Anthony shifted his position in his chair as if trying to take a closer look at Chris, then said, "I know you have many questions that need answering, but it's best if I begin by asking you some. I've heard from many people their account of how you came to be in my office, now I would like to hear it from you. What brought you here? Why do you want to be in the kingdom? And more important, what do you believe this kingdom is all about?"
"Sure thing Mr. Quillis…" Chris began.
"Call me Anthony," Anthony interrupted.
"…Anthony…" Chris continued. "A little over a year ago, I started working at this car dealership in the parts department. From the day I interviewed for the position, I was incredibly impressed by my manager. I'm not gay or anything, but he was just someone I liked being around. I could have found a better paying job, but I really enjoyed working there. Eventually I found that many of the people who worked there were like him, including the owner of the dealership.
"After a month I found out that what they all had in common was that they went to the same church. I wasn't looking to go to another church, but I thought it was at least worth checking out. My boss said that anyone was welcome, so I decided to go.
"I'm a Methodist, so I am always a little leery of other churches. My experiences with them have been pretty negative. They preach a lot of hell-fire and damnation, and not enough about helping our fellow man the way Jesus always taught. The last time I went to another church prior to this, a full-on pro-Iraq war rally broke out. I was horrified.
"But this church was nothing like that. It was wonderful. It was all about people deeply relating to other people through Christ. It was easy for me to go back again and again. While I have always enjoyed going to church, I now looked forward to it more than ever.
"I also made new friends there that were really quite special. Through them I learned about this kingdom. Some of these friends belonged to it, and others didn't. The ones that belonged to it never really talked about it, or for that matter, never really avoided talking about it either. It was just there.
"I'm not to sure how to explain it. I could tell it was important to them, but they never made me feel like I was on the outside because I didn't belong to it. All that really mattered was that we all worshipped Christ. So eventually I saw it as an extended family, and nothing more.
"Things changed when my friend Pete said he was joining the kingdom. He told me that he was going away for a few weeks, but I would see him soon. A few weeks stretched out to four before I saw him again, and when he returned, he had clearly changed. He was more confident and vibrant; the same kind of qualities I saw in my boss.
"When I asked him about what it was that had such a positive impact on him, all he could say was that it wasn't a secret, but it wasn't something he could explain either. It was just something I had to experience. Frankly, when he said that, it gave me the creeps. Yet I couldn't deny the results that were staring me in the face. It was then I decided I had to join.
"Up 'til then, I just assumed it was the church that made people like my boss, but now I saw that it was the kingdom. I asked Pete about joining, but all he could say was that it would be at least a few years before he could recommend people for entry. He suggested I try my boss.
"So I went to him, and told him how impressed I was with everyone I knew who was in the kingdom, and asked him if I could join. His response was a bit cryptic. He said 'There is nothing magical about the kingdom. It's just a family by choice, rather than by blood. The only real difference is that we place a lot of expectations on each other. If you're not able to become the kind of person you think we are on your own, then there is nothing the kingdom can do to help you. Are you sure you want to join our kingdom?'
"I said I was, so he told me he would nominate me for submission into the kingdom's initiation process, but it might take a while before there is an open slot. I asked what that would entail, and he said that I should think about a military boot camp, but without all of the screaming and yelling. As such, he said, I had to demonstrate that I could motivate myself to excel, and would not need any coercion to do so.
"It took a couple of weeks before I finally got in. The last thing my boss said to me was that my job would be waiting for me, so no matter how long it took, be patient with the process.
"Little did I know how patient I had to be. Monday through Saturday it was fourteen hours a day of studying, taking tests, exercising, and participating in physical competitions. Sunday we caught a break, because it was only ten hours. For a while there I actually lost track of time. If it wasn't for the daily logs we had to keep, I doubt I could tell you no how long I was in there."
Chris paused for a moment to collect his thoughts and finally replied, "There is no doubt that I learned a lot. I just wish I could understand what that was all about, and why I didn't learn anything of the kingdom."
Much to Chris' disappointment, Anthony wasn't ready yet to supply any answers just yet. "Just a few more questions Chris. What were you told by your drill instructor when you began your training about what would be expected of you?"
That was a tough one for Chris, because it was so long ago. "I can't remember the exact words, but it was something like I had to demonstrate that I believe that my time in the boot camp was not a waste of my time regardless of the outcome… No, that's not right. It was more like that I should be grateful for my time in the boot camp even if I was never selected to get in."
Anthony nodded his head. "Close enough. Unlike college students, we need people in our kingdom that are not interested in just pursing a degree, or any other artificial rewards. We need people that see education as its own reward. So if you believed that what were doing wasn't worth doing for its own sake, you would never be selected. Yet this is not the primary role of the crucible.
"You talked about how much you enjoyed our church. How would you describe the brand of Christianity there?"
Chris was a little confused by the question, but he answered as well as he could. "I really enjoyed the outreach for the poor, and the real difference we made in peoples lives. I also liked how it wasn't focused on keeping people out of hell, and more about enriching the lives of everyone. I guess I would call the church a liberal Christian one, at least that is what it seems to me."
Anthony replied, "That's a fair enough description, but I wouldn't use the word liberal. We prefer to describe ourselves as tolerant Christians, because we are very open minded to what ever you may feel is the right way for you to follow. Liberal implies a political bias that we don't believe belongs in church.
"This brings me to the function of the church and the crucible as they apply to getting people into our kingdom. We use the church to filter out the religiously intolerant, and we us the crucible to filter out the politically intolerant.
"The people who are very adamant and intolerant about what a person should believe religiously find our church very frustrating. They really need to hear a lot of 'hell-fire and damnation,' as you would say, in order to be reassured that what they believe is correct. Since they don't get that our church, they just end up moving along.
"While the church has other functions besides filtering out undesirables, the crucible does not. It's sole purpose is to eliminate the politically intolerant. Can you guess how it does that?"
Chris was even more confused by this question. "No, I can't. I don't even know what you mean by politically intolerant."
"It's pretty simple." Anthony replied. "If you believe that only your solution is the right solution, and all people opposed to your solutions are also against your goals, then you are politically intolerant. Basically, you believe that things have to go your way, and if someone is against your way, then they are also against you.
"With this understanding, can you now see how the crucible filters them out? Think about what you went through, and whether at anytime you felt that you wanted to just give up and leave."
"I felt like giving up many times; probably everyday for the past eight weeks. I still don't see what you mean," said Chris.
"So why didn't you give up?" Anthony continued to prod Chris.
"I'm not sure," said Chris. "No one appeared to be giving up on me. My drill instructors continued to insist that I learn more, and physically develop more. It seemed to me that I would be letting them down if I gave up."
"Very good answer, Chris. It was your proving that quality about you that convinced me you would be a good person to select for my squad. You need to remember that as we move forward today.
"The type of person we are trying to filter out in the crucible we have a simplistic label for, and that's liberal."
Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/2rw74j/next_generation_christian_kingdom_ch05_to_protect