New Witnesses for God (Volume 3 of 3)Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Religion
New Witnesses for God (Volume 3 of 3)
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Book of Mormon; Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
When I was a boy, had my father, who was a very pious man, heard
the name of Jesus uttered from the pulpit of our synagogue, he and
every other man in the congregation would have left the building,
and the rabbi would have been dismissed at once. Now, it is not
strange, in many synagogues, to hear sermons preached eulogistic of
this Jesus, and nobody thinks of protesting--in fact, we are all
glad to claim Jesus as one of our people.
ISADORE SINGER. New York, March 25, 1901.
The question submitted by Mr. Croly to Jewish theologians, historians
and orientalists resulted in quite a large collection of Jewish
opinions of Christ, all of which are published in the appendix of
"Tarry Thou;" and of which the following communications are thoroughly
characteristic:
The Jew of today beholds in Jesus an inspiring ideal of matchless
beauty. While he lacks the element of stern justice expressed
so forcibly in the law and in the Old Testament characters, the
firmness of self-assertion so necessary to the full development of
manhood, all those social qualities which build up the home and
society, industry and worldly progress, he is the unique exponent
of the principle of redeeming love. His name as helper of the poor,
as sympathizing friend of the fallen, as brother of every fellow
sufferer, as lover of man and redeemer of woman, has become the
inspiration, the symbol and the watchword for the world's greatest
achievements in the field of benevolence. While continuing the work
of the synagogue, the Christian church with the larger means at her
disposal created those institutions of charity and redeeming love
that accomplished wondrous things. The very sign of the cross has
lent a new meaning, a holier pathos to suffering, sickness and sin,
so as to offer new practical solutions for the great problems of
evil which fill the human heart with new joys of self-sacrificing
love.
KAUFMAN KOHLER, Ph. D., Rabbi of Temple Beth-El.
If the Jews up to the present time have not publicly rendered
homage to the sublime beauty of the figure of Jesus, it is because
their tormentors have always persecuted, tortured, assassinated
them in his name. The Jews have drawn their conclusions from the
disciples as to the Master, which was wrong, a wrong pardonable
in the eternal victims of the implacable, cruel hatred of those
who called themselves Christians. Every time that a Jew mounted to
the sources and contemplated Christ alone, without his pretended
faithful, he cried with tenderness and admiration: "Putting aside
the Messianic mission, this man is ours. He honors our race and we
claim him as we claim the gospels--flowers of Jewish literature and
only Jewish."
MAX NORDAU, M. D., Critic and Philosopher. Paris, France.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account