Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 125: Forging Plowshares into Swords and Scythes into Spears
Autumn returns to the earth, a new year begins, and now it is winter.

The time for sowing has long passed.

When the clock face, which uses the moon as time, points to the end of November, it means that the rainy season in Palestine has begun, and the seeds sown earlier should also welcome the winter rain to urge them to germinate.

The poor people were naked and had nothing to cover them, but when the rain fell, in the cold, even though they were soaked, they shouted sincerely and repeatedly: Thank God for the rain!
Every word of thanksgiving is a faithful commitment to our Heavenly Father and a hope for a good harvest in the future.

The falling drops of rain seem to be God's response, allowing them to penetrate into the earth and bring new vitality.

The church bells in the village of Skar rang, and with the sound of the bells, the Day of the Lord was ushered in during this rainy winter season.

The Lord's Day is a weekly celebration of Christ's resurrection. Everyone should put down their work and rest on this day, regardless of whether they participate in worship.

However, most people in Skar village will still find ways to squeeze into the church and participate in the worship this weekend.

Garys and several young men beside him arranged the ritual objects needed for worship and greeted the guests.

Unlike the church at Labret Manor, the church at Scarr Village is much smaller, and the overall building material is mainly wood.

Although it is not very luxurious, the layout and lighting are much more reasonable, so it appears particularly warm.

As for the young men who assisted Gellis, they came from nearby villages.

From the very beginning, Garys regarded education as of utmost importance. Whether it was the surviving children of Skarr Village or the disciples recruited from Monterey Village, Garys took them by his side and taught them carefully.

These young people listened to Gailis's teachings and were taught to read and understand the common sense of heaven and earth.

Why does the water flow downstream? It is not because of the fairy in the river.

Why did the disease affect others? It was not caused by the death god in the underworld.

There is nothing between heaven and earth except God. Although people do not know God, they can appreciate the beauty of heaven and earth and admire the greatness of God through philosophy and science.

Among these people, those who were more intelligent and could read faster were regarded by Garys as the seeds of the sect.

They are like apprentices. Whenever there is a need to hold a Christian sacrament, they will be brought by Garys' side to help him, remember the rituals of the sacrament, and understand what the believers are asking for.

When these young men set out to teach, Garys's cult was truly formed.

After all, you can't really expect those former Islamic imams to help you preach.

The ritual vessels were prepared and the weekly [Sunday worship] began.

There are certain similarities between [Sunday worship] and [Mass], but they are not the same thing.

To put it roughly, after the Reformation, Protestantism simplified the Mass and came up with Sunday worship.

Of course, it is not just a simplification. In fact, the two religious rituals of Protestantism's "Sunday worship" and Catholicism's "Mass" have already undergone certain differences in theological terms.

Protestants generally believe that Sunday worship is a commemoration of Jesus Christ, rather than a repetition of Jesus' sacrifice. Through worship, believers reflect and learn how to follow in the footsteps of Christ in their lives.

Catholicism believes that the Mass is a re-enactment of Jesus' Last Supper, a sacred and solemn ceremony that emphasizes the close relationship between believers and Christ and the commemoration of the history of salvation.

As for why Gaillis chose the later Protestant [Sunday worship] as the religious ceremony of his own sect, he actually didn't think too deeply about it.

The main reason is that Sunday worship is more flexible, simpler, and easier for the young people around me to get started.

The seven sacraments of the Catholic Church and various religious rituals are extremely complicated. If you want to teach a group of blank teenagers, it will take too much energy...

So, Garys went straight to Protestantism and took a crash course in theology.

The seven sacraments of Catholic tradition were divided into two parts by Gérice. The former are the core sacraments, namely Baptism, the Eucharist, and Holy Orders; the latter are the secondary sacraments, namely Confirmation, Confession, Anointing of the Sick, and Marriage.

To put it simply, there is no rush to teach the minor parts. First, after you have mastered and understood some of the core things, focus on the teachings of the sect, and other rituals can be taught later.

Even when practicing the Eucharist, the Protestant Sunday worship ceremony was chosen rather than the Catholic Mass.

[Mass] Gellis had held it before, and it was quite complicated. Roughly speaking, it included the entrance ceremony, confession ceremony, the liturgy of the Holy Word, the liturgy of thanksgiving, and the conclusion of the ceremony.

Sunday worship, in comparison, is very flexible. Generally speaking, it is straightforward: songs of praise, prayers, reading of the Bible, preaching, and occasionally the Eucharist.

Compared with the various rituals of the Catholic Mass, Sunday Worship is simple and easy to use, and its main feature is to speak in plain language.

When Garys presided over the event, he did not pay much attention to the process. He did not standardize which hymns should be used, nor did he require how the prayers should be performed.

Take today's [Sunday worship] for example, Garys led everyone in a new prayer based on the current season.

"My Father is also your Father, O Almighty Father, Lord of heaven and earth."

“All things came into being by Your will, and were made abundant by Your lovingkindness.”

“Today, we stand before you, with gratitude and awe, praying for your favor, for the winter rain you have sent to awaken the silent earth and bring new hope.”

"Lord, your will is evident in all things. You teach us that only through hard work can we receive your grace."

"Every grain of wheat that the earth returns is the fruit of our labor, just as You are pleased." "You use rain to soak our crops, and You bless every soul that bends down to sow and sweats."

“O Almighty God, it is You who taught us that every man should earn his living by the toil of his own hands.”

“We know that grace is not only the harvest that comes in the winter rain, but also the covenant you made with the world: only those who harvest through labor are the children who truly receive your favor.”

“May we glorify your name through our labors, and may we enjoy your endless grace in your holy light through the fruits of our labors.”

"Amen."

"Amen."

Today’s sermon began with a prayer praising the self-reliant.

All the people who participated in this [Sunday worship] listened with their whole heart.

If another priest had said something like this in the past, some of them would have thought it was nonsense.

No matter how hard the farmers work, no more than half of the food they earn can actually be eaten and used by themselves.

Heavenly Father is so loving, yet He lets His children live in hunger all day long?
Ordinary priests are simply unable to answer this question, and even if they do, their answers are often ambiguous.

However, Gellis told them the answer directly, because above their heads, there were snakes and eels working together to do evil. The Pope and all the bad monks were snakes, and the secular lords and rulers were eels.

It was also Gailis who loudly told them the truth: if they want to be servants of God, then they have no other mission than to drive out the demons that hinder the gospel and eliminate all those who covet the people's property and steal the fruits of the workers.

The result of doing so has already been shown to the believers. Garys led them to kill the tax farmers and expel Reynard's minions.

However, their lives did not fall into disorder because of this. On the contrary, without the feudal mountain hanging over their heads, the believers lived freely.

At this moment, believers became more and more convinced that the Eight Beatitudes were the exact truth, but they had been obscured by some people in the past.

After praying, Garys also led the crowd in reciting several scriptures.

"Everyone, you are blessed!"

“For he who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows vain pursuits lacks wisdom!”

"Today, those high priests and lords are disobeying my father's teachings."

"You must know that it was written in the scriptures written 1,400 years ago: Do ​​not hate labor, and do not despise the work of farmers. The Most High Himself has dictated our lives!"

"We all live day by day by working with our hands and feet, but when the lord's tax collectors go to the countryside, they trample on the farmland and let the horses gnaw the crops! They kick away our food and do not value the fruits of our sweat at all."

"In this world, if farmers make a living by tilling the land, craftsmen produce goods in exchange for food, merchants transport materials and therefore have their share, and doctors and priests work together to heal our bodies and minds and should be respected, then what does the lord rely on to live?!"

"They are nothing but thieves and robbers, living by stealing and extortion. If they don't put a sword on the farmer's neck, he won't get a grain of food!"

"There shouldn't be power without responsibility in this world! There shouldn't be responsibility without power either!"

Words are like swords, piercing the hearts of the people directly, cutting off the shackles in their hearts, and making them realize what went wrong in the world.

Yes, it is the farmers who work hard to obtain food to feed mankind, and then other people get food from the farmers by serving each other, and then they live together in the world.

But, lord? The reason why the peasants paid taxes to the lord was not because the lord was the peasants' servant, but because the lord's sword was on their necks. If they dared to disobey, blood would be splattered three feet!
Gairis also levied taxes, but Gairis never forced farmers to pay taxes, but only acted according to the wishes of the village.

Villages that paid the tithe could be visited by the cult's caravans, where they could buy cheap goods and invite Garys to come to their village to treat the sick.

When bandits were active, the army or religious warriors would go to suppress them and protect the safety of the farmers.

Gellis even promised that hospitals and schools would be built.

Citizens of the kingdom have the responsibility to pay taxes, and their taxes are not to support the enjoyment of certain people, but to be used as public services.

"There shouldn't be power without responsibility in this world! There shouldn't be responsibility without power either!"

Gellis once again said loudly that rights and responsibilities should be matched. Citizens of the kingdom have the responsibility to pay taxes, and therefore they also have the right to receive public services.

However, today's lords only enjoy the support of the people and unlimited rights, but do not fulfill their obligations to the people.

"They are all thieves and robbers! They live by stealing and extortion!"

"Because thieves and robbers are always stealing and extorting the fruits of our labor! So we must beat the iron of the plowshare into swords, and turn our sickles into spears! Learn the art of war and meet the enemy with swords!"

"It's not that we are aggressive by nature, but if we don't do this, those bandits will take away the food that my father gave you!"

[They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer meet with sword, nor will people learn war anymore.]

Isaiah 2:4
　There may not be a second update as it took me too long to look up information today.

　　So I would like to recommend a book to you: "1444, The Rise of Byzantium", a fine work by Luo, performed online. The protagonist travels back to the eve of the Battle of Varna, to Constantinople in 1444, and begins to plot a revival. He uses his control over the general trend of history and his understanding of historical figures to save the country from disasters. The Renaissance, the Age of Discovery, the Reformation... the empire is immortal and the eagle flag never sets.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)