TED演讲:无神论2.0

 　　One of the most common ways of dividing the world  一个把人类分成两大部分很普遍的方法

　　is into those who believe and those who don't--into the religious and the atheists. 便是分为相信神的存在的一部分，以及不相信宗教信仰的另一部分--宗教教徒和无神论者

　　And for the last decade or so,  在最近的十年中

　　it's been quite clear what being an atheist¹ means. 对无神论者的定义已经是十分清楚的了

　　There have been some very vocal² atheists who've pointed³ out, 有些直话直说的无神论者，他们说

　　not just that religion is wrong, but that it's ridiculous. 宗教不仅仅是种欺骗，它还非常荒谬

　　These people, many of whom have lived in North Oxford⁴, have argued-- 说这些话的人很多都住在牛津北部，他们坚持 --

　　they've argued that believing in God is akin⁵ to believing in fairies 他们觉得相信上帝就像相信童话故事

　　and essentially⁶ that the whole thing is a childish game. 所以相信宗教根本就是一件很幼稚的事情

　　Now I think it's too easy.  我觉得那些定义太简单了

　　I think it's too easy to dismiss the whole of religion that way. 我觉得以那样的说法去排斥宗教，实在是太肤浅了

　　And it's as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.  那样的说法不具备说服力

　　And what I'd like to inaugurate today is a new way of being an atheist -- 我想提出一种以无神论者来对待宗教的方式

　　if you like, a new version of atheism⁷ we could call Atheism 2.0. 我把那种方式叫做无神论2.0

　　Now what is Atheism 2.0?  那什么是无神论2.0呢

　　Well it starts from a very basic premise⁸: of course, there's no God. 它有个最基本的前提，就是相信上帝是不存在的

　　Of course, there are no deities⁹ or supernatural spirits or angels, etc. 当然也没有神仙或者超自然的力量或者天使等等

　　Now let's move on; that's not the end of the story, that's the very, very beginning. 这只是最基本的一个开始，现在我们来更深层次地讨论一下

1 atheist   

n.无神论者

参考例句：

• She was an atheist but now she says she's seen the light.她本来是个无神论者，可是现在她说自己的信仰改变了。
• He is admittedly an atheist.他被公认是位无神论者。

2 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 atheism   

n.无神论，不信神

参考例句：

• Atheism is the opinion that there is no God.无神论是认为不存在上帝的看法。
• Atheism is a hot topic.无神论是个热门话题。

8 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

9 deities   

n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明

参考例句：

• Zeus and Aphrodite were ancient Greek deities. 宙斯和阿佛洛狄是古希腊的神。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Taoist Wang hesitated occasionally about these transactions for fearof offending the deities. 道士也有过犹豫，怕这样会得罪了神。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文