The Atonement (22 page)

“Pastor, can I ask you a question?” said
Riley.

“Of course,” answered the Pastor.

“When the Bible says that a woman should not
wear a garment pertaining to a man, do you agree that means women
should not wear clothes that are made specifically for men?”

“Yes, that’s what the language means.”

“So if I’m wearing something that’s made
specifically for a woman, it’s okay? Right?”

“Well, I would be inclined to say yes. A
woman should wear what’s made for a woman and a man should wear
what’s made for a man.”

“Now if I buy an article of clothing to wear
to church, or anywhere else for that matter, then that means I
should buy from the women’s department since those clothes are made
for women. On the other hand, it would be wrong of me to buy
clothes from the men’s department because those are made for men.
Right?”

“Can’t argue with you so far.”

“Therefore I think it can be safe to say that
a woman should not wear men’s pants to church. Would you agree
Pastor?”

“Yes, I would have to agree, Rye” chuckled
the Pastor.

“Pastor Bynum, I promise you, I will never
wear men’s pants to church or anywhere else, if I can help it.”

Allyson, had to chuckle to herself at Riley’s
rebuttal to Mother Rose’s invectives. Despite her awful fashion
sense, Allen’s cousin had wit and moxy. She could respect that.

“Looks like we might have another lawyer in
the family,” said Vernon.

“Pastor! Please do not encourage her. You and
I both know very well that pants were originally designed for men
only,” said Mother Rose.

“So were hats, belts, shirts, and underwear,”
said Riley.

“Okay, let’s talk about something else. We
don’t want to be like the Pharisees, now. Remember it’s not what’s
on the outside that counts,” said the Pastor.

“Still, the outside is a reflection of what
is within,” insisted Mother Rose.

“Mother, we will discuss this later,” said
Pastor Bynum.

“Allen, what’s that you’re drinking?” asked
mother Lena as she studied the can next to Allen’s plate. “That’s a
mighty small can for a soda.”

“It’s just an energy drink, mama,”

“You mean like those ones with all the
caffeine?”

“Yeah, but this one’s not as bad as some that
are out there. I only drink them when I need to study”

“You better be careful, Al. Those things
aren’t good for you. There are other ingredients in there beside
caffeine that can wreak havoc on your system,” said Tim.

“I’ve heard they’re no good for your heart,
and with your history, you don’t need none of that. Find strength
in the Lord, and leave them so called energy drinks alone” said
Lena.

“History? What’s she talking about, Al?”
asked Callie.

“When he was a baby, he had an irregular
heartbeat,” said Lena.

“How come you never told me this?” said
Callie.

“Because it’s a non-issue. That was a long
time ago. I was a born premature. I had a lot of other things wrong
with me then, but I’m fine now,” said Allen.

“Never could play sports in school. Had to
settle for chess club,” said Vernon.

“C’mon, it can’t be that bad, or they
wouldn’t put it out there,” said Jim trying to defend Allen.

“They’ll put anything out there if it makes
money. From what I hear, some folks even dying from that mess,”
said Vernon as he dipped a chunk of potato in some gravy. “Allen,
you gon’ have to leave off that.”

“But, those were people who had more than
several cans at a time. I don’t intend on doing anything like
that.”

“I mean it, Allen. That’s yo’ first and your
last drink. If I see any of those things turn up in the fridge,
they’re goin’ down the sink. You hear me boy?”

“I hear you,” sighed Allen.

“Mr. Sharpe, Allen’s a grown man, and you’re
treating him like a child,” said Callie.

“Callie, it’s okay. It’s not a big deal,”
said Allen.

“Allen may be a grown man, but he’s living in
my house, which means what I say goes. Ain’t that right Allen?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you children
today. I’m 53 years old, and I don’t need no energy drink,” said
Vernon.

“In all fairness, Mr. Sharpe, Al’s got a lot
he’s trying to manage, what with work, law school, church and…”
said Callie.

“And a ready made family to boot,” said
Riley, interrupting Callie’s defense. “Maybe you should drop some
of your commitments, Al. I can think of one in particular,” said
Riley, sending a cold look Callie’s way, before taking a sip of
seltzer from her glass.

“Everybody, please! Just because I had an
energy drink, doesn’t mean my life is spiraling out of control.
You’re acting like I’m doing…”

Allen stopped mid-sentence and looked over at
Jim. Allyson looked around. Everyone seemed to be uncomfortable.
She wondered what it was all about.

“Just trust me when I say I’m handling
things.”

“Alright, we hear you. But remember you can’t
do it by yourself. Trust God to help you” said Lena.

“I will – I mean I am,” said Allen.

“
So Allyson, you haven’t
said much this evening. I hope you’re having a good time with us,”
said Pastor Bynum to their guest taking the conversation into
another direction.

“I’m not much of a talker,” she said with a
bit of a start. She didn’t expect them to bring her into their
conversation. “I like to think of myself as more of an observer of
human behavior”

“I heard you got the chance to observe our
service today. I’m curious to know what you thought of it”

“It’s certainly was louder than any other
service I’ve ever attended”

“Of course. The Bible says
make a joyful noise unto the Lord.
²
That’s what we do at our
church. We praise him so that He knows how much we love Him and how
grateful we are for His mercies toward us”

“It seems your god must have a hearing
impairment,”

“Allyson!” said Tim, shooting an angry look
her way. “I apologize Pastor Bynum”

“What?!” said Allyson.

“Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do.
³
Or say,” said Lena shaking her
head.

“It’s okay, Tim,” said Pastor Bynum before
returning his attention to his sister. “I guess you don’t believe
in God”

“No, I don’t. I hope that doesn’t offend
you,” she said.

“Young lady, we’re not offended by your
unbelief, but no matter what your beliefs are you need to respect
ours, especially when you’re in my house,” said Vernon sharply. “Is
that understood?”

For a minute she thought Poppa had come back
to life in the form of Allen’s father, their manner of reprimand
being so similar.

“Absolutely – sir”

“Do you mind if I ask why you don’t believe?”
asked Pastor Bynum.

“If you must know, it’s because I think the
concept of god is an ideal just like good, love, fairness, truth,
and justice. They’re all concepts people made up when they started
to form societies. Since man is feudal by nature, these ideals were
created to moderate people’s behavior so we don’t live in a state
of constant war. In reality there are only the strong and the weak.
Weaker people invented concepts like good and evil and such to keep
the stronger people from destroying them. The concept of ‘evil’
particularly is used as a boogey man to guilt stronger people into
giving up their power for the sake of the weak. It’s how the weak
ensure their own survival,” said Allyson with an air of
smugness.

“Sounds like philosophy 101,” said Tamiko. “A
la Nietzsche”

“So lemme get this straight – you’re saying
if I decided to beat you down right now and take your wallet, it’d
be okay because I bested you. Like because since I proved I’m
stronger I deserve it, right?”

“I’m not sure you understand me,” said
Allyson. Given that Allen’s cousin was taller and more muscular
than herself, she felt that there needed to be some
clarification.

“Oh, I think I do. You better be glad there
are people who believe in those concepts you mockin’, otherwise I’d
have myself a cute little pink purse,” said Riley.

“I was trying to explain that Right, Wrong,
Good, and Evil along with all the other ideals are culturally
relevant. They change from nation to nation, culture to culture,
and from one generation to another. That’s why there are so many
different religions and that’s why even the religions themselves
change from one age to the next. They change along with the needs
and power structures of societies,” Allyson continued. It all
seemed so obvious to her, and she believed there was no way they
could refute her logical argument.

“Do you really think that’s right, though? To
change your morals based on what’s expedient or on politics?” asked
Allen.

“It’s not about what I personally consider to
be right or wrong. My feelings are irrelevant. It’s what is,” said
Allyson defending her position. They were all staring at her as if
she were to be pitied.

“
Says who?” asked Pastor
Bynum.

“
Research has uncovered tons
of anthropological evidence,” said Allyson.

“
Why should I trust their
research? Man’s been known to be wrong about things before. When my
daddy was just a young boy, scientists and anthropologists had a
lot of so called evidence to support the idea that
African-American’s were not human. Turned out they were egregiously
wrong. Why should I trust them in this case? Who’s to say this
philosophy you’ve heard is a version of things that they’re using
to try to control people like me”

“
I know what you’re getting
at. Your kind likes to believe in absolutes: you believe there is
only one god, one standard for what should be considered right and
wrong. You believe in absolute Truth. Absolute truth is a theory
that’s never been proven. Experience tells us that there is no such
thing”

“
So you don’t believe in
absolutes”

“
Exactly. Absolutes can’t be
trusted because they can’t be proven”

“
And you are positively
certain that there is no absolute truth. There could never ever be
any other explanation, right? Is that what you believe?”

“
Of course”

“
Then you contradict
yourself. You do believe in absolutes. You just believe that there
is absolutely no such thing as absolute truth. I guess that means
your idea can neither be proven or trusted”

Allyson sat shocked. Never had she had any
religious person answer her in such a way before, but she wasn’t
ready to concede to the guru’s argument.

“
But it can’t be proven.
Evidence shows there’s no such thing as Truth. If there was, then
why do different peoples have their own versions of what Truth is
supposed to be?”

“
I’ll tell you why: ‘Because
that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God hath
shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that
they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God they
glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful; but became
vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed
the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like unto
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping
things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the
lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between
themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped
and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for
ever. Amen’”
⁴

“
Amen, Pastor!” said Mother
Rose.

“
And what does that mean?”
asked Allyson.

“
It means that one thing all
people have in common is that they have an awareness of and a
desire to worship God. No matter where you go in the world, there
isn’t a culture that doesn’t worship something. God created us with
that desire and it is only when we worship the true and living God
that we feel complete, whole, and satisfied. Unfortunately, many
people have refused to worship Him as he is. Blinded by lust,
power, selfishness, pride, fear or greed, they turn from worshiping
God to various religions. Religions are man made and oftentimes man
centered. They are a set of prescribed rituals and practices,
nothing more. These rituals, in and of themselves, can do nothing
for anyone unless they are tied to true faith in the One True and
Living God and that faith is based on the sacrifice that his Son
Jesus made. That is why even religions that claim to worship God
can often be pagan in nature. Too many times people trust in a
certain ritual or practice and not God himself. Their faith is
about using the ritual to get what they want in order to fulfill
their own desires and purposes, rather fulfilling God’s will and
purpose for their lives,” explained the Pastor.

“
Praise God, Pastor!
Hallelujah!” said Mother Rose.

“
But what about those of us
who don’t have a religion or believe in anything?” asked
Allyson.

“
Everyone believes in
something, even the atheist and the nihilist. If you didn’t believe
something, you would have no belief to express. If you didn’t
believe in something, you’d have no reason to persuade me to
believe anything other than what I believe. Atheists indeed have a
religion and human intellect is their god. Their church is the
university and their worship is debate and research,” said Pastor
Bynum.