mtl008 Chapter 4347 Body of Steel (52)
Chapter 4347 Body of Steel (52)
Chapter 4347 Body of Steel (Fifty-Two)
“No, that’s not it,” Lex said. “There is no all-knowing and all-powerful God in this world. If there were, he would not love people, because he did not come to save me. You are the same, Superman. Either you are as useless as God and cannot hear the children’s prayers, or you are as indifferent as God and never respond to his most devout believers.”
Clark was somewhat speechless. Luther's logic was a double-edged sword: either God wasn't as powerful as people imagined, and he must have weaknesses, unable to attend to everything in the world, otherwise, why didn't he save little Lex at the time?
If God is truly omniscient and omnipotent, able to know and do everything, then He must be extremely indifferent and dislike humanity. Otherwise, why wouldn't He have saved little Lex at that time?
Anyway, reasoning backwards from the fact that he wasn't saved, there are only two possibilities: either God is stupid, or God is evil. Then, this conclusion can be extended to all superhumans like Superman.
As long as there is even one person in this world who cannot be saved, it means either you are not powerful enough, or you do not love enough. And whether you are not powerful enough or do not love enough, you are an enemy of humanity.
While this theory sounds absurd, it's logically plausible. After all, no one has actually seen God; we can only work backward from the outcome to understand the underlying mechanism. It's not surprising that someone who has experienced suffering could deduce this conclusion.
But the theory still left Clark's head spinning. He raised a hand to interrupt Lex, who was about to say something, and said, "Are you sure you're a Christian?"
Lex was taken aback by his question. Clark continued, "What I'm about to say doesn't represent my personal opinion, but is merely a religious explanation for why you're being mistreated: you were born sinful. All the suffering you've endured is to atone for original sin. This is the most basic doctrine of Christianity."
Clark had also received guidance from the town's pastor, and he knew what a true Christian was like.
A typical characteristic of such people is that they genuinely believe in the doctrines they preach and strive to put them into practice. Good things are attributed to God's will; bad things are attributed to humanity's original sin. In other words, all their good deeds are God's achievement, and any shortcomings are entirely their own fault.
While Clark didn't quite understand this kind of person either, he was at least willing to admit that he was very devout. Since Lex Luthor also believed in the existence of God, he should at least be considered a believer. He didn't need to be extremely devout, but he should at least understand the basic doctrines, right?
The explanations of suffering in any religion are generally logical; otherwise, they wouldn't attract so many believers. For example, Buddhism talks about the afterlife, suggesting that all the suffering you endure in this life is for spiritual practice in the next. Christianity has different interpretations due to its various denominations, but the basic doctrines are similar, generally emphasizing "original sin."
In other words, human existence itself is sinful, which is why there are so many famines and wars in the world—all because humanity has been exiled by God. The solution lies in atonement. And based on the different methods of atonement, various religious sects exist.
For example, Catholicism and Protestantism are quite different: Catholicism is justification by works, while Protestantism is justification by faith. Many people don't understand what this "justification" refers to; it is actually "atonement."
Some people might find this absurd. Who would put themselves in such a low position and insist on seeing themselves as a sinner?
However, the driving force behind this concept is not entirely about atoning for one's own sins, but rather about atoning for the sins of all humanity, freeing them from famine and war, and enabling them to ascend together to a carefree heaven. This is a grand goal, quite romantic in nature, and therefore capable of attracting believers.
So Clark just couldn't understand it. Lex Luthor hadn't even grasped the most basic doctrines, yet he was shouting that God was powerless.
In the religious world, if someone doesn't save you, it's because you have original sin. God repeatedly warned against eating the forbidden fruit, but those greedy children insisted, only remembering God when they suffered. God isn't so wicked as to insist on saving you.
Lex's expression seemed to freeze again, his mind seemingly going blank. He gripped the railing tightly and said, "I'm not a believer!"
"Then why do you believe that God exists?" Clark asked again.
Lex couldn't answer. He seemed to suddenly realize that the only thing in his mind was the concept that "God didn't come to save me," not the concept that "God doesn't exist."
“While it’s a bit much to ask you to save yourself back then, after praying so many times that God didn’t come, shouldn’t you have considered the option that ‘God doesn’t exist’?” Clark asked.
"Besides, you were young and your thinking wasn't fully developed back then, so it's one thing if you didn't think of that, but how come you're still like this now that you're older?" Clark couldn't help but say. "When I was being ridiculed by my classmates at school and nobody cared, I knew that God didn't exist. I was only ten years old at the time."
It was as if a barrier had suddenly been lifted from Lex's mind; his brain jolted and suddenly became sharp.
He discovered a serious logical contradiction in his thinking and behavior: if he wanted to live in the world of religious narratives, he shouldn't have so many complaints.
Let's not even mention the matter of original sin. In fact, his birth into the Luther family proves that he was already one of God's chosen people, that is, a prophet appointed by God to lead mankind back to the Garden of Eden through his intelligence and privileged family background.
Of course he had to think that way. Putting aside his undeniably superior material conditions, Luther was a very arrogant man; how could he possibly feel like someone abandoned by God?
Since he has been chosen, all the suffering God has inflicted upon him is merely a test. He not only passed the test successfully, but he has also gone further on the path of prophecy than others: the process was more difficult than others, but the result was better than others, so he should be proud.
If he doesn't get caught up in religious narratives, then when he looks back on the first half of his life, he should realize that there is no God in the world. Whether God is omnipotent and whether He loves humanity is a topic not worth wasting time discussing.
Given his arrogant and conceited nature, he should have stopped placing his hopes on any other person or god when he was being abused, and instead, filled with anger, seized his own destiny and made his father and all those who had failed to save him pay the price.
His current situation is this: he believes in God and thinks God exists, but at the same time, he doesn't understand his faith. He doesn't understand the religious concept at all, and he doesn't put any effort into thinking about religion. He just keeps blaming God for not coming when he hasn't been saved, without even investigating why God isn't coming.
It's fair to say that if he had ever read the Bible—no, if he had ever gone to church on a Sunday—he wouldn't have had any doubts like, "Is God not saving me because He's not powerful enough, or because He doesn't love me enough?"
Clark was beginning to understand; Bruce Wayne had long seen through Luthor's true nature. During the "Snake of Frinier" incident, he had already laid bare this trait.
A stranger suddenly showed up at your door with a very valuable artifact, and all he did was search for the artifact's name on Wikipedia.
If it were an ordinary person, it wouldn't matter, since ordinary people have limited access to knowledge, and the internet is already a relatively reliable channel. But you are the head of the Luther Group. Even if you think of your expensively hired professional secretary for a single second, they can put the entire set of information in front of you in less than half an hour.
Of course, Clark also suspected that the secretary Luther hired might not be that professional at all, and that this person's ability to judge people was clearly problematic.
But this one incident alone shows that Luther is a person who is more suspicious than truth-seeking.
Many might think that suspicion is a necessary part of seeking the truth, since you have to doubt first before you can investigate. However, questioning on the path to truth must be based on factual evidence and be relatively reasonable.
But the suspicious personality type is different. When they encounter something, they first fabricate many non-existent characteristics in their minds. There is no factual evidence to prove that things are as they imagine, but they are absolutely convinced of it.
After believing their own conjectures, they then use those conjectures to suspect this person and doubt that person—one minute this person is trying to harm them, the next minute that force is going to destroy the world. And if they have the power, they will then go on a rampage targeting those in their minds who might pose a threat to them.