Chapter 6
Wilfred walked down towards the beach along the river where he had entered this strange land. The representative caught up with him and told him he had a ride to West Maue.
"Thank you very much," Wilfred said.
"You are very welcome. It is not often we have clerics, or anyone else here," the representative replied.
"Why is that?" Wilfred queried.
"I do not know. Maybe it is the fact that so few people want to study really ancient history," the representative replied.
"That is odd. I wonder how many clerics there are in seminary schools around the planet," Wilfred pondered.
"That I do not know. I know it is not enough to keep with the aging ministry, though," the representative replied.
"Yes, that is true. Clerics are getting older all the time, and few young people are interested in going into the ministry," Wilfred stated.
"Why are you in the clergy? You're a pretty young guy yourself," the representative said.
"I have a deep love for God's word," Wilfred said. "It just so happened that as a young person my congregation got me involved rather well."
"You are very fortunate, then. The young do not seem to follow the way of the Lord very well," the representative said.
"They are blinded by the sins of their fathers' generation, the ones who said that God is dead and that there is no authority save themselves. Now those hippies have children who are giving them a taste of their own bitter medicine. I hope the young ones now will do better," Wilfred replied.
"You think deeply about life," the representative said.
"I am a cleric, but I am also an academic. I seek to be neither an intellectual nor a spiritual pygmy. Not many wise men may be called, but I intend on being one of them," Wilfred replied.
With this the two of them got into a personal carrier and went off to West Maue, with some help from a local ferryboat. Wilfred, with his bag of belongings, was thinking very deeply, and the thoughtful silence was occasionally broken up by speaking.
"Why do you think that religion is not favored by the young?" the representative asked.
"I think it is in large part due to the poor example of their parents, and the representatives of the church of that evil generation. After all, consumed with themselves and their own wealth and authority, the parents of the youth of this generation wasted away their livelihood and will leave nothing but debt and moral decay to their angry children," Wilfred replied. "If we want to convince the youth, the ones we can still reach anyway, that we are not after their money or their gullibility, we will have to show them by our example that we act on what we believe, and that what we believe is right."
"What do you think of recent scandals? Do you think that has hurt the faith of the young in religion a good deal?" the representative asked.
"Of course I do. It is vitally important for people in positions of authority to use their power for good and not for evil. Whether they are coaches, teachers, ministers, parents, or government officials, when power is used for evil, it decreased the amount of respect people have for the position, to say the least about the person. We must act on our beliefs, and we must choose the right beliefs if we are to preserve what good has been passed down to us by our forefathers," Wilfred answered.
"Have you ever been in love?" the representative asked.
"Don't you think that question is rather personal?" Wilfred replied.
"Well, it's something to talk about," the representative replied.
"Yes, I have a fiance right now. She is a wonderful young lady," Wilfred replied.
"I see. So, is she a working class person like you are?" the representative replied.
"How do you know I am working class?" Wilfred said with slanted eyes.
"Your responses reflect that you have been marginalized for much of your life. They are not the responses of a scion of a wealthy house, or even a middle-class house," the representative replied.
"That may not be a bad thing. Tell me, have you ever been in love?" Wilfred said.
"Yes, I have, but she was not in love with me," the representative replied.
"That is too bad," Wilfred said.
"Such is the life. I wish you luck in love," the representative said.
"I wish you luck in life and love as well," Wilfred replied.
"As we are at the city now, go home, and do well on your dissertation. We will be watching you," the representative said.
"I am sure of that," said Wilfred as he stepped out of the personal carrier and into the busy city streets.
[ Chapter 5 ]
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