My Salvation, Your Condemnation: Proverbs

Some people really believe “ignorance is bliss!” Here’s a question – Why wouldn’t it be?

I’m sure you all have heard the saying, “God takes care of fools and babies.” This is very true and here is another question – Why wouldn’t he?

Some people have these ideas concerning judgement. “I don’t judge.” “Oh, you think you better than me?” “Oh, you ain’t better than no body.” “Don’t judge unless you want to be judged just like that.”

Do you know how fool is defined in the bible? A fool is someone who despises wisdom and instruction. Do I even need to say more. Even the most humblest of us can spot a fool using this basic definition. Sure, in their own humility, they may not want to peg someone a fool, but, ever so modestly they may point out someone’s foolish behavior.

Knowing about fools is the difference between life and death. The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. Proverbs 10:21 The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall. Proverbs 10:8

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. Proverbs 1:5-6

The Book of Proverbs is absolutely no joke. It’s not as easy a read as Ecclesiastes, for one, and the messages, or proverbs are far more cryptic. However, Proverbs is an absolute must read, because as I have mentioned it is the tangible difference between you living and you dying. Solomon, the author of Proverbs, makes a clear distinction between the fools and the wise. Throughout the book, there is no wonder who is going to come out on top, nor is there any wonder of who shall to succumb to death and for what reason.

I noticed something in this book that I find über-interesting. For the most part, the wise always will and the fool always shall. This is just an example to me of how deep God’s love is. We know that everyone has the same shot at salvation, so in saying that the fool shall, instead of the fool will, though he despises them he doesn’t forsake them. And this is why God takes care of fools and babies.

I had this girlfriend. Long before we got together, we’d spend time texting. Her texts were like decoding a code. It was so bad, her texts, one time I asked her if she knew how to read. That wasn’t the only time I questioned her literacy. She wasn’t the best driver. She’d always stop in the crosswalk. This is no exaggeration! She would always stop in the crosswalk, for red lights or to turn right on red, or at a 4 way intersection. I would see the pedestrians glaring at her through the windshield, glaring at us, rather. She was oblivious. Too busy trying to turn on red. Most times she’d do so without seeing the big black and white sign saying No Turn on Red. When I realized that these things were always happening, that she was doing these things on purpose, I asked her again if she could read. She’s never gotten into a car accident, though. Nor has she ever been the victim of road rage due to her lack of understanding for rules of the road. I used to be afraid, sitting in the crosswalk, cursed by a pedestrian, under the scrutiny of their “why-won’t-you-allow-me-to-cross-safely” stare. Because she’d never been in an accident, she was under the impression that her driving skills were up to par. However, after being with her for an extended amount of time, I remembered that God took care of fools and babies, and she was no baby. He delivered her time and time again and without her having to exercise a brain cell.

I did not peg her a fool or foolish because she couldn’t drive. Her inability to adhere to the rules of the road was the example that confirmed there was a higher power helping her along in life. She would ask me for advice, do the opposite of what I said and then come back where I’d say, “I told you so.” There were a lot of I told you so’s in that relationship. I started to think she hated the way my mind worked or the capacity I had for problem solving. I started to think she would ask me for advice just to not do what I suggested. When I would ask her why she didn’t take my advice, the advice I genuinely gave, she always had a reason, but it was never logical. Eventually, I stopped getting in cars with her and stopped giving her advice or any ideas she could use to navigate issues in her life. She was content leading by her own understanding and I had to respect that. Besides, there comes a point when you will no longer receive any proverbial points giving to someone who doesn’t want to take. As a matter of fact, you wind up just as they are.

Ignorance is bliss because it is an easy life. You go on, not caring to think, not caring to know, not caring to understand and because the sin of ignorance is so great God protects you from the inevitable. He takes care of babies because of their innocence. But, he takes care of fools, not only for their lot in life, but also because of his love and grace. He always hopes they will come to him and in order for that to happen, he has to protect them while they ignorantly go through life on the heels of death. In the same respect though, we have to get over the whole idea that there are people in this world that we aren’t better than. If we want to live, if we want to be healthy, if we want to succeed, we have to be more than fools, dare I say better than fools. There is no glory in using your energy to protect someone who doesn’t even know they need protection! Indeed there is no glory in that. If you meet a person who despises wisdom and instruction, by the fifth piece of advice you give them, God has already said, “Wow, you are just as foolish as they are.” Some people think to keep helping, keep putting themselves in compromising positions for the sake of someone who could inherently care less, and in that, you could die too.

Run fast and far from the behaviors identified in the book of Proverbs and cling to how the wise are described. Now, for calling someone a fool, you have to be very, very careful. Because we aren’t God and we have all fallen short, calling someone a fool may land you in hell and the person you called a fool may be saved. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgement: and whoever says Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Matthew 5:22 I believe this is so, because being a fool is one of the worst things you could be, according to Proverbs and simply none of us have the power to condemn someone in that manner. However, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck then 9x out of 10x it is probably a duck and it is up to you to get as far away as you can or else.

That said, judging is something we need to do despite what you have heard. “I don’t judge” or “Don’t judge me” erase those ideas from your head because they are dangerous. I say judge and expect to be judged and you shall live a bit longer. For one, understand that we are warned against passing judgement because we all fall short; indeed we are sinners. There is another reason we are warned not to judge – because with the same measure we judge we will be judged. If that is the case, then you simply have to employ the golden rule of doing to others as you would want done unto you. If you don’t want to be judged then don’t judge and risk having a fool in your circle. Or judge with a clean and pure heart like people were appointed to do in the bible and just like Solomon. It really is that simple.

My Salvation, Your Condemnation: Sodom and Gomorrah

And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Genesis 18:23

The book of Genesis is like a soap opera. If you can dig down deep and just make it past the genealogies, you would be amazed at how captivating this book is. Drama, drama, and more drama! For example, to name a few, you have Adam and Eve, you have Noah and his sons laughing at his nakedness, you have daughters trying to get pregnant by their father, and you even have Moses killing an Egyptian. But right up there, with the most talked about stories in the great book of Genesis is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, most of the discourse surrounding this particular story is almost never about the lesson God intended us to learn, instead it is one of the Scriptures used to promote the belief that the LGBTQ community will be eradicated.

Honestly, this makes me laugh and pray. The idea that people believe that Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed for gay activity and gay activity alone, is hilarious and scary at the same time. If you are a member of the LGBTQ community, just like me, and someone uses this Scripture to show you the error of your lifestyle, I charge you to laugh at them modestly and then pray for their mercy, relentlessly. Afterwards, share the Good News that I shall propose for you in this testimony, if you will.

Speaking in layman’s terms, Sodom and Gomorrah was your inner-city ghetto. But, it was the roughest inner-city ghetto, the worst, the most desperate inner-city ghetto in the land. It was a dangerous, unsafe, and rotten place. The worst of the worst lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, God was disgusted and moved to destroy it. But, to one of the patriarchs of Scripture, establishing himself as such in Genesis, the plan was revealed. Even though he knew he was only a lowly servant of God, not worthy to even think he can ask, he was compelled. He wanted to know, if there were any righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, were they going to be destroyed along with the transgressors for their transgressions?

God must have thought it was a good question, so he sent some angels to the house of one of his servants. As dusk was falling, the person’s house whom they were sent told them to get inside. They could stay there for the night. He hosted them. They could wash their hands and feet and he baked them some bread which was a staple on the dinner table during these times. He offered all of this, along with a place for them to sleep and told them they could leave early. I hate to throw my two cents in, but I can guarantee you, he just wanted these visitors off the streets before night fell.

They entered the house and before long there came a knock at the door. The head of the household went to the door. It turned out to be the neighborhood goons wanting to know who the men were that visited him that evening. They demanded he bring the men out so they could know them. In those days, to know, meant to have sex with. This was so unacceptable to the head of the household, with whom these visitors from another place were receiving shelter, he stepped out of the door, closing it behind him and looked at them like they were crazy. Begging them to not press their wicked agenda, he offered his virgin daughters to them to do as they saw fit.

Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. Genesis 19:8

“… for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.” In plain English, this man is saying, “… because they are visitors under MY roof.” The man did not say, “… because that is gay and I don’t tolerate that.” He didn’t say, “Do nothing to these men because gay acts send you to hell.” He said nothing, absolutely nothing about being gay, gay acts, being destroyed for being gay, or even, “It’s not right to rape another man.” He didn’t even say anything about the fact the men were rapists. Seems to me like he didn’t care what the men wanted to do as long as it wasn’t happening on his watch.

Here’s a judicial example of what law is at play here, in case you still haven’t fully gotten my point; the same point this Scripture is trying to convey: Someone comes to your house and they ask to use the bathroom. The bathroom is upstairs. Your banister is rickety, unsupported, needing repair or much worst, needing to be replaced. As they are coming down the stairs, the banister gives way and as a result, they fall, breaking their ankle. You are liable for their medical expenses. If someone gets hurt in your house, by law, they can sue and yes, you will be responsible for their medical bills.

I once went to a friend’s house. This was back in the day when the two-way pagers were out. One of my friend’s friend stole my two-way pager. Needless to say, we were no longer friends. I was able to see where her loyalty lied because she didn’t make her friend return it, nor did she offer to reimburse me. In another example, just this past weekend, some of my partner’s friends came into the city. To save money, they stayed at another friend’s house. Their hostess didn’t have a comforter, nor a pillow for either of them. They were cold and expressed an overall feeling of vulnerability.

The hostess in this story, who was saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was saved for this very act of hospitality. As I mentioned, God sent angels to one of his servants house to see if his servant was a righteous man. His righteousness was displayed through his moral obligation to be hospitable. The man’s point was, he was not going to allow any wickedness to come to his visitors because he was in charge of their safety for the time they were to be staying at his house. If anything happened to them, their blood would be on his hands. This story, this lesson has absolutely nothing to do with being gay. It has to do with hospitality. This man was willing to give up his virgin daughters and he was even willing to die. When he told the men that he was not going to bring his visitors out, they got irate. They were demanding and aggressive. The man of the house didn’t back down. He was going to protect the visitors in his house at all costs.

People can flip this story anyway they like. At the end of the day, they will have to answer to God. But, for my friends of the LGBTQ community, the next time someone talks about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and its relation to gay people and gay acts, simply shake your head no as if you were talking to a toddler that thought they understood something but they’ve gotten it all wrong. After you explain the story, as it was meant to be told, through our moral obligation to be hospitable, remind them too that during those day, there was no such thing as gay. Well, maybe there was a such thing as gay, but these men at the door may not have been gay! This is a very important addition to the story.

The Bible and Scripture means so much more when you understand the context in which a story is told. Society is brand-spanking new. These guys, hearing that there were new people in town, wanted to show the visitors who the heavy hitters were in the neighborhood. They wanted to control them, they wanted to be in charge, and they wanted them to be afraid of them as this was the nature of life in Sodom and Gomorrah. No different than today’s thug, except for socially we have evolved and we don’t have to rape the new kids on the block, we just ostracize them until they become one of us. Didn’t you see this behavior the first day of school or the first day at a job? There is always one person, or a group of people who feel good about making the new kid on the block very uncomfortable. They have no qualms about humiliating the new kid on the block. The new kid on the block is often the joke, ignored, and mistreated. Well, long before we became what we are today, the principles were still there, however, it was in the hands of a primitive society and in the worst part of town, men went so far as to rape other men to drive that humiliation home! These men may not have been gay. They were using rape as a means to keep control. It was a job. The enjoyment they got was more emotional that physical pleasure. The physical pleasure was probably a bonus. Their main agenda was the very same agenda there is today for jerks when a new kid is in their midst. They want to do whatever they can to make them uncomfortable.

My Salvation, Your Condemnation: Sodom and Gomorrah – Part 1

And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you brethren, do not so wickedly. Genesis 19:5-7

As Holy as the Bible is, you would think people would want to use it to perpetuate the love, grace, rest, and salvation, offered in and through scripture. However, more than enough people are inclined to use God’s Living Word, to satisfy their own vanity. In giving the benefit of the doubt to those who use the Word for their own personal edifications, some of them really do not know; some genuinely do not understand the power and glory they are abusing when they use Scripture to pass judgement on and/or stigmatize a community, a person, a way of life, even a thing. They also fail to make the connection that in doing so, the very thing they are condemning has a greater chance of being exalted and instead they who condemn will be held accountable for not staying in their lane, as condemnation has been reserved by God as something only He can do.

The Bible, throughout history has been a vehicle for the vane, for the abusers, for the removed, to exert power and control over whatever they see fit. During the Crusades, a holy war, the Bible was used to murder and coerce people into Catholicism. During the Slave Trade, the bible was used to exert power and control over slaves and much crazier, even, the Bible was used as a confirmation to slave owners and traders that they were participating in something Holy and Godly as set forth by Scripture. There are much more instances throughout history of the Bible being used and perverted to satisfy vile and human dysfunctions, but right here today, there is a community that cannot seem to escape the use of Scripture to justify the blatant discrimination and stigmatization they endure – The LGBT Community.

Members of the LGBT Community are no strangers being ostracized for their lifestyle. And, literally, the only leg ostracizers have to stand on is Scripture and their vain perversions, interpretations, and understanding of it. Somehow, someway, the Scripture is connected to the the blatant social and civil inequalities and inequities that exist against members of LGBT, in today’s world. For example, the only real reason people who are against same-sex marriage have is scripturally substantiated: God intended marriage to be between a man and a woman. Sometimes execution of the discrimination that LGBT members face or have faced isn’t as direct. Sometimes it’s downright ignorance. Sometimes the person who hates that someone is gay, lesbian, trans, etc., may only be smart enough to say, “It’s just not right!” They don’t know why it’s not right. Perhaps it was an idle word they’d received. Maybe they themselves are in the closet. Maybe two generations before them, someone allowed what Scriptures warn us against:

Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:8

The fact of the matter is, whether it is direct or indirect, Scripture is the umbrella of all discriminatory acts suffered by the LGBT. Colossians 2:8, I’m sure can be cross-referenced dozens of times. The Gospels talk to us about those whom we allow to build on Christ’s foundation, as does a couple of other books in The New Testament. Throughout the bible, false prophets are around and we are charged to recognize them and stay away from their teachings and drama. Talk about the vanity of fools gives way to lessons about whom we follow. Without a degree, socially accepted credentials, or any formal theological training, I am confused about the confusion and debate, as a matter of fact, I am confused as to why a debate even exists. Indeed, an avid reader of Scripture, I am dumb-struck at the behavior rampant in the world. I am often left wondering, “What Bible are they reading,” or, “What Bible have they read”, thinking surely it isn’t the one I am familiar with or any of it’s contemporary translations.

My Salvation, Your Condemnation will be a series of essays dedicated to exposing the supposed contradictions of Scripture. And when I say supposed, that is exactly what I mean because if you ask me, there isn’t one contradiction to be found. However, I am sensitive to the fact that in all actuality, Scripture seems to contradict itself. I am here to show you that the contradictions don’t lie in actual Scripture, but in the understander, the interpreter, the reader. The contradictions lie in society, they lie in vanity, and the madness of human nature. Contradictions find places to grow in the retina of the untrained eye and festers in the heart.

Using Scripture, personal experiences, love and understanding, I pray to show the LGBTQ, a community to which I belong, that we are, can, and will be blessed. That there is a great salvation, for us, to be had. We are afforded the liberties offered through Christ. I do not know what I will write next, but to begin, I will with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This story, parable, even, is the main story that fuels the fire of people who are against people who are in the life.

“You shouldn’t be gay, don’t you know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah?” “Yes, I do know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, but what does it have to do with me being gay?”

Me and HIM and the Smirk that Started it All (Part 2)

“The Bible?! You have got to be kidding me, dad! The Bible?”

Did he say the bible?

Considering every jewel he dropped leading up, to this moment, I couldn’t believe the Bible was his answer!

My dad … sure, he had a heart, but it seemed it was hidden under a lot of complexes. People were afraid of him, they tip-toed around him, he had no qualms about calling someone stupid or dumb, he demanded respect, he was harsh, abrasive, and it wasn’t uncommon to hear someone say, “Oh, that’s your dad? He seems mean!” It was hard for me to believe he even read the Bible. To learn, not only did he and does he read the Bible, it was the reason for his brilliance, blew my mind with intimidation. However, as intimidating as the Bible was, I was and still am deathly motivated by my need to be some kind of smart. Finding out and knowing is one of my highest priorities in life.

“… But Dad? I don’t even know where to begin. Where should I start?” Just the thought was scary and overwhelming. For goodness sake, I was in no position to start reading the Bible! I live an alternative lifestyle, I abuse marijuana, I wasn’t working, instead I was hustling, didn’t feel worthy enough to go to church, I was actually so removed, I wasn’t even sure what church I would go to and I wasn’t being bad, but I knew, I wasn’t being good. I still had the idea that before I could come to Christ, I had to get my life right.

He suggested that I start with Proverbs. It took a few weeks as I continued to wrap my head around the idea that every genius thing my dad said was somehow connected to Scripture. As those weeks passed, the knowledge he imparted continued to peak my interest. About a week before I began reading, a distant friend of the family stopped by the apartment and left me with a brand new Bible. I had been telling him that I was about to start reading the Bible for all of the aforementioned reasons. He reached in his bag and pulled out a fresh Bible that an old lady give him on his way to visit. His family had more than enough Bibles and if I would use it, I could have it.

The day I picked it up, the burdens I had been hearing about my entire life, the burdens that they say is lifted when you believe and trust Christ, a few were lifted. I didn’t even know I had burdens. Sure, I was under a lot of stress and pressure. My internal environment wasn’t at its best because I wasn’t living up to my fullest potential in the least bit. I wasn’t happy with my circumstances, but they weren’t terrible either. Eventually, I would learn that my ability to make the best out of things, my positive spirit and optimism was HIM all along, without me even knowing. Oh and best of all, I had grace! I didn’t know that either.

The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. -Prov. 10:21

There were worldly ideas that I had already developed that I couldn’t articulate. There were things that I saw and didn’t understand. For example, being Black and that relationship with Christ. America and everything it seemed to stand for and it’s relationship with Christ. Different cultures and their relationship with Christ. Society and it’s structure posed a lot of questions, as did relationships. Most of all, Love was a 1500-piece jigsaw puzzle.

I knew a couple of things about Jesus and God. My aunt and grandmother used to take me to church as a child. I was in Sunday school. I went to Catholic school for 7th and 8th grades. I wasn’t completely ignorant but, there was something that wasn’t right. I remembered hearing somebody say that Freud, the very Sigmund Freud had his doubts too and decided that whether or not he believed, he would live as though there was a God, just in case He really was real, he’d save him self from hell. I adopted that idea to protect myself while I figured out what Christ was all about, for myself. I was extremely confused about the Christian umbrella. If everyone reads from the same Kings James Bible, then why are there so many different Christian denominations. Honestly, the number of denominations isn’t the issue, it’s the fact that each one believes they have the answer or the way to salvation over the other denominations. Each denomination believes they have the inside scoop as to what gets you to heaven because they seek to convert you. Every member of one Christian denomination sentences to a member of another Christian denomination always seem to begin persuasively with, “Well, we believe ….” That still bothers me and it’s always been my biggest issue. It wasn’t until I began to read for myself that I began to appreciate things in a different kind of way.

The great book of Proverbs changed my life. Then Proverbs was complimented by Ecclesiastes and I was a little bit more powerful. Genesis came through giving me a whole new lease on life and what it was all about. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, made me WWJD, from the bottom of my heart and Acts of the Apostles and the introduction of Paul confirmed a whole lot of things for me. Galatians opened my eyes, Corinthians and Ephesians made me feel safe. Esther gave a lot …. The list goes on. Each book of Scripture answered all kinds of questions, gave me insight, pushed me to use my emotions to their fullest potential, among other valuable tools to live the good life.

What are your experiences reading the Bible? What is your favorite Book? Do you have a particular passage that you love?

Me and HIM and The Smirk that Started it All (Part 1)

So, my dad was out of my life for well over a decade. When I was about 25, I bumped into him, on the humble one day, visiting my grandmother. Yes, I know … Sounds a little dysfunctional, right? … bumping into my dad on the humble … but as this blog progresses, my personal story will manifest itself. Things weren’t bad for me at the time, in my head, but, if my memory serves me correctly, I had been displaced for almost 2 years. A very humbling experience, I must say! At any rate, after catching up for hours, he said, “Go to this address and knock on the door, some people will be waiting to meet you, I’m not even going to call!” He smirked his smirk that became so symbolic. Turns out, he had really good secrets, but they weren’t really secrets people just think that they are or thought that they were – his reason for always smirking.

One project building sat on a corner in New York City’s East Village. That’s where the apartment was. A real project building, right in the middle of where residents are paying more than a thousand dollars for their studio, where people own condos and lofts, where tour buses host tourists, where people come to party, where Law & Order shoots, and where celebrities wander after shopping in Soho, only 4 blocks away.

When I knocked on the door, someone looked through the peephole, but they didn’t open the door. Instead, they came back and looked again. A moment later, I heard them slide the chain-lock. Quietly, they unlocked the top lock, and the last the little bottom lock, which was a simple little click. It was very, very dramatic and I was a nerve wreck. The drama unfolds as the door slowly creaked open to reveal three star-struck teens. My step-brother and two step-sisters.

“Oh my god,” the boy breathed giving us everything … He bent his knees, he had his hand over his mouth, his eyebrows were raised. When I say everything, he gave it all. With a tear in his eye, he looked me dead on, the girls were statued, and he said, “It’s you. You’re his daughter!” Still giving, he turned to his sisters and said, “It’s BruShonna.” Why couldn’t there have been a camera man? He grabbed me first, but they all, thirstily, buried themselves wherever they could, fit. I still hadn’t said a word, but I was crying. I had no clue who these teens were, but I loved them instantly, and when I say they loved me, I just had to figure out what was the situation.

Turns out, my dad raised them. They were his girlfriends children, but they honored him like he was the man! In that house, my dad was like the king … sure, they tried to over throw him a couple of times, as did I, but he always came out on top. I hung around till the next morning, then again till the next morning, then again and again, and next thing you know, I’m on my way out for coffee and he says, “You know ‘Little One’, seems like you always been here.” I just smiled really hard. Six months had flown by and I was having the time of my life.

My dad was a different kind of smart. His smartness was so smart, he would say something or respond to something and it would leave you stuck on stupid for up to 17 seconds while your brain processes and registers what he meant. Meanwhile, he’d be sitting there with that smirk, watching through you as if he was watching your brain trying to figure itself out because the moment it does, the moment all of the wheels start moving in the direction of his riddle, he’d let out a boisterous laugh! Laughing from the gut, it take him forever to choke out this one sentence, “Hey! Hey! Hey ‘Little One’!” By now he’d be dying with laughter, “I didn’t write that!” He had some kind of inside joke with himself, that tickled him silly. I could still hear him laughing at me, laughing at his girlfriend and her kids, his friends, everyone, he would get this joke off on. “I didn’t, I didn’t write that!” Laughing so hard, sometimes a tear would drop.

One day, we were debating back and forth. I was getting tired of him laughing at me, talking in riddles, always having these really genius answers but claiming he got them from somewhere else. The smirk, I was sick of it! If he got all of these mind-blowing “jewels” from another source, refined enough to smirk confidently, then I knew it was obtainable for me too. I wanted a smirk, so I could do to others what he has done to me. When I saw the smirk starting to build, I felt my blood begin to boil. A year and some change later, he was still on top using references from an unnamed source. “Hey ‘Little One’! Hey, I didn’t write that!” I’d had enough!

“Well who’s writing this stuff then Daddy?!” I was being very demanding and serious, but the seriousness of it was overshadowed by me no longer believing he had a secret source of knowledge. “Did one person write this? Or is this just a collaboration of things that you have read? Where do you get these ideas from, Daddy?!”

“The Bible.”