Columbus Dispatch on "The Room"

The following article was originally printed in The Columbus Dispatch on June 2, 1999.

ESSAY WASN'T WRITTEN BY TEEN

By Jill Riepenhoff - Dispatch Staff Reporter

Words of encouragement found in a 17-year-old's school locker hours after his death in 1997 once comforted his parents. Now those words that describe a teen-ager meeting Jesus in heaven are bringing anguish to Beth and Bruce Moore of Commercial Point in Pickaway County.

They learned yesterday that an essay their son, Brian, told them he had written is attributed to Christian author Joshua Harris. It appears in Harris' book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, published by Multnomah Publishers of Sisters, Ore., in April 1997. It first appeared in the spring 1995 issue of the now-defunct New Attitude magazine, once edited by Harris.

The essay, with credit to Brian Moore as the author, was published in yesterday's Dispatch. Well-meaning relatives wanted to share what they believed were the late Teays Valley High School student's insightful words on the anniversary of his death.

"I had no idea,'' Mrs. Moore said yesterday. "I'm positive he said he wrote this. If he was here, I'd wring his neck.''

Brian told his parents that he wrote the essay, titled "The Room,'' as an assignment for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a group to which he belonged.

The essay has gained a life of its own on the Internet, where more than a dozen variations appear under titles such as "Life's Index Cards,'' "The Price'' and "The Room of My Life.'' It has been tailored for other religions, such as under the title "People That I Have Taught Allah.'' Many of the listings say the author is anonymous, but several people have taken credit for writing it, including Harris.

Mrs. Moore recalled reading it the day her son said he wrote it, about two months before his death on May 27, 1997. The essay appears in Chapter 7 of Harris' book. "I don't usually share my dreams with people, but I'd like to tell you about a particularly stirring one I once had,'' Harris begins the chapter titled, "A Cleansed past: The Room.''

The essay tells of a teen-ager encountering Jesus in a heavenly file room full of cards detailing every moment of his life. Mrs. Moore said she and her husband never saw a copy of the book as they sorted through their son's belongings.

Brian died after his car ran off a road in rural Pickaway County and struck a utility pole. He escaped without injuries but then stepped on a downed power line as he went for help and was electrocuted.

The essay was read at Brian's funeral. It has been circulated among church youth groups in the area, and a copy of it hangs on the Moores' living room wall.

"I'm just embarrassed to death,'' Mrs. Moore said.

All content herein is © 1999 The Columbus Dispatch and may not be republished without permission. Gerald Tebben, The Columbus Dispatch.