Newspaper Page Text
The Nazarene
(Continued from page 10)
of God’s Kingdom on earth. The
condition of the world since his ad
vent has never impressed Jews as
justifying such an appraisal of him.
Again, Judaism is jarred by the
world-weariness he displayed, his
indifference to social affairs and
day-by-day living, his absorption
in life after death and in the Mes-
siani-Era. This temper in him is
easy to account for. Together with
many Jews of his time, he seems to
have been convinced that the end
of the old order of nature and so
ciety was at hand, that a new and
ideal age was soon to be inaugu
rated. What is more, he expected
this cosmic revolution in the life
time of his followers. ‘'This gene
ration,” he said, "shall not pass
away till all be fulfilled.” "There
are some standing here that shall
not taste death till they see the
Kingdom of God coming with
power.”
Given this conviction, given its
otherworldiness, and many of his
perplexing utterances become in
telligible. Of course he was unper
turbed by the tyranny of the Ro
man Empire, and ready “to render
unto Caesar the things that are
Caesar’s." (Substitute "Mussolini”
for "Caesar” for the full impact of
the saying.) First of all. his king
dom was not of this world. Let
Roman conquerors then do with the
earth as they chose. Besides, what
was the sense in resisting Rome
when, in a few short years, the old
dispensation, the Empire included,
would be wiped away by the all-
powerful hand of God? Required
of men then was not the courage to
defy an evil order but the pati
ence to abide it until it disappeared.
In this light, one sees the logic
behind his estimate of marriage
when he lauds those "which make
themselves eunuchs for the king
dom of heaven's sake”; his judg
ment on family life when he says,
"There is no man that hath left
house, or parents, or brethren, or
wife, or children, for the kingdom
of God’s sake, who shall not re
ceive manifold more in this pres
ent time, and in the world to come
life everlasting”; his advice to his
followers to "take no thought for
your life, what ye shall eat or what
ye shall drink.” All these are
counsels natural to one who has
turned his back on the world to
begin with and in addition believes
the end of the days to be at hand.
But they are scarcely a livable in-
structon either for those who do
not spurn life on earth or expect
society to endure longer than an
other generation.
But will not Jews accept him, if
not as a prophet, then at least as a
perfect man, an ideal for all to imi
tate? That too is not tenable. The
sober truth is that Jesus, spiritual
hero that he is, is not perfect. The
ideal Jesus of the Christian imagi
nation is actually an idealization,
achieved by an unconscious but ju
dicious selection from New Testa
ment incidents. Thus. Jesus shows
no interest in the life of reason and
beauty, more specifically in the
philosophy, science and art of the
Greco-Roman world of his time. If
his outlook is lofty, it is narrow.
Then, too, he is so preoccupied
with the individual and his salva
tion that he has little to say about
society. Few of the communal con
flicts of his time touch him. He
makes no proposals about meas
ures to abolish slavery, about the
rights of the free laborer and how
they may be assured, about the all-
devouring statism of the Roman
Empire and how it is to be op
posed. His social gospel is very
slight, so slight that Christendom
has had to reach back of him to the
prophets of the Old Testament for
its political and economic ideals.
Nor was his character altogether
unexceptionable.
He was capable of bursts of ill-
temper, as when he cursed the
towns of Capernaum, Chorazin and
Beth Saida, or when he denounced
a fig tree for not yielding fruit to
appease his hunger, though it was
not the fruit bearing season. And
he was intemperate in his condem
nation of the scribes and Pharisees,
most uf whom were thoroughly
honest and dedicated men. Fi
nally, there are at least traces of
chauvinism in him. When a Cana-
anite woman pleads with him to
heal her daughter, he responds:
"It is wrong to take the children’s
bread, and throw it to the little
dogs." He declaries explicitly: "I
am not sent except to the lost sheep
of the House of Israel.” To him
“Gentile" and "publican” are
equally terms of opprobrium. And
he plainly instructs the Apostles
not to bear his message to non-
Jews.
These failings are understand
able and pardonable as human
frailties. Certainly they are more
than oset by virtues. The point is,
however, that they are inconsistent
with any claim to perfection on
Jesus' behalf, with any suggestion
that he constitutes a paragon to be
uncritically revered and erpulated
without reservation.
Very well then, says the Chris
tian, let it be conceded that Jesus
is neither God, nor uniquely His
son, nor the Messiah, nor a moral
prophet, nor even an impeccable
human being. Certainly he was,
despite his frailties, a great man,
a gifted and exalted teacher. Will
not the Jews accept his as such?
To which the answer of Jews
runs: “Have Jews, except under
the extremest provocation, ever
quarried with such a presentation
of him?”
(Copyright '47—7 Arts)
TUNE IN
WBBQ
M UTUAL
BROADCASTING SYSTfM
the 1340 spot
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
SERVING A MAJOR SOUTHEASTERN MARKET
ICE INDUSTRIES
OF AUGUSTA
Augusta Ice & Coal Co.
Houston Ice & Coal Co.
Atlantic Ice & Coal Co.
CRYSTAL CLEAR ICE — SIZED ICE
See Our New
Modern Air-Conditioned Ice Refrigerator
Dial 2-5536 901 Reynolds Street
S. Donald Fori,son Co.
Mill — Mine — Textile and Contractors Supplies
Welding Supplies
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
Welding Supplies at 514 Rhett Street
Greenville, S. C.
The Southern Israelite
(13)