當代文豪
章力生博士訪問記
採訪：樓鎧博士
章博士，聽說您的鉅著系統神學大全出版了，這是中國神學界最大的貢獻，真是要恭喜您了！
這全是神的恩典，給我機會，讓我來美國安居，並在歌敦神學院作卓越教授，我最主要的工作是從事神學的寫作，中國教會在神學方面大多是譯作，很少有華人自己寫的神學著作，這些年來從事著作廢寢忘食，總算略有成果，感謝讚美主！
您的著作汗牛充棟，及今已有數十部，這可以說是中國當今的神學大作家，可否請您講講，您是怎樣會有今天這樣的成就的？
神的擇選是人不能透澈了解的。祇能存感恩的心歌頌接受的。我一九0四年五月九日生於江蘇無錫的揚墅園，父親是章伯銘，母親名盛性厚，青年時期，志在改造社會，福國利民，專攻社會經濟學，中年志在興邦建國，制憲立法，在法國巴黎大學專治法學，又在英國牛津、劍橋以及法國瑞士等國週遊訪問，考察研究興邦、制憲、立法之道，廿五歲由歐歸國，任中央大學法學院教授，次歲即任國立勞動大學社會科學院院長，三十五歲任上海法政大學校長，四十五歲在故鄉太湖之濱創辦江南大學，被推為校長，該校佔地五千餘畝，被譽為全國校園最大，風景最美的學府。
那麼講，您一定是出身名門，為世代書香的背景而來的？
並不是的，我乃生於窮鄉僻壤，家的後門，有一條小溪，外通運河，我常想從小溪外出，到國內學府深造，更想到世界各地考察，我家鄉僅有一間初級小學，所以同鄉都笑我做夢，但我並不氣餒、刻苦、奮鬥、努力、好學，更靠主的恩典，乃能如願以償，且還被選入「當代名人錄」。
章教授，您在窮鄉僻壤出來，莫非是外國宣教士帶領相信耶穌的嗎？
不是，我也是生長在典型的中國家庭裏，父母都篤信三教（佛、道、儒）我父親提早退休，虔心修道，我母親臨終時，她的孫子在異象中，見她含笑登轎升天，我父親因此勉勵棄政修道，我本孝心，也就沉迷於三教之中，致受邪靈迷惑，自稱為歐陽修轉世，又稱為羅漢轉世，又在泰山被稱尊為「活佛」，後以「江大」為復興東方宗教之中心，一九五0年應聘赴印度講學，企圖聯絡的首領展開東方宗教復興運動，誰知，行抵中途，「神從高天伸手抓住我」（詩篇十八：16）阻制我前往。
這怎麼講呢？
神引導我改去爪哇，在三寶壟奇妙得救。
如何奇妙得救的呢？
當地僑領，因我曾任僑務委員會副會長，竭力為我找寓所，有一所大的花園洋房，適於前一天出售，另一所較小，價錢反貴，還要六萬頂費，當時我深感懊喪，誰知萬事都互相效力，在我離爪來美時，已漲到十二萬，恰夠我全家旅費，更重要的，其旁正在建造教堂，次年落成，被邀參加獻堂典禮，我既反對教會，不願參加崇拜聚會，但此開幕典禮，到覺得厚意難卻，就去助興，那知竟在祈禱時，受到聖靈的感動，從此欲罷不能，繼續到教會去禮拜，心靈渴慕聖道，恍然大悟，成為新人。
然後呢？
我信主之後，我國教會領袖，紛紛遇訪，與我長談，驚問：我怎有如此神學知識，並邀我到處證道，每次證道都長達二小時，每次祈禱讀經，時見十架，不禁淚下，聽眾反應稱：「這必是另一位同名的章力生，絕非反教的章力生。」或是說：「倘使強烈反教的章力生會悔改信主，那我們還有什麼理由不信呢？」
新約聖經裏的保羅就是反對基督，迫害基督徒的一位，他蒙主光照也前後判若兩人，成為主最得力的門徒，他的著作是新約的廿七本書中的十四本。
不敢當，信主後，聞道恨晚，恆切讀經，中英文聖經讀破了許多本，神的話比兩刃的寶刀劍更快（來四：12），又有奇妙的感力，當我讀了林後十：四4-5節：「我們爭戰的兵器……乃是神面前有能力，可以攻破堅固的營壘，將各樣計謀，各樣攔阻人認識神的那些自高之事，一概攻破，又將人所有的心意奪回，使他都順服基督」，以及彼得前三：15「要心裏尊主基為聖，有人問你們心中盼望的緣由，就要作準備，以溫和敬畏的心，回答各人。」和猶太書三節「要為從前一次交付聖徒的真道，竭力爭辯。」這些經文在我心中便有似原子能爆炸的力量，使我夜以繼日，窮究精研，寫「人文主義批判」、「系統神學」（八卷兩萬萬言）、「總體辯道學」（戰鬥神學四卷一百萬言）…等五十餘種，目的是弘揚聖道，為道爭辯，攻破堅固的營壘！同時心被恩感又寫了「恩感錄」二十五篇，在「文宣」雙月刊連載刊出。
可否舉例說些來聽？
好的，信主後，神為我開了傳道之門，在各地證道，也在東南亞聖經學院和美國南浸信會神學院充任講席，靠聖靈同工，院中師生甚至院長都來旁聽，後者院長自願推荐我去一教會牧會。某日午後，內人郭令宜被神叫醒，對她說：「你先生要到德州做牧師，教會全體已經通過，但是大材小用，不可委屈他在此小教會。」不久得該教會之信，信中所言與夢中所述完全一樣，其實神的心意是要我研究神學，祂感動泰勒教授天天鼓勵我從事神學研究，再三強調，中國教會尚無神學基礎可言，我乃受神特別呼召，要為中國教會建立純正的神學基礎，又安排我去歌敦神學院，院長劉益世博士查我履歷，要我教宿，但我不敢「違背那從天上來的異象」（徒廿六：19）堅持讀書研究，僅略兼數課，以求「教學相長」，承教授旁聽者稱：「聽講受感，欲離座飛騰」畢業典禮時，學生代表致詞說：「從我課中得到新的異象。」退休時院方賜的「卓越榮譽教授」銜，主恩浩大，榮耀歸主！
感謝讚美主！
一九六八年，蒙主呼召，週遊世界，上下午講學，晚間佈道，深夜始歸，伏案寫日記，回覆書信，寫次日講章，直到黎明四時稍息，六時又起身，幾乎不眠不休，為期半載。出發之前，無美國護照，幾乎要作罷論，內人忽閒聞主聲說：「不要放棄….拿來讀」即展誦詩篇七十七篇十節：「這是我的懦弱。」第十四節說：「是行奇事的神，曾在列邦中彰顯的能力。」第十九節說：「的道在海中，的路在大水中。」神的話指出我的懦弱，便請至友美國國會議長麥康馬克博士助我立即得到美國公民證、護照簽證，並飛渡太平洋，抵達首站菲律賓聖經神學院講學，從此一帆風順，感謝讚美主！
真是奇妙莫測！
一次在雪地不慎滑倒，劇痛萬狀，經急救車送到醫院用X光先檢查，拜倫醫生說是：股骨折斷，允次日一早施行手術，深夜祈禱，忽聞主聲說：「一宿雖有哭泣，早晨必歡呼！」（詩三十：5）一聞此聲，疼痛即止，次晨開刀前，醫生再照X光，發現股骨已完整如初，嘆為神蹟。但醫生強迫我休養，將我的腿掛起來，使我不能工作，只能祈禱反省，深感我每天靈修、天天禮拜，但「僅有虔誠的外貌，卻背了敬虔的實意。」（提後三：5），我把「工作」當偶像，成了一個實質上無神論者，便在神前痛悔認罪，神用我的病床作講壇，使醫生、護士、來訪賓客，甚至牧師，蒙恩得福。
這個神蹟證明耶穌是昔在、今在、永在的主！
這不過是另一神蹟的前奏，我數十年如一日，長期伏案寫作，夜以日繼，缺少運動，前年元月心病突發，死去一夜，是晚內人本應赴友人家晚宴，神卻留祂在家，並叫祂到我房來，發現我倒在床上，不省人事，經喚救護車，施行急救，次晨我竟從死裏復活，如內人應邀赴宴，就不堪設想，可是，無微不至，連每根頭髮都數過的神早有準備，留內子在家，使「我雖然行過死蔭幽谷，也不怕遭害，」（詩廿三：4）但願我們格外敬畏祂、相信祂。願「一生一世，必有（祂的）恩惠、慈愛、隨著我（們），直到永遠。」（詩廿三：6）阿門！
阿門！章教授，我知道您一生的見證，不是這本薄薄的OK雜誌可以記完的，神把一個窮鄉僻野，小溪畔的孩子造就成一個中國乃至世界的大神學作家，祂必能一樣的使用我們，請再講兩個見證來結束這次訪問吧！
好！使徒保羅說：「我說的話，講的道，不是用智慧委婉的言語，乃是用聖靈和大能的明證，叫你們的信。不在乎人的智慧，只在乎神的大能。（林前二：4-5）這些年來，靠聖靈的能力握筆疾書，實在不是出於自己，聖靈活在字裏行間，使中外讀者有奇妙的反應。以「人文主義批評」一書而言，一讀者借閱，愛不釋手，聖靈使他恍然大悟，真正重生得救。另一讀者讀該書時，忽有奇妙能力，自書中出來，把他擊倒在地上，使他痛哭流涕，認罪悔改，從此判若兩人，獻身事主。神亦助我用英文寫了三本書，均被權威刊物如「今日基督教」及世界名佈道家葛培理博士等予以佳評。其中「西方心靈沒落」一書，使一西方讀者來信說：「參禪著魔，如墜深海，黑浪滔天，震怒萬狀，急展此書，忽從中閃出奇妙白光，救我出黑暗，進入奇妙之光明，遂轉迷成悟，棄佛皈主，痛悔前非，研究神學。」願主繼續使用，賜我年歲，靠聖靈作祂的見證。
求主祝福聖靈同工，榮神益人！阿門！
Professor, Theologian, & Author
Dr. Chang, I heard that your masterpiece on
systematic theology has been published.
What a great contribution to
It was all a result of God’s grace. He gave me the opportunity to settle in
the States, where as an honorary professor at
You are such a prolific writer. You’ve had dozens of books
published. You could be the
greatest Chinese theological writer.
Would you tell us how this came about?
How
God chooses a person is a mystery.
One can only accept God’s gift with thanksgiving and reverence. I was born in
It
seems that you came from a rich family with generations of scholars among your
ancestors.
No, not at all.
I was born in the poor countryside.
Behind our back door was a little creek, which was connected to a
canal. I often dreamt of following
the creek to the great universities to study and of going abroad to learn. In the countryside we only had a small
elementary school. My friends
always laughed at my dreams, but I was not discouraged. I worked hard, studies diligently,
struggled with perseverance, and most of all, with the help of God, I was able to reach my goal.
Professor
Chang, were you led to Jesus by a missionary?
No. I was raised in a typical, traditional
Chinese family. My parents were
firm believers in three religions: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. My father retired early to devote
himself to religious pursuits. My
mother, on her deathbed, had a vision in which she was carried to the heavens
smiling. My father advised me to
give up my political studies and seek the religious Tao. As an obedient son, I sunk myself in the
three religions and became possessed by evil spirits. I considered myself to be a
reincarnation of Lo-Han (Buddha), and in
What’s that?
God led me to
How
did you get saved?
The local overseas Chinese leader made a
great effort to help me to buy a house because I used to be the deputy minister
of the Ministry for Overseas Chinese.
A garden estate (that I was interested in) was sold a day early, so I
bought a smaller, costlier one. I
was so depressed. I did not know
“that in all things God works for the good….” (Romans 8:28). When I eventually left
Then
what?
After I was saved, many national Christian
leaders came to visit me and were surprised at how much I knew about Christian
theology. I was invited to preach
in various places. My sermons
usually took two hours. Every time
I prayed I saw the cross and shed tears.
The audience often wondered if I was the same Dr. Chang who was dead
against Christianity, or they might have thought that if Chang Let-sen repented and believed in Christ, there was no reason
why they should not believe in Christ too.
Paul of the New Testament was a persecutor of
Christians. Once he saw the light
he was totally changed and became one of the Lord’s most powerful
disciples. Paul was the author of
fourteen epistles. Professor Chang,
you could be considered a present day Paul.
No, no. since I believed in Jesus, I have
regretted that I came to know him so late (in my life). I’ve tried to redeem
the time by studying the Bible and have literally worn out many copies of
Chinese and English Bibles. God’s words
have wonderful persuasive power. “For the word of God is living and
active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword…” (Hebrews 4:12). “ The weapons we
fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power
to demolish strongholds. We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4,5). “But in your hearts
set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who
asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with
gentleness and respect….”(1 Peter 3:15) “Dear friends,
although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt
I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all
entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). These scriptures, like a mighty atomic
energy, burst into power in my heart and made me study day and night and write A
Critique on Humanism, Systematic Theology (8 volumes, 200 million words),
Total Apology (combat theology, 4 volumes, 1 million words)…a total
of over fifty titles. My goal was
to magnify the Holy Word, debate for His truth, and destroy the enemy’s
stronghold. Also in order to thank
God for His grace I wrote twenty-five articles of thanksgiving which are being
published in a bimonthly.
Would
you give us some examples?
Sure. After my conversion God opened doors
for me to preach in many places. He
placed me in
teaching positions at
All
glory to God!
In 1968 I was called to travel around the
world as a literary evangelist, lecturing during the day and preaching in the
evening. After midnight, I wrote in
my journal, answered letters, and prepared lectures for the next day until 4:00
a.m. I rested briefly and arose at 6:00 a.m. I lived like that for nearly half a
year. Before I made the
evangelistic tour, I didn’t have an American passport. This almost caused the tour to be
cancelled. My wife heard the voice
of the Lord say, “Don’t give up. Please read.”
Immediately I opened the Bible and read
“…this is my infirmity…” (Psalm 77:10).
“Thou art the God that doest wonders; thou hast declared thy strength
among the people” (Psalm 77:19). God’s word pointed out my weakness. With the help of my fast friend Dr.
McCormack, I obtained my American citizenship, passport, and visa. From then on it was smooth sailing.
Wonderful
indeed!
Once I slipped in some snow and fell. It hurt so much. I was sent to a hospital by
ambulance. After reviewing an
x-ray, the doctor told me my hip was broken and scheduled an operation for the
next morning. I prayed that night
and heard my Lord say, “Weeping may remain for a
night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). As soon as I heard the voice, the pain
ceased. Before the operation, the
doctor took another x-ray and found that my hip was completely healed. He was
amazed at such a miracle, but he insisted that I rest and put my leg in
traction. I could not work, I could
only pray and introspect. I deeply
felt that my daily devotions and worship had “a form of godliness, but denying
the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5). I realized that I had made my work an
idol and in actuality had become an atheist. I repented before God. Using my sick bed
as my pulpit, I witnessed to doctors, nurses, visitors, and even pastors.
Such
a miracle proves that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
This was but the prelude of another
miracle. For several decades I
wrote day and night, and neglected to exercise. The year before last, I had a
heart attack and died. On that
night my wife was invited to a party, but God kept her at home and also asked
her to come to the bedroom, where she discovered me lying unconscious on the
bed. She called an ambulance and
with help of CPR, I was revived. If
my wife had gone to the party, I would surely be dead. The loving God who knows the number of
hairs on our heads prepared my wife for this situation. “
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil…” (Psalm 23:4). May we
all fear, believe, and obey Him. “Surely goodness and love will follow me all
the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6). Amen!
Amen! Professor Chang, I know that you have
too many testimonies for us to include in this issue of O.K. Magazine. God has
brought you from living alongside a small creek in the countryside as a child
to being a great theologian of
Alright.
The apostle Paul said, “My message and my preaching were not with wise
and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that
your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (I Corinthians
1:4,5) All these years I have written through the power of the Holy Spirit; it
was not of myself. I received
wonderful responses from readers of many different nationalities. For instance, one reader borrowed A
Critique on Humanism and finished it in one sitting. The Holy Spirit enlightened him, and he
was truly saved. Another reader was
struck down to the ground while he was reading the book by a wonderful power
that came out of the book. He wept
and repented of his sins, became a changed person, and dedicated his life for
the Lord’s work. God also helped me to write three English books. They all got
good reviews from authoritative magazines such as Christianity Today as
well as from the world famous evangelist Dr. Billy Graham, especial The
Spiritual Decline of the West.
One reader wrote: “I was deep into Zen and was hopelessly drowned in the
cult and could not free myself from the darkness and oncoming waves and surf.
Once I opened the book, suddenly a white light shone from it and saved me from
the darkness and led me into the wonderful light. I gave up Zen Buddhism and repented all
my sins. I started to study
Christian theology.” May God grant me time and continue to use me. By the power of the Holy Spirit I shall
witness for Him.
May
God bless you and used you for His glory to reach many more for Him! Amen!