1. The words of Issa spread among the Pagans, through whose country he
passed, and the inhabitants abandoned their idols.
2. Seeing which, the priests demanded of him who thus glorified the name
of the true God, that he should, in the presence of the people, prove
the charges he made against them, and demonstrate the vanity of their
idols.
3. And Issa answered them: "If your idols, or the animals you worship,
really possess the supernatural powers you claim, let them strike me
with a thunderbolt before you!"
4. "Why dost not thou perform a miracle," replied the priests, "and let
thy God confound ours, if He is greater than they?"
5. But Issa said: "The miracles of our God have been wrought from the
first day when the universe was created; and are performed every day and
every moment; whoso sees them not is deprived of one of the most
beautiful gifts of life.
6. "And it is not on inanimate objects of stone, metal or wood that He
will let His anger fall, but on the men who worship them, and who,
therefore, for their salvation, must destroy the idols they have made.
7. "Even as a stone and a grain of sand, which are naught before man,
await patiently their use by Him.
8. "In like manner, man, who is naught before God, must await in
resignation His pleasure for a manifestation of His favor.
9. "But woe to you! ye adversaries of men, if it is not the favor you
await, but rather the wrath of the Most High; woe to you, if you demand
that He attest His power by a miracle!
10. "For it is not the idols which He will destroy in His wrath, but
those by whom they were created; their hearts will be the prey of an
eternal fire and their flesh shall be given to the beasts of prey.
11. "God will drive away the contaminated animals from His flocks; but
will take to Himself those who strayed because they knew not the
heavenly part within them."
12. When the Pagans saw that the power of their priests was naught, they
put faith in the words of Issa. Fearing the anger of the true God, they
broke their idols to pieces and caused their priests to flee from among
them.
13. Issa furthermore taught the Pagans that they should not endeavor to
see the eternal Spirit with their eyes; but to perceive Him with their
hearts, and make themselves worthy of His favors by the purity of their
souls.
14. "Not only," he said to them, "must ye refrain from offering human
sacrifices, but ye may not lay on the altar any creature to which life
has been given, for all things created are for man.
15. "Withhold not from your neighbor his just due, for this would be
like stealing from him what he had earned in the sweat of his brow.
16. "Deceive none, that ye may not yourselves be deceived; seek to
justify yourselves before the last judgment, for then it will be too
late.
17. "Be not given to debauchery, for it is a violation of the law of
God.
18. "That you may attain to supreme bliss ye must not only purify
yourselves, but must also guide others into the path that will enable
them to regain their primitive innocence."