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Document Details :

Title: According to the Scriptures
Subtitle: The Ecumenical Movement and its Methods Tommorow
Author(s): HOUTEPEN, Anton
Journal: Louvain Studies
Volume: 22    Issue: 2   Date: summer 1997   
Pages: 107-126
DOI: 10.2143/LS.22.2.542284

Abstract :
A shipwrecked Jewish castaway had spent several years on a tiny island somewhere in the oceans, when, finally, a ship came along to pick him up. Before he left, he wanted to show the crew of the rescue ship some features of the territory which had kept him alive. He led them to a small shed, constructed from some wreckage and palmtree leaves. This is my synagogue, he said. “Why a synagogue,” the captain asked, “for you alone?” “Well,” the Jew answered, “as a Jew I cannot believe on my own. I need community. In the synagogue are Moses and the prophets and the believers of all times.” Next, he took them to the other end of the island and showed them a similar construct of wood and leaves. “What's this?,” the captain asked. The castaway replied, “As you know, our community is sadly divided. This is the synagogue I never go to” (Zvi Marx).

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