After thanking the Night Bishop Eugene for testifying for them, Phil Gray and his two companions, led by servants, arrived at Mr. Dwyer's door.
Eli stepped forward and gently knocked on the door.
A moment later, the door creaked open. Mr. Dwyer looked somewhat surprised, then asked indifferently, "I wonder what brings Your Highness here?"
“Mr. Dwyer, we have some questions for you,” Phil Gray said with a smile.
"Are you here to ask me about the doctrine of believer choice?" Dwyer chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can answer for His Highness."
After saying that, he made a gesture as if to see the guest out.
His lean, wiry body, seemingly as withered as a dead tree, was brimming with power. He was clearly a scholar who had seized knowledge from books, yet at this moment he seemed like a warrior resisting the entire world.
Phil Gray looked at Dwyer, who had a hostile expression, and sighed inwardly. Just because he had mentioned this man's famous theory in front of everyone, the old man who had initially been friendly and given him books had turned into this.
But don't scholars usually rejoice when their theories are known? Don't they all yearn for their ideas to be widely disseminated? Don't they all hope that their research findings will be recognized by the world?
Although the truth he advocated was defined as heresy by many sects, isn't it precisely because of this that a rare confidant is even more precious?
Thinking of this, Phil Gray felt that Mr. Dwyer might have misunderstood something, and sincerely explained, "I know that you have faced a lot of criticism and misunderstanding because of your theory of believer choice, and many people have ridiculed you for it. But I really want to ask you for advice. To be honest, I agree with your theory, and I had the idea of discussing it with you back in the Western Continent. Bringing it up in front of the representatives of various religions today is not meant to make things difficult for you. I was just too excited to see you and lost my manners. I'm really sorry. Please give us a chance to ask you for advice. By the way, this book should be returned to its rightful owner."
As he spoke, Phil Gray took out the "Tales of the Gods" from the Holy Stone, which he had obtained from the imposter. "This was found on a fellow who impersonated you in the Western Continent."
After hearing Phil Gray's explanation, Dwyer's expression softened slightly. He took the book, then gently stroked the cover with his hand. The joy of finding it again overshadowed his previous dissatisfaction, and he said, "Thank you."
"Whether you believe it or not, the reason we believe in your theory so much is because something is happening to us that happens to validate your theory," Phil Gray said after careful consideration.
Dwyer nodded, turned and walked to the sofa in the center of the room. "Your Highness, please have a seat."
Phil Gray and Eli sat down opposite Dwyer, while Ernest quietly closed the door and stood guard at the entrance.
What exactly do you want to ask?
"The general theory of divine selection holds that the gods choose suitable people to become their followers and spread their faith. The choice is made at the moment of their birth. Those who are destined to serve the gods will eventually become the gods' followers sooner or later. People who believe in the same god for generations are more likely to be chosen by that god, which has led to the formation of church families that have been passed down for hundreds of generations."
But you believe that it is the believer's choice that determines which god they are favored by. If they cannot become a favored god, they choose to believe in another god, and eventually there will be a god suitable for them to accept them as a favored god, right? Do you think it is possible for someone who has already become a favored believer of a certain god to choose to believe in another god and become a favored god as well?" Phil Gray asked.
Dwyer looked up. “Your understanding is correct. In fact, the theory of believer choice does not simply emphasize the choice of believers. It should be said that it is a two-way choice between God and believers. I was not the first to propose this. It was a priest of our Light of Wisdom hundreds of years ago. This book, ‘Anecdotes of the Gods,’ was also written by him. It is the only work of his that has not been burned, but there are only a few copies left. It is currently listed as a forbidden book by various religions.”
Phil Gray nodded. He had indeed heard Mr. Ghost Frank mention that the priest was a close friend of his.
"You've read this book, haven't you? His theories and ideas were considered unacceptable by all religious sects at the time. He placed God on the same level as humans, attempting to pull God down from the altar, and even regarded the pure faith of believers as a transaction of interests with God, which caused a huge uproar at the time."
Dwyer sighed. "Therefore, all the sects issued a warrant for his arrest, the Light of Wisdom did not tolerate him, he was burned at the stake, and even the Kingdom of God would not accept him despite the prayers of many believers."
"Although I admire him very much, I only agree with a part of his ideas, namely that believers are free to choose their own faith, not burdened by their families, and when they have no results from believing in a certain god, they can choose another god to believe in."
Phil Gray nodded, ultimately agreeing with this pragmatic tendency.
Dwyer continued, “Even though it’s just this, this theory still seems to other sects like an arrow I’ve thrown at God, or poison I’ve fed to believers. Many sects are wary of me. I’ve been through so much because of it. Many people within the Light of Wisdom also think my faith isn’t devout enough. I came to Dawn this time with the idea of hiding.”
Phil Gray said with some guilt, "I'm sorry."
He really shouldn't have brought up the doctrine of believer choice in front of so many denominational representatives; perhaps he had inadvertently brought danger to Mr. Dwyer.
“It doesn’t matter, but what you just said about becoming a follower of one god and then worshipping another god and becoming a follower of that god, I really haven’t thought about that. Although it is the believer who makes the choice, the decision is still in the hands of the god. Theoretically, he is already a follower of one god, so why would other gods choose him? Wouldn’t that be a provocation to the previous god?” Dwyer asked.
Phil Gray smiled wryly, “But it really happened. My friend was a Holy Son of the Church of the Dead, but…” He didn’t go into his own story, because it was far more complicated than a simple conversion. He simply recounted Eli’s experience in detail.
Eli chimed in from the side, and their back-and-forth banter gradually widened Dwyer's eyes.
Do the Holy Sons of the Church of the Dead believe in the God of Life?
After becoming a Life-Benefactor, he reverted to a Death-Benefactor?
This… Dwyer frowned. Although his years of academic life had indeed led him to search for many cases of people becoming followers after converting to another faith in order to prove his theory, those cases were all based on the premise that they had not been followers before. As for the conversion of a follower of one god to a follower of another god, he had never heard of such a bizarre thing.
His sharp eyes scanned Eli up and down relentlessly, with a hint of fanaticism in them. His gaze was like an X-ray, piercing through flesh and bone to reach the soul.
Eli coughed uncomfortably, his emerald eyes revealing helplessness. "Do you have any thoughts? If I had to say which one I truly believe in, I think I still believe more in the God of Life."
Mr. Dwyer finally looked away. "Try to summon your divine power."
“Okay.” Eli nodded, gathering his divine power in his palm. A small skeleton crawled out of his palm and crookedly hugged his finger.
Dwyer murmured something, closed his eyes, and a soft, pale yellow light appeared above his head, forming ancient-script-style runes that continuously swirled around Eli until they formed a human-shaped halo.
Phil Gray watched quietly from the side, even his breathing became soft.
A moment later, Mr. Dwyer withdrew his pale yellow divine power, then opened his wise eyes and asked, "Mr. Eli, you said you had a younger sister when you were born, and you were twin saints?"
“Yes,” Eli’s green eyes dimmed slightly, “It’s a pity she left me like that.”
Mr. Dwyer smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm afraid she never left you."
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