n infringement upon the belief in
Israel's one and only God as really a compromise with heathenism. "A Jew
is he who opposes every sort of polytheism," says the Talmud.(218)

10. The medieval Jewish thinkers therefore made redoubled efforts to
express with utmost clearness the doctrine of God's unity. In this effort
they received special encouragement from the example of the leaders of
Islam, whose victorious march over the globe was a triumph for the one God
of Abraham over the triune God of Christianity. A great tide of
intellectual progress arose, lending to the faith of the Mohammedans and
subsequently also to that of the Jews an impetus which lasted for
centuries. The new thought and keen research of that period had a lasting
influence upon the whole development of western culture. An alliance was
effected between religion and philosophy, particularly by the leading
Jewish minds, which proved a liberating and stimulating force in all
fields of scientific investigation. Thus the pure idea of monotheism
became the basis for modern science and the entire modern world-view.(219)

11. The Mohammedan thinkers devoted their attention chiefly to elucidating
and spiritualizing the God idea, beginning as early as the third century
of Islamism, so to interpret the Koran as to divest God of all
anthropomorphic attributes and to stress His absolute unity, uniqueness,
and the incomparability of His oneness. Soon they became familiar with
neo-Platonic and afterward with Aristotelian modes of speculation through
the work of Syrian and Jewish translators. With the help of these they
built up a system of theology which influenced Jewish thought also, first
in Karaite and then in Rabbanite circles.(220) Thus sprang up successively
the philosophical systems of Saadia, Jehuda ha Levi, Ibn Gabirol, Bahya,
Ibn Daud, and Maimonides. The philosophical hymns and the articles of
faith, both of which found a place in the liturgy of the Synagogue, were
the work of their followers. The highest mode of adoring God seemed to be
the elaboration of the idea of His unity to its logical conclusion, which
satisfied the philosophical mind, though often remote from the
understanding of the multitude. For centuries the supreme effort of Jewish
thought was to remove Him from the possibility of comparison with any
other being, and to abolish every conception which might impair His
absolute and simple unity. This mental activity filled the dwellings of
Isra