ABSTRACT
The long constancy of the Jews among a heathen world at length produced its fruit— Judaism gave birth to Christianity. Historic events helped to give the antagonism between Judaism and Christianity an additional bitter feeling. As soon as Christianity gained the secular power in the Roman Empire by the adhesion of Constantine, the Jews were subjected to a series of harassing laws, which were intended to make life unbearable to them, where exile or death did not become the penalty of Judaism. With the adoption of Christianity in any country, the exercise of Judaism was beset with every possible hindrance and restriction, and the highest conceivable punishment was provided against the spread of that religion beyond the pale of its professors. Had Judaism been absent from the deserts of Arabia, Mohammed would undoubtedly have drifted into one of the many forms into which Christianity was then split; probably into Nestorianism.
