Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ
1852), of which three editions were issued; "Der Protestantismus als
Politisches Princip" (_ib._, 1853-4); "Die Katholische Widerlegungen"
(_ib._, 1854); "Wider Bunsen" (1856); "Die Lutherische Kirche und die
Union" (1859-60). After his death were published, "Siebenzehn
Parlamentarishen Reden" (1862), and "Die Gegenwärtigen Partien in Staat
und Kirche" (1868).
STEINHARDT, son of the landlord for many years of the L.J.S. schools at
Bucharest naturally came in contact with the mission there, but no one
of the family shewed any inclination towards Christianity, yet the seed
sown in the son's heart bore fruit in time. He went to Constantinople
and was baptized there. Then he became a city missionary in New York,
studied theology, and became, in 1871, pastor of a Swiss congregation in
Fountain City, Wisconsin, and in 1882 at Louisville, Ky.
STERN, Dr. Henry A., was born of Jewish parents on April 11, 1820, at
Unterreichenbach, in the Duchy of Hesse Cassel. Subsequently the family
removed to Frankfort-on-the-Main, where they resided in the quaint old
"Judengasse," now a thing of the past. Though educated in this town with
a view to the medical profession, Stern, when about seventeen years of
age, decided to follow commerce, and to that end repaired to Hamburg. It
was there, in the providence of God, that his attention was first drawn
to Christianity, by noticing some Christian literature in a glass case
near the house of the London Jews' Society's missionary, Mr. J. C.
Moritz. The impression subsequently obtained by its perusal was
increased when, on arrival in London, in 1839, Stern was induced by a
fellow-lodger to attend a Sunday afternoon Hebrew service in Palestine
Place, conducted by Dr. Alexander McCaul. Thoroughly awakened, Stern
sought the missionary the next day, and, indeed, for many days, until he
became a recognized enquirer, and was eventually admitted into the
Operative Jewish Converts' Institution. There he was further carefully
prepared in Christianity, and baptized on March 15, 1840. For two years
longer he remained in the Institution, working at his trade, but it was
very evident that Stern, by his learning and gifts, was eminently fitted
to be a missionary, and consequently he was taken into the Society's
College for a further term of two years.
In 1844 Stern received his first missionary post, and was sent to
Bagdad. He left London under the direction of the Rev. Murray Vickers,
accompanied by three other young missionaries. They broke their journey
at Jerusalem, where Stern was ordained deacon by Bishop Alexander, on
July 14 of the same year. Arriving at Bagdad, Stern threw himself into
his work with great zeal and ardour.
The Jewish population of Bagdad then consisted of about 16,000 souls.
The whole trade of the town was in their hands, and they were supposed
to be the most wealthy class of the community. They manifested the
greatest anxiety to obtain the books published by the Society. Day after
day the house of the missionaries was filled to overflowing with Jews of
all ages, ranks and stations, and the streets near were crowded all day
by numbers of Jews, Stern being constantly stopped as he walked along
them. The bazaars, khans, and the Beth Hamedrash, were visited, and
supplied frequent opportunities for proclaiming the Gospel.
The eagerness manifested by the Jews of Bagdad to enter into discussion
on the subject of Christianity, and more especially the application of
two enquirers for regular instruction, stirred up active opposition on
the part of the rabbis, and an excommunication was issued against all
who should have intercourse with the missionaries. This had the desired
effect. For six or seven months no Jew was seen in the mission house.
Then, gradually, some ventured to come by stealth; and, soon, from
twelve to twenty again visited the missionaries on Saturdays, several of
whom were of the most respectable Jewish families in Bagdad. The Jewish
authorities, however, did not relax their vigilance, but threatened to
repeat the anathema.
In the winter of 1844 Stern made a journey to certain places on the
banks of the Euphrates, going to Hillah, where he visited the synagogue
and Jewish schools; the tomb of Ezekiel, greatly venerated by the Jews;
Meshed-Ali, a Moslem town with a few Jews; Cufa; the tower of Belus
(Babel) or Birs Nimroud; and the ruins of Babylon. In 1845 Stern and a
fellow-labourer, the Rev. P. H. Sternchuss, improved the time during
which missionary operations in Bagdad were suspended, in consequence of
the _cherem_ mentioned above, in making a missionary journey into the
interior of Persia. They held much interesting intercourse with the Jews
of Kermanshah and Hamadan. On November 21 of the same year, the two
missionaries embarked on the Tigris for the purpose of undertaking a
second journey in Persia. They visited Bussorah, Bushire, Shiraz, and
several other places where Jews resided. Both in synagogues and Jewish
schools, and also at their lodgings, they proclaimed the unsearchable
riches of Christ to considerable numbers of their Jewish brethren.
The deadly scourge of cholera prevailed in Bagdad to an alarming extent
in 1846, and in a very few weeks several thousands were suddenly taken
off by it, and missionary work was consequently suspended. The Jews
thought the visitation was owing to the fact that many of their brethren
had imbibed the doctrines of Christianity, and their opposition became
most violent. A second _cherem_ was pronounced in the synagogues against
the missionaries and all holding intercourse with them.
Notwithstanding the violence of the rabbis and the ignorance which
prevailed, especially amongst Jewesses, the missionaries met with many
to whom they were able to declare the love of the Redeemer, and several
received regular instruction. Of the Bagdad Jews in general they
said:--"A spirit of enquiry pervades all classes of Jews in Bagdad The
rabbis are fully sensible of it, and endeavour to do everything in their
power to check this extraordinary movement."
In 1847 a temporary retreat to Persia was thought advisable, during
which Stern preached the Gospel to many hundreds of Jews, both in
Chaldæa and Persia, and extensively circulated the Scriptures in the
Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Armenian languages. This
was a great achievement in a region hitherto noted for intolerance,
bigotry, poverty, fanaticism, and superstition.
On the arrival from home of fresh supplies of books, the lodgings of the
missionaries were crowded for days together, from morning till evening,
with eager applicants for the sacred treasure. The missionaries were now
well known to many of the Jews in the surrounding countries, from the
journeys which they undertook from time to time. They sent the Word of
God to the wilds of Kurdistan, the deserts of Khorasan and Turkistan.
They were privileged to admit two Israelites, one of Bagdad and the
other from Bushire, into the Church of Christ by baptism. Others
received instruction from them for a longer or a shorter period.
On their return to Bagdad, a room belonging to the mission was fitted up
for Divine Service, and usually from twelve to fifteen Jews attended the
daily morning service, at dawn of day; the instruction of enquirers
taking place immediately afterwards. An English service was held on
Sunday morning, and a Hebrew service in the afternoon during winter. An
operative converts' institution was opened.
In August, 1850, a Jewish doctor was baptized, which incident produced
another severe anathema from the rabbis against all who should have any
intercourse with the missionaries. "In order to make the interdict more
impressive," wrote Stern, "the horn was blown, and all the books of the
law unrolled." This was repeated several days. Jews, in large numbers,
however, began to call at the depôt which Stern opened; and he affirmed
that there were many who had learned the Truth from reading the New
Testament. In 1851 and 1853 two other baptisms were recorded. After
eight or nine years spent in Mesopotamia, where Mrs. Stern's health had
greatly suffered from an attack of cholera, Stern was transferred to
Constantinople in 1853.
There he found a larger and even more important sphere of work--totally
different, as he had now to deal with Spanish instead of Eastern Jews.
They were down-trodden and oppressed, and their pitiable state was not
improved by the extensive conflagrations, which periodically devastated
their quarter. Numbers, however, became enquirers, notwithstanding
severe persecution, and some were baptized. The mission schools were
well attended, and the medical mission, conducted by Dr. Leitner, did
excellent service. Stern visited Adrianople, Salonica, and other towns
with large Jewish populations.
The year 1856 was signalized by a visit to the Karaites and other Jews
in the Crimea. At Baktchi-Serai, Stern was surrounded by Jews, "all
anxious to buy Gospels," and was the guest of the chief rabbi, who
shewed him the cemetery of the Karaites--strangely called "The Valley of
Jehoshaphat"--with its 40,000 sculptured tombs, and in which myriads more
had been interred, to whose memory poverty or indifference had raised no
monument. At Simpheropol, Stern preached in the synagogue and sold a
number of New Testaments and Pentateuchs. On one occasion he had the
privilege of addressing British troops in their quarters in the Crimea.
Stern made a second journey in the same year--to Arabia.
The space at our command is totally inadequate to describe the incidents
of that romantic and perilous journey, in the wake of Joseph Wolff who,
just forty years before, had engaged in the same pioneer work. Stern had
to take precautions for his safety, adopting native dress and passing as
the "Dervish Abdallah." At Safon, a beautiful mountain town, the report
that a man who spoke Hebrew, and yet was no Jew, dressed like a
Mohammedan and yet ignored the Koran, caused much sensation amongst the
Jews, who flocked to see him, and to whom he preached in a synagogue.
This was repeated at other places. At Sanaa he was occupied for twelve
days, with very little rest at night, preaching to the multitudes who
congregated wherever he went. The last day of his visit there he
characterized as "the happiest of my life, the happiest of my missionary
career."
After a visit to England in 1857, Stern returned to Constantinople,
taking up again the threads of his settled missionary work there.
In 1859 Stern embarked on the first of his most memorable journeys to
Abyssinia. Mr. J. M. Flad had been working in that country as one of the
"Pilgrim Missionaries" from St. Chrischona. More Christian labourers,
however, were needed; and so Stern was despatched from Constantinople to
found an English mission, if possible, amongst the Falashas--some
thousands of Jews dwelling in the highlands of the interior. Flad now
joined Stern, and the two worked hand-in-hand together. The results of
this preliminary visit were thus summed up by Stern, who, having
accomplished his purpose, repaired to England in 1861:--"I visited, in
company with Mr. Flad, the Bishop of Jerusalem's Scripture Reader,
upwards of thirty Falasha settlements, and saw the priests, and all
those that could read, from more than fifty-five other places. The
desire to obtain the Word of God exceeds all description; young and old,
the man standing on the verge of the grave, and the youth just rushing
into life's happiest whirl, heedless and indifferent to the pain and
difficulties of the road, followed us for days and days, till we yielded
to their unwearied entreaties, and from our scanty stock supplied their
communities with copies of the sacred volume."
Speaking in Exeter Hall in May of the next year, Stern said, "During my