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But, in that case, why should we not be at least as deeply concerned with the pernicious effects of superstition? Those who believe in magical methods of preventing or curing diseases often do not turn to rational methods till it is too late. Those who believe that disasters are the work of inscrutable supernatural forces do not search for rational ways of preventing them or ameliorating their effects. Those who believe that humanity is under the beneficent control of supernatural forces that will see us through all our problems if we only have "faith" do not seek natural solutions to these problems.
但是，既然如此,我们为什么不该对迷信的恶劣影响给予最起码的一样深切的关注呢？那些相信巫术可以预防或治愈疾病的人们在求助于理性的方法时，往往为时已晚。那些相信灾难是由神秘莫测的超自然力量所导致的人们并不会寻求理性的方法来阻止灾难的发生或者减轻灾难的影响。那些相信人类是被有益的超自然力量所控制，只要“信仰”坚定，这些超自然的力量就会帮他们渡过一切难关的人们也并不会寻求解决这些问题的自然方法。
We live in times when overpopulation, pollution, the greenhouse effect, the thinning of the ozone layer, the deterioration of the environment, the destruction of the forests and of wildlife, and the dangers of multiplying nuclear armaments all threaten us with the destruction of civilization and the radical reduction in the very viability of Earth. If our only answer to all this is a superstitious reliance on something outside ourselves as a solution to all those problems, we are making that destruction certain.
我们生活在一个受到人口过剩、环境污染、温室效应、臭氧层变薄、环境恶化、森林和野生生物遭到毁坏、核军备剧增等问题所威胁的时代，所有这些都以破坏文明、从根本上缩短地球 生命的方式对我们造成威胁。倘若我们应对这一切的唯一方法是依赖外在的迷信的东西并将其作为解决所有那些问题的方法，那么，我们正在把毁灭变成现实
Yes, we will have our solace and comfort till the moment of the destruction, and we might console ourselves with the thoughts that we will all meet in a better world than this one and that indeed the Bible predicts the destruction of this world. But how many really believe that, even among those who say they do?
的确，在毁灭到来之前我们可以安慰自己，我们或许可以用这种想法来安慰自己，即未来的我们将在一个比现实更美好的世界相会，而且《圣经》里的确也预见到了当今世界的毁灭。但是又有多少人真正相信这些，即使是那些声称对此坚信不疑的人？
