ABOUT THE SPEAKER
AJ Jacobs - Author
Immersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer AJ Jacobs tests the limits of behavior, customs, culture, knowledge -- and his wife's sense of humor.

Why you should listen

AJ Jacobs' writings stand at the intersection of philosophy, Gonzo journalism and performance art. Stubbornly curious and slyly perceptive, he takes immersive learning to its irrational and profoundly amusing extreme -- extracting wisdom and meaning after long stints as a self-styled guinea pig. For his widely circulated Esquire article "My Outsourced Life," he explored the phenomenon of outsourcing by hiring a team in Bangalore to take care of every part of his life -- from reading his emails to arguing with his wife to reading bedtime stories to his own son. A previous article, "I Think You're Fat," chronicled a brief, cringe-inducing attempt to live his life in Radical Honesty, telling all the truth, all the time.

Jacobs is author of The Know-It-All, which documents the year he spent reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z, uncovering both funny and surprising factoids but also poignant insight into history and human nature. In 2007 he released The Year of Living Biblically, in which he attempted to follow every single rule in the Bible as literally as possible for an entire year. His recent book The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment is a collection of numerous personal experiments. including living according to George Washington's rules of conduct, outsourcing every single task to India, and posing as a woman on an online dating site. 

More profile about the speaker
AJ Jacobs | Speaker | TED.com
EG 2007

AJ Jacobs: My year of living biblically

A.J. Jacobs依照圣经指导原则生活的一年

Filmed:
2,923,764 views

在最近的EG会议,身兼作家、哲学家、爱开玩笑的人和记者的 A.J. Jacobs 谈分享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。
- Author
Immersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer AJ Jacobs tests the limits of behavior, customs, culture, knowledge -- and his wife's sense of humor. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
I thought I'd tell you a little about what I like to write.
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我打算跟你们聊些我想 要写作的东西。
00:20
And I like to immerse沉浸 myself in my topics主题.
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我喜欢完全投入 我的研究题目。
00:24
I just like to dive潜水 right in and become成为 sort分类 of a human人的 guinea几内亚 pig.
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我直接切入题目 中,以自己为白老鼠。
00:29
And I see my life as a series系列 of experiments实验.
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我的生活像是 一系列的实验。
00:34
So, I work for Esquire男性尊称 magazine杂志, and a couple一对 of years年份 ago,
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几年前我为 <风尚>杂志工作。
00:38
I wrote an article文章 called "My Outsourced外包 Life,"
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我写了一篇文 章叫做"我的外包生活"
00:41
where I hired雇用 a team球队 of people in Bangalore班加罗尔, India印度,
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我雇用了在印 度班加罗尔的一个团队,
00:45
to live生活 my life for me.
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来过我的生 活。
00:47
So, they answered回答 my emails电子邮件.
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所以他们帮我 回电子邮件。
00:49
They answered回答 my phone电话.
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他们帮我听电 话。
00:51
They argued争论 with my wife妻子 for me, and they read my son儿子 bedtime就寝时间 stories故事.
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他们为我和我 的老婆吵嘴,且帮我替儿子读床边故事。
00:58
It was the best最好 month of my life,
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这是我生活中 最美好的一个月,
01:00
because I just satSAT back and I read books图书 and watched看着 movies电影.
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因为我只要放 轻松,看书或看电影。
01:05
It was a wonderful精彩 experience经验.
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这是一个很棒 的经验。
01:07
More recently最近, I wrote an article文章 for Esquire男性尊称 called --
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到最近我为 <风尚> 杂志写了一篇文章叫做--
01:10
about radical激进 honesty诚实.
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关于绝对诚 实。
01:13
And this is a movement运动 where --
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这是个风潮 --
01:15
this is started开始 by a psychologist心理学家 in Virginia弗吉尼亚州,
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由一位维吉尼 亚的心理学家开始的,
01:19
who says that you should never, ever lie谎言,
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他说人应该绝 不能说谎,
01:22
except maybe during poker扑克 and golf高尔夫球, his only exceptions例外.
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除非在打牌或 是高尔夫球中例外。
01:27
And, more than that, whatever随你 is on your brain
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并且甚至,当 任何事情出现在你的脑中
01:29
should come out of your mouth.
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应该大声说出 来。
01:31
So, I decided决定 I would try this for a month.
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我决定要来试 试看这种方式生活一个月。
01:34
This was the worst最差 month of my life.
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这是我一生 中最糟的一个月。
01:37
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
01:38
I do not recommend推荐 this at all.
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我完全不建议 这样做。
01:40
To give you a sense of the experience经验,
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我这样讲你就 了解了,
01:42
the article文章 was called, "I Think You're Fat脂肪."
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这篇文章叫 做"我觉得你很胖"
01:46
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
01:48
So, that was hard.
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因此,那是困难的
01:50
My most recent最近 book -- my previous以前 book was called "The Know-It-All知道这一切,"
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我最新的书--我前一本书叫做《无所不知》
01:55
and it was about the year I spent花费 reading the Encyclopedia百科全书 Britannica大英百科全书
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它是关于那年我花在阅读大英百科全书
01:59
from A to Z in my quest寻求 to learn学习 everything in the world世界,
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从A到Z在我探寻学习世界万物中
02:03
or more precisely恰恰 from AakAAK, which哪一个 is a type类型 of East Asian亚洲 music音乐,
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或更精确的 说从 "雅乐"(A-ak)一种东亚的音乐,
02:08
all the way to ZwyiecZwyiec, which哪一个 is -- well, I don't want to ruin废墟 the ending结尾.
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到最后一 条"日维茨"(Zywiec)这是--我不想搞砸了演讲的结尾。
02:12
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:13
It's a very exciting扣人心弦 twist ending结尾, like an O. Henry亨利 novel小说, so I won't惯于 ruin废墟 it.
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能够在结尾 做转折是令人兴奋的,像是欧亨利的小说,所以我不想搞砸它。
02:17
But I love that one,
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但我喜欢这 想法
02:19
because that was an experiment实验 about how much information信息
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因为那是一 个关于人脑能吸收多少信息
02:23
one human人的 brain could absorb吸收.
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的实验,
02:25
Although虽然, listening to Kevin凯文 Kelly黄绿色, you don't have to remember记得 anything.
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虽然,根据凯文凯丽的说法,你只要能够在谷歌查到它
02:29
You can just Google谷歌 it.
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就不需要记 得这件事了。
02:31
So, I wasted浪费 some time there.
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所以我浪费 了点时间在这。
02:33
I love those experiments实验,
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我喜欢那些 实验,
02:36
but I think that the most profound深刻
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但是我觉得 最奥妙
02:38
and life-changing改变生活 experiment实验 that I've doneDONE
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且改变生命 的实验是
02:42
is my most recent最近 experiment实验, where I spent花费 a year
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我最近刚完 成的实验,我花了一年的时间
02:46
trying to follow跟随 all of the rules规则 of the Bible圣经,
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尝试按照圣 经上指导的原则生活--
02:49
"The Year of Living活的 Biblically圣经."
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"依照圣经 指导原则生活的一年"
02:52
And I undertook承诺 this for two reasons原因.
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并且我想这 样做有两个原因。
02:55
The first was that I grew成长 up with no religion宗教 at all.
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第一我成长 在一个完全没有宗教的环境。
02:59
As I say in my book, I'm Jewish犹太 in the same相同 way
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并且如同我 书上所说, 说我是个犹太人
03:03
the Olive橄榄 Garden花园 is Italian意大利.
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就像"橄榄 花园"(美式意大利餐厅)被当成意大利餐厅,一样离谱
03:05
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:07
So, not very.
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所以,当然 不是这样。
03:09
But I've become成为 increasingly日益 interested有兴趣 in religion宗教.
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但是我已经 对宗教越来越有兴趣。
03:12
I do think it's the defining确定 issue问题 of our time,
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我认为, 在我们的生活中, 这是一个明确的议题,
03:14
or one of the main主要 ones那些.
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或者说是主 要的议题之一。
03:16
And I have a son儿子. I want to know what to teach him.
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而且我有一 个儿子。我想要知道拿什么去教他。
03:19
So, I decided决定 to dive潜水 in head first, and try to live生活 the Bible圣经.
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所以我决定 投入其中,并且尝试依照圣经而活。
03:24
The second第二 reason原因 I undertook承诺 this is because
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第二个原因 我决定这样做,是因为
03:27
I'm concerned关心 about the rise上升 of fundamentalism原教旨主义,
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我对基督教 基本教义的兴起有兴趣,
03:30
religious宗教 fundamentalism原教旨主义, and people who say
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很多人声称
03:33
they take the Bible圣经 literally按照字面, which哪一个 is, according根据 to some polls民意调查,
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他们完全依 照圣经。根据调查
03:36
as high as 45 or 50 percent百分 of America美国.
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有百分之 45或50的美国人,按着圣经的教导过生活。
03:40
So I decided决定, what if you really did take the Bible圣经 literally按照字面?
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所以我决定 看看,真正依照圣经教导行事会怎样?
03:44
I decided决定 to take it to its logical合乎逻辑 conclusion结论
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我决定接受 它和它的逻辑上的推论
03:48
and take everything in the Bible圣经 literally按照字面,
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接受一切圣 经上字面的说法,
03:50
without picking选择 and choosing选择.
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不去挑选。
03:53
The first thing I did was I got a stack of bibles圣经.
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首先,我找 到一堆圣经。
03:56
I had Christian基督教 bibles圣经.
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我有基督教 圣经。
03:58
I had Jewish犹太 bibles圣经.
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我有犹太教 圣经。
04:00
A friend朋友 of mine sent发送 me something called a hip-hop嘻哈 bible圣经,
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我的一个朋 友送我一本叫做「嘻哈圣经」,
04:03
where the twenty-third第二十三 Psalm诗篇 is rendered呈现 as, "The Lord is all that,"
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其中诗篇第 23中所称"神是一切"
04:07
as opposed反对 to what I knew知道 it as, "The Lord is my shepherd牧羊人."
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相对的,就 我所知应该是"神是我的牧者"
04:11
Then I went down and I read several一些 versions版本,
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然后我阅读 了几个版本,
04:15
and I wrote down every一切 single law that I could find.
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并且我写下 每一我能找到的律法。
04:18
And this was a very long list名单 -- over 700 rules规则.
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这是一个很 长的清单--超过700条律法。
04:23
And they range范围 from the famous著名 ones那些 that I had heard听说 of --
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并且这些包 含一些有名的律法一些我曾经听过的--
04:26
The Ten Commandments戒律, love your neighbor邻居, be fruitful卓有成效 and multiply.
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"十 戒"、"爱你的邻人"、"多结果子和生养众多"。
04:29
So I wanted to follow跟随 those.
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所以我要遵 循这些。
04:31
And actually其实, I take my projects项目 very seriously认真地,
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我很认真执 行这个计划
04:34
because I had twins双胞胎 during my year,
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因为这年, 我生了双胞胎,
04:36
so I definitely无疑 take my projects项目 seriously认真地.
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所以我确实 认真的执行这计划。
04:39
But I also wanted to follow跟随 the hundreds数以百计
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但是我想按 照
04:42
of arcane神秘 and obscure朦胧 laws法律 that are in the Bible圣经.
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这上百条在 圣经中神秘且晦涩的律法。
04:45
There is the law in Leviticus利未记,
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这些是在利 未记中的律法--
04:47
"You cannot不能 shave刮胡子 the corners角落 of your beard胡子."
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"胡须的周 围不可损坏。"
04:49
I didn't know where my corners角落 were,
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我不知道哪 里是我的周围,
04:51
so I decided决定 to let the whole整个 thing grow增长,
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所以我决定 留胡须,
04:54
and this is what I looked看着 like by the end结束.
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这是我最后 看起来的样子。
04:57
As you can imagine想像, I spent花费 a lot of time at airport飞机场 security安全.
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你可想而 知,我花了很长的时间在机场安检部门。
05:01
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
05:03
My wife妻子 wouldn't不会 kiss me for the last two months个月.
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最后的二个 月,我太太不肯亲我。
05:06
So, certainly当然 the challenge挑战 was there.
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所以,当然 这是一项挑战。
05:08
The Bible圣经 says you cannot不能 wear穿 clothes衣服 made制作 of mixed fibers纤维,
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圣经上说, 不能穿混合纤维的衣物。
05:13
so I thought, "Sounds声音 strange奇怪, but I'll try it."
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所以我 想:"这听起来很奇怪,但是我要试试看。"
05:15
You only know if you try it.
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你只知道如 果你尝试它。
05:17
I got rid摆脱 of all my poly-cotton涤棉 T-shirtsT恤.
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我处理掉所 有混棉的T恤。
05:20
The Bible圣经 says that if two men男人 are in a fight斗争,
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圣经上说, 如果有两个男人在打架,
05:24
and the wife妻子 of one of those men男人 grabs争夺 the testicles睾丸 of the other man,
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且其中一个 男人的太太抓另一个男人睪丸,
05:30
then her hand shall be cut off.
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那么她的手 就要砍断。
05:32
So, I wanted to follow跟随 that rule规则.
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所以,我想 要遵循这个律法。
05:34
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
05:35
That one I followed其次 by default默认,
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我遵循这律 法的方式就是 --
05:38
by not getting得到 in a fight斗争 with a man whose谁的 wife妻子 was standing常设 nearby附近,
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不要和人打 架,如果他的太太就站在附近的话,
05:42
looking like she had a strong强大 grip.
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且她看起来 有很强的抓力。
05:45
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
05:48
So -- oh, there's another另一个 shot射击 of my beard胡子.
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所以-- 喔,这是另一张我胡子的照片。
05:52
I will say it was an amazing惊人 year
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我会说这是 惊奇的一年。
05:54
because it really was life changing改变, and incredibly令人难以置信 challenging具有挑战性的.
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因为这真正 是生活的改变,且是难以想象的挑战。
05:57
And there were two types类型 of laws法律 that were particularly尤其 challenging具有挑战性的.
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并且还有两 种律法,特别挑战。
06:00
The first was avoiding避免 the little sins that we all commit承诺 every一切 day.
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第一是避免 一些我们每天都会犯的小错。
06:04
You know, I could spend a year not killing谋杀,
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我能够一整 年不杀生,
06:06
but spending开支 a year not gossiping闲聊, not coveting觊觎, not lying说谎 --
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但是一整年 不说闲话,不贪心,不说谎--
06:11
you know, I live生活 in New York纽约, and I work as a journalist记者,
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我生活在纽 约,而且我是一个记者,
06:14
so this was 75, 80 percent百分 of my day I had to do it.
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所以我的生 活中有75至80%,要做这些。
06:19
But it was really interesting有趣, because I was able能够 to make some progress进展,
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但是这是很 有趣的,因为我能够做一些改善
06:24
because I couldn't不能 believe how much
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因为我起初不相信
06:26
my behavior行为 changed my thoughts思念.
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我的行为能 改变多少我的想法。
06:29
This was one of the huge巨大 lessons教训 of the year,
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这是这一 年,我学到的重大学习之一
06:31
is that I almost几乎 pretended假装的 to be a better person,
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我几乎假装 成一个比较好的人,
06:34
and I became成为 a little bit of a better person.
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且我真的有 一点点变好。
06:37
So I had always thought, you know, "You change更改 your mind心神,
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以前,我总 是认为,"你改变了内心,
06:42
and you change更改 your behavior行为," but it's often经常 the other way around.
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然后行为才 会改变",但是我发现,经常是相反的。
06:45
You change更改 your behavior行为, and you change更改 your mind心神.
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当你改变行 为,然后你改变了你的内心。
06:50
So, you know, if you want to become成为 more compassionate富于同情心的,
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所以,你知 道的,如果你想要变得更有同情心,
06:53
you visit访问 sick生病 people in the hospital醫院,
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你去医院探 望生病的人,
06:55
and you will become成为 more compassionate富于同情心的.
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然后你会变 得比较慈善。
06:57
You donate money to a cause原因,
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为某慈善事业捐 钱,
06:59
and you become成为 emotionally感情上 involved参与 in that cause原因.
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然后你就放 感情在那件事里面,
07:02
So, it really was cognitive认知 psychology心理学 --
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所以,这是 认知心里学 --
07:05
you know, cognitive认知 dissonance不和谐 -- that I was experiencing经历.
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认知的不一 致--这是我经历的。
07:08
The Bible圣经 actually其实 talks会谈 about cognitive认知 psychology心理学,
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圣经实际上 是关于认知心里学,
07:11
very primitive原始 cognitive认知 psychology心理学.
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非常基础的 认知心里学。
07:13
In the Proverbs箴言, it says that if you smile微笑, you will become成为 happier幸福,
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箴言 这样说,如果你微笑,你会变得比较快乐,
07:17
which哪一个, as we know, is actually其实 true真正.
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就像我们知 道的一样,这是真的。
07:20
The second第二 type类型 of rule规则 that was difficult to obey遵守
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第二种非常 难去遵循的律法是
07:24
was the rules规则 that will get you into a little trouble麻烦
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这些律法会 让我们遇到小麻烦
07:27
in twenty-first-century二十一世纪 America美国.
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在21世纪 的美国。
07:30
And perhaps也许 the clearest最明显 example of this is stoning乱石 adulterers奸淫.
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一个明显的 例子是:拿石头打通奸的人。
07:35
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
07:36
But it's a big part部分 of the Bible圣经,
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但是,这是 圣经的很大一部份,
07:40
so I figured想通 I had to address地址 it.
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所以我认为 我必需行出来。
07:43
So, I was able能够 to stone one adulterer奸夫.
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所以,我真 的拿石头打了一个通奸者。
07:45
It happened发生 -- I was in the park公园, and I was dressed连衣裙的 in my biblical圣经 clothing服装,
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它发生了 --我当时在公园而且我穿着我圣经式的装扮--
07:50
so sandals凉鞋 and sort分类 of a white白色 robe长袍,
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凉鞋和白长 袍 --
07:53
you know, because again, the outer affects影响 the inner.
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你知道,因 为刚刚所说,外在影响内心。
07:55
I wanted to see how dressing敷料 biblically圣经 affected受影响 my mind心神.
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我想了解圣 经式的装扮,如何影响我的内心。
07:59
And this man came来了 up to me and he said,
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然后这个男 人过来找我并说,
08:01
"Why are you dressed连衣裙的 like that?"
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"你为什么 要穿成这样?"
08:03
And I explained解释 my project项目,
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然后我解释 我的这个计划,
08:05
and he said, "Well, I am an adulterer奸夫, are you going to stone me?"
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然后他 说:"喔,我是一个奸夫,你打算拿石头打我吗?"
08:08
And I said, "Well, that would be great!"
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然后我 说:"哇! 这很棒喔!"
08:11
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
08:16
And I actually其实 took out a handful少数 of stones石头 from my pocket口袋
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然后我从口 袋中拿出满手的石头
08:21
that I had been carrying携带 around for weeks,
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那是我已经 带着这些石头几个礼拜了,
08:23
hoping希望 for just this interaction相互作用 -- and, you know, they were pebbles卵石 --
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期待这种情 况发生-- 然后,你知道的,这些是小卵石--
08:27
but he grabbed抓起 them out of my hand.
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但是那个男 人把石头从我手中夺走。
08:30
He was actually其实 an elderly老年 man, mid-中-70s, just so you know.
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他其实是一 个年长者,七十多岁
08:33
But he's still an adulterer奸夫, and still quite相当 angry愤怒.
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但是他仍然 是奸夫,而且看起来很生气。
08:35
He grabbed抓起 them out of my hand
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他把石头从 我手上夺走
08:37
and threw them at my face面对, and I felt that I could --
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并且往我脸 上丢,然后我感到我能--
08:40
eye for an eye -- I could retaliate报复, and throw one back at him.
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"以眼还 眼",我能报复,我就往他后背丢一个。
08:44
So that was my experience经验 stoning乱石, and it did allow允许 me
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所以这就是 我的丢石头经验。
08:47
to talk about, in a more serious严重 way, these big issues问题.
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这让我更能 严肃的谈论这些重要议题,如:
08:52
How can the Bible圣经 be so barbaric野蛮 in some places地方,
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为何圣经在 某些部分这么的野蛮?
08:56
and yet然而 so incredibly令人难以置信 wise明智的 in others其他?
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且又在其它 部分又难以置信的有智能?
08:59
How should we view视图 the Bible圣经?
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我们该如何 看待圣经?
09:01
Should we view视图 it, you know, as original原版的 intent意图,
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我们应该看 待它,你知道的,就当成它的本意,
09:03
like a sort分类 of a Scalia斯卡利亚 version of the Bible圣经?
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像是一种 Scalia(美国大法官)版本的圣经?
09:08
How was the Bible圣经 written书面?
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圣经是如何 写成?
09:10
And actually其实, since以来 this is a tech高科技 crowd人群,
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然而,既然 这是一个技术集会,
09:12
I talk in the book about how the Bible圣经 actually其实 reminds提醒 me
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让我想这么 说
09:16
of the Wikipedia维基百科, because it has all of these authors作者 and editors编者
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圣经让我想 起维基百科,因为它是由许多人编辑、撰写而成的
09:19
over hundreds数以百计 of years年份.
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并横跨数百 年之久。
09:21
And it's sort分类 of evolved进化.
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撰写圣经可 以说是一种演进过程,
09:23
It's not a book that was written书面 and came来了 down from on high.
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而不是一本 从天上掉下来、已经写好的书。
09:28
So I thought I would end结束 by telling告诉 you
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所以我想在 结尾告诉你们
09:32
just a couple一对 of the take-aways外卖, the bigger lessons教训
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只是几个总结性并有意义的教训
09:35
that I learned学到了 from my year.
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从我这一年 学来的
09:38
The first is, thou shalt not take the Bible圣经 literally按照字面.
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第一个是 --诸位切莫逐字的理解圣经。
09:42
This became成为 very, very clear明确, early on.
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这是一开始 就很清楚的。
09:45
Because if you do, then you end结束 up acting演戏 like a crazy person,
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因为如果你 这样做你最终会像个疯子,
09:48
and stoning乱石 adulterers奸淫, or -- here's这里的 another另一个 example.
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拿石头丢奸 夫,或者--这里有一另个例子--
09:51
Well, that's another另一个. I did spend some time shepherding牧养.
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好的,这是 另一个--我花了很多时间牧羊。
09:56
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
09:57
It's a very relaxing放松 vocation职业. I recommend推荐 it.
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这是一个很 令人轻松的职业。我很推荐。
10:01
But this one is -- the Bible圣经 says that you cannot不能 touch触摸 women妇女
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但这一个 是,圣经告诉我们不能碰女人
10:05
during certain某些 times of the month, and more than that,
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在每个月的 某些时间,更甚者--
10:08
you cannot不能 sit on a seat座位 where a menstruating月经 woman女人 has satSAT.
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你不能坐在 经期妇女曾做过的椅子。
10:12
And my wife妻子 thought this was very offensive进攻,
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我太太觉得 这很侮辱女人,
10:14
so she satSAT in every一切 seat座位 in our apartment公寓,
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所以她把我 们家里的每一个椅子都做了一遍,
10:16
and I had to spend much of the year standing常设
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所以我必须 在这一年大部分时间都站着
10:19
until直到 I bought my own拥有 seat座位 and carried携带的 it around.
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直到我买了 一张自己的椅子并且随身携带。
10:25
So, you know, I met会见 with creationists神创论.
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所以,你知 道的,我遇到一些特创论者
10:29
I went to the creationists'神创论 museum博物馆.
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我去了关于 特创论者的博物馆。
10:31
And these are the ultimate最终 literalistsliteralists.
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他们是最会 咬文嚼字的人。
10:33
And it was fascinating迷人, because they were not stupid people at all.
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然而这很有 趣,因为他们并不是笨蛋。
10:36
I would wager赌注 that their IQ智商 is exactly究竟 the same相同 as the average平均 evolutionist进化论.
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我敢打赌他 们的智商,完全跟相信进化论的人一样。
10:39
It's just that their faith信仰 is so strong强大
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只是他们有 着很强的信仰
10:42
in this literal文字 interpretation解释 of the Bible圣经
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执着于圣经 上的字面解释
10:44
that they distort歪曲 all the data数据 to fit适合 their model模型.
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所以扭曲事 实数据,来符合他们的理论。
10:49
And they go through通过 these amazing惊人 mental心理 gymnastics体操 to accomplish完成 this.
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然后他们经 由神奇的心理训练来达成。
10:53
And I will say, though虽然, the museum博物馆 is gorgeous华丽.
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然而我要说 的是,这博物馆相当华丽。
10:58
They really did a fantastic奇妙 job工作.
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他们真的完 成了一个很棒的工作。
11:00
If you're ever in Kentucky肯塔基,
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如果你曾经 去过美国肯塔基州,
11:01
there's, you can see a movie电影 of the flood洪水,
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就是这-- 你会看到一个关于大洪水的电影,
11:04
and they have sprinklers喷头 in the ceiling天花板
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他们在天花 板上装洒水器
11:06
that will sprinkle on you during the flood洪水 scenes场景.
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当播放到洪 水画面时,你就会被喷到水。
11:10
So, whatever随你 you think of creationism神创论 -- and I think it's crazy --
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所以,不管 你对创世纪论者看法怎样 (我是觉得这蛮疯狂)
11:13
they did a great job工作.
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他们做了一 个很出色的工作。
11:16
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
11:18
Another另一个 lesson is that thou shalt give thanks谢谢.
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另一个教训 是:诸位应当心存感恩。
11:22
And this one was a big lesson because I was praying祈祷,
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这是一个很 重要的教诲,因为我祷告,
11:26
giving these prayers祈祷 of thanksgiving感恩, which哪一个 was odd for an agnostic不可知.
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献上感谢, 这对于不可知论者来说 很怪。
11:30
But I was saying thanks谢谢 all the time, every一切 day,
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但是我嘴上 常挂着感谢,无论何时,
11:34
and I started开始 to change更改 my perspective透视.
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然而我开始 改变我的看法,
11:37
And I started开始 to realize实现 the hundreds数以百计 of little things
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而且开始了 解数以百计的小事情
11:40
that go right every一切 day, that I didn't even notice注意,
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那些顺遂的 事,那些我不曾注意到的小事。
11:44
that I took for granted理所当然, as opposed反对 to focusing调焦
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那些被当作 里所当然的--而不是
11:46
on the three or four that went wrong错误.
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去注意那些 出错的三四件事情。
11:50
So, this is actually其实 a key to happiness幸福 for me,
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所以,这是 幸福的秘诀,对我来说,
11:53
is to just remember记得 when I came来了 over here,
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只要提醒自 己:当我来这里的时候
11:55
the car汽车 didn't flip翻动 over, and I didn't trip coming未来 up the stairs楼梯.
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车子没有翻 覆,我没被阶梯绊倒。
11:59
It's a remarkable卓越 thing.
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这是件很棒 的事。
12:03
Third第三, that thou shall have reverence尊敬.
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第三,诸位 应心存尊敬。
12:05
This one was unexpected意外 because I started开始 the year
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这事件意外 的体会。因为我刚开始
12:08
as an agnostic不可知, and by the end结束 of the year,
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是一个不可 知论者,但是到这一年结束时
12:10
I became成为 what a friend朋友 of mine calls电话 a reverent虔敬 agnostic不可知, which哪一个 I love.
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我变成一个 虔敬的不可知论者。我的朋友这样叫我,我喜欢这样的称号。
12:15
And I'm trying to start开始 it as a movement运动.
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然而我尝试 把虔敬,变成一种风潮。
12:17
So, if anyone任何人 wants to join加入,
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所以如果有 任何人想参与,
12:19
the basic基本 idea理念 is, whether是否 or not there is a God,
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基本的构想 是,不论有没有上帝,
12:22
there's something important重要 and beautiful美丽 about the idea理念 of sacredness神圣,
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我们都一些 重要且美好神圣想法,
12:26
and that our rituals仪式 can be sacred神圣.
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而且,我们 的仪式是神圣的。
12:28
The Sabbath安息日 can be sacred神圣.
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安息日是神 圣的。
12:31
This was one of the great things about my year, doing the Sabbath安息日,
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我的这一年 中的一件大事是守安息日,
12:34
because I am a workaholic工作狂, so having this one day
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因为我是一 个工作狂,所以有这样一天
12:38
where you cannot不能 work, it really, that changed my life.
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我不能工作 --这着实改变我的生活。
12:42
So, this idea理念 of sacredness神圣, whether是否 or not there is a God.
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所以,这是 一个神圣的观念,无关于有没有神。
12:47
Thou shall not stereotype铅板.
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诸位切莫墨守陈规。
12:49
This one happened发生 because
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这个体会来 自于
12:51
I spent花费 a lot of time with various各个 religious宗教 communities社区
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我花了许多 时间,参加
12:54
throughout始终 America美国 because I wanted it to be more
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美国各地的 不同的宗教团体,因为
12:56
than about my journey旅程.
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我希望这不 是个人的旅程,
12:58
I wanted it to be about religion宗教 in America美国.
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而是体验美 国宗教的经验。
13:01
So, I spent花费 time with evangelical福音 Christians基督徒, and Hasidic哈西德 Jews犹太人, and the Amish阿米什.
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所以我花时 间在福音派基督教、哈西德教派,阿米绪教派。
13:05
I'm very proud骄傲 because
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我很自豪
13:07
I think I'm the only person in America美国
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因为,我认 为我是美国唯一
13:09
to out Bible-talk圣经通话 a Jehovah's耶和华 Witness见证.
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能够说倒 「耶和华见证人」的人
13:12
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
13:13
After three and a half hours小时, he looked看着 at his watch,
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过了三小时 半,他看着他的手表,
13:16
he's like, "I gotta总得 go."
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他说:"我 必须走了。"
13:18
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
13:20
Oh, thank you very much.
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噢,非常谢 谢你。
13:25
Thank you. Bless保佑 you, bless保佑 you.
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谢谢你。祝 福你,祝福你。
13:27
But it was interesting有趣
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但是这很有 趣
13:29
because I had some very preconceived先入为主 notions概念 about, for instance,
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因为我有一 些先入为主的想法,例如,
13:32
evangelical福音 Christianity基督教, and I found发现 that
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福音派基督 教,我发现
13:36
it's such这样 a wide and varied多变 movement运动
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这是一个广 泛的风潮
13:38
that it is difficult to make generalizations概括 about it.
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很难概括解 释。
13:44
There's a group I met会见 with called the Red Letter Christians基督徒,
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我曾遇到一 个团体叫做红字基督徒,
13:47
and they focus焦点 on the red words in the Bible圣经,
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他们聚焦于 圣经上的那些红字,
13:50
which哪一个 are the ones那些 that Jesus耶稣 spoke.
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那些耶稣说 过的话--
13:52
That's how they printed印刷的 them in the old Bibles圣经.
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在旧圣经中 被印成红字的。
13:54
And their argument论据 is that Jesus耶稣 never talked about homosexuality同性恋.
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他们说,耶 稣没有讲过同性恋的事情。
13:59
They have a pamphlet小册子 that says,
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他们有一个 小册子,上面说:
14:01
"Here's这里的 what Jesus耶稣 said about homosexuality同性恋,"
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" 这是耶稣对同性恋的说法"
14:03
and you open打开 it up, and there's nothing in it.
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然而当你打 开它,里面什么都没有。
14:06
So, they say Jesus耶稣 did talk a lot about helping帮助 the outcasts弃儿,
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所以他们声 称,耶稣谈论了很多关于帮助无家可归,
14:12
helping帮助 poor较差的 people.
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帮助穷人的 事。
14:15
So, this was very inspiring鼓舞人心 to me.
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所以这对我 是很大的启发。
14:19
I recommend推荐 Jim吉姆 Wallis沃利斯 and Tony托尼 CampoloCampolo.
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我推荐 Jim Wallace 和 Tony Campole。
14:24
They're very inspiring鼓舞人心 leaders领导者, even though虽然 I disagree不同意
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他们是很能 鼓舞人心的领袖,即使我并不认同 --
14:28
with much of what they say.
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他们多数的 言论。
14:30
Also, thou shalt not disregard漠视 the irrational不合理的.
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还有,诸位 不能漠视无理的事。
14:33
This one was very unexpected意外 because, you know,
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这是非常出 乎预料的。因为,你们知道,
14:37
I grew成长 up with the scientific科学 worldview世界观,
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我在一个科 学的世界观中成长。
14:40
and I was shocked吃惊 learning学习 how much of my life
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然而我十分 震惊的发现,
14:47
is governed治理 by irrational不合理的 forces军队.
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我的生命, 其实是由不理性的力量主宰。
14:50
And the thing is, if they're not harmful有害,
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然而,如果 这些是无害的,
14:54
they're not to be completely全然 dismissed驳回.
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就没必要被 完全去除。
14:56
Because I learned学到了 that -- I was thinking思维, I was
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因为我学到 --我在想,
15:00
doing all these rituals仪式, these biblical圣经 rituals仪式,
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我做的这些 仪式,这些圣经上的仪式,
15:03
separating分离 my wool羊毛 and linen麻布, and I would ask these religious宗教 people
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区分羊毛和 麻布质料。 我问那些虔诚的人
15:07
"Why would the Bible圣经 possibly或者 tell us to do this? Why would God care关心?"
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"为什么圣 经要这样告诉我们?上帝为什么在意这些?"
15:11
And they said, "We don't know,
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然而他们 说:"我们不知道,
15:13
but it's just rituals仪式 that give us meaning含义."
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这只是个赋 予我们意义的仪式。"
15:17
And I would say, "But that's crazy."
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我说,"这 很疯狂!"
15:19
And they would say, "Well, what about you?
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他们会 说:"噢,那你不是吗?"
15:21
You blow打击 out candles蜡烛 on top最佳 of a birthday生日 cake蛋糕.
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你会吹熄生 日蛋糕上的蜡烛,这也是个仪式。
15:26
If a guy from Mars火星 came来了 down and saw, here's这里的 one guy
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如果一个来 自火星的家伙看到,
15:30
blowing out the fire on top最佳 of a cake蛋糕
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他会说:" 这有一个家伙吹熄蛋糕上面的火"
15:34
versus another另一个 guy not wearing穿着 clothes衣服 of mixed fabrics面料,
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对比于另一 个不穿混纺衣服的人,
15:38
would the Martians火星 say, 'Well'好, that guy, he makes品牌 sense,
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火星人会 说"噢,这家伙很理性,
15:42
but that guy's家伙 crazy?'"
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但是那家伙 很疯狂"吗?
15:44
So no, I think that rituals仪式 are, by nature性质, irrational不合理的.
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不会,所 以,那些仪式是不理性的。
15:49
So the key is to choose选择 the right rituals仪式,
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所以,关键 是选择正确的仪式,
15:52
the ones那些 that are not harmful有害 -- but rituals仪式 by themselves他们自己
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那些无害的 仪式--仪式本身
15:58
are not to be dismissed驳回.
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不该被去 除。
16:01
And finally最后 I learned学到了 that thou shall pick and choose选择.
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然而,最 终,我学到:诸位应该有所选择。
16:05
And this one I learned学到了 because
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这是因为
16:07
I tried试着 to follow跟随 everything in the Bible圣经.
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我想要去遵 循圣经上所有的东西。
16:09
And I failed失败 miserably非常不幸地.
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然后我失败 的很惨。
16:11
Because you can't.
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因为你做不 到。
16:13
You have to pick and choose选择. And anyone任何人 who follows如下 the Bible圣经
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你必须有所 选择,然而任何遵循圣经的人
16:16
is going to be picking选择 and choosing选择.
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都不是照单 全收的
16:18
The key is to pick and choose选择 the right parts部分.
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关键是:选 择正确的部分。
16:23
There's the phrase短语 called cafeteria自助餐馆 religion宗教,
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有一个词汇 叫做"自助餐式宗教"
16:27
and the fundamentalists原教旨主义者 will use it in a denigrating诋毁 way,
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基本教义 派,把这个字用于轻蔑的意思,
16:31
and they'll他们会 say, "Oh, it's just cafeteria自助餐馆 religion宗教.
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他们会 说:"噢,这不就是自助餐式宗教罢了。
16:33
You're just picking选择 and choosing选择."
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你只是选自 己喜欢的去做。"
16:34
But my argument论据 is, "What's wrong错误 with cafeterias食堂?"
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但我认 为:"自助餐又怎样?"
16:38
I've had some great meals at cafeterias食堂.
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我在自助餐 厅有吃得很开心的经验。
16:40
I've also had some meals that make me want to dry heave举起.
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也有难吃得 想吐的经验。
16:44
So, it's about choosing选择 the parts部分 of the Bible圣经 about compassion同情,
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所以,这是 关于选择圣经中有关恻隐之心,
16:48
about tolerance公差, about loving爱心 your neighbor邻居,
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宽容、爱你 的邻人的那些部分,
16:51
as opposed反对 to the parts部分 about homosexuality同性恋 is a sin,
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不选择「同 性恋是一种罪」、
16:56
or intolerance不耐症, or violence暴力,
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或偏狭 的,或暴力的这些部份,
16:58
which哪一个 are very much in the Bible圣经 as well.
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在圣经 里,也相当的多。
17:00
So if we are to find any meaning含义 in this book,
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所以我们 若想在这本书中找到意义,
17:04
then we have to really engage从事 it, and wrestle搏斗 with it.
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我们必须 真正投入于它,并且与它争战。
17:08
And I thought I'd end结束 with just a couple一对 more.
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然而结束 前我想我在说几件事。
17:11
There's me reading the Bible圣经.
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这是我正 在阅读圣经的照片。
17:13
That's how I hailed欢呼 taxicabs出租车.
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这是我如 何招呼出租车。
17:15
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
17:18
Seriously认真地, and it worked工作. And yes,
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它是有效 的--且是的,
17:20
that was actually其实 a rented sheep,
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那其实是 租来的羊,
17:23
so I had to return返回 that in the morning早上, but it served提供服务 well for a day.
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所以我必 须在早晨归还,但是牠整天都被照顾的很好。
17:28
So, anyway无论如何, thank you so much for letting出租 me speak说话.
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所以,不 论如何,很谢谢你们让我来演讲。
Translated by Wang Qian
Reviewed by Ying Cui

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
AJ Jacobs - Author
Immersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer AJ Jacobs tests the limits of behavior, customs, culture, knowledge -- and his wife's sense of humor.

Why you should listen

AJ Jacobs' writings stand at the intersection of philosophy, Gonzo journalism and performance art. Stubbornly curious and slyly perceptive, he takes immersive learning to its irrational and profoundly amusing extreme -- extracting wisdom and meaning after long stints as a self-styled guinea pig. For his widely circulated Esquire article "My Outsourced Life," he explored the phenomenon of outsourcing by hiring a team in Bangalore to take care of every part of his life -- from reading his emails to arguing with his wife to reading bedtime stories to his own son. A previous article, "I Think You're Fat," chronicled a brief, cringe-inducing attempt to live his life in Radical Honesty, telling all the truth, all the time.

Jacobs is author of The Know-It-All, which documents the year he spent reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z, uncovering both funny and surprising factoids but also poignant insight into history and human nature. In 2007 he released The Year of Living Biblically, in which he attempted to follow every single rule in the Bible as literally as possible for an entire year. His recent book The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment is a collection of numerous personal experiments. including living according to George Washington's rules of conduct, outsourcing every single task to India, and posing as a woman on an online dating site. 

More profile about the speaker
AJ Jacobs | Speaker | TED.com

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