I have been privileged enough to see ten people be taken away, with the angels, before my own eyes. I have been witness to other, less canonical "disappearances," as well, and have reason to suspect that others of my acquaintance have found their own way through the Barrier, and beyond. And the more I research the stories that I hear, every day in our city, the more I believe that it isn't as "simple" a matter as we, or the other groups of Believers I'm familiar with, would believe. My Brothers and Sisters would prefer that I did not speak of these other things to new members, much less to anyone in our Flock, because they are not scriptural. But when even scripture must be extrapolated from, and then re-interpreted in the face of an unfamiliar reality, what do we have to go by but our own eyes and ears? And how can we deny that our Angels, whom some call Ferrymen, minister even to non-Christian Believers in this place? It would seem that scripture is merely a path to glory, but not the only one. So I have decided to speak, once I know what I must say. To that end, I have decided to chronicle what I know of it, and what I suspect to be true. And, while I realize that my own biases and viewpoints will color it, I will also say what others have said on the matter as well. |