“Of course they differ widely as to what are important or strictly religious matters.”
“Certainly. Whatever statements are unsatisfactory to a man for any reason he is apt to think of small consequence.”
“And I should suppose the other test might be equally elusive. Is there not room for considerable difference of opinion as to what deserve to be called moral and religious statements?”
“So it seems: and, as a matter of fact, Malus and his synagogue agree only in discrediting those parts of the Scriptures that are in the narrative form and a large part of the remainder. Especially are they prepared to admit the possibility of mistake to almost any extent in Moses and the earlier Scripture writers. Not a few deny that we have any Moses. What passes under the ancient name is really the invention of recent times.”
“This is the result I should expect. One seems to be left at liberty to take as much or little of the Scriptures as suits him: for if parts of them are unreliable, and we have no sure way of determining where these parts are, we will be likely to locate them where our prejudices and inclinations say. The larger part of the Book may easily be considered secular or unimportant by one who wishes as much.”
“Very true,” said Alexander; “and see what the other synagogue have actually come to! Some reject the doctrine of angels, some that of a human soul distinct from the body, some that of personal responsibility, and nearly all that of miracles and all other forms of supernaturalism in history, as well as that of a future state of settled character and destiny for men. And so on. Really, between them all, there is very little of the sacred Book left. The sum of their doubts and denials would cover almost the whole of it. What is left is the brief revelation that Malus, the Sadducee, uses. His maxim is to discard what anybody doubts.”
“This seems to me a sad state of things,” said Aleph, fetching a long breath that was almost a sigh. “It would be almost unimaginable in the house of my fathers. Practically these people are without a revelation. The only revelation to each is that bundle of guesses and notions which he calls his knowledge or judgments: and there are about as many different revelations of this sort as there are men; and, to my thinking, they are all about equally worthless. It is sad that circumcised people should hold such uncircumcised notions.”
“A sad state of things, indeed,” consented Alexander, “but we may console ourselves with the fact that this sad sort of people are a minority and a small one, and have been quite unknown among our people till quite recent times. I trust they will soon become unknown again. When the Messiah, whom we are daily looking for, comes and, accrediting himself by signs and wonders, declares that not one jot or tittle of the law shall fail, even Malus will have a revelation that is worth the having.”
“May He come quickly!” said the young man devoutly.
Alexander looked intently for a moment on the kindling and abstracted face before him, and then as devoutly said Amen.