The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and his adversary. Gospel of John, Chapter 9
- Chapter 189 -
A Pharisee explains his philosophy of life.
A Pharisee, who thought to be a very wise man, said: "Well, by these words of Yours I can now really see that You are talking like a madman who does not have, and also cannot have, any idea of the true nature of God, of His endless wisdom, power and greatness and of the way upon which He arranged the circumstances of this world and its created beings. Because look, You claim that the eternal life of the soul of a human being depends only of the full faith in You, in Your word and in Your teaching, and that every soul who does not do that can expect eternal death - which is mostly the case because without his fault he knows and also cannot know anything about You. Now, then You are, and also the God who sent You into this world, the most unwise and unjust almighty being that a reasonable man can imagine.
2
Can those people, who have lived hundreds and thousands of years before us, help it if they impossibly could have heard anything of Your teaching, which is only life-making for all souls? Those people are thus, according to Your word, without exception, in eternal death?
3
And further, can these numerous nations that exist and survive somewhere on this big Earth, help it if maybe over a 1.000 years they still will not have heard 1 syllable of Your teaching? Of those poor people we then must also conclude that they are dead forever.
4
Then finally Your God with all His inscrutable deep wisdom and goodness and with all the things that He has created will have the greatest joy and find His greatest pleasure in the fact that after a short existence He kills all His created beings again and destroys completely those who He has equipped in such an extremely wise way.
5
Then why did a Moses come and all the other prophets? What were these laws of Moses then good for, which were at all times difficult to keep? And what was the use of those many plagues that God has brought each time down on the Jews and other people when they did not act and live according to His revealed will?
6
I mean: for the receiving of the eternal life of the soul after the departure from the body almost every dog's life would be good enough. Why would you educate people and train them up spiritually? For the receiving of a certain eternal death of the soul of man after the death of the body, man needs nothing else than - just like the animals - to have his daily food. Then why would you teach him to think, evaluate and reason? That would undeniably embitter his miserable existence. All the now spiritually called people would unfortunately even have to strangle their children immediately after their birth, so that later when they are grown up and able to think, being conscious of themselves, would not be plagued with all kinds of things and also would never have to fear that they will have to lose forever the often sweet tasting life.
7
I confess here openly that I, according to Your teaching, owe in no way any gratitude to the God that is preached by You, because He has not placed me on this world for one or the other continual happiness, but only for the greatest unhappiness that felt bitterly during my whole life. The sooner that He will destroy me again, the greater is the benefit that He will show me.
8
And frankly, an eternal life of the soul that I would have received by way of exception by believing Your word and Your teaching, I do not want at all, because I as an eternally living soul would have to think that multitudes of people are destroyed by Your God forever. Then I still would prefer endlessly more an eternal non-existence than a miserable eternal existence.
9
If ever You are capable of even one sound thought, by my words You will see, together with Your blind disciples, that Your teaching is even less suitable for the true happiness of people than the teaching of the Sadducees, who have set their teaching in accordance with that of the Greek worldly philosopher Diogenes. That teaching is more comforting for all people than Your teaching, according to which only by believing in You can one attain to the eternal life of the soul. Truly, never will any true friend of the people be grateful to You for that teaching of Yours. And now all the people in the temple and also outside of the temple must evaluate if ever I have spoken even 1 incorrect word to You. Answer me, if You can!"