Consider this – was Farholme really a perfect world? Sure, under the rule of the Assembly, there had been peace for over twelve thousand years. Evil, violence, and war were known only through ancient history. Everyone had their purpose and their needs were met. They were comfortable and well fed. Everyone worshiped the Lamb. That was the way it had always been.

So was their Christianity real or just the status quo? Is that why the subtle changes such as lies, prejudice, etc. were largely unrecognized or ignored before the destruction of the gate?

Is there a parallel to our own modern Christianity? Are we too comfortable? Do we just roll with the flow and overlook the everyday sin in our lives? Or do we do some soul searching like Merral and find to our dismay that the real enemy is in ourselves?

These were just a few of the questions that came to my mind while reading The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley. And to be truthful, I didn’t like all the answers.