Solomon's Private File #198
These stories about Stephen and Solomon take place starting in
1950's. Stephen wrote about his life in letters to a penpal, and then
in a secure blog, in case he lost his memory again, in the master
computer in his school for gifted students, which he started attending
in 2016 in a new incarnation, until his death. Now his son Solomon is
attending the same school, and is writing in his own secure blog for
his future incarnations.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
Solomon is 24 in this story, in the Spring of 2050.
Solomon's Private File #198 "Harvard Divinity"
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There was a lot of comment about my "rulings" on the CNN show. Most
were favorable about the rulings themselves, with those projected to
lose money from them, mostly the only ones complaining. That all those
religious people were there in the same room, and supported me, caused
a lot of comment. I received a lot of amused calls from them, telling
me about how many had asked them if they were forced to be there and
agree with me. Some of them even went on their local news to talk about
it. I agreed to do an interview about it. Greg said, after giving the
update on air, "Did you compel your guests in any way?" I said, "I did
not compel anybody in connection to the show where I made my rulings on
the use of animals public. In fact, I only compel criminals, and those
who lie to me, to tell the truth. And for some criminals that the law
can't punish, I do a little more. I'm severely disappointed that some
people would think their religious leaders would NEED to be compelled
to support such an obvious moral issue, and to be friendly with those
of other religions who feel the same about this. What does this say
about whose who would think that?"
Greg said, "Lack of trust?" I said, "It could be a lack of trust, but
it could also be that those people WANT their religions to fight with
the others, to try to make their own dominant, perhaps to help reduce
their own doubts in it, and to make them feel somehow superior. All
that is false. We ALL are people of the SAME God. We have different
names for Him, from our different languages, and some see Him as more
than one identity, but ONE God hears all our prayers, the same God for
all. It doesn't matter to Him who leads in our prayers, whether it's a
Priest, a Minister, an Imam, a Rabbi, a Lama, a Pastor, a Preacher, or
the child who delivers your newspaper. He or she who leads the worship
is serving God, even if he or she doesn't fully realize it, EQUALLY.
Yes, each religion believes they are the only true religion, but with
the advent of the love and healing broadcasts, all the people are
experiencing God directly. Some feel that they no longer need their
religious leaders to help them to lead good lives. That is wrong. They
lead not only in prayers, but in moral and ethical guidance. This
critical service is not in the broadcasts. So, even in this new age of
direct contact with God, your religious leaders are still very much
needed, for the very important services they provide you, which also
includes community support, another very important thing."
I said, "ALL religious leaders know and do this work. That being so,
why shouldn't they be friendly with those others who do the same work,
who want the same benefits of it for their people? There is power in
numbers. Together, we can do more for our values than we can alone.
They know that, and that's why we all joined together for that
conference. We had the same goal, and we worked to support it. And we
had some more friendly talking after the show, too." Greg said, "Yes, I
was there. You were all friendly. Smiles everywhere. Even before they
embarrassed you." I said, "Did you really have to add to that?" He
grinned and said, "Actually, yes. Hawk asked me to," I sighed. We went
to break. I said, "Traitor!" He laughed.
Back from break, Greg said, "Could it be that some came to the show,
because others did, so they wouldn't seem unimportant?" I said, "They
haven't told me why they came to the show, other than that they agreed
with my rulings and wanted to support them, some with intense
enthusiasm that would seem a little unusual for them in public, and
wanted it to be known that their religions supported them. But I do
have to say that some asked who else would be coming, and not one I
asked, decided not to come." He grinned and said, "I see. Could have
been peer pressure." I said, "You would have to ask them for their
reasons. Could be interesting what they tell you, and how loudly." He
laughed. I said, "I will tell you this. They were all completely
sincere in their support and in everything they said. If they had not
been, I would have ported them right home. In these things, I will not
tolerate lying, even in feelings. I think the election help program
might have showed something of that." He said, "Oh it did! Very
clearly!" I said, "Good. Could save me some work." He said, "Could one
of their reasons be for being associated with you?" I said, "I have to
admit it, yes. Embarrassingly, that reason is common to almost
everybody I come in contact with, the desire to be associated with me.
And for my er, hugs." He said, "I have to say, it works very well as a
reason."
I said, "And some knew about the usual after show discussions, and
might have wanted to be there for that. And then there was the
possibility of God contact. Would any of those who came, not want to
experience that as much as they could?" He said, "I have to agree." I
said, "And one more reason that applies to everything involving me.
Pure fascinated curiosity. And I mean EVERYBODY, including my own group
most of all." He chuckled and said, "I can well believe it." I said,
"Applies to me, too. They don't know what I'll say, and neither do I."
He said, "A lot of people have trouble believing that." I said, "Not my
problem. I can't lie. God says I speak for Him. That should tell it
all. Think of it this way, if it will help; I don't know what to say
until He tells me." He said, "Right. That should help." I said, "I say
what I think I should say at that moment. I don't really know if it's
all my thoughts, or some of God's, or all His, but I do know that at
least some of it isn't mine, partly because some maneuvering to get me
into the position to do and say things is quite obvious to me. WAY too
many coincidences to make it all just chance. And He has never
contradicted me. He says that what I say is as if He says it, and God
does NOT lie!" He said, "Can't have more proof than that." I said,
"Some will still not accept that because they don't want to." He said,
"They might if you do a world broadcast." I said, "That's why I won't
unless ordered to. Doubt is healthy, if not taken to extremes, such as
calling somebody a liar without proof. I will NOT force anybody to
believe." I signaled the end, and it happened.
He said, "I have a question to add to the pending list. You said that
some people view God as more than one entity. I know what you mean, but
some of our listeners probably don't." I said, "Can be addressed in
another show, or by your own experts." He said, "The only experts that
will touch it are academics, who people won't listen to. Clerics won't
go near it, except you." I just grinned. He said, "Right. Still on the
list." Chuckles. I said, "Want a little heads-up on some pending news?"
He said, "One of your stupid questions?" I said, "Right. You were there
when Hawk announced my Shaman appointment. Going to happen soon with
Unitarian. Will probably need an interview to explain it. No leaks?" He
said, "Got it. From where?" I said, "Harvard." He nodded. We hugged.
When Harvard was ready, I shifted to the office of the Chaplain.
There were other people there. He said, "I explained to them what we
had talked about, and they've reviewed your papers." One said,
"Impressive!" I said, "Er, thanks. Is there going to be a lot of that?"
Grins and chuckles. He said, "You more than qualify academically for a
Doctorate, however we had some questions about your counseling
experience, until it was brought to our attention that the whole world
has seen you doing it to amazing success." I said, "I have a feeling
that it isn't all my doing. Too easy." He said, "That occurred to us,
also. We like success, and very much who might be helping you." I said,
"And I have Doctorates in psychology, and other qualifications I didn't
tell you about." He said, "Other? Secret?" I said, "Yes. Secret." He
said, "We are all clergy here. We'll keep it secret." I said, "I work
part time as a real psychologist using another identity, and sometimes
my own, doing job interviews and non job related counseling and
treatment, and supervise others in it. It's who I do it for, that's
secret." They nodded. He said, "We assumed that from one of your
interviews. For governments." I said, "Yes. Not always the best
experience." Sympathetic chuckles. I said, "Some has to be a secret, or
their various political parties might disown them." Grins. One said,
"Fifth Column?" I said, "Not intentional, but might act like it. I take
it you don't disapprove?" They all said they didn't. I said, "I have to
say they aren't forced. They ask for help, I give it." They nodded.
I said, "So, how do you want this embarrassment to happen?" More
grins. One said, "We were thinking of a CNN show." I said, "If I
request that you stop thinking?" Chuckles. I said, "If you insist." He
said, "Good! I'll call them." I said, "Er, they're expecting it." They
stared at me, and then laughed. I said, "No, I wasn't watching. Obvious
deduction. Premonition didn't hurt." One said with interest, "Still
works for earthquakes?" I said, "Hmm, another secret?" They nodded. I
said, "I'm not doing it anymore. Everything we do, where we can, we all
learn it. At the level where we can do that one, only those of my
father's blood can. We are a very logical group. I think you know what
that means." He said, "So the rumored sperm bank is real." I said, "I
er, might have a lot of half siblings. We spread that work around for
their training and experience. And because they love me, and don't want
me to feel bad." They nodded with their own love.
At the show on CNN, Don started it by introducing the people from
Harvard and me, and saying, "We haven't been told what this requested
time is to be for." They all looked at me, and I said, "I should
probably say something." Chuckles. I said, "At age eleven I explored
the religions, and made my choice. What I haven't said about that, is
it wasn't just one religion, but two that I planned to be a full part
of. Judaism was one, and Unitarianism was the other. Yes, Jewish and
Christian. Some might want to know why I chose them, over others. Both
don't have a strict hierarchy higher than the local congregation, and I
would not be ruled by anybody. And in the case of Unitarianism, some
beliefs which go against what I know of history, are not required. I
decided to join Conservative Judaism first, well, because I liked the
singing. Hey, I was eleven!" Chuckles. I said, "It was NOT because of
the Kosher pickles, although that WAS discussed among us." Chuckles. I
said, "Somehow, with how busy I was, the other religion became a little
er, ignored in my schedule."
I said, "Now here's where the real embarrassment starts." Chuckles. I
said, "When I went to Harvard to ask for representatives for the
conservation show, I er, mentioned my past choice and unfulfilled
plans. They decided to not let them stay unfulfilled." I looked them
and said, "Your turn!" One said, "We asked for qualifications and
documents and papers to be written, and he handed everything to us
instantly." Don chuckled and said, "I've seen that. Never ceases to
amaze me." He said, "We were not unaffected. After review, we have
determined that Solomon is fully qualified to be awarded from Harvard
Divinity School, part of Harvard University, a Doctorate of Divinity.
And he is now in the Federal Registry of Clergy as being fully
qualified to represent the Unitarian Denomination of Christianity in
leading worship and in pastoral care. We further award this Doctor of
Philosophy Degree in Comparative Religions from the Harvard University
School of Liberal Arts. He actually qualified for more Doctorates, but
we didn't want to permanently harm him with embarrassment." I said,
"Your restraint not withstanding, you didn't tell me about the second.
Was that nice?" He grinned and said, "For you, maybe not. For us and
the public, let them be the judge." I sighed, and they chuckled.
I said, "I accept these honors with great appreciation and love. Don,
in case some have a question about this, I'll ask it to spare you the
possible embarrassment of voicing it for them. Are these real or
honorary?" He said, "Completely real, and your qualifications are part
of our registrar's records." Don nodded his thanks. He said, "What will
the Jews think of this?" I said, "I don't know what the Jews will
think. They haven't told me. But I'm still Jewish, too. And of the
Navajo religion, which I never left. In fact, I've been, in past lives,
of many religions. In some of them, important historical figures. So,
this current honor isn't that much of a stretch." He said, "Historical
figures?" I said, "Many times as a woman, I had what could have been
called an historical figure." Chuckles.
Don said, "Were you Ruth?" I said, "No. Oh, I think there could be
some disappointment in that. Sorry. However, I was another woman in the
Bible. There is something I should mention about that. The names you
see in the Bible, well, almost all of them are not the names the
original people had. Some were made up specifically to describe the
character as a way to remember them. Many of the Old Testament stories
were told only by word of mouth for many years, lifetimes, before they
were written down. As a former story teller myself, I know how this
works very well. And then there are translation issues, with different
alphabets and their sounds. There are many people in America who think
Jesus was his real name. It wasn't. English didn't even exist when he
was born. His native languages in multicultural Judea were the ancestor
to modern Arabic, Aramaic, the Hebrew of that time, and older Biblical
Hebrew, and some Greek and Latin. He had a Hebrew name that sounds like
Yeshua. That was translated to the Greek and Roman Alphabets,
pronounced as Yeasu, and Yeasus. Spelled in the Latin alphabet,
pronounced in English, Jesus. But translated directly from the Hebrew
into English, his name is Joshua. By the way, the word 'Alphabet',
comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, 'alpha, and
beta.' Interestingly, in Hebrew, those letters are, 'aleph, and beth'.
So, Jesus isn't his real name in English, it's Joshua. But it was real,
where many in the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Bible, are not. So, back
to where I started. Delilah wasn't my real name then. Er, oops!"
Chuckles.
Don said, "So the story of Samson was real?" I said, "Partly real.
Was his beard, not his hair, that he believed his strength came from,
and he wasn't nearly as violent as he was portrayed. Interestingly,
ever since then, through the time of Jesus and beyond, Orthodox Jews
don't like to cut their beards. That could be part of the reason."
Those from Harvard said, "Oh!"
Don said, "There is a question on my list from your last interview.
You said something about some people viewing God as more than one
entity. Could you explain that?" I said, "Easily. The Catholic Trinity,
for one. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Different versions of Buddhism
have a whole pantheon of major and minor Gods. Hindus do, too. Worship
of Saints and Prophets is like that, too. God is one being, but He is
also comprised of many other souls who have joined him, such as The
Buddha, Stephen who was also Francis, and many others. So God is both.
One, and many, depending on how you want to look at the whole
situation. But really, what's in a name? God by any other name or
names, will always be the Supreme Being, creator of all." Those from
Harvard said, "Amen!" I said, "Er, sorry. I wasn't intending to
preach." One said, "You did, and VERY well!" I said to him, "So we're
not yet finished with the embarrassment." Chuckles.
I said, "I think we've used up enough time." Don said, "Thank you all
for being with us today." We responded, and went off air. Don said, "So
you revealed another life!" I said, "I noticed. Do you think it was an
accident?" He said, "Absolutely not!" We grinned at each other. One
from Harvard said, "Will you write about that life?" I said, "I might."
Don said, "I know you. You just did." I said, "Amend what I said to,
might publish." Chuckles. He said, "Actually, we'd prefer that you told
the story on air." I said, "Hey, mister producer, no fair ganging up on
me." Chuckle in the air, and he said, "Still a request." I said, "Not
in my plans, but maybe someday. Until then, speculation about it could
be interesting." One of the Harvard people nodded.
We hugged all around, and I ported our group with me back to Harvard.
We sat. One said, "So you want them to speculate." Another said, "To
keep the Bible alive in their minds." The others looked at him in
surprise and respect. I said, "Exactly! Well done! Oh, now you know how
it feels. Saved you from the whole public bit, though." He nodded his
thanks with a smile. We did our farewells, and hugged, and I left.
Back home, Mom said, "You're actually a Buddhist, too." I said, "Oh,
now you've done it!" Kam said in the air, "Darn right! I'll start that
going." I said, "It never ends!" Laughter. Then we felt poke from the
Boss. I said, "Not, you, too!" We could feel His amusement. Then Dad
came to the front of the contact and said, "Take it like a Prophet!" He
laughed, too, and the contact ended. Together, we all said, "Wow!"
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