"I have heard that the bishop preaches that God loves the world, regardless of one another, and values the believer according to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, not who they are, whether they are magicians or vampires, as long as they sincerely believe in God, believe in God from the bottom of their hearts, and behave in a way that is consistent with their beliefs, then they are pious and redeemable righteous people. Lucien ignored Richard's astonishment, and instead spoke like a scholar, seeking guidance.

Lucien did not exactly follow the content of "justification by faith" in the soul library, because the Cult of Truth and the cross on earth only have some resemblance to God, not the same religion, and the interpretation of "justification by faith" is based on the incarnation of the Messiah and the salvation of the world, and the Cult of Truth does not have such miracles, nor does such a savior exist, and the random application will only make Richard laugh and lose his teeth.

Therefore, Lucien diverged the content of "justification by faith" and substituted it into the more general religious laws.

Hearing Lucian's question, Richard gradually suppressed his surprise, initially suspecting that it was the temptation of the devil or the persuasion of the magician, and a kind smile appeared on his face: "So tell us that the honest man is not afraid, he will ascend to the Holy Ament, the merciful man is not afraid, he will ascend to the heavenly mountain, and the righteous man is not afraid, he will be favored......"

This is the text of a passage in the Holy Codex, and Richard recited it: "If a magician or a vampire can believe in the Lord from the bottom of his heart, and act strictly in accordance with his own beliefs, then he must be religious." There are many examples of the night watchmen of the Inquisition, and what other magicians, dark creatures, do they do in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures?"

"Bishop Richard, you're talking about ancient magicians, who are cruel, crazy, bloody, and indeed unrighteous. There is no salvation. But most of the modern magicians obey the laws of the kingdom, and do not indulge in extravagance or indulgence. Longing for beautiful things. What do they do not conform to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures?" Lucien smiled.

Richard understood that the young man on the other side was not referring to those bloody battlemages. Rather, it refers to the arcanists who concentrate on experiments, and even if they accept tasks, they are basically involved in exterminating demons, demons, and dark creatures. Obtaining resources, exploring dangerous areas, etc., so instead of refuting the loopholes in this sentence, he said seriously: "They are blaspheming the Lord every day, and they are full of lies in their dealings with the congregation." ”

"Blasphemy means the study of the mysteries of things?" Lucien said, pointing to the sky, "Is there a scripture in the Holy Scriptures that says that you can't explore the worldly realm?"

Richard thought carefully and found that there was really no relevant content in the Holy Scriptures, only the Lord's refutation and warning to the hypocrites, the disturbing believers, the wicked, and the bloody, and there was no specific mention that the exploration of the world would blaspheme the majesty of the gods.

Lucien has also been a disciple of the god El for a while, and has seen Francis copy the teachings of the Holy Book several times, and there are also books in the Soul Library to refer to, so he naturally knows very well that the relatively simple core book of the Holy Book has no content in this regard, after all, when the Holy Book was written, the Magic Council could not even find a shadow, and Douglas should have only reached the intermediate level, and he had not yet put forward the concept of exploring the world.

As a result, the Holy Canon is explicitly opposed to evil human experimentation, arguing that humans should not explore the forbidden areas of life, and that many Arcanists are not adept at the necromantic realm at all.

After holding it for a few minutes, Richard said, "He said, 'Don't come near me, don't face me...... This refers to the realm where mortals are not allowed to go near the gods. ”

Lucien underestimated the clergy's interpretation of the words, and they could interpret different meanings from a single sentence at any time, and for a moment he was a little confused about how to guide the topic and move in the direction he predetermined.

Fortunately, Richard, an old man with traces of time on his face, continued: "And the canon clearly stipulates that no mortal shall attempt to step into the forbidden area of the gods. ”

"The canon?" is it not the words of God, but has been continuously revised by successive popes and some clergy, and it is authoritative?" Lucien relaxed a little when he heard this, this was his preset direction of conversation.

Richard frowned: "The Pope is the only earthly spokesman appointed by the Lord, and what he says represents the majesty of the Lord. ”

The Northern Church doesn't think so. Lucien brought out the doctrine of the Northern Church, and thanked the Truth Cult for the great schism and the different factions within it for providing "cannonballs", otherwise he would be a half-guy to ask a real theologian like Richard to debate, it would be self-defeating, and Lucian's original intention was not to debate the doctrine, but to "help" Richard sort out his own thoughts, which is the content of psychological guidance in the Department of Illusion!

The refutation of the Northern Church has been the focus of research in the Southern Church for hundreds of years, and Richard, without exception, naturally quotes scriptures and refutes them freely, so that Lucian's head swells and waits intently for his "words" to appear.

“...... All lambs will be redeemed through baptism, prayer and ritual in the Church, through the guidance, deliverance and help of the shepherds, and the head of the shepherds is my will......" Richard skillfully uttered this passage establishing the papal identity.

Lucien's eyes lit up, and he immediately interrupted Richard's words: "Therefore, we cannot be justified by faith, no matter how pious our faith is in our hearts, and how much we do what we do in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, we must be redeemed through the church, through the clergy, and through the pope?"

This is a question that Richard himself has contradicted for many years, and it has been revealed so nakedly that he doesn't know how to answer it for a while.

"God loves the world, but he loves the shepherds more? God loves the world, but does not want to communicate directly with everyone's heart? When you pray, at home, in the church, you feel the majesty of the gods differently? Do you have to be guided by the clergy?" Lucien seized the opportunity and erupted into a series of questions.

Richard wanted to refute, but he remembered that many gifted priests and bishops had acquired divine magic by accident when they prayed with their parents when they were young and read the Holy Scriptures, without the guidance of the monastery and the clergy.

Lucien is now in a "fighting style" that hits and goes, and seeing that Richard's thoughts are more confused, his voice becomes louder and asks:

"The Pope is the earthly spokesman of the Lord, so why do you repeatedly misinterpret the Holy Scriptures?

"Since the gods do not allow mortals to explore the worldly realm, why should they revise their theology and divine arts based on the results of the arcanists' exploration of the worldly realm?"

This is the source of Richard's confusion in thinking for the past twenty or thirty years, and he began to advocate justification by faith, although he slandered that the revision of the "Codex" was indispensable to the "merit" of your magicians, but he opened his mouth, but did not know how to refute it.

Therefore, I think that in fact, the Pope and the Church are both hindering believers and God for the sake of their personal desires, and whether or not they have access to divine magic, they should be equally equal in the presence of the Lord, and they will also fall into hell because what they do is not in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. ”

"Those who demand cumbersome rituals, who demand that the church be worshipped, who demand that believers must pass through the clergy, are hypocrites who try to hinder God's love for the world. ”

"Those who frequently revise the canon according to their own intentions and interpret the Holy Canon at will must be a latent devil. ”

Before Richard could react, Lucien drank one after another:

"Fuck off the clergy who say 'faith, faith' to believers and blaspheme their faith themselves!"

"Farewell, the clergy who say to believers, 'God loves the world, and God loves the world,' but try to monopolize the path of the mind to the gods!"

"There should be no thought obstacle between the believer and the Lord, only faith and deeds that match the faith!"

Richard looked straight at Lucian, and he said everything he wanted to say but didn't dare to say, in more detail, more clearly, and more radically.

After Lucien finished speaking, he stared at Richard without speaking.

After a long time, Richard smiled bitterly: "The rights of the clergy should indeed be regulated, and the Lord has given them divine magic not to let them stand on the heads of believers, but to let them protect believers and guard their faith." ”

Hearing this, Lucien immediately laughed.

............

When the fog cleared, Richard opened his eyes and found himself praying at the cross, sighing to himself: "Worthy of the fallen morning star......"

Outside the church, Afrith glared at two translucent amber eyes, "Lucian, you convinced him? I remember a lot of people had failed before?"

"It wasn't me who persuaded him, it was he who convinced himself, and if he didn't have a similar sprout in his own heart, even if he fell into a state of inconsistency under the trap of my language, he would have quickly found a reason to interpret it, he was a theologian, I wasn't. Lucien didn't feel the slightest smugness, "You think that I can win a debate with my superficial theological knowledge alone?" I just instill in him an idea, and if it resonates with him, then convince him, and if not, I have no other way." ”

Afrith said incomprehensibly: "Anyway, you are very good!"

In other words, among the lobbyists, I am the one who knows theology the best, and I am also the best at psychological guidance among those who know theology, and both are indispensable. Lucien chuckled, and most importantly, backed up by the Soul Library.

Richard's condition can be recommended to Natasha after observing and confirming it for a while, Lucien is finally a little more relaxed, and is just about to beckon Afrith to leave, when he suddenly feels a faint aura of danger.

Are there strong people coming to the "Church of Redemption"? (To be continued......

PS: Change first and then change~