English, Literature, and the Bible

2018年2月28日星期三

Great Doctrines of the Bible—I God the Father, God the Son/ Martyn Lloyd Jones

1. My Purpose and Method

What Martyn Lloyd Jones tries to do is to talk about a series of studies on biblical doctrines—certain truths in the Bible. However, he is not going to give lectures on theology or to defend these doctrines; he says, “We must of necessity confine ourselves to what the Bible says and to what the Bible alone says” (4). So, this is how he will do when talking about biblical doctrines. The reasons for him to do this are: a). “the Bible itself does it and therefore we are bound to do it” (6). b). “Not to arrive at your doctrine after you have studied your scriptures means that your study is thoroughly unprofitable” (7). c). The church has always found that it is essential to emphasis the doctrines of the Bible. d). This enables us “to discover together the error in such teachings” and to “test every other teaching presented to us” (9). e). “Ultimately it is the only way truly to know God, to come into His glorious presence and to learn something of the wonders of His ways with respect to us” (10).

At the Airport

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2018年2月27日星期二

What did I do for my winter break?/ 廖珮均

My roommate lives in Taipei. She came to Tainan to have a trip during the winter vacation. I took her to some popular tourist sites, such as Chimei Museum and blue print culture and creative park. We also ate some delicious snack of Tainan.

During the winter vacation, I went to many places to take pictures. For example, I went to see the Taxodium distichum by train with my friends. And we walked for 15 minutes to arrive at the destination. However, the leaves on the tree almost is about to fall. It's also a memorable trip for me.

I went to Kaohsiung to attend a micro-exhibition. It's a pretty cool exhibition. The creator's works are so creative. He made many micro models and put them into some products of our life. When I saw those works, I had totally thought that it is too amazing!

What do I do for my winter break?/ 許心瑜

In the winter vacation, actually, initially, I stayed at home all the day! I felt almost crazy because I loved to go outside. But, I sat on my sofa, used my notebook and watched a series of videos on YouTube. That topic is 一日系列，which 邰智源 and KID are hosts. Besides, I went to Taipei with my friend, we visited some places by MRT. For example, 木柵zoo, 寧夏night market, 士林night market, or Taipei101. Until days around New Year, I finally could do something else! Because my family came home in Yulin, we could chat with each other, or take care of their children together. I really loved the atmosphere very much. Because after they got married, there were only my grandma, my mother, and me lived the home in Yulin. So I felt so bored. On New Year Eve, we had a reunion dinner. Actually, as long as my family lived with me, every meal were like reunion meal because there were always several dishes on the table. We also played cards during New Year, absolutely, I think it is the must activity during New Year. I really love New Year because every member will come home and I won't feel bored. Oh! I also got some red envelopes! This year, I got more than last year. I was very happy! HAHA!

2018年2月22日星期四

What did you do for winter break?

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1. slept/ ate a lot

2. Watched TV/ watched movies

3. played computer/ Played computer games/ surfed on the Internet

4. worked part-time/ worked as a waiter

5. played basketball

6. sang along with the karaoke machine

7. hang around/ hung(hang hung hung) out /went shopping

8. talked with friends/visited close friends

9. set off firecrackers/ light firecrackers

10. read comic books

2018年2月21日星期三

My English Cafe

1062 實用英語口語訓練

2018年2月9日星期五

Sail Rock, Kenting National Park, Taiwan

Sail Rock(船帆石), Kenting National Park

Photo taken by Prisca Chiu

Toy Fads Here Today, Gone Tomorrow/ 陳雅琳

Sometimes, there was a new toy that everyone must have. In the 1980s, it was the Cabbage Patch doll. It was very popular when it came out. Few people had Cabbage Patch dolls. In fact, new toy fads stared suddenly. People got very excited about them but they weren’t popular for long. Soon, people forgot all about them. Toy fads didn’t last. Why did people follow them? First, it looked cool. Second, it made friends. Third, Kid felt happy. Forth, Kids followed toy fads to be different. Fifth, Kid didn’t want to be like their parents. Finally, I understand why kids like new toys.

2018年1月31日星期三

Getting Out of Work Makes Work Harder/ 陳雅琳

This story was about a donkey avoided work which makes work harder.

There was an old salt seller. He took heavy bag of salt to a market. He put them on his donkey. The donkey didn’t like this. One day, the donkey fell into the stream. That made some of the salt dissolved. However, now they were not heavy. This made the donkey happy. The donkey started to use this trick every day. The seller was losing a lot of salt. So, he filled a bag with cotton. He put it on the donkey. When they got to the stream, the donkey fell into it. The cotton became wet and very heavy. It was hard to carry, but the donkey had to do it anyway.

I had read the story when I was young. I though the donkey was stupid. Why did the donkey do that?

2018年1月26日星期五

Santa’s Magic Reindeer/ 陳雅琳

Every Christmas Eve, Santa Claus flies across the night sky. He stops at the homes of good girls and boys, and he leaves them gifts. Children all over the world look forward to his visit.

Today, Santa’s most famous reindeer is Rudolph. He comes from a story in coloring book. In the story, Santa needs help on a foggy night. He uses Rudolph’s glowing red nose to see. In fact, reindeers don’t have glowing noses and not all of them have antlers. Only female reindeers do. In the story, Santa’s reindeers have antlers. That means that they must all be female.

This article is interesting because I learn about Santa’s thing. For example Rudolph’s glowing red nose helps Santa get across a foggy night. Female reindeers have antlers.

2018年1月21日星期日

行出聖經的話

約翰福音14:21「有了我的命令又遵守的，這人就是愛我的；愛我的必蒙我父愛他，我也要愛他，並且要向他顯現」。我們必須以行動行出聖經的話，才能真正理解、體知上帝的話，以及隱藏在文字底下豐富的意涵，也只有透過行動，我們也才知道我們對聖經的理解是出於真實的信念又或是一種純粹智性、思想、言談之事，或甚至是戲耍。我們必須成為聖經話語的行動者，聆聽、順從上帝的話語，我們才是聖經的詮釋者。若基督徒愛上帝，必愛上帝的啟示，若愛上帝的啟示，必愛聖經，如此他必以實際行動回應上帝的愛，用生命見證他們對聖經的理解。

（柯志明，《理解的應許》145-158）

意義成為實在

耶穌基督以生命的實踐詮釋、體現舊約的預言以及應許，使得經文的意義成為實在，「意義成了一個具體的人，一個以生命實踐展現經文所言的人；在此，詮釋者即被詮釋者」（柯志明，《理解的應許》143）。

上帝的愛使我們理解

耶穌基督是聖經的核心與根基，是我們理解聖經的關鍵。透過耶穌基督，上帝徹底表明祂對我們的愛以及救贖，而這因愛而有的救贖改變了我們理解上帝的能力，「並從此聖靈內住在我們這些被救贖者中而不止息地使我們明白上帝的旨意」（柯志明，《理解的應許》139）。也就是說，上帝在耶穌基督裡具體表現的愛與因之而有的救贖使我們理解上帝成為可能，相反地，「沒有上帝對我們的愛，沒有上帝在耶穌基督裡救拔我們敗壞的生命、重生我們的本性，我們就完全沒有與祂互通的能力，也就不可能對祂有理解」（140）。

2018年1月20日星期六

聖經的最終詮釋者：上帝

關於理解聖經，我們可以研讀、思想聖經內容，可以參考他人的觀點，援引豐富的資料，但我們人所能理解的只是屬於人的語言部分，單憑人自己，我們無法理解上帝的啟示。聖經是上帝的書，它是上帝對人的啟示，是上帝的自我揭露，因而聖經的唯一正當詮釋者乃是上帝自己（柯志明，《理解的應許》127-137）。

2018年1月19日星期五

駁詮釋學主觀論

語言是意義的工具，更是意義的基礎，也就是說，只有在語言中才有傳達的可能性。並且，語言系統是客觀的，必然要依照文本所使用的語言規則與特性才能解讀文本的意義；「除非先行掌握語言的這些客觀要素，否則無由理解任何一個言說活動之意義」（柯志明，《理解的應許》 89）。對此，語言是理解的客觀對象，非詮釋者可以任意決定。更進一步，語言的客觀性更在於它與實在之間的實質關聯：「由於語言必然指涉實在，因而理解語言也必然要理解實在；反過來說，只有理解了實在，才可能理解語言」（89）。第三，「如果詮釋沒有定準，那麼詮釋其實就是另一種『創作』. . . 那也就無所謂被詮釋的文本」（91）。第四，倘若文本無客觀意義，那麼辯論何種詮釋較有意義或更可接受已完全無意義。第五，主觀論提供的新的理解最多只是揭露意義的新視角，只不過是文本所提呈的意義之不同面向而已，其所護衛的不過是不同於過去或既定之理解的另一種客觀理解（92）。最後，「宣稱文本無客觀意義其實是一自我否定的主張」（92），因為若沒有任何一位詮釋者能掌握文本的整體意義，無客觀論者就無法告訴我們他的宣稱是有根據的，若沒有任何一位詮釋者能徹底理解文本，就無法直接宣稱文本無客觀意義（92）。也就是說，「除非一個人確實掌握了一個文本的意義，他才能說他對那個文本所詮釋出來的意義是新的意義」（92）。

2018年1月18日星期四

解經與人格德性分不開

「理解力始終是某個人的理解力，因而必然是某個人之整體人格的展現，因而好的理解力必定出於好的人格」（柯志明，《理解的應許》58）。理解聖經更是如此，「解經絕對與解經的人格或德性分不開，聖經肯定什麼樣的人格，那麼就只有這種人格能解釋她。上帝絕不容許祂的智慧與奧秘給任何一個祂所不認同的人格所扭曲，因而祂必定要對這些不相應的人格封閉祂的旨意。這是理所當然的。因此，想要憑藉著自身之學術能力、聰明才智、思辨能力來解經，必然無法恰當解經，因而必定會扭曲經意」（58）。

就此而言，一個有美好信仰德性的人才能夠正確理解聖經。因此，我們要單純、謙卑、敬畏上帝，我們需要承認我們沒有理解聖經的能力，除非上帝幫助我們，並且我們需要承認自己陷在罪中無可救藥，承認我們需要上帝的拯救。如此，上帝的話就向我們開啟。