..续本文上一页on. Thus the God-idea became associated with various myths. People used the God-idea as a vehicle for their explanation of the existence of man and the nature of the universe.
每一个宗教都环绕「神」的存在而发展，在发展的同时，开发了自己的一套「创世纪」的概念。因此，「神」就难免与神话传说发生关系，而「人」却利用「神」来做为宣传的手段，和解释人类生存的宇宙。
Today, intelligent men, who have carefully reviewed all the available facts, have come to the conclusion that, like the God-idea, the creation of myths must be regarded as an evolution of the human imagination which began with the misunderstanding of the phenomena of nature. These misunderstandings were rooted in the fear and ignorance of primitive man. Even today, man still retains his primitive interpretations of creation. In the light of recent, scientific thinking, the theological definition of god is vague and hence has no place in the contemporary creation theories or myths.
今天，任何有知识的人，只要肯关注于事实的真相，就会得到这样的结论：创世纪的神话，如「神」一般，是源自于人类对自然现象的误解和想像而衍生的，这些误解的根源在于人类对自然的恐惧和无知。即使，时至今日，人类还原封不动的保留了这世界是神创造的「创世纪」概念。按照今天的科学思维，神学对「神」的定义模糊不清，因此，「创世纪」的概念只是一种神话，没有实际的科学价值。
If man is created by an external source, then he must belong to that source and not to himself. According to Buddhism, man is responsible for everything he does. Thus Buddhists have no reason to believe that man came into existence in the human form through any external sources. They believe that man is here today because of his own action. He is neither punished nor rewarded by anyone but himself according to his own good and bad action. In the process of evolution, the human being came into existence. However, there are no Buddha-words to support the belief that the world was created by anybody. The scientific discovery of gradual development of the world-system conforms with the Buddha”s Teachings.
如果人类是外力所创造的，那么他将属于那创造者而不属于自己。佛教相信人类是属于自己的，必须为自己的一切行为负责。佛教徒没有理由相信人类是由外力塑造而成的。佛教徒相信，今天人类的存在是因为他自己的业力所促成的，既不受到奖赏也不被惩罚。人类全凭自己所造的善业与恶业，来决定在未来轮回过程中的生存状态。在佛教里，我们找不到任何证据来证明人类是由某「人」创造的。今天，科学家发现：宇宙体系是慢慢的演化和发展的，这符合了佛教的观点。
Human Weakness and the Concept of God
「神」与人性的弱点：
Both the concept of God and its associated creation myths have been protected and defended by believers who need these ideas to justify their existence and usefulness to human society. All the believers claim to have received their respective scriptures as Revelation; in other words, they all profess to come directly from the one God. Each God-religion claims that it stands for Universal Peace and Universal Brotherhood and other such high ideals.
「神」的观念与「创世纪」的概念，根深蒂固的被信徒们所接受，并加以保护。这些信徒需要一些观点来为他们的存在和对社会的贡献做辩护。所有的信徒宣称他们的经典来自「天的启发」，换句话说，他们的信仰是直接来自于「神」。每一个信仰「神」的宗教，都宣称它们代表世界和平和博爱等崇高的思想。
However great the ideals of the religious might be, the history of the world shows that the religions up to the present day have also helped in spreading superstitions. Some have stood against science and the advancement of knowledge, leading to ill-feelings, murders and wars. In this respect, the God-religions have failed in their attempt to enlighten mankind. For example, in certain countries when people pray for mercy, their hands are stained with the blood of the morbid sacrifices of innocent animals and sometimes, even fellow human beings. These poor and helpless creatures were slaughtered at the desecrated altars of imaginary and imperceptible gods. It has taken a long time for people to understand the futility of such cruel practices in the name of religion. The time has come for them to realize that the path of real purification is through love and understanding.
尽管这些宗教拱高了它们自己的理想，但是，历史告诉我们，时至今日它们还在宣扬迷信的思想。某些信徒甚至还公开的倡导反对科学知识、发动战争和谋杀等病态的意识。在这方面，信仰「神」的宗教无法让人开悟，已经注定要失败了。在某些国家，当人们为博爱而祷告时，双手沾满了无辜动物们所牺牲的恐怖鲜血，甚至还包括了人类的鲜血，那些可怜、无辜、无助的生灵被屠宰，奉献于来自想像，无法得知的「神」的祭坛。人类经过了漫长的年代，才理解到这种以宗教名誉的残酷行为是徒劳无功的。时间使他们理解，要获得真正纯净的大道，必须透过慈悲和真正了解。
Dr. G. Dharmasiri in his book ”Buddhist critique…
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