bookbashuk Page 106
Page 106
As he followed the crowd out of the church, the increasingly intense sense of alienation faded considerably. With the next mass still more than half an hour away and nowhere to go, Gao Kui sat down opposite the statue of the Virgin Mary on the left side of the square.
This is also a small square, with several benches in the center surrounded by lush green trees, and opposite it are the monument and the statue of the Virgin Mary.
As Gao Kui gazed at the statue of Mary placed on the stone wall, he felt an unprecedented peace in his heart, as if the whole world, including the Lord, was standing against him, and only the Virgin Mary in front of him would wholeheartedly stand by his side.
Was it because seeing the statue of the Virgin Mary reminded you of your "mother" from the orphanage?
Maybe so.
Despite the existence of more individual cases, mothers tend to prioritize their children's needs and are more tolerant and devoted than other relatives, both materially and emotionally.
In Gao Kui's mind, the "mother" of the orphanage was such a person.
Gao Kui saw their individual calculations and egos in everyone he met, including Chu Zihang, Angers, Caesar, and Chen Motong. He knew very well that those people would never stand on his side wholeheartedly and without reservation.
This is normal. Everyone is an independent individual with their own personality. Who would disregard their own interests and wholeheartedly consider others?
But Gao Kui had truly felt that kind of wholehearted devotion from the "mother" in the orphanage.
Perhaps I was too young to understand the adults' cunning and scheming, so I have a childhood filter for her; or perhaps I didn't have much contact with "Mom" back then, since there were so many children in the orphanage, so distance makes the heart grow fonder, and now I've idealized the image of "Mom" from the orphanage in my mind...
In short, Gao Kui believed that he had experienced the kind of selflessness and tolerance that the "mother" in the orphanage would give him wholeheartedly.
Sometime later, while Gao Kui was staring blankly at the statue of the Virgin Mary, the old man who had just exchanged a few words with him sat down next to Gao Kui again.
Neither the old man nor the young man spoke; they sat quietly before the statue of Mary, far removed from the world, reminiscing about a departed loved one.
Clang, clang, clang.
The church bell tower emitted a deep and resonant sound, startling Gao Kui and the old man back to their senses. They looked up to see a large crowd surging in front of the church, as a new group of believers entered through the main gate to attend Mass under the bishop's supervision.
"Actually, not all Protestant doctrines are necessarily good, are they?"
Followers of the three Christian religions share a common characteristic: they spontaneously spread the gospel and save lost souls.
The old man felt that Gao Kui was lost and in need of salvation, and that he was almost lost in the heretical doctrines of Protestantism that seemed free but were actually completely untenable.
Such a lost soul should be embraced by Catholicism.
Gao Kui pointed to the church entrance: "The next mass is about to begin, uncle."
“I have already attended Mass,” the old man said, looking at Gao Kui.
Last night, after Mass, he lingered for a long time in the church or in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary. This was his habit. He felt that he was deeply sinful and that simply confessing during Mass would not be enough to wash away his sins. He needed to confess more often.
Now, the old man has found something more meaningful than repentance: saving a lost soul is also a meritorious act.
Chapter 134 Uesugi Yue
"That uncle is quite devout."
Gao Kui said something, then placed his hands together under his chin, propped his elbows on his legs, and stared blankly at the white stone statue of the Holy Mary on the stone wall.
The old man could tell that the young man didn't mind talking to him and discussing some religious matters.
"You deeply revere the Virgin Mary?"
"Ah."
"why?"
"Because I have a mother, in the orphanage we all called her Mom."
"Look, this is where some of the Protestant doctrines are flawed."
The old man spread his hands and explained the difference between Protestantism and Catholicism: "Protestants generally only see Mary as Jesus' birth mother when he was on earth, while Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy believe that the Virgin Mary was sent to earth for the birth of the Son. Do you know the difference between the two?"
"Guilty or innocence," Gao Kui said calmly.
The old man was somewhat surprised: "You actually know this? Was your mother really a Protestant?"
“She is indeed a Protestant, but I am not, so I have some knowledge of the three major Christian religions.”
Gao Kui's words were still somewhat obscure and difficult to understand, but the old man comprehended them. It was precisely because he was not a believer that he had a better understanding of some Christian doctrines.
The Buddhist concept of "obstacles of perception," the information cocoon proposed by jurist Sanz, and the ancient Chinese poem "Not recognizing the true face of Mount Lu, only because I am in the mountain myself" all essentially describe the same state, a state that has existed extensively in everyone from ancient times to the present.
Taking Japan as an example, works such as Ruth Benedict's "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" and Sofia Coppola's film "Lost in Translation" are works that the Japanese could never create in a lifetime.
Their descriptions of Japanese culture and Tokyo may not be entirely accurate, but they do, in certain aspects, thoroughly analyze Japanese culture and the urban atmosphere of Tokyo in a way that people who have lived in the country since childhood would never perceive.
This situation also exists in religions.
Protestant theologians generally do not think their doctrines are problematic, and the same is true for Catholic theologians; those who are able to reform themselves are ultimately a minority.
This is still the work of theologians; the perspective becomes even more appalling when applied to ordinary believers, especially Protestant believers in China.
Gao Kui once went to the church to find the priest and believers, trying to ask them, like ancient Confucian scholars who debated the classics and sought out great Confucian scholars, what the meaning of a certain sentence in the Bible was, and what kind of thought a certain action of the Son of God embodied.
The result was that he knew nothing when asked.
The priest would just recite from the script how great the Lord is and how great our Father is, while the older women would just hold Gao Kui's hand and say, "Believe in Jesus, believe in Jesus and you will live on the last day and go to heaven after death."
This is equivalent to Confucian disciples not even being able to explain the meaning of "To learn and practice what one has learned is a pleasure," and only telling people to study Confucianism so they can become high-ranking officials.
This is no longer just outdated, but downright ignorant, and it's hard to say that this phenomenon is unrelated to the core Protestant doctrine of justification by faith.
Therefore, Gao Kui, who is not a believer, actually has a better understanding of the doctrines of the three religions and parts of the Bible than many believers.
"This is the shortcoming of Protestant doctrine."
The old man sighed slightly and said, "Many branches of Protestantism advocate justification by faith, that is, as long as you believe, you can be a righteous person and go to heaven. Apart from faith, all laws and good deeds in the world are irrelevant."
Its core argument is Romans 3:28, "For a person is justified by faith, not by the works of the law." However, when considered in context, this is clearly a misinterpretation.
In the same chapter, verse 31 says, "Have we abolished the law through faith? Certainly not! Rather, we have strengthened it."
The focus of the chapter on justification by faith is not actually justification by faith, but rather on emphasizing the greatness of Jesus Christ and the grace of God, regardless of whether the believers are Jewish or not—in Confucian terms, "education for all." The law denied in this chapter is not all law, but rather the ancient Israelite law that did not acknowledge or even oppose Christ at that time.
To distort God's true intentions, to do evil according to God's will, to trample on all human laws, and to seek faith without striving for progress—how foolish!
The old man vehemently criticized the Lutheran ideas within Protestantism, believing that it was no longer just an ordinary heresy, but a cult that was only one step away from inciting people to do evil.
The Bible contains countless verses exhorting people to do good, accumulate good deeds, and perform good works. The Psalms say, "Those who walk uprightly and act justly will dwell in the dwelling place of God," and "The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness." The Gospel of Matthew says, "Do to others as you would have them do to you," and "Love your neighbor as yourself."
So you only remember this one sentence from Romans: "A man is justified by faith, not by the works of the law"?
Because faith means disregarding the law, and the law is the bare minimum of morality.
So what exactly does justification by faith mean?
To put it in an extreme way, it means "those who do not cultivate good deeds in ordinary times, but love to kill and commit arson, and then lay down their butcher's knife and immediately become Buddhas." Human original sin cannot be washed away by the laws and good deeds of the human world; only faith in the Lord can wash it away, and as long as one believes in Him, all sins can be washed away.
Is this a misinterpreted idea? No, this is exactly what Martin Luther advocated when he proposed justification by faith.
This is not an inspiring idea; it even subtly suggests a tendency towards moral decay.
"This is serious blasphemy and a betrayal of the Lord."
Justification by faith subjectively implies that people should abandon all good deeds and progress, and become foolish or even evil.
Why study? Why know the meaning of wise sayings? Why obey the law? Or even... why not do some evil deeds? After all, humanity's original sin is inexhaustible, so adding a little more won't matter.
I am a believer in the Lord, and He will forgive all of me. As long as I believe in Him, all my sins and transgressions will be blotted out by Him, like thin clouds disappearing.
"Damn it, Martin Luther should go to hell! Dante's *Divine Comedy* was written too early. If Dante had been born 500 years later, Martin Luther's soul would have been stuffed into Lucifer's mouth too!"
The old man's eyes blazed with intense fire and hostility, as if he wished he could travel back hundreds of years to personally kill Martin Luther, the Protestant founder who first proposed the doctrine of justification by faith, and those heretics who, because of their belief in this doctrine, did not perform good deeds or even intentionally committed evil.
Gao Kui remained unfazed: "From today's perspective, the church back then wasn't exactly a good thing either."
Why did Martin Luther propose the core doctrine of "justification by faith" and champion Protestantism? Because the sale of indulgences was rampant in the church at the time.
"The church at that time was indeed not a good thing, but Martin Luther was an even worse scoundrel than the church. The church at that time had three doctrines: selling indulgences, keeping the sacraments, and doing good deeds."
Martin Luther could have simply rejected indulgences and part of the observance of sacraments, but he also rejected good deeds and acts of charity. Isn't this a betrayal of the Bible and a blasphemy against the Father and the Son?
What do you think? "
Even the incarnate Son of God, who was born without original sin, still does good deeds, forgives people, and voluntarily bears the cross. But you, damn it, don't do good deeds.
“I think you’re right, uncle. I also don’t like the core Protestant concept of justification by faith.” Gao Kui agreed with the old man’s point of view.
Justification by faith? It's not that easy.
This is essentially taking advantage of the Son's ability to forgive. Those who disregard morality and law because they believe in "justification by faith" will be thrown into the lake of fire for trial even if they truly gain the status of "justified" because of the Son's forgiveness.
After a pause, Gao Kui asked again, puzzled, "Uncle, do you have some kind of enemy who is a Protestant?"
The old man's attitude towards Martin Luther and the idea of justification by faith could no longer be described as hostility or contempt; it was downright hatred and resentment. Such emotions were very rare among all the believers that Gao Kui had come into contact with.
"No."
The old man, who had been passionately denouncing Protestantism and Martin Luther, suddenly fell silent, his whole demeanor listless, and the hatred and resentment in his eyes faded, replaced by regret.
Gao Kui remained silent, only looking at the old man with an expression that seemed to say, "Really? I don't believe it."
Perhaps the topic wasn't taboo for the elderly, or perhaps the elderly instinctively wanted to confide in someone. After being stared at for a few seconds, they finally spoke slowly.
“He is not my enemy, nor is he a Protestant, but he is a wicked man whose evil deeds cannot be washed away even with the entire ocean.”
"Too numerous to record?" Gao Kui said these four words in Chinese.
"Are you Chinese?" The old man looked at Gao Kui with surprise and doubt again.
"I am Chinese and I am studying in the United States. I came to Japan for a study trip because of some accidents at my school." Gao Kui nodded.
The old man's eyes showed even more regret and guilt: "I see. Then let me give you a name to compare him to, and you'll probably know how bad the guy I know is: Hirohito."
"That's really bad." Gao Kui gasped. The old man was comparing Emperor Hirohito to the friend he knew. What else could he say?
After a pause, Gao Kui added, "To know such a heinous person, you're quite impressive, uncle."
The old man remained silent, his head bowed, his eyes filled with lingering hatred and regret. He seemed reluctant to engage with Gao Kui's praise of him.
After observing the old man, Gao Kui made a rough guess about his identity.
It's unlikely that the Japanese soldiers who invaded China were involved. The youngest Japanese soldier who invaded China would be in his seventies or eighties now, while the old man looks to be in his early fifties. Of course, it's possible that he's well-preserved.
More likely, he is a descendant of the Japanese soldiers who invaded China, or a descendant of Japanese people born in China and raised by Chinese people for a period of time. He possesses a conscience and is aware of and abhors the crimes committed by his ancestors in China.
After a long silence, the old man broke it again: "According to Protestant doctrine, the person I know can have all his sins washed away as long as he converts to Protestantism and devoutly believes in the Lord. Do you think that's reasonable?"
“Absolutely unreasonable. You can’t just wipe the slate clean of a crime you committed. It’s not that simple. If he doesn’t atone for his sins, he will surely be thrown into the lake of fire to suffer eternal torment.”
But since you've compared him to Emperor Hirohito, I really can't imagine how he could possibly clear his name. Maybe he'd have to save the world.