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And Religion Looks to the Past
By RABBI SAMUEL UMEN
Science torou^i reaaarcfa ie ooo-
ataoUy wtonnrting itaeff. The inven
tion of today k aiveneded by an
iqnved one tomorrow. Progress to
onntfnuous in toe material world.
The secrets of toe Urdvene are
myriad. Every new breafctoruutfi
toeito victory for men over nature.
Bach dtp far awed toada to further
adventurea of the mind into the un-
knpwn. The aattofaction of dtocovery
to boumfieas; the pmmtoee of find-
ings are titttattng. The scientific
eye to therefore focused on the fo-
ture.
The toat word in the realm of sci
ence to yet to be heard, and the ear
of toe edattot to ever attuned to
hear it Paat wisdom to tested, tried,
and where found wanting is eocpend-
ed and deepened. The process is
meiheuethlc. ceaseless.
Every sriantifir dtocovery, every
invention, brings untold benefits to
the tndtoiduel, to toe nation and the
world. All aspects of life are en
hanced through scientific progress.
Science amply, tangibly, rewards
man for his efforts. Thus man is
actuated to reach out for new ob
jectives, new exciting goals.
In toe realm of toe spirit, in toe
field of religion, the story to quite
different. Here, tittle if anything new
can be expected. In this area of
life, we are compelled to refer to
the peat For in religion, the last
word had already been spoken.
Nothing can be added to It, nothing
can be detracted from it. Who
could add anything to these words:
It hath been told thee O man,
what to good
Aad what the Lord doth require
of thee;
Oaly to do lastly, sad to love
aad is walk humbly with Thy
God (Mlcah 6-8).
or to this exhortation
Take thoa away from Me the
aotae of thy eeags;
Aad let Me not hear the melody
of thy psalteries.
Bat M Jsrtlii well tg> as waters,
Aad righteousness as a mighty
stream (Amos S:23-24)
or to this one:
Have we as* aO one father?
Hath Bat see God created m!
Why do we deal treacherously
against his
. . ? (Malachai 2:1»
Hie noblest principles toat man
'» to live by have been proclaimed
aeons ago. What is expected in re
ligion to not new precepts, but that
the old be heeded, be accepted, be
tried.
Unlike science, instead of offering
something, religion asks something
of man. It aefcs for oommrtment
Oomndtment means sacrifice; it
means giving up tone; it means part
ing with wealth; it means suffering
inconvenience. As it is said, “And
Thou shaft love the Lord thy God
with ail thine heart, and with all
term!
work'
y ear ’round
thy sold and aH thy mi&t ” (Deut.
6:5).
The reward tor commetonent, toe
return for living a life based on the
Eternal Law, cannot be exchanged
in the market place for anything
material. It only affords one a good
feeling when he is doing whet is
jutt, ritod, and proper. Most people,
therefore, seek material rather than
spiritual rewards. They envision
greater gain in conquering nature
and being victors than conquering
human nature and being what ap
pears to be losers
Hence, religion, the moral law,
remains a challenge which few
choose to aocept “The law is holy,
toe command is holy, just, and for
our good. But then I am a creature
of toe flesh ... I do not act as I
want to act; I cordially agree with
God’s law, so far as my inner self
is concerned but then I find quite
another law in my members (the
body), which conflict with the law
of my mind.’’ The challenge of re
ligion to so frightening to most peo
ple that they who accept it are fre
quently described as saints and
pietists by some, foods and madmen
by others.
If the lofty doctrines of religion
remain mere ideals, which man’s
heart warmly accepts but his mind
stringy rejects, how can we ac
count for toe social progress man
has achieved through the ages?
Is not the gootfoess present in the
world due to man’s obedience of the
moral law?
Instead of being guided by re
ligion, man is tau^t by history,
wars, and its concomitant evils,
hate and its consequences, poverty
and its results, disease and its ef
fects, all contributed throu^i the
ages and contribute now in the pro
cess of refining and humanizing
mankind.
History, bitter experience, leads
toward improve labor conditions,
toward bettw relations between the
different races, better educational
facilities, and international institu
tions for settling disputes between
the nations. In ail these areas of
achievement, religion, can claim
only a small share.
Had religion exercised its influ
ence in these spheres of human ac
tivity, much more would have been
accomplished, much sooner and
with much less misery, pain and
suffering.
Whatever good man requires for
his well being, far his survival, he
fights for. So it was in times of
antiquity, so it is today, and no
doitot will continue to be. That is
why the prophet cries out to the
world, “Not my mi^t, nor by pow
er, but by my spirit, saith the Lord
of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
"The Counsel of the Lord stand
eth forever” (Ps. 33.11). It beckons,
it pleads, it urges It is a command
uttered in the past for all time and
it is as fresh, as timely, as the
scientist’s future discovery. Only
when men will find themselves com
mitted to truth, to love, to justice,
to beauty, to brotherhood, to a
society under divine Universal Law
will be the religionist like the sci
entist be for to, look for something
higher, nobler, more challenging to
live for, be committed to and make
sacrifices tor.
"The precepts of the Lord are
right, rejoicing the heart: the com
mandment of the Lord is pure, en
lightening toe eyes. The fear of the
Lord is clean, enduring forever: the
judgments of the Lord are true,
rigkeous altogether’’ (Ps. 19:8-10).
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