The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-07

and their Jewish Chautauqua movements:
Jewish national societies have sprung UP
among the students of German and Aus
TRAN universities-all influences tending
in this one direction.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
As we look ahead into the century
which is now opening and cast our eye
over the forces which the Jews will bring
into its life, we can easily see that these
forces tend in various directions.
We have first the Orthodox wing of the
Jewish Church. which stands upon the
broad basis of what the past has evolved
IL holds firmly to the inspiration of the
BIBLICAL word and the divine character
OF ITS Interpretation as handed dogs:. &.
the oral law; 1t tries to regulate it's life
ny Talmudic ordinances as evolved in the
latest law books. and is unwilling to make
any but aesthetic concessions to changed
circumstances. believing that we must
adhere strictly to all the time-honored
ceremonies of the synagogue At it's side
stand the Conservatives. who are willing
TO make some concession to present de-
mands. but believe that these concessions
should be most sparingly and grudgingly
theory. occupy the same position as do
the Orthodox. 1t is safe to say that the
greater number of Jews in the western
European States belong to this wing of
the synagogue. Between the Conserva-
tiyes and the Ethical Culturists stands
the Reform party, more numerous in the
United States than anywhere else. whose
position 1t is hard to define and in whose
midst there are various shades of opin-
ion and of practice. All the Reformers
have openly or tacitly broken with Tai
mudic Judaism-the more conservative
among them seem to believe that a new
Judaism can be built up upon the Bible,
only without its traditional interpreted
ton; while the advanced body do not
even look upon the Bible as binding. but
merely as a starting-point for a further
development. They do not consider the
Bible as inspired in the old accepted sense
of the term; they welcome biblical criti-
cism as an aid to the understanding of
the early history of their people; they do
not believe In the special election of Israel.
and have a well-defined adherence of
anything like a creed. They are prac-
tically THESIS with Il Jewish racial coll
of personal Messiah; rather, in the adj
vent of a Messianic time in which right
eousness and goodwill shall prevail and
all the earth acknowledge the one God.
To bring about this time is. according
to them, the mission Of the Jew-a phrase
very current in these latter days. the full
filing of which has been made the pre-
text for dejudaizing Judaism. so as to
make il acceptable to non-Jews. Mr.. Os-
valid John Simon, of London. Sas even
form party is earnest in its pretensions,
it ought-as il did once before in its his
tory-to become an active missionary pow
err few years ago he attempted to
found a Jewish Theistic Church. which
should in no way be colored by Jewish
ceremonial. The movement was. of
coarse a failure. The original attempt,
some nineteen hundred years ago, led u
the founding of the Christian Church, and
Jews themselves have suffered too much
from missionaries of other faiths to take
to this work with pleasure. But, in ad-
ditfon 20 these, there is also large body
of Jews whose connection with the SYN
agogue is purely nominal. and who know
of il only wheE they need the services of
its sanction or the responsibility of its
connections. The hold which the Jewish
Church has upon them is small indeed,
and many of them hope. in the twentieth
century, to doff their Jewish gaberdine-