信仰問答

03-06

您相信自使徒時代起，上帝還在以耳朵可以聽見的聲音向人說話嗎？

我並不確實地知道是否上帝還在這麼做。教會史上當然存在諸多先例，當事人都宣稱曾親耳聽見上帝說話的聲音。聖女貞德就是個例子。這樣的見證不止一次出自被我們普遍視作值得信賴的聖徒之口，所以我也不願誹謗他們的見證。

另一方面，我們發現即使在聖經當中，在上帝直接地傳達屬天啟示的時期，上帝用人耳可聽見的聲音說話的情況仍極其稀少。新約記錄下的上帝以人聽得見的聲音說話，我能想起來的只有三次，這三次都是天父對他的兒子所做的公開宣告，而他的兒子碰巧也不再以肉身與我們在這星球上同在。除了掃羅（保羅）在大馬士革路上的例外，就再沒有上帝以耳朵能聽見的聲音與任何人說話的記載。即便在舊約里，雖然只發生在接受啟示的人身上，但這種情況實在少而又少。在聖經時代，就算是在上帝啟示的高潮期，天上直接用人耳可聽見的聲音啟示的情況也不多見。我認為，我們並不處於救贖史中一個從上帝那裡獲得特殊啟示的時期。在我看來，如今從上帝那裡得到耳朵能聽見的特殊啟示，這樣的可能性甚至更低。

此外，還有個很多基督徒不願考慮的因素：聽到聲音卻沒有可辨別的來源，可能是精神錯亂的一種表現。我並不是說就一定是，但有這可能。確實有人忍受過幻覺體驗，當時他們聽到的聲音是化學失衡或其他原因造成的結果。就我記憶所及，還沒有人告訴我自己曾確實聽到上帝出聲和他們說話，但如果有這樣的人，我會為他們的精神狀況擔心。我不會立即下結論說他們瘋了，但我不認為聽到上帝用耳朵能聽見的聲音說話，就是虔誠基督徒生活里正常或理所當然的事。

——史鮑爾牧師

譯：夏曼迪

附原文：

Do you believe that God has audibly spoken to anyone since the apostolic age?

I dont know for sure whether God has or not. Certainly there are abundant cases in church history where people claim to have heard voices that were the audible voice of God. Joan of Arc would be Exhibit A. That testimony has come more than once from people whom we generally recognize as being reputable saints, and so I hesitate to cast aspersions on their testimony. On the other hand, we find that even in sacred Scripture, during a time when God was giving direct communication of divine revelation, the occurrences of an audible voice of God were extremely rare. I can only think of three times in the New Testament that theres a record of God speaking audibly, and all three of them were occasions where the Father made a public declaration about his Son, who incidentally is no longer with us on this planet in the flesh. Theres no other record of anyone being talked to by God audibly, with the exception of Saul (Paul) on the road to Damascus. Even in the Old Testament, though it happens with those who are agents of revelation, those occurrences are very rare indeed. In biblical times, even at the height of divine revelation, audible revelation direct from heaven was rare. I dont think we are in a period of redemptive history in which were getting special revelation from God. It would seem to me it would be even less likely that you would get that kind of audible expression from God today. Add to that a factor that many Christians dont like to consider: Hearing voices when theres no discernible source can be a manifestation of a psychosis. Im not saying it is, but it can be. There are people who do suffer from hallucinatory experiences in which they hear voices as a result of chemical imbalances and so on. I cant think of anyone who has ever told me they actually heard the audible voice of God, but if they did, I would be concerned about their mental state. I wouldnt conclude immediately that they were crazy, but I dont think its normal or expected in the devout Christian life to be hearing the audible voice of God.

——R.C. Sproul

Ligonier Ministries