The last lesson of the day was RE. Danny headed to Mr Partisan’s class; Joe went upstairs to Miss Bishop’s.
Mr Partisan was a thin, elderly man, who had a reputation for never celebrating his birthday or any other special occasion for that matter. He rode around on the same battered bicycle he’d bought twenty years ago and some claimed never changed his toothbrush.
‘I want to play a little game,’ he said from his large oak desk. It looked ancient, as ancient as him, and was covered in just as many crevices. ‘I need a volunteer – somebody to take me on. Somebody to persuade me “religion” is a load of hogwash.’
There was a deathly silence.
‘I’ll do it,’ came a voice from the back.
It was Lauren Stevenson. Arguably the smartest pupil in the Year, she normally kept quiet during lessons. Her father was a science professor and well-known atheist, which was possibly why she’d decided to get involved.
‘Good,’ said Mr Partisan, rubbing his hands together. ‘You go first.’
‘Religion is a load of hogwash,’ she said, confidently, ‘because it’s based on superstition. It’s a primitive mentality which, thankfully, has been replaced by science.’
There was a stunned silence.
All eyes turned to Mr Partisan.
‘Well…’ he said, slightly unnerved by her answer. ‘I don’t know if you’re aware, Lauren, but there are now more religions in the world than ever before. And did you know that there are about a billion Christians and a billion Muslims? And that the two bestselling books of all time are the Bible and Koran?’
‘Nice one sir!’ chirped a boy at the front.
Lauren sat up and folded her arms. ‘Karl Marx once said: “Religion is the opium of the people”. It’s for the weak-minded, for those not mature enough to handle the truth about death.’
‘Ah, but wouldn’t you say it takes more courage to believe in an afterlife?’
‘No. Every religious person I’ve ever met thinks they’re going to Heaven!’
Everyone burst out laughing.
Danny sat there, mesmerised. Once again, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Lauren was one of the quietest, shyest pupils he’d ever met. She never said a word – not even when she needed to go to the toilet. But here she was, the life and soul of the party, socking it to one of the most outspoken teachers in the school.
‘All right,’ said Mr Partisan, narrowing his eyes. Despite the hostility in the air, he was actually enjoying this little tussle. It wasn’t often he got to engage with pupils on such a deep level. But it was now time to end the conversation. ‘I’m not sure if you’re aware, Lauren, but did you know that many famous scientists believed in God? Galileo, Plank, Newton, Boyle – and Albert Einstein to a certain extent. Even the Vatican has its own Observatory.’
‘But God can’t be proved!’ she protested. ‘There’s no evidence. People who believe in God are the sort of people who believe in the Loch Ness Monster and fairies!’
Mr Partisan looked down his long, straight nose and frowned. He didn’t want this getting out of hand. ‘You’re right, Lauren,’ he said, diplomatically. ‘We’ll never find a giant man in the sky with a white beard. But then again, there are many things we don’t have evidence for, which we believe in. Take the Big Bang, for instance. Most people agree that this is how our universe came into being, but do we really know what happened? Do we really know how all this came from an infinitely small point where time and space did not exist? As for the Loch Ness Monster and fairies, you know as well as I do that religious people tend not to believe in these sorts of things. And those that do might not be so far off the mark. Some of our ancestors believed in dragons. People thought they were crazy, until a hundred years ago archaeologists started digging up dinosaur bones.’
Lauren shook her head. She disagreed vehemently with everything this man was saying. However, there was still one card she had left to play. ‘I think most people would agree –’ she said with a mischievous grin ‘– that religion is the cause of all wars.’
Mr Partisan let out a deep sigh. He hoped it wouldn’t come to this; but little did she realise, he’d had plenty of experience with this line of questioning. ‘In a sense, you’re right,’ he said, again diplomatically. ‘Religions have been responsible for many wars over the years – and a good deal of them have been completely unjust. But what you need to remember, Lauren, is that human beings would still kill each other even if all the religions of the world disappeared. You only have to look at what happened under the atheist regimes of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot.’
There was a long silence.
Danny looked up. Something was churning over in his mind. It was obvious he’d been changed in some way by his experiences in Peralucia. Everyone was now either his best friend or teaching him stuff that was completely off the chart. And then the answer came. Peralucia had changed him physically, doing something to his body that was now giving off a benign energy.
‘Danny, you look like you want to say something,’ said Mr Partisan.
The boy looked up in shock. ‘Er – no – not really.’
‘Are you sure? From what you’ve heard so far, what do you think? Is religion a load of hogwash?’
Danny scratched his head. He hadn’t really been listening but suddenly an answer materialised in his mind. ‘I think religion is a good thing…’ he said, tentatively. ‘But not all religious people are good.’
Mr Partisan sat back in his chair and smiled. Little did he realise these few words would stick with him for the rest of his life.