The King's Schools

There was a man who wanted to learn about the King and His kingdom. Now he heard that if he would show up on the town square on the appointed day, he could enroll in the King's school. When he arrived, he saw the square covered with a large number of booths.

"I am here to enroll in the King's school," he told a man standing nearby. "Which booth do I go to for that?"

"These all claim to be the King's school," the bystander said. "You have to choose which one you will attend."

The man went up to one of the booths. "Are you the King's school?" he asked.

"We are the only true school of the King," their spokesman replied.

"How do you know?"

"Our leadership shows an unfailing succession of appointments back to the earliest followers of the King."

"And have you checked your teachings to see they have not been changed over the years?"

"The leadership descended from the King cannot be questioned."

  "But how do you know that?"

"The true followers of the King have told us so."

Feeling this was more than a bit circular, the man went on to check out the other booths.

"You teach the the truths about the King?" he asked the people at the next booth.

"We believe in the teaching of the King as far as it accords with current knowledge," one replied.

"Then you do not teach  the precepts of the King?"

"Many of the teachings of the King are outmoded. We must change them to fit modern cultural attitudes."

"But if you are just going to revise it, what purpose is there in even bothering with the King's teaching?"

He asked his questions again at the next booth.

"We have the correct teaching of the King, because we are correct in  every detail of what we hold," they stated.

"But what about all these other booths?"

"They also believe they are right in every detail, but they are wrong."

"But if you are wrong in even one detail, than you are not true followers of the King?"
 
The man left, recognizing the great burden that would be.

The next booth proclaimed, "We are the followers of William Jefferies. He had a revelation that gives the true teachings of the King."

"There are a number of people who claim a revelation. How do I know your guy is the right one?"

"Because we know it in our hearts."

"But do not the followers of the other prophets know they are right in their hearts too?"

The man walked away, wondering why, if he rejected the people who had some claim to be descended from the King's original followers, he should accept those descended from someone who had no such claim.

The next booth had people who gave him this answer: "The King came down into the world to deliver us from the guilt of our wrongdoings and reconcile us to Him. We do not claim to have all the answers, but we know what the King has done for us. Therefore, we try to make every effort to learn more about Him, while recognizing we are imperfect people who may never agree on all the details."

The man knew he had found his school.