capeandcowllogs | The weary world rejoices

WHO: OPEN
WHERE: The Church
WHEN: From today and onto the New Year!
WARNINGS: Kirei.....
SUMMARY: Rejoice, Cityzens! The Church is hosting an event for the holiday season: accepting donations and offering dinner for all those in need during this harsh December! Donate yourself or take part in some free food. You don't have to worship to take part, but you may get a priest breathing down your neck about that.
FORMAT: Whatever you please!

Even in this day and age, certain tired methods of communication remain. A Church flyer is a old tradition and the City has had several passed by hand, or stapled onto walls. They are all advertising open invitations not just for worship but for food on behalf of the City's generous inhabitants -- regardless of beliefs or credo. On top of that, there is a certain tagline which appeals to the City's imPorts:

Be a Hero to one less fortunate than you this holiday season.

It's a sticky, blatant piece of baiting; hamfisted and obvious. Of course, no Church has ever really excelled at subtlety. Guilt is a powerful motivator, especially this time of year. That shows in the turn out: there is quite a few natives already participating, which leads to generous spread.

The Church is welcoming all without distinction -- however, you'll only get to taste wine if you're one of the faithful.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, I suppose it's... [ she pauses ans purses her lips, clasping her hands in front of her stomach but not quite wringing them. he's being polite enough to offer, so she needs to make sure she doesn't word it in a way that could be rude or offensive. ] ...trying to resolve it from an outsider's perspective.

What makes God [ worthy of worship? absolutely not. ] who He is, where He fits in with it all.

That is quite the question. Men and women who have studied faith for their entire lives still debate the answer.

[ Kirei folds his arms neatly behind his back, considering her as he speaks. ]

It's very personal, you see -- however, I do not mean to deny you any answer. It's simply quite a bit to explain.

[ Not that this one doesn't love to talk. ]

God is the creator of all life, as we understand it, and He is what grants our salvation when that life has ended.

If one has earned it, of course.

[ As Kirei himself, quite honestly, has not. ]

[ earning salvation sticks in her mind and resonates with something there. hasn't she been trying to do that already? but salvation from what, herself? the questions it raises are too complicated, and she's still trying to work out the basics. ]

"As we understand it," you say. I witnessed the birth of a universe in my time, and the ontological process was...well, it left his involvement somewhat in question. But those processes may have been unique to the multiversal cluster I come from.

[ He supposes he shouldn't be surprised to hear something so strange; the Porter and the City itself are unique enough, and the other worlds she pulls from must not follow the same rules. ]

Then perhaps we should focus on the more spiritual concept, if the rules of your world defy my own.

[ He thinks for a moment, before he continues: ]

How do you judge right from wrong?

[ she sits in silence for a few moments, considering the question before finally supplying her answer. ]

Wrong is that which causes pain for others. Right either alleviates or prevents that same pain. [ she pauses, narrowing her eyes at the floor. there's a qualifier missing there, but there always does seem to be. ] ...Though causing one pain as a means of preventing it from being caused to others isn't...quite wrong.

Ah, you see?

There begins to be loopholes; abuse of such a simple concept.

Slowly and surely, one can do wrong and begin to twist the concept enough to present it as right. It is right to attack your neighbor, if it is self defense. However, what if that attack was fueled only by a need to survive? You have wealth, food, and your neighbor does not. Does that make this justified? The world is complicated; not everything is so clear.

When those dilemmas become complicated, and people cannot find the answer within themselves, that is when one often turns to God's authority. An order keeps men honest, when they know a Higher Presence controls the fate of their immortal soul.

...And how would God consider it, were this neighbor to attack you for their survival? I suppose how I would may depend on one's willingness to share, if approached in a less violent manner. How violent the rejection may have been if that approach had been made before.

The complication comes from additional factors. Shades of, erm, grey. [ she resists the idle thought of their number, if it may be half of a hundred. inappropriate associations, especially when peaking to a priest. ] I'm not sure how delegating the decision to another authority may change that.

[ but it's probably all wrapped up in that fate. the power of a greater threat, and she always thought she might be a significant threat already, but it hasn't always carried the weight she hoped it might. ]

Often, it's never a simple matter of the acts, but rather the men behind them. No situation is clearly cut of good and evil. Even a murder which appears to be in nothing but cold blood may be justified, if one retraces the steps back far enough. To understand who is at fault, one has to understand the motives of the men behind them.

That is why the church's role is important. A priest is by no means a prophet, but his role is to preach God's word and lead his flock. That involves confession

I assume you are not familiar with the concept?

I...understand the importance of acknowledging one's faults. Especially verbally, to the wronged party. Anything short would display a lack of contrition, take one's forgiveness for granted.

[ it's something she's been working on over the past year. but absolution is something she hasn't yet achieved through it. ]

The weary world rejoices

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