The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-08

moi treating upon the date of De- uteronomy.
 The fact Is. the great masses of the people, Jew and Gentle. have not been touched as yet by critical opinion Ano until the accredited results of modern biblical science make their way Into every avenue of publicity. the lonely thinker, here and there, who ventures to use them for homiletic purposes will invariably be met with the rebuke- ''roo much learning hath made thee mad"
 Scholarship and Science.
 But scholarship and science must inevitably win the day and the exist ence of criticism will sooner or later come to be recognized as factor that must be taken into account In obs 'rv- ing the obligations of traditional JudA- ism. For the present of course. we have no fear. The new thought thus far has succeeded in raising questions. rather than in solving them. And we cannot be expected to adapt our pub lie observances to every fresh con,lu sion of the critics which is liable to be upset on the morrow by new discnv- cry. The roar of modern controversies Is not likely to diminish the ranks of that saving remnant" In Israel, whose simple, ancient faith Is worth more than all the modern scholarship put together.
 Hut even should the disintegrating consequences Of criticism become nor. prominent as time goes on. we have the assurance of high authority that compliance with the verdict Is not incompatible with the full maintenance of Jewish observances hallowed by centuries of tradition. For ip Judaism refrigeration always keeps pace with disintegration. New meanings. given to the festivals will establish a new and not unstable sanction for those festivals before the older san 'tions have been altogether undetermined
 Indeed. this Is already happening-not under stress of disintegrating criti- csm. perhaps. but under the transform Ing power of that still more potent in- fluence, the need of time" Is 1t not a far cry, after all, from the origin Il Biblical Succoth. the simple "Chag Ha- Asif" or Feast of the Palestinian in- gathering to contemporary Succoth celebration, as 1t has been "revitaI- ized" in Philadelphia?
 For the present at least, we need not fell deeply concerned for the in- tegrity of the Jewish pulpit or for the dignity of Jewish practices as they emerge from the ordeal of criticism. But the time has come, 1t seems to me. when the new thought has direct bearing upon our Sabbath schools and the character of the instruction In vogue therein. Every one who has struggled with the Sabbath school proble knows that at times children will ask awkward questions. The bright lad who skepticaliy inquired how 1t was possible to have light on the first day when the sun, moon tnd stars were not created until the four, h day, is matter of history.
 It has ben said that the defenders of tradition must come either recon oilers. apologists or prosecutors" The rabbinate of America. unlike then brethren of other denominations (con- sider the prosecution of Briggs and Smith for heresy) they could never be counted among the latter, although they have always had distinguished representatives among the reconc.l .lers and apologetes The time has come to adopt new attitude. If we apologize for Jonah's whale we lose his sublime message If we apologize for the talking ass" we destroy the beauty of Balaam's parable. Criticism does not apologize. It explains. Least of all does 1t try tc explain away. If we adopt the standpoint that the Bible was not made but grew, we shall not be surprised to find In 1t those rel ics of primitive science, primitive eth- ics. primitive religion. So regard d the Bible evokes no longer dismay at It's glaring 'imperfections. It rouses willing. reverent homage by its far more glaring perfections. Showing us mans hand In the Bible, criticism IS now coming more and more to discov- CT Gods hand in 1t. We need not ex- tenuate, we have only need to be fair. Critical History.
 There Is no history but critical his tory" said the late historian, Von Rancke. This does not mean that Ab- rshanr Isaac and Jacob shall be taught as astral myths, the theory of Hugo Winckler, Assyriologist and historian. Nor yet does 1t imply that in teaching the children the story of Purim we are to bother them with such questions as to whether the festival goes back to the Persian New Year and All -Saints Feast. the view of Lagarde, or whether 1t originates in the Babylonian Zag- muk, as held by Zlmmern. But 1t does mena that in the presentation of the | facts of Biblical history an effort should be made to reproduce the in- 'luences and the circumstances ont of which the sacred documents arose and thus tc exhibit them as true children of their own time.
 What we need Is a textbook free from the usual apologetic tone and tIacclo argument and threadbare rhet- oric. book written from the stand- point of modern exegesis and yet not so pedantic as to spoil a good story by labored critical Interpretation. Such books. scientific in method and yet SC simple as to reach the heart of the child. have been prepared for the Sabbath schools of other denominat- ions. Walter L. Sheldon has written one for the Ethical Culturists. and | President Harper Is editing a seri.s | for the Baptists. What we need Is A. | Sabbath school textbook. written in the spirit of Jewish and not Christian l liberalism. If. under the auspices of | this association. and with It's patron | age and support, such a book or series | of books is given to American Juda- cism we shall not only have establish ed a raisUn d'etre for our organization as distinct from the central conference. but we also shall have made a perma- nent contribution to the solution of the vexed problem of the Jewish Sabbath school.