he divine mercy. On the other hand, we must recognize that the
reverence of the Koran lent the "Men of the Book," the representatives of
culture, greater dignity, and provided a mighty incentive to study and
inquiry. Damascus and Bagdad became under the Caliphs centers of learning,
of philosophical study and scientific investigation, uniting Nestorian,
Jew, and Mohammedan in the great efforts towards general enlightenment.
The consequence was that Greek science and philosophy, banished by the
Church, were revived by the Mohammedan rulers and again cultivated, so
that Judaism also felt their fructifying power. Our modern Christian
civilization, so-called by Christian historians, is largely the fruit of
the rich intellectual seeds sown by Mohammedans and Jews, after the works
of ancient Greeks had been translated into Syrian, Arabic, and Hebrew by a
group of Syrian Unitarians (the Nestorians) assisted by Jewish
scholars.(1416)

As for instance the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II, the friend of
Jewish and other liberal thinkers, was much more of an investigator than a
believer, so did the spirit of investigation derived from Islam and
Judaism pervade Christendom, and create the great intellectual movements
which finally undermined its creeds and shattered its solidarity into
contending sects. _Return_ to the Bible and the God of the Bible, to a
Sabbath devoted to instruction in the word of God, and to the recognition
of human freedom and the sanctity of the family--this was the watchword of
the Reformation. Return to the right of free thought and free conscience,
which implies the pure worship of God as He lives in the heart, is now the
watchword of those who endeavor to reform the Protestant Church. That is,
both are moved by a desire to return to the principles and ideals set
forth by Israel's prophets of old.

13. Both the Church, Protestant and Catholic, and the Mosque have a
Providential mission which they must fulfill through the ages of history,
until all the heathen have learned to worship God as the spirit of
holiness in man, instead of seeking Him in the blind forces of nature or
of destiny. True, the Mohammedan religion is predisposed to sensuality and
still awaits the process of purification to become completely
spiritualized; yet indications are not lacking that a process of reform is
approaching to bring out the gold of pure monotheism and cast off the
dross of Oriental voluptuousness and superstition. We m