Old Stone Church

Ten year old Alex Cavender watched in horror as the huge building imploded. It was the old stone church that, according to city leaders, had stood for over one hundred years. The tall steeple, a prominent landmark in the city, now lay crushed on the ground. Alex held tightly to his mother's hand, and pretended not to see the tears slipping down her face. She was a very private person. For her to cry in public like this was a big deal to her fifth grade son. He felt like crying himself. He always loved to hear the bells on Sunday morning. They would never toll again for the people of this city. The church was completely destroyed. It was a sad day for Alex. He knew there was something going on, but he didn't know what.

His mind was full of contradictions. He felt a connection to that church, and he was sad to see it destroyed. There was a group of people called the AFA (American Freedom Association) and they had handed out pamphlets about The Law at his school. It said that The Law would free our nation of bigotry and the evils of rigid closed-mindedness. It talked a lot about political correctness and not offending others. His teacher had explained about there being no absolute right or wrong. He wasn't sure all that made sense to him. It felt like he was being pushed into things that didn't fit.

He was so troubled and so deep in thought that he forgot his mother's tears and started rattling off questions.

"What gives them the right to destroy such a beautiful old building? Why do some people hate Christians so much? Can they really put you in jail just for quoting the bible?

Jillian had been thinking through some of the same questions herself. She was proud of her son for asking such mature questions and she told him so. She didn't recognize her own voice so she quickly cleared her throat and tried to discreetly dry her eyes.

"I was just thinking to myself and wondering how we had come to this place. It seems like such a short time ago that my mother told me stories about when she was in school and they had prayer and studied the bible every day. One of the worst things to happen at school was when someone got caught chewing bubble gum in class. Since then, one at a time, Christian liberties have been taken away. They started teaching evolution as scientific fact. They took prayer out of school. They invented something called political correctness which sounded innocent enough, but turned into a mighty weapon against liberty and truth. They then used global warming and when there wasn't any warming, climate change to call anyone who disagreed with them science deniers.

There was a time not too long ago when Christians were not afraid to stand for what was right. Since then the liberal courts and the left wing have gradually eroded our freedom and vilified Christians. They even passed so called hate crime laws that made it illegal to say anything against another person's lifestyle or belief. Somehow though these laws are never applied when people speak against Christianity. They can say anything they want about Jesus or Christians, even great lies, and it is ok."

Alex was a little overwhelmed with all this information and he knew that his mother was very upset by something about this. He decided not to upset her any more. He thought he would talk to his Grandfather at Thanksgiving. He was sure he would know the answers to all his question. Many times, he had heard his mom and dad discussing The Law that would soon be introduced in Washington D.C. Alex had lived there all his life. His grandfather was in politics and currently the vice president of the United States of America. Alex was always proud of his grandfather he thought that he was a wonderful politician. He had spent many years in the senate before he became vice president. The family was confident he would run for president in the next election.

No-Win Situation

John Paul Cavender is one of the most respected men in Washington D.C. Even as the vice president of the United States, he is very popular with both political parties. He had friends on both sides of the aisle. He has a well-deserved reputation for helping reconcile differences. He was also known for being very principled and decisive.

He was a big man in stature. He stood over six feet tall with salt and pepper hair, and warm brown eyes and he was in excellent shape. Many women found him quite attractive. Some even made a point of letting him know it. John was always polite to them and quick to tell them about his beautiful wife Rebecca. He simply wasn't interested in any other woman. Since they first met, Rebecca had always been the only woman for him.

John is a devoted family man and a politician. He loves and values both his family and his career. He always wanted to do the right thing for his fellow Americans. John hoped to run for president as soon as President William Noble's term was up. He had worked very hard toward that goal and he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in months. William's first term had passed by quickly. They had managed to do a lot of work in conjunction with their Conservative counterparts. The second term had been a nightmare. The Liberals were in power. You would have thought that was a good thing, but John Paul couldn't wait for this term to be over. He was a Liberal, but it seemed the face of the party was changing every day. He hardly recognized it anymore. There was a time when both parties could work together for the good of the country. That seemed a long time ago. These were troubled times in America. A lot of unrest among the people and the government.

John Paul sat quietly in his office evaluating his professional life. It seemed kind of dark now. The house was getting ready to introduce a new bill to the senate that could have a huge impact on John's career, and it would take a miracle for him to run...