NOVEL NEXT Chapter 278
“It’s not permissible!”
“You must consider the circumstances! The circumstances!”
“There’s no murder that qualifies as permissible! It’s killing a person!”
It bubbles up.
The second-year A class students did not fully understand what was happening. However, something was boiling.
A longing for knowledge, a step to measure the scale of goodness.
Those feelings gathered and added firewood to the increasingly fading flames.
“No, but isn’t it true? How can murder be allowed? Isn’t there no such thing as an unavoidable murder?”
“Really? I think Louis is right…”
The one who threw in the firewood was Professor Antorelli, but he merely stood at the podium at the front of the classroom, quietly observing the situation.
Usually, he would lead the class on his own, and if there was any disruption or commotion, he would be the first to intervene. In this situation, it was as if the students were crew members wandering on a ship that had lost its captain, and the conversations from students each starting to speak grew increasingly chaotic.
“How can there be exceptions for murder? Legally or ethically, there might be some considerations, but you clearly told us to look at it from a theological perspective!”
“Are you saying that modern law and ethics are lacking a theological perspective? There have been many instances in ecclesiastical trials where murder was justified! Historically!”
“Back then, anyone could buy and sell indulgences! Those who deceived the judgment of heaven in that way will ultimately face their deeds before the Lord!”
“It seems like I’m talking to a wall…. Try to have a more flexible outlook!”
“Murder! Absolutely murder!”
In the bustling noise as if they had stepped into the middle of a marketplace, even the students who had been sitting quietly and watching began to slowly raise their voices. Thus, there was no one in the classroom who was not chattering about the topic presented by Professor Antorelli.
The topic of the class presented by Professor Antorelli was indeed very interesting, but the sharply opposing positions of the two most significant students played a crucial role as well.
Louis and Angela, both second-year students in the Department of Theology. They are the top and second top students of the department, respectively.
Most of the students in the Department of Theology had been studying theology since childhood. Among them, the opposition between the two students with the best understanding and interpretation of theology was definitely a sight to behold.
And secretly, this is what they expected.
If Professor Antorelli were to side with either Louis, the top student, or Angela, the second top student, it would likely be quite entertaining.
There was still about an hour and a half left until the class ended, but time seemed scarce even to the point of being insufficient. Because Louis and Angela would not take a step back.
As Louis and Angela kept their mouths shut, staring at each other and catching their breaths, the students who had been quietly discussing among themselves also fell silent. Silence once again reigned in the classroom.
Professor Antorelli’s shoes tapped rhythmically on the podium. The sound felt as distinct as the ticking of a clock, causing the students to feel an indescribable urgency.
They had to satisfy Professor Antorelli soon. An unspoken intuition lingered in the air.
As Professor Antorelli said, this was also a class.
The only difference was that the ones teaching were the students, and the one listening was Professor Antorelli.
With the sound of shoes still tapping rhythmically, some students could not contain themselves and turned their heads toward the podium. Professor Antorelli’s indifferent gaze fell upon them.
It seemed to say, “While they are having their fun, what are you doing?” Although that gaze contained no feelings of reproach or blame, the indifference felt like an expression of disappointment, as if it were saying he did not expect them to be silent in the first place, which stung their pride.
Meeting the eyes of the students gazing at him one by one, Professor Antorelli turned his gaze slightly toward the back of the classroom, his expression slightly softened compared to usual. That gaze appeared quite vacant.
He was bored. This was only to be expected, as no one was willing to teach him anything despite being in the position of the student.
Many students wanted to argue that a class did not just miraculously happen in one hour, but at least no one in reality would act that way. In the end, the students reluctantly had to turn their heads back toward the topic of the class.
A silence that made their mouths dry persisted, and eventually, the second hand of the clock completed its tenth rotation. Ten minutes had passed.
In the strange silence where the ticking of the clock and the sound of Professor Antorelli’s shoes blended together, it was Angela who broke the silence once again, just like at the beginning.
“Do not murder. That’s what it says in the Ten Commandments.”
“……”
“And the Ten Commandments are the ten commandments given directly by the Lord. They are words that must be followed by every human being, and especially by us, the faithful servants of the Lord, we should believe in and follow them even more, don’t you think? By any chance, Louis….”
“That’s enough.”
Louis’s face turned bright red. Angela and Louis had maintained calm expressions throughout, but it seemed Louis’s mask was about to shatter at that moment.
“…The Ten Commandments? If it states in there not to kill, isn’t it essentially over?”
“Indeed…? From a theological perspective, it means that murder is not permissible.”
The first to notice the change in the atmosphere was, of course, the other students, excluding the two of them.
The students from the Department of Theology were not taking reckless actions, but that was mainly thanks to the presence of the two who represented the voice of the department.
The first students to step forward had no choice but to be those who were not from the Department of Theology.
“Does that mean that from a theological perspective, no murder is permissible?”
“It seems so…. Chloe, what do you think?”
“Hmm…. It’s a bit difficult…. Well? What do you think?”
“No matter what, I don’t think theology could be that inflexible. There may be controversies, but…. I think if it’s unavoidable, then murder is permissible.”
“Hmm…. Sounds similar to my take.”
Chloe and Elin, sitting in the middle row of the classroom, also joined in on this heated topic, and once again, the temperature in the classroom began to rise.
“Wait! According to what’s written on the board, Professor Antorelli clearly mentioned ‘unavoidable’ as a condition! He wouldn’t have added such a premise without a proper reason!”
“Then does that mean Professor Antorelli is actually in favor of allowing certain murders?”
“That’s just a stepping stone for the topic of the class! It’s a mechanism to intensify the debate by providing specific conditions! Don’t divert the argument!”
However, the situation was generally leaning toward the stance of Angela, who claimed that “murder is unforgivable in any case.” Some students alongside Louis cast anxious glances at her.
“B-but…. War is unavoidable, you know? Is that what you’re saying about the great war that happened a few years ago? How many military chaplains participated in that great war…”
At the timid words of a female student, it was now Angela who fell silent. It was difficult for her to insult the military chaplains who, with noble intentions, dedicated themselves to save many lives.
“Okay, answer me, Angela. If what you’re saying is true, then does that mean all the military chaplains who participated in the last great war are just murderers?”
“…Th-that’s…”
“Those individuals were desperately running around to save even a single life, and in the process, they might have stained their hands with blood to avoid more deaths. Is this really an unpardonable condition?”
“Y-you shouldn’t consider circumstances…!”
“But this isn’t just a condition; it’s reality!”
The students were young. It has only been five years since the great war ended.
Aside from witnessing scattered flyers or occasionally seeing soldiers with bandages on their heads or using crutches getting off the train, they had no experience of the remnants of war.
And because of this, the students were able to speak more easily about the great war of that time. The result was Angela’s silence.
“I really can’t understand. The actions of the military chaplains who merely wanted to save many people are treated as simply ‘murder,’ even if they are not accepted as a sacrifice.”
“…Still, murder is murder. No matter how noble their actions may have been, that sin is certainly something that must be repented.”
However, Angela still did not waver in her opinion. After her mouth closed, the silence that followed was much longer than before.
The whispers from the students who had been chatting among themselves gradually faded, and soon complete silence reigned in the classroom.
And in that silence came the ticking of the clock and….
– Tap.
The sound of Professor Antorelli’s shoes.
As Professor Antorelli approached the blackboard, a piece of white chalk was already in his hand.
The tapping sound echoed quietly in the classroom. The chalk made a cheerful sound as it struck the blackboard.
The neat white letters that formed on the end ultimately created a very short phrase.
[ Revelation 7:1-9 ]
The chalk stopped. Professor Antorelli, having set it down, slightly turned his body.
The students stared at it blankly. Then, as if one, they quickly opened their Bibles.
A rustling sound of pages flipping rapidly was heard for a moment, and eventually, where the students stopped, they could see.
You shall not murder.
If someone strikes a person and kills him, he must surely be put to death.
As dead flies cause the ointment of the perfumer to stink, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
Since there is no other place where a murderer can escape, he must be removed from the earth even if he reaches the end of the world.
If you are swift to take off the murderer’s burden, do not depart from your place, for the servant who is great will lessen the offense.
Every hate-filled brother and neighbor is a murderer; you know that the murderer has no eternal life and cannot abide in the spirit of the Lord.
For the Lord judges between good and evil.
If you follow murderers and fools, the fools who sit high will take the place of those who believe.
Servants ride horses, while princes walk like servants.
“Princes and servants….”
Chloe mumbled vacantly. Professor Antorelli had already moved the chair aside and stood in front of the lectern.
“Due to time constraints, any topics we could not resolve today will be carried over to next week.”
The second hand on the clock was nearly approaching eleven-thirty.
“I hope to see more developed thoughts in the next class.”
With that remark, Professor Antorelli left the classroom.
He did not show the smile that had recently been frequently appearing; today, however, it was nowhere to be seen.