[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
given the devil a good opportunity. It really scares me. I've seen a lot on
this earth in Vietnam and Bosnia and for this to send a chill into my soul
means it has to be something more than a disease."
Carson looked hard at the pastor.
"I know from that look you believe it's a medical problem, but I don't
because there is too much that is unexplainable here," the pastor said.
"You think the Catholic Church is the only one that does exorcisms. We
do them also, but we call them deliverances, and they don't make the
newspapers as often as exorcisms."
"My point exactly. When all the great diseases of the past like the
Black Plague and others were rampant, didn't the people believe it was
the work of the devil before science could provide otherwise?" Carson
said. "Did you think Ebola is the work of the devil, Pastor?"
"I just think both of you are looking at this only from your own points
of view," Linda added.
"If you re right why now?" Carson asked.
"Because more and more people are losing faith, losing faith in their
churches, in the spiritual realm of life. Many worship technology, and
making money, and material things, and what gives them instant
gratification. No one has time to stop and ponder the great wonders of
this world to think of God and all he has done. Everyone is into
performance, efficiency, and results. They have lost their hope, their
spiritual self in a world of facts and figures," the pastor explained.
"I think you're wrong, pastor. I think it was that way, but it's turning
around again. More and more people are interested in traditional
values. More and more are substituting success and material things for
family, friends, and community. Material things, success, and working
twelve hours a day and on weekends are no longer what they want out
Anthony Samuel Policastro 97
of life. I think this is the best of times for getting people back into the
congregation, but you have to show them the teachings are meaningful
to their lives. If you go off and claim that the devil is getting stronger
because of lack of faith and because something cannot be explained
either medically or religiously, then you might as well be telling them a
bedtime story. They will regard this as pure fantasy and label you as all
the other religious leaders who cannot convince their parishioners that
religion is meaningful and purposeful in their lives," Carson explained.
"You must give them a reason for believing, a purpose, and a benefit."
The pastor looked thoughtfully at Carson, bowed his head and
rubbed his eyes. Then he looked up with a profound sadness in his eyes.
"I know," he said almost tearfully. "But whatever this is, it's scaring
people like nothing I've seen before. Not even death itself has frightened
people like this. There is something evil in all of this and it won't stop
this time."
The Prophecies - Chapter 16
Carson drove to Doctor Stokes' house feeling ambivalent - he
wanted to believe the Hellfire Syndrome was a disease of some sort, but
then there were questions, many questions. He had Doctor Stokes to
back him with the case from the 1980s, but Stokes did not have any
details, and Carson was still searching the records for the report. The
fact that several religious leaders had agreed to meet and discuss the
phenomenon suggested to him that maybe this was the work of some
evil force in the world - the rise of Satanism or the rise of Satan himself.
He had a hard time dealing with such a nebulous concept. He was a
doctor and he was taught to look for causes and effects to determine
truths. It would take a spectacle of some kind to convince Carson that
Satan was rising, and his power was getting stronger in the world. He
needed a clear-cut cause and effect. He had the effect - the
interdenominational meeting would be the first to take place in many
years. Holy men from the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Jewish,
Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, and Lutheran followings would be
there. The cause, however, was untenable for Carson.
Carson drove into the Misery Hills section of Ocean Village named
because of the misery and grief that befell the widows who lived there.
The roads were lined with tall, aging oaks, whose branches intertwined
forming a tunnel of leaves over the road. The gloom created by the trees
seemed to creep into his soul. He made a left turn and proceeded down
Anthony Samuel Policastro 99
Hickory Street. Misery Hills was an older development with well-
manicured lawns and neat patches of multi-colored flowerbeds, and tall
aging trees. Some residents were descendents of the original inhabitants;
others were the highly successful professionals of the area. Industrial-
age sea captains built the massive, restored Victorian homes during the
19th century, when nearby Shark River Inlet served as a major delivery
port for the fledgling coastal communities of New Jersey. Many of the
homes had widower's walks, tiny balconies overlooking the sea, where
the wives of the sea captains would walk and search for their husbands'
ships to return from the sea. The area coined its name from the loss of
many of ships that sank in the treacherous inlet during bad weather and
storms.
Carson pulled up to Stokes' house, a multi-gabled white Victorian
mansion that belonged to Stokes great grandfather. Stokes grandfather
was instrumental in reviving European trade at the inlet in the early
1900s. Carson walked up the cobble stone walkway and rang the
doorbell. Stokes opened the thick mahogany door.
"Come in, Carson. I'll just be a second," he said.
"Thanks."
Stokes disappeared up the steep carpeted staircase that joined the
foyer. Carson waited there and noticed the dark oak wall panels crafted
by a skilled carpenter long gone. He could hear the ticking of a far-away
clock and the area smelled of aged wood - wood that had stood
majestically for many decades as a staircase, a wall panel, a newel post -
the smell one encounters in a fine antique shop...the smell of the past.
The staircase creaked and groaned as Stokes came down holding a light
jacket in one hand and a notebook in another.
"Let s go," he said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl rafalstec.xlx.pl
given the devil a good opportunity. It really scares me. I've seen a lot on
this earth in Vietnam and Bosnia and for this to send a chill into my soul
means it has to be something more than a disease."
Carson looked hard at the pastor.
"I know from that look you believe it's a medical problem, but I don't
because there is too much that is unexplainable here," the pastor said.
"You think the Catholic Church is the only one that does exorcisms. We
do them also, but we call them deliverances, and they don't make the
newspapers as often as exorcisms."
"My point exactly. When all the great diseases of the past like the
Black Plague and others were rampant, didn't the people believe it was
the work of the devil before science could provide otherwise?" Carson
said. "Did you think Ebola is the work of the devil, Pastor?"
"I just think both of you are looking at this only from your own points
of view," Linda added.
"If you re right why now?" Carson asked.
"Because more and more people are losing faith, losing faith in their
churches, in the spiritual realm of life. Many worship technology, and
making money, and material things, and what gives them instant
gratification. No one has time to stop and ponder the great wonders of
this world to think of God and all he has done. Everyone is into
performance, efficiency, and results. They have lost their hope, their
spiritual self in a world of facts and figures," the pastor explained.
"I think you're wrong, pastor. I think it was that way, but it's turning
around again. More and more people are interested in traditional
values. More and more are substituting success and material things for
family, friends, and community. Material things, success, and working
twelve hours a day and on weekends are no longer what they want out
Anthony Samuel Policastro 97
of life. I think this is the best of times for getting people back into the
congregation, but you have to show them the teachings are meaningful
to their lives. If you go off and claim that the devil is getting stronger
because of lack of faith and because something cannot be explained
either medically or religiously, then you might as well be telling them a
bedtime story. They will regard this as pure fantasy and label you as all
the other religious leaders who cannot convince their parishioners that
religion is meaningful and purposeful in their lives," Carson explained.
"You must give them a reason for believing, a purpose, and a benefit."
The pastor looked thoughtfully at Carson, bowed his head and
rubbed his eyes. Then he looked up with a profound sadness in his eyes.
"I know," he said almost tearfully. "But whatever this is, it's scaring
people like nothing I've seen before. Not even death itself has frightened
people like this. There is something evil in all of this and it won't stop
this time."
The Prophecies - Chapter 16
Carson drove to Doctor Stokes' house feeling ambivalent - he
wanted to believe the Hellfire Syndrome was a disease of some sort, but
then there were questions, many questions. He had Doctor Stokes to
back him with the case from the 1980s, but Stokes did not have any
details, and Carson was still searching the records for the report. The
fact that several religious leaders had agreed to meet and discuss the
phenomenon suggested to him that maybe this was the work of some
evil force in the world - the rise of Satanism or the rise of Satan himself.
He had a hard time dealing with such a nebulous concept. He was a
doctor and he was taught to look for causes and effects to determine
truths. It would take a spectacle of some kind to convince Carson that
Satan was rising, and his power was getting stronger in the world. He
needed a clear-cut cause and effect. He had the effect - the
interdenominational meeting would be the first to take place in many
years. Holy men from the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Jewish,
Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, and Lutheran followings would be
there. The cause, however, was untenable for Carson.
Carson drove into the Misery Hills section of Ocean Village named
because of the misery and grief that befell the widows who lived there.
The roads were lined with tall, aging oaks, whose branches intertwined
forming a tunnel of leaves over the road. The gloom created by the trees
seemed to creep into his soul. He made a left turn and proceeded down
Anthony Samuel Policastro 99
Hickory Street. Misery Hills was an older development with well-
manicured lawns and neat patches of multi-colored flowerbeds, and tall
aging trees. Some residents were descendents of the original inhabitants;
others were the highly successful professionals of the area. Industrial-
age sea captains built the massive, restored Victorian homes during the
19th century, when nearby Shark River Inlet served as a major delivery
port for the fledgling coastal communities of New Jersey. Many of the
homes had widower's walks, tiny balconies overlooking the sea, where
the wives of the sea captains would walk and search for their husbands'
ships to return from the sea. The area coined its name from the loss of
many of ships that sank in the treacherous inlet during bad weather and
storms.
Carson pulled up to Stokes' house, a multi-gabled white Victorian
mansion that belonged to Stokes great grandfather. Stokes grandfather
was instrumental in reviving European trade at the inlet in the early
1900s. Carson walked up the cobble stone walkway and rang the
doorbell. Stokes opened the thick mahogany door.
"Come in, Carson. I'll just be a second," he said.
"Thanks."
Stokes disappeared up the steep carpeted staircase that joined the
foyer. Carson waited there and noticed the dark oak wall panels crafted
by a skilled carpenter long gone. He could hear the ticking of a far-away
clock and the area smelled of aged wood - wood that had stood
majestically for many decades as a staircase, a wall panel, a newel post -
the smell one encounters in a fine antique shop...the smell of the past.
The staircase creaked and groaned as Stokes came down holding a light
jacket in one hand and a notebook in another.
"Let s go," he said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]