[austintorn@aol.com]

One holy man can’t wash away sins, but it was an idea that caught on. Not well known is that there were many saviour myths and realizations of these, now forgotten, but in the end just human wishes that came into being from their possibility, such as the sun god, moon god, etc.

The paradox is that, of all things, sins should not be washed away then or now (by act of contrition) as it enables the sinning. On the other hand, if sinning is a natural part of man’s nature and unavoidable, then there should be no consequences to wash away in the first place.

Neither the Jewish nor the Romans there at the time were impressed by miracles, so I have to assume that there weren’t any—just tales that grew like those of King Arthur, who was, by the way, seven generations descended from the saviour.

Even now, new myths form—the saviour spent his early days in America, so they say.

Of course he still had influence, like Ghandi and the like, as all good people do.

Better to be good for nothing (ha-ha), but you know that I mean, good for good’s sake, not because somebody might be watching.