The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
From the Lord's years of youth
- Chapter 216 -
Criticism of the Roman concerning the earthly conditions.
Then Joseph said: 'Oh, then I can name immediately a subject that is surely attractive to Him. Listen, you all who are initiated in a lot of mysteries, what kind of idea do you have about the creation of the first human pair on this Earth?'
2
The highly ranked counselor said on this: 'Friend, precisely on this most doubtful point there are more question marks in the world than on any other subject. To say something definite and sure is and remains for us human beings impossible, and the more research one makes by all known nations of the Earth, the more he comes into a labyrinth of uncertainty. Whoever threw himself into the arms of a blind faith in one or the other people's legend is almost always better of. If he cannot find the truth, he must try to find a lifelike fantasy. Then most of the time he is much happier in such a lifelike dream instead of searching eternally for a truth that is really nowhere to find.
3
The Persians have another legend than the Indians and your Jews. The Scythes again another, we Romans and Greeks also another, and also the Upper-Egyptians, and the Germans who are known to me, again a totally different one. Oh, many things could be said about it, but finally it would not be beneficial to us.
4
Therefore, I am of the opinion that we must forget this extremely unfruitful subject completely, because we never will receive complete clarity about it, just like the astronomers about the nature of the planets on the firmament.
5
Thus, I mean to say: if after the falling away of this body there really exists a higher and more complete life, then we will also understand deeper truths in that life. And if ever after the death of the body it would be completely finished with the life of the soul, then nothing will be lost if we did not become overly wise. Look, friend, this is how we, very experienced and more developed Romans think.
6
Also, it is difficult to prove that the soul of man will continue to live after death, but this is still easier than to demonstrate with certainty if, how and when one single human pair or maybe even several human pair have been set on this Earth at the same time or at very different times. Only a God can know that, but never a shortsighted human being whose life is much too short, because if he, thanks to his many experiences is able to come to the understanding of deeper truths, he already has to leave the world. Since I know this all too well, I really am not interested anymore in these things and research. In short, the way this whole life is established on Earth is and remains bad for reasoning man.
7
Even if we are called to become a child of God, then this can certainly only be attained by a small number of people. Why not by all? Why must about one third of the people die as under aged children? What can they know about God and their future destiny, and how can they develop themselves by the correct use of their free will until they become equal to God?
8
Therefore, I affirm: the most blind fool is a 1.000 times happier than the greatest wise man, and it would be more reasonable to occupy ourselves with different things than with such unfruitful observations, because the more man knows and understands, the clearer it becomes to him that finally he knows nothing at all. And for such an extremely boring amusement of life I certainly will not be too thankful. I have said.'
9
Then Cyrenius said: 'Yes, yes, if you consider all this with our pure natural intellect you are completely right, but...'
10
The counselor said: 'No buts. We have nothing else than only our natural intellect. Have we? If this is not sufficient, then from where will we have a supernatural intellect? Man is closest to himself and he does not know himself. Then how could he know something that is further away from him? Just leave me out of it. The nature of man is without his will and knowing, either totally spoiled and of no use for anything, or man is doomed - more than any other animal - to feed his incompleteness and by this be as unhappy as can be. Because I have never seen a wise man who is truly happy. The wiser someone is, the more unhappy he also is at the end of his days. And his greatest friend is then always death. Really, a strange hobby of an almighty and highly wise God: to create continuously and after that, destroy it again immediately."