After the meeting with Bishop Fulda, Julius II remembered a very important question, called Marin away alone, and had a secret conversation. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"Marin, you just said that your teacher Albert Einstein really went to the East?"

"Yes, I have really been to the East, and besides, I have told me everything I have seen and heard in the East!" Marin said earnestly.

"So...... What do you think, how about we send people to the Ming Empire to preach? Julius II's face was hopeful. Is there anything more important for a man like him to become a pope than to preach?

"Not good!" Marin affirmed. As a top student in the history department, Ma Lin knew very well that the spread of Catholicism in the early Ming Dynasty was a failure.

"Why?" Julius II asked puzzled. In his eyes, the glory of God should encompass the whole world.

"There are three major issues, which are very important. If it is not solved, I do not recommend going to the Ming Empire to preach! Marin said very much.

"What are the three major problems?" Julius II asked with interest.

"First, in the Ming Empire, the imperial power was supreme, and it was never allowed to have forces that overrode the imperial power. If Catholicism wants to go to the Ming Empire, it must first submit to the imperial power, otherwise it will not want to spread. This one is also the most fundamental one. In the early days, the Catholic missionaries suffered enough in this and were expelled many times because those dumbfounders believed that the imperial power should not interfere with the divine power.

"This is impossible, how can a servant of God accept the leadership of a secular power?" Julius II was immediately dissatisfied. In Europe, even the emperor had to be respectful when he saw him, and the clergy were detached from the world, so how could they submit to the imperial power......

"That's the case with the Ming Empire, my father-in-law, Europe is Europe, and Asia is Asia. Don't take European habits and demand Asians, or your mission will fail! ”

"Is it possible for a servant of God to serve a mortal monarch?" Julius II was furious.

"If you don't submit to the imperial power, in the Ming Empire, your missionaries will be killed!" Marin affirmed.

"How dare they?"

"They have an army of millions!" Marin said lightly.

During this period, the Ming Dynasty was still in its heyday. What's more, there are still great gods such as Wang Yangming in the country, and no one wants to blow up in front of the powerful Ming Dynasty. Even in the weak period of the late Ming Dynasty, the Dutch failed to please him.

Julius II was silent, and after thinking for a long time, asked:

"What about the other two big problems?"

"The question of worshipping our ancestors! Catholicism is only allowed to worship God, not anything else. However, the Orientals emphasize the worship of ancestors and the worship of ancestors, and if the missionaries forbid them to worship their ancestors, the government will directly arrest the missionaries! "This is a real case that happened during the Ming Dynasty.

Julius II was silent for a moment, and then said:

"And the third?"

"The third point can't be put on the table, but it's important...... Specifically, Catholicism only allows monogamy. And in the Ming Empire, from the emperor to the common people, many people had multiple wives......"

"This is unreasonable, how can they indulge their desires so much?"

"If you object to them taking multiple wives, even if you are the Pope, those people will not hesitate to hack you to death!" Marin affirmed.

Julius II choked for a moment, and he also sensed that things were more complicated than he had imagined. If nothing else, these three issues are in serious conflict with doctrine. Moreover, Ma Lin also said that once these three rules are broken, the Eastern Imperial Court will not hesitate to raise the butcher's knife......

"By the way, I have one more ...... for the first one," Marin said, as if remembering something.

"What's the addition?"

"Catholic doctrine says 'under God, all men are equal', this sentence must not be said in the Ming Empire......"

"Why?"

"The Eastern Empire is a hierarchical country, and it is impossible for everyone to be equal. In the doctrine, it is said that 'everyone is equal', which is tantamount to touching the bottom line of the Eastern court and violating the principle of 'the supremacy of imperial power'. In the East, 'all men are equal under God,' and missionaries were expelled or imprisoned at worst, or beheaded......"

Julius II gasped and said:

"The country of the East is so terrifying and dark?"

"It's not terrifying and dark, it's just that the rules over there are different from ours here......"

"Then you mean, it's not suitable to go to the Ming Empire to preach?"

"Yes, not quite right. Unless, you're willing to be flexible......"

"How to be flexible?"

"First, respect the imperial power and the hierarchy of the East, and never mention 'under God, everyone is equal'!"

Julius II's face became ugly, which was tantamount to abandoning the basic doctrine.

"Second, believers are allowed to worship their ancestors and maintain certain traditional customs!"

Julius II's face was even more ugly......

"Third, allow polygamy ......"

"Say no more! I would never agree to such a compromise! Julius II yelled, what kind of compromise is this? It's clearly a revision of the basic doctrine......

"If you don't compromise, don't go on a missionary, otherwise, your missionaries will all become wanted criminals in the Ming Imperial Court......"

"What you said must be false, lie to me, right?" Julius II asked wistfully. How he hoped that Marin's words were all lies......

"No, it's true! There is no adulteration! ”

"Oh, no! Am I just watching as tens of millions of people can't bask in the glory of God? "Julius II was in some pain.

"No, not tens of millions, it's 110 million people!" Marin kindly reminded.

Then Julius II suffered even more......

……

There is no way to do this, don't look at the fact that there were many Christians in the country in later generations, that is because, after the revolution, the feudal hierarchy in the country was completely eliminated. Moreover, monogamy is also prescribed by law. In this way, two of the three major problems are solved. As for the issue of worshipping ancestors, later generations also regarded it as a form and no longer valued it so much. Therefore, there is a basis for the spread of Christianity.

In ancient times, during the feudal dynasty, it was impossible for Catholicism to spread successfully in China. At most, a small number of people are fooled. And the ruling class, for the most part, will not accept it. As for the belief of the Southern Ming Emperor in history, he was forced to jump over the wall in a hurry before he converted to Catholicism.

But a principle of "monogamy" will make the Eastern ruling class fry. Publicizing "equality for all" again is definitely an itchy head, looking for a cut......

Therefore, during the reign of the Chinese feudal dynasty, Catholicism was destined to only fool a small number of people......

As for the Manchu period, there were missionaries who mixed into the palace, and it was the Manchu emperor who regarded those missionaries as foreign monks and regarded them as a rare thing. To put it more bluntly, those missionaries who entered the court were all "pets" raised by the emperor...... The emperor used their knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and painting, but when he was done, he would never officially support their mission, and only allowed them to do it privately......

Marin's words dealt a huge blow to Julius II. However, Julius II decided that one day, after Marin opened the route of the Ming Empire, he would bring a few missionaries from the Holy See to the Ming Empire to see and try it out for himself. Otherwise, he will not be reconciled......

In fact, what Marin said is also somewhat absolute. During the Ming Dynasty, there were also missionaries who succeeded. However, those successful missionaries deliberately ignored the above three issues and deliberately avoided cultural conflicts, which made certain gains. Some even wore Confucian costumes and pretended to be Confucian scholars (such as Matteo Ricci) in order to establish good relations with Chinese literati. However, this kind of proselytizing is actually contrary to the original intention of Catholicism and has little significance.

Moreover, Marin knew that his father-in-law, Julius II, was the famous "God of War Pope" and was a tough man. Such a doctrinal compromise was clearly unwilling of Julius II. Therefore, Marin was not optimistic about the missionary to the Ming Empire......