228、不知道神圣之物的人是不会如此亵渎它们的，因为不知道它们的人不可能首先承认它们，然后又否认它们。这意味着那些在基督教界之外，对主及其救赎和拯救一无所知的人当拒绝接受这种神圣的信仰，甚至出言反对它时，不会亵渎这种神圣。犹太人本身也不会亵渎它，因为他们从小就不愿接受并承认它。如果他们接受并承认了，后来又否认，情况就不同了；不过，这种情况极少发生。他们当中有许多人只是表面上承认它，其实内心是否认的；在这种情况下，他们就像假冒为善的人。但那些通过将神圣之物与亵渎之物混在一起而亵渎神圣之物的人，就是那种一开始接受并承认它们，后来又倒退并否认的人。
在童年早期和少年时代对这些事物的接受和承认不在讨论中；每个基督徒都是这样。这不是亵渎，因为那时他们不是出于任何理性和自由，也就是出于意愿以理解力来接受并承认属于信和仁的神圣事物，只是凭记忆出于对教师的信赖而接受的。如果他们照着这些原则生活，那么这种生活是出于一种盲目的顺从。然而，当人随着逐渐长大成熟而进入自己的理性和自由中时，他若承认真理并照之生活，后来又否认它们，就会将神圣之物与亵渎之物混在一起，从一个人变成前面所描述的那种怪物。相反，如果人从他到了理性和自由，也就是自主的年龄之时起，甚至在童年早期就处于邪恶，但后来承认信之真理并照之生活，那么只要保持在其中，他就不会将两者混在一起。因为那时主会把他以前生活的邪恶与后来生活的良善分离。这就是发生在所有悔改之人身上的事。对此，下文（279-280节）会有详述。
228. No one who is ignorant of sacred things profanes them in this way, for it is impossible for anyone who is ignorant of them to acknowledge them and afterward deny them. Consequently people who live outside the Christian world and know nothing of the Lord or of redemption and salvation by Him, do not profane this holy concept in not accepting it, even in speaking against it.
Neither do practicing Jews profane this holy concept, because from early childhood they refuse to accept and acknowledge it. It would be different if they were to accept and acknowledge it and afterward deny it. But this rarely happens. For many of them acknowledge it outwardly and deny it inwardly, and are akin to hypocrites.
Rather, the people who profane sacred things by commingling them with profane ones are those who first accept and acknowledge them and afterward turn away and deny them.
[2] It does not matter that people accept and acknowledge these things in early and later childhood. Every Christian does that. It does not matter because in that case they do not accept and acknowledge matters of faith and charity with any rationality and freedom, that is to say, in the intellect from the will, but do so simply by memorization and from trust in the teacher; and if they live according to them, it is out of blind obedience. But when a person comes into the use of his rationality and freedom, which comes about gradually as he grows into adolescence and youth, if he then acknowledges truths and lives according to them and later denies them, he commingles sacred things with profane ones, and from being human becomes such a monster as described above.
On the other hand, if a person is caught up in evil from the time he becomes capable of rationality and freedom, that is, of being his own master, throughout his youth, and later acknowledges truths of faith and lives according to them, provided he then remains governed by them to the end of his life, he does not commingle them. For the Lord then separates the evils of his former life from the goods of his later life. This is the case with all who repent.
But more on this subject in subsequent considerations.
228. No one profanes holy things who does not know about them, since if we do not know about them we cannot first acknowledge and then deny them. This means that people who live outside the Christian world and know nothing about the Lord or about the redemption and salvation he offers do not profane this holy faith even when they argue against it because they do not accept it.
Even Jews do not profane this holy matter either, since from infancy they have been reluctant to accept and acknowledge it. It is different if they do accept and acknowledge it, and then deny it, but this rarely happens. Many of them acknowledge it outwardly but deny it inwardly, in which case they are like hypocrites.
The people who profane holy things by mingling them with the profane, though, are the ones who accept and acknowledge at first but then backslide and deny.
[2] The acceptance and belief of early childhood and youth is not at issue. That is common to all Christians. This is not profanation, because they are not accepting and acknowledging sacred things of faith and caring at all rationally and freely, that is, in their own discernment and of their own volition, but simply as a matter of memory and out of trust in their teachers. If they live by these principles, it is in blind obedience. However, when they come into their own rationality and freedom as they gradually mature and grow up, then if they acknowledge truths and live by them but later deny them, they mingle the holy with the profane and change from humans into the kind of monster I have just described.
In contrast, if people have been engaged in evil from the beginning of their rationality and freedom, the beginning of their independence, until their maturity, but later acknowledge the truths that faith discloses and live by them, they do not mingle them. The Lord then separates the evils of their former life from the good qualities of their later life. This is what happens to everyone who repents. There will be more on this later, though [279-280].
228. No man thus profanes holy things who does not know them; for he who is ignorant of them cannot acknowledge them and afterwards deny them. Therefore those who are outside the Christian world, and who do not know anything about the Lord, and about redemption and salvation by Him, do not profane this holy thing when they do not receive it, or even when they speak against it. Nor do the Jews themselves profane it, because from infancy they are unwilling to receive and acknowledge it. It would be otherwise if they were to receive and acknowledge it, and afterwards deny it; but this rarely happens; for many of them acknowledge it outwardly and inwardly deny it, being like hypocrites. Those, however, who profane holy things by mingling them with what is profane are those who first receive and acknowledge them, and afterwards depart from them and deny them.
[2] It matters nothing that these are received and acknowledged infancy and childhood, which is done by every Christian; for the things that pertain to faith and charity are not then received and acknowledged from any rationality and liberty, that is, in the understanding from the will, but only from what is in the memory and from trust in the teacher; and if the life is in accordance with these it is from blind obedience. When man, however, comes into the exercise of his rationality and liberty, which he does gradually as he grows up into youth and manhood, if he then acknowledges truths and lives in accordance with them and afterwards denies them, he mingles what is holy with what is profane, and from being a man he becomes a monster; as was said above. If however, a man is in evil from the time he attains rationality and liberty, that is, becomes his own master, and even in early manhood, and afterwards acknowledges the truths of faith and lives in accordance with them, provided he then remains in them to the end of his life, he does not mingle the two; for the Lord then separates the evils of his former life from the good of his later life. This is done in the case of all who repent. But more will be said on this subject in what follows.
228. A man who is ignorant of holy things does not thus profane them. For he who is ignorant of them cannot acknowledge them and afterwards deny them. Therefore those who are outside of the Christian world, and who know nothing about the Lord, and about redemption and salvation by Him, do not profane this holiness when they refuse to accept it, or even when they speak against it. Nor do the Jews themselves profane it because from infancy they are unwilling to accept and acknowledge it. It would be otherwise if they should accept and acknowledge it, and afterwards deny it; but this rarely occurs; although many of them outwardly acknowledge it and inwardly deny it, and are like hypocrites. But those who profane holy things by mixing them with things profane are such as first accept and acknowledge them, and afterwards backslide and deny.
[2] This does not refer to the acceptance and acknowledgement of these things in early childhood and boyhood; this every Christian does; for the things belonging to faith and charity are not then accepted and acknowledged from any rationality and liberty, that is, in the understanding from the will, but are accepted only by memory and from confidence in the teacher; and if the life is according to them it is from a blind obedience. But when man comes into the exercise of his rationality and liberty, which he does gradually as he grows into youth and manhood, if he then acknowledges truths and lives according to them and afterwards denies them he mixes holy things with profane things, and from being a man he becomes such a monster as has been described above. If, however, man is in evil from the time that he reaches the age of rationality and liberty, that is, of self-control, and even in early manhood, but afterwards he acknowledges the truths of faith and lives according to them, provided he then remains in them until the end of his life, he does not mix the two; for the Lord then separates the evils of the former life from the goods of the latter life. This is done with all who repent. But of this more in what follows.
228. Nullus homo 1ita prophanat sancta, qui non scit illa, nam qui non scit illa, nec potest agnoscere illa, et dein negare illa; quare illi qui extra Christianum Orbem sunt, et non sciunt aliquid de Domino, et de Redemptione et Salvatione ab Ipso, non prophanant id sanctum, dum non recipiunt illud, imo dum loquuntur 2contra illud. Ipsi Judaei nec prophanant id sanctum, quia ab infantia non volunt recipere et agnoscere illud; aliter si reciperent et agnoscerent, et postea negarent, quod tamen raro fit; multi enim ex illis agnoscunt illud exterius, et negant illud interius, et sunt hypocritis similes. Sed illi prophanant sancta per commixtionem illorum cum prophanis, qui primum recipiunt et agnoscunt, et postea abeunt et negant.
[2] Nihil facit, quod in infantia et pueritia recipiant et agnoscant; hoc facit unusquisque Christianus; quia tunc non recipiunt et agnoscunt illa quae fidei et charitatis sunt ex aliqua rationalitate et libertate, hoc est, in intellectu ex voluntate, sed solum ex memoria et ex fide magistri, et si vivunt secundum illa, est ex caeca obedientia; at cum homo in usum suae rationalitatis et libertatis venit, quod fit successive 3sicut adolescit et juvenescit, si tunc agnoscit vera et vivit secundum illa, et postea negat illa, commiscet sancta prophanis, et fit ex homine tale monstrum, ut supra dictum est. At si homo in malo est, a tempore dum suae rationalitatis et libertatis, hoc est, sui juris, factus est, usque in juventutem, ac postea agnoscit vera fidei et vivit secundum illa, modo tunc in illis usque ad finem vitae maneat, non commiscet illa, nam Dominus tunc separat mala prioris vitae a bonis posterioris vitae; ita fit cum omnibus qui poenitentiam agunt. Sed de his plura in sequentibus.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: humo
2 Prima editio: loquntur
3 Prima editio: succussive