Peter Thiel's Religion - David Perell

“I am the Lord your God.” — 1st Commandment“我是耶和华你的神”——第一诫

Human culture began with a murder. That culture was fueled by rage and rivalry, which led to violence. Managing that violence is the secret reason for all religious and political institutions.

人类文化始于一场谋杀。这种文化被愤怒和竞争所推动，导致了暴力。管理这种暴力是所有宗教和政治机构的秘密原因。

In The Bible, The Cain and Abel story is the first act of life after the Garden of Eden. Cain is a farmer and the older brother to Abel, who is a shepherd. Initially, Cain admires Abel. But eventually, when Cain turns envious of his younger and more successful brother, he kills him. The two brothers represent two halves of the human psyche: Abel represents the part that looks up towards the transcendent, where Cain represents the other that looks down towards death and destruction.

在《圣经》中，该隐和亚伯的故事是伊甸园 (2008 年电影) 之后人生的第一幕。该隐是一个农夫，也是牧羊人亚伯的哥哥。起初，该隐崇拜亚伯。但最终，当该隐嫉妒他更成功的弟弟时，他杀了他。这两兄弟代表了人类心灵的两部分: 亚伯代表着向上看的超然部分，而该隐代表着向下看的另一部分，向下看的是死亡和毁灭。

Depending on who you ask, the significance of the Cain and Abel story ranges from nothing to everything. For some, the Christian cross is too strange to be taken seriously. It’s archaic and stuck inside a biblical world that can no longer speak to the challenges of life with iPhones, Tinder, and $12 avocado toast. But to others, religion is the foundation of human culture. Without it, peace cannot be maintained and violence will erupt like an angry volcano.

取决于你问谁，该隐和亚伯的故事的意义从无到有。对于一些人来说，基督教的十字架太奇怪了，不值得认真对待。它已经过时了，被困在一个圣经世界里，再也不能用 iphone、 Tinder 和 12 美元的鳄梨吐司来应对生活的挑战。但对其他人来说，宗教是人类文化的基础。没有它，和平将无法维持，暴力将像一座愤怒的火山一样爆发。

What does Peter Thiel think? Is religion a superfluous add-on or the origin of everything?

彼得 · 泰尔怎么想? 宗教是多余的附加物还是万物的起源？

In this essay, we’ll explore the significance of religion and the Cain and Abel story. We’ll learn why the story is an archetype for human relationships, even in the Western world where people stiff-arm religion like it’s the Heisman trophy.

在这篇文章中，我们将探讨宗教的意义以及该隐和亚伯的故事。我们将了解为什么这个故事是人类关系的原型，即使在西方世界，人们像海斯曼奖杯一样强硬地对待宗教。

We’ll study religion through the lens of Peter Thiel. He’s an investor who found wealth in PayPal, a student who found wisdom in Libertarian ideals, and a philosopher who found faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thiel was raised as an Evangelical and inherited the Christianity of his parents. But his beliefs are “somewhat heterodox.” In a profile in the New Yorker, Thiel said: “I believe Christianity to be true. I don’t feel a compelling need to convince other people of that.”

我们将通过彼得 · 泰尔的视角来研究宗教。他是一个通过 PayPal 发现财富的投资者，一个在自由意志主义理想中找到智慧的学生，一个在耶稣复活基督中找到信仰的哲学家。希尔从小就是福音派教徒，继承了他父母的基督教信仰。但他的信仰 “有点异端” 在《纽约客》的一篇人物简介中，泰尔说: “我相信基督教是真实的。我觉得没有必要让其他人相信这一点。”

Three simple statements will lead us towards our ultimate answer about the importance of religion:

关于宗教的重要性，有三个简单的陈述可以引导我们找到最终的答案: