The Cross of Freedom

Once upon a time, in a galaxy many light-years away from Earth, there was a solar system containing a single sun which had 9 planets orbiting it (some say only 8 planets, but who’s counting).  Only one of those planets, named Earthlike, supported life.  Life on Earthlike was much like life here on earth - except for a couple big exceptions.

For one thing, only a tiny area of Earthlike was populated.  The planet had been colonized only recently, relative to geologic time, and while communications within the colonized area of the planet was good, almost nobody traveled more than a hundred miles or so from where they were born.  Only a few explorers and adventurers ever ventured beyond the colony borders.

The other big exception was that Earthlike spun so slowly on its axis that it made only one revolution every 250 of our years.  And let’s not even discuss their seasons – we don’t have enough time.  Dawn and dusk on Earthlike each lasted 8-10 of our years, and full daytime and nighttime each lasted something over 115 of our years.  In other words, Earthlike went through long periods of enlightenment alternating with prolonged periods of darkness.

What’s even more interesting is that the average lifespan on Earthlike was much the same as here on Earth – about 75 years or so.  This meant that many people born on Earthlike lived their entire lives without ever seeing the sun.

By the time the colonists got organized, several generations had passed.  There were no longer any eyewitnesses of those early days still living.  The only record of the original colonization and those first generations was in a book written by an Earthlike historian named Ole.  It was called the Ole Bible.  Some people loved the book and some hated it.  It was one of those books that almost nobody was neutral on.  It eventually became the most widely published and distributed book on the planet.

At this time, a form of government was set up and a constitution was written.  One of the key things the founders wanted was for every member of the colony to be able to say whatever they felt without worrying about getting in trouble.  They called this "freedom to speak".  The founders of this new government also wanted people to have freedom to practice science in any way they saw fit.  Because of this, they wrote into the constitution that there should never be a state-sponsored science, neither should the state restrict the practice of any science by any of its citizens.  They called this "freedom of science".  While the founders all believed in science, they did not all practice the same branch of science.  Most of them were astronomers and believed that astronomy was a good thing and that we would be in big trouble if we ever abandoned it.

Things went well for quite some time.  Then trouble started.  Someone decided that the constitution dictated the "separation of science and state".  This caught on with others who didn’t like science and the notion spread throughout the colonies.  Earlier, a book had been published that stated that life had evolved there all by itself without any help from anyone.  This was contrary to all known science of that time, and any time since then.  The anti-science folks grabbed hold of this in a hurry anyway.  It was confusing to most people because there was already a well-accepted rule that all systems when left on their own devolve into disorder over time – a system can only evolve into order when influenced by something external to itself.  And all systems are made up of smaller systems and are themselves part of a larger system, all the way up to and including the entire universe.  This, of course, didn’t bother evolutionists.

As time went on, this “theory of evolving” was adopted by many and even began to be taught in the schools.  Even though there was no evidence to support the theory, and it contradicted a well-established law of nature, the government of the colonies stated that no other theory of how the colonists arrived on Earthlike could ever be taught in schools.  It became a kind of religion.

Some time later, after Earthlike had been plunged into a new darkness cycle, the population was so infected by these alternate versions of the colony’s origin that new attacks began to emerge.  The biggest attacks were on the science of astronomy.  Astronomers on Earthlike believed that life had been placed on Earthlike by a very powerful being from outside the universe.  They also believed that this powerful being had sent his son to check on things some time after placing life there, that he looked just like the colonists, and he came to save the colonists from their own short-sightedness.  His name was Chris and he was seen as a very important person in the history of the colonies.  As a matter of fact, since that time astronomers had been calling themselves Christronomers in his honor.  People who didn’t like Christronomy thought Christronomers were crazy.

Many of the anti-science folks, particularly those who hated Christronomy, even started to claim that there was no sun.  They said "I’ve never seen the sun.  If I can’t see it or touch it then it can’t be real."  Even though others had seen the sun in earlier times, and had written about this, the non-believers scoffed at the notion that there was ever a sun over a land so dark.  Because of the "freedom to speak" rule, they were allowed to say anything they wanted.  The only ones who knew that the sun would return were the Christronomers, and they actively tried to tell others about the sun and to learn more about the sun themselves.

There were even stories in the Ole Bible about the sun, about when the sun was here before, and about the time the sun would return.  Some people even thought one time that they could keep the sun from rising, but of course the sun rose anyway.  Some of their ancestors still deny that the sun rose back then.  While most scientists believed in some form of the Ole Bible, only Christronomers believed in the sun.

Time went on and anti-science folks multiplied and got more bold.  They even tried to claim that the Ole Bible was a hateful document.  They successfully got the government to remove the book from all the schools.  They said it violated the constitution's "separation of science and state" rule – even though this was never in the constitution.  Actually, since the constitution stated that there should be no suppression of science, much of what the anti-Christronomy folks were doing was unconstitutional.  Later, they tried to get laws passed that if anyone tried to read certain parts of the Ole Bible in public that they could be put in jail.  Somehow they had forgotten that the "freedom to speak" rule that allowed them to hate Christronomers and publish books against Christronomy and bash Christronomers in public also allowed others the freedom to speak freely – including reading from the Ole Bible in public.  How they had become so confused was a mystery to most people.

By this time, the Earthlike colonies had become pretty much divided between those who read and followed the Ole Bible and believed the sun would return and those who didn’t believe.  Some folks hated science (and hated Christronomers most) so much that they tried to suggest that Christronomers shouldn’t run for public office at all and that any scientific person who runs for office should not allow any scientific principle to ever effect any decision they make while in office.  This was really confusing to almost everyone else because nobody could figure out what difference a person’s position on science made relative to a run for public office.  Scientists should have been highly desired in public office, especially since all of the colony’s founders had been scientists – most of them Christronomers - and all of the early laws and documents reflected scientific principles.  Unfortunately, many in the general public who believed in Christronomy were actually voting into public office people who didn’t.  Many in public office were against the Ole Bible and what was written there and wanted to pass laws contrary to what was in the Ole Bible.  The idea that folks who claimed to believe in Christronomy would put people like this in places of leadership was REALLY confusing.

Then a really strange thing happened.  People who hated science started becoming a little more tolerant of most branches of science – all except Christronomy.  It seemed that the division between Christronomers and everyone else was becoming more pronounced.  The Ole Bible said this would happen.

Since Christronomers were only continuing on from where past history had carried them, and since they were following historical documents (including the Ole Bible) and observing the world and the sky around them, the Christronomers couldn’t believe that so many people had so much trouble believing the truth.  When they tried to tell people that the sun existed and would return, people just closed their ears or tried to drown them out with noise and confusion.

The Ole Bible told about how people needed to be prepared for when the sun returned.  You see, when the sun was not visible many people got complacent about the power of the sun.  "If there is a sun then why is it so dark?" was a common question.  Christronomers said that when it is darkest is when they think most about the sun.  They knew that not only would the sun wash away all darkness, but that anyone who was unprepared for the sun’s return would get burned.  And Christronomers were delivering, to anyone who would listen, the message of how to save their skin.  They told people to read the Ole Bible and to learn about the sun.  Then they would know how to prepare themselves.

Fortunately, many listened.  Unfortunately, many others didn’t.  Many still refused to believe that the sun even existed.  They insisted that the sun would never appear.  They didn’t believe the Ole Bible, they didn’t believe the Christronomers – and they didn’t even believe their own eyes.  The Ole Bible told about the signs that would appear just before the sun returned, but even when these signs of a new dawn started appearing many people still wouldn’t believe.

Of course, the sun did return.  Those who were prepared, who knew that the sun was the truth and was their light, thrived.  Those who were unprepared, who denied the sun and mocked those who believed, were lost.  What the non-believers found out too late was that, despite all the anti-Christronomy rhetoric, the books, the politics, and the sowing of confusion on Earthlike, they couldn’t change the truth.  The sun returned.  Right on schedule.  Regardless of what anyone on Earthlike believed, regardless of what anyone wrote, regardless of what anyone said, and regardless of what anyone did.  Despite the media, despite politics, and despite efforts to suppress it, the truth is what it is and nothing they could do could change it.

The people of Earthlike want to share this message with all who would try to change the truth instead of living by it.  Avoid the sowing of confusion, avoid loud rhetoric (the truth never needs to be loud, it stands on its own), and avoid altering the facts to fit your own pre-conceived notions.  The lost of Earthlike forgot all of these things, or were fooled by others who had forgotten.  The saved of Earthlike stood firm in the truth.

The Son WILL return.  Where do you stand?

Back to "America"