y of religions has caused us to entertain altogether
different views of the various heathen religions, both those representing
primitive stages of childlike imagination and superstition, and those more
developed faiths which inculcate genuine ideals of a more or less lofty
character. Certainly the laws of Deuteronomy, written when the nation had
dwindled down to the little kingdom of Judaea, and those further expounded
in the Mishnah enjoining the most rigorous intolerance toward every
vestige of paganism, had only a theoretical value for the powerless Jewish
nation; while both the Church and the rulers of Islam were largely guided
by them in practical measures. The higher view of Judaism was expressed by
the last of the prophets: " 'For from the rising of the sun even unto the
going down of the same My name is great among the nations; and in every
place offerings are presented unto My name, even pure oblations, for My
name is great among the nations,' saith the Lord of hosts."(1289) The fact
is that heathenism seeks the God whom Israel by its revelation has found.
In this spirit both Philo and Josephus took the Scriptural passage, "Thou
shalt not curse God," taking the Hebrew _Elohim_ in the plural sense, "the
gods"; thus they said a Jew must not offend the religious sense of the
heathen by scorn or ridicule, however careful he must be to avoid the
imitation of their practices and superstitions.(1290)

As a matter of fact, the Code of Law aimed to separate Israel and the
nations in order to avoid the crude worship of idols, animals and stars
practiced by the heathen of antiquity. It was not framed for masters like
Socrates, Buddha, and Confucius, with their lofty moral views and their
claims upon humanity. The God who revealed himself to Abraham, Job, Enoch,
and Balaam, as well as to Moses and Isaiah, spoke to them also, and the
wise ones of Israel have ever hearkened to their inspiring lessons. Their
words are echoed in Jewish literature together with Solomon's words of
wisdom. Plato, Plotinus, and Aristotle received the most friendly
hospitality from the rabbinic philosophers and mystic writers of Jewry,
and so Buddhist sayings and views penetrated into Jewish ethics and
popular teachings. Both the Jew and his literature are cosmopolitan, and
Judaism never withholds its appreciation of the merits of the heathen
world.(1291)

11. We must especially emphasize one claim of the Jewish people above
other nations which the