Chapter 51: Brother, do you want to take good care of your sister?
"What kind of thing does faith look like in your opinion, Metien?"
Ringer asked his sister this question, and then continued without waiting for her answer: "Sitting in a spacious and bright church, listening to the sermons of the pastor or priest, and everyone praying to the goddess devoutly,
Finally, when we partook of the Holy Communion, and amid the loud and solemn hymns, everyone gained spiritual harmony and peace...?"
Medien nodded hesitantly, she really thought so in her heart, because in essence, no matter how sensible she was, how precocious she was, and how bizarre and ever-changing the world she had experienced, she was still a little girl of twelve or thirteen years old, far from reaching the age of
The age to recognize various complex things.
"But that's not the case." Ringer had to point out a huge mistake in her perception as an elder brother: "Faith is never that pure, on the contrary, it is very complicated. Mr. Yang Ke once said to me:
Gaining comfort is faith. If it can be summed up in just one sentence, it is naturally simple, but reality is always more complicated than people imagine."
"So it is not so easy to make others feel comforted and have the desire to convert and believe. Listening to sermons, praying regularly, sharing Holy Communion or singing hymns are not specific ways to gain comfort. On the contrary, it is after that
What you do is a means for people to deepen this concept even more when they realize that they have become believers. Before that, you still need to do two things."
Ringer raised two fingers to the confused little girl and said calmly: "The first is to give them spiritual comfort. This is what Mr. Yang Ke is good at doing. When he patiently listens to people's complaints or trivial remarks
, actively mediate conflicts between neighbors, extend a helping hand to others for free, and call on residents to participate in community welfare activities, this kind of spiritual comfort is passed on to those who receive help in practical actions, and makes them gain spiritual strength.
comfort."
"The second is to give them material comfort. I am not as good at communicating with others as Mr. Yang Ke, so this is my common method. By distributing bread and milk, I can help those who are in difficulty to survive the hungry night.
, or spend the cold winter. When at a certain moment they realize that all the material help they receive actually comes from God’s grace, the gratitude or guilt that they have already felt will naturally turn into faith, which may not be pious enough.
, but it’s also human nature.”
"After listening to these principles, I want to ask you, Metien: You said that you want to spread the teachings of the goddess to those aliens and inspire the glory of the goddess. So, what kind of comfort do you plan to give them? You want to use
In what way can you give them comfort? Of course, more importantly, can you give them comfort?"
Faced with her brother's verbal coercion, a panicked expression gradually appeared on the face of the pink-haired little girl. She seemed to want to open her mouth to defend herself, but Ringer did not give her such a chance and continued: "In terms of spiritual comfort, at this moment, it is strange.
The thing that scares us most is the pursuit of the Night Watch and the Balance of Order, but can you comfort them like Mr. Yang Ke comforts those who are in trouble, "This is only temporary and will pass soon"? Or do you want to give them some help?
Make a false promise, promising to stand up and join forces with the cult for them, even if doing so means more innocent sacrifices, and it may not be possible."
"As for material comfort, not to mention, you have no money, no food, no house, no clothes, no land enough to accommodate them to live a stable life, and no force to create a peaceful home for them... In this case, they
Why do you believe in your gods? Just because you said to them, 'The goddess created everything in the world, so we should all believe in her'? It's not that innocent, Metien."
"But, but!" the girl blushed and retorted anxiously: "Faith is not what you said, it is not, nor is it a business!"
Indeed, Ringer described the process of faith as if it were doing business. After peeling off the shiny outer skin, it appears so material.
"It is not a business, but business is not the only business in the world that needs to follow the principle of equivalent exchange." The young man's expression did not change: "How much comfort God and His believers can give, people will repay how much faith they have, that's all. So.
, the most devout fanatics must also be the ones who get the most comfort. If you look through the history books, you will find that those famous saints either gained a new life through religion in extreme dangers, or they were influenced by their beliefs since childhood.
It is regarded as the only spiritual support. At first glance, you may think that this is full of sacred meaning, but the former is the greatest material comfort, and the latter is the greatest spiritual comfort.”
It is precisely because they are well aware of this that the two resident pastors of Tianxin Church worked hard. If they were not cultivating reputation, they would distribute food. To put it bluntly, even those evil cultists knew that they should give some to beggars and homeless people.
If there are benefits, they will willingly go to the altar and become a sacrifice sent by God. If they cannot get comfort, then the only thing they believe in is gold coins.
Such complicated and obscure logic was suddenly crammed into Madien's little head. For a moment, she couldn't tell whether the things she knew in the past were correct or whether what Ringer said now was more correct. She felt a little aggrieved inexplicably, and her eyes seemed to be filled with tears.
It turned red, and looked like two drops of tears hanging under the candlelight: "But, but, my father never said this to me!"
Lin Ge sighed silently: "That's because he thinks you don't need to learn these things, because you won't become the pastor of Tianxin Church, not even a ten thousandth chance."
"Why do you say that?" The little girl clenched her palms and raised her head to look at her brother. Her eyes revealed a stubbornness that was completely opposite to her appearance. Maybe she had a spirit of unwillingness to admit defeat in her bones, even if
The same applies to the closest family members: "Why does my father think that I will not become the pastor of Tianxin Church? Obviously, the only person who really cares about Tianxin Church is me! Ringer has never wanted to be a pastor, right?
?You obviously always wanted to continue going to college and study history, but you were forced to interrupt your studies and come back to inherit the church because of your father's affairs! That's why you don't care about the life or death of Tianxin Church. You can rebuild the church but you always
You are perfunctory with me! Ringer, Ringer——"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! With tears in her eyes, she gasped a few times, because she was so angry that she actually said the thing that must not be mentioned:
"Are you still blaming your father for ruining your dream!?"
As soon as the words fell, the little girl realized what a terrifying sentence came out of her mouth. She hurriedly covered her mouth with a horrified expression on her face. She looked at Ringer, wanting to explain something and that she didn't mean it.
The person who said this sentence explained that she had no such intention at all, and that she was just too angry to speak out... But she couldn't say even half a sentence, so she could only shake her head anxiously and desperately,
It seems like he is denying it, but also like he is about to abandon something.
Lin Ge was not angry. He quietly looked at his sister who was so frightened that she could not speak. His eyes were deep and peaceful.
Why so sure?
The young man was not thinking about the impulsive words that Metien blurted out just now, but was thinking about the man's answer when he asked Mr. Yangke the same question earlier -
"Of course it's because Metien is still young."
"You are a brother, shouldn't you take care of your sister?"
That was a conversation that took place when Metien was still young and Ringo was still in Sunday school grammar class. Now, that man has left the brother and sister forever, leaving them to depend on each other in the world, so he understands that answer better.
The profound meaning: There is no doubt that the brother should take good care of his sister. How heavy the faith is and how scary it is. In this case, let the brother take care of it. The sister only needs to be naive and open to the world forever.
Having hope is enough.
However, when you said this at that time, did you consider this question?
Things are not as they should be.
A warm hand gently stroked the girl's short pink hair, and he whispered softly: "Stop crying, Metien."