THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY
Table of Contents
Preface
1: Why We Must Think Rightly About God.
2: God Incomprehensible.
3: A Divine Attribute: Something True About God.
4: The Holy God.
5: The Self-existence of God.
6: The Self-sufficiency of God.
7: The Eternity of God.
8: God's Infinitude.
9: The Immutability of God
10: The Divine Omniscience
11: The Wisdom of God.
12: The Omnipotence of God.
13: The Divine Transcendence.
14: God's Omnipresence.
15: The Faithfulness of God.
16: The Goodness of God.
17: The Justice of God.
18: The Mercy of God
19: The Grace of God.
20: The Love of God.
21: The Holiness of God
22: The Sovereignty of God.
23: The Open Secret.
圣 洁 的 知 识
Shèng-jié de zhī-shì
目 录 mù-lù
前 言 qián-yán
1：为什么我们必须正确地思考上帝。
1: Wèishéme wǒmen bìxū zhèngquè de sīkǎo shàngdì.
2：上 帝 不 可 理 解。
2: Shàng-dì bù-kě lǐ-jiě.
3：神圣属性：关于上帝的一些真实的东西。3: Shénshèng shǔxìng: Guānyú shàngdì de yīxiē zhēnshí de dōngxī.
4：神 圣 的 上 帝。
4: Shén-shèng de shàng-dì
5：上 帝 的 自 我 存 在。
5: Shàng-dì de zì-wǒ cún-zài.
6：上 帝 的 自 给 自 足。
6: Shàng-dì de zì jǐ zì-zú.
7：上 帝 的 永 恒。
7: Shàng-dì de yǒng-héng
8：上 帝 的 无 限 性。
8: Shàng-dì de wú-xiàn xìng.
9：上 帝 的 不 变 性
9: Shàng-dì de bù biàn-xìng
10：上 帝 的 全 知
10: Shàng-dì de quán-zhī
11：上 帝 的 智 慧。
11: Shàng-dì de zhì-huì.
12：上 帝 的 全 能。
12: Shàng-dì de quán-néng.
13：上 帝 的 超 越 性。
13: Shàng-dì de chāo-yuè xìng
14：上 帝 的 无 所 不 在。
14: Shàng-dì de wú-suǒ-bù-zài
15：上 帝 的 忠 诚。
15: Shàng-dì de zhōng-chéng.
16：上 帝 的 善 良。
16: Shàng-dì de shàn liáng.
17：上 帝 的 正 义。
17: Shàng-dì de zhèng-yì.
18：神 的 怜 悯
18: Shén de lián-mǐn
19：神 的 恩 典。
19: Shén de ēn-diǎn.
20：神 的 爱。
20: Shén de ài.
21：神 的 圣 洁
21: Shén de shèng-jié.
22：神 的 主 权。
22: Shén de zhǔ-quán.
23：公 开 的 秘 密。
23: Gōng-kāi de mì-mì.
Preface
¹True religion confronts earth with heaven and brings eternity to bear upon time. The messenger of Christ, though he speaks from God, must also, as the Quakers used to say, "speak to the condition" of his hearers; otherwise he will speak a language known only to himself. His message must be not only timeless but timely. He must speak to his own generation.
²The message of this book does not grow out of these times but it is appropriate to them. It is called forth by a condition which has existed in the Church for some years and is steadily growing worse. I refer to the loss of the concept of majesty from the popular religious mind. The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshipping men. This she has done not deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic.
³The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. A whole new philosophy of the Christian life has resulted from this one basic error in our religious thinking.
⁴With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the divine Presence. We have lost our spirit of worship and our ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence. Modern Christianity is simply not producing the kind of Christian who can appreciate or experience the life in the Spirit. The words, "Be still, and know that I am God," mean next to nothing to the self-confident, bustling worshipper in this middle period of the twentieth first century.
⁵This loss of the concept of majesty has come just when the forces of religion are making dramatic gains, and the churches are more prosperous than at any time within the past several hundred years. But the alarming thing is that our gains are mostly external and our losses wholly internal; and since it is the quality of our religion that is affected by internal conditions, it may be that our supposed gains are but losses spread over a wider field.
⁶The only way to recoup our spiritual losses is to go back to the cause of them and make such corrections as the truth warrants.
⁷The decline of the knowledge of the holy has brought on our troubles. A rediscovery of the majesty of God will go a long way toward curing them. It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right, while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is.
⁸As my humble contribution to a better understanding of the Majesty in the heavens, I offer this reverent study of the attributes of God. Were Christians today reading such works as those of Augustine or Anselm a book like this would have no reason for being. But such illuminated masters are known to modern Christians only by name. Publishers dutifully reprint their books, and in due time, these appear on the shelves of our studies. But the whole trouble lies right there: they remain on the shelves. The current religious mood makes the reading of them virtually impossible even for educated Christians.
⁹Apparently, not many Christians will wade through hundreds of pages of heavy religious matter requiring sustained concentration. Such books remind too many persons of the secular classics they were forced to read while they were in school, and they turned away from them with a feeling of discouragement.
¹⁰For that reason, an effort such as this may not be without some beneficial effect. Since this book is neither esoteric nor technical, and since it is written in the language of worship with no pretension to elegant literary style, perhaps some persons may be drawn to read it. While I believe that nothing will be found here contrary to sound Christian theology, I yet write not for professional theologians but for plain persons whose hearts stir them up to seek after God Himself.
¹¹It is my hope that this small book may contribute somewhat to the promotion of personal heart religion among us; and should a few persons by reading it be encouraged to begin the practice of reverent meditation on the being of God, that will more than repay the labor required to produce it.
A. W. Tozer, Aiden Wilson Tozer (1897—1963)
序言
¹真正的宗教将天国与人间对立起来，将永恒带到时间中。基督的使者虽然代表上帝说话，但正如贵格会教徒常说的那样，也必须“针对听众的状况说话”；否则，他讲的就只有他自己知道。他的信息不仅要永恒，而且要及时。他必须向他自己的一代人讲话。
²这本书的信息并非源于这些时代，但它适合这个时代。它是由教会中存在了几年并且正在逐渐恶化的一种状况引起的。我指的是大众宗教思想中威严概念的丧失。教会放弃了曾经崇高的上帝概念，取而代之的是低劣、卑鄙的概念，完全不值得思考，不值得崇拜。她不是故意这样做的，而是一点一点地、不知不觉地这样做的；而她的无知只会使她的处境更加悲惨。
³ 基督徒几乎普遍对上帝抱有轻视的态度，这是我们周围百般小恶的根源。我们宗教思想中的这一基本错误导致了基督徒生活的全新哲学。
⁴随着我们失去威严感，我们对神圣存在的宗教敬畏和意识也进一步丧失。我们失去了敬拜精神，失去了向内退缩以崇拜的沉默与上帝相遇的能力。现代基督教根本没有培养出能够欣赏或体验精神生活的基督徒。“你们要安静，要知道我是上帝”这句话对二十一世纪中期自信、忙碌的崇拜者来说几乎没有任何意义。
⁵这种威严概念的丧失恰逢宗教力量取得巨大进步之时，教会比过去几百年的任何时候都更加繁荣。但令人担忧的是，我们的收获大多是外在的，而我们的损失则完全是内在的； 而且，由于我们的宗教品质受到内部条件的影响，我们所谓的收获可能只是更广泛的损失。
⁶弥补我们精神损失的唯一方法是回到导致损失的原因，并根据事实做出必要的纠正。
⁷对神圣知识的衰退给我们带来了麻烦。重新发现上帝的威严将大大有助于治愈它们。如果我们对上帝的观念是错误的或不充分的，我们就不可能保持我们的道德实践健全和内心态度正确。如果我们想把精神力量带回我们的生活，我们必须开始更接近上帝本来的样子来思考他。
⁸作为我对更好地理解天堂威严的微薄贡献，我提供了这项对上帝属性的虔诚研究。如果今天的基督徒阅读奥古斯丁或安瑟伦这样的作品，这样的书就没有存在的理由了。但现代基督徒只知道这些开明的大师的名字。 出版商尽职尽责地重印他们的书，这些书在适当的时候出现在我们书房的书架上。但问题就在这里：它们仍然在书架上。当前的宗教情绪使得即使是受过教育的基督徒也几乎不可能阅读它们。
⁹显然，没有多少基督徒会费力地阅读数百页需要持续集中注意力的沉重宗教内容。这样的书让太多人想起了他们在学校时被迫阅读的世俗经典，他们带着沮丧的情绪拒绝了这些经典。
¹⁰因此，这样的努力可能并非没有一些有益的效果。由于这本书既不深奥也不技术性，而且是用崇拜的语言写成的，没有优雅的文学风格，也许有些人会被吸引去阅读它。虽然我相信这里不会有任何与健全的基督教神学相悖的东西，但我并不是为专业神学家写的，而是为那些内心被激励去寻求上帝本身的普通人写的。
¹¹我希望这本小书能对我们个人心灵宗教的推广有所贡献；如果一些人通过阅读它而受到鼓励，开始虔诚地冥想上帝的存在，那么这将远远超过创作它所需的劳动。
A·W·托泽，艾登·威尔逊·托泽（1897—1963）
Xùyán
¹zhēnzhèng de zōngjiào jiāng tiānguó yǔ rénjiān duìlì qǐlái, jiāng yǒnghéng dài dào shíjiān zhōng. Jīdū de shǐzhě suīrán dàibiǎo shàngdì shuōhuà, dàn zhèngrú guì gé huì jiàotú cháng shuō dì nàyàng, yě bìxū “zhēnduì tīngzhòng de zhuàngkuàng shuōhuà”; fǒuzé, tā jiǎng de jiù zhǐyǒu tā zìjǐ zhīdào. Tā de xìnxī bùjǐn yào yǒnghéng, érqiě yào jíshí. Tā bìxū xiàng tā zìjǐ de yīdài rén jiǎnghuà.
²Zhè běn shū de xìnxī bìngfēi yuán yú zhèxiē shídài, dàn tā shìhé zhège shídài. Tā shì yóu jiàohuì zhōng cúnzàile jǐ nián bìngqiě zhèngzài zhújiàn èhuà de yī zhǒng zhuàngkuàng yǐnqǐ de. Wǒ zhǐ de shì dàzhòng zōngjiào sīxiǎng zhōng wēiyán gàiniàn de sàngshī. Jiàohuì fàngqìle céngjīng chónggāo de shàngdì gàiniàn, qǔ'érdàizhī dì shì dīliè, bēibǐ de gàiniàn, wánquán bù zhídé sīkǎo, bù zhídé chóngbài. Tā bùshì gùyì zhèyàng zuò de, ér shì yī diǎn yī diǎn de, bùzhī bù jué de zhèyàng zuò de; ér tā de wúzhī zhǐ huì shǐ tā de chǔjìng gèngjiā bēicǎn.
³Jīdū tú jīhū pǔbiàn duì shàngdì bào yǒu qīngshì de tàidù, zhè shì wǒmen zhōuwéi bǎibān xiǎo è de gēnyuán. Wǒmen zōngjiào sīxiǎng zhōng de zhè yī jīběn cuòwù dǎozhìle jīdū tú shēnghuó de quánxīn zhéxué.
⁴Suízhe wǒmen shīqù wēiyán gǎn, wǒmen duì shénshèng cúnzài de zōngjiào jìngwèi hé yìshí yě jìnyībù sàngshī. Wǒmen shīqùle jìng bài jīngshén, shīqùle xiàng nèi tuìsuō yǐ chóngbài de chénmò yǔ shàngdì xiāngyù de nénglì. Xiàndài jīdūjiào gēnběn méiyǒu péiyǎng chū nénggòu xīnshǎng huò tǐyàn jīngshén shēnghuó de jīdū tú.“Nǐmen yào ānjìng, yào zhīdào wǒ shì shàngdì” zhè jù huà duì èrshíyī shìjì zhōngqí zìxìn, mánglù de chóngbài zhě lái shuō jīhū méiyǒu rènhé yìyì.
⁵Zhè zhǒng wēiyán gàiniàn de sàngshī qià féng zōngjiào lìliàng qǔdé jùdà jìnbù zhī shí, jiàohuì bǐ guòqù jǐ bǎi nián de rènhé shíhòu dōu gèngjiā fánróng. Dàn lìng rén dānyōu de shì, wǒmen de shōuhuò dàduō shì wài zài de, ér wǒmen de sǔnshī zé wánquán shì nèizài de; érqiě, yóuyú wǒmen de zōngjiào pǐnzhí shòudào nèibù tiáojiàn de yǐngxiǎng, wǒmen suǒwèi de shōuhuò kěnéng zhǐshì gèng guǎngfàn de sǔnshī.
⁶Míbǔ wǒmen jīngshén sǔnshī de wéiyī fāngfǎ shì huí dào dǎozhì sǔnshī de yuányīn, bìng gēnjù shìshí zuò chū bìyào de jiūzhèng.
⁷Duì shénshèng zhīshì de shuāituì gěi wǒmen dài láile máfan. Chóngxīn fāxiàn shàngdì de wēiyán jiāng dàdà yǒu zhù yú zhìyù tāmen. Rúguǒ wǒmen duì shàngdì de guānniàn shì cuòwù de huò bù chōngfèn de, wǒmen jiù bù kěnéng bǎochí wǒmen de dàodé shíjiàn jiànquán hé nèixīn tàidù zhèngquè. Rúguǒ wǒmen xiǎng bǎ jīngshén lìliàng dài huí wǒmen de shēnghuó, wǒmen bìxū kāishǐ gèng jiējìn shàngdì běnlái de yàngzi lái sīkǎo tā.
⁸Zuòwéi wǒ duì gèng hǎo dì lǐjiě tiāntáng wēiyán de wéi báo gòngxiàn, wǒ tígōngle zhè xiàng duì shàngdì shǔxìng de qiánchéng yánjiū. Rúguǒ jīntiān de jīdū tú yuèdú àogǔsīdīng huò ān sè lún zhèyàng de zuòpǐn, zhèyàng de shū jiù méiyǒu cúnzài de lǐyóule. Dàn xiàndài jīdū tú zhǐ zhīdào zhèxiē kāimíng de dàshī de míngzì. Chūbǎn shāng jìnzhí jìnzé dì chóngyìn tāmen de shū, zhèxiē shū zài shìdàng de shíhòu chūxiàn zài wǒmen shūfáng de shūjià shàng. Dàn wèntí jiù zài zhèlǐ: Tāmen réngrán zài shūjià shàng. Dāngqián de zōngjiào qíngxù shǐdé jíshǐ shì shòuguò jiàoyù de jīdū tú yě jīhū bù kěnéng yuèdú tāmen.
⁹ Xiǎnrán, méiyǒu duōshǎo jīdū tú huì fèilì de yuèdú shù bǎi yè xūyào chíxù jízhōng zhùyì lì de chénzhòng zōngjiào nèiróng. Zhèyàng de shū ràng tài duō rén xiǎngqǐle tāmen zài xuéxiào shí bèi pò yuèdú de shìsú jīngdiǎn, tāmen dàizhe jǔsàng de qíngxù jùjuéle zhèxiē jīngdiǎn.
¹⁰ Yīncǐ, zhèyàng de nǔlì kěnéng bìngfēi méiyǒu yīxiē yǒuyì de xiàoguǒ. Yóuyú zhè běn shū jì bù shēn'ào yě bù jìshùxìng, érqiě shì yòng chóngbài de yǔyán xiěchéng de, méiyǒu yōuyǎ de wénxué fēnggé, yěxǔ yǒuxiē rén huì bèi xīyǐn qù yuèdú tā. Suīrán wǒ xiāngxìn zhèlǐ bù huì yǒu rènhé yǔ jiànquán de jīdūjiào shénxué xiāngbèi de dōngxī, dàn wǒ bìng bùshì wèi zhuānyè shénxué jiā xiě de, ér shì wèi nàxiē nèixīn bèi jīlì qù xúnqiú shàngdì běnshēn de pǔtōng rén xiě de.
¹¹ Wǒ xīwàng zhè běn xiǎo shū néng duì wǒmen gèrén xīnlíng zōngjiào de tuīguǎng yǒu suǒ gòngxiàn; rúguǒ yīxiē rén tōngguò yuèdú tā ér shòudào gǔlì, kāishǐ qiánchéng de míngxiǎng shàngdì de cúnzài, nàme zhè jiāng yuǎn yuǎn chāoguò chuàngzuò tā suǒ xū de láodòng.
A·W·tuō zé, ài dēng·wēi'ěrxùn·tuō zé (1897—1963)
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY
1
Why We Must Think Rightly About God
O, Lord God Almighty, not the God of the philosophers and the wise but the God of the prophets and apostles; and better than all, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, may I express Thee unblamed?
They that know Thee not may call upon Thee as other than Thou art, and so worship not Thee but a creature of their own fancy; therefore enlighten our minds that we may know Thee as Thou art, so that we may perfectly love Thee and worthily praise Thee.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
[O, Lord God Almighty, not the God of the philosophers and the wise but the God of the prophets and apostles; and better than all, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, may I express You unblamed?
They that know You not may call upon You as other than You are, and so worship not You but a creature of their own fancy; therefore enlighten our minds that we may know You as You are, so that we may perfectly love You and worthily praise You.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.]
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
The history of mankind will probably show that no people have ever risen above its religion, and man's spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.
For this reason, the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God.
Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, "What comes into your mind when you think about God?" we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man. Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders think of God today, we might be able with some precision to foretell where the Church will stand tomorrow.
Without doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God, and the weightiest word in any language is its word for God. Thought and speech are God's gifts to creatures made in His image; these are intimately associated with Him and impossible apart from Him. It is highly significant that the first word was the Word (Logos in Greek): "And the Word (Logos) was with God, and the Word (Logos) was God." We may speak because God spoke. In Him, words and ideas are indivisible.
That our idea of God corresponds as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence. Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God.
The right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb, the whole structure must sooner or later collapse. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God.
It is my opinion that the Christian conception of God current in these middle years of the twentieth century is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity.
All the problems of heaven and earth, though they were to confront us together and at once, would be nothing compared with the overwhelming problem of God: That He is; what He is like; and what we as moral beings must do about Him.
The man who comes to a right belief about God is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems, for he sees at once that these have to do with matters which at the most cannot concern him for very long; but even if the multiple burdens of time may be lifted from him, the one mighty single burden of eternity begins to press down upon him with a weight more crushing than all the woes of the world piled one upon another. That mighty burden is his obligation to God. It includes an instant and lifelong duty to love God with every power of mind and soul, to obey Him perfectly, and to worship Him acceptably. And when the man's laboring conscience tells him that he has done none of these things but has from childhood been guilty of foul revolt against the Majesty in the heavens, the inner pressure of self-accusation may become too heavy to bear.
The gospel can lift this destroying burden from the mind, give beauty for ashes, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. But unless the weight of the burden is felt, the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and no burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them.
Among the sins to which the human heart is prone, hardly any other is more hateful to God than idolatry, for idolatry is at bottom a libel on His character. The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is in itself a monstrous sin and substitutes for the true God one made after its own likeness. Always this God will conform to the image of the one who created it and will be base or pure, cruel or kind, according to the moral state of the mind from which it emerges.
A god begotten in the shadows of a fallen heart will quite naturally be no true likeness of the true God. "Thou thoughtest," said the Lord to the wicked man in the psalm, "that I was altogether such as one as thyself." Surely this must be a serious affront to the Most High God before whom cherubim and seraphim continually do cry, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabbath."
Let us beware lest we in our pride accept the erroneous notion that idolatry consists only in kneeling before visible objects of adoration and that civilized peoples are therefore free from it. The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. It begins in the mind and may be present where no overt act of worship has taken place.
"When they knew God," wrote Paul, "they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."
Then followed the worship of idols fashioned after the likeness of men and birds and beasts and creeping things. But this series of degrading acts began in the mind. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.
Perverted notions about God soon rot the spirituality in which they appear. The long career of Israel demonstrates this clearly enough, and the history of the Church confirms it. So necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God that when that concept in any measure declines, the Church with her worship and her moral standards declines along with it. The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God.
Before the Christian Church goes into eclipse anywhere there must first be a corrupting of her simple basic theology. She simply gets a wrong answer to the question, "What is God like?" and goes on from there. Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.
The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him - and of her. In all her prayers and labours, this should have first place. We do the greatest service to the next generation of Christians by passing on to them undimmed and undiminished that noble concept of God, which we received from our Hebrew and Christian fathers of Faith of God of generations past. This will prove of greater value to them than anything that art or science can devise.
O, God of Bethel, by whose hand
Thy people still are fed;
Who through this weary pilgrimage
Hast all our fathers led!
Our vows, our prayers we now present
Before Thy throne of grace:
God of our fathers! be the God
Of their succeeding race.
圣洁的知识
1
为什么我们必须正确地思考上帝
哦，全能的上帝，不是哲学家和智者的上帝，而是先知和使徒的上帝；比所有人都好，我们主耶稣基督的上帝和父亲，我可以毫无责备地表达你吗？
那些不认识你的人可能会把你当作不是你的人来称呼，因此崇拜的不是你，而是他们自己想象出来的生物；因此，请启发我们的思想，让我们认识你，这样我们就可以完全爱你，值得赞美你。
奉主耶稣基督的名。阿门。
[哦，全能的上帝，不是哲学家和智者的上帝，而是先知和使徒的上帝；比所有人都好，我们主耶稣基督的上帝和父亲，我可以毫无责备地表达你吗？
那些不认识你的人可能会以非你的方式呼唤你，因此崇拜的不是你，而是他们自己想象出来的生物；因此，请启发我们的思想，让我们认识你的本来面目，以便我们能够完全地爱你，并值得赞美你。
奉主耶稣基督的名。阿门。]
当我们想到上帝时，我们脑海中浮现的是我们最重要的东西。
人类的历史可能会表明，没有任何人能够超越其宗教信仰，而人类的精神历史将明确证明，没有任何宗教能够超越其对上帝的观念。崇拜是纯洁的还是卑鄙的，取决于崇拜者对上帝的崇高或低俗想法。
因此，教会面临的最严肃的问题始终是上帝本身，关于任何人的最重要事实不是他在特定时间会说什么或做什么，而是他内心深处认为上帝是什么样的。我们倾向于按照灵魂的秘密法则朝着我们对上帝的心理形象前进。 这不仅适用于个别基督徒，也适用于组成教会的基督徒团体。教会最能说明问题的地方始终是她对上帝的看法，正如她最重要的信息是她对上帝所说或未说的话一样，因为她的沉默往往比她的言语更有说服力。她永远无法逃避她对上帝的见证的自我披露。
如果我们能够从任何人那里得到对“当你想到上帝时，你会想到什么？”这个问题的完整答案，我们就可以肯定地预测这个人的精神未来。如果我们能够确切地知道我们今天最有影响力的宗教领袖对上帝的看法，我们就可以准确地预测教会明天的立场。
毫无疑问，心灵所能容纳的最强大的思想是对上帝的思想，任何语言中最有分量的词是它对上帝的称呼。思想和言语是上帝赐予按照他的形象创造的生物的礼物；它们与他密切相关，离开他就不可能存在。 第一个词是道（希腊语为 Logos），这一点非常重要：“道（Logos）与神同在，道（Logos）就是神。”我们可以说话，因为神说话了。在神里面，话语和思想是不可分割的。
我们对神的观念尽可能接近神的真实存在，这对我们来说非常重要。与我们对神的实际想法相比，我们的信条陈述无关紧要。我们对神的真实观念可能被埋没在传统宗教观念的垃圾之下，可能需要经过聪明而有力的搜索，才能最终挖掘出来，揭露它的真面目。只有经过痛苦的自我探索，我们才有可能发现我们对神的真实信仰。
正确的神观不仅是系统神学的基础，也是基督徒实际生活的基础。崇拜就像是圣殿的地基；如果地基不充分或不垂直，整个结构迟早会倒塌。 我认为，几乎所有教义上的错误或基督教伦理应用上的失败，最终都归因于对上帝的不完美和卑鄙的思想。
我认为，二十世纪中叶流行的基督教上帝观念是如此颓废，以至于完全有损于至高无上的上帝的尊严，实际上对自称信徒的人来说，这相当于一场道德灾难。
天上地下的所有问题，即使同时摆在我们面前，也比不上上帝这个压倒性的问题：他是谁；他是什么样的；我们作为道德存在必须对他做些什么。
正确信仰上帝的人会摆脱上万个世俗问题，因为他立刻明白这些问题最多不会困扰他很长时间；但即使时间的多重负担可以从他身上卸下，永恒的巨大负担也会开始压在他身上，其重量比世界上所有苦难堆积在一起更重。那巨大的负担就是他对上帝的义务。它包括一种即时和终生的责任，即用心智和灵魂的一切力量爱上帝，完全服从他，并以可接受的方式崇拜他。当这个人劳累的良心告诉他，他没有做过这些事情，只是从小就犯了对天国威严的卑鄙反抗，内心的自责压力可能会变得难以承受。
福音可以解除心灵中这种毁灭性的负担，让灰烬变美丽，让沉重的精神穿上赞美的外衣。 但是，除非感受到负担的重担，否则福音对人而言毫无意义；除非他看到上帝高高在上的景象，否则他不会有苦难和负担。对上帝的低下看法会毁掉所有持有这种看法的人的福音。
在人心容易犯的罪中，几乎没有什么比偶像崇拜更让上帝憎恨，因为偶像崇拜本质上是对上帝品格的诽谤。偶像崇拜的心认为上帝不是上帝，而上帝本身就是一种可怕的罪恶，用一个按照自己的形象造出来的神来代替真正的上帝。这个上帝总是会符合创造它的人的形象，他会卑鄙还是纯洁，残忍还是善良，这取决于他从中产生的思想的道德状态。
在堕落心灵的阴影中诞生的神自然不会是真正的上帝。“你想，”主在诗篇中对恶人说，“我恰好和你一样。” 这肯定是对至高神的严重冒犯，基路伯和撒拉弗在神面前不断呼喊：“圣哉！圣哉！圣哉！安息日的主神。”
我们要小心，不要骄傲地接受错误的观念，认为偶像崇拜只是跪在可见的崇拜对象面前，文明人因此不受偶像崇拜的影响。偶像崇拜的本质是对神产生不配的想法。它始于思想，可能存在于没有公开崇拜行为的地方。
保罗写道：“他们虽然知道神，却不当作神荣耀他，也不感谢他；他们的思念变为虚妄，无知的心就昏暗了。”
接着，他们开始崇拜偶像，这些偶像是按照人、鸟、兽、爬行动物的形象塑造的。但这一系列堕落的行为始于思想。 对上帝的错误观念不仅是偶像崇拜的污秽之水的源泉，而且它们本身就是偶像崇拜。偶像崇拜者只是想象上帝的事情，并把它们当作是真的。
对上帝的扭曲观念很快就会腐蚀它们所体现的精神。以色列的漫长历程清楚地证明了这一点，教会的历史也证实了这一点。对上帝的崇高观念对教会是如此必要，以至于当这种观念在任何程度上衰落时，教会及其崇拜和道德标准都会随之衰落。任何教会的第一步都是在它放弃对上帝的崇高评价时走下坡路的。
在任何地方，基督教教会在衰落之前，必须首先腐化其简单的基本神学。她只是对“上帝是什么样的？”这个问题给出了错误的答案，然后从那里继续下去。尽管她可能继续坚持一个健全的名义信条，但她的实际工作信条已经变得错误。她的广大信徒开始相信上帝与他实际上的样子不同； 这是最阴险、最致命的异端邪说。
当今基督教会肩负的最重大义务是净化和提升她对上帝的观念，直到它再次配得上上帝和她自己。在她所有的祈祷和劳动中，这应该放在首位。我们为下一代基督徒提供了最大的服务，就是把我们从过去几代希伯来和基督教信仰上帝的先辈那里得到的高尚的上帝观念毫无保留地传给他们。这将证明对他们来说比艺术或科学所能设计的任何东西都更有价值。
哦，伯特利的上帝，你的人民仍然靠你的手得到喂养；
你带领我们所有的祖先走过这段疲惫的朝圣之旅！
现在，我们将我们的誓言、我们的祈祷呈现在你的恩典宝座前：
我们祖先的上帝！愿你成为他们后代的上帝。
Shèngjié de zhīshì
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wèishéme wǒmen bìxū zhèngquè de sīkǎo shàngdì
ó, quánnéng de shàngdì, bùshì zhéxué jiā hé zhìzhě de shàngdì, ér shì xiānzhī hé shǐtú de shàngdì; bǐ suǒyǒu rén dōu hǎo, wǒmen zhǔ yēsū jīdū de shàngdì hé fùqīn, wǒ kěyǐ háo wú zébèi dì biǎodá nǐ ma?
Nàxiē bù rènshí nǐ de rén kěnéng huì bǎ nǐ dàng zuò bùshì nǐ de rén lái chēnghu, yīncǐ chóngbài de bùshì nǐ, ér shì tāmen zìjǐ xiǎngxiàng chūlái de shēngwù; yīncǐ, qǐng qǐfā wǒmen de sīxiǎng, ràng wǒmen rènshí nǐ, zhèyàng wǒmen jiù kěyǐ wánquán ài nǐ, zhídé zànměi nǐ.
Fèng zhǔ yēsū jīdū de míng. Āmén.
[Ó, quánnéng de shàngdì, bùshì zhéxué jiā hé zhìzhě de shàngdì, ér shì xiānzhī hé shǐtú de shàngdì; bǐ suǒyǒu rén dōu hǎo, wǒmen zhǔ yēsū jīdū de shàngdì hé fùqīn, wǒ kěyǐ háo wú zébèi dì biǎodá nǐ ma?
Nàxiē bù rènshí nǐ de rén kěnéng huì yǐ fēi nǐ de fāngshì hūhuàn nǐ, yīncǐ chóngbài de bùshì nǐ, ér shì tāmen zìjǐ xiǎngxiàng chūlái de shēngwù; yīncǐ, qǐng qǐfā wǒmen de sīxiǎng, ràng wǒmen rènshí nǐ de běnlái miànmù, yǐbiàn wǒmen nénggòu wánquán de ài nǐ, bìng zhídé zànměi nǐ.
Fèng zhǔ yēsū jīdū de míng. Āmén.]
Dāng wǒmen xiǎngdào shàngdì shí, wǒmen nǎohǎi zhōng fúxiàn de shì wǒmen zuì zhòngyào de dōngxī.
Rénlèi de lìshǐ kěnéng huì biǎomíng, méiyǒu rènhé rén nénggòu chāoyuè qí zōngjiào xìnyǎng, ér rénlèi de jīngshén lìshǐ jiāng míngquè zhèngmíng, méiyǒu rènhé zōngjiào nénggòu chāoyuè qí duì shàngdì de guānniàn. Chóngbài shì chúnjié de háishì bēibǐ de, qǔjué yú chóngbài zhě duì shàngdì de chónggāo huò dīsú xiǎngfǎ.
Yīncǐ, jiàohuì miànlín de zuì yánsù de wèntí shǐzhōng shì shàngdì běnshēn, guānyú rènhé rén de zuì zhòngyào shìshí bùshì tā zài tèdìng shíjiān huì shuō shénme huò zuò shénme, ér shì tā nèixīn shēn chù rènwéi shàngdì shì shénme yàng de. Wǒmen qīngxiàng yú ànzhào línghún de mìmì fǎzé cháozhe wǒmen duì shàngdì de xīnlǐ xíngxiàng qiánjìn. Zhè bùjǐn shìyòng yú gèbié jīdū tú, yěshìyòng yú zǔchéng jiàohuì de jīdū tú tuántǐ. Jiàohuì zuì néng shuōmíng wèntí dì dìfāng shǐzhōng shì tā duì shàngdì de kànfǎ, zhèngrú tā zuì zhòngyào de xìnxī shì tā duì shàngdì suǒ shuō huò wèi shuō dehuà yīyàng, yīnwèi tā de chénmò wǎngwǎng bǐ tā de yányǔ gèng yǒu shuōfú lì. Tā yǒngyuǎn wúfǎ táobì tā duì shàngdì de jiànzhèng de zìwǒ pīlù.
Rúguǒ wǒmen nénggòu cóng rènhé rén nàlǐ dédào duì “dāng nǐ xiǎngdào shàngdì shí, nǐ huì xiǎngdào shénme?” Zhège wèntí de wánzhěng dá'àn, wǒmen jiù kěyǐ kěndìng dì yùcè zhège rén de jīngshén wèilái. Rúguǒ wǒmen nénggòu quèqiè dì zhīdào wǒmen jīntiān zuì yǒu yǐngxiǎng lì de zōngjiào lǐngxiù duì shàngdì de kànfǎ, wǒmen jiù kěyǐ zhǔnquè de yùcè jiàohuì míngtiān de lìchǎng.
Háo wú yíwèn, xīnlíng suǒ néng róngnà de zuì qiáng dà de sīxiǎng shì duì shàngdì de sīxiǎng, rènhé yǔyán zhōng zuì yǒu fènliàng de cí shì tā duì shàngdì de chēnghu. Sīxiǎng hé yányǔ shì shàngdì cìyǔ ànzhào tā de xíngxiàng chuàngzào de shēngwù de lǐwù; tāmen yǔ tā mìqiè xiāngguān, líkāi tā jiù bùkěnéng cúnzài. Dì yī gè cí shì dào (xīlà yǔ wèi Logos), zhè yīdiǎn fēicháng zhòngyào:“Dào (Logos) yǔ shén tóng zài, dào (Logos) jiùshì shén.” Wǒmen kěyǐ shuōhuà, yīnwèi shén shuōhuàle. Zài shén lǐmiàn, huàyǔ hé sīxiǎng shì bù kě fēngē de.
Wǒmen duì shén de guānniàn jǐn kěnéng jiējìn shén de zhēnshí cúnzài, zhè duì wǒmen lái shuō fēicháng zhòngyào. Yǔ wǒmen duì shén de shíjì xiǎngfǎ xiāng bǐ, wǒmen de xìntiáo chénshù wúguān jǐnyào. Wǒmen duì shén de zhēnshí guānniàn kěnéng bèi máimò zài chuántǒng zōngjiào guānniàn de lèsè zhī xià, kěnéng xūyào jīngguò cōngmíng ér yǒulì de sōusuǒ, cáinéng zuìzhōng wājué chūlái, jiēlù tā de zhēnmiànmù. Zhǐyǒu jīngguò tòngkǔ de zìwǒ tànsuǒ, wǒmen cái yǒu kěnéng fāxiàn wǒmen duì shén de zhēnshí xìnyǎng.
Zhèngquè de shén guān bùjǐn shì xìtǒng shénxué de jīchǔ, yě shì jīdū tú shíjì shēnghuó de jīchǔ. Chóngbài jiù xiàng shì shèng diàn dì dìjī; rúguǒ dìjī bù chōngfèn huò bù chuízhí, zhěnggè jiégòu chízǎo huì dǎotā. Wǒ rènwéi, jīhū suǒyǒu jiàoyì shàng de cuòwù huò jīdūjiào lúnlǐ yìngyòng shàng de shībài, zuìzhōng dōu guī yīn yú duì shàngdì de bù wánměi hé bēibǐ de sīxiǎng.
Wǒ rènwéi, èrshí shìjì zhōngyè liúxíng de jīdūjiào shàngdì guānniàn shì rúcǐ tuífèi, yǐ zhìyú wánquán yǒu sǔn yú zhìgāowúshàng de shàngdì de zūnyán, shíjì shang duì zìchēng xìntú de rén lái shuō, zhè xiāngdāng yú yī chǎng dàodé zāinàn.
Tiānshàngdìxià de suǒyǒu wèntí, jíshǐ tóngshí bǎi zài wǒmen miànqián, yě bǐ bù shàng shàng dì zhège yādǎo xìng de wèntí: Tā shì shéi; tā shì shénme yàng de; wǒmen zuòwéi dàodé cúnzài bìxū duì tā zuò xiē shénme.
Zhèngquè xìnyǎng shàngdì de rén huì bǎituō shàng wàn gè shìsú wèntí, yīnwèi tā lìkè míngbái zhèxiē wèntí zuìduō bù huì kùnrǎo tā hěn cháng shíjiān; dàn jíshǐ shíjiān de duōchóng fùdān kěyǐ cóng tā shēnshang xiè xià, yǒnghéng de jùdà fùdān yě huì kāishǐ yā zài tā shēnshang, qí zhòngliàng bǐ shìjiè shàng suǒyǒu kǔnàn duījī zài yīqǐ gēng zhòng. Nà jùdà de fùdān jiùshì tā duì shàngdì de yìwù. Tā bāokuò yī zhǒng jíshí hé zhōngshēng de zérèn, jí yòng xīnzhì hé línghún de yīqiè lìliàng ài shàngdì, wánquán fúcóng tā, bìng yǐ kě jiēshòu de fāngshì chóngbài tā. Dāng zhège rén láolèi de liángxīn gàosù tā, tā méiyǒu zuòguò zhèxiē shìqíng, zhǐshì cóngxiǎo jiù fànle duì tiānguó wēiyán de bēibǐ fǎnkàng, nèixīn de zì zé yālì kěnéng huì biàn dé nányǐ chéngshòu.
Fúyīn kěyǐ jiěchú xīnlíng zhōng zhè zhǒng huǐmiè xìng de fùdān, ràng huījìn biàn měilì, ràng chénzhòng de jīngshén chuān shàng zànměi de wàiyī. Dànshì, chúfēi gǎnshòu dào fùdān de zhòngdàn, fǒuzé fúyīn duì rén ér yán háo wú yìyì; chúfēi tā kàn dào shàngdì gāogāozàishàng de jǐngxiàng, fǒuzé tā bù huì yǒu kǔnàn hé fùdān. Duì shàngdì de dīxià kànfǎ huì huǐ diào suǒyǒu chí yǒu zhè zhǒng kànfǎ de rén de fúyīn.
Zài rénxīn róngyì fàn de zuì zhōng, jīhū méiyǒu shé me bǐ ǒuxiàng chóngbài gèng ràng shàngdì zēnghèn, yīnwèi ǒuxiàng chóngbài běnzhí shàng shì duì shàngdì pǐngé de fěibàng. Ǒuxiàng chóngbài de xīn rènwéi shàngdì bùshì shàngdì, ér shàngdì běnshēn jiùshì yī zhǒng kěpà de zuì'è, yòng yīgè ànzhào zìjǐ de xíngxiàng zào chūlái de shén lái dàitì zhēnzhèng de shàngdì. Zhège shàngdì zǒng shì huì fúhé chuàngzào tā de rén de xíngxiàng, tā huì bēibǐ háishì chúnjié, cánrěn háishì shànliáng, zhè qǔjué yú tā cóngzhōng chǎnshēng de sīxiǎng de dàodé zhuàngtài.
Zài duòluò xīnlíng de yīnyǐng zhōng dànshēng de shén zìrán bù huì shì zhēnzhèng de shàngdì.“Nǐ xiǎng,” zhǔ zài shīpiān zhōng duì èrén shuō,“wǒ qiàhǎo hé nǐ yīyàng.” Zhè kěndìng shì duì zhìgāo shén de yánzhòng màofàn, jī lù bó hé sālā fú zài shén miànqián bùduàn hūhǎn:“Shèng zāi! Shèng zāi! Shèng zāi! Ānxírì de zhǔshén.”
Wǒmen yào xiǎoxīn, bùyào jiāo'ào de jiēshòu cuòwù de guānniàn, rènwéi ǒuxiàng chóngbài zhǐshì guì zài kějiàn de chóngbài duìxiàng miànqián, wénmíng rén yīncǐ bù shòu ǒuxiàng chóngbài de yǐngxiǎng. Ǒuxiàng chóngbài de běnzhí shì duì shén chǎnshēng bùpèi de xiǎngfǎ. Tā shǐ yú sāi xiǎng, kěnéng cúnzài yú méiyǒu gōngkāi chóngbài xíngwéi dì dìfāng.
Bǎoluó xiě dào:“Tāmen suīrán zhīdào shén, què bù dàng zuò shén róngyào tā, yě bù gǎnxiè tā; tāmen de sīniàn biàn wèi xūwàng, wúzhī de xīn jiù hūn'ànle.”
Jiēzhe, tāmen kāishǐ chóngbài ǒuxiàng, zhèxiē ǒuxiàng shì ànzhào rén, niǎo, shòu, páxíng dòngwù de xíngxiàng sùzào de. Dàn zhè yī xìliè duòluò de xíngwéi shǐ yú sāi xiǎng. Duì shàngdì de cuòwù guānniàn bùjǐn shì ǒuxiàng chóngbài de wūhuì zhī shuǐ de yuánquán, érqiě tāmen běnshēn jiùshì ǒuxiàng chóngbài. Ǒuxiàng chóngbài zhě zhǐshì xiǎngxiàng shàngdì de shìqíng, bìng bǎ tāmen dàng zuò shì zhēn de.
Duì shàngdì de niǔqū guānniàn hěn kuài jiù huì fǔshí tāmen suǒ tǐxiàn de jīngshén. Yǐsèliè de màncháng lìchéng qīngchǔ dì zhèngmíngliǎo zhè yīdiǎn, jiàohuì de lìshǐ yě zhèngshíle zhè yīdiǎn. Duì shàngdì de chónggāo guānniàn duì jiàohuì shì rúcǐ bìyào, yǐ zhìyú dāng zhè zhǒng guānniàn zài rènhé chéngdù shàng shuāiluò shí, jiàohuì jí qí chóngbài hé dàodé biāozhǔn dūhuì suí zhī shuāiluò. Rènhé jiàohuì de dì yī bù dōu shì zài tā fàngqì duì shàngdì de chónggāo píngjià shí zǒu xiàpōlù de.
Zài rènhé dìfāng, jīdūjiào jiàohuì zài shuāiluò zhīqián, bìxū shǒuxiān fǔhuà qí jiǎndān de jīběn shénxué. Tā zhǐshì duì “shàngdì shì shénme yàng de?” Zhège wèntí gěi chūle cuòwù de dá'àn, ránhòu cóng nàlǐ jìxù xiàqù. Jǐnguǎn tā kěnéng jìxù jiānchí yīgè jiànquán de míngyì xìntiáo, dàn tā de shíjì gōngzuò xìntiáo yǐjīng biàn dé cuòwù. Tā de guǎngdà xìntú kāishǐ xiāngxìn shàngdì yǔ tā shíjì shang de yàngzi bùtóng; zhè shì zuì yīnxiǎn, zuì zhìmìng de yìduān xiéshuō.
Dāngjīn jīdū jiàohuì jiānfù de zuì zhòngdà yìwù shì jìnghuà hé tíshēng tā duì shàngdì de guānniàn, zhídào tā zàicì pèi dé shàng shàngdì hé tā zìjǐ. Zài tā suǒyǒu de qídǎo hé láodòng zhōng, zhè yīnggāi fàng zài shǒuwèi. Wǒmen wèi xià yīdài jīdū tú tígōngle zuìdà de fúwù, jiùshì bǎ wǒmen cóng guòqù jǐ dài xī bó lái hé jīdūjiào xìnyǎng shàngdì de xiānbèi nàlǐ dédào de gāoshàng de shàngdì guānniàn háo wú bǎoliú dì chuán gěi tāmen. Zhè jiāng zhèngmíng duì tāmen lái shuō bǐ yìshù huò kēxué suǒ néng shèjì de rènhé dōngxī dū gèng yǒu jiàzhí.
Ó, bó tè lì de shàngdì, nǐ de rénmín réngrán kào nǐ de shǒu dédào wèiyǎng;
nǐ dàilǐng wǒmen suǒyǒu de zǔxiān zǒuguò zhè duàn píbèi de cháoshèng zhī lǚ!
Xiànzài, wǒmen jiāng wǒmen de shìyán, wǒmen de qídǎo chéngxiàn zài nǐ de ēndiǎn bǎozuò qián:
Wǒmen zǔxiān de shàngdì! Yuàn nǐ chéngwéi tāmen hòudài de shàngdì.
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