《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 3 (6):我的信仰

Culturally, though not theologically, I'm a Christian. I was born a Protestant of the white Anglo-Saxon persuasion. And while I do love that great teacher of peace who was called Je-sus, and while I do reserve the right to ask myself in certain trying situations what indeed He would do, I can't swallow that one fixed rule of Christianity insisting that Christ is the only path to God. Strictly speaking, then, I cannot call myself a Christian. Most of the Christians I know accept my feelings on this with grace and open-mindedness. Then again, most of the Christi-ans I know don't speak very strictly. To those who do speak (and think) strictly, all I can do here is offer my regrets for any hurt feelings and now excuse myself from their business.

就文化上而言，虽然并非从神学上来说，我是基督徒。我生为盎格鲁撒克逊白人的新教教徒。我虽爱名叫耶稣的和平良师，我虽也保留权利，在身处困境之时自问他能做什么，但我却无法忍受基督教的既定规则，坚称基督是通往神的“唯一”途径。因此严格说来，我不能自称基督徒。我认识的大部分基督徒都大方豁达地接受我这种感受。不过我认识的这些大部分基督徒，其关于神的说法也并不严格。对于那些说法（和想法）严格的人，我只能对造成任何情感方面的伤害表示遗憾，并请求他们的原谅。

Traditionally, I have responded to the transcendent mystics of all religions. I have always responded with breathless excitement to anyone who has ever said that God does not live in a dogmatic scripture or in a distant throne in the sky, but instead abides very close to us indeed—much closer than we can imagine, breathing right through our own hearts. I respond with gratitude to anyone who has ever voyaged to the center of that heart, and who has then returned to the world with a report for the rest of us that God is an experience of supreme love. In every religious tradition on earth, there have always been mystical saints and transcendents who report exactly this experience. Unfortunately many of them have ended up arrested and killed. Still, I think very highly of them.

通常 ，我响应每一种宗教的超然神秘仪式。只要哪个人说神不住在教条的经文中或遥远的天边宝座上，而是与我们比邻而居，比我们想象中更接近，在我们的心中生息，向来都令我屏息热切响应。我深深感激那些曾经停靠在那颗心，而后返回世界，向我们报告神是 “至爱体验”的所有人士。在世界上的一切宗教传统中，向来有抱持神秘主义的圣徒与仙人，他们所报道的正是这种体验。不幸的是，他们许多人的下场是被捕、丧命 ，然而我仍认为他们很了不起。

In the end, what I have come to believe about God is simple. It's like this—I used to have this really great dog. She came from the pound. She was a mixture of about ten different breeds, but seemed to have inherited the finest features of them all. She was brown. When people asked me, "What kind of dog is that?" I would always give the same answer: "She's a brown dog." Similarly, when the question is raised, "What kind of God do you believe in?" my answer is easy: "I believe in a magnificent God."

Eat, Pray, Love

最终，我对神的信念很简单。类似这样——我养过一条大狗 ，它来自动物收容所，它是十个品种的混种，但似乎遗传到每个品种的最佳特点。它是棕狗。每逢有人问我“它是哪种狗”的时候，我总是给一样的回答：“它是只棕狗。”同样地，当有人提问“你信哪种神”时，我的回答很简单：“我信仰至高无上的神。”