The Preacher

In the hills of Alabama just beyond the horizon they say, lives an old preacher who leads the local church in prayer and liturgical studies. No one knows what the preacher's name is and fewer still know anything about him. Some say he's the Son of God reborn on Earth, some say he's just a pious old man who merely wants to spread the word of God, others say he's God's avenger on Earth. In truth, he's a little bit of each or at least he thinks he is. The preacher doesnt do much else nowadays other than preach, if you went to the busy suburbs, every day you'd find him there preaching at exactly 10:00 and he'd go on like that for the whole day. This man is no native of Alabama however...He comes from another place, some say New York, others say Heaven. The preacher (when not preaching) spends his time reading the Bible and studying the works of Ambrose, Augustine, and St. Gregory. He lives the most frugal lifestyle and beleives marriage to be for inferiors. In the chapel, he rules with an iron fist, no one dares to question him and those who do will find themselves against arguments they can seldom withstand. His subjects in the chapel diligently attend every Sunday, for they know that not to would mean to face the wrath of God. The preacher rails against sin and gives blistering tirades to his audience about confessing their sins before it's too late. Those that repent are beaten with an iron cane in front of the others and not one person protests this. They merely see that justice is being done and the individual is now making themselves worthy of God's grace. Every Thursday as well, the preacher's subjects are expected to attend an evening where study and discipline are their lot. Here they have their minds filled with the words of God during reading sessions and what many on the outside view as merely indoctrination. The few who have actually read the Bible will find in the preacher's words subtle nuances which differ from the original text. The preacher claims that Jesus ordered his followers, after the last supper, to kill all those who refused to convert to Christianity. Some were perplexed by this statement, wasn't one of the ten commandments "Thou shalt no kill"? Those who argue this point are quickly subdued by the younger group who never read the Bible and who cling to the preacher's every word as though it were divine truth. The preacher pays special attention to these young people and sees in them a substance which he could mold into the instrument of justice. And so this group of young people must attend another mandatory session on Saturday in which all those who had previously questioned the preacher were not present. The average age of this class is 18-19 years of age and many of them admire the strong personality of the preacher. This class would cause a change in these young adults. Where once they had been outgoing and freindly they now became reclusive and paranoid. They stayed away from their families as they spent more and more time at the chapel. Some came home looking bruised and beaten while others came home in what appeared to be a drug induced state. Despite this however, they keep going back again and again to see their God. Yes, they began to call the preacher God, as though he himself were the arbiter of divine retribution. More and more their thoughts became mingled with his and their actions mirrored his. This caused considerable alarm within the community but once again, few spoke out as they feared the heavens might take notice. And so it was that years went by and the young men and women became the very models of discipline and religious fanatacism. It wasnt until the bombings and the massacres that the true nature of God's representative would be revealed. Part 2 coming soon...