Yang Kaixu? Jiang Ran searched his memory for the name and found that he did not know anyone named Yang Kaixu, and had never even heard of the name before.
He doesn't believe that someone's dream will feature other people as the main characters. The name Yang Kaixu may not be real. It seems not uncommon for someone to give themselves a better-sounding name in their dream.
In any case, it's easy to find out who this person is; all you have to do is meet him!
So when the bishop finished preaching and was about to return to the church, Jiang Ran pretended to be a devout believer and approached him.
"I wonder if I could meet the leader? I have some questions I'd like to answer."
"The leader doesn't meet people easily. If you have any questions, feel free to tell me."
The bishop clasped his hands together and bowed slightly, but verbally refused Jiang Ran's request.
There are just too many people who want to see the leader every day. If he had to see them all, he wouldn't be able to do anything else. Besides, most of the things are trivial matters that can be left to the bishops to handle.
"My confusion needs to be answered by the leader."
The bishop then shook his head: "Why don't you tell me first? If it's really a difficult problem, then I can inform the priest."
But in reality, he didn't take Jiang Ran's words to heart at all. Making his question seem important and weighty enough to qualify him to meet the cult leader was a common trick used by believers.
There have been precedents before, but the people who went in were asked common questions, such as how to get her husband to accept her child with her ex, where to hide a child in the house without being discovered, and how many rat poison pellets are needed to kill an adult, etc.
So gradually, a rule was passed down among the bishops: if they could handle a matter themselves, they would never bother the bishop.
"This is a philosophical question that has troubled me for a long time." Seeing that the bishop had no intention of informing the priest, Jiang Ran casually came up with a question.
"Imagine a church, a symbol of God. However, all buildings eventually age, so churches need to be renovated every so often."
The bishop nodded. This was a normal situation. No church can exist in the world forever. Renovation and maintenance are inevitable. He just didn't understand why Jiang Ran was telling him this.
"Since the church replaces its aging parts every now and then, one day all the parts of the church will become brand new and will no longer be the original church."
"So, is the church still the same church as before? If not, when did it stop being the same?"
That's right, this is a modified version of the Ship of Theseus. Jiang Ran replaced the ship with a church, but the problem is essentially the same.
The bishop's face gradually turned grim. He began to mentally rehearse, but after standing there for a long time, he still couldn't utter a single word.
"this......"
After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "It should still be the same church as before, right?"
Jiang Ran could hear the extreme lack of confidence in his tone, so she immediately pressed on, "All the parts have been replaced, which means the church is now a completely new church!"
"So, suppose we collect all the old parts together and rebuild a church. Since the bishop says that this new church is the original church, then what is this church made up of the old parts?"
"This...this...that isn't it?"
The bishop had been completely drawn into Jiang Ran's mind.
"Isn't that right? Okay, then when did it stop being the same?" Jiang Ran smiled. "Was it the moment it was completely replaced? Or when half of it was replaced? Or perhaps—as soon as even one part was refurbished, it was no longer the original church?"
The bishop felt like his head was about to explode. Jiang Ran could only hear him muttering about the church and such, and he was already drenched in sweat.
“If you, Bishop, truly cannot answer this, then please inform the High Priest.” Jiang Ran feigned a sigh. “If I cannot obtain an answer to this question, I will be unable to eat or sleep, and this question will be on my mind constantly!”
The bishop expressed his understanding, because that's how he is now.
"I will inform the leader. Please wait a moment."
The bishop himself wanted to find out the answer to this question, so he had to ask the priest! He kept thinking about the question as he walked, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a satisfactory answer.
It seems that choosing either yes or no makes a logical difference.
The bishop walked down the white corridor into the deepest room of the church and gently knocked on the door.
"The door's unlocked, come in."
"Yes, Master."
The bishop pushed the door open and entered, then closed it again.
The cult leader's room was not particularly luxurious; it was just like an ordinary room, furnished with some inconspicuous decorations, a table, and a chair.
It was a man who bore a striking resemblance to the statues outside. He was dressed in white, picked up a teacup, and took a sip of tea.
"To my shame, I encountered a philosophical question today that I cannot answer either."
"Oh? Even you can't answer that? Tell me."
The bishop then repeated the questions Jiang Ran had raised earlier.
Yang Kaixu just smiled and said, "It's just a paradox, using the wisdom of our predecessors. I think that guy doesn't really want the answer; he's just playing with us."
"A paradox is a paradox because it can never be perfectly solved. You can always find something wrong with it, just as God cannot create a stone that he cannot lift."
"Even gods are not omniscient and omnipotent, let alone humans."
The bishop nodded: "So you were just playing me! No wonder I couldn't figure it out. There's no answer to this kind of question!"
"Make him leave right now! No, this disrespectful person should never be allowed to set foot in a church again!"
"No, bring him to see me."
"Why, Master?"
"You don't need to worry about it, just do as I say."
Yang Kaixu picked up his teacup again and slowly took a sip.
Jiang Ran waited at the door and finally saw the bishop return. The bishop glared at him fiercely and said, "Are you playing me?"
"You're wronging me," Jiang Ran smiled. "I was genuinely asking the question sincerely."
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