The Word by William Lane

Author:William Lane
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781925760132
Publisher: Transit Lounge

Robert and Justin were returning from the cafe the next afternoon when they saw two Jehovah’s Witnesses, young Islander men, standing at The Word’s front door. The strapping youngsters – they might have been groomsmen separated from their wedding party – were dressed in cheap black suits, with ties and bright white shirts. Their better-fitted skins glittered in the heat.

‘We’ve heard the name of your boarding house is The Word,’ said one of the men, smiling broadly at Robert and Justin. ‘Are you affiliated with a religious organisation?’

Justin glanced at Robert. ‘No, I don’t think so – are we, Robert?’

‘The church of Logos,’ said Robert.

‘Lagos?’ asked the man.

‘No, independent of Lagos.’

‘Oh, independent. Evangelicals?’

‘We do talk in tongues sometimes,’ said Robert.

‘Oh, charismatics,’ said the young man, who glanced at his friend. But his friend was looking up at Judith, who sat where she liked to sit, sunbathing on the sill of the large and open second-storey window above the door. Judith leant back in the big, square frame. She wore a man’s shirt, oversized and unbuttoned, and her bare legs stretched out before her; she smiled down at the young men, listening in on their conversation.

‘Have you heard about the Word of God?’ asked the first young witness.

‘Yes, I think I have heard about it,’ said Justin. ‘It’s said the Bible, which I’ve heard about too, is actually God’s word.’

‘That’s correct,’ confirmed the young man.

Judith shifted her legs, flexed her back, and put her hands behind her head. The second witness looked up again.

‘Robert and I have heard it said the world was created in seven days,’ said Justin. ‘That’s what the Bible says, right?’

‘Six, actually.’ The young man smiled. ‘He took a break on the seventh.’

‘That’s amazing, isn’t it?’

‘That’s what the book says. Some say it’s a metaphor.’

‘And what languages was this book written in?’

‘Hebrew in the Old Testament and Ancient Greek in the New, I believe.’

‘God spoke in two languages?’

‘He speaks all languages. The books are dual-authored, by both God and man.’

‘Can I look?’ asked Justin.

‘Sure.’

‘“In the beginning was the Word”,’ read Justin, ‘now that definitely rings a bell; in fact, that’s a very neo-Platonic sort of statement. Fancy finding it here in the Gospel of John.’

‘We believe it’s God’s Word, not any philosopher’s.’

‘“And the Word became flesh”,’ said the second young man in a husky voice, grinning and revealing a set of large white teeth. ‘What does that mean?’ asked Justin.

‘That the world took form as God named the things in the world,’ said the first witness. ‘The Word is another aspect of God; the Word is creative, it creates form.’

‘Got it,’ said Justin. ‘I must say, it’s very convenient that all truth for all time is compiled in the one publication – that’s great, isn’t it, Robert? That’s nice, that’s handy. We’ll take one. Our master might be interested in this.’

‘Sorry, we don’t give away our Bibles. We are not Gideons.’

Inside, Kenric rebuked Justin. ‘I heard the whole conversation,’ he said, ‘I could hear from inside the office.

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