It's difficult and stubborn.  它是困难的、固执而不顺从的

　　It involves an ongoing struggle,  牵涉不间断的挣扎

　　a continual questioning of what we think we know, a wrestling with issues and ideas. 要不断怀疑自以为知道的，它是一场争议和想法之争

　　It goes hand in hand with doubt, in a never-ending conversation with it, 在不停的对话中，它和怀疑如影随形

　　and sometimes in conscious defiance of it.  某时有意地蔑视怀疑

　　And this conscious defiance is why I, as an agnostic, can still have faith. 作为一名不可知论者，这种有意识地蔑视怀疑就是为什么我仍然要有信仰

　　I have faith, for instance, that peace in the Middle East is possible 例如，我相信中东地区和平是可行的

　　despite the ever-accumulating mass of evidence to the contrary. 尽管越来越多证据证明事实恰恰相反

　　I'm not convinced of this. I can hardly say I believe it. 我不相信这点，也很难说我相信

　　I can only have faith in it, commit myself, that is, to the idea of it, 我只能护卫着信仰，致力于它的理念

　　and I do this precisely because of the temptation  我这样做正因为诱惑

　　to throw up my hands in resignation and retreat into silence. 让我举起双手投降，并退回到沉默中

　　Because despair is self-fulfilling.  因为绝望是一种自我实现

　　If we call something impossible, we act in such a way that we make it so. 如果我们认为某些事不可能，我们就以这样的方式行动使它真的不可能实现

　　And I, for one, refuse to live that way.  对我来说，我拒绝这样生活