Are missions to the Jew a failure? [microform] : a study of official Judaism and Christian missions

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6

Are Missions to the Jew
a Failure ?

A Study of Official Judaism and
Christian Missions.

BY THE

REV. S. B. ROHOLD, F.R.G.S.

Published by the
CHRISTIAN SYNAGOGUE (PRESBYTERIAN.)
165 EHzabeth Street.

TORONTO. CANADA.

INTRODUCTION.

Th(M-c iiio still found ( 'hiistians who <lo not
beliovo in conducting missions to tho Jews.
Some even deny that thosv descendants of Abra-
ham, Isaac and Jacob can be soundly converted
to Christ. Comparatively few know anythinjr
of the great work tluit is 1)eing done amonj;
thear- "Cliosen IVo|ile" of (Jod or the remark-
able results. The following pages convincingly
answer the arguments against the work put for-
ward by intelligent Hebrews and not by a few
uninformed Christians. It would be well if this
most interesting and stimulating leaflet could be
distributed by tlious;inds among Christians every-
where, and also among educated Hebrews. It
will open the eyes of many to the opportunities
and fruitfulness of Christian missions to the
Jews.

The Kev. Sabeti H. K'oliold, the author of these
pages, is a Hebrew, born and educated in Jerusa-
lem and converted to Christianity some years
ago. After laboring for his people in Scotland
he was called to Toronto, Canada, where he is
now superintendent of the excellent mission
carried on by the Presbyterian Church of
Canada in the "Christian Synagogue." Mr.
Bohold is president of the Hebrew Christian
Alliance of America, and is associated in the
editorial work of the "Missionary Review of the
World,'' in which magazine this paper first
appeared.

DELAVAN L. IMEKSOX, Editor,
The Missionary Reviexv oj the World.

New York, Dec. 29, 1914.

Official Judaism and Christian
Missions.

Rev. S. B. Rohold, F.R.G.S.

What pathos and touching soh'iunity fill
onr soul, ns we behold Israel with her trjit?ie
Day of AtonenioTit : with her overburdened
ritual of a fearful <|uest after peace with
God "hole nation making a superhu-

mar . lo appease the anger of Jehovah.
At ' w time we gaze upon over four
Inindrca lliousand of the race girded for
war; for an internecine contest — as far as
they are concerned, dew is engaged in
mortal combat with Jew. What aii in-
human tragedy is being enacted before our
very eyes! Jewry is driven into nuitual
enmity imposed by the warring nationali-
ties. Terrible events are adding a grim
page to Israel's already tragic history.

Although this pathetic, continuously
moving panorama of Israel's bitter condi-
tion is a living reality to us, and although
we appreciate Israel's peculiar, bitter and
helpless temporal condition, yet we believe
that Israel's spiritual needs are the greater,
by far, and of vaster importance to the
C'hurch of God. We therefore, lay aside all
otlier considers. lions and call the attention
of the ''watchmen upon the walls of
Zion," to the attitude of official Judaism

3

townrds C'liristisin Missions, tlint on'' minds
sliould !)(' rl('}ir on tliis important sulgcrt,
in order wo may he jjuidcd to art in t»n-
lightenod ohotlionce to the will of our
blessed Lord, the Christ of God.

THE JEWISH OPPOSITION.

The past year was an especially hostile
year. Not that its bitterness had any vital
etTeet on active (lospel woi*k amontrst the
.lews, hut i-ather contrary; as far as
visihle i-esults are eoneerned, it has been a
year of reaping, full of Messing and en-
couragements, lint the IJahhinical opposi-
tion, in siieer despei'ation — which proves
i^s weakness — was carried into the pul)lic
secular press, taking the form of i)r()tests,
appearing sinuiltaneously in different i)arts
of tlie world -in London. England, New
York, the E„ stern and Western States and
in Canada. We carefully gather together
practically all these protests and corres-
pondence on the suhject, from Jew and
Gentile, and it proved a most interesting
study. The impartial, studious reader
wouid at once reali/e where the weakness
lies. Of all these epistolary protests, un-
doubtedly the most important one, and one
tliat was eari-ied on with vigor and vim,
was that of the learned Rabbi ^Feldola de
Sola of Montreal. Tie nuule a gloveless at-
tack on the Lord Bisiiop of Montreal, who
appealed on behalf of the local Mission to

4

the Jews, Tlic cxtciuicd con-cspondrnct'. in
wliicli otiicr .Ifwisli and Christian divines
took part, appoan'd in tho ''Montreal (la-
/ette,** and the arfnuaents <'an he well
Huninicd up in their own words: —

1. "We .Jews do not want the (Jospel."

2. "Why don't yon send nussionaries to
tlie better ehiss

;i "Jewish MisHions are a failure.**
The spiritual diseerner would at o!ieo
observe that none of tln'iii MM'<litate(i on the
spiritual si«rnilieanee of the ( hristian re-
iij?ion, nor do tiiey at all a|)|>reeiat«' the
demand upon, and the duty of, the follower
of the Christ of (Jod. Let us examine their
contentions.

I. "WE JEWS DO NOT WANT THE
GOSPEL."

Do any Kabbis in: ";ine tiuit tiie Chui'eli
was deeeivin«r itself.' Christ Himself de-
elared nineteen hunilred years ago to His
followers that the natural heart is hard
and that the world loves darkness? The
Cliureh. obedient to the eoniniand of her
Lord "to preach the (Jospel to every
ei'eatui'e, " and "to tiu' .Jew tb'st and also
to tile (lentile, " eannot possibly be ex-
pected to stoop down and fail in her im-
perative duty, simply because it is not at
once appreciated by those for whom the
(lospel is so specially desi«rnated for their
salvation. Jn fact, the Church exists, like

5

her blaster, not for herself, but for man-
kind. To expect Christian people to ex-
clude the Jew from their missionary pro-
gram to evangelize the whole world, is to
expect the Cliurch to undo herself. It is
to ask the (Miristian people to do what to
tiiem is an impossibility. The duty of the
Christian is to proclaim peace through
Christ. We cannot neglect our duty in .
relation to the Jews, especially when we
consider the issue between Judaism and
Christianity. It is of vital importance, it is
great and infinite — yea. we cannot possibly
close our eyes to the peril of a complacent
acquiescence in all the assailment that is
being levelled against the Christ of God
and Christianity by the modern and liberal
Jewry. The claims of "liberality and
charitableness," ruude by the modern Jews,
all go to the wind when we look at their
mutilated liturgy. They still preserve the
intercessory prayer to Almighty God, that
''Minim/' i.e., sectarians, Christians, and
especially converted Jews, "shavJd have no
hope." To the Jew in general Christ is
an impostor, at best, who claimed for Him-
self the attributes of God. Renan in his
"Vie de Jesus," influenced modern Jews
to assume an apparent friendly attitude to-
wards Christianity. He taught them to
claim Jesus as their own great teacher, as
their own inheritance. This was a subtle
attempt to destroy the doctrine of Chris-
tianity ' levelling it down to the position
of a mere ethical religion like Judaism. It

6

is on this point of i'tliii's that present-day
.hulnisni, in its uttitude 'owards Chris-
tianity, IB like a combatnnt ' 'ho draws eloso
to his opponent, and tlier recoils in ort\or
to jfiv»' him n more severe blow. TTen«*e. h't
us not. he mistsikcn: when we see Jewish
Rabbis, and other prominent non-Christian
writers, however highly they speak of the
person of Jesus, they are strennoiisly en-
deavorinj? to (h-ny llis absolute Messiah-
ship and llis undoubted Deity.

In view of this, for the Christi. ' Chureli
at sueh a time to nejrleet the absolute eom-
mand of her Lord to preach the Gospel to
the Jew, would l)e a crime aorainst her very
conseienee, and which could 1 \<' only ()nc
possible ending the undoing oi^ herself.

n. ''WHY NOT 8EHD THE MISSION.
ARIES TO THE BRTEB CLASS?"

The implication would naturally be that
the wealthy and highly educated classes are
neglected by the missionary agencies , and
thus a proof of the inadequacy of its
methods and the failure of its enterprise.
Let us at once dispel this illusion! And
if anyone's mind is thus befogged, we
would humbly suggest to such to come out
into the sunshine, and their doubts will all
evaporate.

If the wealthy and highly educate-^ have
not accepted the Christian message, that is
certainly not a proof of the inadequacy of

7

the mcssHgc, nor {igainst its saving? powt , ;
we venture to suggest that the failure is in
tlieiiisclvcs. In this respect tlie rich and
highly (Mlncated Jew is not in a different
position from the Gentile of the same
ealihre.

Look at the plain tacts. Here is a mis-
sionary who is ahsolutely saturated with
(lospel truth, an cxjx'i't in (h'aling with in-
dividuals. What hoj)(' has lie of gaijiing
an entrance into the lioine of the .Jewisii
barrister, tlie stockbroker and the rich mer-
chant and the railroad magnate, with a
view to winning them for Christ ? In this
elass nationality is no factor. It is well
known tliat tlie missionary who ventures on
such enterprises is at once shown to the
tloor, or dismissed with scant ceremony.

Once we look thoroughly into the ques-
tion, it is not only adeciuately answered,
but the injustice of it is made bare. The
Jewisii .Mission should bear this blaine just
as little as the Home .Mission should be
held responsible for the fact that so many
of the wealthy and educated Christians,
who have turned their backs on religion,
are not won by missionary efforts. There
are cultui'ed circles which are not acces-
sible to a mission in the usual sense.

Rabbi de Sola, in one of his letters, evi-
dently thought he was scoring and hitting
hard in making his attack personal, so he
]>uts this pointed (|uestioii : ''If Hislutp
Fnrlliinff (<fnsi(l<rs ctninrsioti io Cliris-
t'mmty (ssuffial for (mr salvation; if he

8

traHy believes that an infinitehj benevolent
(iod will consign us In lull fin inil<ss ur
s(( (})e to (!f( irifli hitn, lioir is il llnil In
lias n( rrr m<nl( <iii all (in pi l<> coniu rl hh
and mji fdlow lUtbbis! An our souls of
no i'alu(/ An we snch hardened .sinners
that we are unworthy of reil< mplion
Spiritual shortsightedness and the old spirit
of MrrogHiiee prompts siieh a ([iiestion. The
(hity of th«' niissionary is to enlighten those
who are in darkness, iw.d to bring the mes-
sage to those who have no opportunity of
knowing it. The learned Rahhi and the
aristoeratie Jew, hy his uphringiiiir. hy the
schooling which he lias enjoyed, hy his ex-
tensive social relations, hy his nienihershii)
and admission into all kinds of literary
functions, come in eontaet daily with true
Christianity. All th.ese splendid oppor-
tunities are denied to their i)()()rer hrethn'n.
Their horizon is so much wider and should
he cleai'cr. The poor Jew is restricted to
the members of his own class and race.
His education, at its best, was in a Jewish
school, in an obscure town in dark Russia,
which has hardly led him beyond the Old
Testament, restricteil to the interpretations
of the Rabbis in the light of the Talmud,
and even that from a limited viewpoint.
But the cultured Jew had all the gitat
problems and (luestions of life ))rought be-
fore him during the school days which he
spent in a Christian colle^'e. The Chris-
tian church year, which he i)assed through
as a matter of course with his fellow

9

scholars, early brought to his consciousness
the problems of the two Biblical religions.
Later in litV, tlie (luestion of the true re-
ligion eamiot remain hidden from him. As
a lover of music, or as a so-ealled "man of
culture," he hears the mighty passion of
Bach, the ''Messiah" and the "Elijah,"
and the rest of the passionate Christian
music. As a "modern man" he pursues
tlie discussion, which agitates wide circles,
of such questions as "Did Jesus Live?"
"Who was Jesus?" "What Would Jesus
Do?" He has access to all the latest books
and manuals, he has the languages to read
the New Testament and faculties to under-
stand it.

We fully agree with Dr. Mahl, the gen-
eralization that the Gospel is not presented
to the better class Jews, is far too sweep-
ing. Of course it is admitted that he
wealthy Jews — and in tliat respect, the
wealthy Gentiles as well — stand outside the
radius of the missionary activities, but this
does not admit reflection on the missionary
or his agency. Unfortunately, the aristo-
cratic Jew is like many educated Chris-
tians; to read the classics of all nations, to
be acquainted with the latest n,ovel, is a
mark of good breeding ; but where the New
Testament is concerned, a man may con-
fess he has never read it through, without
this deficiency in his education being
greeted with a compassionate smile.
Finally, the better situated Jew may nearly
always go to any evangelical minister, who

10

would wolcoiue liiin witli open arms in
order to converse witli hini as to Ins doubts.
All this, almost without exception, is de-
nied to the poorer and uneducated Jew.

No, the missionaries have an absolute
right to throw back the reproach that the
mission does nothing for the cultured
among the Jews. If there is any blame, it
rests with themselves. J^ut we hope also to
show that this fallacy that the educated
Jew is not reached with the Gospel, is cer-
tainlv not correct, as he is reached with the
Gospel. Yea, as we hope to prove from
their own writers, they are even more sus-
ceptible to the truth than their poorer and
less educated brethren. The missionary in
general who possesses the true love for
dirist, and compassion for winning men
to Ilim, is always only too happy to meet
with such, and to help them into a better
understanding of salvation and a close re-
lationship with Christ. As long as every-
thing goes well with a man, and he is
sufficient unto himself, he will not seek
after God. But over against these so-
called better class Jews, stand thousands of
Jews who struggle with the misery within
and without, and to whom quest Jifter God
is a living reality. For these the Christian
missionary has a living message which in-
deed suits all men, but which is best under-
stood bv them. God opens their hearts—
they bring with them their need, a longing
for deliverance, for comfort and true free-
dom, and Christ enters in and makes them

11

free. On this aeeonnt the Jewish mission-
ary activities arc nioi-c tVaslMe and etfee-
tual ainon^ the less t'oi'tunatc Imt it docs
not mean that the success is less anionj? the
hcttcr class.

m. "JEWISH MISSIONS ARE A
FAILURE. "

This ])asclcss accusation is usually ac-
companied by a three-fold charge:

(a) "Jt costs $5,00() to convert a Jew."

())) ".Jewish converts belong to the
lowest sti-ata of society,"

(c) "J5ad Jews become worse Cliris-
tians."

These plausil)le charges are so con-
tinuously and persistently indulged in, that
many have conu^ to believe that there is
some truth in them. It is theiefoi'c amaz-
ing to lind that all these assertions are
effectively contradicted by their own Jewish
leaders. The sadness of the whole situation
is this, that the minds of these accusers are
so befogged by the bitterness of their on-
slaught, that all reason is ignored, and they
never even halt to consider their own con-
tradictory statements.

Let us look impartially into these accusa-
tions and see what are the facts. Jt is
lather too late in the day to insinuate that
-lews wiio become ( 'hristinns, do so from in-
terested motives. The old theory that it
cost $5,000 to convert a Jew, has long ago

12

been explod<Hl by Jowisli authorities tbem-
selvos in tbcir ostiniato of the number of
eonverts. l)Ul. suppose that a .It wish >'is-
sion has existed lor a year, and has i >t,
say. .+•').()()(>. and that only one 'lew has heen
eonverted, (hire we even ask: "Is tliis re-
sult eoniniensurate with the hibor and
eost ?" Shall we eonipare 5|?r),()0(), or all the
<r(^h] on eai'tli. or all the material universe
of (iod. witii the value of one human soul,
formed in the ima<;e of (Jod, and capable of
union and eommunion with llim? But,
look at the faets. While the Habbis are so
anxiously lamenting "the waste of good
Christian money," one of theii- enunent
leadei's, Professoi- (J. Deutseli. the great
authoi'ity on -lewish history and bitter op-
poiu'ut of all Jewish missionary efforts,
tells us in the "Ameriean Israelite" of
.Mareh 10th, 191-4:

"Tlic tot.'il miinbor of ajxistusic!-; from .hidaisin
ill \ ieiiiiii (luring the year 1!M)S» was HK?, aiul
the iiunibor of desertions for the last ten years
lias remained stationary. In a community that
nuinl>ers about 1SM,()(M) souls, this jiroportion
of ajiostasies is not <'onsidere<l very great, al-
though it is by no means insignificant. The
former pretext tiiat in this number there ar(>
included many outsiders who cohh^ to Vienna
for the sake of conxcrsi m. in order to avoid
notoriety at home, will not liold good any more,
since the names of the p[>ostates are published
1)V the Jewish Press. One would think that it
niight be rather tiie reverse. The lists show
that losses are found at both ends — amongst the
most |ironiinent ... d amongst the lowest strata
of society. »Ve lind laborers and seamstresses

1.1

by tlie 8i<lo of lawyers and actresses and the
representatives of high finance.''

Tlu^ "Jewisli Clironit'le," liOiulon, Eng-
hnn\, tlic most pi-oiiiinent of Jewisli papers,
aiul which never loses an opportunity of
attacking Jewish Missions, forgot itself antl
published the following remarkable state-
ment :

*'i)r, Balu lias exaiiiiin.Hl the records of the
Berlin Jewish community for information con-
cerning .lowisli apostasy. From this informa-
tion it is possible to d<'duce a clear idea of the
secession movenicnt throughout the whole of
CJcrmany. ... In the period of 1873 to 1906,
l,S7-4 persons (1.3!ir) males and 479 females) in
Berlin seceded from Judaism. . . . Besides the
moral damage which the Jewish community sus-
tains by . hese conversions it has also suffered
considerable material loss, through diminution of
its tax-paying members. The seceders, as a
rule, belong to the well-to-do classes, and pay
high contribution's, Tiic annual l0ss to the
Jewish community through the secession period,
1887 to 1906, was about 80,000 marks."

From these statements one can appre-
ciate the material loss to the synagogue and
the alarm of the Rabbis, but where does the
lamenting for "good Christian money"
come in?

Look a little closer and see the inconsis-
tency of their baseless imputations. The
"eJewish Year Book," published in Lon-
lon, edited by Rabbi Isidor Harris, M.A.,
and used l)y all Rabbis, mentions the names
of 500 Jewish celebrities, amongst whom are
included 85 Jewish converts to Christianity.

14

Shall we say that these gi !at, famous incii —
financiers, astonomers, scholars in Sanskrit,
in (iiHM'k and Roman chissit'S, in moilcrn
ianguagt's and literaturr, as well as in
Arabic, (Mialdaic, Syriac and llclii'cw, his-
torians, poets, mathematicians, jurists,
architects, explorers, nmsicians, actors,
critics, journalists and writers oL* all kinds
— arc hypocrites.' If so, why does tli
editor ol' the ortiiodox ^Jewish Year iiook
glory in them ■ Yet we understand t'lat the
Jewish synagojjfue could not afford to brush
aside, as of no account, a body of men which
embraces persons like the three Ilersrliels,
the eminent asti'onomers ; »Jacobi, the ma-
thematician; Sir F. C. Palgrave, the tra-
veller and historian ; 1. 1. liicardo, the econo-
mist; F. Ganz, the jurist; Prof. F. Jaffe,
the historian; .Mendelssohn, Sir Julius
Benedict and Sir M. Costa, the musicians;
Sir Closes Salvador, H. Vemberg, the Hal-
eveys; not to mention Dr. Neander, the
great Church historian; Dr. Alexander,
first Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem; or
saints like Dr. Saphir, Dr. Edersheim, Dr.
Joseph Woolf, Bishop Hellmuth, or Bishop
Schershewsky, But the protesting Rabbis,
in the bitterness of their attack, shut their
eyes to reason and truth, and would have
us believe that these men were lazy, fools
or hypocrites who sold their souls for what
they could get, and were a burden to the
church; and to our own shame and sorrow
w^e find that some (J entile Christians have
been led so far astray as to join in this

15

awful cahininy. Xay, these mon have not
only liclpcd to a(hi lustre to the ehureh, hut
l>y thcii" lives, woi-ks iiiid uritiii«rs, have
iiionMcd I he lives iirid cluii'JH'tcr of tlioii-
s^lll(ls within the ehureh. These, and these
only are the men of whom the Jewish
people ean honorably he proud; for they
jire the nu'U of Isrjicl. who, luiviny; enufrht
the ti'iie vision of (lod. }is I'evcjiled in ( 'hrist,
ioilowed Him to the vccy (ijirden of (ictli-
seniane. losing; all, Torsaki'n, hated hy their
dearest and l)est, left alone in the wilder-
ness and tempted hy the devil; yet. they
emerjred through the fire and eame out more
than eon(|Uerors, rejoieinji: in their Lord,
or such the nation ouglit justly to be
proud.

DAMAGING EVIDENCE.

Hut i)erhaps the most damaging evidence
of all against the unworthy assertions of
enemies of Missions to the Jews, has eome
to light through a dissension among their
eminent Icadci's. The Chief K'ahbi of Lon-
don. Kngland. delivei'cd a I'emarkahle ad-
dress on Saturday. A])ril 25th, 11)14, on t e
subject, "Does Reform Lead to Apostasy'/"
and in making his bitter attaek on Reform
Judaism, lie stated: ".\V> womUr that a
Hinnlxr of such ' h'ahhis' liarf in flu course
of oH( <jni< ralion ptihiich/ r(ii(/inic<(l
'Judaism, or ()<n\< oinr to Chrisiianifij — an
unheard of thing in all the preceding thirty-

16

thi'fv <'rnhn-i<s of nnr (Int/mml liislnrif."'
Aft«»i* inontionin^ iihiiics of <M'rtain IcaiiiTs
who have ivnoiinccd .Iiidjiism, he con-
cludes: "7'n(lnil f'ulhj Ifi/ll IIk aposhlsiis
(iHionf/ I. M. \\'is( '\ ( roiiiulcr
of tlic Kcl'oniu'tl .Icwisli ( 'ollcy;!', Ciii-
cinatti) frhmls ami pu/tils trftiihl rrijiiin
n mono(jraj)li.'* Tliis. of j'oursc, woke the
indignation of Prof. (Jotthnrd Dciitsch,
who iiindc }i most powerful oiishiuj^lit on the
Cliiei* l\nl)l»i ill the 'Mewish Chronicle" of
June 2Gtli, 1!)14, and in his i-ettilintion he
gave a wonderful list of orthodox Kahhis,
and particularly sons of these Rabbis —
amongst those whom he mentions, the off-
s|)rin»; of one of his j)i'edeeessoi's in the
office of Chief liahlti of Britain — who have
I'cnounced .Judaism in favor of Protestant
('hristianity. The know!ed<?c of Dr.
Deutsch on the subject is simply marvel-
lous. The only reji^ret is that his article is
so exhaustive that we <-annot jjive it in full,
yet we think it would he helj)ful to have
it repi-inted on some future occasion. Dr.
Deutsch has unconsciously done eminent
service to Christianity by giving us a list
of converts which we never had before; he
also ])rov()ked Professor Daiclies to chaiii-
])ion the cause of orthodox .Ju<laisiii. and
ill his defence he gave us a list of the Ue-
formed Rabbis and their offspring w ho have
renounced Judaism for Christianity.

Thus, by the dissensions of these cham-
pions of .ludaism, we have received new
light on the subject, and tlamaging evidence

17

to nil their hasolcss charges. What we
marvel at is that these Jewish leaders are
80 short-sighted and still persist in their
unfounded aeeiisations.

The result of this eorrespondeiice could
he well suimiied up hy tiie (juery put by
Mr. Louis Kletz. in the "Jewish Chroniele"
of July :ird, 1014:

"The controversy between the Chief Rabbi
and Dr. (?otthar<l Doutsch, whilst interestinj?
from an aeadomic point of view, is unsatisfy-
in>? in the sense that it does not seem to lead
anywhere in particular. Dr. Hertz condemns
'Reform' as a natural road to ai)Ostasy, and in
proof of his contention, cites the case of certain
Reform Rabbis who have been converted to
Christianity. Thereupon Dr. Dcutsch comes
along with a series of facts and figures which
tend to show that, in so far as it affects Rabbis,
apostasy is just as frequent in orthodox Jewry,
until tiie man in the street is left to wonder
whether Rabbis are not especially susceptible to
the allurements of conversion."

On our part, we are bound to say that
in our experience, no one is more suscep-
tible to Christianity than the Ra])bis; if
we could only bring thoni seriously to con-
sider the claims of Christ, then Christianity
is theirs.

The l)itterness and inconsistency of the
'Mewish Chronicle" has no bounds. A
few months ago this paper of official
Judaism published a full page photograph
of the Right nonoi'a))le Riifus Isaacs, who
was promoted to be Lord (.'hief Justice of
Great Britain, the highest office in the

18

power of the Crowii, as well as being raised
to the peerage. In full ecstasy of glorifica-
tion, they told of the deeds of this lieioie
Jew, i\m\ pointed out how one con hi l)e
siicli a loyal .lew and yet receive tlie iiighcst
honor of state. But in the "Jewish
Chronicle" of October 2nd, li)14, we read
of an extraordinary event. The Hon.
Gerald Isaacs, tiie son and heir of this
very Lord Chief Justice, married the
(laughter of another well-known Jew, Sir
Alfred .Mond. Baronet, P.C., and
both accepted Protestant Christianity, and
were married at the Holy Trinity Church,
London, England! Of course the "Jewish
Chronicle" makes a bitter attack on both
these children of Israel. "Why do they
not stamp this couple as 'bad Jews becom-
ing worse Christians!' "

The same "Jewish Chronicle" of Janu-
ary 2nd, 1914, in congratulating the Right
Honoral)le Lord Burnham, the fhiet' pro-
prietor of the "Daily Telegraph," upon
the attainment of his eightieth birthday,
after fully eulogising the greatP'' of this
remarkable man, comments thus .s con-
version to the Christian faith: *'As a
newspaper, the "Jewish Chronicle" ojfers
fraternal greetings io Lord Burnham. As
a Jewish newspaper it cannot forget that
his Lordship found himself unable to re-
main in the community in which his familg
was cradled. This is a rrcollcction—and
we say it franldg— which is a regret table
one, for we do not produce so many men

19

inul H'DHH n nf rttnuufnuliHff ( (ilihrr llidl trt
1(111 ajjOnl ht Inst tnu so tlisi infjidslml us
Loi'd Burnham/' Kvidi'iitly liord hum-
ham doi's not come um1i>r tlu» catoffory of
a '*l)ad Jew iMH'oming a wom* Cliristijin."
Ill conwrsiiii? with a handing Kabbi

jllxMlt this vexed (lUcstioil of vclioiuoiis
lijitc. ;iii<l niter sti';iiiiiii«r liiiiiself to n'wt'
an a(le(ni}it(' reason, we ventured to (jiiote
to him tilt' oft repeated elaHwe verse:

" 1 <li> not WUo veil. Dr. Kell.

Tlic rc.Mstiii wliy, I rmiiiot tell;
But tlii^ I Know, ami know full w«>ll,

I do ii(»t like you, l>r. Fell."

There is one more important line evi-
denee that proves rather refresiiinjr, seeiiij?
that we find modern .lewry has at hist
produced some who dare to speak lioiiestly
on tills very suhjeet. Jt was a pleasant
surprise to tind the eminent representative
of official Zionism, Dr. Arthur Kupin of
Pah'stine. veiitiiriii*r to piil)lish a remark-
ahle hook, entitled "The -lews of To-day."
For frankness we must styh' liim a nt'W
"asset" to the moch'i'ii Jewry. He flatly
contradicts the popular sing-song that
Christianity has failed to reach the Jews.
After an analysis of .lewisii hai)tisms in
ditf'erent countries throui^hout the world,
and in speakini; of missionary estimates of
adult l)ai)tisms. he says:

"It is fjuitf^ conccivMblc that in his approxi-
inato calculation of 204,")00 .Jewish baptisms in

20

tlic lOtli century, hf not only <loe« not excettl

tli«' iirtuiil iiuiiihVr, but may jtiMliaps fall sli^xhtly
slH.it of it. !t must Im' notUMMl tliiit tins lifiun-
.ih lu.lf.l ii.itlHT .fowish convortH to (lisHiMitMi;;
crotMlfi, nor hapt isms ol" . liil''.! m nt' iiiixol mar-
ria.M's. . . . Tho ostiinatf <»f U>,tMMi .li-ws I.imiij;
l.apti/«'d fvcry yt'iir falln far short from a«tanl
fact."

Dr. Hiipiirs uiH'oiiscious tcstiuiony tlisit
till' !isc('ii(|}iiit'y <>i* Cliristisinity luis siiiu-r-
scdcd .ludsiism. slioultl imike »'very »h'W
pause awhih*. Lvt tlu» (MiriHtiaii also taki'
note of his remarkable statement:

"In tlio fust t<'atuiiis iHttuo aii«l at'tfi
Christ, .lu«l»is»m was, iinlml, a jfreat attra^ti\t
ton-.' witli tiic lifatlicn, ami tli.To was a v«'ry
considorablo muiiiImt of .li'wisli jH-osolytes. But
this sjin'aU of Jewish taitli cfascd ahiutst »n-
tir.'lv at the ond o\' tlio first "oiitury, A.D.
I'aui's proi.ajiainla, an.l tiit- or(,\\ injr strciigtli of
iMiristianity, /o«* ///^ w/'"/ '^"'5 . • • •
Fii.iii ti.at time onward tlu* .h'wisii mission was
ro.ji'fted ill I'avor of (,'liristiaiiity. "

Furtliennore, he unconseionsly jyivcs mu
effective reply to the two fjuuilijir Iiiil»l)ini-
<'al aeeusations against the Christian
ehiireh, viz. :

1st. "TliJit converts are only of tlie poor-
est and lowest strata of soeiety.**

2n(l. "That the (Mnireh is afraid to go
to the rieh and the edueated."

He divides the .lewisli eounnunity into
four elassos. The foiirtli lie classities as
the lu'st and noblest, and says: "Jn llic
f(,u>-lli class, irhicit includes rich Jews of

21

the capitals and Jews of university train-
ing, baptism, for the children at least, has
almost Ixcomc the rule."

As to tlio second aceiisiitiou, lie says i'or
tlie cultured, rich and educated, there is
no need for a missionary — they themselves
drift into Christianity, as the result of
coining in contact with Christian influence,
education and environment. But the
strongest asset of Christianity is inter-
marriage. If a Jew is baptized a Chris-
tian in the ordinary way he is ostracized,
])ut when one marries outside tiie t'aitli he
is naturally looked upon with complacency.
Dr. Kupiil concludes his arguments with
the following declaration:

"The ecoiioniical ])rogress of the .lews, and
the growing culture of their surroundiugs, make
it clear that the answer must be that an in-
crease in baptisms is all that can be expected."

In the face of all these evidences from
their own sources, we ask, ''Are Missions
to the Jews really a failure?"

There is a remarkable answer given in
the "Jewish AVorld" of September lath,
to the query, Why do Jew^s hate
those who have accepted Christianity?
viz., '^The answer is to he found in Ihe zeed
of those men so often displayed against the
rock from which tliey were hnrn." This
l^roves their short-sightedness, because
here is their own evidence of the zeal of the
converted Jews to win their brethren for
Christ.

22

The wlioli' «'()ii<liti(m of tlic Jowry is so
l;micntMl)l(\ tliat we cjnmot do hotter tlian
(luotc from tlio orthodox Jewish Year
Book the *'He 'Atid." vvhi.-li in reviewing
the Jewish eondition, in agonizing language
cries out:

"Despair has overtaken us, for we no more
l)elieve in a imrpose, ncitlicM- in tliat whi.-h the
former simple faith had invented, nor in that
recently invented 1)V the exilic Judaism. We no
longer "see any mcanin^^ in our mis(M-ahle ex-
istence . . . Where is flie way, and where the
wav out, and where is salvation? .... Neither
Zionism, nor the indifferent national aspirations
satisfy our souls, which thirst after a new
spiritual and moral life."

THE OUTLOOK.

Those of us who are standiiij? upon the
walls of Zion and watehin«f Israels pe-
culiar condition, do not despair in the
least There has never been a time in
the Jewish history when the Jews have
been more honestly endeavoring to hnd the
truth and learn about Jesus dirist, than
at the present time. There has never been
n time when the Jews have so entirely
overcome all fear of the Rabbis and lead-
ers and are openly attending Missions as
to-day, and as soon as they are convinced
they take a definite stand. This has been
not only our own experience, but tlie ex-
perienee of the missionaries in the iiller-

23

cut \}nr\s of tlic world. All reel that tlioiv
liHS been a point of contact establisluHl be-
tween tlic Jews and (Miristianity witli
wliicli no Rabbinical anatlicnias can pos-
sibly intci-fci'c. Tbc ycai- lilU must be
i-ccop-iii/cd by all laborci's anion«»st Israel
as a year of progress and fruitai^e. There
are extraordinary opi)ortunities before tlie
Church of Christ, and tbe whole situation
is so momentous — the position so tremen-
dous and crucial, that the Church cannot
atford to halt for a moment.