The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 294 Another new course

In order to let them better understand what religion is, Chen Jingke decided to talk about the origin and development of religion from the beginning.

"It is unclear when exactly religion appeared. It is speculated that it probably existed before the birth of tribes."

"People at that time didn't understand nature, and they didn't understand why there were wind, rain, thunder and lightning, or the rotation of the sun, moon, and stars."

"I thought there was a great being, that is, a god, controlling everything."

"Out of awe and praying for good weather, the most primitive nature worship was born..."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows, and a question that had been bothering him for a long time finally had an answer.

Why is Chen Jingke not afraid of gods?

This special brew does not acknowledge the existence of gods at all.

Fortunately, there has been no shortage of atheists in China since ancient times, and many of them are well-known academic scholars.

"The Christian religion clearly stipulates that worshiping ancestors is disloyal to the gods and is a heretic and must be executed."

He emphasized: "The separation of church and state is very important."

"After death, you will go to hell and suffer forever."

If you don't believe it, don't believe it, it won't affect anything.

At least this is the case for the current Chinese civilization.

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked. The resemblance was so similar.

"In the earliest days, humans should have implemented a system of theocracy... Of course, this is just speculation."

"God is everything."

Chen Jingke thought for a while and said: "Religion attributes all great power to gods, all glory to gods, and all achievements to gods..."

It doesn't matter to me whether you exist or not, I just keep a respectful distance.

"Human beings should thank the gods, not Shennong."

Since then, his views on gods have changed.

"Later it was introduced to the Central Plains, and the teachings had to be modified in order to preach."

"Sacrificing ancestors is also disloyal to the gods."

"Our ancestors had free thoughts and went to explore and explain the world, which led to the splendid glory of the Chinese civilization today."

He prefers Confucianism and keeps away from those with strange powers and chaotic gods.

"Although Islamic religion does not force people not to remember their ancestors, it does oppose generous burials and does not recommend worshiping ancestors."

Human beings’ prayers don’t matter to God at all, so how can they respond to them?

Lao Tzu said: Heaven and earth are unkind and regard all things as rotten dogs.

If there really is a God, and it is to maintain the movement of heaven and earth, how can he be in the mood to care about a person's happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy?
In His eyes, there is no difference between humans and ants.

"So we have to be thankful that Chinese civilization has achieved the separation of church and state very early."

Chen Jingke may have been an atheist before, but his mind changed after time travel.

"Even Buddhism initially did not approve of ancestor worship."

"Most religions are against ancestor worship."

People may not care about their country, ethnic group, or civilization, but they cannot care about their ancestors.

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious: "It is simply a cult to not allow sacrifices to ancestors. This kind of religion will never be allowed to enter our Ming Dynasty."

"Once a civilization is imprisoned by religious ideas, it will become like stagnant water and will no longer be able to develop a splendid culture."

In fact, he was really wrong.

"In the process of development, some civilizations have achieved the separation of politics and religion, that is, secular kingship. This is the case with Chinese civilization."

"Some civilizations have always maintained the unity of politics and religion and have inherited it to this day."

At this time, Zhu Xiongying suddenly said: "What is the difference between today's Confucianism and religion?"

Chen Jingke was secretly happy because he wanted this effect.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang did not feel that there was anything deviant in his idea.

"It can be said that it directly determines the future direction of a civilization."

Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying both believed that, and other things were easy to say. Not being allowed to worship ancestors would never be tolerated.

"According to religious thought, Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs. That was what the gods asked him to do. The credit belongs to the gods and has nothing to do with Shennong."

Zhu Yuanzhang and the three of them all showed puzzled expressions? Is there any difference?

Since God is supreme and great and will not change because of my faith, why should I still believe and why should I be afraid?

For a civilization that values ​​ancestor worship, not being allowed to sacrifice ancestors is simply intolerable.

Even time travel can happen, and it’s not surprising that there are gods.

Seeing their indifferent expressions, Chen Jingke knew that they did not know what the separation of church and state meant.

After all, Zhu Biao received orthodox Confucian education. Although he is not a Confucianist, he does not want to see others slander Confucianism.

"Don't talk nonsense. Confucianism is a secular thought. How can you say it is a religion?"

Chen Jingke was also a little surprised that Zhu Xiongying, a boy like him, could realize this.

"Your Highness, I think your grandson is right."

“Since the Song Dynasty, when Confucianism was the sole religion, is there any difference between Confucianism and religion?”

"Especially after the emergence of Neo-Confucianism, the three cardinal principles and five constant principles and various regulations are more stringent than the clear rules and precepts of religion."

"Confucius' words have become truth. Anyone who questions them will be labeled as an alien."

"All new ideas must come from Confucian classics."

"The thought of not having notes on Confucian classics is treacherous and disrespectful of the words of the saints."

"Although he will not be executed, he will no longer have a place to live."

"If this situation is allowed to develop, China's academic community may become a stagnant water."

"This is why I want to split Confucianism and provide other schools with opportunities for revival..."

Seeing that he supported Zhu Xiongying's words, Zhu Biao finally stopped talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath and said happily: "We once wanted to define Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as the true meaning of Confucianism and require scholars all over the world to learn from it."

"Fortunately, fortunately, fortunately I met you Jing Ke, otherwise it would have almost caused a catastrophe."

Chen Jingke thought to himself, this is what you did in your previous life.

As for the consequences, it’s okay not to mention them.

Of course I couldn't say this, so after a few words of humility, I brought the topic back to the beginning:
"It is impossible to determine exactly when our ancestors achieved the separation of church and state."

"However, according to myths and legends, Emperor Zhuanxu gained ultimate power from heaven. From then on, humans and gods were separated, and gods could no longer interfere in the human world."

"So we have reason to suspect that it was probably from him that China completed the separation of church and state."

"The secular royal power overwhelms religion, which greatly limits the development of religion and promotes the development of secular humanistic thought."

"But the secular thinking at that time was not perfect enough, and it was still necessary to rely on religious power to establish social order."

"So, religion still has great influence and can even interfere with royal power."

"This can be seen from the frequent human sacrifices during the Xia and Shang Dynasties."

"It should be after the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty that the secular royal power completely overwhelmed the religious power."

"After thousands of years of development, secular thought finally completed its sublimation in the Zhou Dynasty." "A complete and systematic secular thought system was formally formed."

"Religion has been completely driven out of the stage of history..."

"So after the Zhou Dynasty, although there were sporadic deities worshiped in China, there was no longer a systematic religious organization."

King Zhou of Shang, one of the Ten Philosophers of the Internet Temple in his previous life, was hailed by netizens as the last human emperor of mankind.

It is also said that he was opposed by the princes and kings because he opposed worshiping gods.

However, the reality is that unearthed documents show that the Shang Dynasty frequently held large-scale activities to worship gods.

And it’s a human sacrifice.

Thousands of people were often used to worship the gods.

In other words, King Shang, the supreme ruler of the Shang Dynasty, was the one who liked to offer sacrifices to gods the most.

The specific actions of King Zhou of Shang cannot be tested, but it is too early to vindicate him now.

At least the current documentation is not enough to vindicate him.

The sacrifice pits are evidence that he may not be as innocent as everyone thought.

"It is precisely because secularity has completely overwhelmed religion that a hundred schools of thought can contend."

"During that period, the intellectual world was in full bloom, and it could be said to be the most glorious peak period."

"It was also during that period that religion was almost squeezed out of its living space."

"Although people at that time still believed in the existence of gods and the art of witchcraft."

"But there is no longer a unified religion, let alone unified religious thoughts and rules."

“It wasn’t until the spread of Buddhism to the east and the emergence of Taoism that this gap was filled.”

Zhu Yuanzhang and the other three looked back on the Zhou Dynasty and the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it seemed that this was indeed the case.

Except for some alchemists who claimed to have seen gods and some wizards who danced with gods, there seemed to be no religion at all.

Every place has its own gods, but many gods are actually transformed from ancestors or local sages.

Everyone sacrifices to them, which is more of a kind of memory, far from being a religion.

The imperial court did offer sacrifices to Haotian, but it did not form a religious system around Haotian.

It was not until the emergence of Buddhism and Taoism that systematic religion appeared again in China.

Zhu Biao nodded and asked, "Why did Buddhism and Taoism flourish instead of being destroyed by secular ideas?"

Chen Jingke explained: "Secular thought is human beings' understanding and interpretation of the world, so why not religious thought?"

"So, we cannot take it for granted that religious thoughts must be backward and wrong, while secular thoughts must be advanced and correct."

For example, the monogamy system adopted by mainstream countries in the previous life was stipulated by Christian thought.

When we agree with monogamy, we completely deny the idea of ​​Christianity. Isn’t it a bit like throwing the pot after dinner?
"It's just that at this stage, secular thoughts are freer and more diversified, and can create a more brilliant civilization."

"So, our ancestors chose to be secular."

"We make a hypothesis that one day gods will really appear, or religious ideas will surpass secular ideas in an advanced degree."

"Then the form will be reversed and the religious will prevail over the secular."

"So, religion does have various shortcomings, but we cannot completely deny its positive effects because of this."

This is a bit convoluted and a bit counterintuitive.

It took Zhu Yuanzhang and the three of them a while to understand the connotation.

But it still feels incredible.

Chen Jingke paused for a while and waited for them to understand before continuing:

"Secular thought is constantly improving and improving, and so is religious thought."

"Originally, nature worship was just out of awe of the celestial phenomena."

"Later, religious ideas evolved around this worship."

"Sacrificial rituals, rules and regulations, etc., are all formed bit by bit in this process."

"In countries where politics and religion are integrated, religion has even evolved a whole set of ideas and governance systems."

"The most important thing is that with the development of the times, human needs for religion are changing."

"In order to adapt to the new needs of mankind, the nature of religion has also changed."

"And this change is also the fundamental reason why Buddhism and Taoism can prosper."

Zhu Biao asked curiously: "Oh, how did it change? What is the essence of religion now?"

Chen Jingke replied: "We have said before that the original religion was born out of human beings' awe of the power of nature."

"The essence of religion at that time was actually mankind's worship of unknown power."

"With the development of the times, human beings have begun to have new needs for religion."

"The needs vary, some are praying for peace, some are praying for wealth, some are praying for children..."

"All needs ultimately point to one goal, hope."

"Humans believe in religion just to gain hope."

Zhu Biao murmured: "Is there hope? In pain and despair, gods and the afterlife can indeed provide people with the last trace of comfort."

Chen Jingke complimented: "Your Highness is wise. Things often go wrong in life, and different people have different sufferings."

"The most helpless thing is that most people's suffering cannot be solved in their lifetime."

"At this time, they need something to give them hope."

"Whether this hope is deception or paralysis, it is better than living in despair all the time."

"In the face of new human needs, the nature of religion has also changed."

"From the original worship of power, it has become a source of spiritual sustenance and ultimate care for mankind."

The cruel and desperate reality, the beautiful false vision.

Everyone has their own choice, and there is nothing wrong with every choice.

As long as it does not affect others, there is no need for us to stand on our own side and criticize other people's choices.

On the contrary, if we think that our choice is right and criticize others' choices arbitrarily, that is true narrow-mindedness.

Zhu Biao gradually understood what he meant and praised: "That's it...listening to your words is worth ten years of reading."

“Buddhism and Taoism conform to the spiritual needs of people in the new era, so they have not been disintegrated by secular thoughts.”

Zhu Yuanzhang finally understood, but he did not interrupt, but nodded secretly to the side.

Chen Jingke continued: "More than that, individuals need religion, and the country also needs religion."

"For individuals, they want to eliminate distress and anxiety and gain hope and peace of mind through religion."

"For the country and the imperial court, religion is needed to rectify the world and people's hearts and establish ethics and morality."

"There are still some countries that need religion to numb people's hearts, weaken the people's spirit of resistance, and maintain their rule."

"This is what Tianzhu's Shendu Cult is like."

"Of course, Chinese civilization is special. The task of rectifying the world's people and establishing ethics and morals has been completed by secular Confucianism."

"So the imperial court has little need or dependence on religion. This is why there have been several attempts to exterminate Buddhism in history."

"In other civilizations, this is unthinkable."

(End of this chapter)