I never liked sitting in a small booth. I guess I was more accustomed to the open environment of the outdoors than the cushy churches.
Churches. I never really wrapped my head around the concept. Seemed so odd to have people sit down and have a man read out what was printed on a book. Whatever happened to just believing?
Actually, believing in a book was exactly why I came to this small booth.
"So, what sins have you come to confess?" The Priest spoke to me as he entered the room.
"None. I am here to bring up a concern." I said.
"Sir, this is a confessional booth. This is where you bring up the sins you've done so that our lord and savior can forgive you for it." I needed to talk to some man in gilded vestments to get a third party to forgive me? I somehow feel like he's just using this as an excuse to sharpen his knife.
"A concern is what I consider a sin. Concern leads to doubt. Doubt leads to people making new gods to cater to their whims. You remember the Golden Calf, correct? It was made because people doubted Moses. Because they were concerned what will happen to them now that they were freed from Egyptian slavery." I said.
"Ah, you make a fair point. I see you've read the Bible." The Priest mentioned.
"No. Mainly a story I heard long ago." However, I did decide to get around to the point. "But, if I were to believe in the Bible, I would end up going to Heaven. That's the gist of what I got when attending Sunday's service, right?" I asked.
"Yes. Definitely. The word of the Lord is the only word you need to go to Heaven." He said.
"So… If I don't believe in it, what happens?" I asked.
"Well then, you'd be damned to hell. God damns you to Hell if you don't believe in the Bible." He said. That's when my blood ran cold. If the Priest was looking at me, he'd mistake me for a statue with how stiff I've become.
"So… Let me get this straight. If I believe in someone's writings, I go to Heaven and if I find anything wrong with it, or would rather believe in God's presence in things other than paper, I'm going to Hell." I said.
"Well... Yeah. These are Holy Scriptures you're talking about." The Priest said. I just rolled my eyes.
"Tell me, when you speak of believing in the Bible, are you saying for us to believe in God or this…" I read the title of the Bible given to me when I attended Sunday. "King James?" I tried to keep a serious tone throughout the 'confessional', but I ended up having my voice crack just from reading such a mundane name.
King James… doesn't quite roll off the tongue.
"Well… No, it's just the name that denotes what version of the Bible we use." He said.
"Version… Meaning there's multiple copies of these supposed Holy Scriptures. Don't you think it diminishes its holiness?" I asked.
"I… Well… No… Because it's the word of the lord and-" I decided to cut his tongue off. Well, not literally.
"Tell me. If a meteor were to fall on this very church and destroy everything, me included, but left you to live, would you chalk that up as a miracle from God or some freak accident?" I asked.
"I… That… That's just stupid!" The Priest said.
"May be. But the Lord works in mysterious ways. I believe in people through their actions, not words printed on dead trees. This includes God." I said.
"But God doesn't make himself known to a lot of people. Heck, we only know of Jesus' sacrifice from those very words. If it weren't for those words, we would not be here having this conversation." He said. Time for the claws to come out.
"No. If you didn't shove that drivel down people's throats, I would not be having this conversation with you." My voice lowered to a growl. I could feel the tension in the air as I saw the silhouette of the Priest shake.
"W-what are you talking about?" The Priest asked.
"Not too long ago, a girl visited your church. Soon after, she died in a tragic accident. She was not a believer of the Bible. So, by your demented logic, she's burning in Hell right now." I said.
"… W-well… That's not what I meant…" The Priest stammered. Time to sharpen my claws.
"Backpedaling? It's all fun and games before someone loses an eye, correct? When someone confronts you on the topic, you cave and deny your previous statement. I'm going to be counting now." I said.
"For what?" He asked me.
"How many times you'll deny what you said before the rooster crows. Right now, I have the feeling you'll beat Simon's record. Your words caused a kid to feel concern. Concern that an all loving God who sent his only son to die to save humanity suddenly feels petty enough to send one innocent girl to burn because she doesn't read a single book. You're lucky that concern was squashed before he could start doubting, because otherwise I'd have to really ream you for this defamation of character." I said.
"Defamation? Look, I'm bringing God's glory to the forefront for people to worship! The Bible is the book of deeds he's done to benefit humanity!" He said.
"No. It's not. It is the book of the deeds his children done. Good or ill, yet all forgiven in his eyes. There was no Bible printed back in the day and thus nothing for them to believe in. So are you meant to say they're all damned to hell?" I asked.
"… Well…" I could tell just from how stiff the Priest was that I pretty much messed his mind for the next while. I then sighed.
"There is one woman who does not believe in the Bible. Her family all died in a train wreck, but she survived simply by not being present. She still doesn't believe to this very day. But I have faith that she will one day believe once again and be with her family in Heaven." I proceeded to get up. "Despite what I have said and my antagonism towards you, I have faith in you too. For I am all loving." With that, I left before the Priest could notice my slip of the tongue.
I once said to some children that I had a name in this world. But I was too busy with my work in my world that I didn't have the time to see if that name was celebrated or feared. After its end, I took some free time to explore the other worlds and see how my names were treated there. One was treated with fear, another with such a love that could only be shared between soul mates, and one of them was discarded in favor of some mechanic.
My name here, however, was loved and feared. This name walked the fine line between faith and doubt. Of all the time I spent in these worlds, this world in particular was the one I spent the most time in.
So many people in this world regard this name with different meanings. It was both amazing and scary at the same time. I decided to take it slow, indulge myself with the world before I move back to my kingdom. Humans are very interesting people, and I am thankful for the decision I made to save them all the way back.
I just hope that those who believe in words also believe in actions and most importantly, believe in me.