偶像化的无神论 Idolatrous Atheism

多次看到有人转发一篇“北大最短毕业致辞”。这是一篇被人推崇至极的演讲，但我读后却是完全不同的感觉。

许多人可能会被我的想法冒犯。但我还是把我心里真实的感觉写下来了。

但这些想法出来的时候都是英文的，可能是我直觉里感到中文很难表达得清楚的缘故吧。我只能忠实源头。 下面是粗略的中文翻译（主要来自机器自动翻译），最后附上英文原文。

偶像化的无神论

骄傲的以自我为中心的人文主义得到了聪明口才的推动。这篇演讲有一些精彩之处。但也更多是深刻的悲哀。

535个字，超过28次的 “自我” 出现，基于 “自尊” 的想法。

这本身并不一定是坏事，因为毕竟 “自尊” 是人类价值观的一个重要方面。

可悲的是，”自尊” 只是赤裸裸地被 “自我” 本身所支持，而没有任何其他根据和基石，以至于以宣称生命只是服从热力学第二定律的物理和生物过程为荣。

“在你所含全部原子再度按热力学第二定律回归自然之前……”

英语读者可能认为这可能是一种轻松的幽默，但事实并非如此。

该演讲是在中国发生的，在那里，无神论和唯物主义不仅仅存在，而且是大多数人心中的主导思想。 在其背景下，这段话的意思不仅仅是严肃的，而是被呈现为聪明、光荣的严肃。(这里我使用 “思想 “一词，而不是意识形态或哲学，因为它们比单纯的教义更具有个人根基，是近70年洗脑的结果）。

我从来没有见过这样的演讲，它如此艺术地掩盖了永恒无望的深刻悲伤，并以死亡为荣，作为对大自然的偶像化循环的赞美。

这就是偶像化的无神论。 不是简单的无神论。简单的无神论是指尽管内心希望有永恒的存在，但出于无奈而悲观地接受永恒的死亡是不可避免的结局。不是，而是更坏，是偶像化的无神论，它宣称死亡本身是生命的 “自我荣耀” 的意义，并以做出这样的宣称为荣。

但死亡是造物主的仇敌–即那恶者（撒旦）对人所设的大欺诈的后果。 不知道它或拒绝相信这个事实并不能改变这种事实状态。

亚当（人类）是一个被欺骗的族类，这个可悲的事实无可反驳。而他的后代能够如此虚荣地宣传 “自我” 和夸耀 “死亡”， 这个的事实本身就是证明。 这是人被欺骗状态的最终表现，声张自主的人要坚决地不悔改，甚至到死都不悔改， 自以为是读自己忠实，但实际是对骗他的那位（撒旦）忠实。

这，就是这篇演讲的精神。它并不是新的。它只是有一个更巧妙的表达方式。

关于热力学中的第二定律，圣经中说：

“因为受造之物受制于人，不是自愿的，乃是因着那受制于人的，盼望受造之物也能脱离败坏的奴役，进入神儿子荣耀的自由之中。 因为我们知道，整个受造之物直到现在还在呻吟，一同承受生产的痛苦”。 (罗马书 8:20-22)

在毕业演讲中宣传荣耀版的 “自我” 的是很常见的，但很少有人会达到这种偶像崇拜的程度。

我记得《纽约时报》的一篇OP-ED评论，是由大卫-布鲁克斯写的关于在毕业演讲中的这个倾向。 这篇题为 “这与你无关” 的评论，以这样的语句结束：

“生活的目的不是为了找到自己。而是要失去自己”。

这句话是对耶稣基督的话的反映。

“爱惜自己生命的，就失去生命；在这世界上恨恶自己生命的，要保守生命到永生。” 约翰福音 12:25。

耶稣在约翰福音12:25中所说的话，用我们在今天的语境中可能更容易理解的语言来说，意思是：”不愿意放下自己旧生命的人，终究会失去生命，但坚决（狠心）拒绝自己的旧生命的人，会发现自己的生命被保存在一个新的、永恒的生命中”。

人的问题的根源是他的 “自我”，它通过亚当堕落了。 除了要求我们放弃 “旧我” 并从基督那里得到一个新的自我之外，神没有为这个问题提供任何补救措施。

荣耀 “自我” 并不能拯救自我。 恰恰相反，它使灵魂与上帝提供的永恒的解决方案进一步分离。

愿更多的灵魂发现 “自我荣耀” 的欺骗，从偶像崇拜的无神论中走出来。

 

Idolatrous Atheism

Proud self-centered humanism boosted by cleverness and eloquence. There is something great about the speech. But there’s also something profoundly sad about it.

535 words, more than 28 times “self” appeared, given to the idea of “self-respect”.

That, in itself, is not necessarily bad, because after all, “self-respect” is an important aspect of human values.

What is sad is that “self-respect” is merely and nakedly supported by “self” itself and nothing else, to an extent to take pride in proclaiming life as a mere physical and biological process obeying the second law in thermodynamics.

“在你所含全部原子再度按热力学第二定律回归自然之前…” (Translation: “Before all atoms contained in you return to the nature according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics…”)

English readers might think this was probably meant to be a lighthearted humor, but it was not.

The original speech was given in China where atheism and materialism do not just exist but are the governing thoughts of most people’s mind.  In its context, this statement was meant to be more than serious. It was meant to be intelligently and gloriously serious. (Here I use the word “thoughts” instead of ideologies or philosophies because they are more personally rooted than mere teachings, as a result of almost 70 years of brainwashing.)

I’ve never seen a speech that so artfully covers up profound sadness of eternal hopelessness, and takes pride in death, as a tribute to the idolized cycle of the nature.

This is what idolatrous atheism is.  Not mere atheism which pessimistically accepts eternal death as an unavoidable end despite an inner wish that there was eternity; but rather idolatrous atheism which proclaims death itself as the “self-glorified” meaning of life and takes pride in making such a proclamation.

But death was a consequence of the Great Fraud committed against Man by the Evil One, who is the enemy of the Creator.  Not knowing it or refusing to believe it does not change that state.

Adam was a deceived man, a sad truth that is not refuted but rather evidenced by the fact that his descendants are capable of promoting “self” and boasting about “death” with such vainglory.  This is the ultimate manifestation of man’s state of being deceived, that the autonomous man should be relentlessly unrepentant even unto the death, seemingly loyal to oneself, but really just loyal to the deceiver (Satan).

That, is the spirit of this speech. It is not new. It just has a cleverer way of expression.

About the Second Law in Thermodynamics, the Bible says,

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the sons of God.  For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”  (Romans 8:20-22)

Promoting a glorified version of “self” in graduation speeches is common, but few would reach such level of idolatry.

I recall a New York Times OP-ED opinion written by David Brooks about graduation speeches.  The Opinion, “It’s Not about You”, ended with this statement: “The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself.”

The statement is a reflection of the words of Jesus Christ:

“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.”  John 12:25.

The words spoken by Jesus in John 12:25 mean, in the language we may understand better in today’s context, “One who would not let go of his old life will lose his life in the end, but one who rejects his old life with spite will find his life kept in a new and eternal one.”

The root of man’s problem is his “self” which became corrupt through Adam.  God offers no remedy to that problem except for requiring us to give up on the “old self” and receive a new one from Christ.

Glorifying the “self” does not save the self.  On the contrary, it separates the soul further from the eternal solution offered by God.

May more souls discover the deception of the “self-glory” and come out of idolatrous atheism.