Episode #4: 1 Christopher - Chapter 4 - Authority

Jan,15 2026

<-#3: 1 Christopher - Chapter 3 - the wife's concern#5: 1 Christopher - Chapter 5 - Imitations ->

Concerning accusation, authority, and the danger of borrowed fear

4:1

After these things, word spread through the village,

and not all words were kind.

4:2

Some said,

"He rejects custom."

Others said,

"He makes himself an example above us."

4:3

And some elders came to Christopher,

not in anger,

but with guarded voices.

4:4

They said,

"You unsettle the people.

You do not dress as we do,

nor speak as we expect."

4:5

"And yet," they added,

"you claim no title

and gather no following."

4:6

Christopher answered,

"I claim nothing.

I only remain."

4:7

They said,

"Then why do men listen to you?"

4:8

And he replied,

"Because I listen to them first."

4:9

They accused him, saying,

"You weaken authority

by refusing to stand above others."

4:10

Christopher answered,

"Authority that fears equality

has already weakened itself."

4:11

They said,

"People imitate you.

This is dangerous."

4:12

And he said,

"Imitation without understanding

is always dangerous,

whether it wears cloth or removes it."

4:13

Then one said,

"Do you wish to change our ways?"

4:14

Christopher replied,

"I wish no change

that a man would not choose freely."

4:15

"For fear produces obedience,

but never wisdom."

4:16

They left him without judgment,

for they found no law he had broken,

only habits he did not share.

4:17

And I perceived that fear had spoken louder than truth.

4:18

For a man who seeks power resists authority,

but a man who seeks peace confuses it.

<-#3: 1 Christopher - Chapter 3 - the wife's concern#5: 1 Christopher - Chapter 5 - Imitations ->