Sign of the Cross(45)
‘How in the world did he do that?’
Boyd took a deep breath, struggling to find the appropriate words. How do you challenge someone’s belief system without upsetting her?
‘Maria,’ he stuttered, ‘why do you believe Christ is the Son of God?’
‘Why? It’s what I was taught as a child. It’s what I was raised to believe.’
‘But you’re no longer a child. You reached the age of independent thought long ago. At some point you started challenging your parents. Whether it was Santa Claus or politics, you eventually questioned what you were taught.’
‘Yes, but –’
‘But what? You should draw the line at religion? If anything, religion should be the first concept that you challenge because it’s the most personal thing that a person can have. Religion is what you believe, not what you’re told. It’s what you feel, not what others expect.’
‘But I believe in Christ! I’ve studied the Bible, gone to Mass, and spoken to several priests. And guess what? I believe in God and Jesus Christ. It just feels right to me.’
His tone softened. ‘If I challenged your faith, would it bend under the weight of my words?’
‘Not a chance. I believe what I believe. Your comments aren’t going to change that.’
‘And what about evidence? Would your faith crumble in the face of new evidence?’
She pondered the word evidence. ‘Does this have something to do with the scroll? You have new evidence about my religion?’
‘Our religion. I’m a Christian as well.’
‘So this isn’t about the Church? This is about Christ?’
Boyd nodded, unwilling to look her in the eye. ‘And the news isn’t good.’
Maria didn’t know what he meant, yet the claws of doubt started ripping at her faith. If the scroll’s message was as devastating as Boyd insinuated, there was a chance that her entire belief system was about to be shattered. ‘What does it say? I need to know what it says.’
Boyd took a deep breath. ‘You realize, once I tell you, there’s no turning back.’
‘We reached that point long ago. Please, tell me what the scroll says.’
‘I will, but first you must realize their writing style was different than ours. Run-on sentences were common. They just rambled on incessantly, rarely stopping for changes in subject.’
Maria knew all about it because Boyd was doing it at the moment. ‘Just read it, sir. Please.’
‘OK, OK. This is what Emperor Tiberius wrote.’
Tiberius Caesar Augustus to my heirs and successors.
The matters of wealth, whether trivial or colossal, rest on our shoulders, the task of all rulers, past and present, for all eternity. By doing my duty, I have filled the coffers of this great land, seizing a share from all citizens that is rightfully Rome’s, recording their riches while eliminating the Empire’s burden, alas their gifts are not sufficient, for Mercury thirsts for more. Upon conquering the Britains, the vastness of our domain will be detrimental, the management of snow and sun, lands more varied than Cupid and Mars, will further divide the lives of our people, the rich shall welcome the gifts from abroad as the poor suffer from the onus of our foreseeable debt. To avoid the impending poverty of our citizens, I have concluded that drastic measures must be taken, the scarcity of –
‘Hold up! What does any of that have to do with Jesus?’
Boyd sighed at her impatience. ‘Nothing directly, but indirectly it has everything to do with him. The scarcity of wealth in the Empire forces Tiberius to hatch this drastic scheme. According to the text, it is the central reason for his plot against Christ.’
Maria half nodded, still unsure of the scroll’s opening section. ‘That part about seizing a share from all citizens – was he talking about taxes?’
‘He was indeed. Tiberius was known as a top-notch fiscal administrator. Most historians feel that economic policy was the strength of his reign, at least until his mental demise. At the end of his emperorship, he was something of a loon.’
‘And when he wrote about the Empire’s burden, he was talking about balancing the budget?’
‘Exactly.’
Maria impressed herself. She understood more than she’d originally thought. ‘What was that thing about the Britains? You read something about winter and summer, and I got lost.’
‘Not winter and summer,’ he corrected. ‘Tiberius mentioned snow and sun. He said, “the management of snow and sun… will further divide the lives of our people.” Meaning once they conquered the Britains, the Empire would be too large for its own good. Rome would stretch from the land of snow, Britain, to the land of sun, Egypt. And in Tiberius’s opinion, that was too much for their economy to handle.’