一、
什么是信仰
根据维基百科，信仰是人对人生观、价值观和世界观等的选择和持有。信仰体现着对人生价值和人生意义的看法。宗教并非信仰对象，而是信仰的表现形式。信仰一般往往被认为是由外在因素所形成、如父母、社会、宗教和当地的风俗与传统。信仰可以获得、确认、塑造，也可以被抛弃。
有人认为信仰是以星相学、咒语或巫术表现的迷信，是不符合逻辑、不可验证的。但是，
正常的信仰是人们对世界更深层次的认识，是一种世界观和生活方式， 它也可能是慎重理性思考后的选择。世界上绝大多数人是有神论者，
其中，大约每四个人中会有一个人是相信有耶稣的（参见本文第四部分），但是新教徒开始的运动强调自我独立地学习圣经，运用理性和思考来追寻、探讨和解释真理，
实际上新约全书中的使徒保罗通过慎重思考所写的章节为基督教神学奠定了理论基础。
基督教信仰的核心是相信上帝创造世界、上帝是圣父圣子和圣灵三位一体、耶稣死而复活、肢体的作用以及耶稣再来对死人与活人最后的审判。
有时候，对基督教信仰的选择需要一定的信心和勇气。虽然有不少宗教对信徒的离开有严格限制，但是，根据联合国的《世界人权宣言》，每一个人应当有选择信仰宗教、或不信仰宗教的自由[i]。
二、
我们需要信仰吗
我们需要信仰，这主要是因为人的心有一块地方是专门为信仰预留的，没有它，人们就会感到空虚、苦闷和无助。
首先，科学是有限的，人们对科学的认识更为有限。从层次上来看，我们从小对世界的认识是从电动玩具或其他物品的声、光、电开始的，这种对世界的认识是表面的、肤浅的，但是对世界的感性认知是我们认识这个世界不可或缺的初级的一部分。当我们进入到小学，我们学会了加、减、乘、除，学会了对物体形状的了解，这些概念性的认识使我们的认识进入到一个新的层次-理性认识。然而，有些问题不好用推理来回答，比如说，世界是怎么形成的？人们生活的目的是什么？人死了会发生什么？于是人们对世界的认识还需要有一个更高的层次-灵性认识，而信仰可以帮助我们更好地获取灵性的认识，圣经给了我们正在寻找的答案。
科学在范围上也是有限的，科学不能解决文学艺术和伦理道德的问题。科学只能告诉我们，如果把氰化物放入咖啡里面，你可能会毒死你的家人，但是科学不能告诉你，你是否在伦理道德上是错的。
随著现代科学的兴起，相当一部分知识分子逐渐接受了人文主义（或自然主义）的世界观。他们高举人的理性，认为人是宇宙的主人，提出要否定造物主的存在；他们崇尚科学主义和实证主义的哲学，以为科学是认识真理的唯一方法；强调真理的可检验性，摒弃一切物质世界以外的客观实体，不承认任何超自然的力量。“五四”运动时期，先驱者们把西方的民主引进中国的同时，把“科学主义”也引进了中国。如今，中国许多知识分子都把科学当作认识、检验真理的唯一标准：只有被科学证明了的才可信；一切不能被科学证明的皆可疑；所有不合科学逻辑或者规范的，不是假的就是错的。他们虽然欣赏《圣经》的道德准则和基督徒的德行规范，但因神的存在及有关神迹无法被科学马上或者全部验证，故不能接受基督教信仰[ii]。但是，真理有可以马上验证核实的科学真理，也有不能马上验证核实的超自然真理，因为世界既包括大自然，也包括超自然的部分。更何况，今天的科学只能在一定程度上证明某种物体的存在，而不能证明某种物体不存在；而且科学也是不断进步和发展的，如有关地球是否世界中心的看法因我们的认识不断完善而修正；牛顿的万有引力定律又被爱恩斯坦的相对论所修正。进化论提出者达尔文在1873年给一个荷兰作家尼古拉斯·德克·多迪斯写了一封信，信里面这样写道：“我知道，如果我们承认第一原动力，人们仍然渴望知道它是从哪里以及如何出现的。
我不能忽视发生在世界周遭的巨大苦难和困难，我也在一定程度上被引导尊重许多能完全相信上帝的人的判断，但是在这里我这个推理不够强。
最安全的结论似乎是，整个主题超出了人类智力的范围，但人可以做他们可以做的。”[iii]。信仰是不好推理的，但是借助于信仰，我们能够更好地认识世界。
其次，借着各种证据，上帝显示了他的存在。有人可能会说，圣经是一本编造出来的书。但是，更早的时候，有一本《死海古卷》的发现印证了有关耶稣的史实[iv]。于1947年到1956年间在死海西北岸的11个山洞昆兰洞穴（Qumran
caves）里发现的《死海古卷》是目前世界已知最古老的文献。透过碳-14、古文字学和书写研究等手段，认定古卷用希伯来文、亚兰文和希腊文写于约公元前200年到公元68年。它对《圣经》经文的可信度提供了震撼证据,因为它几乎完好无损，而且与公元900年以后的近代马所拉文本的各种手稿版本（包括圣经最早的著名的文本，如「十诫」等）几乎完全相同，
证实《旧约》里的神将拯救世人的弥赛亚预言早在公元前就已经流传[v]。而且，耶稣去世后，他的500个门徒突然改变，不怕刀山火海、毒蛇猛兽，不能不让人想起耶稣的复活。目前，圣经已经成为世界上印刷最多、写作时间最长、流传历史最悠久、保存最完整而诸多作者的论述又最为一致的书。
三、
科学与信仰是一个什么关系
第一，信仰与科学并不矛盾，甚至于可以促进科学的进步。 联合国曾经用世界著名的盖洛普民意测验方法进行了一项调查，目的是了解最近300年间的300位最著名的科学家是否相信神。结果显示，其中除38位因无法查明其信仰而不计以外，其余262位科学家中，信神者有242人，占92.4%；不信神者仅有20人，占总数的7.6%[vi]。
除了这些人类历史上伟大的科学家相信造物主的存在外，当今世界各国科学家信神者亦非罕见。在这些科学家看来，科学与宗教并非是排斥关系，
证据和推理照样可以很好地运作，只是它们的运作是在一定的范围内进行的。科学家们可以一方面探讨世界的奥秘，一方面赞叹神的伟大。在这里，理性是连接科学与信仰的桥梁，因为一个理性的人会客观地看待这两个方面，正如弗兰西斯·培根所说，要读好自然和圣经这两本书，我们迫切需要理性[vii]。
伽利略被判终身监禁的主因并不是日心说（对此他事先已私下取得了教皇的默契），而在于他对秉持教条主义和僵化传统的教廷和大学之权威的挑战。他坚持认为神同时用《圣经》和大自然启示自己，因此《圣经》中有关自然现象的经文应从科学观点重新解释，从而大大激怒了一直拥有解释《圣经》最高权威的教廷，被定罪就在所难免了。他又说：“有人指控我的发现是暗示圣经有错误，我却认为我在物理上的精确研究，更印证圣经的准确性。……只有相信圣经是绝对真理的人，才有勇气对世界上任何伟大的理论提出挑战”(参见张文亮著《科学大师的求学、恋爱与理念》，台北：校园书房出版社，1996，73-74页页)。日心说对地心说的胜利，是正确的科学观对天主教教义中错误的科学观的胜利，而不是科学对基督教信仰的胜利。
伽利略被判终身监禁的主因并不是日心说（对此他事先已私下取得了教皇的默契），而在于他对秉持教条主义和僵化传统的教廷和大学之权威的挑战。他坚持认为神同时用《圣经》和大自然启示自己，因此《圣经》中有关自然现象的经文应从科学观点重新解释，从而大大激怒了一直拥有解释《圣经》最高权威的教廷，被定罪就在所难免了。他又说：“有人指控我的发现是暗示圣经有错误，我却认为我在物理上的精确研究，更印证圣经的准确性。……只有相信圣经是绝对真理的人，才有勇气对世界上任何伟大的理论提出挑战”(参见张文亮著《科学大师的求学、恋爱与理念》，台北：校园书房出版社，1996，73-74页页)。日心说对地心说的胜利，是正确的科学观对天主教教义中错误的科学观的胜利，而不是科学对基督教信仰的胜利。
第二，宗教信仰可以是在事实基础上经过认真研究、考察之后做出的选择。路加，福音书第三部的作者，就是从头到尾仔细考察各种事件及询问目击者，而让罗马人提尔菲利斯确定他所讲的都是真的。《时代》杂志周刊有一篇长达六、七页的文章，该文和其他有关调查文章讲述科学家运用现代科技研究分析耶稣裹尸布，发现该裹尸布曾经裹有一个受过鞭伤、订过十字架的犹太男人，并曾经在耶路撒冷耶稣被钉十字架之处逗留和有过物理接触，布的影像与真人比例是一比一，眼睛上曾经盖有比拉多时期所用的古希腊钱币[viii]，结果仍然不能推翻耶稣真实存在的事实。
第三，科学与基督教信仰更为契合，因为唯一真神的有序管理更能够解释诸多科学现象。生化领域诺贝尔奖获得者麦尔文·加尔文就指出，
世界是在上帝的有序掌控之中，而唯一真神的观点似乎是现代科学的历史基础。C·S·路易斯说，当人们解释并且期待有一个自然律法，人们成为科学家，因为他们相信有一个律法的制定者[ix]。从英文词汇来看，科学家和神学家都有一个词尾，所以有人推测，人们将研究神学的的方法用于科学，才产生了各种学科。实际上，大自然的一切自然常数如电子电量、质子的质量、相互作用力的耦合常数等等，若稍有一点不同，原子就不会聚在一起，恒星就不能燃烧，行星、地球、生命都无法存在。作为神所默示的《圣经》罗马书第一章第20节有这样的话语：自从造天地以来，神的永能和神性是明明可知的，虽是眼不能见，但借着所造之物就可以晓得，叫人无可推诿。
物理学家爱因斯坦说：“小到咖啡杯等物，尚且需要一种力量来安排；那么请想想：宇宙拥有多少星球，而每一星球按照某一轨道运行无间，此种安排运行的力量就是神！”
美国发明大王爱迪生(Thomas
Alva Edison，1847～1931年)一生拥有二千多种发明，但当记者问他最大的发现是什么时，他的回答居然是：“我发现耶稣是人类的救主。”
第一位诺贝尔物理学奖获得者、德国科学家伦琴(Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen，1845～1923年)在发现射线后，并没有以自己的名字去给它命名，而是根据《圣经》希伯来书第四章第12节的内容，取希腊文〝基督〞的第一个字母〝X〞为名，称为X光，即基督耶稣之光。[x]
第四，信仰将完善我们的人格，从而推动科学进步，因为做善事依然不够。佛教理论认为，善有善报，恶有恶报。如果能在阳间积善行德，人们必然在阴间享福。况且不说这种善事的标准可能会依据社会的变迁而改变，如果人们没有原罪的思想，他们稍有建树，就会志得意满；而如果信仰基督教，人们再伟大的建树都是不够的，因为人的背后有一位神，这样，他们才会有一颗敬畏、谦卑和服侍的心。而且，以上帝的标准去做事，人们将不断进取，并能常怀有一颗感恩的心。让我们推断一下，如果每个人都能按照这样的标准来生活，世界岂不是非常的完美？
1927年获得诺贝尔物理学奖的美国科学家康普顿博士(Arthur Holly Compton，1892～1962年)也是虔诚的基督徒。他曾在1946年转载入上海英文《科学文摘》的文章中写道：“要紧的是具有对上帝的信仰，这种宗教信仰告诉我们，人是上帝的子女，他有权力得到更多的享受，一方面在现世，一方面在来世，信仰足以使我们的生活具有高贵感。”[xi]
四、
信仰与社会变革
根据维基百科的数据，全世界无神论者的比例仅占14.6%，而高达85.4%的人口是相信有神的，其中广义基督徒（含基督教、天主教和东正教）占世界总人口比例为33%[xii]。世界上无神论思想的可怕之处不在于让人们对其深信不疑，而在于它彻底根绝人们探索绝对真理的勇气和信心。绝对真理是预设的，因此你无法用真理之下的材料去证明真理。如果人是创造的，人不可能去证明创造人的神。但是，实际上世界上仍然有很多人游移于有神论者与无神论者之间，那么，你认为世界上是无神论者多一些好呢还是有神论者多一些好？
正如原先的美国一样，加拿大是一个标榜政治正确的国家，但是，政治正确让我们放弃了对应有人生观和价值观的追求，让我们允许小孩去敬拜偶像，让我们一味地屈服于伊斯兰教徒在宗教自由旗号下扩充其领地和势力范围的要求。如何让基督徒发挥其使徒的作用，让这个世界更多地充满爱，应当摆在一个紧迫的议事日程上来。
加拿大伟人榜上名列榜首的是“医疗保险之父”道格拉斯（Tommy Douglas）。道格拉斯是在北美最早建立社会主义政府的人。这位原来在威本市的牧师在萨省赢得省选，组织了北美第一个社会主义省政府。他推出了一套社会主义施政纲领，将70％的支出用于公共事业，推出了政府养老金，对老年人的看病、住院、牙医费用都包下来，又扩建了学校，设立萨省第一个医学院，建立全省医疗计划。同时道格拉斯还偿还了部分省府债务，修建了道路、电力网和排水系统。
此后道格拉斯又连续当选四届，总共做了17年省长。在这17年中，他顶住了人们对“共产主义”的恐惧，坚持了自己的社会主义政策[xiii]。
萨省在过去的十年内曾经是领跑加拿大经济的火车头，但是，随着石油危机和国际能源价格下跌，经济开始不断下滑，到后来停滞不前；而在执行社会主义政策主张时，有关决策人士又有了分歧和动摇，道格拉斯的理想和政治主张能否代代相传，将是萨省基督徒使命之所在。
Science
and Faith: Contradiction or Unity?
I.
What
Faith Is
According to
Wikipedia, faith is the choice and adhesion to one’s view of life, values as
well as his worldview. Faith embodies the meaning and purpose of life. Religion
is not an object of faith, but a form of faith. Faith is often thought to be
formed by external factors such as parenthood, society, religion, and local
customs and traditions. Faith can be obtained, confirmed, shaped, and can be
discarded as well. Some people think that faith is astrological, incantational
or witchcraft superstition, and it is not logical, or verifiable. However, the
normal faith is one’s deeper understanding of the world, a world view and a way
of life, which may also be a choice after careful and rational thinking. The
vast majority of the people in the world are theists, of which about one in
every four believe in Jesus (see the fourth part of this article). However,
when the Protestant movement began, there was a self-independent study of the
Bible, with the use of reasoning and thinking to seek, explore and explain the
truth. In fact, the apostle Paul in the New Testament, through his careful
thinking reflected in the chapters written, has laid the theoretical foundation
for the Christian theology. The core of the Christian faith is to believe that
God created the world; the concept of Trinity (God’s Father, Son and the Holy
Spirit); that Jesus died and got resurrected; the role of the limbs; and that Jesus
will come for the final judgment of the living and the dead. Sometimes the
choice of Christian faith requires some confidence and courage. Although there
are many religions that have strict restrictions on the departure of believers,
according to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone
should have the freedom to choose to believe in a religion or not (Note i).
II.
The
Need for Faith
We need faith, and
this is mainly because the heart of a person has a place reserved for the
faith, without it, people will most likely feel empty, depressed or helpless.
First, science
is limited, and our understanding of science is more limited. From the point of
view of levels, our childhood understanding of the world is from the electric
toys or other items through sound, light, and electricity, and this
understanding of the world is external and superficial, but the perception of
the world is an indispensable part of our understanding of the world. When we
enter the elementary school, we learn to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, and
learn to understand the shape of the object, and these conceptual awareness upgrades
our understanding into a new level - rational understanding. However, some
problems are not easy to answer with the use of reasoning. For example, how is
the world formed? What is the purpose of our life? What will happen if people
die? So our understanding of the world also needs to have a higher level -
spiritual knowledge, and faith can help us to better acquire this knowledge, especially
through the Bible.
Science is
limited in scope. Science cannot solve the problem of literature, art and
ethics. Science can only tell us that if cyanide into coffee, you may poison
your family, but science cannot tell you whether you are ethically wrong.
With the rise of
modern science, a considerable number of intellectuals gradually accepted the
humanism or naturalism as their world view. They stress the rationale and
mastery of human beings; they advocate the philosophy of scientism and
positivism, putting science as the only way to know the truth; they emphasize
the testability of the truth, and abandon all the objective entities outside
the material world, refusing to recognize any supernatural power. During the
period of the May 4th Movement, the pioneers introduced Western democracy and Scientism
into China. Nowadays, many intellectuals in China regard science as the only
criterion for understanding and examining the truth: only what can be proved by
science can be trusted; all that cannot be proved scientifically is suspicious;
all that does not agree with science logically or normatively, is incorrect.
Although they appreciate the ethical standards suggested by the Bible and the
moral norms of Christians, they cannot accept Christianity due to the fact that
the existence of God and his miracles cannot be immediately or fully verified
scientifically (Note ii). But there are scientific truths that can immediately be
verified, and there are supernatural truths that cannot be immediately verified,
because the world includes both the natural and the supernatural part, let
alone that today's science can only prove to some extent the existence of an
object, but cannot prove the non-existence of an object. Moreover, science is
also continuously progressing and developing, such as our view on whether the
earth is the world’s center is revised with our upgrade of knowledge, and
Newton's law of gravity is modified by Einstein's theory of relativity.
Evolutionary author Darwin wrote a letter to a Dutch writer, Nicholas Dirk Doedes,
in 1873, “I am aware that if we admit a first cause, the mind still craves to
know whence it came and how it arose. Nor can I overlook the difficulty from
the immense amount of suffering through the world. I am, also, induced to defer
to a certain extent to the judgment of the many able men who have fully
believed in God; but here again I see how poor an argument this is. The safest
conclusion seems to be that the whole subject is beyond the scope of man’s intellect;
but man can do his duty (Note iii).” Faith
cannot be deducted like science, but with faith we can have a better
understanding of the world.
Secondly, by lots
of different evidence, God shows his presence. Someone may say that the Bible
is a book made up. But earlier, the discovery of "Dead Sea Scrolls"
confirms the historical facts about Jesus (Note iv). The "Dead Sea
Scrolls", found in 11 of Qumran caves on the northwest coast of the Dead
Sea between 1947 and 1956, are the oldest known literature in the world.
Through the carbon-14, paleography, writing research and other means, it was identified
they were written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek about 200 BC to the year 68 AD.
They provide a shocking evidence of the credibility of the biblical scriptures
because they are almost intact, and they are almost identical with a variety of
manuscript versions of the modern Maharic texts (including the earliest famous
texts of the Bible such as the Ten Commandments, etc.), confirming as early as
BC the Messanic prophesy in the Old Testament that God would come to save the
world (Note v). Moreover, after the death of Jesus, his 500 disciples suddenly got
transformed, no longer afraid of tremendous dangers and difficulties and
venomous serpents and wild beasts, reminding us of Jesus’ resurrection. Up to
now, the Bible has become a book in the world the most printed, the longest in
writing time, the longest in distribution, and the most coherent among authors
in their narratives.
III.
Relationship
between Science and Faith
First, faith is contradictory
to science, and it can even promote scientific progress. The United Nations has
conducted a survey with the world-famous Gallup poll method to understand
whether the 300 most famous scientists in the last 300 years believed in God.
The result showed that, except for 38 people whose faith cannot be identified, among
the left 262 scientists, 242 believed in God, accounting for 92.4%; 20 did not
believe in God, accounting for 7.6% (Note vi).
In addition to
the great scientists in the history of mankind who believe in the existence of
the Creator, theist scientists from all over the world today are not uncommon.
In the view of these scientists, science and religion are not excluding each
other, and evidence and reasoning can still work very well, though their
operation is carried out within a certain range. On the one hand, scientists
can explore the mysteries of the world; on the other hand, they can praise the
greatness of God. Here, reason is the bridge between science and faith, because
a rational person will objectively look at these two aspects, as Francis Bacon put,
to read the two books, the Book of Nature and the Bible, we urgently need
reason (Note vii).
The main cause of Galileo's sentence of life imprisonment was not sun-centre theory (which he had privately acquired the papacy from the Pope), but in his challenge to the authority of Catholic Church and some of the universities adhering the rigid doctrine and traditions. He insisted that God revealed himself with the Bible and nature, so the Scriptures in the Bible should be reinterpreted from a scientific point of view, greatly provoking the authoritative Church possessing the right of inter-pretation, making him inevitable to be indicted. He said, some people accused him of inferring that the Bible was wrong with his the discovery, but he thought that his precision study in physics only confirmed the accuracy of the Bible ... ... He continued by saying that only those who believed that the Bible was the absolute truth had the courage to challenge the world On any great theory of the world (Wenliang Zhang: "Schooling, Love and Philosophy of Science Masters", Campus Study Press, Taipei, 1996, Page 73-74)." The victory of the sun-centre theory over the earth-centre theory is one of the right scientific view over the wrong scientific view held in the old Catholic doctrine, rather than one of science over the Christian faith.
The main cause of Galileo's sentence of life imprisonment was not sun-centre theory (which he had privately acquired the papacy from the Pope), but in his challenge to the authority of Catholic Church and some of the universities adhering the rigid doctrine and traditions. He insisted that God revealed himself with the Bible and nature, so the Scriptures in the Bible should be reinterpreted from a scientific point of view, greatly provoking the authoritative Church possessing the right of inter-pretation, making him inevitable to be indicted. He said, some people accused him of inferring that the Bible was wrong with his the discovery, but he thought that his precision study in physics only confirmed the accuracy of the Bible ... ... He continued by saying that only those who believed that the Bible was the absolute truth had the courage to challenge the world On any great theory of the world (Wenliang Zhang: "Schooling, Love and Philosophy of Science Masters", Campus Study Press, Taipei, 1996, Page 73-74)." The victory of the sun-centre theory over the earth-centre theory is one of the right scientific view over the wrong scientific view held in the old Catholic doctrine, rather than one of science over the Christian faith.
Secondly, faith
or a religious belief can be a choice made after a careful study based on the
facts. Luke, author of the third gospel, tells us
that he carefully followed events from the very beginning, and he consulted
eyewitnesses so that the Roman Theophylis might have certainty concerning the
things he said. An article of about six pages on the weekly magazine Time and some
other described how scientists analyzed the shroud of Jesus in Turin with the use
of modern technology. They found that the shroud had been used to wrap a
wounded Jewish man once whipped and put on the cross, and it had been to the
place where there was Jesus' crucifixion in Jerusalem and had physical contact
with the place. The image of the cloth is the same size as the living one, and the
eyes had been covered with the ancient Greek coins used in the period of Pilate
(Note viii). Everything found cannot overturn the truth of Jesus' reality.
Thirdly, science
is more in line with the Christian faith, because the orderly management of the
only true God is more capable of explaining many scientific phenomena. Melvin
Calvin, the Nobel Prize winner in biochemistry, pointed out that the universe
was governed by a single God, and the monotheistic view seemed to be the
historical basis of modern science. C Lewis said, men became scientific because
they expected law in nature, and they expected law in nature because they
believed in a law maker (Note ix). From the English vocabulary, subjects like
biology and theology have the same suffix, so it was speculated that people
applied the theological method for the study of biology and some other
scientific subjects. In fact, there are many natural constants of nature, such
as the power of electrons, the quality of protons, the coupling constant of the
interaction, etc. If there appears the slightest difference, the atoms will not
get together, the stars cannot burn, and the planets, earth, and lives cannot
exist. There is such a saying from Romans 1:20 of the Bible: for since the
creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine
nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so
that people are without excuse.
Physicist
Einstein said: "Small like the coffee cup and other things, they still
need a kind of power to arrange; then please ponder: how many planets does the
universe have? Each planet runs constantly within a track, and this arrangement
must be God!" The American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), has
more than 2,000 kinds of invention in his life, but when a reporter asked him
what his greatest discovery was, his answer was: "I found that Jesus was
Human Savior”. The first Nobel Prize winner in physics, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
(1845-1923), after discovering the rays, did not name it in his own name, but in
the name of the first letter "X" of the Greek word
"Christ", thus it is called X-ray, the light of Christ Jesus (Note x).
Fourthly, faith
will improve our personality, thus promoting scientific progress, because doing
good is still not enough. Buddhist theory holds that what goes around comes
around. If you can do good deeds on earth, you can enjoy in the underworld. Let
us first put aside the fact that the standard of doing good may be altered with
social changes. If people do not have the concept of original sin, when they make
a few achievements, they will feel like on top of the world; however, if they
believe in Christianity, the achievements will never be good enough, because
there is a God behind them, so that they have a fear, humility and a heart of
service. Moreover, when doing things with God's standard, they will keep making
progress, and still always have a grateful heart. Let us infer what may happen
if everyone can follow this standard in his life, won’t the world become
perfect?
Arthur Holly
Compton (1892-1962), the American scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics
in 1927, was also a devout Christian. He wrote in an English article in the Abstracts
of Science in Shanghai in 1946, “it is important to have a belief in God that
tells us that man is the child of God, and that he is entitled to gain more. Faith
provides our lives a sense of nobility both in this world and in the next world
(Note xi).”
IV.
Faith
and Social Change
According to
Wikipedia, the proportion of atheists around the world is only 14.6%, while up
to 85.4% of the population believe in God, of which broad-based Christians (including
Christianity, Catholicism and Orthodox) accounted for 33% of the world's total
population (Note xii). What is terrible of atheism in the world is not to
convince people of their belief but that it completely eradicates the courage
and confidence of people searching for absolute truth. Absolute truth is
presupposed, so you cannot use the material under the truth to prove the truth.
If man is created, man cannot prove the existence of God, who created man. But,
in fact, there are still many people in the world wandering between theists and
atheists, then, which do you think will be better in the world, more atheists
or more theists?
As in the United
States originally, Canada is a country proclaiming political correctness, but this
view lets us abandon our correct pursuit of values and purpose in life, lets us
allow children to worship idols, lets us blindly succumb to Islams in under the
banner of freedom of religion, to expand its territory and sphere of influence.
How we can make Christians play the role of apostles, so that the world is full
of more love, should be placed on an urgent agenda.
On the top list
of Canada's great people is "the father of health insurance", Tommy
Douglas. Douglas is the first person to build a socialist government in North
America. A former priest in Weyburn, he won the provincial election in
Saskatchewan and organized the first socialist government in North America. He
introduced a set of socialist policy programs, spent 70% of the expenditure on
public utilities, undertook government pensions, the elderly medical treatment,
hospitalization, and dental expenses, and the expanded the number of schools, and
the established the first medical college in Saskatchewan. Last but not least,
he established the province's medical insurance program. At the same time
Douglas also paid off part of the provincial debt, built roads, power grids and
drainage systems. Since then Douglas has been elected for four consecutive
terms, a total of 17 years as premier. During these 17 years, he had resisted
the fear of "communism" and insisted on his own socialist policy
(Note xiii).
The province has
been the locomotive of the Canadian economy for the past decade, but with the
oil crisis and falling international energy prices, the economy has been
declining and then stagnant, and in the implementation of the socialist policy,
the decision makers are divided and wavering, whether Douglas's ideal and
political ideas can be passed on from generation to generation, will be the mission
of Christians in Saskatchewan.
[iii] Carol Kuruvilla: 12
Famous Scientists on The Possibility Of God, Huffington Post, Feb 2,
2016.
[v] 《死海古卷》证实对神的预言(多图)，人民报，2014年5月22日，参见网页：http://www.renminbao.com/rmb/articles/2014/5/22/59472b.html。
[vii] Ravi Zacharias: Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend, Page
118, Thomas Nelson, 2007.
[ix] John Lennox: Faith, Reason and Integration, Vol. 9, Page 10, Ravi
Zacharias International Ministries, 2011.
[xiii] 蓝山之神：医疗保险之父–道格拉斯，http://blog.51.ca/u-18458/2010/07/25/医疗保险之父-道格拉斯(tommy-douglas)/,
2010年7月25日。
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