TED2006
Julia Sweeney: Letting go of God
ジュリア・スウィーニー： 神様との決別
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ジュリア・スウィーニー（出演作 God Said, "Ha!"）が2006年に行ったソロ・ショー「神様との決別」（Letting Go of God）から、初めの15分間を演じます。ある日、彼女の家を訪ねて来た2人の若いモルモン宣教師が、彼女自身の信念を考え直すきっかけを作り出します。
Julia Sweeney - Actor, comedian, playwright
Julia Sweeney creates comedic works that tackle deep issues: cancer, family, faith. Full bio
Julia Sweeney creates comedic works that tackle deep issues: cancer, family, faith. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:25
On September 10, the morning of my seventh birthday,
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9月10日 私が７才になった誕生日の朝
00:28
I came downstairs to the kitchen, where my mother was washing the dishes
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母は台所で食器洗いをして
00:32
and my father was reading the paper or something,
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父は新聞を読んでいたの
00:35
and I sort of presented myself to them in the doorway, and they said,
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私の姿を見て 両親は“お誕生日おめでとう”
00:38
"Hey, happy birthday!" And I said, "I'm seven."
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”７才になったよ” と私
00:43
And my father smiled and said,
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父がニコッとして言ったの
00:45
"Well, you know what that means, don't you?"
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“７才になる意味はわかってるね？”
00:47
And I said, "Yeah, that I'm going to have a party and a cake
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“ケーキを食べたりプレゼントを貰うってこと？”
00:50
and get a lot of presents?" And my dad said, "Well, yes.
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“そうとも言えるけど もっと大事なのは
00:54
But, more importantly, being seven means that you've reached the age of reason,
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７才は分別年齢に達したってことさ
00:59
and you're now capable of committing any and all sins against God and man."
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神と人に対して罪を犯す可能性があるんだよ”
01:03
(Laughter)
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（笑）
01:06
Now, I had heard this phrase, "age of reason," before.
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“分別年齢”って表現はその前から聞いたことはあった
01:09
Sister Mary Kevin had been bandying it about
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２年生のクラスで シスターが言ってたの
01:12
my second-grade class at school. But when she said it,
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でもシスターが言ってたのは
01:14
the phrase seemed all caught up in the excitement of preparations
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初めての聖餐や懺悔の準備に関わる―
01:17
for our first communion and our first confession,
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興奮のように聞こえたのよ
01:19
and everybody knew that was really all about the white dress and the white veil,
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白いドレスを着てベールをつけることだって思ってた
01:24
and anyway, I hadn't really paid all that much attention to that phrase, "age of reason."
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“分別年齢”という表現は 深く考えたことがなかったから
01:28
So, I said, "Yeah, yeah, age of reason. What does that mean again?"
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“もう一度おしえて” と言ったの
01:33
And my dad said, "Well, we believe in the Catholic Church
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父が言うには “カトリック教会ではね
01:36
that God knows that little kids don't know the difference between right and wrong,
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小さな子どもは善悪の区別が出来ないと神はわかってるけど
01:40
but when you're seven, you're old enough to know better.
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７才だと分別できるようになるんだ
01:42
So, you've grown up, and reached the age of reason, and now
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もう大きくなったから これからは
01:46
God will start keeping notes on you and begin your permanent record."
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神様がお前の永久記録をつけ始めるのさ”
01:50
(Laughter)
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（笑）
01:51
And I said, "Oh. Wait a minute. You mean all that time,
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“そうなんだ でも待って 今日までずっと良い子にしてたのに
01:58
up till today, all that time I was so good, God didn't notice it?"
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神様は気づいてくれなかったの？”
02:04
And my mom said, "Well, I noticed it."
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“いや 私は気づいてたよ” と母
02:07
(Laughter)
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（笑）
02:09
And I thought, "How could I not have known this before?
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私は思ったわ “どうして
02:11
How could it not have sunk in when they'd been telling me?
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今まで知らなかったのかしら？
02:13
All that being good and no real credit for it.
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良い子にしてた意味がないじゃない
02:16
And, worst of all, how could I not have realized this very important information
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こんなに大事な情報を 意味がなくなる日まで
02:19
until the very day that it was basically useless to me?"
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知らなかったなんて最悪よ
02:23
So I said, "Well, Mom and Dad, what about Santa Claus?
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“じゃあ サンタさんは 良い子か
02:26
I mean, Santa Claus knows if you're naughty or nice, right?"
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悪い子かわかってるんでしょう？” と私
02:30
And my dad said, "Yeah, but, honey,
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父は “感謝祭と
02:32
I think that's technically just between Thanksgiving and Christmas."
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クリスマスの間だけだと思うよ”
02:35
And my mother said, "Oh, Bob, stop it. Let's just tell her.
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母は “お父さん 教えちゃいましょうよ
02:38
I mean, she's seven. Julie, there is no Santa Claus."
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この子は７才よ サンタなんていないの”
02:42
(Laughter)
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（笑）
02:45
Now, this was actually not that upsetting to me.
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実はね これにはあまり驚きはしなかった
02:49
My parents had this whole elaborate story about Santa Claus:
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出来過ぎた話だと思ってたの
02:51
how they had talked to Santa Claus himself and agreed
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普通の家ではクリスマスイブの夜に
02:54
that instead of Santa delivering our presents over the night of Christmas Eve,
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サンタがプレゼントを届けて 翌朝一番に
02:57
like he did for every other family
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プレゼントを開けるけど
02:59
who got to open their surprises first thing Christmas morning,
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うちは両親が事前にサンタと相談してたから
03:02
our family would give Santa more time.
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サンタが来る時間が遅いわけ
03:05
Santa would come to our house while we were at nine o'clock high mass
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来る時間は 大ミサが行われるクリスマスの朝９時
03:08
on Christmas morning, but only if all of us kids did not make a fuss.
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でも良い子にしていないと来てくれない
03:12
Which made me very suspicious.
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とっても怪しいと思ったわ
03:15
It was pretty obvious that it was really our parents giving us the presents.
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両親がプレゼントを用意してるのは明らかだった
03:19
I mean, my dad had a very distinctive wrapping style,
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父の包装の仕方は独特だったし
03:22
and my mother's handwriting was so close to Santa's.
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母とサンタの筆跡はそっくり
03:26
Plus, why would Santa save time by having to loop back
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それに サンタが皆の家を回って
03:28
to our house after he'd gone to everybody else's?
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わざわざ うちまで戻ってくるなんて変よね
03:31
There's only one obvious conclusion to reach from this mountain of evidence:
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たくさんある証拠から導ける確かな結論は１つしかない
03:35
our family was too strange and weird
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我が家はあまりに異色すぎて
03:38
for even Santa Claus to come visit,
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サンタさえ来ない
03:40
and my poor parents were trying to protect us from the embarrassment,
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両親は陽気なサンタに拒否された恥ずかしさから
03:43
this humiliation of rejection by Santa, who was jolly --
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私たちを守ろうと頑張っていた
03:47
but, let's face it, he was also very judgmental.
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でもサンタだって良い子にしかプレゼントをくれない
03:50
So, to find out that there was no Santa Claus at all was actually sort of a relief.
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だから サンタが架空だってことは ある意味 安心できたの
03:55
I left the kitchen not really in shock about Santa,
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あまりショックを受けず台所を後にしたんだけど
03:58
but rather I was just dumbfounded
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分別年齢を知らなかったことは
03:59
about how I could have missed this whole age of reason thing.
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本当に唖然としちゃったわ
04:03
It was too late for me, but maybe I could help someone else,
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私には役に立たないけど この情報が使える―
04:06
someone who could use the information.
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誰かに教えてあげられる
04:08
They had to fit two criteria:
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それには基準が２つ
04:10
they had to be old enough to be able to understand
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分別年齢の概念を
04:12
the whole concept of the age of reason, and not yet seven.
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理解できて ７才未満であること
04:16
The answer was clear: my brother Bill. He was six.
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弟のビルは６才だわ
04:19
Well, I finally found Bill about a block away from our house
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弟は近所にある学校の遊び場で
04:22
at this public school playground. It was a Saturday,
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遊んでた 土曜日だったの
04:24
and he was all by himself, just kicking a ball against the side of a wall.
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１人でボール蹴りして遊んでいた弟に
04:28
I ran up to him and said, "Bill!
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私は走り寄って言ったの
04:30
I just realized that the age of reason starts when you turn seven,
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“分別年齢は７才からだって 今わかったの
04:33
and then you're capable of committing any and all sins
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７才になると罪を犯す可能性が出ちゃうのよ”
04:35
against God and man." And Bill said, "So?" And then I said,
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”だから何？” “７才まであと１年あるじゃない
04:39
"So, you're six. You have a whole year to do anything you want to
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それまで何をしても神様は気づかないのよ”
04:43
and God won't notice it." And he said, "So?" And I said,
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“それで？” と弟 “あんたバカね！”
04:47
"So? So everything!" And I turned to run. I was so angry with him.
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走って帰ろうと思ったけど 頭に来たから
04:53
But when I got to the top of the steps, I turned around dramatically
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階段を上った所で 思わせぶりに振り返り
04:55
and said, "Oh, by the way, Bill, there is no Santa Claus."
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“そういえばね サンタなんていないのよ”
05:00
(Laughter)
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（笑）
05:02
Now, I didn't know it at the time,
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その当時は知らなかったんだけど
05:04
but I really wasn't turning seven on September 10.
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9月10日に７才になったわけじゃなかった
05:07
For my 13th birthday, I planned a slumber party with all of my girlfriends,
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13歳の誕生日に お泊まり会を計画したの
05:11
but a couple of weeks beforehand my mother took me aside and said,
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でも その数週間前に 母に呼ばれて言われたの
05:14
"I need to speak to you privately.
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“話さなくちゃいけないことがあるの
05:18
September 10 is not your birthday. It's October 10." And I said, "What?"
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誕生日は9月10日ではなく10月10日なの” “えっ？”
05:24
(Laughter)
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（笑）
05:25
And she said, "Listen. The cut-off date to start kindergarten was September 15."
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“幼稚園に入るには9月15日以前に生まれた子どもって言うもんだから”
05:33
(Laughter)
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（笑）
05:34
"So, I told them that your birthday was on September 10,
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“だから誕生日は9月10日だって言ったのよ
05:37
and then I wasn't sure that you weren't just going to go blab it all over the place,
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あなたが いろんなところで言いふらしたら困るから
05:41
so I started to tell you your birthday was September 10.
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誕生日は9月10日だって言い始めたのよ
05:45
But, Julie, you were so ready to start school, honey. You were so ready."
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でもね あなたは準備万端だったのよ”
05:49
I thought about it, and when I was four,
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私は４歳のとき
05:51
I was already the oldest of four children,
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既に４人兄弟の一番上で
05:53
and my mother even had another child to come,
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母は５人目を妊娠中だったから
05:55
so what I think she understandably really meant was that she was so ready,
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母が意味していたのは 彼女が準備万端だったのよ
05:58
she was so ready. Then she said,
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それで母は言ったの
06:01
"Don't worry, Julie, every year on October 10 when it was your birthday
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“心配しないで 毎年10月10日の誕生日には
06:04
but you didn't realize it, I made sure
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気づかなかったでしょうけど
06:06
that you ate a piece of cake that day."
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ケーキを食べさせてたのよ”
06:09
(Laughter)
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（笑）
06:12
Which was comforting, but troubling.
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嬉しいのか何なのか
06:14
My mother had been celebrating my birthday with me, without me.
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私がその場にいながら 母は私抜きで誕生日を祝ってたの
06:19
What was so upsetting about this new piece of information
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これを聞いて動揺したのは
06:22
was not that I was going to have to change the date of my slumber party
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お泊まり会の日を
06:24
with all of my girlfriends,
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変更することではなく
06:26
what was most upsetting was that this meant that I was not a Virgo.
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実は乙女座じゃなかったってこと
06:30
I had a huge Virgo poster in my bedroom,
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部屋に大きな乙女座のポスターを貼っていて
06:33
and I read my horoscope every single day, and it was so totally me.
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毎日星占いも読んでたの しかも占いは大当たり
06:38
(Laughter)
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（笑）
06:40
And this meant that I was a Libra?
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私は天秤座だったってこと？
06:42
So, I took the bus downtown to get the new Libra poster.
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だから 私は天秤座のポスターを買いに行ったの
06:46
The Virgo poster is a picture of a beautiful woman with long hair,
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乙女座のポスターは長い髪の美女が
06:49
sort of lounging by some water,
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水辺で くつろいでいる絵だけど
06:51
but the Libra poster is just a huge scale.
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天秤座は巨大な天秤だけ
06:54
This was around the time that I started filling out physically,
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当時 私は成長期で
06:56
and I was filling out a lot more than a lot of the other girls,
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他の子よりも成長が早かったから
06:59
and, frankly, the whole idea that my astrological sign was a scale
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正直 サインが天秤だなんて
07:03
just seemed ominous and depressing.
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不吉で憂鬱にしか感じなかった
07:06
(Laughter)
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（笑）
07:09
But I got the new Libra poster,
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でも新しいポスターを買って
07:11
and I started to read my new Libra horoscope,
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天秤座の星占いを読み始めたら
07:14
and I was astonished to find that it was also totally me.
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あまりにも私にぴったりだったから驚いたわ
07:20
It wasn't until years later, looking back
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分別年齢や誕生日の話を
07:22
on this whole age-of-reason/change-of-birthday thing,
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思い出して ７才になったと思ったときに
07:25
that it dawned on me: I wasn't turning seven
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実はまだ６才だったと気づいたのは
07:27
when I thought I turned seven. I had a whole other month
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しばらくしてからなの 神様が私の記録を
07:30
to do anything I wanted to before God started keeping tabs on me.
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つけ始めるまで 自由な時間が1か月もあったのよ
07:34
Oh, life can be so cruel.
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ああ 人生って残酷よね
07:38
One day, two Mormon missionaries came to my door.
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ある日 モルモン宣教師２人組が訪ねて来たの
07:42
Now, I just live off a main thoroughfare in Los Angeles,
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ロスの賑やかな場所に住んでいたから
07:44
and my block is -- well, it's a natural beginning
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セールスや勧誘の人が 家々を
07:47
for people who are peddling things door to door.
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回り始める場所だったの
07:50
Sometimes I get little old ladies from the Seventh Day Adventist Church
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セブンスデー・アドベンチスト教会の婦人が
07:53
showing me these cartoon pictures of heaven.
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天国の絵を持って来たり
07:55
And sometimes I get teenagers who promise me that they won't join a gang
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雑誌の購読契約をしてくれれば 僕はギャングになったり
07:59
and just start robbing people if I only buy
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強奪はしないよと言う
08:01
some magazine subscriptions from them.
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10代の子が来ることもあった
08:03
So, normally I just ignore the doorbell, but on this day I answered.
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だから普段は居留守を使うんだけど この日は出たの
08:08
And there stood two boys, each about 19,
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糊がきいた白の半袖シャツを着た19歳位の
08:10
in white starched short-sleeved shirts, and they had little name tags
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男の子が２人立っていて
08:14
that identified them as official representatives
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末日聖徒イエス・キリスト教会の代表者だと
08:16
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
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書いてある小さな名札をつけていた
08:20
and they said they had a message for me from God.
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その２人は 神からのお言葉を伝えに来たって言うの
08:23
I said, "A message for me? From God?" And they said, "Yes."
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“神様から私宛ての伝言？” “そうです”
08:29
Now, I was raised in the Pacific Northwest,
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私は末日聖徒教会の信者がたくさんいる―
08:31
around a lot of Church of Latter-day Saints people and, you know,
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アメリカの太平洋沿岸で育ったから
08:34
I've worked with them and even dated them,
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仕事も一緒にしたり デートだってしたことがある
08:36
but I never really knew the doctrine or what they said to people
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でも 教義や 布教活動でどんなことを言うのか―
08:38
when they were out on a mission, and I guess I was, sort of, curious,
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無知だったから 好奇心が出ちゃって
08:41
so I said, "Well, please, come in." And they looked really happy,
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“お入りください” と言ったら とても嬉しそうだった
08:44
because I don't think this happens to them all that often.
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家に上がるなんて稀だと思うの
08:47
(Laughter)
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（笑）
08:49
And I sat them down, and I got them glasses of water --
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彼らには座ってもらい 水を差しだしたの
09:03
OK, I got it. I got them glasses of water.
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水を差しだした部分からね
09:06
Don't touch my hair, that's the thing.
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髪を触っちゃいけないのよね
09:08
(Laughter)
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（笑）
09:11
You can't put a video of myself in front of me
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自分が映るビデオを目の前にして
09:14
and expect me not to fix my hair.
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髪を触らないなんて無理よ
09:16
(Laughter)
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（笑）
09:17
OK. So I sat them down and I got them glasses of water,
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彼らには座ってもらい 水を差しだした
09:23
and after niceties they said, "Do you believe that God loves you with all his heart?"
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軽い会話の後 “神が心から愛してくれていると信じますか？” って聞かれたの
09:28
And I thought, "Well, of course I believe in God,
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私は心の中で “もちろん神様のことは信じているけど
09:32
but, you know, I don't like that word, heart,
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心っていう言葉が引っかかる
09:34
because it anthropomorphizes God,
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神を擬人化しちゃうもの
09:37
and I don't like the word, 'his,' either, because that sexualizes God."
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それに神を ‘彼’として扱うのも好きじゃない”
09:41
But I didn't want to argue semantics with these boys,
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でも語意で争いたくなかったから
09:44
so after a very long, uncomfortable pause, I said
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ぎこちなくて長い沈黙の後
09:47
"Yes, yes, I do. I feel very loved."
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“はい 深い愛を感じます”
09:52
And they looked at each other and smiled,
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模範解答だったかのように
09:53
like that was the right answer. And then they said,
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彼らは顔を見合わせ にっこりした
09:56
"Do you believe that we're all brothers and sisters on this planet?"
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“人類みな兄弟だと信じますか？”
09:59
And I said, "Yes, I do. Yes, I do." And I was so relieved
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“はい 信じます”
10:01
that it was a question I could answer so quickly.
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即答できる質問でホッとしたわ
10:04
And they said, "Well, then we have a story to tell you."
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“聴かせたいお話があるんです”
10:08
And they told me this story all about this guy named Lehi,
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彼らは紀元前600年にエルサレムにいたという―
10:11
who lived in Jerusalem in 600 BC.
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リーハイという男の話を始めたの
10:14
Now, apparently in Jerusalem in 600 BC,
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その当時は男も女も
10:16
everyone was completely bad and evil. Every single one of them:
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子どもも 赤ん坊も 胎児も
10:19
man, woman, child, infant, fetus.
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みんな邪悪だったらしく
10:22
And God came to Lehi and said to him, "Put your family on a boat
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リーハイは “ボートにみんなを乗せれば
10:25
and I will lead you out of here." And God did lead them.
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ここから脱出させてあげよう” という啓示を受け
10:29
He led them to America.
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アメリカに移住したって言うの
10:32
I said, "America? From Jerusalem to America by boat in 600 BC?"
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“紀元前600年にボートでエルサレムからアメリカに来たって？”
10:40
And they said, "Yes."
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“そうです”
10:42
(Laughter)
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（笑）
10:44
Then they told me how Lehi and his descendants
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リーハイとその子孫は
10:46
reproduced and reproduced, and over the course of 600 years
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600年の間 子孫を増やして
10:49
there were two great races of them, the Nephites and the Lamanites,
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ニーファイ人とレーマン人の2つの人種に大きく分かれた
10:52
and the Nephites were totally, totally good -- each and every one of them --
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ニーファイ人は誰もが善良で
10:55
and the Lamanites were totally bad and evil --
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レーマン人は誰もが
10:57
every single one of them just bad to the bone.
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骨の髄まで邪悪だったそうな
10:59
(Laughter)
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（笑）
11:00
Then, after Jesus died on the cross for our sins,
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キリストは十字架にかけられた後
11:03
on his way up to heaven he stopped by America and visited the Nephites.
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天国へ行く途中 アメリカに寄ってニーファイ人を訪ね
11:07
(Laughter)
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（笑）
11:08
And he told them that if they all remained totally, totally good --
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一人残らずニーファイ人が
11:11
each and every one of them --
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善良でいるならば
11:13
they would win the war against the evil Lamanites.
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悪のレーマン人との戦いに勝たせてあげようと言ったんだって
11:16
But apparently somebody blew it,
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でも 誰かが これをぶち壊しちゃった
11:19
because the Lamanites were able to kill all the Nephites.
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レーマン人がニーファイ人を皆殺しにしたの
11:21
All but one guy, this guy named Mormon,
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でも 森に身を潜めて 生き延びた―
11:23
who managed to survive by hiding in the woods.
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モルモンって男がいたのよ
11:26
And he made sure this whole story was written down
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彼は事の全てを金版に神官文字で
11:29
in reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics chiseled onto gold plates,
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彫り刻み ニューヨークのパルミラ近くに
11:33
which he then buried near Palmyra, New York.
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埋めたそうなの
11:37
(Laughter)
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（笑）
11:42
Well, I was just on the edge of my seat.
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私は身を乗り出しちゃった
11:45
(Laughter)
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（笑）
11:48
I said, "What happened to the Lamanites?"
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“レーマン人はどうなったの？”
11:51
And they said, "Well, they became our Native Americans here in the U.S."
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“彼らはアメリカでネイティブアメリカンとなりました”
11:54
And I said, "So, you believe the Native Americans are descended
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“邪悪な人たちの子孫がネイティブアメリカンだと
11:58
from a people who were totally evil?" And they said, "Yes."
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信じてるの？” “そうです”
12:02
Then they told me how this guy named Joseph Smith
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そして ジョセフ・スミスという人が
12:05
found those buried gold plates right in his backyard,
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裏庭から金版と魔法の石を掘り出し
12:09
and he also found this magic stone back there that he put into his hat
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それを帽子の中に入れて顔を埋めると
12:12
and then buried his face into, and this allowed him
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神官文字から英語へと
12:15
to translate the gold plates from the reformed Egyptian into English.
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翻訳できたっていうの
12:19
Well, at this point I just wanted to give these two boys
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この時点で その男の子たちの
12:22
some advice about their pitch.
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売り込み方を指導したくなったわ
12:24
(Laughter)
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（笑）
12:27
I wanted to say, "OK, don't start with this story."
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“その話から切り出しちゃだめよ” ってね
12:34
I mean, even the Scientologists know to start with a personality test before they start --
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サイエントロジーだって ジヌーや宇宙の邪悪な帝王の話の前に
12:39
(Applause)
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（拍手）
12:41
-- telling people all about Xenu, the evil intergalactic overlord.
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性格診断から始めるわよね
12:46
Well, then they said, "Do you believe that God speaks to us
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２人は “義にかなう預言者を通じた―
12:48
through his righteous prophets?" And I said, "No, I don't."
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神との対話を信じますか” “いいえ”
12:51
Because I was, sort of, upset about this Lamanite story
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レーマン人や金版の話に
12:53
and this crazy gold plate story, but the truth was,
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納得がいかなかったけど
12:56
I hadn't really thought this through, so I backpedaled a little and I said,
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実はよく考えてなかったから 少し考え直して
13:00
"Well, what exactly do you mean by righteous?
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“義にかなう とか 預言者って
13:03
And what do you mean by prophets? Like, could the prophets be women?"
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どういう意味かしら？ 女性でもなれるの？”
13:07
And they said, "No." And I said, "Why?" And they said,
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“いいえ” と言う２人に私は理由を尋ねたの
13:11
"Well, it's because God gave women a gift that is so spectacular,
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“神は女たちに目覚ましい贈り物をしたので
13:16
it is so wonderful, that the only gift he had left over to give men
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男たちに残された唯一の贈り物が
13:21
was the gift of prophecy."
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預言なのです”
13:24
What is this wonderful gift God gave women, I wondered?
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女が貰った贈り物って何だろう？
13:26
Maybe their greater ability to cooperate and adapt?
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女性の協調性や適応力？
13:31
Women's longer lifespan? The fact that women tend to be
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男よりも長生きして 男よりも暴力的じゃないこと？
13:34
much less violent than men? But, no, it wasn't any of these gifts.
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でもそんなことじゃなかったの
13:38
They said, "Well, it's her ability to bear children."
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“子どもを産めることです” って言うの
13:41
I said, "Oh, come on. I mean, even if women tried to have a baby
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“出産が原因で過労死しないと仮定して
13:44
every single year from the time they were 15 to the time they were 45,
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女の人が15歳から45歳まで
13:48
assuming they didn't die from exhaustion,
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毎年子どもを産み続けたとしても
13:50
it still seems like some women would have some time left over
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まだ神からの言葉を聴ける時間が
13:53
to hear the word of God." And they said, "No."
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残っていそうだけど” “違います”
13:57
(Laughter)
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（笑）
14:00
Well, then they didn't look so fresh-faced and cute to me any more,
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彼らがもう初々しく見えなくなっちゃった
14:02
but they had more to say.
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でも彼らは更に続けて
14:04
They said, "Well, we also believe that if you're a Mormon
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“敬虔なモルモン教徒でいたならば
14:07
and if you're in good standing with the church, when you die
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あなたが死を迎えるとき
14:09
you get to go to heaven and be with your family for all eternity."
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天国に行って永久に家族と一緒にいられるのです”
14:14
And I said, "Oh, dear --
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“あら まあ！
14:16
(Laughter)
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（笑）
14:23
-- that wouldn't be such a good incentive for me."
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私には励みにもならないわね”
14:25
(Laughter)
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（笑）
14:26
And they said, "Oh -- hey, well, we also believe
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さらに彼らは “天国では完全な状態の肉体を
14:31
that when you go to heaven you get your body restored
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取り戻せると信じています
14:33
to you in its best original state.
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例えば 足を失った人は
14:36
Like, if you'd lost a leg, well, you get it back.
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足を取り戻しますし
14:38
Or, if you'd gone blind, you could see."
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盲人は視覚を取り戻します”
14:40
I said, "Oh -- now, I don't have a uterus because I had cancer
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そこで私が “ガンで数年前に子宮を
14:44
a few years ago. So, does this mean that if I went to heaven
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摘出したけど 子宮も取り戻せるの？”
14:47
I would get my old uterus back?" And they said, "Sure."
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“もちろんです”
14:51
And I said, "I don't want it back. I'm happy without it." Gosh.
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“いらないわよ 無くて結構”
14:57
What if you had a nose job and you liked it?
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整形した鼻に満足している場合はどうなの？
15:00
(Laughter)
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（笑）
15:02
Would God force you to get your old nose back?
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神は元の鼻をつけろ とでも言うのかしら
15:05
Well, then they gave me this Book of Mormon,
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その後モルモン書を渡されて
15:07
and they told me to read this chapter and that chapter,
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後日戻って来るから
15:09
and they said they'd come back some day and check in on me,
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読んでおくように言われたの
15:11
and I think I said something like, "Please don't hurry,"
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“それは結構よ”って―
15:13
or maybe it was just, "Please don't," and they were gone.
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言ったと思うけど 彼らは帰って行った
15:17
OK, so, I initially felt really superior to these boys,
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月並みの信念に浸っている自分に
15:20
and smug in my more conventional faith. But then,
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初めは私の方が正しいと思ってたけど
15:23
the more I thought about it, the more I had to be honest with myself.
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自分の信念も考え直すようになったの
15:26
If someone came to my door and I was hearing Catholic theology
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もし誰かが訪ねて来て カトリック神学や
15:29
and dogma for the very first time, and they said,
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教義を初めて聴かされ
15:32
"We believe that God impregnated a very young girl
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“神は性交渉なしに若い女の子を
15:35
without the use of intercourse,
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身ごもらせて―
15:37
and the fact that she was a virgin is maniacally important to us --
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その子が処女だって事実が大切なんだけど
15:40
(Laughter)
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（笑）
15:41
-- and she had a baby, and that's the son of God,"
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彼女が神の子を産みました”
15:44
I mean, I would think that's equally ridiculous.
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なんて言われたら 馬鹿げてると思うもの
15:47
I'm just so used to that story.
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通説だから何も思わなかったのよ
15:49
(Laughter)
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（笑）
15:50
So, I couldn't let myself feel condescending towards these boys.
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だから ２人には偉そうな顔ができなかった
15:53
But the question they asked me when they first arrived
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でも 最初に質問された―
15:55
really stuck in my head:
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神に心から愛されていると
15:57
Did I believe that God loved me with all his heart?
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信じるかという質問だけが頭から離れませんでした
16:01
Because I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about that question.
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なぜなら 自分の真意が曖昧だったからです
16:03
Now, if they'd asked me,
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もし 神があなたを
16:05
Do you feel that God loves you with all his heart?
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心から愛しているのを感じますかって聞かれたら
16:09
Well, that would have been much different, I think I would have instantly answered,
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私の答えはずいぶん違って こんな感じで即答したと思います
16:12
"Yes, yes, I feel it all the time. I feel God's love when I'm hurt and confused,
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“はい 傷ついたり迷ったりしているときに神様の愛を感じます
16:17
and I feel consoled and cared for. I take shelter in God's love
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癒しと労りを感じます なぜ惨事が起こるのか―
16:22
when I don't understand why tragedy hits,
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分からない時は神の愛に助けを求め
16:24
and I feel God's love when I look with gratitude at all the beauty I see."
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感謝の念で美を見るときに神の愛を感じます”
16:28
But since they asked me that question with the word believe in it,
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でも 質問の中で信じるという言葉が使われたから
16:31
somehow it was all different,
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答えがずいぶんと変わってしまいました
16:33
because I wasn't exactly sure if I believed what I so clearly felt.
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感じると信じるは別物のような感じがしたからです
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Julia Sweeney - Actor, comedian, playwrightJulia Sweeney creates comedic works that tackle deep issues: cancer, family, faith.
Why you should listen
Julia Sweeney is a writer, director, actress, comedian and monologist. She is known for being a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1995, where she created and popularized the androgynous character, Pat. She is also well known for her comedic and dramatic monologues. God Said Ha! is a monologue about serious illness, her brother's lymphoma and her own cancer, and her family's crazy reactions to this crisis as they soldiered their way through struggle, confusion and death. This play was performed all over the U.S. and on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater. It was made into a film produced by Quentin Tarantino, and the comedy album from the show was nominated for a Grammy.
Sweeney's second monologue, In the Family Way, played in theatrical runs in New York and Los Angeles. It was ultimately fashioned into a book, a memoir titled If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother. Sweeney's third monologue, Letting Go of God, chronicled her journey from Catholicism to atheism. It was made into a film that played on Showtime.
Julia Sweeney | Speaker | TED.com