Response to Saint Francis of Assisi
Alex Jones wondered what would happen after his passing. His failing heart had hinted that the end of mortal life was near, and Alex hated it. Would he rest in eternal comfort, or would the Gates of Hell welcome him with open arms, and perpetually subject him to torture and punishment; a repercussion of a life of malevolence, a wasted, friendless existence? While his vision dimmed, Alex Jones realized that he had no mourners by his side, his hands grasped and clawed in a vain attempt to save himself, but the fates were determined. The hands that had served him for an eternity failed him when he required them the most, hands that needed to pull him from his fate, and save him. Suddenly, Alex lost contact with his world, and fell into the open arms of the void.
The room was ancient, seeing that the intricate carvings were inscribed in an illegible language, and these accompanied scenes from history, even though some artwork was recognizable to Alex, others depicted strange scenes that seemed out of a science fiction film. Even with Alex’s limited knowledge of history, pictures that came from World War ll were obvious, for there was even a sketch of the atomic bombing. Because of the immense size of the room, the carvings were allowed to become extremely complex, and detailed, and scenes that went back as far as Creation were noticeable. However, the science fiction carvings consisted of humanity with advanced technology, and it was evident that cars had become obsolete, and were replaced by quasi-spaceships that flew to and fro at ridiculous speeds. Citizens walked around with computers and circuit boards woven into their clothing. Every person seemed engaged with their own electronic tasks, and apathetic towards the natural world around them. As Alex looked back and forth at the carvings, he realized that they were in order from most ancient to the most futuristic, and he realized he wasn’t just looking at representations of periods in history; he was looking at a timeline.
The shock of this new discovery was very unnerving to Alex, for he fully realized the severity of his predicament. Throughout life, Alex had not been a religious man, nor had he favored any religion over the other. Although now it was clear that some kind of godly beings existed, but what effect these beings had on life on Earth was unclear; perhaps another mystery of death. Alex realized that he had been solely focused at the carvings on the wall, but now was aware of the fact that several others were in the room with him. Some of the others in the room seemed accustomed to the surroundings, and calm, while others trembled nervously and Alex concluded that the nervous souls were newcomers and didn’t know what would become of them. Alex shared the feeling. The nearest person beckoned for Alex to come and sit down and Alex obeyed.
“What is this place?” Alex questioned.
“Purgatory,” the man answered.
“Please enlighten me, if this is purgatory, I’m assuming the Christian God is in control, and we simply spend an eternity here?”
“Well in reality, the situation is much more complicated than that. Actually this is where the theological stories come into control, and we are judged to be sent to what the common man might call, heaven or hell. As to your last statement, the majority of humanity worships a god, or several gods, but there is only one God. The manner in which any given religion worships and acts towards each other and the rest of the world is the main topic that God judges, for this is what is being judged. It’s a question of whether you’ve placed faith in God because it is faith that guarantees you a spot in heaven, and not necessarily whether you’ve been a good boy or not, but obviously that plays a part in the decision, for they wouldn’t let a serial killer in heaven if he went his whole life committing truly evil acts, and not asking God for forgiveness. Even though somebody may have been evil his/her whole life, if one asks forgiveness from God and from the world, then he has placed faith, and will therefore be saved,” the man stated.
“Gee, thanks for helping me Socrates.” Alex stared at the man disdainfully,” I asked to know what happens in this place, but not for the cliché children stories. You don’t scare me sir, because I question how you obtained this information, or are you God’s next great prophet?”
“Perhaps you will understand later Mr. …”
“Jones, and who may I ask are you?”
“Call me Paul.”
“Well Paul, tha….”
Alex was interrupted by the opening of two large doors on the opposite end of the room. These to doors had stood prominent and quiet, but had gone unnoticed by Alex. A man marched out wearing a simple tunic. He stood tall and proud like a soldier, for he radiated authority.
“Hello departed souls, I am Matthew. You have all gone through the course of your lives, and died like any human being. However today you begin the afterlife which is initiated by your trial, or in other words a recap of your life ending with a verdict. This is the opportunity to look in retrospect at your life and how you have fulfilled your destiny on Earth. Now, we will be calling you all in, so make yourselves comfortable in the waiting room until you are called to come forward.”
There was at least several million people in the room which was as a result, immensely large, and Alex now realized why there were stories of people waiting for thousands of years in purgatory. The individuals waiting were simply waiting to be called forth to complete their trials. He had assumed that people were acting facetious, but now realized that this was a mandatory dilemma that every man must go through. Days and even years passed without Alex’s name being called, but he watched people sob and smile as they passed through the doors, confident or doubtful that they would make it into heaven. However after a seemingly endless period of waiting, his name was called, and Alex was ushered through the doors.
Upon entering the room, he was greeted by several men who sat behind a panel, obviously the judges. They were dressed in simple white clothing which matched the color of the surrounding walls. In between the judges was a dove. A pure creature, an earthly being in this cosmic palace was strange. Alex felt the immense power being cast by this creature, one unlike anything he had ever experienced. This foreign presence touched his consciousness, but instead of being terrified, he was in a state of calm. The man on the left, Alex recognized as a preacher, a martyr, and a saint. It could only be John the Baptist. His counterparts were unknown religious figures to Alex.
“Alex Jones, you have died and passed to the afterlife. Construct your first statement. Do you believe that you have given faith throughout life, and acted morally to the best of you ability?” asked John.
The randomness of the question startled Alex.“Well, I um.”
“Enough,” John interrupted. “We have known what has occurred in your life, and are aware of what you have done, but perhaps you do not know what you have done.”
Alex stared silently in shock.
“From adolescence you ruined lives, and influenced others negatively. At age twelve, you knew that you came from a family more balanced than others, at age twelve you knew you came from a family more wealthy than others, and at age twelve you knew you came from a family more respected than others. Your parents were recognized for being powerful members of the community, and you used the natural influence that accompanied this status to manipulate your peers. Because one of your classmates was homosexual, you bullied that young man to the point of insanity. Even if he was already ostracized because of his sexuality, you increased the level of abhorrence tenfold,” shouted another judge.
“That’s outrageous, you could not possibly believe…”
“Do you know what transpired in that child’s life? Do you have the slightest idea what became of him? He killed himself because of you. Throughout his life, others felt the need to humiliate this man, and follow your suit. In fact to the point where he convinced himself that he didn’t deserve to live, seeing that everybody spat on him and avidly attempted to tear him down, and that child took his own life. He felt as though he could carry on no longer, and ended his troubled existence. You knew perfectly well the pain inflicted upon that young man, and watched as his mental conditioned worsened, and you knowingly worsened his condition just because he followed who he was made to be. Mr. Jones, you didn’t realize that the only thing fueling your prejudice was your own ignorance!”The judge was outraged, and didn’t hide his contempt for Alex.
Another judge began to speak, “Fourteen years into the future, you fell in love with a prodigious, beautiful young woman who truly loved you, and cherished every moment she spent with you. You were young and infatuated, for this were the first time you had ever loved someone, and felt compassion for another human being, but the feeling was foreign and you felt as though you were pouring out your heart to quickly, or breaking open the hard shell you had lived under for the whole of your life. Did you not realize that the feeling was natural? Clearly this intruded on your troubled conscience, but you pushed the feeling and hope away like it was some horrible poison. Because after your proposal she became terribly sick, and became the victim of a terrible disease, but when her ailment was diagnosed, you realized the costs of healing her, and abandoned her when she needed you most, because you didn’t have the courage to brave the battles that love brings, so instead of aiding her through her time of trial you instead left her, and ran out into the grasp of loneliness once more.”
This last proclamation left Alex silent and listless. He had run out of fight and was no longer irate, no longer left questioning the fairness of the trials. The final judge had not spoken. Alex raised his gaze and realized it was John, who looked at him sadly.
“Alex, I have seen the lives of many people pass by before my eyes, and seen those who stood proud and firmly for the things that they held important, while many opposed them and dishonored them for what they believed in, they held stubbornly, because they believed their actions were correct, and many times they were. These people lived their lives with a purpose, and supported this purpose with all the help they could give. This is one of the main reason we have life, and the main reason to act in life. We need to stand for something and take risks in life, because without a purpose, life is truly wasted. When I look in your eyes, I see nothing. Your eyes are blank, and you don’t deny your actions. You do not stand behind what you have done, or even seem to care about the consequences of your actions. However, the action that disappoints me most throughout your life is the fact that anger and hatred burned inside you during your whole life, but not once did you ask God for guidance, and not once did you pray for forgiveness. It is asking for forgiveness which is the very thing that gives you a spot in heaven. With all the evidence in place, I leave it to the Judge to make a decision. Please exit the room through the doors behind you.”
Alex shuffled slowly through the doors with his eyes glued to his feet. Looking up he received a terrible shock. He was no longer standing in a waiting room, with white walls, and potted flowers. He had appeared in what looked like a garden, but this was some convoluted garden. Rows of thorn bushes lined a large, black fence while dead plants and wilted flowers made up a sickly front lawn. The sky was a strange red color, and dust blew constantly across the wasteland. Alex walked along a path, and a gate appeared in the middle of the fence. As he moved forward ravens scattered, and cawed angrily. A sense of isolation began to infect him because Alex looked around, but realized that the dove he had seen was no longer present.
