Some people say, “How could there be a God that allows bad things to happen to little children?” Other people say, “How could there be a God that puts people in hell for all eternity?”
有人說:“神怎麼可以讓壞事發生在小孩子身上呢?” 也有人說:“神怎麼會讓人陷入一個永恆的地獄?”
Some people say, "How can a loving God not step in?" but then castigate him when he does step in.
有人說:“一個有愛心的神怎能不作什麼呢?” 但當神作了什麼的時後,人們又譴責神的作為。
God cares about everything that happens to children. Jesus said:
“... but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! (Matthew 18:6-7 NASB)
神關心孩子發生的一切的事。耶穌說:
「凡使這信我的一個小子跌倒的,倒不如把大磨石拴在這人的頸項上,沉在深海裏。 這世界有禍了,因為將人絆倒;絆倒人的事是免不了的,但那絆倒人的有禍了!(馬太福音 18:6-7 CUNP-神)
但無論誰使一個信我的小弟兄犯罪,倒不如拿一塊大磨石拴在他的頸項上,把他沉在深海裡。 “這世界有禍了,因為充滿使人犯罪的事。這些事是免不了的,但那使人犯罪的有禍了!(馬太福音 18:6-7 CNV)
Some people say, “What about the Buddhist or atheist Mother Theresas? What if Mother Theresa had a twin as selfless and sacrificial as herself, but the twin was Buddhist or atheist. How can God put her in an eternal hell along with the child molesters just because she is not a christian?”
有的人說「那,身為佛教(或無神論者) 的特蕾莎修女呢?假設有人像她一樣無私奉獻,但卻是佛教徒或無神論者。神怎能只是因為她不是基督徒將她跟著猥褻小孩的人一起陷入一個永在的地獄呢?」
( 德雷莎修女這裡的語意我推測應該是要表達:神是否僅僅因為一個人不是基督徒而將他陷入地獄──即使他為人像德雷莎修女一樣無私奉獻 )
A Buddhist or atheist Mother Theresa is saying, “I am going to do this good deed because I am the one who decides what is good and evil, and not my Maker. And if I decide that something is good that the Maker considers evil, that will I do.” Therefore, the good that the atheist Mother Theresa decides on will only arbitrarily and accidentally coincide with what God considers good.
蕾莎修女說:「我將做這件善事,是因決定善惡的人是我,而非我的創造主有權柄來命令我的。所以,倘或我認為某一件事是好的,即便造物主認為那件事是邪惡的,那我還是會照自己的意思來作。」 然而,特蕾莎修女所認為的善,只是形似神所認定的善。
She herself is not a child molester, but every time she tells someone they can decide what is right and wrong apart from God, she opens up the pathway to child molesting. And that is why God sees her, if not as culpable, still as an inexcusable accomplice, inasmuch as she set aside God's right to set the standard.
每當她宣揚人們可以不透過神而自行決定對錯,便是為猥褻小孩的人開路———即便她不是一個猥褻小孩的人。從神的角度來說 即使她不是罪魁禍首,也仍然承擔同謀或幫兇的部分責任———因為她拋棄了神設定標準的權柄。
Only God can set the standard of right and wrong, because all men are equal. I can not set the standard for you and you can not set the standard for me.
只有神才能設定對與錯的標準。因為所有人都是平等的;我無法為你設置標準,你也無法為我設置標準。
I cannot set the standard for you even if I persuade 99% of mankind to agree with me. What if I persuaded everyone to take up cannibalism, or ritual pedophilia (like India's temple child prostitution), would that make it right?
即使能說服99%的人類認同我,我也無法為你設定標準。假使我說服所有人都接受食人症或攣童儀式———例如印度廟的兒童賣淫 ,也無法改變它的正當性?
But how can you tell me I am wrong, if all men are equal?
但是,如果所有人都是平等的,你怎麼能告訴我我不對呢?
So there is no way to appeal to right and wrong unless it comes from something outside of man, something that is higher than our individual opinions.
因此,除非是基於某些來自人類之外且高於我們的個人觀點,否則就沒有辦法訴諸對與錯。
Everything in the universe is morally equal to everything else in the universe ... unless ... the Creator of the universe exists, then he would be higher.
宇宙之間的一切,在道德上都是平等的。唯有宇宙的創造者能高於一切。
If God exists, and he gave us an objective standard, along with PROOF that he gave us that objective standard...
只要神存在,而他賦於我們一個認證的標準,例如…
“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)
「他卻吩咐各處的人都要悔改, 因為他已經定好了日子,要藉著他所立的人,按公義審判天下,並且使他從死人中復活,給萬人作一個可信的憑據。」 (使徒行傳 17:30-31)
Then... I can say, “Pedophilia is wrong.”
那麼... 我就可以說:“猥褻小孩是不對的。”
And you say, “Who says?”
然後你說:“誰說的呢?”
And I say, “God says.The God who said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. The God who says that you will be excluded eternally from his presence (libertarian freedom of association), in what will feel like a lake of fire and brimstone to you in an eternal hell of outer darkness.
然後我就說:“神說的…就是那位說「 那些殺身體卻不能殺靈魂的,不要怕他們;倒要怕那位能把靈魂和身體都投入地獄裡的。」(馬太福音 10:28)說你將永遠從祂的面前被排除在外(自由注意的結社自由),在那外面的黑暗裡的永恆地獄中,對你來說就像硫磺的火湖裡中。
So yes, you're not a robot, but neither is God. You can choose to not follow his standard, but he also can choose to completely withdraw his presence from you in the day of judgment, if you don't choose to walk in the light as he sees it.”
是的,你不是機器人,但神也不是。 你可以選擇不遵循祂的標準,不在祂所願所認為的光中行走,但是祂也可以選擇在審判日與你完全撤消祂的存在。”
So if you reject the right of God to set the standard, you essentially reject all appeal to right and wrong, because no one can decide for another what is right and wrong.
因此,如果你拒絕神設定標準的權柄,那麼你實質上就是拒絕所有對是非的訴求,因為沒有人能為他人決定是非,善惡。
So back to our original premise: The Buddhist or atheist Mother Theresa herself is not a child molester, but every time she tells someone they can decide what is right and wrong apart from God, she opens up the pathway to child molesting. And that is why God sees her, if not the main perpetrator, still as an inexcusable accomplice, inasmuch as she set aside God's right to set the standard.
回到我們原來的前提:一個佛教徒或無神論者的特蕾莎,她本人不是一位猥褻兒童的,但是她每當告訴人他們可以決定除神以外的決定對與錯時,她都會開闢猥褻兒童的道路。 這就是為什麼神認為她,即使不是主要的犯罪者,卻仍然是必承擔部分責任的同謀或幫兇,因為她拋棄了神設定標準的權利。
The Buddhist or atheist Mother Theresa did not choose to molest children with her repudiation of God's authority to set the standard … but others will … others will certainly so use this freedom. She has sown the wind and will reap the whirlwind.
佛教徒或無神論者特蕾莎並沒有選擇用她拒絕神設定標準的權威來騷擾孩子……但是其他人會的……其他人肯定會這樣使用這個不必不遵循神的標準的自由。 她播下了風,將收穫旋風。
...Because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law....With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, that they might be cut off... For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind.... (Hosea 8:1-5, 7)
...因為這民違背我的約, 干犯我的律法。...他們用金銀為自己製造偶像, 以致被剪除。...他們所種的是風,所收的是暴風... (何西阿書 8:1-7 CUNP-神)
I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts... (Isaiah 65:2)
我整天伸手招呼那悖逆的百姓; 他們隨自己的意念行不善之道。(以賽亞書 65:2 CUNP-神)
I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.
(Jeremiah 10:23 NASB)
耶和華啊!我知道 人的道路是不由自己的; 人行走時,也不能確定自己的腳步。(耶利米書 10:23 CNV)
And you, gentle reader. Perhaps you are otherwise a good father to your kids, but you never told them about their Heavenly Father, and God's right to set the standard, and how he expects them to learn that standard and follow in his steps, if he is to be able to welcome them into his presence on the day of judgment.
你呢,溫柔的讀者? 也許你是一位好父親,但你從來沒告訴過你的孩子關於他們的天父,以及神設置標準的權威,以及祂希望他們如何學習這個標準,並遵循祂的腳步,如果他能夠在審判日歡迎他們加入祂的天家團員。
Have you allowed your children to grow up assuming they can know what is good on their own, when in reality a person's sense of right and wrong is to a great extent an accident of upbringing:
你是否讓自己的孩子長大,讓他們一直以為他們可以自己來感受知道什麼算是絕對的好絕對的壞。而實際上,一個人對於是非的認定,很大程度上是透過教養形成的。
Cannibal children grow up thinking cannibalism is the order of life, North Korean children grow up thinking whatever North Korea wants them to think, children of alcoholics often grow up to be alcoholics, children of idol worshippers, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, Catholics, and other denominations often grow up to be whatever their parents were.
食人族兒童長大後,認為食人族是正常的生活,北韓的小孩長大後會相信北韓所教他們相信的什麼,醉鬼的孩子通常長大後成為醉鬼;拜偶像的,穆斯林,佛教徒,無神論者,天主教徒和其他教派的小孩都往往長大後就像父母一樣。
So you, oh gentle father, may be allowing your children to grow up like an atheist Mother Theresa, with their sense of right and wrong eroding from generation to generation under the winds of change, until your grandchild or great-grandchild becomes a moral Frankenstein in God's sight, one of those who destroy the earth and its children in a great way instead of the usual small and insidious ways.
因此,你呢,溫柔的爸爸,可能目前正在讓你的孩子像一個無神論的特蕾莎一樣長大,他們的對與錯感在變革之風下代代的侵蝕掉溜走了,直到你的孫子或曾孫中有一位成為道德上的科學怪人在神的眼中,比一般的小而陰險的方式的人更嚴重的來迫害世界合世界的小孩。
If that happens, will not God hold the great-grandfather partially responsible who knew God's standard but chose not to lead his children in the Way?
如果發生這樣來的話,神會不會讓你這位曾祖父承擔部分責任,因為你知道神的標準,卻選擇不帶領你的孩子們進入那個道路中走?
God, the father of fathers, expects all earthly fathers to pass on his standard and the knowledge of him to their children, to the next generation.
神,萬父之父,預期你們爸爸們將祂的標準還有認識神的知識傳給下一代。
“You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7 NASB)
你要把這些話不斷地教訓你的兒女,無論你坐在家裡,或行在路上,或躺下,或起來的時候,都要談論。(申命記 6:7 CNV)
For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.”
Genesis 18:19 NASB
我揀選了他 ,是要他吩咐子孫,和他的家屬,遵守我耶和華的道,秉公行義,好叫我耶和華應許亞伯拉罕的話都可實現。”
創世記 18:19 CNV
If one of your great-grandchildren becomes a child molester, will not God hold you partially responsible, who chose not to read God's Word to your children from the cradle?
如果你的曾孫中有一位成為猥褻小孩的人,神會不會讓您承擔部分責任,因為你選擇不從搖籃裡時向你的孩子們宣讀神的話麼?
“For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!”
「絆倒人的事是免不了的,但那絆倒人的有禍了!」
As a father you can many times make or break your child's relationship with God, because how your child experiences his earthly father, will color how he sees his Heavenly Father.
作為父親來說,你可以建立或破壞孩子與神的關係,因為你的孩子如何體驗其塵世間的父親,將使他如何看待他的天父。
You represent God to your children, before they are able to come into their own relationship with him.
你的孩子與神建立關係之前的時候,你就向他們代表神。
And if up to now you didn't realize the consequences of neglecting God's standard, yet you have cultivated a good relationship with your children, then you still have something that is very precious in the sight of God, and on which you can build a different future for your family.
如果直到現在你還沒有意識到忽視神標準的後果,但是你已經與孩子們建立了良好的關係,那麼在神的看來,你仍然擁有一個非常珍貴的東西,而你可以在此基礎上為家人建立了一個不同的未來。
We were born into this world in order to leave it and meet our God. Have you told your children about their Heavenly Father? Do you patiently teach them to follow him? Are you preparing them to meet their God?
我們出生於這個世界是為了離開它並遇見我們的神。你有沒有跟孩子說到他們的天父? 你耐心地教他們跟隨祂嗎? 你是否準備他們好迎接他們的神?
Have you thought what it must feel like for God to see each baby born pure and innocent and then watch the outside world gradually darken their minds? Are you a part of the darkening or the lightening? How many times has God had to watch that with every human born since the beginning of the world? His longsuffering and lovingkindness must be vast. And how dear to him must be those who hold fast to what is good.
您是否想過神看到每個純潔無辜的嬰兒,出生後被環繞的世界逐漸變暗的想法,這對神會有什麼樣的感覺? 您是那變暗還是變亮的一部分? 自世界之初以來,當每個人出生,神必須多少次忍受這過程呢?祂的忍耐和仁慈一定是巨大的。 那些堅持善良的人必須對他多麼的珍惜。
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Article correction: “God cares about everything that happens to children” originally read “God sees all the children in dungeons” which left the erroneous impression the dungeons were mentioned in the Bible and not the news articles under discussion.