[ WP ] You , a religious believer , describe life under The Supreme Government , which has just banned all religion .

The first test was the possession of my wife. Naked, sweaty, writhing in the arms of another man, she looked at me and said, “ Oh God, oh God, ” and I said, “ Do not use his name in vain, ” and she said, “ I'm sorry, ” and I forgave her both crimes. 
 
 When she gave birth to that man's child, I said to her, “ This is my second test, ” and she said, “ I'm sorry, ” and I said, “ It's all right. ” Because I was stronger than the sin within her blood and I believed that the righteousness of faith would cure her. 
 
 The third test was not brought on by my wife, or the sweaty man, or the bastard child, but by man. Man's arrogance. Man's false sense of superiority. Man's deification of itself. Man. 
 
 In the morning, I look in the mirror and tell myself that I will pass this test as I have the others. I am not oppressed, I say to my reflection. Not hunted, or discriminated against, or being persecuted, because these are God's actions, this is God's will, and He does not intend to cause me harm. 
 
 I carry my bible in the nook of my heart and I whistle verse throughout the day. People do not see me as a preacher, but as an old, lonely man creating a barrier of sound against his silence. I do not tell them otherwise, not even the ones I know remain devout. As long as it's just me whistling, no representatives of the Supreme Government will try to decipher my songs. 
 
 In the evening they televise the deaths of the believers they'd gathered throughout the day. Atop a pyre of burning Bibles and Qur ’ ans and Torahs and the texts of Buddhism and Hinduism and other religions, people are strung up like marionettes so they can better be consumed by the flames. 
 
 I pray to God. I tell Him I am strong. I show him I am wise. I prove my loyalty by continuing to embody Him through it all. 
 
 At night I say to myself, “ One day you will rise above this, carried by the word of God Almighty, and you will restore faith to the faithless. ” 
 
 I am being tested. I will not fail.
