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]

教义的定义和特征

然而，教义地处理圣经的内容不仅是某个神学家个人的工作，也不是某个特定教会或学校的工作，而是历代以来整个教会的工作，而是基督重生的整个新人类的工作。因此，教义和教义学的历史被视为一次强有力的尝试，试图利用神在基督所启示的真理，并充分理解基督教的本质。在评估这种长期的教义上的劳苦时，人们既犯了左翼错误，又犯了右翼错误，进而又犯了高估和低估的罪责。教会和教义的历史受到所有以圣经之名反对所有信条的思想流派的蔑视，包括索西尼派和抗辩宗，理性主义和超自然主义，神秘主义和“圣经”神学家

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