The Good Lord will Provide(2/5)
anonymous
October 4 2011, 04:47:26 UTC
Matthew’s hand was gone and his back turned as soon as it was done. The event had not even started and already Ivan was proving himself to be incapable. It did not sit well with him. But it was for Matthew, and he couldn’t very well start swinging his faucet so soon.
Besides, once they found a seat all seemed to go well. There were long wooden benches that spanned several meters. The backs proved to spark Ivan’s curiosity again. There were pouches filled with Bibles and other books, and a padded piece of wood that ran the length of the bench, staying just a few centimeters above the ground.
“Good morning”, Ivan’s attention snapped to the front where the speech (lecture? Ivan was uncertain the word for it) was beginning.
“Good morning father”, voices all around him said in unison. Ivan was mildly surprised to hear Matthew’s among them. He looked around the crowd of a hundred or two, his curiosity giving away to darker sides of him. He was beginning to remember why religion was done away with in Russia.
“Today, I want to discuss what it means to be a Christian”, the speaker (the father, Ivan recalled him being referred to as) started. “A Christian isn’t just a person who believes that that Jesus rose from the dead, but lives it.” Yes, Ivan was remembering very well now. The use of Christianity to control people, to convince them to give up their lives, either in death or devote it to them, all with the promise of good things happening after death. Funny how no one has ever come back from the dead to confirm or deny this.
Ivan tried to swallow back the old tensions. At first he did hope for Matthew to try to convert him, so that he could turn the tables and de-convert Matthew without seeming the aggressor (Not that he normally cared over such things, but he feared scaring away his Matthew away from him). But, as it turned out, Matthew was fine with his atheism. Or at least didn’t care to change it. And so Ivan had to do the same for his religion. Respect.
The crowds around him shuffled and for a moment Ivan thought it was over so soon. But they moved to be kneeling on the padded board, heads bowed and hands clasped together. Ivan swelled with dignity and refused to conform. He wouldn’t be fooled into this, he knew the lies stacked upon lies. His gut twisted into stone and his passive aggression became everything.
That is, until Matthew cocked his head to glare at Ivan with more hatred than he had ever seen before. Silently yet with oh so loudly, Matthew mouthed the words “Get Down”. Ivan’s resolve was gone. He wasn’t there to protest religion or to make a point. He was there to bond with Matthew and try to patch up one of their few remaining holes. Arrogance gone, Ivan kneeled with the rest of them, falling into suite. He still didn’t feel good about it.
Besides, once they found a seat all seemed to go well. There were long wooden benches that spanned several meters. The backs proved to spark Ivan’s curiosity again. There were pouches filled with Bibles and other books, and a padded piece of wood that ran the length of the bench, staying just a few centimeters above the ground.
“Good morning”, Ivan’s attention snapped to the front where the speech (lecture? Ivan was uncertain the word for it) was beginning.
“Good morning father”, voices all around him said in unison. Ivan was mildly surprised to hear Matthew’s among them. He looked around the crowd of a hundred or two, his curiosity giving away to darker sides of him. He was beginning to remember why religion was done away with in Russia.
“Today, I want to discuss what it means to be a Christian”, the speaker (the father, Ivan recalled him being referred to as) started. “A Christian isn’t just a person who believes that that Jesus rose from the dead, but lives it.” Yes, Ivan was remembering very well now. The use of Christianity to control people, to convince them to give up their lives, either in death or devote it to them, all with the promise of good things happening after death. Funny how no one has ever come back from the dead to confirm or deny this.
Ivan tried to swallow back the old tensions. At first he did hope for Matthew to try to convert him, so that he could turn the tables and de-convert Matthew without seeming the aggressor (Not that he normally cared over such things, but he feared scaring away his Matthew away from him). But, as it turned out, Matthew was fine with his atheism. Or at least didn’t care to change it. And so Ivan had to do the same for his religion. Respect.
The crowds around him shuffled and for a moment Ivan thought it was over so soon. But they moved to be kneeling on the padded board, heads bowed and hands clasped together. Ivan swelled with dignity and refused to conform. He wouldn’t be fooled into this, he knew the lies stacked upon lies. His gut twisted into stone and his passive aggression became everything.
That is, until Matthew cocked his head to glare at Ivan with more hatred than he had ever seen before. Silently yet with oh so loudly, Matthew mouthed the words “Get Down”. Ivan’s resolve was gone. He wasn’t there to protest religion or to make a point. He was there to bond with Matthew and try to patch up one of their few remaining holes. Arrogance gone, Ivan kneeled with the rest of them, falling into suite. He still didn’t feel good about it.
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