historical perspective, Vicar.”
“May I ask what books you get your historical perspectives from, Eustace? For example… and again this is strictly from what I have heard… you seem to know a lot about the personal life of the apostle Paul… beyond what is recorded in God"s Word. I am unaware of any other reliable source of such information.”
Eustace thought carefully before responding. “Well, Vicar… the apostle Paul"s writings are quite transparent. That is to say… his beliefs and convictions are clear. Do you think that I take too much liberty regarding my assumptions concerning what we already know about some of the Bible characters?”
“Eustace, I did overhear one of your recent lessons as I stood outside the classroom door.”
“You eavesdropped on me? Why didn"t you just enter the room and sit in the back?”
“Please don"t take any offense, Eustace. I wanted to listen to you without causing you to be self-conscious in any way. And… well… there have been insinuationsthat you… how should I put it… deny the divine inspiration of Scripture?”
“I caution against believing that a council of men, a few hundred years after the fact, could possibly divine what God perfectly inspired to be written. The Bible contains a lot of man"s opinion and certainly has a lot of omissions as far as what God would say to us. At best, we can get a glimpse or… as Paul phrased it… we can see through a glass darkly.”
“You do realize that goes strictly against the Church of England?”
“I do. Vicar, I love the Church. Though I refuse to blindly believe in the complete authority of a collection of books and letters, I don"t believe in tossing the baby out with the bathwater. Take the red letters… those of Jesus. Though I question the exact quotations because they were allegedly written decades after Jesus reportedly said them, I still acknowledge that the spirit of His words was preserved. And I acknowledge that strictly by faith. In fact, that is why I can call myself a Christian.”
Michael absorbed Eustace"s words before leaning forward in his chair. “The Church of England would call you a heretic.”
Eustace smiled. “The Church in Rome would call us both heretics for not believing in the infallibility of the Pope. It is sad that the Church of England would do the same thing to me for not believing in the infallibility of the Canon of Scripture.”
“Let me ask you something, Eustace. Do you take the same liberties with Jesus as you do with Paul?”
Eustace considered a direct answer of „no", but then pondered what the next question would be. He trusted Vicar Michael Westbrook as a devoted man of the cloth, so he did not fear the repercussions of simply telling him the truth. “No, Vicar, I do not because I didn"t know Jesus personally.”
Michael was taken aback. “And you knew Paul ?”
“Vicar, you are sworn to confidentiality in matters of confession, especially if the matters do not constitute any crime… correct?”
“Yes?”
“Then… yes… I knew Paul. Not closely… but… I had met him when he traveled to Greece.”
Michael just stared at his young associate.
July, 1972
Evan held Michelle tightly as the waves splashed playfully near them, spraying and refreshing them on a sunny East Bay afternoon. He never tired of gazing at Michelle"s cute face. He sometimes wondered, as he stared into her eyes, what she might look like had she continued to age. She was now eighteen years old, but he did not regret preserving her at the tender age of thirteen. That’s the girl I fell in love with, and that’s the girl I am committed to, he thought to himself. He softly stroked her wet hair. She gently blinked and smiled.
“You know thatwe need to be on our way soon, right?”
Michelle held Evan tighter. “I love this area so much. There are so many memories. It"s where we met. I dreamed that every year on the anniversary of our first date, we would go to the sundry shop and have root beer
“May I ask what books you get your historical perspectives from, Eustace? For example… and again this is strictly from what I have heard… you seem to know a lot about the personal life of the apostle Paul… beyond what is recorded in God"s Word. I am unaware of any other reliable source of such information.”
Eustace thought carefully before responding. “Well, Vicar… the apostle Paul"s writings are quite transparent. That is to say… his beliefs and convictions are clear. Do you think that I take too much liberty regarding my assumptions concerning what we already know about some of the Bible characters?”
“Eustace, I did overhear one of your recent lessons as I stood outside the classroom door.”
“You eavesdropped on me? Why didn"t you just enter the room and sit in the back?”
“Please don"t take any offense, Eustace. I wanted to listen to you without causing you to be self-conscious in any way. And… well… there have been insinuationsthat you… how should I put it… deny the divine inspiration of Scripture?”
“I caution against believing that a council of men, a few hundred years after the fact, could possibly divine what God perfectly inspired to be written. The Bible contains a lot of man"s opinion and certainly has a lot of omissions as far as what God would say to us. At best, we can get a glimpse or… as Paul phrased it… we can see through a glass darkly.”
“You do realize that goes strictly against the Church of England?”
“I do. Vicar, I love the Church. Though I refuse to blindly believe in the complete authority of a collection of books and letters, I don"t believe in tossing the baby out with the bathwater. Take the red letters… those of Jesus. Though I question the exact quotations because they were allegedly written decades after Jesus reportedly said them, I still acknowledge that the spirit of His words was preserved. And I acknowledge that strictly by faith. In fact, that is why I can call myself a Christian.”
Michael absorbed Eustace"s words before leaning forward in his chair. “The Church of England would call you a heretic.”
Eustace smiled. “The Church in Rome would call us both heretics for not believing in the infallibility of the Pope. It is sad that the Church of England would do the same thing to me for not believing in the infallibility of the Canon of Scripture.”
“Let me ask you something, Eustace. Do you take the same liberties with Jesus as you do with Paul?”
Eustace considered a direct answer of „no", but then pondered what the next question would be. He trusted Vicar Michael Westbrook as a devoted man of the cloth, so he did not fear the repercussions of simply telling him the truth. “No, Vicar, I do not because I didn"t know Jesus personally.”
Michael was taken aback. “And you knew Paul ?”
“Vicar, you are sworn to confidentiality in matters of confession, especially if the matters do not constitute any crime… correct?”
“Yes?”
“Then… yes… I knew Paul. Not closely… but… I had met him when he traveled to Greece.”
Michael just stared at his young associate.
July, 1972
Evan held Michelle tightly as the waves splashed playfully near them, spraying and refreshing them on a sunny East Bay afternoon. He never tired of gazing at Michelle"s cute face. He sometimes wondered, as he stared into her eyes, what she might look like had she continued to age. She was now eighteen years old, but he did not regret preserving her at the tender age of thirteen. That’s the girl I fell in love with, and that’s the girl I am committed to, he thought to himself. He softly stroked her wet hair. She gently blinked and smiled.
“You know thatwe need to be on our way soon, right?”
Michelle held Evan tighter. “I love this area so much. There are so many memories. It"s where we met. I dreamed that every year on the anniversary of our first date, we would go to the sundry shop and have root beer
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