Glimpses of World Religions: 1 by A. Shah

Author:A. Shah [Shah, A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mobilism
Publisher: Jaico Books
Published: 2008-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHRISTIANITY

IN the Chapter on Judaism we saw how the prophets began to cherish the idea of a new relation between God and man. God, they declared, was preparing a new epoch, in which He would receive man in a more intimate communion than before. They declared that man would be directed along the right path, not by covenants and laws, but by constant inspiration of a present deity. The new approach would be one which would be shared by all nations.

But instead of becoming broader, to realise its universal destiny, Judaism grew narrower and sophisticated. Though it was enriched in its inner consciousness by the teachings of the prophets, it maintained its earlier semiheathenish forms of worship, adding only touches of new stateliness and significance, and garbed itself in the hard shell of public rituals and personal observances. The Jews separated the, lot of humanity from that of their little race and cultivated an exclusive pride. Though under the Maccabees they displayed a heroic tenacity, amid the towering influence of Hellenism, it is noticeable that in succeeding periods many signs appeared which showed that their religion was losing its inner gusto. The priests and scribes extended their power, and tradition and observance seized the imagination of the people. The sense of the divine presence grew faint and multitudes of spirits filled the air and oppressed human life with a sense of uncertainty and doubt. “Sometimes the righteous were to await resurrection; sometimes they were to be received at the moment of death into Abraham’s bosom; sometimes resurrection was to be general; sometimes it was to be reserved for the faithful; sometimes it supposed a renewed earth and a new Jerusalem; and sometimes it supposed a previous annihilation of the Universe.” Such was the condition of the religion of the Jews at the advent of Jesus.

Jesus was born at Nazareth, a small town of Galilee This enchanted’ place, smiling and majestic, the cradle of Nature, was for years the environment of Jesus, which from childhood gave a large scope to his vivid imagination and which helped his education. The precise date of his birth is not known. He was born in the reign of Augustus. His foster-father Joseph and his mother Mary were people in humble circumstances, artisans living by their labour, who lived a simple life. Jesus spent the first years of life at Nazareth. Before Jesus had taken any part in public life Joseph, his father died. Mary remained the head of the family and that is why he is referred to as the son of Mary. He followed the trade of his father which was that of a carpenter. Jesus never married, his love centred upon his celestial vocation. He learned to read and write by rote. From his infancy he used to visit annually the feast at Jerusalem, where people assembled and exchanged ideas; this afforded Jesus an opportunity for making himself conversant with the ideas of his countrymen. It inspired him with a lively antipathy for the shortcomings of the.

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