The doomed prophet made his public entry into Jerusalem as Messiah, and, as a first act of authority, cleared the temple courts by an act of violence, in which He was doubtless assisted by His disciples.  For some days after this He preached daily about the coming of the kingdom, and foiled with great dexterity the traps which His enemies laid for Him.  ’But the situation could only end in a miracle or a catastrophe, and it was the catastrophe which happened.’[71] Jesus was arrested, after a brief scuffle between the satellites of the High Priest and the disciples; and the latter, without waiting to see the end, fled northwards towards their homes.  When brought before Pilate, Jesus probably answered ‘Yes’ to the question whether He claimed to be a king; but ’la parole du Christ johannique, Mon royaume n’est pas de ce monde, n’aurait jamais pu etre dite par le Christ d’histoire.’  This confession led naturally to His immediate execution; after which

’on peut supposer que les soldats detacherent le corps de la croix avant le soir et le mirent dans quelque fosse commune, ou l’on jetait pele-mele les restes des supplicies.  Les conditions de sepulture furent telles qu’au bout de quelques jours il aurait ete impossible de reconnaitre la depouille du Sauveur, quand meme on l’aurait cherchee.’[72]

The disciples, however, had been too profoundly stirred by hope to accept defeat.  None of them had seen Jesus die; and though they knew that He was dead, they hardly realised it.  Besides, they were fellow-countrymen of those who had asked whether Jesus was not Elijah, or even John the Baptist, come to life again.  What more natural than that Peter should see the Master one day while fishing on the lake?  ’The impulse once given, this belief grew by the very need which it had to strengthen itself.’  Christ ‘appeared also to the eleven,’ So it was that their faith brought them back to Jerusalem, and Christianity was born.

’The supernatural life of Christ in the faithful and in the Church has been clothed in an historical form, which has given birth to what we might somewhat loosely call the Christ of legend.’  So the Italian manifesto sums up the result of this reconstruction or denudation of the Gospel history.[73] ‘Such a criticism,’ say the authors not less frankly than truly, ’does away with the possibility of finding in Christ’s teaching even the embryonic form of the Church’s later theological teaching.’[74]

Readers unfamiliar with Modernist literature will probably have read the foregoing extracts with utter amazement.  It seems hardly credible that such views should be propounded by Catholic priests, who claim to remain in the Catholic Church, to repeat her creeds, minister at her altars, and share her faith.  What more, it may well be asked, have rationalist opponents of Christianity ever said, in their efforts to tear up the Christian religion by the roots, than we find here admitted by Catholic apologists?