asked Bob, “so why are they telling this guy to go up? And is this Elisha you’re talking about?”
“Well Elijah had just been taken up into heaven, so the boys were suggesting that Elisha do the same thing,” said Jerry.
“But I don’t believe that anyone can go up to heaven,” said Bob.
“Why don’t we discuss the story based on what the people who wrote it believed?” asked Mandy. She barely cut off Jerry who had been about to argue the point. He again thought about how hard it was for him to take Mandy seriously because of the way she behaved, yet she had these flashes of wisdom.
“Maybe the boys didn’t believe that Elijah had ascended either,” said Mark. “They might have been suggesting that Elisha was lying. Elisha was the only witness, after all.”
“That’s quite possible,” said Mandy.
“But it doesn’t help us much in understanding the story,” said Jerry. Whatever their reasons they were taunting God’s prophet.”
“So Justine,” said Bob, turning to look her right in the eye. “What would you do if some children in your congregation were taunting you?”
“Well, it would depend on what they were doing,” she answered. “If they’re just joking, I’d laugh and go on. If they’re threatening me, I’m going to deal with it. Worst case, I might call the police. I’ve had some teenagers who needed police intervention. I don’t like it, but it happens.”
“But you wouldn’t curse them, or, in the absence of readily available she-bears, you wouldn’t release the dogs on them,” said Mac decisively, as though she thought she had just won a point.
“Precisely,” said Bob.
“But Justine isn’t a prophet,” said Jerry.
“So? She’s a pastor. Isn’t that close enough?” asked Bob.
“I hardly think so. Elisha was the greatest prophet of his time. It would be more like taunting the president,” said Jerry.
“But the secret service doesn’t shoot adults who taunt the president, much less children,” said Bob.
“Supposing a teenager–and these boys could be teenagers–was carrying a handgun and waved it at the president. Then what would happen?” asked Jerry.
“It’s quite possible that the secret service might shoot the teenager. But there’s no indication these children were carrying guns, or swords or spears,” said Bob again.
“But there’s nothing that says they didn’t either. They might have been very threatening.” Now Jerry looked like he was making a point.
“But wouldn’t that be adding something to the text?” asked Mark.
“Well, we’re adding to the text whether we assume they’re little children or teenagers, and whether we assume they had no weapons or lots of them. It doesn’t give us those details,” said Jerry.
“So shouldn’t we deal with the text as it is?” asked Justine. “It seems to say that taunting the prophet was enough provocation, and that God responded to Elijah’s curse by sending the she-bears. I don’t particularly like it, but that’s what it says.”
“Well, actually, I don’t think so,” said Mandy. Everyone started looking right at her. “The text doesn’t tell us whether Elisha’s action was justified. It just tells us that it happened.”
“So is it possible that Elisha might not be doing the right thing here?” asked Mark.
“I think so. I think Elisha was tired and angry and so he cursed the children.” Mandy had that “mother concludes and has made the point to the children” look she got from time to time. The fact that she was sprawled carelessly sideways across an easy chair detracted from the effect.
“So why would God honor his angry request?” asked Jerry.
Mandy considered for a moment. “Because he was God’s prophet. What would happen if he cursed someone and nothing happened? God has to go hunting for a new prophet!”
“I really don’t think that’s an appropriate way to speak about a prophet. Surely a prophet wouldn’t do wrong in a situation like this,” said Jerry.
“Elijah made mistakes. Moses made mistakes. David was a man after God’s own heart and he committed adultery and then murdered someone to cover it up. What makes you think Bible characters always do right?” said Mandy.
“But in all those cases we have a clear indication that what they did was wrong. Not here,” replied Jerry.
“Well, from my point of view that makes God look even worse. He will kill forty-two children in order to keep his prophet respectable,” said Bob. Mac nodded.
“But God can do anything he wants! We don’t have the right to judge God’s actions,” said Jerry.
“So when you say, ‘God is love’ is that your considered judgment, or are you just repeating what God told you to say?” asked Mac.
“I know that God is love,” said Jerry.
“But how do you know? Can you know that God is love without looking at God’s actions and deciding, ‘Those are loving actions?’” asked Mac.
“I think she’s got a point,” said Mandy. “After all, we testify to God’s love and to the things God has done for us. Have we not looked at God’s action and said, ‘That is love’?”
“But we wouldn’t even know what love was if God didn’t tell us!” said Jerry.
“Well, I agree with Jerry,” said Justine. “God has the right to do what he wants. So I think there must be something there that those children or teenagers did to deserve what happened to them. If God did it, it must be right, and it says right there [she pointed to Jerry's Bible] that God did it!”
“I’ve got to agree with Jerry as well. It seems that you [he looked at Mandy] and Mark want to have the story in your Bible but you don’t want to accept what it really says.” Bob looked at Jerry. “Not that I agree with you about anything else!”
“I would never even think it,” said Jerry dryly.
“I have to disagree. You’ve both decided what the story must mean. There are many other statements about morality in the Bible. I think that if we are told elsewhere that an action is wrong, we are not forced to conclude that a person who does that in a story is right. That was complicated,” said Mandy, and grinned.
“But then you are saying that God did something wrong,” said Jerry, and Bob and Mac both nodded.
“I’m saying that God worked with people as they were. You can’t always have ideal actions when you’re not dealing with ideal people.”
“There I agree with you, Mandy,” said Justine. “I don’t really have a problem with this story, but God does work with
