於2021-02-21發佈


兩個見證美國遺產概要55
 
看到在基督教和科學界的平行發展,可以成為瞭解我們所處時候的幫助。儘管在這兩個領域的許多專業人士不過是在做自己的工作,但裡面還有一些充滿熱誠,被興起成為嶄新日子的先知。我們必須瞭解黑暗,但更重要的是,我們必須看見開始要浮現的光。

在初代教會的使徒和先知預言中,教會在神的國來到前,會有一段黑暗和叛教的日子。教會在黑暗中興起,先知性聲音升起,為要闡揚在黑暗時期教會所失去的聖經真理。這些真理的啟示繼續一波一波來到,在前進中的教會帶來更多更亮的光。然而,「前進中的教會」也被預言只是餘數,正如耶穌所教導的,新酒對舊皮袋構成威脅,因此無法承裝新酒。

科學現在也經歷類似的旅程,但在科學領域帶來更多亮光的「先知」被稱為「天才」。在科學界有許多領域,就像在基督教有許多教派一樣。有些接受新洞見和發現,有些不接受反而抵擋,就像基督教許多教派所做的。在此時要瞭解這些,我們必須瞭解「麥子」和「稗子」,也就是介於真假之間有很大的混雜。耶穌說此混雜會一直跟著我們直到末了真理戰勝之時,但在那之前我們必須學習如何航行在此混雜中。

再來看看教育領域,它對文明的幫助大到很難想像若沒有教育,世界會變得怎樣。儘管如此,教育也是世界越來越多黑暗的主要來源之一。有許多像美國一樣的國家,教育是此三大魔鬼哲學在全世界拋出巨大欺騙帕子的主要場所。這是有意圖的,直到今日這些邪惡影響在教育上已經無法認出或無法停止了,麥子和稗子一起生長。

因為在教育上的非凡進展已經趨緩下來,美國在近期的教育品質開始下滑。美國可能曾是全世界識字率與受教育最高的地方,現在美國的教育已經滑落前五十名之外,並有繼續下滑的趨勢。

許多在科學領域的老師和教授們,如果他們沒有投入研究,或致力於跟上最新發現,他們所獲得的相關知識可能會落後數十年。因為他們只能教導他們所知道的,我們現在有來自頂尖科學和工程學院的研究生,當他們畢業時已經落後該領域的尖端知識好幾十年。

當我在研讀教會歷史中的許多基督教運動和一些科學領域知識,值得注意的是兩者似乎在某種程度上平行前進。真正的基督教和真正的科學應當成為最好的朋友,因為他們在真理的追求上都是真實的,他們的最大敵人都是政治。這導致知識是以其政治價值衡量而不是以真假衡量,這對宗教和科學帶來根本的扭曲。

正如有些基督教運動似乎比其他運動更為強大與深入,在科學界也是如此。更強大的基督教運動,都有極其睿智和大能的創立者。在科學的一些領域,例如物理,同樣有幸能擁有一些最傑出的科學天才作為其發展潮流的創立者。但在科學領域也有一些似乎比較膚淺的,那是因為在他們領域缺少如此高水平的天才。有權柄的先知性聲音越高,或者更高水平的天才,提高了標準,以使他們領域的其他人不得不接受更高的標準。

一個終極問題是,為何在這些領域有這麼多人持守早期甚至被駁斥的教導,例如在基督教教會生活的古老形式,或是一些在科學方面的錯誤理論?為何有人繼續前進,有人則不呢?這是個重要問題,可以幫助我們為著基督教和科學的最大躍進做好準備。

對那些易於持續成長與前進之人的共同點,是他們對自由和自由思考的強烈熱愛。凡是在科學領域成為改革家或帶來進展的人,傾向抗拒一致性。一旦新的啟示或發現被制度化,情況似乎就會改變。這即是為何大部分的偉大發明不是由大公司所開發,而是由那些離開學校的人在車庫裡所發明的,例如個人電腦。

基督教本身必須誕生於當時宗教制度的「營外」,當時制度性宗教的領袖是耶穌的最大敵人,也是將耶穌釘在十字架上的人。促使基督教不斷前進與成長的偉大運動,也遇到相同的狀況。

真理總是充滿革新,真理向來是宗教制度的瓦解和威脅,這些制度使得「舊皮袋」鈣化,無法承裝新酒。對真理的威脅只有在大受歡迎、金錢價值增加時才能完全達到目的。這似乎是連最自由的人都變得墨守成規的原因,透過成為制度來保護他們所擁有的事物。這樣做的人傾向更加保護自己的財富,而不是尋求更多的真理。有了一致化的壓力,隨之而來的總是更多的控制,直到它扼殺了導致更多真理的嶄新自由思想。

忠於對真理的遵循並不是件壞事,但如果我們對能將真理往前帶的人沒安全感與備受威脅,一致性就會變得很致命,尤其是如果對方不在我們的陣營。我們在教會歷史看見,每個逼迫新運動者往往是上個已經停止前進的運動。

在科學界也是如此,此問題不是由真理造成的,而是由那些開始看重自我保護或位置勝於真理的人造成的。當他們停止跟上前進的步伐,他們往往會感到失去控制,雖然這是大多數人難以接受的感覺,但這也叫做「嫉妒」。聖經說耶穌被釘十字架是出於嫉妒,所有真理跟隨者都會被受到新思想威脅而產生嫉妒的人所逼迫。

儘管如此,受到「舊皮袋」如此威脅可以幫助淨化和強化新興運動,因為逼迫可以將政治化和自我吹噓的人排除在外,直到新的開始站穩腳步為止。既然我們在歷史上清晰看見這些走向與影響,為何今日有這麼多年輕人擁護被建立在充滿嫉妒之人最糟特性的社會主義和馬克思主義呢?

想一想馬克思主義:它是一個政治和經濟制度,已經被證實百分之百不管用。但它持續吸引許多人,甚至根據過去記錄,馬克思主義百分之百無法兌現承諾。因此,要保有其地位,每次都需要以專制的最糟型態來執行,以便在失敗時抓牢人民。怎麼會有那麼多人持續受到如馬克思主義這般終極失敗的事物所欺騙呢?這是我們必須瞭解的。

答案是:首先人們相信他們老師和教授的宣傳,老師還是學生時也是這樣被教導的。鮮少人深度查考歷史,以便發現馬克思主義和社會主義的宣傳,幾乎與他們掌權的實際情況完全相反。這應驗了俗話說:「不知道歷史的人注定重蹈覆轍」。

為此緣故,我們將在未來幾次的美國遺產中檢視這些主義的本質,以及能如此成功欺騙列國的策略。

~摘錄美國普立茲獎作家─薇拉·凱瑟(Willa Cather)~

人類故事只有兩三個,只是不斷重複發生,就像從未發生過一樣殘酷。 

~摘錄德國諾貝爾文學獎作家─赫曼·赫賽(Hermann Hesse)~

只有我們實際可以生活的點子才有價值。

(摘自喬納Heritage Briefs 55, 2021)
 

Two Witnesses—Heritage Brief 55

        It can be a help in understanding our times to see the parallel developments in Christianity and science. In both there are many professionals who are just doing a job, but there are also passionate ones in both who rise up to be prophets of a new day. We must understand the darkness, but even more we must see and understand the light that is beginning to appear. 

         The early church apostles and prophets predicted a time of great darkness and apostacy coming upon the church before the kingdom of God would come. The emergence of the church from this darkness came when prophetic voices arose to illuminate biblical truth that had been lost by the church during the dark period. These revelations of truth have continued to come in waves, and the increasing light in the advancing church is getting brighter and brighter. However, the “advancing church” as was also foretold is only a remnant. As Jesus taught, new wine is a threat to old wineskins, and so they could not receive the new.

         Science is on a similar journey now, but the “prophets” that brought increasing light to science are called “geniuses.” There are many fields in science like there are many denominations in Christianity. Some of these have accepted the new insights and discoveries, and some have not but resist them just as many denominations do in Christianity. To understand either at this time we must understand that there is a great mixture of “wheat” and “tares,” the true and the false. Jesus said this mixture would be with us until the end of the age when the truth will prevail, but until then we must learn how to navigate this mixture.

         Looking at the field of education, it has been such a great benefit to civilization that it would be hard to imagine what the world would be like without it. Even so, it is also one of the primary sources of much of the darkness that is growing in the world. In many countries like the United States, education is a primary place where the three diabolical philosophies have cast a great veil of deception over the world. This was intentional and to date, these evil influences have not been recognized or stopped in education. The wheat and tares are growing together.

         Because the extraordinary advances in education have been slowing, in recent times the quality of education has started to plummet. America, which was at one time probably the most literate and educated place in the world, has now fallen out of the top fifty nations in education, and the trend is still down.

         Many of the teachers and professors in the sciences, if they are not engaged in research, or devoted to keeping up with the most recent discoveries, can be decades behind in the knowledge that their field has been acquiring. Since they can only teach what they know, we now have graduates from top schools in science and engineering that are decades behind in the cutting-edge knowledge in their field when they graduate. 

         Having studied many Christian movements in church history and a number of fields of science, it is noteworthy how the two seem to be running on parallel tracks in some ways. True Christianity and true science should be best friends because those who are true in both are in pursuit of truth. The greatest enemy that both have are politics. This causes knowledge to be weighed on its political value more than whether it is true or not, bringing a basic perversion to both of these.

         Just as there are Christian movements that seem stronger and deeper than others, the same is true in science. The more powerful Christian movements had exceptionally brilliant and powerful founders. Some fields of science, such as physics, were blessed with some of the most remarkable scientific geniuses as founders in their stream of development. There are also fields of science that seem shallower because they have not been blessed with such high-level geniuses in their field. The higher authority prophetic voices, or higher-level geniuses, raise the bar so that others in their field are compelled to higher standards. 

         An ultimate question is why do so many in some of these fields hold onto primitive and even disproven teachings such as archaic forms of church life in Christianity, or in the case of science, debunked theories? Why do some move on and others do not? This is an important question as we are poised for the greatest advance of all time in both Christianity and science. 

          One common denominator with the ones who tend to keep growing and moving forward is that they have a strong devotion to liberty and free thinking. All who become reformers or create advances in fields of science, tend to resist conformity. This does seem to change once the new revelations or discoveries are institutionalized. There is a reason why most of the great discoveries, such as personal computers, were not developed by the great companies of the time, but by school dropouts in a garage. 

         Christianity itself had to be born “outside the camp” of the religious institutions of the time. Those who were the leaders of the institutional religions of the time were Jesus’ greatest enemies and were the ones who had Him crucified. This has also been the case with the great movements that have kept Christianity moving and growing.   

         Truth is always revolutionary. Truth is always a disruption and threat to institutions that have calcified into “old wineskins” incapable of receiving new wine. The threat to the truth being able to fully accomplish its purpose comes when it becomes popular and has increasing monetary value. This seems to cause even the freest to become conformists in order to protect what they have by making it into an institution. The ones that do this trend toward becoming more protective of their treasure rather than seeking more truth. With this pressure to conform always comes increasing control, until it too stifles new and free thinking that leads to more truth.

         A devotion to conform to the truth is not a bad thing, but conformity becomes deadly if we become insecure and threatened by those who would carry it further, especially if they are not of our camp. We see in church history that every new movement was persecuted by the earlier movements that had stopped moving. 

         The same has been true in science. This problem is not caused by the truth, but by those who started to esteem their self-preservation or positions more than truth. These tend to feel when they cease to keep up with the march forward that they are losing control, which is hard for most to accept. This is also called “jealousy.” We are told that Jesus was crucified because of envy, and all genuine followers of truth will be persecuted by the envious who are threatened by new thinking. 

          Even so, such a challenge by the “old wineskins” can help to purify and strengthen new emerging movements as the persecution tends to keep the political and self-promoting ones out, until the new starts to become popular enough. Since we see these effects and trends so clearly in history, why are so many of the youth today embracing socialism and Marxism which is built upon the worst characteristics of obviously jealous people?

          Consider this about Marxism: it is a political and economic system that has proven 100% of the time not to work. Yet it continues to draw many into it, even with a track record of 100% of the time not being able to deliver on its promises. So to protect its position, it has been implemented every time with the worst forms of tyranny in order to keep its grip on the people as it fails them. How can so many continue to be deceived by such ultimate failures as Marxism and socialism? This we must understand.

          The answer is first that they believe the propaganda told to them by their teachers and professors who themselves did the same when they were in school. Few have searched deeply enough into history to find out that Marxist and socialist propaganda is close to the exact opposite of what they actually are when they gain power. This fulfills the proverb that “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.”

        For this reason, in the next few Heritage Briefs we are going to examine what these really are and their strategy that is so successful in deceiving nations.

         There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before. –Willa Cather

         Only the ideas that we actually live are of any value. –Hermann Hesse