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依照聖經指導原則生活的一年

Filmed:
2,923,764 views

在最近的EG會議,身兼作家、哲學家、愛開玩笑的人和記者的 A.J. Jacobs 談分享關於這一年依照聖經指導原則生活的經驗 -- 儘可能的依照聖經的規範過生活。
- 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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我打算跟你們聊些我想要寫作的東西。
00:20
And I like to immerse沉浸 myself in my topics主題.
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我喜歡完全投入我的研究題目。
00:24
I just like to dive潛水 right in and become成為 sort分類 of a human人的 guinea幾內亞 pig.
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我直接切入題目中,以自己為白老鼠。
00:29
And I see my life as a series系列 of experiments實驗.
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我的生活像是一系列的實驗。
00:34
So, I work for Esquire男性尊稱 magazine雜誌, and a couple一對 of years年份 ago,
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幾年前我為Esquire(風尚)雜誌工作。
00:38
I wrote an article文章 called "My Outsourced外包 Life,"
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我寫了一篇文章叫做"我的外包生活"
00:41
where I hired僱用 a team球隊 of people in Bangalore班加羅爾, India印度,
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我雇用了在印度班加羅爾的一個團隊,
00:45
to live生活 my life for me.
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來過我的生活。
00:47
So, they answered回答 my emails電子郵件.
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所以他們幫我回電子郵件。
00:49
They answered回答 my phone電話.
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他們幫我聽電話。
00:51
They argued爭論 with my wife妻子 for me, and they read my son兒子 bedtime就寢時間 stories故事.
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他們為我和我的老婆吵嘴,且幫我替兒子讀床邊故事。
00:58
It was the best最好 month of my life,
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這是我生活中最美好的一個月,
01:00
because I just satSAT back and I read books圖書 and watched看著 movies電影.
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因為我只要放輕鬆,看書或看電影。
01:05
It was a wonderful精彩 experience經驗.
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這是一個很棒的經驗。
01:07
More recently最近, I wrote an article文章 for Esquire男性尊稱 called --
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到最近我為 Esquire 雜誌寫了一篇文章叫做--
01:10
about radical激進 honesty誠實.
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關於絕對誠實。
01:13
And this is a movement運動 where --
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這是個風潮--
01:15
this is started開始 by a psychologist心理學家 in Virginia弗吉尼亞州,
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由一位維吉尼亞的心理學家開始的,
01:19
who says that you should never, ever lie謊言,
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他說人應該絕不能說謊,
01:22
except maybe during poker撲克 and golf高爾夫球, his only exceptions例外.
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除非在打牌或是高爾夫球中例外。
01:27
And, more than that, whatever隨你 is on your brain
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並且甚至,當任何事情出現在你的腦中
01:29
should come out of your mouth.
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應該大聲說出來。
01:31
So, I decided決定 I would try this for a month.
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我決定要來試試看這種方式生活一個月。
01:34
This was the worst最差 month of my life.
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這是我一生命中最糟的一個月。
01:37
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
01:38
I do not recommend推薦 this at all.
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我完全不建議這樣做。
01:40
To give you a sense of the experience經驗,
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我這樣講你就瞭解了,
01:42
the article文章 was called, "I Think You're Fat脂肪."
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這篇文章叫做"我覺得你很胖"
01:46
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
01:48
So, that was hard.
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所以這是很困難的。
01:50
My most recent最近 book -- my previous以前 book was called "The Know-It-All知道這一切,"
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我最近期的一本書--我的前一本書叫做"全部都知道"
01:55
and it was about the year I spent花費 reading the Encyclopedia百科全書 Britannica大英百科全書
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這是我花了一年的時間閱讀大英百科全書
01:59
from A to Z in my quest尋求 to learn學習 everything in the world世界,
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從A到Z想要學習世界上的一切事物,
02:03
or more precisely恰恰 from AakAAK, which哪一個 is a type類型 of East Asian亞洲 music音樂,
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或更精確的說從 "雅樂"(A-ak)一種東亞的音樂,
02:08
all the way to ZwyiecZwyiec, which哪一個 is -- well, I don't want to ruin廢墟 the ending結尾.
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到最後一條"日維茨"(Zywiec)這是--我不想搞砸了演講的結尾。
02:12
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:13
It's a very exciting扣人心弦 twist ending結尾, like an O. Henry亨利 novel小說, so I won't慣於 ruin廢墟 it.
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能夠在結尾做轉折是令人興奮的,像是O. Henry的小說,所以我不想搞砸它。
02:17
But I love that one,
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但我喜歡這想法
02:19
because that was an experiment實驗 about how much information信息
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因為那是一個關於人腦能吸收多少資訊
02:23
one human人的 brain could absorb吸收.
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的實驗,
02:25
Although雖然, listening to Kevin凱文 Kelly黃綠色, you don't have to remember記得 anything.
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雖然,根據Kevin Kelly的說法,你只要能夠在Google查到它
02:29
You can just Google谷歌 it.
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就不需要記得這件事了。
02:31
So, I wasted浪費 some time there.
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所以我浪費了點時間在這。
02:33
I love those experiments實驗,
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我喜歡那些實驗,
02:36
but I think that the most profound深刻
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但是我覺得最奧妙
02:38
and life-changing改變生活 experiment實驗 that I've doneDONE
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且改變生命的實驗是
02:42
is my most recent最近 experiment實驗, where I spent花費 a year
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我最近剛完成的實驗,我花了一年的時間
02:46
trying to follow跟隨 all of the rules規則 of the Bible聖經,
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嘗試按照聖經上指導的原則生活--
02:49
"The Year of Living活的 Biblically聖經."
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"依照聖經指導原則生活的一年"
02:52
And I undertook承諾 this for two reasons原因.
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並且我想這樣做有兩個原因。
02:55
The first was that I grew成長 up with no religion宗教 at all.
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第一我成長在一個完全沒有宗教的環境。
02:59
As I say in my book, I'm Jewish猶太 in the same相同 way
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並且如同我書上所說, 說我是個猶太人
03:03
the Olive橄欖 Garden花園 is Italian意大利.
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就像"橄欖花園"(美式義大利餐廳)被當成義大利餐廳,一樣離譜
03:05
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:07
So, not very.
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所以,當然不是這樣。
03:09
But I've become成為 increasingly日益 interested有興趣 in religion宗教.
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但是我已經對宗教越來越有興趣。
03:12
I do think it's the defining確定 issue問題 of our time,
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我認為, 在我們的生活中, 這是一個明確的議題,
03:14
or one of the main主要 ones那些.
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或者說是主要的議題之一。
03:16
And I have a son兒子. I want to know what to teach him.
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而且我有一個兒子。我想要知道拿什麼去教他。
03:19
So, I decided決定 to dive潛水 in head first, and try to live生活 the Bible聖經.
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所以我決定投入其中,並且嘗試依照聖經而活。
03:24
The second第二 reason原因 I undertook承諾 this is because
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第二個原因我決定這樣做,是因為
03:27
I'm concerned關心 about the rise上升 of fundamentalism原教旨主義,
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我對基督教基本教義的興起有興趣,
03:30
religious宗教 fundamentalism原教旨主義, and people who say
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很多人聲稱
03:33
they take the Bible聖經 literally按照字面, which哪一個 is, according根據 to some polls民意調查,
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他們完全依照聖經。根據調查
03:36
as high as 45 or 50 percent百分 of America美國.
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有百分之45或50的美國人,按著聖經的教導過生活。
03:40
So I decided決定, what if you really did take the Bible聖經 literally按照字面?
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所以我決定看看,真正依照聖經教導行事會怎樣?
03:44
I decided決定 to take it to its logical合乎邏輯 conclusion結論
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我決定接受它和它的邏輯上的推論
03:48
and take everything in the Bible聖經 literally按照字面,
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接受一切聖經上字面的說法,
03:50
without picking選擇 and choosing選擇.
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不去挑選。
03:53
The first thing I did was I got a stack of bibles聖經.
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首先,我找到一堆聖經。
03:56
I had Christian基督教 bibles聖經.
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我有基督教聖經。
03:58
I had Jewish猶太 bibles聖經.
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我有猶太教聖經。
04:00
A friend朋友 of mine sent發送 me something called a hip-hop嘻哈 bible聖經,
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我的一個朋友送我一本叫做「嘻哈聖經」,
04:03
where the twenty-third第二十三 Psalm詩篇 is rendered呈現 as, "The Lord is all that,"
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其中詩篇第23中所稱"神是一切"
04:07
as opposed反對 to what I knew知道 it as, "The Lord is my shepherd牧羊人."
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相對的,就我所知應該是"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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然後我閱讀了幾個版本,
04:15
and I wrote down every一切 single law that I could find.
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並且我寫下每一我能找到的律法。
04:18
And this was a very long list名單 -- over 700 rules規則.
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這是一個很長的清單--超過700條律法。
04:23
And they range範圍 from the famous著名 ones那些 that I had heard聽說 of --
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並且這些包含一些有名的律法一些我曾經聽過的--
04:26
The Ten Commandments戒律, love your neighbor鄰居, be fruitful卓有成效 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跟隨 those.
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所以我要遵循這些。
04:31
And actually其實, I take my projects項目 very seriously認真地,
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我很認真執行這個計畫
04:34
because I had twins雙胞胎 during my year,
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因為這年,我生了雙胞胎,
04:36
so I definitely無疑 take my projects項目 seriously認真地.
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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跟隨 the hundreds數以百計
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但是我想按照
04:42
of arcane神秘 and obscure朦朧 laws法律 that are in the Bible聖經.
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這上百條在聖經中神秘且晦澀的律法。
04:45
There is the law in Leviticus利未記,
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這些是在利未記中的律法--
04:47
"You cannot不能 shave刮鬍子 the corners角落 of your beard鬍子."
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"鬍鬚的周圍不可損壞。"
04:49
I didn't know where my corners角落 were,
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我不知道哪裡是我的周圍,
04:51
so I decided決定 to let the whole整個 thing grow增長,
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所以我決定留鬍鬚,
04:54
and this is what I looked看著 like by the end結束.
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這是我最後看起來的樣子。
04:57
As you can imagine想像, I spent花費 a lot of time at airport飛機場 security安全.
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你可想而知,我花了很長的時間在機場安檢部門。
05:01
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
05:03
My wife妻子 wouldn't不會 kiss me for the last two months個月.
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最後的二個月,我太太不肯親我。
05:06
So, certainly當然 the challenge挑戰 was there.
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所以,當然這是一項挑戰。
05:08
The Bible聖經 says you cannot不能 wear穿 clothes衣服 made製作 of mixed fibers纖維,
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聖經上說,不能穿混合纖維的衣物。
05:13
so I thought, "Sounds聲音 strange奇怪, but I'll try it."
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所以我想:"這聽起來很奇怪,但是我要試試看。"
05:15
You only know if you try it.
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你只知道如果你嘗試它。
05:17
I got rid擺脫 of all my poly-cotton滌棉 T-shirtsT卹.
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我處理掉所有混棉的T恤。
05:20
The Bible聖經 says that if two men男人 are in a fight鬥爭,
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聖經上說,如果有兩個男人在打架,
05:24
and the wife妻子 of one of those men男人 grabs爭奪 the testicles睾丸 of the other man,
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且其中一個男人的太太抓另一個男人睪丸,
05:30
then her hand shall be cut off.
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那麼她的手就要砍斷。
05:32
So, I wanted to follow跟隨 that rule規則.
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所以,我想要遵循這個律法。
05:34
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
05:35
That one I followed其次 by default默認,
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我遵循這律法的方式就是 --
05:38
by not getting得到 in a fight鬥爭 with a man whose誰的 wife妻子 was standing常設 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話,
05:42
looking like she had a strong強大 grip.
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且她看起來有很強的抓力。
05:45
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
05:48
So -- oh, there's another另一個 shot射擊 of my beard鬍子.
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所以--喔,這是另一張我鬍子的照片。
05:52
I will say it was an amazing驚人 year
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我會說這是驚奇的一年。
05:54
because it really was life changing改變, and incredibly令人難以置信 challenging具有挑戰性的.
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因為這真正是生活的改變,且是難以想像的挑戰。
05:57
And there were two types類型 of laws法律 that were particularly尤其 challenging具有挑戰性的.
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並且還有兩種律法,特別挑戰。
06:00
The first was avoiding避免 the little sins that we all commit承諾 every一切 day.
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第一是避免一些我們每天都會犯的小錯。
06:04
You know, I could spend a year not killing謀殺,
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我能夠一整年不殺生,
06:06
but spending開支 a year not gossiping閒聊, not coveting覬覦, not lying說謊 --
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但是一整年不說閒話,不貪心,不說謊--
06:11
you know, I live生活 in New York紐約, and I work as a journalist記者,
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我生活在紐約,而且我是一個記者,
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%,要做這些。
06:19
But it was really interesting有趣, because I was able能夠 to make some progress進展,
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但是這是很有趣的,因為我能夠做一些改善
06:24
because I couldn't不能 believe how much
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因為我不相信
06:26
my behavior行為 changed my thoughts思念.
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我的行為能改變多少我的想法。
06:29
This was one of the huge巨大 lessons教訓 of the year,
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這是這一年,我學到的重大學習之一
06:31
is that I almost幾乎 pretended假裝的 to be a better person,
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我幾乎假裝成一個比較好的人,
06:34
and I became成為 a little bit of a better person.
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且我真的有一點點變好。
06:37
So I had always thought, you know, "You change更改 your mind心神,
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以前,我總是認為,"你改變了內心,
06:42
and you change更改 your behavior行為," but it's often經常 the other way around.
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然後行為才會改變",但是我發現,經常是相反的。
06:45
You change更改 your behavior行為, and you change更改 your mind心神.
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當你改變行為,然後你改變了你的內心。
06:50
So, you know, if you want to become成為 more compassionate富於同情心的,
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所以,你知道的,如果你想要變得更有同情心,
06:53
you visit訪問 sick生病 people in the hospital醫院,
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你去醫院探望生病的人,
06:55
and you will become成為 more compassionate富於同情心的.
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然後你會變得比較慈善。
06:57
You donate money to a cause原因,
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為某件事捐錢,
06:59
and you become成為 emotionally感情上 involved參與 in that cause原因.
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然後你就放感情在那件事裡面,
07:02
So, it really was cognitive認知 psychology心理學 --
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所以,這是認知心裡學 --
07:05
you know, cognitive認知 dissonance不和諧 -- that I was experiencing經歷.
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認知的不一致--這是我經歷的。
07:08
The Bible聖經 actually其實 talks會談 about cognitive認知 psychology心理學,
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聖經實際上是關於認知心裡學,
07:11
very primitive原始 cognitive認知 psychology心理學.
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非常基礎的認知心裡學。
07:13
In the Proverbs箴言, it says that if you smile微笑, you will become成為 happier幸福,
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箴言 這樣說,如果你微笑,你會變得比較快樂,
07:17
which哪一個, as we know, is actually其實 true真正.
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就像我們知道的一樣,這是真的。
07:20
The second第二 type類型 of rule規則 that was difficult to obey遵守
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第二種非常難去遵循的律法是
07:24
was the rules規則 that will get you into a little trouble麻煩
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這些律法會讓我們遇到小麻煩
07:27
in twenty-first-century二十一世紀 America美國.
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在21世紀的美國。
07:30
And perhaps也許 the clearest最明顯 example of this is stoning亂石 adulterers姦淫.
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一個明顯的例子是:拿石頭打通姦的人。
07:35
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
07:36
But it's a big part部分 of the Bible聖經,
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但是,這是聖經的很大一部份,
07:40
so I figured想通 I had to address地址 it.
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所以我認為我必需行出來。
07:43
So, I was able能夠 to stone one adulterer姦夫.
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所以,我真的拿石頭打了一個通姦者。
07:45
It happened發生 -- I was in the park公園, and I was dressed連衣裙的 in my biblical聖經 clothing服裝,
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它發生了--我當時在公園而且我穿著我聖經式的裝扮--
07:50
so sandals涼鞋 and sort分類 of a white白色 robe長袍,
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涼鞋和白長袍 --
07:53
you know, because again, the outer affects影響 the inner.
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你知道,因為剛剛所說,外在影響內心。
07:55
I wanted to see how dressing敷料 biblically聖經 affected受影響 my mind心神.
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我想了解聖經式的裝扮,如何影響我的內心。
07:59
And this man came來了 up to me and he said,
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然後這個男人過來找我並說,
08:01
"Why are you dressed連衣裙的 like that?"
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"你為什麼要穿成這樣?"
08:03
And I explained解釋 my project項目,
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然後我解釋我的這個計畫,
08:05
and he said, "Well, I am an adulterer姦夫, are you going to stone me?"
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然後他說:"喔,我是一個姦夫,你打算拿石頭打我嗎?"
08:08
And I said, "Well, that would be great!"
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然後我說:"哇! 這很棒喔!"
08:11
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
08:16
And I actually其實 took out a handful少數 of stones石頭 from my pocket口袋
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然後我從口袋中拿出滿手的石頭
08:21
that I had been carrying攜帶 around for weeks,
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那是我已經帶著這些石頭幾個禮拜了,
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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期待這種情況發生-- 然後,你知道的,這些是小卵石--
08:27
but he grabbed抓起 them out of my hand.
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但是那個男人把石頭從我手中奪走。
08:30
He was actually其實 an elderly老年 man, mid-中-70s, just so you know.
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他其實是一個年長者,七十多歲
08:33
But he's still an adulterer姦夫, and still quite相當 angry憤怒.
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但是他仍然是姦夫,而且看起來很生氣。
08:35
He grabbed抓起 them out of my hand
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他把石頭從我手上奪走
08:37
and threw them at my face面對, and I felt that I could --
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並且往我臉上丟,然後我感到我能--
08:40
eye for an eye -- I could retaliate報復, and throw one back at him.
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"以眼還眼",我能報復,我就往他後背丟一個。
08:44
So that was my experience經驗 stoning亂石, and it did allow允許 me
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所以這就是我的丟石頭經驗。
08:47
to talk about, in a more serious嚴重 way, these big issues問題.
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這讓我更能嚴肅的談論這些重要議題,如:
08:52
How can the Bible聖經 be so barbaric野蠻 in some places地方,
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為何聖經在某些部分這麼的野蠻?
08:56
and yet然而 so incredibly令人難以置信 wise明智的 in others其他?
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且又在其他部分又難以置信的有智慧?
08:59
How should we view視圖 the Bible聖經?
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我們該如何看待聖經?
09:01
Should we view視圖 it, you know, as original原版的 intent意圖,
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我們應該看待它,你知道的,就當成它的本意,
09:03
like a sort分類 of a Scalia斯卡利亞 version of the Bible聖經?
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像是一種Scalia(美國大法官)版本的聖經?
09:08
How was the Bible聖經 written書面?
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聖經是如何寫成?
09:10
And actually其實, since以來 this is a tech高科技 crowd人群,
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然而,既然這是一個技術集會,
09:12
I talk in the book about how the Bible聖經 actually其實 reminds提醒 me
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讓我想這麼說
09:16
of the Wikipedia維基百科, because it has all of these authors作者 and editors編者
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聖經讓我想起維基百科,因為它是由許多人編輯、撰寫而成的
09:19
over hundreds數以百計 of years年份.
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並橫跨數百年之久。
09:21
And it's sort分類 of evolved進化.
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撰寫聖經可以說是一種演進過程,
09:23
It's not a book that was written書面 and came來了 down from on high.
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而不是一本從天上掉下來、已經寫好的書。
09:28
So I thought I would end結束 by telling告訴 you
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所以我想在結尾告訴你們
09:32
just a couple一對 of the take-aways外賣, the bigger lessons教訓
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只是幾個像可外帶,且比較大的學習
09:35
that I learned學到了 from my year.
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從我這一年學來的
09:38
The first is, thou shalt not take the Bible聖經 literally按照字面.
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第一個是--諸位切莫逐字的理解聖經。
09:42
This became成為 very, very clear明確, early on.
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這是一開始就很清楚的。
09:45
Because if you do, then you end結束 up acting演戲 like a crazy person,
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因為如果你這樣做你最終會像個瘋子,
09:48
and stoning亂石 adulterers姦淫, or -- here's這裡的 another另一個 example.
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拿石頭丟姦夫,或者--這裡有一另個例子--
09:51
Well, that's another另一個. I did spend some time shepherding牧養.
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好的,這是另一個--我花了很多時間牧羊。
09:56
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:57
It's a very relaxing放鬆 vocation職業. I recommend推薦 it.
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這是一個很令人輕鬆的職業。我很推薦。
10:01
But this one is -- the Bible聖經 says that you cannot不能 touch觸摸 women婦女
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但這一個是,聖經告訴我們不能碰女人
10:05
during certain某些 times of the month, and more than that,
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在每個月的某些時間,更甚者--
10:08
you cannot不能 sit on a seat座位 where a menstruating月經 woman女人 has satSAT.
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你不能坐在經期婦女曾做過的椅子。
10:12
And my wife妻子 thought this was very offensive進攻,
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我太太覺得這很侮辱女人,
10:14
so she satSAT in every一切 seat座位 in our apartment公寓,
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所以她把我們家裡的每一個椅子都做了一遍,
10:16
and I had to spend much of the year standing常設
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所以我必須在這一年大部分時間都站著
10:19
until直到 I bought my own擁有 seat座位 and carried攜帶的 it around.
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直到我買了一張自己的椅子並且隨身攜帶。
10:25
So, you know, I met會見 with creationists神創論.
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所以,你知道的,我遇到一個相信創世紀的人(反對進化論的人)。
10:29
I went to the creationists'神創論“ museum博物館.
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我去了關於創世紀的博物館。
10:31
And these are the ultimate最終 literalistsliteralists.
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他們是最會咬文嚼字的人。
10:33
And it was fascinating迷人, because they were not stupid people at all.
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然而這很有趣,因為他們並不是笨蛋。
10:36
I would wager賭注 that their IQ智商 is exactly究竟 the same相同 as the average平均 evolutionist進化論.
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我敢打賭他們的智商,完全跟相信進化論的人一樣。
10:39
It's just that their faith信仰 is so strong強大
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只是他們有著很強的信仰
10:42
in this literal文字 interpretation解釋 of the Bible聖經
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執著於聖經上的字面解釋
10:44
that they distort歪曲 all the data數據 to fit適合 their model模型.
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所以扭曲事實資料,來符合他們的理論。
10:49
And they go through通過 these amazing驚人 mental心理 gymnastics體操 to accomplish完成 this.
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然後他們經由神奇的心理訓練來達成。
10:53
And I will say, though雖然, the museum博物館 is gorgeous華麗.
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然而我要說的是,這博物館相當華麗。
10:58
They really did a fantastic奇妙 job工作.
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他們真的完成了一個很棒的工作。
11:00
If you're ever in Kentucky肯塔基,
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如果你曾經去過美國肯塔基州,
11:01
there's, you can see a movie電影 of the flood洪水,
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就是這--你會看到一個關於大洪水的電影,
11:04
and they have sprinklers噴頭 in the ceiling天花板
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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洪水 scenes場景.
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當播放到洪水畫面時,你就會被噴到水。
11:10
So, whatever隨你 you think of creationism神創論 -- and I think it's crazy --
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所以,不管你對創世紀論者看法怎樣 (我是覺得這蠻瘋狂)
11:13
they did a great job工作.
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他們做了一個很出色的工作。
11:16
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
11:18
Another另一個 lesson is that thou shalt give thanks謝謝.
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另一個教訓是:諸位應當心存感恩。
11:22
And this one was a big lesson because I was praying祈禱,
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這是一個很重要的教誨,因為我禱告,
11:26
giving these prayers祈禱 of thanksgiving感恩, which哪一個 was odd for an agnostic不可知.
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獻上感謝,這對於不可知論者來說 很怪。
11:30
But I was saying thanks謝謝 all the time, every一切 day,
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但是我嘴上常掛著感謝,無論何時,
11:34
and I started開始 to change更改 my perspective透視.
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然而我開始改變我的看法,
11:37
And I started開始 to realize實現 the hundreds數以百計 of little things
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而且開始了解數以百計的小事情
11:40
that go right every一切 day, that I didn't even notice注意,
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那些順遂的事,那些我不曾注意到的小事。
11:44
that I took for granted理所當然, as opposed反對 to focusing調焦
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那些被當作裡所當然的--而不是
11:46
on the three or four that went wrong錯誤.
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去注意那些出錯的三四件事情。
11:50
So, this is actually其實 a key to happiness幸福 for me,
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所以,這是幸福的秘訣,對我來說,
11:53
is to just remember記得 when I came來了 over here,
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只要提醒自己:當我來這裡的時候
11:55
the car汽車 didn't flip翻動 over, and I didn't trip coming未來 up the stairs樓梯.
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車子沒有翻覆,我沒被階梯絆倒。
11:59
It's a remarkable卓越 thing.
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這是件很棒的事。
12:03
Third第三, that thou shall have reverence尊敬.
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第三,諸位應心存尊敬。
12:05
This one was unexpected意外 because I started開始 the year
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這事件意外的體會。因為我剛開始
12:08
as an agnostic不可知, and by the end結束 of the year,
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是一個不可知論者,但是到這一年結束時
12:10
I became成為 what a friend朋友 of mine calls電話 a reverent虔敬 agnostic不可知, which哪一個 I love.
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我變成一個虔敬的不可知論者。我的朋友這樣叫我,我喜歡這樣的稱號。
12:15
And I'm trying to start開始 it as a movement運動.
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然而我嘗試把虔敬,變成一種風潮。
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參與,
12:19
the basic基本 idea理念 is, whether是否 or not there is a God,
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基本的構想是,不論有沒有上帝,
12:22
there's something important重要 and beautiful美麗 about the idea理念 of sacredness神聖,
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我們都一些重要且美好神聖想法,
12:26
and that our rituals儀式 can be sacred神聖.
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而且,我們的儀式是神聖的。
12:28
The Sabbath安息日 can be sacred神聖.
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安息日是神聖的。
12:31
This was one of the great things about my year, doing the Sabbath安息日,
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我的這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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因為我是一個工作狂,所以有這樣一天
12:38
where you cannot不能 work, it really, that changed my life.
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我不能工作--這著實改變我的生活。
12:42
So, this idea理念 of sacredness神聖, whether是否 or not there is a God.
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所以,這是一個神聖的觀念,無關於有沒有神。
12:47
Thou shall not stereotype鉛板.
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諸位切莫執著。
12:49
This one happened發生 because
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這個體會來自於
12:51
I spent花費 a lot of time with various各個 religious宗教 communities社區
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我花了許多時間,參加
12:54
throughout始終 America美國 because I wanted it to be more
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美國各地的不同的宗教團體,因為
12:56
than about my journey旅程.
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我希望這不是個人的旅程,
12:58
I wanted it to be about religion宗教 in America美國.
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而是體驗美國宗教的經驗。
13:01
So, I spent花費 time with evangelical福音 Christians基督徒, and Hasidic哈西德 Jews猶太人, and the Amish阿米甚.
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所以我花時間在福音派基督教、哈西德教派,阿米緒教派。
13:05
I'm very proud驕傲 because
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我很自豪
13:07
I think I'm the only person in America美國
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因為,我認為我是美國唯一
13:09
to out Bible-talk聖經通話 a Jehovah's耶和華 Witness見證.
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能夠說倒「耶和華見證人」的人
13:12
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
13:13
After three and a half hours小時, he looked看著 at his watch,
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過了三小時半,他看著他的手錶,
13:16
he's like, "I gotta總得 go."
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他說:"我必須走了。"
13:18
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
13:20
Oh, thank you very much.
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噢,非常謝謝你。
13:25
Thank you. Bless保佑 you, bless保佑 you.
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謝謝你。祝福你,祝福你。
13:27
But it was interesting有趣
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但是這很有趣
13:29
because I had some very preconceived先入為主 notions概念 about, for instance,
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因為我有一些先入為主的想法,例如,
13:32
evangelical福音 Christianity基督教, and I found發現 that
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福音派基督教,我發現
13:36
it's such這樣 a wide and varied多變 movement運動
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這是一個廣泛的風潮
13:38
that it is difficult to make generalizations概括 about it.
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很難概括解釋。
13:44
There's a group I met會見 with called the Red Letter Christians基督徒,
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我曾遇到一個團體叫做紅字基督徒,
13:47
and they focus焦點 on the red words in the Bible聖經,
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他們聚焦於聖經上的那些紅字,
13:50
which哪一個 are the ones那些 that Jesus耶穌 spoke.
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那些耶穌說過的話--
13:52
That's how they printed印刷的 them in the old Bibles聖經.
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在舊聖經中被印成紅字的。
13:54
And their argument論據 is that Jesus耶穌 never talked about homosexuality同性戀.
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他們說,耶穌沒有講過同性戀的事情。
13:59
They have a pamphlet小冊子 that says,
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他們有一個小冊子,上面說:
14:01
"Here's這裡的 what Jesus耶穌 said about homosexuality同性戀,"
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" 這是耶穌對同性戀的說法"
14:03
and you open打開 it up, and there's nothing in it.
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然而當你打開它,裡面什麼都沒有。
14:06
So, they say Jesus耶穌 did talk a lot about helping幫助 the outcasts棄兒,
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所以他們聲稱,耶穌談論了很多關於幫助無家可歸,
14:12
helping幫助 poor較差的 people.
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幫助窮人的事。
14:15
So, this was very inspiring鼓舞人心 to me.
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所以這對我是很大的啟發。
14:19
I recommend推薦 Jim吉姆 Wallis沃利斯 and Tony托尼 CampoloCampolo.
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我推薦 Jim Wallace 和 Tony Campole。
14:24
They're very inspiring鼓舞人心 leaders領導者, even though雖然 I disagree不同意
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他們是很能鼓舞人心的領袖,即使我並不認同 --
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漠視 the irrational不合理的.
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還有,諸位不能漠視無理的事。
14:33
This one was very unexpected意外 because, you know,
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這是非常出乎預料的。因為,你們知道,
14:37
I grew成長 up with the scientific科學 worldview世界觀,
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我在一個科學的世界觀中成長。
14:40
and I was shocked吃驚 learning學習 how much of my life
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然而我十分震驚的發現,
14:47
is governed治理 by irrational不合理的 forces軍隊.
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我的生命,其實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,如果這些是無害的,
14:54
they're not to be completely全然 dismissed駁回.
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就沒必要被完全去除。
14:56
Because I learned學到了 that -- I was thinking思維, I was
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因為我學到--我在想,
15:00
doing all these rituals儀式, these biblical聖經 rituals儀式,
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我做的這些儀式,這些聖經上的儀式,
15:03
separating分離 my wool羊毛 and linen麻布, and I would ask these religious宗教 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聖經 possibly或者 tell us to do this? Why would God care關心?"
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"為什麼聖經要這樣告訴我們?上帝為什麼在意這些?"
15:11
And they said, "We don't know,
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然而他們說:"我們不知道,
15:13
but it's just rituals儀式 that give us meaning含義."
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這只是個賦予我們意義的儀式。"
15:17
And I would say, "But that's crazy."
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我說,"這很瘋狂!"
15:19
And they would say, "Well, what about you?
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他們會說:"噢,那你不是嗎?"
15:21
You blow打擊 out candles蠟燭 on top最佳 of a birthday生日 cake蛋糕.
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你會吹熄生日蛋糕上的蠟燭,這也是個儀式。
15:26
If a guy from Mars火星 came來了 down and saw, here's這裡的 one guy
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如果一個來自火星的傢伙看到,
15:30
blowing out the fire on top最佳 of a cake蛋糕
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他會說:"這有一個傢伙吹熄蛋糕上面的火"
15:34
versus another另一個 guy not wearing穿著 clothes衣服 of mixed fabrics面料,
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對比於另一個不穿混紡衣服的人,
15:38
would the Martians火星 say, 'Well'好, that guy, he makes品牌 sense,
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火星人會說"噢,這傢伙很理性,
15:42
but that guy's傢伙 crazy?'"
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但是那傢伙很瘋狂"嗎?
15:44
So no, I think that rituals儀式 are, by nature性質, irrational不合理的.
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不會,所以,那些儀式是不理性的。
15:49
So the key is to choose選擇 the right rituals儀式,
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所以,關鍵是選擇正確的儀式,
15:52
the ones那些 that are not harmful有害 -- but rituals儀式 by themselves他們自己
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那些無害的儀式--儀式本身
15:58
are not to be dismissed駁回.
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不該被去除。
16:01
And finally最後 I learned學到了 that thou shall pick and choose選擇.
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然而,最終,我學到:諸位應該有所選擇。
16:05
And this one I learned學到了 because
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這是因為
16:07
I tried試著 to follow跟隨 everything in the Bible聖經.
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我想要去遵循聖經上所有的東西。
16:09
And I failed失敗 miserably非常不幸地.
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然後我失敗的很慘。
16:11
Because you can't.
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因為你做不到。
16:13
You have to pick and choose選擇. And anyone任何人 who follows如下 the Bible聖經
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你必須有所選擇,然而任何遵循聖經的人
16:16
is going to be picking選擇 and choosing選擇.
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都不是照單全收的
16:18
The key is to pick and choose選擇 the right parts部分.
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關鍵是:選擇正確的部分。
16:23
There's the phrase短語 called cafeteria自助餐館 religion宗教,
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有一個詞彙叫做"自助餐式宗教"
16:27
and the fundamentalists原教旨主義者 will use it in a denigrating詆毀 way,
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基本教義派,把這個字用於輕蔑的意思,
16:31
and they'll他們會 say, "Oh, it's just cafeteria自助餐館 religion宗教.
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他們會說:"噢,這不就是自助餐式宗教罷了。
16:33
You're just picking選擇 and choosing選擇."
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你只是選自己喜歡的去做。"
16:34
But my argument論據 is, "What's wrong錯誤 with cafeterias食堂?"
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但我認為:"自助餐又怎樣?"
16:38
I've had some great meals at cafeterias食堂.
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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舉起.
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也有難吃得想吐的經驗。
16:44
So, it's about choosing選擇 the parts部分 of the Bible聖經 about compassion同情,
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所以,這是關於選擇聖經中有關惻隱之心,
16:48
about tolerance公差, about loving愛心 your neighbor鄰居,
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寬容、愛你的鄰人的那些部分,
16:51
as opposed反對 to the parts部分 about homosexuality同性戀 is a sin,
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不選擇「同性戀是一種罪」、
16:56
or intolerance不耐症, or violence暴力,
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或偏狹的,或暴力的這些部份,
16:58
which哪一個 are very much in the Bible聖經 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含義 in this book,
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所以我們若想在這本書中找到意義,
17:04
then we have to really engage從事 it, and wrestle搏鬥 with it.
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我們必須真正投入於它,並且與它爭戰。
17:08
And I thought I'd end結束 with just a couple一對 more.
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然而結束前我想我在說幾件事。
17:11
There's me reading the Bible聖經.
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這是我正在閱讀聖經的照片。
17:13
That's how I hailed歡呼 taxicabs出租車.
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這是我如何招呼計程車。
17:15
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
17:18
Seriously認真地, and it worked工作. And yes,
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它是有效的--且是的,
17:20
that was actually其實 a rented sheep,
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那其實是租來的羊,
17:23
so I had to return返回 that in the morning早上, but it served提供服務 well for a day.
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所以我必須在早晨歸還,但是牠整天都被照顧的很好。
17:28
So, anyway無論如何, thank you so much for letting出租 me speak說話.
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所以,不論如何,很謝謝你們讓我來演講。
Translated by Tom Lin
Reviewed by Lucy Chang

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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