灵糧
见证篇171.少年…
当教育的目的是在竞争中胜出，高考就成为一道门，通向合法碾压同类的成人世界。为了不太虐心，导演设计了温馨的结局：和小北一同入狱的陈念，再次高考，高分逆袭，成为人民教师。借着惩戒与奖励，体制完成了对青春的塑造与吸纳。灵魂却再也找不到回乐园的路。
你不一定有过霸凌的经历，但想必参加过、至少见识过高考的阵势。在爆款刷屏电影《少年的你》中，从“距离高考还有60天”的倒计时开始，导演讲述了一个校园霸凌故事，随着高考一天天迫近，金马奖影后周冬雨饰演的女孩陈念，面对的霸凌一天比一天严重，高考的紧张感和霸凌的恐惧感同频递增。
高考不仅仅是故事的背景。当胡小蝶跳楼自杀以后，加害者面对警察问讯时只用一句“她受不了高考的压力”就搪塞过去，高考遮盖着罪行。警察在校园调查胡小蝶的死因，上课铃响了，老师对警察说，“他们还要高考”，鲜活的生命要向庄严的高考让步。陈念被霸凌者盯上以后，椅子上无端出现了红墨水，班主任的第一反应是“离高考还有几天了，还搞这种恶作剧？”比起高考来，霸凌只是不值一提的“恶作剧”。“恶作剧”的作者就是魏莱，因为有了稳定的成绩和各种奖项的加持，她的霸凌行为竟被学校和家长堂而皇之地淡化。
高考俨然成为霸凌的同谋，在分数为王的体制中，校园里那些黑暗的角落被遮掩、淡化和忽视，光难照入。当青春在生命的霸凌中透露出成长的残酷，弥漫全片的压抑气氛提醒我们，另有一种无所不在的力量高冷地俯视着每个人。走出影院的你，或许并没有意识到，高考所代表的体制化生存对你我青春的碾压，是否是一次大规模的合法霸凌？
“你保护世界，我保护你”
影片中，当陈念选择求援，却让痛苦更深。警察的介入迫使校方更换班主任，开除两个学生，锁上校门，这就是学校所做的全部努力。直到陈念失手将魏莱推下楼梯摔死。
如果说高考在霸凌者那里是对罪恶体制性的遮盖与漠视，在陈念这里却摇身一变，俨然带着救赎者的光环。“虽然不公平，还好有高考，高考可能是人生里唯一一次公平的比赛，我们一起加油！”陈念的手机接到一条这样的短信，让她寄希望于通过高考这一制度性的安排逃离黑暗的阴沟，隐忍一时换得冲进体制的艳阳天里。
体制承诺给人安全感和体面的生活，但前提是你必须先进入体制。体制为了维护自身运行的效率，需要设立筛选机制。霸凌的悲剧，就发生在等待进入筛选程序的路上。小混混小北生存在高考的世界之外，陈念原本是看不起他的，因为他完全没可能被体制吸纳，注定是边缘角色，五个现代化的社会里没有他的位分。在小北的底层生存智慧中，人被分为两种：受欺负的与欺负人的，为了不成为前者，他只能成为后者。陈念企图在被小北保护的同时传递出一种朴素的文化信念：力量也可以被用来保护人、守护世界，在爱中使用。遗憾的是，作为中学生的她首先被迫学习如何努力生存。
当陈念尚未通过高考进入高阶生存时，粗砺的现实逼她寻求之前所鄙视的力量的保护。颠覆性的反叛力量借着小北的出现，成为陈念的另一种救赎力量，就像江湖成为庙堂失效时的救济。受到霸凌的孩子只能在“合理合法”的途径之外寻求生存之道。
尽管如此，陈念希望能够通过爱驾驭小北野蛮生长的“生命原力”。的确，遇到陈念之后，小北那种不受拘束、带着破坏性的“原力”被悄悄改变。直到小北对陈念说那句：“你保护世界，我保护你”，无形中他已经改变了从前对人的粗暴分类。陈念帮助小北坚持住作为保护者的底线，而不陷入以恶制恶的诅咒。当陈念被剪头发、拍裸照之后，小北的底线遭遇了最强烈的挑战，陈念死死抱住小北，阻止他脱轨驶上复仇之路。
当陈念失手将魏莱推下楼梯，小北这个“外援”只能帮她将杀人的事实掩埋进更黑的深渊之中。为了不至于太虐心，导演曾国祥为影片设计了一个温馨的结局：陈念自首，和小北入狱4年；4年后重新参加高考，高分逆袭。借着惩戒与奖励，体制最终完成了对陈念的塑造与吸纳。她当上了老师，两人最终走到一起。
爱情，只表明你会和谁一起哭
电影并未实锤讨论校园霸凌的解决之道。陈念最终逃离了那片有着凌辱记忆的地方，来到另一所城市作英文老师，成为体制里的一名知识分子，一个拥有宣讲资格、可以传递三观的角色。
在影片的首尾都是陈念的教学场景，她在讲台上讲解“was”和“used to be”的区别，前者是简单的曾经，而后者却有一种失去乐园的感叹。“乐园”概念的出现，使我们可以大胆尝试解读出电影作为文化寓言的含义。对于陈念，乐园所指的是未被霸凌之前的生活？或者是有小北保护的青春岁月？无论答案如何，可以肯定的是，一个存在着霸凌和高考的校园与社会，对于一个成年人来说可以被接受，但远远称不上乐园。
现代中国的高考，起到类似土著文化中成人礼的作用。年轻人需要通过略显残酷的考验，才能被接纳为成人世界的一员。结束任性生长的阶段，在高考面前第一次学会按照规定说出标准答案：说得好，派糖；说错了，出局。
霸凌者魏莱按成绩考上大学不成问题，我们同样可以合理地推测，她能够迅速融入体制并掌握在体制保护下合法行恶的能力。在陈念的成人礼仪式中，魏莱作为一道附加题出现了。影片的节奏已经暗示我们，不做好这道附加题，就别想拥有高考的入场资格。
表面乖巧可爱的魏莱被损耗掉了，但她却帮助体制解决掉了两个潜在的危险分子：带着野蛮生命力的小北，向往爱的力量的陈念。这两种力量都令体制不安。如果小北考上警校，片中警察可能就是被体制吸纳的小北成年后的样子。影片结尾，小北依然在陈念后面保护她，其实，是他自己借此附着在体制上获得了一个被认可的社会身份。两人合体后升级，完成了社会化生存的过程。
导演原本想用温暖的结局安慰众人，却不料想道出了更残酷的现实：片中没有一个人找到了有效的救赎之道。当爱已成往事，人们注定生活在失乐园里。陈念的轨迹，隐约标示了一代知识分子的成长路径。她或者会继续宣讲爱，或者不会，这不重要；无论她做什么，她的里面已经脆弱乏力。
如同万能青年旅馆在《乌云典当记》里所唱的，“铁幕重重困青年，谁用运气换呼吸，谁用灵魂换稻米”。爱已经沦为生存的润滑、体制的遮羞，丧失了行动力。所谓爱情，只意味着你在失乐园里和谁一起哭而已。两个幸存者像两只小动物，所能行出的最大的善，只是彼此取暖。
我们的乐园是何时失去的呢？
《圣经》中，人类的确曾经有过乐园，否则何谈失去。巧的是，离开乐园的人类所犯下的第一桩恶行，就是发生在一对亲兄弟之间的霸凌事件：该隐与他兄弟亚伯在田间说话，该隐突然起来打死了亚伯，血渗入大地，从此人类开始了互殴互虐的历史。直到二战时期纳粹德国发动了上个世纪一群人对另一群人最大规模的霸凌和屠杀。
当我还在读小学二年级的时候，班里有一位智力偏低、体型庞大的男生，好像自然而然，他就成为我们班一众男生欺负和取笑的对象，我们羞辱他、谩骂他，他还以为我们跟他开玩笑，那副表情逗得大家更加起劲。后来，我们怂恿他去亲班里另一位女生，将她压在身子底下。除了那位女生以外，全班哄堂大笑。
这一幕至今常常在我脑海中出现，使我无比内疚和自责。在一个人人都是“祖国花朵”的年纪，令人困惑的是，为什么我们竟以羞辱别人为乐。要知道，这两个受害者没有得罪任何人，我们的快乐也是发自内心没有丝毫伪装，而那种羞辱别人取乐的方式也从未有任何人教导。我们内心没有责备，也没有任何人站出来指出我们的不是，就这样，我们的快乐成了别人的噩梦。乐园是什么时候失去的呢？
儿子今年上一年级。同学春游的时候，一位女生因为脚伤而享受了全程被高年级的哥哥抱着走的待遇。看到这一幕，儿子愤愤不平，口中嘟囔着：“真希望现在手里有一把刀。”老师奇怪地问他要刀做什么，他说：“这样就可以把她杀了，让哥哥抱我了。”老师将儿子的话转述给我，我吓了一跳。为了得到别人的关注而动了杀人的念头，和该隐因为嫉妒神喜悦弟弟亚伯就杀了他，岂不如出一辙？乐园是什么时候失去的呢？
这些失落的瞬间，无法归咎于环境或体制。无论是体制安排的出路，还是体制之外的救济途径，都无法解决人心因为恶导致的堕落。这个世界的一切都是失乐园的一部分，因此怎么可能提供力量帮助我们找回心的平安喜乐？
每起恶行都是从目中无人开始的
作为二战纳粹暴行的亲历者，神学家巴特认为悲剧之所以发生的根本原因在于人与邻舍的关系被切断了。所有对人性的反思都应回到问题的根源——重新发现“邻人的权利、尊严和神圣性”。
《少年的你》里碾压青春的高考，让人漠视生命。因为整个体制都在培养学生成为“为了考试的人”。这种教育模式对人性最根本的伤害不在于让孩子的知识结构出了问题，而是让一代代人的灵魂出了问题。人们被培养被模塑成以同类为敌的竞争爱好者，只有在竞争中胜出才可能占有更多资源拥有更多自由。
在巴特的人性教育中，目光的对视、言语的交谈与双耳的倾听，都是我们作为别人邻舍的责任。他的意思是人们自己应该开放自己，走向别人，与别人相遇，去体会、理解、感受和关怀他人。教育应该培养人有发现邻舍、服务邻舍的能力。目中无人的教育，最终将沦为制造大小“恶魔的工厂”，培养出一个个零件，以无感的心参与最安全的作恶方式，就是体制之恶、习俗与文化之恶。
雷思丽·尤德文（LesleeUdwin）是纪录片《印度的女儿》的导演，片子内容是调查一桩发生在印度黑公交上的轮奸案。通过对罪犯、罪犯家人、朋友、学者、警察等的采访，尤德文试图寻找悲剧的原因。“这起轮奸案只是冰山一角。实际上，所有的社会问题都是人的问题，都跟教育脱不了干系。”
“我们一直以来的教育都太强调对头脑的训练、对智力的开发，却没有对心灵的教育。学校教孩子怎么考试，却没有让人们学会怎样成为一个真正的‘人’。”尤德文认为。随后她创办了为孩子提供心灵教育的公益组织“公平思考”，专门关注提高对不同背景或文化的人们的理解力、同理心和怜悯。
“人只有看见另一个人，只有倾听他人并与之对话，只有帮助他人并接受他人帮助，他方才是人。人只有为此而自由，不仅出于必要，而且乐于成为另一个人的伙伴、伴侣、同事，方才是人。”巴特说。
当儿子轻易说出“杀人”的话，再次提醒我，无论我还是儿子，我们的人性都已沦陷。我意识到要带领这个“小魔头”重返失去的乐园并不是只和他一起读读圣经、上上主日学就行的。如何让他体会上帝对他个人价值的看重，如何让他欣赏别人身上上帝的形象，如何帮助他的眼睛有别人，的确是一项艰巨的任务。
儿子放学后，我开始调整我们之间的对话。除了问他在学校有什么开心或难过的事，我开始按着名字问他的同学今天是否开心或难过；一起祷告时，我也会问他同学们有什么需要期待靠着上帝，使他的同学成为他的第一批邻舍。我这个先被上帝稍稍改变的“大魔头”的责任，就是领着儿子这个“小魔头”，去上帝那里学习对人的尊重，对生命的敬畏。
Testimony…
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When the purpose of education is to win the competition, the gaokao becomes a doorway to the adult world where the same kind is legally crushed. In order not to be too sadistic, the director designed a warm ending: Chen Nian, who was imprisoned with Xiaobei, took the college entrance examination again, counterattacked with high scores, and became a people’s teacher. Through punishment and rewards, the system has completed the shaping and absorption of youth. The soul can no longer find its way back to paradise.
You may not have had the experience of bullying, but you must have participated in and at least seen the college entrance examination. In the popular screen movie “Young You”, starting from the countdown of “60 days before the college entrance examination”, the director told a school bullying story, as the college entrance examination approached day by day, the girl Chen Nian, played by Golden Horse Award actress Zhou Dongyu, faced with bullying getting worse day by day, and the tension of the college entrance examination and the fear of bullying increased frequently.
The gaokao is not just the background of the story. When Hu Xiaoflutter committed suicide by jumping off the building, the perpetrator prevaricated with only the phrase “she can’t stand the pressure of the college entrance examination” when questioned by the police, and the college entrance examination covered up the crime. The police were investigating Hu Xiaoflutter’s death on campus, and when the class bell rang, the teacher told the police, “They still have the college entrance examination”, and the fresh life must give way to the solemn college entrance examination. After Chen Nian was targeted by the bully, red ink appeared on the chair for no reason, and the head teacher’s first reaction was “It’s still a few days before the college entrance examination, and you still engage in this kind of prank?” Compared to the college entrance examination, bullying is just a “prank” that is not worth mentioning. The author of “Prank” is Wei Lai, whose bullying has been downplayed by schools and parents because of her stable grades and various awards.
The gaokao has become complicit in bullying, and in a system where scores are king, dark corners of the campus are obscured, watered down, and ignored, and the light is difficult to penetrate. When youth reveals the cruelty of growing up in the bullying of life, the oppressive atmosphere that permeates the film reminds us that there is another omnipresent force that looks down on everyone coldly. When you walk out of the theater, you may not realize that the institutionalized survival represented by the college entrance examination crushes you and your youth on large-scale legal bullying.
“You protect the world, I protect you”
In the film, when Chen Nian chooses to ask for help, it makes the pain deeper. The intervention of the police forced the school to change the head teacher, expel two students, and lock the school door, which was all the school was trying to. Until Chen Nian missed his hand and pushed Wei Lai down the stairs and fell to his death.If the college entrance examination is a cover-up and indifference to the evil system in the bully, in Chen Nian, it has changed, like a redeemer’s aura. “Although it’s not fair, it’s good that there is a college entrance examination, and the college entrance examination may be the only fair competition in life, let’s cheer together!” Chen Nian’s mobile phone received such a text message, which made her hope to escape the dark gutters through the institutional arrangement of the college entrance examination, and forbearance for a while in exchange for rushing into the bright sunny days of the system.
Institutions promise security and decent life, but only if you first enter the system. In order to maintain the efficiency of its own operation, the system needs to establish a screening mechanism. The tragedy of bullying happened on the way to the screening process. The little gangster Xiaobei lives outside the world of the college entrance examination, and Chen Nian originally looked down on him, because he was completely impossible to be absorbed by the system and was destined to be a marginal role, and there was no place for him in the five modern societies. In Xiaobei’s underlying survival wisdom, people are divided into two types: bullied and bullied, in order not to become the former, he can only become the latter. Chen Nian tries to convey a simple cultural belief while being protected by Xiaobei: power can also be used to protect people, protect the world, and be used in love. Unfortunately, as a middle school student, she was first forced to learn how to struggle to survive.
When Chen Nian has not yet passed the college entrance examination to enter high-level survival, the rough reality forces her to seek the protection of the forces she despised before. The subversive rebel force took advantage of Xiaobei’s appearance to become another redemptive force for Chen Nian, just as the rivers and lakes became relief when the temple failed. Children who are bullied can only seek survival outside of “reasonable and legal” means.
Despite this, Chen Nian hopes to harness the “life force” of Xiaobei’s barbaric growth through love. Indeed, after meeting Chen Nian, Xiaobei’s unrestrained and destructive “Force” was quietly changed. Until Xiao Bei said to Chen Nian: “You protect the world, I protect you”, he has invisibly changed his previous rough classification of people. Chen Nian helps Xiaobei stick to the bottom line as a protector without falling into the curse of fighting evil with evil. When Chen Nian cut his hair and took nude photos, Xiaobei’s bottom line encountered the strongest challenge, and Chen Nian hugged Xiaobei to prevent him from derailing and driving on the road of revenge.
When Chen Nian missed and pushed Wei Lai down the stairs, Xiao Bei, a “foreign aid”, could only help her bury the fact of the murder into the darker abyss. In order not to be too sadistic, director Zeng Guoxiang designed a warm ending for the film: Chen Nian turned himself in and went to prison with Xiaobei for 4 years; Four years later, he retook the college entrance examination and counterattacked with high scores. Through punishment and rewards, the system finally completed the shaping and absorption of Chen Nian. She became a teacher, and the two eventually came together.Love, which only indicates with whom you will cry
The movie does not really discuss the solution to school bullying. Chen Nian eventually escaped from the humiliating memory and came to another city to become an English teacher, becoming an intellectual in the system, a character with a qualification to preach and pass on the three views.
At the beginning and end of the film are Chen Nian’s teaching scenes, where she explains the difference between “was” and “used to be”, the former is a simple past, while the latter has a sigh of losing paradise. The emergence of the concept of “paradise” allows us to boldly try to interpret the meaning of the film as a cultural allegory. For Chen Nian, what does paradise mean about life before being bullied? Or are the youth years protected by Xiaobei? Whatever the answer, what is certain is that a school and society with bullying and college entrance examinations is acceptable for an adult, but far from being a paradise.The college entrance examination in modern China plays a role similar to that of the bar mitzvah in indigenous culture. Young people need to pass a slightly cruel test before they can be accepted into the adult world. End the stage of willful growth, and learn for the first time in front of the college entrance examination to say standard answers according to the regulations: speak well, send sugar; Wrong, out.Bully Wei Lai does not have a problem getting into college on her grades, and it is also reasonable to assume that she will be able to quickly integrate into the system and master the ability to legally commit evil under the protection of the system. In Chen Nian’s coming-of-age ceremony, Wei Lai appeared as an additional question. The pace of the film has hinted to us that if we don’t do this additional question well, we don’t want to have the entrance examination qualification.Wei Lai, who was well-behaved and cute on the surface, was depleted, but she helped the system solve two potentially dangerous elements: Xiao Bei with savage vitality, and Chen Nian, who yearned for the power of love. Both forces unnerve the system. If Xiaobei is admitted to the police academy, the police in the film may be what Xiaobei was absorbed by the system as an adult. At the end of the film, Xiaobei still protects her behind Chen Nian, in fact, he himself is attached to the system to obtain a recognized social identity. After the two merged, they upgraded and completed the process of socialized survival.The director originally wanted to comfort everyone with a warm ending, but unexpectedly came up with a crueler reality: no one in the film found an effective way to redeem. When love is a thing of the past, people are destined to live in paradise lost. Chen Nian’s trajectory vaguely marks the growth path of a generation of intellectuals. She will either continue to preach love, or she will not, it doesn’t matter; No matter what she did, she was already fragile and weak inside.As the Universal Youth Hostel sang in “The Pawn of the Clouds”, “The iron curtain is full of young people, who exchange luck for breath, who exchanges soul for rice”. Love has been reduced to the lubrication of survival, the shame of the system, and the loss of action. The so-called love only means who you cry within Paradise Lost. The two survivors, like two small animals, can do the greatest good which is to warm each other.
When was our paradise lost?
In the Bible, mankind did have a paradise, otherwise, how could it be lost? Coincidentally, the first evil act committed by humans leaving paradise was a bullying incident between two brothers: Cain and his brother Abel were talking in the field, Cain suddenly rose up and killed Abel, blood seeped into the earth, and since then mankind has begun a history of beating and abusing each other. It wasn’t until World War II that Nazi Germany unleashed the largest bullying and massacre of one group of people against another in the last century.When I was in the second grade of elementary school, there was a boy with low intelligence and a large body in the class, and it seemed that naturally, he became the target of bullying and ridicule by the boys in our class, we humiliated him, abused him, and he thought we were joking with him, and that expression made everyone even more excited. Later, we encouraged him to kiss another girl in the class and crush her underneath. Except for the girl, the class burst into laughter.This scene still appears in my mind so often, making me feel extremely guilty and self-blamed. At an age when everyone is a “flower of the motherland,” it is puzzling why we take pleasure in humiliating others. You know, these two victims did not offend anyone, our happiness came from the heart without the slightest pretense, and the way of humiliating others for fun has never been taught. There is no blame in our hearts, and no one stands up to point out that we are not, and just like that, our happiness becomes someone else’s nightmare. When was paradise lost?My son is in the first grade this year. During the spring outing classmates, a girl enjoyed the treatment of being carried by her senior brother the whole time because of a foot injury. Seeing this scene, his son was indignant and muttered: “I wish I had a knife in my hand now.” The teacher asked him strangely what he wanted the knife to do, and he said, “So I can kill her and let my brother hold me.” “The teacher relayed my son’s words to me, and I was shocked. Isn’t it better to have the idea of killing in order to get the attention of others, and Cain killed his brother Abel because he was jealous of God’s pleasure? When was paradise lost?These moments of loss cannot be attributed to the environment or the system. Neither the way out of the institutional arrangement nor the relief outside the system can solve the problem of the depravity of the human heart caused by evil. Everything in this world is part of Paradise Lost, so how can it possibly provide the power to help us find peace and joy in our hearts?
Every evil deed begins when no one sees it
As a first-hand witness of the Nazi atrocities of World War II, theologian Barthes believes that the root cause of the tragedy is that the relationship between people and neighbors has been severed. All reflection on human nature should return to the root of the problem – the rediscovery of “the rights, dignity, and sanctity of one’s neighbor”.The college entrance examination in “Young You” crushes youth, making people ignore life. Because the whole system is training students to become “people who work for exams”. The most fundamental harm of this educational model to human nature is not to make children’s knowledge structure go wrong but to make the soul of generations go wrong. People are groomed to be molded into rival enthusiasts who are enemies of their own kind, and only by winning in the competition can they have more resources and more freedom.In Bart’s human education, eye contact, verbal conversation, and listening with both ears are our responsibilities as neighbors to others. What he meant was that people themselves should open themselves, go to others, meet others, experience, understand, feel, and care for others. Education should cultivate the ability to discover and serve one’s neighbors. Education that has no one will eventually be reduced to a factory that manufactures large and small demons, cultivating parts one by one, and participating in the safest way to do evil with an insensitive heart, that is, the evil of the system, the evil of customs, and the evil of culture.Leslee Udwin is the director of the documentary “India’s Daughter,” which investigates a gang rape on a black bus in India. Through interviews with criminals, criminals’ families, friends, academics, police officers, etc., Youdwin tries to find the cause of the tragedy. “This gang rape case is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, all social problems are human problems, and they are inseparable from education. ”
“Our education has always placed too much emphasis on the training of the mind and the development of the intellect, but not on the education of the heart. Schools teach children how to take exams, but they don’t teach people how to be a real person. Youdwin thought. She then founded Fair Thinking, a nonprofit organization that educates children about their hearts, focusing on improving understanding, empathy, and compassion for people of different backgrounds or cultures.
“Man is only human when he sees another person, only when he listens to and talks to him, only when he helps others and receives help from others. A person is only human if he is free for this, not only out of necessity but also willing to be a partner, companion, or colleague of another. Bart said.
When my son easily said the word “kill”, it reminded me once again that whether it is me or my son, our humanity has fallen. I realized that leading this little devil back to his lost paradise was not just about reading the Bible and attending Sunday school with him. How to make him feel that God values his personal worth, how to make him appreciate the image of God in others, and how to help his eyes have others, is indeed a difficult task.
After my son finished school, I began to adjust the conversation between us. In addition to asking him what he was happy or sad about at school, I began to ask his classmates by name if they were happy or sad today; When praying together, I would also ask him what the classmates needed… Looking forward to relying on God to make his classmates his first neighbors. The responsibility of me, the “big devil” who was slightly changed by God, is to lead my son, the “little devil”, to God to learn respect for people and reverence for life.
每日活灵(248)…
音频 三分钟
「因我活着就是基督，我死了就有益处。」【腓1: 21】
信徒是因有基督的生命，故能学基督；领受生命在先，效法榜样在后。认识基督和克制肉体，是不能分开的。如果我们效法别人，也是效法他们身上的基督。
我们倾听、领受和学习的对象及内容，不是教义，不是理论，乃是『祂』。真理不只是神给我们看见，给我们摸着，更是指我们所看见、所摸着的神进到我们的里面，叫我们在生活中活出神的形像。
听道必须和领受教训并学习真理相联，凡只听道，而不领受教训并学习真理的，无论听了多少的道理，仍然毫无益处。
一个真正活着就是基督的人，他的生活就是他的工作。我们的生活、动作、存留，都在乎祂。
主耶稣在地上的三十三年半中，形成了那些信祂之人要被模成的模子、模型。这种教训要我们用天然的生命效法基督，并活出祂的标准；这样的教训乃是异端。这绝对与那在耶稣身上是实际者无关。这教训否认真信徒是在基督里，并且有基督在他里面的事实。
我们与这异端的摩登派教训相反，我们是照着新约圣经说，当一个罪人悔改，相信基督并受浸归入基督时，神就把他摆在作模子的基督里。同时，基督作赐生命的灵进到他里面作他的生命。他越凭基督而活，他就越自然而然的模成那模子的模样。这是在基督里的生活，也是在我们里面之基督的生活。我们乃是在作模子的基督里，并且祂在我们里面作我们的生命。这样，我们就照着那在耶稣身上是实际者学了基督。奉主蒙恩! 阿们!
生命福音[132]…
音频 三分钟
「放胆传讲神国的道，将主耶稣基督的事教导人，并没有人禁止。」【徒28: 31】
当人能捆绑基督的传道人，但不能捆绑基督的道。保罗自己曾说：『我为这福音受苦难，甚至被捆绑，像犯人一样，然而神的道，却不被捆绑』。
神国的道必须借着耶稣基督的事来阐明。我们若不借着耶稣基督，就不能活在神国的实际里。神国度的真实意义，乃是耶稣基督所做各样的事上，丰满的表显出来。
福音丝毫也不能受到拦阻，因为传道的门是神所敞开的，而祂所敞开的门，是无人能关上。
人的地位站得稳，神的工作便毫无拦阻；人的地位站得不稳，那人自己便是使主作工的拦阻。
复活的主借着圣灵在地上的工作还没有结束，直到今天仍在继续不停地进行着。我们作为主的器皿，应当要参与其事的进展和果效，愿主使用我们，在传揚神的道上有份。
人必须放弃依赖自己的学术、自己的聪明、自己的义、自己的力量，而要完全进入基督里，否则无法逃离罪恶的缠繞。主耶稣是我们的拯救，是我们的避难所。也是我们唯一的依靠。
当人仍信任自己、立自己的义、靠肉体时，他们不肯来就耶稣基督得赎。人必须自觉与悔改的心，人原以为与自己有益的其实是有损的，并能发现自己的义只不过是污秽的衣服，人才会全心归向基督。
在祷告、默想、或尽我所劝你尽的本份时，你要放弃倚靠自己，要求圣灵的帮助，因为你想靠自己的力量行任何讨神喜悦的事，是会全然绝望的！但是，你也不可以忽略自己的本份。放胆传讲神国的道，将主耶稣基督的事教导人并沒有人禁止；当太监在读圣经时，圣灵差派腓利 到他那里。当使徒在祷告时、当哥尼流和他的朋友在听道时，圣灵降临在他们身上并充满他们。感谢神 ! 奉主蒙恩 ! 阿们 !
每日活灵(247)…
音频 三分钟
「因为祂预先所知道的人，就预先定下效法祂儿子的模样，使祂儿子在许多弟兄中作长子。」【罗8: 29】
基督救恩的最高峰，就我们而论，全人从里到外，从灵到体，都被『模成神儿子的形像』；就神而论，祂借着『长子』得着了『众子』，合一个『儿子群』，也就是一个扩大的儿子，一个丰满的儿子，一同显在荣耀里，使祂本性一切的丰盛，得到最完满的彰显。这就是神最终的心意。
在神永远心意中，基督乃是为我们效力，要把我们模成基督的形状；同时祂又以基督作我们爱的保障，保守我们在万有的『模成』中，能够得胜有余，而达成神在我们身上完美的心意。是神旨意中的一切。
一个人得救之后，他里面深处就渴望，照着主耶稣所设立的模型过生活。然而，许多人不是忽视这渴望，就是错误的培养这渴望，以为凭着自己的努力可以成功的效法祂。我们以为靠着运用天然的生命可以效法基督，这是错误的。
当我们爱主，接触祂，向祂祷告，我们就自然而然的照着福音书中所描绘的模子活祂。这样，我们就被形成、被模成这个模子的形像。这就是学基督的意思。
这样学基督，与把祂当作客观的榜样，而凭我们天然的生命努力模仿祂，是全然不同的。神已经把我们摆在主耶稣在地上生活所形成的模子里。同时，基督作赐生命的灵已经进入我们里面作生命。我们越爱祂，越接触祂，我们就越照着这模子活祂。结果，我们就自然而然的模成这模子的形像。因此，我们能同保罗说，‘在我，活着就是基督。奉主蒙恩! 阿们!
Auto GPT和…
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AutoGPT 是一种基于人工智能的语言模型，它可以在人类职场和工作环境中发挥重要作用。以下是关于AutoGPT在职场和沟通方面的一些主要应用和潜在影响的描述。
- 自动化办公任务：AutoGPT可以帮助人们自动化繁琐的办公任务，例如撰写电子邮件、生成报告、整理数据等。通过自动生成文本内容，它可以节省大量时间和精力，使工作效率大幅提升。
- 内容创作和编辑支持：AutoGPT可以作为一种工具，为写作和编辑工作提供支持。它可以为作家和撰稿人提供灵感、提示和建议，并改进文本的语法和结构。这对于快速生成高质量的内容、检查语法错误和提高写作水平非常有帮助。
- 语言翻译和跨文化交流：AutoGPT具备强大的语言处理能力，可以用于实时翻译和跨文化交流。它可以帮助人们克服语言障碍，促进国际合作和交流。例如，在商务会议中，AutoGPT可以提供实时的翻译和口译服务，使参与者能够更加流畅地沟通。
- 职业培训和教育：AutoGPT可以用于职业培训和教育领域，为学习者提供个性化的学习体验。它可以根据学生的需求和兴趣，生成相关的学习材料和练习题，帮助他们提高专业知识和技能。
然而，虽然AutoGPT在工作场所中具有潜在的优势和应用，但也需要注意一些问题和挑战：
- 依赖性和失业风险：AutoGPT的广泛应用可能导致某些工作岗位的自动化和消失。一些重复性和标准化的工作可能会被机器取代，这可能对某些人造成失业风险。因此，需要关注和管理这种技术引发的人力资源变革。
- 质量和责任：尽管AutoGPT可以生成大量的文本内容，但它并不具备真正的理解能力。它的输出可能存在错误、不准确或具有误导性。因此，在使用AutoGPT生成的内容时，人们需要仔细审查和验证，确保其质量和准确性，并对最终的结果负起责任。
- 隐私和安全：AutoGPT需要访问大量的数据来进行训练和生成文本。在使用这种技术时，保护用户数据的隐私和安全至关重要。确保采取适当的安全措施，以防止数据泄露和滥用。
综上所述，AutoGPT作为一种人工智能语言模型，在人类职场和工作环境中具有广泛的应用前景。然而，我们需要认真考虑和解决相关的问题，以确保其正面影响最大化，并尽量减少潜在的负面影响。
AutoGPT作为一种强大的语言模型，对电影和视频行业产生了积极的冲击和提供了多种功能。以下是关于AutoGPT在电影和视频领域的影响和功能的描述：
- 剧本创作和故事发展：AutoGPT可以用作电影和视频剧本的创作工具。它可以根据给定的指导或简要说明，生成剧本的初稿或提供创意灵感。创作者可以利用AutoGPT的文本生成能力来探索新的故事线索、角色发展和情节转折，从而推动创意和创作过程。
- 视频字幕和翻译：AutoGPT可以用于自动生成视频字幕和实时翻译。它可以将视频中的对话或音频内容转换为文字，并生成相应的字幕，从而使视频更易于理解和访问。此外，AutoGPT还可以用于实时翻译，为不同语言的观众提供即时的字幕或翻译服务，促进跨文化交流和全球观众的增长。
- 视频编辑和后期制作：AutoGPT在视频编辑和后期制作中也发挥着重要作用。它可以帮助编辑人员自动剪辑和整理视频素材，节省大量的时间和努力。此外，AutoGPT还可以用于自动生成视觉效果、音效和背景音乐等方面的建议，增强视频的质量和创意。
- 观众分析和个性化推荐：AutoGPT可以分析观众的喜好、行为和反馈，从而提供个性化的推荐和观众洞察。它可以分析观众对电影和视频的评论、社交媒体上的互动以及观看历史，为制片方和内容提供者提供有关观众喜好和需求的深入理解，从而改善内容创作和推广策略。
- 影片剪辑和重制：AutoGPT还具备在影片剪辑和重制中的潜力。它可以分析和理解影片中的场景、情节和情感，根据特定要求生成不同版本的影片，从而满足不同观众群体的需求。这种自动化的剪辑和重制过程可以提高制作效率，同时为观众提供更具个性化的观影体验。
然而，尽管AutoGPT在电影和视频领域具有潜在的影响力和功能，我们仍需注意以下问题：
- 版权和原创性：使用AutoGPT生成的文本需要关注版权和原创性的问题。确保使用合法和授权的内容，避免侵权行为，并保护创作者的权益。
- 质量控制和人工审核：尽管AutoGPT可以生成大量文本，但其输出可能存在质量和准确性方面的问题。人工审核和质量控制仍然是必要的，以确保生成内容的准确性、一致性和符合标准。
- 技术限制和误导性信息：AutoGPT目前仍存在技术限制，它可能生成具有误导性的信息或产生不当内容。用户和内容提供者需要对生成的内容保持警惕，并对其进行适当的验证和筛选。
总体而言，AutoGPT在电影和视频领域提供了多种有益的功能和影响。它为创作者、制片方和观众提供了新的工具和机会，以推动创意创作、改善观影体验，并促进电影和视频行业的发展。
Auto GPT和ChatGPT两者有何不同
人工智能正在迅速发展，即使是最熟练的人也很难跟上。每隔一段时间，新的人工智能工具就会出现，在这些工具中，有流行的，也有具有真正价值的。Auto-GPT，一个建立在ChatGPT技术之上的人工智能，很可能是一个具有真正价值的人工智能工具。在这篇文章中，我们将探讨Auto-GPT与ChatGPT的区别，以及你能用它做什么。
什么是ChatGPT？
ChatGPT是一个基于GPT架构的人工智能语言模型，它被设计用来在对话环境中产生类似人类的反应。它是在一个包括人类之间对话的大型文本数据库中训练出来的。ChatGPT可以针对各种应用进行微调，如聊天机器人开发、客户服务和个人助理。它被广泛用于自然语言处理领域，因为它有能力产生类似人类的反应，与上下文相关并吸引人。
什么是Auto-GPT？
Auto-GPT是一个开源的人工智能项目，建立在ChatGPT的生成性预训练转化器（GPT）上。它的核心功能使GPT有能力自主行动，而不需要人类代理来提示它的每一个行动。虽然不是一项新技术，但Auto-GPT不是一个新的大型语言模型或人工智能聊天机器人。
Auto-GPT的工作方式与ChatGPT类似，但有AI代理提供的额外能力。你可以把人工智能代理想象成个人助理，可以被编程执行特定的任务，或根据一组规则和预定的目标做出决定。人工智能代理，像个人助理一样，可以代表个人运作，执行诸如安排约会和发送电子邮件等任务。Auto-GPT，其人工智能代理，具有额外的能力，可以在没有人类提示的情况下执行自主行动并作出决定。
Auto-GPT与ChatGPT有什么不同？
Auto-GPT和ChatGPT建立在相同的技术上，但它们在功能上有很大不同。两者之间的主要区别是，Auto-GPT可以自主运作，不需要人类代理，而ChatGPT则需要人类提示才能运作。
例如，如果你想为你8岁的女儿计划一个生日派对，你可以前往ChatGPT并输入 “帮我为我8岁的女儿计划一个生日派对”。几秒钟后，ChatGPT就会为您提供一份您应该考虑的事项清单，如生日主题、场地、礼物、食物和饮料、装饰品、宾客名单等等。然而，计划生日是复杂的，需要解决一些子问题。例如，你将不得不再次提示ChatGPT，询问如何计划客人名单，并发出邀请函和礼物的想法以及获得这些礼物的最佳地点。
另一方面，有了Auto-GPT，人工智能代理可以自我提示并解决生日计划问题的每个子集。因此，根据你赋予它的权力限制，例如，Auto-GPT可以制定一个生日主题，雇用一个活动策划公司来执行这个主题，根据客人名单提供一个需要购买的礼物清单，甚至使用你的信用卡和家庭地址为他们下订单。这种人工智能工具已经以类似的方式在野外部署，它被用来创建一个播客和建立一个自动投资分析师。
Auto-GPT和ChatGPT的主要区别是什么？
Auto-GPT和ChatGPT的主要区别是，Auto-GPT可以自主运作，不需要人类代理，而ChatGPT需要大量详细的提示来完成任务。Auto-GPT生成自己的提示以完成给定的目标，并可以访问网站和搜索引擎来收集数据以完成任务。相比之下，ChatGPT需要具体的提示来确定它要做什么以及做得怎么样。Auto-GPT建立在ChatGPT的框架上，但有能力自己做决定，这是ChatGPT所不具备的功能。Auto-GPT是GPT-4和GPT-3.5的一个实验性开源接口，可以实现自我指导（自主）完成任务。
Auto-GPT和ChatGPT之间有什么技术区别？
Auto-GPT和ChatGPT都是建立在GPT的API上，但两者之间有几个技术上的区别。最主要的区别是，Auto-GPT可以自主运作，不需要人类代理，而ChatGPT需要大量详细的提示来完成任务。Auto-GPT建立在ChatGPT的框架上，但有能力自己做决定，这是ChatGPT所不具备的功能。Auto-GPT是一个由GPT-4驱动的开源Python应用程序，能够在很少的人为干预下执行任务。Auto-GPT可以自我提示并产生每一个必要的。Auto-GPT需要编程知识才能使用，而ChatGPT是任何有互联网连接的人都可以使用的。
与ChatGPT相比，Auto-GPT的主要优势是什么？
与ChatGPT相比，Auto-GPT的主要优势是它能够自主运作，不需要人类代理。Auto-GPT可以自己做决定，并产生自己的提示来完成任务，而ChatGPT需要大量详细的提示来确定它将做什么以及做得如何。这一特点使Auto-GPT成为一个强大而前沿的人工智能工具，可以在很少的人为干预下完成任务。相比之下，ChatGPT的效率取决于所使用的提示，它需要人类输入才能发挥作用。然而，值得注意的是，Auto-GPT需要编程知识才能使用，而ChatGPT是任何有互联网连接的人都可以使用的。
在什么情况下，ChatGPT比自动GPT更有优势？
在需要人工输入以确定所使用的提示的情况下，ChatGPT可能比自动GPT更有优势。ChatGPT需要特定的提示来确定它将做什么以及做得如何，这在需要人工输入以确保准确性和相关性的情况下可能是有益的。相比之下，Auto-GPT生成自己的提示来完成给定的目标，并且可以访问网站和搜索引擎来收集数据以完成任务，这可能并不总是可取的或适当的。此外，任何有互联网连接的人都可以使用ChatGPT，而Auto-GPT需要编程知识才能使用。因此，在可及性和易用性是重要因素的情况下，ChatGPT可能更有优势。
哪一个更适合您？
如果您想对用户的输入进行个性化的对话式回应，那么ChatGPT是您的一个不错的选择。它是根据大量的人类语言数据进行训练的，使它能够很好地生成上下文和连贯的答复，听起来就像来自一个真实的人。
然而，如果你想要一个能够独立分析和解释来自各种资源的信息的人工智能工具，以自主建立和运行各种任务，那么Auto-GPT是你更好的选择。
小结
Auto-GPT是一个迷人的人工智能工具，在人工智能领域具有重大潜力。凭借其人工智能代理，它可以执行自主行动并做出决定，而不需要人类代理来提示。虽然它不是一项新技术，但它是一项可能对人工智能领域产生重大影响的创新。它已经在野外以各种方式被部署，从创建播客到建立一个自动投资分析师。它所能实现的可能性是无限的，我们期待着看到它在未来的发展
生命福音[131]…
音频 三分钟
「感谢神，使我们借着我们的主耶稣基督得胜。」【林前15: 57】
罪仗着律法的权势，把人钩入死亡中；但赞美主，复活的基督把这一切都摧毁了！因此我们若还活在律法之下，以致被罪钩入死亡中，那是何等愚昧！我们若活在复活的基督里，就能欢然夸耀说，感谢神，使我们借着我们的主耶稣基督得胜﹗
论到罪，说到律法，说到死，神就把得胜赐给我们。得胜，不只胜过罪，也胜过律法；不只胜过律法，也胜过死亡。这里有一个唯一的福音，就是神把得胜赐给我们每位在基督里的人。
若人倘未归正，生命的线断了，或许是在明天，或许几分钟之后，你会在哪里呢？又会掉进哪里？的确，这条线一断，人就 要掉进烧着硫磺的火湖里，也要痛苦躺在那里，直到永远。
耶稣要我们承认自己的罪，也需要从罪中救赎我们，并且信靠祂是我们的救主。我们要做的就是向祂敞开心门，承认自己的罪，并邀请祂进入心中。祂说：“看哪，我站在门外叩门，若有听见我声音就开门的，我要进到他那里去。”
人要细查自己的悲惨结局，直到內心向基督呼求，就像正溺水的人迫切地向船只呼救，或像受伤的人急需外科医生一样。人必须看到他们的危险，也感觉到他们致命的伤势和疾病，否则基督对他们是无用武之地。杀人凶手，当报血仇的追 杀他时，快速地跑往逃城；人必须被迫离开自己，否则不会来就基督。患难和困苦迫使浪子回家。
人要大大睁开良心之眼，看尽自己一切的悲惨。人的心充满恐怖或逃避是不可避免。人自觉悲惨不过是溃烂的伤口，必须化脓才能得医治。最好是现在惧怕未来的 折磨，而不要在未来亲身经历永久的折磨。改邪归正，借着我们的主耶稣基督得胜。感谢神 ! 奉主蒙恩 ! 阿们 !
每日活灵(246)…
音频 三分钟
「我给你们作了榜样，叫你们照着我向你们所作的去作。」【约13: 15】
我们时常忘记自己是耶稣和邻舍的仆人,从而陷入自取荣耀的傲慢当中。忠诚的仆人应该时刻谦卑地去事奉。他们生活的座右铭应该是“劳苦在我,荣耀在神”。
将自己完全降服于神的旨意，不为自己作甚么，也不盼望为自己得甚么，这样的人，心里才会有真正的安息。接受主给我们一切的托付、工作、事奉、甘心顺服，就能「得享安息」。
我们若要与主同负一轭，便须要调整我们的脚步，与主同行，亦步亦趋，不前不后，不离左右。真安息乃是内心的平静安稳，与客观的环境无关，也不受外界事物的影响。
基督对我们不仅是生命，也是榜样。我们照着祂的榜样跟祂学，不是凭我们天然的生命，乃是凭祂在复活里作我们的生命。根据新约，主耶稣并没有直接进到我们里面作生命。祂在地上三十三年半的一生当中，设立了模型，模子，榜样。
写四福音书的一个原因，就是要给我们看见，神所要之生命的模型是什么，能满足神并完成祂定旨之生命的模子是什么。因这缘故，新约从四方面给我们一部独特的传记─ 主耶稣的传记。主耶稣设立了启示在福音书里的模型之后，就被钉在十字架上，然后进入复活。祂乃是在复活里，进到我们里面作我们的生命。
那在耶稣身上是实际者，是指耶稣一生的真实光景，如四福音书所记载的。外邦堕落之人不敬虔的行事为人乃是虚妄；但在耶稣敬虔的生活里乃是真实，实际。耶稣在生活中总是在神里面，同着神并为着神行事。
神是在祂的生活中，并且祂与神是一。这就是在耶稣身上是实际者。我们信徒，既以基督作我们的生命得了重生，并在祂里面受过教导，就照着那在耶稣身上是实际者学了基督。奉主蒙恩! 阿们!
Testimony…
Listen for 7 min
Gideon Pastor Timothy Keller mentioned in the book “Generous Justice” that when he was studying in a seminary, he met a black classmate named Ellis. At one point, they were having dinner together, and Iris said to Keller, “You know what, you’re a racist. Well, you don’t mean to, and you don’t want to, but you are. You can’t help it. for example, being black When you do things a certain way, you say ‘Well, that’s your culture’, but when white people do things a certain way, you say ‘That’s the right way to do things’. You don’t realize that you are Also in a culture, many of your thoughts and practices are also cultural.”
The Selfish Gene
Later, Iris became Keller’s good friend. Keller said Iris was “kind and outspoken” and helped him understand the realities of injustice in American culture. Keller recognizes that, in many ways, each of us may be inherently racist: We use our cultural values to judge other things as good and bad, and then use them to judge people of other races; In our hearts, we feel that they are not as good as us, or even worse than us-although we may not say so. Elevating the value of one (or some) race in thought, feeling, and behavior while devaluing other races is the standard definition of the word “racism.” The racism that looks down on “other races” is a common and insurmountable problem in human nature.
Racist thoughts beget racist behavior. In our society, all kinds of discrimination exist very widely. However, discrimination based on race may be the most common, and it is also most likely to be expressed and implemented in the form of unspoken rules, institutionalization, and structure. When we ourselves are racially discriminated against, we tend to be sensitive and feel “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”, but when we discriminate against others, it is difficult for us to be self-aware. In many cases, racist awareness is subtly spread through new media or entertainment programs. For example, a TV skit program during the Spring Festival this year, there is to promote the rise of China and African people’s love for China, but the content caused a lot of controversies because there was a Chinese actress with a blackened face, playing the role of a black aunt” Give China a thumbs up”, with a monkey next to it, played by an African actor.
Overseas, many people commented that this is a blatant racist expression, but some netizens in China seem to have a much calmer reaction to this matter. Many people think that elevating criticism to the level of racial discrimination is a big deal. Some people say that overseas people are overly sensitive because they have been brainwashed by “political correctness” for a long time.
In European and American societies, there is indeed a situation where “political correctness” goes to extremes, but now the anti-“political correctness” has overcorrected and gone to another extreme. Racial discrimination has revived and becomes public again. Some people even justify and open up racism.
A netizen on Zhihu said in a column: “In fact, each of us can be regarded as a racist.” But he thinks this is a “very natural” thing, and there is no need to deny or criticize it. He said: “From the bottom of our hearts, each of us will value ourselves more than others, and value people who are similar to us more than those who are very different from ourselves. This is human nature determined by survival genes. Extending to race and ethnicity racism and nationalism is a very natural phenomenon. This kind of judgment has the scientific basis of evolution and genetics. In the words of Oxford University biologist Richard Dawkins, it reflects “genetic Selfishness'”. He actually made a rational defense for racism, and his defense was based on naturalistic evolution (atheism). Starting from this naturalistic presupposition, racism seems to be very “scientific”, reasonable, understandable, and even beneficial to human progress.
The Image of God
However, such Darwinian atheism is completely contrary to the Christian faith, so it is impossible for Christians to agree with such a defense. According to Christian belief, people of different races are created by God. Because man fell after rebelling against God, sin entered the depths of human nature. Selfishness or self-centeredness is one of the many sins (sins) of human beings. It is human nature polluted by sins, not the “nature” that God created man should have.
Pastor John Piper pointed out that racism is born of pride and a companion of greed, fear, and lust. According to the Bible, pride, greed, fear, and lust are all sins. In the era we live in, these sins are deeply rooted in society, cultural entertainment, advertising, business, academia, and partisan politics. You and I are immersed in them, and our minds are easily shaped by them, so we are easily unconscious. Or being racist “by nature”.
Therefore, Christians oppose racism for reasons based on our faith. The Bible says that everyone is created by God in his image (refer to “Genesis” 1:26), so everyone has uniqueness and has the value and dignity given to him by God. The “image of God” does not distinguish between high and low. God wants us to learn and know that He created us to take care of each other and to respect the dignity and worth of every human being.
Although Christians have historically misused the Bible to endorse racism, the fact is that racism is running counter to biblical values. Although racism has also occurred in the history of the United States, the anti-racism civil rights movement in the last century was based on Christianity (rather than atheism) as its spiritual pillar. In fact, racial equality is also an important part of the “original heart” of the “American Dream”. The founding fathers of the United States were deeply influenced by the Bible, so their “American Dream” is closely related to the theological concept of “the image of God”.
Many Jews in the Bible have a very strong sense of national pride, and even look down on “Gentiles” because they are “God’s chosen people”. But God told the Israelites through the mouth of the Old Testament prophets that they were chosen not because they were more righteous than other nations (see “Deuteronomy” 9:5). The Israelites are also a people who often rebel against God, so they become a “model” that no one can be saved by keeping the law, and they also testify to the gospel of Christ from the negative side.
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament emphasize that “God is no respecter of persons” (see “Romans” 2:11), and his love pervades all nations. So, racism is evil. Christians should resist all forms of racism, including fighting institutional and structural racism in nonviolent ways.
the gospel is the cure
The general idea of the entire Bible is that God will bless all nations and peoples through the nation of Israel. God’s ultimate intention is for all mankind to be redeemed and to receive grace. The kingdom of heaven brought by Christ, or the kingdom of God, is composed of “all nations, tribes, tongues, and peoples” (refer to “Revelation” 14:6) that are justified by faith. The Gospel of Christ is the universal “good news” that “God loves the world”. Therefore, the Christian Gospel transcends race, nation, and nation. In the church of Christ, because we believe in Christ, we become children of God and brothers and sisters to each other. The Bible says that “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, free or slave, male or female” because we are “in Christ are all one in Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
Because of this, the theologian and biblical scholar DA Carson (DA Carson) believes that the issue of race is not just a cultural issue, but essentially a “gospel issue”: “The purpose of God’s redemption is to bring different languages, tribes, and nationalities together through the cross. and nation men and women lead to God Himself, the Church is the new creation of humanity, composed of Jews and Gentiles. This trajectory begins at Creation, as all men and women are created in the image of God; it looks forward Look to God’s promise to Abraham that through his descendants all peoples on earth will be blessed. Salvation ensured by the Christ of the Gospel…bringing repentance, spiritual health and love for brothers and sisters to the Christian community.”
Therefore, I believe that opposing racism is not only in line with the Bible but also must be based on the foundation of the Gospel of Christ in order to “treat the root cause” and fundamentally change the hearts of racists, rather than just relying on the system, culture or “political correctness” to suppress racist behavior.
Pastor Keller mentioned another thing in Generous Justice. After graduating from seminary, he went to the church to pastor and became a young pastor. There is a brother named Shelton in the church. One day, the brother suddenly said to Pastor Keller, “You know what? I’ve always been a racist.” Keller was surprised because he hadn’t spoken specifically about racism in the church. But the brother had listened to Keller’s preaching of the gospel of Christ a lot, and he understood this point himself. He told Keller that his previous understanding of life was moralistic, but he became self-righteous like a Pharisee and looked down on others. But when he began to understand that his acceptance of God’s salvation was based on the free and undeserved grace of Jesus, his heart changed. He abandoned self-righteousness and began to experience the warmth, joy, and confidence of a renewed life, and he also realized and abandoned the racism in his heart.
Pastor Piper said in the book “Bloodline” that the gospel of Jesus Christ can dissolve the sins that lead to racism and lead people to the kingdom of God composed of people of different races and cultures. In Christ, the blood of the different races is washed clean by the blood shed on the same cross. Jesus Christ shed blood and died for us, and resurrected for us so that we can become brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God. The Gospel of Christ is the antidote to racism, and only the Gospel of Christ can dissolve the demons of racism.
I think of the life testimonies of some missionaries who moved us in history. A missionary is a group of people who have overcome and transcended the “selfish gene”. They could have enjoyed success and affluent life in the world, but they left their hometowns, traveled across the oceans, and went to strange foreign lands, dedicating their youth, energy, and even life to care for and serve those who are humble, weak, incomplete, and regarded as “Backward” “non-my race”. This is not because they are “people made of special materials (genes)”, but because the gospel of Christ has changed their lives, enabling them to cross the gap between race and culture, and live a life of “love your neighbor as yourself”.
Today, there are still tens of thousands of Christians whose lives have been changed by the gospel, bearing the same testimony with their actions. Whether it is an American Christian doctor who went to Africa to rescue the Ebola virus epidemic or a Chinese Christian teacher who went to Miaozhai, Guizhou to teach and help minority children, they all uphold the same spirit as the missionaries, and they have witnessed Christ together. The power of the gospel to transcend racism.
Yes, each of us can be a racist. On our own, we not only cannot overcome racism, but we are not even aware of its existence. But the Gospel of Christ can reverse our values, subvert our inner self-righteousness and pride, and give us new life, making us not only free from the racist virus but also able to transcend racial barriers and care for people of different races, to Christians who evangelized them.