（若16:5-11）
純粹從哲學角度看，耶穌基督的教訓，與孔子、與佛祖、與其他偉大的思想家的學說，享有同等的地位。大家都在提倡寬容、慈悲和忠恕之道，沒有一個享有甚麼超然地位。從多元社會注重彼此尊重，鼓吹交談的現況看，信奉任何一套教訓都是等價，沒有甚麼不對之處。那麼，基督徒憑甚麼說不信從耶穌基督是罪惡呢（若16:9）？
是的。純粹從哲學，憑邏輯，祗能判斷「對」與「錯」，祗能判斷人有沒有觸犯法律，卻不能判斷人是否犯了罪。因為「罪惡」不是一個哲學概念，而是一個宗教概念。所以，耶穌基督說：「當祂（聖神）來到時，就要指證世界關於罪惡、正義和審判所犯的錯誤。」（16:8）聖神是基督宗教的元素，是神學的範疇，不是哲學所能完全處理的。
從神學角度，「罪惡」是未能達到天主心目中的指標，即保祿宗徒所說的「失掉了天主的光榮。」（羅3:23）從消極的定義看，「罪惡」就是喪失了天主的恩寵、天主的光榮，一如「黑暗」就是「沒有光明」一樣。殺人放火固然是「罪惡」，是狹義的罪惡。當我們做事不達標，失去了應得的光榮，這就是廣義的「罪惡」了。在這裡，耶穌基督擔任了一個關鍵的角色，因為祂是天父所派遣到世上的「道路、真理和生命，除非經過我，誰也不能到父那裡去。」（若14:6）
藉著聖神的默感，我們接受耶穌基督為救主，我們便可以與天父和好（羅5:1），不但擺脫罪惡的奴役，更把身份提昇為天父的子女，參予天父永恆的生命。倘若我們拒絕聖神，拒絕耶穌基督，認為祂的教訓與孔子佛祖的教訓無異，可信可不信，便錯過了踏上回歸父家的道路，不能到達目的地，錯過了無限的恩寵。這不就是聖保祿宗徒所說的「罪惡」嗎？
父啊！請賜下聖神，好讓我們承認耶穌基督是我們的救主。亞孟。
The Privileged Status of Christianity
(John 16:5-11)
From a purely philosophical perspective, the teachings of Jesus Christ, of Confucius, of Buddha and of other great thinkers enjoy the same status. All of them advocate tolerance, mercy, authenticity and empathy. None of them enjoys any privileged position. In a pluralistic society which stresses mutual respect and dialogues, embracing any set of teachings is equivalent and is not wrong. Then, by what criteria can Christians say that not believing in Jesus Christ is a sin? (John 16:9)
True. In the realm of philosophy and logic, we can only pass judgment on right and wrong, can only decide whether somebody has committed a crime, but not a sin. It is because "sin" is not a philosophical concept but a religious concept. Therefore, Jesus says, "And when he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:" (16:8) The Holy Spirit is an element of Christianity. It belongs to the realm of theology. Philosophy is inadequate in handling it.
From a theological perspective, "sin" falls short of God’s expectation. That is what Paul the Apostle means by "fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Defining in a negative manner, "sin" loses the grace of God, the glory of God. It is like defining "darkness" as a "lack of light". Murder and arson are sins in a narrow sense. Missing the mark and losing the expected glory would be sins in a general sense. Here, Jesus Christ takes up a crucial role because he was sent to the world to be "the road, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
With the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour. "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1) No only do we shake off the bondage of sins, but our status is also raised to that of adopted children of the Father and we can partake in His eternal life. If we reject the Holy Spirit, reject Jesus Christ and think that His teachings are not different from the teachings of Confucius or Buddha, i.e. we choose not to believe in him, then we miss the way to return to the Father. We cannot arrive at our destination and lose infinite grace. Is this not what St. Paul the Apostle meant by sin?
Father! Grant us the Holy Spirit. Let us acknowledge Jesus Christ to be our Saviour. Amen.
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