The Gospel of Ivan

By Kyle Pipkorn

It seems so simple, as it usually does. Great moral choices await each and every day. But what happens when those choices are difficult and complex? What happens when the lines between good and evil are not so clearly drawn? Are there lines at all?
Jack Korbanski is a simple man, unsure of exactly what he believes but desperate to make a difference, yearning to do the right thing. And when he meets the Reverend Ivan Piper, he thinks he's finally found the answer to his prayers: a guide and mentor to help him through the dark to God's eternal light. But Jack's friend and neighbor Earl Hading is unconvinced. As Earl and Ivan both set out to save Jack's soul, things escalate as FBI agent Maria Humb takes on Ivan's lieutenant Dan Bullis, until THE GOSPEL OF IVAN reaches its blinding conclusion.
Follow these characters as each comes to terms with what it means to believe... and how much that belief can cost.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kyle Pipkorn
• Release date: Jul 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9780615671161

Kyle Pipkorn

Kyle Pipkorn lives in Superior, Wisconsin, and spends his time writing and working. He enjoys learning computer programming, teaching himself guitar, and generally making a big deal out of a little life

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The Gospel of Ivan

by Kyle Pipkorn

Copyright 2012 Kyle Pipkorn

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Chapter One

The sun shone bright on the protesters, and shadows walked under everyone there. Earl stood outside the main group, smoking a last cigarette before moving in further. Hot days were when tempers flared, Earl knew, and if a non-smoker in the tightly packed crowd took offense, there might be a brawl. Earl knew the media was covering the event, and he wanted to make sure the public knew the protester's opinion about the abortion clinic and not turn this into a circus. Angry people are easy to dismiss, Earl knew, and a brawl would destroy a lot of credibility for both this protest and the cause in general. Earl did not want to be dismissed.

Well, look who showed up, Earl said as he saw his neighbor Jack step out of his car. Earl walked over to shake Jack’s hand. He was pleased that Jack had come because Earl wanted Jack to see what like-minded people could do if they worked together towards a common goal. Sure, they’d probably not end the abortion debate (and who knew if that thing would ever die out) or even get the clinic to close, but it was important that the debate not die without a fight nor the clinic’s opening go without protest. The lives of the unborn were too important to simply resign to fate, popular will, or judicial authority. Earl knew an old saying by one of the Founding Fathers, We must hang together, or surely we shall all hang separately, and he knew that was true. Another saying by another famous man said, It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees, and Earl knew that to be true as well. Earl wanted Jack to learn that, and the rally was here, and so was Jack.

I feel a little awkward being here, said Jack

Don’t. This is a rally for change, and you are always welcome to change the world, said Earl. He finished his cigarette and carefully ground the butt out under his heel. He picked it up along with another butt nearby and threw them both in the trash.

You shouldn’t be picking up other people’s trash, Earl, said Jack.

I told you, Jack, you’re always welcome to change the world. I may not have done much, but the world is a little cleaner, and that’s a change I’d like to see.

You can’t change the world on your own. The guy who littered that butt probably has thousands of clones just like him and a whole lot of cigarette butts in their wake.

You may not be able to fix the world on your own, but you can always change it, Jack. Just because the world’s a shitty place doesn’t mean you get to be a shitty person. That’s the real meaning behind this rally, said Earl.

They walked towards the main part of the protesters. Jack looked at his neighbor and took strength in Earl's grandfatherly appearance. Here was a man, sixty last October, and still as solid as a rock. The world had changed a lot since Jack had first moved in next to Earl's house, but Earl's hair was still just turning gray, his wrinkles were still like ravines cut in river rock, and Earl's eyes were still the same thoughtful, patient yet piercing blue that they had always been. Earl had let time go right around him, and Jack took comfort in Earl's unchanging nature.

And now Jack looked at all the different signs and felt a righteous indignation against the clinic. How dare they destroy a work of God’s creation! How dare they murder the innocent! The change had to come quickly, the change had to make them stop killing babies, the change had to come now.

Lot of signs out there. If you were just walking by, you might get confused as to what the protest is about, said Earl.

What is the protest about?

Abortion, Jack. Kind of obvious, really. We’re at an abortion clinic, we’re protesting.

All right, funny man, ha ha. I get it. We’re against it, right? Jack said with a grin.

Ha, ha, indeed. The opposition calls itself pro-choice. Well, so am I. You can choose to have sex or not have sex. Only reason for an abortion ought to be rape or mother’s safety.

There’s no reason to murder an innocent child.

It’s hard to draw straight lines in this world, Jack. The problems change, and we must learn to change with them, said Earl.

Abortion is wrong. Period.

Well, everyone has an opinion, that’s for sure. Just remember what you really object to. Stay focused on the target, and don’t get trapped by the fluff. All you can do, really.

Jack looked around and saw no fluff out in that sea of people. The signs were right, and he was right, too. Abortion was murder. Life began at conception. God would punish the wicked.

They were now at the fringe of protest, and Jack was eager to thrust himself in to the front, but Earl’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. Easy there, Jack. If something happens here, like a fight, you’ll want to get out quick. You go in there; you might not get out ‘til too late.

A news van approached the crowd, and the crew climbed out and began to set up. A large portion of the protesters moved back from the clinic itself to get closer to the camera. Earl stayed more or less where he was, but one of the crew noticed him and asked him to speak to the reporter.

Sure, said Earl. He turned to Jack and said, Wait here. This shouldn’t take but a moment.

As Earl turned away and walked to where the cameras were set up, a black muscle pulled up and a tall man got out. He wore a neat black suit, white shirt, and blue tie. He did not seem to draw attention to himself, but Jack noticed a lot of people turn and look at him and quickly turn away. Jack did not turn away. This man interested him.

Meanwhile, Earl began to speak to the reporter. Mostly what I object to isn’t abortion itself, which can be effective for helping victims of rape move past the experience as best they can or if the mother's life is in danger, but I do object to the number of unwanted pregnancies this nation has. Abortion can sometimes be necessary, but we really need to do a better job of teaching our kids not to have sex unless they can be responsible for its consequences.

So you do not oppose abortion being legal?

I oppose abortion being so openly acceptable. I oppose the lack of forethought that leads to the need for abortion. I think abortion is something that will always be with us, but I think we really need to reduce the need for it, not eliminate the process.

You support a woman’s right to choose? said the reporter.

I support a woman’s right to choose whether to have sex or not have sex. Beyond that, however, you’d have to prove the mother was in grave danger of dying by carrying the baby to term. Once again, we will always have abortions, but we can reduce the number of women who want or need them by teaching responsibility.

That was Earl Hading, a protestor at today’s rally. Earl, thank you for your time.

My pleasure, ma’am, said Earl.

The cameras turned off and the crew moved to a newly set-up stage with a podium on it. The man in the black suit Jack had noticed earlier had walked up on the stage with a few people in his entourage. Some people recognized the man and started applauding. Soon the whole group was clapping hands and following a chant started by the first group. The followers couldn’t really hear what the first group chanted, so the whole chant sounded indistinct and blurry. Jack joined in the chant with what his best guess told him the chant was. Earl stood beside him, neither clapping nor chanting but watching carefully the man on stage.

The man in the black suit began to speak, "Greetings, friends and enemies alike! My name is Ivan Piper and I am here today, we are here today to stop an atrocity before it happens. We are here today to warn the people of this country to turn from their evil ways and destroy these houses of death before God destroys us all for our sins. We are here to teach this nation and these doctors of their sins, to show them their wickedness that they might not be destroyed. And who can deny the will of God? Who can second-guess our God’s power and majesty? The wicked will learn of their sins all too late unless we show them what God’s will is. As it is written, ‘Distress and anguish fill the wicked man with terror; they overwhelm him like a king poised to attack because he shakes his fist at God and vaunts himself at the Almighty.’ Therefore, as it is also written, ‘Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless for he will get nothing in return.’ This day we gather together to stop a sin from happening. This clinic is under God’s judgment as are each of us who live with it. We are here to save the innocent from slaughter, like the wicked King Herod’s slaughter of the children of Bethlehem. This day we gather together to tell this clinic, this community, this nation, this world that we shall not abide their sins, nor shall we sit idly by while the seeds of our destruction are sown around us. This day we gather together to change the world back