THE PRESERVATION OF THE JEWS. 



I6 7 



of the same blood, features, and feel- 

 ings, all children of Abraham and Sarah 

 that are to be found everywhere ; that 

 part of it to which he has an aversion 

 being only such as apostatize from his 

 religion, and more particularly such as 

 embrace the Christian faith. In speak- 

 ing of Jews, we are too apt to confine 

 our ideas exclusively to a creed, forget- 

 ting that Jews are a race ; and that 

 Christian Jews are Jews as well as 

 Jewish Jews. Were it possible to bring 

 about a reformation among the Jews, by 

 which synagogues would embrace the 

 Christian faith, we would see Jewish 

 Christian churches ; the only difference 

 being, that they would believe in him 

 whom their fathers pierced, and lay 

 aside only such of the ceremonies of 

 Moses as the Gospel had abrogated. 

 If a movement of that kind were once 

 fairly afoot, by which was presented to 

 the Jew, his people as a community, 

 however small it might be, there would 

 be a great chance of his becoming a 

 Christian, in one sense or other : he 

 could then assume the position of a pro- 

 testing Jew, holding the rest of his coun- 

 trymen in error ; and his own Christian- 

 Jewish community as representing his 

 race, as it ought to exist. At present, 

 the few Christian Jews find no others 

 of their race with whom to form asso- 

 ciations as a community ; so that, to all 

 intents and purposes, they feel as if they 

 were a sort of outcasts, despised and 

 hated by those of their own race, and 

 separated from the other inhabitants by 

 a natural law, over which neither have 

 any control, however much they may 

 associate with and respect each other 

 (p. 488). 



The main prop of a Jew for remain- 

 ing a Jew, in regard to religion, rests 

 much more upon the wonderful phe- 

 nomena connected with the history of 

 his nation its antiquity, its associations, 

 its universality, and the length of time 

 which it. has existed, since its dispersion, 

 distinct from the rest of the world, and 

 so unique (as he imagines), that he at 

 once concludes it must have the special 

 approbation of God for the position 

 which it occupies ; which is very true, 

 although it proceeds from a different 

 motive than that which the Jew so 

 vainly imagines. The Jew imagines 

 that God approves of his conduct, in his 

 stubborn rebellion to the claims of 

 Christianity, because he finds his race 

 existing so distinct from the rest of the 



world ; whereas, if he studies his own 

 Scriptures, he will see that the condition 

 of his race is the punishment due to its 

 rebellion (p. 490). 



The history of the Jews acts as a 

 spell upon the unfortunate Jew, and 

 proves the greatest bar to his conversion 

 to Christianity. He vainly imagines 

 that his race stands out from among all 

 the races of mankind, by a miracle, 

 wrought for that purpose, and with the 

 special approbation of God upon it, for 

 adhering to its religion ; and that, there- 

 fore, Christianity is a delusion (p. 491). 



Christians not only flatter but delude 

 the Jew, when they say that his race is 

 " purity itself; " they greatly flatter and 

 delude him, when they say that the phe- 

 nomenon of its existence, since the dis- 

 persion, is miraculous. There is nothing 

 miraculous about it. There is nothing 

 miraculous about the perpetuation of 

 Quakerdom ; yet Quakerdom has existed 

 for two centuries. Although Quakerdom 

 is but an artificial thing, that proceeded 

 out from among common English peo- 

 ple, it has somewhat the appearance of 

 being a distinct race, among those sur- 

 rounding it. As such, it appears, at first 

 sight, to inexperienced youth, or people 

 who have never seen, or perhaps heard 

 much of Quakers. But how much greater 

 is the difference between Jews and Chris- 

 tians, than between Quakers and ordi- 

 nary Englishmen, and Americans ! And 

 how much* greater the certainty that 

 Jews will keep themselves distinct from 

 Christians, and all others in the world ! 

 It must be self-evident to the most un- 

 reflecting person, that the natural causes 

 which keep Jews separated from other 

 people, during one generation, continue 

 to keep them distinct during every other 

 generation. A miracle, indeed ! We 

 must look into the Old and New Testa- 

 ments for miracles. A Jew will natu- 

 rally delude himself about the existence 

 of his race since the dispersion being a 

 miracle ; yet not believe upon a person 

 if he were even to rise from the dead 

 (P- 493) ! 



While the history of the Jews, since 

 the dispersion, greatly illustrates that of 

 the Gipsies, so does the history of the 

 Gipsies greatly illustrate that of the 

 Jews. They greatly resemble each 

 other. Jews shuffle when they say that 

 the only difference between an English- 

 man and an English Jew, is in the mat- 

 ter of creed ', for there is a great differ- 

 ence between the two, whatever they 



