278 AGNOSTICISM: A REJOINDER vm 



So with the "Lord's Prayer." Absent in our 

 representative of the oldest tradition, it appears 

 in both " Matthew " and " Luke." There is reason 

 to believe that every pious Jew, at the commence- 

 ment of our era, prayed three times a day, 

 according to a formula which is embodied in the 

 present " Schmone-Esre " l of the Jewish prayer- 

 book. Jesus, who was assuredly, in all respects, a 

 pious Jew, whatever else he may have been, 

 doubtless did the same. Whether he modified 

 the current formula, or whether the so-called 

 " Lord's Prayer " is the prayer substituted for the 

 " Schmone-Esre " in the congregations of the Gen- 

 tiles, is a question which can hardly be answered. 



In a subsequent passage of Dr. Wace's article 

 (p. 356) he adds to the list of the verities which 

 he imagines to be unassailable, "The Story of the 

 Passion." I am not quite sure what he means by 

 this. I am not aware that any one (with the 

 exception of certain ancient heretics) has pro- 

 pounded doubts as to the reality of the crucifixion ; 

 and certainly I have no inclination to argue about 

 the precise accuracy of every detail of that 

 pathetic story of suffering and wrong. But, if 

 Dr. Wace means, as I suppose he does, that that 

 which, according to the orthodox view, happened 

 after the crucifixion, and which is, in a dogmatic 

 sense, the most important part of the story, is 



1 See Schiirer, Geschichte des judischen Volkes, Zweiter Theil, 

 p. 384. 



