Chapter 2

Soul Begins Her Return

    Mr. spirit pondered these things in his heart and desired to believe them. When next he was visited by Holy Spirit he asked Him, "How is it that the Body and township of Mann and myself have gone on as we have for these many years without your ever holding out this proposition until now? I would believe what you tell me with all my heart, but this objection meets me: why now and not before?"

    "Your have asked well," answered Holy Spirit, "and I will give answer to your query. It was decided by the determinate counsel of the God-head Trinity (I John 5:7) that such a duration as six working days would be allotted to Mann to do whatsoever that city could, that Mann might come to the obvious conclusion that it could make nothing better by looking to Reason, but only worse; that it could remedy nothing by Reason, Logic, Common Sense or Proof as to good and evil concerning spiritual things.

    "Thereunto it was determined beforehand that Mann would come to the end of itself in six days, striving under the deadly influences of Mr. Reason and Mrs. Soul and Body, and begin to look elsewhere for enlightenment and deliverance than to Mr. Reason whose lights only serve to blind and never shine truly anyway. Thus, we are now come to that good season when all of Mann (I Corinthians 15:22) is to be restored under its rightful Head, starting first with you, spirit. This restoration will then culminate with all being ultimately delivered up to Me that I might, through My Goodly Offices, bestow bountifully upon all of Mann what has been treasuring up in store all these ages during which I have been obliged to hold back that which Mann was not yet ready to receive. Does that answer your inquiry to your satisfaction?"

    "Indeed, it does, Holy Spirit! I do comprehend that the whole of Mann was made subject to vanity in hope of a restoration greater than the loss (Romans 8:20,21), and further, that the God-Head Trinity has taken upon Itself the entire responsibility for this great lapse of Mann by what you say, and will therefore restore all.

    "Also, I perceive that until the city of Mann had been made to know the darkness of these many years, it could never have had the capacity to appreciate the coming Light now promised by you. I see too, by your Own good light, that it has been in Mercy that the good you now wish to bestow has been all these many years held back. For until there has been a ready preparation to it, that which you have before described would, far from benefiting Mann, actually be Mann's destruction.

    "The effect such Love, Wisdom and Mercy has upon my heart makes me wish to fall at your feet and worship you forever! Such tenderness and lovingkindness for rough and uncaring creatures as the city of Mann has become is but too much for me to comprehend! I am overcome with love."

    This revelation and understanding gave spirit his ground upon which to stand in faith for such undertakings. It was under such circumstances that spirit came to enter the race that he had thus far been running with great patience (Hebrews 12:1). It bothered Mr. Reason to no end that spirit had left him, for the fact that spirit had long been one of his followers had added to his own credibility. But now here was this upstart, with no qualifications to leadership, no history to speak of, no political background or savvy, no visible means of support, and apparently no followers, presumptuously challenging the proven and established incumbent leadership of Reason!

    "After all I've done for Mann!", Reason thought to himself. "I have installed lights by which Mann may see in this outer darkness. My lights have been that by which the entirety of Mann has found its way during these 6,000 long years of nighthood. It has been by my lights that all commerce and activity in Mann has taken place, and without them was nothing done. How often have the members of Mann lauded and applauded my lights. Would they now actually leave these lights of mine and stumble along in total darkness? These lights are my own personal invention. If I go, then they go with me. I know, for a fact, that spirit has no such lights. He claims that he gets light from his Bible, "a lamp unto his feet" (Psalm 119:105), he says, but I don't believe that because I've never seen any such light. Anyway, they all love me and would never forsake me . . . but, just in case, I'll send Logic over to speak with spirit. He'll talk some sense into him."

    That morning Logic went to speak with Mr. spirit. The conversation, we are told, went something as follows:

    "Good evening, Mr. spirit. It looks as if it will rain today and probably tomorrow too, because I see the sky is red and lowering," (Matthew 16:3) hissed Logic.

    "Good evening to you, Mr. Logic. I see you are in fine fettle today with all your senses acutely at work, but I take no thought of the morrow (Matthew 6:34), entrusting such things to the loving and all-wise hand of my Sovereign."

    "Yes, ah, yes. Well, that's what they're saying about you these days, you know, and that is why I've come to speak with you, Mr. spirit. It has come to my father and me that you are actually running in the race for election to Lord Mayor of Mann. Now, neither my esteemed father nor I can give a cause for such a rumor, seeing that the very nature of such a thing is altogether ridiculous!"

    "Well, let me seek to set you straight, Logic, so that you may then convey these things to Reason. I have indeed entered the race for Lord Mayor of Mann and, without meaning or intending any disrespect to you or your father, I am not disposed to hear from you or your father on the following account. The present state of the city of Mann is a deplorable mess and is growing worse with every passing day. This is due to the policy of the present Lord Mayor, Reason. Now, if you will excuse me, I have other matters to which I must attend. Good evening."

    With this polite rebuff, Logic scurried back to his father, Reason, and told him all that had transpired and of the stupefying and unaccountable resolution which he had encountered in spirit.

    "Hmmm," said Reason with one eye shut tightly as if in intense thought, "I probably should have sent your younger but very emphatic brother, Proof, to accompany you. He would have added some weight to convince him that he has embarked upon a road which in it's beginnings looks pleasant enough but which must surely end in folly."

    "I don't think so, father," answered Logic. "He seemed, to all appearances and words, to have made up his mind once and for all. Does he have any insanity in his ancestry? (Hosea 9:7) He claims to see things which no one else sees and speaks within himself often these days.

    "He has even begun to treat the beloved Quintuplets with less than their due respect, acting instead by the advice of his own children, Intuition and Conscience. Claims they have better lights than you, though none but he have reported seeing these lights. He has even attempted to encourage the Body of Mann to fast at times while he prays! Insanity might be used against him in the campaign, you know. We can't afford to simply ignore him and run the risk of the whole of Mann turning after him, for then should we be put out of our stewardship."

    "We? Our? What is this we and our I hear from you?," Mr. Reason said sharply. "I am Lord Mayor of Mann, not we! But you are right about not ignoring him. I will go and speak with him myself, and you will come with me as support. Together, we should be able to wear him down and put out forever the strange lights by which he seems to walk these days."

    And so it was that Lord Mayor Reason, along with Logic, his son, called upon spirit the following day to discuss his recent undertakings to regain the leadership of the city of Mann.

    "Ah! Good morning my goodfellow and true bondservant, Mr. spirit!" hissed Reason. "I thought that since it is such a fair day today and not at all as Logic and I had thought it would be, that I would come by and speak with you concerning your decision to campaign against me in the election for Lord Mayor of Mann and thus ease myself of all concerns about the matter."

    "Good morning to you, Reason. You will notice that I no longer address you as Lord Mayor, for I am calling those things that are not yet as though they were already (Romans 4:17). I therefore no longer see you as being Lord Mayor, but deposed, upon the good advice of Virgin-Faith, through whom I receive much good counsel and management from Holy Spirit. Virgin-Faith, as you have probably been told, has moved in with my two virgin daughters, Intuition and Conscience and myself. Her influence on them has even affected me."

    "What? My goodness, spirit! Have you altogether taken leave of your very senses? Affected, indeed! Please do not tell me that you are doing all this upon the ground and influence of Virgin-Faith only! (Hebrews 11) Mr. spirit! Look and see! She has no eyes! I myself saw her out walking just the other day and she walked straight down the hill and across the pond without any mind at all as to what she was doing. She never stops to think things through. It was only her good fortune that there just happened to be stepping stones just beneath the surface of the pond or else she surely would have drowned. I didn't investigate the matter to see the stones for myself, but how else could she have walked across the pond? She is daft! How on earth will she correctly influence you? She is as blind as a bat and will lead you down a dead-end path to utter fanaticism and folly. Even Common Sense would tell you that!"

    "Why, yes. I suppose I have finally taken leave of my senses, now that you mention it, Reason. But as for Virgin-Faith, if you had the right kind of eyes, you would see that she is full of eyes all round about, within as well as without, and is of far keener vision than you ever thought of having. In fact, she sees things that are only hoped for as being already of substance (Hebrews 11:1). I have witnessed it, myself. As for being blind, as you call it, it was you who put aside, as so much foolishness, that blessed Book which says, 'Who is blind as he that is perfect and complete, and blind, as the Lord's servant? Seeing many things, but observing not?' (paraphrased Isaiah 42:19) As you refuse to see things you should and as they are, so I refuse to see things as they appear by your lights (II Corinthians 4:18). I am happy beyond measure that Virgin-Faith has undertaken to stay with me and my daughters, thereby making my election sure."

    "Bah! Sure? Do you actually think that you can be elected and chosen to be Lord Mayor, following such a blind thing as this Faith? Everyone knows that I, Reason, was appointed to be Lord Mayor of the city of Mann. I have given an edict, to which there has been a full consent throughout the city of Mann, that nothing be done or undertaken without my directions and assists."

    Suddenly Reason flushed as if remembering something embarrassing. "Uh, that is, except of course, for the Quintuplets. Still, my influence is such in Mann that a saying has arisen to my acclaim; 'If it stand not by Reason...' I have been Lord Mayor of this city from the beginning and this you cannot deny, even as it is said, 'Mann was given Reason to mind things.'"

    "Oh, but I do deny it, Reason, and most vehemently. You are truly the son of Twist-Truth, for even as you speak, your true colors and lineage do show themselves. Most only think you were appointed to be the Lord Mayor of the city of Mann because you have told them this for so long. In the beginning it was not so. I go back farther than you do, Reason, for you came along after the great seduction and, in the true nature of your cunning Sire, quickly usurped the leadership of Mann while I, the true Lord Mayor, was in confusion and perplexity."

    "Oh, you know not whereof you speak! These are but the inane babblings of one desperately grasping for any straw in the wind! You're a worse case than I was told, spirit. You really have gone off the deep end."

    Mr. Reason was losing ground fast and he knew it. He never did well when flustered, and he was now quite flustered. He turned to Logic who, until now had been silently listening to spirit, analyzing all that he said, hoping to find some chink in the armor of his argument.

    "Well, Logic, are you just going to stand there catching flies with your mouth? Have you nothing at all to say to these things?"

    Now it was Logic's turn to flush, for in spite of himself, he could see that spirit's argument was well based. Logic shifted his feet uncomfortably. He suddenly had the spotlight all to himself and quite definitely did not want it.

    "Well, uh, yes, I have something to say. I was just waiting for you to finish before saying it. You, Mr. spirit! You claim to be so sure of this election and yet we know for a fact that you have not the resources to run such a campaign. It only stands to, ahem, (he cleared his throat to draw attention to his intended pun) reason that you cannot possibly win. What say you to this?"

    "I answer thusly, Logic. I have been contacted by Holy Spirit, Himself, who has told me explicitly that if I would withdraw all my allegiance from you and your father, from Soul, from the Body and township of Mann, and the Quintuplets, looking only to Him, that He had it within His means to see to it that my election was made sure. This I firmly believe and more so since Virgin-Faith has come to dwell with us."

    The look that had now come over the faces of Reason and Logic said that they knew they were in deep trouble, and were finding it difficult hiding it.

    "Indeed, indeed! Well, I suppose we can go now, Logic. I have seen what I came to see. Mr. spirit is as mad as can be. He has actually gone insane and is having delusions of grandeur."

    "Not so, as you well know, Reason. I was there in the beginning, naive and untried, wed to your mother, Soul, and was the Lord Mayor of the city of Mann until the day your father, Twist-Truth, came along and seduced her. Since that fall, she has made a bond, unlawful though it is, with the Body and township of Mann, but I do not find fault with her for this infidelity toward me, for I am still her true husband, and as such I still love her and seek only her good. It is for this reason that I have entered the race for Lord Mayor of Mann, so that I might not only take my rightful place as leader of Mann, but also to attract and draw Soul once again into her rightful, subservient place as under my headship and direction. Then will it be well with the city of Mann."

    "How dare you!" sputtered Reason.

    "Hush, Reason!", interrupted Soul, taking both Reason and spirit by surprise. Soul had, on her way, overheard the conversation and was smitten in her heart by the affection she detected in spirit. She had always retained a certain tenderness for him, but because of her guilt and self-condemnation for her act of infidelity, she had gone on, hardened in her way of transgression, not knowing that there was a way back to that place from which she had been misled.

    "spirit is quite correct in what he tells you, Reason," Soul continued. "He has not added to it nor taken from it. You are an usurper to the place you now hold as Lord Mayor of the city of Mann. It was I who appointed you and who have put you forward on every occasion possible. For, knowing you to be the bastard that you are, I was ashamed and sought the approval of others through your deceptive brightness. But, lo, just as your father, Mr. Twist-Truth, you have corrupted yourself by reason of your brightness and have led the city of Mann into the pathetic and wretched condition in which it now laments.

    "Before Mr. Twist-Truth came along, leaving you as the constant reminder of my great indiscretion and infidelities, and then the ever promising, but never delivering affair with the Body and township of Mann, I enjoyed a wonderful, all-satisfying, state of bliss with spirit, my true husband and caring head. I had almost forgotten how good it was then, not willing to evoke such unsettling memories. But passing by, I happened upon your conversation and was so struck by spirit's kind and affectionate demeanor toward me, my unlawful treatment of him notwithstanding, that it stopped me in my tracks. For I would see spirit indeed take his rightful place over me, though he must needs fight for it, for it has been many years since he has exercised his goodly influences over me and I scarcely any longer know how to come under. Yet, the few choice words which I have chanced to hear falling from his lips have made me desire to be willing.

    "To you, spirit, I would tell you that although I cannot seem to bring myself to suddenly drop all my own endeavors and abruptly follow you as if nothing to the contrary had ever taken place with us, I am not disinclined to once again follow you. If you will show that worthy and kind headship you once so aptly displayed before I pulled us out of our garden of paradise so long ago and plunged us into this abysmal and benighted confusion in which we now find ourselves, I would be persuaded to follow after you as before and count myself fortunate indeed."

    As both Logic and Reason stood with mouths agape, Soul bid them all good-day and was gone as abruptly as she had come. This happy turn of events left Reason and Logic with blank expressions and little to say, which was a new experience for them, and it left spirit with just the hint of a smile playing upon the corners of his mouth as he watched Soul depart their company.

    I should not end this account without telling you the glad tidings concerning the city of Mann and its election for Lord Mayor. Under the watchful eye and able hand of his campaign Manager, Holy Spirit and loyal co-helper, Virgin-Faith, as well as his own chaste daughters, Intuition and Conscience, spirit, as unlikely a candidate as he had at first seemed, quickly took on the comportment and conduct of a worthy, manly leader who could easily be believed to conduct the affairs of the city of Mann aright, for he never acted but by the advice and counsel of Holy Spirit.