In the Christian understanding of covenant theology, God offers humanity a new contract — the New Testament6— as revealed in the person and teaching of Jesus. Unlike previous covenants, the new covenant refers to the eternal fate of individuals rather than to the worldly fate of the nation of Israel. Also, rather than being offered only to Jews, the new contract is offered to humanity as a whole . Individual salvation7 and the question of how that salvation can be achieved is a dominant theme of traditional Christianity.

　　Salvation, according to this tradition, is necessary because otherwise the individual is condemned to spend eternity in hell8 , a place of eternal punishment. Born into sin, the sentence of eternal damnation is the fate of every person unless she or he is saved from this fate by being“ born again ”through faith in Jesus Christ. All other doctrines are built around a warning of condemnation and a redeeming message of redemption. As the core doctrine, it would be natural that arguments over soteriology ( one’s theory of redemption) would lead to religions schisms. Disagreement over competing notions of salvation led to the split between Catholicism and Protestantism.

　　Given the stark contrast between heaven and hell as eternal abodes of the soul, serious thinkers have had to grapple with the question —What happens to people who, while not saints, nevertheless are generally good people who have never committed any major sins in their lives? Reflection on this problem led to the development of purgatory9, an intermediate realm between heaven and hell. In purgatory, souls are tortured for their sins, but are eventually released and allowed to enter heaven.

　　Tra nslate Chinese in to English, to lea rn more a bout th e or igina l sin: God created the heavens, earth and all kinds of animals, including two men —Adam and Eve. They could eat from any tree, except one, in the Garden of Eden. _____________( 在上帝創造的所有動物之中, 毒蛇是最狡詐的。)“Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?”The serpent asked Eve .“We may eat the fruit of any tree _____________( 除伊甸園中間那棵樹上的果實之外) . God had even said,‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, otherwise you die. ’”But the serpent told Eve ,“Of course you will not die! God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and _____________( 你們就會像上帝一樣區分出善惡) . ”Eve saw the tree was good for good, pleasing to the eyes and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it, too. Then, the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked._____________( 于是他們就把樹葉縫在一起, 制成衣服。) When God came, they hid themselves among the trees of the garden.“Where are you?”the God asked.“ I heard you in the garden; but I am afraid. _____________( 因為我沒有穿衣 服, 所以我躲了起來。) ”answered Adam. It was just then God learnt that they had eaten the fruit of the tree in the middle . God was very angry and banished them from the Garden of Eden.

　　參考答案

　　Of all the animals that God had made, the serpent was the most cunning. except the fruit of the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden you will be like Gods who know what is good and what is bad So they sewed leaves together and made clothes for themselves. Because I was naked, I hid myself.

　　參考譯文

　　基 督教開始的時候只是猶太教的一個分支。最早的__徒根本沒想過創辦新的宗 教, 他們自視為追隨猶太教彌賽亞的教義的猶太人。只是后來在許多非猶太人改變信仰之 后, __才脫離猶太教, 自成一體。

　　盡管__與猶太教具有很多共同點, 但這兩個宗教在像上帝與人的關系等基本問題 上差別明顯。在基督__太教這兩種傳統中, 理解上帝與人的關系需要依賴圣約, 或“ 約 書”中的主旨。在希伯來人的經典著作《舊約全書》里, 上帝與他的選民——— 猶太人之間通 過約書保持著特殊的關系, 這本約書詳細說明了這種關系的條件。這一安排的具體內容在 一系列與諾亞、亞伯拉罕和摩西達成的圣約里不時地被更改和擴充。這些約書中最出名的 是上帝與摩西在西奈山上達成的協議———《十誡》。

　　__徒對圣約神學的理解是, 上帝賜給人類一份新約書———《新約全書》, 該約書通 過基督本人以及他的教誨得以昭示。不像從前的圣約那樣,《新約》講述的是個人永恒的 命運, 而不是以色列國世俗的命運。同樣, 新約的接受對象不再只是猶太人, 而是全人類。 個人的救贖以及靈魂如何能被拯救是傳統基督__題。

　　按照這一傳統, 救贖對__教徒非常必要, 因為如果不對靈魂進行拯救, 人就會被打 進地獄, 永世不得超生, 在地獄永遠都要受到懲罰。人生下來就有罪過, 每個人都注定要永 遠受到懲罰, 除非我們信仰基督耶穌, 才能獲得“ 重生”, 擺脫這種命運。所有其他教旨都 是圍繞懲罰的警告和救贖的啟示展開的。“ 耶穌救世學”被作為核心教旨, 對耶穌救世學 的爭論必然導致教會的分裂。對不同救贖主張的爭執導致了天主教和新教之間的決裂。

　　考慮到作為靈魂永久居所的天堂和地獄之間鮮明的對比, 一些嚴肅的思想家只得努 力解決以下問題: 對于那些既非圣人、一生中又沒犯過什么大的過失、本性善良的人來 說, 他們怎么辦? 對該問題的反思導致了煉獄理論的產生, 煉獄是介于天堂和地獄之間 的中間地帶。在煉獄里, 靈魂因人的罪惡受到折磨, 但人最終還是得以赦免, 從而進入 天堂。