THUS RELIGION GROWS To ISRAEL BROTHER AND COLLEAGUE How does
religion come to be what it is Let us follow the story of one
particular religion, Judaism, whose span of activity reaches from
remote antiquity to the present day and we shall see. PREFACE A
PATTERN in gold is boldly woven into the history of the Jew. It
gives quality and character to the record of the Jew it is his
distinctiveness, his glory, his raison detre. This pat tern in gold
is the religion of the Jew. Is it not amazing, then, to discover
that there has not yet appeared in English a continuous account, in
a single volume, of the growth of the Jewish religion from its very
origin to the present day There are, to be sure, histories of
Jewish literature, of Jewish music, of Jewish philanthropy, of the
Jewish people and in all these histories religion necessarily
occupies the most important position but there is still lack ing a
history of the religion itself, of the process of religious growth,
such as is reflected in the literature and demonstrated in the life
of the people. Perhaps the closest approach to this objective is to
be found in George Foot Moores History of Religions, but there,
unfortunately, the necessity of describing several religions
confines the treatment of Judaism to but an outline. Abra ham
Geigers scholarly Judaism and Its History, written in 1864
originally in German, is a series of individual lectures which
conclude with the close of the Middle Ages. True, particular
periods or phases of Judaism the Religion of An cient Israel, for
example, or Hellenistic Judaism or Rabbinic Judaism or Reform
Judaism have been admirably dealt with in separate studies. The
need is urgent, however, historically tosurvey the entire course of
Judaism and thus to present a unified picture of the gradual
unfolding and shaping of the Jewish religion. It is unfair to judge
Judaism by any one phase of its develop ment. Religion is dynamic.
It grows, along with mans growth. One historic religion differs
from a second historic religion because of its different history,
and although both vii viii THUS RELIGION GROWS may seek similar
values and both may arrive at similar truths yet each bears the
stamp, the momentum and the inspiring appeal, of its own history,
and the subtle shades of meaning resultant therefrom. In What We
Jews Believe p. 32, Samuel S. Cohon has suggested an apt analogy.
Suppose we were asked to dis tinguish the Hudson from the
Mississippi. Would it be enough to point to the water which both of
them contain Or would it suffice to subject a quantity of water
from each river to a chemical analysis for the discovery of their
con stituent properties The chemist would find hydrogen and oxygen
in both, and he would probably find some other elements besides.
The water of one river may appear mud dier than the water of
another river, and consequently less pleasant to taste. Whatever
the results of the test this pro cedure will hardly convey to us
any idea whatsoever of either the Hudson or the Mississippi. To
gain a proper picture of either river, we have to learn something
about its sources, about the length, width, and depth of its
current, about the countries which it traverses and about the
various uses to which it is put. It is the experience of several
years pioneer work in Eng landin organizing into a Jewish
congregation many who, because they could find no adequate modern
expression oftheir religion, had become estranged from their
heritage, and many who challenged entirely the validity of religion
which has impressed me with the urgent need for a clear and unin
volved narration of how religion grows, of how the religion of the
Jew has evolved. To unfold the story of Judaism, in the light of
cause and effect, is a colossal venture. Yet, a start must be made,
rather sooner than later...
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