Free The Gospel According to Luke by Emily Maguire Page A

Lord, the sooner Luke could give himself to her. He waited until there was a pause in her machine-gun chatter and then asked her if she’d ever actually been to a church service.
    She drained her glass and placed it on the floor before answering. ‘Weddings and funerals only. I can’t stand religious people. Present company excluded, though I have no idea why. I haven’t made a newfriend in ten years and here I am hanging out with a fucking minister.’
    â€˜God moves in mysterious ways.’
    â€˜See, that’s the kind of shit I can’t stand.’ Aggie stretched her legs out in front of her and her arms up in the air. ‘Like when people say, “God healed me” or “God got me out of that burning building” or whatever. I mean, why is God so random? Why do some people pray and die anyway and others boast about their survival, as if what, they prayed harder?’
    â€˜You’re being simplistic.’
    â€˜Your religion is simplistic. It’s do what you’re told just because you were told, which is all fine and dandy, but what about those who weren’t told? What about all those people in Iran or Afghanistan who are doing what
they’ve
been told? No matter how they have lived, no matter whether they came by their beliefs through study or soul searching or lazy acceptance, they will burn in hell for eternity. Explain that!’
    â€˜If you’re looking for easy answers –’
    â€˜You want to know my theory?’ She rolled onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow. ‘People believe that stuff because they need to feel the world is fair. It’s like how kids who’ve been sexually assaulted end up with really bad self-esteem. It is actually less painful for them to believe that they deserved the abuse, than to believe that bad stuff just happens randomly. So when it’s obvious to people that the world is unfair, that what goes around doesn’t always come around,the concept of justice being served in an afterlife is a comfort.’
    â€˜Just because it’s comforting doesn’t mean it’s not true. And you seem to be ignoring the flip side of that belief – the decidedly uncomfortable realisation that you will be held accountable for your own sins.’
    Aggie’s eyes widened. ‘See, that’s another thing: this concept of sin and punishment. Sometimes people do the wrong things for the right reasons. Like a woman might prostitute herself to get money to eat, or a man steals to pay for medicine for his kid. A lot of people are just trying to survive, you know? What kind of God would condemn these struggling, weak human beings for their transgressions?’
    Luke sat staring.
    â€˜Huh! You have no answers! None!’ Aggie leant forward and touched his knee, blinked at him, then sank back into her seat. She closed her eyes, opened them, narrowed them, laughed out loud. ‘Okay. Say something.’
    â€˜You’ll only ridicule me.’
    â€˜Oh, no, sweetie. I haven’t meant to ridicule you. Sorry, sorry. Please talk to me.’
    Sweetie
. It was like a warm hand sliding into his own.
    â€˜Luke?’ Aggie leant forward to touch his knee again; this time she left her hand there and looked into his eyes. ‘I really want to understand. What the hell did any of us ever do to deserve the pain we go through in this life?’
    â€˜You know Jesus was asked almost that exact question? People believed that those who suffered from disease or disability were being punished in some way, that they deserved their affliction, so one day after Jesus had restored the sight of a blind man, his disciples wanted to know why the man had been born blind in the first place, “Who sinned?” they asked. And Jesus told them that no one had sinned. He said that the man had been blinded so that the works of God might be made visible through him.’
    â€˜That’s