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| A Tea Field in Uganda |
“Now, that is a fine cup of tea, Mother,” said Alfred,”
what kind is it?”
“That
is Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea,” said Mother, “that they also make
Yorkshire Red and Yorkshire Gold Tea.
Both are similar to this one, but this is their standard tea. Even though it is not the most expensive, it
is the one best suited for our water,”
“I couldn’t help noticing Mother, that you always pour
your milk in the cup before the tea, whilst I always pour it in after the tea;
that make you a pre-lactarian, and me a post-lactarian.”
“Oh, Alfred, said Mother, “it probably doesn’t make any
difference. Mildred McCauley pours the
milk in before the tea because she doesn’t want the hot tea to crack the china
cup. Just between you and me, I think
she had better buy better tea cups. I
commented to Mildred that she was obviously a pre-lactarian. She looked at me indignantly and retorted, ‘I
am not! I’m Church of England!’”
“Oh Mildred,” said Alfred laughing, “What would she know
about tea? If you ask her what time it
is she would probably answer, “Wednesday.’”
“That reminds me Alfred,” said Mother, “that Peter Goyle
made an odd reference the other night at Bible study. I thought he was talking about tea, but I
think I might not have heard him correctly.’
“What did he say,
Mother?”
“Well, he made some remark about Calvinists arguing about
Prelapsarian and Postlapsarian points of view.”
“I know, Mother,
I know,” replied Alfred, “then he got off on Supralapsarianism and Infralapsarianism. Peter can be quite tiresome at times. I have no idea at all what he meant. Horace Whittington can be quite witty. He turned to Peter and remarked, ‘Peter, do
your best to eschew obfuscation![i]’
then he changed the subject. Good thing
to! I like Peter, but really! He has a great deal of left over
Presbyterianism in him. But I did ask
Horace later what Peter was referring to.
“Horace said,
‘Prelapsarian and Postlapsarian are obscure ways of referring to the Fall of
humankind, which in that terminology is the ‘lapse.’ I noticed, Mother, that you have been reading
C. S. Lewis’s book Perelandra. That
story is set in a world where the Fall hasn’t happened, that’s a Prelapsarian
world, if you like.”
“Good grief, Alfred,”
said Mother. “Did Horace say anything
about supra-whatever-on-earth-it-was that Peter was referring to?”
“Yes,” said
Alfred, “He said don’t worry about it unless you’re planning on arguing with
Calvinists.”
“Humphh!” said
Mother, “Most people are too argumentative anyway.”
“That is simple
proof,” said Alfred, “that the world we live in is Postlapsarian, after the
Fall.”
“Well,” said
Mother, “That’s all a little too complicated for me. All I know is that it would be hard to argue
with whether or not The Fall ever happened.
You know I dabbled in Christian Science, but it didn’t seem very
scientific to me, after all, everywhere I look I see signs of sin, sickness,
and self-centeredness. It’s sort of like
the Fall of Adam and Eve divided the world into pre-stupid and post-stupid.”
“Mother, I agree
with you,” said Alfred, “Although I rather like the medieval idea that if Adam
didn't eat the apple Mary would never have been our Heavenly Queen.”
“Therefore, just as sin came
into the world through one man, and death through sin,… so death spread to all men because all sinned
… But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one
man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace
of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many” (Romans 5:12-15).
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