Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-15
To Study
The New
Testament


same monotheistic banner. Arc VIC
Jews ready to claim the Now Testa-
mcnt which was written In an Ara
male idiom. written almost entirely
upon the soil of Palestine by Hebrew
writer's for q mainly Hebrew audience
arc we ready to claim this work as
n continuance OF the old Testament.
tearing out tho white leaf which
separates Malachi from ST. Matthew
Have we children of the twentieth
century. indeed. the inner strength
that Will enable us to rise to tho
sublime spiritual platform OF tho
prophet Malachi, who in our Bible
keeps, SO 10 say, the watch on the
border line of the two dispensations
when he asked: Have we not all
one father. hath not ono God created
us? Is the time ripe for Hebrew
scholars to take up the study of the
New Testament with the earncstness
and zeal with which Christian scholars
study the Old Testament? Have VIC
the mon among us to write and finance
an enterprise advocated by the writer
of these lines, many years ago tho
publication of O translation of tho
New Testament and theApocrypha, and
a thoroughly critical commentary on
them, by band OF Hebrew scholars2
They would feel more at home in this
field than the majority of Christian
thcologians, who are unable to grasp
fully the Oriental meanings and allu-
slons OF this Christian Midrash,' as
August Wuensche. the famous Protcs-
tant Orlentalist, calls the New Testa-
mcnt. Only to him. indeed, who is
familiar with Hagadah ard Halakah
arc the dialogues of jesus with His
disciples and followers absolutely
clear. And here may I be permitted
to suggest to some scholar of the pro-
C1h n
Hebrew Union College-that he give
us a supplementary volume to r. T.
Hereford's excellent treatise on Chris
tiaDlty in Talmud and Midrash.' by
pursuing the subject through the vast
Hebrew literature of the Middle Ages,
down to our own days? / appeal to our
theological scool In the West, because
the authorities of the orthodox Rab-
binical Seminary of New York would
reject such a suggestion as a shock
ingly indelicate onc.-North American
Review.
Religions But in those days there
or Mithra WAS another religion side
And Jesus. by side with Christianity.
strong compctitor-the
religion of Mithra. This came from
Persia, and by the close of the second
century had so prevailed IN Europe that
q Roman emperor, Commodus. was
initiated into 1t. The ruins of Its an
Client shrines have been found from tho
sands Of Sahara to the glens of SCOT
land. 1t was a worship OF the sun, per-
sonified In Mithra- He was born, they
said. among the hills, and his first
worshipcrS were shepherds. He dellv-
cred man from a devouring bull. whose
blood became the vine, and the marrow
OF his bones the wheat. They who be-
lieved In him were first baptized and
then admitted to a sacred feast OF bread
and wine. Tho first day of tho week
was kept In memory of him, and this
was called Sunday. When Constantine
docreed that that day should be day
of rest in his dominions he did 1t for
the sake OF the Christians. but tho
phrase which he used, "the venerable
Day of the Sum-" was taken from the
religion of Mithra. 1t seemed like at
one time that this would be the religion
of all Europe. Now Mithra had birth
day. and kept with great rejoicing, on
the 25th of December The date was
perhaps determined by the vernal equl-
nox. coming nine months before, on tho
25th of March 1t was day of general
domestic festivity; and in this respect
1t nearly coincided with tho Saturnalia,
the feast of Saturn. which was also
time of gladness. These December jub-
1lallOflS dllldElSu lut ptopic dHu lSibPt-
ed the Christians. Why not take pos
session of them? Why not say: Go on.
good people. with your merrymaking.
but keep the feast in memory of Him
who Is the true Sun of Righteousness?
Saturn Is a myth; Mithra Ia myth.
but here Is One who actually lived
among US and Is alive forevermore."
Why not. indeedl Thus gradually, with
out edict and without proclamation, tho
change WAS made. The birthday OF
Mithra became tho feast of Christ, tho
birthday of tho Son Of God--Ladies'
Home Journal.
A Bird Had the Empress CEliza-
or I'll beth of AuStria) over felt
Omen. presentlment of the dra-
uatlo death which gypsy
at Wiesbaden and a fortune-teller nt
Corfu had both predicted7 TWO SIN
gular Incidents give some reason for
suppoging that sho had. The evening
before her departure, she had asked M.
Barcker to read her few chapters
from O volume by Marion Crawford.
entitled "Corleone," IL which the au-
thor describes the abominable murder
perpetrated by the Malta In Sicily.
While she was listening to the reading
of these tragic Incidents. crow came
and circled around her, attracted by
the odor of some fruit sho was eating.
Much disturbed she had vainly tried
to drive him away. but he constantly
came back. awnkoning all tho echoes
around with his croakings. Then she
hastily left the place, for she knew that
crows anonunce death whenever their
ill-omened wings persist in Tapping
around a living person. Countess Szta-
ray told me that, the very morning of
tho assassination. going, as usual, Into
the empress room to ask how she had
passed the night she had found the
sovereign pale and depressed II have
had strange feeling she said. II was
awakened In the night by the moon
light which flooded the room, for they
had forgotten to close the curtains,
saw the moon from my bed. and 1t
me and weeping. Is that presonti-
ment? 1 have an idea that some mis-
fortune is coming upon me. Xavier
Paoli In the January McClure's.
The Value Carnegie capitalized his
OF Wide reputation and sold to the
Publicity. Steel Corporation for two
or three hundred million
dollars more than he could have made
had he not for years known and prao-
tised the art of tho widest possible
publicity. The Steel Corporations Issue
OF securities based in part on the own
ership of the Carnegie plant. had less |
water than many have supposed. 1t |
was merely tho turning into securities /
of the tremendous asset of the world /
wide reputation OF the Carnegie COM
pauy. and Mr.. Carnegie thus capitalized |
and sold for somo hundreds of millions |
tho publicity work which he had car