EG 2007
AJ Jacobs: My year of living biblically
A.J. 積及跟隨聖經生活的一年
Filmed:
Readability: 3.5
2,923,764 views
係最近的EG講座中,身為作者,哲學家,幽默大師及記者嘅A.J.積及同大家分享佢用咗一年時間跟隨聖經條文生活嘢情況-- 盡可能遵守聖經規則過生活。
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. Full bio
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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我想同大家講一啲關於我喜歡寫作嘅題材。
00:20
And I like to immerse myself in my topics.
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我都喜歡完全投入咁地研究我嘅題目。
00:24
I just like to dive right in and become sort of a human guinea pig.
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我奮不顧身咁投入去仲變成白老鼠。
00:29
And I see my life as a series of experiments.
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我當自己嘅人生係一連串嘅實驗。
00:34
So, I work for Esquire magazine, and a couple of years ago,
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係咁嘅，先幾年我幫Esquire 雜誌社打工,
00:38
I wrote an article called "My Outsourced Life,"
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我曾經寫過一篇文章名叫做"我嘅外判生活"
00:41
where I hired a team of people in Bangalore, India,
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我係印度嘅Bangalore僱用咗一隊人
00:45
to live my life for me.
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嚟替我生活。
00:47
So, they answered my emails.
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所以佢地替我回覆電郵。
00:49
They answered my phone.
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佢地替我聽電話。
00:51
They argued with my wife for me, and they read my son bedtime stories.
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佢地幫我同老婆鬧交，幫我講故仔比個仔聽。
00:58
It was the best month of my life,
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依個係我人生中最美好嘅一個月。
01:00
because I just sat back and I read books and watched movies.
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因為我只須要好悠閒咁坐底睇書同睇電影。
01:05
It was a wonderful experience.
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係一個美好嘅體驗。
01:07
More recently, I wrote an article for Esquire called --
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最近我幫Esquire 雜誌寫咗一篇文章叫做--
01:10
about radical honesty.
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有關徹底的誠實。
01:13
And this is a movement where --
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依個係一場行動--
01:15
this is started by a psychologist in Virginia,
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由一個在維珍尼亞州嘅心理學家所開始嘅。
01:19
who says that you should never, ever lie,
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佢話人永遠永遠唔可以講大話。
01:22
except maybe during poker and golf, his only exceptions.
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除咗玩卑牌同打高爾夫球例外。
01:27
And, more than that, whatever is on your brain
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除此之外，當你個腦諗到任何嘢
01:29
should come out of your mouth.
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應該大聲講出來。
01:31
So, I decided I would try this for a month.
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我決定嘗試參加一個月。
01:34
This was the worst month of my life.
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依個係我人生中最差嘅一個月。
01:37
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
01:38
I do not recommend this at all.
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我完全唔建議大家去試。
01:40
To give you a sense of the experience,
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我咁講你就會明白，
01:42
the article was called, "I Think You're Fat."
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依編文章叫＂我覺得你好肥＂。
01:46
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
01:48
So, that was hard.
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所以係好困難嘅。
01:50
My most recent book -- my previous book was called "The Know-It-All,"
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我最近出咗一本書叫"全部都知道"
01:55
and it was about the year I spent reading the Encyclopedia Britannica
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書中講述我用咗一年時間去睇大英百科全書
01:59
from A to Z in my quest to learn everything in the world,
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由A至Z去讀，為咗知道世界上所有嘅事。
02:03
or more precisely from Aak, which is a type of East Asian music,
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仔細來講係從A-ak(一種東亞音樂)開始，
02:08
all the way to Zwyiec, which is -- well, I don't want to ruin the ending.
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一路到Zwyiec,係一種...我唔想搞壞演講嘅結尾。
02:12
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
02:13
It's a very exciting twist ending, like an O. Henry novel, so I won't ruin it.
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這是一個令人興奮嘅結尾，好似一本O.Henry嘅小說，所以我唔想搞壞佢。
02:17
But I love that one,
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不過我好喜歡依種想法
02:19
because that was an experiment about how much information
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因為依個實驗係研究到底人的腦袋
02:23
one human brain could absorb.
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能容納多少資訊。
02:25
Although, listening to Kevin Kelly, you don't have to remember anything.
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雖然，根據Kevin Kelly 所講，做人唔駛記咁多嘢。
02:29
You can just Google it.
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你用Google就可以啦。
02:31
So, I wasted some time there.
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所以我係果度因浪費咗一啲時間。
02:33
I love those experiments,
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我鐘意個果啲實驗。
02:36
but I think that the most profound
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但我認為我做過嘅實驗當中最有意義，
02:38
and life-changing experiment that I've done
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最能改變我一生嘅，
02:42
is my most recent experiment, where I spent a year
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就係我最近完成嘅實驗。我用咗一年時間，
02:46
trying to follow all of the rules of the Bible,
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去嘗試遵守聖經上的所有規條。
02:49
"The Year of Living Biblically."
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生活在聖經中的一年
02:52
And I undertook this for two reasons.
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我做依個實驗係有兩個原因:
02:55
The first was that I grew up with no religion at all.
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第一係因為係我成長過程中一直冇接觸任何宗教.
02:59
As I say in my book, I'm Jewish in the same way
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正如我書中所講，話我係猶太人
03:03
the Olive Garden is Italian.
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就好似Olive Garden被當成義大利餐廳一樣
03:05
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
03:07
So, not very.
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因此，當然唔係咁樣。
03:09
But I've become increasingly interested in religion.
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但我對宗教愈來愈有興趣，
03:12
I do think it's the defining issue of our time,
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我覺得依個係這現世代裏具有決定性嘅話題。
03:14
or one of the main ones.
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又或者係具中一個重要嘅話題。
03:16
And I have a son. I want to know what to teach him.
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同時，我有一個仔。我想知道要點樣教佢。
03:19
So, I decided to dive in head first, and try to live the Bible.
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所以，我唔理三七二十一就開始按照聖經來生活。
03:24
The second reason I undertook this is because
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第二個令我咁樣做嘅原因係因為
03:27
I'm concerned about the rise of fundamentalism,
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我十分關注原教旨主義嘅興起,
03:30
religious fundamentalism, and people who say
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宗教上嘅原教旨主義，很多人聲稱
03:33
they take the Bible literally, which is, according to some polls,
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佢地完全依照聖經生活，根據訪問，竟然
03:36
as high as 45 or 50 percent of America.
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佔了美國人口的45到50%.
03:40
So I decided, what if you really did take the Bible literally?
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所以我決定睇吓，如果你係按照聖經字面上的意思過活嘅話，會發生什麼事？
03:44
I decided to take it to its logical conclusion
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我決定要遵守佢同佢邏輯上嘅推論,
03:48
and take everything in the Bible literally,
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按照聖經字面上所有指示,
03:50
without picking and choosing.
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不去揀擇。
03:53
The first thing I did was I got a stack of bibles.
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我做的第一件事就係搵一疊聖經。
03:56
I had Christian bibles.
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我有基督教嘅聖經。
03:58
I had Jewish bibles.
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我有猶太教嘅聖經。
04:00
A friend of mine sent me something called a hip-hop bible,
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我有朋友寄咗一本叫＂a hip-hop bibile"嘅書比我。
04:03
where the twenty-third Psalm is rendered as, "The Lord is all that,"
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其中詩篇第二十三節變改為，＂主是所有事情。＂
04:07
as opposed to what I knew it as, "The Lord is my shepherd."
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相對我知道嘅＂主是我的牧人。＂節然不同。
04:11
Then I went down and I read several versions,
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我繼續讀咗幾個版本。
04:15
and I wrote down every single law that I could find.
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並寫低我找到的嘅有規條。
04:18
And this was a very long list -- over 700 rules.
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係一個好長嘅清單，多過七百條規則。
04:23
And they range from the famous ones that I had heard of --
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並且包含一啲有名嘅律法同一啲我曾經聽過嘅--
04:26
The Ten Commandments, love your neighbor, be fruitful and multiply.
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"十戒"、"愛你的鄰人"、"多結果子和生養眾多"。
04:29
So I wanted to follow those.
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因此我要遵守依啲規條。
04:31
And actually, I take my projects very seriously,
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我好認真咁執行依個計劃。
04:34
because I had twins during my year,
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因為果年我生咗雙胞胎，
04:36
so I definitely take my projects seriously.
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所以我確實認真的執行這計劃。
04:39
But I also wanted to follow the hundreds
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但係我都想遵守其他數百條
04:42
of arcane and obscure laws that are in the Bible.
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係聖經裏令人費解同模糊嘅規則
04:45
There is the law in Leviticus,
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係利未記中有一條規條，
04:47
"You cannot shave the corners of your beard."
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你唔可以剃去你鬍鬚嘅角位。
04:49
I didn't know where my corners were,
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我都唔知道邊度係我啲鬍鬚嘅角位，
04:51
so I decided to let the whole thing grow,
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所以我決定留鬍鬚,
04:54
and this is what I looked like by the end.
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依張係我最後嘅樣。
04:57
As you can imagine, I spent a lot of time at airport security.
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你可以想像到，我係機場保安關卡用咗好多時間。
05:01
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
05:03
My wife wouldn't kiss me for the last two months.
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我老婆係最後兩個月裏唔肯錫我。
05:06
So, certainly the challenge was there.
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亳無疑問，難度就一定有嘅。
05:08
The Bible says you cannot wear clothes made of mixed fibers,
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聖經裡面話你唔可以不著混合纖維嘅衫，
05:13
so I thought, "Sounds strange, but I'll try it."
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所以我諗，＂聽落好奇怪，但我都會試吓。＂
05:15
You only know if you try it.
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你要試過先會明白.
05:17
I got rid of all my poly-cotton T-shirts.
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我丟晒所有半尼龍半綿嘅T恤
05:20
The Bible says that if two men are in a fight,
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聖經話如果有兩個男人打架，
05:24
and the wife of one of those men grabs the testicles of the other man,
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如果其中一方嘅老婆抓住另一個男人嘅睪丸，
05:30
then her hand shall be cut off.
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佢隻手將會被砍。
05:32
So, I wanted to follow that rule.
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所以，我想遵守依條規則。
05:34
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
05:35
That one I followed by default,
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我用咗一 個方法去遵守依條規則--
05:38
by not getting in a fight with a man whose wife was standing nearby,
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就係唔好同一個有老婆企係隔離嘅男人打架
05:42
looking like she had a strong grip.
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而且佢隻手睇起來好很有抓勁。
05:45
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
05:48
So -- oh, there's another shot of my beard.
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所以--奧，依張相係影我啲鬍鬚嘅
05:52
I will say it was an amazing year
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我覺得係出人意表嘅一年
05:54
because it really was life changing, and incredibly challenging.
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因為佢真係改變咗我嘅一生仲好有挑戰性添。
05:57
And there were two types of laws that were particularly challenging.
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有兩種規條特別困難。
06:00
The first was avoiding the little sins that we all commit every day.
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第一係避免一啲我地平日皆犯嘅小錯
06:04
You know, I could spend a year not killing,
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你知道，我可以一年都唔殺生，
06:06
but spending a year not gossiping, not coveting, not lying --
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但係一年內不講人壞話，唔偷睇，不講大話--
06:11
you know, I live in New York, and I work as a journalist,
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要知道，我住喺紐約市，我嘅工作喺記者，
06:14
so this was 75, 80 percent of my day I had to do it.
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所以我每日嘅生活有75至80%都要做依啲嘢
06:19
But it was really interesting, because I was able to make some progress,
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但喺都幾有趣，因為我得到一啲進步，
06:24
because I couldn't believe how much
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由於我唔相信
06:26
my behavior changed my thoughts.
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我嘅行為可以改變多少我的思想。
06:29
This was one of the huge lessons of the year,
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依樣喺我依一年內學到最寶貴嘅一課之一,
06:31
is that I almost pretended to be a better person,
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我幾乎扮成一個好人，
06:34
and I became a little bit of a better person.
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我變得好人了一點點。
06:37
So I had always thought, you know, "You change your mind,
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我以前曾經咁諗，"你改變你嘅思想，
06:42
and you change your behavior," but it's often the other way around.
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然後行為先至會改變",但其實經常相反。
06:45
You change your behavior, and you change your mind.
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你改變你嘅行為，然後你改變你的嘅思想。
06:50
So, you know, if you want to become more compassionate,
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所以，你知道嘅,如果你想變得更有同情心，
06:53
you visit sick people in the hospital,
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你去醫院探訪病人嘅話，
06:55
and you will become more compassionate.
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然後你就會變得富有同情心。
06:57
You donate money to a cause,
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你為某件事捐款，
06:59
and you become emotionally involved in that cause.
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然後你就放感情晌果度.
07:02
So, it really was cognitive psychology --
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所以，依啲其實喺認知心理學--
07:05
you know, cognitive dissonance -- that I was experiencing.
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你知道，認知失調 -- 我正在經歷。
07:08
The Bible actually talks about cognitive psychology,
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聖經嘅內容實際上喺是關於認知心理學,
07:11
very primitive cognitive psychology.
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最基礎嘅認知心理學。
07:13
In the Proverbs, it says that if you smile, you will become happier,
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喺箴言裡面講述，如果你笑的話，你會變得快樂，
07:17
which, as we know, is actually true.
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人人都知，喺真實嘅。
07:20
The second type of rule that was difficult to obey
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第二種困難去遵守的規則喺，
07:24
was the rules that will get you into a little trouble
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果啲規則會為我們帶來小麻煩
07:27
in twenty-first-century America.
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在21世紀嘅美國。
07:30
And perhaps the clearest example of this is stoning adulterers.
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可能最清晰嘅例子喺是向通姦嘅人丟石頭。
07:35
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
07:36
But it's a big part of the Bible,
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但喺依樣喺聖經裏面好大嘅一部分。
07:40
so I figured I had to address it.
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所以我想我一定要回應依個問題。
07:43
So, I was able to stone one adulterer.
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所以,我真喺囉石頭丟一個通姦者。
07:45
It happened -- I was in the park, and I was dressed in my biblical clothing,
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件事喺咁發生嘅--我當時喺公園裏頭，著住一身聖經式嘅裝扮--
07:50
so sandals and sort of a white robe,
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涼鞋同白色的大袍--
07:53
you know, because again, the outer affects the inner.
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你知道，頭先講過因為外在會影響內在嘅情況下,
07:55
I wanted to see how dressing biblically affected my mind.
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我想知道依一身聖經嘅衣著可以點樣改變我嘅思想。
07:59
And this man came up to me and he said,
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然後個男人走過來同我講，
08:01
"Why are you dressed like that?"
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＂點解你要著成咁樣？＂
08:03
And I explained my project,
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然後我向佢解釋我嘅的計劃，
08:05
and he said, "Well, I am an adulterer, are you going to stone me?"
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然後佢話，＂我喺一個姦夫，咁你會用石頭丟我嗎？＂
08:08
And I said, "Well, that would be great!"
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然後我話，＂好!這當然最好不過啦!＂
08:11
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
08:16
And I actually took out a handful of stones from my pocket
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於是我喺我個袋裡面囉咗幾舊石頭，
08:21
that I had been carrying around for weeks,
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我已經隨身攜帶咗了好幾星期，
08:23
hoping for just this interaction -- and, you know, they were pebbles --
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希望一有機會就--當然，果啲喺細石頭--
08:27
but he grabbed them out of my hand.
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但係個男人搶咗我手上嘅石頭。
08:30
He was actually an elderly man, mid-70s, just so you know.
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佢其實係一個七十多歲嘅老人家，
08:33
But he's still an adulterer, and still quite angry.
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不過佢仍然係一個姦夫，而且係好嬲果種，
08:35
He grabbed them out of my hand
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他搶去了我的石塊。
08:37
and threw them at my face, and I felt that I could --
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然後投擲在我的臉中，當時我覺得我可以－
08:40
eye for an eye -- I could retaliate, and throw one back at him.
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以眼還眼，我可以報復，所以投擲一塊於他身上。
08:44
So that was my experience stoning, and it did allow me
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所以，這是我投石的經驗，這容許我
08:47
to talk about, in a more serious way, these big issues.
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去用較嚴肅的方法去談及這些重要的課題，
08:52
How can the Bible be so barbaric in some places,
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為什麼聖經在某方面能這樣的蠻不講理，
08:56
and yet so incredibly wise in others?
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但又在某些地方充滿智慧
08:59
How should we view the Bible?
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我們應該怎樣看待聖經？
09:01
Should we view it, you know, as original intent,
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我們應該是從原意出發，
09:03
like a sort of a Scalia version of the Bible?
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像是一種Scalia(美國大法官)式的聖經？
09:08
How was the Bible written?
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聖經是怎樣寫成的？
09:10
And actually, since this is a tech crowd,
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但其實，由於這是一個科技的集會，
09:12
I talk in the book about how the Bible actually reminds me
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我書中曾提到聖經其實令我想起了
09:16
of the Wikipedia, because it has all of these authors and editors
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維基百科，因為它是由各種各樣的作者和編輯編成
09:19
over hundreds of years.
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在這幾百年裏。
09:21
And it's sort of evolved.
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它還某程度上進化了。
09:23
It's not a book that was written and came down from on high.
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它並不是一本隨天上掉下來的書。
09:28
So I thought I would end by telling you
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所以我想我最後會告訴你，
09:32
just a couple of the take-aways, the bigger lessons
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是一些易於記住的重要道理，
09:35
that I learned from my year.
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我在這一年學到的。
09:38
The first is, thou shalt not take the Bible literally.
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第一，你不應該硬性地跟隨字面上去理解聖經的意思。
09:42
This became very, very clear, early on.
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這很早就已經顯然易見。
09:45
Because if you do, then you end up acting like a crazy person,
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因為你這樣的話，你會變成一個瘋漢，
09:48
and stoning adulterers, or -- here's another example.
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投石於姦夫，又或是，再多舉一個例子，
09:51
Well, that's another. I did spend some time shepherding.
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好的,這是另一個--我真的用了一點時間去牧羊。
09:56
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
09:57
It's a very relaxing vocation. I recommend it.
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這是一個很輕鬆的職業。我大力推介。
10:01
But this one is -- the Bible says that you cannot touch women
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但這條規則－聖經說你不能觸碰女人，
10:05
during certain times of the month, and more than that,
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於每個月的某些日子，還有,
10:08
you cannot sit on a seat where a menstruating woman has sat.
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你不能坐在曾經被經期婦女坐過的椅子。
10:12
And my wife thought this was very offensive,
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我的妻子覺得這很侮辱女人,
10:14
so she sat in every seat in our apartment,
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所以她把我們家的每個座位都坐了一遍。
10:16
and I had to spend much of the year standing
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我要在那一年中站了不少時間。
10:19
until I bought my own seat and carried it around.
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直至我買給自己可以隨身攜帶的椅子。
10:25
So, you know, I met with creationists.
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所以,你知道的,我遇到一個創世論者.
10:29
I went to the creationists' museum.
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我去了他們的博物館，
10:31
And these are the ultimate literalists.
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他們是終極的字面跟隨者，
10:33
And it was fascinating, because they were not stupid people at all.
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這真令人眼界大開，因為他們根本不是蠢人來的。
10:36
I would wager that their IQ is exactly the same as the average evolutionist.
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我賭他們的智商跟相信進化論的人一樣。
10:39
It's just that their faith is so strong
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只是他們有很強烈的信仰，
10:42
in this literal interpretation of the Bible
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執著於聖經上的字面解釋
10:44
that they distort all the data to fit their model.
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他們扭曲所有的數據以滿足他們的模式。
10:49
And they go through these amazing mental gymnastics to accomplish this.
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他們通過這些令人驚訝的心理訓練來做到這一點。
10:53
And I will say, though, the museum is gorgeous.
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然而我要說的是,這博物館很華麗。
10:58
They really did a fantastic job.
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他們真的做得很好。
11:00
If you're ever in Kentucky,
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如果你到過肯塔基州,
11:01
there's, you can see a movie of the flood,
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就是這--你可以去看關於大洪水的電影,
11:04
and they have sprinklers in the ceiling
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他們在天花板上裝灑水器
11:06
that will sprinkle on you during the flood scenes.
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當播放到洪水畫面時便淋水在你身上.
11:10
So, whatever you think of creationism -- and I think it's crazy --
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所以,不管你怎樣看待創世論者,我覺得他們很荒誕,
11:13
they did a great job.
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他們做得很好。
11:16
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
11:18
Another lesson is that thou shalt give thanks.
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另一個道理是該感恩。
11:22
And this one was a big lesson because I was praying,
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這是重要的一課因為我在禱告時，
11:26
giving these prayers of thanksgiving, which was odd for an agnostic.
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我在感恩禱告，這是一件對於無神論者而言很怪的事情。
11:30
But I was saying thanks all the time, every day,
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但我每天常常都在感恩,任何時間,
11:34
and I started to change my perspective.
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我開始改變了自己看事情的角度，
11:37
And I started to realize the hundreds of little things
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而且我開始了解身邊數以百計的小事情，
11:40
that go right every day, that I didn't even notice,
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那些如意的事情，那些小得我不會發覺的事。
11:44
that I took for granted, as opposed to focusing
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我把他們的發生當作理所當然的--但不是把視線集中於
11:46
on the three or four that went wrong.
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少數不如意的事情。
11:50
So, this is actually a key to happiness for me,
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所以，這是我快樂的秘訣，
11:53
is to just remember when I came over here,
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只是去記得我來會場的途中，
11:55
the car didn't flip over, and I didn't trip coming up the stairs.
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車子沒有翻掉，我沒有在上樓梯時滑倒，
11:59
It's a remarkable thing.
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這是一件精彩的事。
12:03
Third, that thou shall have reverence.
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第三，你要尊敬別人，
12:05
This one was unexpected because I started the year
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這個是出人意表的因為我這年開始的時候，
12:08
as an agnostic, and by the end of the year,
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是一個不可知論者，到了年末，
12:10
I became what a friend of mine calls a reverent agnostic, which I love.
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我變成一個給朋友叫作尊敬的不可知論者,我十分喜愛這個名稱。
12:15
And I'm trying to start it as a movement.
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我現在嘗試將這個活動變為潮流.
12:17
So, if anyone wants to join,
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所以如果大家想參加的話，
12:19
the basic idea is, whether or not there is a God,
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最基本的概念是，無論有沒有神的存在，
12:22
there's something important and beautiful about the idea of sacredness,
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總有一些重要和美麗的神聖的想法,
12:26
and that our rituals can be sacred.
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而且我們的儀式是很神聖的。
12:28
The Sabbath can be sacred.
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安息日是很神聖的。
12:31
This was one of the great things about my year, doing the Sabbath,
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我這年其中一樣美好的事，就是守安息日,
12:34
because I am a workaholic, so having this one day
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因為我是個工作狂，當我有了這樣的一天，
12:38
where you cannot work, it really, that changed my life.
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當不能工作--真的大大改變了我一生。
12:42
So, this idea of sacredness, whether or not there is a God.
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所以,這是神聖的概念，無論有沒有上帝也好.
12:47
Thou shall not stereotype.
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你都不應把它公式化。
12:49
This one happened because
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這種體會是因為我
12:51
I spent a lot of time with various religious communities
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用了很多時間跟隨了不同的宗教團體，
12:54
throughout America because I wanted it to be more
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在美國各地。因為我想它
12:56
than about my journey.
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不只是我個人的旅程。
12:58
I wanted it to be about religion in America.
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我想探討美國的宗教，
13:01
So, I spent time with evangelical Christians, and Hasidic Jews, and the Amish.
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因此我用了不少時間在福音派基督教、哈西德教派和阿米希教派。
13:05
I'm very proud because
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我感到自豪因為
13:07
I think I'm the only person in America
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我覺得我是美國唯一一個
13:09
to out Bible-talk a Jehovah's Witness.
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能在宗教討論時說服到一個耶和華見證。
13:12
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
13:13
After three and a half hours, he looked at his watch,
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在三個半小時後，他看一看他的手表，
13:16
he's like, "I gotta go."
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他說，＂我不得不走了。＂
13:18
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
13:20
Oh, thank you very much.
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謝謝大家。
13:25
Thank you. Bless you, bless you.
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謝謝。祝福你，祝福你。
13:27
But it was interesting
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但這是很有趣的，
13:29
because I had some very preconceived notions about, for instance,
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因為我有一些先入為主的思想，例如，
13:32
evangelical Christianity, and I found that
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福音派基督教，我發現，
13:36
it's such a wide and varied movement
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這次一個很廣泛的運動，
13:38
that it is difficult to make generalizations about it.
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是很難一概而論的。
13:44
There's a group I met with called the Red Letter Christians,
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我認識一隊人叫紅字基督徒，
13:47
and they focus on the red words in the Bible,
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他們集中研究在聖經裏的紅字，
13:50
which are the ones that Jesus spoke.
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那些是耶穌所說的話--
13:52
That's how they printed them in the old Bibles.
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在舊聖經中都是以紅色印上去的。
13:54
And their argument is that Jesus never talked about homosexuality.
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他們的論點是耶穌從來沒有講過同性戀。
13:59
They have a pamphlet that says,
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他們有一本小冊子說著,
14:01
"Here's what Jesus said about homosexuality,"
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這是耶穌曾就同性戀所說的話,
14:03
and you open it up, and there's nothing in it.
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然而你把它打開,發覺當中空白一片。
14:06
So, they say Jesus did talk a lot about helping the outcasts,
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所以，他們說耶穌曾說過很多有關幫助被抛棄的人的事，
14:12
helping poor people.
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幫助窮人的事。
14:15
So, this was very inspiring to me.
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所以這對我有很大的啟發。
14:19
I recommend Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo.
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我會推介Jim Wallace 和Tony Campolo,
14:24
They're very inspiring leaders, even though I disagree
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他們是非常鼓舞人心的領袖,縱使我不認同,
14:28
with much of what they say.
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他們多數的言論。
14:30
Also, thou shalt not disregard the irrational.
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還有,你不可以忽略不理性的事情.
14:33
This one was very unexpected because, you know,
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這個發現令我驚訝非常,因為,你們知道,
14:37
I grew up with the scientific worldview,
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我從科學化的角度中成長,
14:40
and I was shocked learning how much of my life
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然而我十分震驚的發現我的生命
14:47
is governed by irrational forces.
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是由非理性的力量所操控.
14:50
And the thing is, if they're not harmful,
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還有的是,就算那些力量不是有害的,
14:54
they're not to be completely dismissed.
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他們不可以完全去除的。
14:56
Because I learned that -- I was thinking, I was
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因為我學會了，當我在想－
15:00
doing all these rituals, these biblical rituals,
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我做了這些儀式，這些聖經上的儀式，
15:03
separating my wool and linen, and I would ask these religious people
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區分羊毛和麻布質料。 我問那些虔誠的人，
15:07
"Why would the Bible possibly tell us to do this? Why would God care?"
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＂為什麼聖經要我們做這些東西？為什麼上帝會注意這些事情？＂
15:11
And they said, "We don't know,
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他們會回答，＂我們不知道,
15:13
but it's just rituals that give us meaning."
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但這些儀式給與我們某些特定意義。＂
15:17
And I would say, "But that's crazy."
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我會說，＂這是不可理喻的。＂
15:19
And they would say, "Well, what about you?
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他們回答，＂那麼你又怎樣？＂
15:21
You blow out candles on top of a birthday cake.
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你吹熄了生日蛋糕上的蠟燭
15:26
If a guy from Mars came down and saw, here's one guy
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如果火星來的人看見,他會說
15:30
blowing out the fire on top of a cake
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有一個人正在吹熄了生日蛋糕上的火光。
15:34
versus another guy not wearing clothes of mixed fabrics,
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對比於一個不穿混合纖維衣服的人，
15:38
would the Martians say, 'Well, that guy, he makes sense,
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火星人會不會說，＂這個人很正常，＂
15:42
but that guy's crazy?'"
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＂但那個人是變態的嗎？＂
15:44
So no, I think that rituals are, by nature, irrational.
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不是，所以我覺得那些儀式在自然層面來說，是不理性的。
15:49
So the key is to choose the right rituals,
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所以重點是要挑選正確的儀式，
15:52
the ones that are not harmful -- but rituals by themselves
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那些無害的儀式--但是儀式本身
15:58
are not to be dismissed.
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他們不會給忽略的。
16:01
And finally I learned that thou shall pick and choose.
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最後，我學到了大家應該有所選擇。
16:05
And this one I learned because
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我學了這個因為
16:07
I tried to follow everything in the Bible.
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我嘗是跟迶聖經中的所有的事，
16:09
And I failed miserably.
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但我淒慘地失敗。
16:11
Because you can't.
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因為你不可以，
16:13
You have to pick and choose. And anyone who follows the Bible
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所以你要挑選，任何人要遵守聖經的話，
16:16
is going to be picking and choosing.
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也要挑選。
16:18
The key is to pick and choose the right parts.
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重點在於挑選正確的部分。
16:23
There's the phrase called cafeteria religion,
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有一個詞彙叫做"自助餐式宗教"
16:27
and the fundamentalists will use it in a denigrating way,
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基本主義的人會把它視為有詆毀性般去使用。
16:31
and they'll say, "Oh, it's just cafeteria religion.
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他們會說，＂這只是自坐助餐式宗教。＂
16:33
You're just picking and choosing."
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你只是在挑你喜歡的東西。
16:34
But my argument is, "What's wrong with cafeterias?"
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但我的論點是，＂自助餐又有什麼問題呢？＂
16:38
I've had some great meals at cafeterias.
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我在自助餐廳有吃得很開心的經驗。
16:40
I've also had some meals that make me want to dry heave.
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亦曾遇到一些難吃得令人噴飯的
16:44
So, it's about choosing the parts of the Bible about compassion,
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所以，這是關於怎樣挑選聖經裡有關同情心的部分，
16:48
about tolerance, about loving your neighbor,
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有關包容，有關愛你的近鄰，
16:51
as opposed to the parts about homosexuality is a sin,
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跟反對＂同性戀等於罪＂
16:56
or intolerance, or violence,
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又或是不寬容，或暴力,
16:58
which are very much in the Bible as well.
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在聖經裡也相當的多。
17:00
So if we are to find any meaning in this book,
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所以我們要在這本書找出任何意義，
17:04
then we have to really engage it, and wrestle with it.
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我們必須全身投入，並且奮戰不懈。
17:08
And I thought I'd end with just a couple more.
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我想臨走前多給大家幾個例子。
17:11
There's me reading the Bible.
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這是我正在閱讀聖經.
17:13
That's how I hailed taxicabs.
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這是我如何招呼的士。
17:15
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
17:18
Seriously, and it worked. And yes,
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認真的，而且有效的--且是的,
17:20
that was actually a rented sheep,
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那其實是一只租來的羊,
17:23
so I had to return that in the morning, but it served well for a day.
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所以我必須在早上歸還牠,但是牠整天都被好好的照顧。
17:28
So, anyway, thank you so much for letting me speak.
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所以,無論如何,謝謝你們讓我來演講。
Reviewed by Ann Lee
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
AJ Jacobs - AuthorImmersing 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.
AJ Jacobs | Speaker | TED.com