宗教的假冒和仿制

真正的宗教乃是人与人之间友爱和认同的根源，也是发展良好品德的起因，然而，人们却捉住假冒和仿制的东西，忽略了能够团结人心的真实，以致错失了和被剥夺了宗教的光辉。他们跟随父辈和祖先流传下来的迷信，持续下去，并达到这样一个程度，以致他们完全失去了天堂的荣光和神圣的真理，坐在模仿和想象的黑暗里。原本有益于生命的东西变成了死亡的来由，本来是明显的知识如今却是愚昧的证据，而理应可以提升人性的因素却变成了使人堕落的事物。——阿博都巴哈

（2015年）

True religion is the source of love and agreement amongst men, the cause of the development of praiseworthy qualities, but the people are holding to the counterfeit and imitation, negligent of the reality which unifies, so they are bereft and deprived of the radiance of religion. They follow superstitions inherited from their fathers and ancestors. To such an extent has this prevailed that they have taken away the heavenly light of divine truth and sit in the darkness of imitations and imaginations. That which was meant to be conducive to life has become the cause of death; that which should have been an evidence of knowledge is now a proof of ignorance; that which was a factor in the sublimity of human nature has proved to be its degradation. ——‘Abdu’l-Bahá

译者评述：阿博都巴哈讲这段话的时候距今大约一百年，然而对于今天的情形仍旧十分贴切。迷信受到普遍的接受和体制化的弘扬，使人以为宗教信仰就是相信一些知其然不知其所以然的东西，学会一堆古怪的仪式就是走进了宗教的大殿。一般民众不能分辨宗教的真假，许多知识分子也对鬼神和驱魔之类趋之若鹜，满天神佛因果报应不离口，会声会影搞到神魂颠倒。神棍胡乱吹嘘也有一大群人言听计从，心甘情愿把银宝送上。殊不知真正的信仰根本不是这样，一切的道理都必须符合逻辑和科学，宗教的认识本身就是一门实际的学问，宗教的教导使我们更加了解自己、社会、人生和宇宙，宗教的锻炼使我们获得美德、快乐和自由。如果你所追随的信仰不能给予你那样的效果和利益，很有可能就是迷信了。

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