TED演讲之现在或永不 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 varied movement that it is difficult to make generalizations 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 Christians,
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 spoke.
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 helping 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 irrational.
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 versus 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。
演讲简介：
在最近的EG会议上，身兼作家、哲学家、爱开玩笑的人和记者的A.J.Jacobs，分享了关于这一年依照圣经指导原则生活的经验–尽可能的依照圣经的规范过生活。