JEWS NOT EASILY CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY.
By Wm. Penniman
There are 5,000,000 Jews in Europe, and only about 220 missionaries employed. The annual expense of supporting these missions is £67,000. The Rev. Josiah Miller, secretary of the London City Mission, says, “Modern Protestant Christian missions to the Jews began with the Society, which afterward divided into two parts—the larger, the ‘London Society,’ having at the present time an annual income of about £37,000, and 118 agents; the smaller, the ‘British Society,’ with 27 agents and an annual income of about £8,000. In addition to these, there is the mission of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, that of the Presbyterian Church in England, and that of the United Presbyterian Church in England. There are also several small societies on the continent and two very small ones in America. The London City Mission aids in the work, and there is some useful work due to individual Christian enterprise. London, with 30,000 Jews, has twelve missionaries; Warsaw, with 90,000 Jews, has only two or three missionaries; and large towns in Austria, Roumania, and Russia, with from 20,000 to 50,000 Jews each, have but one missionary each, and in some cases are wholly without Protestant teaching. The countries with large Jewish populations, and especially destitute of missionary effort at present, are America, where the Jews are increasing in numbers rapidly, Northern Africa, and especially Morocco, Arabia, and above all, Russia.” The above is from the Independent of Feb. 15, 1877. The editor says, “Mr. Miller is not able to point to any very remarkable instances of success. In Rome, where a mission has existed every year, and been ‘conducted with zeal and ability,’ there is not yet a single convert. Perhaps the most successful work has been done in London where there have been 1,395 baptisms.” It is no wonder that it is so difficult to convert the Jews to Christianity since it has become so perverted by heathenism, especially as to the Sabbath. In many cases, no doubt, they are required to renounce the true Sabbath for a spurious one. We hope missionaries will soon be sent to the Jews who will present to them the whole truth, accord and be in sympathy with them on the Sabbath question and other points of faith, and especially represent to them that the Sabbath reform is now moving on in harmony with the Old Testament prophecy; also present the beauty and harmony of the subject of the sanctuary in both the Old and New Testaments.