Kate Bowler: "Everything happens for a reason" -- and other lies I've loved
كايت باولِر: كل شيء يحدث لسبب ~ "وأكاذيب أخرى أحببتها"
Kate Bowler is reexamining her perspective on the "prosperity gospel": the belief that good things happen to good people. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
that nobody, absolutely nobody,
لا أحد مطلقاً..
that I got a call in my office
the life I wanted.
وأخيراً أحيا الحياة التي أردتها.
after years of infertility.
I applied for in academia,
تقدمت للعمل في المؤسسات الأكاديمية،
I'd started feeling pain in my stomach
to find out why.
called me at work
سرطان من الدرجة الرابعة،
to come to the hospital right away.
and he rushed to find me
that I have known.
كل الأشياء التي في داخلي.
the walk to the hospital,
a book called "Blessed."
that good things happen to good people.
إنّ الأشياء الجيدة تحدث لأناس جيدين.
nicknamed "the prosperity gospel,"
يسمى بـ "إنجيل الرخاء"،
that God wants you to prosper.
أنّ الله يريدك أن تزدهر.
a follower of the prosperity gospel.
تابعة "لإنجيل الرخاء".
that God wants to reward you
أنّ الله يريد أن يكافئك
very American theology
interviewing its celebrities.
لأقابل مشاهيرها.
for divine money.
with spectacular hair
ذوي الشعر المذهل
in hospital waiting rooms
في قاعات الانتظار بالمستشفيات
as destroyer of family vacations
at the fanciest megachurch in town.
والذهاب للكنيسة الراقية في المدينة.
running through the sanctuary,
the whole idea of being "blessed"
الفكرة الكاملة لكونك "مُنعم"
vanity license plates and T-shirts
المرخصة والقمصان "المُنعمة"
one of the most common cultural cliches,
واحدة من أشهر العبارات الثقافية المنتشرة،
hashtags on Instagram,
the way that the prosperity gospel
صار بها "إنجيل الرخاء"
the founding of America itself,
worshipped Americans.
وإيمانهم بما هو صحيح.
I'm nothing like them,"
أنا لست أشبههم إطلاقاً"،
how deeply invested I was
whether you are religious or not,
سواء كنت متديناً أم غير ذلك،
to avoid falling into the trap
and success go hand in hand.
that I had my own quiet version
happen to good people.
تحدث للناس الصالحين.
shining awards along the way.
في المستقبل.
were only detours
my long, long life.
it's a mindset that served me well.
لقد خدمتني طريقة التفكير هذه جيداً.
I couldn't manage my way out of;
لم أستطع التغلب عليه،
saying into the phone,
I could think of to say.
moment to accept:
personal prosperity gospel
or special about me could not save me --
لم يستطع إنقاذي؛
is built with paper walls,
كانت مبنية بجدران من الورق،
that we are all a breath away
لتقبل أننا كلنا بعيدين بمقدار شعرة،
destroy something irreplaceable
there are befores and afters.
that I would never go back,
أن أقول إنني لن أعود إلى الماضي أبداً
so much in perspective.
I wrote about this
كتبت قصتي،
at the "New York Times."
في مجلة "نيوو يورك تايمز" الأمريكية.
vulnerable moments of your life
حيث كنت ضعيفاً هشاً،
to feel less vulnerable.
of the questions I asked.
without quite so many reasons
without outrageous formulas
أن تعيش من دون معادلات فظيعة
and so terrible was, of course,
for the bad things that happened.
التي تحدث لهم.
that there had to be a reason
أنه كان يجب أن يكون هناك سبب
to understand the reason.
that my cancer is all part of a plan.
أن سرطاني كان جزءًا من خطةٍ ما.
it was God's plan that I get cancer
by writing about it.
it is a test of my character
to this seeming chaos.
my wife is dying."
our hard work will pay off,
will always make our partners happy
سيجعلنا سعداءً
in which not one ounce
or our deepest hopes will be for nothing.
من دون أي سبب.
in which nothing is lost.
in living with stage IV cancer
I've experienced more pain and trauma
مررت بألم وإجهاد عاطفي
so many abdominal surgeries
أدركت أنني قد أجريت عمليات كثيرة في بطني،
هي أقلهم تفضيلاً عندي.
I've experienced love,
لقد حظيت بحب،
Research Foundation,
about their brushes with death
عن اقترابهم من الموت
if it hadn't reminded me
إن لم يذكرني
uncomfortable telling anyone:
that I was going to die,
I have experienced.
التي مررت بها.
felt abandoned by God,
around me like worker bees,
الذين همهموا مثل النحل،
with words of encouragement.
like it had revealed to me
of people just like me,
يتواجد به أناس مثلي تماماً،
they were entitled to
realize they had made.
somehow, with other people,
stayed with me for months.
at the prospect of losing it.
عند تفكيري في احتمالية فقدانه.
historians, nuns I liked,
أصدقاء، علماء دين، مؤرخين وراهبات:
when that loving feeling is gone?"
عند فقدان هذا الشعور بالحب؟"
what I was talking about,
experienced it themselves
in great works of Christian theology.
for how to get it back."
this little piece of reassurance,
مثل ماء البحر في ظاهرة الجزر
the thousands of emails I get
الذين يراسلونني
to divine health
that are wonderful and terrible,
بأحداثٍ رائعة وأخرى تعيسة،
that these opposites
أن هذان الشيئان المتعاكسان
appear to be working,
and waiting with scans.
to embarrass my son
lose his beautiful hair.
that nothing will be lost.
من دون تأكيدات بأنك لن تفقد شيئاً.
of prosperity gospel that I believe in.
من "إنجيل الرخاء" أؤمن به.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kate Bowler - Divinity professor, authorKate Bowler is reexamining her perspective on the "prosperity gospel": the belief that good things happen to good people.
Why you should listen
After being diagnosed with stage IV cancer at age 35, Duke tenured professor and author Kate Bowler launched a national conversation about why it feels so difficult to speak frankly about suffering. She delves into how we live and cope with pain and suffering in Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved, a New York Times bestselling memoir, and in her popular podcast, Everything Happens. She is also the author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, which received widespread media and academic attention as the first history of a movement based on divine promises of health, wealth and happiness. She has appeared on NPR and The TODAY Show, Amanpour & Company as well as in the New York Times, Washington Post and TIME Magazine. Her work has also been praised by a wide variety of religious and political publications, from liberal print media to conservative talk radio.
Kate Bowler | Speaker | TED.com