This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1886 edition. Excerpt: ... IV. JUDAISM THE MOTHER, AND CHRISTIANITY THE DAUGHTER. T HE time when Christianity was born was as peculiar and as remarkable in regard-y to religious matters as is perhaps our own present age. Then, as to-day, the educated classes, the pioneers of civilization, were ready for a change of front. Old ideas had outlived their usefulness, and the new ones had not yet developed far enough to take their places. The minds of the best and most conscientious men were therefore kept in a constant tension. The old pagan gods had lost their reputation, and the world was yearning for a God who should fill the void in the human heart. Though the most magnificent temples were erected at that period, there was an utter lack of true religious sentiment, and hypocrisy ran high. The splendor of the temples and the very attractions which the priests were compelled to offer, were unmistakable evidence that rites and ceremonies had lost their meaning, and with it their influence upon the worshipper. At that time, the eye of the pagan world instinctively turned toward the Jews. Their theology was pure, their doctrines founded upon philosophy, their laws just and comprehensive, their rites elevating and soul-inspiring, their ethics unsurpassed. Their intercourse with Greeks and Romans had introduced them to the world. They had multiplied, and were to be found everywhere. There were as that time more Israelites outside of Palestine than within. Large colonies of Jews were to be found in Persia and along the whole coast of Asia Minor: they had settlements in Greece, in Spain, in Gaul, in Italy, and especially in Rome. In Egypt they were almost the masters. They were the leading statesmen: they commanded the armies: they were the magnates of commerce and the...

This collection of 16 articles represents a selection of the papers delivered in the course of a seminar (1995-1996) at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and its concluding joint symposium held at the Institute and Princeton University. Wide-ranging in scope, the volume covers messianic expectations from biblical times up to modern and contemporaneous adaptations, whereby the focus lies on the messianic concept within Judaism: diversity and variety of messianic expectations in antiquity; messianic movements at the time of the Crusades and around the fifth millennium (1240); the 'Pseudo'-Messiah Sabbatai Avi in the early modern period; the philosophers Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig and Walter Benjamin with respect to their thinking about messianism as well as the Lubavitch movement. Also included are investigations on pagan Graeco-Roman writings and messianic strands in the medieval and baroque Christian context. The section on the modern period contains contributions dealing with the Ahmaddiyya movement in India, messianic currents in the socio-political culture of the Weimar Republic as well as certain messianic aspects in the very recent so-called Branch Davidian community in Waco, Texas. The broad spectrum of stimulating analyses provides a fresh re-evaluation of an apparently timeless phenomenon.

This collection on messianic expectations from biblical times to the present represents a fresh re-evaluation of a variety of religious, political and cultural phenomena. The focus is on Judaism, but aspects of messianism in Graeco-Roman, Christian, and Islamic worlds alongside modern political issues are considered.

Scholars and students of history, culture, and religion are the intended audience for this book.