515.第三个要考虑的问题是，是否存在脱离悔改的悔罪？在灵界，我问过很多确认信归于基督功德之人，他们是否经历过悔罪，他们回答说：“为何悔罪？我们打小就确信基督已通过十字架受难抹去我们一切的罪。悔罪不符合这信念，因为既然人知道他已得救，因而从地狱中被解救出来，并免受伤害，那么悔罪意味着将自己投入地狱、遭受良心谴责。”对此他们补充说，悔罪的律法无非是作作样子，被拿来替代圣言中频频提及和命令的悔改。对福音知之甚少的简单人，当他们听到或想起地狱的折磨时，或许内心会有些波动。
他们还说，自他们开始长大时起，福音的安慰就铭刻在他们脑海里，它将悔罪赶得远远的，以至于一提到它，他们就在心里加以嘲笑。维苏威火山或埃特纳的火吓不倒住在华沙或维也纳的人，阿拉伯沙漠的蜥蜴和蛇，或鞑靼森林里的老虎和狮子吓不倒生活在安全、稳定、平静的欧洲城市的居民，同样，地狱也无法以恐惧约束到他们。波斯国王的愤怒不会令宾夕法尼亚的人紧张不安，神的愤怒一样无法在他们心里激起恐惧或悔罪。这些说法，加上对他们传统知识的理性推断使我确信，除非悔罪是下文所描述的悔改，否则，它无非是妄想的怪物。改革宗采用悔罪代替悔改的另一原因是，他们可以将自己与坚持悔改和仁爱的罗马天主教切割开。所以，后来他们建立唯信称义的教义时，声称作出这种改变的原因是，通过悔改，就象通过仁一样，含有功德的人自己的某种东西会进入信并将它抹黑。
515. 第三个要考虑的问题是, 是否存在脱离悔改的悔罪? 在灵界, 我问过很多确认信归于基督功德之人, 他们是否经历过悔罪, 他们回答说: “为何悔罪? 我们打小就确信基督已通过十字架受难抹去我们一切的罪。 悔罪不符合这信念, 因为既然人知道他已得救, 因而从地狱中被解救出来, 并免受伤害, 那么悔罪意味着将自己投入地狱, 遭受良心谴责。 ”对此他们补充说, 悔罪的律法无非是作作样子, 被拿来替代圣言中频频提及和命令的悔改。 对福音知之甚少的简单人, 当他们听到或想起地狱的折磨时, 或许内心会有些波动。
他们还说, 自他们开始长大时起, 福音的安慰就铭刻在他们脑海里, 它将悔罪赶得远远的, 以至于一提到它, 他们就在心里加以嘲笑。 维苏威火山或埃特纳的火吓不倒住在华沙或维也纳的人, 阿拉伯沙漠的蜥蜴和蛇, 或鞑靼森林里的老虎和狮子吓不倒生活在安全, 稳定, 平静的欧洲城市的居民, 同样, 地狱也无法以恐惧约束到他们。 波斯国王的愤怒不会令宾夕法尼亚的人紧张不安, 神的愤怒一样无法在他们心里激起恐惧或悔罪。 这些说法, 加上对他们传统知识的理性推断使我确信, 除非悔罪是下文所描述的悔改, 否则, 它无非是妄想的怪物。 改革宗采用悔罪代替悔改的另一原因是, 他们可以将自己与坚持悔改和仁爱的罗马天主教切割开。 所以, 后来他们建立唯信称义的教义时, 声称作出这种改变的原因是, 通过悔改, 就象通过仁一样, 含有功德的人自己的某种东西会进入信并将它抹黑。
515. The third step in these considerations is, Apart from repentance does this contrition really exist?
In the spiritual world I have approached a number of people who had convinced themselves that faith assigns us Christ's merit; I have asked them whether they had ever felt any contrition.
"Why should we feel contrition?" they replied. "Since our childhood we have believed as a certainty that Christ through his suffering took away all our sins. Feeling contrition is out of alignment with this belief. Feeling contrition is to throw ourselves into hell and torment our own consciences, when in fact we know that we have been redeemed and are therefore exempt from and immune to hell. "
They added that the prescribed feeling of contrition is simply a figment of the imagination now accepted as a replacement for the repentance that is so often mentioned in the Word and in fact commanded there. Yes, perhaps there is some such emotion felt by people who are simple and ignorant of the Gospel, when they hear or think about the torments of hell.
They also said that the consolation of the Gospel, which had been impressed upon them from their earliest youth, so thoroughly took away that feeling of contrition that whenever it was mentioned they would laugh to themselves about it. They felt that hell had no more power to terrify them than the fires of Vesuvius and Aetna would have over people living in Warsaw and Vienna. It scared them no more than vipers and poisonous snakes in the deserts of Arabia or tigers and lions in the forests of Tartary would scare people who live in some European city in safety, rest, and tranquillity. Indeed, the wrath of God had no more power to terrify or crush them than the wrath of the king of Persia would have over those who live in Pennsylvania.
[2] From these conversations and by my own reasoning about church traditions I have become convinced that this feeling of contrition - unless it is the type of repentance described in the following pages - is a mere piece of imaginative theater. The Protestant churches substituted the feeling of contrition for repentance in order to move away from the Roman Catholics, who urge both repentance and goodwill. After the Protestants established their notion of justification by faith alone, they cited as a reason for this substitution the concern that both repentance and goodwill would introduce into their faith something that smacks of the desire to earn merit, which would defile it.
515. The third question to be discussed is whether there is such a thing as this contrition without repentance. I have asked many people in the spiritual world who had convinced themselves that faith imputes the merit of Christ, whether they had experienced any contrition, and they replied: 'What use is contrition when we have believed for certain from childhood up that Christ by His passion has taken away all our sins? Contrition does not square with this belief, since contrition means throwing oneself into hell and torturing one's conscience, yet knowing that one is redeemed, and rescued from hell and so unharmed.' They added that the rule of contrition is nothing but a pretence, which has been seized on in place of the repentance so often mentioned and enjoined in the Word. There might perhaps be some emotion in the case of the simple who know very little about the Gospel, when they hear of or think about the torments of hell.
They said too that the consolation of the Gospel, which was impressed upon them from the time they began to grow up, so far banished contrition that in their hearts they laughed at the mention of it. Hell, they said, could no more strike fear into them than the fire of Vesuvius or Etna can into the inhabitants of Warsaw or Vienna; or any more than the basilisks and poisonous snakes of the Arabian desert, or the tigers and lions in the forests of Tartary, can into those who are living safely, tranquilly and quietly in some European city. The wrath of God had no more frightened them and made them contrite than the wrath of the king of Persia can the people of Pennsylvania. These statements and the arguments drawn from their traditional lore convinced me that contrition, unless it is repentance as shortly to be described, is nothing but a mockery born of the imagination.
Another reason why the Reformed churches adopted contrition in place of repentance was to cut themselves off from the Roman Catholics, who insist on repentance and at the same time on charity. So when the Reformed churches had established the doctrine of justification by faith alone, they claimed the reason was that by repentance, just as by charity, something smacking of merit entered into their faith and sullied it.
515. The third point to be considered is, Whether apart from repentance there can be any such contrition? In the spiritual world I asked many who had confirmed in themselves a faith imputative of Christ's merit, whether they had experienced any contrition; and they replied, "Why contrition, when from childhood we have believed as a certainty that Christ took away all our sins by His passion? Contrition does not square with this belief; for contrition is a man's casting himself into hell and torturing his conscience, when he knows, nevertheless, that he has been redeemed and thus delivered from hell, and is consequently secure from harm." To this they added, that this law of contrition is a purely fictitious thing accepted in place of the repentance that is so frequently mentioned and also enjoined in the Word; although with the simple, perhaps, who know but little about the Gospel, there is some emotion of mind when they hear or think about the torments of hell. They also said, that the consolation of the Gospel impressed upon their minds from earliest youth so banished contrition, that in their hearts they laughed at the mere mention of it; and that hell could no more strike them with terror than the fires of Vesuvius or Etna could terrify those who live at Warsaw or Vienna, or than the basilisks and vipers in the deserts of Arabia, or the tigers and lions in the forests of Tartary, could terrify those who live in safety, tranquillity, and quiet in some European city; also that the wrath of God excited no more terror or contrition in them than the wrath of the king of Persia would excite in those who live in Pennsylvania. By all this together with rational inferences from their declarations I was convinced that contrition, unless it is repentance such as is hereinafter described, is nothing but a freak of imagination. The reason why the Reformed adopted contrition in place of repentance, was that they might separate themselves from the Roman Catholics, who insist upon repentance and at the same time upon charity; and when they afterward established the doctrine of justification by faith alone, they alleged as their reason for this change, that by repentance, as by charity, something of the man's own, which savored of merit, entered into his faith and blackened it.
515. The third point to be considered is, Whether this contrition can exist without repentance. In the spiritual world I asked many who had confirmed themselves in the faith that imputes the merit of Christ, whether they had any contrition. They replied that they had no concern about contrition; for they firmly believed from childhood that Christ by His passion had taken away all their sins. Contrition did not accord with this belief; for it consisted in men casting themselves into hell, and enduring the pangs of conscience; whereas they knew that they were redeemed, and so delivered from hell, and consequently secure from all danger. To this they added that the doctrine of contrition was a mere figment adopted in place of repentance, so often mentioned and enjoined in the Word; although possibly some emotion might be excited in simple minds that were but little acquainted with the Gospel, when they heard or thought of hell-torments.
They further said that the consolation of the Gospel, impressed upon them in their early years, had so far removed contrition that they inwardly smiled at the very mention of it. Hell had no more power to strike terror into them than the fires of Vesuvius 1 and Etna 2 had to terrify the inhabitants of Warsaw 3 and Vienna; 4 or the basilisks and serpents in the deserts of Arabia, or the tigers and lions in the forests of Tartary 5 to terrify those who lived in the safety, tranquillity and peace of some city in Europe. The wrath of God affected them no more with fear and contrition than the wrath of the king of Persia did the inhabitants of Pennsylvania. 6
From these things, and from the thoughts that followed their relation, I was convinced that contrition, unless it means repentance, such as is described in the following pages, is nothing but a figment of the imagination. The Reformed substituted contrition for repentance in order that they might be dissociated from the Roman Catholics, who insist upon the necessity of repentance, together with charity. After they had established the doctrine of justification by faith alone, they adduced this as a reason, that by repentance, as by charity, something pertaining to man which savors of merit would enter into his faith and defile it.
Footnotes:
1. Vesuvius, volcano in Campania, Italy.
2. Aethna, Aetna, volcano of Sicily.
3. Warsovia, Warsaw, capital of Poland.
4. Vienna, capital of Austria.
5. Tartaria, Tartary, country of Central Asia.
6. Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, one of the early British colonies in America, and one of the original U.S.A.
515. Tertium Momentum, quod expendendum, est, Numeri CONTRITIO ILLA ABSQUE POENITENTIA DETUR; in Mundo spirituali quaesivi multos, qui fidem imputativam meriti Christi apud se confirmaverunt, num aliquam Contritionem habuerint, et responderunt, quid Contritio, cum a pueritia pro certo credidimus, quod Christus passione sua omnia peccata illorum sustulerit; cum hac fide non quadrat contritio, Contritio enim est se conjicere in infernum, et conscientiam cruciare, cum tamen sciunt, quod redempti sint, et sic exempti inferno, et inde indemnes; his addiderunt, quod statutum Contritionis non sit nisi figmentum, quod loco Poenitentiae, quod toties in Verbo memoratur, et quoque injungitur, acceptatum est; quod forsitan sit aliqua emotio mentis apud simplices qui non sciunt nisi parum de Evangelio, quando de cruciatibus in inferno audiunt aut cogitant; et dixerunt quod consolatio Evangelii, illis a prima adolescentia impressa, amoverit Contritionem ita, ut corde riserint ad illam, cum nominabatur, et quod Infernum non potuerit illis terrorem incutere plus quam potest ignis Vesuvii et Aethnae illis qui Warsoviae et Viennae habitant; nec plus quam basilisci et echidnae in desertis Arabiae, aut tigrides et leones in sylvis Tartariae, illis qui in urbe aliqua Europae in tuto, tranquillo et quieto sunt: et quod ira Dei non plus terruerit et contriverit illos, quam potest ira Regis Persiae illos qui in Pensylvania sunt. Ex his, et quoque ex rationibus deductis ex traditionibus illorum, confirmatus sum, quod Contritio, nisi sit Poenitentia, qualis describitur in sequentibus, non sit 1 aliud quam ludicrum phantasiae. Quod Reformati loco poenitentiae assumserint Contritionem, fuit etiam causa, ut a Romano-Catholicis, qui Poenitentiam, et simul Charitatem, urgent, divellerentur, et postquam confirmaverunt justificationem per solam fidem, allegarunt rationem, quod per Poenitentiam sicut per Charitatem, aliquid hominis quod sapit meritum, in fidem suam intraret, et denigraret illam.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: fit.