A Matter of Faith

By Len Titow

The author has incorporated religious doctrine into the novel to answer some of the difficult questions regarding faith- questions that are generally not answered or are overlooked by many ministers and theologians.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sweetspire Literature Management LLC
• Release date: Dec 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781958381526

Len Titow

Has written three fiction books.

Book preview

Notation

When it comes to religion most people think divine and the minister can do no wrong as he represents God.

The reality is that the Church and its ministry are just a reflection of society and as such has the good and bad characteristics found in our society, and in mankind generally.

Some would like you to think of the church and its ministry as representing the Divine, but unfortunately most of us fall short of this.

There are rotten apples in society as well as in the church and in the ministry. Ministers would deny this, but reality shows this to be the case. The book tries to demonstrate this by way of a number of stories and that the church should not hold itself out to be holier than though but be truthful and seek forgiveness, for they merely reflect society and sin like the rest of us.

My hope is that you maintain your faith in the God you believe in, and not in those who represent Him on this earth. That you will speak to God direct, through your’ prays.

Those who fall by the wayside are mere men, who like you, can choose to follow Satin instead of God. There is little doubt that materiality is the key factor here.

Our criticism against the church or its ministry should not be any different to what transpires in society generally, when laws are broken. An attempt to smear religion because of the wrong doing of someone in the church is an attempt to discredit those who believe in God.

May you enjoy this book.

Len Titow

Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell;

on the third day, He rose again from the dead.

He ascended in heaven

and sits at the right hand of God,

the Father almighty;

from thence, He shall come again

to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Holy Catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting.

Amen.

I hope that scripture, which I believe is paramount to mankind’s existence, is brought out in this book and that the issues raised lead to further discussion.

I thank the Lord for His inspiration and guidance in writing this book.

Chapter 1

It was a cold and miserable day. I looked at my watch. It showed 10:00 a.m. We were at the Northside Chapel. I came to see what type of send-off was going to be given to Russel Brown, a well-known businessperson, a politically influential and wealthy member of our community.

The sky was gray and bleak. For the last three days, the rain had been persistent and heavy. The wind twirled the rain around, making umbrellas useless. A crowd had gathered, and more were coming. Everyone was waiting for the hearse to arrive with the coffin while still trying to keep out of the rain. Some didn’t bother and stood in the rain with their umbrellas up, nodding to politicians and the suit squad as they passed by.

Some of the elderly went inside the chapel and sat in the pew, waiting for the service to begin. Comments were made about the decor of the chapel and the flower arrangements. Then the discussion moved on about ‘what a good man the deceased was’, ‘it is a pity he died suddenly’, ‘the good always go first’, ‘never thought his life would end so abruptly’, and ‘no doubt with his wealth, he has gone to heaven’.

Outside, the rain intensified, and you could hear the expectation that the hearse was not far away. The lead car pulled around the side of the chapel to let the family get out without interference from the crowd and to move into the chapel and take up their positions.

The hearse pulled up outside the entrance to the chapel, and four men got out of the car. They moved around the back of the hearse, opened the tailgate, and slid out of the coffin. They carried it into the chapel and put it on the stand in the front of the main hall so all could see the coffin. They gathered the flower display and placed them on the coffin, with the rest lying on the floor. In fact, there were too many flower arrangements. A lot had to be left in the entrance out of the rain. It seemed that all those who had dealt with Russel Brown had to send an expensive arrangement to ensure the family did not think they had anything but good thoughts about him.

The crowd moved behind the coffin as they brought it into the chapel and quickly filled the pews that were available. Politicians, business executives, and other influential people, both local and overseas, moved to their designated seats to ensure someone did not occupy them by mistake. The police took their positions outside the chapel entrance, and the commissioner moved to his seat at the front, alongside ex-premiers. TV commentators began their commentary, and the film crew named the rich and famous who had attended.

The family insisted on a minister of the church handling the service as they had contributed a lot towards the renovations of the church, and it would lend to the image of respectability. Peter Sutherland was chosen out of several candidates to perform the service, as he had known Russel for several years and was with him when he had died. The choir comprised an international tenor and two sopranos with six other singers. It seemed they were economizing as they used the piano that belonged to the chapel rather than bringing in a Yamaha.

They draped the coffin with expensive silk clothes. It had gold handles and an engraving on the top—’Rest in Peace’—with a gold cross on top. A son that surely would go to heaven.

I sat at the back of the chapel, listening to what they said. My name is Ray Brant and I am a reporter for the Daily newspaper. I was interested in the charade that is generally performed at these send-offs. I remember approaching a minister and asking him why don’t you tell the families of

those being buried or cremated the truth—that their relative was not going to heaven, according to the Bible.

He replied, ‘It’s not our job to decide who goes to heaven or hell. That’s God’s job, not ours.’

There, I thought, lies the problem. What a cop-out.

Peter Sutherland began the service with a prayer and asked everyone to be seated. He described Russel Brown as a God-fearing man and one who had helped the church as and when called upon to do so. He described the generosity of the deceased, who was always ready to support worthwhile causes. He then introduced the next speaker, the brother of the deceased, who again described Russel in benevolent terms, emphasizing the good that was done as donations to various charities and causes. Nothing was said about how this money had been obtained or the rumours that continually were circulated about the dealings of Russel Brown and his family. Their criminality did not even get a mention.

I listened to the speeches and noted that everyone was saying Russel was a good man, God-fearing, and that he had gone to a better place. My mind drifted, and I thought, Is this the same person I knew? Because if it is, he was no angel unless he bought a condominium in Lucifer’s camp.

I realized as usual, the nice things, the pleasantries, were being said, and these were not the truth. The man was not God-fearing. He believed in a different god – namely, Russel Brown – and used Christianity as a camouflage to ensure the appearance of respect and dignity. The church allowed him to gain respect under its influence. These days, to be able to pay money to influence people showed success, and with Russel, there were always takers.

While listening to what was being said, I continually found myself saying, You hypocrite. This was not a good man. He was an opportunist who took advantage of situations and was supported by politicians who

sold him information at a price. Go to heaven? You’re joking. He will try to take control of hell.

I knew they would not say here the truth as more speakers got up and praised Russel. I was waiting for the hand to appear and the writing on the wall to begin. Of course, miracles don’t happen these days. It seemed that even the Lord was allowing this garbage to be said without a crack of thunder or lightning striking the coffin to advance the cremation process.

It baffled me why so many people came to funerals to hear what was predictable, and generally, the same garbage was said where there was wealth and influence involved. Maybe they believe Russel will spill the beans to God on them to get to heaven. Or bribe the Lord for a free pass. My mind was critical of the speakers and the lies they were willing to tell, and then it dawned upon me I could set the record straight by telling the truth in my article and not line up with the other hypocrites.

Unfortunately, reality dawned upon me I had a wife and two small kids to feed, and jobs were difficult to get, especially if you did the wrong thing towards one of the most powerful names in the state. They could make sure you starved and never found work. I guess if I want to keep my job, I would have to report what I have seen and not the true facts.

No. I am not a Christian. Nor do I believe in a God. Not when crooks like Russel Brown can get away with paying off the judiciary, police, and politicians and never seem to get brought to justice, yet the small man is fined for dropping a piece of paper in the street. It seems the amount of money or influence you have dictates justice.

One thing is for sure—justice is not something that is part of this world.

Chapter 2

Russel Brown was born into a wealthy family in a rich suburb. He went to a Christian school and ended up in one of the most prestigious universities, finishing a degree in economics, majoring in finance. His father got him a job with one of the leading bankers, and within several years, he became manager of retail banking. He was privy to information that not too many shareholders knew and had access to board minutes and details of potential acquisitions and expansions.

One day, he received a phone call from the CEO of Brolite Coal, a large public company listed on the stock exchange.

‘Russel, we need to talk. The sooner, the better.’

Russel arranged a meeting for Tuesday at his office. This was attended by Phil Danulls and his CFO, Chris Brien.

Once the formalities were over and the door closed, Phil Danulls said, ‘What we are about to tell you is extremely private information which is not to be stated outside this room. If our plan works out, we will make a takeover offer for Allied Coal. We intend to make a cash offer and will require the bank to arrange the funds.’

Russel asked, ‘How much will you need?’

Phil explained, ‘About four billion dollars. Here are the assessments of the deal and our evaluation of the acquisition. You are to begin work immediately in sourcing the funds for us as we need to know whether you can do this, and we need your answer within two weeks.’

Russel replied, ‘I will do my best but cannot guarantee the bank will be able to borrow the full amount as quick as you expect. We will try, but I will need to inform the board so I can get support and the authority to act.’

Phil said, ‘We are counting on you, and you are to speak to no one about what we have said.’

Russel nodded, and everyone stood up, and they all shook hands. He showed the men to the lift and returned to his office.

Russel arranged for a board meeting the next week and put the proposition to the board. He also advised them he had negotiated a fee of one hundred million dollars should the acquisition come off. The board unanimously supported the deal and gave Russel the right to handle the acquisition.

Russel began to put together a team who were to handle the acquisition and, shortly afterwards, concluded that a share and cash deal would be the better approach to take. He presented his recommendations to the board of Brolite Coal, who agreed with his approach. They set a date to advise the stock exchange of the pending takeover offer.

Russel approached Norms Accounting, an international accounting firm with connections in the Canary Islands. He had them establish an integrated maze of companies and borrowed a million dollars, which he used to acquire Brolite Coal shares in various trusts and fictitious names.

On the designated day, they handed an announcement to the stock exchange, and the shares of Brolite Coal quadrupled in price, and Russel became a billionaire overnight.

The Securities Commission had noted that there was a large number of shares acquired before the announcement of the acquisition and began to investigate, noting that an overseas buyer acquired the shares just before the announcement. They approached the bank to see if anyone knew anything about this, but everyone denied knowledge of it. Their investigations centered on a vast number of companies transacting the shares to one another, preventing the trace of the final owner. However, they could find that Russel had arranged for a million-dollar loan to his parent company prior to the announcement, and they homed in on him.

Russel denied knowledge of what he was accused of and declared client adviser privilege, which Securities Commission would not buy. They informed the board of the bank that they were being investigated by the Securities Commission and that they believed Russel had something to do with inside trading of the shares of Brolite. He knew he had to do something. Otherwise, he would find himself behind bars.

Jim Hydaburg was the federal minister for finance in the federal government. He had been an old school buddy of Russel’s, and both kept in touch. Jim also had a daughter who had a unique strain of MS and who required constant medical treatment and support, which cost him a lot of money which he did not have. Also, Jim’s farm was in drought, which meant he could not earn money from farming and grazing, and in fact, the farm was costing him money in that he had to try to maintain his breeding stock.

Russel approached Jim and advised him that the Securities Commission was investigating him for inside trading. Russel advised Jim that if he could help him, he was prepared to pay him two hundred thousand dollars, which would fix both their problems. Jim agreed and devised a plan to reduce the size of the budget of the Securities Commission as they were ineffective and over-staffed for the results achieved. He presented a plan to his cabinet meeting, which was adopted and carried by a majority. The plan called for the reduction of three thousand staff, which included the costly investigation unit. All staff were offered redundancy packages and were dismissed.

With his wealth intact, Russel acquired a building company that had gone into liquidation. He gathered a team of engineers and architects and submitted tenders but was unsuccessful in winning contracts. He went about the next tender differently. After scoping out his bid and submitting his tender, he invited all the senior executives of that firm to a party at one of Sydney’s plush hotels. They all accepted his offer and, at night, were entertained with a lot of drink and entertainment. Most of the executives ended up sleeping with prostitutes and getting their pictures taken.

Russel held a meeting with the managing director of the firm the next morning and declared that he would release the pictures if he didn’t win the tender. Russel succeeded and, using the same tactics time after time over the years, became a powerful force in the building and construction industry and a very wealthy man. Russel also acquired a restaurant and a brothel, which were used constantly to secure contracts and political favors.

To find respect, he decided to go to church every Sunday with his wife and children. The church he attended was old and in need of repairs, and he agreed to pay for its renovations ‘to help God and the community’. The senior minister at St Andrew’s Church was Peter Sutherland, who wanted a bigger, better, and more modern church, something that people would look up to as an icon and not a building from the medieval period.

Peter Sutherland, in his youth, believed in God and had faith. Over the years, he had forgotten about Jesus and the cross and had adopted an alternative god, one of the modern world in particular – the god of money and assets. Satan had entered him. Peter didn’t care as he was achieving things that could be quantified and were visible, not spiritual and futuristic – things that he wanted. He was looking after number one, namely, himself.

To ensure that donations kept coming in, Peter preached justification through deeds rather than faith and that one’s good deed ensured eternal life. Peter preached about material things and not spiritual and began to lose true believers.

Another minister at the church was Simon Fuller, who, contrary to Peter, had maintained his faith and had found himself constantly in conflict with Peter, whom Simon considered being an antichrist, not a genuine believer. Simon and Peter took the services on alternating Sundays to spread the workload. Simon preached justification by faith alone and not by deed, which conflicted with the church and, in particular, Peter’s view.

The two came into conflict time after time on interpreting the Bible and the approach the church should take. It was not only Peter who seemed to preach contrary to the Bible but also other ministers who were employed there.

Simon could not understand what was going on and not just with Peter, but also it seemed the whole ministry in the dioceses had lost their faith and had allowed parishioners to wash away their sins by good deeds, which invariably meant a donation to the church.

The conflict was showing on Simon, who knew that if he wanted to keep his job, he would need to fall into line and do as he was told – follow modernity and not the teachings of Christ, as noted in the Bible.

Chapter 3

Simon came from an average working-class family in the suburbs. He was the only child. His father had died of