Peter: Surely, all these are related to the religious law.Umar Lahmi: And what is Saint Paul’s decree about religious law ?Peter: What decree? I do not follow.Umar Lahmi: You do understand it well, but you want to evade answer. Just say if Saint Paul has called religious law a curse.Peter: Saint Paul has called religious law a curse in this respect that the core of religious law came in the form of Jesus Christ and it is a folly toleave the core and run after the skin.Umar Lahmi: This is what I also mean that Saint Paul, taking Jesus asthe soul and religious law as the body, has called religious law a curse, and since, as you said, this Commandment of Old Testament is related to religious law, there-fore to refrain from killing and fornication isalso a curse.Peter: The thing is that you cannot understand these mysteries without the help of the “Holy Ghost” and it is not necessary that a matter which you cannot understand is in fact wrong. Saint Paul has called physical religious law a curse and not all kinds of religious law.Umar Lahmi: Agreed. Granted that Saint Paul has called physical religious law a curse. Now just tell me if not to steal, not to fornicate, not to oppress parents, etc., are physical religious law or simply internal, spiritual and moral.Peter: You are hitting on the same topic. Just listen. What Jesus Christ has said is more preferable to what Saint Paul has said and our Lord hasasked us to follow the Commandments of the Old Testament.[See Bible, Matthew, S : 19to 10: 25.]Umar Lahmi: That is, to obtain salvation it is necessary to follow the Old Testament. If this is so, why did you raise the problem of Atonement by crucifying the “Son of God”? Why this bogle of Atonement when it is necessary to follow the Old Testament? Is it necessary to follow the Commandments of the Old Testament even after the Atonement of Christ ?Peter: We know nothing except that our Lord has directed us to follow theOld Testament. But salvation cannot be gained by merely following the Old Testament without Atonement.Umar Lahmi: So Prophet Moses (Musa), David (Dawud), Solomon (Sulaiman), Joseph (Yusuf), Noah (Nooh) and other prophets must havebeen deprived of salvation, for their means of salvation was just following of the religious law. So also must their communities have been deprived.Peter: Before the advent of Christ the only means of salvation was following the religious law, but the Lord’s Atonement changed it and now the only means is Atonement.Umar Lahmi: First you rejected what Saint Paul had said that religious law was not a curse and then you rejected religious law as the basis of salvation. Can you quote any saint toprove that Saint Paul’s saying that religious law is a curse is not true?A person: Gentlemen, in fact it is apostasy and disbelief to talk of these matters. All these elate to unseen mysteries. Saint Paul has certainly called religious law a curse and it is really so, but you people are unable to understand these mysteries. Our means of salvation is the divinity of Christ and Atonement, because Jesus was free from sins and an embodiment of God, who by his grace and benevolence suffered on the cross in lieu of us and gave us salvation.Another person: Do not indulge in mutual quarrels. You have begun to refute Saint Paul.Umar Lahmi: This is the result of untrue and baseless talks. Now, this other gentleman has broached the subject of Divinity and Atonement. First let the discussion of religious law and curse be concluded.Peter: You have been given a conclusive reply. Now you may take eight days to ponder on the matter. If your doubts are not resolved during this time, you may come here again.Umar Lahmi: You do not regard religious law a curse and your colleague says it is a curse and Saint Paul was correct. Which of you two ison the right?Peter: Those who say this are not acquainted with the mysteries of Christian religion. You should not attend to what they say.Umar Lahmi (to Isabella): Now, you say which of them is on the right and whether Saint Paul was wrong in calling religious law a curse.
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