Faith of Tarot by Piers Anthony

Author:Piers Anthony [Anthony, Piers]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction, Imaginary Places, General
ISBN: 9780441225651
Google: BXBo3M7XZ9QC
Publisher: Ace
Published: 1980-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

"Yes," Abraham agreed, and Brother Thomas nodded. So far, so good. But he wasn't out of trouble yet.

"Jacob was cheated in his turn, perhaps in retribution," Brother Paul continued. His hands were sweating; surreptitiously he wiped them on the blanket. "When he worked for seven years to marry the fair Rachel, he discovered after the consummation that her father had substituted her older sister Leah. Now he had to work another seven years for Rachel. He was actually allowed to marry Rachel within a week, however, so he did not have to wait; he had two wives while he worked off the debt. And perhaps the hand of God was in this too, for as it turned out, Rachel was barren. So it was Leah who provided him with a number of fine sons. Then Rachel, to preserve her status, gave him her maid for procreative purposes in order to have at least a surrogate son. So Leah gave him her pretty maid for another son, and—well, you could call this lust, but I don't think that's quite fair. All of it was for the purpose of increasing the size of the tribe, and since underpopulation was the main problem of that day—"

Brother Thomas the Dominican Friar spread his hands. "Brother, I thought you were practicing deceit, but you evidently have a fine knowledge of the Bible."

"It was Jacob who practiced deceit," Brother Paul agreed, weak with relief. "And his father-in-law. Each had his motives—"

"In fact, your knowledge of the Bible is so specific that I suspect you must have been reading it yourself."

Oh, no! Now Brother Paul remembered: in medieval times the Church frowned on common reading of the Bible. It was deemed too important to be left to the run-of-the-mill believer, and instead had to be read and interpreted by the hierarchy. He had marched into another trap.

"In my country, the study of the Bible reaches further toward the layman than it does here." he Said.

Understatement of the mission! "And as a traveling minstrel I am accustomed to remembering stories. It is easy to remember the greatest story ever told." Would that pass?

"I must accept your credits as a Christian scholar," Brother Thomas continued. "I apologize for questioning you during your infirmity."

Victory! Brother Paul had so phrased his commentary as to defend the Mormons along with the Biblical Jews, and this had paid off. Multiple wives, for a good cause...

"Ah, but this matter of wrestling with God—" Abraham said, unable to resist the gibe.

Brother Paul saw disaster looming again. If Brother Thomas resumed the fray—

"We all wrestle with God at times," the Dominican said. "We call it conscience. The human flesh is weak, while God is strong; we must listen to God always."

"Yes," Brother Paul agreed, relaxing again. So the dogs really had been called off!

Brother Thomas faced the door. "I apologize again for the intrusion. Farewell." He crossed himself.

"Farewell," Brother Paul echoed, making the sign of the cross with his own hand. A true barba would never have done that.

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