TED演讲：依照圣经指导原则生活的一年(9)

 　　But it was interesting because I had some very preconceived notions about, for instance, evangelical Christianity, 但是这很有趣，因为我有一些先入为主的想法，例如，福音派基督教，

　　and I found that it's such a wide and varied¹ movement that it is difficult to make generalizations² about it. 我发现这是一个广泛的风潮，很难概括解释。

　　There's a group I met with called the Red Letter Christians³, 我曾遇到一个团体叫做红字基督徒，

　　and they focus on the red words in the Bible, which are the ones that Jesus spoke⁴. 他们聚焦于圣经上的那些红字，那些耶稣说过的话

　　That's how they printed them in the old Bibles. 在旧圣经中被印成红字的。

　　And their argument is that Jesus never talked about homosexuality.  他们说，耶稣没有讲过同性恋的事情。

　　They have a pamphlet that says, "Here's what Jesus said about homosexuality," and you open it up, and there's nothing in it. 他们有一个小册子，上面说："这是耶稣对同性恋的说法"。然而当你打开它，里面什么都没有。

　　So, they say Jesus did talk a lot about helping⁵ the outcasts, helping poor people. 所以他们声称，耶稣谈论了很多关于帮助无家可归、帮助穷人的事。

　　So, this was very inspiring to me. I recommend Jim Wallace and Tony Campole. 所以这对我是很大的启发。我推荐Jim Wallace和Tony Campole。

　　They're very inspiring leaders, even though I disagree with much of what they say. 他们是很能鼓舞人心的领袖，即使我并不认同他们多数的言论。

　　Also, thou shalt not disregard the irrational⁶.  还有，诸位不能漠视无理的事。

　　This one was very unexpected because, you know, I grew up with the scientific worldview, 这是非常出乎预料的。因为，你们知道，我在一个科学的世界观中成长。

　　and I was shocked learning how much of my life is governed by irrational forces. 然而我十分震惊的发现，我的生命，其实是由不理性的力量主宰。

　　And the thing is, if they're not harmful, they're not to be completely dismissed. 然而，如果这些是无害的，就没必要被完全去除。

　　Because I learned that -- I was thinking, I was doing all these rituals, 因为我学到--我在想，我做的这些仪式，

　　these biblical rituals, separating my wool and linen,  这些圣经上的仪式，区分羊毛和麻布质料。

　　and I would ask these religious people "Why would the Bible possibly tell us to do this? Why would God care?" 我问那些虔诚的人："为什么圣经要这样告诉我们？上帝为什么在意这些？"

　　And they said, "We don't know, but it's just rituals that give us meaning." 然而他们说："我们不知道，这只是个赋予我们意义的仪式。"

　　And I would say, "But that's crazy." And they would say, "Well, what about you?" 我说，"这很疯狂!"他们会说："噢，那你不是吗?"

　　You blow out candles on top of a birthday cake. 你会吹熄生日蛋糕上的蜡烛，这也是个仪式。

　　If a guy from Mars came down and saw,  如果一个来自火星的家伙看到，

　　here's one guy blowing out the fire on top of a cake versus⁷ another guy not wearing clothes of mixed fabrics,  他会说："这有一个家伙吹熄蛋糕上面的火，对比于另一个不穿混纺衣服的人，

　　would the Martians say, 'Well, that guy, he makes sense, but that guy's crazy?'" 火星人会说"噢，这家伙很理性，但是那家伙很疯狂"吗?

　　So no, I think that rituals are, by nature, irrational.  不会，所以，那些仪式是不理性的。

　　So the key is to choose the right rituals, the ones that are not harmful -- but rituals by themselves are not to be dismissed. 所以，关键是选择正确的仪式，那些无害的仪式--仪式本身不该被去除。

1 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

2 generalizations   

一般化( generalization的名词复数 )； 普通化； 归纳； 概论

参考例句：

• But Pearlson cautions that the findings are simply generalizations. 但是波尔森提醒人们，这些发现是简单的综合资料。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 大脑与疾病
• They were of great service in correcting my jejune generalizations. 他们纠正了我不成熟的泛泛之论，帮了我大忙。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

7 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。