The clerk at the Religious Management Office of Johor Province finished registering the information for He Baolu and found that the other party was still looking through the information.
So I asked very casually and at the same time to attract the other person's attention:
"Have you finished reading? Is there anything you need to add to your church materials?"
He Baolu woke up from his thoughts and boldly questioned:
“With all due respect, the materials introduced by your religious sects are compiled with malice and hostility by unbelievers who are resistant to their faith.
"The implication of this document is that all religions are meaningless, and it is intended to make people who see these materials lose interest in belief."
He Baolu thought that the other party would be angered by him and he might be expelled.
However, the clerk opposite asked expressionlessly:
"Is your questioning mentality also raised with hostility by religious believers who are discriminatory against unbelievers?"
He Baolu immediately explained:
"No, we will not discriminate against unbelievers. They are all lost lambs and children in need of redemption..."
The clerk immediately pointed at He Baolu and said:
"Are you just asking for it?
“What makes you think that unbelievers need salvation from your God?
"Why do you say that people who don't believe in your God are lost? This is a typical intimidating fraud.
“Also, you often compare people to sheep and livestock, which is the most direct insult.
"If someone goes to the Shicheng County Government to sue you for this, you need to publicly apologize and pay compensation."
He Baolu suddenly collapsed:
"Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. This is a matter of faith, and secular laws cannot be used..."
The clerk immediately interrupted He Baolu:
"Does your god mean God Haotian?"
He Baolu was stunned for a moment:
"It refers to our god, not the Jade Emperor Haotian..."
The clerk said with a straight face:
"I am now formally warning you. According to the Ming Dynasty's Religious Management Regulations, the word "god" cannot be used to represent symbolic individuals in myths and legends other than the Haotian Jade Emperor.
“Except for the relevant departments of the Ming Dynasty, no sect may use the name of God at will, and shall not interpret it as a symbolic individual from any other source or sect.
"That is to say, you are not allowed to translate the god of your church as God or Heaven. You can only use Shen instead or transliterate it as Doosi.
"This is the first time, so I will give you a verbal warning. If you are found guilty again, you will be fined and sent to a forced labor camp. The third time you will be deported directly."
After the clerk finished speaking, he added a few strokes to He Baolu's new file and wrote down the matter.
He Baolu's Adam's apple moved, realizing that he had just been excited.
Italian missionary Matteo Ricci translated his family's gods into God and God, and claimed that the Gods appearing in ancient Chinese documents, the "Heaven" and "God" in traditional mythology are essentially the same as the "only true God" of Catholicism. There is no difference.
So he started referring to their god as God.
This expression and usage was widely used by Catholic missionaries who came to the East.
But after Emperor Shizu of the Ming Dynasty rebuilt the Ming Dynasty, he explicitly prohibited this behavior.
God can only be the Haotian Jade Emperor in traditional Chinese mythology.
Since He Baolu came to Ming Dynasty to take charge of the missionary mission, of course he also understood the relevant basic information.
Usually I try my best to address them as Tianzhu or Shen, but I accidentally let it slip when I was excited just now.
】
As a result, the topic has completely gone off the rails now.
He Baolu did not argue about whether he violated the rules, but tried hard to calm down:
"I'm sorry... I will pay attention to it in the future... It should be said that the king's rights belong to the king, and the gods' things belong to the gods. Discussions of matters in the spiritual world should not be evaluated according to secular laws..."
The clerk shook his head and said:
"If you only have a spirit but no body, I don't care whether you treat others as livestock.
"But your body is here and your mouth makes a sound. As an official of the Ming Dynasty, I have to make your mouth accept the rules of our Ming Dynasty.
"No matter which god you are a subordinate of, when you come to my land of the Ming Dynasty, you must abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
"By the way, I would like to remind you that you are not allowed to call others children without permission."
He Baolu was in a complicated mood. He opened his mouth several times to speak, but in the end he kept his mouth shut.
Because of my habitual rhetoric, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty that I just learned about, there seems to be problems everywhere.
The Lamb is an insult, and from the perspective of a pure unbeliever, it can indeed be considered an insult.
Children cannot use it casually, as the other party may not be willing to call him a priest.
The original sin theory of being born guilty... He Baolu realized that this might be considered a threat and fraud before he said it.
From a completely objective perspective, this seems to be the case.
What kind of sin can a good person or a newly born child do...
Under the powerful energy of the Ming Dynasty, He Baolu mastered the method of empathy.
Otherwise, he might have gone into a rage by now.
He Baolu worked hard to change his thinking:
"Thank you for the reminder. I have written it down and will pay more attention to it in the future so that I will not violate the laws of Ming Dynasty again.
"Also, I would like to ask, are the staff of Ming Dynasty's religious management agencies all unbelievers?"
The clerk opposite directly retorted:
"How come they are all unbelievers? I believe in the power of the great emperor of the three realms to conquer demons, the far-reaching Tianzun Guan Shengdi, and I am also the new mother-in-law of Mazu."
He Baolu almost lost his nerve again:
"This kind of panfaith is different from our church..."
The clerk immediately said:
"Why is it different? Is it because you have your own religious group, because you have strict hierarchies and many rules?
"So do you have the right to stand in a certain angle and discriminate against people like us who you call so-called pan-believers?"
He Baolu worked hard to adjust his mentality:
"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have this kind of thinking. I should treat everyone equally.
"Well, since you also have faith, don't you think this document is full of bias?"
The clerk said casually:
"What is written here are all objective facts. How can it be biased?"
He Baolu immediately said:
"This is a partial generalization, using the actions of a few believers who have made mistakes to represent the entire group of believers.
“There are lost people among the Lord’s believers, but it cannot be said that the entire group has problems.
“Among our brothers and sisters, there are more people who have kind hearts and have done countless good deeds.
“But this document doesn’t mention these things much, but instead focuses on those scum with bad records.
"Just like you believe in Guan Sheng Emperor, there must be bad people and good people among Guan Sheng Emperor's followers.
"You can't just write about the bad guys and not the good guys, right?"
The clerk smiled and shook his head and said:
"This is different. Saint Lord Guandi does not have a church, and there is no distinction between superior and inferior among believers.
“Whether he is a bad person or a good person, whether he does evil or good deeds, but it is the conduct of the individual believer.
“But you have churches, and you must hold religious activities regularly to promote and strengthen your various ideas and behaviors.
“So your new picture can be regarded as a whole, and all good and evil are shared by you.
“Especially, your clergy have their own rules and regulations, but our ordinary believers do not.
“In other words, followers of the Holy Lord Guandi do not have the obligation to do good deeds and be cautious in their words and deeds, but your clergy do.
“In other words, according to your system, you people are expected to do good things, but it is unforgivable to do bad things.
"Well, it's objectively unforgivable, but you can certainly forgive yourselves. After all, is there any atonement?"
He Baolu was speechless.
Looking at the other party's half-smiling expression, He Baolu slowly realized one thing:
These staff members deal with various religious personnel all day long, and their way of thinking is completely different from ordinary people.
The key is that they have no reverence for their own religion and gods.
And the members of our own religious churches do not pursue scripture debate like Buddhism and Taoism in China.
If you want to persuade the other party from any angle, it seems to be a useless effort.
He Baolu was silent for a few seconds and then changed the topic:
"Thank you for your advice. Once the documents are completed, can I leave?"
The clerk was not bothered at all:
"Can."
He Baolu stood up and prepared to leave, but after lifting his feet, he thought of another question:
"Excuse me, I heard before that when I receive a notice in the future, I will preach to specific people in a specific place. What is this specific place?"
The clerk replied casually:
"Inside your church."
He Baolu was stunned again:
"The church...according to what I learned before coming to Daming, there should be at least one large church in Johor, but this church doesn't seem to be on Xingzhou Island in the Lion City..."
The clerk explained to He Baolu:
"Yes, it is not on Xingzhou Island where the Lion City is located, but on Batan Island opposite. There are regular ferries to Batan Island at the pier."
Ho Bao Lu is not very sure how far away Padang Island is, but it is definitely not in the center of the Lion City and Johor:
"Can we apply to build a new church on Sin Chew Island?"
The clerk said naturally:
"No, the entire Xingzhou Island can be considered a downtown area. You monks should stay away from the world and go to the pure mountains and forests to cultivate your moral character.
"The mountain closest to the Lion City is on the mainland across the strait to the north, and your church is at the foot of this mountain."
He Baolu felt in his heart that Daming was really being unreasonable.
Your temples and Taoist temples are accustomed to being built in the mountains. You cannot ask our churches to be built in the mountains.
Your ordinary people will not go to temples and Taoist temples for a long time, but our believers have to go to churches regularly to worship!
Then he explained almost subconsciously:
"Our priests do not need to stay away from the secular world, nor do they need to go to the mountains and forests to cultivate themselves. That is the habit of Taoism and Buddhism.
"Our tradition is that we live in cities, and churches should be built in residential areas so that believers can go there at any time."
The clerk responded naturally:
"In the Ming Dynasty, you have to abide by the rules of the Ming Dynasty. Monks in the Ming Dynasty have to stay away from the world and cultivate their moral character.
"If you can't accept it, you can go back to your hometown and don't cause trouble in Ming Dynasty.
“Also, I remind you again that you can stay in the Lion City, but you must find an ordinary job as soon as possible.
“Or go directly to the church and live with other members of your church until you are summoned by the authority.
“Otherwise, if you stay in the Lion City for a long time without any work, you may be regarded as secretly proselytizing.
"You will be summoned regularly for investigation, and if any abnormalities are found, you will be deported."
He Baolu did not ask why he, as a priest, was looking for a normal job. The key was that he could not preach.
I didn’t ask any more about how the believers should go about their daily worship if the church was built in a mountain.
These questions are moot now.
He Baolu agreed with a complicated expression, and then left the government office with his new documents.
On the street outside the government office, He Baolu thought about it for a long time and finally decided to go to the church first.
He Baolu subconsciously wanted to go to the station and ask people around him how to get to the church.
But the moment he was about to leave his mouth, he was stopped.
He Baolu was a little doubtful that asking strangers about church matters in public would violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
So after hesitating, He Baolu returned to the management office and asked carefully about how to go to the church.
Take a train from the Lion City Railway Station and drive north for more than 20 kilometers and cross the railway bridge over the Strait of Johor.
On the opposite side of the Malay Peninsula, continue driving inland to the north for about ten kilometers.
Got off the train in a small town and hired a carriage.
Driving more than ten kilometers northwest of the town, we came to a mountain village at the foot of a small mountain.
Passing through the mountain village and entering the mountain forest, we ran another two kilometers. Finally we entered a mountain canyon.
There is a rather huge yard in the middle of the canyon.
The carriage was at the entrance of the large courtyard. He Baolu, who was a little motion sick, got out of the carriage and slowly moved to the entrance of the courtyard.
The door in the courtyard is locked, and there are two passages on both sides of the door that can only be passed by one person in sequence.
Next to the passage are two concierges with small windows.
He Baolu walked along the entrance passage and saw a middle-aged woman in her forties coming out of the doorway:
"What do you do? Do you know where this place is?"
He Baolu handed over his identity documents:
"I am...please look at the file..."
He Baolu swallowed back his words of self-introduction because he remembered the advice he had heard before.
You cannot identify yourself in public.
The middle-aged woman opposite read He Baolu's document, signed it and then came back:
"go in."
He Baolu took back his identity document and walked into the compound along the passage.
In the middle of the big courtyard is a small square, and there is a circle of small yards around the square.
The layout of the buildings in these small courtyards is exactly the same, and they are all traditional Chinese pavilions and pavilions.
There are walls painted with red paint, buildings with cornices and brackets, and majestic and solemn stone statues.
There are wharf plaques hanging on all the courtyard doors, and peach-character couplets hanging on the door frames.
All the small courtyards are different only in their plaques and couplets.
Paul He searched around and found the Roman Catholic "church" in the middle of the courtyard of the Persian Zoroastrian and Tianfang Sunni sects.
To be honest, if it weren't for the signboard, it would be difficult for He Baolu to connect this garden with the church.
Saying it is a temple or a Taoist temple is still a little bit convincing.
There are indeed courtyards with Taoist and temple signs hanging around.
This small square and most of the courtyards can be said to be very deserted.
There are only two temples and Taoist temples where people come and go occasionally.
There was no one outside the other courtyard gates.
Not only are there no believers or followers, but even the priests who should be in the garden will not show up.
He Baolu has already understood that priests cannot go out wearing religious clothes, let alone talk to believers outside the door.
The reason is that it may have an impact on people from other churches.
This may infringe on the freedom of belief of others.
However, this may also have certain benefits, so that people from various churches will not meet and fight.
