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No. II.
We
sketched in our last the highly advantageous
position of Christian churches, with regard to their
ministry and appliances for the diffusion of their
peculiar religious tenets. It requires no comment on
our part to prove that in all these things we are
woefully deficient; we are without colleges,
book-associations, religious schools, and what is
more, a regularly-constituted ministry. When a
Nazarene comes to ask permission to perform the
ordinances of his church, and to be permitted to
preach, the greatest care is taken, first, to see
that he is morally and scientifically qualified for
the functions required of him; and, secondly, there
takes place a solemn ceremony of dedicating the
candidate for his work, and to make a deep
impression on his mind that it is not a light thing
to which he devotes himself, but the highest, most
important, and responsible, which man can assume. We
are well aware that many will seek the situation of
clergymen, merely for the worldly advantages it will
bring; and that many morally unfit may so disguise
their delinquencies, that they may pass the ordeal
of the necessary examination, and receive the
required introduction into the ministry, which
ceremony of ordination, as it is termed, varies
according to the notions of the dif<<434>>ferent
sects. But whilst admitting this, and which the
parties themselves will concede without debate,
there is no doubt on the other side that a large
portion are able and worthy men, who are willing to
devote their talents to the service of what they
imagine to be the truth. Crime, however, in
individuals does not prove the unworthiness or
inutility of the whole order; and hence we say that,
equally foolish with the senseless devotion which so
many sectarians display for their clergy, is that
stupid denunciation of churchmen, as though every
one who becomes a preacher, at once invests himself
with all the characteristics of the rogue and
hypocrite. Men, even intelligent ones, are so apt to
deal in generalities, that it is hard to make them
stick close to an argument: they have seen a sample,
one hypocrite wearing a black gown, and
straightforward there is no honesty among all
similarly situated.
We
need not repeat that we do not share such views. We
will allow that churchmen of all sorts are
ambitious; that they are anxious to extend the power
and influence of their order, and more immediate
denomination; but this does not say that they are
not honest, and that they are not highly qualified
for their functions. It is therefore well, though at
one time we thought otherwise, to mark the period of
formally entering on the ministry as one of deep
solemnity and importance, in order to make the
faithful discharge of all the duties incident
thereto a matter in which the individual himself
must feel that others will have an interest, as they
were, in a manner, sponsors to his conduct, since
they had a share in the setting him apart for the
work of which they are professed and acknowledged
agents; and then, again, it will cause him to have a
double responsibility, the pride of class, in
addition to self-respect, to restrain him from
violating his promise of faithfulness, and excluding
himself thereby from the society and sympathy of his
fellow-ministers.
We
know well enough, in this connexion, that the
various societies regard the ordination of
ministers in a much higher light than we have just
exhibited it; they fancy that by the various rites
which they perform, either by anointment, imposition
of hands of those previously ordained, or whatever
else may be <<435>>
done, they endow the candidate
with a peculiar intangible inspiration of the Holy
Ghost, an ethereal emanation, which becomes a part
of the new churchman, which in some shape is thus
interwoven in his very being, making him different
from other men, and which will not leave him again
all the days of his life. We confess not to be very
familiar with the views entertained on this subject;
as our want of sympathy with it has ever prevented
us from making a thorough inquiry into it. Still, we
do not think that we have stated it wrongly, and
that at least we have conveyed as clear an idea of
what is not understood on natural grounds, as can
well be done. There can be no question that the
Christian clergy would not thank us if we could make
the world believe that their initiation into office
conferred on them no gifts superior to what they
naturally possess; that if they had no intellect on
the evening previous to their having the hands of
others laid on them, they would to a surety have
none thereafter. For the claim to supernatural power
is one so pleasing to the ambition of man, that he
will hardly relinquish it if he can only maintain a
show thereof, although convinced within himself that
it is based on nothing. Several Christian sects,
however, deem the ordination of their priesthood of
the highest importance, and consider the
transmission of the Holy Ghost from hand to hand as
an undoubted fact, and view those alone, who have
regularly received it, as allowed to administer the
offices of their religion, which they term the
sacraments; and they also aver, that if performed by
others not so ordained, they are invalid.
According
to their notions, the priesthood is elevated firmly
and permanently above all men, and the greatest
crimes perpetrated by the endowed ones, do not
deprive them of the gift which they have obtained
from predecessors perhaps equally or even more
vicious than themselves.
To
an Israelite, who can discover nothing but a human
being, in any of his species, this assumption of
holiness must seem preposterous; although millions
acquiesce in it without questioning the claim. Still
it is evident that, however the higher endowment
must be gainsaid, there is a moral certainty that
the public dedication of candidates, who have been
carefully trained and scrupulously exa<<436>>mined
respecting their qualifications, will have a
powerful effect on their after-life, and stamp them,
in the eyes of those whom they are to guide, as
those who have received the mission to go before
their fellows with a righteous example, to stand on
a higher point of perfection than their flock, and
to be treated in consequence by them as those in
whom God has a special delight, so that they and
their work will always stand high in public
estimation.
This being the case, it is not very wonderful that
Christians are unwilling to believe any evil of
their clergy, and that under nearly all
circumstances they find protection, and are received
with open welcome wherever they present themselves.
The minister’s words will always be received with
deference, because he possesses more information on
sacred subjects than the laity: he will be regarded
with reverence, because he has been set apart for
functions which are considered holy; and his wants
will be provided for if possible, because, having
been devoted to spiritual matters, those who are
blessed with means deem it their duty to see that he
shall not suffer, even when his failing health will
not enable him any longer to attend to the functions
of his office. We need not be told that there are
many of the clerical profession who have not much
cause to be satisfied with their share of worldly
things; but as a whole we deem the situation of the
intelligent, educated, virtuous, and efficient
members every way respectable, and often one of ease
and comfort; but it is not to be expected, that of
the thousands who annually seek the church as their
home, there should not be many whose claims will be
overlooked, and who will remain in obscurity and
comparative want in villages and country-towns,
whilst those with powerful connexions, though with
inferior talents, will be advanced to eminence.
Still, whilst the demand for public instructors is
so great, there is ever probability that respectable
talents and requirements will, sooner or later, find
their proper level; since in a profession so
numerous there must occur many vacancies by death or
resignation, which require to be filled up by those
who have proved themselves capable to take a high
standing in the community. The young student of
superior mind has, therefore, every inducement to
regard with favour the <<437>> path of the preacher,
because it opens for him the road to distinction
and permanent employment; since it is a rare thing
indeed that a pastor is removed by his
congregation, except for such gross immorality that
to screen him would be impossible; and even then a
removal is so unusual, that it may be disregarded
entirely; besides which, it would be the fault of
the officer and not of the people, if a removal
under such circumstances should take place. We hear
often of ministers removing voluntarily to other
congregations; but this only shows that they are
chosen by constituencies who are better able to
remunerate their services than their former flocks.
But how is it with Jewish communities? Let us
endeavour to sketch what everybody knows. Whenever a
few Israelites happen to find themselves within
reach of each other, and feel a desire to unite for
public worship, they make such laws as they fancy
useful for their government, without inquiring
whether in this respect they accord with other
bodies. They adopt the form of worship to which the
majority of them have been used, to which the others
assent in the infancy of their association. But no
sooner do they receive accessions to their numbers,
than they branch off and organize a rival
congregation (Kahal), in the mode of worship which
they would have preferred at the first outset. All
this produces rivalry, and, consequently, often
bitterness of feeling, which prevents all union for
the common good. The German will not unite with the
Pole, the Pole with the Portuguese, the Portuguese
with the Hollander or Bohemian, and so on to the end
of the chapter. Every little knot of settlers has
thus its own fancies, its own faults, as well as its
own good traits to guard and watch over. And what is
gained by this separation, this isolated standing
aloof? We will whisper in your car, kind reader,
“Nothing at all.” “Nothing!” you will exclaim; “is
it then nothing for which so much money is spent? so
much contention indulged in? so much estrangement
produced? Do you wish me, a true Portuguese, to
become a Tedesco?” Or as some other one, a Pole, may
say, “Can you expect that I, who came from Posen,
should change my faith, and join a Portuguese
congregation? or associate with the Bavarian, the
Bohemian, the Hollander?” And, pray, why not,
gentlemen?
We see no <<438>> reason why you all
should not go to the same Synagogue and worship all
in the same manner the great God of your fathers:
All that is required of each of you is to endeavour
to learn that particular pronunciation of the Hebrew
which, though new to you, is one accepted by a large
body of faithful and pious Israelites; and as
respects the differences in the forms of prayers,
they are really not worth debating about. In all the
various customs the main body of the prayers is the
same, as the whole is derived from a common source,
and the few variations in the phraseology cannot
affect the devotions of any one. Still, to hear some
men talk, an uninformed person might be led to
suppose that the German and Portuguese Jews
actually belonged to diverging sects; and yet how
greatly must he be astonished when he discovers that
an actual difference in reality exists. As we said
already, the greatest variation arises from the
difference of the pronunciation of the Hebrew, and
this again is limited to the sound of three long
vowels, and the aspiration or otherwise of two or
three consonants. Secondly, the adoption by the
various congregations of poetical pieces of
comparatively modern origin, commonly called
Piyutim* (poems), which vary with almost every
division of country, and are more or less
extensive, often according to the fancy of
particular cities, such as Frankfort and Amsterdam.
Thirdly, in certain minor ceremonies, usual at
Synagogues and during family worship, which are
generally indicated in the various forms of prayer
of the respective congregations.
Now an unprejudiced person would not see any
insuperable bar to a thorough union of Israelites
attached to the various customs, provided only all
were imbued with a spirit of forbearance and true
religion; for, in this case, minor differences,
founded as they are on mere casual circumstances,
would be yielded in view of the great good likely to
arise from a continuing of all the useful elements,
which, in a state of isolation, are frittered away
without leaving a perceptible trace, whilst
otherwise they would lead to glorious results. We
con<<439>>fess, for our part, that we greatly prefer
the Portuguese form of prayers, defective though it
be in some respects, to the German; we also consider
the Portuguese reading of the Hebrew more consonant
with the fixed rules of grammar, than the German or
Polish. Still does not this say that we would
wantonly break up the peace of a community, where
the majority have adopted the German Minhag, because
they were acquainted with no other.—At the same time
it is notorious, that often a spirit of discontent
is fostered, and a division is brought about, by the
uncompromising love of power which certain
privileged classes display.
Natives, or
long-residents of a place, fancy that they have a
prerogative to control the remainder, and that all
these have to do is to pay their contributions, and
submit quietly to all the exactions which the others
may impose on them. This, then, produces a division
not alone in the Synagogue, but the seceders
generally adopt a diverging custom, merely to be as
unlike their former haughty associates as possible.
We speak of America, because in Europe things are
conducted more on a fixed principle, and
congregations remain almost invariably attached to
their accustomed mode of worship. But it must be
evident, that when separations have taken place,
where unkindness on the part of those having power
was the cause, the division will be accompanied with
a degree of bitterness, very unfavourable to the
promotion of concord and unity of action in the
fragments which have risen into existence as
independent bodies. It is thus not even the
variation of the forms which then causes the want of
unanimity, so much as personal ill-will, which
results from the uncontrolled wrong-doing of
irresponsible parties.
Gradually the want of harmony becomes more apparent;
and gradually too antagonistic classes make their
appearance, some of whom view themselves as more
respectable than the others, and hardly deign to
hold a friendly intercourse with those they would
gladly discountenance as inferior; and you have thus
a complete separation of the various religious
societies in one city even, and this to such an
extent, that they refuse to unite together for the
purpose of charity and education, as though in this
way the noble blood of one or the other party would
be contaminated.
<<440>>
This is no false or overdrawn picture; we beg our
readers to look around themselves, and they shall
then tell us, on their conscience, whether we have
not stated simple facts; and we should be glad to
hear what good has ever resulted from this separate
and this standing aloof of the various Israelites in
any one place. We could name cities, both here and
in Europe, were it necessary, where this frightful
spirit of contention has destroyed all good results
which their position would have allowed them to
attain, had the people but moved with one accord;
but no, the very proposition to hold a meeting to
reunite jarring elements is scouted as something
unreasonable, as incompatible with the full liberty
of isolation which so many regard as the greatest
blessing attainable; at least one is correct in so
judging them, from the pertinacity with which they
frown down every attempt at union. And what is the
legitimate result from this grasping policy to rule
at all hazards? from this obstinacy in acting for
themselves on the part of the fragmentary
congregations which exist everywhere all over the
land? Just what may he expected: no schools worth
speaking of; no seminaries for the training of
ministers; no publication societies—nothing in fact
which is calculated to advance religion. But is it
because we have not the means to accomplish all
this? We emphatically say, No; there are means
enough if they were concentrated, and concentrated
they would be, were the people but once to meet as
brothers and leave their sectional jealousies at
home. What is it to me who prefer the Portuguese,
that a thorough German should be the head of a
school, provided only that one were commenced? What
injury could it be to an American that a most
learned and able European or Asiatic should be
placed in the government of our religious concerns?
and why, on the other hand, should not foreigners,
not yet acquainted with the customs and language of
the country, defer to the more mature knowledge, in
these matters, of those who have it? It is true that
every one would have to yield up some precious,
cherished idea, some dear prejudice which is almost
interwoven with his existence; but certainly it is
at last nothing vital which must be yielded, only
some fancy, which once foregone would not haunt our
conscience as a grievous sin.
Do
our readers now see how they are individually to
blame <<441>> for the state of isolation in which
they find themselves? What do they know of the
position and resources of distant communities, nay,
of those in their very neighbourhood, and, what is
more, in their own towns? And yet each one could at
least heartily condemn this state of things; could
speak out boldly about the abuses which he
witnesses; could call the attention of Synagogue
rulers to the fact that their proceedings are
neither warranted by law nor reason. But who will
acquire the name of a faultfinder? who will be
considered as troublesome? as a disturber of the
peace? Alas! so it is; those who censure, that right
may triumph over wrong, are not rarely regarded by
many as desirous of seeking strife; for no better
reason than that they have the independence to
denounce an abuse when the timid sit quietly by and
let wrong on wrong be perpetrated; because,
forsooth, these good souls must follow in the track
of their self-constituted leaders, those loud
mouthed tyrants, of whom we spoke in the beginning
of our first article.
We
know it requires some nerve in an uneducated man to
oppose or even vote against a specious proposition
which had its birth in the brain of a man learned in
the law or medicine, or which has been offered by
the trustees, or at the express desire of the
president of the body. But it is this very timidity
on which the leaders calculate to effect their often
unrighteous purposes; and hence let any measure,
however injurious, be proposed by them, they will
yet almost invariably succeed in forcing it through,
because many fear of gainsaying it, out of pure love
of peace, dreading to lose the valuable services of
their leaders in case their favourite measures were
defeated.
Whilst people act thus, whilst they are afraid to
protest against abuses, whilst they let one wrong be
perpetrated after the other, whilst each one does
not regard himself as a redresser of grievances so
far as his single vote and influence extend, we say
it without fear of contradiction, religion will
languish among us, intelligence will be checked, and
a fearless ministry will be utterly impossible. Our
readers will easily see that the situation of the
people and that of their ministers have a very close connexion with one another; shackle the freedom of
the church-members by the arbitrary rule of a few
men—produce any amount of division by the hostile
existence of Portuguese, German, and
<<442>>
Polish congregations of various shades, in one
place, and you have nothing which can satisfy the
God-fearing man, nothing which he can contemplate
with pleasure. Whatever is attempted by a few
undaunted spirits must languish for want of
sympathy, because there are not many to second it,
but few to lend it their countenance. And yet we
repeat that it is the duty of individuals, the
ultimate components of the various congregations,
to rouse themselves to independent action, by
thinking for themselves, and seeking counsel from
each other, in order to devise a remedy to heal the
breaches unfortunately existing among us. We will
not take a single word back of what we have written
just as the thoughts cross our mind; we have
fearful breaches among us, no union, no concert of
action, no knowledge of each other’s wants; and were
it not for the press which we have been permitted to
wield, and for which we are truly grateful to the
Almighty Dispenser of events, the mutual ignorance
of our present position and probable progress would
have been still greater. Perhaps some may dislike
the boldness with which we express our opinions; but
we cannot help it; either we must be altogether
silent, or we must speak out concerning what we see
and hear.
Now we acknowledge that there has been a
progress, a great advance in our religious position
in this country within the last ten years; our pages
have given ample evidence of this fact; but it was
not owing to any good-will or active exertion on the
part of our leaders; they have slept soundly enough
while all the bustle and preparation were going on
around them; they have stood still enough whilst
progress was invading their vicinity from within and
without; they have maintained a profound silence,
whilst our faith was acquiring defenders and
teachers, who thunder their lessons in their deaf
and unwilling ears. But how much has been left
undone! how much more might have been accomplished
if the divisions were less, if there were one
powerful united effort made to establish for our
faith what the Nazarene sectarians daily carry out
in practice! how much good understanding might now
exist, how great a friendly intercourse might have
been established among us through means of delegates
meeting annually, representing all the various
communities of the country! And as this has not
been done, <<443>> and as our leaders do not seem
willing to do anything towards effecting it, we call
on the people to cast off the trammels of supineness
themselves and to command their men in power to move
in advance, or else put in their places those who
have truly the fear of God before their eyes, and
who are willing, and able, and worthy to labour for
the welfare of Israel. We tell them now, at
concluding for the present, that every one is not
worthy to labour in this cause; there are many who
profess ability, but who have it not; there are many
who vaunt of a willingness which they do not feel in
their hearts; therefore let those whom the people
mean to confide in be tested by what they have done,
by what they have learned, whether or not they
deserve this confidence, whether they will aid them
in carrying out the measures which will result in a
thorough union, in an eradication of unnatural
prejudices, and in the establishment of a blessed
state of mutual good understanding; and when they
have found them, let them watch them that they do
not fall asleep on their posts, and urge them on to
the holy work, that we may ultimately see our
religious structure freed from its defects, and
stand beautiful and firm before the eyes of an
admiring world.
(To be continued.) |
