The Definition and Character of Dogma

Processing the content of Scripture dogmatically, however, is not just the work of one individual theologian, or of a particular church or school, but of the entire church throughout the ages, of the whole new humanity regenerated by Christ. The history of dogma and dogmatics is therefore to be regarded as a mighty attempt to appropriate the truth of God revealed in Christ and to fully understand the essence of Christianity. In evaluating that agelong dogmatic labor, people have erred both to the left and to the right and in turn been guilty both of overestimation and underestimation. The history of church and dogma has been disdained by all schools of thought that in the name of Scripture opposed all creeds, by Socinians and Remonstrants, by rationalistic and supernaturalistic, mystical and “biblical” theologians.^[1]

教義的定義和特徵

然而，教義地處理聖經的內容不僅是某個神學家個人的工作，也不是某個特定教會或學校的工作，而是歷代以來整個教會的工作，而是基督重生的整個新人類的工作。因此，教義和教義學的歷史被視為一次強有力的嘗試，試圖利用神在基督所啟示的真理，並充分理解基督教的本質。在評估這種長期的教義上的勞苦時，人們既犯了左翼錯誤，又犯了右翼錯誤，進而又犯了高估和低估的罪責。教會和教義的歷史受到所有以聖經之名反對所有信條的思想流派的蔑視，包括索西尼派和抗辯宗，理性主義和超自然主義，神秘主義和“聖經”神學家

^[1] Herman Bavinck, John Bolt, and John Vriend, Reformed Dogmatics: Prolegomena, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 119.