At the Lion City Civilian Port, a passenger ship from Thailand slowly docked.
Passengers on the ship got off the ship one by one with their documents and luggage, and were then diverted to different directions according to their identities.
People from the Ming Dynasty, people from the Ming vassal country, people who hold the residence permit of the Ming Dynasty, and people who hold the residence permit of the Ming Nanyang countries can go through the main channel, show the certificate to the export officers, and then leave the port directly.
Those holding ordinary entry permits of different periods and purposes must go through another channel and undergo on-site inspection by Shicheng Bureau officers of the Daming Jinyiwei Immigration Management Department. They can only leave the port after confirming that there are no problems with the person, information, and purpose of entry.
However, at the two channels, all first-time immigrants will be singled out again and receive a lecture on basic common sense and regulations by the officers of the Immigration Management Department.
The Catholic priest, Paul Ho, was screened out when he left the port with an entry permit, and was sent into a rather spacious hall with another group of businessmen and tourists from all over the world.
After more than two hundred people gathered at the scene, the door to the hall was closed.
On the podium in the middle of the hall, a Jinyiwei officer in his thirties picked up the microphone next to him and started to speak:
“Attention everyone, please reconfirm your identity and purpose before officially entering the country.
"To all those who engage in espionage, including information collection, and those who perform any form of sabotage, the Ming Dynasty Jinyiwei now issues a final warning to you.
“Once any corresponding behavior is discovered, Jinyiwei will deal with it severely and severely in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty, and impose maximum penalties.
“All incoming personnel please pay attention again and ensure that you have the ability to live a normal life in Daming.
"The Ming Dynasty Jinyiwei and all law enforcement officers, the Ming Dynasty Exit and Entry Administration and all public servants will not provide any language options and translations other than the Ming Dynasty elegant dialect when handling all public and private matters for you. All public and private documents finally issued are only The elegant words of Ming Dynasty explain.
“All immigrants are requested to ensure that they can use Daming Yayan to complete all procedures, complete corresponding communications, or be accompanied by an interpreter with corresponding abilities.
"All consequences arising from language barriers will be borne by the entrants themselves."
Officer Jinyiwei followed the script, almost instinctively repeating the announcement he had made countless times.
He gave more than a dozen warnings and reminders from various aspects, and then his eyes fell on He Baolu in the crowd, and at the same time he gave the final reminder and warning:
“All persons with religious beliefs please note that Ming Dynasty pursues a policy of absolute freedom of religious belief.
“If you find that someone who is not of the religion you believe in takes the initiative to tell you and convey any religious-related information to you without the permission of the relevant Ming government agencies and you, please report it directly to the nearest Jinyiwei.
"All full-time religious personnel are required to change into normal clothing that has nothing to do with religion before entering the country, and are not allowed to wear and display all religious-related symbols. They are not allowed to wear or display any religious-related symbols in any way without the direct permission of the relevant agencies of the Ming Dynasty government and those seeking faith. Communicate any religious related information externally.
“When providing religious services to people seeking religious beliefs, they must not influence third parties in any way, and must not use any coercion, intimidation, or rhetoric that creates anxiety.
“You must explain the advantages and disadvantages of the faith services you provide in an absolutely objective and calm manner, and you must truly explain the origin, development and current situation of the relevant faith.
"Any violation of the corresponding regulations will result in deportation or forced labor, exile to a desert island, or even death, depending on the severity of the violation."
What this officer said before was a warning. Although the content was relatively tough and domineering, most of the staff could understand it directly and understand how to respond.
But when it came to the last two items, many people were immediately lost in the lake, especially those with faith at the scene.
As a religious official, He Baolu raised his hand directly.
The Jin Yiwei on the stage seemed to be looking at He Baolu:
"What's your problem?"
He Baolu asked in confusion with a slight Italian accent but quite fluent Daming Yayan:
"Hello, officer, you just reminded that Ming Dynasty pursues a policy of freedom of religious belief, but it prohibits religious personnel from using religious clothing and symbols, and they are not allowed to publicly convey information about their faith. Is this inconsistent?"
Director Jin Yiwei has encountered this kind of thing many times, and has long been familiar with the corresponding explanations of the relevant regulations. Now he responded directly:
“Absolute freedom of belief includes freedom of belief and freedom of disbelief.
“It also includes freedom to engage if you wish, and freedom to engage if you don’t want to.
“Including the freedom not to be affected by relevant information when I am incapable of making judgments.
“The Ming Dynasty’s freedom of religious belief protects all people with beliefs.
“And absolute freedom for those who wish to acquire faith.
“But it does not include freedom for those who live by their faith.
"Any proactive dissemination of religious information is an infringement of the freedom of others to access religious information if they do not wish to do so."
Listening to this almost unreasonable explanation, there was a burst of suppressed discussion.
This so-called absolute freedom is completely contrary to what normal people understand.
But if you think about it carefully, it seems to be somewhat logical. In fact, many people hate being preached to.
He Baolu's expression was a bit complicated. In fact, he had heard about the relevant situation before, otherwise as a religious personnel, he would not have the opportunity to obtain an entry permit to enter the surrounding vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.
He Baolu didn't quite understand how the Ming Dynasty's successor law enforcement officers interpreted this regulation, how they matched the regulation with the actual implementation and justified it.
Now that I heard Jin Yiwei's explanation directly, I fully understood this logic.
Then He Baolu asked again and confirmed another situation:
"Since priests are not allowed to take the initiative to spread the gospel of the Lord to others, how should the lambs obtain corresponding services when they want to obtain salvation?"
Director Jin Yiwei continued as a matter of course:
"Applications can be submitted to the religious management departments of all levels of the Ming Dynasty government, and the staff of the management department will contact the corresponding religious service personnel to provide one-on-one services in separate designated places."
Ordinary people around me feel that these regulations and operations are outrageous. To seek faith, they have to go to the government yamen and let the yamen act as a middleman. God knows how the yamen staff will introduce these religions.
He Baolu's lips trembled slightly:
"Then... how do those lost sheep who don't know any religious information at all know which religion or sect to seek services from?"
Director Jin Yiwei continued to say matter-of-factly:
"The administrative departments of the Yamen at all levels in the Ming Dynasty will provide brief descriptions of all legal churches so that people seeking faith services can choose the appropriate ones to provide services."
He Baolu remembered the mission description he received when he arrived:
"Waiting for notification from the Johor Religious Authority to preach individually to designated persons."
He Baolu thought that his mission was to preach to some special people, maybe even the nobility or even members of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. There might even be corresponding people seeking this kind of service, and he would go to work after he arrived.
As a result, the actual situation was not like that at all. His mission was to preach to ordinary people.
Moreover, there are no existing high-level tasks for him to do. He has to wait for ordinary people to choose Roman Catholicism before he has the opportunity to "provide faith services."
This statement made He Baolu feel particularly weird, and even thought of many inexplicable "services".
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He Baolu felt that he had been completely cheated. This kind of task was a waste of time.
If they don’t take the initiative to spread it, will the Ming people want to gain faith?
Even if you seek protection from gods, you will instinctively worship Bodhisattva, Dragon King, God, Mazu, God of Wealth, and Master Guan. Those who are more professional will go to Taoist temples and temples first.
How could he possibly think of finding his own Lord?
He Baolu continued to ask a little annoyed:
"Ordinary people don't know the information of faith at all, how can they know that they need salvation by faith?"
The Jinyiwei officer asked directly:
“Those who don’t know that they need faith to be saved, do they really need so-called faith to be saved?
“We protect the freedom to believe, the freedom not to believe, and the freedom not to be redeemed.
“You Catholics in Taixi should learn from the Taoist masters and pursue a life of letting nature take its course.
"Or learn from those great monks, and pay attention to the fate of everything.
“When a destined person really needs redemption, they should naturally know that they need redemption.
“When someone needs your God’s salvation, your God will naturally arrange for them to come to you to provide services.
“After all, your god is omnipotent…
"Okay, that's all I have to say. Others can go. This Taixi cultivator, please change your clothes."
Others left the scene one after another. Under the supervision of the royal guards, He Baolu took off his priest's robe, took off his cross, and put on the ordinary clothes in his luggage.
After checking all the information again to confirm that his information was correct, a Jin Yiwei in his early twenties came over and led He Baolu away from the dock alone.
While other ordinary people were free, even if He Baolu changed his clothes and decorations, he still was not completely free.
He was led to the Johor government office, and after twisting and turning in the lobby of the government office, he finally entered the location of the deeply hidden religious department.
He Baolu paid special attention and found that there were no signs or any written instructions on this road.
Even inside this department, there are no religious-related decorations, and it looks like a very ordinary office.
Jin Yiwei found a clerk and asked him to register information specifically for He Baolu.
While He Baolu was waiting nearby, he tentatively asked the other party some questions:
"Hello, according to the instructions I received, people who need faith services will receive basic introductions to each religion here. Can I guide how these introductions are made? Can I see the relevant introduction documents?"
The clerk opposite looked at He Baolu, and then took out a stack of documents from the drawer below.
"Thanks."
He Baolu thanked him and took the document and opened it to find the instructions for Catholicism first.
Then he saw several introductions that looked like modern textbooks.
Who is the founder, the origin of the legend, the core teachings, and representative stories.
These are actually not bad, but the supplementary information later made He Baolu frown directly.
There was a lot of blasphemy recorded there...
There is an introduction to the logic of the power of the Church and the Roman Emperor, an introduction to the Crusades and the sack of Constantinople, an introduction to the Church's methods of making money and indulgences, and the Reformation.
There are also the actions of corrupt church personnel exposed by Ming Dynasty, and the matter of the little boy in the church basement.
There is also the unspoken rule that in the spread of religion in the New World, people with faith have souls, and those without faith are not considered human beings.
Finally, there are the actions of some representative believers.
They are all very objective and explain the history and current situation of Catholicism in a writing style that records history and news.
He Baolu could not imagine that after reading these things, an adult would continue to seek Catholic salvation...
As for the kids...they don't have access to faith services.
Ming Dynasty law stipulates that instilling religious information in any form into people who do not have the ability to judge is a violation of freedom of belief.
He Baolu continued to look through the introductions of other religions, and then found that they all had similar patterns.
The situation on the Protestant side was even more complicated. On the basis of Catholicism, witch hunting was added, and the King of England fell out with the church over divorce.
Finally, there are conflicts and disputes between different factions.
After reading this comparative introduction, He Baolu found that Protestantism seemed to be worse.
But overall it's pretty much the same.
In the end, He Baolu also discovered that even the local religions of the Ming Dynasty and the traditional religions in local dialects were introduced using the same logic, without any praise.
Temples annex and occupy land, control the population and labor force, deceive people, and collect money to rebel.
Taoism also has a lot of bad things.
This is still a legal orthodox religion, but it already makes people feel disillusioned.
Finally, there are some typical banned religions, or more general cults, which are also listed in official documents.
Of course, this kind of service is not provided as a contact, but to warn ordinary people not to contact.
Listed what it did, explained its main harm, and analyzed the other party's main deception and evil methods.
These things give people the feeling that they are really evil.
After reading this, He Baolu felt that if a person did not understand religion at all, after reading these religious introductions, he would probably choose to simply pay homage to Mr. Guan and be done with it.
Participating in organized religion is setting yourself up for discomfort.
Guan Yu's rise in status among the gods began in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.
By the time of Wanli, he had already become "the great emperor of the three realms to subjugate demons, and his power was far away to suppress Tianzun and Guan Shengdi."
And enjoying individual sacrifices, Yue Fei was just a subordinate of Guan Yu.
As a professional religious personnel and someone who came to work in the Ming Dynasty, He Baolu certainly knew about these things.
Guan Yu's historical prototype is quite outstanding, and he also has the folk blessing of performing arts.
The key is that no organization slanders it, and you can truly believe it freely.
So it stands out from a lot of religions.
From the perspective of religion itself, Catholicism, a mature monotheistic system, is of course much more mature, perfect and advanced than traditional natural beliefs and ancestral beliefs.
The control over believers, the influence on society, and the power that can be exerted are much stronger.
But officially because of this kind of control and social influence, the restrictions are getting bigger and bigger.
The side effects of organizations are also getting bigger and bigger, and the religious reformation is also moving towards justification by faith.
Many systems and wind speed habits in China seem to be relatively primitive and traditional.
But if you dig deeper, you will find that that may be the ultimate direction.
He felt that his thinking seemed to be getting more and more complicated, and He Baolu felt confused about his work.
