Deliverance from the Cross — Page 133
The Traditions of the Messiah (anointed one) is the holy book of the community. They do not believe in the New Testament, or, rather, they say that these Traditions are the New Testament, and that the Gospels which we have are partly true but generally written by people who did not understand the teachings of the Master. The Abba Yahiyya, a towering figure with the face of a saint, was certainly an erudite man, and he knew his own scriptures, plus a great deal of the Jewish writings, very well indeed. He had heard of the teachings of the heretics, as he called what we would call various sects of Christians known to us; and he wanted no part of them. My son, he said, in his softly accented Persian, these people are reading and repeating a part of the story. They have completely misunderstood the message. We have the story told us by the Master, and through him we will be saved and made whole. Some of the events in that document which you call the Bible are true, but a great deal is made up or imagined or put in for less than worthy reasons. Isa lived for over thirty years after the materials you have were completed, and he told us what was true. Briefly, the doctrine is that Jesus was the son of God because he had attained that rank through his goodness and sacrifice. Thus he was equal to a divine person. He came after John, the Baptist, who himself had reached the highest degree of development possible at that time. John baptised 133