America 1982-Chapter 485 - 90: I’ve been at home_4
Gary Duny laughed a little after listening to Tommy’s question. He did not rush to provide an answer but instead praised him, "It’s rare for an ordinary believer to notice your first question. Generally, after discovering it, like you said, common missionaries would use that standard answer regarding different levels of understanding. But in fact, in the 3rd century, there was a scholar who posed the same question as you, although he was not a believer; he raised the question from the perspective of religious studies."
"Jesus would not change His appearance; it has nothing to do with levels. It’s just that the apostles, when preaching, faced different groups of people, so the image of Jesus they portrayed was also different. They needed to convince some noble believers that Jesus was as noble as they were, and they needed to convince other poor believers that Jesus was humble and could converse with the poor on equal, or even more humble, terms. Jesus never changed. For example, the poor believers in the City of Rome only accepted the Gospel of Luke, while the Jewish Christians only accepted the Gospel of Matthew. This was not due to the image of Jesus but because believers only accepted the faith that was more favorable to them and which they were more willing to believe. It’s just that the early Christian community thought that for the sake of leading more people to believe in God, there was no need to be uniform in this matter and let people choose for themselves the method of missionary work they wanted to accept. This also led to many pagans attacking Christianity from this angle, and the Christian Church prepared another book..."
"Against Heresies, Irenaeus’s Against Heresies. In order to help the church cover up the lies, he could only say that the gospels were the pillars and foundation of the church. The four gospels represent the four corners of the world, and they also represent the church’s four sturdiest pillars, with buildings supported by four pillars being the most solid," Tommy continued the other’s words.
Gary Duny nodded his head, his eyes showing some surprise, "Did you attend a church school in high school? Ordinary young people wouldn’t know about this."
"If someone were perplexed by the same questions that once perplexed me as a child, then as for you, what would be the right thing to do?" Tommy didn’t answer but looked back at the old man squarely and asked.
Just as Gary Duny was surprised at Tommy’s knowledge of Christianity, Tommy’s question made him laugh again, "Of course, to preach and resolve doubts, my child. As long as they are willing to listen, I am willing to explain to them."
"Would you lie?" Tommy hesitated for a moment before asking a presumptuous question.
Gary Duny shook his head slightly, "I never lie, my child."
The expression on Tommy’s face slowly turned radiant, "If there were too many people confused, scattered all over Florida, I mean, how much would I have to pay you for an appearance fee before you would agree to come out and resolve the doubts of the people? Or, let’s say, Mr. Jeff Raven is willing to pay this fee."
"A missionary resolving doubts for the people is the right thing to do and, of course, should not be for a fee. But... if you’re willing to cover travel expenses or donate to the church, I would certainly be very grateful." Gary Duny saw the changing expression on Tommy’s face and always felt something was not quite right, but he wasn’t sure where the problem was.
"However, I suspect that the pastors or priests of the local churches may not be too keen on an outsider meddling in what is their work."
"You don’t need to worry about those problems, Dr. Duny. I’ll take care of them, including travel expenses, accommodation, and ultimately the donation. There’s just one question – do you have the time now? We can leave at any moment, and our first stop is in Tallahassee, with an audience of about two hundred people for two days," Tommy said, his eyes sparkling.
Gary Duny shrugged and smiled, "Of course, that’s possible, but... this is somewhat surprising to me. I mean, you didn’t have to bring a camera to meet with me just to invite me to preach. Although I might look a bit old, I have no problem traveling alone by plane. Tallahassee, which church organized this gathering?"
"The Society of the Rose Cross of Saint Joseph," Tommy honestly stated the name.
The kind and sincere old man opposite him froze for a moment, staring blankly at Tommy for a long time before slowly nodding and then rising slowly, "Of course, there’s no problem. It doesn’t matter what kind of people those who have gone astray are. But... well, I will go and tell everyone about it, my child. Are you certain that you believe in the Catholic Church?"
"I previously said that my mother is a Catholic," Tommy responded, "I never said that I am."
Nick, who was sitting nearby, did not know if Gary Duny’s church was a cult, but the Society of the Rose Cross of Saint Joseph that Tommy had mentioned was a notoriously infamous religious organization in Florida. Watching the old man slowly leave, Nick stared at Tommy.
"What have you done?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Once the old man had left, Tommy took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff, "Nothing much, just hiring a real angel to endorse the devil. The devil will donate fifty thousand to the social charity organization I helped Jeff set up for this."
Nick immediately understood Tommy’s scheme – if Florida’s various bizarre cult leaders could share the stage with the old man, they would have more clout to sell their religious writings to overseas believers, as they could boast of having received help and recognition from the world’s best exegete.
"You’re a devil, and you’re going to hell, Tommy. This is not a curse; this is an inevitable judgment coming your way," Nick said to Tommy in a low voice. "You’re actually selling this kind and sincere old man to those lunatics! Dismiss this crazy idea!"
"Do you know what’s crazier?" Tommy asked, seeing Nick’s expression and laughing.
Nick stared at Tommy and shook his head slightly.
"I’ve sold out more than once," Tommy exhaled a smoke ring. "And this devil has always been in hell, I’ve always been home."
