节选翻译了一段外国人写的《死神永生》的书评。里面涉及到了对《死神永生》的宗教性的思考，很有意思。
节选
I find Death’s End, and the series in general, most fascinating, though, as a product of atheism. Not just a work influenced by atheism, or the product of an atheist (I have no idea if Cixin Liu is or isn’t), but a work that is the product of an atheistic society. And not just in the more direct ways it addresses religion (“The discovery of the dark forest state of the universe was a giant blow to most major religions, especially Christianity”). Or even Cheng Xin repeatedly playing the role of either Eve or Messiah (“I want to tell all those who believe in God that I am not the Chosen One. I also want to tell all the atheists that I am not a history-maker. I am but an ordinary person.”)
我发现《死神永生》以及整个“地球往事”系列，在无神论的作品中，总体来说是最引人入胜的。不是说《死神永生》是简单的受无神论影响，或者是由一个无神论作家写出来的（我本人并不清楚刘慈欣是不是一个无神论者），我想说这个系列是一个只有在无神论的社会中才能写出来的作品。作者不仅以一种更加直接的方式表达对宗教的看法（“纵观历史，黑暗森林状态的发现对各大宗教，特别是基督教，是一个沉重的打击。”——《死神永生》），甚至让程心不断的扮演夏娃或弥赛亚（救世主）的角色（“我要对相信上帝存在的人们说，我不是它选定的；我也要对唯物主义者们说，我不是创造历史的人。我只是一个普通人。”——《死神永生》）。
I distinguish between a work written by an atheist and the product of an atheistic society because works written by Western atheists, especially American atheists, are still working from essentially a Judeo-Christian perspective. Even if they are reacting against it, their work can still be defined in relation to it. The typical nihilism in modern storytelling, then, is an act of rebellion that we can try to rationalize away—for there to be a rebellion, there must be a dominant order. The nihilism of Death’s End, on the other hand, is pervasive, and thus terrifying. Other books are dark in a way that makes you happy you can set them aside and return to normal life after you’re done reading. The darkness of Death’s End is fundamental, and reaches beyond the four corners of the book. The Trisolaran threat, the threat of a Dark Forest strike, the mind-boggling timescale, space itself, all serve to reinforce that underlying nihilism. After all, is there anything more frightening than space to the atheist? They look up and see not the glory of God’s creation but instead an infinite emptiness creating ever more oppressive loneliness. Liu returns to it, again and again.
一个作品是由无神论者写的还是在一个无神论的社会中才能产生的，是有区别的。西方无神论者的作品，尤其是美国作家，依然是遵从犹太教/基督教的视角。即使他们的作品是反宗教的，但是他们的反宗教内涵依然是需要被宗教所定义。那么，现代叙事中典型的虚无主义是一种反叛的行为，我们可以试图使之合理化，有反叛的存在，那么必定有一个与反叛相对的支配秩序。从另一方面说，《死神永生》的虚无主义是普遍的，因此是可怕的。对于其他悲观的书，你可以在阅读之后把他们放到一边，然后又回归普通而快乐的生活。但是《死神永生》则不然，它的悲观是如此的彻底，能从书的四角蔓延出来。三体人的威胁、黑暗森林打击的威胁、令人难以置信的时间尺度、空间自身，都在巩固着潜在书中的虚无主义。毕竟，对于一个无神论者来说，有什么东西能比空间本身更加令人恐惧？当无神论者向太空看时，他们看到的不是上帝造物的杰作，而是无穷无尽的空虚，随之而来的是更加令人压抑的无限孤独。刘慈欣时常回归到这个话题上，而且一遍又一遍。
“Death is the only lighthouse that is always lit.” “The child that was human civilization had opened the door to her home and glanced outside. The endless night terrified her so much that she shuddered against the expansive and profound darkness, and shut the door firmly.” “She finally understood how she was but a mote of dust in a grand wind, a small leaf drifting over a broad river.” “死亡是唯一一座永远亮着的灯塔。“ ”处于幼年的人类文明曾经打开家门向外看了一眼，外面无边的暗夜吓住了他，他面对黑暗中的广袤和深邃打了个寒战，紧紧的关上了门。” “她终于看清了，使自己这粒沙尘四处飘飞的，是怎样的天风；把自己这片小叶送向远方的，是怎样的大河。”
But because I could not so easily dismiss it, I was left wondering as I read the book, and am left wondering still today weeks after finishing it, whether it meant as hopeful. Keynes was right. “In the long run we are all dead.” Toggle the end date for your book far enough and you’ll get there. Even the Bible ends with Revelation. Humanity escapes catastrophe miraculously, but it’s going to get us all eventually. 不过因为我不能轻易的不去理会这些，我在读书时就在思考，甚至直到读完书几个星期之后的今天，依然在想，这些是否意味着希望？凯恩斯（英国经济学家）是对的，”从长远来说，我们都会死。“将读书的期限设置的足够久远，那么你总归能读完。即使是《圣经》也已《启示录》结尾。人类奇迹般地逃过了大灾难，不过最终我们还是会投入死神的怀抱。
And so we return to the opaque allegory of Cheng Xin, our Eve and Messiah. Is she savior of bringer of destruction? Is her weakness a damnation of us or merely of herself? Is it even really weakness at all?
所以让我们回到程心身上，这个不透明的寓言，这个我们的夏娃和弥赛亚。她是毁灭的救世主么？她的软弱是对人类自身的诅咒还是只是她自己的问题？她甚至真的软弱吗？
节选
I find Death’s End, and the series in general, most fascinating, though, as a product of atheism. Not just a work influenced by atheism, or the product of an atheist (I have no idea if Cixin Liu is or isn’t), but a work that is the product of an atheistic society. And not just in the more direct ways it addresses religion (“The discovery of the dark forest state of the universe was a giant blow to most major religions, especially Christianity”). Or even Cheng Xin repeatedly playing the role of either Eve or Messiah (“I want to tell all those who believe in God that I am not the Chosen One. I also want to tell all the atheists that I am not a history-maker. I am but an ordinary person.”)
我发现《死神永生》以及整个“地球往事”系列，在无神论的作品中，总体来说是最引人入胜的。不是说《死神永生》是简单的受无神论影响，或者是由一个无神论作家写出来的（我本人并不清楚刘慈欣是不是一个无神论者），我想说这个系列是一个只有在无神论的社会中才能写出来的作品。作者不仅以一种更加直接的方式表达对宗教的看法（“纵观历史，黑暗森林状态的发现对各大宗教，特别是基督教，是一个沉重的打击。”——《死神永生》），甚至让程心不断的扮演夏娃或弥赛亚（救世主）的角色（“我要对相信上帝存在的人们说，我不是它选定的；我也要对唯物主义者们说，我不是创造历史的人。我只是一个普通人。”——《死神永生》）。
I distinguish between a work written by an atheist and the product of an atheistic society because works written by Western atheists, especially American atheists, are still working from essentially a Judeo-Christian perspective. Even if they are reacting against it, their work can still be defined in relation to it. The typical nihilism in modern storytelling, then, is an act of rebellion that we can try to rationalize away—for there to be a rebellion, there must be a dominant order. The nihilism of Death’s End, on the other hand, is pervasive, and thus terrifying. Other books are dark in a way that makes you happy you can set them aside and return to normal life after you’re done reading. The darkness of Death’s End is fundamental, and reaches beyond the four corners of the book. The Trisolaran threat, the threat of a Dark Forest strike, the mind-boggling timescale, space itself, all serve to reinforce that underlying nihilism. After all, is there anything more frightening than space to the atheist? They look up and see not the glory of God’s creation but instead an infinite emptiness creating ever more oppressive loneliness. Liu returns to it, again and again.
一个作品是由无神论者写的还是在一个无神论的社会中才能产生的，是有区别的。西方无神论者的作品，尤其是美国作家，依然是遵从犹太教/基督教的视角。即使他们的作品是反宗教的，但是他们的反宗教内涵依然是需要被宗教所定义。那么，现代叙事中典型的虚无主义是一种反叛的行为，我们可以试图使之合理化，有反叛的存在，那么必定有一个与反叛相对的支配秩序。从另一方面说，《死神永生》的虚无主义是普遍的，因此是可怕的。对于其他悲观的书，你可以在阅读之后把他们放到一边，然后又回归普通而快乐的生活。但是《死神永生》则不然，它的悲观是如此的彻底，能从书的四角蔓延出来。三体人的威胁、黑暗森林打击的威胁、令人难以置信的时间尺度、空间自身，都在巩固着潜在书中的虚无主义。毕竟，对于一个无神论者来说，有什么东西能比空间本身更加令人恐惧？当无神论者向太空看时，他们看到的不是上帝造物的杰作，而是无穷无尽的空虚，随之而来的是更加令人压抑的无限孤独。刘慈欣时常回归到这个话题上，而且一遍又一遍。
“Death is the only lighthouse that is always lit.” “The child that was human civilization had opened the door to her home and glanced outside. The endless night terrified her so much that she shuddered against the expansive and profound darkness, and shut the door firmly.” “She finally understood how she was but a mote of dust in a grand wind, a small leaf drifting over a broad river.” “死亡是唯一一座永远亮着的灯塔。“ ”处于幼年的人类文明曾经打开家门向外看了一眼，外面无边的暗夜吓住了他，他面对黑暗中的广袤和深邃打了个寒战，紧紧的关上了门。” “她终于看清了，使自己这粒沙尘四处飘飞的，是怎样的天风；把自己这片小叶送向远方的，是怎样的大河。”
But because I could not so easily dismiss it, I was left wondering as I read the book, and am left wondering still today weeks after finishing it, whether it meant as hopeful. Keynes was right. “In the long run we are all dead.” Toggle the end date for your book far enough and you’ll get there. Even the Bible ends with Revelation. Humanity escapes catastrophe miraculously, but it’s going to get us all eventually. 不过因为我不能轻易的不去理会这些，我在读书时就在思考，甚至直到读完书几个星期之后的今天，依然在想，这些是否意味着希望？凯恩斯（英国经济学家）是对的，”从长远来说，我们都会死。“将读书的期限设置的足够久远，那么你总归能读完。即使是《圣经》也已《启示录》结尾。人类奇迹般地逃过了大灾难，不过最终我们还是会投入死神的怀抱。
And so we return to the opaque allegory of Cheng Xin, our Eve and Messiah. Is she savior of bringer of destruction? Is her weakness a damnation of us or merely of herself? Is it even really weakness at all?
所以让我们回到程心身上，这个不透明的寓言，这个我们的夏娃和弥赛亚。她是毁灭的救世主么？她的软弱是对人类自身的诅咒还是只是她自己的问题？她甚至真的软弱吗？
纷落
