Dragon Clan: They're all insane, and you still want me to slay dragons?

Page 107

"Yes, the crimes he committed can never be washed away."

The old man gazed at the statue of the Virgin Mary, murmuring to himself in a daze, his whole being radiating a pessimistic and negative aura.

Of course he could run away; he spent his whole life running away.

He was unaware of this at the time; the Snake Clan isolated him from the outside world and treated him only as a deity, a mascot who could only mechanically stamp seals.

The clan patriarch and elders brought generals and politicians before him, telling him how just the war was, how powerful the army of the Great Japanese Empire was, and how his army was welcomed by the people wherever it went, truly having the advantage of perfect timing...

He was kept in the dark until Japan's defeat.

It was not his fault that his mother was killed, that she appeared on the list of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, or in the reports of the trial beheading competition.

He was completely unaware of the truth from beginning to end; he was just an ordinary young man born in France with nothing but a handsome appearance.

He fled and fled, escaping the ordinariness of France to play the role of an emperor who was kept in a high position in Japan. He then fled the emperor's identity because of the sins he was accused of, and came to play the role of an ordinary ramen chef near the Cathedral of St. Mary, cowardly and pessimistic, like a stray dog.

Of course, he had his moments of toughness, but it didn't last long. He was quickly toyed with like a toy by an old man and suffered a crushing defeat.

Leaving aside that less-than-pleasant experience of standing up for himself, calling him a coward who only knew how to run away is not an exaggeration. Having already run away his whole life, having been a coward his entire life, what's wrong with escaping to Protestantism in the last few years of his life?

Anyway, he wasn't the first to do this. Chiang Kai-shek, who lost his entire nation and country, converted to Protestantism, setting a good example for him.

However, this was the one step he could never take, the one step of abandoning all sin and transgression.

Chapter 135 God’s Will

Perhaps the topic was too heavy, because the old man quickly steered the conversation to other aspects, praising and criticizing other shortcomings of Protestant doctrine.

“Aside from justification by faith, there are other unreasonable aspects to Protestant doctrine. For example, there are certainly no statues of the Virgin Mary in your Protestant churches.”

The old man pointed to the stone statue of the Virgin Mary in front of him and said, "Because in Protestant doctrine, the Virgin Mary was only the mother of Jesus Christ when he was on earth. She herself was no different from other humans and had original sin."

In both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox doctrines, the Virgin Mary is a sinless person whom God specially sent to earth for His Son. She was born without original sin and became the Mediator Saint after ascending to heaven.

Do you think this is reasonable?

"This is not something I, an outsider, can casually praise or criticize," Gao Kui shook his head, wisely refraining from arguing with the old man about the issue.

Theologians, based on the content of the Bible, cite scriptures and texts to discuss the position of the Virgin Mary, just as Confucian scholars in ancient China used scriptures and texts to debate the true meaning of a certain original saying of Confucius.

Whether the Virgin Mary was "innocent" is a topic far less profound than the question of whether the Son of God was "human or divine," but it is far more important than other controversial viewpoints. After all, no matter what, Mary was the one who gave birth to the Son of God.

Such high-level topics are definitely not something Gao Kui would delve into, because no matter what he says, he can always find a lot of arguments to refute them.

The old man probably realized that asking this question was too difficult for the young man in front of him, as many theologians might not be able to explain it convincingly.

Leaving aside this sensitive and profound issue, the old man and Gao Kui discussed their views on statues: Protestants advocate against worshipping statues, and churches should not display statues of the Son of God or any saints, using only the cross as a religious symbol.

Under this doctrine, even if Mary's status were elevated in Protestantism, she could not possibly have a statue in almost any respectable Protestant church, as is the case with the Basilica of St. Mary.

Gao Kui remained noncommittal on this matter, neither agreeing nor disagreeing that the Protestant stance was right or wrong compared to the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church.

This claim by Protestantism is indeed well-founded, as it originates from the core law of the Apocalyptic sect, the first two of the Ten Commandments: You shall have no other gods before the Lord, and you shall not carve or bow down to idols.

This idol refers to puppets, stone statues, and other figurative objects and phenomena.

Seeing floods and landslides and thinking that the mountain gods and water gods are angry and need to be worshipped is a foolish idea, because there is only one god in heaven and on earth, and others can only be considered "evil" or "demonic".

Erecting a statue of the Virgin Mary is to mythologize her, isn't it?

After stating this point, Gao Kui began to attack the right brain with the left brain. But then again, things in the world are constantly evolving, and in terms of the spread of faith, monotheism is not as good as polytheism.

In other belief systems, there are gods corresponding to priests, farmers, war, commerce, or even each day of the week. Some sects even have two leaders. We only have one leader, not even a head of the shrine. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?

Therefore, in the development and spread of the sect, the special titles and ranks of "Supporting Saint" and "Mediatory Saint" came into being.

Jamil became the patron saint of doctors and nurses, Gala became the patron saint of patients with eye diseases, Monica became the patron saint of married women, and Isidore Alator became the patron saint of farmers...

The patron saint of police officers and law enforcement personnel is even more impressive: Archangel Michael. Since Michael is interpreted as the guide of the Last Judgment, and he is in charge of judgment, it is perfectly reasonable for him to be the patron saint of the police and legal systems.

In addition to each industry having its own patron saint, each region and country also has its own patron saint. For example, Odin became the local patron saint of the Norse countries after the Norse pantheon was crushed.

With so many patron deities, wouldn't the church become no different from other polytheistic religions, with one God-King and countless subordinate gods?

But the church says that those patrons are not God; they are merely saints who have taken on a part of the profession from the one true God, Jehovah, to guide the believers. There is only one true leader, Jehovah; the others are merely patriarchs or deities.

Of course, Jesus Christ is an exception; he is Jehovah's disguise, and therefore also the one in charge.

From the perspective of church development, having so many patron saints is quite necessary, as it is more conducive to the spread of the faith. However, from a dialectical perspective, this is a serious violation of the first commandment of the Ten Commandments.

Those patron saints became part of prayer and worship, which is the de facto polytheistic system, and all of this was carried out under the auspices of the Catholic Church, that is, the Vatican.

At this point, Gao Kui's right brain finally caught up with his left brain, and his rambling stopped abruptly. He turned his head and looked at the old man with some nervousness.

The worst thing you can do when interacting with someone is to speak too intimately with someone you don't know well. What he just said went beyond just speaking intimately.

To say that the Vatican has developed a monotheistic religion into a polytheistic one—is this an attack on the Catholic Church, the faith of the elderly? No, it's an attack on "God," a questioning of the reality of "God."

The Apocalyptic sect is extremely averse to others discussing any "human intervention" in their beliefs. For example, the authenticity of the Bible: was the Old Testament fabricated by the Jews, and was the New Testament fabricated by Jesus' followers?

Whether it's true or not, it doesn't need much explanation; everyone knows the answer. But if you bring this up to believers, it's like burning their ancestral graves or smashing their family's ancestral hall during a memorial service and then saying it's all feudal superstition.

Within the Apocalyptic sect, the reality of God is beyond question.

Gao Kui just said that the Catholic Church developed a monotheistic system into a polytheistic system, and placed the power and merit of the church in its denominational development above God's grace. Doesn't that mean that God can be created?

"Why did you stop talking?" the old man asked, maintaining his smile.

Gao Kui also laughed, an awkward laugh, the kind of laugh you get when you're caught cheating during an exam.

"Next, do you want to talk about the issue of the Holy Son? Was the Trinity doctrine really something that was forced to be discussed because of the first commandment of the Ten Commandments?" the old man asked with a smile, as gentle as a spring breeze.

Gao Kui continued to laugh awkwardly; his thoughts had indeed wandered in that direction after his earlier lapse.

"On the journey of life, we sometimes lose our way, feeling as if we are lost in a vast sea of ​​people, like a lost lamb in the wilderness. Without the guidance of a shepherd, it is difficult for us to return to the right path."

To outsiders, the sheep is foolish. Why would it go somewhere else when the other 99 sheep and the shepherd are right there?

A good shepherd, at this moment, doesn't need to dwell on why the sheep are acting foolishly, but rather use their wisdom and effort to guide the lost sheep back to the flock, sharing joy with everyone.

The old man gazed at the statue of the Virgin Mary and, using the parable of the lost lamb from Luke chapter 15, casually remarked, "I don't blame you for questioning the truth of God; you're just lost."

Gao Kui gave the old man a thumbs up, "What a character!"

The old man smiled and said, "The sheep lost in the wilderness are faithless from the start, or perhaps lacking in faith. If they get agitated and jump up and down after being questioned a few times, how can they be considered a good shepherd?"

While appearing completely indifferent, the old man became even more determined to pull this lost sheep back into the embrace of the Lord and back into Catholicism.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus used the metaphor of lost sheep to represent those who have gone astray, and said, “The joy in heaven for one sinner who truly repents is greater than that for ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.”

In Chinese parlance, it's like the proverb "a prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold," which explains why the priest in the "Young and Dangerous" movies keeps pestering Chicken and his gang to convert to Christianity.

Having had contact with Christian denominations, understanding some of the doctrines of the three religions, and being able to dialectically think about and question the reality of God—what else could this be but a lost sheep?

"What's your name, uncle?"

Gao Kui extended his hand to the old man, thinking he was a good person. He understood the importance of reflection and repentance, and most importantly, the ability to distinguish right from wrong and correctly recognize Japan's crimes during World War II.

Very sincere, kind-hearted, and a first-rate friend.

"Uesugi Kotsu." Uesugi Kotsu grasped Takagi's hand.

"My name is Gao Kui, and my English name is Messiah."

Gao Kui explained the pronunciation and meaning of his name in both Chinese and Japanese, then released Uesugi Yue's hand and asked, "Uncle, are you a descendant of Uesugi Kenshin?"

"So, when you talk about Uesugi, you only think of Uesugi Kenshin? Then are you a descendant of Emperor Gao Huan?" Uesugi Yue asked back with a smile.

"As far as I know, there are only about 20,000 people in Japan with the surname Uesugi," Gao Kui replied solemnly.

Uesugi Kotsugu's expression instantly turned serious. He had assumed that Takagi would naturally think of Uesugi Kenshin based on his surname, but he hadn't expected that Takagi would actually know the total population with the surname Uesugi.

“Our ancestors were indeed related to the Uesugi clan, but not Uesugi Kenshin, but Uesugi Norimasa…” Uesugi Kotetsu explained the origin of the Uesugi surname to Takagi.

The Uesugi clan has been a noble family for a long time, with the Yamauchi Uesugi clan being the most famous. Several branches branched off from the Yamauchi Uesugi clan. Uesugi Kenshin was not originally named Uesugi; his original name was Nagao Kagetora.

After the downfall of the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan, Nagao Kagetora inherited the clan's surname, changed his name to Uesugi Kagetora, and his Buddhist name to Kenshin. Following Uesugi Kagetora, the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan branched out into many other lineages.

Most people with the surname Uesugi in Japan today can trace their ancestry back to Uesugi Kenshin. However, the Uesugi surname in Uesugi Echizen is only related to the original Yamauchi Uesugi clan.

In terms of bloodline, Uesugi Koshi is not related to other Uesugi figures in Japan. After all, the ancestor of the other Uesugi, Uesugi Kenshin, did not originally have the surname Uesugi.

"Oh~"

Gao Kui suddenly realized and nodded: "That's really unfortunate. Uncle, you're not a descendant of Uesugi Kenshin. We could have formed a team."

"What team?"

"A descendant of a prestigious family! I really am a descendant of Emperor Shenwu, Gao Huan." Gao Kui said with deep regret.

Holy shit!

Uesugi Yue was slightly taken aback, then immediately jumped up like a startled bird, scrutinizing Gao Kui for a few moments, and then looking around repeatedly, as if checking for any ambushes.

A descendant of Emperor Shenwu Gao Huan?

The Gao family of Northern Qi?

No matter what, Uesugi Kotsuki was once the head of the Snake-Headed Eight Families and the head of the Uesugi family. During his time as emperor, apart from smoking, drinking, and womanizing, he did some serious things, such as learning about some of the more famous mixed-race families around the world.

The Gao family of Northern Qi in China was as famous as the Beowulf family in Europe.

In terms of bloodline strength, the Gao family of Northern Qi is no match for the three upper families. After all, the three upper families are descendants of the White King, and legitimate emperors generally have the strength of their offspring.

However, compared to other mixed-race families, the Gao family of Northern Qi in China is also very powerful. Their bloodline has been passed down in an orderly manner for thousands of years. According to the rating standards of the European Secret Party, they produce an S-level member almost every two generations.

Considering that the Gao family of Northern Qi was small and often had only one son per line, this success rate was already quite remarkable compared to that of ordinary mixed-race families.

Furthermore, the mixed-race bloodline of the Gao family of Northern Qi has always been very stable. Theoretically speaking, S-rank is already close to the critical line, with a considerable probability of degenerating into a dead servant. However, the Gao family of Northern Qi has hardly degenerated over thousands of years, and the stability of their bloodline can be described as one of the top three families.

Besides his stable bloodline, his mental illness and handsome appearance are even more widely known.

Gao Kui's negative and confused state just now, his demeanor and reckless speech when talking to him, and his appearance, which is only slightly less attractive than when he was young, are quite consistent with the characteristics of the Gao clan of Northern Qi.

This is not a lost sheep, but a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The coincidences were so extreme that Uesugi Kotsushi couldn't help but wonder if his identity had been exposed, or if this was a trap specifically set for him.

Uesugi stood there, looking around in alarm. Takagi sat on the bench, observing Uesugi with curiosity, but otherwise made no other reaction or action.

Why did Gao Kui not react or take any action?

Aside from his panic, he didn't sense any other hostility or murderous intent from Uesugi Kotsugu.

Why did Uesugi Kotsugu show no hostility or murderous intent towards Takagi?