|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 31
(17) None of the prophets puts the point more clearly than Isaiah. (18.)
After condemning hypocrisy he commends liberty and charity towards one's
self and one's neighbours, and promises as a reward: "Then shall thy light
break forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring forth speedily, thy
righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall be thy
reward" (chap. lviii:8). (19) Shortly afterwards he commends the Sabbath,
and for a due observance of it, promises: "Then shalt thou delight thyself
in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the
earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of
the Lord has spoken it." (20) Thus the prophet for liberty bestowed, and
charitable works, promises a healthy mind in a healthy body, and the glory
of the Lord even after death; whereas, for ceremonial exactitude, he only
promises security of rule, prosperity, and temporal happiness.
(21) In Psalms xv. and xxiv. no mention is made of ceremonies, but only of
moral doctrines, inasmuch as there is no question of anything but
blessedness, and blessedness is symbolically promised: it is quite certain
that the expressions, "the hill of God," and "His tents and the dwellers
therein," refer to blessedness and security of soul, not to the actual mount
of Jerusalem and the tabernacle of Moses, for these latter were not dwelt in
by anyone, and only the sons of Levi ministered there. (22) Further, all
those sentences of Solomon to which I referred in the last chapter, for the
cultivation of the intellect and wisdom, promise true blessedness, for by
wisdom is the fear of God at length understood, and the knowledge of God
found.
(23) That the Jews themselves were not bound to practise their ceremonial
observances after the destruction of their kingdom is evident from Jeremiah.
(24) For when the prophet saw and foretold that the desolation of the city
was at hand, he said that God only delights in those who know and understand
that He exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the
earth, and that such persons only are worthy of praise. (Jer. ix:23.) (25)
As though God had said that, after the desolation of the city, He would
require nothing special from the Jews beyond the natural law by which all
men are bound.
(26) The New Testament also confirms this view, for only moral doctrines are
therein taught, and the kingdom of heaven is promised as a reward, whereas
ceremonial observances are not touched on by the Apostles, after they began
to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. (27) The Pharisees certainly continued
to practise these rites after the destruction of the kingdom, but more with
a view of opposing the Christians than of pleasing God: for after the first
destruction of the city, when they were led captive to Babylon, not being
then, so far as I am aware, split up into sects, they straightway neglected
their rites, bid farewell to the Mosaic law, buried their national customs
in oblivion as being plainly superfluous, and began to mingle with other
nations, as we may abundantly learn from Ezra and Nehemiah. (28) We cannot,
therefore, doubt that they were no more bound by the law of Moses, after the
destruction of their kingdom, than they had been before it had been begun,
while they were still living among other peoples before the exodus from
Egypt, and were subject to no special law beyond the natural law, and also,
doubtless, the law of the state in which they were living, in so far as it
was consonant with the Divine natural law.
(29) As to the fact that the patriarchs offered sacrifices, I think they did
so for the purpose of stimulating their piety, for their minds had been
accustomed from childhood to the idea of sacrifice, which we know had been
universal from the time of Enoch; and thus they found in sacrifice their
most powerful incentive. (30) The patriarchs, then, did not sacrifice to God
at the bidding of a Divine right, or as taught by the basis of the Divine
law, but simply in accordance with the custom of the time; and, if in so
doing they followed any ordinance, it was simply the ordinance of the
country they were living in, by which (as we have seen before in the case of
Melchisedek) they were bound.
(31) I think that I have now given Scriptural authority for my view: it
remains to show why and how the ceremonial observances tended to preserve
and confirm the Hebrew kingdom; and this I can very briefly do on grounds
universally accepted.
(32) The formation of society serves not only for defensive purposes, but is
also very useful, and, indeed, absolutely necessary, as rendering possible
the division of labour. (33) If men did not render mutual assistance to each
other, no one would have either the skill or the time to provide for his own
sustenance and preservation: for all men are not equally apt for all work,
and no one would be capable of preparing all that he individually stood in
need of. (34) Strength and time, I repeat, would fail, if every one had in
person to plough, to sow, to reap, to grind corn, to cook, to weave, to
stitch, and perform the other numerous functions required to keep life
going; to say nothing of the arts and sciences which are also entirely
necessary to the perfection and blessedness of human nature. (35) We see
that peoples living, in uncivilized barbarism lead a wretched and almost
animal life, and even they would not be able to acquire their few rude
necessaries without assisting one another to a certain extent.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|