1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 503: The Pope Invites! Religious Leaders vs. Scientific Leaders! A Debate Destined to Go Down in History!

Inside the Hassler Hotel, Rome.

Li Qiwei looked at the invitation letter in his hand, a little confused.

The current Catholic Pope actually wants to discuss philosophy with him.

Isn't this nonsense?

One is a religious leader and the other is a scientific leader. What is there to discuss?

More than ten years ago, Li Qiwei proposed the famous "Creationism" at the American Conference on the Advancement of Science.

As soon as the theory came out, it shocked the world.

The Pope at that time wanted to convert him to Christianity, but he did not agree.

Although both support creationism, God and God are different.

Li Qiwei was very puzzled. Could it be that the current Pope was so confident that he wanted to convince him, the world's number one scientist, through discussion?

"interesting."

Wang Zhengyang, who was standing by, saw Li Qiwei's amused expression and asked:
"Principal, are you going?"

Li Qiwei smiled and said:
"Of course."

"The Pope has invited me so kindly, so I can't refuse."

"Besides, I also want to meet the other person."

“No one has ever approached me to discuss the truth.”

"I'm very curious, what does he want to discuss with me?"

Li Qiwei suddenly thought of the interesting story of Hong Xiuquan.

After the Opium War, Christianity was introduced to China.

In order to expand their influence, missionaries preached in China and recruited people from all walks of life to join the church.

But he ended up meeting Hong Xiuquan, a powerful and rebellious man.

He directly founded his own sect and became the ancestor of all missionaries.

Missionary: "I heard you've been to heaven and seen God?"

Hong Xiuquan: "Yes, God is an old man with a golden beard, and he speaks very kindly."

Missionary: "Does God speak Chinese or English? I guess it must be English."

Hong Xiuquan: "No, in our ancient Chinese books, God is mentioned. Our God speaks Chinese."

"I am the second son of God, and Jesus is my elder brother."

"By and large, you should belong to the Western family."

Missionary: "NONONO, I don't agree with this."

"Neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament mentions that Jesus has a brother like you."

Hong Xiuquan: "No, you are wrong again. It is better to have no books than to believe in them completely."

"I have been to heaven, and God told me my identity himself."

"Why don't you believe it?"

"Because you haven't been to heaven!"

Missionary: "@#￥%……&"

Hong Xiuquan directly burned the opponent's SUV.

It is said that the Vatican still officially retains Hong Xiuquan's identity.

So, when you are away from home, your identity is given by yourself.

This time the Pope has invited him, and if the situation really comes to a point, Li Qiwei is ready to confront him.

"I won't pretend anymore. I am actually the third son of God."

Of course, I guess they won’t give me another chance.

Because Li Qiwei went to the meeting alone, it was better for him to keep a low profile on someone else's territory.

Huo Xiuting said worriedly:

"Principal, the Pope only invited you. Is it dangerous?"

"How about I go with you?"

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "Don't worry."

"The pope today is not the pope of the past."

How majestic the Pope was in the past!

God has no teacher, but the Pope does have a teacher.

The Crusades shocked the world!

But now, the sun is setting and the former glory is long gone.
-
On the high ground in the northwest corner of Rome, there is a special place.

Its area is only about 0.5 square kilometers, but it is the absolute center of Catholicism in later generations.

This is the Vatican, the seat of the Pope.

The current 258th Pope of the Catholic Church is the famous Pius XI.

In real history, his greatest achievement was that in 1929, he negotiated and signed a treaty with the Italian government to make the Vatican an independent sovereign state.

At this point, the Papal States, which had lasted for more than a thousand years, officially disappeared and was replaced by the Vatican City State.

At this point in time, although the Papal States exists in name only, successive popes have not recognized it.

And it is impossible for Italy to really go to the extreme.

Therefore, the two sides maintained a tacit understanding and did not disturb each other.

Pius XI, 65 years old this year, is a famous scholar-pope.

He is proficient in knowledge in various fields including history, theology, law, and languages.

It was precisely because of his outstanding talents that he was valued by the previous Pope and was promoted all the way.

Finally, on February 2 of this year, he was officially elected as the new Pope.

Pius XI inherited the will of his predecessor, Benedict XV.

Internally, he has been committed to building good relations between the Vatican and Italy and working towards the future establishment of the Vatican.

Externally, he advocated world peace and, by concluding agreements with different countries, strengthened ties with the Catholic Church in these countries and united them with each other.

But because Pius XI was too much of a scholar, he lacked strong political skills.

During this turbulent period, his indecisive character brought him a lot of criticism and dissatisfaction, and also caused great losses to the Holy See.

So, even though he had the merit of establishing the Vatican.

Later generations still regarded him as "a pope with mixed reputations."

As the orthodox Christian religion, Catholicism has a clearly defined hierarchical system, the so-called "hierarchy".

This hierarchy of clergy was actually based on the official ranks of the Roman Empire.

The highest level is of course the Pope (now generally called the Pope).

He is not only the supreme leader of the Catholic Church, but also the head of state of the Vatican City, publishing the "Gospel" on earth on behalf of God.

Below the Pope are cardinals known as "cardinals", who have the right to elect the Pope and hold high positions of power.

Below the cardinal is the regional archbishop, also known as the archbishop, who is usually responsible for all church affairs in a region, similar to the scope of a province.

For example, Pope Pius XI once served as Archbishop of Milan. He was responsible not only for the city of Milan, but also for a large area centered on it.

Below the archbishop is the diocesan bishop, or bishop for short, who is usually in charge of the church affairs of a small city.

Finally, at the lowest level is the head of a single church: the priest.

They are also the church administrators most accessible to ordinary people.

The Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Diocesan Bishops, Priests.

The clear and strict hierarchy gives the Pope absolute power in religious affairs.

Inside the Sistine Chapel, Vatican.

This is a sacred place where important religious ceremonies are held, and it was here that Pius XI was elected as the new Pope.

At this moment, he, who had just taken office, looked dignified and imposing.

More than a dozen cardinals sat at the bottom, showing full respect.

Although the Pope has a good temper and a reputation as a scholar, people dare not act rashly.

Pius XI glanced around and said with a smile:

"Bruce Lee has accepted my invitation."

"I will discuss this with him here in three days."

"I heard that he strongly advocates creationism, which coincides with the teachings of my religion." "This will be a wonderful and wonderful event."

After he finished speaking, a moved look appeared on his face.

Apparently, Pius XI could not wait for this discussion.

Although he was a theologian, he also had a deep understanding of science.

Li Qiwei's sudden appearance aroused his great interest.

Especially the creationism from more than ten years ago is very impressive.

In his view, the end of science is theology, which is best embodied in Professor Bruce.

When Newton first proposed the law of universal gravitation, he was unable to explain what the first mover of celestial bodies was.

So, Newton finally attributed it to God's help.

And now, the creationism, the Big Bang and the stellar evolution theory proposed by Li Qiwei are also facing the same problem.

Pius XI believed that they were also God's masterpieces.

He smiled gently, seeming mysterious.

“When the physicists finally climbed to the top of the mountain, they found that the theologians had been waiting there for a long time.”

The Pope's heart is beautiful, but the people below are not.

The cardinals, led by Biondi and Gaspari, all nodded in approval.

Although they appeared happy on the surface, they were still full of worries in their hearts.

"This pope is really troublesome."

"Who is Bruce Lee?"

"The undisputed number one scientist in the world!"

“He is the leader of the religion of science!”

Just look at the current incompatible worldviews between the Vatican and scientists.

They were very pessimistic about this so-called discussion.

Maybe they would start quarreling then.

Of course, there is another sentence that everyone keeps in their hearts and dares not say out loud.

"Can you really debate that guy Bruce Lee?"

There is no false person under the great reputation!
Although the cardinals dislike scientists, they never think they are a bunch of fools.

Especially Bruce Lee, as an Asian, was able to achieve such a supreme position in the field of science.

Anyone with normal skills knows how scary that man is!
Furthermore, China is an ancient dynasty with a history that lasted for thousands of years.

During this period, countless brilliant ideas emerged.

As a genius that appears once in thousands of years, Bruce Lee's attainments in the field of thought must be equally profound and terrifying.

It would be fine if he won the debate, but if he lost, it would definitely be a huge blow to the reputation of the Holy See.

Although the cardinals still don't know what the topic of the debate will be.

But the reputation of a man is like the shadow of a tree, and the pressure that Li Qiwei brought to them was heavy.

Originally, Pius XI wanted to hold a public debate.

Just like the debate between Oxford Archbishop Wilberford and biologist Huxley more than 60 years ago, it shocked the world.

However, after much persuasion from the cardinals, he finally changed his mind.

And for good reason: Huxley's debate ended with religion's complete defeat and science's great victory.

The discussion was changed to be held inside the Sistine Chapel. Apart from the protagonist Ridgway, the others included the Pope, cardinals, archbishops and dozens of others.

The cardinals' intentions are clear:

"If we win, we publicize it, but if we lose, we deny it at all."

Directly become invincible.

Pope Pius XI looked at the expressions of the crowd. He was of course aware of what everyone was thinking and felt deeply moved.

Once you reach a high position, you have no control over many things.

He also thought of how he had been chosen by the previous Pope as Apostolic Inspector to go to Poland to inspect and mediate international disputes.

It was that incident that allowed him to fully demonstrate his diplomatic skills and profound knowledge.

He was eloquent and eloquent.

He likes dealing with smart people the most.

In terms of intelligence, there is probably no one in this world who can surpass Professor Bruce.

Therefore, Pope Pius XI had long been in awe of this great existence in the field of science.

"Bruce Lee, I hope you won't let me down."
-
1922 2 Month 22 Day.

Li Qiwei took Wang Zhengyang and Huo Xiuting to the Vatican.

Pope Pius XI of the Catholic Church personally welcomed him.

Behind him, 12 cardinals and 25 archbishops stood in order.

A strong religious atmosphere came over me.

With such a scale, it is definitely considered grand.

Some of them even came here specifically for this matter.

Religion vs. science.

The philosophical dispute between the two great leaders of the time is a source of endless speculation.

The moment Pope Pius XI saw Li Qiwei, his heart was shaken.

"What a gorgeous man!"

He couldn't imagine that the domineering and elegant middle-aged Chinese man in front of him was actually the famous Professor Bruce Lee.

The scientific giants he had met before were either unkempt or aloof and withdrawn.

But no one has ever given people the feeling of being bathed in spring breeze like the other person.

The knife-like face, the tall and straight figure, and the imposing manner like a towering mountain are all awe-inspiring.

Especially those bright and deep eyes, which seemed to contain the starry sky.

Even though Pope Pius XI had met many important figures, he had never met such a strange man.

He paused for a moment, then said with a smile:

"Welcome, Professor Bruce Lee."

“We will definitely have great memories today.”

Li Qiwei acted generously and said gentlemanly:
"Thank you for your invitation, Your Holiness."

“This is my first time in the Vatican.”

"It is indeed very magnanimous, worthy of being the center of Catholicism."

Upon hearing this, Pope Pius XI smiled broadly.

The magnanimity the other party is talking about is not just the land of Vatican City.

"Please, Professor Bruce, I will show you around the Vatican so you can experience the culture I teach."

Afterwards, Wang Zhengyang and Huo Xiuting were received by other people.

Li Qiwei gave the two of them a reassuring look, and then followed the Pope and others to visit the famous buildings here.

St Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums.
The glorious past of Catholicism is recorded here in detail.

Although Li Qiwei is a Chinese, he has to admire this profound cultural atmosphere, which is indeed moving.

Strictly speaking, he is also a believer, but he believes in Taoism.

The Taoism in Li Qiwei's mind is not the trivial things like drawing talismans and using cinnabar.

Rather, it is the great principle of "Heaven and earth are not benevolent, and treat all things as straw dogs."

Tao follows nature and governing by inaction are what he likes to study.

Unfortunately, due to various reasons, Taoism has rarely occupied a mainstream position in Chinese history.

Soon, Li Qiwei ended his visit.

There was no way, the Vatican was too small, not even half the size of his alma mater in his previous life.

And next is the discussion session that everyone is looking forward to.

Everyone knows clearly:

This is destined to be a debate that goes down in history!

(End of this chapter)