The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1883-03-07
n. RENAN ON THE JEWS.


n RENAN ON THE JEWS.
NJ. Renan has been lecturing at the
Cercle Saint-Simon on the Jews. 1t is
time some of our modern philosophers
were tackling this enigma. 1t is neces-
sary that the existing phenomenon Of
the Jews, with their past history-rang-
ing over nearly $500 years-should be
grappled with by that historical criticism
which freely explains and explains away
everything else. Who are the Jews !?
Where did they come from? What is
the meaning of their clinging SO long to
lot of old books that impose upon them
an almost intolerable ritual? How is it
that they have breasted the currents of
history and time so long, swimming per-
sistently and timidly apart from all the
other shoals of humanity that have drifted
down from antiquity into the busy activ-
tiles and Christian civilization of this
nineteenth century? Why have they
survived-without a country or nation
al organisation-when the Greek, the
Roman, the Syrian, the Chaldean, the
Phenician, the Egyptian, have persisted?
"rViyed, with the same physiogno-
~ monuments OF
with per-
4ued to the
.-~~~.5ed under the
y babylon twenty-five hundred
years ago?
There are" says M. Renan, "only three
universal religions Buddhism, or Hindooism
as it might preferably be called, Christianity.
and Islamism. We know approximately the
date of the appearance in the world of these
three great religions. But besides these uni
versal religions, there are thousands of local
and national religions. All the nations of an
tiqulty had their religions. In the ancient
world the very places had their religions In
the second and third century of our era the con.
slant arguments of CELSIUS and OF the adversa-
ries Of Christianity is that the countries have
gods that protect them and interest themselves
In their destinies. Now all the national reli-
glons have persisted. Humanity has desired
more and more universal religions that explain
to man his general duties and aim at revealing
to humanity the secret of Its destinies. Nation.
al religions had more limited programme; il
each country had tuteary genius which re-
quired to be served in a certain manner This
narrow idea has completely disappeared 1t
has disappeared in presence of the Buddhist
idea, the Christian idea, and the Mussuman
idea. In the history of civilised nations NJ
Renan sees only two examples of the survival
Of old national religions the Parsee religion and
Judaism. which according to a certain concep-
ton is the religion of country the country of
Israel or Judea, preserved by the descendants
OF the inhabitants of this little country. That
Judaism was originally a national religion is
beyond doubt. 1t was the religion of the BENZ
Israel, which for centuries was not essentially
different from the religion Of the neighboring
nations, the Moabites for instance. The trans
latlon Of the inscription of King Mescha, now
In the Louvre, shows that between the King
and his god Chamos there was an intimate asso-
citation, as there was between King David and
his God"
The Parsee," are the re nnant of the
ancient Persians who chung to the reli-
gion Of Zoroaster when the bulk of that
people, conquered by the Saracens, en-
braced Mohammedanism. M. Renan re-
cognises in the history Of civilised nations
the survival Of only two national reli-
gions "-the Hebrew and the Parsee. But
the Zoroastrians Called -" fre-worship.
pers' at present) in general renowned
their religion in the presence Of the Mo
hammedan sword. Not SO the Jews when
Titus and the Roman legions could not
find crosses for their bodies and rased
the Holy City to its foundations. There
are only some 10000 or 10000 Parsees
in Persia to-day, and about 100000 in
Guzerat and Bombay.
The zoroastrian religion too, was er-
ceedingly like the patriarchal religion Of
the Old Testament-wonderfully pure in
its monotheism, in its rejection Of idols,
and in its morality. They we're proba-
bly, oroastrians-those wise men that
came from the East at the birth of the
Saviour.
Only teOo "survivals' from the nation