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As the similarity between Christian rituals and those of other beliefs becomes more generally known, it is obvious that an insistence on a literal acceptance of such truths as the resurrection can only lead to the gradual weakening and dissolution of the faith of the individual Christian. Whereas an understanding of the symbolic nature of these truths, and of their true meaning, can only serve to fortify and strengthen his belief. (107:6) Taken as a literal truth, resurrection can only serve to divide and separate. Taken symbolically, it tells the simple, beautiful story of the continual death and rebirth of the spirit, a process very similar to the death of the earth in winter and its rebirth in the springtime. (107:7) When the Christians preach the truth of Christ crucified, it is the inward symbol of His sacrifice that is important, not the outward fact that He was crucified. Christ’s greatness does not depend upon His crucifixion, for He shares this distinction with thousands and thousands of others, many criminals of the worst sort. Crucifixion was not a unique punishment given only to Jesus. The Roman highways, in those days, were dotted with punished criminals who had been crucified. It was the most commonly accepted form of punishing serious offenders. It is interesting to note that some sources state that a tree and not a cross was used for such punishment. Victims of crucifixion were hanged or nailed to a tree, or a pole, with their hands above their heads. When the Galileans followed Judas the Gaulonite as the Messiah, during the rule of the procurator Quirinius, two thousand of them were crucified in one mass slaughter. (107:8) Throughout the lives of these World Educators, or Messengers of God, it is always the spirit which is important, never the body.
(107:9)
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