he surrounding
nations, who spoke the same language and belonged to the same stock?

M. Renan considers this a question of race.[347] He says: "The
Indo-European race, distracted by the variety of the universe, never by
itself arrived at monotheism. The Semitic race, on the other hand, guided
by its firm and sure sight, instantly unmasked Divinity, and without
reflection or reasoning attained the purest form of religion that humanity
has known." But the Assyrians, Babylonians, Arabians before Mohammed,
Phoenicians, and Carthaginians, and perhaps the Egyptians, belonged to the
Semitic race. Yet none of these nations attained to any monotheism purer
than that of the Veda or the Avesta. The Arabs, near relations of the
Hebrews, were divided between a worship like that of Babylon and Sabaeism,
or star-worship. No doubt in all these Semitic families the idea of one
supreme god lay behind that of the secondary deities; but this was also
the case in the Aryan races. And in both this primitive monotheism receded
instead of becoming more distinct, with the single exception of the
Hebrews. M. Renan's view is not, therefore, supported by the facts. We
must look further to find the true cause, and therefore are obliged to
examine somewhat in detail the main points of Hebrew history. It would be
easy, but would not accord with our plan, to accept the common Christian
explanation, and say, "Monotheism was a direct revelation to Moses." For
we are now not able to assume such a revelation, and are obliged to
consider the subject from the outside, from the stand-point of pure
history.

Sec. 2. Abraham; or, Judaism as the family Worship of a Supreme Being.

We have been so accustomed to regard the Jewish religion as a part of our
own, and so to look at it from within, that it is hard to take the
historic position, and to look at it from without. But to compare it with
other religions, and to see what it really is and is not, this is
necessary. It becomes more difficult to assume the attitude of an
impartial observer, because of the doctrine of verbal inspiration, so
universally taught in the Protestant Church. From childhood we have looked
on the Old Testament as inspired throughout, and all on the same level of
absolute infallibility. There is no high, no low, no degrees of certitude
or probability, where every word is assumed to be the very word of God.
But those who still hold to the plenary inspiration of the Old Testament
mu