"No, it's not like that." Lex said, "There's no omniscient and omnipotent God in this world. If there were, He surely doesn't love humanity, because He never came to save me. You're the same way, Superman. Either you're as useless as God, not hearing the children's prayers at all; or you're as indifferent as God, never responding to His most devout believers."
Clark was somewhat speechless. Luther's logic was a dead end: either God isn't as formidable as people imagine, He surely has weaknesses and cannot attend to everything in the world; otherwise, why didn't He save Little Lex back then?
And if God truly is omniscient and omnipotent, able to know and do anything, then He must be extremely indifferent, not liking humanity at all; otherwise, why wouldn't He save Little Lex back then?
From the fact that he wasn't saved, two situations are concluded: either God is dumb, or God is bad. Then this conclusion is extended to all superpower users like Superman.
As long as there's one person in this world who hasn't been saved, it means either you're not strong enough, or you don't love enough. And whether you're not strong enough or don't love enough, you're enemies of the human race.
Although this theory sounds very outrageous, just from a logical standpoint, it makes sense. After all, nobody has truly seen God, they can only infer intention from results. People who have suffered infer such results, which is quite normal.
But this theory still buzzed in Clark's mind. He raised One Hand to stop Lex from what he was about to say next, and then said, "Are you sure you're a Christian?"
Lex was stunned by this question. Clark continued, "What I'm about to say doesn't represent my personal opinion, but is merely from a religious perspective to explain why you were mistreated: You are born sinful. All the suffering you endure is to redeem that original sin. This is the most basic theory of Christianity."
"If you're a believer, you should understand: humanity was born because of eating the forbidden fruit, we were expelled from Eden, to roam on barren lands. Hunger, cold, and mutual slaughter are because we defied God's will. To appease God's wrath, to regain human glory, we must adhere to our duties, endure suffering, to open the gates of Heaven to us. Believers should be meek, courteous, and loving. You should be happy about the sins you bear, which are God's admonishments to you. Through your obedience, you contribute to the staircase leading humanity to heaven. When you reach Heaven, the water of the Holy Spring will cleanse all suffering, angels and saints will guide you, God will forgive all your sins, and henceforth, you will have no more pain, attaining eternal peace."
"Even if as a child I only went to church a few times with Dad, I still know these basic principles. Since you believe God exists, how could you not know such fundamental doctrines?"
Clark was genuinely puzzled. Perhaps it's because the religious atmosphere in his small town is quite intense, with truly devout believers practicing their doctrines through action. Clark has seen what a truly devout believer is like.
Just like the old priest at Smallville Church, although he's a Protestant, he's never married all his life. He presides over all major and minor events, marriages, and funerals free of charge. If any family faces trouble, he lends a hand, always emphasizing the need for town folks to be united and loving, caring for children and the elderly, and very humbly attributes all he does to being "guided by the Lord," also guiding many to follow his example.
The typical characteristic of such people is, they truly believe in what they propagate and strive to act on it. If good things happen, they say it's God's will; if bad things happen, they say it's human original sin. This means the good deeds he does are all God's credit, the inadequacies rest entirely on himself.
Although Clark can't fully understand such people, he is willing to admit they are extremely devout. Since Lex Luther also believes God exists, he should count as a believer, not demanding immense devotion but at least understand basic doctrines, right?
Any religion's explanation of suffering is essentially logical. Otherwise, it wouldn't attract so many believers. For instance, Buddhism talks about the afterlife; no matter how much suffering you endure in this life, it's all for the next life's cultivation. Christianity has various sects with slightly different interpretations, but the basic doctrine is similar, primarily emphasizing "original sin."
That is, humanity's existence itself is sinful, hence the world's plethora of famine and war, all due to humanity being exiled by God. To resolve these, redemption is required. Different redemption methods lead to various sects.
For example, Catholicism and Protestantism differ: Catholicism is justified by deeds, while Protestantism is justified by faith. Many don't understand what this "justice" refers to; it is actually "redemption."
Some may find this absurd, questioning what kind of people place themselves in such a low position, insisting on seeing themselves as sinners?
But actually, the driving force behind this setting isn't entirely about redeeming oneself, but about redeeming humanity, allowing all humanity to escape famine and war, ascending together to a carefree Heaven. It's a grand goal, quite romantic, thus capable of attracting believers.
So Clark didn't understand why Lex Luther, without grasping the most fundamental doctrines, was just ranting about God's incompetence.
In the religious world, if they don't save you, it's because you bear original sin. God reminded multiple times not to eat the forbidden fruit, yet the hungry little girl and gluttonous little boy just had to eat it, and when suffering in hardship, they think of God. God isn't foolishly obliging, why should He save you?
Lex's expression seemed to freeze again, his mind somewhat stalled. He gripped the railing tightly and said, "I'm not a believer!"
"Then why do you believe God exists?" Clark asked again.
Lex couldn't answer. He seemed to suddenly realize that his mind was filled only with the concept of "God didn't come to save me," but not with the concept of "God doesn't exist."
"Although it might have been a bit much to expect you to save yourself at that time, shouldn't you at least consider the possibility that 'God doesn't exist' after praying so many times and God not coming?" Clark asked.
"And back then you were young, your thinking was immature, so not realizing that was understandable, but how can you still be like that after growing up?" Clark couldn't help but say, "Back when I was mocked in school and no one cared, I already realized that God didn't exist, and I was only ten at the time."
It was as if a veil had suddenly been lifted from Lex's mind, and his brain was sparked with a sudden clarity.
He realized there was a significant logical contradiction in his thinking and behavior; that is, if he wanted to live in the world of religious narratives, he shouldn't have so many complaints.
Not to mention the original sin business. In fact, being born into the Luther Family proved he was already one of God's chosen ones, appointed by God as a prophet to lead the human race back to Eden with his clever mind and privileged background.
Of course, he had to think this. Putting aside his truly superior material conditions, Luther is a very proud person; how could he possibly think he was abandoned by God?
Since he was chosen, all the hardships God placed on him should merely be tests. Not only did he pass these tests successfully, but he also went further on the path of being a prophet than others: the process was harder but the results were better, he should be proud.
And if he wasn't caught in the narrative of religion, he should realize when reflecting on the first half of his life that there is no God in the world. Whether God is omnipotent or loves humans isn't a worthwhile topic for discussion.
With his prideful and arrogant personality, he should have stopped hoping in any other person or God when he suffered abuse, taking destiny into his own hands in anger, making his father and everyone who failed to save him pay the price.
And now his situation is: he believes in God, he thinks God exists, yet he doesn't fully understand it, lacking complete comprehension of religious settings, only persistently blaming God for not coming to save him, without even investigating why God didn't come.
It can be said, if only he had read the Bible—not even that, if he had just gone to church once on a Sunday, he wouldn't have doubts like 'Is it because God isn't powerful enough, or doesn't love me enough, that he didn't come to save me?'
Clark somewhat understood, Bruce Wayne had long seen through to the essence of Lex. In the "Frenes Snake" incident, he already exposed this trait completely.
A stranger suddenly came to the door with a precious artifact, and all the investigation he did was just searching the artifact's name on Wikipedia.
If it were an ordinary person, it might be excusable; after all, the knowledge ordinary people can access is limited, and the Internet is already a relatively reliable channel. But you are the head of the Luther Group, even if for just a moment, if you thought of the professional secretary you paid a hefty sum to hire, they could have the full set of information in front of you within half an hour.
Of course, Clark also suspected that the secretary Luther hired might not be that professional at all, as his ability to judge people was obviously problematic.
But just through this one incident, you can see that Luther is someone whose "suspicion" outweighs "truth-seeking."
Many might think that suspicion is also an essential part of seeking truth; after all, you have to doubt first before investigating. But the doubts along the path of truth-seeking should be based on factual evidence and relatively reasonable.
But a suspicious personality is different. After encountering certain things, they create in their mind many nonexistent traits for the matter. No factual evidence can prove the matter is as they imagine, yet they are very convinced.
And after believing their own speculations, they suspect this and doubt that based on those speculations, sometimes thinking this person is out to harm them, other times thinking that force wants to destroy the world. And if they have the means, they would crazily target those who they believe might harm them.
But the foundation of all this is wrong. The matter was never as they imagined. Those traits that trigger their anxiety have always existed only in their mind, not in the real world.
So when they are questioned, ridiculed by others, or outright exposed, they feel others are crazy, not understanding why people, in the face of such great disaster, don't choose to believe them.