After Erik, Christine, Meg and Madame Giry ate a hearty lunch, they walked to a nearby church where Madame introduced them to a clergyman, Father Butler, who had counseled her over the years when she needed spiritual guidance. He was an older gentleman with graying hair, fatherly and friendly, making Erik and Christine feel instantly at ease. She left them to his care so they could talk privately in his office.

"So, my children, you wish to be married?" he began the conversation. "I congratulate you, and am honored that you have chosen me to perform your wedding. Since you are not part of my usual flock, I am curious; why did you choose the church for your wedding instead of going to a magistrate for a civil ceremony?"

Christine spoke up, "My father, who died when I was a young girl, had very strong religious beliefs. I think he would want me to be married in church, and I'd like to feel that I have his blessing and God's on my marriage."

"And you, Erik?" the cleric asked, turning to the man in the mask, which the older gentleman had tactfully disregarded.

"I am content to go along with Christine's wishes in this matter, having no solid religious convictions of my own," he answered honestly. "I've spent a fair amount of time reading various works of philosophy and doctrine, including your Holy Bible, which I found mysterious and difficult to understand. I think I can identify with the concepts of Heaven and Hell, however, and I do believe there is a God, though I've had little reason to believe that His love and mercy extends to me."

The older man nodded. "The Bible is more easily understood when first accepted by faith, which is a fact that has eluded wiser men than you. If I am to perform a Christian marriage ceremony, I would like to feel that the two parties at least have heard the good news of God's gospel; may I share it with you briefly?"

The couple assented with nods, and Father Butler continued. "First I have a question to ask you both. If you were to die tonight, and to stand before God, and He was to ask you 'Why should I let you into My Heaven?' how would you answer him?" the cleric gently prompted.

Christine's answer was simple, "I suppose I would say I have tried to be good, and endeavored to keep the Ten Commandments and that I would really like to see my father again."

"Erik?"

"I have never thought about this before, but I think…..I think I would like some answers from Him first, about why he afflicted me with a deformed face which has caused me to such misery" the younger man stated with a touch of annoyance.

"Ah. I see." The cleric nodded sadly. "I am sorry if the world has caused you to suffer from something which is not your fault; men can be cruel. I promise you that while God may have allowed your deformity as part of the human condition, He did not intend for you to endure it alone. I would really like to discuss that with you in more depth at some other time, but for now, can you tell me how you would answer His question about why He should let you into Heaven?"

"I imagine I would tell him that I've done my best, under the circumstances, to live a good life, and I would like the chance to enter in and discuss it with Him" was Erik's honest answer.

"Now I have some good news to impart to both of you" the clergyman went on. "First of all, the Bible tells us how we can know for sure that we have eternal life; which means that we can be with God in Heaven when we die. Heaven is a free gift, which means there is nothing you or I can do to earn or deserve it. The Bible says that we can't earn Heaven because all men are sinners, and that for a man to earn his own way into Heaven, he would have to be perfect."

"But Father," Christine broke in, "are you saying that I am the same as someone who steals and rapes and murders? I don't understand."

"Just as one bad egg in an omelet makes the entire omelet unpalatable, child, so just a few sins, no matter what those sins might be, makes us imperfect. No one but God has ever been perfect, or without sin" he explained, and she nodded thoughtfully.

He went on, "In spite of our sins, however, God is merciful, and doesn't want to punish us, but God is also just, and by His own laws, therefore, must punish sin. The Bible says that the penalty for sin is death. We need pardon for our sins so that we don't have to die, but there is no sacrifice we can offer on our own that is great enough. This is a conflict we can't solve, but God solved it for us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was fully God, present with God at the foundation of the world, and yet He laid aside His godhead and was born of a human woman and became fully man."

"You may wonder why He would do this. He did it out of love for us, so that He could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, the only one who could pay the penalty. He laid His own life down on a cross for our sakes….no one could have taken His life from Him, but he gave it freely to purchase a place for us in Heaven, which He now offers as a gift."

Erik scowled. "I have always had a hard time accepting that this Jesus would die for humanity, much less for me," he admitted

"Ah, but He did die for you, Erik, and if you had been the only one, He still would have laid His life down for you. There is one verse in the Bible that I believe describes this perfectly; John 3:16, which states 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' I would very much like to talk with you soon and see if we can overcome some of your doubts. May I continue now to explain about the gift that Jesus is offering?" the man kindly asked.

Erik nodded, so the clergyman continued, "So now the question is how to receive this gift. We accept it by faith, which is the key that opens the door to Heaven. To understand what true saving faith is, it helps to know what it is not. It is not mere "intellectual assent", or a belief in the historical facts. Even the devil himself believes in God, believes that He exists, so that alone is not sufficient to save you. It is also not just "temporal faith", which is when we are in a situation and pray for God to get us out of it, or to provide something we need, but then go our own way afterwards."

"Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. I'll give you an example; there is a chair across the room, and I'm sure you believe it will hold you up if you were to go and sit in it. But until you actually do sit in it, you are not having faith in that chair. When you place your entire weight on the chair, you are then trusting in it to hold you up. Do you see now? It's not merely belief that something is trustworthy, but the actual act of placing your trust in it that makes the difference. Just so, it is resting upon Christ alone and what He has done rather than upon what you or I have done to get us into Heaven. Does this make sense to you?"

Christine's eyes were shining and open wide. "It's so simple, Father. Why has no one ever made it so simple before?"

Erik looked a little puzzled. "I'm not sure I can accept that it is so easy."

"It really is, my son. I want both of you to think this over, and we will speak of this again after your marriage, and see if you are ready to make a decision about it, all right?"

They agreed, and went on to discuss their wedding ceremony, which would take place on Saturday, just a few days away.


Author's Note: I expect to be flamed by at least a few people for this chapter, but I had to follow my own convictions in writing it. I want my version of Erik and Christine to live long, happy lives and die knowing they are going to Heaven! You can know that you are, too: Please feel to free to send me a message if you have any questions at all.

Wedding chapter coming soon...and wedding night!