The Conscience of the Hereafter
Perhaps that should more correctly be a suddenly heightened consciousness of the hereafter. The hereafter in which one is designated to the upper or the lower chambers of the afterlife. For those, in any event, steeped in the wisdom of the testaments of an afterlife where the worthy meet the angels, and the unworthy suffer the torments of hell.
In the case of an Oklahoma factory worker who had fled justice after murdering a neighbour, it's clear that he suffered the torments of the potential of being brought to justice, not the torments of guilt. For after killing a man thirty years ago whom he suspected of harbouring lust toward his wife and setting out to seduce that loyal creature, he lived in a world of silent disavowal of guilt.
Silent because not a word was let loose, nor an incriminating action released, over that most unfortunate incident. The couple fled from justice in Tennessee; a justice that, taking its tack from the Old Testament virtues of an 'eye for an eye' would most certainly have brought James Brewer to the death chamber for having flouted the Sixth Commandment.
Self-preservation seen as the finer point of virtue in his case, they settled under assumed names in Oklahoma where, thereafter, they lived out their lives as model citizens, an intact and churchgoing family whom none might have suspected of being anything other than pillars of their church.
"I don't know what their former life was, but I do know they were both dedicated to the Lord", was the testimonial to lives well lived by their former pastor, where Dorothy Brewer had established a Bible study group. Fear of his impending death and his unassuaged guilty conscience was finally James Brewer's undoing.
Unwilling to meet his Maker as a devout Christian (or St.Peter, at the pearly gates who might have directed this new supplicant to the downward staircase) without having confessed to his sin and seeking absolution, he instructed his wife to call police to the hospital where, severely ill, he faced death.
He unburdened himself, claiming the guilt that was his, and in the process, ensuring to his satisfaction, his place in the hereafter. But the plans of mice and men, so often going awry did for him, too, for he recovered, discovering that his revelations were all for naught. He now stands charged with that 30-year-old crime.
And belatedly, may face the very death penalty that he had imposed upon another man, out of jealousy, yet another one of the forbidden sins, despite that his neighbour, in coveting his wife, had committed yet another of those sins. Life is a complicated affair, but James Brewer in making his pact with the devil profited greatly.
He murdered a man, yet, having fled prosecution and justice, enjoyed a respite of three decades. Affording him the opportunity to raise a family, enjoy grandchildren, become a highly respected member of his community and church. Proving yet again that things are not always as they seem, nor are our perceptions as simple as they appear.
In the case of an Oklahoma factory worker who had fled justice after murdering a neighbour, it's clear that he suffered the torments of the potential of being brought to justice, not the torments of guilt. For after killing a man thirty years ago whom he suspected of harbouring lust toward his wife and setting out to seduce that loyal creature, he lived in a world of silent disavowal of guilt.
Silent because not a word was let loose, nor an incriminating action released, over that most unfortunate incident. The couple fled from justice in Tennessee; a justice that, taking its tack from the Old Testament virtues of an 'eye for an eye' would most certainly have brought James Brewer to the death chamber for having flouted the Sixth Commandment.
Self-preservation seen as the finer point of virtue in his case, they settled under assumed names in Oklahoma where, thereafter, they lived out their lives as model citizens, an intact and churchgoing family whom none might have suspected of being anything other than pillars of their church.
"I don't know what their former life was, but I do know they were both dedicated to the Lord", was the testimonial to lives well lived by their former pastor, where Dorothy Brewer had established a Bible study group. Fear of his impending death and his unassuaged guilty conscience was finally James Brewer's undoing.
Unwilling to meet his Maker as a devout Christian (or St.Peter, at the pearly gates who might have directed this new supplicant to the downward staircase) without having confessed to his sin and seeking absolution, he instructed his wife to call police to the hospital where, severely ill, he faced death.
He unburdened himself, claiming the guilt that was his, and in the process, ensuring to his satisfaction, his place in the hereafter. But the plans of mice and men, so often going awry did for him, too, for he recovered, discovering that his revelations were all for naught. He now stands charged with that 30-year-old crime.
And belatedly, may face the very death penalty that he had imposed upon another man, out of jealousy, yet another one of the forbidden sins, despite that his neighbour, in coveting his wife, had committed yet another of those sins. Life is a complicated affair, but James Brewer in making his pact with the devil profited greatly.
He murdered a man, yet, having fled prosecution and justice, enjoyed a respite of three decades. Affording him the opportunity to raise a family, enjoy grandchildren, become a highly respected member of his community and church. Proving yet again that things are not always as they seem, nor are our perceptions as simple as they appear.
Labels: Human Relations, Justice, Social-Cultural Deviations
posted by Pieface @ 11:51 AM
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