"To know the original truth, you must first know the origin of the ritual of inviting gods; and to know the origin of the ritual of inviting gods, you need to first understand the existence of the power of faith."
Under the gaze of the statue of the saint, the old man sat on a bench, speaking in a leisurely manner. There was a circle of people sitting around him, all with curious or doubtful eyes, listening to the elder telling stories about the past: "
As the name suggests, the power of faith comes from the devout faith of living beings, but they are essentially a kind of energy directly linked to the soul, and the essence of the soul is the sum of emotions. The stronger the emotion, the more power of faith it can generate.
The bigger it becomes. When the power of these beliefs come together, they can even distort reality and shape fantasy. So far, no one can explain its principle, but there is no doubt that all the gods are conceived from this distortion and
What is born from the power of shaping is the material form that is triggered by countless strong emotions."
"Wait a minute!" Ringer heard this and couldn't help but interrupt him: "You mean, the conceived gods do not actually exist, they are created by the power of human faith?"
"If not, why would they use the name of 'conception'?"
Pancras looked at everyone's shocked, confused, and disbelieving eyes, laughed hoarsely, and said in a low tone: "There are many things in this world that did not exist originally, but as more people believe in them, they gradually begin to exist.
.An example that can well prove this is the war and pain that the Order of Steam and the Alpha Knights brought to this continent six centuries ago."
Order of Steam? Alpha Knights?
As a college student in the history department, when Ringer heard these two names, the first thought that came to his mind was: "Steam Holy War? Do you mean, is that war related to the ritual of inviting gods?"
"It's not just related, young man, it's the beginning of everything, the source of chaos, and the prelude to judgment." The old man's pale eyes showed a bit of depth and silence: "The steam engine god Alexander is the world's most important person.
The first god was conceived, and it was from him that people realized that sometimes, too fanatical belief can become a kind of power."
"this--"
Lin Ge was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to react. Although he had already understood through the Hundred Years War, the Battle of Suzheng and the "Treaty of Yongxia Palace" that the history of the real world and the history of the mysterious world are always closely related, but every day
For the first time I hear this kind of truth that subverts myself, or that subverts normal people's general view of history, I still feel surprised and at a loss from the perspective of a history college student. This does not mean that his psychological quality is not good enough, it is just that human beings
It’s just a consistent reaction when faced with things beyond one’s inherent knowledge.
Perhaps he needs to wait until he is proficient enough to gradually adapt to this subtle change.
Pancras glanced at the young man and was not surprised by his reaction. He just asked: "Actually, I would like to know how this war is described in your human history books?"
This question seemed to activate Ringer's instinct. Without thinking, he answered the standard answer in the textbook: "Steam Jihad is essentially a class war. It is the rise of emerging aristocrats, small capitalists, and factory owners in the steam age."
Even a revolution launched by the citizen class against the inherent political system. Among them, the Steam Order, which strives to promote steam technology to the fields of industry and people's livelihood, represents the interests of the former. After Saint Midea issued the December Declaration, it was recognized that the power of steam
The Alpha Knights, who are sacred and noble and cannot be desecrated by mortals, have become the representatives of the latter. The tragic war between the two sides caused the technological production of the Western Continent to completely stagnate, and the social and economic development directly set back a hundred years. This trauma still exists today.
It did not heal completely and is considered by some scientists to be one of the sources of the slow development of steam technology today."
"I said stop, stop, stop!" Alice, who had a headache, quickly stopped him from continuing: "You talk so much, who can understand!"
The young man glanced at her, and then nodded without any trace: "This is indeed not something you (with this kind of intelligence) can understand."
"Hey! What do you mean?"
"It's not interesting." Linge replied dryly, and then focused his attention on the old man again: "I'm done, Mr. Pancras, please continue, don't care about this guy."
"hehe."
The old man smiled kindly, gently rubbed the twisted snake-like head of his cane, and said: "It turns out that in the eyes of you humans, the war has such complex attributes. But in fact, it does not have so many classes, interests or
Factors such as revolution are simply the harm caused by the steam engine god Alexander."
"Harm?" Ringer asked quickly: "What are the specifics?"
"Specifically, this involves the power called 'refining' possessed by the conceived gods." When the old man said this, he unconsciously lowered his voice and his tone became more serious: "You already know that the power of conceived gods is
The essence is that the power of faith distorts reality and shapes the material form born after fantasy, and the essence of the power of faith is countless strong emotions. Therefore, by manipulating the power of faith, conceiving gods can reversely affect the emotions of life and form with themselves.
A special resonance makes them fall into a state of fanaticism while they are conscious, and can even transform an unbeliever into the most extreme martyr. However, the transformed person themselves cannot detect this abnormality, they only
You will believe from the bottom of your heart that you are originally a believer of this god, and you should respond to his call, no matter what the god needs you to do, whether it is life or death, depriving others of their lives or sacrificing your own soul.
There will be no hesitation in offering sacrifices.”
"Isn't this just brainwashing?" When Alice heard this, she couldn't help but jump out and express her thoughts: "And it's also brainwashing people into the most dangerous religious lunatics. Isn't this terrible?"
It's really scary.
Not to mention whether her understanding of refining as brainwashing is accurate, but the power of imagining gods described by the old man Pancras does make people shudder. No one would want to become a fanatical believer without knowing anything about it.
, not to mention that what they follow is not the real god, but a symbol of the collective subconscious. Isn’t this equivalent to the believers creating a master for themselves? How ironic.
As a former clergyman, Ringer felt this most deeply, because he still remembers what his adoptive father, Mr. Yang Ke, said: Getting comfort is faith. He has also seen with his own eyes those who come to Tianxin Church on time every week to receive bread.
Even if the tramps and poor people who drink milk have never believed in the goddess, they are still willing to say one sentence when the church is closed: May you and the sinless people live in His worry-free kingdom.
If faith is not a relieved look, a soothing sigh, or a relaxed look after receiving comfort, but compulsive brainwashing, then its existence is meaningless.
After Lin Ge was silent for a while, he put this idea behind him and asked the old man in front of him: "So, the essence of the Steam Jihad is..."
"Yes." Old Pancras nodded slightly, confirming his guess: "The essence is a war between the Order of Steam, which maintains its original faith, and the Alpha Knights, who are refined into fanatic followers of the steam engine god Alexander.
That is to say, it is a religious war, which may also be considered as a war between humans and the gods they created.”
Man created gods, man was refined by gods, man felt fear, man had a war with his own gods... This sounds really ironic.
"But," Lin Ge suddenly frowned and couldn't figure out a question, "Since Alexander, the steam engine god, is a man-made god, he should not have self-awareness. Why would he refine so many believers from the Steam Order?
Split the Alpha Knights, and even launched a steam holy war that swept the entire continent? What exactly does he want to get?"
In other words, is there someone secretly manipulating His power in order to gain something?
For example, the most critical figure in the entire Steam Crusade issued a December declaration, intending to enshrine the power of steam as sacred—Mide, the former Saint of the Steam Order.
To this, Pancras's answer was: "What He wants to do is very simple, and that is to shape his own Kingdom of God."