智慧人生篇章 第16期:信仰是心灵的疗伤圣药

 　　Surely nothing tests the faith of the believer as much as this - the sudden, frightening, violent death of those we love.There have been many attempts to reconcile intellectually such unbearable¹ tragedies with faith in a loving God. They range from the not wholly convincing to the quite appalling². The Book of Job has both. When it says that we are mere³ mortals so could not begin to understand the ways of God, perhaps there is some truth in it. But the idea that human tragedies are deserved punishments for wrongdoing merely compounds the grief and pain.The ordinands I spoke⁴ with will need to take into their pastoral ministry⁵ a recognition that living by faith will sometimes mean being assailed⁶ by doubt. But they might also note this paradox⁷ of the human condition. When those most bitter and painful tragedies strike us down, faith can be a consolation⁸ - sometimes the only consolation - even as at the same time it's tested to breaking point.

　　确实，没什么比所爱的人惨遭横死更能考验一个人的信仰了。人们不断尝试将这些惨剧跟信仰上帝联系起来，跟《约伯记》一样，有些歪曲牵强，有些言之凿凿。它说，我们这些凡人是无法理解上帝的行事方式的，可能有那么点道理。但是因为人的恶行而遭受惩罚，只会加剧不幸和痛苦。神职预备人员必须让牧师公会知道，有信仰的活着必然会时不时的遭遇各种疑问，但这种自相矛盾本来就是人的一种状态。当我们遭受极端辛酸和痛苦的打击时，信仰是一种慰籍，有时候是唯一的慰籍，即便当时我们已处在信仰崩溃的边缘。

1 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

2 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

3 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 assailed   

v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对

参考例句：

• He was assailed with fierce blows to the head. 他的头遭到猛烈殴打。
• He has been assailed by bad breaks all these years. 这些年来他接二连三地倒霉。 来自《用法词典》

7 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

8 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。