Читать книгу “THEY” Cripple Society Volume 2: Who are “THEY” and how do they do it? An Expose in True to Life Narrative Exploring Stories of Discrimination - Cleon E. Spencer - Страница 9

Chapter Three

During the week between support group sessions, Collin Seldon pondered the topic of his next presentation, the experiences of his close friends Durwin and Canda Lawton in the church in Terraprima. Durwin had been damaged by belittlers in his youthful years, in a somewhat similar manner as Albin Anders has. We need not go into details of that. The group members will know from last semester how it happens.

As Durwin grew older, guided by a deep religious faith, and with enormous and heroic courage, perseverance, and an increasing self-discovered knowledge of belittlers, overcame his damages to the point where no situation or circumstance was too much for him to take on. However, no person, no matter how strong, or at what age, remains undamaged when in a severely adverse environment for too long- about two years ordinarily, but much longer for some.

Durwin, during his several years as a minister of churches in Terraprima, would have the struggle of his life to not only hold on to his hard earned personality gains, but to preserve his very life and livelihood. He went to Terraprima as a top-notch person, as I already have verified, and will do so further. After many cruel, oppressive years he managed to come out of it, although with many scars, still a topnotch person. This is more than most people could do. Durwin, damaged severely in his youth, a courageous over comer in his late teens and early adulthood, would now have the struggle of his life not to have all his gains in life - his personhood, and he with it, destroyed by a ‘Christian’ church. A more mentally cruel story has seldom been told.

The support group came into session shortly after seven o’clock, having waited a few minutes for the arrival of Brett Culver who, as often happened, was a little late arriving. This was to be the meeting at which they would hear from Collin the story of one who was not a participant in the group. When the members had settled down after the usual exchange of greetings and chitchat, Dr. Eldren gave the go ahead, and Collin began his presentation.

“Over the next few sessions I will tell you the story of my close colleague and friend, Durwin Lawton and his wife Canda, as they ministered in Terraprima. Last week I told you of their arduous experiences with the Immigration Department. Now I will concentrate on their experiences in the church. There is a lot of detail to include in order to illustrate the magnitude of the problem. Also, I think we are indeed familiar enough with the subject and with one another by now to include relevant analysis along the way. Would that be satisfactory with you, Dr. Eldren?”

“Yes it would,” replied Dr. Eldren obligingly. “Include in your presentations whatever detail and analysis is needed to support your aim and purpose. However, it may help in various ways if we complete the stories before the end of this semester.”

Dr. Eldren was very interested and concerned, but it seemed he wanted the process to move as quickly as possible for some reason.

“Thanks, I’ll do my best to finish during this semester,” replied Collin, and then began right away. “First I will tell you something of the background of these two fine people, Durwin and Canda Lawton.

“Durwin Lawton had been a minister in mainline protestant churches for many years. He was a fine, clean cut, well cultured person of distinguished character and appearance that made him stand out among others. With many favorable characteristics about him, in both physical profile and personality, he was the type of person that, under normal circumstances the majority of people take a very sure liking to. A true friend to all who accepted his friendship, showing no intentional unkindness toward anyone; sincere, honest and hard working in all spheres of his ministry, Durwin was the type of minister any sane and sound Christian congregation would love to have.

“But Durwin had some other positive characteristics as well. As a part of his air of refinement he was easy speaking, kind, meek, sparing in words, scrupulously honest and fair with all people. Such characteristics are often interpreted by some people, belittlers in particular, as weaknesses. Some would at times infer that he was a ‘wimp,’ and try unsuccessfully to make it stick. Durwin was no weakling. When necessary, he could be very firm and strong, standing his ground, although easily able to acknowledge error, or if warranted to change his mind and agree with people offering a different opinion. Durwin was able to utilize anger too, when injustice needed confrontation of that kind, although he seldom resorted to it.

“He was a good all around steward of money and of other possessions, whether his own or the church’s. He had confidence in himself yet was able to resort to self-examination to improve himself. Although he had good appearance under most any circumstance, he also felt it his duty to be always well groomed as a minister of the church and as a person - one of God’s people. Durwin didn’t take life for granted. He worked at it to keep that life on a high plane, believing that it is God’s calling to do so. One main characteristic of his ministry was to help others to continually lift their lives to an ever higher plane. He humbly strived personally to be an example in this regard.

“It was for all of these reasons and more that many people liked and loved Durwin Lawton. It was for these same reasons that proud, envious belittlers hated him and sought continually to bring him down.

“Reviewing a little, I will emphasize that this in turn was the reason why Durwin, like many others including the members of our support group, always have to be very careful of what we ever say about belittlers to psychiatrists or psychologists or others of that field. Some of them would say he was paranoid; others that he was oversensitive to little things, and running or hiding, or over concerned when there was nothing much to be concerned about.

“As indicated in our earlier discussions, we have heard psychiatrists say, ‘Oh, I have had something like that happen to me occasionally, but I just shrug it off as the other person’s ignorance and go on my way. Why let it bother you?’ The fact is that as far as his own circumstances are concerned, such a psychiatrist may be quite right. He may only very occasionally experience such a problem. For you and I it is a way of life. We have it continuously. For those who only occasionally have to put up with it, it may be very easily shrugged off, although I have heard of people being very seriously, if sometimes only temporarily, affected by this occasional experience with belittlers.

“How then are we who have it continuously to fare when it affects our lives so perpetually and drastically, and there are so few who understand-practically no one to turn to for help without being inadvertently or otherwise put down further by the would be helpers, by being told we are oversensitive, or worse, we are paranoid. We have some support, not much but some, and not from psychology, as they generally are not yet on to it professionally.

“I have previously mentioned the Biblical scholar William Barclay. He writes of living at peace with all people, and quotes the Apostle Paul’s qualification to do that as ‘if it be possible, as far as you can.’ (The Daily Study Bible, William Barclay, Romans 12:18, page 181, Barclay translation), or ‘If possible, so far as it depends on you.’ (Romans 12:18, R.S.V.), or ‘If it is possible, so far as it depends on you.’ (Romans 12:18, New R.S.V.). Barclay then goes on to say, ‘Paul knew very well that it is easier for some to live at peace than it is for others. He knew that one person can be compelled to control as much temper in an hour as another person in a lifetime. We would do well to remember that goodness is a great deal easier for some people than it is for others.’(The Daily Study Bible, William Barclay, The Letter To The Romans, Page 184).

“Barclay also states, concerning the same topic, “Christianity is not an easy-going tolerance which will accept anything and shut its eyes to everything. There may come a time some battle has to be fought, and when that time comes the Christian will not shirk it.’ (The Daily Study Bible, William Barclay, The Letter To The Romans, Page 184).

“Fine, smart people of the present era are continually in conflict with the gross evil of belittlers and are not meant simply to tolerate and appease just to be at peace with evil people. The world has long since learned that appeasement doesn’t work when dealing with such people. Battles have to be fought. Occasionally anger is the only language evil belittlers understand, especially when they think they are getting away with their evil. However, uncontrolled anger is not an answer to the problem. So fine people have to learn, as much as lies in them and as much as is possible under the circumstances, to resort to other attitudes and defenses. Nevertheless, because he is assailed more by evil belittlers, the fine person is compelled all the more to control his anger, and defend himself by other means.

“Furthermore it is much more difficult for belittled fine people to be at peace with evil belittlers when the battle Barclay refers to is continuous. Tolerance and appeasement is not a Christian response to it. It depends on us to be at peace with other peaceful people. But it does not depend on us to be at peace with evil people. It depends on them-if they will cease their evil. The Christian cannot rightly be at peace with evil. We can apply this to our circumstances.

“Barclay is here stating for us, in effect, that some people have a whole lot more trouble with difficult people than do others. It is therefore, as the Bible indicates, not as possible for them to live at peace with all people.

“So,” said Collin, “I have no trouble disagreeing with psychiatry on this issue. As I said some people have only an occasional brush with belittlers, and may well be able to shrug it off. On the other hand, as I said earlier, I have known of some people who at times were hurt and their lives damaged quite severely, sometimes only temporarily by this occasional experience. But people like us have to put up with it continuously as a matter of course in life. If we should need help we are hard pressed because we will be told we are oversensitive, or worse, we won’t be believed at all. Needless to say, I place more confidence in Barclay’s statement than in the approach of most psychiatrists. The usual psychiatric approach works along with the belittlers to put us down all the more.

“During Durwin’s first two years of ministry in Terraprima, a high church official described his ministry as ‘excellent.’ Another official in high places described his performance in all areas of life as ‘superior.’ Yet in two more years we see Durwin demoted to a much lesser ministry with a large decrease in remuneration, and looked upon and treated as a third class or less minister of an obscure, out of the way, unprogressive congregation without potential for the kind of ministry Durwin felt called to pursue.

“I can substantiate and compare this case with two other cases, spread years apart, to show that this problem has been around for a long, long time - for decades at least. It is handled today in the same way it was many years ago with no change in its evaluation or its handling by the church.

“The first of these happenings occurred approximately seventy five years ago, and with another similar incident about forty years ago. Both victims ‘escaped’ and went on to success in other areas of life. I know of others, and there are probably many, who have had similar experiences. I will tell you briefly of these two cases later, after I have told you a more complete story of Durwin Lawton. Then you will better understand all three stories.

“Just a word or two about Durwin’s wife, Canda, before I go on,” continued Collin. “Canda was made up of similar characteristics as Durwin to a large extent; she too was a warm, open, friendly type of person; an honest to goodness, down to earth friend to all who accepted her friendship.

“Durwin and Canda were a well matched pair who got along well throughout their many years of marriage. Their major difference was that Durwin was a more reserved person to a degree, at least more so than Canda. Durwin had been very shy and lacking in self-esteem in his younger years and teens. But he conquered it adequately in his twenties. After thirty, as I indicated before, there was no place or people that Durwin would hesitate to go or take his place with in private or public. However, he preferred to remain himself, naturally low-keyed, rather than be the exuberant type; one would say he was calm, cool and collected under most circumstances.

“Canda, on the other hand was very extroverted and outgoing, the leading conversationalist in a group, often the initiator of new and challenging ideas and projects, the spirited venturer with usually sound ideas. Durwin on the other hand, was more cautious and had always been the epitome of diplomacy and tact, skillfully endeavoring to go about things in a manner that would not offend or disturb. You may have often heard it said, as I have, that every reserved or quiet person needs an extrovert as a partner, and vice versa. Durwin and Canda complimented each other near perfectly in that manner. Most people appreciated that about them, but not all.

“I wish to emphasize again, they were both very highly intelligent, and the majority of people appreciated that, but not all, as you shall see. They were both fine people and well rounded personalities. And I would add to that, because the majority of people liked them for all that they were, one would think the world was at their doorstep. But not so, as you members of this group can well surmise because of your own experiences in life.”

Collin knew his friend Durwin Lawton quite well, had a full knowledge of his ministry and keen insight into its problems and what it did for and to, mostly to, Durwin. With the group members listening very attentively he continued with another significant preliminary to the story of Durwin and Canda Lawton as Durwin was a pastor in Terraprima.

“During his several years as a minister in both Secundaterra and Lower Secundaterra, Durwin had more than his share of troubles with belittlers in the church and elsewhere, as you in this group can well imagine. We need not go into the details of these ministries and difficulties here because I wish to get on with the story of his ministry in Terraprima. Just one more thought before I do.

“The Lawtons had travelled much in Terraprima over the years. They had come to know the land and its people somewhat, although visiting a place is not the same as living in it, as they were to later find out. When you visit a place, people show their best side for you. When you live there you get drawn into the nitty-gritty of life and see its other side.

“During the sixties and seventies, when its society was in a turmoil, Durwin and Canda still visited Terraprima often. Many of their colleagues and acquaintances in both Secundaterra and Lower Secundaterra derided them heavily for their favoritism of Terraprima, and said it was on the way to self-destruction.

“In the Secundaterras at that time, and even on into the eighties, both government and church derided Terraprima and established policies that would prevent Terraprima culture from overwhelming the Secundaterras, thus allowing them to develop their own distinct cultures. It was extremely unpopular for anyone to speak favorably of Terraprima. Yet Durwin and Canda did so. They insisted that, in time, Terraprima would pull itself together again and become the promising land it had always been.

“The friendly people allowed them their opinion whether they agreed with it or not. The belittlers used it as a means to degrade them. ‘How shameful, how stupid, how utterly wrong,’ they would say, ‘to stand up for a nation so deeply enmeshed in chaos and corruption, decline and decay!’ Durwin and Canda always stood their ground and insisted that Terraprima was basically a good land and would eventually wend its way to a higher plateau. It would once again have life on a higher plane than ever before.

“Some years later, there were indications on the horizon that the Lawton’s predictions of the renewal of Terraprima were evident. It was around that time Durwin secured a position as minister of a church in that land, as I mentioned last week in conjunction with their immigration problem. Before he entered into negotiations for it, he discussed it with a friend in Terraprima who somewhat understood Durwin’s predicament with belittlers. Durwin inquired of his friend and was given the opinion that in no way would officials place him in a situation where a fine person like him would be mentally mutilated for what he was. The friend felt sure they would place him where he would be among people of his type. The friend’s opinion was influenced by the fact that his area of the church was under sound leadership at the time.

“In addition to this, Durwin was very careful in his interviews and negotiations for the position, being careful at his age at the time to insure that he would have continuing membership in a pension plan, guarantee of employment, and access to disability benefits as did the long-time ministers of the denomination. He was offered a good salary, not quite as much as he had been making in Secundaterra, but adequate to enable his pension in Terraprima to be built up to a satisfactory level.

“He was also told at the time that he would be given standing in the denomination that guaranteed him employment until retirement. He would not have moved there were it otherwise. To risk being out of a job when he was too old to get anything else worthwhile, or, to jeopardize his pension at that age would not have been acceptable to Durwin. He was pleased with the good deal he was offered and accepted it. It would give him an opportunity to live in the land where individual initiative, ingenuity, and hard work would be welcomed, so he thought. He was in for the shock of his life a little later on.

“The church to which Durwin went in Terraprima was located in a small suburban city. The church buildings were of white clap-board siding with a tall white steeple rising high over a large segment of the city. The city itself was built on a very flat plain that was filled with older type houses, also mainly of clean white paint appearance. The adequate lots around these homes were well studded with large trees, oak and maple, and beautiful shrubbery. The newer parts of the city, further from the center, had more modern type houses of many different colors, but equally nice in appearance.

“The church was set back a hundred feet or so from the street, as was the minister’s residence beside it. Both church buildings were notably in need of paint. The grounds around the church were not impressive. It was obvious they had been well planted at one time, as there were trees and shrubs in the right places, but they were not well kept. The shrubs were growing wild. The lawn had bare spots and looked badly in need of nutrition all over. The church-owned heavily treed vacant lot beside the church had grown wild, with no pruning, or clearing of underbrush. The church property on the whole was not by any means one of the nicer places of the community as Durwin thought it should be.

“Durwin decided at the start that he would try to do something about that as soon as possible. It would be one item of his infrastructure for church growth-to have the church buildings and grounds first class instead of among the shabbiest in the community. He could visualize a renewed church exterior standing tall over the already beautiful community, making it an imposing and impressive delight to the eye. He would try to bring it about. It needn’t take much money to do so. The Lawtons were always very thrifty and innovative in ways that would get things accomplished with a minimum amount of spending.

“The church interior was a practical type of building for its purpose. It had a medium sized sanctuary-medium size in comparison to the general size of churches in the area, a fellowship hall, several classrooms, and a good size office. It was noticeable that the sanctuary interior had very good appearance, having had work done on it recently. Durwin was to learn that there was an interior decorator in the congregation who had headed up some work on it. She had done an excellent job. There were other improvements that could be made, but for the time being it was quite satisfactory. The remainder of the church rooms, although not worked on in recent years, were in good enough condition.

“The interior of the minister’s residence had had considerable repairs and cleaning done just prior to the Lawtons’ arrival. They were grateful for that as it didn’t always happen that way. Ministers’ residences are often in sad disarray upon the arrival of a new minister.

“The congregation was made up of people of all ages and varied occupations in life. The lay-administrative body of the congregation was a mixture of men and women of the middle class and mostly middle age. Durwin’s early calculated observation was that if the lay -administration of this church was co-operative and helpful there could be some growth ahead for the congregation. As Durwin saw it, it would take time to lay the infra structure for growth. If things went well for considerable time and belittlers didn’t arise and take control it could be done, Durwin believed. A church never flourishes when belittlers are in control-never, not even when there are only some unchecked belittlers in key positions.

“A few weeks after their arrival in Terraprima, the Lawtons mailed change of address cards to friends and acquaintances in various parts of Secundaterra and Lower Secundaterra. Durwin soon received a letter from a friend in Secundaterra telling him he had made a grave mistake in going to the church in Terraprima. ‘They will put a person like you down hard,’ this friend wrote. ‘You are in for a hard time. If you stay they will eventually ruin your life. Seeing you are already there, you should plan to stay only a short time, a year at most, and then return to some part of Secundaterra where you are known and will be treated better.’ The writer of this letter went on to tell of the experience of another fine person many years earlier who went to the church in Terraprima, but ‘escaped’ their wrath before much damage was done to him and his family. This person had returned to Secundaterra and a successful life.

“Durwin considered the letter seriously, and weighed the evidence in the light of his as yet brief experience in Terraprima. Nothing much had happened to him so far. Perhaps only in certain areas of the country -would it be like as described in the letter, or, perhaps things have changed by now, he reasoned. He and Canda decided to stay, for now at least, and to live and do their church work and prepare for the future as though they would be staying permanently as much as their circumstances, made tentative by the immigration problem, would allow.

“About eight months later, other friends visited Durwin and Canda in their new home in Terraprima. They brought with them a similar message, ‘You may be in for a hard time with this denomination in Terraprima. It has happened before. Beware, it may happen to you. This church has a problem.’

“Durwin and Canda again weighed the matter. They were now several months into ministry there. Some belittlers had appeared on the horizon all right. There had been one especially peculiar incident which, even with all the Lawtons’ experience, was new to them. I will describe it. Before Durwin had taken up his ministry in this church, a few of its members had left for other churches. Two or three months after Durwin arrived, one of these members came back one Sunday for worship. Durwin had an excellent worship service that Sunday. He had been there several Sundays now, long enough for most people to take a liking to his worship and pastoral care, so Durwin could tell his ministry was taking hold well.

“During the fellowship time that followed the service, Durwin approached this returned visitor to chat with him. Durwin was a person who could easily put another at ease, when the other person was responsive that is. This man was very up tight and Durwin could not thaw him out. He held his head high as though aloof. He was curt in his response to Durwin’s attempts at conversation. Finally, the visitor, in cold, formal tones asked, ‘Why don’t you come and visit my place of work tomorrow? I will take you on a tour of the school in which I work.’

“‘Fine,’ replied Durwin, ‘I would be very pleased to do so.’

“A time was set for the visit and tour next day, and Durwin was briefed on which office he should go to meet the school executive. Durwin was there on time next day. After a brief and blunt ‘good morning,’ the executive took Durwin’s top coat, hung it up, and immediately said, ‘Follow me.’ Durwin thought it very strange, no introductory conversation, no remarks or comment on the school or on the tour that was to take place. Well, thought Durwin, perhaps we’ll sit down for a chat after the tour.

“So Durwin walked along with the man on the tour. His steps were long and fast for an indoor tour. Perhaps his time is limited this morning, thought Durwin. As they walked rather swiftly throughout the building the man explained this and that about it, its equipment, its services and curriculum, always in cold unfriendly tones. It was a large school, well equipped, with a large staff and student body. Durwin was impressed with that, but not with the conductor of the tour. Still Durwin tried to be friendly. However, when they arrived back at the office from which the tour had begun, Durwin was no sooner inside the door when he was curtly handed his coat again, with still no conversation except, ‘Good-day, I hope you liked our school.’

“‘It’s a great school,’ remarked Durwin with a smile, as he reached to shake hands with his tour guide. As the man shook hands, he grunted arrogantly and sarcastically at Durwin and turned away. Durwin just turned in the opposite direction and walked out of the building to the parking lot alone. He thought, at the time, that it was one of the most ignorant behaviors he had ever witnessed. Later, much later, he would learn that it is a ploy used in Terraprima by proud and envious belittlers to put others beneath them, at least in their own warped mind’s eye.”

“An absolute ignoramus,” blurted Leo Aidan.

Gilda Emerson shook her head in disgust. “It’s easy to see what it is all about. He became envious of Durwin at church, most likely of both Durwin as a person, and of his worship service, so he had to show Durwin he had better in his big school. He had an education, but no proper culture.”

“A childish social illiterate,” remarked Leo disgustedly.

“And he was an executive well up in the education field?” questioned Owen Winslow.

“Yes,” said Collin.

Owen responded aghastly, “no doubt he has helped to educate many students, some good students too, but how many fine, well cultured, promising and would-be exceptional students has he damaged and/or ruined? Heaven help Terraprima!”

Collin continued, “As we get further into the story we will understand this incident more fully. Sufficient for me to say now that that man did not return to attending Durwin’s church. Much later it would be implied that some families did not return because Durwin’s ministry was not good enough. The reality is, Durwin and his ministry were too good for them.

“In addition to the incident just described, there were some minor signs of envy and belittling, but overall it was to date just a little worse than some congregations in the Secundaterras. As for the denomination at large, there were some peculiarities looming on the horizon there as well which seemed strange indeed. But given time, Durwin and Canda felt, they would better understand these peculiarities and find a way to cope with them. They both had analytical minds. They felt they would be able to cope. Besides, there were so many nice people around, the kind of people that had always caused them to stand up for Terraprima. Surely, with the majority of people so friendly, respectful, and appreciative of friendship, Durwin and Canda would get along well. Once again they decided to stay, and to live and plan their church work as though they were staying permanently. Durwin and Canda at this point in their lives could handle sporadic belittlers well. They felt sufficiently secure.

“Nevertheless, the letter and the visit from friends both bringing warnings to the Lawtons, caused them to reflect on still another incident. When they were making arrangements to leave the church at Secundaterra to go to Terraprima, a senior colleague remarked somberly to Durwin, ‘We don’t have any ministers from here go down to that denomination anymore. We have several who have gone down there to other denominations and done well, but not to that one,’ he reemphasized as he shook his head gently, ‘I wish you well.’”

“Some time later Durwin and Canda were to learn of yet another case, years earlier, where a minister coming from the church of Secundaterra was very badly used. I briefly mentioned his case before. He was a fine person, well cultured, and educated in two of the highest caliber seminaries of his time. His wife was equally a fine well cultured, well educated person. They were both gifted in many ways. The best appointments he could get from this church were the pits, where he and his wife didn’t even have a fit place to live. This dedicated, well adjusted couple, since they were still young, and with plenty of time to start over, ‘escaped’ to another denomination with a different system of placement for ministers. In this denomination he did extremely well throughout his long ministry. Among other attainments he was responsible for the building of a very large mega-church complex from zero beginnings, of which he remained the senior minister for several years.

“I wish to add that this is not necessarily to say that one system of placement of ministers is better than another. I do not wish to get into that here. I will simply say it often depends on the character of the people operating the system, and what often long standing prides, prejudices and false concepts they are ruled by.

“From the very beginning of their arrival at their congregation in Terraprima, the Lawton’s could not help but notice that generally the members were going all out to be friendly to them. Durwin had already heard that there had been a difficult relationship there with the previous minister. So he assumed they were determined that their relationship with him would be better. He and Canda responded with friendliness, kindness, and cooperation.

“Soon the life on a higher plane that Durwin and Canda always strived to promote began to rub off and take effect on many. For example, now when there was a fellowship meal served at church for any occasion, the tables were more daintily set, whereas near the beginning of their arrival they were rather slovenly placed. Worship was conducted in a semi-formal manner which allowed for inspiration that comes with an air of dignity, which in turn promotes the awesomeness of God’s presence. Throughout the service, and particularly in the sermon, Durwin concentrated more on meaningful content than on highly animated and excitable action. Most people liked his worship services and were spiritually moved by them. No later than his second Sunday there did he get an enormous response to them by parishioners.

“It became notable how people settled down in the pews when sermon time came. Again for example, one scholarly type woman, on Durwin’s first Sunday there, scrutinized Durwin throughout the whole service. On the second Sunday clutching hymn book in hand, she did so again until about quarter ways into the sermon. Suddenly she relaxed, quickly placed the hymn book on the pew beside her, folded her arms loosely, settled down in the pew more comfortably, and with a smile that showed her pleasure, became totally absorbed in the sermon and the remainder of the service. After only two or three Sundays more of Durwin’s ministry there, by far the majority of the congregation responded in a similarly positive manner. It remained so for approximately two years.

“As I mentioned before, during that time Durwin had occasion to request a letter of reference from the chief administrative officer of the church of the area. In the letter, this officer described Durwin’s ministry as ‘excellent’. At the same time, another letter from an official in high places who often acted on behalf of the church described his performance in all aspects of life as ‘superior.’ Still another official of the church at large with a position of responsibility remarked to a friend who passed it on to Durwin, ‘whatever Durwin is doing in that church, tell him to keep on doing it.’ The response to Durwin’s ministry was excellent.”

Collin paused as the group members listened intently for more. Then he broke the silence with a question, “How then, with a ministry like that did Durwin end up as he did, demoted and in future relegated to small country churches with little potential and a much smaller salary, and eventually so battered and maligned he had to find a way out of that area altogether?”

Leo, who had been listening with joy to the story of Durwin’s brief success and who was now deflated at the obvious outcome, blurted out with his characteristic emotion, “I’ll tell you how it happened, as if you don’t already know,’ he said angrily, ‘the envious rotten belittlers went to work on him, and few if any of the others were wise to them.”

“Right,” said Collin. “In fact they started working on him not far from the beginning in a mild sort of way. In time it intensified, and then, when the belittlers could stand excellence no longer, they toppled him. And as you say, few others of the congregation were wise to them, so there was no understanding type of help for Durwin and Canda.”

Gilda spoke, “I suppose the administration of the church area, with its bias, as it calls it, towards the so called ‘little guy,’ and their ‘down with the so called big shots’, dealt the final belittling blow to Durwin on behalf of the local church?”

“Yes, Gilda, it did,” replied Collin.

“Inadvertently or otherwise, I suppose, “said Gilda.

“Inadvertently ‘and’ otherwise, I would say,” added Collin, emphasizing the ‘and’. “But you can make up your own minds about that yourselves as you hear Durwin’s story.”

Owen looked on in grim silence as a cloud of doubt enveloped his hope for his future. Would he, or -would he not ever find a future where his gifted spirit would be free from the shackles of belittlers, he thought in his literary mind; a freedom that -would allow him to give to the world to his fullest extent the abundance it has to offer; freedom to receive what the world has in store for a person who gives his best- dignity, respect, acceptance, things like that; things that are a far cry from the oppression, rivalry and mental cruelty of belittlers.

Collin read Owen’s face. “Don’t be too discouraged yet, Owen,” he said. “You are young, and Terraprima is big. You have ample time to find your way. Durwin was older, and time ran out on him. It won’t be a bed of roses for you, but you will learn from this group how to better your chances. Be optimistic, Owen. You have done well so far, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have,” Owen said, as he perked up a little. “Sure, I have done well in spite of all the belittlers. And the cautious optimism that sometimes settles in on me will eventually replace my grave doubts and will in time serve me well. It won’t be a shock to me now when I don’t find that bed of roses.”

“Good,” said Collin as he smiled in return.

He continued, “Without further delay I will relate to you some of the devious trickery of the belittlers in the local church. At first the tactics were passive in nature, but later as Durwin made progress, passivity was replaced by hostility. The devious tactics of belittlers are numerous, so as I tell you the basics of the story of Durwin and Canda, I will include enough of them to give you a picture of the kind of life they were subjected to.

“As I mentioned earlier, the people of Durwin’s congregation, having had difficulty with previous ministers, now had the desire to treat this one well and to get along with him. They had the desire, but not the character within them to do so. As the saying goes, ‘they just didn’t have it in them’, as you will see.

“One of these, who held high office in the local church, said to Durwin on several occasions, in an overly nice manner, ‘You are to be our leader now. We will be directed by you.’ Durwin was pleased to hear that. So many churches want the minister to be the good little puppet on their string, so this was a pleasant beginning. Regardless though, Durwin knew enough to move slowly on any changes he wished to bring about. On another day, this same person in conversation with Durwin said, ‘We want you to take a day off each week, why don’t you take Mondays as your day off?’

“There were two reasons why Durwin was hesitant about taking Monday as his day off. The first he wasn’t ready to discuss yet. It was because in time his wife would be taking a secular job, working Monday through Friday, and he would want to have Saturday free with her. Some congregations have an aversion to minister’s wives working. Durwin would prepare the congregation for this in due time.

“The second reason Durwin had for not taking Monday as his day off was sufficient to discuss at the present time. He said to the person concerned, ‘I would rather take my time to decide about my day off. As far as Mondays go, this church has practically all its meetings scheduled for Monday evenings. There may not be any reason to change that. Just give me a little time on it and I’ll decide.’

“The man’s face dropped. Obviously he hadn’t given any previous thought to the fact that in that church Monday evenings were prime time for regularly scheduled church meetings of various committees. He turned and walked away without saying another word and never approached Durwin on that topic again. Durwin thought that strange.

“A little later a Bible study group was begun. The same man and his wife, together with many others, mostly from the local church administration were in the group which Durwin was leading. It was in this group, at the very first meeting, that the trouble, begun with the day off incident, began now to manifest itself for what it really was.

“The Bible study group met weekly. Each participant had a copy of a well known Bible study guide in which a particular book of the Bible was broken down into sections. Each section had a series of questions to which the participants could answer according as they understood a passage of scripture as it had been read by a member of the group. Durwin felt, and rightly so I would say, that his role in the group would be to intersperse the comments of the members with views presented by various biblical scholars and Bible commentaries on the scripture at hand. In this manner, participants wouldn’t be limited to their own thoughts on a matter, but would have the expertise of the scholars to enrich and nurture their own views.

“The Bible commentaries used for this purpose would be writings easily understandable by the average lay person. In fact some of them were written expressly for lay people. Also Durwin’s presentation of them would be easily understandable as were all his sermons.

“So a passage of Scripture was read and the discussion on it began. Durwin remained silent until the participants had ample time to express their views which in general were good and worthy. Then Durwin mentioned how one world renowned biblical scholar, calling him by name said such and such of that passage. The participant who had been so upset by the Monday as day off discussion came on angrily and restated what he had previously said of the passage, cutting Durwin down to silence. The man’s wife looked at her husband in a hurt manner, calling him by name in a tone meant to bring him to discipline. He stuck to his position, repeated his statement on the passage again, perturbedly, to assert his statement. His wife was visibly upset and shaken.

“Durwin responded softly and as tactfully as possible. ‘We will find, as we do Bible study, that there are different interpretations for many Bible passages, and what makes Bible study so interesting is that we can discuss these various interpretations and come to our own conclusions about them. That is what protestant Christian theology refers to as having the freedom to work out one’s own salvation in Jesus Christ. One person may interpret a saying or incident concerning Jesus one way, and another person may interpret it another way. Both have the freedom to do that.

“A derogatory snort came from another man across the room. ‘Ugh,’ he snorted loudly in contempt as he glared at Durwin. The man who started it all also sat glaring with piercing eyes at Durwin. Durwin glanced around the room quickly and noticed that several other men and women were doing the same thing.

“The first man’s wife was near tears. I’ll read the next passage of Scripture,’ she volunteered in an effort to save the situation. So she read, and then referred to the first question in the guide to initiate discussion. But no discussion came. Durwin waited and waited, trying his best to avoid a repetition of the previous scene. They all remained silent.

“Durwin reasoned that perhaps, perhaps I say, since this is a difficult passage, it may be safe for him to speak. He put forward the views of two different scholars on the Scripture passage. The others made no comment on the topic at all. Apparently, since it was a difficult passage they were not willing to venture an opinion on it. So Durwin made a contrast and comparison between the views of the two Biblical scholars he had quoted.

“After that, Durwin decided to take a different approach. He would present the views of the biblical scholars on the topic at hand before the participants presented any of their views. Perhaps, he thought again, they felt inferior to the biblical scholars in comparison to their own views, even though, in Durwin’s opinion they did present worthy views. And by presenting the views of the biblical scholars first, they then need not present any personal views that they would feel sensitive about in comparison to the scholars.

“So Durwin tried this. Immediately after the reading of the Scripture passage, he began to present the views of the scholars and the commentaries. As he did so, he was twice angrily cut down with different views by the man who had started the trouble in the first place. Durwin knew now, that the problem did not lie in how the presentations were made. The man who started the trouble, as well as several others in the group had a problem with Durwin. He was too good for them. They couldn’t stand him to have or express any opinions that were different from theirs. From then on, by inference they branded him as a know-it-all-smart-aleck.

“The name ‘smart aleck’ has connotations of such things as conceit, offensive assertion of oneself, cockiness. Durwin was anything but. He was a humble, self examining type of person, intelligent, but well charactered; smart, but not smart aleck. He very cautiously and sparingly used his intellect in dealing with others. The defamation of Durwin Lawton, and his highly intelligent wife Canda, had begun. It had begun in, of all places, a Bible study group.

“This Bible study group went on for several months, similar as I have described it; continuously tense, hostile and frigid. A recess for the Christmas season finally broke it up. It did not come back together after the holiday season. Of course, Durwin would be blamed for that.

“There you have a picture of the kind of people Durwin was dealing with and these were all well to do middle class people, well educated to varying degrees.”

“How childish,” said Gilda, “spoiled brats.”

“Babies,” quipped Leo.

“Hollow pride,” commented Donna.

“Sick,” said Albin, “and extremely over-sensitive.”

“They certainly didn’t know how to respond to a higher intelligence or authority than their own, did they?” remarked Brett.

“Not in the least,” responded Collin, “neither to the expertise of their trained minister, nor to the sound and widely accepted knowledge of the biblical scholars and their commentaries.

“A very notable aspect of this is their complete lack of knowledge and ability on how to interact with someone they perceived to be smarter or superior in some way to themselves. Of course that is somewhat of a problem for lots of people. As for these belittlers they were completely at a loss on the matter. It would be so simple for people like you and I.”

“It’s their problem, isn’t it?” remarked Leo, “their shortcoming.”

“Yes,” responded Collin, “it is the mind-set they grew in, and their minds haven’t budged on it since childhood. They learned, or more accurately, automatically took on from their parents, peers and a large portion of society, the distasteful characteristic of hating and being prejudiced against what is commonly referred to in their language as ‘big shots’ and ‘smart alecks.’ They are just that way automatically since childhood. They give no thought to the fact that they, in this era of education and opportunity for all people, are better off than many of the types of people they had learned to scorn when they were children and which they still scorn now.

“Again, it is worth noting,” continued Collin, “that most of the people they label big shots and smart alecks are people whom you and I see as successful people. True, there are many seemingly successful, yet arrogant and otherwise questionable characters out there whom we would not endorse. But these people are not the ones the belittlers go after. Its the better quality people they like to bring down.”

Brett quipped, “Especially if they have been successful in business.”

“Why in business?” asked Albin.

“That’s easy, Albin,” answered Brett, “belittlers like to bring down anyone in any occupation if they perceive them to be superior in certain ways. But my opinion is they come down harder on fine people who are successful in business. You will hear them say or imply that making money is wrong. Again, it is my opinion many of them say that because they haven’t been successful at making money themselves, and they envy those who have. So they label us as bad guys, crooks, etc. but you should see how they go after money when the opportunity arises.”

After Brett paused momentarily, he added, “of course the belittlers usually think the only reason a person is in business is to make money; greedy after money. That’s a widespread notion in the church. What they don’t entertain in their minds is that although we have to make money to stay in business, often our primary incentive is building and creating something that makes life worthwhile for ourselves and others.

“The minister or teacher aims high in their academic training to qualify them to go up the ladder of success in their chosen field. If they are successful the result is a higher position with a higher salary. You can’t tell me they don’t appreciate the higher salary. So it is with the business man. If he has good qualifications and well developed incentive he will build his business up to the highest his ability will allow. Sure this will earn more money for him. And he will appreciate it, just as the minister and teacher does. The principle is the same. In practice, the business man is likely to make more money than the minister or teacher, but that is no reason for envy and hatred. Each has freely chosen his own field.

“Besides, the good business man is not likely to hoard his profits. Chances are he will reinvest them and continue to build for the good of all. In my opinion, business people like that deserve high respect. But they reap the scorn of belittlers perhaps more so than do the dubious greedy ones of the business world. There are ministers and teachers to whom I wouldn’t want to send my family, as we have heard previously in this group. Likewise there are good and bad business people.”

Collin replied positively to Brett’s business perspective. “I agree with you one hundred percent, Brett. There is a lot of envy that lumps good business people like yourself in with the shabby and questionable business people, or even turns on the good business people, leaving the questionable ones alone. To me, business and money are gifts of God to be properly used by us. When so used they are a blessing to God’s people. They can only be properly used by well charactered well meaning people. At a later session I will be discussing belittlers at work in the business and commerce of Terraprima, so I’m glad you mentioned it now. It is a good preview of some of what is yet to come. Keep the topic in mind for later.”

“Thanks,” said Brett, “I may have taken the group off track here. Let us get back to Durwin. Imagine that, he had to put up with abuse in the Bible study group for several months.

Owen added, “I can imagine the tension it produced for him. It must have been nerve racking.”

“It would have been nerve racking for most people” replied Collin, “but not for Durwin. He had been dealing with belittlers all his life and could cope well with them. Yet, even though it didn’t rack his nerves, it was extremely stressful. It got so that he didn’t know when to speak and when not to speak. Either way it didn’t please them.

“Tension there was aplenty,” continued Collin, “it was now obvious to Durwin that this congregation was dominated by belittlers. Such churches never prosper nor get ahead. Durwin knew what he was up against, but his reputation with the larger church of the area was already established, with his ministry described as excellent and superior. Good reports were getting out from the congregation generally. So with that kind of back up, Durwin resolved to try to change the mind-set of the administration of his local church. Easier said than done! Their proud position would in time be observed in essence as, ‘we are perfect as we are. Just give us the right minister and our church will flourish.’”

Collin went on with the story. “A second incident that set the stage of belittling in this congregation occurred simultaneously with the Bible study event. Even though the interior of the ministers residence had been put in top condition before the Lawtons’ arrival, there had been no smoke detectors installed in it. It was a simple oversight, easy to happen, easy to remedy. Durwin and Canda both had experience with fires in their lifetime and knew what could happen. One of their main concerns was that the bedroom windows were high above the ground which in the event of fire would make escape through the windows hazardous even though they had a rope ladder type of contraption for that purpose. Early warning would allow for possible escape through the doors. They wanted smoke detectors installed. So at a meeting of the appropriate committee, Durwin asked that two smoke detectors be installed in the minister’s residence at a cost of twelve dollars each, with volunteer installation by Durwin or by anyone else who wished to install them. It was a logical request, yet mouths dropped when it was made. The chairman of the committee sputtered out excuses, ‘Well we have to consider our budget and be thrifty; I don’t see any problem with that residence to cause a fire; there hasn’t been a fire there yet; we have an excellent fire brigade in the area; you can have a rope ladder to exit through the windows.’ Their undisciplined pride was ruling far, far above their reasoning.

“Durwin responded very gently so as not to ruffle that hollow pride any further, ‘But we already have a rope ladder. We are just asking for earlier warning; two smoke detectors at a cost of twelve dollars each. I will install them myself.

“The chairman raised his voice in rebuttal, ‘I will install the smoke detectors,’ he said, as his chest came up and his pride took over. ‘I am a member of a fire company. I can buy them at a discount,’ he snapped as he asserted himself.

“A few days later this person arrived at the residence with the smoke detectors and screw driver. Durwin and Canda had already chosen the places to install them. They suggested it to the man. He became outwardly perturbed. ‘No,’ he snapped, ‘I will place them here and here,’ and immediately began to install one where the smoke on its way to the master bedroom would go up the ceiling fan opening before it reached the detector. Canda was quick to stand her ground. ‘Look here, it’s my life that’s in the balance in this house and that smoke detector is going right where I say. Now leave it here and we will install it ourselves.’ Durwin backed her up. But since it appears to many that a minister is not supposed to get angry, or even speak firmly, he did so less emphatically than did Canda. That was a maneuver Durwin and Canda had long ago learned in the ministry. They couldn’t blame a minister for what his wife did or said. So Canda performed the task of firm assertion. Durwin reaffirmed her simply by saying calmly, while looking him straight in the face, ‘we know what will make us feel safe.’

“There was no real relenting in the man’s mind. In hostility he snapped, ‘okay, I’ll install them where you say. You can have your way.’ He said it as though Durwin and Canda were people who wanted their own way all the time. He installed the smoke detectors near but not exactly where they suggested. He did the work hastily, and without finding a place where the screws would go into something solid. Consequently, before long one of them fell from the ceiling, and Durwin and Canda had to reinstall it themselves and patch needless holes in the ceiling.

“One of the damaging results of this incident was that almost the total administration of the church took up the position that the Lawtons were demanding type spendthrifts who would have to be watched carefully. This impeded Durwin’s ministry among them greatly thereafter. The Lawton’s, both of them, had always been thrifty over how church money was spent, just as they were over their own. The defamation of the Lawtons’ characters was continuing.”

Brett spoke in tones revealing his difficulty in fathoming such a personality. “You say, Collin, that this man was a member of a fire company?”

“Yes that is so,” reaffirmed Collin.

“Then,” said Brett, “he would certainly know the value of smoke detectors, wouldn’t he?”

“Yes,” said Collin again.

“Well,” said Brett, “the man’s pride was beyond all his reasoning powers. First he tried to deny the need for smoke detectors. Then he tried to install them in ineffective places. He was playing around with the Lawtons’ lives. Then as important as it was he installed them carelessly so that the Lawton’s had to do the job over. That kind of pride surely is ill founded, isn’t it?”

“Grossly, I would say,” replied Collin with a smile of approval for Brett’s observations. “Grossly and more.”

“And there is more,” came in Gilda. “That man couldn’t bring himself to admit a little oversight like smoke detectors, a minor thing really. His silly pride was in the way all right, so much so that life or death didn’t matter. Moreover, the Lawtons’ characters were damaged and their ministry impeded by the labels of ‘demanding and spendthrifts’. They put the Lawtons down, or tried to, in order to gain a sense of superiority over them; a sense of superiority based not on performance or the like, but on pride alone, hollow, empty, undisciplined pride, based on nothing except the putting of someone else beneath them to make themselves feel good.”

“That’s it,” replied Collin, “that’s the way these people operate. They gain their false sense of superiority by belittling others around them whom they perceive to be a cut above them. They can’t accept that they are not the most superior ones even though they may be very good. They make themselves feel superior in their own minds by finding reasons, valid or otherwise, to bring down the better people like the Lawtons. They cannot admit, even to themselves, that they are bringing them down because of their envy of them and because of their damaged pride. So they search for derogatory reasons to bring them down.

“In this case, the Lawtons were labeled spendthrifts in order to give the belittlers an excuse and to cover up the real reason for their bringing them down. If they can’t find any excuses, they invent them, or twist some of the good characteristics of people like the Lawtons into bad characteristics. Also nobody is perfect, so they pick little holes in their victim’s weaker areas. But worse still, they take every outstandingly good point about a person and twist it into something derogatory as I shall illustrate later. The better the person is, the more they will victimize him.”

Collin looked at Gilda as he continued, “There is even more here than silly wounded pride, Gilda. Pride that has to put down and/or destroy another person is also riddled with envy and often results in hostility in various ways and to varying degrees.”

Collin then looked around at the group. “I am going to quote two scholars to you now,” he said with a grin. “I hope it is safe to do so in this group!”

“Careful,” quipped Leo, “we may get perturbed.” Collin smiled, “I’ll take my chances with you people,” then continued, “the renowned biblical scholar, William Barclay, in his Bible commentary, says of envy:

‘There is a good and a bad envy. There is the envy which reveals to a man his own weakness and inadequacy, and which makes him eager to copy and to rise to some greater example. And there is the envy which is essentially a grudging thing. It looks at a fine person, and is not so much moved to aspire to that fineness, as to resent that the other person is fine. It is the most warped and twisted of human emotions.’ (The Daily Study Bible, William Barclay - THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS. Page 28).

Collin then commented, “as we go on with our stories, we will see how the resentment to a fine person, mentioned by Barclay, issues in hostility, strife and rivalry. Barclay defined strife this way:

‘The meaning is the contention which is born of envy, ambition, the desire for prestige, and place, and office and prominence. It comes from the heart in which there is jealousy. If a [person] man is cleansed of jealousy he has gone far to being cleansed of all that arouses contention and strife.’ (Ibid).

Collin paused briefly, and spoke again, “Barclay adds this terrific sentence that needs to be drilled into the mind of every belittler:

‘It is a God given gift to be able to take as much pleasure in the successes of others as in one’s own.’ (Ibid).

Collin added emphatically, “Therein lies the big problem of belittlers. They scorn rather than take pleasure in the successes of others; more especially the successes of fine people of whom they are envious. I’ll just repeat that again:

‘It is a God given gift to be able to take as much pleasure in the successes of others as in one’s own.’ (Ibid).

Collin continued. “Barclay makes another interesting comment which I quoted earlier and which needs emphasis because it is so adaptable to our cause. He is commenting on the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to ‘live at peace with all [people].’ But, says Barclay, Paul points out that there are two biblical qualifications for living at peace with all people, (a) ‘if it be possible,’ and (b) ‘as far as you can.’ Barclay then adds,

‘Paul knew very well that it is easier for some to live at peace than it is for others. He knew that one [person] can be compelled to control as much temper in an hour as another [person] in a lifetime. (The Daily Study Bible, William Barclay, THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS, page 184).

Collin added his own comments, “We can apply this passage or rule to the circumstances of people like you and I in our interaction with belittlers. We have to at times, and quite often, put up with more from belittlers with their undisciplined pride, envy, jealousy and strife, in an hour than some people do in a lifetime. With others, it may well indeed be a very occasional occurrence. With us it becomes a way of life, almost continuous, always annoying, stressful and cruel.

“So let no psychiatrist, therapist, clergy person, supervisor, or other person tell you that you are just oversensitive to the little annoyances of life. The people who tell you that may very well have only little annoyances in their life, or they may have had only one or two larger annoyances throughout their lifetime, which they survived with limited hurt, and which they were eventually able to put behind them and go on to live peaceful lives. They will lightly tell you to do the same.

“Then again, the matter is often passed off as ‘personality clash’- two opposing characters who cannot come to terms. That explanation is lacking in that it is the belittler, one person, who causes the trouble. And again, some envious belittlers themselves when confronted about the abuse they inflict on others, while trivializing the whole matter in doing so, will pass it off as just ‘mean spirited.’ In their pride they cannot bear to admit they are envious of someone else, because that would be an admission that the someone else is gifted better than they in some ways. Rather than admit to that they shrug it off lightly as just a little mean spirited, as though there wasn’t much to it, and the recipient of it is too sensitive. In actuality, what is passed off as a little mean spirited is often brutal, and career, health and life damaging.

“The fact is, to paraphrase Barclay, we of our type have to put up with more envy in an hour than do some people in a lifetime. Personally, I have never known a time in my adult life when I wasn’t dodging a person or persons who were trying to bring me down, with often a substantial number of people getting a kick out of them doing so. Many others in their naïveté and unawareness just don’t even see what is going on. It is a way of life for persons like you and I. It becomes a continuous and heavy burden to carry, particularly in our younger years. And like our friend and colleague Alban has illustrated since this group began, we sometimes snap under the cruel and oppressive load and are then labeled weaklings. This in turn plays into the hands of the belittlers and puts us down further. For me personally, the friendship of nice people who understand, even though often silently, helps tremendously to make the burden of the almost constant behavior of belittlers bearable and possible to cope with.

“But,” said Collin, “we can discuss all that further later on if you wish. Now I wish to quote another scholar, Lance Webb and his book on the traditional sins of the church and of Christian theology. Webb sees envy as a by-product of pride, or what I prefer to tag misplaced or undisciplined pride.

‘Each of the other six sins in a very definite way is a child of pride. Envy is self-love unable to permit anyone to excel or rise above one’s own superiority, with resulting hate, jealousy, intolerance, prejudice, slander, gossip, and use of sarcasm or more violent means of leveling others to one’s own height.’ (Lance Webb: CONQUERING THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS. Page 41. Abingdon Press, 1955).

“This is a good definition,” remarked Collin, “except that envious belittlers not only want to level us to their own height, they want to level us below their own height. They are often power and control people as well. It is not power and control for the sake and furtherance of the church, but rather an egotistical desire to satisfy something lacking in their own self-centered mind-set. They don’t usually come across to us as people of power, but their sought after control over matters gives them a sense of being up there with the better natured, truly influential people. Hence I feel right in referring to them as power and control freaks. When envy is present with this desire for power it makes them feel a need to feel superior to others around them, especially to fine, smart people. They cannot look up to us. They cannot be on the same level with us. They can only look down. They want to be on top. They feel they can only do so by putting down those whom they perceive to be above them. Their sick and twisted motto is, ‘if I can’t get them down, then I can’t be up.’ They have to put us below themselves so they can look down on us. They do this by some or all the means and more listed by Webb-‘hate, jealousy, intolerance, prejudice, slander, gossip, and use of sarcasm or more violent means.’ The devious deeds by which they put these weapons to work will be further illustrated in my presentation. “Webb reiterates and expands on his definition of envy:

‘It includes those sins such as hate, intolerance, jealousy and prejudice, which are the result of my self-love seeking to keep an exalted place among my fellows and therefore unable to bear excellence or superiority on the part of others. The sin of envy also is seen to include the sins which result from my attempt to lower those who have risen above me to my own level; namely, slander, gossip, and sarcasm - the tools I use to get even.’ (Lance Webb: CONQUERING THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS. P.58 Abingdon Press 1955.)

“I wish to add though,” said Collin, “that the belittlers are often much more subtle than Webb states. They are crafty enough to avoid open slander, gossip and sarcasm. They often play the psychological mind-game and imply it. Some belittlers will even be outwardly nice to you while attempting through deception to lead you to destruction. Beware of the person who, while seeming to be nice to you outwardly- nice smiles, cheerful greetings, and all that-is attempting to lead you in questionable directions, perhaps by innuendo only. They are expert con artists at times. These are mind- games belittlers play-childish, to be sure, on their part-but it becomes a destructive weapon to victims who may not have sufficient awareness of it to discern what is happening to them.

“They mutilate the character and sometimes the mental health of their victims by derogatory hint and innuendo, or even by glance or other silent expression, all of which can be craftily covered when necessary, since they have stated nothing openly. If what they are doing is ever held up to them they can readily cover up and say they never said a word. Sometimes they imply that that person is never satisfied with what I try to do for him. I was just trying to be a friend. If they are openly accused of trickery, they can easily say, ‘you took it all wrong,’ or, ‘you are imagining things,’ or worse still, ‘you are nuts -paranoid.’

“Furthermore, a belittler is never bothered by others suspecting him of this devious trickery. He thinks it is the smart way to be. To honest, open people it is deceitful and repulsive. But the belittler, as long as he is able to, in his own mind, rationalize and justify himself, he feels his constant ego trip, and consequently his hollow, undisciplined pride, are intact.”

Collin commented further, “Webb has given us reasons why belittlers treat us the way they do; out of envy they have to whittle us down. Also, you can see why, the better the person is in the eyes of the envious ones, the more that person has to put up with the ravages of their envy.”

Continuing, Collin said, “one more very worthy point of Webbs is, I believe, relevant to this story and should be taken note of. Webb states:

‘Intellectual pride is the most difficult of all pride to displace.’ (Lance Webb. CONQUERING THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, page 48, Abingdon Press 1955).

“I am of the opinion,” said Collin, “that this intellectual pride to which Webb refers is most prevalent in academic circles; among people whose chief pride and ego stems from the fact that they have a measure of attainment in the academic sphere. I will therefore refer to it as academic pride. I would emphasize first and foremost, and very readily that academically is not the only way to be an exceptional person, although many academics with a false sense of pride would have you think so. The world has known many exceptional people who either never had an opportunity, or, didn’t have much interest in pursuing academics to its fullest. This is not to downplay the value of education. I think you will perceive for yourself as I continue, that I realize fully the place of quality education in life.

“Having said that, let me say, the truly educated person is humbled by genuine academic attainment, realizing how much he doesn’t yet know and how much more there is to discover. The proud belittler has to have a feeling of superiority to go with his academic attainments, and often he has to put less educated people, or even more highly educated well charactered people, beneath him in order to, in his own mind, retain his sense of superiority.

“An amusing anecdote that has been passed around for years is ‘a person, through his education and position in life, either grows or swells, one or the other.’ The truly educated person, with his mind humbled and therefore open to a vast world of continuing knowledge, will grow to further spheres of personal development and attainments. The proud, egotistical belittler will continue to swell in hollow, undisciplined pride and a false sense of superiority. He will hold on to this sense of superiority not by further maturing growth, but by belittling and/or getting rid of any persons around him whom he perceives to be a threat to that sense of superiority.

“Actually, there is another difference between types of well educated people. There are those who, as they read, hear and absorb, also think through things for themselves, and formulate their own conclusions on the topics at hand. These people may or may not get top grades. If they do, they have a wonderful combination of learning, thinking through, assimilating, and truly taking to oneself the ingredients present for personal growth.

“In contrast to this, there is the other type; those who read, listen, absorb, and retain all the knowledge imparted to them. They have perhaps excellent absorption and retention abilities. Consequently, they get high grades, some very high, perhaps even higher than many in the aforementioned group. However, they develop little or no thinking ability along the way, only the retention of facts. A colloquial saying sums it up: ‘They couldn’t think their way out of a wet paper bag!’

“Belittlers in this category are the worst kind. They envy others, particularly those with less formal education than they, who have the ability to think through old problems and resolve them, or come up with new ideas. The belittlers have learned mainly by rote and memory retention. When they can look up the solution to a problem in a book, they shine. To come up with an original solution or idea is for the most part beyond them. Therefore, out of undisciplined pride and envy, many of them become the most vicious of those who practice belittling.”

“I am of the opinion,” said Collin, “that academic pride accounts for the major portion of Durwin Lawton’s belittlement coming from many but not all of the teachers in his congregation and many of the other ministers he tried to work with in the greater church. These are the people educated to do the educating. When their undisciplined pride and false sense of superiority is in the way, fine, smart people in particular are at risk when either intentionally or unintentionally we teach them something they didn’t know before about the church and its functioning. They believe that they are all right as they are, and have built up a great deal of undisciplined pride on that belief. Later I will illustrate some of their reactions towards exceptional people like the Lawtons who unintentionally upset that pride by performing a very effective ministry that didn’t fit the preconceived and familiar ideas of the belittlers’ own choosing.

“Belittlers, both in the local church and the wider church have their field day with exceptional ministers, or members, whom they want out of the way. This destructive vice is more skillfully developed in the church denomination in which Durwin Lawton was involved in Terraprima, than anywhere else I have ever heard of or experienced. This will be further illustrated in the continuing story of Durwin Lawton and his wife Canda. I wish to add also, that such mind-games are frequently utilized by belittling teachers in schools, where young students are at their mercy; also it is a widespread disease in industry and business, where in many cases owners and/or management do not know what is going wrong with their business. These things will also be illustrated as my story of the Lawtons in Terraprima continues.

“Webb further states:

‘Even among sincere religious persons who want to “help others” and “do a great deal of good,” this prideful self picture insists: ‘The good must be done through me. I must be the center of attention.’ (Ibid. P. 41)

“Durwin was eventually handicapped almost completely by members of the administration of his congregation who would not allow any progress unless they could take credit for it; hence the strife and rivalry continuously. This is not to say that people should not feel good about helping others or doing church work. Durwin always, and without fail, encouraged others to do things their own way in church activities, provided it was within the bounds of church polity. It had always been the policy of Durwin to encourage the laity to use their own creativity in church activities and administration. The problem Durwin had was when the belittlers blocked him at every turn from doing his ministry his way and using his creativity. If the church was going to improve and grow, it had to be by their hand, and not Durwin’s, not any part of it.”

“There is one other book I would bring to your attention before we go on with the sad story of the Lawtons. That book is simply the Dictionary. As you no doubt already know, the dictionary has two different meanings for the word pride:

‘1. An undue sense of one’s own superiority; arrogance, conceit.

2. A proper sense of personal dignity and worth.’ (Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary. New York, 1975).

“‘Pride’ and ‘proud’ are very commonly used words today, especially in Terraprima where it is quite acceptable and the thing to do, to say one is proud of oneself or of someone or something else. To take pride in something worthwhile is considered good decorum. This corresponds with the meaning, ‘A proper sense of personal dignity and worth.’ That is good. But people who keep up an undisciplined, false, or empty pride by belittling others are establishing that ‘undue sense of one’s own superiority.’ A person cannot be superior to another if he has to put that other person down in order to feel superior. That would be false, empty, improperly developed pride.

“Now this false, empty, or undisciplined pride, as I will refer to it in future story telling, is wayward pride, established upon ‘an undue sense of one’s own superiority.’ It is conceited and often arrogant, as is stated in the first dictionary meaning I quoted. Being proud this way is a false, undisciplined, hollow pride, and it is easily pricked.

“Belittlers, as much as pride is a part of their life, are not willing to share in the pride of another, especially when they perceive that other person to be a cut above them. Going further afield, they are not willing to recognize that other peoples and other countries have their reasons to feel proud, and that we should at times acknowledge that some of their accomplishments may be greater than ours. Belittlers are wanting, not just sometimes, not even most of the time, but always, to be first and out front, which is not so and cannot be. They are not willing to let others have the credit that is due them, but wanting it all for oneself or one’s own country. People like these, although a minority, are the ones who have caused people, even in the well developed and generally friendly parts of the world to cry out to Americans, ‘Yankee go home, Yankee go home, we don’t like you.’ It doesn’t have to be that way. It can easily be corrected by omitting the belittling and giving credit where credit is due.

“Of course there are the less friendly and usually less developed countries that have a more harsh envy and hatred for the United States that cannot be corrected in such a peaceful manner. It is of a different strain, intermingled with much evil and ignorance and/or a different philosophy of life, and often a grave disregard for civilization as most of the world knows it. This kind of envy and hatred responds only to strict curtailment and strong discipline.

“But as for the first mentioned kind, belittlers in the media have been among the foremost of those who cause this reaction in various parts of the world. For example, they do a write up on another land. The first mistake they make is they compare it to the better parts of America; or worse still, compare a rural part of it to a very large and progressive city in which they themselves perhaps live, instead of seeing that land for what it is in itself. From there they concentrate on the down side of that land, barely or not at all mentioning its better side. Their pride and envy won’t allow them to mention anything in it that may be better than anything in the United States of America.

“I have seen write ups, with pictures, of other lands which would give you the impression that there is absolutely nothing good at all about that country. But having either lived or visited extensively in that land we can know differently. To take one case in point, there was an article with pictures of a remote land with many problems indeed. The article concentrated on the land’s remoteness and the problems of its main city. What the article failed to acknowledge in any way was that most of the people of that city had a standard of living as good as the average in the United States. No credit was given for this.

“Of course, the United States has its better side, its world leading side, no doubt about it. But some other lands have their better side too; sometimes a leading side if ever so small. Some belittling Terraprima media people cannot acknowledge this in their articles. It is as if someone were with pen and camera, to tour one of the poorer areas of the United States, add a few pictures of the less desirable parts of some major city; then in another not very geographically knowledgeable country, publish the article saying this is the United States of America.

“Belittling media who try to promote their own country as superior by belittling other countries, succeed in doing so only in their own mind and in the eyes of some of their own people. In the eyes of the people they write about they diminish it. Belittlers in the media, and belittling tourists as well, are a disgrace to, and do disgrace their own country when they cannot, because of undisciplined pride, acknowledge the things about other countries that may be as good or better than their own. They bring on the ‘Yankee go home’ syndrome. The media needs to give credit where credit is due. People of other lands also need to have ‘a proper sense of personal dignity and worth.’ (Ibid).

“Belittlers in many walks of life are the dominant force and influence in some parts of the United States. The part I speak of as Terraprima is one of the parts in which they are a powerful and controlling factor.

“People who practice belittling behave as though they are quite justified in doing so. Occasionally, when their true colors are showing through, you may hear them mutter, ‘O well I have my pride to keep up.’ So they feel quite justified in putting others down. The trouble with that is that when carried out on a sufficiently large scale, as it often is, it robs other people of their right to feel properly proud of themselves, with ‘a proper’, not a false, but ‘a proper sense of personal dignity and worth.’

“There are some proud ones who do not belittle, but only pout when their pride is hurt by the attainments of others. These may readily admit that their pride has been pricked. These people may not be harmful, but nevertheless it goes to show the great need for people to learn to accept and co-exist in a friendly, peaceful manner with people they perceive to be a cut above themselves in one or more ways.

“I have often wished,” said Collin, “that linguists would take such a word as pride, trace it back to its origins in our own or some other language, and find two separate, usable words for the two different meanings; to invent or re-invent a new name for at least one of the meanings. In that manner, each of these two human characteristics could have its own distinct name.

“Christian scholars have almost accomplished a similar feat by dividing the English word ‘love’ into the Greek words ‘eras’, ‘philia’ and ‘agape,’ three very different aspects of love, with agape being the most noble of them all to Christians. However, the word agape is not adaptable enough to the English language, nor appealing enough to the average person to be commonly used.”

Collin added, “While we are focused on the dictionary, let us look very briefly at what the dictionary says about the word ‘envy.’ The meaning given for envy is:

‘1. A feeling of resentment or discontent over another’s superior attainments, endowments or possessions.’ (Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary, New York 1975, P.213).

“Once again then we are told it is a wayward characteristic, or as Barclay says, ‘the most warped and twisted of human emotions,’ aimed at superior people.

“To touch on Christian theology for a moment, one would think that Christians would be very conscious and wary of being envious, for it was out of envy that Jesus was crucified. As I have said before, Matthew in his Gospel (27:18 RSV) writes, ‘For he (Pilate) knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him (Jesus) up.’ “Some modern socialist would be theologians, and social activists warped by the bias commonly found in a segment of the church of these times, claim Jesus was crucified because he radically upset the established political and economic establishment of his time. Traditional theology of the centuries tells us, and I believe accurately, that Jesus put forward no political or economic systems. “Of course, most of the world, myself most certainly included, believes that democratic systems work better than other systems. Nevertheless, any democratic system can only be as good as the people running it and living in it. Jesus’ main goal was to make it possible for people to be better people. That, in turn, would make the system work better. He showed them how and gave them the spirit to be better people.

“Matthew writes in his Gospel (Matthew 27:18 RSV) that, Pilate ‘knew that it was out of envy’ that Jesus was delivered to be crucified. If Matthew didn’t agree with Pilate on that, he would not have written it the way he did. He might have said Pilate ‘thought’ that it was out of envy. But no, Matthew writes, Pilate ‘knew’ indicating that Matthew himself agreed with Pilate on that particular matter. Neither would Mark in his Gospel (15:10 RSV) have written likewise if he didn’t believe it to be so.”

“This explanation may seem oversimplified amid all the theological speculation there is about the matter. But it is still the basic reason for Jesus crucifixion, and the only reason that is explicit in the Bible. Furthermore, it wasn’t simply a matter of Jewish people being down on Jesus. It was the envious religious leaders of that time who were down on Him, just as some religious leaders of present time Terraprima, Christian though they claim, are down on fine, exceptional people of today.

After a pause, Collin then concluded that topic by adding, “Since this is not a Bible study or theology class, I don’t think I need to pursue this particular issue further. I hope I have made my point to this group.”

“You have for me,” responded Gilda, “Christians should indeed have an aversion to envy. No need for more detail as far as I am concerned.”

The others agreed. Dr. Eldren smiled and nodded approval.

Collin looked at his watch, then spoke again. “This session has been heavy going with quotations and definitions, as well as the behavior of belittlers. I think this would be a good time to end it for this evening if that is okay, Dr. Eldren?”

“About right for me,” replied Dr. Eldren, and he soon left for other work.

The group members agreed to proceed to the Corner Coffee Shop after connecting with Vita Seldon on the way.