Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: googled (04/10/14)
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TITLE: Truth and Consequences | Previous Challenge Entry
By Gary Ritter
04/10/14 -
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Some philosophers told me to search my mind; truth is inside me. Others said it’s all around me; everything is truth. When I was close to despair an uproar in the city caught my attention. People shouting, making claims. Miracles, lies, blasphemies. Not a single person agreed with another. Yet one statement rose above the others. A man professing he was truth. That was a new one.
They brought him before me. He was unassuming. What could there possibly be about him that created such discord? The noise of the crowd surged to new levels. They accused him of evildoing, that he deserved to die.
Death came easily for me. Criminals regularly died under my heavy hand. But there was something wrong, something about this man that disquieted me. I needed to know why.
Leaders and elders hurled accusations at him. The multitude finally quieted. He wouldn’t respond to them, nor to me! I’d never heard of such a thing.
The crowd grew restless. They wanted the criminal freed. This man who’d done nothing, they wanted to kill. It came to me. They were envious of him. Who would ever think that one like this could arouse such virulent jealousy? But jealous of what? Why the hatefulness and spite?
As I pondered that my cell phone rang. My wife calling. The cries of the people grew at that moment to such volume I knew I couldn’t speak to her. The display showed she left a message. Overnight my wife slept poorly. This commotion began at an early hour, so I had no opportunity to determine what troubled her. My gut told me to hear what she had to say.
Leaving the masses to their own devices for a brief time I found a quiet spot inside. My wife’s voicemail: “I suffered as I dreamt of this man. Have nothing to do with him.” The years had taught me to listen well to my bride.
I returned to my place above the accused. “They say you desire to overthrow the king.”
“I am a king myself, but this world has no hold on me. I came to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”
There it was. He spoke of truth. Could this man be the key? The masses clamored. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Release the criminal. I looked again at this man. Him a king? Laughable. “What is truth?”
I turned away and dipped my hands in water, washing them before the crowd. “I find no fault in this man.”
They flogged and crucified him. Above his head I ordered a sign saying: “Jesus of Nazareth. The King of the Jews.” Later they told me he died before the day let out. Disappointing. I thought he was made of sterner stuff.
At least my wife was pleased. The responsibility for his death rested on others. I had nothing to do with him.
And truth? I never did find it.
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Creative, well written.
Stick to the bible. You seem to have a good handle on it.