In response to Tolkien's question, Zhou Hexuan said: "Of course, there are devout believers in China, but perhaps under the influence of polytheism, it is very likely that Buddhists will worship Taoist gods when they see them, or at least show the most basic respect." ”

Tolkien commented: "A very secular view of faith. ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled: "Yes, it's very worldly. Whether monotheistic or polytheistic, most of the world's gods are born. Monotheism aside, God created the world. Let's look at Egyptian mythology, Greek mythology, and Norse mythology, which are all polytheistic systems, but the gods are either born naturally or are descendants of the Father. China is different, our mortals can also become gods, and most of the gods are cultivated by mortals. ”

Tolkien seemed intrigued: "Can you elaborate on that?" ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "The supreme deity of Taoism is the Jade Emperor, and there are many theories about the origin of the Jade Emperor, but the basic situation is the same. Before the Jade Emperor became a god, he was the prince of the country of Miaole, he gave up the throne, learned the Tao and cultivated the truth, relieved the people, and became the supreme god after hundreds of millions of eons. A more typical example is Guan Dijun, who knows anything about Sinology, Guan Dijun was a general of the Eastern Han Dynasty of China, and because of his loyalty, bravery, and integrity, he became a god after his death. ”

"That is, mortals can become gods by hard work," someone suddenly asked, "what is the difference between this and the heroic spirits of Norse mythology?" ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "May I ask who this gentleman is?" ”

The man said, "My name is Clive Staples Lewis." ”

Well, this guy is also a big guy, and a good friend of Tolkien.

Lewis was originally an atheist, but a few years ago he had become a Christian under the influence of Tolkien, except that the former entered the Anglican Church and the latter entered Catholicism. In their literary works, they all have strong Christian thoughts, and they usually study theology.

Zhou Hexuan said: "The gods cultivated by mortals in China are naturally different from the heroic spirits in Northern Europe. Warriors must believe in the gods and die in battle before they can be brought into Valhalla, and they exist only to help the gods fight. China, on the other hand, does not need to believe in any god and does not require warriors. They may be ordinary gentlemen, because they are virtuous and respected, and they can become gods after death. In ancient China, there were many Chenghuang temples, and most of the Chenghuang gods enshrined in the temples came from this. ”

Lewis frowned and said, "Don't you Chinese think this is blasphemy against God?" ”

"Of course not," Zhou said with a smile, "we respect all gods, even if they don't believe in any religion, but most Chinese maintain a reverence for gods." Even after Buddhism came to China, the gods of Buddhism and Taoism were able to communicate with each other, and some of the gods still had part-time positions in both religions. ”

"Very interesting views of religion and theology." Tolkien said with a smile.

Lewis asked, "Do the Chinese believe that the gods created the world?" ”

Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said, "No, the Chinese only believe that gods create human beings. As for the world, it existed in the first place, originally as an egg-like chaotic universe. An ancient god cleaved with an axe, and the light ascended to become the sky, and the cloudy descended to become the earth. In Chinese mythology and legend, this is called 'Pangu opens the world'. ”

Lewis asked, "Does Mr. Zhou think it is possible that God created the world?" ”

Zhou Hexuan didn't say that he was an atheist, but smiled: "Who can tell?" Perhaps, the world was created by a Noodle Monster who was severely drunk, and he was the only true god in the universe. ”

"Noodle Monster?" Lewis's cheek twitched.

"Yes, Noodle Monster," Zhou Hexuan drew a noodle monster on the blackboard with chalk, "Let's call it the 'Flying Noodle God', he created the universe because of alcoholism, he is the only true god, we can call him 'boil'." As for this religion, it can be called the 'Flying Noodle God Cult', and it also has heaven and hell. There is a volcano erupting with beer and a striptease hall full of beautiful women, and the believer can ascend to heaven to enjoy a good drink after death. The unbelievers will go to hell when they die, and there are volcanoes and strip parlors in hell, but the volcano erupts with horse urine, and the women in the strip parlor are all venereal patients. ”

"Hahahaha!"

After listening to Zhou Hexuan's account, many shallow believers and atheists laughed, while believers like Tolkien and Lewis had strange faces. There are even some fanatics with angry faces, but they didn't PK with Zhou Hexuan on the spot.

Britain in 940 was still more traditional, but more religiously open – relative to continental Europe.

Lewis, for example, was a Christian apologet and founded the Socratic Club at Oxford, and he was clearly a believer. But Anthony Farrou, Britain's most famous atheist philosopher, became famous when he published Theology and Forgery at the Socratic Club, which was particularly fond of friendly debates with atheists.

Lewis listened to Zhou Hexuan's nonsense, and was not annoyed, but smiled and said: "It seems that Mr. Zhou is an atheist, how can you prove that gods do not exist?" ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "I'll tell you a fable. Two explorers came to the secret garden, and one of them said that the garden was built by a gardener. Another explorer said that there were no gardeners at all. The two explorers observed the garden day and night, but did not find the gardener appearing. So, what does this mean? ”

What does an apologetic do?

They defend Christianity by fooling unbelievers with their lips.

Lewis, an apologetic, who is well versed in philosophical debate, concludes: "In Mr. Chow's parable, the gardener represents God and the garden represents the world. If the gardener does not appear, then he may or may not exist. Just as God is dispensable, there is faith and there is none. Is that so? ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "It can be understood so. But it can also be understood that God was created by man, such as explorers who created gardeners. In the same way, I can also create the Flying Noodles God and the Flying Noodles God Cult. ”

An engineering student seemed interested in the Flying Noodles Cult and raised his hand to ask, "Mr. Zhou, can I apply to become a believer in the Flying Noodles Cult?" ”

"Hahahaha." The classroom burst into laughter.

Zhou Hexuan nodded and said, "Of course, if you are willing to join, then congratulations, you will be the current saint of the Flying Mask God Sect, and I am the prophet of the Flying Face God Sect, and we can compile the Flying Face Gospel together." By the way, we can also set the Eight Commandments of Moxi. ”

There was another burst of laughter in the classroom, and the so-called "Moses Eight Commandments" were obviously ridiculing the "Ten Commandments of Moses". Except for a few fanatics, most of the people present had a kind of mindset of watching the excitement, and they didn't take this flying mask cult seriously at all, and even Lewis and Tolkien were laughing.

The engineering student was very good at choking, and immediately asked, "Sir, what are the eight commandments?" ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "The first commandment, I hope you will not be so self-righteous when you preach. If someone doesn't believe it, that's okay, your noodle god is not a vain and jealous god. ”

"Hahahaha!"

The atheists here are going crazy with laughter, which is another satire on some fanatics who force others to believe.

Zhou Hexuan continued: "The second commandment, I hope you will not persecute, conquer, or punish others in my name, nor do you do evil to others, I don't want you to worship. Purity is related to water, not to people. The third commandment is that you will not judge people by their appearance, and that all men are created equal. Of course, when it comes to the topic of fashion, I'm very sorry that only women and some extremely gifted men can accept the noodle god's ignition...... The fifth commandment, I hope that when you are not full, you will ignore the stubborn and hateful, eat first, and then go to him to settle the score......

What the hell are the eight commandments, all kinds of nonsense and sarcasm, and the end of each commandment is still a little clever.

Lewis was completely speechless, and he had no interest in debating as an apologetic. On the contrary, Tolkien felt very interesting about it, and if he hadn't been a Catholic, he would probably have joined the Flying Mask Cult to play.

The "Eight Commandments of Moxi" easily appealed to young highly intellectual atheists, at least many of the Oxford students present.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Sir, can I join as well?" ”

Zhou Hexuan immediately said: "Congratulations, this classmate, you are now a parishioner. No fees, no worship, no oaths. At the same time, the Flying Mask Divine Cult also welcomes the masses who do not know the truth to join the religion for free, and they can try to believe it for a month, and those who are not satisfied can withdraw from the religion at any time, without any adverse consequences or toxic side effects. At the same time, I also welcome the faithful to start various denominational chapters, such as those who like to eat pasta, you can create the 'Flying Noodles God Pasta Anglican Church', and I will appoint him as a regional archbishop! ”

When this remark was spoken, many people were going crazy, and the president of Oxford University regretted inviting Zhou Hexuan a little.

As long as the questions asked by Lewis were too embarrassing, Zhou Hexuan didn't bother to answer them positively, so he simply gaged and took out the Flying Mask Divine Cult as a shield.

The Flying Noodle Cult was thus founded, and this day became the "Holy Day" (Friday) of the Divine Cult, and Zhou Hexuan was also revered as the first pope and the Great Prophet of the Flying Noodles. After decades of development, by the 2nd century, the number of followers had exceeded 00,000, and it was later recognized as a legal religion by the governments of the Netherlands and other countries.

Throughout the history of the Flying Mask God Cult, many great figures have emerged.

For example, Stephen Hawking joined the church when he was in college and was elected Archbishop of the Flying Mask Church of England.