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JAINISM, CHRISTIANITY & SCIENCE
walk is neither firm in virtues ; nor do they digest the food of the divine precepts after the manner of that chewing of the cud. And they, too, who do one of these things are not themselves clean either, inasmuch as they are maimed of the other, and not perfect in both. And these are they who either do both, as believers, and are clean; or one of the two, as Jews and heretics, and are blemished; or neither, as the Gentiles, and are consequently unclean."--(Novatian on the Jewish Meats) A.N.C.L. vol. xiii. p. 387.
Other references on the same point are available but they are omitted here.
With reference to the interpretation of the Apocalypse, Victorinus (the martyr) throws interesting light on a portion of the allegory (see A. N. C. L. vol. xviii. pp. 394396):
" And from the seven spirits which are before Hus throne.' We read of a sevenfold spirit in Isaiah (Isaiah xi. 2),--namely, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord.' ...
And He was girt about the paps with a golden girdle'... the golden girdle bound around his breast indicates the enlightened conscience, and pure and spiritual apprehension that is given to the churches...
H18 feet were like unto yellow brass, as if burned in a furnace.' ...'We will worship in the place where His feet lave stood.' "Ps. cxxxii. 7.
It will be noticed that allegory has not, beyond mere poetical excellence, any further claim on our appreciativeness. As a matter of fact, it is a thing to be condemned whole-heartedly, for all our troubles and misunderstandings are mostly due to its baneful influence. The founders of the New Testament and the early 'fathers,' it may be taken, were quite alive to its dangers; but they were powerless to turn the thoughts of men, and had to fall back in the very grove from which they sought to escape. St. Paul laments his
| SR No. | 011064 |
| Book Title | Jainism Christianity and Science |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Champat Rai Jain |
| Publisher | The Indian Press Allahabad |
| Publication Year | 1930 |
| Total Pages | 219 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 8 MB |