The Chautauquan, Vol. 05, January 1885, No. 4Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
Religion
The Chautauquan, Vol. 05, January 1885, No. 4
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
Chautauqua Institution -- Periodicals; Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle -- Periodicals
In what light, therefore, must these Jews, who have accepted Christ and
his full atonement, be held? Can we see in their doctrines a sign of real
hope for the entire Jewish world? We think that only one answer can be
given, the one which Delitzsch and other close students of the Hebrew
mind, both past and present, have been compelled to give—namely, that
we see here an evidence of the breaking up of the old Jewish solidity.
Mendelssohn and others have proven that the Jews are subdivided among
themselves, that there are numerous tendencies which pervade the entire
body, and that these are constantly growing stronger. This, however,
is the first instance where an important part of the Jewish church has
openly adopted the atonement of Christ, and proposes to rise or fall by
that alone. May it not be the great outcome of the Jewish mystery, that
large sections will formally adopt Christianity; that not as individuals
but as vast territorial sections they will renounce their old faith and
take their place among Christian bodies; and that in due time they will
drop the Jewish name altogether, and be thoroughly identified with the
great Christian church in all its activities and grand purposes?
The middle ground of the National Jews of to-day, as occupied and
preached by Rabinowitz, is simply an impossibility for the future. It is
neither one thing nor another. Its exact parallel, in our day, can be
found in the impossible church of Father Hyacinth. His work is neither
all Protestant nor all Roman Catholic. To succeed it must become
Protestant, and formally reject all attachments to the old Romanism.
There must be no looking back when once the “hand is put to the plow.”
Had Martin Luther stood all his life upon the door-sill of Roman
Catholicism, looking out and yet not going out, his work would have been
a total failure, and have shown a lack of that final courage which makes
a successful revolution. We must, however, bear in mind the fact that
he was preceded by men who had taken positive ground, but not the last
step. To their moderate work he owed much. He saw their failure, and the
cause of it, and hence he broke the whole yoke and became a free man. In
the same useful line must we rank the doctrines and work of Rabinowitz.
He may not take all the advanced course which we would like, and which
history reveals as only the true Reformer, but he is the sure forerunner
of one or more who will do this work. It is one of the ways in which God
distributes his honors, that his great movements are not conducted by one
alone. There is always the Baptist, and sometimes many, who must preach
in the wilderness, before the full gospel of the mountain side and sea
shore can be heard from the lips of the world’s Teacher. In this light,
as the prophecy of a new religious awakening among the Jews, who have for
all ages rejected all approaches from Christianity, must we regard the
doctrines and work of Rabinowitz and his friends. His cause is rapidly
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