芝加哥聖經無謬誤宣言
The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
（資料取自貝查 Richard P Belcher著 庄張雪梅譯《聖經無誤辯》1997年版）
PREFACE
聖經權威問題，基督教會歷代爭論不已，也是這一代主要爭論的問題。相信耶穌基督是主和救主的人，用什么來表明他們真實的門徒身分呢？就是謙卑和忠實的順服 神所寫下來的話，因為人如果在信仰和行為上偏離了聖經，就是對主不忠。我們如果要真正了解和透徹表白聖經的權威，便需要明白聖經的全部真理和聖經的可信 性。
The authority of Scripture is a key issue for the Christian Church in this and every age. Those who profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are called to show the reality of their discipleship by humbly and faithfully obeying God's written Word. To stray from Scripture in faith or conduct is disloyalty to our Master. Recognition of the total truth and trustworthiness of Holy Scripture is essential to a full grasp and adequate confession of its authority.
下面的宣言重新肯定聖經無謬誤的信仰，這宣言告訴我們聖經無謬誤是什么一回事，并且提醒我們不可否認這信仰。我們認為，否認聖經無謬誤就是不接受耶穌基督 和聖靈的見証，也是拒絕順從神的話語，神的話語是基督教真正信仰的標記。今天教會界有人正偏離聖經無謬誤的真理，而世人對這教義也普遍誤解，所以我們覺 得，重新肯定這信仰是我們當前的責任。
The following Statement affirms this inerrancy of Scripture afresh, making clear our understanding of it and warning against its denial. We are persuaded that to deny it is to set aside the witness of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit and to refuse that submission to the claims of God's own Word that marks true Christian faith. We see it as our timely duty to make this affirmation in the face of current lapses from the truth of inerrancy among our fellow Christians and misunderstanding of this doctrine in the world at large.
This Statement consists of three parts: a Summary Statement, Articles of Affirmation and Denial, and an accompanying Exposition.
這篇宣言在芝加哥開了三天會議而制訂的，前兩部分經與會的人簽署，他們這樣做，目的是肯定自己接受聖經無謬誤，并且藉此欲與所有的基督徒互相激勵,以致能 漸漸重視和了解這教義。我們承認，在一個時間短促和緊湊的會議上制訂這樣的一個文件，不免會有未完備的地方，我們的目的不是要將這篇宣言當作教義。我們感 到鼓舞的，是因為在討論中，我們的信念加深了，我們為所簽署的宣言禱告, 求神使用這篇宣言，革新教會的信仰、生活和事奉，使他的名字得著榮耀。
It has been prepared in the course of a three-day consultation in Chicago. Those who have signed the Summary Statement and the Articles wish to affirm their own conviction as to the inerrancy of Scripture and to encourage and challenge one another and all Christians to growing appreciation and understanding of this doctrine. We acknowledge the limitations of a document prepared in a brief, intensive conference and do not propose that this Statement be given creedal weight. Yet we rejoice in the deepening of our own convictions through our discussions together, and we pray that the Statement we have signed may be used to the glory of our God toward a new reformation of the Church in its faith, life and mission.
這篇宣言的精神不在爭辯，而在謙卑和愛心。靠著主的恩典，如果將來這篇宣言會產生什么辯論的時候, 希望這點精神仍然會存留。我們很高興的見到許多否認聖經 無謬誤的人，在其本身其余的信仰和行為里并無跡象受到影響，而我們還認識到，承認聖經無謬誤的人，如果思想行動和傳統習慣不完全遵照神聖的話語而行，也無 形中是否定這條教義。
We offer this Statement in a spirit, not of contention, but of humility and love, which we propose by God's grace to maintain in any future dialogue arising out of what we have said. We gladly acknowledge that many who deny the inerrancy of Scripture do not display the consequences of this denial in the rest of their belief and behavior, and we are conscious that we who confess this doctrine often deny it in life by failing to bring our thoughts and deeds, our traditions and habits, into true subjection to the divine Word.
如果有人認為這篇宣言需要有修正的地方，我們希望能賜下寶貴的意見，根據聖經的亮光來修正這篇肯定聖經權威的宣言，因為我們這宣言正是站在聖經真確性的立場上說話的，如有什么可以幫助我們更能加強見証神的話語的，我們都樂意接受。
We invite response to this Statement from any who see reason to amend its affirmations about Scripture by the light of Scripture itself, under whose infallible authority we stand as we speak. We claim no personal infallibility for the witness we bear, and for any help that enables us to strengthen this testimony to God's Word we shall be grateful.
宣言一覽
I. SUMMARY STATEMENT
l。神就是真理，他所說的無一不是真理。神藉著耶穌基督顯示自己是創造者、主宰、救贖主和審判者，聖經就是神為自己作的見証。
1. God, who is Himself Truth and speaks truth only, has inspired Holy Scripture in order thereby to reveal Himself to lost mankind through Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord, Redeemer and Judge. Holy Scripture is God's witness to Himself.
2。聖經是神自己的話，這些話是在他的靈安排和監督下由人執筆寫成的，所以聖經所論到的一切事惰，都有無誤的神聖權威的。聖經所肯定和指示的一切，是神的教導，我們應該相信﹔聖經所要求的一切，是神的命令，我們應該服從﹔聖經所應許的一切，是神的諾言，我們應該接受。
2. Holy Scripture, being God's own Word, written by men prepared and superintended by His Spirit, is of infallible divine authority in all matters upon which it touches: It is to be believed, as God's instruction, in all that it affirms; obeyed, as God's command, in all that it requires; embraced, as God's pledge, in all that it promises.
3。聖經的作者聖靈在我們內心給我們憑據，証實了聖經的真確，他又開啟我們的思想，使我們明白聖經的意思。
3. The Holy Spirit, Scripture's divine Author, both authenticates it to us by His inward witness and opens our minds to understand its meaning.
4。聖經全部都是神所賜的，也是神逐字默示的，所以聖經一切所講的都沒有錯誤﹔聖經對神在個人生命中的救恩的見証固然沒有錯誤，而論及神創造之事、歷史上發生的事情、聖經本身的來源是出自神等，也都是沒有錯誤的。
4. Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching, no less in what it states about God's acts in creation, about the events of world history, and about its own literary origins under God, than in its witness to God's saving grace in individual lives.
5。如果我們有限度接受或否認聖經完全無謬誤，又或用不合聖經的相對觀來看聖經的話，聖經的權威便一定受到損害, 而這些偏差會使信徒個人和教會蒙受很大的損失。
5. The authority of Scripture is inescapably impaired if this total divine inerrancy is in any way limited of disregarded, or made relative to a view of truth contrary to the Bible's own; and such lapses bring serious loss to both the individual and the Church.
II. ARTICLES OF AFFIRMATION AND DENIAL
第一條
我們認定聖經是應該被人看作神權威的話語。
我們否認聖經的權威是由教會、傳統，及其他出自人的東西而來的。
Article I.
We affirm that the Holy Scriptures are to be received as the authoritative Word of God.
We deny that the Scriptures receive their authority from the Church, tradition, or any other human source.
第二條
我們認定聖經是神給人類良心規範的最高明文標准，教會的權威應服在聖經的權威之下。
我們否認教會的信條、議會和宣言的權威大過或者相等于聖經的權威。
Article II.
We affirm that the Scriptures are the supreme written norm by which God binds the conscience, and that the authority of the Church is subordinate to that of Scripture.
We deny that church creeds, councils, or declarations have authority greater than or equal to the authority of the Bible.
第三條
我們認定聖經整本 (in its entirety) 都是神的啟示。
我們否認聖經只是啟示的一個見証，也否認聖經在人有領受 (inencounter) 的時候，才成為啟示，聖經的功用亦并非根據讀者有什么反應而定。
Article III.
We affirm that the written Word in its entirety is revelation given by God.
We deny that the Bible is merely a witness to revelation, or only becomes revelation in encounter, or depends on the responses of men for its validity.
第四條
我們認定那按照自己形像造人的神，以人類的語言作他啟示的工具。
我們否認人類語言因為有“人本質” (creatureliness) 的限制，以致不足以作為傳達神啟示的工具﹔我們更否認，人類的文化和語言因受了罪惡的敗壞，以致阻礙了神啟示的工作。
Article IV.
We affirm that God who made mankind in His image has used language as a means of revelation.
We deny that human language is so limited by our creatureliness that it is rendered inadequate as a vehicle for divine revelation. We further deny that the corruption of human culture and language through sin has thwarted God's work of inspiration.
第五條
我們認定神在聖經中的啟示是漸進的 (progressive) 。
我們否認較后有的啟示雖可以說是補充先前的啟示，但亦是糾正先前的啟示，或與先前的啟示矛盾。我們更否認在新約聖經完成之后，還有權威性的啟示 (nominative revelation) 。
Article V.
We affirm that God's revelation in the Holy Scriptures was progressive.
We deny that later revelation, which may fulfill earlier revelation, ever corrects or contradicts it. We further deny that any normative revelation has been given since the completion of the New Testament writings.
第六條
我們認定全部聖經和它每一部分，包括它的原稿每一個字，都是由神默示而寫成的。 我們否認以下的主張：聖經整體上是神的默示，但不是其中每一部分，或聖經某些部分是神的默示，而不是全部。
Article VI.
We affirm that the whole of Scripture and all its parts, down to the very words of the original, were given by divine inspiration.
We deny that the inspiration of Scripture can rightly be affirmed of the whole without the parts, or of some parts but not the whole.
第七條
我們認定所謂默示是神藉著他的靈，透過人的寫作，將神的話賜給我們。聖經的本源是出于神的。這種神聖的默示方式對我們來說，大部分是難以理解的。
我們否認神的默示可以看作是人的一種頓悟 (insight) 或人的一種巔峰狀態的意識活動。
Article VII.
We affirm that inspiration was the work in which God by His Spirit, through human writers, gave us His Word. The origin of Scripture is divine. The mode of divine inspiration remains largely a mystery to us.
We deny that inspiration can be reduced to human insight, or to heightened states of consciousness of any kind.
第八條
我 們認定神賜下他默示的時候，運用他揀選和預備的作者本身個性和文章風格。
我們否認神為了要引導作者使用他所選定的字句而埋沒那 人的個性。
Article VIII.
We affirm that God in His work of inspiration utilized the distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers whom He had chosen and prepared.
We deny that God, in causing these writers to use the very words that He chose, overrode their personalities.
第九條
我們認定默示雖然沒有叫作者無所不知，但卻保証聖經作者受感動時所說和所寫的一切，都必定是真實和可信的。
我們否認由于聖經的作者是有限制和墮落的，所以一定會把偏見和謬誤混入神的話中。
Article IX.
We affirm that inspiration, through not conferring omniscience, guaranteed true and trustworthy utterance on all matters of which the Biblical authors were moved to speak and write.
We deny that the finitude or falseness of these writers, by necessity or otherwise, introduced distortion or falsehood into God's Word.
第十條
我們認定，嚴格來說，默示只可以指聖經原稿而說，但我們相信，聖經原稿的內容在現有的抄本中在神的保守下是相當准確的。我們更認定聖經各種抄本和譯本，只要能夠忠實表達原稿的內容，都是神的話語。 我們否認由于原稿遺失，基督教信仰的主要內容便受到影響。我們更否認由于原稿遣失，聖經的無謬誤性 的主張便變為無效或不適當。
Article X.
We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.
We deny that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs. We further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid or irrelevant.
第十一條
我們認定聖經既然出于神的默示，聖經必定是真確的 (infallible) ，所以聖經不但不會導我們于錯誤，而且所講的一切都正 確和可靠。
我們否認聖經同時是真確，而同時也是有謬誤的。真確 (infallibility) 和無謬誤 (inerrancy) 的意思雖可有分別，但兩者 卻是不能分割的。
Article XI.
We affirm that Scripture, having been given by divine inspiration, is infallible, so that, far from misleading us, it is true and reliable in all the matters it addresses.
We deny that it is possible for the Bible to be at the same time infallible and errant in its assertions. Infallibility and inerrancy may be distinguished but not separated.
第十二條
我們認定聖經整體 (entirety) 是無謬誤的，絕無虛假和虛詐 。
我們否認聖經只在屬靈、宗教和救贖的主題上才是真確和無謬誤，而在歷史和科學的范圍就不是如此。我們更否認地球歷史的科學假設, 可以推翻聖經中創造和洪水滅 世的記載。
Article XII.
We affirm that Scripture in its entirety is inerrant, being free from all falsehood, fraud, or deceit.
We deny that Biblical infallibility and inerrancy are limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes, exclusive of assertions in the fields of history and science. We further deny that scientific hypotheses about earth history may properly be used to overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood.
第十三條
我們認定以「無謬誤」 (inerrancy) 作為一個神學名詞來說明聖經之完全可信是適當的。
我們否認，以與聖經本身的用途和目的相違的正誤標准來衡量聖經屬于適當。我們更否認以下的事實足以構成聖經的謬誤：聖經記述事情沒有用現代精確的方法 、聖經中出現文法和拼字上的不規則運用、觀察自然界現象的描寫、某些虛謬事情的報導、夸張法和整數的使用、某一主題的資科編排、同一件事而不同的取材、引用其他經典時沒有完全依照原文等。
Article XIII.
We affirm the propriety of using inerrancy as a theological term with reference to the complete truthfulness of Scripture.
We deny that it is proper to evaluate Scripture according to standards of truth and error that are alien to its usage or purpose. We further deny that inerrancy is negated by Biblical phenomena such as a lack of modern technical precision, irregularities of grammar or spelling, observational descriptions of nature, the reporting of falsehoods, the use of hyperbole and round numbers, the topical arrangement of material, variant selections of material in parallel accounts, or the use of free citations.
第十四條
我們認定聖經的合一性 (unity) 和內在一貫性 (internal consistency) 。
我們否認聖經中現今未能解決的所謂 錯誤和差異可以推翻聖經的真實性。
Article XIV.
We affirm the unity and internal consistency of Scripture.
We deny that alleged errors and discrepancies that have not yet been resolved violate the truth claims of the Bible.
第十五條
我們認定聖經無謬誤的教義是根據聖經論及默示的真理而建立的。
我們否認以耶穌站在人性地位說話和受到人性限制為理由，就可以不接受他論及聖經的話。
Article XV.
We affirm that the doctrine of inerrancy is grounded in the teaching of the Bible about inspiration.
We deny that Jesus' teaching about Scripture may be dismissed by appeals to accommodation or to any natural limitation of His humanity.
第十六條
我們認定聖經無謬誤的教義，是歷代以來教會中不 能分割的信仰。
我們否認，聖經無謬誤的教義是更正教拘泥形式的人士 (Scholartic Protestantism) 發明的。我們也否認這教義是針 對反面的高等批評學而產生的。
Article XVI.
We affirm that the doctrine of inerrancy has been integral to the Church's faith throughout its history.
We deny that inerrancy is a doctrine invented by scholastic Protestantism, or is a reactionary position postulated in response to negative higher criticism.
第十七條
我們認定聖靈是為聖經作見証的，給信徒見証神明文的道之真實。
我們否認聖靈這種見証可以脫離聖經而單獨作工的，也否認這種見証的工作會違反聖經
Article XVII.
We affirm that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the Scriptures, assuring believers of the truthfulness of God's written Word.
We deny that this witness of the Holy Spirit operates in isolation from or against Scripture.
第十八條
我們認定解釋聖經必須以文法與歷史的解經法和聖經的文學形式與手法為根據。同時也認定應該以經解經。
我們否定任何會產生下列后果的處理經文的方式和經文來源的追尋之合法性：對經文產生相對觀點，忽略經文的歷史性，貶低經文的教訓，否定經文所宣稱的作者。
Article XVIII.
We affirm that the text of Scripture is to be interpreted by grammatico-historical exegesis, taking account of its literary forms and devices, and that Scripture is to interpret Scripture.
We deny the legitimacy of any treatment of the text or quest for sources lying behind it that leads or relativizing, dehistoricizing, or discounting its teaching, or rejecting its claims of authorship.
第十九條
我們認定，如果要正確的明白基督教全部信仰，必須承認聖經的絕對權威，及其真確性和無謬誤性。我們更認定, 我們這樣做會使我們越來越像基督。
我們否認必須這樣做才得著救恩, 可是我們更否認，我們拒絕了聖經無謬誤的信仰不會對信徒和教會產生什么嚴重的后果。
Article XIX.
We affirm that a confession of the full authority, infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. We further affirm that such confession should lead to increasing conformity to the image of Christ.
We deny that such confession is necessary for salvation. However, we further deny that inerrancy can be rejected without grave consequences, both to the individual and to the Church.
說明
III. EXPOSITION
聖經無謬誤的真理，必須全面配合聖經論及本身的真理來了解。這篇說明是將聖經無謬誤的真理加以闡述，前面的宣言一覽和條款都是根據這個真理 而寫成的。
Our understanding of the doctrine of inerrancy must be set in the context of the broader teachings of Scripture concerning itself. This exposition gives an account of the outline of doctrine from which our Summary Statement and Articles are drawn.
創造、啟示和默示
A. Creation, Revelation and Inspiration
三位一體的神使用他創造的話語創造萬物，發出他的命令管理萬物，又按自己的形像造人，使人類的生命可以與他相交，人類和神之間相交的關系，是依照三位一體的神自己那種永恆愛的連系方式建立的。人有神的形像，因此可以領受神向他所說 的話，又可以向神回應，享受敬服的喜樂。神除了藉著創造的秩序和在其中發生的事情顯明自己外，自亞當以來，人類一直都從神領受「言語的信息」 (Verbal message) ，人有時是直接從神領受這信息，這情形聖經有記載可以與他相交，人類和神之間相交的關系，人有時則藉著全本聖經或部分經文間接領受。
The God, who formed all things by his creative utterances and governs all things by His Word of decree, made mankind in His own image for a life of communion with Himself, on the model of the eternal fellowship of loving communication within the Godhead. As God's image-bearer, man was to hear God's Word addressed to him and to respond in the joy of adoring obedience. Over and above God's self-disclosure in the created order and the sequence of events within it, human beings from Adam on have received verbal messages from Him, either directly, as stated in Scripture, or indirectly in the form of part or all of Scripture itself.
亞當犯罪墮落后，創造主并未將人類棄絕，叫他接受最后的審判，反之，他應許人類將會得著救恩，又開始向人類啟示他自己，使人類 認識他是救贖主。
神這種自我的啟示藉著以亞伯垃罕家族為中心的歷史事實顯明出來，以耶穌基督的生、死、復活、現今在天上的職 事，以及所應許的再來為啟示的頂點。在這個歷史架構里，神不時向罪人宣告他的審判和憐憫，應許和命令，目的是要和人類「立約」，在這約的關系里面，神和人雙方都有義務 (commitment) ，神將恩典賜給人，而人則報以尊敬。歷代以來神藉著各時代先知所說的和所寫的，將他的話 告訴以色列人，而在出埃及時代，神所立的中保 --把神的話傳給神的子民的摩西，乃是第一位負起這種任務的先知。神不斷的向人傳遞他的信息，是要人認識他的名（即他的本性) 和他的旨意 (即神現今和將來的計划和目的) ，使神和人所立的「約」得以堅立。這一群代神發言的先知的工作，到了耶穌基督和基督教第一代的使徒和先知時就完滿結束了。耶穌基督是成為肉身的道，他的身分是先知，其實他比先知更過之而無不及。神向世人介紹耶穌基督的話是神最后和最高峰的信息，這信息由使徒圈子傳出和闡釋明白之后，神便停止頒布啟示的信息。從這時候開始教會就根據已經說過的，也是向歷代世人說的話來生活和認識神。
When Adam fell, the Creator did not abandon mankind to final judgment, but promised salvation and began to reveal Himself as Redeemer in a sequence of historical events centering on Abraham's family and culminating in the life, death, resurrection, present heavenly ministry and promised return of Jesus Christ. Within this frame God has from time to time spoken specific words of judgment and mercy, promise and command, to sinful human beings, so drawing them into a covenant relation of mutual commitment between Him and them in which He blesses them with gifts of grace and they bless Him in responsive adoration. Moses, whom God used as mediator to carry his words to His people at the time of the exodus, stands at the head of a long line of prophets in whose mouths and writings God put His words for delivery to Israel. God's purpose in this succession of messages was to maintain His covenant by causing His people to know His name--that is, His nature--and His will both of precept and purpose in the present and for the future. This line of prophetic spokesmen from God came to completion in Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Word, who was Himself a prophet--more that a prophet, but not less--and in the apostles and prophets of the first Christian generation. When God's final and climactic message, His word to the world concerning Jesus Christ, had been spoken and elucidated by those in the apostolic circle, the sequence of revealed messages ceased. Henceforth the Church was to live and know God by what He had already said, and said for all time.
神在西乃山將與百姓立約的條文，寫在兩塊石版上，以便存留作見証，可以永久被人知道。在先知和使徒啟示的時代，神促使人將他的信息錄下來，這些信息是神特別賜給他們，又要他們連同神為他百姓作特別有 紀念價值的事情，百 姓在「約」中生活的道德狀況，和百姓因這約所蒙的憐憫而發出的贊美與禱告等記錄一起傳出去。形成聖經文件的默示，在神學的意義上，與形成口傳的道的默示是相同的，雖然作者的個性在他所寫的東西上表現出來，但他們所寫的都經過神制定 (divinely constituted) 才寫成，所以，聖經所說的，就是神所說的，聖經的權威即是神的權威，因為神是聖經真正的作者 (Ultimate Author) ，神揀選和預備人，使用他們的思想和言語，讓他們很自由和誠實地表達出神的心意，這就是彼得后書一章廿一節所說“人被聖靈感動，說出神的話來”的意思。我們必須認定聖經是神的話，因為聖經的本源是出于神的。
At Sinai God wrote the terms of His covenant on tablets of stone as His enduring witness and for lasting accessibility, and throughout the period of prophetic and apostolic revelation He prompted men to write the messages given to and through them, along with celebratory records of His dealings with His people, plus moral reflections on covenant life and forms of praise and prayer for covenant mercy. The theological reality of inspiration in the producing of Biblical documents corresponds to that of spoken prophecies: Although the human writers' personalities were expressed in what they wrote, the words were divinely constituted. Thus what Scripture says, God says; its authority is His authority, for He is its ultimate Author, having given it through the minds and words of chosen and prepared men who in freedom and faithfulness "spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet 1:21). Holy Scripture must be acknowledged as the Word of God by virtue of its divine origin.
權威：基督和聖經
B. Authority: Christ and the Bible
神的兒子耶穌基督是成為肉身的道，是我們的先知、祭司、君王，也是神與人溝通的真正中保 (Ultimate Mediator) ， 他本身是神一切恩典的賞賜。耶穌基督給人的啟示不局限于文字 (Verbal) ，他本身和他的工作就直接將父神啟示出來。當然他所說的話也十分重要，因為他是神，他所說的都是從父神而來的，在末日，他要用他的話審判世上所有的人。
Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is the Word made flesh, our Prophet, Priest and King, is the ultimate Mediator of God's communication to man, as He is of all God's gifts of grace. The revelation He gave was more that verbal; He revealed the Father by His presence and His deeds as well. Yet His words were crucially important; for He was God, He spoke from the Father, and His words will judge all men at the last day.
耶穌基督是聖經的中心主題，他就是聖經預言要來臨的彌賽亞。舊約瞻矚他的來臨，新約回顧他第一次的來臨，以及盼望他第二次的來臨。聖經的正典既然是神默示的，因此便成為基督權威性的見証 (normative witness) ，故此，如果解釋聖經， 不以這位歷史上的基督為中心，我們是不會同意的。聖經就是父神對道成肉身的聖子所作的見証，這是聖經主要的目的，我們必須持這觀點來看聖經。
As the prophesied Messiah, Jesus Christ is the central theme of Scripture. The Old Testament looked ahead to Him; the New Testament looks back to His first coming and on to His second. Canonical Scripture is the divinely inspired and therefore normative witness to Christ. No hermeneutic, therefore, of which the historical Christ is not the focal point is acceptable. Holy Scripture must be treated as what it essentially is--the witness of the Father to the incarnate Son.
舊約正典看來在耶穌的時候已經形成了。新約正典今天也是一樣，今天不會再有新的使徒見証來見証歷史性的基督。除了聖靈給我們智慧明白現有的啟示之外， 基督回來以前，教會是不會再有新啟示的。正典的產生，基本上是由于神聖的默示，教會的責任只是去識別神所 定的正典，而不是為自己制定正典。
It appears that the Old Testament canon had been fixed by the time of Jesus. The New Testament canon is likewise now closed, inasmuch as no new apostolic witness to the historical Christ can now be borne. No new revelation (as distinct from Spirit-given understanding of existing revelation) will be given until Christ comes again. The canon was created in principle by divine inspiration. The Church's part was to discern the canon that God had created, not to devise one of its own.
「正典」一詞標明一個准則或標准，正典是訴諸權威的，這權威有權裁決和操縱。基督教的權威，在神的啟示中是屬神的，神的啟示一方面是指耶穌基督這一位活的道，另一方面是指聖經這一本寫成的道。基督和聖經的權威是同一樣的東西。基督以先知的身分，向我們証明聖經是不會破毀的，基督又以祭司和君王的身分，在世上親自履行律法書和先知書上的話，為著順從經上彌賽亞的預言，他甚至甘心受死。另一方面，基督知道聖經上的話是証實他和他的權柄。基督既然順服遵行父神在聖經上 (舊約) 頒下的話，他也要求他的門徒照樣行，門徒的作為和他們對他的「使徒見証」 (apostolicwitness) 有關，使徒的見証也是由耶穌所賜的聖靈所默示的。所 以，基督徒要成為主忠心的仆人，便要順服神在先知書和使徒著作所賜的神聖命令，這些作品合起來就是我們今天的聖經。
The word 'canon', signifying a rule of standard, is a pointer to authority, which means the right to rule and control. Authority in Christianity belongs to God in His revelation, which means, on the one hand, Jesus Christ, the living Word, and, on the other hand, Holy Scripture, the written Word. But the authority of Christ and that of Scripture are one. As our Prophet, Christ testified that Scripture cannot be broken. As our Priest and King, He devoted His earthly life to fulfilling the law and the prophets, even dying in obedience to the words of messianic prophecy. Thus as He saw Scripture attesting Him and His authority, so by His own submission to Scripture He attested its authority. As He bowed to His Father's instruction given in His Bible (our Old Testament), so He requires His disciples to do--not, however, in isolation but in conjunction with the apostolic witness to Himself that He undertook to inspire by his gift of the Holy Spirit. So Christians show themselves faithful servants of their Lord by bowing to the divine instruction given in the prophetic and apostolic writings that together make up our Bible.
基督和聖經互相証實對方的權威，因此基督和聖經的權威都是同一樣東西。從這個觀點看，聖經中的基督，與以基督為中心、宣傳基督的聖經誠屬一體。從默示這回事看，我們可以說，聖經的話就是神的話，所以，從耶穌基督和聖經之間顯出的相互關系看，我們也可以這樣說，聖經的話就是 基督的話。
By authenticating each other's authority, Christ and Scripture coalesce into a single fount of authority. The Biblically-interpreted Christ and the Christ-centered, Christ-proclaiming Bible are from this standpoint one. As from the fact of inspiration we infer that what Scripture says, God says, so from the revealed relation between Jesus Christ and Scripture we may equally declare that what Scripture says, Christ says.
聖經真確性、無謬誤與聖經的解釋
C. Infallibility, Inerrancy, Interpretation
聖經既然是神的話，帶著權柄為基督作見証，所以聖經應該是「真確的」 (infallible) 和「無謬誤的」 (inerrant) 。「真確」和「無謬誤」這兩個消極的詞，別 具意義，因為這兩個詞能清楚的說出重要的正面真理。
Holy Scripture, as the inspired Word of God witnessing authoritatively to Jesus Christ, may properly be called 'infallible' and 'inerrant'. These negative terms have a special value, for they explicitly safeguard crucial positive truths.
「聖經的真確性」即指聖經不會錯誤引導人，也不會破人錯誤引導﹔明確一點的來說，聖經真的是確實、穩固、可靠的指引，在一切事上是引路的明 燈。
'Infallible' signifies the quality of neither misleading nor being misled and so safeguards in categorical terms the truth that Holy Scripture is a sure, safe and reliable rule and guide in all matters.
「聖經無謬誤」是指聖經不會有虛假和錯誤，這保証聖經一切話真實無訛，信而有 征。
Similarly, 'inerrant' signifies the quality of being free from all falsehood or mistake and so safeguards the truth that Holy Scripture is entirely true and trustworthy in all its assertions.
我們認為，解釋正典的時候，一定要站穩在聖經真確和聖經無謬誤的基礎上，但當我們尋索神所使用的作者在他的作品要說些什么時，我們就要千萬記看聖經本身也是一本由人寫成的作品，聖經也是這樣寫明它本身是由人寫成的。神默示人寫聖經的時候，也使用了執筆者的文化和習俗背景，我們相信是神用他的權能來管理那人運用他的背景。如果我們對默示的看法不依照這些背景便屬錯誤。
We affirm that canonical Scripture should always be interpreted on the basis that it is infallible and inerrant. However, in determining what the God-taught writer is asserting in each passage, we must pay the most careful attention to its claims and character as a human production. In inspiration, God utilized the culture and conventions of his penman's milieu, a milieu that God controls in His sovereign providence; it is misinterpretation to imagine otherwise.
聖經的題材有歷史、詩歌，寫作的手法有夸張法、隱喻法、籠統的說法、大約說法等，我們應按照經文的題材和手法來解釋。我們也不可忘記聖經時代寫作的習慣和我們今天的不同，譬如不按歷史次序的記述方式，和不准確的引用經典的寫作方式，在當時是人所慣用，是為人所接納的，沒有人認為這種寫法不對，所以我們讀到用這種方式寫作的經文時，便不能說作者寫錯了，我們如果記述一件事的時候，目 的不是要強調它的准確性，那么我們所寫的即管不准確也不算是錯誤。聖經無謬誤的意思，不是用我們今天嚴格的標准來証實當時的資料是准確，而是只要這些經文能完滿地說出作者所要說的真理，達成它所要達到的目的，這些經文就是無謬誤的了。
So history must be treated as history, poetry as poetry, hyperbole and metaphor as hyperbole and metaphor, generalization and approximation as what they are, and so forth. Differences between literary conventions in Bible times and in ours must also be observed: Since, for instance, nonchronological narration and imprecise citation were conventional and acceptable and violated no expectations in those days; we must not regard these things as faults when we find them in Bible writers. When total precision of a particular kind was not expected nor aimed at, it is no error not to have achieved it. Scripture is inerrant, not in the sense of being absolutely precise by modern standards, but in the sense of making good its claims and achieving that measure of focused truth at which its authors aimed.
聖經的文法和拼字參差不一，聖經的作者根據表面的現象描寫自然界事物，聖經記錄了一些假話 (如撒但的謊言) ，某些篇章的內容似乎彼此有差異等等，都不能否定 聖經的真實性，以聖經這些表面「現象」來攻擊聖經論及自己本身的經文是不對的。聖經里明顯不一致的地方是不應忽視的，這些不一致的地方是可以找到答案的，問題獲得解決后，我們的信心因此可更堅定﹔但如果目前我們還沒有找到足以令人信服的答案，我們就應該信賴神所說的聖經是真實可靠的話，以表明我們向神的尊崇，我們而且確實的相信，有一天，我們會發現這些問題原來是一些錯覺。
The truthfulness of Scripture is not negated by the appearance in it of irregularities of grammar or spelling, phenomenal descriptions of nature, reports of false statements (for example, the lies of Satan), or seeming discrepancies between one passage and another. It is not right to set the so-called "phenomena" of Scripture against the teaching of Scripture about itself. Apparent inconsistencies should not be ignored. Solution of them, where this can be convincingly achieved, will encourage our faith, and where for the present no convincing solution is at hand we shall significantly honor God by trusting His assurance that His Word is true, despite these appearances, and by maintaining our confidence that one day they will be seen to have been illusions.
雖然我們相信啟示是漸進的，也知道受默示的作者所得亮光并不完全，但因為我們相信聖經背后的作者是神，所以我們應該根據相似的經文來解釋聖經，不要以為某些經文可以用來「糾正」一些經文。
Inasmuch as all Scripture is the product of a single divine mind, interpretation must stay within the bounds of the analogy of Scripture and eschew hypotheses that would correct one Biblical passage by another, whether in the name of progressive revelation or of the imperfect enlightenment of the inspired writer's mind.
聖經絕不會受文化限制，所以聖經真理放諸四海而皆准。無可否認，聖經有時會受風俗習慣和某個時期的流行觀念影響，所以我們今天應用聖經原則的時候，便須視個別的情形而定。
Although Holy Scripture is nowhere culture-bound in the sense that its teaching lacks universal validity, it is sometimes culturally conditioned by the customs and conventional views of a particular period, so that the application of its principles today calls for a different sort of action.
懷疑主義與批判主義
D. Skepticism and Criticism
文藝復興以來，特別是經過啟蒙運動之后所建立的各種世界觀，都是懷疑基督教基本信仰的，例如不可知論不承認神是可知的，理性主義否認神是不可理解的，唯心論不承認神是超越的，存在主義不承認神與人類關系有理性成分。這些不合聖經或甚至違反聖經的道理，如果滲入了人的神學觀念中，成為人的一種先存概念的話，人便不可 能忠實的解釋聖經了。這種情形今天也司空見慣。
Since the Renaissance, and more particularly since the Enlightenment, world views have been developed that involve skepticism about basic Christian tenets. Such are the agnosticism that denies that God is knowable, the rationalism that denies that He is incomprehensible, the idealism that denies that He is transcendent, and the existentialism that denies rationality in His relationships with us. When these un- and anti-Biblical principles seep into men's theologies at presuppositional level, as today they frequently do, faithful interpretation of Holy Scripture becomes impossible.
聖經的抄寫與翻譯
E. Transmission and Translation
神并沒有應許過聖經的抄寫是無謬誤的，但我們必認定只有聖經的原稿是神所默示的，我們可藉著經文鑒別學 (textual criticism) 來鑒定經文在抄寫過程中有沒有滲進錯誤。根據這門學問研究所得，令 人很驚奇的，原來聖經希伯來文和希臘文的原文內容保存得很完整，這使我們有足夠的理由肯定威斯敏斯特信條所講的：保存這些經卷的就是神。而且又有足夠理由認為聖經的權威不會因我們現有的抄本不是絕對沒有差誤而受威脅。
Since God has nowhere promised an inerrant transmission of Scripture, it is necessary to affirm that only the autographic text of the original documents was inspired and to maintain the need of textual criticism as a means of detecting any slips that may have crept into the text in the course of its transmission. The verdict of this science, however, is that the Hebrew and Greek text appears to be amazingly well preserved, so that we are amply justified in affirming, with the Westminster Confession, a singular providence of God in this matter and in declaring that the authority of Scripture is in no way jeopardized by the fact that the copies we possess are not entirely error-free.
同樣，聖經的譯本也沒有一本是完全的，因為翻譯的工作就是在原稿以外多做一層功夫，不過今日語言學可以証實，最低限度，今天英語世界的基督徒可擁有許多一流的聖經譯本，即使說他們得到的是神真正的話也不過分，況且聖經處處重復講述它所強調的真理，聖靈也不斷向人見証神的道，又藉神的道去作見証，因此，我 們不用擔心現有的聖經翻譯，會破壞聖經原來的意思，因而使人不能「因信基督耶穌有得救的智慧」 (提后三：15) 。
Similarly, no translation is or can be perfect, and all translations are an additional step away from the autograph. Yet the verdict of linguistic science is that English-speaking Christians, at least, are exceedingly well served in these days with a host of excellent translations and have no cause for hesitating to conclude that the true Word of God is within their reach. Indeed, in view of the frequent repetition in Scripture of the main matters with which it deals and also of the Holy Spirit's constant witness to and through the Word, no serious translation of Holy Scripture will so destroy its meaning as to render it unable to make its reader "wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:15).
聖經無謬誤與聖經的權威
F. Inerrancy and Authority
當我們認定聖經全部真理的權威的時候，其實是有意地 站在基督、使徒、聖經、由古至今教會歷史傳統的一邊了。最使我們擔心的，乃是今天許多人對這一個重要的信仰漠不關心，甚至放棄了。
In our affirmation of the authority of Scripture as involving its total truth, we are consciously standing with Christ and His apostles, indeed with the whole Bible and with the main stream of Church history from the first days until very recently. We are concerned at that casual, inadvertent and seemingly thoughtless way in which a belief of such far-reaching importance has been given up by so many in our day.
我們所認為權威的聖經，如果我們不持守它全部的真理，使會產生很大和很厲害的信仰混亂，這樣會使神所賜的聖經失去它的權威，剩下來的不過是一本按著人理性的批判而刪減了的聖經，此例一開，后果更堪虞。這樣的話，人獨立的理性無形中變成反抗聖經真理的權威。如果人還看不出這種危機，而仍留戀著福音派的基本教條，那些否認聖經全部是真理的人有一天會說他是屬福音派，其實他們所用的方法已經不是福音派的方法了，乃是離開了原來福音派對知識的基本看法，變成一種不穩定的主觀主義，這樣發展下去會一發不可收拾。
We are conscious too that great and grave confusion results from ceasing to maintain the total truth of the Bible whose authority one professes to acknowledge. The result of taking this step is that the Bible that God gave loses its authority, and what has authority instead is a Bible reduced in content according to the demands of one's critical reasoning and in principle reducible still further once one has started. This means that at bottom independent reason now has authority, as opposed to Scriptural teaching. If this is not seen and if for the time being basic evangelical doctrines are still held, persons denying the full truth of Scripture may claim an evangelical identity while methodologically they have moved away from the evangelical principle of knowledge to an unstable subjectivism, and will find it hard not to move further?
我們認定：聖經所說的，就是神所說的。愿神得榮耀，阿們，阿們。
We affirm that what Scripture says, God says. May He be glorified? Amen and Amen.
附註：
【「芝加哥聖經無誤宣言」源自1978年10月26－28日在美國芝加哥市所舉行為期三天的國際會議，此會議是由 1977年成立之「國際『聖經無誤』協會」 (the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy) 負責召開，共有來自基督教各宗各派，將近三百位教會領袖與神學家參加，大會制訂並發表此宣言。】
