To overthrow the world and raise it again?
[Reading the Four Great Books and Thinking about Human Nature] 2 The Unrewarded Ambition of the Liangshan Heroes (Part 2)
When we work together and take the initiative, we don’t have to be like the heroes of Liangshan who can only sing the sad song of unfulfilled ambition. On the contrary, we can challenge the environment, transcend the environment, create the environment, and become a team that reveals God’s power and love. The new force...
In the last issue, we talked about the structure, characterization, narrative art, language use and negative teaching materials of Water Margin. The following article will focus on the life and human nature presented in the story of Water Margin, compare it with the teachings of the Bible, and reflect on life and faith.
We can think about it from four aspects: "view of destiny", "view of self", "view of community" and "view of life".
View of fate: Fate is inevitable vs. the choice is yours
Let’s talk about “view of destiny” first. As mentioned before, in the first chapter, the DNA of the 108 heroes in Liangshanbo was positioned as the reincarnation of the Tiangang Star and the Earthly Evil Star. Everything was determined in the dark, that is, "fate cannot be violated." Therefore, they will definitely be "forced by the government and the people to rebel", they will definitely be forced to go to Liangshan, and Song Jiang will definitely take the first place (for the same reason, Lin Chong will definitely rank sixth, Lu Zhishen will be 13th, Wu Song will be 14th, and Li Kui will be 20th) two).
To put it bluntly, although the heroes all appear to be lively and distinctive, at the "supernatural fantasy level", they are at best just beautifully crafted puppets of various colors. This is consistent with the theory of reincarnation advocated by Buddhism. What kind of person you are and what kind of animal you are in this life are all due to the causes and conditions in the previous life, and this cycle continues. If this is the case, then how should people position themselves in the present moment?
However, Christians have a very different view of destiny. What the Bible emphasizes is that "the choice is yours."
David is the only one in the Bible who had a similar experience to the Liangshan heroes of "occupying the mountain as king". He once wrote a poem:"You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are everlasting pleasures." (Psalm 16:11)That's right,God has a plan, God will provide for it, and God will give instructions, but since it is a “way,” you can use your free will to choose whether or not to follow it.Therefore, David made a covenant with God and faithfully adhered to the truth. Eventually, he became a king from a "rogue" and a loyal servant of God, serving the people of his generation.
Joshua 24:14-15 puts it more clearly and directly:“Now you must fear the LORD and serve him with sincerity and put away the gods your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the LORD. If it is not good for you to serve the LORD, then you must serve the LORD today. Choose whom you will serve: the gods that your ancestors served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites where you live? As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”Please pay special attention to the word "choose".
In the Book of Ruth, Ruth, a young girl from a foreign country, chose to follow her mother-in-law Naomi, who was also a widow, when her husband died and she was destitute. She also chose Jehovah, whom her mother-in-law believed in. At the bottom of her life, her humble life encountered a series of wonderful turning points, and she turned out to be the great-grandmother of the famous King David.
The Book of Daniel in the Bible records that Daniel, whose country was ruined and his family was destroyed and became a prisoner, chose to worship God faithfully and trust God. As a result, he repeatedly saved the day in the dangerous and treacherous palace struggles and conspiracies. This lasted for decades. , bearing the most powerful testimony for God with wisdom, integrity and faith.
That's right, two choices → two paths → two stories → two endings. Everyone has the right to decide their own destiny, and they must also be responsible for the decisions they make.
Self-view: Impunity vs. True Rest
Let’s talk about “self-view” again. The heroes of Liangshan gathered in the Water Margin, "eating large pieces of meat and drinking from large bowls." They only temporarily escaped the jurisdiction of the court's laws, but they could not escape their own inner struggles and internal conflicts among their colleagues.
Just say Song Jiang! The number one figure in Liangshan, known as "Hu Baoyi", "Timely Rain", and "Xiaoyi Black Saburo", when he was a minor official in Yuncheng County, he was "righteous than loyal" and repeatedly indulged criminals for the sake of loyalty. After the Dongchuang Incident, I wanted to obey my father's instructions and serve my sentence, despite the persuasion of many brothers in the martial arts world. I hoped that I could regain my "innocence" after serving my sentence. This was another case of "filial piety is greater than justice." However, due to fate, things became more and more serious. In the end, he had to flee to Liangshan. After taking power in Liangshan, he surrendered to the imperial court wholeheartedly and had conflicts with many brothers. This was a "taw of loyalty"; and after being favored, he and his heroes were brutally murdered, which was a "death of ignorance". "Loyalty". Therefore, Song Jiang seems to be free and powerful, but in fact he has never achieved true spiritual liberation.
What Christians pursue is true freedom from the inside out.
Yes, we can be free from the labors and worries of this world.In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus Christ said this:“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke It is easy and my burden is light.”
The "yoke" mentioned here is not a "burden" per se, but a tool to help us bear the burden easily. To bear the yoke of Jesus is to choose the right methods and channels to prevent yourself from being driven and dominated by desire, hatred or personal paranoia (such as taking revenge, killing and arson like the heroes of Liangshan). On the contrary, you can not do it You can do the good you want to do if you don't want to do the evil.
In the book of Genesis, Joseph, who was handsome, handsome and in the prime of his life, refused his mistress’s lustful temptation and preferred to be humiliated and imprisoned. As a result, he took a big step towards becoming the prime minister. Although Joseph was favored by his master at that time, he was still a slave. Being favored by his mistress could not only enjoy sexual happiness but also gain greater power. However, he gained the strength to refuse to sin because of his fear of the true God.
True freedom has another meaning, which is freedom from the bondage of sin.
The so-called "sin" in the Bible definitely does not only refer to committing crimes and committing crimes that are not tolerated by the law, but refers to deviating from the boundaries and standards set by God in terms of motivation. As a result, the conscience gradually becomes numb, the eyes of the mind are gradually blinded, and ultimately spiritual life Be separated from God and lose the eternal life, faith, hope and love that God wants to give to everyone.As Christians, what we pursue is not the superficial freedom of temporarily escaping from ordinary social structures and life trajectories like the heroes of Liangshan, but another higher level of soul freedom and tranquility.
The Book of Second Samuel describes how David, a king, committed a series of heinous crimes because he coveted the beauty of his subordinates’ wives. He paid a heavy price, but his soul still found peace because of his repentance. In Psalm 51, David asked God to help him"Create a clean heart",let him“A right spirit is restored within” so that he “can hear the voice of joy and gladness, so that…the broken bones may leap for joy!”
John 8:31-34 records the conversation between Jesus and the Jews, which gives a very insightful explanation of this point:
“…If you abide by my teachings, you are truly my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.…I solemnly say to you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ” (Modern Chinese translation)
View of community: Intrusiveness vs. connecting with love
As for the "community view" of Liangshan heroes, it can be extended from the key word "loyalty" that runs throughout the entire "Water Margin". The so-called "hero", in Shi Naian's works, is not just a "strong man" with strong martial arts, but also a "righteous man" who can bankrupt his family, ruin his life, murder and arson for his friends, and even kill his relatives for the sake of justice. The heroes of Liangshan tolerated and supported each other, shared blessings and shared hardships, and "distributed gold and silver according to the scale" due to their common life circumstances (subjugation, assassination, and exile) and the common mortal enemy (Gaoqiu Group). The brotherhood of "changing clothes in complete sets" is indeed attractive in the chaotic and evil times.
However, this kind of friendship is only limited to heroes in the eyes of the protagonists of the story, only acquaintances, and is not universal to outsiders. Therefore, to a certain extent, it is similar to the sense of cohesion among gang members, rather than the mentality of "people and things". "Walking for heaven" and so on are just slogans.
The terrifying human flesh inn run by Caiyuanzi Zhang Qing and dominatrix Sun Erniang is an example. If you are a "hero", even if you are accidentally knocked unconscious, stripped, and washed, you will still wake up and treat him with courtesy. In Chapters 17 and 31, Lu Zhishen and Wu Song both narrowly escaped death in this way. . However, Zhang Qing personally admitted that since he inherited this business from his father-in-law, he has dismembered and chopped up countless traveling merchants and made them into human meat buns and sold them for money.
In Chapter 32, it is said that during his exile, Song Jiang was once captured while passing by Qingfeng Village, and was almost disemboweled and made "Heart and Liver Sobering Soup". Fortunately, he shouted: "It's a pity that Song Jiang died here!" He was saved and was treated as an honored guest. But if Song Jiang's name had not been called, or if it had been someone else, would he have deserved to die miserably?
Also, when heroes take revenge or rob prisons or execution grounds to save their brothers, thousands of innocent people are killed like melons and vegetables, all because they are not their "ones". It's like a piece of grass, not worth a look.
The "true love" taught by Jesus Christ is completely different from the conditional and biased "loyalty" of the heroes of the Water Margin.
In the book of Jonah in the Bible, the prophet Jonah was sent by God to preach the word of repentance to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, the greatest enemy of the Jews at that time. From Jonah's evasion, contradiction, and rage, we can see how much he rejects and hates this mission. And God’s earnest persuasion proves that He is the Lord of all mankind, just as Jesus described:"He makes his sun rise on the good and the evil; He gives rain on the righteous and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45)
In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus shared the parable of the "Good Samaritan" who helped those who were not of his own race and defended them to the end, precisely to emphasize unconditional and unbiased true love. In Matthew 22:37-39, He further asks us to:"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."it means,Because we love God, we can realize our own dignity and value, and then learn to love those around us and far away with the true love of God that we have personally received.
Outlook on life: Acting for heaven vs. glorifying God and benefiting people
Finally, it is the positioning of "outlook on life". The heroes of Liangshan are fighting under the banner of "doing justice for heaven". However, does the word "天" refer to "God" or "Son of Heaven"?
The emperor at that time regarded all the people as stupid dogs, connected his family treasury to the state treasury, imposed excessive taxes, and imposed harsh punishments. He himself was the biggest source of chaos in the world. He was "executing justice for heaven" and so on. It can be said that the starting point, goal, and process were all wrong. No wonder the Liangshan heroes, even though they were assembled with great momentum, were unable to truly "break through the sky" or "open the underground network" to make any changes to the overall structure and environment. Because they have a "pure land" for themselves, but their thinking mode is still stuck in the feudal tradition and has no way to break free. In the film "Shenzhou" produced by the China Communication Association, the "collective spiritual fainting" of the Chinese nation, which is accustomed to regard the imperial court and political leaders as gods, and blindly devote itself to them indiscriminately, is deeply discussed.
If we were to do justice for "God", then this "God" would be too vague in "Water Margin" and his actions would be unpredictable. The only thing that is most clear is that the thirty-six Tiangang stars and the seventy-two evil stars were allowed to run around in the world, causing a bloody storm in the world, exposing endless injustices in the world, and finally died one by one. The outlook on life displayed in this way is like a group of people shouting high-sounding slogans and running towards a destination that does not exist at all. Even if they have courage and blood, it is all in vain.
In this way, it is not true that the Liangshan heroes "substitute for heaven", but they "practice the Tao" freely and according to their own will, and it is impossible to say that they bring any great blessings to the suffering people.
A Christian's outlook on life is centered on "glorifying God and benefiting others."The first meaning of glorifying God and benefiting people is to change people's hearts and lead them to correct themselves.1 Peter 4:8:“Above all, love one another deeply, for love covers a multitude of sins.”Proverbs 10:12 also says:"Hate can stir up disputes; love can cover up all mistakes."The so-called "changing people's hearts and leading people to correct themselves" not only leads people to become children of God, but also includes advocating justice, providing charity, and reforming society. Throughout the history of the church both at home and abroad, such true and living testimonies of commitment are endless.
The second meaning of glorifying God and benefiting others in life is to live a life of eternal significance on earth with a heavenly mentality.This is what Paul declares in Philippians 3:13-14:"Brothers and sisters, I don't think I've earned this prize; I'm focused on one thing: forgetting what's behind and pursuing what's ahead with all my strength. I press toward my goal to get my reward, and that reward is heavenly. New life is what God has called me to receive through Christ Jesus.” (Modern Chinese Translation)The Joseph, Ruth, David, Daniel mentioned earlier, as well as countless Christians throughout the ages, all lived this kind of "purposeful life."
Today, we, the children of God who do not kill people or set fire, choose to be truly free, relate to each other with love, glorify God and benefit others, seem to be squeezed and besieged by the general atmosphere of moral decay, ethical collapse, and lack of truth. It seems to be in danger. Fortunately, our marshal is not Song Jiang, who wholeheartedly wants to be recruited by the corrupt feudal forces, but Jesus Christ, who has already won!
Therefore, when we work together and take the initiative, we do not have to be like the heroes of Liangshan, who can only sing the sad song of unrealized ambitions. On the contrary, we can challenge the environment and transcend the environment to create the environment, so that in this generation , become a new force that reveals God’s power and love, and let the world see that because of our new outlook on destiny, self, community, and life, we can really succeed in religion, politics, art, entertainment, family, business, In the media and other major fields, we work together to serve as light and salt, and ultimately fulfill our ambition to "overturn the world and raise it up again, smash through the sky and then complete it" to create a new world that can bring faith, hope and love to all living beings!
Author profile
Su Wen'an is currently the vice president of the American True Love Family Association and the editor-in-chief of "True Love Magazine" and "God's Kingdom Magazine". Su Wen'an has been engaged in writing, editing, education, and speaking for many years. He likes to use a vivid and creative way, combining biblical concepts and specific practical steps, with ancient and modern Chinese and foreign literature and movies, to share with friends.