布特曼 Rudolf Bultmann: 耶穌與[言] Jesus and the word

第四章：耶穌的教導：遠方的上帝和近處的上帝 The Teaching of Jesus: God the Remote and the Near
8. 罪惡與寬恕。第110頁 Sin and Forgiveness

Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976)

..... 因此，耶穌是[言]的傳遞者，祂在[言]中向人類保證上帝的寬恕。
..... Jesus is therefore the bearer of the word, and in the word he assures man of the forgiveness of God.

只有當我們擺脫普遍持有的現代觀點時，我們才能真正理解[言]可能是神聖寬恕的事件。 現代觀點的習慣是將[言]理解為說話者自然的自我表達。那麼，這個個體是否被美學或理想主義地視為個性、性格、「形式」等，就沒有什麼區別了。或者以自然主義的方式，從演化論角度來看是特定歷史或文化狀況的體現。從這些觀點來看，對聽者來說，[言]不再是真正意義上的「事件」；因為透過正確的分析，他可以事先考慮到可能對他說的話的所有可能性。

That this word can be the event of divine forgiveness will indeed be understood only if we set ourselves free from a commonly held modern view-point which has had a fatal influence on historical study. This is the habit of understanding the word only as the natural self-expression of the speaking individual. It then makes little difference whether this individual is seen aesthetically or idealistically as personality, character, "form" (Gestalt), or the like; or naturalistically in the light of evolution as the exponent of a particular historical or cultural situation. From these view-points, a word can no longer be in the real sense an "event" for the hearer; for by means of correct analysis he can have in view beforehand all the possibilities of what may be said to him.

但如果我們回到[言]的真正意義，即暗示著說話者和聽者之間的關係，那麼[言]對聽者來說就可以成為一個事件，因為它把他帶入了這種關係中。但這最終預設了一種完全不同的人的概念，即人和人性的可能性並不是從一開始就被標明出來的，也不是由性格或環境在具體情況中決定的；相反，它們是開放的，在每一種具體情況下都會出現新的可能性，人類生活自始至終都以連續的決定為特徵。人被迫做出決定，因為[言]為他的處境帶來了新的元素，因此，[言]對他來說就變成了一個事件。要讓它成為一個事件，聽眾是必不可少的。

But if we return to the real significance of "word," implying as it does a relationship between speaker and hearer, then the word can become an event to the hearer, because it brings him into this relationship. But this presupposes ultimately a wholly different conception of man, namely that the possibilities for man and humanity are not marked out from the beginning and determined in the concrete situation by character or circumstances; rather, that they stand open, that in every concrete situation new possibilities appear, that human life throughout is characterized by successive decisions. Man is constrained to decision by the word which brings a new element into his situation, and the word therefore becomes to him an event; for it to become an event, the hearer is essential.

因此，[言]真實性的證明完全取決於[言]與聽者之間發生的事情。只有那些不理解或沒有認真對待[言]的含義的人才能稱之為主觀。凡是理解並認真對待它的人都知道，除了神的[言]之外，沒有其他的可能性可以使上帝的寬恕成為現實。耶穌透過[言]而不是其他方式帶來寬恕。他的[言]是否真實，他是否是上帝差來的——這是聽眾必須做出的決定，耶穌的[言]仍然存在：“在我身上查不出有什麼可責備的人有福了。”

Therefore the attestation of the truth of the word lies wholly in what takes place between word and hearer. This can be called subjective only by him who either has not understood or has not taken seriously the meaning of "word." Whoever understands it and takes it seriously knows that there is no other possibility of God’s forgiveness becoming real for man than the word. In the word, and not otherwise, does Jesus bring forgiveness. Whether his word is truth, whether he is sent from God -- that is the decision to which the hearer is constrained, and the word of Jesus remains: "Blessed is he who finds no cause of offense in me."


[資料來源：魯道夫·布特曼的《耶穌與道》， 、紐約，1934 年，1958 年； "Jesus and the word" by Rudolf Bultmann, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York in 1934 and 1958]