The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-20
Vital Meaning of
The Messiar1ic Idea.
Rabbi Fuerlicht Outlines the Importance
OF This Belief to All Humanity.

door, but thou canst, thou shalt rule
over it, Genesis. iv, y. Every man is
his own redeemer and is morally re-
sponsible for his acts. No one shall
suffer for the sins of another (each man
shall suffer for his own sins,' Deut.,
xxiv, 16) Mans moral responsibility
and his personal mastery of sin and
selfishness Is his only moral gift, and
his sole title to nobility, according to
Judaism.
Paul's Teachings DisprOved.
"The Jew lived and suffered to prove
the utter falsehood Of the Pauline
doctrine-that man must sin. The
Christian church tortured and burned
the Jew. but 1t could not make him sur
render his faith in God. It could not
rob him OF his conviction that man
was born to moral purity, righteousness
and love. 1t could not force upon him
the doctrine Of eternal damnation to
sin and punishment. In q word, the
whole world could not force the Jew
against his own conscience. Jews were
oppressed and prosecuted everywhere,
but Judaism lived all the more in the
heroism Of its martyrs. For one mar
tyred Jesus, our history has perpetual
ed the names Of millions of martyred
Jews. who suffered and died as nobly.
For one cross Of conviction, the Jew
can point to millions Of crosses, and
instead Of the blood of Him who died
on Calvary, the Jew points to the
streams Of every age ,and cline, that
have run red with the precious blood of
his ancestors-and we live today to pro-
claim the moral freedom of man de-
spite sin and necessity.
"Our ideal is not personal Messiah,
but Messianic age and goal to which
all men shall contribute alike with
Israel Our Ideal is not to save man.
kind hereafter from sin, but to lift man
up here on earth to the consciousness
that he is called to righteousness, and
to strengthen him to perform its be-
hests. Our ideal of the Messianic age
Is when all men, no matter what their
creed, will be united on the broad basis
of humanity. which means the father
hood of God and the brotherhood of
man.
The Messianic Ideal.
This conception Of the Messiah was
shared by the prophets of old and by
the rabbis Of the Talmud, who teach
The pious and the righteous of every
race or creed will secure the blessings
OF eternal salvation not by faith, but
by good deeds and noble acts toward
their fellowmen. And God will be king
over all the earth This means, that
in the Messianic age there will be no
atheism, skepticism, agnosticsm and
materialism. This means, further,
there will be no monarchies, no thrones,
and hence no wars Of conquests and no
revolutions. Whenever the pure belief
in God is general, there Is no room for
idolatry. superstition, fanaticism, re-
ligious hatred and prejudice.
Now, while this happy consumma-
tion Is not yet at hand, the dawn of the
new day, the morning is coming, and
night is slowly vanishing. Science,
progress, culture and civilization are on
the increase everywhere. Sectarian
prejudice and bigotry are resented by
the governments, by the press and pull
pit Of every intelligent country. We see
the ethical part Of religion gaining at
the expense Of the dogmatical and cere-
monial. We see Christian and Jewish
ministers coming together to exchange
peaceably their religious views, and are
striving to establish the common
brotherhood Of man. BY bands Of iron
and steel, by the interests of commerce
and industry, by material and intel
lectual pursuits, the wide world is rem
dered one world. The message of
peace and concord, is with light
ming speed flashed from one
continent to another. The border
land Of creed is widening day by day.
And particularly in this blessed country.
the virgin soil Of true liberty, men and
women Of the highest culture recognize
their common humanity as a higher in
centive and aspiration than the Incl
dental claims of sect or creed; and
while human civilization has not
reached its pinnacle, and the struggle
is by no means ended yet. and Israers
mission as watchman for mankind's
highest treasures is not yet fulfilled,
let US yet be satisfied that we are COM
ing day by day nearer to the shrine
of Messiah. when the words of the pro-
phet will be fulfilled. On that day
God will be one and His name one"