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Christian High School Kids in a Politically Correct Community |
Chapter 7 The following morning Gwen stepped into the kitchen. Her mother was seated at the table, reading a local newspaper. The woman sighed and groaned, with her head in her hand. âWhen youâre a candidate for anything,â she said, âyou have to be so careful what you say in front of a reporter.â Gwen asked, âHe didnât say anything mean or nasty, about me and my friends, did he?â The woman shook her head. âWhat he wrote here is that I stopped to talk to my daughter, who was at the All You Can Eat with a few of her friends. He said that you all denied that you were Born Again Christians.â âBeth was really upset about that, Mom. She thought she had to lie about that, to keep herself and the rest of us safe from being harassed; and that just wasnât right.â Her mother said, âI found it very upsetting myself, hearing my own daughterâs boyfriend say that he thinks of me as a one of his âConquerorsâ, and that he and your other Born Again friends feel âhelpless before meâ.â Gwen said, âWell during last nightâs meeting, he pointed out that Jesus said that we should âBeware of false prophets who come to us as sheep, but inwardly are ferocious wolves.â âIs that what you think I am?â her mother asked, ââA wolf in sheepâs clothingâ?â âWell Mom,â Gwen told her, âMaybe you and every one of your âPolitically Correctâ and âInclusiveâ associates, should stop viciously harassing everyone who disagrees with you; like those Gay Rights Activists, who are trying to bring total destruction to everyone who they imagine is against them; like Snacking Kings. âTheyâre trying to put Snacking Kings out of business. Thatâll put thousands of their employees out of work, and you support that? Itâs wrong for people to harass and intimidate Gays, but does that make it all right for them to harass and intimidate, and bring total destruction on anyone who they imagine might dislike them?â âThose are the tactics girl, which will eventually lead to a world in which there is true Social Justice.â âJustice? Reverse intimidation is Justice?â âIâm sorry you feel that way Gwen.â âYouâre sorry I feel this way? Youâre sorry Iâd like you to be honest and truthful? You know Mom, it might be helpful, for you and everyone in your movement, to just occasionally take a look at yourselves; and maybe actually listen to your critics.â âRight.â Mrs. Sandrell said, âWe might actually learn something.â âOn Sunday morning Pastor Cabell actually told me, that he canât wait for the day when they begin rounding up all Evangelical Christians, and sending them off to concentration camps. Is that how you plan to bring about a world in which there is âtrue Social Justiceâ?â Her mother told her, âIâm not going to answer that question.â âWhy not? Is it true?â The woman tapped the newspaper with her finger, and told her daughter, âWhat I meant about being careful what you say to reporters, is that here heâs saying that I maligned the entire Motel Industry.â âYou did?â âRemember, I said that instead of allowing High School Kids, like you and your friends to have safe sex in motel rooms, Iâd prefer having all of you sleep over in your parentsâ homes. Then I mentioned the fact that unsavory characters do hang out at motels; which is a fact.â âOh come on Mom. Do you really think youâre opponentâs gonna find anything wrong with you saying that?â âI canât take that chance. Before he does, Iâll have to announce my full support for the right of every unsavory character, to spend the night in a motel room.â âIn that way you hope to avoid losing the unsavory character vote?â The woman sighed. âExactly. Weâd never have got as far as we have, without the help of unsavory characters.â Now Gwen prayed, âIn the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask God the Father Almighty, to send forth the Holy Spirit, and cast out the Devil from Chanitok. Amen.â Later that morning at Chanitok High, Gwen was seated in History Class. Ms. Morris was lecturing. âThe Holiday we call âThanksgivingâ, which we celebrate with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams, pumpkin pie, cider, ahhhh!...â The students chuckled. âAlong with some of us going into the City to watch the Parade, while the rest of us watch it on television. Then in the afternoon the men watch football on the TV. Can anybody tell me exactly what we are celebrating?â A boy raised the hand, âItâs the Harvest Celebration.â âIndeed.â The teacher told them, âThere is in fact, nothing more important than the harvest. Even in our high tech, sophisticated world, without the harvest, there would be nothing to eat, and we would all cease to exist. âNow can any of you tell me exactly what harvest we are celebrating, when we celebrate Thanksgiving?â Gwen raised her hand. âWe are commemorating the First Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrims thanked God for helping them survive their first winter.â âNo.â Ms. Morris told them. âThat celebration was held, to thank members of the local Indigenous Native American Tribe, without whose help, none of them would have survived.â Gwen said, âThat was part of it Ms. Morris; but first of all they were thanking God.â The woman spoke firmly. âAs I said the other day, we are forbidden to discuss anything about religion in this class.â âThatâs not true. I spoke to my mother last night. She said we students do have as much of a Constitutional Right to discuss religion, as we have to talk about our sexual experiences.â The entire class laughed. The teacher said, âWell weâre not discussing anything about religion in this class. We will discuss the First Thanksgiving, without any reference to religion.â Jimmy raised his hand. âThe Pilgrims Thanksgiving was actually not the first one.â Ms. Morris asked, âWas there an earlier one in Jamestown?â âNo.â The boy said, âMuch earlier than that. The very first Thanksgiving celebration that was every recorded, was held by Cain and Abel. It didnât turn out well. There were some serious problems.â The class laughed. The teacher said, âThat mythical story was all about a conflict in religious beliefs, which resulted in Cain murdering Abel, his brother. I wonât be leading any discussion, which might lead to any of you committing murder.â Gwen prayed silently. âIn the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask God the Father Almighty, to send forth the Holy Spirit, and cast out the Devil from Chanitok High School. Amen.â That evening, Gwen attended Choir Practice at the Church, in the choir room downstairs, beneath the narthex. When she arrived, Beth and Mark were already there. She went over to them. Beth was peeved. She said, âAs soon as I arrived Pastor Cabell asked me to come into his office. He said heâd been hearing rumors that Iâd contracted some sexually transmitted disease.â âHeâs heard the rumors?â Gwen asked. âHeâs heard some of those really nasty lies that someone at schoolâs been spreading about you?â Mark said, âYeah. âSomebody who will remain anonymousâ has been spreading them around. Do you believe that? The false accuser can remain âanonymousâ, but the falsely accused canât?â Gwen asked, âDo you have any idea who it is?â He looked across the room at Katie, who was laughing with some other girls. âDo you have to ask?â Beth said, âI told the Pastor it wasnât true, and he took my word for it. He also asked me if it was true that Iâm a Born Again Christian. I told him I was.â Gwen asked, âDid he threaten to send you to a concentration camp?â âNo. He didnât say a word.â The Choir Director now entered the room, accompanied by Pastor Cabell. The Choir members all stiffened up. âMiss Sandrell.â The Pastor spoke firmly. âI have been informed by your friend Beth here, that you invited her and Mark to your house last night, along with another fellow, who is not a member of this Church. While they were there, they held a Bible Study that was unauthorized by the Church.â âUnauthorized?â Gwen asked, âSince when do we need anyoneâs permission to read the Bible at home? Iâd think youâd be glad to know that some of us kids are reading it.â âEvery member of this Church has been informed that no Bible study is to be held, without having a monitor present. By holding an unmonitored Study, you have violated those instructions.â Gwen snapped, âSo what business is it of yours? What we members of this Church do in the privacy of our own homes isnât any of your business.â The other kids started nodding and speaking in agreement. âSilence!â The man ordered. Everyone quieted down. âHere is something that none of you are apparently aware of.â He informed them. âAccording to Church Law; in a family, which has membership in a congregation, the parent is the final authority in the home; and the pastor of that congregation, has authority over that parent.â Everyone was startled by that statement. A few spoke angrily. âWhat are you talking about?â âYeah.â Mark said, âWho the hell do you think you are, mister? If my parents want your advice, theyâll ask you. After this, you wonât be hearing from them!â âYeah.â Beth added, âYou stay away from my parents, and stay away from me! Donât ever talk to me again!â The man raised his hands, and made a patting down gesture. Everyone again quieted down. âI apologize,â he told them, âfor upsetting all of you. I may have gone too far with that statement.â âDo you think?â He said, âI was merely expressing my concern that the unsupervised study of scripture might lead to a distorted understanding, of what the reader reads. One might become âzealous, but not from knowledgeâ. It might have an erroneous effect upon what the unguided one believes.â Gwen spoke. âI know what I believe Pastor. What we read and discussed last night, reinforced it.â âIndeed? Now tell me Miss Sandrell. What do you believe?â She told him and everyone in the Choir Room, ââI believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost; born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified dead and buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. âI believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.ââ âI see.â The Pastor told her, âYou know how to repeat the Apostlesâ Creed. Do you, a girl who spent Saturday night doing the naked horizontal dance in a motel room, actually believe what you just repeated?â Gwen glanced at Katie, who was getting hostile looks from every girl and guy in the room. Then she looked back at the Pastor. âYesâ Gwen told him, âEvery word.â Now he spoke firmly to everyone in the room. âThat is about to change!â He told them all, âThere has been a New Revelation; which has nullified all of our old beliefs. The details of the New Revelation will be announced this Sunday from the pulpit of this Church. I advise every one of you to be here in attendance on Sunday; along with your families, and all of your friends.â He looked at Gwen. âBy âeveryoneâ, I also include anyone who is not a member of this Congregation. âThe World is about to be turned upside down this coming Sunday morning! It will be one of the greatest days in history! I want to see all of you here in attendance then!â The Pastor turned around. He stepped out through the doorway and was gone from the Choir Room. Gwen snapped at Katie. âWhat did you do? You told your father what I was doing with Jimmy? Itâs the same thing you were doing withâŠâ âI didnât say a word.â Katie told her, âYouâre the one who told him what you were doing Gwen. You told him on Sunday morning; when you asked him about Marge and Dave.â Gwen nodded and sighed. She returned her attention to Mark and Beth. Beth asked, âAll our old beliefs have been ânullifiedâ? Mark wondered, âThe Apostles Creed; all the words that Gwen just quoted, donât count for anything any longer? This Church is gonna be teaching heresy? Thatâs apostasy.â Gwen said, âTalk about a wolf in sheepâs clothing. Weâre surrounded by them. My mother, some of our teachers like Ms. Morris, and Pastor Cabell.â Jimmy told them, âJesus also said, âI send you out as sheep among wolves, so be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.ââ The Choir Director now spoke. âOkay everyone. Itâs time to stop arguing and start rehearsing.â Mark and Beth joined the others, while Gwen stood alone for a moment. She again prayed quietly. âIn the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask God the Father Almighty, to send forth the Holy Spirit, and cast out the Devil, from the First Presbyterian Church of Chanitok; in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.â Then Gwen came over and joined the other members of the Choir. |