'Now be Thanful' is supposedly a veiled attack on the Christian Church/Christianity

The verses refer to the tortures meted out by the inquisition and the idea of what a strange notion confession/punishment were/are

And the chorus refers to the fact that you don't need to thank anybody or build a cathedral to appreciate the suffering - when it shows in a rose etc

Wasn't it when everybody was looking east for inspiration/faith; islamic art etc in the hippy days

Great tune by Swarbrik