The Denver Jewish news., 1923-05-23

world had political and military power
today they would slay the Christians
exactly ms the Christians have been
staying them" There is II Jewish fac
tor In this problem after all. and Mr..
Holmes quite unlike himself for once.
goes bacl, 10 the Old Testament, which
he finds full of stories of massacre aud
torment goes back rather far TO the
entrance of the children of Israel into
To put its inhabitants to the sword. We
Jews hold that in the three thousand
and more years that have passed since
Jews entered Canaan there has been
very considerable advance in the life
and thought of the Jews. and rs a Jew
am humanity certain that if Jews
had political and military power today
they would not stay the Christians as
the Christians have been Staying them.
Despite the ath0licity and understand
ing of aIr. Holiness spirit, he evidently
has not been able 10 plumb the depths
of Jewish forbearance and Jewish long
suffering, the inexhaustible and infinite
capacity of the Jew for forgivin, low
ing an deven serving those who wrong
him.
Again, whatever be the validity of
Mr.. Holiness utterance concerning the
mythical character of Jewish and
Christian orthodoxy and the universal
ity of religion as u matter of natural
experience rather tllin of special rev
elation the humanity of Jesus as an
historical figure belonging botl to Juda-
ism and to Christianity. j cannot find
any warrant for his statement that Ito
the Jew the man of Nazareth is Il
hereto and apostatc; he is worse, than
This He is a fraud of the most obvi-
ous description This does not truly
or fairly convey the spirit of the Jew.
whether orthodox OF liberal. The liber-
al Jew thinks of Jesus as Mr. Holmes
the prophetic truths of Israel. The
orthodox Jew may. it Is true. judge.
Jesus by his fruits. in the attitude of
Christen,lom toward the Jew. in which
case the JeJw can hardly he expected
10 form the highest estimate of Jesus.
But Mir. Holmes is unjust to the Jew,
whether orthodox or liberal in assum-
ing that the Jewish ntiitude toward
Jesus is one of antagonism or enmity.
For Jesus lnis been crucified in the
q
nin by them who have called them
selves 10y his name, but denied him in
truth and in deed in all their relations
with the Jewish brothers of Jesus from
generation to generation. Insofar as
Mr. Holmes imagines that the attitude
Of tile Jew toward Jesus is one of
tynicism and contempt and scorn.
must make the answer that IL this were
.ri;c ii would constitute the very gray
est condemnation of Christianity. For
( eighteen hundred years. certainly for
| most of that time. Jews have not been
given an opportunity TO know what
Christianity sis least of all. to under
stand who Jesus was and what the
=
he lew the very misunderstanding of
the jew touching Jesus. as far as these
still oh-lin with respect I'd the origin
Of Chris ilnity and the place of Jesus
in fhc VA ris.mg Of Jewish embodiment.
these thii,es condemn not the Jew but
Christendc;i..
The Jews 0I tie Eastern world, who
have never touched ns You and i touch.
iiue followers of him they name the
Christ-that is to say. two-thirds of the
Jews of the world-not not know. yea
cannot know, what Christianity is. what
they have been denied the opportunity
of understanding. and much. if not All.
that Chrstcndom is and does, hides and
ohscurcs the lineamcnts of that Jewish
from mnny Jews than it has been hid
den from most Christians.
If the proposal of Mr.. Holmes be
tliat from time to time Jews unite in
to assent. agerly and heartily to such
lposposal. In truth, the speaker pro-
posed twelve or thirteen years ago to
his dear friends. John Haynes Holmes
Oliver Hall of the Universalist Church,
that we together arrange series of
! Union Service, which services. despite