penitent son of man with paternal
grace and love. In other words, religion demands a special means of
atonement, that is, _at-one-ment_ with God, to restore the broken relation
of man to his Maker. The true spiritual power of Judaism appears in this,
that it gradually liberates the kernel of the atonement idea from its
priestly shell. The Jew realizes, as does the adherent of no other
religion, that even in sin he is a child of God and certain of His
paternal love. This is brought home especially on the Day of Atonement,
which will be treated in a later chapter.

9. At all events, the blotting out of man's sins with their punishment
remains ever an act of grace by God.(801) In compassion for man's frailty
He has ordained repentance as the means of salvation, and promised pardon
to the penitent. This truth is brought out in the liturgy for the Day of
Atonement, as well as in the Apocalyptic Prayer of Manasseh. At the same
time, Judaism awards the palm of victory to him who has wrestled with sin
and conquered it by his own will. Thus the rabbis boldly assert: "Those
who have sinned and repented rank higher in the world to come than the
righteous who have never sinned," which is paralleled in the New
Testament: "There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repenteth than
over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance."(802) No
intermediary power from without secures the divine grace and pardon for
the repentant sinner, but his own inner transformation alone.

Chapter XL. Man, the Child of God

1. The belief that God hears our prayers and pardons our sins rests upon
the assumption of a mutual relation between man and God. This belief is
insusceptible of proof, but rests entirely upon our religious feelings and
is rooted purely in our emotional life. We apply to the relation between
man and God the finest feelings known in human life, the devotion and love
of parents for their children and the affection and trust the child
entertains for its parents. Thus we are led to the conviction that
earth-born man has a Helper enthroned in the heavens above, who hearkens
when he implores Him for aid. In his innermost heart man feels that he has
a special claim on the divine protection. In the words of Job,(803) he
knows that his Redeemer liveth. He need not perish in misery. Unlike the
brute creation and the hosts of stars, which know nothing of their Maker,
man feels akin to the God who lives within him; h