The Truth About Jesus : Is He a Myth?: IllustratedMangasarian, M. M. (Mangasar Mugurditch)
Religion
The Truth About Jesus : Is He a Myth?: Illustrated
Mangasarian, M. M. (Mangasar Mugurditch)
Jesus Christ -- Historicity; Rationalism
"No quarter to the enemies of the true church," cried others, and it
was a miracle that, beaten, bruised, my clothes torn from my back, I
regained the street. A few seconds later, looking up the streets, I
saw another troop of soldiers, rushing down toward this church at full
speed. It seems that while I was being beaten in the main auditorium,
in the baptistry of the church they were killing, in cold blood,
the Archbishop, who was suspected of a predilection for the opposite
party, and who had refused to retract or resign from his office. The
next day I heard that one hundred and thirty-seven bodies were taken
out of this building.
Seized with terror, I now began to run, but, alas, I had worse
experiences in store for me. I was compelled to pass the principal
square in the center of the city before I could reach a place of
safety. When I reached this square, it had the appearance of a
veritable battlefield. It was Sunday morning, and the partisans
of rival bishops, differing in their interpretation of theological
doctrines, were fighting each other like maddened, malignant
creatures. One could hear, over the babel of discordant yells,
scriptural phrases. The words, "The Son is equal to the Father," "The
Father is greater than the Son," "He is begotten of the same substance
as the Father," "He is of like substance, but not of the same
substance," "You are a heretic," "You are an atheist," were invariably
accompanied with blows, stabs and sword thrusts, until, as an
eye-witness, I can take an oath that I saw the streets leading out of
the square deluged with palpitating human blood. Suddenly the
commander of the cavalry, Hermogenes, rode upon the scene of feud and
bloodshed. He ordered the followers of the rival bishops to disperse,
but instead of minding his authority, the zealots of both sides rushed
upon his horse, tore the rider from the saddle and began to beat him
with clubs and stones which they picked up from the street. He managed
to escape into a house close by, but the religious rabble surrounded
the house and set fire to it. Hermogenes appeared at the window,
begging for his life. He was attacked again, and killed, and his
mangled body dragged through the streets and rushed into a ditch.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account