上帝不可传达的属性（上帝，绝对的存有）
THE INCOMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES
(God as Absolute Being)
[Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, pp. 57-63.]
哲学中的「绝对」
THE ABSOLUTE IN PHILOSOPHY
神学界常称上帝为「绝对的存有」。不过，「绝对」是哲学典型的说法，不是神学的说法。在形而上学中，「绝对」是指所有存在的至终根基；因为有神论者也称上帝为所有存在的至终根基，所以有人以为哲学里的「绝对」与有神论中的「上帝」是同一回事。可是事情并不一定如此。其实，一般哲学的「绝对」观念，不可能与《圣经》与基督教神学的上帝等同。「绝对」一词来自拉丁文的 absolutus ，ab就是「从」，solvere 就是「释放」，所以意思就是不被任何条件束缚，或不受任何限制或约束。这观念有不同表达的方式，「绝对」被认为是没有条件限制的（「无条件的」或「自存的」），不受任何关系限制的（「没有关连的」），毫无瑕疵的（「完全的」），或不受任何外在分辨限制，例如物质或灵，本质或属性，外表或实质（「真实的」，或「至终实体」）。
It has been quite common in theology to speak of God as the absolute Being. At the same time the term “absolute” is more characteristic of philosophy than it is of theology. In metaphysics the term “the Absolute” is a designation of the ultimate ground of all existence; and because the theist also speaks of God as the ultimate ground of all existence, it is sometimes thought that the Absolute of philosophy and the God of theism are one and the same. But that is not necessarily so. In fact the usual conception of the Absolute renders it impossible to equate it with the God of the Bible and of Christian theology. The term “Absolute” is derived from the Latin absolutus, a compound of ab (from) and solvere (to loosen), and thus means free as to condition, or free from limitation or restraint. This fundamental thought was worked out in various ways, so that the Absolute was regarded as that which is free from all conditions (the Unconditioned or Self-Existent), from all relations (the Unrelated), from all imperfections (the Perfect), or from all phenomenal differences or distinctions, such as matter and spirit, being and attributes, subject and object, appearance and reality (the Real, or Ultimate Reality).
哲学的绝对与神学的上帝等同？
The Absolute of Philosophy: One with the God of Theology?
哲学的「绝对」能否与神学的「上帝」等同？这要看每人对「绝对」的观念。Spinoza 认为「绝对」是唯一自存的存有 (one Self-subsistent Being)，所有个别事物都是这存有的暂时形式；因此上帝与世界等同。我们不视他的「绝对」为上帝。黑格尔视「绝对」为思想与存有的合一，万物的总和，包括一切的关系，现今的一切不和都在完全合一中和解。我们也不可能同意他把这「绝对」与上帝等同。
Bradley 说他的「绝对」与无有 (nothing) 有关，它不可能与有限的意志有任何实际的关系；我们同意他说这「绝对」不可能是基督教的「上帝」，因为基督教的上帝与有限的被造物建立关系的。Bradley 的观念中，宗教的上帝只能是有限的上帝。可是当「绝对者」被定义为所有存在事物的第一因，或一切实存的至终根基，或唯一自存的存有 (one self-existent Being)，就可以与神学的上帝等同了。上帝是无限的那位，他不存在在任何必须的关系里，因为祂是自足的，但是祂同时可以自由地与祂所造的宇宙或其中任何被造者发生任何关系。上帝不可传达的属性强调上帝绝对的存有；祂可传达的属性则强调祂与被造物建立各样的关系。本章将考虑上帝的这些属性。
The answer to the question, whether the Absolute of philosophy can be identified with the God of theology, depends on the conception one has of the Absolute. If Spinoza conceives of the Absolute as the one Self-subsistent Being of which all particular things are but transient modes, thus identifying God and the world, we cannot share his view of this Absolute as God. When Hegel views the Absolute as the unity of thought and being, as the totality of all things, which includes all relations, and in which all the discords of the present are resolved in perfect unity, we again find it impossible to follow him in regarding this Absolute as God. And when Bradley says that his Absolute is related to nothing, and that there cannot be any practical relation between it and the finite will, we agree with him that his Absolute cannot be the God of the Christian religion, for this God does enter into relations with finite creatures. Bradley cannot conceive of the God of religion as other than a finite God. But when the Absolute is defined as the First Cause of all existing things, or as the ultimate ground of all reality, or as the one self-existent Being, it can be considered as identical with the God of theology. He is the Infinite One, who does not exist in any necessary relations, because He is self-sufficient, but at the same time can freely enter into various relations with His creation as a whole and with His creatures. While the incommunicable attributes emphasize the absolute Being of God, the communicable attributes stress the fact that He enters into various relations with His creatures. In the present chapter the following perfections of God come into consideration.
- 上帝的自存性THE SELF-EXISTENCE OF GOD
上帝是自存的，意思是上帝自己就是祂存在的根基。这个观念有时候这样表达﹕上帝是自己的成因 (causa sui)，可是这说法并不准确，因为上帝并没有成因，祂根据自己存有的必须性而存在，因此祂的存在是必须的。相反地，人的存在并不是必须的，人存在的成因在自己之外。上帝的自存，一般用「自存」 (aseitas) 来表达，意思是上帝是源自自己的；可是改革宗神学家一般用「独立」取代 (independentia)，以表达上帝不只是在祂的存有是独立的，祂在每一方面都是独立的﹕在祂的美德、永恒计划，作为等等。我们可以说，被造物也有这特性，可是其意义只不过是﹕被造物，虽然完全依靠创造主，还是有自己独特的存在。不过这与「自存」差得很远。上帝这属性，一般在异教的宗教和在哲学的「绝对」观念是被承认的。「绝对」若被视为是自存的，是万物存在的根基，也同时自愿与万物建立各样关系的话，那么「绝对」可以与神学的上帝等同。身为自存的上帝，祂不只是本身是独立的，也是万物依靠祂的成因。上帝这「自存」以祂的名字「耶和华」表达。只有一位自存，独立的上帝才能保证，祂在祂与祂的子民的关系中是永远不变的。《圣经》也提到上帝的自存，例如约翰福音5﹕26﹕「因为父怎样在自己有生命，就赐给祂儿子也照样在自己有生命」。还有上帝并不依靠任何事物，万物都靠祂而生存，诗94﹕8ff；赛40﹕18ff；徒7﹕25。《圣经》也暗示，上帝在祂的思想是独立的，罗11﹕33-34，在祂的意志上是独立的，但4﹕35；罗9；19；弗1；5；启4﹕11；在祂的权能上是独立的，诗115﹕3；在祂的永恒计划上是独立的，诗33﹕11。
God is self-existent, that is, He has the ground of His existence in Himself. This idea is sometimes expressed by saying that He is causa sui (His own cause), but this expression is hardly accurate, since God is the uncaused, who exists by the necessity of His own Being, and therefore necessarily. Man, on the other hand, does not exist necessarily, and has the cause of his existence outside of himself. The idea of God’s existence was generally expressed by the term aseitas, meaning self-originated, but Reformed theologians quite generally substituted for it the word independentia (independence), as expressing, not merely that God is independent in His Being, but also that He is independent in everything else: in His virtues, decrees, works, and so on. It may be said that there is a faint trace of this perfection in the creature, but this can only mean that the creature, though absolutely dependent, yet has its own distinct existence. But, of course, this falls far short of being self-existent. This attribute of God is generally recognized, and is implied in heathen religions and in the Absolute of philosophy. When the Absolute is conceived of as the self-existent and as the ultimate ground of all things, which voluntarily enters into various relations with other beings, it can be identified with the God of theology. As the self-existent God, He is not only independent in Himself, but also causes everything to depend on Him. This self-existence of God finds expression in the name Jehovah. It is only as the self-existent and independent One that God can give the assurance that He will remain eternally the same in relation to His people. Additional indications of it are found in the assertion in John 5:26, “For as the Father hath life in Himself, even so gave He to the Son also to have life in Himself”; in the declaration that He is independent of all things and that all things exist only through Him, Ps. 94:8ff.; Isa. 40:18ff.; Acts 7:25; and in statements implying that He is independent in His thought, Rom. 11:33,34, and in His will, Dan. 4:35; Rom. 9:19; Eph. 1:5; Rev. 4:11, in His power, Ps. 115:3, and in His counsel, Ps. 33:11.
- 上帝的不变性THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD
上帝的不变性是必须随伴着上帝的自存性的属性。这项属性说明，上帝是完全没有更改的，不只是祂的本性（存有， Being）不变；而且祂的美德（属性），祂的计划与祂的应许都永不改变。因祂有这项属性，祂完全不会在祂的存有或属性上有任何的扩大、缩小、长进、或衰退。祂的知识，计划，祂的道德原则与意志都永不改变。就算人的理性也教导我们上帝是不可能改变的，因为改变的意思，就是变好或变坏。可是上帝既然是绝对完全者，祂的改良或衰退都同样是不可能的事。下列的经文清楚教导上帝的不变性﹕出3﹕14；诗102﹕26-28；赛41﹕4；48﹕12；玛3﹕6；罗1﹕23；来1﹕11，12；雅1﹕17。同时，有好些经文似乎暗示上帝是能变的。居在永恒中的上帝，岂不进入到被造的世界？祂岂不是道成肉身？祂岂不是借着圣灵住在教会中间？上帝岂不是隐藏的上帝，又是自我启示的上帝？祂岂不是来去往返？上帝不是悔改，改变祂的主意吗？上帝对待回转之前的和回转之后的人，岂不是不同吗？参﹕出32﹕10-14；拿3﹕10；箴11﹕20，12﹕22；诗18﹕26，27。这方面的异议是出自一种误解。上帝的不变性不可被理解为祂的不动性，好像把上帝说为不能动的。其实神学界里常称上帝为「纯动力」，一位不断施行作为，不断在「动」的上帝。《圣经》教导，上帝与人建立各种不同的关系，甚至可以说，上帝与人一同度过一生。在上帝的周围都有变动在发生，上帝与人的关系不断在变化，可是上帝的本性 (Being) 并没有改变，祂的属性，祂的计划，祂作为的动机，和祂的应许都永不改变。
The Immutability of God is a necessary concomitant of His aseity. It is that perfection of God by which He is devoid of all change, not only in His Being, but also in His perfections, and in His purposes and promises. In virtue of this attribute He is exalted above all becoming, and is free form all accession or diminution and from all growth or decay in His Being or perfections. His knowledge and plans, His moral principles and volitions remain forever the same. Even reason teaches us that no change is possible in God, since a change is either for better or for worse. But in God, as the absolute Perfection, improvement and deterioration are both equally impossible. This immutability of God is clearly taught in such passages of Scripture as Ex. 3:14; Ps. 102:26-28; Isa. 41:4; 48:12; Mal. 3:6; Rom. 1:23; Heb. 1:11, 12; Jas. 1:17. At the same time there are many passages of Scripture which seem to ascribe change to God. Did not He who dwelleth in eternity pass on to the creation of the world, become incarnate in Christ, and in the Holy Spirit take up His abode in the Church? Is He not represented as revealing and hiding Himself, as coming and going, as repenting and changing His intention, and as dealing different with man before and after conversion? Cf. Ex. 32:10-14; Jonah 3:10; Prov. 11:20; 12:22; Ps. 18:26, 27. The objection here implied is based to a certain extent on misunderstanding. The divine immutability should not be understood as implying immobility, as if there were no movement in God. It is even customary in theology to speak of god as actus purus, a God who is always in action. The Bible teaches that God enters into manifold relations with man and, as it were, lives their life with them. There is change round about Him, change in the relations of men to Him, but there is no change in His Being, His attributes, His purposes, His motives of action, or His promises.
上帝创造的旨意是内在的、永恒的，当祂以一个永恒旨意的行动来实现这旨意的时候，祂自己并没有变动。基督道成肉身并没有带来上帝本性与属性的改变，祂的计划也没有改变，因为祂永恒的美意，就是要差遣祂的爱子到世上来。而当《圣经》讲到上帝悔改，改变祂的主意，当罪人悔改的时候更改祂与他们的关系的时候，这些都是拟人法的说法。其实上帝并没有改变，只是人改变了，人与上帝的关系也改变了。我们必须坚持上帝的不变性的教义；这与伯拉纠主义和阿米念主义的教义的对照是显明的，后者认为上帝是会改变的；当然上帝的本性不改变，可是上帝的知识与旨意会改变上帝做的决定，大体上都视乎人的行为；《圣经》也与泛神主义相对照，后者认为上帝是永恒的生成 (eternal becoming)，不是绝对的存有 (absolute being)；这个无意识的「绝对」，在人里逐渐演变成为有意识的个性（位格）。《圣经》的神观也有别于目前流行的趋向，认为上帝是有限的，在挣扎中的，逐渐增长的上帝。
The purpose to create was eternal with him, and there was no change in Him when this purpose was realized by a single eternal act of His will. The incarnation brought no change in the Being or perfections of God, nor in His purpose, for it was His eternal good pleasure to send the Son of His love into the world. And if Scripture speaks of His repenting, changing His intention, and altering His relation to sinners when they repent, we should remember that this is only an anthropopathic way of speaking. In reality the change is not in God, but in man and in man’s relations to God. It is important to maintain the immutability of God over against the Pelagian and Arminian doctrine that God is subject to change, not indeed in His Being, but in His knowledge and will, so that His decisions are to a great extent dependent on the actions of man; over against the pantheistic notion that God is an eternal becoming rather than an absolute Being, and that the unconscious Absolute is gradually developing into conscious personality in man; and over against the present tendency of some to speak of a finite, struggling, and gradually growing God.
- 上帝的无限性THE INFINITY OF GOD
上帝的无限性，乃是指祂完全不受任何限制的属性。我们称上帝为无限的意思，就是说上帝的本身（存有）与属性都没有任何的限制。这里暗示着，上帝完全不被宇宙、时间空间的世界所限制，上帝也不限在宇宙中运作。上帝并不与宇宙万物的总和等同；我们也不否认有限的、有起源的事物与上帝是并存对，他们与上帝有一定的关系。上帝的无限是集中性的 (intensive)，不是分散的 (extensive)，上帝的无限不等于祂无限度的延伸；我们不可认为上帝延伸在整个宇宙中，有一部分在这里，另一部分在那里，因为上帝没有身体，因此，没有延伸。我们也不应该认为这只是一个负面的观念，虽然我们不能整理一个正面的观念出来。上帝无限的这项事实，只有上帝自己了解，只有包含在祂里面。我们只能分辨出上帝无限性的不同层面。
The infinity of God is that perfection of God by which He is free from all limitations. In ascribing it to God we deny that there are or can be any limitations to the divine Being or attributes. It implies that He is in no way limited by the universe, by this time-space world, or confined to the universe. It does not involve His identity with the sum-total of existing things, nor does it exclude the co-existence of derived and finite things, to which He bears relation. The infinity of God must be conceived as intensive rather than extensive, and should not be confused with boundless extension, as if God were spread out through the entire universe, one part being here and another there, for God has no body and therefore no extension. Neither should it be regarded as a merely negative concept, though it is perfectly true that we cannot form a positive idea of it. It is a reality in God fully comprehended only by Him. We distinguish various aspects of God’s infinity.
- 上帝绝对的完全。His Absolute Perfection.
上帝绝对的完全，就是从祂本性来看祂存有的无限性。我们不应该从「量」的意义来理解，乃须从「质」的意义来理解。上帝的完全是形容祂所有能传达的属性的属性。祂无限的能力不是什么绝对的能量 (quantum)，乃是不能穷尽的能力 (potency)；无限的圣洁，不是什么无限量 (quantu)的圣洁，乃是永存的圣洁 (holiness which is)，本质上完全没有限制，也不受任何瑕疵所限制的圣洁。上帝无限的知识与智能，爱与公义都须从这重意义上理解。奥尔博士说﹕「或许我们可以说，上帝里的无限性至终是﹕（一）在上帝里面，本质上是完全没有限制与瑕疵的；（二）在祂有无限的可能 (potentiality)。」从这意义上来理解，上帝的无限性就是祂神圣存有的完全。经文﹕伯11﹕7-10；诗145﹕3；太5﹕48。
This is the infinity of the divine Being considered in itself. It should not be understood in a quantitative, but in a qualitative sense; it qualifies all the communicable attributes of God. Infinite power is not an absolute quantum, but an exhaustless potency of power; and infinite holiness is not a boundless quantum of holiness, but a holiness which is, qualitatively free from all limitation of limitation or defect. The same may be said of infinite knowledge and wisdom, and of infinite love and righteousness. Says Dr. Orr: “Perhaps we can say that infinity in God is ultimately: (a) internally and qualitatively, absence of all limitation and defect; (b) boundless potentiality.” In this sense of the word the infinity of God is simply identical with the perfection of His Divine Being. Scripture proof for it is found in Job 11:7-10; Ps. 145:3; Matt. 5:48.
- 上帝的永恒性。His Eternity.
上帝的无限性与时间的关系，就是祂的永恒性。《圣经》述说上帝的永恒性的方法，乃是祂万世无穷，诗90﹕2；102﹕2；弗3﹕21。不过我们必须记得，《圣经》这样的说法是通俗的说法，不是哲学的语言。我们一般也是这样理解上帝的永恒性，即时间无限的延伸，不论是过去或将来。可是这也只不过是通俗的说法，事实上上帝的永恒性是超越时间的，在本质上与时间不同。「永恒」这个称谓，是指超越所有时间上的限制。彼后3﹕8暗示，上帝的永恒性有这方面的意义。奥尔博士说﹕「严格来说，时间只能与有先后次序存在的事物发生关系。上帝充满时间；祂在时间的每一部份，可是祂的永恒性，不是指祂这样地在时间里。上帝的永恒，与时间之间有着绝对的对照。」人的存在，可分日，周，月，年；上帝的存在却不是这样。我们的生命分为过去，现在与将来，可是上帝的生命中没有这样的分别。祂是永恒的「我就是」（ I am, 我是自有永有）。祂的永恒性可以理解为「上帝的一种属性，上帝在所有时间性的限制和时刻的先后次序之上，上帝在一个没有分割的『现在』里拥有祂所有的存在。」永恒与时间之间的关系，是哲学与神学中最困难的问题之一，有可能在我们今生没法解决。
The infinity of God in relation to time is called His eternity. The form in which the Bible represents God’s eternity is simply that of duration through endless ages, Ps. 90:2; 102:2; Eph. 3:21. We should remember, however, that in speaking as it does the Bible uses popular language, and not the language of philosophy. We generally think of God’s eternity in the same way, namely, as duration infinitely prolonged both backwards and forwards. But this is only a popular and symbolical way of representing that which in reality transcends time and differs from it essentially. Eternity in the strict sense of the word is ascribed to that which transcends all temporal limitations. That it applies to God in that sense is at least intimated in II Pet. 3:8. “Time,” says Dr. Orr, “strictly has relation to the world of objects existing in succession. God fills time; is in every part of it; but His eternity still is not really this being in time. It is rather that to which time forms a contrast.” Our existence is marked off by days and weeks and months and years; not so the existence of God. Our life is divided into a past, present and future, but there is no such division in the life of God. He is the eternal “I am.” His eternity may be defined as that perfection of God whereby He is elevated above all temporal limits and all succession of moments, and possesses the whole of His existence in one indivisible present. The relation of eternity to time constitutes one of the most difficult problems in philosophy and theology, perhaps incapable of solution in our present condition.
- 上帝的广大性His Immensity.
上帝的无限性也可以从空间的角度来看，这称作祂的广大性。上帝的广大性可以被定义为「祂的一种属性，上帝超越所有空间的限制，却同时以祂整个存有临在在空间的每一处。」它有它的反面与正面；否认上帝的存有中在空间上受任何的限制；正面宣称，上帝是在空间以上，同时以祂整个的存有来充满空间的每一部份。我们说明上帝是「以祂整个的存有」临在，为要排除一种看法﹕一位上帝在空间是分散的 (diffused)，祂存有的某一部分在一个地方，另外一部分在另一个地方。我们可以分辨三种在空间的存在。（一）物体在空间地存在，是受空间限制的，这是「被围存在」 (circumscriptive)。（二）有限的灵体在空间存在，可是并不是无所不在，只在某一个地方，这是「肯定存在」(definite)。（三）上帝的存在有别于上述两种存在，祂充满所有的空间，是「丰满存在」 (repletive)。空间中没有什么地方是上帝不在的；上帝的临在，也不会在某地方多过其他地方。
The infinity of God may also be viewed with reference to space, and is then called His immensity. It may be defined as that perfection of the Divine Being by which He transcends all spatial limitations, and yet is present in every point of space with His whole Being. It has a negative and a positive side, denying all limitations of space to the Divine Being, and asserting that God is above space and fills every part of it with His whole Being. The last words are added, in order to ward off the idea that God is diffused through space, so that one part of His Being is present in one place, and another part in some other place. We distinguish three modes of presence in space. Bodies are in space circumscriptively, because they are bounded by it; finite spirits are in space definitely, since they are not everywhere, but only in a certain definite place; and in distinction from both of these God is in space repletively, because He fills all space. He is not absent from any part of it, nor more present in one part than in another.
从某一种意义上，上帝的「广大性」与「无所不在」是指同一件事，因此两者可被视为同义词。可是我们须要辨清一方面的不同。「广大性」指出，上帝超越所有的空间，不被空间所限制；而「无所不在」所指的是，上帝虽然超越空间，可是也以祂整个存有充满空间的每一部份。前者强调上帝的超越性，后者强调祂的临在性。上帝与所有被祂造的同在，上帝临在在整个宇宙中；可是上帝不受宇宙约束。关于上帝与世界的关系，我们必须避免犯两种的错误﹕（一）泛神论的观念，在今天思想界非常流行；他们否认上帝的超越性，他们假设上帝的存有就是宇宙万物的总和。（二）自然神论的上帝观，认为上帝的确以祂的大能 (per potentiam) 在宇宙中同在，可是并不是以祂的存有与本性 (Being and nature) 同在 (per essentiam)。上帝是从远处向世界施行作为。
In a certain sense the terms “immensity” and “omnipresence,” as applied to God, denote the same thing, and can therefore be regarded as synonymous. Yet there is a point of difference that should be carefully noted. “Immensity” points to the fact that God transcends all space and is not subject to its limitations, while “omnipresence” denotes that He nevertheless fills every part of space with His entire Being. The former emphasizes the transcendence, and the latter, the immanence of God. God is immanent in all His creatures, in His entire creation, but is in no way bounded by it. In connection with God’s relation to the world we must avoid, on the one hand, the error of Pantheism, so characteristic of a great deal of present day thinking, with its denial of the transcendence of God and its assumption that the Being of God is really the substance of all things; and, on the other hand, the Deistic conception that God is indeed present in creation per potentiam (with His power), but not per essentiam et naturam (with His very Being and nature), and acts upon the world from a distance.
虽然上帝与世界有别，有不可与世界认同，祂却临在在祂创造的世界的每一角落，
不仅是因为祂的能力有同在的潜能 (per potentiam)，而且是真正，实质的同在 (per essentiam)。不过，这并不表示上帝与每一个祂所造的被造物的同在都是同样的真实，或有同样的意义。祂同在的性质，是与祂的受造物相称的。祂在地上的临在，与祂在天上的临在，与人同在和与动物同在，与祂所造的活物与死物同在，与邪恶的人和与敬虔的人的同在，与教会同在和在基督里同在，都是不同的。祂在祂所造的被造物中的同在，有无限的多元性，同时，这些受造之物向有眼可看的人显明上帝，也是无限地多元。上帝的无所不在是《圣经》清楚启示的。天与地都不能容纳祂，王上8﹕27；赛66﹕1；徒7﹕48，49；同时，祂充满天地，也是与天地亲近同在的上帝，诗139﹕7-10；耶23﹕23，24；徒17﹕27，28。
Though God is distinct from the world and may not be identified with it, He is yet present in every part of His creation, not only per potentiam, but also per essentiam. This does not mean, however, that he is equally present and present in the same sense in all His creatures. The nature of His indwelling is in harmony with that of His creatures. He does not dwell on earth as He does in heaven, in animals as He does in man, in the inorganic as He does in the organic creation, in the wicked as He does in the pious, nor in the Church as He does in Christ. There is an endless variety in the manner in which He is immanent in His creatures, and in the measure in which they reveal God to those who have eyes to see. The omnipresence of God is clearly revealed in Scripture. Heaven and earth cannot contain Him, I Kings 8:27; Isa. 66:1; Acts 7:48, 49; and at the same time He fills both and is a God at hand, Ps. 139:7-10; Jer. 23:23, 24; Acts 17:27, 28.
- 上帝的合一性THE UNITY OF GOD
A distinction is made between the unitas singularitatis and the unitas simplicitatis.
- The Unitas Singularitatis.
- The Unitas Simplicitatis.
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