The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-08

Rabbi A. !. Messing, Jr-. ot mo"e gomery. Ala, says the New orleans Times-Democrat of Friday. who ts one of the youngest rabbis In the confer ence delivered paper on 'Judaism and the Higher Criticism" at the morning session. of the Southern Rabbinical Con- ference, which attracted more atten- ton than any paper which had been read up to that time. He said:
 It has often been lamented that we Jews have contributed but little to thai great progress in Biblical exegesis which flourish so richly in German Prostestanism and which was one oi the signal achievements of the last century. Most unfortunately, at th' present day. when one speaks of mod ern Biblical study. one is thinking only of the work of non-Jewish scholars In the Bible exegesis the newer truth has never failed in Israel for lack of devoted champions. Ibn Izra Uo9-li- 6D, though he utters his "crtticai doubts and heresies,'' with bated breath. Is none the less mentioned in the introductional literature even to- day among the precursors of criti- eism." Moses ibn Gikatilla Q.l050D questioned the Isaianic authorship of the latter part of Isaiah. Isaac Ao- ravanel u437-i50S candidly exposes the inipossibility of ascribing to Josh 
 for him. Nachman Krochmai tlfSo IS40) dealt with much acumen on pr b. lems of the higher criticism. s. R. Ra- poport (1790-lS67) accepted and de- tended the modern view of second Isaiah, post-exilic psalm and the lat. date of Ecciesiastes. Abraham Geiger (1S10-1S74), in his great work "Urs- chrift und Uebersetzungen der RibeL was extremely radical Leopold sZunz (l794-isS6) was the most daring of all critics. placing the book of Leviticus $ a thousand years after Moses and rele- gating the entire history of Israel previous to Elisha into the realm Of fable Heinrich Graetz (l8l7-1Ss1). af- ter finishing his famous history. de1 voted himself entirely to Biblical ex- egesis Samuel David Luzzatto uS00- 1S65) was a gifted critic with rare Insight into the niceties of the Hebrew language Among our living scholars Siegmund Maybaum. in hls treatise on the evolution of the priesthood. em- ploys the critical method without re- serve. Claude G. .Montefiore writes of the origin and growth of the relig- ton of Israel. in the spirit and method of criticism as distinguished from the spirit and method of tradition" Prof Schecter speaks of Leviticus as the Priestly Code with its legalistic tend ency under the influence of Ezekiel. in contrast to Deuteronomy and Jere- miah. Prof. Max Margolis writes his noble essay on The Theological As poets of Reformed Judaism In full consciousness of the implications of the critical standpoint.
 And yet 1t must ever remain sad truth that we have no world renowned specialist in Biblical investigations. that modern additions to Biblical knowledge emanate from non-Jewisb quarters. It Is A sad truth because Of the Christian bias prevalent In the works of the Higher Criticism. Meth ods are but instruments. They may be used properly or improperly. They de- rive their efficiency from those who use them. Success in their use de- bends wholly upon the equipment of the user and this equipment is to be found In the users tone and spirit and previous preparation and state of mind. "No Christian scholar" says Prof. Sani- uel Ives Curtiss. can doubt that Christ is the haven of Old Testament proph- ecy and history. He was the port to which the Old Testament chHrch Was sailing. The Old Testament testifies of Christ in it's underlying purp se." It Is the same note which runs through current Christian theology. Judaism is John the BaPusti dimlnIshAag:' while Christianity, It's great offspring. has increased it." What is the diff ference between Judaism and Christi anity? One Is 0 memory; the other Is @ living experience" "Jhdaism's work was done eighteen centuries ago. and since then It's life has been but 6 Teminiscence, an exhausted and spent Sexistence passed in the shadow of an- cient glories." These theological pos tulates underlie all the work of Cnris- tian exegetes. The Old Testament with them Is only a preamble to the New Testament. Jewish history is questioned. Jewish morality Is held to be of an inferior sort, We are not surprised, therefore, to see even Welihausen making poignant strie- lures on the effect of the Torah. Through the 'Torah. God was forgot ten" is his phrase We do not wonder that schurer makes merry over Phara- sale Judaism as a religion of pots and pans" or that Schultz declares the ceremonial laws to be dangerous and ensIaving and tending to degrade the mind," or that Paul Anton de Lagarde stoops even to the invective of brutal Antisemitism.
 Bible Controversy.
 A striking illustration of this high CT Antisemitfsm may be found In the recent Babel Bible Controversy, the noise of which still fills the air. Prof. Freiderich Delitsch. in a lecture before the Emperor and Empress of Germany. placed Babel. the mother of harlots," as she Is called in the Apocalypse of St. John, above the Bible and scoffed and jeered at Jehovah In the language, of the Boulevard So. impressed was the Emperor that he wrote to Admiral Hoffman, Israel Is short of its prest- ige as the people of God" '"rhe di- vine nimbus of the jewish people is gone"
 If ever there was a time therefore. when revival of Jewish learning meant