c
law were obscured in superstition and polytheism. War and strife arose
among the tribes, and their unity was destroyed. The followers of Jeroboam
declared themselves rightful and valid in kingly succession, and the
supporters of Rehoboam made the same claim. Finally, the tribes were torn
asunder by hostility and hatred, the glory of Israel was eclipsed, and so
complete was the degradation that a golden calf was set up as an object of
worship in the city of Tyre. Thereupon God sent Elijah, the prophet, who
redeemed the people, renewed the law of God and established an era of new
life for Israel. History shows a still later change and transformation
when this oneness and solidarity were followed by another dispersion of
the tribes. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, invaded the Holy Land and
carried away captive seventy thousand Israelites to Chaldea, where the
greatest reverses, trials and suffering afflicted these unfortunate
people. Then the prophets of God again reformed and reestablished the law
of God, and the people in their humiliation again followed it. This
resulted in their liberation, and under the edict of Cyrus, King of
Persia, there was a return to the Holy City. Jerusalem and the Temple of
Solomon were rebuilt, and the glory of Israel was restored. This lasted
but a short time; the morality of the people declined, and conditions
reached an extreme degree until the Roman general Titus took Jerusalem and
razed it to its foundations. Pillage and conquest completed the
desolation; Palestine became a waste and wilderness, and the Jews fled
from the Holy Land of their ancestors. The cause of this disintegration
and dispersion was the departure of Israel from the foundation of the law
of God revealed by Moses--namely, the acquisition of divine virtues,
morality, love, the development of arts and sciences and the spirit of the
oneness of humanity.

I now wish you to examine certain facts and statements which are worthy of
consideration. My purpose and intention is to remove from the hearts of
men the religious enmity and hatred which have fettered them and to bring
all religions into agreement and unity. Inasmuch as this hatred and
enmity, this bigotry and intolerance are outcomes of misunderstandings,
the reality of religious unity will appear when these misunderstandings
are dispelled. For the foundation of the divine religions is one
foundation. This is the oneness of revelation or teaching. But, alas, we
have