Jesus and Christ - стр. 54

– How about a simpler one?

– We want to influence events now and here so that they will be reflected in a momentous way for mankind. We want to change some of the events surrounding the execution of Christ.

– What do you want to change? – Ruthra asked warily.

– We want him not to accept the Latin culture, the Hellenic worldview. We want it, his worldview, to remain in the orthodox Jewish understanding, then there will be no need to proclaim the Islamic religious doctrine.

– Not quite sure what worldview has to do with execution, and yet, what do you want to get instead? What do you want to replace it with? Rutra scratched his beard, looking at the rabbi intently, then looked out into the valley and said meaningfully: – So that's the key to our problem. What's your idea?

– We want to replace it with Buddhism, which carries more neutral tenets. There will be no such antagonism between Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

– Okay, what's going to happen here now?

– There was such a story, which, by the way, we want to use as an example of recklessness, stupidity and senseless principles. Exactly as an example of following senseless principles, which someone once proclaimed among the people due to his lack of education, impudence, cunning and deceit… and now people die or kill each other just to prove their senseless principles.

– Like what? And can we keep it simple and… human.

The Rabbi thought silently for a moment, then sighed and nodded in response.

– Here is the story," he began, "a mother and her seven sons were imprisoned because they would not leave their Jewish faith. By order of the king, they were beaten, tortured and tormented, demanding that they perform Hellenic rites, but neither the mother nor the children were willing to change their faith. When the king demanded that they eat pork, the oldest son declared, "We would rather be killed than break the law of our ancestors!" The king ordered the boy's tongue, hands and feet to be cut off and thrown into a boiling cauldron in front of his mother and brothers. But the brothers were not afraid, they too refused to comply with Antiochus' demands. They were all painfully executed. When the six brothers had already been executed and the turn came to the youngest, the king said to the boy's mother: "Persuade at least this son to obey me and thus save his life!" After such a suggestion the heroic mother said to her son: "Do not fear this villain and die willingly, as your brothers died, for God and our faith!" The boy was immediately executed, and afterward, so was the mother. Such were the actions of the Syrians, and they were the invaders at that time, the Hellenes of Syria…