为何是他：怀疑时代的信仰理由
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
提摩太·凯勒 / Timothy Keller
简介 Summary
凯勒是纽约曼哈顿救赎主长老教会牧师，他在这本书中回应了都市知识分子对基督教信仰最常见的质疑。上半部逐一拆解七个常见怀疑，下半部正面阐述基督教信仰的理由。语言平实而深刻，特别适合在后现代文化中与受过教育的怀疑者对话。
Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, addresses the most common objections to Christianity from urban intellectuals. Part 1 dismantles seven common doubts; Part 2 makes the positive case for faith. Accessible yet profound, ideal for engaging educated skeptics in a postmodern culture.
📑 章节 Chapters
Ch.1: There Can't Be Just One True Religion
很多人认为宗教排他性导致分裂和暴力。凯勒回应：声称'所有宗教都一样'本身就是一种排他性立场。世俗主义自身也是一种信仰承诺。真正的解决之道不是消除宗教差异，而是拥有让你更包容的信仰。
Many claim religious exclusivity causes division. Keller responds: claiming 'all religions are the same' is itself an exclusive position. Secularism is also a faith commitment. The solution is not eliminating religious differences, but having a faith that makes you more inclusive.
“It is no more narrow to claim that one religion is right than to claim that one way to think about all religions (namely that all are equal) is right. 声称某一种宗教是对的，并不比声称有一种看待所有宗教的方式（即所有宗教都平等）是对的更加狭隘。”
Ch.2: How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?
苦难是对上帝存在最强有力的反对之一。然而凯勒指出：苦难也可以是信仰的理由——没有上帝，苦难更加没有意义。基督教的上帝进入了苦难，在十字架上与我们同受苦。
Suffering is the strongest objection to God's existence. Yet Keller argues suffering can also be a reason for faith—without God, suffering is even more meaningless. Christianity's God entered into suffering, enduring the cross with us.
“If you have a God great and transcendent enough to be mad at because he hasn't stopped evil and suffering in the world, then you have (at the same time) a God great and transcendent enough to have good reasons for allowing it to continue that you can't know. 如果你有一位足够伟大超越的上帝，以至于你可以因他没有阻止世界上的邪恶和苦难而愤怒，那么你同时也有一位足够伟大超越的上帝，以至于他有你无法了解的允许苦难继续的理由。”
Ch.3: Christianity Is a Straitjacket
基督教的道德规范是否压制自由？凯勒论证：所有自由都需要约束。鱼在水中才自由，火车在轨道上才自由。基督教的'约束'实际上通向更大的自由和人的繁荣。
Are Christianity's moral norms oppressive? Keller argues all freedom requires constraints. Fish are free in water; trains are free on tracks. Christianity's 'constraints' actually lead to greater freedom and human flourishing.
“Freedom is not so much the absence of restrictions as finding the right ones... the liberating restrictions. 自由与其说是没有限制，不如说是找到正确的限制……那些带来释放的限制。”
“In many cases, confinement and constraint is actually a means to liberation. 在许多情况下，约束和限制实际上是通向自由的途径。”
Ch.4: The Church Is Responsible for So Much Injustice
教会历史上确实有过不义，但这恰恰违背了基督教自身的教导。用教会的失败来否定基督教，就像用糟糕的医生来否定医学。况且，基督教也是废奴运动、民权运动等伟大社会变革的动力。
The church has indeed committed injustice, but this contradicts Christianity's own teachings. Rejecting Christianity for the church's failures is like rejecting medicine for bad doctors. Christianity also powered the abolitionist movement, civil rights movement, and other great social reforms.
“The answer to injustice in the church is not to abandon it but to go deeper into the true Christianity that the church Christ founded should embody. 对教会中不公义的回答，不是离弃教会，而是更深入地进入基督所建立的教会应当体现的真正的基督教。”
Ch.5: How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?
地狱不是上帝随意惩罚的监狱。地狱是人在永恒中持续选择自我而非上帝的自然后果。C.S.路易斯说：'地狱的门是从里面锁上的。'上帝尊重人的选择。
Hell is not an arbitrary prison of punishment. It is the natural consequence of persistently choosing self over God for eternity. As C.S. Lewis said, 'The doors of hell are locked on the inside.' God respects human choice.
“All God does in the end with people is give them what they most want, including freedom from Himself. What could be more fair than that? 上帝最终对人所做的一切，就是给他们最想要的东西，包括远离他自己的自由。还有什么比这更公平的呢？”
Ch.6: Science Has Disproved Christianity
科学和基督教并不对立。进化论与上帝创造的信仰在逻辑上可以兼容。许多伟大科学家本身就是基督徒。科学回答'如何'，基督教回答'为何'。
Science and Christianity are not at war. Evolution and belief in God's creation are logically compatible. Many great scientists were Christians. Science answers 'how'; Christianity answers 'why.'
“When evolution is turned into an All-encompassing Theory explaining everything we believe, feel, and do as the product of natural selection, then we are not in the arena of science, but of philosophy. 当进化论被变成一种解释我们所有信仰、感受和行为都是自然选择产物的全面理论时，我们就不再是在科学领域，而是在哲学领域了。”
Ch.7: You Can't Take the Bible Literally
凯勒澄清：基督徒不是'按字面意思'理解每一句经文，而是按照文学体裁来理解。圣经包含诗歌、历史、书信等不同体裁，每种体裁有不同的阅读方式。
Keller clarifies: Christians don't take every verse 'literally' but read according to literary genre. The Bible contains poetry, history, letters, and more—each with its own reading conventions.
“I think people are too hasty in dismissing the Bible without even having a basic grasp of how it developed and what literary genres it contains. 我认为人们在连圣经如何形成、包含哪些文学体裁都不了解的情况下就急于否定它，实在太草率了。”
Intermission: The Leap of Faith
在上半部回应了主要怀疑之后，凯勒指出：所有人——包括怀疑者——都在做'信仰的跳跃'。怀疑本身也建立在无法完全证明的假设之上。问题不是你有没有信仰，而是你的信仰是否合理。
After addressing major doubts, Keller notes that everyone—including skeptics—makes a 'leap of faith.' Doubt itself rests on unprovable assumptions. The question is not whether you have faith, but whether your faith is reasonable.
“All doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs. 所有的怀疑，不管看起来多么理性和愤世嫉俗，实际上都是一组替代性的信仰。”
Ch.8: The Clues of God
凯勒提供了上帝存在的多重线索：宇宙的微调、生命规律的存在、美与意义的渴望、内心的道德直觉。每一个都不是'证据'，但综合起来构成强有力的理由。
Keller presents multiple clues for God's existence: cosmic fine-tuning, the regularity of nature, our longing for beauty and meaning, and moral intuition. Each alone isn't 'proof,' but together they make a compelling case.
“If there is no God, and everything in this world is the product of... 'ichts but' blind forces of nature, then there is no reason to believe that our cognitive faculties can tell us the truth about the world. 如果没有上帝，这个世界上的一切都只是自然的盲目力量的产物，那就没有理由相信我们的认知能力能告诉我们关于世界的真理。”
Ch.9: The Knowledge of God
人心深处有对上帝的意识——良心的运作、对正义的渴望、对意义的追寻都指向这一点。人可以压制这种认识，但无法完全消除。
Deep in every human heart lies an awareness of God—the operation of conscience, the longing for justice, and the search for meaning all point to it. People can suppress this knowledge but cannot fully eliminate it.
“People often say, 'I just feel that there is something out there.' The philosopher Alvin Plantinga has argued that there is no reason not to take these 'basic beliefs' seriously. 人们常说：'我就是觉得有什么东西在那里。'哲学家普兰丁格论证说，没有理由不认真对待这些'基本信念'。”
Ch.10: The Problem of Sin
罪的核心不是违反规条，而是以自我取代上帝作为人生的中心。每个人——无论宗教的还是世俗的——都在用某种东西来定义自我价值，而那些东西成了偶像。
The core of sin is not rule-breaking but placing self at the center of life instead of God. Everyone—religious or secular—defines self-worth through something that becomes an idol.
“Sin is the despairing refusal to find your deepest identity in your relationship and service to God. Sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity, apart from him. 罪是绝望地拒绝在与上帝的关系和对上帝的服务中找到最深层的身份。罪是试图在他之外成为自己、获得身份。”
Ch.11: Religion and the Gospel
基督教福音与'宗教'截然不同。宗教说'我做了好事，所以上帝接纳我'；福音说'上帝在基督里接纳了我，所以我做好事'。这个区别改变一切。
The Christian gospel differs radically from 'religion.' Religion says 'I obey, therefore I am accepted'; the gospel says 'I am accepted through Christ, therefore I obey.' This distinction changes everything.
“Religion operates on the principle 'I obey — therefore I am accepted.' The gospel operates on the principle 'I am accepted through Christ — therefore I obey.' 宗教的运作原则是'我服从——所以我被接纳'。福音的运作原则是'我因基督被接纳——所以我服从'。”
Ch.12: The (True) Story of the Cross
十字架不是宇宙级的虐待。在十字架上，上帝自己承担了罪的代价。真正的饶恕总要求饶恕者承受痛苦——十字架是上帝以自己的痛苦来饶恕我们。
The cross is not cosmic child abuse. On the cross, God Himself bore the cost of sin. Real forgiveness always costs the forgiver—the cross is God forgiving us at His own expense.
“Real forgiveness is costly... On the cross, God absorbed the cost Himself. 真正的饶恕是有代价的……在十字架上，上帝自己承受了这个代价。”
“The cross is not simply a lovely example of sacrificial love. Theologically understood, it is an act of divine self-substitution. 十字架不仅仅是牺牲之爱的美好榜样。从神学上理解，它是上帝自我替代的行动。”
Ch.13: The Reality of the Resurrection
凯勒论证耶稣复活是最好的历史解释：空坟墓的事实、数百人的目击证词、门徒戏剧性的转变、以及早期教会不可能在捏造的基础上迅速崛起。
Keller argues the resurrection is the best historical explanation: the empty tomb, hundreds of eyewitnesses, the dramatic transformation of the disciples, and the impossibility of the early church arising on a fabrication.
“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? 如果耶稣从死里复活了，那你就必须接受他所说的一切；如果他没有从死里复活，那为什么要在乎他说的任何话呢？”
Ch.14: The Dance of God
三位一体的上帝不是孤独的独裁者，而是永恒的爱的团契。三位一体意味着关系和爱是宇宙的根基，我们被邀请加入这个爱的'舞蹈'。
The Triune God is not a lonely dictator but an eternal fellowship of love. The Trinity means relationship and love are the foundation of the universe, and we are invited to join this 'dance' of love.
“The life of the Trinity is characterized not by self-centeredness but by mutually self-giving love... The gospel is that God has done everything necessary for our salvation and given it to us freely. 三位一体的生命特征不是以自我为中心，而是相互给予的爱……福音就是上帝已经为我们的救恩做了一切必要的事，并白白赐给我们。”
Epilogue: Where Do We Go from Here?
凯勒总结全书，邀请读者采取行动：认罪、信靠基督、加入教会群体、在信仰中成长。信仰不是旅程的终点，而是新生命的开始。
Keller concludes by inviting action: confess sin, trust Christ, join a church community, and grow in faith. Belief is not the end of the journey but the beginning of new life.
“I urge you to put this concept of sin and repentance to the test... I urge you to accept the diagnosis and see if the prescription doesn't work. 我劝你把关于罪和悔改的概念付诸检验……我劝你接受这个诊断，看看这个处方是否有效。”