在《少年Pi的奇幻漂流》（Life of Pi）這部探討信仰的電影中，很自然地，會將觀眾的目光導向人與上帝之間的關係。尤其特別的是，主角Pi同時信奉印度教、基督教、伊斯蘭教三種宗教，讓人不禁思索一個問題，也正是電影中Pi的父親在全家用餐時對他說：「你同時信仰三個宗教，不就等於什麼都不信？」然而，Pi的母親接下來所說的話，也同樣發人深省，她說：「給Pi這一段追尋信仰的過程，這對他是好的……」
"Life of Pi", a film
that explores faith, naturally will draw the audience's attention to the
relationship between man and God. The most
interesting aspect of this is the protagonist Pi, who simultaneously believes
in three religions: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. People cannot help but
think this to be a problem, which is also what Pi's father says to Pi in the
film during a family meal, "You have faith in three religions, is that not
the same as no faith at all?" However, Pi's mother's following words are
also thought provoking, she says, "Give Pi time to seek out faith, it will
be good for him..."
人生不就是一段尋尋覓覓的過程嗎？舉凡尋找合適的學校、理想的工作、心目中的Mr. / Miss Right、幸福的婚姻、人生的夢想，真實的信仰。其中信仰更是一生的追尋，關乎生命的核心價值。它好比生命列車的火車頭，帶領各節車廂在軌道上奔馳。
Isn't
life just a prolonged period of searching? Just like looking for the right
school, the ideal job, your heart's Mr./Miss Right, a happy marriage, your
life's dream, a true faith. Among these, faith is even more so a lifelong
pursuit, relating to the core value of life. It can be considered the engine to
the train of life, one that leads the other train cars rolling
quickly down the tracks.
當你尋覓到正確的信仰價值觀，就好像「扣子」的比喻，當衣服的第一顆鈕扣扣對了，下面每一顆扣子就能依序地各就各位。反之，如果第一顆扣子扣錯了，接下來就是一連串的錯誤。
When you find the
right faith values, it's kind of like a metaphor for buttons. When the first
button on the clothing is fastened correctly, each button below is able to fasten
in its place one by one. On the other hand, if the first button is fastened
incorrectly, what follows is a series of errors.
錯誤的信仰價值觀，就如毛巾上的破洞。每當我發現自己心愛的洗臉毛巾出現小小的破洞時，就是快到我必須和它說再見的時候了。無論那個破洞是多麼的微小，無論那條毛巾乍看之下還是多麼的可愛舒適，然而沒過多久，破洞就會愈破愈大，小洞變成大洞，最後四分五裂。
Erroneous faith values are like
holes in a towel. Every time I discover a small hole forming in my beloved
washcloth, then it's almost the time when I must say goodbye to it. No matter
how tiny that hole is, no matter how that towel at a glance looks lovely and
comfortable, it won't be long until the hole becomes more torn and sizeable,
the small hole turns into a big hole, and finally, it all falls apart.
經常聽人說，信仰只是一種精神寄託，其實沒那麼簡單。它深深影響生活各層面的價值體系，甚至與生命的救恩密不可分，它關乎你的過去、現在，和未來。上帝賜給人類最寶貴的禮物之一，就是讓我們有自由意志。雖然全能的上帝，有能力把我們創造成一群只會按照指令行事的機器人，但祂並沒有這麼做。祂渴望與我們建立一種真實互動的關係，祂給予我們自由意志去思考、去感受、去追尋、去抉擇。所以我們不要再去責怪上帝，為何沒有阻止人類始祖亞當和夏娃偷吃禁果，讓罪惡進入人間了。
You can often hear
people say, faith is only a kind of spiritual comfort, yet it's not that
simple. It deeply affects the value systems for all aspects of life, even so
far as to be inseparable from life's salvation; it relates to your past,
present, and future. One of God's most precious gifts to humanity is allowing
us to have free will. Although Almighty God has the ability to make us into a
group of robots that will only act in accordance to His will, He has not done
so. He yearns to establish a relationship with us based on real interaction; He
has given us the freedom to think, to feel, to search, to choose. Therefore, we
shouldn't ever blame God for not preventing humanity's first ancestors, Adam
and Eve, from eating the forbidden fruit, which allowed sin to enter our world.
關於追尋，神給了我們一個極大的應許：「你們祈求，就給你們；尋找，就尋見；叩門，就給你們開門」（馬太福音七7）。我深信，那些願意真誠地來到神面前，認真尋求祂的人，神必讓他們尋見，祂必帶領他們找到生命的答案！
As for searching, God
gave us a great promise: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you
will find; knock, and the door will be opened
to you." (Matthew 7:7). I am convinced that for those people who are
willing to truly come before God, and to seek Him earnestly,
God will reveal Himself to them, He will lead them to find the answers to life!
放膽追尋真實的信仰吧！信仰不是用來拼命說服他人，或與人爭辯得面紅耳赤，信仰是用來認真追尋和親身經歷的。多給予自己和他人適度的空間吧！連神都不強迫我們，我們還要去強迫誰呢？
Boldly search for true
faith! Faith is not used to desperately persuade others, or to have heated
arguments with people; faith is used to sincerely pursue and experience God and the true faith. Give yourself and
others some decent space! Even God is not forcing us, so why should we force
ourselves or whoever?
至於我，我始終相信：神就是愛，祂要賜給我們的一切，都是最上好的禮物，而非次好的，為了要我們來享受祂所賜下的萬物與寶貴生命，並將一切榮耀歸給神！因此，我不甘於過平庸的人生，我渴望能完成神所賦予我的人生使命，行走在神為我預備最美善的計畫中。我相信，當你親近神，神就必親近你（雅各書四8），只要你願意，祂樂意開啟你心靈的眼睛，來更多認識祂，認識永恆不變的真理，經歷祂的真實與慈愛，活岀一個嶄新、超過你所求所想的豐盛生命。這是我的信念，也是我為你的禱告，阿們。
As for me, I've always believed
that God is love, He has given us everything, all of which are the greatest
gifts and are never second best, because He wants us to enjoy His gift of all
things and precious life, as well as give all the glory to God! Therefore, I am
not happy with a mediocre life, I yearn to complete my life's mission given to
me by God, walking in the most beautiful plan God has prepared for me. I
believe that when you come near to God, He will come near to
you (James 4:8), as long as you are willing, God will happily open your mind's
eye, to better know Him, to know everlasting unchanging truths, to experience
His realness and compassion, to live a new abundant life, surpassing all you
could ever ask for or think of. This is my belief, it is also my prayer for you.
Amen.
作者:譚亞菁 Feb. 4, 2013
Translated by Parker
Gadbois
