基督再臨

我雖無緣成為任何宗教的信徒，但喜歡聽、看各宗的道理及故事。基本的認識是，世界上四大宗教皆教人為善。

也知道佛、道兩「家」並非以宗教起家。道家以老子為尊，至武當張三豐才發展出「道教」。

佛家在當年的印度是十大學派之一，由釋迦牟尼倡導，教人梵行（修心）之道，並在「一切三世諸佛皆自本經出」之金剛經中明說「不要拜我，不要求我」（見拙作「若以色見我」及其註，共兩篇）；「佛」是覺悟的意思，也是對十大學派中所有值得尊敬的人的普通敬辭（如老師）；至於什麼時候變成「佛教」，使「佛」成為「佛教徒」禮拜的神？應該是「漸進」的時節因緣所致。

基督教應是廣義的，可以包括所有崇拜上帝的宗教支派；台灣人口中的基督教只是針對天主教威權獨霸的異議派（Protestants 或新教徒），他們認為耶穌基督傳播的上帝福音，每個人都有權利看聖經，不是「神父」的專利。去過捷克布拉格的人應該都看到，廣場大教堂前面地上及牆上，那 33 位為 Protestants 犧牲的年輕貴族的紀念牌。

回教的根是，亞伯拉罕庶出幼子，被放逐到今天的阿拉伯區域後，繼續傳播福音；至被尊為先知的穆罕默德時，發揚光大。

廣義的基督教及回教是今日世界上信眾最多、最主要的宗教，影響鉅大，連科學史上最偉大的牛頓及愛因斯坦，都為配合信仰，而更變自己的革命性發現為「不合物理」的理論，必須待後人予以復原，才得成為今日科學的基礎。

我的親朋好友中有許多天主及基督徒，他們都同意我對「佛法是，個人修心的哲學、道理及方法」的看法。從白雲老和尚在「佛教、佛學、佛法」的演講（見同名拙作）可以看出，人人都能學佛法，而且佛教徒不一定懂佛法（指有違佛旨，只行拜、求的人）。

在這迎新歲的時節，老友傳來一則美國大咖傳道人的演講，題目是「能確定的希望」（Certain hope），以符合美國人談「新年新希望」的傳統風俗。

該演講指出所有的「新年新希望」都可能有變數（等同佛家說的「無常」），只有「等待基督再臨」才是能夠確定的希望（Certain hope）。

講者是位高段演講家，所以連聽兩遍。我雖曾讀過很多種聖經及福音，包括被天主教庭打為「邪說」的古經，但並未深入，因此提出一個疑點：

陸游：It is certainly a good hope, but the speaker said that it is uncertain when HE is coming.

老友的兩則回覆，讓我能夠了解基督徒虔誠信仰的基礎，可作教外人士的重要參考資訊。特此轉貼如下：

其一（Certain Hope）：

This certain hope is for all who have trusted and accepted Jesus Christ. Although no one will know when HE will come according to the Bible, Nevertheless this hope is that all christian, whether dead or alive, will be brought together to face the coming Jesus Christ and transformed into the new ever lasting heaven-bound creatures. One thing we need to know that the time stands still for the dead. They will be like falling into sleep without a dream. When Jesus Christ come, all people from different generations will be waken at the same time. They will feel no time elapsed between their eyes close and open.

其二（Raised Us Up Together）：

“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6)

The Bible clearly identifies the resurrection of Christ as central to the Christian message, just as crucial as the atoning death of Christ. “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). And just as surely as Christ is raised, we who have put our faith in Him shall be raised.

What kind of body will we have then? “We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). In His resurrection body, He could appear and disappear (John 20:19), pass through closed doors (v. 26), be felt by others (Matthew 28:9; John 20:27), eat food (Luke 24:42, 43), and He eventually rose into heaven (Acts 1:9).

Paul, who has been dead nearly 2,000 years, asserted: “We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21). How can a person long since dead, whose spirit has been in God’s presence, receive once again a body? This, of course, is a miracle, for the physical elements that once made up Paul’s earthly body have long ago changed their form, and even while he was alive were continually being replaced. No, God will not restore a prior body to the dead but will present them with a new “glorious” body, fit for the eternal environment and service of heaven. Paul could only write of it by analogy, comparing the difference between the old and the new bodies to the difference between a seed and a plant, to different kinds of living things, and to different kinds of celestial bodies. “So also is the resurrection of the dead.” It is sown in corruption, dishonor, weakness, as a natural body, but it is raised in incorruption, glory, and power, as a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:37-44). JDM