w at least, no longer any claim to their possession. But beyond
all this, (6) there were in the Old Testament books, above all, in the
Prophets and in the Psalms, a great number of sayings--confessions of
trust in God and of help received from God, of humility and holy
courage, testimonies of a world-overcoming faith and words of comfort,
love and communion--which were too exalted for any cavilling, and
intelligible to every spiritually awakened mind. Out of this treasure
which was handed down to the Greeks and Romans, the Church edified
herself, and in the perception of its riches was largely rooted the
conviction that the holy book must in every line contain the highest
truth.

The point mentioned under (5) needs, however, further explanation. The
self-consciousness of the Christian community of being the people of
God, must have been, above all, expressed in its position towards
Judaism, whose mere existence--even apart from actual assaults--
threatened that consciousness most seriously. A certain antipathy of the
Greeks and Romans towards Judaism co-operated here with a law of
self-preservation. On all hands, therefore, Judaism as it then existed
was abandoned as a sect judged and rejected by God, as a society of
hypocrites,[217] as a synagogue of Satan,[218] as a people seduced by an
evil angel,[219] and the Jews were declared to have no further right to
the possession of the Old Testament. Opinions differed, however, as to
the earlier history of the nation and its relation to the true God.
While some denied that there ever had been a covenant of salvation
between God and this nation, and in this respect recognised only an
intention of God,[220] which was never carried out because of the
idolatry of the people, others admitted in a hazy way that a relation
did exist; but even they referred all the promises of the Old Testament
to the Christian people.[221] While the former saw in the observance of
the letter of the law, in the case of circumcision, sabbath, precepts as
to food, etc., a proof of the special devilish temptation to which the
Jewish people succumbed,[222] the latter saw in circumcision a sign[223]
given by God, and in virtue of certain considerations acknowledged that
the literal observance of the law was for the time God's intention and
command, though righteousness never came from such observance. Yet even
they saw in the spiritual the alone true sense, which the Jews had
denied, and were of opinion