A Rabbi's Impressions of the Oberammergau Passion Play, by Joseph Krauskopf, [1901], at sacred-texts.com
Index
Actors, see Passion Play
As s of the Apostles, end of Judas in the, 178; historically unreliable, 199, 203
Agrippa, mocked by Alexandrians, 114
Alexandria, Roman mob in, 114
Alexandrians, alluded to, 105
Ascension, the, 122; disagreement on the, in Gospels, 146
Assyrian period of Isaiah, 164
Augustine, St., legend concerning, 58
Author's attitude toward the Passion Play, 18, 31-33
Babylonian period of Isaiah, 164-168
Barabbas, 119
Bar Cochba, leader of Jewish rebellion, 53
Benedictine Convent at Ettal, 87
Biblical knowledge requisite for criticism of Passion Play, 18
Biography, of Jesus, 148; of St. Paul, 203-214
Birth of Jesus, time of the, 173
Blasphemy, according to Jewish law, defined, 99
Blue Grotto, near Oberammergau, 96
Brotherhood of Man, as conceived in the Pauline theology, 207
Bruno, alluded to, 94
Calvin, alluded to, 140
Carabbas, mock king, throned at Alexandria, 114
Choragus, of Passion Play, 30; part created for Mayr, 24
Chorus of guardian angels, in Passion Play, 29, 30
Christ, see Jesus
Christian credulity, 59
Christian faith, happiness of believers in, 41; sustained at cost of Jewish honor, 42
Christian, interpretation of Messiah's prophecies, 156; story of Jesus,
proof demanded of the, 143; teachings, forgiveness inculcated by, 139; vindication of the Jew, 133
Christianity, as a world religion, 207; doctrines of, 214; according to St. Paul, 206; detrimental to its increase, 213; early, pagan tendencies of, 106; Roman tendencies of, 108; established by a Jew, 212; in Asia and Europe at the death of St. Paul, 211; scholarly foundations of, imperfect, 158
Christians, persecutions by the, 139
Christmas, origin of, 173
Christology, Isaiah the richest source of, 159
Communistic brotherhood of the Nazarenes, 192, 195; its permanence impossible, 196
Compromise, between Jew and Gentile impending, 215; between St. Paul and the Nazarenes, what it might have effected, 212-214
Concord, New Hampshire, alluded to, 40
Converts, Paul's new theology attracted many, 209
Credulity, of early ages, 59, 88; strengthened by the Passion Play, 34
Critical research demanded in the present age, 59
Cross, the omnipresence of the, at Oberammergau, 38; story of the, 39 Crucifixion, the, 121; a Roman cure for Jewish patriotism, 127; held to be foreshadowed in Isaiah, 170; Jewish responsibility for the, historically groundless, 141; prophecies applied to the, 178
Crusades, the, 140
Cyrus, believed to have been the Messiah, 169
Davidian descent of Jesus denied, 12
Delusions, religious, see Religious delusions
Devoutness of the Jewish nation in the time of Christ, 67
Disproof of the Jewish story of Jesus demanded, 143
Divine reason, allegorical interpretations of the, 205; Jesus the incarnation of the, 206
Divinity of Jesus, 150; rejected, 180
Doctrines of Christianity hinder its increase, 213, 214
Doubt in the pulpit, 147
Early Christian Church, factions in the, 105
Early Christian fathers, comments of the, on Pilate, 125
Easter, 153; a season for persecution of the Jews, 134-137
Eddas, alluded to, 88
Egypt, flight of Jesus into, 174
Eliot, George, alluded to, 44
Emerson, noble life of, 150; alluded to, 40
Enlightenment of the present age, 138
Epistles of St. Paul, value to students of Christianity, 203
Erasmus, on Luther, quoted, 133
Essenes, a communistic sect, 195; alluded to, 99, 105
Eternal damnation, doctrine of, unknown to early Nazarenes, 192
Ettal, legend of, 86; alluded to, 97
Ezekiel, alluded to, 155
Factions in the early Christian Church, 105
Festival of the Birth of the Sun, 173
Flaccus, Roman procurator, 114, 115
Flunger, Anna, 23
Foretelling not a prophetic function, 164
Galileans, seditions of the, 50
Galileo, alluded to, 140
Gamaliel, teacher of St. Paul, 204; alluded to, 64, 95
Genealogy of Davidian House, 72
Germanic myth, 87
Gethsemane, agony of Jesus in, 84; arrest of Jesus in, 83
Golden Rule, paraphrase of the Talmud, 183
Gospel, accounts of Jesus, too; falsehoods, eradication demanded, 132; miracles, 130
Gospels, character of Pilate as depicted in the, 125; contradictions in the, 110; date of the, 102; development of the, 102; differences in the, concerning the birth of Christ, 174; differing versions of the, 104; paganized, 105; resemblance of Isaiah to the, 161
Gregory XIII, pope, 140
Hale, Sir Matthew, alluded to, 55
Helpfulness of Christian faith, 45
Herod Antipas, Jesus before, 118; slays John the Baptist, 65
Herod Archelaus, 65
Herod the Great, massacre of infants by, 175; theatre of, in Jerusalem, 68; alluded to, 174
Hero myth of the Gospels, 42, 103, 106
Hezekiah, 166; Messianic prophecies referring to, 167, 168, 176
Hiawatha play, alluded to, 31
High Priests, demand the punishment of Jesus, 117: relations of Pilate with the, 124; see also Annas, Caiaphas
Hillel, Rabbi, Golden Rule of, 183; alluded to, 64
Hosea, quoted, 175
Humanity of Jesus, 148
Huxley, Professor, on definition of a lobster, quoted, 97
Imitation of Christ, 149
Immaculate Conception, doctrine of the, unknown to the early Nazarenes, 192
Immanuel, Jesus not known as, 166
Ingersoll, Robert, alluded to, 100
Inspiration of Scripture denied, 100
Isaiah, Assyrian period of, 164, 171; authorship of, 164; Babylonian period of, 164, 171; chronology of, 165; fifty-third chapter of, 170; Messianic predictions of; 166-172; quoted, 159; resemblance to Gospels of, 161; alluded to, 155, 156
James, St., loyal to Jews, 126
Jehovah, a God of mercy, 112
Jeremiah, quoted, 175
Jerusalem, irresponsive to announcement of a Messiah, 52-54; represented as plotting against Jesus, 69
Jesus, agony of, 84; a Grecian Christ, 209; a Jewish patriot, 91, 102, 128, 142, 157; a man of peace, 63; arrest of: 83, preparation for the, 76; before Herod, 113; before Pilate, 116, 119; before the High Priest, 92; birthplace of; 172; character of, paganized by the early Church, 109; condemned to death, 120; contemporaneous records of; wanting, 101; deluded into belief in his Messiahship, 51, 125, 142; desire of; to save his followers, 55, 76; disillusioned, 55; driving money changers from the Temple, 62-66; entrance on stage of, 33; entry into Jerusalem of; 44, 61; prophecy concerning, 176; flight into Egypt of, 174; his early doubt of his Messiah-ship, 51; humanity of; 148; imitation of, 149; impersonation of, influence on spectators, 45; influence of, upon civilization, 43; Jewish pride in, 181; Jewish responsibility for the death of; 141; last words of; 128, 129; life of: 148, earlier versions friendly to Jews, 106; miracles of; 74; mission of; 133, 142, 209; mocked by the Roman guard, 114; monotheism of; 44, 73, 209; motive for hatred of; lacking, 71-75; mystical doctrines connected with, by St. Paul, 206; not an offender before Jewish law, 99; not foretold by prophets, 179; not received as the Messiah in Jerusalem, 52-54; not yet arisen, 151; offense against Roman law of, 127; prepares
for his arrest, 76; proclaimed King of the Jews, 48; respect of, for Jewish law: 210, for Rabbis, 64; second advent of, expected by his followers, 194; teachings of: endorsed by Rabbis, 73, in harmony with the Talmud, 182, not followed, 149, reverence for the, 151; the Jew transmuted into a mythical Christ, 207; the Judean teacher not the Nicean dogmatist, 148; Thorwaldsen's statue of; 44; time of birth of; 173; trial of; before Pilate, a fabrication, 123; trial of; before the Sanhedrin: 94, a fabrication, 96, 98, 123; written life of; deemed unnecessary at first, 103, developed to suit ideas of differing sects, 104
Jew and Gentile, compromise between, 215; St. Paul demolishes barriers between, 208
Jew, Christianity established by a, 212; defense of the, 130; sculptor of Christianity, 20; the suffering Messiah, 152
Jewish ceremonials discarded by St. Paul, 208, 210; contemporaneous mention of Jesus wanting, 102; desire for the death of Jesus 117; expectation of a political Saviour, 103; gifts to civilization, 19; hatred of Jesus denied, 75; history of the time of Isaiah, 165-172; hope for a Messiah, 49, 51; interpretation of Messianic prophecies, 156; law: contained in the Talmud, 182, punishes blasphemy alone with death, 99, observed by Jesus, 210; monotheism, 32, 36, 40, 157; officials devise plans to arrest Jesus, 70; pride in Jesus, 181; reasons for rejecting the Messiah, 157; responsibility for death of Jesus historically groundless, 141; revolts, 65; story of Jesus, disproof demanded, 143; trials, regulations concerning, 82, 99
Jews, alleged use of Christian blood for Passover bread by the, 137; critical attitude toward their faith of the, 60; defense of the, 34, 36; falsely charged with the death of Jesus, 50, 75; favorably regarded in early versions of the life of Jesus, 106; high character of the, 40; hostility of the Gospel of John toward the, 107; injustice toward the, 138; intimate knowledge of Scripture of the, 157; misrepresentation of the: 19, 27, 42, in the Gospels, 43, 119, 123; how affected by the Passion Play, 34; influence of play against the, 33; made salvation through Christ possible, 122; persecutions of the: 32, 35, 134-137, 156, under Pilate, 124, alluded to, 151, 157; rejection of Jesus as a Messiah by the, 161; sinfulness of continued enmity toward the, 139; story of the, summarized, 142; unchristian sentiments toward the, 141; vindication of the, 57
Jochanan ben Saccai, alluded to, 64, 95
John, Gospel of; hostile to Jews, 107; last words of Jesus in the, 128
John, St., loyal to Jews, 126
Josephus, cited, 98; spurious reference to Jesus in the writings of, 102
Judaism, developed into a world religion by St. Paul, 207, 215; ethics of, supplanting Paul's gnosticism, 216; Gentiles impressed by the ethics of, 213; refuge of cultured classes, 213
Judas, bishop of the early Christian Church, 81
Judas of Kariyoth, description of, 77; falsity of Gospel history of, 79-83; final history of, 11; prejudice against the impersonator of, 26; prophecies applied to, 177; origin of name of, 83
Judges, prophecies of the Book of, 172
King James version of the Bible used for quotation, 159
Kofelberg, cross on the summit of the, 38, 39
Kremlin, 69
Lang, Anton, 23; description of, 46-47
Lang, Sebastian, 93
Law, Jewish, contained in the Talmud, 182
Lechner, Gregor, prejudice against, 26
Leda, myth of, 106
Lion and lamb symbol of Isaiah explained, 167
Locket, story of a, 150
Logos, the, Jesus identified by Paul as, 206
Lord's Prayer, paralleled in the Talmud, 183
Ludwig, founder of Ettal, 87
Luke, Gospel of; on birthplace of Jesus, 172
Luke, early MS. of the Gospel of; last words of Jesus in, 129
Luther, Erasmus on, 133; alluded to, 55, 94
Mark, Gospel of; friendly to Jews, 107; last words of Jesus in the, 128
Matthew, Gospel of, Judas’ betrayal of Christ in the, 177; last words of Jesus in the, 128; on birth of Jesus, 172; massacre of infants in the, 175
Messiah, belief in the, distinguishing mark of Nazarenes, 193; Cyrus hailed as the, 169; Hezekiah believed to be the, 167, 168, 176; Old and New Testament references to, compared, 161; reasons for Jewish rejection of the, 157
Messianic prophecies, differently interpreted by Jew and Christian, 156; examined, 158, 172; of Isaiah explained, 166-172
Micah, quoted, 42
Midnight reverie at Oberammergau, 37-42
Miracle of the mediæval age, 87
Miracles of Scripture, 89; of the Gospels, 130; of the second century, 130
Missionaries of the early Christian Church, 104, 126
Monotheism, of Jesus, 209; of Jews, 32, 36, 40; of Jews forbade belief in Christ's divinity, 57
Moral excellence without belief in Divinity of Christ, 150
Moscow, 69
Motive for attributing the persecution of Jesus to Jews, 126
Natural laws, immutability of, 130
Nazarenes, communistic brotherhood of the, 192, 195; desirability of compromise between St. Paul and the, 212; differed from other Jews only in Messiah belief; 193, 201; extension of their tenets, 207; observers of Jewish law, 210; opposed the theology of St. Paul, 209; truest followers of their Master, 192
Nazareth, birthplace of Jesus, 172
New Testament, canons of the, 101; expurgation of false statements from the, 147; last words of Jesus in Revised Version of; 129; mention of Pilate's cruelty in the, 124; narratives of; written to harmonize with Old Testament prophecies, 170; quoted, 183-191; story of Jesus’ arrest untrue, 56; teachings against Jews, 60; writers of the, 158
Nibelungenlied, alluded to, 88
Oberammergau, arrival at, 21; few Protestants in, 26; no Jews in, 25; statuary in, 20; scenery of; suggestive of Palestine, 23; religious character of villagers in, 23, 41; visitors in, 37
Original sin, doctrine of, unknown to early Nazarenes, 192
Pagan ideas, incorporated in the Gospels, 105
Papias, bishop, Gospels questioned by, 104; alluded to, 111
Paschal, see Passover
Passion's Esel, 39
Passover, belief in a Messiah at time of the, 50; alluded to, 66, 133, 134
Passover night, no sessions of the Sanhedrin on the, 82
Paul, St., account of, in Acts of the Apostles, 201-203; biography of, 203-214; Christianity as a world religion conceived by,
[paragraph continues] 207; determines to become an Apostle to the Gentiles, 208; description of, 198; education of, 204; Epistles of: reasoning in the, 204, value to students of Christianity, 203; joined the Nazarene sect, 206; psychological pen-picture of, 204; responsible for doctrines of the Christian Church, 214; theology of, opposed by Nazarenes, 209-211
Peace, Keneseth Israel Temple medallion illustrative of, 155
Pentecost, Day of, 200
Peter, Saint, alleged miraculous works of, 200
Philo, on Pilate's cruelty, quoted, 124; on Roman mob, in Alexandria, quoted, 114; propounder of the Logos, 206; alluded to, 64, 214
Philonic-Gnostic, doctrines of St. Paul, 205, 206, 208
Pilate, as depicted in the Gospels, 125; cruelty of, toward Jews, 123; endeavors to save Jesus, 117, 119; Jesus before, 116; alluded to, 50, 61, 95
Passion Play, actors in the: characteristics of, 22, occupation of, 22, 25; audience at the, 28; hours for performance of the, 28; influence on spectators of the, 23; origin of the, 22; prelude to the, 29-31; prologue to the, 30; scenery of the, 30
Pontius Pilate, see Pilate
Popes of Rome, 93
Proof demanded of Christian story of Jesus, 143
Prophet, meaning of the word, 162
Prophets, did not foretell Jesus, 179; foretelling not a function of, 164; functions of the Biblical, 163
Psalm XXIII, applied to the Crucifixion, 179
Public schools, teachings against Jews in the, 138
Quakers, persecuted by Christians, 140
Rabbis, endorse the teachings of Jesus, 73; visit with Andreas Lang, 23
Rachel, alluded to, 176
Rain, during performance of Passion Play, 27, 152
Rama, city of, 175
Rationalistic tendencies of present century, 147
Reason, supreme arbiter, 143; the foe of credulity, 59
Religious delusions, 55
Renan, alluded to, 36
Rendl, Peter, alluded to, 47
Resurrection, the, 122
Resurrection Day, dawning, 151
Revised Version of New Testament, last words of Jesus in the, 129
"Righteous Child," of Isaiah, explained, 167
Roman: Empire, a field for propagation of Christianity, 56, 126; hatred of Christians, 124; mob in Alexandria, 114; mockery of Jesus, 113; popes, see Popes of Rome; punishment, of treason, 54; responsibility for death of Jesus, 75, 125; rule, in Palestine, 49; suppression, of Jewish agitators, 65, 127; tax collection at time of Jesus’ birth, 174; tendencies of early Christianity, 108, 126
St. Bartholomew, Massacre of, 93, 140
Salvation by faith, doctrine of, unknown to early Nazarenes, 192 Samson the giant, alluded to, 172
Sanhedrin, Jesus brought before the, 62; no sessions of the, on Passover night, 82, 99; alluded to, 57, 71, 86, 120
Savonarola, alluded to, 55, 94, 139
Scriptures, the inspiration of, denied, 101; invoked to decide Messianic claims, 158
Second Advent, in the person of Paul, 197; of Jesus expected by his followers, 194, 195; alluded to, 103, 212
Sermon on the Mount, paralleled in the Talmud, 183
Servetus, alluded to, 140
Stage of Passion Play, description of the, 30
Statuary at Oberammergau, 20
Strabo, on schools of Tarsus, cited, 204
Strauss, "Life of Jesus," alluded to, 44
Summary, of arguments drawn from Passion Play, 132; of arguments against Old Testament prophecies of Christ, 180
Supernatural, belief in the, 88, 130; double standard of belief regarding the, 89
Supernatural Christ, 40; a mythological fiction, 42; effect of unbelief in a, 40; Jews calumniated in the name of the, 42
Tacitus, death of Jesus mentioned by, 124
Talmud, dates of the, 182; declares Hezekiah to have been the Messiah, 168; ethical teachings of, in the New Testament, 182; purpose of the, 182; quoted, 183-191
Tarsus, schools of, 204
Taylor, Father, on Emerson, quoted, 150
Temple, infamous charge of corruption of the, 67; sale of sacrificial offerings allowed in the, 64; robbed by Pilate, 124 Theatre, 21; covered, 27
Thorwaldsen's Christ, alluded to, 44
Treason, Roman punishment for, 54
Trial: scene before Pilate declared untrue, 123; of Jesus inconsistent with Jewish criminal procedure, 82
Transcendental philosophers, 40
Trinity, doctrine of the, unknown to early Nazarenes, 192; legend of the, 58
Unbelief, among students, 41; in the Church, 147
Unitarian denial of supernatural Christ, 40
Vicarious Atonement, 76; doctrine of, unknown to early Nazarenes, 192
Virgin, legend of the, 86; alluded to, 97
"Virgin Child," of Isaiah, explained, 166
Volsung-saga, alluded to, 88
Wagner, alluded to, 88
Wars of Christian nations, 32
William Tell, play, 31
Zechariah, prophecies of, applied to Judas, 178
Zwink, Johann, 93; impersonator of Judas, 78