Each new discovery further removed the need for a God.
每项新发现都进一步显示 不太需要靠神明来解释现象
After all,if you know the science behind an eclipse,
毕竟 若你懂了日食现象的科学背景
you're much less likely to believe in wolf gods that live in the sky.
就不太可能相信 天上住了什么天狼神
Science does not deny religion,just offers a simpler alternative.
科学不是要否定宗教 只是提供了较简单的另一种答案
But several mysteries remain.
但仍有数个谜题未解
After all,if the Earth moves,could it be God that moves it?
毕竟 若地球会动 会不会是上帝让它动的
Ultimately, did God create the Universe in the first place?
追根究底的问题是 宇宙是上帝创造的吗 在最初的时候
In 1985,I attended a conference on cosmology at the Vatican in Rome.
1985年 我参加一场宇宙学大会 在罗马的梵蒂冈
The gathering of scientists had an audience with Pope John Paul ll.
这场科学家的集会 教皇约翰·保罗二世也前来聆听
He told us that it was okay to study the workings of the Universe.
他告诉我们 研究宇宙的运作是可以的
But we should not ask questions about its origin,
但我们不该探究宇宙的起源
for that was the work of God.
因为那是上帝的作为
I am glad to say I,for one,haven't followed his advice.
我很高兴地说 还好我没听从他的告诫
I can't simply switch off my curiosity.
我无法压抑自己的好奇心
I believe it's a cosmologist's duty to try and work out where the Universe came from.
我认为宇宙学家的责任 就是要致力于探索宇宙的起源
Luckily,it's not quite as difficult as it seems.
幸好并没有表象那般困难