Jobynski and Kathy were comparing notes when the rear auditorium doors opened. Men and women, young and old, in hospital gowns and slippers entered. Many wore hats, others bandanas or wigs. Some shiny skulls glistened in the overhead lights. None had eyebrows. They shuffled to their seats pulling rolling Infusion stands. They were followed by men and women in wheelchairs. Several beds were placed at the rear of the hall. Caspi’s guards stood straighter and stepped back from the rear entrances. Young boys and girls wearing caps that rested on their ears entered. They projected the same wide-eyed look of betrayal of the adults. There was an added glint of defiance challenging the unfairness of life.
Kathy dried tears and Jobynski required all his self-discipline to stop from weeping.
The youngest patients filed into the front rows. Father Klein asked to be helped up. Others at the two tables stood. All bowed to the audience. Father Klein turned and stared at Jobynski who could not meet the priest’s eyes. Jobynski took Kathy’s arm and said, “We must talk,”
“There’s no time,”
“We’ll make time,” He led her off-stage. The producer saw them leave and ordered over the phone to Fox studios, “Play the first commercials,” He told the Page. “Get them back here!” He directed the cameramen to focus on the panel while he spliced in views of Jobynski and Connors taken in rehearsal.
“We’re supposed to be out there, “Kathy pointed to the stage.
“I can’t do it,” Jobynski sobbed. “I can’t tell these patients they are worshipping false Gods.”
“It’s what He wants,” Kathy said. “It’s the truth.”
“Now you want the truth!” Jobynski sobbed. “I can’t do it to those people!”
“It’s what he sent us to tell them.”
“God is wrong,” Jobynski said. “I can’t do it like this.”
“He is the Lord God. Neither you nor I can judge him,” The Page said, “You two have an obligation to speak in his name.”
“And God has a responsibility to his creation,” Jobynski snapped. “I can’t answer the question in those young eyes.”
“Don’t lie for God,” Page said. “Man has an obligation to question the Almighty. If not, then God becomes another idol.”
“I’ll not take away hope from those patients,” Jobynski said. “In the Bible, God promised man three score and ten years of life. Not one in that audience will live seventy years.”
“If you average all those who do live longer, God has kept that promise.” the Page said.
“Who the hell asked you into this conversation?” Jobynski demanded.
“God,” the Page answered. He stepped between them. Firmly took their arms and pulled them back to their seats. The cameraman panned their table while Charles Krauthammer was speaking. He said, “The first question by our studio audience to Ms. Connors and Professor Jobynski was; “What is man’s purpose on earth?” Their answer was a quote from the Prophet Micha: “God has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. ...") You,” indicating Kathy and Jobynski, “added, “That man is meant to serve God by bringing heaven to earth. And now mankind must bring the word of God to outer space in the Eighth Day of Creation." The first part of the answer poses no problem for the panel. We do not understand the Eighth Day of Creation?”
“I don’t agree!” Dotty Moxon said. “Those who think they are walking humbly with their God, are walking alone. He isn’t there, here or anywhere else. Look around.” She pointed to the audience. The sick are far better off putting their faith in science than in some fictitious super-power that can’t seem to get it right.”
“Would you take all hope from mankind?” Parker Wessels asked.
“Reality and scientific truth offers the best solution to a long and fruitful life,” Dotty Moxon said. “Hope in a non-existent God causes people to endure pain, unbelievable mental anguish and personal degradation for nothing.”
“For the love of Allah the all merciful!” Prince said. “May his name be blessed.”
“I do not see God’s love in this place,” Dotty Moxon said.
“You will see it in the Eighth Day of Creation,” Kathy said.
“When will this Eight Day of Creation occur?” Krauthammer asked.
“It has already begun,” Jobynski said.
“That answer can wait,” Father Klein said “Read the response to the audience’s second question.”
“Is there life after death and what is it like?” Krauthammer said, “The response: "We believe there is something after death in which the soul participates. What, where or how this comes about we have no idea. Neither Professor Jobynski nor Ms. Connors care to comment on the concept of Hell. They presume there is reward and punishment in the after-life for a person's action on earth. How it is implemented, they do not know."
“In short,” Father Klein said, “if you do not know, why criticize those of us who do know?”
“Because your knowledge is faulty,” Kathy said. “It is testimony taken from hearsay, written long after the fact and would never be accepted in a court of law.”
“It is accepted in the Heavenly Court,” Parker Wessels said.
“Who is the presiding Judge?” Dotty Moxon quipped.
“God Almighty!” the Reverend answered.
Dotty Moxon pointed at the audience, “They called on Him and got Bubkes!”
“That is blasphemous,” the Prince said.
“What does it mean?” Father Klein asked.
“It can’t be good,” the Prince said.
“It’s a Yiddish expression,” Krauthammer said, “meaning God is absolutely worthless.”
“You can’t get more blasphemous than that,” Jobynski said.
Dotty Moxon bristled, pointing at Jobynski, “You accuse these four and me of blasphemy and idolatry. They believe in God, I don’t.”
“You worship the god of science,” Kathy said.
“I worship the truth,” Dotty Moxon said. “Observable truths which can be duplicated and tested. That is science.”
“But these scientific truths are subject to change,” Jobynski said. “First they are called theories then facts and then outdated facts. That is the history of science.”
“Professor Jobynski is correct,” Krauthammer said. “Two weeks ago scientists at the CERN in Switzerland reported Neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light. This finding alters science and our understanding of how the universe operates.”
“I accept validated truth!” Dotty Moxon said. “Not myths, folklore and institutionalized tradition.”
“There is only one absolute truth,” Jobynski said. "Ms. Connors explained this at our first meeting. Trace any genetic or chemical chain to its origin and you will come to nothing. Something had to be present for things to come into being. That beginning is God. Most people think of God in Mickey Mouse terms because of a Sunday school level of education. God is the only unconditional truth in the universe. He created everything from nothing. It all belongs to Him. Not us. We evolved from Him and revolve around Him. Our duty is to serve Him.”
“We four representatives of the monotheistic religions agree,” Father Klein said. “But you are avoiding the elephant in the room.”
“What are you referring to?” Krauthammer asked.
“Their answer to the third question,” the Priest said. “That the monotheistic religions are idolatrous and blasphemous.”
“Ms Connors, Professor Jobynski,” Krauthammer asked. “Are you prepared to address this subject?”
“Yes,” Kathy said. “I would like a minute to discuss this with Professor Jobynski.”
“Time for a commercial break,” Krauthammer said. “We’ll return to the discussion being viewed by more than half the world.”
The Page pointed to Jobynski and Kathy, “You’re back on camera.”
Jobynski stood and addressed the audience of cancer patients, “In your eyes I see the look of betrayal. You feel God abandoned you. That’s not true. Each of us is exactly where we are supposed to be. Death may not be a friend, but it is not an enemy. Death is another phase in the life of our soul. When the body dies our souls pass over to parallel universes. Science is only now hypothesizing these universes. We scientists already have theories of how parallel universes work. The Eighth Day of Creation is a process in which our souls will cross over from earth to other universes in a prearranged and more structured way than death. Pope John Paul II said, “Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.” The great 12th century Rabbinic scholar, physician and philosopher, Maimonides made similar statements. More recently Professor Neil Postman said, “Our enthusiasm for technology can turn into a form of idolatry and our belief in its beneficence blasphemy. Technology does not come from God but is a product of human imagination and hubris. Its capacity for good or evil rests entirely with mankind. The printing press annihilated the oral tradition; telegraphy eliminated space; television reduced our privacy; and the computer is transforming community life. In our newly developed Global Village cultures rub against each other causing friction. Religions add fuel to the fire by their exclusivity. Each religion is certain of its superiority.”
“But we four sit here together,” Krauthammer said.
“Only because you challenge a common threat to your religions,” Jobynski said. “And that threat is God.”
“No!” Father Klein said. “It is you two who are the enemy of God. You are attempting to take hope away from mankind. That is blasphemous. You claim to have spoken to God. That is idolatrous. You accuse our religions of being homocentric when you appoint yourselves as arbiters of God.”
“Not so,” Kathy said. “We must proceed with our eyes open. Use technology rather than be used by it. The benefits of thalidomide, D.D.T. and antibiotics saved thousands and now threaten tens of thousands. Science has no ethics or morals except those agreed upon by man. God is the final arbiter truth. That is what Professor Jobynski meant by stating that both science and religion are idolatrous and blasphemous. Each proclaims to know the facts.”
“The best way to view technology,” Jobynski said, “is to remember that expertise in science is not part of God's plan but a product of human creativity. Man’s capacity for good or evil rests entirely on human understanding of what science does for us and to us. We pay a price for technology, the greater the technology, the greater the price. Technology becomes part of man’s natural order and controls us rather than us controlling it.”
“And what would you two suggest we do to correct this so called moral defect?” Parker Wessels asked.
“Hear the word of the Lord!” Kathy said.
“From your two!” the Prince shouted. “Never!”
"We clergymen have been listening and studying the Almighty's word all our lives," Parker Wessels said.
"We interrupt this broadcast," the announcer said. For a special news bulletin from Lahore , Pakistan and the Punjab . Crowds of Hindus,Sikhs and Muslims are gathered together in the streets and fields. Millions listening to and seeing this broadcast. From Mongolia, Moscow , London , Jerusalem , in Africa, Australia , people have come together to hear and see this broadcast. There is no reported violence in Afghanistan , Iran or Iraq as Muslims, Christians and occupying troops mingle peacefully. Across all of Europe the world watches and listens. Here in America and all ships at sea, planes in the air and at sea are tuned to FOX. There are no reports of violence. We will pause for a brief commercial and return to Charles Krauthammer and our panelists."
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