Ryan found Judd in the living room late on Christmas Eve. A fire crackled in the fireplace. Judd had pulled out an artificial tree from the attic, and it stood in the corner with no ornaments.
"What"s up?" Ryan said, carrying a nicely wrapped box.
"Just thinking," Judd said.
"Whose name did you get for the gift exchange?" Ryan said.
"It"s a secret," Judd said, ignoring the box.
"Think you have enough Bibles for everybody who responded to the mailing?"
"Sure. People are supposed to come by the church office.
Took a bunch there yesterday. "
Judd stared at the tree.
"Christmas used to be so important to me," he said.
"I"d make a list of all the stuff I wanted. The only surprise was what color my parents wrapped the boxes."
"Man, you were lucky."
Judd closed his eyes.
"My dad had the money to buy whatever I wanted," he said.
"Now all I remember is my Mom playing Christmas songs on the piano. My dad on the floor playing with Marc and Marcie. Christmas Eve service. Pa.s.sing out candles and lighting them, one person to the next."
"My dad never played any games with me," Ryan said.
"He always brought stuff home from the office to work on. Mom worked, too. They tried to make it upto me at Christmas, so I got some pretty neat stuff. The closest I ever got to church was going over to Raymie"s house."
"If I ever have kids--," Judd said.
"What?" Ryan said.
"Ah, it doesn"t matter. Neither of us has to worry about being a father, good or bad."
Ryan flicked on the television and saw the leader of the new Enigma Babylon One World Faith, Pontifex Maximus Peter, formerly Peter Mathews ofCincinnati, praise the Global Community"s religious unity.
"For you watching inNorth America," the man said, "I applaud your embracing Enigma Babylon One World Faith. Many have abandoned the old traditions for a new belief- love and light for all people of all nations. For those who still hold to the old ways, I urge you to come to the light. Let us put away the division."
Pontifex Maximus introduced a video clip from a pastor inMaryland.
"I"m the leader of a congregation that used to tell people G.o.d could only be known one way," the pastor said.
"Thankfully, we"re now following a new way led by the example of Potentate Nicolae Carpathia. And I urge anyone not committed to the beliefs of the Global Community to accept them now as we begin a new year and a new era of peace."
Judd checked E-mail before going to bed. He found a message from Nina inIsrael.
"There have been more threats to my father"s life, but he feels G.o.d"s protection. Where would we stay if we decided to come to your country?"
Judd typed a quick note saying Nina, Clan, and her parents could stay with someone in the church. He could help make it happen anytime they felt it necessary.
Christmas decorations filled Bruce"s house. Late Christmas morning the Young Trib Force gathered to exchange gifts.
Janie complained about not having money to buy anything good and didn"t want to partic.i.p.ate. She stayed in her room.
Vicki was chosen to open her gift first. She eyed the slender box excitedly. It looked like jewelry, and she hoped Judd had drawn her name.
Inside she found a gold necklace with one charm-a cross.
"Oh, it"s beautiful," Vicki said, holding it up to her neck and looking at Judd.
"I love it."
Ryan stormed from the room. "Oh no," Vicki said.
"I thought"-Judd shook his head.
"Sorry. I drew someone else"s name."
Vicki heard a scream upstairs, and Ryan came running, then slammed the front door behind him.
Janie appeared at the top of the stairs.
"That little creep!" she said.
"He didn"t even knock."
Vicki ran into the cold and followed Ryan"s tracks in the snow. She found him shivering at a bus stop at the end of the street.
"She cussed at me," Ryan said.
"How was I supposed to know it was her room?"
"You didn"t," Vicki said.
"I"m sorry about Janie. And I really do like the necklace. How"d you get the money?"
"I didn"t take it-honest," Ryan said.
"I didn"t think you stole it," Vicki said.
"It just looks like it cost a lot."
"Saved it," Ryan said. Vicki could see his breath as Ryan looked straight ahead.
"The guy at the store made me promise not to tell he sold me something with a cross on it." He sighed and shook his head.
"Janie yelled at me because I caught her. She was smoking something up there."
By the time they got home, Janie had aired out the room and disposed of whatever she had been smoking.
"Ryan"s a liar," Janie said.
"I didn"t do anything."
Four Months Later Judd looked at the test questions, and his heart sank. He knew the answers, but the truth wasn"t what his teacher, Mr.
Syncrete, wanted. Judd had had no problems all year in trigonometry or English. He had a running feud with the biology teachers over evolution, but he could back up his beliefs with scientific data. Religion cla.s.s threatened his dream of becoming valedictorian. Judd proudly wore the cross in Mr. Syncrete"s cla.s.s. The Global Community required religious education for graduation. Judd struggled not to make waves, but at times he couldn"t keep silent.
The cla.s.s had begun with an overview of the Enigma Babylon One World Faith. Mr.
Syncrete praised its leader, Pontifex Maximus Peter, for ushering in what he called a "new era of tolerance and unity" among all major religions. Mr. Syncrete spent hours on Eastern religions and spoke in glowing terms of animistic beliefs-that even objects have a soul. Guest lecturers explained everything from worship of ancestors to yoga. But the teacher"s demeanor soured when he covered Judaism. And when Christianity finally came up, his att.i.tude got even worse.
"The Jews believe in one G.o.d who let them be annihilated in the Holocaust," Mr. Syncrete said with a sneer.
"And the Christians have three G.o.ds who did the same. It"s an irrational, superst.i.tious belief system."
According to Mr. Syncrete, the biggest enemies of the new one-world faith were the millions who believed Jesus was the only way to G.o.d. He scoffed at those who dared disagree. He read word for word the statement of Pontifex Maximus Peter concerning Christians: To say arbitrarily, Pope Peter wrote, that the Jewish and Protestant Bible, containing only the Old and New Testaments, is the final authority for faith and practice, represents the height of intolerance and disunity. It flies in the face of all we have accomplished. Those who agree with that false doctrine are hereby considered heretics.
Spats between Judd and Mr. Syncrete were legendary. No matter what the argument, Judd came back to the Resurrection. Jesus was the only spiritual leader to prove his claims of divinity.
"You have no basis for saying that," Mr. Syncrete said once.
"Give me one shred of evidence that the so-called Resurrection isn"t the work of fishermen turned fiction writers."
"I"ll give you the evidence," Judd said, "if you"ll admit that the resurrection of Jesus, if it happened, changes everything you"re teaching."
Judd had the man in a corner. If Mr. Syncrete admitted that rising from the dead would prove the claims of Christ, Judd could show that Jesus was a real person who had risen from the dead. If he didn"t let Judd speak, Mr. Syncrete would look like a coward.
"We"ll come back to this," Mr. Syncrete had said finally.
Everyone snickered. They never got back to the question, and from that day on, Judd knew Mr.
Syncrete was out to fail him.
While the Young Tribulation Force cheered Judd"s efforts, Bruce cautioned him.
"You don"t win hearts by winning arguments. It"s important to know the truth and tell it, but you can"t use it to hurt. Speak the truth in love." Judd answered the multiple-choice questions on his final. On a couple he put asterisks and wrote notes at the bottom of the page: "This is the view taught in cla.s.s, not my point of view." But the final essay question made his blood boil: "Enigma Babylon One World Faith encompa.s.ses all religions and is thus superior to all individual belief systems.
Explain why you believe this."
Judd rose and approached the teacher"s desk.
"Sit down, Mr. Thompson," Mr. Syncrete said.
"But this is not a fair question. It a.s.sumes"-"I said sit down!"
"It may be your job," Judd said, "but I won"t be brainwashed."
"Give me your test."
Judd handed it to him.
"You are excused. The final is half your grade. You"ve just failed the cla.s.s."
Judd went straight to Mr. Kurtz, the dean of students. Mr.
Kurtz was a Santa-like figure with a big, round belly and a white beard. He could be tough, but Judd respected him. Judd explained as Mr. Kurtz stroked his beard.
"I"ve been watching the grade point averages, and you"re a lock," Mr. Kurtz said.
"The only thing that could possibly come between you and the top of your cla.s.s is an F."
"I don"t think it"s a fair question," Judd said.
"It makes the wrong a.s.sumption-that I agree."
Mr. Kurtz shrugged.
"You can go back and apologize, throw yourself on his mercy, and answer the thing, or take your lumps."
"I have no other choice?"
"You could go to the school board, but graduation would be long over by the time they could act on your complaint.
Looks like you have to choose. "
Judd hurried back to cla.s.s. He had only five minutes left.
Toward the end of a study period, Vicki heard a commotion and followed her teacher into the hall. AGlobal Community guard rifled through Janie"s locker. Janie stood nearby yelling, "You have no right!"
Before Vicki could get to her, Mrs. Jenness led Janie to the office.
"Back to cla.s.s," the teacher said. Vicki turned and nearly ran into Judd.
"Sorry," Judd said.
"I don"t have time to explain, but pray for me."
Only a handful of students were still taking the test when Judd returned. Mr. Syncrete didn"t look up.
Only three minutes left in the cla.s.s.
"Mr. Kurtz suggested I apologize, throw myself on your mercy."