Cold Storage 3

The church were having Sunday afternoon tea with the Hare Krishnas.  Lucy spoke to Rachel.
"He's great the new pastor, Father Spoors.  Have you heard him teach the Bible to the
Jehovah's Witnesses on Wednesday nights?"
"Yes," said Rachel.  "It's excellent.  Have you ever heard him preach on the book of
Mormon?"
"He's really good," said Lucy, "puts lots of life into the books of Nephi.  Makes them exciting."
"And he's such a good spiritualist medium," said Mavis.  "He gets through to my uncle and
aunt so easily.  His witchcraft is coming along fine, isn't it Lucy?"
"I'd say it is.  Oh, he can spell all right.  The Miracle Man, the witches call him.  The spells he
casts are helpful, they don't harm people."
"The Church of England has to be all things to all men," Father Spoors told Lucy.  "Our
Community Worship Centres are the only churches in England, or places of worship of any
kind.  My job is very important."

One day Tom came to see Father Spoors after the Sunday service.
"Father, who was Jesus?" he asked.
"Some people think he was an angel, some people think he was a prophet, some people
think he was the Messiah and some people think that he was the Son of God but that we're
all sons and daughters of God."
"What do you think, Father?"
"I think he was the incarnation.  God became a man.  But that is just my opinion."
"Father, the incarnation is either right or wrong.  It can't just be a matter of opinion.  It either
happened or it didn't."
"We just happen to have the right opinion," said Ken.  "Of course it happened."
"If followers of other religions don't believe in Jesus coming as the incarnation, what happens
to them?  The Bible talks about them going to Hell, doesn't it?"
"Tom, Tom, don't base everything on the Bible.  It's important to read all the other books and
to make up your own mind.  Don't you think that all religions believe in a forgiving God?  If a
non Christian repented of his sins God is all forgiving, God would forgive them anyway."
"You know what Father, I've tried that.  I have no peace.  I've  repented of everything, I pray,
I read all the holy books but that which is meant to bring life just brings frustration.  I'm
weighed down with guilt.  I feel as if I'm going to stand before God on the day of judgement
and there'll just be nothing I can say in my defence.  He's going to send me to Hell."
"Tom, keep trying.  Carry on with what you're doing.  I'll ask God to reveal to you his simple
truth."

That week Tom sat in his room listening to the book of Romans on his Iwatch.
"But now a new righteousness of God is revealed, not by obeying the commands but by faith
in his Son.  We are all sinners.  We can not go to Heaven no matter how hard we try.  But we
are made right with God by what Jesus did for us on the cross.  God made Jesus a sacrifice.
All we have to do is believe in him."  Tom leapt off his chair.
"Believe in him, believe in Jesus!" shouted Tom.  "That's the answer.  That's all you have to do."

Next Sunday Tom met Father Spoors again.
"How are you feeling Tom?"
"I have found peace, Father.  I was studying the book of Romans.  Jesus died for my sins.
All I have to do is believe in him and have faith in what he did on the cross."
"You don't look very happy about it."
"I'm deeply troubled Father.  If this happened to me, how can I go on believing that all
religions are the same?"
"Tom, we never said that all religions were the same.  They're obviously not.  The church
teaches that all religions lead to God.  That's a different thing."  Ken pointed at the
medieval painting of a ladder on the wall.  "We're all on a ladder that goes to Heaven.  Every
different religion is a different rung on that ladder.  Look at all the monks trying to get up the
ladder, struggling to hold on to it.  All the different religious believers of this world, Mormons,
Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, Jews, atheists who have a strong sense of morality, they're
all on their way up the ladder.  A Nazarene is at the top of the ladder but all religions bring
men further up the ladder."
"It seems to me that some of those people are going to fall off the ladder and that you aren't
telling them how much danger they're in.  In fact, by directing them to other religions you're
actually directing them the wrong way back down the ladder.  How can you justify what you
do?"
"You're right," said Ken.  "You're right."

The next Sunday Ken arrived at church.
"Where have you been Father?" asked Lucy.
"You weren't here on Wednesday or Thursday night," said Rachel.
"The Mormons missed you," said Mavis.  "The witches missed you."
"I've decided to resign," said Ken.  "I don't want to be a church minister anymore."
"Why?" asked Lucy.
"Jesus is the only way to God."
"Father, you've always taught us that the reality is found in Christ and that all other religions
point towards him," said Rachel.
"They don't," said Ken.  "They lead you the other way.  Religion stops you finding God.  Tom,
what happened to you?"
"I fasted, I prayed, I repented until I was blue in the face.  I found no peace.  It didn't make me
holy, it just made me realise how completely Hell bound I was.  Then I was listening to the
book of Romans.  Peace at last.  I just had to believe what Jesus had done on the cross.
Then I found peace."
"I believe in what Jesus did on the cross," said Lucy.  "I just don't believe that all members
of all other religions will go to Hell."
"Not for following the wrong religion," said Tom.  "They're going to Hell anyway.  They're
sinners.  It's simply that religion can't save you from your sins.  Lucy, if the pastor keeps
telling you that all you have to do is fast and pray and follow the commands, when actually
what you've got to do is forget about your own self efforts, admit that you're a useless Hell
bound sinner and that all you need is Jesus, he's leading you away from God.  You're on
the path to enlightenment but you're going the wrong way."
"Don't you believe that good people go to Heaven?" asked Rachel.
"There are no good people, Rachel," said Tom.  "Not even you, not even me."

A few weeks later Ken was sitting in a rented hotel room with Tom, Rachel and Lucy.  They
were praying together and had bread and wine on the table.  Ken began to break the bread.
"I thank you, Jesus, that you died so that we could be forgiven, you died that we might go
to Heaven, you died to make us good.  We are saved through faith in what you did on the
cross.  We must cease striving to earn our way to Heaven.  Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world.  Grant us peace."  They all said Amen loudly.  Ken passed around the
bread roll he was holding and then the glass of red wine.  The door burst open.  It was
Suzie with two policemen.  "Suzie?" said Ken.  "Why?"
"Ken, you're so wrong about Jesus, you're so wrong," she said. "I know what the reformation
was and I don't want it to happen again."  They arrested Ken and took him to the police
station.

"What do we do?" asked the sergeant, nervously strumming his fingers on the desk.
"Reeducation didn't work and now medication won't worked either.   In all the twenty years
I've been here, Ken, I've never known anyone else to make so little progress."
"We could use Hellizene," said the police surgeon.
"I though Hellizene was banned," said the sergeant.
"Not banned.  It's a controlled drug.  It can only be prescribed by a police surgeon and each
new prescription has to have a certificate issued by the Home Office.  I just need to pay £10
and fill in a form saying who he is and why I want to prescribe it."
"Hellizene was normally used on very violent criminals," said the sergeant.
"I could still use it on a psychopath preacher."
"What would it be like?" asked Ken.
"The effects of the drug are unpleasant," said the police surgeon.  "Apathy and social
withdrawal which may be very severe.  You'll still be able to walk around, you'll still be able
to take care of yourself, but you won't be able to do much else.  You won't want to."
"Will I be able to study?"
"No.  I shouldn't think you'll be able to study anything.  They'll give you disability benefits.
I'll be watching your friends, Mr. Spoors.  I know who Tom, Rachel and Lucy are.  They might
end up having the same treatment.  It takes a few hours for the certificate to arrive.  Enjoy the
last few hours of being Mr. Spoors."