“So would God really say to everyone who is not a Christian, 'Hey you, back of the cloud.'?"
He would wait for the laughter to die down before he would continue, “Seriously though, does getting to 'know' God have anything to do with any faith or any book of that faith?"
One student will always ask, "We get to 'know' God through our books, do we not?"
He continues to pace but this time gently swinging the tether and ball.
"When you read these books, you are getting the 'knowing' of God through the mouths of others. What I am talking about is 'getting to know' God in the first person, one-to-one just like I am talking to you right now and without having to die to do so. Right now as we know it, the only time that we get to meet God is when we die, so can we meet him while we are still alive?" he pauses.
"So I ask you, does God have a chosen people?"
As he says this, he walks over to a bucket that he has set in front of the class still dangling this tethered rope with its ball on the end symbolizing Christianity.
Unknown to the class this ball is magnetized and as he lowers it down into the bucket, it attracts several other balls, each with symbols of other religions etched on them. When he pulls the rope up, he pulls all of the balls out of the bucket in one large mass and says, "Or does God choose all people?
“You see class, it seems to me that there is a problem here, but that problem was never having a belief or worship in God."
Many in the class would clap, knowing it was going to be an interesting year ahead.
Parable - Lesson 1
I have no other horse in the race but mine.
"The blinded horse".
There was once a wealthy racehorse owner, who owned and lived on a large parcel of land, comprising thousands of acres. On this land was his home where he raised his family. Also situated on his tract of land was a world-class racetrack, along with an excellent stable where he housed his multi-million dollar racehorses. Several barns and outbuildings were adjacent to the racetrack. In his employ were a complete staff of trainers, a veterinarian, and service people to feed, groom, and manage the racehorses. No expense spared or overlooked on these magnificent creatures. They had the best of everything that a wealthy man’s money could buy. Groomed and pampered daily, and their health concerns tended to promptly, they were content. If the horses were successful in winning their races, the demand for them went up and the owner was happy making more money. People from around the world would bid to own such prize-winning animals for their own.
Now this wealthy owner truly loved his herd and talked to them just as he would his own family. His expectations of them were high out of his love for them and all he wanted from his horses in return, was to win races. He expected them to run straight and true, with little distractions from the other racehorses, regardless of their size, speed, or color. To make sure they were able to do this, the wealthy racehorse owner had a device installed on the horses to ensure they ran straight and true. It eliminated all peripheral distractions by limiting the horses to looking just forward, not allowing them to see anything to the left or right, not having anything to do with the other horses, only to focussing on winning their own race.
He would think to himself, "I have no other horses in the race but mine".
Such are the blinders of religion.
Chapter 4
It's not uncommon for systems to fail, or experience breaches due to ill-intentioned individuals with nothing better to do than hack into security systems, even the Pentagon has been hacked but this complete and absolute breakdown of every known form of communication was causing widespread panic around the world. This was too organized and far too sophisticated for just one person to have carried out. The thought that there could be an organization out there with this capability was too frightening to contemplate.
Government and private security agencies frantically searched for answers, knowing they would need to provide some form of reasonable explanation to the public to avoid any further fear, speculation, or conspiracy theories.
The first time the Pentagon had been hacked the Government came under extreme fire for inadequate security measures. This time they were not going to put themselves in the same position and release any information until they had either a cause or the responsible individuals.
Professional and amateur programmers frantically tapped their keyboards, desperate for any explanation but no matter how hard they searched, they could not find any trace of the source, nor could they find any residue of a virus, worm, Trojan or any other form of malicious code. They worked many hours from the time of the breach, bleary-eyed and jittery from lack of sleep and too much coffee.
Initially, governments looked to other governments with suspicion, was this some new form of espionage? Failing to find any evidence of espionage, they eventually began to work together again, hoping to find the answers.
Newscasters, talk show hosts and journalists all reported that none of their sources could confirm or deny if there was any breakthrough on the source of the communication yet. Speculation as the hours passed by without any visible effect, was that maybe it was the actions of a "white-hat hacker", someone hired by a firm to try to crack their security codes rather than a "malicious hacker" whose intention was to cause panic or steal from others. If so, maybe they just went too far.
Sources do confirm that at this point, if there is a virus, it appears to be benign, but only time will tell if there are any lasting ill effects from it.
The most reasonable explanation provided by the experts was that it must be the work of either a very sophisticated hacker or group of hackers. The intent may be to cause panic and fear in the citizens of the world, but not necessarily to actually cause actual harm or disruption; someone who just wanted to show the world how clever they were.
Failing to find any other possible explanation, Governments seized on this explanation and released it to the public in the hopes it would satisfy them.
It did not. It just fuelled the appetites of those with their own agendas.
Newscasters around the world coined the phrase "God Virus" and soon it took on a life of its own.
Street corners started to fill with doomsday prophets screaming of retribution and end of times. Repent all sinners they implored. Religious fanatics embraced the words as some sort of message of love from a divine source, while others forecast the end of times.
In addition, of course, there was no shortage of conspiracy theories. From: it was the government trying to coerce us into giving up more of our freedoms and rights to them to control or the more popular one that somehow the aliens have landed and are trying to communicate with us.
The die-hard alien conspiracy theorists claimed it was a message from another race, fixating on the reference to “Messengers” and phrases such as “Thought you were alone”. Aren't those words that an alien would use they would argue? Was it possible that the Messengers were an alien invasion force?
Maybe the Messengers were God's Angels delivering a message of love.
Others considered this nothing more than some magician's trick and eventually someone would come forward and confess to it.
But when no more was heard from this so called “God” and no further explanations for the "God Virus" were presented, the media soon moved on to other events, the excitement caused by this momentary incident soon forgotten by most people as they continued with their day-to-day lives.
Chapter 5
The TV on the back shelf behind the bar at the Black Bear Tavern in the small township of Alyssa Falls was blaring in the background largely ignored by the few patrons that frequented the place. Alyssa Falls was just a small town where nothing ever really happened, a safe place to live, a protective bubble to what was really happening in the outside world.
It was time for the news hour when Mason the local newscaster came on the screen. The regular patrons groaned as they stared up at the man's perfect face, perfect hair, and perfect
big white teeth as he began to speak. The manicured 'windbag' only got the position because his daddy was the town mayor. When no one else showed any interest in the job, it seemed ideal for Mason. He wasn’t too bright but he sure loved to hear himself speak, not that anyone else did. Usually most folks around here just avoided him. But he did look good on the TV and as long as he read his lines, he couldn't do much damage; at least one couldn't say he was dishonest.
Unfortunately, Mason did not always stay on topic and often used the job as his own personal forum incessantly droning on about subjects that no one really cared about anyway. Regardless that his father was the mayor, today he was conducting a tirade on the town council approving a new housing development. "It seems that so many of our neighbours are selling their farms and moving away so who's going to live in these new houses, all them city folk who want to live in the country and commute to their jobs -", when suddenly he was interrupted mid-sentence by someone from off stage handing him a piece of paper. His eyes grew wide as he read it, his mouth dropped open and he looked off camera at someone.
"Are you serious?" he asked, his voice full of disbelief. The audience did not hear the response as he shrugged, smiled his fake smile, ran his hand over his hair to make sure it was smooth, and turned back to the camera.
"This just in...Witnesses declare a miracle has happened here in our own Alyssa Falls. A young girl healed of an incurable disease. We go live now to our reporter on the scene. What have you got for us Stephanie?"
The camera opened up on a willowy brunette standing in front of a dusty faded gas station. Standing beside her was a thin blond woman with her arm around a smiling young girl.
"Hi Mason we are here with Lindsey and Anna Porter. According to Lindsey her daughter Anna had been afflicted with Cerebral Palsy since she was diagnosed a couple of years ago. She was confined to a wheelchair and incapable of looking after herself. That is, until earlier today when she was suddenly cured. How do you account for this Lindsey?" She pushed the microphone into Lindsey's face.
"Uh...I don't really know. It was right after lunch just shortly after a customer left Anna just sat up straight, pushed the wheelchair away from the table, and stood up. Dot and I, that is Dorothy Adams, the doctor's wife, and I just couldn't believe what we saw. We called Doc James and he came right away. He said that she seemed to be very normal. He'd never seen anything like it. We still got to go through more tests but I have my little girl back again." She started to cry with joy as she pulled Anna to her chest. Anna put her small arms around her mom and hugged her back. Her smile never leaving her face.
"You mentioned a customer, have you ever seen this person before?" Stephanie asked.
Lindsey shook her head. "No he was just a young man passing through. He sat with us and had his lunch, paid for his gas and then left."
"So there was nothing unusual about him?" Stephanie pressed Lindsay.
"Well...Dot did say he seemed unusually interested in Anna. Every time she looked up he was watching her." She hesitated for a few seconds then added, "He did say something rather strange when he left though. He told Anna that she would be able to look after me now."
Stephanie stared at her and then quickly followed up. "Do you think he could have been one of God's Messengers coming back as an Angel...something referenced to in that mysterious message we all received or could it have even been an alien?"
Lindsey shook her head. "I really don't know and he didn't look like any alien I ever saw on TV, I'm just thankful to have my little girl back." She hugged Anna to her side, went back inside the restaurant and closed the door behind her.
Stephanie pulled back the microphone and addressed the camera, "I did follow up with Doctor James Adams earlier today, and he has confirmed that Anna Porter has completely recovered from this incurable disease. When we asked him for an explanation, he was unable to tell us how this could possibly happen.
“What makes this a miracle Mason is that there is no known cure for Cerebral Palsy. Doctor Adams has reviewed the previous medical tests and says there is no way could it have been misdiagnosed. When the new tests are completed and the results known, he will forward his case file to a number of prominent specialists to confirm his findings.
“We'll keep you posted on the results of the findings and any further developments. Back to you Mason."
The camera focussed back on Mason in the studio. He laughed. "Thanks Stephanie we look forward to hearing more on this story.”
He addressed the viewers, “Well I guess for those of you who believe in miracles this is one for the books. For all you conspiracy theorists out there maybe there’s a tie in with that weird message that we all received earlier this morning, is anyone else getting goose bumps?” He gave a fake shiver, “Is this the work of one of those Messengers?” He laughed heartily and continued, “Well let’s get to the weather..."
The patrons of the bar looked at each other, laughed and went back to their activities.
Chapter 6
Jason entered the coolness of his apartment and threw his gear on the floor just inside the door.
Feeling tired and dirty, he turned on the lights and TV then headed to the bedroom. He stripped his clothes from his body and dropped them into the hamper.
Grabbing up his pyjama pants he headed for the bathroom and a much-needed shower. The water from the showerhead flowed over his head and down his lean, muscular body, dirt, and sweat mingling with the water swirling around the drain.
He stood under the water feeling each drop as it hit the skin, relishing the sensations flowing through him. He knew something had changed but he found the changes comforting. He had never been so aware of his own body and the soap felt delicious as it slid over the skin.
The towel was heavy and luxurious but seemed rough on the skin. He rubbed hard allowing the skin to redden slightly under his ministrations.
Pulling on the pyjama pants, he padded barefoot to the kitchen. He ran his fingers through his wet hair as he studied the contents of the fridge. After that large lunch, he was surprised that he could be as hungry as he was, it seemed like he was eating enough for two.
Selecting a brick of cheddar cheese, the carton of eggs and a bunch of green onions, he had the makings for an awesome omelette. As he whipped up the eggs, he thought about the day. His mind kept wandering back to Lindsey, what a hard life she must have. Obviously, there didn't seem to be any man in it and having to raise such a beautiful damaged girl like Anna must weigh heavy on her. He knew in his heart that circumstances had changed for them and Anna would become the healthy, happy child her mother had been praying for.
The omelette finished he picked up a book and read for a while. Finally, when he could keep his eyes open no longer he turned off the lights and TV and went to bed falling into a deep sleep. His dream was like a time dilation where all of time seemed to stand still, and as he slept, many events were happening simultaneously. He was aware that he was dreaming but it was real to him. It was different, wondrous, and powerful, and he understood.
********
By early evening every comedian or wannabe had incorporated a reference to the "God Virus" event into his or her routine. Soon everyone was laughing at jokes about the type of Messengers God might send to earth, everything from Angels to little green men to robots.
Over that day Preachers crowed from their pulpits how God wanted us to give something up to appease his wrath and show they truly love each other but of course, they coached it in ways that satisfied their own personal vendettas. They urged people to come to the church and beg for forgiveness for their sins. Other more radical individuals encouraged people to give up all their earthly possessions especially their money, surely this was what God wanted us to give up. So many ideas of what the root of the message was.
One particularly popular late night talk show host joked, "So God wants us to give something up...and what would that be...the love of our bullets!"
Well into the late night and early in
to the following morning, the discussions around the coffee pots in the offices and coffee shops on the "God Virus" took on everything from serious to humorous monologue, with little effect on what people should be thinking about, should one laugh or cry; should one do anything at all.
********
The next morning the alarm's harsh screech woke him at 5:00am. He groaned and turned it off. Another day was starting. He glanced out the window and sighed as the rain streamed down the glass before his eyes.
He dressed quickly and made his way to the living room. He turned on the TV and went into his kitchen to make breakfast. The morning news anchor was lamenting the bad weather and predicting that it would last for the next few days. The weather girl finished the forecast and the regular newscaster Lynn Baker continued with the latest news.
She turned to her co-host Grant Belland to discuss in more detail one of the news items. "So Grant, what do you think of this story out of Alyssa Falls?" she asked with one of her megawatt smiles.
"I don't really know what to think Lynn. If I read it in one of those tabloid magazines it would be easier to dismiss," he responded.