Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-12-04
rgEyrWISH RELIGION.
Importance Of Israel . Factor In the HIS
. tnrY of Mankind.

-
TBE JEWISH kkLi8fOH
r,,,or,a,ce Of Israel ~ . FACTOR In the His
| tory OF Mankind
| From the New York independent
| Fortunately or unfortunately, we scarcely |
know which, for American Theological
science. stade's GcseIichte des Toites Tsruet |
4, but little known among us. The radical |
s,andpoint of the author, who reconstructs |
the religious history of the people of Israel, |
according to the most advanced OF advanced
views and does so in language that is not |
only provoking, but at tines almost insulting |
10 conservative scholars, is very distasteful
10 the majority Of our Bible students And
yet Stade is so bright a scholar, so keen All
observer, so terse and lucid and original a
writer, that his works deserve the attention
OF even those who cannot approve of their
contents. Every sentence he writes says
something. In the introduction TO his Ges-
chichte he, in 4 manner somewhat new and
certainly interesting, portrsys the peculiar
position and influence of Israel in the COM
pleN of the nations of history, and of his de.
scripton We will here reproduce the leading
thoughts He says:
While Israel is surpassed by the great ms.
tions surrounding it in the glories of war, by
the Romans in importance for the develop.
mont OF law and right, 1t is seen to be behind
the other nations of antiquity also in other
particulars. In Israel We do not find that
idea of the beautiful which we have In the
Greeks, who, ss no other nation before or
after them. have given expression in all di-
reCtiOns to the love OF the beautiful, and in
this regard are tor us to the present day yet
| a model that has never been reached or sur
passed. OF that which we admire in the
| Greek people, the Hebrew had nothing an
aloCOus, nothing to be compared with II.
| Israel had not only no Apelles, no Phidiss,
but had not even any art of painting, no
sculpture, no architecture. The conception
/ :. of al In ha md In
| this people. Not even does Solomon's tenn
| pie exhibit anything of the sort For this
| was evidently modelled after the temples of
| Gentle people around, and not after primi.
| tive houses of worship in Israel, and was
| something entirely new in character for the
| lsraslltes OF that day. Besides II was a very
| simple structure almost swksrd in its shape.
| And yet the carpenters and mssons who do
| the work for solomon are men from Tyre,
| and the master who moulds the columns and
| the temple utensils is at least from his
fathers side, descendant from q family
| of Tyre.
| Especially when we compare Israel with
the most gifted o; the ancient peoples do We
| learn the great monotony of their mental
| world (GetSfcSlsbeH), They have no epic
like the Had and the Odyssey, like the Me.
| be!ungenIied OF the Germans, like the Eals.
waia OF the Finus they have not the small
| est beginnings OF the drama for the Song OF
| solomon and lob are not such. They have,
| indeed, in compensation for this, lyrical
| FOetiS anu kLS dCCOIn pauNlDg music unsur'
| passed by any other age. But they ale en-.
tireiy without the bent toward scientific
| pursuits which prevails among the Greeks,
are entirely without philosophical studies
Nor has this people in olden times been in
any way prominent in commercial pursuits
in new undertakings, in discoveries, where
by nation can also conquer the world the
mental life OF the lsrselties was very one
sided, aud In this ne-sidedness for us a very
remarkable people.
| But IL Is not this last faatura that attract.
: | our attention. II is rather this-that this lit
: | tie nation has exerted greater influence by
: FAR upon the history OF mankind in genera
t | than have the Greeks and the Romans fo
3 US 1t Is in many more respects q model thar
q | are these. The feelings and the thoughts O
today, our doings and deeds are far more in
: | huenced by the world Of thought and feelinl
] | which Israel produced than by that OF G. reecs
| and Rome. The whole civilization of tn,
present day is deeply saturated with tn,
thoughts and motives of Jewish origin.
This hnds its explanation in the fact that il
: Israel that side Of human nature found IL
greatest Development which is OF greater i'm
| por:ance tor humanity than are arts ant
sciences, law and philosophy. While il
, Hreece the mythology was developed int,
philosophy aud thereby medistely int
science, in Israel the NEUROLOGICAL period de
velops into the religion. Aud, he
j sides this, The religion of Israel Is ia
| more the coming religion of msnkinC
: in general than the philosophy of tn
| p'ctho 10 Luo coming pnIOcOlly oil men
Beyond all doubt Israel, in the sphere OF re
llgiOn, has shown itself much more epoch
> making, peculiar, and powerful than the Re
mans have in the domain Of law, and tn
Greeks in art and philosophy. 1t is true tha
7 as Israel was at the head in religious mat
ters among the people Of the world, thus tn
Romans held this position in the department
! | OF government, and the Greeks in the tielC
| OF philosophy. But while the cultured ma
tions, where the Roman law found an en-
| trance, endeavOred more and more to eman
) | clpate themselves from the domain of Roman
| legal thought, and while the remnants o
| Greek art and science can stir unll
select congregation among thes'
cultured nations, and while the phil
. osophy OF the Greeks Is continue II
more and more cirCumscribed in its spheres
by both religion and the constantly sggres
3 slYe scientific spirit Of the age, religion ye
has hrm hold on all classes of peoples, from
2 the king TO the beggar, and is constantly en-
! deavoring TO embrace all the peoples OF tn
! | world. Religion among US Is yet, no matte
! | now much some may attempt to close thei
J | eyes TO the fsct, subject of much deeper anC
| more general Interest than are science ant
, art and all the arrangements OF the state Th
| questions OF religion shake empires and en-
| kIudle the DOodiest OF wars Tberefore
religion also transforms nations aud create
ne" types of peoples. The mental anC
| spiritual peculiarities Of the humanity OF ou
day, both OF European and of MohammedaI
| culture, are essentially the prod ucts OF tn
mOhoIheisllc religion which originated il
I | Israel