05-11-2014, 12:32 AM
That explained the man's lack of fear. Complete and total lack of reason and the desire to ignore the irrationality of his own behavior. The man was like a lodestone that had lost its magnetism. Now it simply pointed any which way and declared that to be true north.
As the man stood, Hasan fixed the stranger's eyes in his own gaze. "Tonight is the night the faithful began to take back for themselves the ability to guard their most precious gift from God: their lives and the choice to live them in submission to Allah. We are ejecting the outside influences from the cities we control, and this will lead to further conflict."
A birthing, albeit a painful one at that.
He held up a hand. "But this is not the cause of the war. War happens when man thinks he knows what is best for himself, and thinks he is perfect and can create perfection without error."
He took a breath. Only Allah alone knew why it was so important to teach this man the truths. "But I know, and you know, that man is not perfect. He is frail, and vain and petty, and when there are three in one room they are of four minds on how to best rule. This is because he has fallen from the grace of God, who alone is holy and perfection.”
“Do you understand Americanism? It is the idea that a nation can rise and prevail built upon laws and ideas, and principles, rather than personalities. This gives rise to the notion that America will prevail as it is greater than any one person. But it will fail because its ideals and laws are the ideas of men. Indeed, the ideas of many men, with the irrational belief that some synthesis gained from two opposing philosophies will somehow be a rational true path to follow. They do not trust in God but instead follow their constitution of manmade rules in some crazed attempt to make everyone happy. When one attempts to please everyone, he pleases no one. Instead he should seek to find and please God. ”
The attempt to please everyone was such a distinctly human emotion, in that it possessed the ability to utterly fail so completely.
“Here in the CCD we have another evil entirely. One known to be true throughout the ages. The CCD at its core exists the idea that a nation can rise and dominate the world on the whims and will of one man. One single man. Brandon is Pharoah, is Caesar.
“So we have Americanism, and we have the personality of Nikolai Brandon. Two visions for world peace. But they are entirely incompatible with each other. The United States will never, never submit to Nikolai Brandon.
“This means that Brandon's promise to the dominances, to lead them to greener pastures of world peace, unity, and prosperity, are impossible for him to give. So they are false promises. To trust in Brandon is to trust in a lie. And it is better to die a million deaths than to follow the deciever. The adversary. Shaytan.”
With a chill, an unbidden memory returned to him. A young man, alone, in bed, wracked with fever and aches, calling to God for guidance. Show me the true path. Do not let Shaytan cloud my vision and put me on the wrong path.
He brushed off the memory. “We must pull away and establish for ourselves God's kingdom, for it is the time to do so. Demons walk the earth without shame and children bear the touch of God. Now is the time and this is the place.”
A runner came up to Hasan and handed him a sheet of paper. He took it and glanced over the scrap. It was a simple status update. Custody troops were holding out in one of the airport terminals. Apparently there were a large number of civilians trapped with them there. There were maybe 200 to 300 soldiers altogether. They would be overpowered – it was a certainty. But for how long would they hold out? The civilians – such as they were, no man could truly be a bystander in any war – were essentially the CCD troops' hostages and human shields, though undoubtedly the soldiers thought they were trying to protect them.
Could he – should he – persuade the soldiers to surrender? Hasan mulled that over in his mind. But he was not done with speaking with the stranger.
Hasan raised his hands, palms faced up, and weighed them separate from each other.
"You claim to come under the direction of Nikolai Brandon, but do not profess allegiance to his goals. This is the behavior of a mercenary or a prostitute who sells his entire being to another. Who is your true master?"
He raised one finger and pointed it at the man. "Is it yourself -- to further your own self interest --”
he raised his other hand and pointed it upward – “Or do you follow as you claim the desire to protect life, which is an absolute moral truth from God that life is His gift and as such is sacred?”
He put his hands together. "No man can serve two masters. He will love one and hate the other, or be true to one and despise the other. Any attempt to serve two masters is destined to fail. We cannot serve God and a man who tries to make himself God. So we choose to resist and to fight the deceiver. What about yourself? Will you allow yourself to be split and be used, and allow Nikolai to use you up, or will the gift of your life mean something?"
Hasan turned away from the man. Yes, he must leave this place and see if there is something he could do for those at the airport, perhaps get them out. But he didn't want to leave this man alone, either. He was curious to find out what the man would have to say about learning certain truths. For some reason he felt the need for this man to believe in the truth. But would his old habits and the lies of the world cloud his mind?
“There is fighting at the airport. It is no surprise that the CCD does not want to give it up so easily, and I cannot profess to control the selfish passions even of those who look to me for guidance. Left to their own devices, it is likely both sides will commit unnecessary bloodshed. More than Nikolai Brandon's pride has been wounded. I must see what I can do to minimize the commission of sin in this birthing. Come with me for the time being.”
As the man stood, Hasan fixed the stranger's eyes in his own gaze. "Tonight is the night the faithful began to take back for themselves the ability to guard their most precious gift from God: their lives and the choice to live them in submission to Allah. We are ejecting the outside influences from the cities we control, and this will lead to further conflict."
A birthing, albeit a painful one at that.
He held up a hand. "But this is not the cause of the war. War happens when man thinks he knows what is best for himself, and thinks he is perfect and can create perfection without error."
He took a breath. Only Allah alone knew why it was so important to teach this man the truths. "But I know, and you know, that man is not perfect. He is frail, and vain and petty, and when there are three in one room they are of four minds on how to best rule. This is because he has fallen from the grace of God, who alone is holy and perfection.”
“Do you understand Americanism? It is the idea that a nation can rise and prevail built upon laws and ideas, and principles, rather than personalities. This gives rise to the notion that America will prevail as it is greater than any one person. But it will fail because its ideals and laws are the ideas of men. Indeed, the ideas of many men, with the irrational belief that some synthesis gained from two opposing philosophies will somehow be a rational true path to follow. They do not trust in God but instead follow their constitution of manmade rules in some crazed attempt to make everyone happy. When one attempts to please everyone, he pleases no one. Instead he should seek to find and please God. ”
The attempt to please everyone was such a distinctly human emotion, in that it possessed the ability to utterly fail so completely.
“Here in the CCD we have another evil entirely. One known to be true throughout the ages. The CCD at its core exists the idea that a nation can rise and dominate the world on the whims and will of one man. One single man. Brandon is Pharoah, is Caesar.
“So we have Americanism, and we have the personality of Nikolai Brandon. Two visions for world peace. But they are entirely incompatible with each other. The United States will never, never submit to Nikolai Brandon.
“This means that Brandon's promise to the dominances, to lead them to greener pastures of world peace, unity, and prosperity, are impossible for him to give. So they are false promises. To trust in Brandon is to trust in a lie. And it is better to die a million deaths than to follow the deciever. The adversary. Shaytan.”
With a chill, an unbidden memory returned to him. A young man, alone, in bed, wracked with fever and aches, calling to God for guidance. Show me the true path. Do not let Shaytan cloud my vision and put me on the wrong path.
He brushed off the memory. “We must pull away and establish for ourselves God's kingdom, for it is the time to do so. Demons walk the earth without shame and children bear the touch of God. Now is the time and this is the place.”
A runner came up to Hasan and handed him a sheet of paper. He took it and glanced over the scrap. It was a simple status update. Custody troops were holding out in one of the airport terminals. Apparently there were a large number of civilians trapped with them there. There were maybe 200 to 300 soldiers altogether. They would be overpowered – it was a certainty. But for how long would they hold out? The civilians – such as they were, no man could truly be a bystander in any war – were essentially the CCD troops' hostages and human shields, though undoubtedly the soldiers thought they were trying to protect them.
Could he – should he – persuade the soldiers to surrender? Hasan mulled that over in his mind. But he was not done with speaking with the stranger.
Hasan raised his hands, palms faced up, and weighed them separate from each other.
"You claim to come under the direction of Nikolai Brandon, but do not profess allegiance to his goals. This is the behavior of a mercenary or a prostitute who sells his entire being to another. Who is your true master?"
He raised one finger and pointed it at the man. "Is it yourself -- to further your own self interest --”
he raised his other hand and pointed it upward – “Or do you follow as you claim the desire to protect life, which is an absolute moral truth from God that life is His gift and as such is sacred?”
He put his hands together. "No man can serve two masters. He will love one and hate the other, or be true to one and despise the other. Any attempt to serve two masters is destined to fail. We cannot serve God and a man who tries to make himself God. So we choose to resist and to fight the deceiver. What about yourself? Will you allow yourself to be split and be used, and allow Nikolai to use you up, or will the gift of your life mean something?"
Hasan turned away from the man. Yes, he must leave this place and see if there is something he could do for those at the airport, perhaps get them out. But he didn't want to leave this man alone, either. He was curious to find out what the man would have to say about learning certain truths. For some reason he felt the need for this man to believe in the truth. But would his old habits and the lies of the world cloud his mind?
“There is fighting at the airport. It is no surprise that the CCD does not want to give it up so easily, and I cannot profess to control the selfish passions even of those who look to me for guidance. Left to their own devices, it is likely both sides will commit unnecessary bloodshed. More than Nikolai Brandon's pride has been wounded. I must see what I can do to minimize the commission of sin in this birthing. Come with me for the time being.”