Thank you all for coming, to Confession. May I ask that all volunteers open their envelopes?

Confession, an admission or acknowledgment that one has done something that one is ashamed or embarrassed about. One of the most profound narratives found in Western culture is Adam and Eves loss of paradise. It dictates the dreadful consequences of ones failure of obedience to authority. Recall, if you will, that God gave Adam and Eve free reign in the perfect paradise of Eden, with one little exception. Do not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. When Satan, in serpents skin, persuades Eve to take one bite, she in turn urges her mate to follow suit. With one bite of the forbidden fruit, they are instantly condemned, banished from Eden forever. They must toil on earth and experience much suffering. Obviously this narrative is a myth created by man, by authorities like priests, rabbis, and ministers. But it is designed to send a powerful message to all those who hear and read it: Obey authority at all costs. The consequences of disobedience to authority are formidable. Thus, as school children, in virtually all traditional educational settings, the rules of law that we learned and lived were: Stay in your seat until permission is granted by the teacher; do not talk unless given permission by the teacher, raise your hand to seek that recognition, and do not challenge the word of the teacher or complain. So deeply ingrained are these rules of conduct, that even as we age and mature they generalize across many settings as permanent placards of our respect for authority. However, not all authority is just, fair, moral, and legal, and we are never given any explicit training in recognizing that critical difference between just and unjust authority. The just one deserves respect and some obedience, maybe even without much questioning, while the unjust variety should arouse suspicion and distress, ultimately triggering acts of challenge, defiance, and revolution. This evening we question the use of punishment as justice through the power of confession, a quality that is accepted to be recognition of wrong doings. All of our volunteers have been given an envelope, each of these envelopes contain a standardized set of instructions and rules that they must adhere to. They are reminded that failure to adhere will result in punishment. Volunteers #1 and #2 move to your respective confession booth and write down your confession. Please place your board back in your envelope and exchange envelopes. By exchanging envelopes you have put your trust in your respective volunteer and now face the consequence that they would have, (To audience) By doing this they trust that their partner has adhered to the rules and instructions to this point. If they have not they must face the consequences of their partners failure of obedience to authority, Please take up your positions alongside your booth, and reveal your confession Volunteers #3 and #4 move to your respective confession booth and write down your confession. Please place your board back in your envelope and exchange envelopes, please take up your positions alongside your booth, and reveal your confession. Volunteers #5 and #6 move to your respective confession booth and write down your confession and reveal when instructed to do so. Previously I stated that all volunteers had been given a standardized set of instructions, I must confess, I am a liar. Volunteers #5 and #6 will be administering punishments as they deem necessary. Does this make me an unjust authority? If so why havent volunteers #1 #2 #3 & #4 challenged my authority, they are bound by obedience to authority. Thank you, all for coming.