Our Daily News Letter

(By Our London Correspondent)

The charge that the leaders of Liberal Judaism in England are prepared to abandon the pure monotheism of the Jewish religion, was made here by Chief Rabbi, Dr. Hertz, in a sermon delivered at the Brondeabury Synagogue on the first day of Passover. "Traditional Judaism." Dr. Hertz declared, "must defend the Unity of God against those whom we might call the Jewish Christians of our day; against those who altogether reject the Unity of God, or against such Jews and descendants of Jews who are not prepared to be unhesitating witnesses of unalloyed and undiluted monotheism.

"Thus, the founder of the Jewish Liberal movement in England, seems to be weakening in his stand for the absolute unity of the God-ahead. More than thirty years ago, he complained that the unity of God has occasionally tended to become a ‘fetish’ amongst us; while, in his latest book he does not consider that the doctrine of the Trinity necessarily involves an infraction of the Divine Unity. He writes:

"We have to re-examine and set forth afresh the doctrine of the divine unity. It will be needful for Liberal Jewish theologians to consider the new modern interpretations of the doctrine of the Trinity, and to discuss how far these are, and how far they are not, in accordance with Jewish views of the unity. Nor does it follow that because the doctrine of the Trinity has been, and even is, in frequent danger of degeneration into Tritheism, or has often so degenerated, it is therefore not true.’

"In other words, the Unity of God is still an open question. It seems Liberals should be prepared to subscribe to the doctrine of the Trinity, if they were permitted to put their own interpretation on it, or that of advanced Christian theologians. A man need be neither prophet nor son of a prophet to foretell that those who come after them will be less squeamish. One cannot help recalling David Friedlaender and his proposals to the Lutheran authorities at Berlin in the year 1799. And the experience of early-nineteenth-century Berlin is likely to repeat itself in mid-twentieth century London. Such is not only my view, but also the view of those Liberal guides who passionately desire to remain in Judaism. Dr. S. Schulman, one of the ablest of American Liberal ministers, recently reminded his congregation that some of the Protestant Churches which used to send missionaries to the Jews, now announce that they have given up doing so, because they no longer believe in ‘conversion.’ The fact is–says Dr. Schulman–that there is really no need for them to continue expending the vast sums which they did. Such sermons as one prominent Liberal rabbi has recently delivered on the Founder of Christianity–are doing the work for the Protestant and the Catholic Churches far better than their own missionaries could possibly do it. English Jews may add, that Jewish Christian conferences such as have taken place in London during the last two years, and books with pro-trinitarian leanings such as we have just quoted, likewise render Christian missionary effort, and expense, quite unnecessary."