Chapter 4340: Steel Body (Fifty-Two)

"No, that's not it." Lex spoke: "There is no omniscient, omnipotent god in this world. If there were, he certainly wouldn't love humanity, because he never came to save me. You're the same, Superman—either you're as useless as God, unable to hear children's prayers; or you're as indifferent as God, never responding to his most devout followers."

Clark was somewhat speechless. Luther's logic was a double bind: either God isn't as powerful as people imagine and thus has weaknesses, unable to attend to everything in the world, otherwise why didn't he come to save young Lex back then?

And if God truly were omniscient and omnipotent, able to know and do anything, then he must be utterly indifferent, fundamentally disliking humanity; otherwise, why wouldn't he have come to save young Lex then?

Regardless, working backward from the fact that he wasn't saved leads only to two possibilities: either God is stupid, or God is evil. Then extend this conclusion to all superpowered beings like Superman.

As long as there's still one person in this world who isn't saved, it proves either you're not powerful enough, or you don't love enough. And whether it's lack of power or lack of love, both make you humanity's enemy.

Though this theory sounds utterly absurd, logically it actually holds up. After all, no one has truly seen God; we can only infer motives from outcomes. It's normal for those who've suffered to deduce this conclusion.

But this theory still left Clark's head buzzing. He reached out a hand to interrupt Lex's next words, then said: "Are you sure you're a Christian?"

Lex was stunned by this question. Clark continued immediately: "What I'm about to say doesn't represent my personal view; solely from a religious perspective, I'll explain why you were abused: you were born sinful. All the suffering you've endured is to atone for original sin. This is Christianity's most basic theory."

Clark had also received counsel from the town's pastor and knew what a true Christian is like.

A typical trait of such people is that they genuinely believe what they preach and strive their utmost to live by it. For good things, they say it's God's will; for bad things, they say it's humanity's original sin. In other words, their good deeds are credited to God, while their shortcomings are entirely their own fault.

Though Clark doesn't fully understand such people, at least he's willing to acknowledge they're deeply devout. Since Lex Luthor also believes God exists, he should at least count as a believer—no need for extreme devotion, but at least he should grasp the basic doctrines, right?

Any religion's explanation for suffering is fundamentally logical; otherwise, it couldn't attract so many believers. For example, Buddhism teaches about future lives: no matter how much you suffer in this life, it's for cultivation in the next. Christianity, due to denominational differences, has varying interpretations, but its core doctrines are similar, basically emphasizing "original sin."

That is, human existence itself is sinful, which is why the world sees so many famines and wars—everything stems from humanity being exiled by God. To resolve this, one must atone. And depending on the method of atonement, one can divide into various denominations.

For instance, Catholicism and Protestantism differ: Catholicism is justification by works, Protestantism by faith. Many don't understand what this "justification" means—it's actually "atonement."

Someone might think this is absurd—what kind of person would place themselves in such a low position, insisting they're a sinner?

But in reality, this doctrine's driving force isn't entirely about self-atonement, but about atoning for all humanity, so that humanity can escape famine and war and together enter a carefree heaven. It's a grand goal, tinged with romanticism, hence able to attract followers.

So Clark couldn't understand: Lex Luthor hasn't even grasped the most basic doctrines, yet he's shouting that God is impotent.

In the religious world, if they don't save you, it's because you have original sin. God once warned repeatedly not to eat the forbidden fruit, but the greedy girl and boy insisted on eating, only then remembering God in suffering. God isn't so cheap as to have to save you.

Lex's expression seemed to freeze again; his brain appeared to glitch. He gripped the railing tightly and said: "I'm not a believer!"

"Then why do you think God exists?" Clark asked again.

Lex couldn't answer. He suddenly realized his mind held only the concept "God didn't come to save me," not the concept "God does not exist."

"Although asking you back then to save yourself might be a bit much, after praying so many times with God not coming, shouldn't you at least slightly consider the option 'God doesn't exist'?" Clark asked.

"Besides, you were young then, your thinking immature—no wonder you didn't think of it. But how come you're still like this now that you're grown?" Clark couldn't help but say: "When I was mocked by classmates at school with no one intervening, I knew God didn't exist—I was only ten then."

Lex seemed to suddenly have a layer of veil lifted; his mind jolted, and inspiration struck.

He discovered his thoughts and actions had always contained a serious logical contradiction: if he wanted to live in a religious narrative world, he actually shouldn't have so many complaints.

Never mind original sin. In fact, being born into the Luthor family proves he's already God's chosen one—divinely appointed to lead humanity back to Eden through his intelligent mind and privileged upbringing.

He certainly should feel that way. Never mind his actual material advantages—Luthor is a very arrogant person; how could he possibly think he's someone God abandoned?

Since he's already been chosen, then all the suffering God has imposed on him is actually just a test. He not only passed the test successfully, but even progressed further on the prophet's path than others: though his journey was harder, his outcome was better, so he should be proud.

And if he doesn't subscribe to the religious narrative, then upon reflecting on his first half of life, he should realize there's fundamentally no God. Whether God is omnipotent or loves humanity is a topic not worth wasting time on.

With his proud, arrogant nature, he should have, upon being abused, stopped hoping in any other person or god, instead furiously seizing control of his fate, making his father and everyone who failed to save him pay the price.

But now his situation is: he believes in God, thinks God exists, yet simultaneously doesn't believe properly—he doesn't understand religious doctrines, hasn't focused his thoughts on religion, merely keeps blaming his lack of salvation on God not coming, without even investigating why God didn't come.

One could say: if he had ever read the Bible—no, better said, if he had ever gone to church on a Sunday, he wouldn't have had doubts like "Is God not coming because he's not powerful enough, or because he doesn't love me enough?"

Clark already somewhat understood: Bruce Wayne had long seen through Luthor's true nature. During the "Frigia Snake" incident, he had already exposed this trait fully.

A stranger suddenly showed up at his door holding a very precious artifact, and all Luther did was search Wikipedia for the object's name.

If it were an ordinary person, it'd be fine—after all, ordinary people have limited knowledge, and the internet is already a fairly reliable channel. But you're the helm of Luthor Corp; even if you had a fraction of a second, recalling the expensive professional secretary you hired, they wouldn't need half an hour to lay all the materials before you.

Of course, Clark also suspected Luther's hired secretary might not actually be professional—this person's ability to judge people is clearly problematic.

But just from this one incident, it's clear Luther is a person whose "suspicions" outweigh his "pursuit of truth."

Many might think suspicion is a necessary part of seeking truth—after all, you must doubt first to investigate. But doubt on the path to truth must be based on factual evidence and be relatively reasonable.

Suspicious personalities, however, are different. When they encounter certain things, they first fabricate in their minds many nonexistent traits for that thing. No factual evidence can prove it's as they imagine, yet they firmly believe it.

And after believing their own conjectures, they then, based on those conjectures, suspect this, doubt that—one moment this person wants to harm them, the next that faction wants to destroy the world. Then, if they have the ability, they'll go madly targeting those in their minds who might pose a danger to them.