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by jeremiah on Tuesday, 18 August 2009
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When this story left off, three corrupt animals were overseeing the rationing of wealth and responsibilities of the animals of Eidolon.
In time, the animals once again saw that things just weren't working out the way they had hoped and so they gathered together for yet another discussion. This time, an eagle came forward to present his plan. Instead of just proposing a leadership style, he also proposed a new kind of system. The system would be based on a series of "checks and balances". He proposed having several groups of leaders, instead of just one or three, who looked after each other and the forest. Unlike before, these leaders would be given very minimal power over the other animals. This meant that the animals would need some additional means by which to regulate themselves. For this, he proposed an emphasis on the acquisition of wealth. He claimed that the failure of the other ways was that there had not been enough motivation for the animals to work hard. By allowing all animals the freedom to work as much or as little as they wanted and by allowing them to keep whatever wealth they acquired for themselves, all animals would have equal opportunity. The leaders would only be needed to ensure that no animals were cheating, stealing, or in some other way harming the other animals. Most of the animals thought that the eagle's ideas were brilliant so they declared the new ideas as law and quickly put them into action.
The eagle's plan did work and very well. Initially, the number of leaders was very small and their duties were minimal. As animals started having more and more problems, though, the leaders had to lead more and more. For instance, some animals tried to take land away from other animals. Since there was no way to determine which land was the property of which animal, the leaders couldn't help. So, they created a new group of animals dedicated to defining and enforcing property lines. There was a lot of land to keep track of so this group of animals wasn't left with any time to gather their own food and take care of their own needs. It was therefore decided that they would need a property tax. A property tax meant that any animal that owned property had to pay these animals a small amount of money based on how much land they owned. Also, as more and more animals traveled, more and more roads were needed. Since there was no one in charge of the roads, they were often confusing and difficult to travel on. It was decided that another group would be created to manage the roads. Like with the land management group, a new tax would be needed to pay these new leaders. Any animal with a wheelbarrow, cart, or other vehicle would need to pay a transportation tax.
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by jeremiah on Thursday, 13 August 2009
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In the beginning, the Maker created an enormous forest and He called it Eidolon. He created the trees and bushes, the streams and rivers, and the hills and the valleys. He populated Eidolon with many kinds of animals: birds, foxes, bears, rabbits, fish, and more. In the early days, the Maker walked among the animals of Eidolon teaching them how to live and how to benefit the most from the forest and from each other. The Maker commanded some of the animals to write down his words in the Book. All animals that lived according to the ways of the Book prospered. As the number of animals increased, the Maker walked among them less often. His plan was that the younger animals would learn from the Book and the older animals. As time progressed and the animals of Eidolon continued to multiply, many of the animals forgot about the Maker and his Book. They heard stories about Him and His Book but believed them to be just that, stories.
During the ancient days of Eidolon, the animals had needed to rely on the Maker for guidance in everything from farming to clothing. They even needed instructions about right and wrong. During the later times that the animals referred to as the "progressive era" or "modern times", the animals relied mostly on themselves. In those times, the animals chose to do things their own way and in their own time without guidance from the Maker. Some remembered the Maker and His Book and turned to Him for guidance, but these animals were small in number and were often made fun of for being "old fashioned" or "narrow minded". Some of the ancient traditions established by the Maker, like marriage and observing a weekly day of rest, carried on independently of the Maker, but most were abandoned in favor of more progressive ideas.
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by jeremiah on Thursday, 25 June 2009
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A certain father had two sons, ages 9 and 10, and both were talented baseball players. The older son, Caleb, was a catcher and the younger son, Arnold, was a pitcher. Both could hit very well. The father coached a baseball team for kids and both sons were on the team. The father loved both sons equally and gave them both lots of praise whenever they did something well. When they made mistakes, he encouraged them and gave them advice about how to improve. Wanting to please his father, the younger son, Arnold, spent nearly all of his free time practicing. He went to the batting cages, threw the baseball at a board with a target on it, and played catch with himself by throwing the ball straight up into the air. Caleb on the other hand spent most of his time with his pals. They rode bikes, traded baseball cards, and talked a lot. Caleb loved to brag to his friends about how great of a baseball player he was, how he could hit home runs and pick off base runners who were trying to steal.
Naturally, over time, Arnold became the better player. As a pitcher he won lots of games and as a batter he got many hits including home runs. Caleb was good too but he could never be credited with a "win" since he was a catcher. Also, although Caleb had a strong swing, he tended to pop up and strike out too much. Their father, and coach, praised both children according to their abilities which meant that Arnold got more praise. Arnold's dad wasn't the only person dishing out the praise either. The other members of the team often gave Arnold high fives and head noogies. They would occasionally even chant his name from the dugout.
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by jeremiah on Friday, 19 June 2009
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This story takes place in a small town somewhere in middle America. The laws of the town had been written years ago and had been based on absolutes. i.e. "This is right and that is wrong." Over the years, many of the laws and the reasoning behind them slowly faded from relevancy. Among these were laws regarding the prohibition of alcohol and prostitution within city limits. Although alcohol still couldn't be sold within the city, drinking became a regular occurrence. Many of the gatherings where the drinking took place were held at the town hall. Even the mayor made an appearance from time to time. Prostitution was still frowned upon but a "massage parlor" thrived just outside the boundaries of the city. Occasionally, the town police would enforce the laws because they were, after all, the law, but the enforcement was seemingly random and often annoying. So one day the mayor called a town meeting to discuss the rewriting of the law so that it could be consistently enforced.
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by jeremiah on Friday, 12 June 2009
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As the sun broke through the cracks in the blinds, its beams found their way onto little Susie's face. She stirred momentarily and then sat bolt upright! She was still groggy and needed to rub the sleep from her eyes, but today was the day! Her parents were taking her to Wacky Land! Susie had never been to a theme park before but had heard many exciting things... rides, caramel apples, carnival games, and more. Even now her heart raced with anticipation. Susie's parents had told her about the trip weeks ago and the days seemed to have dragged from that point forward, but no matter now. Susie got dressed and ready in a flash, and before she knew it, the three of them, mom, dad, and Susie, were getting out of the car in the Wacky Land parking lot. The actual park was still a long way away, but from where she stood Susie could see the tops of many of the rides. She could hear lots of screams of excitement and was visually bombarded with cartoonish colors and shapes. It was all so different from the mundane life she was used to. The walls of her bedroom, for instance, were eggshell white and her classroom at school had wood paneling on the walls with plain tile floors and ceilings. The dominant sounds of her life came from the air vents and the cars and buses outside. Even from a distance, Wacky Land was just so surreal.
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by jeremiah on Thursday, 04 June 2009
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There was a certain village with a tree with fruit that could bring healing to all who ate of it. As has been described in other stories, the residents of the village were divided as to who should have access to the healing power of the tree. Some felt that the tree was only for the villagers plus a few select outsiders while others felt it should be available to everyone. Among those who believed that the tree was for everyone, there were many ideas about how the tree could best be used, often for some sort of personal gain. Some devised ways to convince others, mostly outsiders, that they must pay money to access the tree. Some villagers convinced others that the only way to be worthy of accessing the tree was to first perform certain acts of kindness. More times than not, these good deeds mostly benefited those who requested them. Some villagers convinced others that anyone who approached the tree must first make himself clean. Many of the sickest people, those who needed the fruit of the tree most, were convinced they were unworthy and so they either relied on "clean" villagers to get the fruit for them or they gave up altogether. Recognizing the power of the tree but not having much power of their own, some villagers made a big show out of the healing power of the fruit. They set up large tents with lots of chairs and a stage and they invited many to come and watch the healing take place. There was lots of cheering and clapping. This was done to bring glory to the villagers on stage, and not to the tree itself. Some villagers felt so strongly that the tree should be accessed by all that they physically dragged some people to the tree and tried to force-feed the fruit to others, even those who absolutely did not want to be healed. Worst of all, however, were the villagers who set up fake trees made to look like the healing tree. They convinced others to come to these trees and eat their fruit. Some of this fruit would make its eaters feel good for a while but would never bring real healing. Most of this fruit would actually make those who ate it worse off than they were before. These fake trees had many variations and the villagers who set them up did so for lots of reasons. In any case, all the villagers described here committed a great injustice against the tree and deterred many outsiders from ever wanting to approach the healing tree themselves. |
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by jeremiah on Tuesday, 26 May 2009
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In the center of a certain village there was a special tree, a healing tree. All who ate of the fruit of the tree were healed from their ailments, from broken bones and lethal cancers to bug bites and bruises. The people of the village were divided as to who should have access to the tree. Some felt that the tree was for everyone so that all who so desired could be healed. Others felt that the tree was intended only for them and a select few "outsiders" who they deemed worthy of healing. Regardless of how the villagers felt about the tree, the good news of its healing qualities spread far and wide. Visitors came from all around to eat of its fruit. If a visitor chanced to run into an "all are welcome" villager, they need only to ask and they would be brought directly to the tree. If they chanced to encounter an "only the elite" villager, they would be greeted with equal kindness until they asked about the tree, at which point they would be thrown out of the village! Try as they might, the "elite" villagers could not keep all outsiders away from the tree. In addition to being helped by the "all are welcome" villagers, some visitors would simply sneak their way to the healing tree and steal away with its fruit. The more that was taken from the tree, the more that it produced, and in that way nothing was lost, only gained. Knowing that some "outsiders" were accessing the tree and being healed without their consent, the "elite" villagers reasoned with themselves that either a few outsiders really did belong and that they just didn't know it, or they reasoned that they weren't really being healed. In time, the villagers who wanted to ostracize the outsiders from the tree became so wrapped up in their crusade that they neglected to go to the tree for their own needs, even to the point of death! |
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by jeremiah on Monday, 06 April 2009
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"The Beaver and the Rabbit" is a fable inspired by a passage in Ecclesiastes which states: Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?
The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep.
(Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 NIV) |
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