TED演讲 谈上帝与海啸(1)

 I am a vicar in the Church of England.  我是一名英国圣公会的牧师。

I've been a priest in the Church for 20 years.  我做牧师已经有20年了。

For most of that time, I've been struggling and grappling with questions about the nature of God. Who is God?  在这20年的大部分时间里，我一直在努力解决和回答关于上帝本质的问题：上帝是谁？

And I'm very aware that when you say the word "God,"  我很清楚，当你一说起“上帝”这个词，

many people will turn off immediately.  很多人会立即走开。

And most people, both within and outside the organized church,  并且大多数人，无论是信教还是不信教的，

still have a picture of a celestial¹ controller,  心中还是认为上帝是这样一个形像：一个天上的主宰者，

a rule maker², a policeman in the sky who orders everything,  规则制定者，掌管一切的太空警察，

and causes everything to happen.  万事万物发生的根源。

He will protect his own people,  他会保护他创造的人类，

and answer the prayers of the faithful.  并回应信徒们的祷告。

And in the worship of my church,  在教堂里做礼拜，

the most frequently used adjective about God is "almighty³."  对上帝最常用的形容词是“全能”。

But I have a problem with that.  但我觉得这个观念是不对的。

I have become more and more uncomfortable with this perception of God over the years.  多年以来，我已经越来越对这个观念感到不舒服。

Do we really believe that God is the kind of male boss that we've been presenting in our worship and in our liturgies⁴ over all these years? 难道我们真的相信上帝是一个这么多年来我们在礼拜仪式和祷告中描述的那么一位男性的老板形像？

Of course, there have been thinkers who have suggested different ways of looking at God.  当然，曾经也有一些思想家建议用不同的方式来看待上帝。

Exploring the feminine, nurturing⁵ side of divinity.  比如：探索神的女性和育养的一面，

Suggesting that God expresses Himself or Herself through powerlessness,rather than power.  主张上帝是通过阴柔无力，而不是阳刚和力量，来呈现自己，不管是作为男性或者女性形像；

Acknowledging that God is unknown and unknowable by definition.  接受上帝本来就是未知的，也不可知的，这个定义，

Finding deep resonances⁶ with other religions and philosophies and ways of looking at life as part of what is a universal and global search for meaning.  寻找与其他宗教和哲学之间共同的内涵，以及作为全世界人类探索人生意义过程中看待生命的不同方式。

These ideas are well known in liberal academic circles,  这些想法在自由学术界是众所周知的，

but clergy⁷ like myself have been reluctant to air them,  但像我自己这样的神职人员却不愿意公开宣扬它们，

for fear of creating tension and division in our church communities,  因为害怕在教会中会产生紧张气氛甚至分裂，

for fear of upsetting the simple faith of more traditional believers.  害怕打破传统信徒的纯朴信仰。

I have chosen not to rock the boat.  我选择了不去惹麻烦。

Then, on December 26th last year, just two months ago,  然而，去年12月26日，仅仅两个月前，

that underwater earthquake triggered the tsunami⁸.  海底地震引发了海啸。

And two weeks later, Sunday morning, 9th of January,  于是两个星期后，星期日上午， 1月9日，

I found myself standing⁹ in front of my congregation intelligent, well meaning, mostly thoughtful Christian¹⁰ people, 我站在我的会众面前，他们是一群智慧的、善良的、有思想的基督徒，

and I needed to express, on their behalf, our feelings and our questions.  我需要代表他们表达我们的感情和我们的疑问。

I had my own personal responses, but I also have a public role,  虽然我有自己的个人感受，但我还有一个公共角色，

and something needed to be said.  这时需要说点儿什么。

And this is what I said.  下面是我当时所说的话。

Shortly after the tsunami I read a newspaper article  海啸发生后不久，我读了坎特伯雷大主教

written by the Archbishop of Canterbury-fine title,about the tragedy in Southern Asia. 发表在报纸上的一篇文章，标题是：关于发生在南亚的悲剧。

The essence of what he said was this:  他所讲的精髓是这样的：

the people most affected¹¹ by the devastation¹² and loss of life do not want intellectual theories about how God let this happen.  因这场灾难和生命的逝去而饱受磨难的人们并不需要一个理论来解释上帝为何让这种事情发生。

1 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

4 liturgies   

n.礼拜仪式( liturgy的名词复数 )；（英国国教的）祈祷书

参考例句：

• Politicians recite their liturgies in TV studios. 政客们在电视演播室里朗诵祷文。 来自互联网
• The Martyrium was a five nave basilica terminatedapse and a and festive liturgies were celebrated. 殉道者大殿是全部五大殿之一，一直通到另一个圆秃型的神殿人员公署。 来自互联网

5 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

6 resonances   

n.共鸣( resonance的名词复数 )；（声音） 洪亮；（文章、乐曲等） 激发联想的力量；（情感）同感

参考例句：

• This system can set up acoustical resonances. 这种系统能产生共鸣。 来自辞典例句
• New supershortlived particles are called resonances. 新超短寿命粒子叫做共振态粒子。 来自辞典例句

7 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

8 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》