The price for all was the price from one, he thought, burying his head in his hands as he knelt in front of the altar. If it was as simple as doing whatever you were already doing, it negated the value of that sacrifice. If what you were doing was killing your neighbor, instead of loving him, that could not be right. It could not. And yet, it felt ( Read more... )

The bell sounded for Matins. Gregory forced himself to look around his cell for the last time. He noticed again how the crack along the wall looked like a sideways mountain range, and the little fluff of straw that the sparrow who made its nest in his window had left behind, the familiar worn wooden lines of the cross above his cot, and the dent in ( Read more... )

Hell is the absence of God. That spark of light and hope and decency dies. Summer camp tries to survive. Mused by Phil. See full story notes in "Ideas-At Bat" file.

The chant of calling began, and she felt it pull her towards the altar of the true god. She knew what took place there. A demand would be issued, probably beyond the bounds of reason or probability. Every person felt the call at least once in their lives, some more often. The demand would be harsh and difficult or heartbreaking. One man had been ( Read more... )

"Do you believe in God?" The question echoed through the huge cavern. Inside her, a voice said, "Yes." It was a small voice, and easily squashed. "No," she answered, as she knew was safe. Those who believed in God, a god, any god, were not to be trusted. Everybody knew that they were unreliable, that they might interpret the slightest thing as an ( Read more... )