fandomtownies | Our Lady of Fandom, Thursday

Castiel was in a bit of an odd mood today -- for him, anyway -- and was definitely looking distracted as he took to the pulpit, a book that was most decidedly not the Bible tucked under one arm.

It didn't come untucked at any point during his sermon, but throughout the service, whenever the choir was singing or someone was doing a reading or any time Castiel himself wasn't the focus of the congregation, he pulled it out and read a few pages.

Which probably didn't bode well for the comprehensibility of today's sermon. He was very clearly making this one up as he went, after all.

"Doubt," he said. And let the word hang in the air for a long moment as though he wanted to study it before he finally continued. "Is not a sin. Even the Lord's son, the very person sent to Earth to forgive your sins, had his moments of doubt."

It was possibly the shortest sermon ever. He continued on only for a few more sentences regarding how free will meant that the Lord preferred people to think for themselves and that doubt -- and returning conviction, of course -- could only really be evidence of that thought process. Which wasn't to say you had to doubt, of course, just that it was natural. . . .

If there was a wistfulness to his speech, a certain sense of "so aren't you lucky, you bastards?", then one could hardly hold it against him. After all, as Castiel pointed out, thankfully only once or twice, angels didn't have free will, so they had no excuse for doubting, and really, people had no idea just how good they had it, and they still spent all their time going about thinking with their reproductive organs first and then writing about it. What the hell?

Someone in the choir cleared their throat and Castiel reeled back in from his sidetracking. Anyway, his point was, people could totally doubt and not get banished to some alternate universe and totally cut off from everything they knew and cared about. And, hey, they were allowed to care about things, too. Lucky bastards.

Then he stepped down, grabbed a seat behind the altar, and opened his book again, leaving one of the altar boys to attempt to finish the service.

Oh yeah, the angel was definitely in a mood. And yeah, the fact that it was just this sort of mood that lead to Lucifer's fall? So not helping.

[ooc: OCD ~~a-comin.~~ is up ~~and I totally didn't forget to mention that for, like, an hour, shut up.~~]

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"I am not part of this religion," she began, "but I was curious about this church. I used to belong to a sisterhood that used religion to manipulate civilizations."

"This one has been used as such. But it is not its intention."

Irulan nodded. "Yes, I know some of its history." She paused before adding, "You still seemed troubled."

"I . . . suspect I will remain so. My father works in mysterious ways, but I admit, I am not above wanting more exposition."

The corners of Irulan's lips turned up. "Welcome to the human race, my friend, you're not the first to ask that."

Castiel made a face. "I am not human."

"Yes, but you live here now as though you are one. Experiencing life, I suspect, as one." She smiled gently to take away the sting of her next words, "And doubting as a human would."

Castiel looked down momentarily. "There is that. It is most frustrating.'

"I imagine it would be," Irulan said, "have you any other activities other than using the internet and this church?"

"I've been exploring the establishments in the town."

"Really?" Irulan said, and she looked quite excited now, "You should visit my haberdashery. It's very good."

"I may well do that. I hope to visit each business in town."

Irulan beamed, "I shall be expecting you, Castiel, I may even serve tea." She assumed he could consume food since she met him in The Perk.

"But I meant a hobby, I think you need something to occupy your mind. There is a saying I believe goes: 'idle hands are the devil's tools' which I think could be modified to: 'idle hands and minds are the devil's tools."

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to mention the devil to him.

Not so much, no.

"I am not a tool of Lucifer." Castiel shook his head. "And I don't have . . . hobbies."

"But you're doubting and you're ~~brooding~~ dwelling too much on these matters and the more you do so, the more you doubt. It' not really learning if you don't involve yourself more, Castiel."

Castiel's eyes rolled up slightly. "And how would you have me . . . 'involve' myself?"

"It depends, what other things hold your interest, Angel?"

"I . . . enjoy talking to people. Sometimes."

"That's one activity, I suppose. Do you like making things?" Irulan inquired.

"I . . . like things that are made."

"Would you care to specify?" It was very much like pulling information from the sand dunes.

"Angels did not receive the gift of free will. Free will is a necessary part of the ingenuity and creativity involved in . . . making things. I enjoy seeing the fruits of man's ingenuity and creativity." Castiel actually brightened slightly. "The step ladder, for instance, could never have been made by an angel."

"You don't have to invent the wheel, you know. Perhaps you can copy something you like... like that step ladder. If I remember correctly, the son of your God was a carpenter? Maybe you can make a few chairs too?"

Not that the church needed more but hopefully Castiel got the point.

"Jesus was human," Castiel pointed out. "I have become friends with the local handyman. I've enjoyed watching him work. He taught me how to replace glass in a window."

"I'm hazy about the religion of this century but there was something about floating to heaven, right?" Irulan knit her eyebrows together then shook her head.

"That's good, did you like replacing the glass?"