Faith46.这些荒谬之处之所以没有被看到，是因为他们说服人们相信信仰是盲目的，并利用这种观念来关闭人们的眼睛，塞住他们的耳朵。关闭人们的眼睛，塞住他们的耳朵，也就是防止他们运用任何理解力来进行思考；那些对永生拥有某种观念的人就会相信你随心所欲所说的任何话，即便你说：神能发怒和报复；神能向任何人施加永恒的诅咒；神愿意因祂儿子的宝血而被感动施以怜悯，并将这宝血作为功德转稼给人，好像它就是人的；祂愿意因着人只是如此思想就拯救他。再或者，人们会相信，一位神能与另一位具有相同本质的神讨价还价，把这些事强加于祂；以及其它类似的事。但请睁开你的双眼，拔掉你的耳塞，也就是运用理解力来思想这些事，你就会发现它们与实际真理大相径庭。
46. The reason this has not been seen, though, is that they have persuaded people that faith is blind and have used this notion to close people’s eyes and plug their ears.
Close people’s eyes and plug their ears—that is, prevent them from thinking with any understanding—and people who have some notion of eternal life will believe anything you say, even if you say that God can be angry and breathe vengeance, that God can inflict eternal damnation on anyone, that God chooses to be moved to mercy by the blood of his Son and transfer this as credit to our accounts as though it were ours and save us simply by what we think. People will believe, for example, that one God could make a deal with another God (of the same essence) and lay down requirements, and things of that sort.
Open your own eyes, though, and unplug your ears—that is, think intelligently about these matters—and you will see how they clash with the actual truth.
46. But the reason people have not seen this is that they have instilled in themselves a blind faith, and because of it have shut their eyes and blocked their ears.
Shut people’s eyes and block their ears, or in other words, prevent them from thinking with any understanding, and say whatever you will to those who have had some idea of eternal life impressed upon them, and they will believe it. Even if you were to say that God is capable of being angry and filled with a desire for retribution; that God is capable of inflicting eternal damnation on anyone; that God is willing to be moved to mercy by the blood of His Son, to impute and attribute it as merit to a person as the person’s own, and to save the person as a result only of what the person thinks.
Consider, too, the idea that one God would be able to make such agreements with another God of the same essence or impose them on Him. And so on in this vein.
But open your eyes and unblock your ears, which is to say, think about these things with some comprehension, and you will see how incongruent they are with the real truth.
46. The reason, however, why these things have not been seen is, because they have induced a blind faith, and by means of it have closed men's eyes and stopped their ears. If you close men's eyes and stop their ears, that is, if you cause them not to think and exercise their understanding; and if you then tell those who are impressed with any idea whatever of eternal life, anything you please, they will believe it: even though you should tell them that God can be angry and breathe vengeance; that God can inflict eternal damnation upon any one; that God desires to be moved to compassion by the blood of His Son; that He will impute and attribute this to man as a merit of his own, and will save him by the mere thinking so; and further, that one God could stipulate with another God of one Essence with Himself, and enjoin such things upon Him; with other inconsistencies of a similar kind. But open your eyes and unstop your ears, that is, think about these things with understanding and you will see how discordant they are with the truth itself.
46. The reason why these absurdities have not been seen is that they have induced a blind faith, and have thereby shut men's eyes, and stopped up their ears. Shut men's eyes and stop up their ears, that is, contrive that they do not exercise thought from any understanding, and then say whatever you please to persons on whom some idea of eternal life has been imprinted, and they will believe it; even if you should say that God is capable of being angry and of breathing vengeance; that God is capable of inflicting eternal condemnation on any one; that God wills to be moved to mercy through the blood of His Son; that He will impute and attribute this to man as merit and as man's; and that He will save him by his merely thinking so. Or again, that one God could bargain such things with another God of the one essence, and impose them upon Him; and other things of the same kind. But open your eyes and unstop your ears, that is, think about these things from understanding, and you will see their incongruity with the real truth.
46. Sed causa quod haec non visa sint, est quia induxerunt fidem caecam, et per illam occluserunt oculos, et obturaverunt aures. Occlude oculos et obtura aures, hoc est, fac ut non cogitent ex aliquo intellectu, et dic illis, quibus aliqua idea de vita aeterna impressa est, quicquid velis, et credent: immo, si dixeris quod Deus possit irasci et vindictam spirare; quod Deus possit alicui damnationem aeternam inferre; quod Deus velit ad misericordiam moveri per sanguinem Filii; ac id pro merito imputare et adscribere homini ut ejus; ac salvare per solum cogitare. Ut et, quod unus Deus cum altero Deo unius essentiae potuerit talia stipulari, et illi injungere; praeter similia alia. Sed aperi oculos et reclude aures, hoc est, cogita de illis ex intellectu, ac videbis discordantiam illorum cum ipsa veritate.