lewdness, and bloodshed. They regarded the powers of the world,
especially Edom (Rome), as being under the dominion of the Evil One, and
therefore doomed to perish in the flames of Gehenna. As they rejected the
Ten Commandments out of love for bloodshed, lust, and robbery, so,
according to the Haggadists, they will be unable to withstand the last
judgment and will suffer eternal punishment. Since their one desire was to
enjoy the life of this world, their lot in the future will be Gehenna;
while the gates of the Garden of Eden will be open for Israel, the people
oppressed and sorely tried, yet ever faithful to the covenant of
Abraham.(1274) Of course, this view implied both comfort and vengeance,
but we must not forget that the harsh statements contained in the Talmud
owe their origin to bitter distress and cannot be considered Jewish
doctrines, as unfriendly critics frequently do.(1275)

7. As has been shown above, the dominant view of the Synagogue is that
eternal salvation belongs to the righteous among the nations as well as
those of Israel. In this sense, Psalm IX, 18, is understood to the effect
that "all those heathens who have forgotten God will go down to the nether
world."(1276) One of the sages expresses a still broader view: "When
judging the nations, God determines their standard by their best
representatives."(1277) Many rabbis held the belief that circumcision
secured for the Jew a place in "Abraham's bosom" while the uncircumcised
are consigned to Gehenna, thus assigning to circumcision a corresponding
place to that of baptism in the Christian Church. This belief seems to be
based upon a passage in Ezekiel, where the prophet speaks of the _arelim_,
or "uncircumcised," as dwelling in the nether world.(1278) But a number of
passages in the Talmud, especially in the Tosefta,(1279) show that
circumcision was not believed to have the power to save a sinner from
Gehenna, On the other hand, we have the great teaching of R. Johanan ben
Zakkai in opposing his disciple Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, telling that the
sacrifices which atoned for the sins of Israel are paralleled by deeds of
benevolence, which can atone for the sins of the heathen.(1280) Both the
Talmud and Philo state that the seventy bullocks which were offered up
during the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles were brought by Israel
as sacrifices for the seventy nations of the world.(1281)

8. Where no cause existed to fear the influence of idolatry, frie