Later in Life

The story line in this post is fictional. The author takes full responsibility for all content.

<< ~ Year: 2028 << ~ >> Location: Indiana, USA ~>>

“Hey Dad, I have a question.” My sixteen year-old son was ever inquiring on random subjects and always expected a good answer. I dropped my copy of Spurgeon Gold to my lap and sat up in my recliner. “Yes?” My son sat down on his guitar stool and took a deep breath. “Why aren’t we allowed to have Bibles anymore?” I frowned at him and dropped my eyes. “Well, Terry, we have Bibles, don’t we?” My son nodded but wasn’t finished. “In the 4th Period on Tuesday, Mr. Hilton told us that the Religion Revolution of 2024 made sure that all Bibles were take out of homes and that the Bible could only be read in 501-C3 organization centers.” I blew my breath out. “What is 4th Period?” Terry smirked. “Yeah I know, you said that I shouldn’t really give my ears away in Socialism class, but I just couldn’t help it. Everything is so interesting! Mr. Hilton also said that it was really important stuff, pretty much like history.” Mr. Hilton had this kid on a string and the other end was tied to his finger.

“Well, if it’s a history lesson you want, you’ll get it right here.” I pulled out my iPhone and opened Wikispeedia, the online database for everything. I found the article and started explaining. “Basically, back in the day, a Democratic President elected during Bush’s economic crisis, as some have called it, put an Amendment in the Constitution with a clause that banned all religious writings concerning-” I paused to consult my iPhone. “concerning ‘the ancient documentary outlining the life and times of the supposed God-Man Jesus Christ.’ The Bible fell into this category, and the clause mentioned that these religious writings could only be studied, read, and proclaimed ‘within the walls of the religious organizations affiliated with the writings.’” My son scrunched his face up. “What is that mess of words supposed to mean?” I looked up from the small screen. “They essentially said that the Bible, and other religious writings pertaining to Christ’s life, could only be read inside a church.” Terry scratched his chin. “So my Evidence Bible and your John MacArthur Bible are illegal books to have in the house?” I nodded. “This book is out of the question, too,” I said, lifting up Spurgeon Gold. “So like, what about the internet?” Terry asked. I smirked.”Well, we can still post whatever scripture verses we want, because the internet has freedom of content. That ‘freedom of content’ includes all the junk on the internet, plus all the skepticism stuff from the media, so the Bible stuff gets overlooked. Maybe the big heads in Washington knew they would get smashed if they took all the good stuff off the web.”

We laughed a bit and then Terry asked another hum-dinger. “Why didn’t anybody stop the Bible Ban?” I shivered. “We tried.” Terry frowned questioningly. “A group of 3,000 Christians stormed D.C. I was with them. The government had expected this and had the leaders of our little rebellion charged with anarchy and contempt of law. They were carted off to jail for a few months and we stayed outside the capitol building protesting and praying. We had never heard of these charges before, but apparently they were ‘well-grounded’.” I flashed some visual quote signs with curled fingers. “We protested for 3 days, and then they told us we’d be arrested if we kept it up. Though we kept hounding them about the reason for the ban, they told us that it was ‘within the due process of the law’ and that we couldn’t do anything about it. We finally left, downhearted and angry. In the next few weeks it was recorded that 126,000 plus letters reached the senator’s and representative’s desks and that 522,000 or more phone calls were placed to the White House alone. So yeah, we tried.” By now I had abandoned the iPhone and was gabbing on my own.

My son sat pondering for a little while, then he asked me his last question. “Is all this that happened persecution of Christians?” I thought for a moment. “Well, yes, but you’ve got to realize that this stuff isn’t just about Christians. Abortion was fully legalized, Planned Motherhood took over the schools, and homeschooling was made illegal. Homosexual marriage is legal and now, as you fully know, the schools teach that teen sex is okay and they encourage pornography for all teens.” Terry nodded. He sat for awhile without speaking and looked at me soberly. Then he picked up his guitar and strummed a few chords. “Thanks dad, I needed some answers. Cooper is coming over later on and we’re going to the mall. We’re going fishing.”

I nodded and picked up my book again.

In His Steps,

Theo