2007年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-My Personal Leap of Faith

Welcome to This I Believe, an NPR series presenting the personal philosophies of remarkable¹ men and women from all walks of life. Support for NPR Podcasts comes from Visa, offering the Visa signature card featuring concierge² services for travel, dining and entertainment at Visa signature.com.

I believe in figuring out my own way to do things.
I believe in the power of numbers.
I believe in barbecue.
Well, I believe in friendliness³.
I believe in mankind.
This I Believe.

Every Monday morning, we hear another installment⁴ of our series, This I believe. And today's essay comes from Bill Nunan, in Manhattan Beach, California. Mr. Nunan works as a satellite communications engineer and holds a PHD in fusion⁵ plasma⁶ physics from UCLA. He sends his thoughts on the boundaries of knowledge and faith. Here's our series curator, Jay Allison.

Bill Nunan grew up in a religious family. Writing this essay, he said, was like coming out of the closet to his friends and relatives who may not know where he stands in his religious beliefs. While he no longer recites the creeds⁷ of his youth, he has developed his own. Here is Bill Nunan with his essay for This I believe.

I believe that God does not know the future. I arrived at this belief after a long and difficult journey through — and eventually away from — the faith in which I was raised.

When I was young, people told me, "God knows everything." For years I tried to force my beliefs to conform to this view. But finally I took my personal leap of faith: I believe that God loves honesty more than conformity⁸. And so I decided⁹ to go where the spirit moved me, even if that was away from the spiritual home of my ancestors.

I believe the fate of our world is not locked in by Scripture¹⁰, but that the future is shaped by the laws of nature and by what we humans voluntarily do during our time on this planet.

Many people believe every sunrise and sunset, every birth and death, every earthquake, flood and plague is a voluntary act of God. Like most scientists, I believe that involuntary laws of nature explain the behavior of planets, tectonic plates, weather systems and viruses. The earth continually spins and dispassionately quakes. Catastrophes¹¹ happen infrequently. But they are manifestations¹² of the same laws of nature that always govern the universe.

I believe God never tweaks the laws of nature to achieve some desired outcome. Having accepted this, I do not agonize¹³ over why God allows evil to occur. I don't expect God to intervene to help my team win a basketball game, either. As a kid, I thought God knew who would win before the game began. But today I'm convinced nobody knows for sure, not even God.

When I studied science and engineering in college, I met lots of people who had stopped believing in God. They asked, "If science explains the behavior of everything, from electrons to galaxies¹⁴, then who needs God?" I decided I still did. I agreed that science eliminates the need for a Creator, but the Creator is only one of the masks of God. The dispassionate mathematical laws of physics seem austere¹⁵ and impersonal¹⁶, like a star or the moon. But the universe contains more than that. It also includes creatures like us who create purpose and meaning. Gravity does not care, but I do.

Physics does not explain the difference between sound waves and a song, or the difference between sex and love. Physics explains my body, but not my soul. I believe my soul inspires me to make decisions to diminish pain and increase love in the lives I touch. Lots of times I try, but I fail. On a good day I actually get it right! And God is pleasantly surprised.

Bill Nunan with his essay for This I believe. Nunan said writing this essay gave him a chance to reconcile and distill¹⁷ his religious and scientific beliefs. If you like to try summarizing your personal convictions in 500 words, visit NPR.org for more information about our series. For This I Believe, I'm Jay Allison.

Support for This I Believe comes from Capelli University. This I Believe is produced for NPR by This I Believe incorporated at Atlanta Public Media. For more essays in the series please visit NPR.org/This I Believe. Support for NPR Podcasts comes from Acura featuring the all-new-turbocharge Acura RDX with available voice-activated navigation. More at Acura.com/RDX.

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 concierge   

n.管理员；门房

参考例句：

• This time the concierge was surprised to the point of bewilderment.这时候看门人惊奇到了困惑不解的地步。
• As I went into the dining-room the concierge brought me a police bulletin to fill out.我走进餐厅的时候，看门人拿来一张警察局发的表格要我填。

3 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

4 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。

5 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

6 plasma   

n.血浆，细胞质，乳清

参考例句：

• Keep some blood plasma back for the serious cases.留一些血浆给重病号。
• The plasma is the liquid portion of blood that is free of cells .血浆是血液的液体部分，不包含各种细胞。

7 creeds   

（尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• people of all races, colours and creeds 各种种族、肤色和宗教信仰的人
• Catholics are agnostic to the Protestant creeds. 天主教徒对于新教教义来说，是不可知论者。

8 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

11 catastrophes   

n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难

参考例句：

• Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
• The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句

12 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 agonize   

v.使受苦，使苦闷

参考例句：

• Why do you agonize yourself with the thought of your failure?你为何总是对于你的失败念念不忘而自我折磨呢？
• There's no reason to agonize over telling people you're job hunting.没有理由为告诉他人你正在找工作而感到苦恼。

14 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

15 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

16 impersonal   

adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的

参考例句：

• Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远，没有人情味。
• His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。

17 distill   

vt.蒸馏，用蒸馏法提取，吸取，提炼

参考例句：

• This standard set determine the method of petroleum products distill.本标准规定了测定石油产品蒸馏的方法。
• Distill the crucial points of the book.从书中提炼出关键的几点。