[continued from previous message]   
      
   And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled   
   together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the   
   word of God with boldness.   
      
   And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul:   
   neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his   
   own; but they had a t things common.   
      
   And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord   
   Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.   
      
   Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possesors of   
   lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,   
      
   And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every   
   man according as he had need.   
      
   And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being   
   interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,   
      
   Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.   
      
   But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,   
      
   And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought   
   a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.   
      
   But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy   
   Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?   
      
   Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in   
   thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast   
   not tied unto men, but unto God.   
      
   And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great   
   fear came on all them that heard these things.   
      
   And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.   
      
   And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing   
   what was done, came in.   
      
   And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And   
   she said, Yea, for so much.   
      
   Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the   
   Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are   
   at the door, and shall carry thee out.   
      
   Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the   
   young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by   
   her husband.   
      
   And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these   
   things.   
      
   Acts 4:31-5:11   
      
      
      
   A racist priest saw a black man about to enter his all-white church. The   
   priest told the black man that this church was for white people only. He   
   diplomatically suggested that the black man ask God if it was okay for him to   
   enter there. The black man    
   agreed to do so. A few weeks later the priest saw that same man on the street   
   and asked him if he had contacted God. The black man said, “Yes, I did talk   
   with God, but God only laughed at me. When I asked what the joke was, God   
   replied, 'How do you    
   expect to enter that church when they won't even let Me in there?'“   
      
      
      
   New Clothes   
   Just about everyone knows the story of the Emperor's new clothes.   
   Nevertheless, a good story does not grow tarnished by repetition, rather it   
   tends to shine more brightly in consequence. Consider…   
      
   Once there was a wealthy king who took a fancy to own the finest set of   
   clothes in the entire kingdom. Upon the advice of his ministers, he sent out a   
   royal proclamation announcing his desire and demanding the attendance at his   
   court of all the best    
   tailors in the land. These tailors were to compete by offering designs and   
   making bids for the right to craft the emperor's new clothes. As things turned   
   out, one charlatan appeared who claimed contact with the fairy kingdom, and he   
   promised to get his    
   elfin friends to sew the king's new robes out of costly jewels and gold   
   thread, all for a very modest fee. None of the other tailors could match such   
   an offer. Indeed, the king himself was so agog at the thought of all that   
   regal splendor, that he hardly    
   took notice when the clever conman stated that this type of clothing has one   
   magical aspect, and that is that only honest people can see it.   
      
   The deal was sealed. Months passed. The emperor's treasury was gradually   
   depleted to provide the necessary materials for completing his costly new   
   outfit. (As might have been predicted, the original price quoted fell far   
   short of the actual costs.) In    
   any event, the long-awaited day arrived when the emperor's new clothes were to   
   be delivered. A grand procession was organized to move throughout the capital   
   city so that all the people could admire the new clothing and could   
   contemplate the glory of the    
   man who wore it. Loyal subjects from around the kingdom had come to witness   
   this majestic event, for everyone had heard about the wondrous clothes made by   
   elves which only the honest could see, and all were eager to have a glimpse at   
   those divine    
   vestments.   
      
   Meanwhile, at the palace the king was getting dressed. The charlatan had   
   arrived with his assistant, and was busy helping the king to don his new   
   attire. As the assistant passed the charlatan each garment, the trickster held   
   it out before the emperor and    
   described its beauty, then helped the king to put it on. The clothing was all   
   light as air. In fact, the emperor, himself, could neither see nor feel   
   anything, but he did not dare to admit this, for such an admission would have   
   indicated that he himself    
   was dishonest. So the emperor made all of the suitable remarks of   
   congratulations on the fine and subtle tailoring of the elves, thanked the   
   swindler profusely for arranging his new clothes, and stepped into his new   
   fiberglass carriage. This carriage had    
   been specially prepared for the parade so that everybody could have a better   
   view of the king wearing his new clothes. The charlatan excused himself on the   
   pretext of other engagements and was, of course, never seen again.   
      
   The procession went quite well at first. Nobody saw any clothes, but nobody   
   wanted to admit that fact. All of the gasps of amazement at seeing their king   
   in his proverbial birthday suit turned into slightly embarrassed and slightly   
   vague comments on the    
   elegance of the king's new wardrobe, along with an occasional tittering remark   
   about how fine the king looked too. After a while, whenever some clever person   
   felt confident that those people around her or him also could not perceive   
   those legendary    
   clothes, then s/he would start to describe in great detail one or another item   
   that the emperor was allegedly wearing. Of course, each of these clever   
   persons attracted many followers, and few people dared to contradict her or   
   him – rather, most just    
   pretended to see the same thing. So it happened that many groups rose up, all   
   telling differing stories about the emperor's new clothes; and, no doubt,   
   there would have been considerable controversy, or perhaps even a war or two   
   between these different    
   sects, had it not been for one small child who stood by the roadside toward   
   the end of that lengthy ceremonial procession. This innocent infant just   
   stared and asked its mother, “Why is the king naked?” At first the mother   
   tried to silence her child, but    
   the young one kept repeating that simple and sincere question – “Why isn't the   
   king wearing any clothes?”   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)