1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 504 Shocking Statements! Five Levels of Understanding of the World! Above Logic!

Vatican, Sistine Chapel.

This ancient church, which was built in 1445, was built in proportion to the legendary Temple of Solomon.

Although its appearance is simple and plain, its interior is precious, luxurious and shocking.

An exquisite marble-framed screen divides the church into two parts.

Above the dome are two murals carved by the great Italian artist Michelangelo:
The Creation and the Last Judgment.

"God", "world", "human world", "fall", "sacrifice".
The whole picture is so majestic and powerful that even the vaulted ceiling seems to be shaking.

A vast, great and primitive atmosphere permeates every corner of the church.

Li Qiwei followed the crowd and marveled at the sight.

I have to say that the atmosphere was well set.

Finally, Pope Pius XI took him outside a common room.

"Professor Bruce, this is where we will discuss the Dao today. Please come in."

hiss!
The cardinals and archbishops around all exclaimed slightly.

They had not expected that the Pope would preach in this room.

Everyone was shocked.

"The Pope takes this discussion very seriously."

From the surprised reactions of the others, Li Qiwei guessed that this room must have some special meaning.

However, he didn't care at all and acted calmly.

You must be kidding. Mr. Li has the sun and the moon in his hands and can pick stars. Why would he care about a small church?

"Please, Your Holiness."

So, the two of them entered the room together, and the others followed one after another.

Soon, everyone sat down in turn, and there was no more noise in the room.

The cardinals sat in the front row, and the archbishops in the back two rows.

In front of them, two chairs that looked simple and heavy were placed slightly tilted.

Pope Pius XI and Ridgwell sat on it, so they could look at each other and catch a glimpse of the people listening.

The discussion officially begins!
Li Qiwei's deep eyes looked at Pope Pius XI quietly.

Neither of them spoke first.

The overwhelming pressure made the senior bishops below tremble with fear.

Suddenly, the scene in front of me changed.

They were no longer in the original room, but in the starry sky.

The chair I was sitting on turned into a rotating planet, and the lights above my head turned into an endless galaxy in the depths of the universe.

In front of everyone were two eternal suns, emitting endless light and illuminating the cold and desolate darkness.

Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, two indescribable tall figures slowly appeared behind the sun.

The one on the left is shrouded in white light, holiness descending, and countless angels singing around him, making people unable to help but worship him.

The figure on the right is domineering and crossing the galaxy, surrounded by golden light, like the emperor of the Eastern world on tour.

boom!
The moment the two incredible beings looked at each other, the galaxy collapsed and time and space were annihilated.

Everyone was reduced to ashes in an instant.

The picture is broken!

call!
Everyone finally struggled out of the terrible fantasy.

Sweat soaked their delicate robes.

At this moment, everyone held their breath, waiting for the war of gods to begin.

I don’t know how long it took, but suddenly, a light laugh broke the tense silence.

Pope Pius XI spoke first:
"Haha, Professor Bruce, do you know why I didn't decide on a topic for the discussion in advance?"

Li Qiwei's expression changed slightly when he heard this.

He had indeed thought about this question before.

Since it is a debate, there must be a clear theme.

Otherwise, what would the two sides of the debate be talking about?

This is not a college debate, the topic doesn't matter.

Whoever has the loudest voice and performs more passionately and emotionally will win.

The two parties in today's debate are one of the world's leading scientific leaders and the other the leader of the largest religion.

The conversation between them can no longer be described as a debate, but only a discussion!

Both sides have their own way to stick to!

Maybe we are incompatible, or maybe there is me in you.

It has quite a bit of the wit and insight of Buddhist meditation.

However, even though the topic was not decided, Li Qiwei was not afraid at all.

He remained calm and replied:

"Appreciate further details."

Pius XI said:
"When I was ten years old, I entered a small seminary in Milan to study."

“At the age of 22, I became a deacon in the monastery.”

"Later, I went to Rome for three years to study, obtained a doctorate in theology, and returned to Milan to teach at the seminary."

“It was during this period of teaching that I read a lot of history, philosophy, and even science.”

“These contents gave me a whole new understanding of theology.”

Li Qiwei felt a chill in his heart.

The few words that the other party spoke gave him the impression of a great scholar who was knowledgeable and diligent in pursuing his goals.

This Pope lives up to history's evaluation and is indeed something.

At this time, Pius XI asked:
"Professor Bruce, do you know what philosophy is?"

Li Qiwei was really confused now.

ha?
Isn't it time to discuss theology and science?
How did we get directly into the topic of philosophy?

Is this Pope trying to be mysterious or is he really unfathomable?

However, we cannot lose momentum and we cannot drop our class.

He said calmly:

“I don’t know much about philosophy.”

“I think philosophy is the study of human thinking and rational activities.”

After listening to this, Pope Pius XI smiled slightly.

There was no sign of anxiety or utilitarianism on his face, it was as if they were just old friends chatting.

There is no fixed topic, you can talk about anything.

It seemed as if he was enjoying today's discussion rather than arguing about who would win or lose.

"He is indeed a rigorous scientist. Even his definition of philosophy is so rigorous."

“I don’t like this definition, though.”

"I believe that the essence of philosophy is to create a temple in the void."

Wow!
The cardinals and archbishops in the audience were all shocked.

The Holy Pope is indeed unfathomable.

Just one sentence is enough to trigger people's imagination.

His momentum even overwhelmed the legendary Professor Bruce.

Li Qiwei's heart was slightly moved, and at this moment, he put away his contemptuous thoughts.

Although he himself does not believe in Christianity, this has nothing to do with the Pope's own practice and thoughts.

The Pope is also a human being!
He also has thoughts about the world, and they are more profound than those of ordinary people.

"From a moral point of view, I think there are five levels of understanding of the world."

"The first level is the blind and foolish."

"The general public in this world is at this level."

"Their knowledge was extremely limited. They did not know why lightning and thunder occurred, or why the sun set and the moon rose."

"They don't understand their country's history, nor do they understand the basic logic of thinking."

"They are blind, foolish, and incapable of a deeper understanding of the world."

"The second group is shallow believers." "Some of them believe in science, and some believe in religion."

“They seem contradictory, but they work harmoniously.”

"Because their so-called letter is slogan-like."

"They can only repeat the knowledge and ideas summarized by others without any judgment of their own."

"Many people know the word gravity and think they understand the laws of the universe."

“Many people also know that God created the world, and they think they truly understand the meaning of Christianity.”

"But they are still far away from the real ultimate truth."

After finishing the second level, Pius XI suddenly raised his tone slightly.

“The third level is what I call scientific believers.”

Wow!
Everyone was shocked again.

Doesn’t the Pope mean that science is also a religion?

Isn’t this idea too shocking?

The bishops were horrified.

"Thank goodness today isn't a public speech."

A brilliant light burst out from Li Qiwei's deep eyes.

The fact that he could say this proves that the Pope in front of him is definitely not a pedantic person.

The other party has his own real thoughts.

Christian thought is not a cage that binds him, but rather the core that integrates thousands of his thoughts.

Li Qiwei suddenly became full of anticipation for today's discussion.

If the opponent is too weak, then there is no point in discussing the Dao.

Pius XI then went on to say:

"Since Galileo opened up modern science, science has achieved remarkable achievements."

"Based on logic and experiment, science has built a magnificent edifice."

"Scientists claim to be able to explain the nature of the world."

“So, people who believe in Scientology tend to have a greater sense of superiority than those in the first and second levels.”

"But this sense of superiority has in turn constrained them."

"Because they think their beliefs are supported by limited data, while other people's beliefs are not supported by data."

"However, the limited observational data leads to uncertainty behind the available evidence."

"I have 99.99% trust in natural science and various laws."

“But at the same time, I still retain 0.01% of doubt, because old scientific laws are often overturned by new experiments.”

"Take Bruce as an example of you."

"Your theory of relativity overturns Newton's view of absolute space and time."

"Will the theory of relativity be overturned by other theories in the future?"

"So, the big question about Scientology is: Does it represent the ultimate truth?"

Wow!
Everyone looked at the Pope in horror.

No one expected that he had such a thorough understanding of science.

Especially the final soul-searching question, which goes straight to the core and finds the lifeblood of science.

Li Qiwei chuckled, his heart burning with anger.

"interesting."

"It's so interesting."

Pius XI's tone remained unhurried.

"Next, it's the fourth floor."

“That’s the realm of philosophy.”

“The birth of science is based on logic and experiment.”

“And logic needs an anchor.”

“For example, Euclid wrote the Elements.”

"He needs to first find the five axioms as the cornerstone of logical deduction."

"Based on these axioms, he derived many theorems and propositions."

"But in philosophy, it's a completely different story."

"Because the starting point of philosophy is that there is no axiom!"

“Philosophy is the study of what comes before axioms, the goal of which is to find more different axioms.”

“To study geometry, you need to build five piles on the ground, and then build a house step by step on the piles.”

"But to study philosophy is to open a temple in the void."

“In the vast ocean of knowledge, there is no foundation, no anchor, and one can only rely on the wisdom of philosophers.”

“But then, a situation arises.”

“When a philosopher writes the first word of his theory, his theory is already imperfect.”

"Because his theory has axioms, it is possible to be criticized."

“The essence of any philosophical work is its opening chapter.”

“When philosophers have worked hard to find the axioms for their theories in the vast void, all the rest is cliché.”

"So, Professor Bruce, when I invited you to today's discussion, I didn't give you any topic words."

"Because once it's decided, both of our minds will be constrained."

“However, if we want to discuss the Dao, I must speak up and give the definition of the first four levels of cognition.”

"So, you had the opportunity to question me, and the discussion began naturally."

At this moment, all the cardinals and archbishops were in awe.

"The Pope is indeed a great scholar."

The smile on Li Qiwei's face became more and more excited. He hadn't been so happy for a long time.

"Your Holiness, your wisdom is as deep as the ocean and is admirable."

“I am very curious, what is the fifth level of cognition above philosophy?”

Pope Pius XI smiled calmly, but his next words shocked everyone.

"More than a thousand years ago, a wise man proposed the so-called [God Paradox] in order to deny the teachings of Christianity."

"In order to prove that [God is not omnipotent], he asked this question: Can God create a stone that he cannot lift?"

"If the Vatican says yes, then God cannot move the stones he created, so God is not omnipotent."

"If the Vatican says no, then God cannot create such a stone, so God is not omnipotent."

"In short, once this question is asked, it seems to directly prove that God is not omnipotent."

"Later, the wise men of the Vatican gave a variety of answers."

"What questions are contradictory, what questions have no logic, etc."

"But I think the answer to this question is very simple and there is no paradox at all."

“The answer is: God could certainly create a stone that he could not lift.”

"Because God is a being beyond logic and contradiction."

“Events that our human minds consider impossible are not impossible for God.”

"His existence has surpassed human rational logic."

"So, the God paradox is not a paradox. God is omnipotent."

“This is the fifth level of cognition of the world, and also the ultimate cognition.”

“Both science and philosophy are based on logic, but God does not need it.”

“He Himself represents the ultimate truth pursued by science and philosophy.”

“It’s science on top of science, philosophy on top of philosophy.”

"That is a realm that is impossible for humans to achieve in this world."

"Unless they are taken to heaven by angels after they die."

"As a servant of God's servants, I can only discuss matters within the fourth level of cognition with you."

boom!
Everyone in the house was shocked!

(End of this chapter)