53. 12 The body of teaching espoused by the modern-day church is woven together out of numerous absurdities that have to be taken on faith. Therefore its teachings become part of our memory alone. They do not become part of our higher understanding; they rest instead on supporting evidence from below the level of the intellect.

90. The dragon means adamant supporters of the modern-day view that faith is what justifies us. To make me convinced and certain of this, I was given the opportunity to see thousands and thousands of such people gathered into an assembly. From a distance they looked like a dragon with a long tail, which was covered with spikes like a bramble bush; the spikes symbolize falsities.

On another occasion I saw a dragon that was even larger. With its back lifted up, it reached its tail toward heaven in an effort to drag the stars down. The stars in that world symbolize truths.