Zen's War: Captivity
Chapter 29: Providence or Reason?

How did humanity survive the apocalypse? Was it the result of providence, or was it simply humanity’s will to survive? According to some, such as Joshua, it was providence. In his eyes God was simply purging the Earth of evil. Humanity had survived because it was meant to. In his mind he was the reason that it had. He was the savior that had been sent to save the true believers from the brink of destruction. Was he really the messiah, or was he delusional? He was not the only one that believed this. There were many that believed they were messiahs or some kind of prophet. Even Jesus had told his disciples that there would be many false prophets in the end times. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. These were the words that Jesus said to his apostles according to the book of Matthew. How was anyone to know who the true Messiah was? Other than his followers, most thought that Joshua was not the Messiah, but a psychopath. Some thought that he was the antichrist. Maybe he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, only posing as the Messiah, but actually sent by Satan to defy the true savior. These were questions that had no rational answers. The answers were a matter of faith, not of reason. Joshua’s disciples had found their answer through faith. They had faith that Joshua would save them from eternal damnation. With him as their leader they would rise up from the ashes of Armageddon like a phoenix.

These were men desperate for something to believe in. They were men desperate for a purpose. They were twelve men chosen by the son of man to preach his word. They were to cast out demons and ready the Earth for the coming kingdom of heaven. The problem was that he was only a man with an enormous ego. He was not the Messiah or some prophet of God, he was a man on a power trip. Though deep within them they knew he was not what he claimed to be, they clung to the possibility. The idea was an extremely romantic one, and it justified their hatred of those who did not share their beliefs. They looked for someone to blame for the cause of the nuclear war. Before the war they were fat and happy. There was little cause to worry. That was until the threat of terrorist attacks became everyday occurrences. In Joshua’s opinion the ones to blame were the Muslim extremists. They were the ones who had delivered the hydrogen bombs to the four main targets of Baghdad, Jerusalem, Washington DC, and New York City. They could not forgive them for what they had done. This was ironic because forgiveness was one of the main tenets of Christianity.

Aside from Muslim extremists, they also blamed science and technology for World War III. Science and technology had been employed by Satan to control humanity. Human cloning and stem cell research had incited God’s wrath. In trying to assume God’s power over creation mankind had performed the ultimate sin. Humanity had simply suffered the wrath of God.

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