The Christ Clone Trilogy - Book Three: ACTS OF GOD (Revised & Expanded)

by James Beauseigneur

  “For the most part, yes,” Rosen answered without excuse.

  “Do you guys just sit around at night making up this stuff?”

  Rosen didn’t answer, but Decker wasn’t through with him. “Explain this to me. If God wanted to have people ‘accept Jesus,’ it seems rather odd that he would decide to ‘rapture’ all the Christians out of the world and replace them with lunatic fanatics whose tactics drive away everyone except other lunatic fanatics.”

  Rosen pondered that briefly. “A reasonable question,” he granted. “As I’ve already said, in part the Rapture was to spare Christians, just as God spared Noah before the flood and as he spared Lot before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.[68] But the most important reason for removing Christians was to show just how corrupt the world would become without the influence of his Holy Spirit.[69]

  “It’s been twenty three years since the Rapture,” Rosen continued. “Christopher says ‘Humankind’ is on the verge of a great evolutionary advancement. But where’s the evidence? Have people stopped hating each other? Have pride and greed and selfishness been eliminated as Humankind stands ready to enter the New Age? Have the number of murders dropped so dramatically or the cases of domestic violence been so reduced? Robbery, burglary, corporate theft? Is that why such things are so seldom reported by the news media? Or is it that they’ve become so commonplace that they’re no longer considered newsworthy unless they happen to a celebrity?”

  Decker didn’t respond.

  “And much of what used to be considered criminal is now considered a matter of personal choice. The parks of your great cities are filled with nameless, faceless sex. Bestiality, even sex with children is commonplace and considered normal. Those who know better have turned a blind eye, ignoring what’s all around them, until they’ve become numb to the depravity. What used to be limited to raunchy X rated movies fills the media. Abortion is looked upon as nothing more than birth control, but it’s no less deadly than an asteroid in terms of the number killed. Drugs, now legal and easily available, are used on a regular basis by more than thirty percent of the population. People have become gluttons, indulging their every appetite.

  “And the powers that Christopher has told us are the signs of the coming New Age — are they used to help others, or are they used almost exclusively for the benefit of the individuals who possess such powers?”

  Rosen shook his head. “Left to their own devices, without God’s influence, it’s absolutely stupefying just how truly debased and vicious the world has become. Are these things the evidence that should convince us that mankind is ready for godhood? Or are they proof that all of us are hopelessly doomed without a forgiving and loving God?” Rosen didn’t wait for an answer. “God knew that only when things are at their worst will some people realize their need and turn to him. Those who have realized this are the ones you call fundamentalists.

  “And as for being ‘lunatic fanatics,’ I would submit that confronting people with the sin in their lives and calling them to repent is no different than what Jesus did in the story of the woman at the well.”[70]

  Decker didn’t know Rosen’s reference, but he wasn’t about to ask for a lecture on the life of Jesus.

  “I’ll admit that Christians today may be different. And that might even be another reason for the Rapture,” Rosen added. “I didn’t know many Christians in those days, but from all the division that existed, I suspect that if God had left them here, many would be too busy arguing over church rules and trivial doctrines to have been of any use in reaching the lost.”

  Decker had been watching with pleasure as the fist-shaped bruise formed on Rosen’s face. It occurred to him that this might provide the opportunity to get him to shut up. “Maybe you ought to get that looked at,” he said pointing.

  Scott Rosen heaved a sigh of resignation, apparently believing he had said enough for the present and got up to leave without further explanation.

  “And put on some dry clothes!” Decker chided as Rosen closed the door behind him.

  Chapter 8

  Matters of Fact and Faith

  Shortly after Rosen left, the jailer returned carrying a mop. Surveying the spilled water, he shook his head. “I can understand if you felt like you needed to hit Scott. I’ve thought about slugging myself him once or twice. But did you have to dump water all over the place?”

  “Sorry,” Decker said, and he was, a little. He wasn’t sure if it was the afterglow of having hit Rosen or the jailer’s pleasant demeanor and sense of humor, but he found that he was actually beginning to like him. He thought back to their conversation that morning and smiled. “Manna-cotti?” he laughed.

  The jailer stopped mopping. “So you liked that?”

  Decker smiled and nodded. “Do you really have a recipe for that?”

  “I’ll make some for dinner.”

  After lunch, Decker pulled one of the chairs over to the window to watch the comings and goings around the cabin. There was little else to do, and though he could have called the jailer in to talk, he resisted, thinking it best not to grow too attached to anyone. If he had a chance to escape, there was no way of knowing who might get hurt. He couldn’t allow caring about his jailer to interfere with his judgment.

  He shook his head and scolded himself for his stubborn optimism. There would be no escape. Assuming Rosen’s claim, that he simply wanted to talk to him, was a lie, there appeared only two other possibilities: Either Rosen hoped to convert him — after which he would be killed — or more likely, Rosen hoped to use him somehow to sabotage Christopher’s plans. Would pretending to be convinced be his ticket out or his death sentence? It was all probably moot. While it might be possible to fool Rosen long enough to get himself killed, it would be much more difficult to keep up the act long enough to be let go.

  As he watched from the window, Decker slowly became aware of something: There seemed to be far more KDP among those who passed than there had been the day before. It was impossible to be sure — the observed area was much too small to get a reliable sample. It might just be that there were more KDP on this side of the camp than there had been the day before, or it might mean something more.

  It was 2:30 when Rosen returned. Decker smiled to himself as he saw that Rosen’s bruised cheek had expanded to include a black eye. Over his shoulder Rosen carried a small leather satchel, which he sat by the door.

  “Have you ever taken a class in comparative religions?” Rosen asked.

  Decker didn’t respond, but that hardly mattered.

  “If you had,” he continued, “at the end of the class you’d probably have a basic knowledge of each religion and maybe some familiarity with the cultures that spawned them. But you’d have no way of knowing which, if any, were correct. In fact, you’d probably come away with the ‘enlightened’ conclusion that while none of the religions are completely true, all have some value in that they provide comfort and moral guidance to their adherents. And as long as those adherents didn’t try to impose their belief system on you, everything would be fine.

  “But comparing religions,” Rosen continued, “usually involves only looking at what they have in common and ignoring where they’re truly different. It would be like comparing a bicycle, a car, a truck, and an airplane. You’d look at the number of wheels, the different navigational controls, the means of propulsion, the number of passengers, their maximum speed . . . In fact, as you continued to consider the similarities, you might never even get around to the fact that there’s something that makes one completely different from all the others: The airplane flies.”

  Decker intentionally yawned and laid down on the bed, his back to Rosen.

  “The same is true when comparing religions. We never get around to looking at whether any of them can be proven true,” Rosen paused. “I can prove what I believe.”

  “Here we go,” Decker groaned. Then sitting up, he added, “You know, Rosen, that’s your problem. You can’t admit that someone else might have some piece
of the truth. You think you’ve got it all to yourself, and if people don’t agree with you, they’re damned to hell!”

  “Fine,” Rosen replied. “Let’s not talk about what I believe. Let’s talk about Islam.”

  “Let’s not,” Decker replied, to no effect.

  “You’ve probably heard the story where Mohammed was challenged to demonstrate that he was God’s messenger by moving a mountain. According to the story, after three days without success, he concluded, ‘If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain.’[71] Admittedly, no one knows if that really happened or it’s just a legend, but my point is, if he had moved a mountain, and if geologists today could confirm that the mountain had been moved, then we’d have tangible evidence of Mohammed’s claim to be God’s prophet.

  “Or Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. In 1827, Smith said an angel named Moroni gave him golden tablets inscribed with the history of the American Indians,[72] who he said were actually from Israel. According to Smith the first group came to America almost five thousand years ago in wooden submarines.”[73] Rosen raised his right hand as if taking an oath. “Really, I’m not making this up,” he said.

  “Unfortunately, there’s no archaeological evidence to support any of Smith’s extensive accounts,[74] and the DNA of American natives shows no link to the people of Israel.[75] As for the golden tablets, he said that Moroni took them to heaven,[76] so we don’t have any physical evidence of that either. There were eleven people who claimed they saw the tablets, but all of those were either close friends or members of Smith’s family, and their testimony didn’t match in many important details.[77]

  Decker didn’t know if Rosen’s accounts were accurate, but he couldn’t help but be a little amused.

  “My point isn’t to mock,” Rosen said, “but simply to say that no one can prove whether the angel Jibreel delivered the Qur’an to Mohammed or whether Moroni gave golden tablets to Joseph Smith, because there’s no physical evidence. In the same way, there’s no way to know if Buddha[78] achieved nirvana or whether Guru Nanak[79] visited heaven, or any of the numerous other claims of religious leaders. It’s left entirely up to the faith of the follower.”

  Rosen got up from his chair and began to pace. “Consider this, Mr. Hawthorne. If a man testified that he was innocent of some crime — if he said he had been somewhere else at the time — it would prove nothing. He might really be innocent, or he might simply be lying. If the man’s friends substantiated his alibi, you’d probably still have some doubts. But if the man’s enemies also substantiated his alibi . . . well, then you could reasonably conclude that he was innocent.

  “In the same way, if I show you in the Bible where Jesus said that he was the Messiah, I’ve proven nothing. And if I show you where his friends and followers said that he was the Messiah, I still haven’t proven anything. But if I could demonstrate that Jesus was the Messiah based on what his enemies said. . . well! Then I might just have something.”

  “But I don’t care whether Jesus was the Messiah,” Decker resisted.

  Rosen stopped pacing and looked down at Decker, still sitting on his bed. “No, but you should. Because if I can prove that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, it will prove Christopher is a liar!”

  Decker didn’t respond and Rosen continued to pace.

  “The Old Testament has been preserved through the centuries by people who have rejected and even hated Jesus. And it’s the Old Testament that proves Jesus is who he claimed to be.”

  “The Bible is thousands of years old,” Decker retorted. “It could have been changed hundreds of times by hundreds of different people.”

  “Surely you’re not suggesting that the Jews changed their Bible to benefit the Christians!”

  Decker didn’t allow his embarrassment to show. He’d have to be more careful. The best he could do for now was let it pass and cover his chagrin with a dirty look.

  “Of course, since the Old Testament was completed four hundred years before Jesus was born,” Rosen continued, “any proof I could find there would have to be prophetic.”

  Decker saw his chance to regain some ground. He stood up and faced his opponent. “I knew you’d have to resort to religious mumbo jumbo sooner or later,” Decker taunted. “I didn’t expect it so quickly.”

  Rosen’s expression sought clarification, and Decker was glad to provide it.

  “You have no real evidence,” he said, now face to face with Rosen, “so you revert to talking about prophecy. That’s not proof. You’re back to blind faith and opinion.”

  “Mr. Hawthorne, you’re missing the whole point. Prophecy stands or falls based entirely on whether it accurately predicts future events.” He paused and studied his watch for a moment, noting the position of the second hand. “If I prophesied that I was going to slug you thirty two seconds from now, the validity of that prophecy would be determined entirely by whether or not it happens and when it happens.”

  Without yielding his position, Decker reflexively drew back as he considered whether the younger and much stronger Rosen was about to use this object lesson as an opportunity to take his revenge.

  “God used prophecy to prove the authenticity of the Bible. Of all the religious documents in the world, the Bible is the only one that talks about the future with the same certainty that it deals with events of the past and present. No other book, religious or otherwise, includes the minute details and the grand scale of prophecies as does the Bible;[80] whether discussing the rise and fall of empires that didn’t yet exist or the lives of specific individuals who would be born hundreds of years later. One of those individuals — the most important one — is the Messiah.”

  Decker wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He watched Rosen carefully for any indication he was about strike.

  “I’m not going to hit you, Mr. Hawthorne,” Rosen said finally, shaking his head and going again to sit at the table.

  It took a few seconds, but slowly Decker exhaled and could feel his muscles relax.

  “The Messiah has always been central to Judaism, Mr. Hawthorne, and the Old Testament includes more than a hundred prophecies about him. Isaiah said that he would be born to the linage of Jesse.[81] Jeremiah narrowed it down to the descendants of Jesse’s eighth son, David.[82] Isaiah said that the Messiah would be born to a virgin.[83] The prophet Micah said he would be born in the province of Judah, in the small village of Bethlehem.[84] Isaiah said the Messiah would be called ‘Mighty God,’ the ‘Everlasting Father,’ and the ‘Prince of Peace;’[85] that his ministry would begin in Galilee;[86] and that he would perform numerous healings and other miracles.[87]

  “But to make it even more exact, Zechariah and Daniel even specified when and how the Messiah would arrive in Jerusalem, so that no one who was willing to see the truth could miss it. According to these prophecies, the Messiah would reveal himself 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem,[88] which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. That decree was issued by the Persian emperor Artaxerxes in 457 B.C.[89] When you account for the fact that there was no year zero, that means the Messiah was to come in the year A.D. 27. From the Gospel of John,[90] we know that Jesus began his ministry, teaching at the Temple in that year: A.D. 27. In brief, Jesus exactly fulfilled all of these prophecies.

  “But if that’s not precise enough for you, Zechariah also said that the Messiah would be betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver, that the money would be thrown on the floor of the Temple, and that it would be used to buy a potters’ field.”[91]

  Decker held up his hands to get Rosen to stop, but Rosen wasn’t finished.

  “Isaiah said that at his trial, Messiah wouldn’t defend himself, but would be led as a lamb, silent to the slaughter.[92] Writing more than a thousand years before anyone had even heard of crucifixion, King David prophetically described the Messiah’s death, including the piercing of his hands and feet, the taunting of the crowds, and the casting of lots for his clothing.[93] Isaiah said that thou
gh he was innocent of any wrongdoing, Messiah would be executed with criminals, and then buried in a rich man’s grave.[94]

  “But the prophets also said Messiah’s death wouldn’t be in vain. In fact, Isaiah explains that the Messiah would intentionally give his own life as a sacrifice to save each of us, that he was pierced for our sins and crushed for our iniquities.[95] And the prophecies also reveal that Messiah would be resurrected,[96] and that what he had done and said would be told throughout the world[97] for generation after generation, forever, and that ultimately, all people of all nations would bow down to him.[98]

  “It doesn’t take a Bible scholar to see that all of these prophecies are describing Jesus’ life, crucifixion, and resurrection. In fact, the only way you could miss it is if you wanted to.”

  “That’s all swell, Rosen,” Decker mocked. “But either tell me what that’s got to do with Christopher, or else just pass the collection plate and then let me go.”

  “Christopher told you that Jesus came to Earth to settle an argument between Lucifer and Yahweh, and that after living among the people of Earth, he began to change sides. Christopher claimed that was why Yahweh had him killed. But the prophecies prove that can’t be true. What Christopher told you, what he has told the whole world, is a lie.”

  Decker knew that Rosen must have used his telepathic abilities to have such a detailed knowledge of what Christopher told him on the plane to Jerusalem. He hadn’t given that much detail to the news media. Right now that didn’t matter, though. Rosen’s arguments were more convincing than Decker had expected. And if his references to Jewish prophecy were accurate, then his conclusion that Christopher had lied would require some explanation.

  “They’re accurate,” Rosen said.

  Decker shot him a glance.

  “Sorry! Sorry!” Rosen replied, throwing up his hands. “We don’t get to pick what we see.”

  Decker let it pass.

  “I have to admit,” Decker said finally, “you tell an interesting story. I can even see why many people, including Tom Donafin, might fall for it. I could almost believe it myself. There’s just one little problem. Unlike Tom and the KDP and the fundamentalists, I’ve known Christopher Goodman all of his life, and he has never once told me a lie or done anything that was the least bit self-serving. I’m sure there’s an explanation and another side to the story. And assuming you really do intend to let me go, when I get back to Babylon, I’ll ask him. But frankly, Rosen, I can guarantee you that I’ll give more credence to what Christopher says than to what a kidnapper has told me.”