Chapter 1223 The Dilemma of the Church of Weak Divine Power
Most of the churches in Lost Land have the same class system.
Let’s not mention the special titles used by individual churches for the moment. Anyone who believes in a certain god, regardless of the depth of belief, can be called a believer.
Those who are willing to surrender to a certain god and abide by the doctrines and precepts are monks. Such people can usually perform elementary miracles, that is, use divine magic. Magical talent is not necessarily required, and there is always a big boss behind them.
When your faith reaches a certain level, you can have a direct conversation with the gods. No doubt, it is indeed a 'direct' conversation. The gods of the lost land are not as reserved as the gods of the earth. They are happy to talk and show off their abilities, provided that
There is a reward, that is, those who have a firm belief, or are willing to change their beliefs. Especially the latter, they always give preferential treatment, although the one who is betrayed will be furious.
Those who can talk to the gods are priests. They can use higher-level magic, depending on how deep the gods' favor is.
Above the priests is the bishop, who is the agent of the gods in the human world. Of course, he is also responsible for managing the church on earth. It is not limited to one person. If there are multiple people, they will have their own partitions. And these partitions will not be like
The noble lords encircle the territory, encircling adjacent areas together and putting them under the management of one person. Basically, whoever is in charge of each area is willing to follow them, and they will be under the jurisdiction of whoever is willing to follow them.
Although this distribution method completely ignores the various administrative advantages of regional management. However, the church is not an ordinary country, and people's thoughts are more important than land.
Above the bishop, there is also the pope. There is only one person who can be vacant, and it is not something that anyone can be. Basically, it must have the fact of religious establishment, that is, it must have territory and be recognized by all bishops and priests. It also needs to be recognized by all bishops and priests.
Only if it is widely recognized by other churches of the same camp can it have such a title.
Speaking of which, the pope is almost the same as a king. What is worth mentioning is that for a long time, no church in Midland has had a pope. Although there is a Papal State in Midland, the name of that person does not match his name.
In fact, except for themselves, no one can call you Your Majesty. As for titles such as Your Majesty and Your Majesty, some people in Lost Land have never heard of them.
The above is the classification of civil service. The classification of military service is the system of templars. A templar chief is equivalent to a bishop, and a templar is equivalent to a priest. Then monks are still monks, but the subjects they study are more liberal arts or martial arts.
, or a combination of civil and military skills. As for the term warrior monk, it is closer to an ascetic monk who does not use weapons, and is not within the general church system.
As for the mission of the church in the human world, in addition to spreading the faith of gods, they also have two important social functions. They are to take care of orphans and provide education.
There is no special orphanage in the Lost Land. Moreover, before someone started the craze of academies and provided a continuous fund to the colleges in various places - that is, the income from the sales of browser magic stones by each district's magician association, there was no special orphanage in the Lost Land.
There is no such organization as a school.
Nobles can hire tutors, or have knowledgeable members of the family teach their children knowledge. But if ordinary people want to learn knowledge, the easiest way to achieve it is through the church of the gods on earth.
Of course, the church does these things not because they have a noble consciousness or because they believe they have social responsibilities. It is just because they do so to facilitate the spread of faith. Whether they are orphans or people who come to the church to learn knowledge, it is impossible
They can escape from the fact that the church included some private goods in the process of teaching them. In the words of someone before time travel, it is placement marketing.
So no matter where you are in the church or temple, you can always see some young children living in them. In addition to receiving care and education, they can also do some simple work, not just eating and doing nothing. In the Lost Land,
But there are no restrictions against child labor, and basic education is not compulsory. Everything has a price.
But when the children grow up, they can choose their own future, and the church will not interfere too much. Whether they want to stay or leave, those who stay will naturally enter the church system, step by step.
It is developing; the people who leave can at most remember this incense and repay it if they have the opportunity in the future, and they will owe it if they don't have the opportunity, and then they will live and die on their own.
Some teachings are more in line with children's delusions of being heroes, or relatively wealthy churches, which of course can easily attract these children who have just entered adulthood to stay and develop. Unfortunately, the teachings of the Goddess of Gold Coin and the current situation of the church are not that good.
Attractive.
Therefore, although children are constantly being brought from other places to the Temple of the Gold Coin Goddess in the Imperial City of Nineveh, most of them will choose to leave after they grow up to the age where they can stand on their own. That is why the Church of the Gold Coin Goddess is like that.
The inconsistency in talent shows a discontinuity in talents.
And as the old priests get older, they become more and more powerless in all aspects of affairs, and the problems faced by the temple become more serious. Based on Lin's chat with the old priests, this dilemma is not only in Nepal.
This was the case with the temples in the Imperial City of Nineveh, and the churches of the Goddess of Gold throughout the Lost Lands also faced the same dilemma.
In other words, this is a common phenomenon shared by gods with weak divine power in churches on earth.
In the temple of the Imperial City of Nineveh, the only girl who was barely close to being an 'adult' was Lucretia. She was at the age when she was facing a choice, and she was as hesitant as before. And in the end
Her words are more like a decision to stay in the church. Rather than her future, she cherishes the "family" who grew up with her in the church.
To be fair, the old priests hope that girls can leave the church and develop on their own. Maybe when they get older and there is no other better place to go, then they can return to the church to help. Instead of wasting the best time of their lives.
Tossing gold coins in the Church of the Goddess.
After all, the daily affairs of their local churches do not require young people who can be active on the front line. Some older people with limited mobility can also easily get started, because there is nothing difficult and nothing important...
Incidentally, this is really a common phenomenon among weak churches. The church of the Gold Coin Goddess, in addition to allowing gamblers to have a place to pray before gambling, is only visited once a year by businessmen. Normally.
At that time, it was said that there were only a few people in the house, but it was a bit too lively. The reality is that even the sparrows didn’t bother to come...
The reason why we had such an inexplicable conversation was that the priests, who seemed to be too old to be useful, were implicitly hinting that even if they were replaced by the Goddess of Gold Coins, they would only inherit a person who was so pathetic that I don’t know how to describe it.
Priesthood. So if you have any ideas about becoming a god or godhood, it is best to find other gods instead of bullying Ms. Ke Yin.
...Okay. Some people think that from the kind old faces, they can see the cunning wisdom with black air and red eyes. Sure enough, someone in the lost land can live to this age.
People are not stupid or weak.
Someone thought to himself that this was the reason why the other party guessed that a certain magician was visiting, maybe because he wanted to harm the gods they served. So he wanted to show weakness to try to dispel his thoughts.
Lin felt that even these old men wouldn't believe it if he directly spoke out the bold words, saying that he was here to save them from the fire. As for the younger ones, at most they thought they were storytellers or bragging.
She looked helplessly at the 'hot tea' in her hand, which was just brought by the girl Lucrecia. She stood behind the old priests with a little temper. It seemed that she believed in the upbringing.
The subtext of the old man who grew up on his own is that he regards himself as an enemy.
It is said that the high-quality dried flowers of the elves are brewed with holy water. Drinking it can beautify the skin and maintain youthful vitality. In fact, it is just the girl who boiled the well water in the backyard and threw away a few petals picked from unknown places.
It has no taste or fragrance.
Moreover, when making tea with 'holy water', a certain time-travelling person always wants to go to the Eighteen Forbidden Road, and even can't drink it. Even if he knows where the water comes from...
There is no good way for anyone to deal with the hostility of this family. Except for the local nobles of Nineveh Imperial City who were captured to lead the way, they are pure human beings. The 'people' who are traveling with them are all different beings. No wonder
The hostility of the other party is so obvious.
Starina is a real big demon. Although it has changed its appearance, it has no intention of hiding anything from its smell to its voice. As long as you are not blind, you can know that this thing is not a good thing. Maybe a man can temporarily
They will be confused by Starina's appearance, but they will definitely not include those cunning old men in their seventies or young girls who are just starting out.
By the way, this big demon did not enter the temple. The relationship between the temple and the church is like the relationship between the magic tower and the magician. It is difficult for outsiders to know how much power left by the gods is hidden in this building.
It is not impossible to destroy demons with a single thought. Of course, Starina does not want to test the strength of a weak god with one finger to kill it.
As for the fourteenth prince Azad Kazalnia, he is recognized as a walking natural disaster in the Gwana Empire. Wherever he goes, he either brings destruction or death. This guy followed someone into the temple to receive
Hospitality.
Lin had to admit that although he could use his status as a prince to build his reputation, he also ignored the negative impact of Azad's reputation. He might as well come here secretly and find some low-level people to ask for directions, and be careful not to do it in front of the nobles.
Exposing one's identity is less troublesome.
Seeing that these old men looked helpless, and the younger ones were obviously hostile, Lin felt helpless. As for the younger ones, they hid behind the benches, thinking that no one could see them.
They. Maybe these children are not hostile, but have a lot of curiosity, but of course they are of no use in front of them. What right to speak do they have?
Therefore, the classic old method clears the way.
Lin took out a small silk bag from his arms and shook it, making a jingling sound like coins knocking against each other. He said: "Let's do this. I am willing to donate a sum of money and offer an offering. I will ask some priests to help me."
I hold a prayer ceremony and speak to His Majesty in heaven. No matter what kind of reply I get, or no reply at all, I will accept it and leave. Is this okay?"