Found by the Sheppard

USED TO LIVE ALONG WITH MY WIFE IN DOWNTOWN Toronto. Toronto downtown had so many things to offer, I bet it would not disappoint any man of any taste. For people who were looking for livelihood it offered great employment opportunities as well as entrepreneurship possibilities. For those who were looking for fun there were nightclubs, adult-entertainment clubs and various other clubs. And for those who were interested in spirituality there were churches of every faith. What was observable in this city was: they all existed together. One might find a church opposite to an adult-entertainment club or next to it, or sharing a common wall with it, minding its own business without interfering with the other. The harmony of the city was really appreciable.

My wife used to work for a finance company in the downtown and I used to run a small business of my own. She was very professional, ambitious and hardly had any interest in spiritual matters. She was always very busy, invested time in her appearance, dressed liberally and besides working in the office, she used to bring her work to home. Whereas my flexible work schedule allowed me to move around and visit places. Several times I asked my wife to go out with me but she never showed any interest. Whereas, like all anxious women who keep track of their husband’s movements, she made it a point to ask where I had been to as soon as I returned home. Unless I gave a satisfactory answer, her probing wouldn’t stop. I was always more careful about the answers I gave to her than the places I visited. It was not that I was afraid of my wife, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings either.

There was no doubt that I loved my wife, but I also had this weakness for adult entertainment clubs. One thing I really liked about Toronto was, ‘The Babylon Gentlemen’s Exotic Entertainment Club’ was closer to my house than the nearest grocery store. And ‘The Church of Christ’, which shared a common wall with it, made it easier for me to give an explanation to my wife about my whereabouts. I had limited my visits to the club just for ocular pleasure and I had never cheated on my wife. I used to go to this club regularly.

The church and the club had some common features. Like any other businesses they were open from nine o’clock in the morning till late in the midnight. As this city had people from various backgrounds who spoke many different languages, to accommodate all people the church had, every hour on the hour, programs like mass, service, or bible study in some language going on till late evening. It also featured programs like plays related to bible stories and regularly distributed pamphlets about them. Every evening the pastor of the church stood out on the corner of the street, which was close to the strip club, and handed out pamphlets to passers by. He mainly targeted people who regularly visited the club. Standing calm and composed, he stretched out his hand to every individual who came out of the club. He believed all the people who went to the club were weak and were on their way to Hell and it was his pastoral duty to save them. Many people ignored him, some ridiculed him and some mocked at him - but some like me did take a pamphlet for their own reasons. He never judged any kind of person. Not to be out done by the church the club also had a guy, standing out on the other corner of the street that was near to the church, handing out pamphlets of the club featuring its programs. The club featured dancers from various ethnic backgrounds, porn stars, bachelor parties…etc. Almost everyone from the church ignored the guy from the club. It looked like both God and Satan had their offices side by side on the same street.

Both the club and the church had many things in common from the Bible. Only their interpretation was different. Babylon was an ancient city in biblical times, famous for its huge structures and gardens. It was also unpopular for being a place of harlots, adultery, debauchery...etc. Many preachers used Babylon as a metaphor for any city where immoral practices were very common. King Solomon was a man of knowledge and wisdom, highly regarded by the Bible and appreciated by many churches. He had several wives and was unpopular with some observers for being a womanizer. There were different types of stars during those times: While some stars led travelers to infant Jesus Christ, there were also porn stars or otherwise prostitutes who influenced events in the Bible.