These people have gone to Lourdes, in the foothills of the Pyrenees,

這些人去了盧爾德，位於比利牛斯山的山腳下。

in the hope that the Virgin Mary might cure them of cancer and heart disease.

希望聖母瑪利亞可以治癒他們的癌症和心臟病。

These people have gone to Medjugorje in Bosnia Herzegovina

這些人則去了波士尼亞與赫塞哥維納的默主哥耶

to pray they might get a chance to talk to dead beloved relatives.

祈禱他們也許有機會和已過世的摯愛親人對話。

And these people are praying at the Western Wailing Wall of the old Jewish Temple in Jeruselam

而這一群人在西側的哭牆禱告 - 位於耶路撒冷的一座舊猶太教堂。

and leaving all sort of notes for God to read in the cracks between the stones.

在石縫之間留下各式各樣的紙條，希望這些訊息能直達天聽。

No wonder some Atheists just think the whole of religion is ludicrous,

不意外地，一些無神論者覺得 整個宗教糸統是愚蠢可笑的，

and they aren't bothered about saying so very directly.

他們一點也不介意說得這麼直白。

But that's the wrong way to look at religion.

但是這不是一個正確看待宗教的方式。

What religion teaches us isn't about what's true,

宗教並非教導我們去討論「何謂真理」。

but about what many of us here on earth desperately want to be true,

而是在這地球上，我們當中有許多人熱切地去追求真理。

for some pretty understandable reasons.

因為一些顯明易懂的原因。

At one point in the bible, Jesus goes into the house of a man called Jarus,

在聖經中有個故事，耶穌去了一個叫做睚魯的人的家中。

whose 12-year-old daughter has just died.

他的女兒剛過世了。

Everyone is weeping and lamenting. But Jesus calmly says that she's not dead, she's just asleep.

每個人都在哭泣哀悼，但是耶穌輕聲細語地說她並沒有死，而是睡著了。

"Little girl, I say to you get up!" He says.

耶穌說「小女孩，我命令你起來！」

We shouldn't laugh or dismiss the whole thing as nonsense.

我們不應該將整個故事斥為無稽之談。

When your child is very sick, you may well end up believing in miracles.

當你的兒女病危時，你同樣會祈禱希望有奇蹟發生。

Because at the end of the day, under immense psychological pressures,

因為在那一天，你會承受極大的心理壓力，

you love your child more than you care about the laws of physics and biology.

你如此愛你的兒女，使你已經不在乎物理或生物學的定律。

And when your loved ones do die, it can take a very robust mind indeed

而他們真的不幸過世時，這的確很難不去想像...

not to imagine, late at night when the sadness becomes overwhelming,

當夜晚來臨，那個沉重的悲傷到來時

that somehow your parent, or child, or friend, is somewhere still around and in a better place than they were.

而你已過世的雙親、或子女、朋友仍在你的身旁， 並且處在一個更好的地方。

And that they might be able to see us as we go about our daily lives

他們也可以看到我們的日常生活

and forgive us and understand what we, perhaps, never found a way to say to them.

並且原諒、理解我們未能 來得及說出那些想要告訴他們的話。

And when you're in a complete mess, and all you want to do is cry in shame,

當你在一團混亂時，你能做的也只是遺憾落淚。

you might well start to long for someone who could understand. Someone wise and forgiving,

於是你可能會去盼望 有一個具備智慧、憐憫之心的神明， 他能夠理解你。

with kindly sympathetic eyes who wont judge and will be patient and kindly, like an ideal mother.

有著慈愛的眼神，像一個完美的母親， 她不會責難你、很有耐心又慈祥。

Science may very rightly deny the existence of the Virgin Mary, let alone paradise and miracles.

科學可能會斷然否認聖母瑪莉亞的存在， 更不用說天堂和奇蹟

But these beliefs shouldn't just be interpreted as pieces of stupidity.

但這些信仰不應該被解讀為愚昧之行。

They are signs of extreme emotional distress and desperation,

他們都是極大苦難、絕望的象徵。

which should rightly elicit in us understanding and sympathy.

可以引起我們內在的理解與同情

Religious beliefs are, of course, technically false.

當然，宗教信仰在科學角度來看站不住腳。

But they're coming from a very tender and vulnerable place, which needs our empathy.

但是他們來自於一個溫柔、脆弱之處，需要我們的體恤。

Of course Atheists are technically right. But there's no point getting maddened by the apparent irrationality of the religious.

當然，無神論有他們的科學依據。 但是對於宗教明顯地的非理性他們不需要發怒。

We have to understand it and appreciate the intensity of the longings that lead some of us to believe in fantasies against all odds.

我們必須理解它，並且為那些克服萬難、信仰堅定不搖的人祈福。

Because reality is just sometimes unbearably painful.

因為現實在許多時候的確是不可承受之痛。