Article April 3, 1915 Issue

In an age of skepticism, in its broader sense as "a suspension...

Henry Deutsch—Minneapolis, Minn.

The Jewish Journal

In an age of skepticism, in its broader sense as "a suspension of judgment pending examination of the evidence of an alleged truth," mankind as a whole has assumed toward all subjects, and particularly the subject of religion, the intelligent attitude of weighing, considering, testing, and proving before passing judgment. Education and experience have taught men that they must work out their own salvation, and that they may not hope to have God in their lives simply through inheritance or contact "in living and work, with their fellow religionists sharing in their weal and woe." Religion is an individual, and not a racial experience, and the demand that men shall give the "reason of the hope" that is in them, requires evidence of religion in its effects in their daily lives and conduct rather than by genealogical charts or in merely social and economic activities.

All monotheistic religions are judged first by their fundamentals, and secondly by the results of their application as shown in the effects on their adherents, and through them upon the world, in advancing the correct knowledge and worship of God and the establishment of His kingdom. The monotheistic religions differ but little in their fundamentals, which may be stated simply as the correct knowledge and worship of God, and a proper understanding of man's relation to Him. What men think about these fundamentals constitutes theology, or human opinions for the exemplification of the fundamentals, crystallized into sects and creeds. These are almost without limit in number and wholly at variance in expression. Each claims for itself superiority over all the others, and in their discussions, exponents too often forget that ridicule and a lofty superciliousness no longer pass as argument or proof, and that when they essay to consider and pass upon the religions of others, it well behooves the professing servants of the most high God to tread lightly and to remember His command to Moses, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." This is more especially true when an intelligent consideration of the question demands a knowledge which can be gained only by experience and demonstration, and not merely through superficial opinion or even intellectual proficiency.

A man born and raised in the Jewish faith, who turns to Christian Science and finally becomes a member of that church organization, attracts more interest and is subject to greater interrogation than one of any other faith, largely because of the great gulf that has seemed to exist between the Jewish and the Christian faith. An investigation as to the reason why a large number of Jews have become Christian Scientists has not usually been sufficiently thorough to permit of a proper answer to the question, and too often has been the occasion for hasty and improperly supported conclusions and judgment. Christian Science is no longer an experiment, nor is it a mere passing phase of religious belief or fancy. In the nearly fifty years of its existence it has proven its position step by step, and fair-minded thinkers of all classes extend to it proper credit and recognize in it a religious faith which is entitled to proper respect and consideration.

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