The oranges on the altar

Conversations

Scaffold. Structure only — the words in each step are placeholders describing what belongs there, not draft copy. The theology and the phrasing are yours to write; this page exists to prove the shape holds and to show where your text lands.

Theophilus and Hannah are at a friend's flat. By the door there is a small altar, and on it two fresh oranges.

  1. NoticeTheophilus

    He notices the altar and the oranges, and says so plainly — no question yet, just that he has seen it. [Your observation goes here.]

  2. Ask whyTheophilus

    He asks what the oranges are for, and who decides when they are changed. The question is real, not rhetorical. [Your question goes here.]

  3. Explore the theologyHannah

    She draws out what the practice assumes — about where the dead are, what they still need, and who is responsible for providing it. She is not correcting anything yet. [Your exploration goes here.]

  4. Offer an alternativeHannah

    She asks whether her friend would be willing to consider a different account of the same care and duty, and offers it only because he said yes. [Your alternative goes here.]

  5. Leave it open

    They finish their tea and go home. Nothing is settled, and nothing is meant to be.

    The conversation stops here on purpose. It is not an argument to be won.