Bluebird Meadows of Stevensville, Michigan

Adam answered the question with a question. "Is the important thing the book itself or the messages it contains? And if the message is what’s important, is the message about how to worship or how to live? Pretend for a moment that you never saw any of your ancient holy books . . . How would you live? What would you think would be God’s way?"

Adam paused for several seconds, then continued "In ancient times - and even today, you argue about points of fact in your ancient manuscripts - whose holy book is holier than someone else’s - how God ‘favors’ one religion or group of people. You kill one another over your differences. This is NOT God’s way!" declared Adam with a sudden sternness. "The points of fact in all of your holy books are really irrelevant. Did someone actually do the things which were written of them? However such questions are answered would have no change on how I interact with you, how you interact with each other, what each of us does with our lives. God cares for all things, all people - God has no ‘favorites’ except perhaps those who live God’s way."

"You also argue and kill over ‘holy’ grounds. The concept of special lands are a creation of man. In God’s eyes, all things - all land - is holy and should be treated as such. Man needs to understand this concept quickly and stop the senseless killing and pain around the world." Adam looked at each who were listening with a cold, piercing stare as if to etch his words in their minds.

"Mr. Sampson, you seem to look upon the Bible - our holy books - with contempt. That is hard for us to take" commented the priest as he gestured toward his fellow religious leaders.

Adam replied "There is nothing wrong with your books - only what you are doing with them. If they are a foundation for you to live God’s way, then they serve you well. Too many of you, however, are confined by your books, living in the past - trying to find the passages you can interpret which justify your lives of grandeur, twisted to make your people believe they need YOU more than they need God, distorted to justify acts of violence - acts of Godlessness. You may be better off to cast aside your books, take a deep breath of today’s air, and begin living God’s way to make today and tomorrow - a day which you are proud to have lived. Live each day as if it were your last - as if at the day’s end you were accountable to God for all that you did - and didn’t do - with that day in your life."