今天欧美最发达的几个国家，从哪来的？

今天欧美最发达的几个国家，从哪来的？

Where did today’s most developed Western countries come from?

你敢相信吗？今天欧美最发达的几个国家，当年竟然是由一群“极端宗教分子”建立起来的！

Can you believe it? Today’s most developed Western countries were actually built by a group of "religious extremists" back then!

大家都知道资本主义和现代民主制度，但很少有人知道，它们的背后都有一个共同的“幕后推手”——加尔文主义。

Everyone knows about capitalism and modern democracy, but few people know that they share a common force behind them—Calvinism.

16世纪，这群加尔文主义者因为信仰被逼得走投无路。

In the 16th century, these Calvinists were pushed to the wall because of their faith.

但他们硬是用一套极度严苛的教义，做成了几件改变世界的大事：

But using a set of extremely strict rules, they managed to do several big things that changed the world:

第一，他们在荷兰建立了世界上第一个现代共和制国家；

First, they built the world’s first modern republic in the Netherlands;

第二，他们乘着“五月花号”跑到北美荒野，打造了今天美国和加拿大的建国根基；

Second, they sailed on the "Mayflower" to the North American wilderness and laid the foundation for today's United States and Canada;

第三，连英国的君主立宪制，都是被这群所谓的“清教徒”用革命硬生生逼出来的！

Third, even the constitutional monarchy in Britain was forced out by these so-called "Puritans" through revolution!

其它，加尔文主义者建立起来的还有瑞士，澳大利亚，新西兰，等等。

In addition, Calvinists also helped build Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and so on.

为什么他们这么能折腾？

Why were they able to bring about so much change?

因为加尔文主义有一个核心观点：人是彻底堕落的，绝对不能把绝对权力交给任何一个人！

Because Calvinism has a core view: human nature is completely fallen, and absolute power must never be given to any single person!

这种对人性的极度警惕，直接催生了现代宪政里的“分权与制衡”。

This high warning about human nature directly gave rise to the "separation of powers and checks and balances" in modern constitutions.

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Follow me, and I will show you world history from a brand new point of view!

从“神本”到“人本”：为什么迎合人性的东西总能占领市场？

From "God-centered" to "Human-centered": Why does what pleases human nature always win the market?

历史上，加尔文主义者凭借对神的敬畏，奠定了现代许多宪政国家的基石，建立了荷兰，英国，美国，加拿大，澳大利亚，新西兰，瑞士，等新教国家，但随着社会演变，这种严谨的“改革宗神学”却逐渐沦为了少数派。

In history, with respect for God, Calvinists set the base for many modern constitutional states, building Protestant countries like the Netherlands, Britain, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland; but as society changed, this strict "Reformed theology" slowly became a minority.

这背后的逻辑，值得我们每一个人深思。

The logic behind this is worth deep thought from every one of us.

加尔文主义的核心是“神的主权”与“人的有限”。

The core of Calvinism is "God's power" and "human limits."

它直接撕掉了人的伪装，告诉我们：人并不伟大。

It takes away human disguise directly and tells us: humans are not great.

但这极大地冒犯了人性——因为人类天然就觉得自己挺行，总渴望在一切事上扮演主角。

But this deeply offends human nature—because humans naturally think they are good enough, and always want to play the main role in everything.

当人们不愿意在神面前谦卑，不愿意花精力去研读圣经时，改变就发生了：

When people do not want to be humble before God, and do not want to spend energy studying the Bible, changes happen:

有的人开始解构圣经的权威，只挑选自己喜欢听的接受；

Some people start to question the Bible's authority, picking only what they like to hear;

有人宣称获得了各种“新启示”，借此降低道德门槛，给人的私欲贴上神圣的标签。

Some claim to get various "new words from God," using them to lower moral standards and call human selfish desires holy.

从神学上讲，这是从“以神为中心”跌落成了“以人为中心”。

In theology, this is a drop from "God-centered" to "human-centered."

在越来越堕落的，现代社会的，宗教市场里，能够提供即时情绪价值、不冒犯人性的言论，永远最受欢迎。

In the religious market of a modern and increasingly falling society, words that give instant comfort and do not offend human feelings are always the most popular.

但历史告诉我们：一个只敢顺从人性、不敢纠正人性的思想，看似繁荣，最终只会让人类在自以为是的膨胀中失去方向。

But history tells us: a thought that only follows human nature and fears to fix it may look rich, but will in the end make humans lose direction in self-pride.

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Give a like, and share this with friends around you who think deeply.