CNN 2010-10-06

Joining me live from Denver and L.A. and also in L.A., along with Mary Ann there, one of my favorite pastors¹, the Reverend Art Cribbs of the San Marino United Church of Christ. It's great to have all three of you this morning. My favorite topic. All right.We've got a lot of ...

Thank you.

OK. I just want to make sure we got phones with all of you. I know you're having some issues. You know what I want to get all of you to respond to this first question because it's the one that had us all talking and we were pretty surprised about the fact that those who scored highest were atheists and agnostics. Does that surprise you, Deepak?

No, it does not. I think it is looking harder for answers and the devout³ usually are close minded. Fervent⁴ belief is a cover up for insecurity and you see all the problems that arise from fervent believers who we call fundamentalists. I think the survey sounds like counter intuitive but it isn't. If you go deeper, it says nothing about value judgment⁵. You know, who feels closer to god? Who embodies⁶ divine attributes like love, compassion⁷, goodness, truth, equanimity⁸, peace of mind? Who despairs over death? So there's a difference between religious experience and religious knowledge.

You know, Mary Ann, the head of the American Atheist² Dave Silverman actually said that he just gave his daughter a Bible and that's how you make atheists. What do you think about the fact that agnostics and atheists actually knew more than those that claim a religion and say that they are very faithful and knowledgeable⁹ about what they believe?

You know, there's a line in A Course in Miracles that says many conspire¹⁰ with god who do not yet believe in him. I think what Deepak was saying is so important that the religious experience is what matters. And so if a person has love in their heart they are serving god whether they "believe in god or not."

So when we make the conversation about the religious experience, which is not about dogma, which is not about doctrine¹¹, which is not about my club versus¹² your club but about the way we live our lives in humility¹³ and an effort to forgive and live peacefully. I've known people who call themselves atheists, certainly people who consider themselves agnostic, which, you know, an agnostic is someone who is just open to exactly what is it.

I think that's the religious experience. And that's where the conversation is moving now. Not to all of the external issues but to the internal issues of the heart. And if an atheist is a loving person I think that's what god cares about.
 

1 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

2 atheist   

n.无神论者

参考例句：

• She was an atheist but now she says she's seen the light.她本来是个无神论者，可是现在她说自己的信仰改变了。
• He is admittedly an atheist.他被公认是位无神论者。

3 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

4 fervent   

adj.热的，热烈的，热情的

参考例句：

• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
• Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。

5 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

6 embodies   

v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This document embodies the concern of the government for the deformity. 这个文件体现了政府对残疾人的关怀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

8 equanimity   

n.沉着，镇定

参考例句：

• She went again,and in so doing temporarily recovered her equanimity.她又去看了戏，而且这样一来又暂时恢复了她的平静。
• The defeat was taken with equanimity by the leadership.领导层坦然地接受了失败。

9 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

10 conspire   

v.密谋，（事件等）巧合，共同导致

参考例句：

• They'd conspired to overthrow the government.他们曾经密谋推翻政府。
• History and geography have conspired to bring Greece to a moment of decision.历史和地理因素共同将希腊推至作出抉择的紧要关头。

11 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

12 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

13 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。