ideal presented by the life and character of Christ, over against all the human ideals proposed for study and imitation; and the confession made by writers of all nationalities and degrees of culture, of all faiths and unbeliefs—men who after the strictest scrutiny have been unable to find any flaw or blemish in the ineffable purity and beauty of the character of Christ; men who came to vilify and misrepresent, but who, as they contemplated it, became filled with tender and irrepressible admiration, and ended by admitting that His was the matchless ideal which satisfied both the intellect and the heart. Every new discovery of archaeology, every fresh light thrown on the accuracy of the Mosaic records, every disinterred and deciphered inscription which confirms any part of biblical history, adds both to the number and to the strength of the ever-accumulating evidences of the truth of our holy religion. M. D. Hoge.]

BSBIsaiah 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

中〔圣经与科学。近代科学其实并没有给『相信基督教的启示』添出任何新的难处。它若真添出了，基督徒的行列中就不会点缀着近代那一批格外显眼、了不起的科学巨星。从艾萨克·牛顿爵士起，到英国的法拉第、开尔文勋爵与麦克斯韦为止——以及美国众多学者中的约瑟·亨利、阿萨·格雷、丹纳、勒孔特与扬教授——科学的名册上从来不乏信仰最鲜明、最像孩子的基督徒。凡从科学之井中饮得最深的人，也正是最渴慕那惟有基督才供应之活水的人。赖特（G. F. Wright）〕〔圣经在攻击面前屹立不动。我们若惊讶于针对圣经所载真理体系之攻击的数量与花样，我们同样有理由为那些为圣典之神圣来源所作辩护的数量与花样而感恩。这些辩护不但众多，而且彼此各异、互相独立；并且随着时代推进而不断累积。神的护理是预言之真实性的解释者，因为世纪推移，圣经中已应验的预告便愈发令人震动。试想：福音持续胜过一切形式的反对；它的道德与其他一切伦理体系相比所具的优越；基督的生平与品格所呈现的完美理想，与人所提出供人研摹的一切理想相对照时的分量；还有那些出自各国籍、各种教养程度、各种信仰与不信之写作者的自白——他们在最严格的审视之后，仍无法在基督品格那不可言喻的纯洁与美丽中找出任何瑕疵或污点；他们本是来诋毁、来歪曲的，却在凝视之中被一种温柔而无法抑制的敬慕充满，最终不得不承认：他的品格正是那既满足理智又满足心灵的、无与伦比的理想。考古学的每一项新发现，每一道照亮摩西记载之准确性的新光，每一块被掘出并释读、印证了圣经历史某一部分的铭文，都在为我们圣教之真实性那日积月累的证据增添数量与力量。霍格（M. D. Hoge）〕

EN[Summary: proofs of inspiration. First, by way of preliminary assurance, the general result of historical criticism as to the genuineness and authenticity of the Bible as a whole, as well as the satisfactory issue of the special investigations into the merits of certain parts of it. Recent "destructive criticism" has not been able to destroy the "impregnable rock of Holy Scripture," but has done invaluable service in removing from it the accumulated moss of centuries of human tradition. Second, as subsidiary proof, looking at the Bible as a whole, the argument from its organic unity, in spite of its diversity of authorship and the origin of its several parts at centuries of time and continents of space removed from each other. The Bible is a continuous whole, a completed design, its perfectly co-ordinated parts supplied by workmen often ignorant of one another's labors. Third, as further evidence, the twofold witness of the Church and of history, throughout the world and the centuries, back to the most primitive times: the former always recognizing the Bible which we now have as divine, and testifying to its satisfaction of the religious feelings and deepest needs of mankind; the latter unequivocally affirming its uniform and unmatched influence for good upon the individual and upon society. There is, fourthly and conclusively, the testimony of the Spirit of God to the intelligence and heart of the individual believer, and to the mind of the organized body of believers, in all countries and ages—removing doubts, illuminating saving truth, and assuring the soul and the Church of their possession of the written "Word of God." W. W. Elwang.] A list of complete versions, compiled by Dr. J. G. Watt, Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, gives the following leading data: translations of the entire Scriptures exist at present to the number of 108—of these 40 are in the languages of Europe, 41 in the languages of Asia, 14 in the languages of Africa, 10 in those of Australia and Oceanica, and 3 in American languages. Nearly all of the Asiatic versions have been made during the course of the present century, and are chiefly the results of the scholarship and industry of Christian missionaries. Of the 108 complete versions, the British and Foreign Bible Society, organized in 1804, has alone published 80; the rest have appeared from the presses of the other British, the American, the German and the Dutch Bible societies. If partial translations are added to these complete versions, the total will reach almost the figure of five hundred.

BSB2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

中〔总结：默示的证明。第一，作为初步的保证，是历史考据关于圣经整体之真确性与可靠性的总体结论，以及对其中某些部分所作专门考查的令人满意的结果。近来的『破坏性批判』并未能摧毁那『圣经的坚固磐石』，反倒立下了无价之功——把数百年来人为传统在其上积起的苔藓清除了。第二，作为辅助的证明，是就圣经整体而言、由其有机统一性所构成的论证：尽管作者各异，各部分的起源在时间上相隔数百年、在空间上相隔数大洲，它却仍是一个连贯的整体、一个完成了的设计；其各部分配合得完美无间，而供稿的工匠们往往彼此并不知道对方在做什么。第三，作为进一步的凭据，是教会与历史双重的见证——遍及全世界、贯穿各世纪，一直上溯到最原初的时代：前者始终承认我们今日所有的这本圣经是神圣的，并见证它满足了人类的宗教情感与最深的需要；后者则毫不含糊地肯定它对个人与社会那始终如一、无可比拟的良好影响。第四，也是最终决定性的，是神的灵向个别信徒的理智与内心、并向有组织之信徒群体的心思所作的见证——除去疑惑，照亮那使人得救的真理，使灵魂与教会确信：他们手中所有的正是那写下来的『神的道』。埃尔瓦（W. W. Elwang）〕英国及海外圣经公会秘书瓦特博士（Dr. J. G. Watt）所编的全译本清单，提供了如下主要数据：目前全本圣经的译本共 108 种——其中 40 种为欧洲语言，41 种为亚洲语言，14 种为非洲语言，10 种为澳洲与大洋洲语言，3 种为美洲语言。亚洲各译本几乎都是本世纪内完成的，主要出自基督教宣教士的学养与勤劳。在这 108 种全译本中，成立于 1804 年的英国及海外圣经公会一家就出版了 80 种；其余则出自其他英国、美国、德国与荷兰各圣经公会的印刷所。若把部分译本也算进来，总数将接近五百之数。【按：以上为 1897 年原书所记数据。】