My Son Emmanuel: Savior

MY SON

MMANUEL

Savior

DAL LARRY

AuthorHouse™ LLC

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© 2013 Dal Larry. All rights reserved.

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Published by AuthorHouse 12/05/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1719-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1718-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1717-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013916616

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Medilogue

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

I WOULD LIKE TO thank my publisher AUTHORHOUSE for seeing fit to print such a piece of work. Their guidance throughout the process was definitely A PIECE OF WORK.

Without the patience of my wife, Carol Ann, who put up with my late hours in the office away from home, this work would not have been possible.

My son, Dr. James Darian, and his wife, Dr. Mariette, gave the extra incentive that made the completion of this work possible.

To my favorite (and only) grandson, Wesley Jameson, who keeps me alive with substance to live for I dedicate this work. He is the epitome of a MY SON character.

November 20, 2013

Dallas Pierre BS MS DDS

Introduction

A S A BOY, being reared in a highly religious atmosphere, the idea of a man living on earth two thousand years ago going about doing good, giving sight to the blind, healing the sick, and, eventually, dying for our sins was indeed perplexing in light of the fact that there was no living being to whom I could relate to Jesus Christ. This confusing phenomenon became more chaotic in my mind as I grew older and realized that individuals who claimed to be Jesus’s prophets were seemingly His opposite—driving luxury cars, preaching against welfare handouts, condemning rather than forgiving those who found themselves taking the wrong path.

If Jesus lived today, I meagerly reasoned, would He drive luxury cars? Would He own several Rolls Royces? Would He condemn those who did not contribute money to the ’cause of the kingdom?’ Would He condemn women for wanting to control their own bodies? What would a present-day Jesus really be like?

Over a period of many years, I jotted down thoughts, taped ideas, took notes of sermons, and studied the Gospels hoping to someday coordinate all of these into a novel depicting a present-day Jesus Christ. The present book is the result of that.

I wish to make it perfectly clear early that the author is neither famous nor blooming. He therefore makes no claim toward professionalism as a writer. However, it is appropriate that a nonprofessional writes such a piece of work because it is meant to be read, understood, and appreciated by the masses. I am discouraged by the number of people who depend upon the so-called chosen few (ministers, religious leaders, etc.) to read the Bible for them. The Bible says… is a common term of biblical teachers. One hardly hears, Go to the book of Luke and read for yourself what the Bible says. The layman is readily confused by the complicated, disarranged language and plot of the Bible. It is my strong desire here, though, that the language not reach the point of oversimplification, rendering it a bore to the members of the cultural book clubs of the world.

There has been voluminous controversy over attempts to change the Bible. The King James Version, which has been universally accepted as the interpretation of the Bible, has had firm support for centuries. However, views of ambiguity of this version have led to the Living Bible, Good News Bible, and New Revised King James Version, as well as many other publications, more recently (still hot off the press), The Book. All of these attempts, although well-meaning, have had their critics.

Someone has said, and truly so, "Jesus (the Bible) does not change, but people do!" Means of transportation change. From Jesus’s time to the present we see a change of transport from the ass to the automobile. Architectural structures change, and these changes have a tendency to, of necessity, change our lives (or vice versa), our way of living. Chancing the criticism of being labeled oversimplified, we would look awfully silly riding a mule to church on Sunday morning.

Assuredly, since people change, since children change because of environmental changes, due to no fault of their own, then our methods of teaching them must change. Our method of giving them the Bible must change! Teaching them simply Jesus wept, as was done hundreds of years ago, becomes irreverent in light of the fact that today’s youngsters want to know the significance of his distress. To a greater extent, a minister of the gospel would reject the idea vehemently, for example, if he were told to go into a garden, take several reasons with him, and get on his knees by a large stone, as a pulpit, and pray. Hah! He would retort, I am not going to get my new suit dirty. Why can’t I kneel on my plush carpet in my million-dollar church at my $1,500 hardwood pulpit?

As ridiculous as this correlation seems, this is exactly what we are attempting to do with the Bible (i.e., teach how to pray in a garden by a large stone). In a sense, our teaching methods are so antiquated that we are still teaching how to put on horseshoes instead of teaching how to repair flats.

Before entering a tumultuous, disputatious encounter with biblical scholars, it is appropriate for me to make it crystal clear that this book is not to be considered as the Bible, as a commentary on the Bible, or as one of the so-called versions of the Bible, nor is a claim made toward authenticity of contents. The essence of this book is to show that even though the situation differs considerably from Jesus’s time, a similar situation still occurs. A Jesus can appear among us, and, in fact, one may be presently among us who is attempting to accomplish the same aims as biblical Jesus—a man who is attempting to right wrongs and revive those who do not have hope in themselves; who is being, or will be, legally assassinated for his efforts. The present-day Jesus places more emphasis on individual initiative as an incentive, rather than using God entirely. The ultimate goal being a reward of a mansion here on earth—a mansion consisting of a heavenly environment of brotherly love, peace, and utopianism.

Prologue

L ET’S FACE IT! Whether you believe in this individual or not, the life of Jesus was indeed the most influential of any being who lived or who was alleged to have lived here on earth. Our system of chronology is based upon the year of his alleged birth. He solved, to a great extent, the unemployment problem by creating jobs for ministers, evangelists, missionaries, etc. The unemployment ratio would be extremely high if this group of religious workers was considered among the jobless. He placed a large dent in the problem of poverty by inspiring the affluent to assist the less fortunate. He gave many people hope, thereby solving psychiatric problems for a significant part of the population. Psychiatrists tell us that their least frequent patient is the religious—those who have developed a meaningful life in Christ. This is much more than can be said of the followers of Superman or of the 007 character, depicting sex, violence, and the like. We presently dare to present the opposite hero—one of compassion, understanding, and no desire for personal gain. We dare present a man who had this peculiar, somewhat insane desire to do what was right.

The fascination of the man Jesus is obvious and exists everywhere and is experienced by everyone. No one can claim that they are not affected in one way or the other by the fact that Jesus lived on earth at one time. People everywhere have attempted to duplicate His existence in their own lives but have been unsuccessful because they attempt to design it to their own personal gains.

The fact that Jesus lived thousands of years ago does present a problem, however, in this world of relativity. Everyone wants to relate to something or someone in a world of peer relationships, color consciousness, I am somebody-ness, I want to be me-ness, I did it my way-ness.

A Jesus who can relate to these states is needed today. What if there was a Jesus, a savior, if you please, who can relate with these modern-day facets? Mind you, not a money grabber, not an individual who works on the emotions of people to derive money or worldly favors from them, not a selfish individual who cares about his worldly fame and riches, but rather one who really, sincerely wants everyone to be rich in faith in himself, rich in charity for others, rich in the belief that everyone is somebody in his own right and is in need of a buildup of confidence in self, resulting in peace of mind. One who really believes in turning the other cheek. One who has no party affiliation—completely nonpartisan. One who really loves his enemies of all races and religions. Could such a man exist today? Could there indeed be such an individual? Could there indeed be one who imposes such grave influence on a people, a nation, a generation, a world, for thousands of years hence?

Every facet of biblical Jesus’s life was different from today’s life—mores, customs, and lifestyles. Eternal life (a life in the hereafter) seemed to have been the central theme of Jesus of two thousand years ago. Although the present-day Jesus still essentially holds to this central theme, the impact of His ministry emphasizes a good life on earth. The era of biblical Jesus was a time when a lawyer did not have the same connotation as today. A tax collector, then, was a feared authoritarian, whereas today, the collection of taxes is not reserved to individuals but to institutions. Although physicians at the time healed the sick as they do today, their methods differed, and their places in the community bore a somewhat different meaning. Without doubt, ministers of today are of an entirely different breed from biblical time.

Additionally, we must keep in mind that the time of Jesus was a superstitious time—a time when everything that happened on earth was an act of God. Even rain, to mention nothing of earthquakes, meteors, etc., was considered a blessing, or a curse, of divine significance.

The set of circumstances that surrounded biblical Jesus’s life are circumstances the combination of which occurs only once. Almost two thousand years have transpired since this extraordinary happenstance. I contend that a similar set of circumstances will never occur. Notwithstanding this assertion, the surge of popularity of fictitious literature paves the way for a similar set of circumstances to reoccur, at least in the realm of fantasized imagination. The challenge has been met in the present work, which presents these circumstances as related to the future. Famine then, for example, will be recession; unexplained earthquakes then will be a predetected earthquake on the seismograph; a demon will be a mental condition; a bright star leading the way will be a comet; unexplained changes, attributable to gods then, will be predictable solar, cosmic, lunar changes, and eclipses; etc. The second Coming of Jesus must be a delicate interweaving of those superstitious beliefs of that time and the sophistication of today’s scientific knowledge.

Miracles do happen… So goes a famous song. Let’s, therefore, enter the world of miracles and make believe Jesus of yester-century is the Jesus of today living and existing among us, like you and me in today’s world, with one major difference—He is blessed with a talent for service and dedication greater than the world has ever seen, a talent and dedication that will change the world. He will speak plainly, so that everyone understands—understands His purpose, understands His divinity, and understands His mission.

Chapter 1

T HE PRESIDENT OF the United States rose as the three dozen men filed into the Oval Office of the White House. He swept out from behind his desk and shook each man’s hand.

Once he had personally greeted each of the visitors, he assumed a position in front of the huge, maple desk.

Gentlemen, he beamed, how nice it is to see all of you. I certainly do appreciate your coming. The situation, while not critical, is certainly needful of your attention and… more than that… needful of your cooperation and your backing.

Well, Mister President, replied Rev. Garland Hicks, the presumed spokesman for the group, I think all of us here in this room can appreciate how critical the times have become. Things that may have seemed radical some years ago don’t seem radical at all in these troubled days. Morally, my colleagues and I feel that the country is totally out of control. We know that you feel the same way, sir. It’ll be our pleasure… and our privilege… to do whatever we can, in our limited ways, to help you in your campaign. We all realize, Mister President, the importance of seeing this constitutional convention idea through.

President Theodore York, a tall, slender man with gray hair, smiled warmly. He didn’t look his seventy-seven years; especially when he displayed that famous winning smile. Well, Doctor Hicks, I appreciate it. We all do. A new Constitution is an idea whose time has come. In fact, it may be close to being past. As you’ve heard me say dozens of times on television, the Constitution… as drafted by the Founding Fathers… was fine when it was written. But that was over 250 years ago. Now, in the year 2023, the old Constitution’s just not practicable anymore. You know that as well as I do, gentlemen. Yet and still, we run into the same opposition year after year. I can’t really take credit for launching this campaign… and launching it through your churches… but I wholeheartedly support it. When Secretary Cole proposed it, I said to myself, ‘Why didn’t you think of that?’

Well, sir, replied Garland Hicks, you’re aware, I’m certain, that the media is going to man the trenches in this new campaign. They’re going to put up one ferocious battle against a constitutional convention. Especially since they’re aware that some of the advantages they now enjoy under the First Amendment may be altered or lost to them altogether.

President York began to pace—six or eight paces to his left and then six or eight paces to his right. Well, he said at length, fortunately the media has pretty well discredited itself over the years. It really doesn’t have much clout these days, thank God. I think the public has gotten to where they don’t pay much attention to the media anymore. As you know, their fall from grace hasn’t been a recent occurrence. In fact, it really began back in the 1980s. One of my predecessors, Ronald Reagan, actually was able to exclude the news media from a military invasion of a little island in the Caribbean called Grenada. I’m sure you’re aware that the public sided with the president. Of course, while that incident in and of itself didn’t bring the media down, it hurt them badly."

One of the other ministers nodded. That’s correct, Mister President. We’re all familiar with the incident, said Dr. Zeus Hand, a television evangelist from Atlanta.

Right, agreed Garland Hicks. As I understand it, the media still had their axes to grind, but the public began to pay them less and less attention.

The president, obviously pleased, smiled. Believe it or not, the television networks used to wield a good deal of influence. But after Grenada people stopped paying ’em much mind. Now, when people can simply plug into the legitimate theatre or plug into whatever movie they choose, the media really isn’t much of a consideration at all. Thank God.

Virtually every clergyman in the room echoed the president’s Thank God.

I tend to think, gentlemen, continued Theodore York, that the idea of a constitutional convention has more moral implications than anything else, which is really why I’d like to have you as involved as possible in the campaign.

We’ll be glad to do all we can to help, said Dr. Klaus Schmidt, whose Video Cathedral was so influential in the Pacific Northwest.

Again, said the president with a broad smile, "I thank you for that, Dr. Schmidt. We have so much to do, you know. It’s true that we have made so much progress through the years in the field of holding down welfare costs. But, on the other hand, we’ve lost so much in recent years in the terrible things that have been allowed to come into people’s homes. Some of those movies, gentlemen, are terribly immoral. Horribly immoral. We need to get a handle on some of these things, gentlemen, and under the present Constitution we just haven’t been able to do it. There are so many things we have to accomplish. As you know, people used to get upset at the prospect of doing away with the separation of church and state. But that feeling has diminished through the years. You don’t hear much talk about it anymore, except in the media, and no one pays much attention to that. Since we were able to get prayer reestablished in the schools back in 2012, the opposition has gotten less vocal and more weakened. I like to think of myself as an honorable man, gentlemen."

Replies such as of course or certainly greeted President York’s statement.

Once more he smiled. I’m putting my honor and my reputation on the line in this thing, gentlemen. In my heart, I feel that it’s the government’s duty to see that the young people of our country are given a wholesome—a moral—upbringing. Not the garbage they’re being fed by the movie industry or the people who put up some of those horribly sexually explicit videocassettes. Even the television industry. I still feel strongly that the airwaves ought to be regulated for content. However, I don’t know as we’ll ever be able to put that one over. Gentlemen, we’ve given them, all these entities, decades—literally decades—to clean up their own houses, and obviously they’re not going to do it. None of them, to my knowledge anyway, have taken even a baby step in that direction.

That’s right, sir, responded Garland Hicks. It just keeps getting worse and worse. Just when you think that you’ve seen it all, they pop up with something even worse. Something even more gross.

The president leaned to a position where his left hip was resting on his huge desk. Exactly! Exactly. I was certain that I wasn’t alone in my perception of just how badly things are getting out of control in that area. He walked around the mammoth desk and faced the evangelists once more. What I’d like to do, if you gentlemen are agreeable, is to have Secretary Cole sit in on the rest of our little get-together. He is, after all, the chief architect of the campaign, as well as many of the new ideas we’ll be proposing. Is that all right with you, gentlemen?

The group either nodded or articulated their approval.

The president reached down onto the desk and pressed a button. A small television monitor flashed to life, and the image of Secretary of State Bernard Cole, seated at his desk, filled the screen.

Bernie, said Theodore York in his patented soft-toned style, I believe our visitors would like for you to join in, if you don’t mind. Laughing, he added, Just so that it won’t be a surprise to you, it’s standing-room only.

The secretary laughed loudly. A big, burly man with an out-of-control handlebar moustache, Cole was the type of man who always seemed to fill up whatever room he graced. Certainly, Mister President, he boomed. I’ll be right over, sir.

The president walked back out to the visitors’ side of the desk and noted, The secretary’ll be here in a few minutes. In the meantime, let me just advise you that the secretary is concerned with some of the more pragmatic aspects of the proposed convention. He’s worried about too many rights for criminals and possible lack of discipline in the armed forces, and its effect on national defense and that sort of thing. Myself, I’m more concerned with the moral aspects.

Well, Mister President, said Dr. Pat Delaney, another television minister, I think I can safely say that all of us here appreciate the fact that the chief magistrate of the United States is concerned about the country’s morals, especially as concerns youth. It’s been too long, sir, since a president has had the inclination to concern himself with those things.

Thank you, Doctor Delaney. It pleasures me to hear you say that. I simply wanted you gentlemen to know where Secretary Cole’s priorities lie. He’s mostly interested in things such as abolishing the fifty states and converting them into four provinces, things like that. Don’t get me wrong; I think he’s correct. I’m just kind of letting him carry the ball in that area. There are so many legal questions. The mind boggles at the number and magnitude of legal questions. Secretary Cole is convinced that if we can draft the right kind of new Constitution, one that’ll address all these questions in advance, that it’ll overcome the multitude of legalities, and I guess he’s probably right. The cities, as you know, have become unwieldy. I, for one, have thought right along that it’s time we acknowledge what is already a fact—that they’re really not cities any longer. What they are is megatropolises. I’m not telling you anything new, I’m sure, when I say that from Boston to down past Washington here—actually down past Richmond—has practically become one city by now. All the mayors seem to be pulling against one another. Tax bases are a horrible nightmare. So Secretary Cole has a lot to contend with. However, I do want him to get together with you gentlemen, because…

At that moment, a knock on the door of the Oval Office interrupted the proceeding. Once the president bade him enter, the secretary of state joined the meeting.

Gentlemen, said Theodore York, as he attempted to put his arm around the huge shoulders of his cabinet officer, I’m sure I don’t have to introduce Secretary Bernard Cole.

Cole made a perfunctory bow toward the group of clergymen, displaying a grace uncommon for a man of his bulk. Gentlemen, he began, I’m sure the president has told you how important we believe your presence is in this campaign. We’ve got to go right to the people. We can’t get bogged down in arguing this thing in the media. They’re so set against it that it’d be impossible to get any kind of objectivity into the thing anyway. We have to go right to the people. You, gentlemen, may very well be the difference. I’m not just talking about the millions upon millions of people who are part of your various television ministries. That’s important—they’re important. Don’t get me wrong. They’re vital, in fact. Now, I don’t know if the president got quite this far, but it’s terribly important for you gentlemen to get out and press the flesh, as we say. Get out and talk to people on Sundays, right in their own churches. That’s important. Getting right out there among the people. We’re asking you to devote yourselves to a new—an exciting—crusade. It’s a crusade that can be tremendously rewarding in terms of morality abroad in the country. I can’t imagine a church in the entire nation that wouldn’t be proud—honored—to have any one of you gentlemen speak from their pulpit on a given Sunday. You, gentlemen, are missionaries. We need you; it’s as simple as that. We need you desperately. Without you, this entire project will fail. Gentlemen, if we fail here, it’ll be decades, literally decades, before we’ll be able to get a hand on the morals of this country again, especially insofar as youth is concerned. It’s in your hands, gentlemen.

Well, observed Pat Delaney, that’s quite a responsibility, Mister Secretary.

Bernard Cole nodded. "That’s true, Doctor Delaney. It’s almost