Into the Tempest

By Eric Luppold

What if it were illegal for parents to share their faith with their children? Would you still do it? What if it meant risking custody of your children?

In the future United States created by Eric Luppold in his book, Into the Tempest, it is illegal for anyone to expose minors to religious teaching due to it being a violation of their rights and freedoms. Adults who are religious are viewed as having a psychological disorder requiring treatment. It is in this world where we follow the lives of two very different individuals. The first is Sam, a high school student who struggles with the same things other boys his age struggle with: bullies, girls, and homework. Yet Sams world is quickly turned upside down when he is introduced to the Christian faith, causing him to question the secular society around him. While Sam struggles to find his own identity in a world that hates Christians, Detective OConnor fights to protect minors from religions effects. The sudden loss of his wife years earlier led Detective OConnor to conclude two things: God does not exist, and he hates God. Yet, as events in his life bring him into contact with Sam, Detective OConnor is forced to confront his dark past and his personal war against God.

Into the Tempest is an intriguing and thought-provoking novel. As you read, you may find yourself wondering, Could this really happen here?

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 31, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490894577

Eric Luppold

Eric Luppold holds a masters of military history from Norwich University and is currently working on a masters of divinity from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the co-owner of and regular contributor to the blog Renewing Our Minds (http://renew-our-minds.blogspot.com). He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and two daughters.

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Copyright © 2015 Eric Luppold.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-9456-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9458-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9457-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015911032

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/20/2015

Contents

Preface

Part 1   Family

Chapter 1   The Boy

Chapter 2   Sam

Chapter 3   The Detective

Chapter 4   Sam

Chapter 5   Kaylee

Chapter 6   Sam

Chapter 7   Shawn

Chapter 8   Angela

Chapter 9   Shawn

Part 2   Faith

Chapter 10   Sam

Chapter 11   The Professor

Chapter 12   Sam

Chapter 13   David

Chapter 14   Sam

Chapter 15   Angela

Chapter 16   Sam

Part 3   Fear

Chapter 17   David

Chapter 18   Shawn

Chapter 19   Sam

Chapter 20   Shawn

Chapter 21   Jeremy

Chapter 22   Shawn

Part 4   Freedom

Chapter 23   Sam

Chapter 24   David

Chapter 25   Shawn

Chapter 26   Angela

Chapter 27   Aidan

Chapter 28   Shawn

Chapter 29   Sam

Preface

T he seeds of this book were first planted when I was finishing my capstone paper for my master’s degree in military history. The topic of my study was Franklin Roosevelt and the demand for Germany’s unconditional surrender. In my research I discovered that the Roosevelt administration was aware that the Soviets had banned the teaching of religious beliefs to minors. At this point in my studies I wanted to learn more about the motives and methods behind the Soviet persecution of Christians.

That led me to read a three-volume historical analysis of the persecution of Christians within the Soviet Union, authored by Dmitry V. Pospielovsky. In looking at his research into the Soviet Union’s treatment of Christians, I was hit by the Soviet government’s continual call for absolute separation of church and state. I quickly realized that this motto was the driving force behind their attempts to limit the ability of the church, particularly the Russian Orthodox Church, from having any influence upon the society whatsoever. It struck me then that, should the same demand for secularism continue to grow here in America, Christians in the United States could face a similar form of persecution. That is not to say that people would be sent off to gulags, tortured, and executed. I do not believe that such a thing would ever happen. But persecution can come in two forms: the more blatant physical form of torture and death or the more subtle form of lawsuits, fines, and imprisonment. Both forms existed in the Soviet Union, though typically when we think of the word persecution, we think only of physical pain and death.

As I studied more about how the Soviets persecuted the church, I came to learn that many of their techniques fell within the subtle and legal category. For instance, under the Soviet economy one had to put in a request for repairs and maintenance to be performed on any building or structure. When Christians put in requests to repair their church buildings, Soviet officials would purposefully drag their feet or give some reason why the request could not yet be fulfilled. Then, as the building continued to deteriorate, Soviet officials would come and condemn the building as unsafe, forcing the Christians to find another place to worship. Of course, if people tried to repair the building without a license or without approval of the Soviet government, they would be fined or imprisoned. Additionally, it was illegal to hold worship services in the home, as such a building would not meet the standards to be registered as a place of worship.

In looking further into the economic system of the Soviet Union, I found that ministers and priests were on the lowest rung of the economic ladder. This was because the Soviets viewed religious jobs as utterly meaningless, not qualifying as professions of true labor. As a result, those who held religious positions were taxed at the highest level, losing up to 80 percent of their income. This level of taxation became so burdensome that most ministers and religious leaders had to also work in a secular industry in order to make enough money to feed their families. Yet to do this they would have to deregister as clergymen and risk fines and imprisonment if they continued to offer religious services without a license.

Another interesting tactic that the Soviets employed was abolishing the seven-day week. This took place in 1929, when the Soviets instituted a five-day week (four days of work followed by one day off). By doing this the government attempted to eliminate Sunday, the Lord’s Day, in order to prevent Christians from being able to consistently worship. Furthermore, the State declared holidays such as Christmas to be Days of Industrialization—days when everyone was forced to work.

The last method of persecution that I found particularly frightful was the Soviet attempt to associate religious belief with mental illness. Though one might think that this is rather ridiculous, it followed from a materialistic mind-set. That is, those who grew up in an atheistic environment with atheistic parents and yet had religious faith were considered unable to adapt to society. Soviet doctors therefore concluded that such people must be suffering from some sort of mental disorder. As a result, many Christians were sent to so-called psycho-prisons.

Though these actions caused most churches to go underground, there was still an official church that was recognized by the Soviet state. As one would expect, those churches were tightly controlled and monitored by the Soviet government and were forced to adhere to Soviet dogmas and doctrines. Eventually, the Soviets realized that it was better to have a legal but controllable church than to have an underground church. This was because they could keep better track of a legal church by maintaining written records of members and leaders. They could also monitor the growth or decline of such churches and use that information to gain a better understanding of how many of their citizens held religious beliefs.

When considering the economic structure of the Soviet Union, as well as its hatred of religion, we can see that there existed a perfect condition for the persecution of Christians. Rather than having to take them out into the woods and shoot them, it was just as easy for the Soviets to use economic and legal pressure to attack the church. That is not to say that no Christians were executed or sent to the gulag. That happened quite often. Yet the persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union was far more well-thought-out and complex than we like to imagine.

With that in mind, this book is but a brief picture of what the persecution of Christians might look like in a future United States. We are already seeing legal and economic means being employed to limit the influence of Christianity. Cake bakers, hotel owners, and photographers are being sued for expressing their religious convictions. Groups such as the Freedom from Religion Foundation are calling for pastors to be convicted of hate speech if they say anything that might offend the views of the culture. Recently, in Houston, the sermons of pastors were subpoenaed as part of a lawsuit concerning transgenderism.

There is no doubt that, at this pace, very soon churches in the United States could be in danger of losing their 501(c)(3) status should they promote anything contrary to what the federal government deems appropriate. The demand that churches be restricted from utilizing public property, such as a school, or from receiving tax credits makes sense if one demands an absolute and unqualified separation of church and state. Of course, that is the exact same demand that the Soviets made, resulting in one of their earliest methods of persecution: the prohibition of any religious organization from using public land or public buildings.

Some might say that it is a slippery-slope to suggest that what happened in the Soviet Union will happen in the United States simply because we adopt the same motto of separation of church and state. Yet as you read this book, I hope that you will see that the logical outworking of a total secularization of the nation can only naturally lead to the eventual persecution of the church.

For my children – May the Lord prepare you for the world that you will inherit

PART 1

Family

CHAPTER 1

The Boy

The Church is separated from the State… . The School is separated from the Church.

—Decree of the Soviet of People’s Commissars, January 21, 1918 (Chairman, V. I. Lenin)

October

T he boy watched the clock tick by. It was 2:15, and the minute hand seemed like it was taking forever to move. Other students seemed to be anxious as well, just waiting for the final bell to ring. The fact that it was Friday only increased everyone’s anxiety. This was true for the boy too, although his anxiety was of a different sort. For everyone else in the class, the bell would signify a release into freedom and fun, at least for a few days. But for Sam Knox it meant facing his nemesis, Owen Richards.

As the thought of Owen came to his mind, Sam could not help but glance at the beautiful blonde girl to his right, Kaylee McCormick. Sam had come to know Kaylee only a few months ago when he started the tenth grade at his new school. That day was still fresh in his mind. He had helped Kaylee pick up the pens and notebooks that she had dropped while fumbling with her locker. Sam had said hi to her, introduced himself, and asked if she needed help. She had smiled at Sam, but before she was able to answer, Owen, who apparently was her eleventh-grade boyfriend, had come up from behind Sam and angrily pushed him to the side, shouting at him to get away from his girl. That was when it all started, and it had only been the second week of school. It was now two months later, and Sam regretted ever setting eyes on Kaylee. When he and his parents had first moved, he had been excited about meeting new friends. Now he wished he could just go back to their old house.

Since Sam’s first encounter with Owen, the boy had made it a habit to find and humiliate Sam each day after the final bell. This was particularly easy since Sam and Kaylee had the same class together at the end of the day. Owen would simply meet up with Kaylee afterward and use the opportunity to ridicule or harass Sam. Mostly this involved shoving Sam against the lockers or stealing something of his, such as his backpack, until Sam begged to have it back. Yet no matter how many times Sam apologized to Owen, or told him that he would stay away from Kaylee, Owen just would not let up. Even Kaylee’s efforts to convince Owen to stop proved fruitless. Some days she was successful in getting him to leave Sam alone, but those days were rare. Apparently Owen viewed Sam as a threat, although Sam could not at all figure out why. He himself was just under five foot six, and barely 140 pounds. Owen was at least four inches taller, and very athletic, being that he was on the wrestling team. If Sam were perhaps a bit stronger, he might actually be able to stand up to Owen. But then again, Owen was almost always accompanied by two of his wrestling buddies, Kyle and Brian. So even when Sam considered the possibility of resisting, he quickly realized it would never work so long as Owen’s friends were there to back him up.

He sighed. It was too bad that his run-ins with Owen always took place after Mr. Kemper’s history class. Sam loved history and respected Mr. Kemper as a teacher. He just could not truly enjoy the class knowing that pain and humiliation awaited him afterward.

Sam glanced over again at Kaylee. For a second he thought he saw her looking at him as well, though he could not tell if she had given him a look of pity or concern. Perhaps she felt sorry for him, or perhaps she still remembered how he had helped her when she dropped her stuff. Maybe she even liked him a little. Sam realized that if this were true, Owen better not find out.

It’s too bad, Sam thought. She really seems like a nice girl, and I have no idea why she would be with a jerk like Owen. He envisioned what Owen’s face would look like if did ask Kaylee out. It amused him, though he knew that doing so would probably be the end of him. It might be worth it, he thought. Apparently Kaylee must have noticed Sam staring at her, because when she again glanced over at him she gave him a puzzled look. He looked away.

Sam tried to turn his attention back to the class, yet he could not help but wonder how she ended up being Owen’s girlfriend. Owen did not treat her as well as he should and oftentimes when Kaylee stood up for Sam, she would end up being on the receiving end of Owen’s wrath. After a few days of trying to protect Sam, she simply stopped. Perhaps she was afraid of Owen too. It seemed like a lot of people were. Sam had tried several times to get a few people in class to walk with him back to the bus. They always refused, probably aware that any association with him would put them at odds with Owen and his gang.

A few weeks ago Sam tried to talk to Mr. Kemper. He told him about the situation, and so for a while Mr. Kemper walked with Sam to the bus after class. But Mr. Kemper couldn’t do this every day, as sometimes a student would stay after to ask him questions. It didn’t really matter, since having someone escort him to the bus only made the encounters with Owen worse. On Sam’s first day without Mr. Kemper at his side, it was apparent that Owen’s anger against Sam had been festering. Owen warned him that if he tried anything like that again, he would regret it. After that Sam simply pretended that everything was fine, and so when Mr. Kemper asked him if he wanted someone to accompany him to the bus, he simply said, No thanks. Still, Mr. Kemper must have known that everything was not ok, because he would often stand in the hallway outside the classroom door to at least provide Sam with a certain zone of protection. Though this gave Sam some comfort, it did not matter once Sam turned the corner to head to his locker.

The bell rang. Sam was slightly startled at the sound of it, not realizing that time had passed by so quickly. He quickly gathered up his belongings, threw them into his backpack, and headed straight for the door. Perhaps he would be fast enough today to avoid Owen. That was unlikely, since Sam had tried, and failed, multiple times in beating the clock. He supposed though that there was always a chance Owen would be slowed up by something.

As he turned the corner to where his locker was located, Sam had a moment of elation. For a second he thought that he had truly avoided Owen, since Sam could not see him anywhere. Just then a hand rested hard on his shoulder, and he heard a voice say, Well, if it isn’t my friend Sam. Sam’s hopes plummeted. Slowly he turned around and found himself yet again face to face with Owen, though this time none of Owen’s friends were with him. Did you think you could leave without saying good-bye? Owen asked. A deviant smile came across his lips.

C’mon, Owen, can’t you just leave me alone? Sam replied. I never did anything to you, and I kept my promise not to ever talk to your girlfriend again. Mentioning Kaylee caused Sam to remember just how badly Owen treated her. He began to feel anger building up inside him. Without thinking he spoke again. Besides, she never seems to enjoy being around you, seeing as how you treat her like garbage. You really don’t deserve her, you know!

Owen’s face began to turn red, and Sam suddenly regretted his words. Before Sam realized it, Owen had balled his fists and swung his right hand up toward Sam’s face. The punch caught Sam on the lower left side of his jaw, and Sam instantly tasted blood in his mouth. Losing his balance, he fell to the floor, stunned not only by the sheer force of the punch, but also by the fact that Owen had so quickly attacked him.

Owen stood over Sam, his face still red with fury. In the background Sam could hear other students start to yell and cheer, some screaming, Get up! while others were saying, Stay down, idiot! Sam thought about getting up for a moment and then decided that it was probably best not to. Yet when he looked up at Owen, it appeared as if the boy were contemplating kicking Sam in the ribs. As Sam braced himself for the blow, he heard Mr. Kemper shout, What’s going on over here? Break it up! A few seconds later Mr. Kemper’s bald head and short, stocky figure appeared from around the corner. Upon seeing Sam on the floor, a sense of genuine concern appeared on Mr. Kemper’s face.

As Sam slowly got to his feet, Mr. Kemper came between him and Owen. All right, you two, what’s this all about? he asked. Owen immediately replied, He took a swing at me, and so I simply defended myself.

That’s a lie! Sam cried out, tears filling his eyes. He threw the first punch! Someone in the background chuckled, Yeah, and the only punch.

Mr. Kemper turned around angrily. If the rest of you don’t get out of here soon, you will all be taking a trip to the principal’s office. Move it!

With that, everyone started to disperse, and Mr. Kemper focused his attention back to Owen and Sam. Both of you will be coming with me. He regarded Sam with great concern. We also should get that lip taken care of.

Several minutes later the three of them were sitting in front of Principal Williams, a middle-aged, long-haired, woman who looked sternly at them all from behind her glasses as she spoke. This school has a zero tolerance policy for fighting. She glanced back and forth between Owen and Sam. "It doesn’t matter if you are on the wrestling team or if you are a straight A student—anyone involved in a fight on school grounds faces immediate suspension."

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Mr. Kemper jumped in. Ma’am, I can vouch for Mr. Knox’s character. He is one of my best students, and I know for a fact that he has been the victim of bullying by Mr. Richards for quite some time. The only person who should be punished here is him. Mr. Kemper made a dismissive gesture toward Owen.

Principal Williams’s expression did not change one bit as she regarded Mr. Kemper. Mr. Kemper, did you in fact see Mr. Richards punch Mr. Knox without any provocation?

Mr. Kemper betrayed a look of frustration. No, I did not, but that does not mean that Mr. Knox actually took a swing at Mr. Richards as Mr. Richards claims.

For the very reason that you cannot prove Mr. Knox’s absolute innocence, Principal Williams replied, I have no choice but to suspend both of them for three days. The school’s policy is clear: anyone who is involved in a fight, regardless of his contribution or lack of contribution, will be punished. In my experience there is rarely an example where one side is not guilty of provoking the other side. And since there is no evidence to suggest that this is indeed a case of unprovoked assault, both of these young men are suspended from school until next Thursday.

For a moment Mr. Kemper looked like he was about to protest, but decided against it.

Principal Williams, pointing at both Owen and Sam, continued, I had the secretary notify your parents, so they should be here shortly. Until they arrive, you are free to wait in the lobby. I recommend that you have someone talk to each of your teachers to figure out what homework you will need to do. You are dismissed.

Sam got up and walked out of her office. As he sat down in one of the chairs in the lobby, holding an icepack to his lip, Mr. Kemper came up to him. I’m sorry Sam. I thought that perhaps she would understand. But you and I both know that it wasn’t your fault.

Sam nodded. He looked across the room to Owen, who was playing on his smartphone.

Mr. Kemper continued, Do you have any friends who might be able to email you the readings and homework assignments that you will be missing in each of your classes?

Sam mumbled, No.

Well, I will make sure to get with all of your teachers and have them email you the class work. Do you have their names? Mr. Kemper asked.

Reaching into his backpack, Sam drew out a piece of paper with his class schedule on it, and handed it to Mr. Kemper.

Thanks, Sam, he replied, as he looked over the list of classes. Folding the paper up, Mr. Kemper turned to leave the lobby. Before stepping out the door he glanced back at Sam. Do you need me to talk to your parents, so that they will understand?

I don’t think so, said Sam. They are pretty reasonable. Mr. Kemper nodded and continued down the hallway, a look of compassion and care on his face.

For the next few minutes Sam waited rather anxiously for his mother to arrive. It was uncomfortable and awkward to be in the same room with Owen. Sam tried hard to ignore him, although from the corner of his eye he could sometimes see Owen grinning at him when he wasn’t looking at his phone.

After what seemed like forever, Sam saw his mother, Angela, walking through the front doors of the school. She was still wearing her secretary clothes from work and looked rather distressed as she approached the doors to the lobby.

Sam quickly stood up and left the office lobby. He didn’t want to stay there a second longer. Upon seeing him, his mother rushed up and put her arms around him, hugging him as if they had not seen each other for years.

As they pulled away, she looked Sam up and down as if searching for injuries, becoming visibly upset when she noticed his swollen lip. Sam, what happened? she asked.

I’d rather not talk about it right now, Mom, he replied.

Well, listen, I need to talk to the principal, so I would rather hear your side of the story first.

Looking irritated, Sam said, She probably will tell it better than me anyway. But I don’t want to go back in there right now. Can I just wait in the car?

Angela sighed and handed him the keys. All right, Sam, but we are going to talk about this with your father when we get home, do you understand?

Sam nodded, grabbed the keys, and walked off to the car. He looked back at Owen one last time and saw him grin at him again through the windows of the lobby.

As Sam walked out into the daylight, he felt the cool breeze of autumn on his skin. It was October, and the trees swayed with the wind as some of their colored leaves began to fall. Sam loved this time of year, although he was not a big fan of the cold that would be coming shortly. Looking around he saw his mother’s white Honda Civic in the parking lot. It was not hard to miss, seeing how it was over ten years old. But it still worked well. Sam realized that not too long from now he would be using that car to practice driving. The very thought of driving by himself seemed both overwhelming and exciting at the same time.

Once inside the car Sam felt relieved that he was out of the school, although he did not enjoy the fact that he was suspended. He had never even gotten a detention, let alone been suspended before. At least I won’t have to worry about Owen while I am suspended, he said to himself. He was fairly certain that he would not be in very much trouble at home, since his parents always seemed to be understanding. Feeling much better about his situation, he started the car and turned up the volume on the radio.

The first thing Sam heard was a local news station. His mother always enjoyed listening to the news, though Sam did not care for it very much. In fact, he had never really cared at all about what happened outside of his own little world. Right now he had other things to worry about, such as getting beat up by Owen.

Just when Sam was about to change the radio station to something more exciting, his ear caught something that peaked his interest.

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". . . Patrick and Donna Jamison were arrested today after their son, fifteen-year-old Brent Jamison, was found to be in possession of a Bible at a local high school. The boy had apparently been bringing the Bible with him every day, keeping it in his backpack to prevent it from being discovered by his teachers. Yet in a case of extreme bad luck the young man accidentally left his backpack on the school bus this morning, at which point the bus driver handed it over to school officials. In an attempt to determine whose backpack it was, they discovered the contraband item inside.

"When questioned by local authorities, the boy’s parents admitted that the Bible was theirs and that they had given it to their son upon his request. They were detained before they could answer any questions from reporters, although they were recorded shouting about their freedom of religion and their right to raise their son according to their beliefs.

"In response to what appears to be just one among many in a string of similar incidents, Detective Shawn O’Connor, heading up the investigation, had this to say: ‘This is yet another clear case of child abuse. These Christian parents do not get the fact that what they are doing to their children is nothing short of immoral. It is not just a matter of brainwashing; it is a matter of psychological tyranny, where these parents force their religious beliefs upon their children and call it love. That is why the Thompson Act exists, to protect our children. If you want to believe in God, fine, but you better not do anything to harm the minds of these kids or infringe upon their rights and freedoms. That is why I can wake up every day and do what I do. Yes, it is sad to have to take children away from their parents, but wouldn’t we do the same thing if those parents were physically abusing their children? In fact, I’d say that what is going on in these homes is far more damaging than any physical abuse, short of death.’

Detective O’Connor was not available for further comment. In other news . . .

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Sam changed the radio station. Finding one that he liked, he sat back as he considered what he had just heard. Brent was a friend of his from their old neighborhood back in Scranton. He and his family had moved to the Albany area several years ago in order to take care of Brent’s grandmother, who had been very ill. Sam had known Brent and his parents very well and was shocked that they had just been arrested.

Recalling some of the old memories he had with Brent, Sam startled as he heard the driver door open. His mother must have noticed how deep in thought he was, because as she was fastening her seat belt, she looked at him quizzically. Are you all right, Sam? You seem worried about something. Is it about the fight? Because if it is, I don’t want you to worry. I’m fairly certain I know what’s been going on, and I know your father will understand as well.

Sam shook his head. No, it isn’t that, Mom. You remember my friend Brent Jamison, from our old neighborhood?

Of course I do, she replied.

"Well, his parents were arrested