The Missionary Review of the World — October 1937
1937
Mohammedan World Number The Moslem World Today Dwight M. Donaldson Some Trends in the Moslem World Edward M. Dodd Influence of Moslem Superstitions Davida M. Finney Why Preach Christ to Moslems? Samuel M. Zwemer The Christian Approach to Moslems W. Wilson Cash Moslem Reactions to the Gospel James Haldane Educating Moslems for Christ John Van Ess A Christian Doctor Among Moslems Paul W. Harrison The Power of the Printed Page Mabel H. Erdman My Experience with Moslems Frank C. Laubach Moslem Views of "Those Nazarenes" J. Lowrie Anderson Christian and Moslem Homes Eleanor T. Calverley How to Interest Christians in Moslems Estella S. Aitchison Best Books on Moslems and Missions Samuel M. Zwemet'
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September 27 – October 1 – Dallas, SURVEYING THE WORLD Texas. Pres., Mrs. E. R. Alderson, 561 Goodwin St., Dallas, Texas. Here is a series of real missionary sur- veys, scientific and evangelical, written with September 27 – October 1 – Houston, a grasp and definiteness of fact, a perspec- Texas. Dean, Mrs. A. B. Haynes, tive of view and a passion which makes 618 Highland Ave., Houston, Texas. them comparable to a military reconnais- sance. One after another the great fields October 2-6 – Triennial Convention. of missionary endeavof afe being covered Women's Missionary Society of the with topogf~phical accuracy from a stand- United Lutheran Church. Buffalo. point vitally evangelical and entirely non- denominational. The books come from the October 3-Presbyterian World Com- munion Sunday. press bound like government monographs, in big type and made vivid by splendid maps.
October 5-6 – Southern Mountain Catalogue on Application Mention The Missionary Ret'iew Child Service Conference; under auspices of Save the Children Fund WORLD DOMINION OFFICES of America, Inc. Hotel McAlpin, New York. 156 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK CITY October 5-6 – Warren, Ohio. Mrs. The Rev. George S. McCune, D.D., ceived an honorary doctorate degree George Konold, 314 Scott St., N. E., LL.D., for about 30 years a Presby- from Yale in June. At a meeting of Warren, Ohio. terian missionary in Korea and presi- the Associated Boards for Christian dent of the Union Christian College Colleges in China, he made a clear October 6-12-Annual Meeting, Wom- of Pyengyang has joined the admin- statement of his Christian faith, and an's Home Missionary Society, istrative staff of the Moody Bible In- of the part that that faith had in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Se- stitute of Chicago, and will also teach release of the Generalissimo last attle, Wash. and assist in the evangelistic pro- Christmas. gram. Dr. McCune was also for a October 14-15 — Interracial Confer- time president of Huron College, '" * .. ences. Asbury Park, N. J. South Dakota, and brings real talents, Dr. Raymond C. Walker, pastor of October 21- Baltimore, Md. Mrs. experience and spiritual strength to the Market Square Presbyterian David D. Baker, 410 N. Calhoun the service of the Institute. Church of Harrisburg, Pa., was win- St., Baltimore, Md. ner of the $150 prize offered by the * … '" Presbyterian Board of Foreign Mis- October 24-31-Presbyterian Centen- sions for the best missionary sermon nial Week. Mr. Dugald Campbell, agent of the preached in connection with the cele- bration of the Board's centennial. November 7-11-International Good- National Bible Society of Scotland, is Dr. Walker's subject was: "These Are Will Congress. Boston. retiring as agent for Northern Africa the Great Days of God." Other prizes since he can no longer undertake the went to Dr. George E. Sweazey, of Your Missionary Activities long pioneer journeys on the fringes Danville, Ky., Dr. George Johnson of of the Sahara Desert, and other parts Lincoln University, and Dr. Paul F. Should begin at home. Get a of Africa, as he has done for many supply of our years. He hopes to spend the re- .. . Barackman, of Brookly.n.. . New York. mainder of his days in Johannesburg, GOSPEL TRACTS James Hardy Dillard, eighty-year- .. South Africa. old president of the Jeanes Fund for Sound, attractive, convincing the Improvement of Negro Education, '" '" has received the Theodore Roosevelt Sample package, 250. medal for 1937. This medal is given Mr. Arthur T. Upson, formerly of annually for human achievement or FAITH, PRAYER and TRACT LEAGUE the Nile Mission Press, has returned the development of American char- to Palestine from England. He will acter. Dr. Dillard receives the award Dept.R.W. Muskegon Heights, Mich. be at Mt. Carmel until December 10, "in recognition of sixty years of wise and subsequently at Fairhaven, Alex- and devoted work in behalf of the Personal Items andria, Egypt. He plans to do mis- American Negro, and the creation of sionary work and to give Bible read- a better understanding between the Dr. Iran Lee Holt, minister of St. ings in various places to help weaker white race and the black."
John's Methodist Episcopal Church, Christians. … '" … ~Obituary Note'S South, St. Louis, Mo., and a former General Evangeline Booth left Rev. William Milne, a Presbyterian London on September 22 for a tour missionary stationed on the Island of president of the Federal Council of of the United States and Canada. Nguna, New Hebrides, was killed by Churches, has been appointed chair- After conducting the Salvation a native April 27. Army's annual Congress in Atlanta, man of the Federal Council's new New York, and Chicago, she will go The native was the son of the chief to Winnipeg, returning to New York of the village near the mission sta- Commission for the Study of Chris- tion, and he had seemed demented. by way of Montreal. He attacked several natives who ran tian Unity. The commission is to be- to the mission station, where Mr. and * * '" Mrs. Nottage, missionaries from angin its work when sufficient financial other island, were present on a visit. Dr. H. H. Kung, the Minister of support for it has been secured. Finance in the National Government The madman rushed at the mission- of China, and vice-president of the aries with an axe and struck Mr. Dr. and Mrs. '"Ern'"est'" Lyons, veteran Executive Yuan (vice-premier in the Milne with the axe. Government), has recently visited Methodist missionaries to the Philip- America. He is an earnest Christian Then the village chief commanded and stands next to the Premier, one of his men to shoot his son. pines, have retired from active serv- Generalissimo Chiang Kaj-shek, in responsibilities and authority in the Rev. William Veitch Milne had ice. They went to Manila in 1903 Government. Dr. Kung is a 75th de- served as a missionary in the New from Singapore, and have seen in scendent of Confucius, but in his life Hebrides for over 20 years. His fa- and work he has repeatedly testified their thirty-four years of residence to his faith in Christ and has taken (Continued on pag6 449.) his stand for Christian principles. in the Philippines a most phenomenal Dr. Kung, as a representative of his growth of the evangelical Christian Government, attended the Coronation ceremonies of King George and ramovement. In 1913 Dr. Lyons took the bar examination, thereby saving the church thousands of pesos for legal expenses, as well as enabling him to serve as advisor in critical sit- .. .. . uations.
Dr. Charles Stelzle has been ap- pointed executive director of the "Good Neighbor League" in place of Dr. Stanley High, resigned.
MISSIONARY PARENTS
REVIEW OF THE WORLD In the Foreign Mission Field Fast Days Endorse Calvert School DELAVAN L. PIERSON, Editor Home Study Courses TO TBE VOL. LX OCTOBER, 1937 No. 10 For Children ORIENT Publication and Business Office– Calvert School, through its Home Instruc- Third and Reily Sts., Harrisburg, Pa. tion Department, will give your child a superior elementary education ••. by mail, Editorial and Executive Office– regardless of where you may live. Mod- 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City. ern, approved courses from this famous Entered as second-class matter at school are being used by parents all over the world with outstanding success. Post Office, Harrisburg, Pa., under Act of March 3, 1879. Give your children the advantages of these interesting lessons, carefully chosen books, 25 cents a copy-$2.50 a year. and attractive materials. Instruction is Foreign Postage, 50 cents a year. under the personal guidance of teachers in Published monthly, except August. Calvert's prominent and successful private All rights reserved. Copyrighted 1937. British agents – Marshall, Morgan , day school in Baltimore. and Scott, 12 Paternoster Buildings, London, E. C. 1 shilling per copy, Write today for booklet of complete in- 10 shillings a year. formation. Costs are low.
MISSIONARY REVIEW PUB- CALVERT SCHOOL LISHING CO., INC. 180 E. Tuscany Road BOARD OF DIRECTORS Baltimore ol> Maryland ROBERT E. SPEER, President Obituary Notes Empress of Japan-holder of A. L. WARNSHUIS, Vice-President the Pacific Blue Ribbon WALTER MCDOUGALL, Treasurer (Continued from 2nd Cover.) DELAVAN L. PIERSON, Secretary • ther, Rev. Peter Milne, was one of SAMUEL MCCREA CAVERT the pioneer missionaries in the New Go direct fromVancouverand Victoria in 10 days by Em- WILLIAM I. CHAMBERLAIN Hebrides. press of Asia or Empress of D. J. FANT Russia. Only 3 more days via MRS. ORRIN R. JUDD *** Hawaii by Empress of Japan WM. B. LIPPHARD (fastest ship on the Pacific) Dr. Claire H. Denman, who served or Empress of Canada. Con- ERIC M. NORTH as medical missionary in Siam for nect at Honolulu from Cali- SAMUEL M. ZWEMER twelve years, died recently in Berk- fornia ports. Low round-trip eley, California. He was first located fares include passage from Editorial Chat at Chiengmai and later established and and to Seattle. built the first hospital in Chiengmai. This number of THE REVIEW is de- He was also editor of The Laos News, ~fi+ voted to the study of the Moslems of which later became The Siwm Outlook. For rates and sailings, see the world-their distribution, char- Being an ordained minister as well acteristics, influence and the extent as doctor, he made numerous tours YOUR TRAVEL AGENT or Cana- and results of Christian work among into the interior with both foreign Mohammedans. It is an interesting dian PSaacnifiFc:raNnceiwscYo,o3r8k~tChheir- subject and will be studied by thou- and Siamese evangelists. cago, sands of Christians in America this year. The articles we present are by *** cities in U. S. and Canada. experts-men and women who have spent years of service in Moslem The Rev. Dr. Frank Rawlinson, lands. Other equally fine articles, Editor of the Chinese Recorder, was crowded out of this issue, will appear accidentally killed by the explosion of in November. Look for them. a bomb in Shanghai on August 14. He was at the time with his wife and Moslem Women and Children- daughter but they were uninjured. Mrs. Herrick Young. Dr. Rawlinson went to China under the auspices of the American Baptist Encouragements in the Work- Foreign Mission Society in 1902 and Geo. Swan. later became associated with the American Board (Congregational). Testimonies of Converts from He showed great ability in his edi- Islam. torial work and in his understanding of the Chinese. His death is a real Sermon by a Former Moslem- loss to the cause of Christ in China Sa'eed Kurdistani. and one of the tragedies of the con- flict between the Japanese and The Story of Sa'eed Kurdistani- Chinese. Christie Wilson. Ambrose Sw*ase*y, *prominent Bap- New and Old in Moslem Lands- A. T. Upson. tist and trustee of many educational and missionary enterprises, died in *** Cleveland, Ohio, recently, at the age of ninety. He was one of the world's The following shows the esteem in leading scientists, having constructed which THE REVIEW is held by readers the giant telescopes for the Lick Ob- who use it for their own personal in- servatory, the United States Observ- formation and in church work. atory at Washington and the Yerkes Observatory at the University of Chi- *** cago. He was also a generous sup- porter of interdenominational mission- "I think the Rural Number of THE ary work. REVIEW is a very fine contribution to ,the cause. I am receiving a great (Concluded on 3rd Cover.) deal of help and enjoyment as I read the various articles."-Dr. Ellsworth [449 ] M. Smith, Field Representative, American Baptist Hom.e Mission So- ciety.
*** "THE REVIEW means much to me in my work with the women of our church."-Emma H. Mills, Santa Cruz, California. MOSLEM WORLD R op SOUTH INDIAN ATLANTIC OCEAN OCEAN H· REVIB ORLD VOLUME LX AN INTERDENOMINATIONAL REVIEW OF WORLD-WIDE CHRISTIAN PROGRESS NUMBER 10 OCTOBER, 1937 Topics of the Times WHY THIS INTEREST IN MOSLEMS? many other points in common with the Christian Few people on earth are as difficult to lead to faith. This too is a challenge. There is a foun- Christ as are the Moslems, and yet this year thou- dation on which to build. sands of Christians in America and England will 3. They are people of strong character. They be reading and studying about the countries take their religion and its obligations seriously. where the followers of Mohammed are most nu-. They are willing to fight for their convictions, to merous, and about the work that is being done make sacrifices and even to die for their faith. to win them to Christ. Multitudes of earnest They are not easily led to abandon their beliefs prayers will be offered for their conversion and large sums will be given to support missions or obligations as they conceive them and are diliamong them. Why? gent in teaching their children to follow their Prophet. Apostasy is considered an unpardonable It is not because of any personal gain to mis- sin and in Moslem law it is a crime punishable sionaries, or any desire for political, economic or with death. These facts constitute a challenge to ecclesiastical advantage. It is not because the Christians; they may be transmuted into Chriswork is producing large results or because the tian graces when touched by the Holy Spirit.
Church of Christ is moved by a spirit of imperial- 4. Moslems exert a great influence on the world ism for world conquest. There are at least seven reasons why every true follower of Christ should for good or for evil. They constitute a real probtake a deep and practical interest in Moslems and Christian work in their behalf to the extent of lem in Egypt and Turkey, in Iran and Syria, in earnest prayer and sacrifice. Arabia and India. In lands where they are in 1. The number of Moslems in the world and their wide distribution are challenging. At least power they offer great obstacles to progress of one in every ten of the population of the earth is a Moslem. There are between 200 and 250 mil- Christianity and to the promotion of peace and lion of these people scattered over the globe. Nort~ Africa, Egypt, the Sudan, Turkey, Syria, good will among all classes. They believe in a ArabIa, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Beluchistan, Java and Sumatra are almost solidly Mohamme- totalitarian Moslem state and in government condan. Millions more live in Central Africa, India, Central Asia, China, the Philippines, South trol by force of arms. Their influence might be Africa, Russia and Bulgaria. Many are found in other parts of Europe and in North and South turned to the advancement of the cause of Christ America. These multitudes cannot be ignored. and for the principles for which He stands. 2. They are people with positive and strong faith in God, as the one eternal, omnipotent 5. More potent than any of these reasons is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. They believe fact that Christ died for Moslems; He died that He might give tliem the life of God. They are sinners and know it, though they have wrong ideas of sin and its expiation. MthoereGoovse~reloutor Lord's command to "Go, preach every creature" certainly includes the Moham- medans today, even though there were none in existence when He first gave the command. There is no other way for Moslems to be saved than by Christ and the acceptance of His gift of Life.
in Christ as a unique prophet and in the authority 6. Another great reason is the obligation that of the Old and New Testaments. They believe in Christians have to Moslems because the contact prayer, in almsgiving, in immortality, and have of Arabians with 'a weak and distorted form of [451 ] Christianity was what led Mohammed to estab- and evidently thinks herself able to defy the publish his new form of religion. If Mohammed had lic opinion of the world. Her military party is been truly and intelligently converted to Christ ambitious to carry out its program, without in his youth what a difference that would have much regard for justice. It is reported on good made to the world ! We owe Moslems a debt, both authority that ninety per cent of the Japanese for the temporal things we have received from are opposed to the invasion of China, but the peothem and for spiritual truth we have failed to ple are kept in ignorance of the real situation share with them. by very strict censorship of the war news. J a- panese Christians, and others with more enlight- 7. A final reason for the support of Christian ened and pacific ideals, are greatly disturbed over work among Moslems is the encouraging results the aggressive policies of the military party that that have come in the conversion of Moslems to now rules Japan. These policies destroy the bene- Christ. Some outstanding trophies have been won ficial effects of the friendly advances made by in Syria and Egypt, in Iran and India. Every such Japanese Christian leaders as Dr. Toyohiko Moslem is supposed to be a missionary and, when Kagawa and Miss Michi Kawai. Apparently Jawon to Christ, should have the same zeal to ex- panese military leaders feared that China was tend their faith, in spite of persecution. What a growing in strength and was becoming united wonderful example is Dr. Sa'eed Kurdistani, the under the able Christian leadership of General- Kurdish Moslem who has become a great Chris- issimo Chiang Kai-shek and so determined to tian physician in Iran. Others are Kamil of strike while there was more likelihood of being Arabia and Michael Mansur of Egypt. There are able to achieve their purpose. multitudes more whose lights shine in narrower circles-but they are known to God. In Sumatra The modern war machine of Japan is much and other parts of the Dutch East Indies there more perfect and complete than that of China. are fifty thousand Christians who formerly were Airplanes· make it possible to carry destruction Moslems. They have their own schools and large far inland, and there seems little effort on the self-supporting churches. The influence of Christ part of the. Japanese to limit destruction to is permeating Iran, the Philippines, Africa, India, enemy fortifications and military forces. Already and many other lands to break down prejudice many thousands of noncombatants have been and build up an intelligent faith in Jesus Christ killed and wounded and peaceful villages have as the true revelation of God and the only Saviour been destroyed by ruthless Japanese airplane atfrom sin and its consequences. tacks. Foreigners and foreign enterprises have also suffered. In the north Japanese forces have Truly we as Christians have reason to preach occupied Peiping and Tientsin and are pushing the Gospel of Christ to Moslems, to carryon the their campaign north to the Great Wall and south work sacrificially and to expect that God will to the Yellow River. Without any declaration of honor our fulfilment of His will, by bringing Mo- war, Shanghai has been attacked with warships, hammedans into the fold of Christ. airplanes and cannon. Even the International Settlement has suffered and many educational THE TRAGEDY IN CHINA and missionary institutions have been bombed. The Chinese troops have offered brave and deter- Apparently the Japanese have determined to mined resistance in spite of their inferior equipgain control of China or of the northern prov- ment. They have now retired to their second line inces. Impartial observers who have followed the of defense on the west of Shanghai. events that led up to the present conflict can see no justification for Japan's invasion of China. What will be the outcome of this invasion of The excuse offered is the Japanese desire for eco- China, no one can foresee. China is too great a nomic development, their determination to sup- nation and too large a territory to be conquered press anti-Japanese feeling, and. a desire to com- in a short time. The Japanese attacks have bat the communistic influence of Russia. They united Chinese as never before, even communists have taken a strange method for accomplishing offering their service to the Nanking Government. these purposes. The first end might have been China is fighting for her life and for the pringained by friendly agreement and cooperation; ciples set forth by Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the father the second aim is thwarted and made more im- of the Chinese Republic. possible by each new invasion of China's territory and by utter disregard of China's sovereign The warfare is naturally affecting the missionrights. The third aim-to destroy communistic ary work in China. Reports come that the people influence in China-can scarcely be achieved by in war areas are filled with fear and that there methods that stir up the spirit of communism and are signs of religious revival in many places. seem to give reason for its promotion. Christians meet to worship, in spite of danger, and pray earnestly for the guidance and strength- Japan feels conscious of her military strength
TOPICS OF THE TIMES
ening of their rulers. The Protestant community meantime we can all work for greater unity numbers over one million and Roman Catholics re- through the guidance of the Spirit and through port 2,702,000 on their church rolls. Foreigners loving cooperation in the work He has given His in China number about 10,000, of whom over one- Church to carry forward. There is no room for half are Protestant missionaries. Many of these jealousy, for a desire to rule or for personal am- have left China on furlough; women and chil- bition, rivalry, suspicion and selfishness in such dren have been taken with other refugees to the unity. Philippines; missionaries on furlough are being kept home and others are being advised to leave Mr. Erling C. Olson, a New York business man, the danger zones. Probably by November first recently broadcasted over a network of stations the number of missionaries on the field will be re- some very helpful meditations on "Christian duced to 2,500, but most of these will elect to Unity," based on the one hundred and thirtystand by their flocks and to suffer and die with them if necessary. The missionary work most third Psalm. He said in part: * affected is in the area of Peiping, Tientsin, Shangh:;d and Nanking, although Japanese bombing The New Testament principle of fellowship and complanes have carried their attacks as far as Han- munion was beautifully expressed by our Lord, when He kow in the west and Canton in the south. said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." One would nat- The Christians in America and England can do urally assume, therefore, that when any body of Christians most by upholding their missionaries and the meets together they would experience this delightful comforces of righteousness by prayer. Much suffer- munion which the Psalmist so wonderfully portrayed, ing of innocent Chinese can be allayed through when he said, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is missionary and Red Cross ministrations. Gifts for brethren to dwell together in unity!" No one takes to meet present emergencies should be sent exception to this principle. It is good for capital and through the mission boards working in China. labor to dwell together in unity. It is good for any in- dividual to enjoy the fellowship of other members of his THE BASIS FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY group and preserve a spirit of unity. Such being the case, what an indictment it is against the Christian fam- Many movements are on foot for church union ily when there are petty squabbles and when the spirit of -on mission fields, in England and in America. discord and consequent disruption are present, as has been Some of these are to unite denominational fam- evident, particularly in recent years, even among men ilies, as in the Methodist, Baptist, Congregation- and women who actually have been born again by the al, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Reformed bodies. operation of the Spirit of God and the Word of God. I Some unions have already been effected, while am not talking about Christendom as we know it today. others are still being agitated. Other union move- I am not talking about the vast body of Christians and ments, as in Canada, include different denomina- non-Christians gathered together in one great melting pot. tional groups, while still other communions, like I refer to the body of Christ; to those who know that their the Protestant Episcopal Church eagerly advocate sins are forgiven, who know that they have eternal life a united church but can conceive of it only on the through faith in Jesus Christ, who know that they have basis of the acceptance of ecclesiastical ordination passed out of death and into life and therefore know that in harmony with their belief in the "historic epis- the Lord Jesus Christ is their Saviour and have acknowlcopate." edged Him as their Lord.
All true and intelligent followers of Christ ac- It is no wonder that the Church appears so impotent cept unity as the Christian ideal for which our before the world when the members of the Church are at Lord prayed three times in his high-priestly variance with one another. prayer: "That all may be one, as thou Father art in me and I in thee, that they may be one as in There can be no united Church except on a solid foundaus"-they are given eternal life in order that they tion. I do not think it is possible to have unity between may know God and be sanctified, kept, perfected. two groups of people, one of whom believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the other believes that He is The recent conferences at Oxford and Edinburgh a mere man; or to have unity between a group that looks have again emphasized the ideal for unity and upon the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross as a divine union among Christians, but seem to have found transaction, wherein God made 'atonement for sin, and a no new basis in which to realize such union. Hu- group that looks on the Cross and the death of Jesus man individuality, with differences of personal Christ as that of a martyr or a good man who died for a interpretations, tastes and methods of operation, cause. There can be no real fellowship between such must be recognized and respected until we all real- groups-but there can be unity between every member of ize that union with Christ that can find full ex- the body of Christ whose feet rest solidly upon the fact of pression in the harmony of faith, love and service the deity of Christ and upon the death which He died upon only as we realize perfect union in Him. In the the Cross.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says, "I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuifering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to' keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
In the 16th chapter of his letter to the Romans, the Apostle gives a similar injunction: "Now I beseech you, • Quoted by permission.
brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences tion. In Java and Sumatra alone, where the contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid Dutch Christian influence predominates, there them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus are over 50,000 converts from Islam. Christ, but their own belly . . ." That is a strange expression. Mark those men and avoid them, for they do There is the challenge of Jewry-not a popular not serve the Lord. They serve their own selves in their challenge but one we must face as Christians conlust for preeminence, or their appetite for power. cerned with the spiritual welfare of the youth of the world. The key to the Jewish problem every- Again, our Lord Jesus Christ, the fountain-head of all where is the recognition of Jesus Christ as divine truth, in His great high-priestly prayer, recorded in the Lord and Saviour of all mankind. Fifteen million 17th chapter of John's Gospel, said, "Neither pray I for Jews are without the knowledge of the saving these alone, (that is, the apostles gathered around Him) grace of Jesus Christ, and yet what do we owe but for them also which shall believe on me through their to the Chosen People of God for the preservation word; (that means us) that they all may be one; as of the Old Testament, and the knowledge of Christ thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may and His Way of Life. be one in us: that the world 11WIJJ believe that thou hast sent me." What a terrific responsibility rests upon each The challenge embraces many non-Christian member of the body of Christ to observe a spirit of unity, lands such as India and China. There is the mass in order that the world may know that our Lord Jesus movement in India towards 6hristianity; whole Christ is the Son of God and sent by Him to die for us! communities are pressing forward to become Christians. The immediate need there is for When brethren dwell in unity we will determine that, Christian education and the greater development instead of causing divisions, we will endeavor to keep the of indigenous leadership. China is plastic to new unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The Holy Spirit impressions and the greatest hope of the Chrisalways makes for unity amongst believers in Christ, for tians of China is their vision of a Chinese in- He dwells in them. digenous movement adapted to meet the religious needs of the people, and effective in arousing in * SOME PRESENT-DAY CHALLENGES Chinese Christians the sense of responsibility for the extension of the Kingdom of God. Weare living in a world which is more or less in a broken state, when even the bravest are apt There is also the challenge of unreached areas to grow despondent. The difficulties and problems in Central Africa, in South America, the Islands are of many kinds-political upheavals and mass of the Pacific and other unevangelized fields. movements are ruthless in their disregard of Christianity; nations are dissatisfied with what Then there is the challenge of Europe today. they have seen of modern civilization, and are In Central and Southeastern Europe Protestantfilled with bitterness and antagonism. But a new ism is fighting for its life. Nationalism and Comproblem is becoming the most serious menace to munism are seeking to capture youth with teach- Christianity, namely, a refined heathenism. Also, ing, much of which is subversive to the ideals of in their very antagonism to Western civilization, Christ and the best interests of humanity. some non-Christian religions are absorbing the principles of the Gospel of Christ. While thus The needs of this weary, war-torn, restless refining their own religion they still stand in ab- world and the great opportunities that confront us solute antagonism to the Christian faith. In the constitute a challenge to every Christian. God is early days of the Christian Church, they, too, more concerned about the needs of the world than found that a purified paganism was more insid- we are; the Christian teaching and training of ious and powerful even than an antagonistic bar- youth is a great burden oli His heart even more barism. than on ours. One of the greatest words in Chris- tian literature is "Immanuel" – God is with us. We believe that these problems are not per- Here we find the motive and the power for Chrismanent, nor even paramount; they are passing tian education. God loved, and when He loved, phases; to followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, He served, and when He served, He sacrificed they constitute, not reasons for fears and misgiv- His best. There is but one service which is the ings, but a challenge. service of the Kingdom of God; one race, and one Cross; one world of men, and one Kingdom; and First, there is the challenge of Islam. Moham- one glorious, peerless, Saviour for the whole medanism is conscious of a solidarity and unity world. which does not exist to such an extent in any other religion. They have their sects and their divi- This world is not going to be won except by sions, but they are conscious of a brotherhood great sacrifice. We must have the spirit which wherever they are. Today the Mohammedan recognizes that only by entire dedication of ourworld is restless, but it is more responsive to the selves and all our resources can we truly serve message of Christ than it has ever been. Per- Christ. As Hudson Taylor once said, "Christ secution and opposition exist, but nothing so must be Lord of all or He is not Lord at all." clearly proves the power of the Gospel as opposi- • From an address at the World's Sunday School Convention, Oslo, by Dr. James Kelly.
Moslem World
-"if By the REV. DWIGHT M. DONALDSON, D.D., Ph.D., Meshed, Iran )Bt– Missionary of the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., 1915- I T SHOULD never be forgotten that when the maintain this political and military authority, it armies of Islam were victorious in Syria and has come to be a matter of policy for Western in Persia, they took over the authority of the governments to have strict regard for the cultural old Persian Empire. This ancient empire, under and religious preferences of their Mohammedan the Achremenide'S, had been the scene of the far- subjects. Whatever criticisms may be voiced flung adventures of Xenophon and the Ten Thou- against this Western domination, it will not be sand; under the Parthians had held the haughty claimed by intelligent Mohammedan leaders that Romans at bay for more than two centuries; the Christian faith and practice are being forced upon same empire, under the Sassanidre, was forced to them. give place to the conquering Arabs. Afterwards, when this famous empire of the East became Mo- There is now no longer a Caliph in Islam, since hammedan, much of its culture and prestige sur- the Sultan of Turkey was compelled by his own vived to adorn the courts of the new rulers. Noble people to abdicate in order to open the way for the Persian families, some of them Zoroastrian and Turkish Republic. Of the entire Mohammedan some of them Christian, furnished viziers and population of the world, about 240 millions, there treasurers for the Caliphs, and scholars and trans- are nearly one hundred millions who are living lators for the libraries. under the authority and protection of the British crown and forty millions ruled by the Netherlands It is customary to ascribe the failure of the Cru- in the Dutch East Indies. Of the remaining 100 sades to a lack of effective cooperation among the millions, there are about thirty-two millions in the leaders of the Christian nations. No doubt real French colonies and protectorates, sixteen milunity in Christendom during the tenth, eleventh lions under the iron hand of the Soviet Republic, and twelfth centuries would have produced a dif- fifteen millions in China, and some four millions ferent situation. As a matter of fact unity of ac- in the Philippine Islands, in Japanese possessions, tion among the Mohammedans was but sporadic and in Europe. There remain to be accounted for and short-lived; they too had repeated failures only about thirty-three millions, who live in the that were primarily due to dissensions among five self-governing Mohammedan countries, twelve themselves. Time after time a new attack from millions in Turkey, eight millions in Iran (Perthe Christians would serve to bring them together. sia), three millions in Iraq, six millions in Af- In the course of the Crusades, each generation ghanistan, and four millions in Arabia. seemed to feel that the East and the West were, through some necessity, fighting again. On each H. R. H. Amir Saoud, the son of King Abdul side religion was part of the war propaganda. Aziz, remarked recently that "it is not easy for Now that many hundred years have passed, we independent countries to enter into a thorough look back upon those long continued conflicts and federation with countries that are only partially see how they served but one fatal purpose in world independent." When he was asked about his opinhistory. Their one abiding result was to hand ion in regalld to the suggested Middle Eastern bloc down to succeeding generations a heritage of between Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, he hatred, suspicion and fanaticism. In their atti- said that "this would be a welcome development tude towards each other East anq West, for the and would certainly receive our blessing," (Great most part, have shared this heritage. Britain and the East, July 8,1937).* While today there is no longer a great Moham- In any effort to classify and describe the vast medan EmpI·re, as l·n th.e day.s of the Crusades when the actual dominion of the Caliph extended • counAtriceosncmisaey sbtaetefmouenndt oinf tWhe. Def.foSrctsheorfmCerhhroisrtnia'sn rmeciesnsitonbsooikn, t"hTehsee from the Indus to the Atlantic, yet Mohammedan CsthimriSutliaatningMisssuiorvne. yinotfhethJefodwehronleWporrolbdl"em(choafptmeris1si0on);s atondMaohmaoms-t medans is given in Dr. S. M. Zwemer's "Across the World of Islam." civilization has continued to prevail in vast areas Attention should also be called to an article in the July number of The Moslem World, which publishes "A Statistical Survey," by that have come under the political and military Carlo Gasbarri. This article has been translated from the Italian authority of Western peoples. In order to help by Phlllip T. Blackwood and it is probably the most up to date ~~fli~!S ;~r~~ question of the distribution of Mohammedans through- [455 ]
group of mankind that make up the Mohammedan with pious cant and hypocrisy, that boy may come world, divided as they are into many sects and to regard as genuine the open honesty and fairscattered in many countries, it is easy to make play that he sees in some Christian college. In serious mistakes. Aside from the fact that ac- such a case there is much for which to be thankful. curate census reports are not to be had in some of The lad acquires the habit of the conscientious these countries, a numerical survey of the adher- quest of truth for its own sake. But something ents to any religion is apt to be misleading. There further is needed. New eagerness to learn what are millions of Mohammedans whom the puritani- is true mus,t be directed into the spiritual realm as cal Wahabis in Arabia and Iraq would not recog- well, and this must be done by those whose ways nize as true believers. Likewise the self-satisfied of living he has come to admire. Here is an op- Shi'ites of Iran and India can see little hope for portunity for the possible coordination of the boy's those who rejected and dishonored their Imams. new life with the direct evangelistic work of the The modern reformers in India have suffered mission, or better still, with the agencies of the agony of soul when they realized the ignorance indigenous Church. and superstition of thousands upon thousands of their own religious community, whose systematic Another young man may show more interest veneration of fetishes and saints they regard as and ability in social life rather than as a scholar. sheer idolatry. And orthodox groups in Egypt, He may attend a Christian wedding in a beautiful who adhere to the Koran ,and the Traditions as garden in India. There he will see Christian interpreted by the four recognized schools of law, young ladies moving about modestly but graare indignant at the man-made movements of the ciously, animated with gay hospitality, and talking Moslem "modernists." From any of these varie- freely with both ladies and gentlemen. When he ties of believers you may easily find a friend who returns to his dormitory room he may voice a prowill assure you, "In these modern times it is hard test, as I once heard such a man do, against the to say who is a Mohammedan." unreasonable restrictions of Mohammedan so- ciety, and ask, "How long will it be until we can Objections to Christianity have the same clean and natural and loyal family life the Christians have?" Notwithstanding these inherent difficulties, whether a missionary go to Cairo or to Constan- Here also is a point of contact for some discerntinople, to Beirut or to Teheran, to Baghdad or to ing Christian friend to show him, in the right way Lucknow, he will hear certain uniform objections and time and place, that it is not what comes from to Christianity for example, that it has three gods, the West but what comes from Jesus Christ that or that the true Gospel that Jesus brought down makes the big difference. This, however, will not from Heaven is no longer extant. These objec- be accomplished by mere assertion. A careful tions are usually met best indirectly, in the course study together of the pre-Christian social standof calm and patient teaching and explanation of ards of some of the modern Christian peoples may the New Testament. But almost everywhere we be necessary. The missionary's objective is not to discover also that Westernization, in the form of suggest that one social culture be abandoned for secularism and nationalism, is making serious in- another, but rather that the culture of every naroads on Islam. And if we read again the opinion tion be submitted to the transforming power of of one of our foremost American orientalists, Dr. the will of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. D. B. Macdonald, (Aspects of Islam, p. 12), we realize that what required discerning insight a In such circumstances a program of Westernizafew years ago is now written in the Islamic social tion only would be hazal'dous and inadequate. structure so that one who runs may read: And what has been said with reference to schools and colleges applies with equal force to mission Islam as a religion is not holding its own against the dispensaries and hospitals. In this field also getunbelief that is flooding in from the European civilization. ting somewhere from the Christian point of view Young men are growing up into crass and material forms means getting beyond mere Westernization. There of atheism; forms that the best intellectual life of Europe is something fine and noble in a Christian doctor's has itself thrown off. And as education spreads and attitude toward his patients that witnesses to the deepens, as history vindicates for itself its place, as the spirit of Christ. It is this that enables him to work moral feeling becomes more watchful and sensitive, so the with patience and sympathy with people who are legend of Muhammad will crumble and his character be often unreasonable and exasperating. He has seen in its true light. It is, then, for the Christian schools something else than the discipline of his profesand preachers to save these peoples, not only for Chris- sion, something that has for its purpose, not the tianity, but for any religion at all; to vindicate to them white man's supremacy, not national honor, not the claims upon their lives of religion in the broadest sense. personal distinction, but a deeply laid desire for the dominion of the healing love of God in the But Westernization cannot be depended upon to hearts and bodies of suffering mankind. produce Christians. When perchance a Mohammedan youth has a father who disgusts his son
THE MOSLEM WORLD TODAY
As we think of many famous cities in the Islamic ary epistles in the New Testament, in their salutaworld where missionaries are now working pa- tions, exhortations and farewells. tiently and devotedly as true knights of the Cross, it is a sobering thought to realize over what a These national Christians also work with the wide area they are scattered. We rejoice also in missionaries in adapting Christian teaching to the strategic advantages they now have in this meet what has been called "the new Moslem apolgreat crusade for the peaceful penetration of the ogetic and polemic." In their candid social and love of God in Jesus Christ. Important and fa- intellectual relations with Mohammedans of the miliar cities in which they are witnessing, cities present day, missionaries find that many are not of more than 100,000 population according to the as dogmatic as they used to be. Things have been last issue of The Statesm.,an's Yearbook, may well happening to give them a broader background. be mentioned: They are inquisitive and receptive in the fields of history, of science, and of philosophy; and their Calcutta ………………………….. 1,485,582 opposition to Christianity is apt to be less bitter Constantinople ……………………… 740,805 and fanatical. Bombay …………………………… Cairo …………………………….. 1,161,383 On the other hand, if Moslems are irritated into Madras …………………………… 1,064,567 explosively proclaiming their objections to Chris- Hyderabad ………….. ,"""",',…. tianity, they may say things that are palpably Alexandria …………… ,………….. 647,230 specious and superficial. They may maint;:tin that Teheran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466,894 the Christian Scriptures teach that the blind and Lucknow ………………………….. 573,063 leprous are impure and that Solomon was an Rangoon ………………… , …. '….. 360,000 idolater. As the Mohammedan takes for granted Damascus …………………………. 274,659 the dogma that the prophets were sinless, they will Delhi …………………………….. 400,415 insist that the Bible is in gross error in saying Lahore …………… , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193,912 that David became a prey to temptations and that Smyrna ………………… , ……… ,. 447,442 Aaron joined in the worship of the calf because of Cawnpore …………………………. 429,747 fear of the people of Israel. Like the Jews of old Agra …………………………….. 170,546 Moslems still exclaim that it is blasphemy to say Ahmadaoad .'……………………… 243,755 that Jesus is the Son of God, that it is directly Tabriz ……………………………. 229,764 contrary to the Koran to say that one person can Allahabad …………………………. 313,789 bear the sin of others, that it is immoral and fool- Tunis …………………………….. 219,000 ish to say that "the Law is a curse," and naively Amritsar … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183,914 anthropomorphic to speak of God as being "tired" Howrah …………………………… 202,405 or "repentant." Poona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264,840 Soerabaya ….. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224,873 To counteract the considerable influence of Baghdad ………………………….. 250,187 Christian teaching among the students in the Diwaniya ………… '……………… 146,944 schools and colleges of India, the Ahmadi sect Fez ……………………. " . . . . . . . . . . . 353,840 make such allegations as these against Jesus: Patna ……….. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341,068 Aleppo ……………………………. 106,838 That He was given to drunkenness. Karachi ……. ,……………………. 159,690 That He exceeded all bounds in vulgar abuse of the Jews. Meshed …………………………… 177,313 That He was a coward and afraid to face death. Beirut ……………………………. ' 263,565 That He was disrespectful to His mother. Ankara …………………………… 139,000 That He was friendly with women of questionable char- Isfahan …………………………… 134,655 123,699 acter. 100,000 That His teachings were too idealistic and impracticable. That He grew angry and lost His temper. Some of the most gratifying work for Christ is That He was provincial, and that His message was only done in towns and rural districts that lie across the plains or in the mountain valleys beyond the for the Jews. cities. It is from these regions that hundreds and That He was weak and helpless. hundreds of patients come to mission hospitals; That His mission was a failure. and country boys and girls come to attend mission That Jesus did not die on the Cross, and that there was schools. National Christians, sometimes accompanied by missionaries, go out and tour from town no Resurrection. to town, or from village to village, having their part in modern apostolic witnessing. The fellow- But as a rule Mohammedan readers put a disship of believers is beautifully shown when these tinction between the Gospels and Chri.stian propamen and women, often themselves converts from ganda literature. Many of them are able and Islam, are able to be in the same little place for a ready to refute superficial and hostile objections while with some isolated Christian family, or to to the character of Jesus. They feel too much of have a series of meetings with some struggling the significance of His life and teaching to let His little group of new Christians. And when letters character be smirched "by the pen of an enemy." are exchanged afterwards, it is interesting to see that they write after the manner of the mission- "It cannot be," as Dr. Murray T. Titus has ob- served in his book on Indian Islam, "that honest
truth-seeking Moslems will continue indefinitely ulation, with sharp differences between the varito refuse to face all the facts, and pursue a policy of evasion of the real issues of history and life, ous region; in the Northeast they reach 82%, in even though such investigation leads to the questioning and study of the very sources of revelation the East 8 %, in the West 32 %, in the center 470, itself. . . . The sum of it all is, that the highest revelation of God to man is through a living per- and in the South only 2%. sonality. That the modern Moslem apologist is becoming more and more conscious of the funda- Percentage mental importance of this truth is revealed in the Moslems of population fact that he is emphasizing the personality and character of Mohammed as the means by which Morocco ………………. 5,215,000 97 God's grace was shed upon the world, and as the fact of central importance in Islam. The problem, Algeria ……………….. 5,174,872 82 therefore, for the Moslem as for the Christian investigator, is to apply the same honest and fear- Tunisia ……………….. 1,932,184 93 less critical methods to the study of Mohammed and his revelation as have been applied to Jesus Egypt ………………… 11,658,148 91 and the Bible," ("Indian Islam," Murray T. Titus, 1930). . Libya …………………. 1,205,000 94 For missionaries among Mohammedans, as for Anglo-Egyptian Sudan …… 2,800,000 66 their supporters in the homeland, and for their colleagues from the national Christians in Moslem Mauritania …………….. 254,000 99 countries, the issue is clearly drawn; our purpose is "to ,give the light of the knowledge of the glory Senegal ……………….. 915,000 75 of God in the face of Jesus Christ." French Sudan ………….. 1,061,000 42 Eritrea ……………….. 225,000 56 French Somaliland ………. 210,000 100 British Somaliland ………. 300,000 100 Italian Somaliland ………. 1,500,000 99 Ethiopia ………………. 2,500,000 37 French Guinea …………. 1,045,000 66 North Nigeria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,889,000 64 South Nigeria …………. 1,940,0000 25 Chad …………………. 925,000 72 Cameroons …………….. 500,000 25 Nyasaland …………….. 160,000 10 Kenya ………………… 1,000,000 40 Uganda ……………….. 600,000 20 Tanganyika ……………. 400,000 10 A STATISTICAL SURVEY OF ISLAM* By far the largest Islamic country in Africa is Egypt where, as in West Africa, the Moslem prob- Every good Moslem is, and in fact must be, a lems are of particular interest.
"missionary." In 1900 the Moslem world had at Since 1930 Moslem missionaries from the el-Azhar University in Cairo have been diffusing its disposal two hundred printing presses; today culture and orthodox doctrine among the Moslems of various countries. An American observes that it has eight hundred and eighty. Out of a world the "Christians are talking about converting Af- rica, and the Moslems are doing it." Roman Cathpopulation of 2,053,600,000, we can accept 240,- olic missionaries state that the Moslems succeed in making propagandists among their converts, 000,000 as a figure for Islam. while the Catholics cannot succeed even in in- structing their catechumens. Moslems in A'sia are most numerous and in- Islam constitutes about two one-hundreths of clude 17.970 of the population. one per cent of the population of North America, and one-eighth of one per cent of South and Cen- Percentage tral America, with a total of scarcely 135,583 Moslems of plYpulation members.
Turkey ……………….. 12,600,000 92 In Europe and Soviet Russia Moslems represent 2% of the total population. They include 584,000 Syria …………………. 2,159,259 77 in Albania, 1,337,000 in Jugoslavia, 690,000 in Bulgaria, and 2,400,000 in Russia. Palestine ………… . . . . . . . 557,649 70 There are no general organizations for all Islam Transjordania ………….. 2,850,000 92 with a purely missionary scope, and the attempt to create an Association for the Defense of Islam Arabia ………………… 4,000,000 100 is a failure. The only organization of the kind, which will perhaps soon become international Iraq ………………….. 2,640,700 96 through increasing growth, is the Association of Moslem Youth, with headquarters in Cairo. An Iran ………………….. 8,830,000 95 international movement has developed from heret- ical Moslem sects, principally from the Ahma- Siberia, Kirghiztan, etc. ….. 16,462,442 80 diyah of Qadian and Lahore (British India), and from the Bahai sect, of Persian origin. Afghanistan …………… 6,380,500 100 British India …………… 78,000,000 21 French Indies ………….. 15,000 5 British East Indies ……… 2,025,000 47 Dutch East Indies ………. 43,000,000 86 Philippine Islands ………. 443,037 4 China …. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,000,000 5 Chinese Turkestan ………. 1,200,000 48 The leading Moslem country in Asia is India. Moslems in Africa number about 37% of the pop- *eondensed from The Moslem World (July, 1937), New York; translated from an article by Carlo Casfarri in Il Pensiero Mis- sionwrw (Rome), December, 1936, by Philip T. Blackwood of Princeton, N. J.
Trends in the Moslem
By EDWARD M. DODD, M.D., New York Author of "To Mecca and Beyond"; Formerly a Missionary of the Presbyterian Church in Iran A GENERATION ago the world of Islam was As one surveys the wide reaches of the Moslem still predominantly a unit. Though living scene, and ponders the changes taking place, there under diverse national and political condi- appear to be four fairly well defined trends of the tions, Moslems had a strong sense of their solidar- day. This observation applies chiefly to leaders, ity. Except for certain well established heresies to urban centers and to youth. The vast rural or minor offshoots, and allowing for the begin- bulk of Islam is still conservative, orthodox and nings of revised and modernized thinking which relatively little changed. But where the city goes affected a relatively small group of intelligentsia, now the village will go presently, especially with there were no outstanding .divergencies in the the radio and the automobile and the printed page Moslem road, or deep rifts in the Moslem front. arriving everywhere. We are here concerned with In the main the religious road of Sunnis in India, these lead-trends to the future.
Turkey or North Africa, for example, ran parallel, 1. In the first place we have the conservative or rather they loyally converged on Mecca. The status quo plus the "Puritan" revival in Arabia. Sultan-Caliph was still on the Constantinople Externally or mechanically Arabia is being gradthrone; and the faithful from Morocco to the ually modernized but religiously it remains ortho- Philippines, and from Bokhara to CapeTown, dox, with the re-emphasis of the Wahabi Moverecognized and revered him as their head. It ment. The tale which at once illustrates the point, was still not wholly fantastic to talk of a general as well as the consummate skill of Ibn Saoud, has Mohammedan Holy war; indeed Turkey made an been told more than once. When it was proposed abortive attempt at this as late as the closing year to install a telephone system in Riadh, the desert of the World War. Moslems had not yet trans- capital of Saoudi Arabia, the conservative relilated the Koran out of Arabic. The veiled and re- gious leaders protested. The thing was not of the pressed status of women was still universal. Even Koran and therefore not lawful. Ibn Saoud put in heretical Shiite Persia the Old Order was not the matter to the religious test. He suggested visibly disturbed. that a Mullah read the Koran into the telephone at one end of an experimental line and another But what have we now? Shocks from without Mullah listen at the other end. If the apparatus and revolutionary transformations from within, conveyed the sacred words, surely the thing was accentuated by the WorId War but largely repre- of Allah and lawful. How could one object to that? senting the influx of the modern age, have shaken Needless to say, Riadh now has telephones. Yet and confused the House of Islam. Turkey has the ecclesiastical hierarchy is intact. One wongone secular and modern, while Arabia is Puritan ders how long this intellectual straddle can hold Wahabi. The Caliphate has been summarily abol- up, for Islam tends to give way or to be revised ished, and there are no significant efforts afoot to as it is exposed to the modern impact. re-establish it. Egypt has developed theological modernism; and Azhar University, the intellec- North Africa, west of Egypt, shares with tual nerve-center of Islam, has been made over on Arabia the characteristic of Mohammedan conmodernized lines. The Koran has been translated servatism, even though in the social externals of for the use of Moslems into Turkish and is being life it is also becoming Europeanized. translated into other languages. The veil has been largely discarded in Turkey and is officially banned In Central Asia we have the complicated situain Iran. The Turkish National Assembly has now tion of conservative religious leadership, assaulted a number of women delegates; Egypt has a vig- by the socially radical and religiously atheistic orous feminist movement. Turkey and Iran are Soviet government and also facing a considerable busily harking back to their Turanian and Iranian feminist movement. The prospects are that the origins, and are turning away from the Arabic- religious old order will be overpowered by the Islamic culture. In the Near East generally, ex- social new order. A real battle is on. cept for Arabia, there is considerable disintegration in Islam. 2. There is another group which we might call the reform or revision states, conspicuously illus- [459 ]
trated by India and Egypt, each in its own way. be called the drifters. The drifting away from They are formulating definite philosophies, which Islam is a part of what is going on all over the have been developing and spreading for a number world-the drift away from all religion. In these of years, and which are changing and diversifying Moslem countries the dominant interest is political the religious picture. The outstanding contribu- and nationalistic. Nationalism is becoming the tion of India is the Ahmadiya movement. The net new religion rather than Islam: the ardors of result in India, according to Mr. Murray Titus is loyalty, the mass demonstrations, the allegiances reinvigoration. He concludes that in spite of di- of youth-these are now channelled largely into visions and weaknesses, "Islam in India today is nationalism. There is a wholesale drift of youth better organized, better educated, more progres- away from the old religion. Outward observances sive, more reasonable and tolerant toward its may still be maintained, though many of these are neighbors than ever before in its history. Of weakening, but the inner conviction is crumbling Egyptian thought, Dr. Charles C. Adams of the away. The movie theatre is found to be much American Mission says: more exciting than the Mosque; the radio broad- "Mohammedan modernism in Egypt may be cast is more intriguing to the younger generation said to have taken form as a definite movement than the call to prayer. Inert fatalism, the resig- during the last quarter of the preceding century, nation of Islam, has a hard time surviving the under the leadership of the late Grand Mufti of automobile and modern medicine.
Egypt, Sheikh Myhammad Abduh, who died in . The Iranian Shah has made it unmistakably and 1905. It constitutes an attempt to free the reli- dramatically clear fuat progressive nationalism, gion of Islam from the shackles of a too rigid embodied in himself, rules, and not Islam. But orthodoxy, and to accomplish reforms which will there has been no official disestablishment of the render it adaptable to the complex demands of latter. The youth of Iraq says that Mohammed modern life. Its prevailing character is that of was well enough for his day, but that he is now a religious reform; it is inspired and dominated back-number; let the religious hierarchy die in chiefly by theological considerations. It differs in peace; they no longer count. But no official overt this respect from the reforms instituted by the change has been made. Syria's consuming na- Indian group of nationalist reformers, who aim tional interest is in the new political situation cre- primarily at a cultural movement, and the adjust- ated by the transition from French mandate to ment of Islam to the conditions of modern Euro- independence. The races and religions in this pean civilization. The fundamental assumption, polyglot country increasingly unite on the basis of however, that Islam is a world religion, suitable Arab nationalism, which tends more and more to for all peoples, all times, and all cultural condi- transcend religious and racial lines.
tions, is common to both movements." Similarly in far~off Java, one of the largest In both countries there are strong social move- Moslem units of the world, there is a well-devel- ments among women, which are attacking prob- oped movement to return to the pre-Islamic Na- lems of health and well-being, of polygamy, di- tional culture. There is a strong nationalistic vorce and prostitution. All of this is within the movement, which is of far more vital interest to frame-work of the established religion. the younger generation than any religion. With These two groups, the orthodox and the revised, them Islam is increasingly under criticism and in give no evidence of breaking away from Islam. the discard.
They are making their social and theological adap- 4. Finally there is the radical state, Turkey, tations from within. The state or the community which alone has turned squarely away from Islam is still a "church" state or a "church" community. as an official institution. It has not turned against ("Church" is of course used as the nearest intel- Islam, nor is it antireligious in general, but it has ligible counterpart – not because Islam has a decided that, in order to become a modern and pro- church in the Christian sense.) gressive country, it cannot brook the inhibitions, Both of these groups are strongly missionary. interference, and frustrations of the old Moslem The Ahmadiya movement is very active and the order. Kemal Ataturk has therefore set up a sec- Azhar is still a powerful propaganda center, with, ular state which, in itself, is a repudiation of basic Africa as its chief missionary field. In India the Mohammedanism, because the Mohammedan sys- new situation created by the Outcast movement tem has hitherto claimed the whole stage. A away from Hinduism, and the Ambedkar an- typical indepenuent Moslem country was ipso nouncement of their readiness to consider some facto a religious government – a "church" state; other religion, appeals tremendously to this funda- the only law was the Moslem law; there was no mental missionary urge of Islam, as well as hav- concept of a separate civil law.
ing its important political hearings. This radical national departure, coming from 3. Other predominantly Moslem lands, like the country which had so long been the seat of the Iraq, Iran, and Syria, as well as Malaysia, might Caliphate, the spear-head of the whole Moslem
INFLUENCE OF MOSLEM SUPERSTITIONS
World, struck a body blow at world Islam. India hardly be water-tight compartments. There is and Egypt and the far isles of the Pacific rever- bound to be mingling and overflowing in this day berated with the shock. Turkey was branded as a of interchange and questioning and remolding. renegade and apostate, but the fulminations were It is an intriguing question as to which if anyone futile. Turkey went serenely and successfully on of these trends will prevail to any general extent. her way, and nothing has come of the scattered efforts to revive the Caliphate. It is, of course, incumbent upon the Christian enterprise to understand these trends, and the The course which Turkey has pursued has also varied fronts which they present. It is one thing had its admirers in other lands. Iran, for ex- to deal with a zealous, intolerant Wahabi Bedouin ample, is very apt to follow the same patterns as of the far desert reaches and another thing to talk her neighbor on her western boundary. There are with an indifferent, agreeable, irreligious young not wanting those, among the younger generation government clerk in Iran, or Syria; it is still anelsewhere, who think that Turkey has really other thing to sympathize with an active woman shown the way to do the thing. social reformer of Egypt, who also presents the new Moslem apologetic; and again another thing The patterns of national development, though to be a strictly inhibited missionary in Turkey. distinctively represented by national units, can Influence of Moslem Superstitions By DAVIDA M. FINNEY, Ramleh, Egypt II ~. – Missionary of the United Presbyterian Church '~==========================~I O NE of my earliest recollections as a child is Nurses and mothers frighten their erring children of a Moslem sheikh who came to call upon with, "Be good or the bu' bu' will catch you." my father. He sat alone in our drawing- room, waiting for father's return. I did not know Only about ten years ago I was dining with a he was there, and was wandering, rather discon- number of Egyptian college students about to re- . solately, down the hall when suddenly I was star- ceive the baccalaureate certificate. Turning to the tled by a flurry of robes, quick breathing, and one on my right, I asked: looked up to see the sheikh in full flight from the drawing-room door. When he saw me, he stopped "What did you think the bu' bu' was when you precipitately, and muttered, were a child?"
"An afreet! He blew down the chimney!" Then "A negro giant," he told me, "with flashing eyes he continued more calmly, "Let me, if you please, and a red mouth." sit outside here in the hall." At once the group around us was adding detail I remember glancing into the room, astonished upon detail. A discussion of afreet followed. Made at his fright and yet wondering if after all my a little uneasy by the vividness of descriptions mother might be wrong about afreet, and my na- given, I finally remarked: tive nurse right, and that I might now catch a glimpse of one. The sunny room lay silent and "Isn't it a fine thing that today we need no empty, however. No grinning afreet perched any- longer fear the bu' bu' and the afreetl" where, not even on the little iron stove. Faith in my mother returning in a comforting wave, I There was instant silence, and then the man on murmured loftily: my right said, "Pray be seated." "But you are a Westerner. We of the East know." This incident was my first introduction to the fact that learned men as well as my nurse were "But have you ever seen'an afreet?" I asked in- afraid of spirits. credulously.
In conversation with many Egyptians, I have To my amazement he nodded. found one word an open sesame to a common "One day," he said, "I was walking across a bit ground of experience, and eventually to a feeling of waste land. Suddenly I saw an afreet approach- of intimate friendliness. We discuss the bu' bu'. ing, very tall, clothed all in white. I looked to right and left, hunting for a place of concealment, but there was none. So I cowered down and hid my face until he had passed. One must always do that with an afreet; it is death to oppose him. Once a friend of mine, who happened to be armed,
met an a/reet and in his fright fired at it. The weaned her child. Women threatened with harm a/reet disappeared, but in a short time my friend may protect themselves by wearing a bit of palm was dead. If you oppose an a/reet, within a year stalk (gareeda). you die." No bride should be approached by a person just Over and over again in conversation with all circumcized. A woman who has just lost a child sorts of Egyptians one is reminded .of the fact that or a qati/ should not enter a house where there even today, for the mass of the population, ginn is a weaning child or one with sore eyes. If she and a/reet are real, a daily concern, terrifying. does, it will become blind. My friend, Mr. Khaleel Modern education, the radio, the cinema, closer Armanios, the blind evangelist of Alexandria, has contacts with Europe, a constantly increasing use often been asked if he was blinded by a qati/. of newspapers, these factors and many others are rapidly modifying superstiti.ous beliefs. Yet in Just after shaving a man must not approach a fairness one must remember that these educative bride, a pregnant, nursing .or weaning mother, if influences reach .only the minority in any country he has not previously met them, lest they become where literacy is low. Even in educated folk, barren or lose their milk. Evil consequences may brought up by superstitious parents, such belief be avoided if the WDman enters the room of meetis instinctive and dies hard. ing and walks around the man seven times. On the .other hand, if he shaves in his own house with A few years ago the editor of a fairly well- the woman close beside him no harm is done. Or known daily, then being published in Cairo, de- the woman may take the razor used, soak it in scribed to me his visit to an old convent. water, and .on a Friday when she bathes, pour the water over her body. Should her well-being be "I went alone," he told me, "although the place threatened by a qati/, or some other woman, she was full of a/reet. But," with quiet pride he con- may escape harm by securing some blood from the tinued, "J was not afraid." other WDman and placing it in her bath on Friday.
It is the modern educated youth who more Mr. Khaleel told me of a family of his acquaintnearly achieve freedom from fear. I am not writ- ance who had a bitter quarrel with a neighboring ing of Christians and well-traveled and well-read family. One of the women had weaned a child Moslems who for years have been unconsciDus of but had not yet seen the new moon. Forgetting such fear. I write rather of the general mass, not this fact, when her neighbor gave birth to a son the small group. she went to call upon the rejoicing mother. In a short time the child died, and, even worse, at the The women and girls with whom we come much end of a year the mother was still barren. After in contact are dominated by fear of el Mushohira much consultation and thought, the neighbor's (literally, to be monthed), the Ain (the Evil Eye) visit was remembered. She was apprDached and magic, and spirits. These spirits may be El Zar agreed to do what she could to repair the damage. (the Visitor), El Ginn, or El A/reet. The masses They took some blood from her hand, and the believe in certain charms to be said or used to mother placed it in her bath on Friday. No good counteract these evil influences. They think that resulting, again the neighbor was approached and .one must be quick to observe, and punctilious in again gave blood, this time from her foot. Still performing such rites, if one wishes to avoid no good resulting, .once more she was approached, injury. and asked to contribute blood from some other part of her body. This she indignantly refused t.o The Mushohira gets its name, as far as I am do, claiming that if she were the cause of the curse, able to discover its root, from shahr, month. The blood from one part of her body would be as effiidea in its use is that escape from harm depends caci.ous as from any other. Rapidly the quarrel on seeing the new moon. The evil effects of the grew, and for three years neither family has Mushohira fall upon certain groups of people and spoken t.o the other. are brought about by certain people. Those most commonly recognized Mushohira, bringing evil, There are other unlucky deeds by which one perare: a mother weaning her child, called El Qati/; son may bring evil upon another. If one crosses a a man who has just shaved; a person just cir- river in boat or train and then at .once enters cumcized; one who is ill or with sore eyes; and a where there is a bride, a sick person, a pregnant bride when she meets another bride. Those who or weaning mot!ler, injury will result. To avoid suffer from such individuals are brides, pregnant bringing injury, this person should remain in anwomen or mothers weaning a child, and the sick. other room until the woman enters where the new- The Mushohira is caused by other means, but less comer is and circles him seven times. Mr. Khaleel frequently. called recently in the home of a woman who once was visited by s.omeone just after crossing the If a Qati/ approaches a bride ora pregnant river. In a few days the woman became blind. woman, she becomes barren; if she approaches To remove the curse, her br.other took her in a another Qati/, the milk will be stopped. To rid herself of this baneful power, the Qati/ must see the new moon as soon as she has completely
boat to cross and recross the river. He was told not speak to or interfere with them. If a person that at once her eyesight was restored. Constantly accidentally stumbles or falls to the ground there one comes across the effects of the Mushohira. is grave danger that he has injured some of these spirits. The only way to appease them is to The Ain is injury brought about by admiring sprinkle the spot with salt, water, or even sugar something not your own. This admiration is prob- and bread. Last week a woman stumbled in ably envious and therefore brings evil conse- alighting from a street-car. She hastened to a quences. It is considered much more proper and friend's house, borrowed salt, sugar and water, considerate not to praise at all, but if impelled to returned to the spot and silently sprinkled it. To do so one should preface the remark with "Yikhzi maintain silence is essential if the rite is to be el Ain" (May God put the eye to shame), or "Aini efficacious. aleykum barda" (My eye is cold upon you). People are especially liable to be possessed by One man may say to another, "Aini barda, but spirits at certain times; at marriages, perhaps you seem to be in excellent health." Then all is because at that time they are concerned about well. It is difficult to remember this instinctive their appearance and frequently look in a mirror; shrinking from praise of anything a man holds when bathing, because they may inadvertantly addear. Nor is it easy to hold a baby in your arms mire their bodies; when sleeping alone, as spirits and make no admiring comment. If your eyes are always infest a solitary place; when going to bed blue, better far not even to look your pleasure. in a worried or angry frame of mind, as the spirits find access easy at that time. To be freed from the evil consequences of the Ain, it is thought necessary to secure a piece of Should one become possessed by a spirit one garment worn by the envious one, or some dregs must appease him and remove the cause of his from his coffee cup. No offense must be given, so anger. This is done by the holding of a Zar. one must not let him know that he is suspected of There are special women thought able to reconcile having done injury. If it is impossible to secure the spirits. The one possessed gives such a woman a bit of his clothing surreptitiously, often it is an article of her wearing apparel. She places it possible to secure a bit through a bribed servant beneath her pillow; during the night the offended or a sympathetic friend. Sometimes people are spirit tells her the cause of his anger and also startled to find a small piece gone from some val- what gift will satisfy him. Next morning the ued garment. This snippet is burned and the woman tells the possessed person what the spirit smoke passed over the child. Coffee dregs are wants – jewelry, a sheep, a new dress, or some boiled and the steam is passed over the child. piece of furniture. Many women take advantage of this custom to secure for themselves things they As for vengeful spirits, the ginn and zar are cannot otherwise obtain. considered always present. The ginn live usually in kitchens and bathrooms or in lofts where sup- The Sarukh (the cry), is brought about through plies are kept. The loft of a house in which Mr. an unnatural death. If a man is murdered, the Khaleel once lived was infested with rats. Neigh- spirits which live in his blood, continue to cry bors visiting in the house heard scurryings and aloud for vengeance from the spot where his blood squeakings and were firmly convinced that ginn was shed. There is no fear of evil consequences to the house if he dies away from home, otherwise it haunted the house. becomes infested with his afreet. In the case of A little Mohammedan girl once stayed in our any violent or accidental death, the spot where death occurs remains a place of danger to all home for some time. One day she went into the passers-by. kitchen to get some water but came out hastily without it. When asked what was the matter, she These are some of the superstitions with which one comes in contact day by day in schools, homes, said, and in one's travels. Many sheikhs studying in "There's an afreet in the pot on the stove." the Azhar University are today electing the course Looking in, I saw the lid of the tea-kettle rat- in modern education, similar to that given by the Ministry of Education. Such men will not fly pretling furiously as the water boiled. When taking cipitately from a room when the wind blows down a bath, if suddenly startled or frightened, one may the chimney. A new day has dawned in Egypt, a be sure that a ginn has taken possession of one's fact which is being felt even in EI Azhar Univer- sity. Yet those who visit in homes aU over the body. country, who deal intimately with men, women, Besides the ginn, the earth is believed to be in- and children, are forced to realize more and more clearly each year how great is the hold that superhabited by other spirits. These are divided into stition still has upon masses of the population in three main divisions; El Sitt (the woman), El any Mohammedan country. Seed (the master), and El Abd (the slave). They are found everywhere, but especially in any open or waste piece of land. Here they busy themselves with their own affairs. If one is forced to cross such a piece of land alone, one may see and hear them. To avoid injury by them, one should
Preach Christ to Moslems?
By the REV. SAMUEL M. ZWEMER, D.D., F.R.G.S., –..g{ Princeton, New Jersey }Sc-.- Editor of "The Moslem World"
"IF YOU will only organize Christian missions lidity and necessity of Christian missions to to the heathen in my province, instead of at- Moslems? tempting to convert Mohammedans, I will do 1. If ,the Gospel of Christ in its simplest form everything in my power to further and support (which is also its deepest mystery) includes the them, but I cannot approve or allow, at any rate Incarnation, the Atonement and the Resurrection at present, the opening of a mission to the Mo- then the world of Islam certainly needs our meshammedans." So said the governor of Nigeria, sage for it is news and offers Good News to every about thirty years ago. This policy was that of Moslem. Islam is not a Christian sect or a Chris- Lord Kitchener in the Sudan, of the British in the tian heresy. It is an eclipse of the Christ as re- Malay States, and is not yet abandoned every- vealed in the Gospel. It is an Arabian palimpsest where. superinscribed over the message of Jesus by an- The validity and the necessity of carrying the other hand. Its categorical denial of the deity of Gospel message to Mohammedans have been ques- Christ, of the crucifixion, of the finality of Jesus tioned in times past and are being questioned Christ as God's messenger and of His way of life today! The late Professor G. Kampffmeyer of through regeneration is evident from the Koran the University of Berlin in "Whither Islam?" itself.
deals with the subject in the same attitude; his The analogy of Paul's attitude toward Jew and conclusion is that missions in the Near East among Gentile holds today as regards missions to Mos- Moslems are as dangerous as they are futile and, lems and to other non-Christians. It was because for the good"of humanity, should be discontinued. the Jew had so much that was true and noble and yet needed the Gospel that Paul preached every- Dr. Hugh Vernon White, a secretary of the where to the Jew first. Their theism, their knowl- American Board, in the magazine called Chris- edge of the Old Testament, their zeal for God, tendom, plainly states that "Christian efforts to their passion for the Law did not invalidate their evangelize the Moslem have met with signal and need of the Gospel but emphasized it. This imconsistent failure. The response to such efforts plication would hold also for those Moslems of today is negligible and there is little likelihood of China, Africa and India who live in the midst of any marked change in the near future. . . . The paganism or polytheistic ethnic faiths. Christian Church ought to quit trying to make proselytes of Mohammedans. It should bring the In the Near East and North Africa, we have an best works of Christian service to the Moslem additional argument. There we are not merely world in a spirit of ecclesiastical and theological trying to lead Moslems to Christ, but rather to disinterestedness. " lead them back to Christ. Here we have the argu- ment of church history; the inspiration of the Father T. Bennerth, writing in a Roman Cath- cloud of witnesses, the apostles and martyrs of the olic missionary magazine for April 1930 says: faith; and the very stones of ruined churches and "As the conversion of the great bloc of Islamic monasteries would cry out if we were silent. nations to the Christian faith is not to be expected in our century " . . it is of the highest value that The Great Unoccupied Moslem Fields Islam at least maintains the belief in God in puri- fied forms. If this refuge of belief in God should 2. The missionary forces have hitherto moved vanish, then Western Christianity will be threat- across or around this great Moslem bloc. The fol- ened by a new seat of danger." lowing areas, or. countries in which the popula- When we compare these statements with the tion is wholly or predominantly Moslem, are still verdict of the Roman Catholic Conference, held in practically unoccupied. The missionary confer- Louvain in 1930, we find that ,there also the entire ences of Cairo, Edinburgh, Lucknow, and Jeruworld of Islam is labeled "le bloc inconvertisable." salem successively laid them all before the Church, In view of such opinions and statements, what but with little result-Afghanistan; the provinces satisfactory reasons can be advanced for the va- of Hejaz, Asir, Nejd, and Hadramaut in Arabia; [464 ] Russian Turkestan; parts of Siberia, Bokhara; blasted. The Moslem World Conference held at the eastern part of the Malay Peninsula; Socotra Mecca, and afterwards in Europe, proved a failand the Moslem populations of Madagascar, Rus- ure; none of the resolutions was carried out. sia in Europe, British and French Somali-land, Tripoli in North Africa, the French Sudan; the The Dutch Orientalist, Dr. Van der Meulen, who Great Aures Mountains, the Saharan Atlas spent many years in the diplomatic service at ranges, the central populous mountain regions of Jiddah, asks, "Are we standing at the eve of a re- Morocco, and the vast Sahara itself. These un- vival, a renaissance of Islam? No, the phenomena occupied fields have a total population of approxi- do not point this way. Except for the Wahhabi mately thirty-six million. How can we speak or movement in Central Arabia, it has all been a sing of evangelizing the whole world and leave all question of self-defense and resistance," (Moslem this outside of the program of occupation for World, October, 1936). Christ? Regarding the enormous area and population of Disintegration and Decay of Islam Indonesia, Professor C. C. Berg speaks of "de- structive forces that are at work against Islam all 3. A religion that once was the hope and glory over the world." Of the favorable factors he says of millions shows signs of breaking up. Old sanc- that they "might possibly result only in the long tions are disappearing. Their anchor-ground has run in a decrease in the rate of decay," ("Whither proved insufficient in the rising tide of material- Islam?" pp. 306-311). ism and atheism. Some tell us that there are signs of a resurgent Islam and of revival of faith in The geographical expansion of Islam in Africa Mohammed. But all signs point in the opposite has often been exaggerated. The latest statistical direction. This years report of the Board of For- survey shows a smaller proportion of Moslems in eign Missions of the Presbyterian Church states: nearly every area in North-central Africa (Mos- "There is now abundant evidence that the religion lern World, April, 1936). Dr. Deaville Walker of Islam is slowly disintegrating." wrote a few years ago: The collapse of the caliphate, and the failure of Within a comparatively short time, we pictured great all attempts to revive it, would lead to the conclu- pagan populations being rapidly Islamised. I am consion that Pan-Islamism is dead. The policy of the vinced that the position is wholly different today. Careful new government in Turkey and the complete sec- personal investigation in Sierra Leone and Mendeland, ularization of that republic points in the same the Gold Coast and Ashanti, Nigeria, and in the French direction. The Turkish press utters severe judg- colonies and protectorates of Dahomey, Togo, and the ment on Islam and its Prophet, while one by one Ivory Coast,· have made it very clear to me that the adthe old sanctions and customs of religion are pub- vance of Islam is being definitely checked, and that today licly discarded. A few years ago a British official we are winning far more Africans to the faith of Christ of high standing actually wrote to me: "Islam as than the Moslems are winning for their Prophet. Startling we once knew it is dead in Turkey; it is dying in as this may sound, I believe it to be absolutely true. Persia; it has ceClJ8ed to carry real weight in Egypt; it may survive some generations in What elements in Islam are today resurgent? Arabia; but the basic truths of Christianity will Does the old Mohammedan law or jurisprudence in the long run even there prevail." Such judg- any longer prevail under the new nationalism and ment is undoubtedly somewhat premature but it the new state? Or has the purely -Islamic-govis prophetic. erned state disappeared even in Arabia and Afghanistan? Islam faces a crisis in the lands where once it was dominant. Its efforts at propagandism in Has the social structure of Islam withstood the India and Africa "remind one of those sparse feminist movement and female education anygreen twigs sometimes still appearing at the ex- where? Can we seriously speak of "resurgent treme ends of half-dried-up boughs in trees whose forces" as regards polygamy, slavery, concubicore has for long been decaying from old age." nage, and the seclusion of womanhood? Was the Islam suffers because it feels itself under the suppression of the age-old Moharram celebrations tutelage of the West. In Turkey it suffers by be- in Persia a sign of vitality in Islam? Is the reli'- ing violated in its own bosom; in Russia from gion of Islam showing a new vitality when three Soviet persecution; and in Persia from a revolt of its "five pillars" are crumbling? The daily against the Arabic language and tradition. Mus- prayers are no longer observed as they were ten tapha Kemal Ataturk of Turkey raised great ex- years ago. The number of pilgrims to Mecca, in pectations, but he has turned out a bitter disap- spite of new facilities by motorbus and steampointment for all Moslems. The disenchantment ships, has dwindled from 250,000 to 80,000. was cruel but complete. The high hopes fixed on Mecca is losing its importance. Are the uniting Ibn Saood of Arabia to revive the caliphate were forces that remain, the Arabic language and cul- ture, the sense of brotherhood, the press and Al Azhar of Egypt-are these forces strong enough to counteract the disintegrating factors? Or will the progressive secularization of Moslem life rob
all life from the religion of Islam? Will the wan- Hospital in Northwest China, reports that Moslem ing of the Dervish orders and their suppression, as in Turkey, continue? patients crowd the doors, kiss the feet of the The fact is that Islam has been severely Christian physicians, listen eagerly to the meswounded in the house of its friends. The younger Egyptian modernists, instead of building care- sage, and that some at least find new life in Christ. fully on the foundations of reform laid by Jamalal-Dinal Afghani and the great Mohammed'Abdu, More and more thousands of Moslem youth are have ruthlessly undermined what remained intact. Mansur Fahmi, in his doctor's thesis, proved that sitting at the feet of Christian teachers in every Islam was progressively responsible for the degradation of womanhood. Dr. Taha Housain raised land. Day schools, boarding schools, colleges, and a storm of hostility by a book proving that much of early Islamic literature was a forgery, ·fabri- universities tell of an increasing number of Moscated to prop up the Koran and tradition. "The story of Abraham and Ishmael building the Kaaba lem pupils and of the leavening power of Chrisis all fiction." Ali Abd al Razik went even further, and in his book, "Islam and the Fundamentals of tian education that reaches far beyond the cur- Authority," advocated the abolition of the caliphate, "which has always been a misfortune." riculum and the campus area. Everyone should Moreover, he proposed the complete separation of Church and State, and the abandonment of the know that the emancipation of Moslem girlhood vast body of canon law. (Adams, "Islam and Modernism in Egypt," pp. 254-265.) and womanhood began in mission schools. It is When the best thinkers in Islam accept an hon- not only unkind but ungrateful and unhistoric to est historical research of all her spiritual property, it will mean a revelation of bankruptcy. trace these modern movements to hybrid sources. When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? Only the real gold, the theistic Christ alone removes the veil because He demands spiritual values of Islam, will be able to withstand the heat of this inevitable furnace. A careful and imparts purity of heart. Moslems themselves study of the whole question leads to the conclusion that as a cultural and even as a political force have testified to this fact. there is yet a future for Islam, but as a religious force the future does not look promising-except The great Christian literature societies and comin Christ and His Gospel for Moslems. mittees in Cairo, Constantinople, Teheran, Shang- The Response to the Gospel Message hai, across India, and in the Dutch East Indies are 4. This great response, as we see it today, should not surprise those who believe God's prom- producing and distributing ten times as much litises and who have experienced the final fruitage that follows the "patience of unanswered prayer." erature as they did a decade ago. Illiteracy is de- Others have labored, since the days of Henry Martyn, and now we are entered into their labors. creasing. Education is becoming compulsory. Others have knocked long and loud and waited patiently before locked doors-now those very doors The stigma of disapproval now rests on old superare nailed open. Eastern Arabia, Hadhramaut, and the cities of Meshed, Iran, and Riadh in Cen- stitions that once had religious sanction. tral Arabia, are outstanding examples. There are public baptisms in places where for- The Bible has been translated into all the great languages of the world of Islam. It is the best merly the "law of apostasy" would have adminprinted of all books and has an ever-increasing circulation. One has only to read the annual re- istered public ostracism or private vengeance. In ports of the two great Bible societies to realize the miracles of grace accomplished every year by the Java alone there are 75,000 Moslem converts gathprinted Word. ered into Christian churches. In North India Every hospital and dispensary across the map from Tangier, Morocco, to the Borden Memorial there are other thousands and in Persia we can truly speak of an indigenous church-weak still in numbers, but strong in the spirit of sacrifice and boldness of witness.
Those who challenge the validity and success of work among Moslems need to remember the lines of Arthur H. Clough: .
For while the tired waves, vainly breaking, Seem here no painful inch to gain, Far back through creeks and inlets making, Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
For not iJy eastern windows only When daylight comes, comes in the light; In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly! But westward, look, the land is bright.
While for years Christians have been battering against an impregnable position in North Africa, Islam has been steadily sweeping south and pagan tribes have become followers of the Prophet and have been lost to Christ. Suppose the Church had concentrated its efforts on these tribes in the rear of the Moslem position, and had flung a barrier of Christian churches across Africa, would Islam have made the progress it has southward? Might not the Church have found in Christian Africans, the allies who would have won far greater success than white foreigners can hope to achieve?
A. S. McNAIRN.
Christian Approach to
By PREBENDERY W. WILSON CASH, London I Secretary of the Church Missionary Society I~ ~==============================~ H AS Christianity anything to offer Islam? disappointed, goes forward with undimmed faith In answer to this question, one group of and courage, proclaiming Christ and Him cruci- people fall back upon the threadbare argu- fied as the only Hope of the world.
ment that "Islam is good enough for the Arabs." This difficult situation makes us pause and study They do not think, however, that is good enough afresh the task before us. First of all, nothing in for themselves. this past hundred years in any way invalidates the The question is sometimes put in a different way Gospel of Christ. Men of many nations and races -What is there in Christianity that is not found have found a new eternal and abounding life in Islam? through Christ, the living Saviour. The experi- The Moslem himself approaches the issue from ence of men converted in evangelistic campaigns a very different angle. He is certain that Islam in Europe or America is duplicated in the lives has much to offer to the Christian world, and par- of Africans, Indians, Chinese, and many others. ticularly just now when international affairs are Revival sweeps through parts of India and Africa so tangled and difficult. and tens of thousands find peace with God. But The missionary meets the point by a bold and the Moslem world still stands like some impreg- frank presentation of the Gospel of Christ as the nable rock, almost unshaken, and as a rule undis- only adequate religion for all the world. turbed by missionary witness. The reasons for A missionary recruit, going out to a Moslem this are many; some of them must be briefly field for the first time, is shocked to find that the stated. When the Moslem armies invaded the Moslem is just as eager to convert him to Islam countries from Syria to the Sudan and North as he is to win the Moslem for Christ. This is Africa they found a responsive body of nominally only the first of a series of shocks. As he settles Christian men ready to join their ranks and to to his work he discovers for himself what he had fight for them. The armies of the prophet were always heard, that the Moslem is about the most increased daily by many who saw in Mohammed a difficult man in all the world to bring under the deliverer from the hated Byzantine rule. The Em- influence of the Gospel. peror used the Church as an imperial tool, and in A survey of the past hundred years of mission- the minds of most people Church and State were ary work among Moslems does not reveal appre- one.
ciable progress in most areas. In one or two coun- There were alsothe divisions within the Church tries there have been remarkable results, notably and the disruptive elements in its own ranks. The in the Dutch East Indies; but against this suc- Roman and the Greek churches were separated cess must be set the inroads of Islam into the and the Greek and the Coptic churches were no Christian Church in the Near East. In Egypt it is longer in communion with each other. The ornate estimated that from 500 to 800 Copts annually ritual of the Eastern churches was contrasted become Moslems. The history of Islam is one of with the simple forms of mosque worship. The ceaseless encroachments on'Christendom, until pictures and images in churches gave the impres- now we speak of Bible lands, which were once sion of polytheism, and the abstruse theological Christian, as Moslem lands. The large propor- controversies still further weakened the spiritual tion of the peoples of Syria, Palestine and Egypt life of the Church. The fact is that the Christian are Moslems today. The Christian Church of faith was so badly misrepresented by the Church North Africa has been blotted out. The formerly of the day that people could not see Christ through Christian areas of the Sudan are now solidly Mos- the maze of ritual and ceremonial, the selfish am- lem. And still the Church sends missionaries to bitions of prelates and the secular encroachments Moslems and many are willing to give their lives upon the community. Race superiority was re- to Moslem evangelization, in an effort to remove sponsible for a good deal. The Roman or Greek the reproach which lies at the door of the Church. pattern was stamped upon the churches every- And still the missionary, though often baffled and where. There seems to have been nothing in- [467 ]
digenous in the Church of North Africa; and in into a new environment, utterly foreign to him.
Arabia there does not appear to have been any The strain of this social upheaval upon a young translation into the vernacular, either of the convert is so great that it develops any idiosyn- Scriptures or the Christian liturgies. In Rome cracies and oddities in him and in the end drives people worshipped in Latin and, therefore, they him back to his old surroundings.
had to worship in Latin in all North Africa; sim- The history of Christian expansion down the ilarly, because in Constantinople the liturgical centuries does not show that the nineteenth censervices were all in Greek, they had to be in Greek tury policy was adopted in other periods. In also in the Arabic-speaking world. Any approach earlier days people moved towards the Christian to Islam by the Christian must take account of faith by communities, by families, and tribes. In such facts. They are not dead matters of history doing so they became Christian without having but living issues today, and a study of them will had to suffer a catastrophic upheaval in their sohelp us in our evangelistic work. cial life. Instead of being uprooted from their The Gospel, it is true, needs no vindication. natural environment their social heritage was Once it is given a chance in the lives of men it Christianized, while they lived in the same homes proves itself, and its validity is recognized, but as before, carried on the same occupations, and the method of presentng the Gospel is a very dif- met much the same people, yet things were differ- ferent matter; after the experience of the past ent. The homes were transformed, they worked hundred years it is surely evident that we must from different motives, and their relationships to all face anew how we are to preach the Gospel in others were new; a different standard of life came Moslem lands. into the community through the coming of Christ.
The Nineteenth Century missionary expansion While such people found by personal conversion was marked by a strong emphasis on individual- the way to God, yet they moved together, families ism. Personal conversion was the note struck; were baptized, and communities received into the evangelistic missions sought to pluck men as faith.
brands from the burning. No one who knows This contrast requires careful and detailed in- Christ as his Saviour and Lord would' wish to vestigation. Is the cause of unsatisfactory con- weaken the appeal for personal conversion, but it verts in Moslem lands due to the break up of their must be admitted that there are other factors to be social environment? If so, may it not be equally considered. Moslem converts in many cases have true that a wrong method has hindered the whole proved to be utterly unsatisfactory. Curiously progress of the Gospel. Some years ago in a vil- enough a normal Moslem often became an eccen- lage in the Near East a large number of Moslem tric Christian. Missionaries labored to win that . families asked for baptism. When I met them it convert and when he was baptized disillusionment was obvious that some were thinking of Chris- set in. Instead of fitting into his new surround- tianity in terms of "loaves and fishes," but others ings, often he proved to be restless and required seemed to be genuinely sincere. Once the news a great deal of nursing. When discipline was even leaked out great pressure was brought to bear by mildly applied he would fling off in a temper, re- the Moslems to prevent these men from becoming nounce Christianity and go back to Islam. Most Christians. Large bribes were offered if they missionaries in the Near East have had this ex- would remain Moslems. In the end .some went perience; but they have pegged away through back to Islam, but others accepted Christ. Now heart-breaking disappointments always hoping the point of this is that while the missionaries did that things would change and that a better type emphasize personal conversion the converts came of convert would appear, as in fact he did from forward as families. They lived on as before in time to time. their own village and tilled their land. They were The problem is not due to any failure of the sufficiently numerous to remain as a community Gospel, nor indeed to lack of faithfulness in the in the village. Instead of being driven from house missionaries. The Message has been honestly pre- and hQme, ostracized and disinherited, they con- tinued in their old homes which now became sented to Moslems. A certain number have be- Christian. Here the difficulties experienced so come Christians but many were failures. These often, of abnormal converts, did not appear beare the facts. What is the answer? A survey of cause in becoming Christian they still preserved the Moslem world shows that in the Dutch East Indies, and to a certain extent in Persia, this un- their social heritage.
satisfactory result does not obtain. If we examine This line of argument raises several still bigger the social environment of the converts, I believe issues. The old method of missionary work was that we shall find that, through the process of con- mainly an attack upon Islam as wrong and on the version, we have uprooted the Moslem, torn him prophet as false in his claims, and by comparison from hi'! QWn. ~pciftl Jif~ aIld transplanted him a pre~~nt~tioJl Qf Chri~t as th~ only true Saviour,
THE CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO MOSLEMS
The second half of this is all right. We believe similar experiences that Moslems claim to have. Christ to be the only Saviour, but by contrasting This may be illustrated frQm the eighth century Mohammed with Christ missionaries have created in Khurasan, where a young prince had a remarkin Moslem minds an antagonism to Christ. Instead able vision. He was out hunting one day when he of a Moslem agreeing that Christ was superior he heard a heavenly voice calling him from the purrather felt a kind of suppressed grievance against suit of pleasure to the service of God. This vision Him. Thus a wrong impression was created and came to him three times and at the third appeara missionary found himself in the prejudiced at- ance he fell to the ground and gave his life to mosphere, which frequently led to a heated debate. God's service. He then walked across to a shep- As the situation hardened the controversial herd near by and exchanged his clothes and horse method became a very common 'One in missionary for the shepherd's woolen garments; without propaganda. Argument led to counter argument, funds or material resources he set out on pilgrimand attack to counter attack, until the atmosphere age to Mecca. was so strained that it was impossible to sit down quietly and to explain the Christian message with- Missionaries need to study more the meaning out at once being involved in a bitter wrangle. of Islam because the root idea of complete sur- render to God contains a truth no Christian can lIo~ VVin nlosleDls? afford to neglect. Moslem mystics glory in the will of God and the strength of their position is How can I approach the Moslem without an- this acceptance of whatever God sends as right. tagonizing him? First, I must understand his Too often we have used the Koran simply for purpoint of view, his spiritual aspirations, and what poses of controversy, forgetting that it does conreligion means to him. We often hear it said that tain the spiritual pilgrimage of one who started Moslem prayers are a matter of words and for- with undoubted sincerity and who wrought a refmula because certain prayers are memorized and ormation in his own land such as no one either repeated five times a day. If therefore, as a Chris- before or since has ever been able to accomplish. tian, I talk about prayer to a Moslem and at the The strength of Mohammed was not merely milisame time believe that he has no real prayer life, tary prowess. He hammered out in the desert a I start from a prejudice and an assumption which conception of God that carried the Arabs to will make fellowship with Moslems impossible. I heights previously unattained, as he described God have heard Moslems pray extemporaneously, with as the Eternal, the Great, the Glorious. He drew no set form, with every evidence of intensity and men to religion by saying, "Whichever way ye reality. Here is what one Moslem lays down as a turn there is the face of God." He said: "All on rule about prayer: earth shall pass away, but the face of thy God shall abide resplendent with majesty and glory." Before the time of prayer comes the servant must be in a state of meditation and recollection, free from wander- Whatever may be our attitude toward Islam, we ing thoughts and considerations, and the remembrance of cannot help a Moslem unless we are really honest aught save God alone. Those who enter thus upon prayer in our approach. If we trade upon his ignorance from the heart, intent only upon God, will proceed from of either his or our faith, if we fail to see the eleprayer to prayer in that same state of recollection, and ments of truth and reality in his religion, if we will remain therein long after they have ceased to pray. condemn him and his faith when we do not know it enough to pass judgment upon it, we are not There is here a depth of insight into the meaning of prayer that could at once form common honest. ground between Christians and Moslems for a There is a Christian way of approach to the sharing of mutual experiences in prayer. Why should not our approach to the Moslem be by the Moslem which is noncontroversial, where we value road of prayer, by beginning with quiet and medi- all that is good in his faith and appreciate the tation, by a remembrance of the name of God, so spiritual values it contains. We need not give up that there may be between us a spiritual affinity any Christian convictions, nor need we deny our which would make discussion easy. own faith to recognize a value in his. We can well begin by learning from the Moslems, by shar- Again can we not appreciate more the teaching ing our spiritual experiences with them in such a of Islam on spiritual things? The Sufis have much way as to enable them to share their experiences in their writings that is curiously like parts of the with us. We may find much common ground in New Testament. One writer says, "The Sufi is our prayer lives, in our worship and in our conone whose heart is pure toward God"; another ceptions of God. How surprised many of us misaffirms that "Sufism is enmity to the world and sionaries would be if, when preaching about the love to the Lord." indwelling of Christ in our hearts, we heard some- one say, "I gazed into my own heart. There I As Christians we rightly place great importance saw Him. He was nowhere else." upon the need of a personal spiritual experience of God. It would help us to study more carefully Yet this comes from a Moslem. Often when we
get closer to the mystic we find a religious toler- earnest Moslems let us not forget that the witness ance that puts some Christians to shame. There of the Spirit ultimately always leads to Christ.
is a saying: "0 Lord, none but Thyself can No man can say, "Jesus Christ is Lord," but by fathom Thee; yet every mosque and church doth the Spirit. If we depend more upon the Spirit, harbour Thee." and realize that God is at work in the Moslem Where 9.oes all this lead us? Not to any form world, we shall see our task in new proportions.
of syncretism, but to a new sense of the values of We shall be content to let our lives be as living all truth, even where that is found in another seed. ,We shall not fret if converts are few at the . faith. It leads us ultimately to Christ who, in the moment. We shall not worry if men call Mo- end, must be the Crown of Islam. We lose nothing hammed, prophet. We shall see Christ supreme by recognizing broken lights of Him who is the and alive, seeking to break through in spiritual Light of the World. We do not diminish Christ's revelation and power into the lives of men. As glory when we see how God illumines every man the living truth works in the hearts, we shall see coming into the world. It is true, as St. Paul hasl men and women discovering a new meaning to said, "God has not left Himself without witness." life, as they learn that Islam must involve not only If we see evidence of the witness of the Spirit in surrender to God, but to God revealed in Jesus some of the teaching of Islam and in the lives of Christ.
A FEW FAOTS ABOUT ISLAM Islam, more than most religions, reflects the personality of its founder, Mohammed. He was born in Mecca, near the western coast of Arabia, about 570 A. D. When he was about forty years of age, he had a series of experiences which he interpreted as visions from God.
These ordered him to attack the idolatry and worldliness of his fellow citizens, and to proclaim one supreme God and a day of judgment. Converts at first gathered slowly, and they were subject to persecution.
In 622 A. D., the Hijrah, or Flight to Medina, took place, from which the Moslem calendar came to be reckoned. In Medina, Mohammed soon became head of the community and ruler as well as prophet. At the time of his death, in 632 A. D., not only Medina, but Mecca and practically the whole of Arabia, had accepted his doctrines.
The sayings of Mohammed, which are believed to have been dictated word for word to him by the Angel Gabriel, were later gathered together and they constitute the Koran. This scrIp- ture is divided into Suras, or chapters, arranged roughly according to length rather than in any chronological order. The Koran is the Bible of Islam, considered verbally infallible. Since it is often obscure, and since it failed to prescribe conduct or attitudes to be observed in subse- quent situations that arose, it was early supplemented by Traditions as to what Mohammed said or did under various circumstances. These rules of conduct were, in time, codified into legal systems.
The five principal observances of Islam are: (1) the recitation of the creed-"There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his Prophet"; (2) worship, the set forms of prayer which are to be performed five times a day; (3) alms, a certain proportion of the income being pre- scribed from those of means for the benefit of the poor; (4) fasting from sunrise to sunset during the Ramadan; (5) malting the Haj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca once in a lifetime by those who are able.
Among various prohibitions are intoxicants, usury, making of images, and games of chance. On the other hand, Mohammed's relations with women led him to permit four legal wives as well as concubines, and to recommend the seclusion of women. The Jihad, or war against countries controlled by unbelievers, has always been considered a duty. As in other religions, these observances have been much relaxed in practice.
In the first century of its existence Islam split into two principal sects, the Sunni, which is in the majority in most Moslem countries, and the Shia, containing the bulk of Persians, about half of Iraq, and smaller communities in other lands. In addition to these, there have been many other sects. _ Moslem theology has emphasized the unity and power of God, and has been especially severe on anything that seemed like polytheism or idolatry. At the same time saint worship has been quite general; there is also much superstition, together with mystical or emotional exercises.-Quoted from "The Moslem Faces the Future," by T. H. P. Sailer.
Reactions to the
By JAMES HALDANE, Mazagan, Morocco -.•~ Southern Morocco Mission; Author of "Missionary Romance in Morocco," "Morocco in Mufti," etc.
W HEN we present the Gospel of Christ to tion and have the means at their disposal to carry individual Moslems we find them reacting the effort to a climax.
to our message in a variety of attitudes Jeremiah, and other Hebrew prophets, acted and tempers. When the reaction is born of fa- sometimes in' strange manner with a view to exnaticism the man allows you the utterance of only citing their audience into a listening mood, and a few sentences, after which there is a manifesta- employed what we might call a sanctified guile to tion of petulence, rising to passion and finding its grip hearts which could not be reached by ordiclimax in vociferation and whirling gestures. The man's mind is infested with vitiated religious sentiments which, when stirred by an element that opposes them, make the body a medium for their manifestation and produce a condition akin to madness. In the presence of such a man the missionary is confronted with the question of what means he must employ to exercise these exorbitant religious notions from the mind where they are lodged.
Let it be said with emphasis that, whatever A MOSLEM "HOLY MAN'S" HABITATION IN MOROCCO attitude we take towards the fanatic, whatever means we employ to deal with such malady, it nary means. Let me give an instance – one of must be based on sympathy. A display of irrita- many used in my work among Moors-to illustrate tion, an exhibition of caustic temper or rancor, the method. far from mitigating the evil, will aggravate it. A movement from the basis of sympathy to attack I was dealing with a small group of men while religious enormities and delusions, as manifested a number of others, who were merely spectators, by the fanatic, does not imply an unsteady tread sat beside us. There was a wild scene in which suggestive of fear and helplessness. It means reason was caged and rowdyism became rampant. that we are approaching with love and under- I tried everything within the range of ordinary standing a victim who has been born and reared methods used to calm them into a listening attiunder the glare of superstition and religious in- tude but all in vain. I was faced with the alternafatuations, one who has come under the impact of tive of doing something unusual to overcome this a single idea which drives him past all other con- devastating display of fanaticism, or abandoning siderations. these men as hopeless material. I decided to imi- In deaJing with such men it may be necessary to adopt an attitude of silence, at least until some of their fierceness has subsided. In some instances one may detect, seeping through the crevices of a disordered mind, an occasional show of intelligence which casts a passing gleam upon the countenance. Just at that moment one may be able to shoot in a word like an arrow that will find its mark, touch the reason and stimulate it to accept the challenge of a new line of thought. And on occasion fanaticism may be countered by cajolery. But this experiment should not be tried by any but those who, through long contact with the peopIe among whom they labor, understand the situa- [471 ]
tate the Hebrew prophets. Taking off my boot, as if he were afraid that the usual tone of voice ignoring my audience as if it did not exist, I filled would be an interruption. With this show of init with stones. These I shook inside the boot, tense earnestness he lures the preacher on, and emptied them out and filled the boot again. With just at the moment when we are ready to urge his a show of much earnestness this process was kept surrender to Christ he riSes up, draws his fingers up for sometime. Their interest was directed into through his beard, shakes the dust from his gara new channel; they could not understand what I ments, exclaims in a loud voice, "There is no God was doing and were astonished that I had so easily but Allah and Mohammed is His prophet," and tripped away from a serious theological discus- strides away with an air of triumph. sion into the trivial business of shaking stones inside a boot. Their curiosity mounted until it could In some of our meetings, within doors and in no longer be curbed: the open, we have an audience that has come to- gether by consent to extract some pleasurable ex- "Whatever are you doing?" they asked. citement by engaging the foreign preacher in argument. On one occasion a number of young A VISIT TO MOSLEM BEDOUIN fellows came tumbling into my meeting for this purpose. As clearly as if the words had been "You are all acting like madmen and I deter- chiselled on their foreheads I read, "Weare here mined to help you ollt,~' T replied. for fun." I put away my Bible, erected the black- board, put down a sum in addition and invited This had the desired effect for it suddenly struck anyone in the company to come forward, take the them that their vociferation and whirling move- chalk and do the sum. Several came forward and ments were, in the circumstances, as foolish and attempted to add the figures but no one added futile as shaking stones in a boot. Then at my them correctly. invitation they squatted on the ground and together we examined calmly the message of Jesus. "If ever you are to rise above being water car- riers and laborers you must learn to count," I said. Another type we meet is the man who reacts to our message with a cunning camouflage, whose So we continued the exercise until they became aim is to humiliate the missionary. He makes a greatly interested and some could add up figures show of much earnestness and on occasion will before we finished. I invited them to return the sway his body to emphasize his concern for his following week to learn subtraction. soul. At the mention of forgiveness through Jesus Christ he will stare with the surprise of one who "This is the way into an office and a good job," has just made a great discovery. And as the I heard them say as they talked among themselves. story unfolds he will say in a whisper, "Proceed," They were so pleased with their progress that they all shook hands with me before taking their de- parture.
The following week they walked into my meet- ing, some of them with copy books and pencils. We put simple subtraction problems on the board. Interest reached a climax when some of the more intelligent ones were able to find the solution to what I had put down. At this juncture I wrote on the board: ADD TOGETHER: FORMAL PRAYERS, FASTS, LUST, LOVE OF THE WORLD.
SUBTRACT: DEATH.
RESULT: NOTHING.
What a discovery this was! Addition and sub- traction could be applied to theology.
Again this problem: ADD TOGETHER: SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
SUBTRACT: – THE REDEMPTION OF JESUS'
CHRIST.
RESULT: FORGIVENESS AND ETERNAL LIFE.
This proved to be the beginning of an interest- ing work among those young fellows, some of
MOSLEM REACTIONS TO THE GOSPEL
whom continued· to attend my Bible class for that, if he gives Christianity a trial and it does not years. fulfil expectations, he may find the doors of the Then there is the polite man, the person who fold he has left barred against him. He wants to wishes to be courteous and who would treat an make an experiment with a new faith, for he is outburst of antagonism from any religious quar- deeply conscious of the inadequacy of Islam to ter as an outrage against good manners. When provide the assurance of pardon that he seeks.
we introduce our Gospel to this type there is no He is like a man who, dissatisfied with the job he display of opposition and almost no evidence of interest. He simply allows you to talk on, and says, "Yes," to everything. He is like a man who, busy with his own thoughts, will occasionally make a remark to the child that chatters by his side just to show that he is not displeased at its interrup- tions, although he finds nothing in its chatter to be cherished as valuable information. When we have given our Message and ask this man what he thinks of it, and what attitude he is going to take towards Jesus, he skirts the issue by inviting us to drink tea, or by diverting attention in some way calculated to close the subject.
What are we to do with that sort of man? Va- rious methods may be employed in an effort to awaken real interest in him. I give one example: "Well, let's go inside and drink tea now," said my Moslem friend after I had made a serious en- deavor to point him to Christ. We sat down to sip tea and I put this question to him: "I'm interested in Islam; what steps would I be required to take if I decided to become a Mos- lem ?"
The question gripped him and he began to teach me with much solemnity. He had gone far when I injected extraneous matter.
"Are your shoes made of leather or cloth?" I inquired.
He talked on and every now and then I inter- jected some trivial question and gazed around me indifferently. He became annoyed and said: "You are not listening."
"It doesn't matter, just go on," I replied. There was a spell of silence and then I asked: "Do you consider me a bad listener?"
"You certainly are," came the quiet reply.
"Do you know who taught me to listen badly?"
"Say who?"
"The gentleman who sat with me outside the A MOSLEM FANATIC IN MOROCCO door a little time ago." has, would fain go out and search for another, but "So you are taking revenge?" he said with a is afraid that should his quest fail his present em- ployer might not take him back. grin. "N0, only trying to teach you a lesson."
A more interesting, as well as more hopeful, In dealing with this type, which is common type is the man who has a real interest in spiritual enough, rush tactics do not succeed. In exalting matters and who is willing to make some real sac- the capital doctrine of the agency of the Holy rifice to reach the assurance that there is a way Spirit in dealing with such men we must not over- to obtain God's forgiveness, an offer of Eternal look the means of patience and instruction from Life. But there are difficulties in the way. The the missionary's side. To expect such a man, man is encumbered by an imaginative ignorance whose mind is sodden with superstition and that dogs his steps the moment he steps out to cramped from bold thinking by ignorance, to take meet Christ. He is embarrassed with the fear one long stride towards the objective we place be-
fore him is rather too much. He states his need, types enumerated above, gathered in a meeting shows interest in the Gospel message, but shies at where the Gospel is to be preached with a view to the suggestion that he should pass immediately their conversion. Our aim is to gain a hearing over the chasm that separates Islam and Chris- from them all. It would simplify matters if one tianity. Every time the man is forced forward could separate them according to their class, and he reacts with caution. present the Gospel in a manner calculated to meet the particular needs of each section, but this is HIGHIDR CLASS MOSLIDMS OF MOROCCO rarely possible. We must take the audience as we find it. In an effort to arouse the indifferent from their torpor we may say something that will un- sheath the passions of the fanatic and so have a tumult before the meeting is well begun. Or if we stress the finality of the cross of Christ as a means of taking away sin we are likely to hear the muffled rumblings of some who consider it is their duty to counter this teaching by repetitions of Islam's creed. These cross-currents will in turn disturb the polite section of our meeting whose only desire is to conduct themselves in a proper manner, and who would probably rise up and go out if there was any sign of rowdyism.
To place such a meeting in the hands of an in- experienced missionary is to do an injustice to our cause. Some will say: "Preach the Gospel and leave it at that. Let them all have the pure Gospel: there our responsibility ends."
The fact is one considers the Gospel to be such a blessed thing, and such consequences hang upon its presentation, that it is felt to be a kind of sacrilege to offer it to a rabble.
In a meeting of the type I am describing there are two factors which determine what results will be produced. In the first place there is the factor of atmosphere; the missionary's first business is to create one that will harmonize with the exalted theme he desires to present. This cannot be One more type is the man who meets all our – approaches with deadly indifference. In extreme cases we are almost made to feel that we are A HILARIOUS GROUP INTERVIEWING A MISSIONARY speaking to a corpse! The man can be turned from one position to another, rolled over from achieved by a process of shouting and pounding. one doctrine to another, without showing interest What means, then, must we use to create an ator resistance. There was a half silly man who mosphere worthy of a serious undertaking such as lived in our village in the days of my boyhood. presenting the issues of life and death as con- We used to tease him. He had enough sense to tained in the message of the New Testament? look after a cow but little more.
"Ah, Geordi," we would say, "did you give the cow a drink?" "Yes," he replied. Of course there would not be any water in the pail. We would continue. "No," he would reply naively. That silly teasing comes back to my mind almost every time I meet the Moslem type I am now dealing with. He answers "yes" and "no," according as we suggest, no matter how contradictory the replies may be.
Now think of fifty Moslems, a mixture of the
The answer is: a vigorous and proper use of The second factor is, motive. I have not space the native tongue of one's audience. There is no to develop this point. The most ignorant audience, substitute for this. Accent is not a serious handi- not to speak of those on a higher level, is concerned cap, but to flounder about in a sea of foreign words with the motive of the preacher. This concern is is simply to tickle or irritate an audience accord- born, not of analysis but of instinct. There is an ing to its mood. An easy flow of language, studied instinctive feeling of enquiry in every audience and correct, has a tremendous effect. If one can we face as to the motive of our preaching. That is prove to the listeners that he has not only an easy why many missionaries will not develop any phase flow of their language, but also an understanding of work where money comes into play. Mercenary of its underlying significance and subtleties, the motives may easily be attributed, by primitive chances are in his favor for getting a good hear- people, to money transactions accompanying Gos-' ing. Sale points out in his introduction to the pel services. (See the New Testament on this Koran that the success of that book is due in no subject.) small measure to the jingle of its words. The opening chapter of the Koran, when well read, My aim here is to show that natives are consounds like the jingling of bells. If, then, we find stantly watching our motives, and unless we can the atmosphere in a meeting unsuited to our mes- convince them that all our work springs from the sage, we must not imagine that we are false to our motive of love, we labor in vain. That is why a mission if we introduce some extraneous matter warning about sin and its consequences, a referfor the purpose of getting the proper conditions ence to the futility of Islam or an exposure of its established. Here is a method I have employed contradictions should never be carried out with times without number when faced with a meeting any show of triumph, lest we give the impression difficult to handle: that our aim is to score points. Even when en- gaged in disputation, as must sometimes happen, The audience is a mixed multitude-antagon- our words should be the breathing of love. Livism, hilarity, indifference and suspicion surge ingstone's achievements among primitive Afrithrough the atmosphere, and one detects an effort cans were due, almost solely, to this fact: he conon the part of some to scuttle the meeting. To in- vinced them, not merely that he was an honest troduce Jesus Christ in this atmosphere would be man or a good man, but that he loved Africa and to give them the very opportunity they desire to its people intensely. wreck the meeting, for it would present the object for attack. Much to their surprise the preacher With these two factors-a suitable atmosphere, claims only that there is one God and He has no and divine love in our hearts to supply the impetus partners. The next step is to show that all the for all our work-we may say, even when statistics good things we receive in this life are from His deny their support, the faithful missionary of hand. A sense of reverence asserts itself, for this Christ "shall doubtless come again rejoicing is what they all believe. The next step is to show bringing his sheaves with him." that many of the boons that reach us, coming from God, do so through the medium of our own DISTRIBUTION OF MOSLEMS labors, as for instance when we plough. "That," we say, "is why it is a good thing to have a trade." By GOVERNMENTS We then introduce lines from one of their own poets. This creates interest. There is now an Total Moslems in the world-about ……. . 240,000,000 atmosphere of reverence and interest. We quote Moslems under British rule (including Egypt) 94,000,000 the lines again and again: Moslems under other Western Governments ., 94,000,000 Moslems under MQslem Governments ……. . 38,000,000 Mal jiddeen A parent's legacy Moslems under other Eastern Governments ., 14,400,000 Yiteem; Will finish hastily; DISTRIBUTION-BY CONTINENTS Ma yibka All will fade Khir snaa Except the trade America-North and South …………… . 130,000 Australia and Islands ……………….. . 1,030,000 Yideen. You handle daily. Europe and Soviet Russia …………….. . 12,000,000 Africa ……………………………. . 53,000,000 It may be said that there is no Gospel in this. Asia and Malaysia ………………….. . 154,000,000 True; and there is no Gospel in a banner, a bell or a band. Yet these are constantly in use in INTERESTING HISTORICAL DATA Christian work for the purpose of creating interest and a proper atmosphere preliminary to intro- Birth of Mohammed, 570 A. D. Death of Mohammed, ducing the Gospel. I have a whole collection of 632 A.D. Moslem poems, proverbs and stories which I use almost daily in my meetings, for the same purpose Hejira (Mohammed's flight from Mecca), 622 A. D. as I use low gear in my automobile; that is, to get Battle of Tours (defeat in West Europe), 732 A. D. Moslems driven from Spain (by Ferdinand II), 1492. a start. Capture of Constantinople by the Turks-1453 A. D. Young Turks proclaim new Constitution-1908 A. D. End Qf the Caliphate (Turkey), 1924 A. D. Religious freedom in Iran (Persia), 1925 A. D.
Moslems for
By REV. JOHN VAN ESS, D.D., Basrah, Iraq Missionary of the Reformed Church in America THE objective of missionary work is to bring With this as my creed, I go back tomorrow to Moslems to a saving knowledge of Christ. my school. It is the last week of my twenty-fifth But what is "a saving knowledge"? Is bap- year as a teacher of Arabs. For twenty years this tism of converts the criterion of success? Christian school was on the crest of a wave of popularity. Being the first in this region, it has Salvation is assuredly not merely a "ticket into educated or at least vitally touched about three the ark," so to speak. To "accept Christ" is not thousand young Arabs. Each of these has met merely to assent to the formula "Christ died for Cl).rist or heard His message in the vernacular my sins." Our Lord's constant emphasis on the from my own lips, months and years on end, in Kingdom implies a King and an organization, with systematic and progressive Bible study. Hundreds laws, implied strife and victory. This Kingdom of these young men have been absorbed into the begins on earth but will be an eternal Kingdom as political and economic life of the land, and you its King is eternal. When a man is saved, there- can count on the fingers of two hands those who fore, he is saved not so much "from" as "unto"- have definitely gone bad. I can explain it only on unto Life, unto obedience, to fruitfulness, to har- the assumption that the light of Christ has somemony, to eventual and complete adjustment to how produced a change on the film of their heart God. The Cross is not merely a tragic drama on and thought life. Calvary on a Friday afternoon in a city in Palestine. We read of the "Lamb slain from the foun- And now has come nationalism. The Iraq Govdation of the world," of the Word that was in the ernment, in its youthful exuberance, is establishbeginning with God, that was God. The Cross was ing schools of all grades everywhere. They are eternally in the heart of God; Calvary was its good schools, well equipped and staffed. They tragic demonstration in time. The Atonement has have behind them all the prestige and resources of a gigantic sweep, far wider than the salvation of the Government. There are many respects in a confessed minority. The Atonement is a process which, pedagogically speaking, I do not agree with of divine dimensions, a process that began with the system. But the Government has the right to God's eternal purpose of good, reached its supreme decide its own objective and to formulate its own demonstration on Golgotha, and was consummated method. In a missionary school I cannot compete on Easter morning. "If Christ be not raised, ye with the Government on its own ground, nor are yet in your sins." should 1. Two summers ago, driving along a coun- try road in Michigan, I asked a farmer, "Where So I do not visualize myself as standing on a does this road go?" He replied, "Stranger, if you dock with a boat-hook, desperately grasping at follow it long enough, this road will lead you to the souls that come rushing by. According to my the cemetery." As Christians we are often in Lord's precept and example I work for individuals, danger of going up the road to a mental cemetery, but all the time I am conscious that those whom I where lie the dead bones of dead controversies. may miss do not "drift beyond His love and care." As missionaries we are in danger of going up the Above the din and clatter of my clumsy efforts I road to a cemetery of method, if not of message. hear Christ say "I have overcome the world"- The famous Dr. Abraham Kuyper of Amsterdam the cosmos. And so I visualize the world, the said, "The fault of the Church is not that she made whole cosmic order, the whole social, economic, creeds, but that she stopped making creeds." political, as well as the religious set-up, as being brought into obedience unto Him. Anything else As a missionary educator, I am closing a chap- is defeatism and defeatism is treason. Pro rege is ter of twenty-five years, with no regrets, and with. the device on my banner. pleasantest memories, grateful that it has been my privilege to be a pathfinder, and looking around Physical death, then, can no longer be a cri- for new fields to enter and new paths to open. I terion of anything either to me or the Moslem. am deliberately cutting out the top of my tree, so My missionary work is only a beginning, and in- to speak, gradually eliminating the high school deed will never stop. Christ promised a Life that grades, and concentrating on the depressed classes now is and spoke of death that ceases to be.
[476 ] who comprise about two-thirds of the population. outside of myself, illuminating the whole and shed- They do not come within the perimeter of the offi- ding its power over myself and my pupils. But cial vision, and will not do so for a generation. there is the phenomenon. They are desperately poor but they are desperately in earnest. Their economic condition does not For years and years I had tried to present allow them to remain in school more than six years Christ to the Arab boys: His life, His Cross, His at the most, after which they must return to their salvation. A young American, fresh from college, villages or to their former economic plane, equip- with the light of heaven in his eye and the smile ped, we trust, to lift up that plane to a higher level. of God on his face, came to join me for a short Any higher education I leave to the government term. For fifteen months he taught the boys, lived schools which admittedly qualify only for govern- with them, played with them, brothered them. ment jobs and already have reached the point of Then, by an accident, God took him. The boys besupersaturation. Out of the morass of this little' gan to come to me and say, "Sir, now we underproblem I leave the government to struggle as best stand what you have been trying to teach us about it may. God; how He made Himself visible, and lived among us, and suffered with us, and died for us. And so, after a quarter of a century, I stand We have seen it in Mr. Raymond. That is what again where I stood at the beginning. I am again God did." I awoke to the fact that we cannot teaching small boys in simple subjects, and am make men hear the Atonement; we must make back in the daily irritations of discipline and routine. One of my former colleagues, a man of wide men see it. reputation, said to me: "Van Ess, I thought you had it in you to put up a college in Iraq." To I am quite unruffled by government competition which I replied, "I am really prouder of the fact and by decreased appropriations. Indeed, the dethat I had it in me not to put up a college in Iraq." With the rise of nationalism, missionary colleges pression and the consequent cuts have made me are being forced to the wall. India may be an ex- cut out a lot of underbrush, so that I can now see ception, though in the new constitution lurk the path more plainly. Even the casual remarks ominous obstacles. That they have done a splen- of well-meaning friends that the school seems to did service is undoubtedly true but how much be going backward, does not sting anymore. As room there remains for them is a serious question. But there remains a great deal of room at the a matter of fact, there is a far greater percentage bottom. This to my mind is the great challenge of Moslems in the school than ever before, and all to missionary educators today. The greatest con- available space is filled. "Why are most of your tribution we missionary educators can make is not boys barefoot?" asked a government inspector. in the doing of big things in a comparatively small "Why do all the barefoot boys come to me 7" I way, but in the doing of little things in a big way. answered. For that task we need all the mentality, and all the education and all the experience, and all the Where now does all this fit into my pretentious manhood, and all the linguistic ability, and all the creed? Next door to my house is an electric powerhumility, and all the spiritual equipment we can station. Into one end is fed the crude oil; out of command. When the world's proletariat awakes, the other end comes that strange, invisible, potent within the next generation, as it inevitably must, fluid called electricity. The cause is not at all will men, by that time, be familiar with us and commensurate with the result. The only function our message and our Lord, or will they, as in of the crude oil has been to be consumed. Some- Russia, revolt against Christianity that has cham- where along the line, in the dynamo in fact, it has pioned the rights of the privileged classes? If been transformed into energy. It is carried miles one great truth of the Cross of Christ is, in Jesus' away to the wharves where it raises heavy burown words, "I have power to lay down my life dens and lights dark streets and houses. I cannot, and I have power to take it again," surely we dis- and we cannot by education or any other method, ciples can best preach that Cross in our own daily change the world. But we can be consumed, willhumiliation. I, for one, wish to bear witness to ingly, humbly, gladly, for our efforts are made dythe compensation that comes from a humble effort namic in the Cross. "I fill up on my part that in that direction. which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh." During the past year I have had a daily experience, which you may explain as you like but which Anyone who knew Turkey before the World is, none-the-Iess, intensely real. As I teach the War knows that there was not one ray of light Gospel lessons to class after class, lessons which I on the horizon of missionary work among Moshave taught literally hundreds of times, a shaft of lems. In five short years, what happened? The light seems to come from somewhere, certainly Caliphate was abrogated, the Sultan was expelled, and a republic was established; Islam was dis- established, womanhood was emancipated, suf- frage was made universal. The Turkish revolution came like a bolt from the blue. I have heard
famous professors of international affairs confess innovations, which seemed impossible a decade or their inability to explain it. It seems plain to me, two ago, are rapidly being realized. however. For eighty years the American missionaries had been working in Turkey, and prayers, Another innovation, the lawfulness of which the tears, the sighs, the labors, the gifts of God's has been hotly contested, is the translation of the people were consumed for Turkey. They were Koran into English. After a lengthy debate in the made dynamic in the eternal Cross of Christ; the secular press, the Government and the leaders of energy was banked up behind the barrage of God's reform have gotten round the difficulty by affirmpurpose until in His own time He let it loose on ing that while the Koran can never be translated Turkey, and something more had to happen. into any other language, what is now being at- tempted is to translate the teaching of the Book A couple of generations ago a young Chinese especially for the benefit of the English-speaking lad named Sun Yat Sen learned in a mission school peoples. The large increase of religious articles in Honolulu the three uniquely Christian prin- and debates in the secular press, both Arabic and ciples: Liberty, Democracy, Social Justice; today English, is another noticeable development, and if China is in the throes of a new birth. And so it to this we add the broadcasting of the chanting of is in India, and I believe in Russia. To me the the Koran several times a day, while Christians great and humiliating fact about Russia is that the are not allowed to broadcast even a reading of the Church has let Communism steal her thunder of Scripture, we get an idea of the strength of the demanding social justice. propaganda that is being daily carried on.
From the segment of a circle we can tell from The remarkable growth in Egypt of Moslem rethe degree of curvature, not only how big the ligious societies to further the teaching of Islam circle is but where the center is. And everywhere from every aspect impresses itself upon Christian in the round world today we can see the segments residents. The most active of these is the Young being filled in, all centering in Christ, a gigantic Men's Moslem Association. It is a regular centre sweep, a stupendous Kingdom of Divine dimen- of political and religious intrigue. The same sions. spread is also noticeable in the Islamic periodicals and magazines, which are distributed far· and So I go back to my little school tomorrow, con- wide, even in the remotest villages. This new fident of contributing a small but none the less a movement has even reached the neglected southern real part to one segment, and overwhelmed by a European Moslems, and very recently these held sense of unutterable privilege. How many bap- a Moslem conference in Geneva, so that they tisms? A greater missionary than any of us said: should not be left behind in the reforms. Needless "Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach." to say, Islam is being interpreted now-a-days in terms of Christian doctrine. MODERN REFORMS IN ISLAM The agitation of the Feminist Movement against The disintegration of Islam is true only in a plurality of marriage, the prevalence of divorce very qualified sense. The old and primitive type (at present 47 per cent), and the neglect of chilof Islam is giving way to a new form of teaching dren is but like a voice crying in the wilderness, and to an interpretation in line with modern which soon dies in the arid air of Islam. The Western ideas and philosophy. This new move- greatest hindrance to Arab advance and the ment carries with it the vitality and momentum of spread of Islam has been hitherto the wide diveryouth, accompanied with the zeal, if not fanati- gence of views and the animosities among the difcism, of the old Islam, so that, in a very real sense, ferent states, but the Alliance recently signed there is revival in Islam. among all the Arab states and with Egypt joining them, presents a united Islamic front. This revival is most in evidence in Egypt, which is taking the lead among Moslem countries. It Islam is essentially a primitive religion, a fact has actually carried along with it the great centre of which all the leaders boast -and emphasize on of Islamic learning, the Azhar University, that all occasions; no wonder if we see it breaking immobile institution which has for the last thou- down under the demands of modern progress and sand years defied any scheme of reform. The cur- civilization; they are trying to reconstruct it riculum of the University now demands the study along modern lines. It will remain to be seen of science along European lines, and of modern whether such external reforms will prove the relanguages. Promising students have even been vival or the death of Islam.–Condensed from an sent to European universities, and other startling article by an Egyptian Christian in Egypt, "Gen- eral M-vssion News," 1936.
PATIENTS AT A WAYSIDE DISPENSARY IN
A Christian Doctor Among Moslems By PAUL HARRISON, M.D., Muscat, Arabia Missionary of the Reformed Church in America ~~N0. ' I DO NOT believe in forcing religion with God. I have never met a missionary who was down people's throats. I believe in med- foolish enough to suppose that a man could be ical missions though." forced into Christian faith, nor wicked enough to More mistakes it would be hard to put into two attempt it.
sentences. Ordinary missionaries force religion And if any have illusions as to the redemptive upon the sensitive innocence of the unprotected, capacity of Atebrin pills, and Elastoplast band- whereas the medical missionary who has re- ages, and Davis and Geck sutures, the medical mis- nounced the Devil and all his works, redeems them sionary has none. Men with their hernias skill- with pills, plasters, and catgut sutures. fully repaired, stab their neighbors just as fero- Neither the minister nor his medical colleague ciously in the bazaar, and marry their fourth wife, is so foolish. None of us try to force anything on a baby of twelve, with just as animal a glitter in anybody. Those who are willing, we introduce to their eyes, as they did before. None watch the Jesus Christ, with as deep and discriminating an dreadful pageant of human ignorance, and sin and introduction as desire anct background make pos- suffering, with quite so deep and terrible an under- sible. Christ's contact with them depends even standing as the doctor, none know so well as he, more on the depth of our surrender to Him, and that the wages of sin is death, and before it is the radiance of our daily walk in His company. death, it is disease.
In the affairs of the spirit coercion is poison. Be- And so the medical missionary thanks God with fore us always is the beauty of Christ's example, all his heart that he is as other men are; i. e., an as He led free men into a redeeming fellowship evangelist whose life object is to bring Christ to 479
those who need Him. Ignorance has crippled the afternoon, in the hospital courtyard, and on weekmen whom Mohammed captured so many years day evenings they saw Christ on the Cross through ago. Sin has overcome them. Their diseases the stereopticon. Smooth sailing? Not always. come from sin. So does their poverty which is A month ago our outlying dispensary in Nuchl, 75 almost worse than disease in these terrible areas. miles from Muscat, was summarily closed, and we So, also, that emptiness of soul which makes the ejected. But the people there want us to return, inner poverty of the rich, worse many times, than and it will be only a short time probably, before the outer poverty of the poor. If only Christ can we are back. fill some of these souls with the radiance of His Eternal life, they will be a light for the entire There are many areas in the world where the community, just as He promised. Yes,. and in medical missionary is still a pioneer in the simplest sense of that word. No missionary except he. can AN ARAB CHIEF, WITH DR. HARRISON WHOM HE INVITED enter. Central Arabia is such an area. Sois TO VISIT HIS TRIBES IN INLAND ARABIA Afghanistan, and Tibet, and parts of Northwest China. Often even he can go only by special invithat radiant group, Christ Himself will find the tation, and very infrequently. Sometimes he can one joy and happiness that men are capable of take his evangelistic colleague with him. On~e I giving Him. heard of a consecrated music teacher finding an entrance when even the Doctor was shut out. But What part have the medical missionaries played the brunt of this campaign is carried by the docin the great Eternal enterprise of carrying Christ tors. They visit such places on medical tours, to the Mohammedans? A genuine part and an treat those who need medical help, present Christ honorable one. We go where no one else can. to those who will listen, make many friends. Harold Storm made a trip two years ago which included pretty well the whole southern coast of On occasion theYl;re driven out, but they re~ Arabia. With trifling exceptions, that whole sec- turn.. and eventually tlieMission is invited to come tion can be reached only by the medical mission- in and establish a permanent station. Such a staary. And can the Gospel be preached on such a tion may begin with only the medical missionary tour? It can. Last year in Sur, a wild and fanati- in residence. Eventually he is joined by his evancal place, men listened to the Gospel every Sunday gelistic colleague.
It is a great step in advance when a permanent mission station is established. Then the impact of Christian family life is felt, and that is by far the heaviest piece of artillery that we have. The difference between the Christian and the Moham- medan family is an apologetic which admits of no answer. But in this station too, the active medical work of the mission hospital has a great part to play. Dozens and scores and hundreds come to the dispensary. They do not become Christians, but they do become friends. And in the hospital itself men listen to the Christian message with a more friendly ear than elsewhere, and during their days of comfortable convalescence, the same mes- sage can be repeated many times, until some de- gree of comprehension is reached. Christ walks up and down the aisles of these primitive mission- ary hospitals, and the doctor succeeds in making Him visible to some of those who are his guests.
Abdullah was such a patient. He came with the largest ulcer of the year, and we have many ulcers by no means small. His measured six by four inches. Only the swollen condition of the foot made such dimensions possible. After three months he is nearly healed. Abdullah is one of' those fine, sincere, gentle souls, who show that Christ is indeed the light that lighteth every man. The Gospel story was water to his thirsty soul. Abdullah is one of the fortunate few who can read. For weeks he was a hospital fixture, with his leg
A CHRISTIAN DOCTOR AMONG MOSLEMS
stretched out so it could lie in the sun, while he emerging medical profession in these new states earnestly studied the New Testament. He follows can reach full growth. In the meantime the med- Christ now, with deep sincerity, and just ahead is ical missionary can take under his wing these newthe realization that Christ and Mohammed do not fledged doctors, and to their science add ethics, walk the same road. Abdullah returned home two and to their ethics compassion, and to their comweeks ago. May God keep him. passion, freedom from the love of money, and if when he has finished with some of them, these Young men of the community make up the hos- things be in them and abound, he will have made pital staff. They are chosen after much elimina- a very great contribution indeed. And the most tion of inferior material, because they have unusual deftness of hand, and kindliness of soul. PATIElNTS AT THE MISSION HOSPITAL They are not Christians when they enter the hospital service. No such material is available. But important members of this group which he trains, some of these boys come to see Christ as He walks will be the Christian doctors who become under beside them, ministering to men and women who his hands, pillars in the church, and ornaments of suffer. Mobarrek is such a convert. The whole the Kingdom of God. town of Muttreh has been lit up by the beauty and simplicity of his Christian confession. Two of his The medical missionary is a member of the comrades in the hospital have already followed his great eternal succession, through which from example, and the Sultan himself has listened to Abraham to Hudson Taylor, God has unfolded His his testimony. program of Divine power and salvation. The Church of Christ has been set up in the Moham- The medical missionary is a missionary in his medan world. In Iran she has reached the magown right. He is also a member of a mission sta- nificent virility of youth. Even in Arabia the intion where team work is very important. The fant church has been born. Thus does the last evangelistic impact of such a team can be very citadel of human error and sin slowly open to the great. Only a small part of the preaching can be love of Christ. The medical missionary's heart done by the doctor. Proclaiming the truth of is filled with gratitude that in this great adventure Christ is the evangelist's task, illustrating the of the Divine Will, he has been permitted to have grace of Christ is the doctor's (though to be sure a share, and at times to carry the flag. the evangelist does that too). The intelligent and effective mercy of the hospital is a Christian les- ISLAM AS A RELIGION son of the first order. It is the hospital which makes the Christian Gospel intelligible. Moreover Moslem Creed: "There is no God but God and Mohammed there are Christian lessons of no mean order in is the prophet of God." Includes pantheism and scientific medicine per se. Truth is one thing, and animism. error something else. Noone who assists at surgical operations doubts that for very long. The Jesus is regarded as a human prophet inferior to Mopatients believe it too. Ignorance is one thing and hammed. discriminating knowledge something else, and no one knows that quite so wen as the patient to Materialistic and sensual Paradise. whom an accurate diagnosis brings relief after Five supreme duties-witnessing, saying prayers (five many disappointments. Cleanliness is different times a day), almsgiving, the Fast of Ramadhan, pilfrom filth, a rule that holds in the realm of the grimage to Mecca. (Also Holy War.) spirit as well as in the world of bacteria. There Weakness or Islwm-formalism, fatalism, militarism, senis no antidote to superstition like the microscope. sualism, stagnation, polygamy, slavery, blind adher- A louse there, looks far more dangerous than the ence to tradition. evil eye itself. St?'ength of Islamr-belief in one supreme imnipotent God, loyalty to their faith, people of one sacred book, ag- The function of the medical missionary is a tem- gressive in witnessing, courageous. porary function. He understands that. We do not send medical missionaries to Japan. Medical schools are making their appearance in nearly all of the Moslem countries. There is such a school in Teheran, Iran. There is another in Baghdad. They will give first class medical training. In such a country the medical missionary faces a new problem, and new problems mean new opportunities, if only we can see them with God's eyes. The place and the need for the medical missionary are passing away, but it will be years before the
Power of the Printed
By MABEL H. ERDMAN, Beirut, Syria i Missionary of the Presbyterian Church, U. s. A. 1Jie– I .l"". "/ LITTLE old man with greying beard and than all else I was impressed by the beauty and kindly, smiling hazel eyes sits in a wheel the purity of Christ's teaching and character. chair on the veranda of a Home for the "Suddenly I was covered with confusion. This Aged in a near East city. His face is lined, but thing which I considered beautiful, this story the Tines are those of a thinker. He is talking to which was written in my own sacred tongue, was his Moslem neighbor – a thin, time-scarred old a despised Christian thing, a false book which they gentleman whose bed has been pulled out on the dared to set up in comparison with the holy balcony. The first old man is telling something Koran! Hastily I hid it lest I be detected.
of his early life. A missionary friend listens while "Days slipped by, during which I condemned the tale is told. myself on the one hand and indulged my curiosity "Years ago I lived in the Holy City where I was on the other. Finally I decided that there was no a keeper in a large mosque. I was a devout Mos- harm in carrying the book about with me. After lem, wearing the green turban to which I was en- all, my devotion to Islam could not be questioned.
titled as a direct descendant of the Prophet. Five I managed to read all of the Gospel of Mark, and times a day when the muezzin called, I prayed then, still firm in my own faith, I made bold to with the faithful. One of my duties was to clean visit the foreign lady again and ask for other and fill the many ornate lamps which hung in that books of the same sort. I do not know what im- mosque. I was also expected to collect the rents pression I made upon her, but she received me due from houses owned by the mosque. In these kindly and without question gave me three other houses lived all manner of people, the better apart- Gospels.
ments being let to foreigners from whom we could "In a short time I had read all four Gospels and demand a high rental. One of these tenants was then I secured the Book of Acts. It was not long a lady who lived alone. I wondered why she had then before I had to acknowledge that Jesus the left her far-away home to live among strangers, Christ had won me as he had Paul of Tarsus, who, to judge by myself, loved her little. though my own conversion was much less dra- "One day, quite accidentally, I learned why she matico I was filled with a great longing to serve had come. When she gave me her rent money she my Saviour and Friend, who had revealed God to handed me a small book. I suspected at once that me in a new light-as a loving Father to whom I it must be an accursed book of the Christians, and was precious.
had it not been for the precious money and the "So strong was my new faith, so compelling His courtesy due a tenant of the holy mosque, I should plea to leave all and follow Him, that I knew I have dropped the hated thing which seemed to must make open declaration. The great mosque burn into my hand. As soon as possible I bowed became an intolerable place; the copies of the politely and left the foreign lady. sacred Koran, the shining lamps, the very rugs "There were other collections to be made that leered at me.
day, and lacking opportunity" to do otherwise, I "I knew that I must turn my back on all this.
slipped the small book into my pocket. I forgot My parents would disown me and disinherit me; about it until later in the day when I sat alone in a my friends would seek to destroy me; my wife shadowed corn~r of the great mosque. Curiosity would have to do as her parents and mine decreed, overcame my fear and I opened the book sur- and I should have to leave her and the children.
reptitiously. "Weeks and months slipped by as I hesitated.
"Many years have gone by now, but never shall My life was comfortable, even luxurious. I was I forget my first impression of the beauty of that loved, respected, trusted. In giving up Islam I '
story. It was the Gospel according to Saint Mark, should be giving up all security and respectability and as by some outer force I was impelled 'to read as I knew them. But while I debated about this through the verses which described John the Bap- other Prophet and compared His life with that of tist, Christ's Baptism, His temptation and the Mohammed, I knew what I must do; and at last calling of some of the disciples. Perhaps more I did it.
[482 ] "The result was all that I had anticipated, but Dark tales were whispered over backgammon though my suffering was great, I felt no sorrow boards and between sips of thick, sweet coffee- nor regret. There were many new friends now tales of clever thefts, of quick, sure fingers on to replace the old, whom I loved with a greater knife and trigger, of amazing feats of horseman- love than ever and forgave wholeheartedly when ship and of unbelievable endurance.
they persecuted me. Penniless, I left my home city J-'s quiet, pale Armenian wife, whom he had with all of its dear associations, and traveled taken from a refugee camp just after the World northward. Everywhere Christians who had War, had borne him a son and a daughter; but for heard of me welcomed me, but whenever I encoun- him there was no united family life; it had never tered those of myoId faith, they reviled me merci- occurred to him that such was necessary or de- lessly. I was refused shelter in every Moslem sirable. His own mother had often sent him as a home; I was shamefully cursed and ejected from boy to carry supplies of money and food, to her restaurants and all public places where I was father's home, against the inevitable day when her known. husband should tire of her. Many a day on the "For a time doubt assailed me. I wondered road he had met other boys, his friends, going on whether God had forgotten me. Things were the same sort of secret errand. Home for J – strange as I traveled away from home; I did not meant shelter from rain and cold, even from ene- slip easily into the new customs and religious mies to some extent, but little else.
practices. I missed my loved ones, particularly It happened one day that J-, natty in his well- my sons, who would now grow up considering fitting uniform, passed a meeting house in the their father a renegade, an infidel, a betrayer of center of his home town and saw a crowd of peo- the faith. Perhaps these were the hardest hours ple assembled. Curious, he looked in and saw his of my life. wife and children there. Upon questioning some "But when my sorrow was deepest, when the bystanders he learned that an evangelist had come outlook seemed blackest, God made Himself known from the far west to help the harassed Armenian to me, and I was able to rise up and follow Him refugees to return to their ancient faith in God with renewed strength and vision. and His Prophet Jesus Christ. J- was amused, "Now after all these years I can testify that and leaning against the rear wall of the building, He has never forsaken me at any time and that listened while the foreigner read a story which He is worthy of every sacrifice made for His sake. seemed to be all about a new way of Life. The I would not go back to the old IHe, with all of its preacher then talked simply about repentance and security and material comfort, for all that the salvation. It was all so easy to understand, so world has to offer. I have tried to witness to straightforward, that J – was amazed. The meet": Him, to tell others of His love and beauty, and as ings continued for several days, and J- attended life's shadows lengthen around me, I realize that all of them, hearing little more than the simple I must work harder that no time be lost." Gospel story told in none-too-perfect Turkish.
Thus the fascinating tale came to a close. When- That story was enough to change his life. From ever he can do so, this truly converted believer that time on J – knew that his old ways were not reads from his "Beautiful Book" to his compan- in keeping with God's will. To his astounded asions, and if we were there to see, we should note sociates he declared his new faith as openly as he that many a face is softened, that new light comes had boasted of his heinous deeds. He resigned his into hard, cold eyes which have seen much bitter- position with the gendarmerie, and rearranged his ness and disappointment, for the Prince of Peace whole life. There was little he could do to earn an hovers near. honest living, but he did what his hands could find to do, often enough working as a day laborer. *** After their first amusement at J-'s new A few years ago a gay young man rode daily "stunt," his former friends and associates began through the crowded streets of the northern towns to persecu~e him. Finding that he paid little heed of Syria, cursing and jostling the shepherds and to them, they spat upon him, kicked and reviled other traders who came in from the desert to sell him; caused him to be thrown into prison. They their produce. His bright, dark eyes sparkled as were humbled and astounded the more when he he drew rein, for he knew his power and his repu- turned the other cheek. He who had once been so tation for cruel justice. His uniform indicated quick to retaliate now bore the harshest treatment that he was one of the gendarmerie, and well was without reproach. His former powerful char- he known in village and town and out in the far- acteristics were changed and beautified. His rest- away places of the desert. No danger was too less energy led him on to greater and greater tasks great for him to face, no journey too distant for and sacrifices; his splendid physique enabled him his strength. Bold, winsome, rash, J – was at to endure great suffering and deprivation without once the terror and the pride of his associates. apparent harm.
In quiet moments J- sadly counted the years of Before long a crowd gathered, and J- took his life which had been spent in wickedness and occasion to tell his story of Jesus and to distribute riotous living, the blood-stained deeds of his im- tracts. The Sheikh listened as attentively as the petuous youth, and he longed to recall them and others, and when J- had finished he stood up and dedicate them to God. told an amazing story himself. J-Iater recounted this story to us in detail. Some years have passed during which -he has grown steadily in grace. He is tireless in his task About three years ago the Sheikh went to the of spreading the Gospel, his journeyings covering dyeing establishment of an Armenian Christian. the breadth and the length of his native land. On the table in the small shop lay an open book. The bitterest of his enemies are being won over, one by one, for the old charm of J – coupled with "What book is that?" asked the Sheikh, using this new, compelling love, is irresistible. Now and Turkish as readily as his native tongue, Arabic. then there is one who still distrusts, even persecutes him, but to no avail. Into prisons, among "A Bible,!' answered the Armenian. castaways of all faiths, he takes Bibles and Gos- "Is it the good book of which the Koran pel portions and religious tracts. At the doors of speaks?" mosques, in the homes of rich and powerful "Yes," answered the Armenian, a bit on his sheikhs he preaches Christ and distributes lit- guard with so staunch a Moslem leader. The Arerature. menian, though fearless in his faith, had experi- enced something from the fanaticism of Moslems. Recently he was visiting some of the scattered "Tell me about it," persisted the Sheikh with hamlets on the edge of the north Syria desert genuine interest. when he met a man whom he had not seen for "Let me read from it," answered the dyer; "it some years. At sight of that man J- thanked tells its own story better than I can." God and said, He picked up the Book and read some chapters in Genesis. As he read the Sheikh received a new "Brother, do you remember me?" vision of the greatness and the power and the majesty of God as compared with the sinfulness "Yes, indeed," responded the lean shepherd, his of man. The Armenian saw that the effect was keen eyes narrowed in his weather-beaten face, real and read on. "you used to be in the gendarmerie. I have not Later his customer returned and begged to borseen you lately, but I remember you well." row the Book. The dyer volunteered to secure for him an Arabic version, and with this copy in his "Do you remember that once a goat was stolen hands the Sheikh began at the first chapter of from you?" Genesis and read through all of the books of the Old and New Testaments. When he reached the "Ap, my friend," laughed the shepherd, "a goat last verse of Revelation he began again and read is often stolen from a shepherd in these parts. as before. What can I do? The poor have no rights." After that second reading he was convinced that "I stole a goat from you once,and I thought I the only way of salvation is through Jesus Christ. was clever to do it without being caught. My Then one night he dreamed that his city was being friends and I had a fine feast." destroyed because of the wickedness of the people, as Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Great "You?" grinned the shepherd in mock surprise. was his grief and helplessness when he turned "I cannot believe it." away from the awful scene-and there he beheld Jesus upon the cross. He dreamed that he rose "But yes, I did," averred J- in all seriousness. up, threw his arms about the bleeding feet and "And now I wish to pay for that goat, and to ask wept for his sins and those of his people. your forgiveness. Here is the money." So it happened that when J- came to this town Overcome, the poor man who seldom sees even the Sheikh took courage openly to declare himself paper money, for he trades in kind and is always a Christian. "Do not call me 'Sheikh' any more; in debt to the money-lenders, exclaimed, "Is it I am a Chris-tian, a follower of Jesus Christ," he possible that one steals a goat, is not caught, and declared to the crowd. then comes back to pay for it?" The Word of God is living and active, and sharper than "Yes; it is possible," responded his companion, any two-edged sword. Hebrews 4: 12. "if one steals while he is in darkness and sin and then learns to know Jesus Christ." My Word shall not return unto Me void. Isaiah 55: 11.
What better sermon could have been preached Surely the Word of God is a powerful witness to that poor, ignorant Bedouin of the desert? to Christ and can be used to achieve great results if we can but put it into the hands of men and Leaving the desert, J- went to one of the larger women everywhere. towns and was invited to meet the head man who owns more than three-fourths of the town's land and houses. He bears the important title of Sheikh and is a man of great influence.
Experience with
By REV. FRANK LAUBACH, Ph.D., Mindanao, Philippines Missionary of the American Board C. F. M.
FOR four centuries the Moros of Mindanao pealed to the supreme court, entering a plea of fought the same relentless war with the Span- self-defense. Our case was so well prepared that iards and Filipino Christians that the Moros Pambaya was ~cquitte!i. He is now my/fast friend (Moors) of Africa had fought in Spain during the and will be yours if I introduce him to you." five centuries before Columbus discovered America. The annual war in the Philippines would So this man .]?ambaya, who so nearly spent commence as soon as the winds were favorable for twenty years in,i'Irrison, became my friend, taught the Moro vintas to sail northward, or for the me the .Maranaw language, and has been our Spanish galleons to sail southward. strongesfhulw3;rk ever since. He has toiled with us for cOU)ltless. hours in building up a Maranaw When the United States took over the Philip- dictionary, haS'-helped in the translation of the Old pines in 1898, we inherited this endless war with Testament stories and the Gospel of Luke, and has the Moros. American soldiers, with their greatly ~ided in the preparation of many other books.
.superior weapons, broke the power of the Moros But his chief function is to keep his ear to the and instilled in them a sense of fear and respect, ground for signs of opposition and to make friends though outlaws have hidden in the forests and Qut of potential enemies. No missionary in a performed exploits of murder and robbery every Moslem country can get on very well without some year up to the present day. man of that type.
In the year 1915 my wife and I visited Lanao for the first time, hoping to establish a mission for the Moros. We found the air tense, the nerves of the officials taut, the Moros sullen, and rumors of impending attacks being whispered from ear to ear. We were told plainly that no Christian missionary effort would be tolerated as it would certainly add to the fanatical fury of the Moros.
We left Lanao to work in other parts of the Philip- pines, awaiting a more propitious day.
It was not until 1929 that we felt the time had arrived. A large percentage of the trouble makers had been imprisoned or killed, and the Province had become comparatively quiet. Because there MORO GI1,;LS'l'H:tNK;iTH:EY WILL DIE U' THEIR PICTURE· IS was no school suitable for the education of our 'l'AJ(;EN,BUT 'fHEY Tf.:KE A CHANCE TO son, and also because we were not sure how safe pLlllASE THE; MISSIONARy Lanao would be for women and children of missionaries, I left my wife and son in· the northern Tclie first :rno.n~~,be:fo.:re I had found Pambaya, wer¢, among the hardest Of my life. I did not seem part of the Philippines, and entered Lanao alone. to be able to get the right beginning. I climbed The officials still expressed misgivings about any Signal Hill, back of my cottage, night after night, religious work being attempted, and permitted me with no companion but my dog Tip, and remained to begin my work on the understanding that it until long ·after dark while the finger of God would be educational and social, and not contro- painted marvelous colors against the western sky.
versial. I was a missionary of Christ, with my I recall the heartaches and the yearnings with lips practically sealed~ which my eyes roved around the lake below me, I asked a big-hearted American, Lieutenant where the Moros had their villages. The deepest Cramer, whether he knew a Moro whom I could spiritual experiences are born of pain, if one lets trust. Cramer replied: that pain drive him to God. Out of the loneliness "There is a Moro who was convicted of murder of Lanao came some of the most precious soul ex- and sentenced to serve for twenty years. Feeling periences of my whole life. During one of these that this sentence was too heavy, some of us ap- sunset trysts I was telling God aloud that He must [485 ]
guide my pathway, for the obstacles were like a sinless man to be crucified. That would not be mountains. I spoke aloud, for nobody could hear justice." He snatched Jesus out of Gethsemane, me but God and Tip. Then my lips began to sp.eak and then changed Judas into the appearance of to myself, voicing a new light which had come Jesus, and allowed the Jews to crucify Judas, as into my mind: he deserved. The Koran teaches that Jesus now sits on the right hand of God interceding for men If you want these Moros to be fair to your religion, be -more kindlihearted than the Moslem God. In fair to theirs. Study their Koran with them. Medina there are four graves: that of Mo- hammed; that of Fatima his daughter; that of I told some of the Mohammedan priests that I Omar, the greatest Moslem missionary, and an wanted to study the Koran, and the next day my empty grave. Tradition says that Jesus will re- turn, will reign a thousand years, will die, and MORO POET WHO WON A CONTEST will be buried in that fourth grave.
house was full of priests and hadjis with their What broke down the wans between the Moros Korans, all of them bent upon making a Moham- and myself more than anything else was a pammedan out of me. We found to our delight that phlet published by the Moslem Propaganda Society there was much in common in our religions. Islam of India. This pamphlet was brought to me to has about seventy-two prophets, of whom we show me how to become a good Moslem. To my found the names of sixty in our Bible. delight I was able to translate into Moro, before all the priests in my house, these important facts: Those who do not know the Koran will be surprised to find how it exalts Jesus. He was born of Islam has four holy books: a virgin, according to Moslem tradition, but he (1) Torah, or the books of Moses; was not crucified. In the Garden of Gethsemane, (2) Jabur, Qr the Psalms of David; so the tradition goes, God said: "I will not permit (3) Kita.J Injil, or the Life of Jesus; (4) The Koran of Mohammed.
"I have studied these first three sacred books many years," I told my Moslem friends, "and will tell you all I know, while you tell me all you know about the Koran."
Two or three of the men studying the Koran knew English and so acted as interpreters for the others and for me. They began to ask for a class to teach them to read English.
"Our constant warfare with the Christians has left us far· behind the rest of the Islands," they told me, "and we want to catch up."
The Moros had burned down fifty school build- ings in the years just preceding my arrival, and were for the most part unfriendly to the schools. Yet they began to realize that they were harming themselves and nobody else by this attitude. I knew that for these adults the mastery of English would be a very long process, so I said: "Suppose you learn to read your own language first with English letters. Then it will be easier to learn to read English."
This sounded reasonable, so we began to pre- pare lessons in the Maranaw language with Eng- lish letters.. Nothing had ever been printed in their language up to that time. We had to decide upon an alphabet. Fortunately the Philippine languages have adopted perfectly phonetic alpha- bets, and we followed these in all but one letter. We needed but sixteen letters in all.
At first we used the ordinary sentence method of teaching, but this seemed unnecessarily long for learning sixteen simple letters; so the Moros joined me in seeking a method better adapted to their own language. Month after month they
MY EXPERIENCE WITH MOSLEMS
toiled with me, making positively exciting prog- are you going to get· your money back? Our ress. As the course became easier the numbers imams will not teach us the Koran unless we pay who desired to learn increased, until at last hun- them in advance." dreds came to the large old building we had purchased. Thus began the first of those literacy This gives us our opportunity to tell the religion campaigns based on the principle of "each one which under other circumstances they would be teach five more" which have since spread to many unwilling to consider: parts of Malaysia, India, Africa, and Latin America. "I have studied the wonderful life of Nabi Isa. From the time he awoke in the morning until he The second year the highest Chieftain in south- closed his eyes at night he spent every minute of ern Lanao asked me to attend a three-day feast the day helping people. He was always teaching which he was holding in celebration of the opening of his school for adults. He had moved out of DOCTOR LAUBACH AND PAMBAYA, A MORO FRIEND his largest house and turned it into a school building. The day I arrived was Friday. Kakai Daga- or encouraging, or defending or healing or saving langit, for this was the chieftain's name, asked me somebody. That is a wonderful way to live. If to accompany him to the mosque, and I accepted. everybody in Lanao lived like that we would have I washed my hands and feet as is the Moro cus- a paradise. The climate is perfect, but the people tom, and followed the chief into his mosque. He hate and fight and defraud one another. Because took me to the front prayer rug, placed a black I see everybody must help everybody else, I am hat-far too small for me-on my head, and said trying to teach all I can. And I have discovered I was a "Christian pandita." By this brilliant the secret of happiness! When I was looking for name he hoped that Islam and Christianity might happiness I could not find it. It escapes like the be reconciled. He returned my courtesy by at- rainbow. And when I harm people I feel mean tending our Christian church, dressed in a magnificent shining satin coat and trousers. Since inside. But when i spend my day teaching peothat time I have accepted the invitations of many of the highest chieftains to attend their mosques. ple, my heart sings. Go out and teach others and do not take a cent for it, and see how your heart Kakai Dagalangit has one of the most brilliant will sing!" minds I have ever met. He asked me endless searching questions and told me the populations of all the principal countries of Europe – some army captain had told him what they are. This chieftain also made a contribution to education which may have very far-reaching effects.
When the depression came I had to call all my teachers and the leading chieftains of Lanao together and announce that the little money I had left would permit me to retain only three out of nineteen teachers. Kakai Dagalangit arose and said, with his usual brevity: "This campaign is the most important thing that ever came to Lanao. It shall not stop. Every person who learns must teach five others. I will see that they do."
This is how it happened that we began the "each one teach five" idea, which proved a great success in Lanao, and has proven a cheap and effective method of reaching adults in their homes throughout the Philippines and indeed in every country I have since visited.
A literacy campaign along these lines has proven to be a very fine way to make friends. If you sit beside an illiterate and teach him with patience and real love in your heart, he grows more and more surprised at this new experience, and at last interrupts the lesson to ask: "Why are you teaching me without pay? When
Thus we introduce Jesus at the point where He so tenderly, so perfectly as in the face of Jesus. is most irresistable-His great burning heart and Until men have known Jesus they have not known His loving service. We help people to act like the best fact about God, that He is, that any being, Christians long before they think of becoming even God, can be as good as Jesus! Christian in name. Arabs are poor slipshod business men. Jews There was equal eagerness on the part of stu- and Christians can beat them in business with the dents from Irak studying in the American Univer- utmost ease-:-and do! Mohammed· met Christians sity in Beirut, and Iraneans whom we met in who told him wonderful stories about the lovely Turkey. Now as I write from Dar es Salaam in Jesus-and then proceeded to take advantage of East Africa, I am having one of the most thrilling him in their business transactions. The result experiences of my whole life preparing lessons was that Mohammed, one of the supreme religious and teaching Moslem men every morning, and geniuses of all time, loved Christ and hated Christeaching Moslem illiterate women every afternoon. tians! If Christians had lived what Christ taught A leading African Mohammedan imam is collect- and lived, Mohammed might have become the ing the illiterates. With the memories of thou- greatest Christian since Paul. So ten thousand sands of Mohammedans who have looked at me times over this planet one runs across instances and held my hand in loving appreciation, I feel deeply as well as believe profoundly, that the day TEACHING MORO ADULTS IN THE MARKET PLACE for embittering controversy is past.. For centuries it was the fashion for the two religions to expose of the fact that Christ's chief enemies are Christhe worst features they could find or imagine about tians who betray Christ in their lives and their one another. The time has come to call a truce to business relations. this, and for these two religionS to appreciate one another. We ought to be fair to Islam, for we need to ask mercy in judging Christianity. We have failed so There is much Christians may learn from Islam tragically that we are asking the world to believe if they will look for it. For example a good Mos- that "Christianity has never yet really been tried." lem prays five times a day. Of course Christians We ask others to begin to try it, though Christian are supposed to pray oftener than that-but how nations have never tried it themselves. many of us do? For Moslems the one overwhelming fact is the will of God. We who have come I often hear Christians in Asia and Africa say: into contact with Islam have been reminded that "You can't trust any of them." I dare not tell the one imperative duty of a Christian is to find that Moslem what I think of him, but I will tell and carry out the full will of God in every detail you. What he means to say is: "You cannot trust -,-but how many of us do? Every Moslem is sup- any of them to allow you to despise them, outwit posed to regard every other Moslem as a brother, them, underpay them, ostracize them, and browregardless of race, nationality, wealth, or social beat them." No,he is right, you cannot. Moslems , condition. Moslems do not need to be introduced are mirrors, giving back love for love, hatred for in order to speak to one another! The Arabs inter- hatred, suspicion for suspicion, trust for trust. marry with the Africans and thus make Moslems But so are all the people of the world-mirrors! of them. Christian whites compel Africans to And the majority of ~very nation are responsible live in segregated sections of the African cities. if one treats them decently. The Christian teaching is exactly like the Moslem teaching on the point of brotherhood-but how Nobody can appreciate how valuable it is for many Christians practice it? On the other hand Christians and Moslems to cooperate in some such the Moslems are in tragic need of a vital contact campaign as this, unless he has gone through the with the Christ whom they hold in high esteem, experience. Our experience in Lanao while seekbut about whom they know so little. The more ing the best method of teaching Maranaw, was generously we appreciate their merits the more particularly fortunate. Letters began to reach us readily they will accept the Christian experience of Christ. In a very real sense therefore, we can speak of sharing with Islam.
Some people fear that words like these will paralyze missionary giving. But any person who stops giving for this reason does not need to read more ugly pictures about other religions; what he needs isa fresh experience of Christ. Those of us who have touched other religions know that never in any religion have men seen God so winsomely,
MOSLEM VIEWS OF "THOSE NAZARENES"
fromaH parts of the world inquiring about our Only by some such sharing can one discover campaign. These letters were read to the Moros, what wonderful and zealous friends the Moslems who boasted inordinately about showing the world can be, and how "Christian" many of them are in how to become literate. Some of the young men spirit. Whenever we told Mohammedans about prepared a large map of the world, and ran green our Lanao friends they worked with tireless enlines out to the countries from which letters were thusiasm in preparing lessons in other languages. received. When three years ago we announced A dozen young Moslems and two missionaries our plan of visiting other countries, all Lanao worked almost night and day preparing Malay wanted to go along! Hundreds of datos came down charts in Malacca. In VeIlore India, the Printo the seacoast, a distance of twenty-five miles, to cipal of the Mohammedan Government School and bid us farewell. They crowded the deck of the his faculty struggled and toiled and sometimes steamer, making highly exaggerated but wholly nearly fought over the difficult Urdu. The Presisincere speeches. Then they selected the leading dent of the Arabic College in Madras gathered the imam to pray while they held out their hands great lights of Urdu in a most inspiring meeting, turning their palms alternately upward and down- staged a successful demonstration, put fragrant ward as they responded to the prayer. Mingling flowers around my neck and made such speeches Maranaw with Arabic the imam asked that this as I have not heard, no, not in all ChristenQom. American friend, who had cooperated with them in making the easiest lessons in the world, should When the students of the Lahore Government have the blessing of Allah as he introduced their Training College heard the story of the Lanao method to other countries. They kissed me fare- Moslems, several Mohammedan students followed well, with their long Arab whiskers, and the me home and would not permit me to eat my lunch imams said: before taking the train. One of them wept as he begged me to change my program and visit Jind "We will pray for you in every mosque in this State at once! Two others hung on me resolutely province, while you carry our method to the until I promised to go to Afghanistan. They said world." they would write at once for the government to issue an invitation. I was as excited as they, for Then the Mohammedans stood in silent rever- few foreigners and no missionaries enter Afghanence while the Christians prayed and sang: "God istan. be with you till we meet again."
Moslem Views of "Those N azarenes"
By J. LOWRIE ANDERSON United Presbyterian Missionary in the Egyptian Sudan W HAT a member of one religious sect thinks a man here know or care about the elections in of those of a different faith depends upon America? I thought.) the prejudices in which he grew up, on his temperament and critical faculties, on his second- "But why?" I asked. hand knowledge, and on the members of the other "Because Hoover was against liquor, and the group with whom he is acquainted. other fellow is for it. I am sorry that America turned its back on Hoover and prohibition." (In- The average Moslem knows little or nothing toxicants are prohibited by Moslem law.) about the Christians of America. Only once did I In the French consulate in London, awaiting a find interest in a moral issue in America, and that, viise to our passport, we met a young Turk who strangely enough, in a small city where no Euro- had been a student in Paris and London, and was pean or American lived. We were on an evan- returning to his native land. He was interested gelistic journey in 1934 and visited a town three that we were going for the first time as missiondays' journey from the nearest railroad. Discov- aries to a Moslem land. ering that some in the party were from America, "In recent years," he said, "Moslem countries a stranger sought us out to question us about our have retrogressed. That is because Islam, our country. In the conversation he said, faith, has been weakened. Our great days of power were the great days of faith. When Mos- "I am sorry that America rejected Hoover and lems closely adhered to their religion they were took this other fellow." (What in the world does
the leaders of the world. When faith decayed, so The man of the street in the Sudan has become did their political power and intellectual leader- interested in one report that has reached him, ship. namely, that Islam is spreading in Europe and America. Where the report started I know not, "In Christianity it is just the opposite. It is but in every corner of the Moslem Sudan it has the nations who have abandoned the attempt to gained credence. In many different cities I have follow their religion that are at the forefront. been asked if I knew that all Germany had aban- France and England pay only lip service to their doned Christianity and gone over bodily to Islam. religion. They do not follow the ideals of Jesus. This is probably how the news of the rise of Nazi- And because they have left these out, they have ism and the Neo-pagan Movement in Germany has become great. This is always true." finally filtered into the broadcasting agencies of these simple people. I was at a loss to account In the Sudan, years later, I heard a strange for the origin of the report that in the United variant to that same theme. The spokesman was States five millions have declared themselves Mosnot a graduate student, as the first had been, one lem. Any attempt to deny the statement would be who had traveled in Europe and was learned in useless. Perhaps the Sudanese had heard about the branches of Western science. He was a poor the recent movement among the Negroes in Amer- Sudanese black, who had traveled little if any out- ica to claim that they are not Negroes, but Moors, side hi!,! native region, and who knew how to read with a history not of slavery, but of conquest. Arabic, but no other language. Our colporteur When such Negroes dress in Arab costume and pointed him out, sitting in the shade by the side wear fezzes, worship Allah, and go through forms of the road, and said: of worship, these things have no relation to Islam. But when we realize that they have done this to "That man I believe to be a Christian. He has get away from the stigma white Christians have read the New Testament many times, and he has put upon their race and color, we need to be bought some other books. He knows about Chris- ashamed. Jesus quoted with approval the saying, tianity, although he will not confess Christ." "My house shall be called a hous!'! of prayer for all peoples." But it is hard to find a church in Amer- We walked over and sat down on the log beside ica without the color bar. No wonder Negroes the black man. After introductions were over, the prefer to be considered "Moors" and to profess old man turned to me and said: Islam, rather than Christianity.
"You Christians are the queerest people in the Although the Moslem in the Sudan knows and world?" cares little about the Christians of the West, he has known his Christian neighbors. In Greece, "Why do you say that, Uncle?" Syria and Egypt the ancient Eastern churches "I have read your books. I have read the Gos- still exist and their members can be found in every pel through many times. I find that Jesus section of the Sudan. From these Christians the preaches peace. He tells his followers if they are Sudanese buy their sugar and cotton cloth, and to smitten on one cheek to turn the other. He com- them they often sell cattle or dates. mands that when a man asks for your coat you shall give your cloak too. He says to forgive each "Drunk as a Christian" is a metaphor that was other, and to love your enemies, and to pray for not coined from imagination. The great Christian them. Is that not true?" festivals of Christmas and Easter have too often "Very true, Uncle." been largely drunken orgies in the East. A Mos- "Before you Christians came to the Sudan, we lem funeral is marked with dignity and solemnity. thought we knew something about fighting. All "This is Allah's will," the mourners say, "and as our men le~rned how to use the sword and the His creatures we submit to it." But shrieking and spear and the javelin. Some of them knew also wailing, cursing God for having taken the loved how to shoot a rifle. But that was nothing to what one, and every sign of grief and desolation mark you Christians have shown us how to do. You the death of a Christian. No (me would ever befight with machine guns that kill people, not one lieve that they are followers of One who is the at a time, but by the scores. You bombard towns Resurrection and the Life. Often for years the with cannons fired from many miles away. You Christians display the outward marks of grief and fight not only on land, but on the water, and under priests fatten on the superstitions of the people. the water, and under the land. Nowadays you He alone can intercede effectively for the sins of even fight from the air. Yet you claim to be fol- the people, and only when his palm is crossed. lowers of Jesus, who preached love to all men." The keys of the future life are in his hand, and only gold will give him strength to turn that key. Acknowledging inconsistency of professing This the Moslem knows, and thanks Allah that he Christians, I tried to show the man my own conviction that nothing of Western civilization built on force will endure but that the teachings of Jesus are the only sure foundations for abiding life, in the East or in the West.
needs no intercessor as he comes to God. For this the Gospel in the Apostolic Era. Moslems who reason he further despises the Christian. have become acquainted with them have a better conception of what Christians are like than if they Moreover, the Moslem usually knows little about did not know any Christians. the religIon of the Christian, and what little he knows usually repels. Religious pictures, and the Conversation with Moslem converts has concandles that burn before them, leads him to think firmed my own observation. A convert who had the Christian little better than an idolator. Many learned to hate Christians, found those he met in Moslems believe that the Trinity consists of God school to be little different from Moslem boys, exthe Father, Mary the Mother, and Jesus the Son. cept that they had a better spirit of mutual coop- They reject this suggestion as vile and puerile. eration. Eighty years ago in the Sudan, Arab All are sure that the doctrine at least betrays mud- slave raiders attacked a native village and took dled thinking. Nor has the witness of Christians the women and children as slaves. Among the to their own faith usually been strong. In the group was the son of the chieftain, a twelve-year- Sudan, because they are in the minority few have old naked savage, brighter than the rest. The been willing even to discuss with Moslems the Arabs called him Ibrahim. He attributes his conthings they believe. Thousands of Moslems would version to Christ to a conversation he had while die for their religion, and in the days of the Mahdi still a slave with an untutored Copt in a small vilproved it by courting martyrdom. But when the lage in upper Egypt. In half an hour the Copt same Mahdi ordered all Christians to turn Mos- explained to the inquiring black youth the myslems on pain of death, they scurried like fright- teries of the Incarnation and the Trinity. The ened rabbits into the folds of Islam. Many re- young man's heart went out to Christ who became mained Christians secretly, and when the power flesh and tabernacled among men. His conversion of the Mahdi's sway was broken, confessed it was real, as is proved by Ibrahim's years of faithopenly again. It is the blood of martyrs, not the ful service as a colporteur and evangelist in Egypt saving of life by apostasy, that is the seed of the and the Sudan. Church. Sudanese hold to their faith so strongly, and count death so lightly, that they have no re- In recent years there has grown up a small Protspect for people who change their religion as they estant community in the Sudan. Their interest in do their cloak, when they meet the fierce wind of evangelism has thrown them into contact with the persecution. But the influence of the Eastern Moslem majority and their emphasis on the ap- Christian churches on Islam is not all negative or plication of the teachings and spirit of Christ to detrimental to Christian progress. My experience daily life has not only given them a higher standin the Sudan has caused me to moderate my own ing with the Moslems, but has influenced the memviews on this subject. The presence of the Chris- bers of the older Eastern churches. Moslems of tian in the Sudan, though he be worldly, is a the Sudan are thus having the opportunity to constant reminder to the Sudanese of the presence judge Christianity on its real merits more than of this other faith. Moreover he sees the Chris- ever before, as they see persons who seek to lead tian, not as the vile and wicked monster some- the Christ-life in their daily conduct. times portrayed in their tales, but as a man in many ways similar to himself – with the same "Never have I had a superior like this one," needs and aspirations, the same passions and said a Moslem doorman at the Government office temptations, much the same likes and dislikes, where a Prot,;)stant held a high position. "He is hope and fears. Moreover, he knows Christians always polite, always considerate, and I believe to be people of "The Book," and that interests him that he takes a personal interest in me." more in the religion of Christ. Very uncertainly at times, but on the whole effectively, the Chris- "The best loved in all Wad Medani is Mr. tian has raised the standard of monogamy in the Toobia," said a Moslem to me concerning our Sudan, which many Moslems are coming to recog- Christian pastor. He is probably the most unnize as superior to their own polygamy and easy selfish man in all the district-a man whose face divorce. Christians have many faults and the and life are stamped with the marks of the Lord Christianity they profess is often a caricature of Jesus. the real thing. That their standard of. religion and morals is far from that of the apostolic days. The Church Mission hospital in Omdurman, The Moslem of the street despises them, and not where Christian doctors give freely of time and without cause, yet, all in all they have been an strength and of their own souls to serve their Mosasset to the Gospel, and their scattering through- lem brothers,.has given many a new conception of out the cities and towns of the Moslem Sudan is a what true Christians are. Perhaps the day is not preparation for the Gospel, even as the Dispersion far distant when the Moslem will say not that a of the despised Jews was a help to the spread of certain Christian "is good enough to be a Moslem" -their highest compliment today – but that un- selfishness in a Moslem is one of the marks of a Christian. S~irit-filled Christians can bring that change about.
and Moslem
By ELEANOR T. CALVERLEY, M.D., Hartford, Conn.
Formerly a Missionary in Arabia A MEENA rocks her baby in an Arab cradle baby of her own. The Saviour Divine to whom .r-.. made of date~sticks just as the Moslem her faith looked up during those days and nights of danger and suffering at the beginning of her mother in the next mat hut rocks her little widowhood is the One of whom her neighbors hear one. Next door the mother chants softly to put her sing. Yes, Ameena means the words. Christ her child to sleep. is her saviour in a very real and tangible way. She knows from what He has saved her and she "La ilah il allah knows from what He has saved her tiny daughter La ilah il allah." who sleeps so peacefully without benefit of Mos- lem charm or amulet. Her little one is perhaps Over and over again from the first day of his life the only native child in the whole town and for the Arab child hears these sacred words of the many hundreds of miles around who will enjoy Moslem creed. "There is no god but Allah." For all Islam no other lullaby could compare with this the advantages of a Christian home. in beauty or in soothing power.
The song which Ameena sings as she rocks her little daughter is a Christian hymn. Her neighbors are beginning to learn the words which they have heard so often.
My faith looks up to Thee Thou Lamb of Calvary Saviour Divine.
Does Ameena think of the meaning of those words? Does her faith really look up as she sings to her baby girl? Does her faith lift her above the level of the sordid life with its filth and misery and wickedness which is all about her little home? THREE ARAB BOYS AND A GIRL IN KUWAIT Does it make her home different; more lovely and more happy than the homes of her Moslem neigh- Few towns in Arabia have the example of a bors? Is Christ her saviour in a really practical home like that of Ameena. She and her husband sense? If so from what has he saved Ameena? are of slave descent, and for that reason are more independent than members of Arab families. Eight years ago Ameena's first husband died. Under the prevalent patriarchal system it would It was he who had taught the young wife to become with him a follower of Christ. Gently and with great patience year after year as he and Ameena lived together among neighbors who thought them traitors and infidels because they were no longer Moslems the husband shared with be. difficult for the son of a family with social his wife the knowledge which meant so much to standing in a Moslem town to become a Christian. him. She was very shy and slow to learn but Even though a young man might be willing to live when her husband died she proved that his teach- as simply as does the husband of Ameena, for him ing had not been in vain. Although the whole to take a wife of his own choice and establish an Moslem community seemed determined to force independent home where his bride could enjoy the her to return to her former religion and accept a privilege!'! of Christian womanhood would seem to husband of their choice, Ameena stood her ground. most Arabs an impossibility. For this reason, in ' Even when death threatened, with back to the wall Arabia at least, the only Christian homes with she persisted, never wavering in her witness for which most Moslems can compare their own are.
Christ her Saviour. the homes of foreigners.
Years have passed and Ameena has another In Kuwait on the eastern coast of Arabia where Christian husband now. At last hftr arms hold a it was our good fortune to make our home for [492 ] eighteen years, the missionary family was always uttering three times the words, "You are dian object of much interest and curiosity to the vorced." His wife however has no similar right. women of the town. For two years we lived in Concubinage is taken for granted; slaves are both rented houses. These were built like other native Negroes and white women from countries farther houses with blank outside walls designed to pro- north. Women who live in the town, when in pubtect women occupants from the gaze of men. The lic must cover the entire face with a layer of black rooms surrounded a central courtyard which was cheese-cloth through which they can see dimly open to the sky. When our new home was built although their features are not visible to others. with outside windows admitting sunshine and A black cloak called an "aba" envelops their whole fresh air to every room many women visitors came to see the house whose arrangement seemed to ARAB WOMAN AT EN'ImANCE TO AN ARABIAN TOWN them so strange. person from crown of head to feet, when on the "Which is your room?" they asked the mission- street, excepting only one cheese-cloth-covered eye. ary mother, thinking that she like themselves would have but one room to call her own. Few Arab women can read and fewer still are permitted to learn to write. Fatalism restrains "The rooms are all mine; you see the family any desire for progress or for change. What is shares them all. This where we now are is the "written" on one's forehead must be endured. living room where we sit together and visit with Marriage and motherhood, especially the motherour friends." hood of sons are practically the only aim of exist- ence for these women. "You mean the reception room for men." "No, for both men and women." It is not fair to generalize about the home life "Surely you don't mean that men and women of all Islam from conditions in a backward sit together in the room!" country like Arabia. Great changes are tak- "Certainly they do." ing place in many Moslem lands. In Turkey, for "And this," continued the hostess, leading her instance, almost overnight through the adoption friends into the dining room, "is where we eat. With us, the mother sits at one end of the table and the father at the other end while the children sit at the sides." "You cannot mean that you and your husband eat together!" "Yes we do." That was hard for the guests to accept, for in their homes the men are served first and the women have their meal afterward. "They tell us," persevered the callers, "that your children are all girls. Is that true?" "Yes it is true." "Won't your husband divorce you because you have no son?" "No, he will not divorce me."
"Well then, won't he take another wife on your head?"
"No, in our country a man would be arrested for having two wives at a time. But I am thankful to say my husband does not even wish to take another wife."
"Oh! how fortunate you are!" exclaimed the visitors; and then, more wistfully, "How we wish that we were like you!"
Eas,tern Arabia is very conservative and is little affected by Western ways. The laws formulated in the Koran are still the rule for life. Polygamy is usual for those who can afford more than one wife and is also practiced by many who are poor. Early marriage of girls, not infrequently at the age of nine but more often between the ages of twelve and fourteen, is the established custom.
A man may divorce bis wife at will by simply
of the Swiss code and the separation of Church sionaries' home in order that they may become and State Turkish women were released, in theory accustomed to the association of men and women at least, from many of the restrictions we have in social intercourse and may learn to feel at ease mentioned. Legally, polygamy, the veil and un- in acting as hostess in their own homes.
equal divorce laws have all disappeared. As a Surprisingly enough the most violent opposition Turkish woman discussing modern social prob- to changes proposed by feminists in the status of lems said,* "What was moral in my grandmother's women in the home often comes from women day is now taboo, for instance polygamy; whereas themselves, especially from women of the older the perfectly normal social relations of young peo- generation. There is something not only indecent ple today would have formerly been considered but traitorous they feel in the new-fangled ideas immoral." of their sons. Virtuous women of Islam through In Egypt, Syria and India groups less radical all the centuries since Mohammed have gloried in than the Nationalists who are in power in Turkey submission to what they felt was Allah's will.
"We know the 'kind of life you Westerners live,"
said some Arab women returning from a visit in India, to a fellow passenger who talked with them on the ship. "We have seen life in your country pictured in the movies at Bombay." Then they described indecorous behavior of men and women together as they had seen it pictured on the screen.
That sort of thing would be to their minds the inevitable result of discarding the veil and giving to women a position similar to that enjoyed by men.
That freedom has its perils cannot be denied.
BAHREIN GIRLS' SCHOOL MADE OF DATE' STICKS When the veil is taken from the face of women a veil of character to shield the heart becomes imare endeavoring to secure social justice for women perative. Western civilization, nationalism and by reinterpreting Islam. Laws set down in the feminism must all have their part in bringing so- Koran to meet seventh century conditions need cial justice into Moslem homes; but all of these not be followed literally in the twentieth century together could not do for Ameena and her home they believe. And so, although more slowly than what Christ has done-that Saviour of whom she in Turkey, the status of women is beginning to be sings. raised in many Moslem countries.
In speaking of the effect of Islam on home life THE OHALLENGE OF ISLAM it is usual to consider principally the injustices imposed upon women. Educated Moslems are be- To win Moslems for Christ is a task of supreme ginning to realize that in the system of polygamy difficulty and many Christians regard it as one and in seclusion and lack of education for women, from which practically no results are to be exmen also suffer loss. In the face of opposition from pected. his superstitious and hysterical women-folk a man is helpless to apply the discoveries of modern Let it be admitted that it is the Evil-one's counscience to the care of his children. After losing terblast to the Gospel in the Eastern world. These child after chUd, in Arabia.where the infant mor- very facts make the conversion of a Moslem to tality is appalling, I have heard Moslem fathers Christ one of the most signal illustrations of the exclaim in despair, "What can I do? The women power and grace of God. In Moslem lands there are like cows!" Moreover, when men become edu- are today many men who once recited, five times cated in the Western sense as is happening more a day, with passionate conviction, the Moslem and more frequently in Iraq, for instance, they creed, but who now, with equal sincerity, are desire wives with whom they can enjoy compan- preaching Christ. In Morocco alone there are ionship. Sons frequently refuse to accept their little assemblies of believing and baptized natives, parents' choice of uneducated girls to be their who manifest the gifts and graces of the Spirit. brides. This fact perhaps more than any other Such instances are a clearer proof of the triinduces fathers to send their girls to school. umphant POWel' of the Gospel than the conver-· sion of hundreds of those, who, for various pre- Men students in Iran, I was told by the wife of disposing causes, are eagerly stretching out their an American professor in that country, are begin- hands for the Word of Life.-Condensed from a ning to bring their young wives to call in the mis- letter by Rev. E. J. Poole-Connor of the "North Africa Mission," printed in "The Christian" * Quoted from "Moslem Women Enter a New World," by Wood- (London).
small.
Ways of
'Tested Methods for Increasing Interest at Home s. EDITED BY MRS. ESTELLA AITCHISON, GRANVILLE, OHIO "New Roads in Ancient Islam" but rather mentioned as they ap- "The People of the Mosque," by L. pear in the outlines for work and Bevan Jones-a scholarly and detailed "To the majority of our church study sent in to this Department study of Islam and a challenge to members, the Moslem World is an un- by various denominations. In Christianity (cloth, $2.00). known sphere and therefore holds little this no discriminations have interest. To us as leaders is given been made. Leaders in any com- "Voices from the Near East"-writthe opportunity of opening up this munion have only to submit their ten by Christian nationals (50¢ and fascinating and most challenging prob- materials for the Editor's exam- 25¢) . lem facing the world mission of the ination, whereupon they will be Christian Church today." given attention and publicity in "Young Islam on Trek," by Basil the interests of the common Mathews (25¢). "Glimpses of the Moslem World good. show us that change is the order of "Islam Awakens," by Herrick B. the day. Whether it be a surge of The Source Material Young – a course for senior high nationalism here, a welling up of re- school groups (25¢). ligious fervor there, a zigzag course The main study book is, of of progress and reaction elsewhere, or course, "Mecca and Beyond," by "Masoud the Bedouin," by Alfreda just an unheralded drift from the old Dr. and Mrs. Edward M. Dodd, Post Carharlr-stories of Bedouin life moorings, there is something going on priced at 50¢ and $1.00. One of (25¢) . which is unprecedented in extent and the most excellent "How to Use" scope in all the thirteen centuries booklets (15¢) the writer has "Tales from Moslem Lands," edited since Mohammed. Modern civilization ever seen furnishes the plans for by William W. Reid (50¢). is flooding un on the world of Islam young folks and adults, men and and changing the face of that world. women alike. In addition to pro- "Christian Adventures in Moslem . . . The great question is, 'Whither, gram outlines of the subject mat- Lands," by Winifred Hulberlr-a study Islam?'" (From "How to Use," ter, complete worship services, for intermediate groups (25¢). Mecca and Beyond.) poems and the like, there are suggestions for invitations in- "Doorways," by Mary Entwistle- Our foreign mission theme is clusive of 0 utI in e picture stories for juniors (75¢ and 50¢). so rich in subject matter, so col- sketches, two complete dramaorful in plans for pres.entation, tizations and plans for a variety "Musa: a Son of Egypt," by Perkso dynamic in possibilities that of others, plans for use of life ins and Entwistle-a primary course it would be wasteful to give stories taken from the book, im- (25¢). space to prefatory remarks. personations, imaginary broad- Sampling the main study book casts, airplane trips, etc., a rib- "The Story of Musa," by Entwistle or any of its supplementary vol- bon demonstration, a candle (25¢) . umes, or of the articles in the lighting service, a "convers'abody of this magazine, may well tion" between a Moslem and a "Esa: a Little Boy of Nazareth," be trusted to win students with- Christian, a "pageant of antiq- by E. Mildred Neville-for beginners out explanatory "sales talk." uity," a new "Riddle of the (25¢) . The potentialities bound up in Sphinx," matching and other the theme, "The Moslem World," "tests," an "impersonation of the A variety of others may be readi.ly are explosive enough to rend pyramids," questions for prac- located from the listings of Boards of Christendom, or powerful enough tical discussions and many other Missionary Education, or denominato furnish motive power for devices for making topics attrac- tional publishing houses. building the King's Highway tive and forceful. "Effective Ways of Working" through the Orient. So whether Supplementary books: with the Study Topics making this an entire unit of study or merely incorporating it "What Is This Moslem World?" by The Central Committee on into some addresses and pro- Charles R. Watson ($1.00 and 60¢). United Study of Foreign Misgrams, our readers cannot afford sions, 186 Massachusetts Ave., to turn it down because not rep- "The Young Moslem Looks at Life," Boston, MMS.: resenting a field of endeavor in by Murray T. Titus ($1.00 and 60¢). their own denominational work. Miss M. H. Leavis, its secretary, "The Christian Approach to Mos- states that she has had great difficulty As in last month's citation of lems," by T. H. P. Sailer – a study in securing the illustrative curios helps for the home theme, ma- with teaching aids for adults (25¢). such as enlivened our study of Africa terials are not all listed under last year, receiving either nothing or their many publication sources, [495 ] novelties in too small quantities to be because of our space limitations, advertised, but that she is ready to furnish the following aids, in mim- eographed form: Life stories of the authors of "Mecca and Beyond"-Dr. and Mrs. Dodd ………………. 5¢ Story-"He Sent the Comforter" (to be read and questioned upon) ……..•…………. 51/'
Poem-"Desert Thirst," by Mary W. Vassar (Moslem woman's dream of God) ………….. 31/'
Poem – "Our Moslem Sisters" (communion story on "Has Any One Been Missed?") ……… 3¢
Poem-"The Tapestry Weavers". 3¢ saw. She asks, "What if we could The United Christian Mission- Plays- see all around the world through win- ary Society, Missions Bldg., 222 dows in all countries? Would you like "My Baby Is Sick," by Mary to try it? Which countries would you Downey Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.: Vassar – two women and a like to see? Can you think of any doll. . . …. . . . . . . .. . . . … .. 5¢ friends you would like to meet?" A Has no work in Mpslem lan_ds but game is then played in which the chil- "Yesterday – Today," by M;ary dren in the circle represent different expects to devote two months to the Vassar – mother and daugh- nations and the child in the center study topics and will use materials ter dialogue …………… 5¢ chooses from whatever nation she pre- to be mentioned later in the year. fers, the old tune, "Go in and out the Their catalogue mentions "Moslem "Persian Proverbs and Wise Say- Windows" to be used with words be- Children"-pictures at 50¢ per set, ings" •…………………. 3¢ ginning, "Go round and round the and a "Cut-out Sheet of Moslem "The Experiences of a Moham- nations." Types" at 15¢. medan in Christian America," "What We See First through Open by Mrs. F. G. Platt. . . . . . . . . . 3¢ Baptist Board of Missionary Windows" shows a picture of Christ Place cards – picture of "Mecca and the children of all races. Leader Education, 152 Madison Ave., and Beyond" on green card with directs conversation to the idea of N. Y.: . space for name ………. each 1¢ God's garden with differently colored flowers, these being the children of all The graded missionary materials ar- A Window Transparency-the lands. "Weare going to visit this ranged by this board are for use in camels and the star (directions garden and enjoy these flowers." A Sunday schools or organized groups of for making) ……………. 3¢ song, "His Garden," is then sung. It corresponding age interests. In order- is suggested that Friendship Paper ing the publications listed, note that "The Mecca Certificate"-a beauti- Dolls be used in this connection (four all materials marked (*) should come ful reproduction in a series of four dolls eight inches high, like real chil- from the board headquarters as cited plates (9x22in.) of the certificate dren of various oriental countries, above, but books and other helps (ingiven to every Mohammedan who price 25¢ a set). clusive of publications of other demakes the pilgrimage to Mecca. The nominations) are to be obtained from art work is fine and intricate. Ex- Succeeding lessons emphasize the the American Baptist Publication Soplanation and translation accompanies needs we see through open windows, ciety, 1701 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, certificate. 10¢. ourselves through open window, "The Pa., or its various bookstores. World Looks through Our Windows- Cash must accompany all orders for And What Does It See?" etc. Beginners: the foregoing materials. Auxiliary materials suggested and "Esa: a Little Boy of Nazareth" Women's Missionary Society which may be ordered through the furnishes the main story material. of United Lutheran Church, 723 For visualizations, use "Friends in Muhlenberg Bldg., Philadelphia, Lutheran headquarters are: Everyland"-12 pictures with story Pa.: on back of each, including "A Moslem Picture Sheets in "Child Life of Friend in India" and "A Friend in "Zahia" – dialogue between Mo- the World" ………….. each 25¢ Turkey," 25¢ (listed elsewhere by its hammedan bride and school- publishers, the Women's Society of the mate ………….. 3¢ or 6 for 10¢ Lutheran Picture Sheets on Af- United Lutheran Church); "Posters rica, India and Japan …. each 5¢ of Moslem Children," 25¢; and hand- Special Program Helps to Use work such as "Arabian Village Cut- with "Open Windows" ……. 15¢ Picture Maps of Africa, India .. out"-eight cardboard sheets with di- ……………………. each 50¢ rections for coloring, 50¢; "Desert This pamphlet is especially helpful Life Panel Posters"-four brown sepia in presenting the book to children. Picture, "The Hope of the World" panels, 12×36, with colored cut-outs to Its keynote is in the opening para- (Christ and the children) …. be pasted on, 50¢; "Near East Paintgraph: "Through open windows that ………… postcard size, 5¢; ing Book"-seven pictures with colorlook out into the world, we see boys sepia, 35¢; large size in colors, 60¢ ing instructions, 10¢. Other stories and girls in China and India, in Af- recommended are "Just Like You" by rica and Egypt, in Japan and Borneo. Picture games – I n d i a, Africa, Lucy W. Peabody-a book of stories The stories of their lives and adven- China ………………. each 20¢ from many lands, 25¢; "A First Book tures are told so vividly that it is not of World Friendship," by the same hard to feel that we really see them Pictures through Magic Windows author-a collection of "Just Like You through the open windows. The leader -18 Bible pictures and verses Stories" in six little books, $1.50. may also reverse the idea so that the in attractive form ……….. 75¢ boys and girls realize that children of Primary: other countries are watching us also. "Friends in Everyland"-12 sto- The book contains ten stories. Each ries with large picture ……. 25¢ The stories are found in "Missionmay be told separately or some of the ary Stories to Tell," which contains material may be combined and used Teaching Pictures on Rural Life two short stories from Moslem lands. for six or more programs. The lead- around the World ………… 50¢ $1.00 and 50¢; "Our Little Friends of er's aim is to open the windows of a the Arabian Desert" (illustrated) child's heart and help him to make Presbyterian Board of Na- which takes us to visit the children of friends with all people who pass by." tional Missions, Central Distrib- a Bedouin sheik, $1.00; "The Story of uting Department, 156 Fifth Musa," by Entwistle-eight illustrated The ensuing pamphlet suggests Ave., N. Y. (Checks payable to narratives, 25¢; "Graded Foreign ways for leaders to carry out the fore- Central Distributing Department Mission Stories" (*), to be ready in going ideal, furnishes an outline guide December, 15¢. for each program, hymns, prayers, of the Mission Boards) : Scripture, a long list of excellent The visualizations and handwork group activities in the way of poster In addition to the study books listed are "Children from Manv Lands"- making, dramatizations and construc- previously, with their respective teach- portfolio posters of children of 10 tion work, outline illustrations of ing helps, "Fun and Festival from countries, llx14 in., in colors, with posters, directions for making an in- Moslem Lands" (25¢); "Primary Pic- verse for each picture, $1.00; "Life ternational house or village, map in Moslem Lands"-21 pictures with work, plans for scrap books, etc. ture Stories – M 0 s I e m Children" descriptive titles, 25¢, and all the ma- (25¢); and a moving picture, "Islam terials listed for the beginners. A sample of some of the preliminary in Egypt" are listed. Special attenplans will furnish an idea of the tion is called to this last valuable item, Juniors: method employed: which is a one-reel film taking ap- proximately 15 minutes to show. The The Stories are "Doorways," 75¢ Introducing the idea of theme, the rental price is $1.25 in 16mm. and $2.00 and 50¢; "Graded Foreign Mission leader has the children-individually in 35mm., plus transportation charges. or in groups-look through the largest ordering from Visual Aids Division of window near them, then tell what they The Westminster Press, 925 Wither- spoon Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa.
"Living Water" is a play taking 20 minutes, 13 women, 2 children (5¢).
EFFECTIVE WAYS OF WORKING
Stories on Missions and World Peace" "Hostess Hints," covering menus Oriental music suitable for Moslem (*), 15¢; material from the primary and recipes for Arab cookery, 10¢. studies includes "Where My Caravan section. Has Rested," "Till the Sands of the "Traceaole Sketches" – outlines of Desert Grow Cold," "Bedouin Love Visualizations and handwork include flags, suggestions for place cards, Song" and "Kashmiri Song," with a picture map of the world-art map fruits, human figures, etc., which may other selections from collections of 30×50 in. with 23 small pictures to be readily be copied by tracing and used Oriental Music by Amy Woodfordepasted on, 50¢ "Cut-out Sheets of in a variety of social ways, 10¢. Finden. Inquire of any music dealer. Moslem Types"-20 outline sketches with directions for coloring, 10¢; "Islam," a dramatization with nar- The Religious Motion Picture "Friends of the Caravan Trails"- rator and 14 characters – outstand- Foundation has now merged its intersuggestions for handwork on pp. 21- ingly informing and worthful, 15¢. ests with those of another concern and 24, also sketches in insert sheet, 25¢; should now be addressed as Departmaterials listed under primary section. Sketches, "Mohammed" (4¢), and ment of Visualization, Harmon Founda- "Mohammedanism" (3¢). tion, 140 Nassau St., New York. It Intermediate and Young People: has a large number of religious and Story, "The Forgotten Words," 5¢. educational moving picture films in Story telling from "Tales from Leaflet (easily dramatized), "A stock, and each year additional ones Moslem Lands"-illustrated adventure Kabyle Wedding," 4¢. on the current study topics are prestories, 50¢; "M,asoud the Bedouin," Young women have a course on pared with the heln of an interde- 25¢; "The Beloved Physician of Te- "Highways and Skyways in Minaret nominational committee. heran," $1.00; "The Moslem World" Lands," including the textbook, for -a book of facts about foreign mis- 60¢. Some Rural Programs sions (*), 15rb. For Standard Bearers (of junior age), "Moslem Adventures on the By ANNYE ALLISON Visualizations and handwork include Magic Carpet of Imagination" con- "Christian Adventures in Moslem tains all necessary materials for a For primary pupils, make Lands" – suggestions for handwork, program of strong appeal to young 25¢ ; Set of Twelve Charts with folks, $1.00. poster headed "Win Rural Amergraphs for blackboard work or poster "Doorways" (50¢) and its "How to ica for Christ," showing church, making, 50¢ per set; Maps of the Use" (10¢) are recommended for the Sunday school, daily vacation Moslem World, to be colored and wired younger groups, along with materials Bible school, young people's for project purposes-wall map 30×46 listed elsewhere in this Department. meeting, hospital, orphanage, in., 60¢; large outline map, 28×32 in., 25¢; small outline map, llx14 in., 25¢ Woman's Board of Foreign colporteur, etc. Dramatize some per dozen; and some of the materials Missions, Reformed Church in features. Have group of chilfor the younger groups. America, 25 East 22d St., New dren pretending to fish or pick York: berries, and let lady enter and There is one stereopticon lecture on invite them to the D. V. B. S. the Moslem World, revised by Dr. "Camel Bells"-complete programs which is to begin the next day. Zwemer, entitled "The Spread of including semi-dramatic and easily When children arrive, seat them Islam." It rents for $2.00 and car- dramatized material, under the topics in circle with lady in center to riage both ways. Address the Vis- "Letters from a Saddle Bag," "Cara- tell a good religious story. Pass ualization Department, Council on van Trails," "Oases" and "Behind the paper and crayons and have chil- Finance and Promotion, 152 Madison Lattice," 10¢. dren draw pictures to illustrate Ave., N. Y. "God's Good Gifts" or "God's "Playmates in Mission Lands"-at- Beautiful World." Hymn, "Jesus Plays: "Black Tents" -life among tractive illustrated primer booklet on Loves the Little Children of the Bedouins in Syria; 4 boys, 3 girls, A, B, C plan, for very young children, World" ; the Lord's Prayer; 20 minutes, 25¢; "Tara Finds the and including Arabian features. simple Bible verse such as "God Door to Happiness"-life of Moslem is love," "Suffer the Little Chilwomen and girls in India; 2 women, "Under Many Flags," 5¢. dren," etc., following with the 7 girls, 2 boys, 30 minutes, 25¢. "Silhouettes," 5¢. circle talk and another hymn. "True-False Test on Arabia," 1¢ "The School of Missions"-a hand- each sheet. The brighter side of the hosbook of information on setting up a "Cross Word Puzzle on Arabia," 2¢ pital theme may be dramatized school, by William A. Hill, free (*). each sheet. by having a child who has been "Fun and Festival from Moslem cured waiting for his mother to Woman's Foreign Missionary Lands," 25¢. take him home. Nurse wearing Society, M ethodiJst Episcopal Wall Map of Moslem World (60¢) white dress, cap and apron and Church, 581 Boylston St., Bos- and Outline Maps of Moslem World arm band with red cross on it is ton, Mass.: (large size, 25¢; small, 25¢ per with him and teaches him a Bible dozen) . verse. Child presently runs to "Complete Program Outlines for "Spiritual Adventuring" is a very meet mother telling how good Auxiliaries" (woman's societies), giv- worthful manual of worship for mis- people have been to him, about ing suggestions and plans for a year's sionary societies, giving complete out- the cards, Bible verses, hymns, work, 25¢. This begins with a beau- lines, including poems and prayers, etc., which he will repeat when tiful installation service for the offi- for a year's meetings, 10¢. he gets home. At nurse's call the cers and continues through Moham- doctor enters and mother pours medan studies including "The Moslem Additional Helps and out her gratitude for a denomand His World," "North of the Sa- Suggestions inational hospital to which counhara," "Christmas and the Christ's try people with very little money Land," "Behind the Bourka," "The Further missionary dramatics, ob- can send their sick children. Sword of the Moslem." Additional tainable from sources whose addresses programs of universal application have already been given herein are: [CONTINUED IN NOVEMBER.] (omitting one specific to Methodist "An Afternoon in Arabia"-10 young plans) are on "Christian College Stu- women and girls, taking about 10 dents around the World," "World minutes-5¢ (W. B. F. M. of Reformed Citizenship," and "On the Road to Church) . Hangchow." May be used by groups in any denomination. "Christ or Mahomet – Which?" 4 scenes, 12 characters, 15 minutes-10¢ Excellent coordinated materials are: (W. F. M. S. of M. E. Church).
"Go Ye," a year's devotional out- "Kasim"-modern life in Persia, 5 lines, 15¢. men, 5 women, 1 hour-25¢ (Mission- ary Education Movement, 150 Fifth Ave., N. Y.). The Council of Women for Home Missions EDITH E. LOWRY, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, 105 EAST TWENTY-SECOND STREET, NEW YORK Over half of the population of the United States is rural. Under what conditions do they live? What are their problems? What groups have special needs?
How should they be met? Is the church meeting the needs of Rural America? What must we do to Rebuild Rural America that it may be a part of a great Christian nation of which we can be proud? What lessons can Rural America teach us today? The contribution of Rural Amer- ica to urban life and the develop- fllent of the nation has been great, as has been its contribu- tion to the Christian Church, which has its roots in rural life.
CHARLOTTE M. BURNHAM.
STUDY BOOKS For Adulbs Rebuilding Rural America, by Mark A. Dawber.
A PRAYER THE CHURCH AND RURAL Dr. Dawber has for years trav- eled the whole United States as Teach me, Father how to go AMERICA a leader in rural church work. Softly as the grasses grow; He reports graphically what is Hush my soul to meet the shock This is the month when many happening to,rural America, and Of the wild world as a rock; of the women's societies will take describes rural people and con- But my spirit, propt with power, up their studies of the home mis- structive enterprises that the Make as simple as a flower. sions theme for 1937-38. The churches are undertaking. A books this year are not only in- chapter is given to groups with Let the dry heart fill its cup, tensely interesting and challeng- special needs as the Migratory Like a poppy looking up; ing, but are vitally related to our Worker, the Southern High- Let life lightly wear her crown national life and the critical pe- lander, and the American In- Like a poppy looking down, riod in which we are living. As dian. Cloth, $1.00.. paper, 60 When its heart is filled with dew many of the speakers at the Mis- cent8. And its life begins anew. sions Institutes this summer have pointed out, we can no longer The Church and American Rural Our Father, help us to root expect to hide our own family Life, by Benson Y. Landis. our lives as deeply as Thy trees, skeletons from the world, and which grow so grandly; to rise unchristian conditions in our- A leader's guide based on Restraight and true as Thy grasses, own country, and unchristian building Rural America, conwhich grow so simply; to make behavior toward other countries, taining many helpful suggestions the results of our living as-beaU- prove a stumbling block to the for study groups for city and tiful as Thy flowers. Amen. foreign missionary as well to rural churches. Paper, 25 cent8. those at home who are trying to "Sorvices fr>r th.e Open." spread the Gospel of Jesus. Migrant Laborers. They Starve T hat We May Eat.
Two million migratory workers ' on the road, in the fields and at the canneries; a challenging problem in the rural field with a description of a challenging program of action for the church. . This composite study has been written by authorities in the church and secular field [498 ]
BULLETIN OF THE COUNCIL OF WOMEN FOR HOME MISSIONS
and edited by Edith E. Lowry, joyed to learn that I was to go School Methods, Adult Educa- Executive Secretary and na- to Lisle, New York, for a set- tion Methods, Round-Table Dis- tional Director of Migrant ting-up conference. cussions on Work with Young Work. Paper, 35 cents. People, Handicraft, Health Pro- Nearly fifty migrant workers gram, Infant Care, Nutrition, For Young People who are to serve in the Eastern Methods in Work with Children, Migrant camps this summer ar- Methods in Recreation, First Aid Highland Heritage, by Edwin E. rived in Lisle, a typical, peace- and Camp Sanitation, and a dis- White. ful, happy, country community, cussion on our relationship to and were welcomed most gra- the community, the employer The book has literary charm and ciously by our host and hostess, and the migrant. the task of the churches in rural Dr. and Mrs. Richard Edwards. America is vividly illustrated by [This little community has a By the third day, many doubts what is happening as new high- population of three hundred and had come to my mind. Can I do ways and power lines are driven our conference, plus a young all that these other people have through the isolated valleys of people's conference, swelled the done before me and can I put in the "horseback country." Cloth, number to four hundred. You these long hours each day? $1.00; paper, 60 cents. may well see that we overflowed the Inn, the conference rooms For the last vesper service on Rural America Challenges Chris- and the village homes.] Saturday evening, we climbed up to the highest point in this local- tian Youth, by Edwin E. White. PICNIC LUNCH AT A MIGRANT CENTER ity where we seemed to be on the top of the world. I felt, almost A leader's guide based on High- The first evening we met for instantly, a great sense of peace land Heritage containing sug- vespers on a near-by hillside steal over me. My doubts seemed gestions. for youth groups as an looking out over the valley be- to vanish during this vesper approach to the study of the low. This experience instilled service and I felt a sense of re- church in rural America. Paper, in me a sense of quiet and in- newed strength to carryon in 25 cents. spired courage for the many this chosen work. "May I prove hard days ahead. Later that my mettle and may I bring these For Children evening, former migrant work- people the ideals and under- ers gave us a bird's-eye view of standing that will enable them Missionary Stories to Tell. the work and their experiences to come to a greater feeling of in the migrant centers. These fellowship with God and an Thirty-eight of the best mission- girls had worked very hard, had understanding of the meaning of ary stories to tell to primary and experienced many hard, long Christian fellowship that will junior children. Cloth, $1.00; hours that must be put in in any lead them into a more meaning- paper, 50 cents. center, and still were ready and fullife"-this was my prayer. happy to go forward into another Lifting Today Above Its Past, by year. How cheering this was One thing that Dr. Eric Grace McGavran. for me! Thomsen said in one of his talks with us shall always remain with An interesting and challenging Along about the second day a me. "If you suffer without suc- course on life in the country suspicion came into my mind ceeding, then some one after you places of America. This unit of that, perhaps, Miss Lowry was will succeed without suffering work for intermediate groups breaking us into this migrant and if you succeed without suf- contains selected oackground ma- work here at Lisle. We arose at fering, then some one before you terial and can be given without 6: 30 in order to arrive in time has suffered without succeed- additional sources, although use- for breakfast at 7: 30 and were ing." This seems to sum up in ful references are cited. Paper, kept busy each and every minute my mind our work. Will we suc- 35 cents. until 10: 30 at night. During ceed now in our endeavors with these hours, we had the oppor- these people, or will we pave the Ship East-Ship West, by Eliza:- tunity of a varied program way for some one after us to beth Miller Lobingier. which included staff conferences, courses in R u r a I Sociology, succeed? This first volume of a new series Kindergarten Methods, Nursery I cannot stop here without of source books for primary chil- dren introduces them to the sub- saying that I arrived at Whites- ject of world peace through bog, New Jersey, twelve days stories and simple facts. Mrs. ago and have worked as I have Lobingier is a skilled teacher never before for such a long and the author of Stories of stretch of time, seven days every Shepherd Life and other vol- week. I find these people to be umes. Illustrated. Cloth, $1.00; a happy, friendly, courageous, paper, 50 cents. hard-working race who seem as little children in so many ways For Reading List refer to the June number and who need our guidance and of THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD, understanding. pages 334-335. HARRIET CLOSTER. THE SETTING-UP CON- FERENCE AT LISLE, NEW YORK July 23 to July 27, 1937 After making my decision to devote my summer to working among the Migrants, the feeling came over me many times that I was going into this man-sized job with little knowledge of previous conditions, methods or results and was, therefore, over-
AND SIAM to save that which is lost." In India launched on its first voyage
dedicated for its work of minis- Toward Greater Efficiency Christianity is everything to the De- try. It is chiefly to the workers At Montgomerywala in the pressed Classes, It is with them in in the rice lands that this float- Punjab, a church committee is ing dispensary is sent, and their forming itself into small groups, their work, in their homes, in their need is great indeed, as they are each of which will tackle some entirely without medical help. particular need. For instance, fields. It has "found" them. Then Many of their homes are quite three or four members are to form a hygiene committee to see Christianity has found the criminal inaccessible except by boat, and that the village is kept clean and during the monsoon flood time to teach the people to realize the tribes-men who were regarded as alneed of sufficient light and air in thousands more are cut off; even their houses; another committee most lower than the beasts, men who food must be brought from great i's to find out special cases of pov- distances by boat. During two erty resulting from illness or were guilty of unheard-of evil. I saw months of the monsoon no work some other cause, and to report them to the church committee; these same men giving all their power can be done in the rice fields, and and a third group will teach the people the privilege of giving, to help each other. I heard them sing, which few have learned. and saw men whom I had been told The women are also assuming more responsibility. A Zenana would never work, working for the Committee, some· of them quite illiterate, take care of a weekly sheer joy of doing that which was usemeeting, where one leads the devotionals, another reads the les- ful. – The Chru.stw' n. son, and a third gives a talk. Once a month there is a witness A Practical Experiment meeting, when any who have received special help witness to In the Punjab a different cen- the people of the backwaters are what God has done for them. faced with terrible want. No ter is chosen each month, and all work means no money and no -C. M. S. Outlook. the congregations of the C. M. S. food. They borrow-and pledge Mission, within a radius of eight The Salvation Army away the whole of the next har- miles, assemble. The men and vest to keep themselves alive till Lord Willingdon, former vice- boys form a procession which roy of India, pays tribute to the marches around the village sing- that harvest can be sown. work of the Salvation Army in that part of the Empire. He says ing psalms and hymns. Mean- The voyage of the new boat is he has watched this work for 16 years, and declares there is not while the women and girls gath- carefully planned. There are a public official who would not er in the courtyard and sing. three "ports of call" to be visited express gratitude for such as- Then they are seated in an open each month. The boat is tied up, sistance as the Army is giving in space outside the village, which the stores and medicines are prohumanizing, Christianizing and duced and patients begin to arcivilizing those who are thought is decorated with colored paper rive. A clinic under the trees is to be beyond the reach of good flags, texts and mottoes such as: influence. "Do not get into debt," "Learn held each day for ten days, then Speaking of her visit to India. General Evangeline Booth says': to read," "Be sober." By this the boat is moved to another I never knew until I undertook this time the congregation has been place, not to return for a year. journey the meaning of the words, "The Son of man is come to seek and swelled by a good number of Thousands of people, for whom non-Christians. There is more medical help is available only singing, an opening address ex- from the two floating dispensa- plaining the obj ect of the meet- ries, are ministered to for less ing, and touching on the broth- than a month, then have to erhood of mankind through the be left "as sheep having no Fatherhood of God, addresses by shepherd."
two or three of the manads on -C. M. S. Outlook.
the causes, effects and remedies of debts, illiteracy, poverty, and Festival of Lights a closing address, giving the defi- While there are many unlove- nite Christian message. -C. M. S. Outlook. ly features attached to India's popular festivals, some of them Travancore's Floating _ have beauty and value. At Das- Dispensary ahara time children may be seen· in the evening going about car- Early this year the second rying various colored lights floating dispensary which is to which from a distance have the ply up and down the backwaters appearance of being lanterns so of Travancore, bringing help arranged as throw out light and relief to so many, was through odd openings. An inves- [500 ]
OUR WORLD-WIDE OUTLOOK
tigation discloses the contriv- Bangkok Christian College CHINA ance to be simple enough. A Bangkok Christian College is The Challenge in China small earthen vessel has been looking forward to the day when their plant will be moved to the made wIth openings cut in the new site. Ten years ago new Dr. Charles T. Leber and Dr. property was purchased between side in fanciful designs. Over Bangkok and Paknam at a loca- J. L. Dodds, new secretaries of tion that seemed very remote. this is pasted colored paper and Today, with government high- the Presbyterian Board of For- way improvement, the new site the little oil lamp placed on the is only fifteen minutes distant eign Missions, recently com- from Bangkok, by motor car. inside turns this crude lantern pleted a tour of the mission The staff now includes sixteen into something quite fantastic. Siamese and three foreign teach- fields. Of China, Dr. Leber says: ers on duty, with a few others It is the custom for" children, es- on furlough. "The country is magnificent pecially of the servant class, to When the Educational Com- in its possibilities and presents mittee of the Siam Mission put go with these lights to the houses on a Teachers' Institute at the a tremendous challenge to Chris- beginning of the year, seventy of their masters and others from Christian teachers from mission tianity. The lives of Christian schools of three denominations whom they expect gifts at Das- were in attendance. faith and sacrifice that have ahara time. These children run- Nearly four hundred boys are been put into this land are bear- ning about from house to house ing fruit. The whole nation is in the darkness with these lights progressing but I have been es- make a very striking feature of pecially impressed with the rise the Dasahara festival. The chil- of Christianity. . . . It is in- dren themselves greatly enjoy spiring to see how the Chinese the part which they play, and leaders are re~ching out into the even aside from the gifts which areas of evangelism, Christian they receive, think the occasion education, young people's work one of great importance. Why and social welfare. . .. – not? -Indian Witness. "Mr. Arthur Rugh, formerly Begging for the Gospel in enrolled this year and classes are with the Y. M. C. A., but now Ceylon overcrowded. The government working independently among curriculum for the lower grades the students at Yenching, made does not permit the teaching of A Five-Year Plan of Evan- a survey of student thinking at gelism is being carried out in Bible in the regular schedule, so Yenching. He held personal in- C e y lon, all the Protestant Churches cooperating. Recent- that subject is now taught be- terviews with two hundred of ly, a long closed door unex- the students and is amazed at pectedly opened in Eheliyagoda. fore the opening of the official the thinking they are doing along A man came there from another district, bringing with him a Bi- day in the first six classes. In the lines of religion. They are ble and a very limited knowledge even asking why no greater pOSIof Christianity, but the little he the upper division there has knew he passed on. The people tive Christian approach has been been no need to make this made to them, though most of -Siam Outlook. them are not Christian. A list change. was made of 500 questions which Siam Cares for Lepers of Eheliyagoda are low caste, The Siamese Government has students are asking about reliand were at once attracted to a been watching with interest the gion. A group of educators are religion where all men are equal, chain of 23 leper clinics, laid out considering the possibilities of and were quick to see that Chris- by Dr. J. H. McKean, Presbyte- religious instruction being pertianity would bring them social rian missionary; and now pro- mitted in the schools. At a conuplift as well. So they asked to poses a plan to establish self- ference of' Christian middle be taught. One group of evan- supporting government colonies school principals in Shanghai gelists went from house to in several sections of the coun- the Mayor of Shanghai arose house; another held an open air try, with the same type of organ- and gave testimony as to his meeting. New Testaments were ization as now exists in mission Christian faith. He charged the eagerly bought. At these meet- clinics. The first step will be to principals that their duty as ings, which continued, there train government doctors and Christian principals was to make would be two or three simple assistants at the Chiengmai col- their schools Christian. One addresses, including one to the ony. Then a special leprosy of- trembles to realize what a tragchildren, who are always present ficer and committee will be ap- edy it will be if the Christian in large numbers. Between ad- pointed to make a survey, do forces do not unite and do not dresses the people would ask propaganda work among the move forward to meet the chalquestions or explain their diffi- people, and establish, as the first lenge of this present opportuculties. At the end, the village of the series, a large farm col- nity." headman would select points ony with up-to-date treatment. from the various addresses and If this plan renders mission War Against Opium compare them with Buddhist clinics unnecessary, they will at China seems determined to doctrines, pointing out the ad- least have served to stimulate wipe out the opium curse. On vantages of Christianity. the government to recognize and the eve of the New Year, before -L. M. S. Chronicle. accept its own responsibility. a large crowd at the famous Con-
fucius temple in Nanking, huge ciety," interdenominational, is JAPAN-CHOSEN quantities of opium, and para- putting into operation a plan to phernalia of opium addicts were send forth evangelistic bands of Church Worship burned. Long before this meet- trained men and women to the ing, placards were distributed market towns, let them locate Church service in Japan has and posted on the doors of every there for about two weeks and so me interesting differences house and shop, and slogans from that as a center, visit every from American customs. The written on white streamers home in all the surrounding vil- tray for offerings is always were displayed everywhere an- lages, and freely give the people passed to the minister as well as nouncing: the Word of God. They will also to the congregation. If the ush- do personal work and preach on er fails to do this, the minister 1. Beginning Jan. 1, 1937, hopeless the streets of every village. They will walk from the pulpit and narcotic addicts will be executed. will return to the market towns deposit his money. The sexes arc in the evening, where special separated in all church services: 2. Beginning Jan. 1, 1937, first-time meetings are held in halls, tel!l- men on one side and women on opium smokers will be heavily pun- pIes, schools or homes. the other. This was the custom ished; after being arrested three in America a hundred years ago. times, they will be shot. These bands have already For thirty years Japanese Chris- gone to sixty-four market towns tians have used a common hym- 3. Narcotic addicts who desire to and, as they have worked out nal. Methodists, Presbyterians, escape these penalties should surren- from those centers, 3,482 villages Baptists and Congregationalists der themselves to the city clinics for have been finished. In these vil- all use the same songs of wortreatment on or before Dec. 31, 1936. lages there have been 390,049 ship. -Missionary Herald. homes with a population of near- Parades, depicting opium addicts be- ly two million people. In the Pastors Discuss Religious ing dragged to the g;:tllows with the 3,947 meetings held there have Topics wailing families trailing behind, were been some 691,657 people who also witnessed in the cities. heard the Gospel, besides having The Church of Christ in Ja- received 571,123 tracts and Gos- pan held a Pastors' Conference The regulation, control, pur- pels. As a direct result of this at its theological seminary in chase and sale of narcotic drugs work, 12,906 of those who were Tokyo August 30 to September for legitimate purposes in the dealt and prayed with, sought 4 as a part of the celebration of country were placed in charge Christ as their Saviour. the fiftieth anniversary of the of Division of Narcotics, newly church. Leading pastors and created bureau. Immediately -0. M. S. Standard. teachers lectured on the followthe following measures were put ing subjects: into effect: (1) It restricted the Bible Exhibit issuance of certificates for the The Creed of the Church of Christ importation of narcotic drugs; An exhibition of Bibles in in Japan. (2) it prepared an estimate of Peiping this year evidenced kinds and quantities of narcotic China's interest in the Christian The History of the Church During drugs for the nation's medical Scriptures. There were 300 en- the Meiji Era. and scientific use for 1936; and tries, representing 69 languages (3) it drafted measures for the and dialects, of which 17 were Protestant Credal Views of the Bicontrol of sales of narcotic Chinese. Among the Bibles were ble. drugs. some of a costly character, and others of priceless historical val- The Differences Between Catholi- In order to check recultivation ue. The volumes were lent by cism and Protestantism as a Means of of poppy in areas where poppy libraries, universities, individ- Understanding the Gospel. cultivation existed before but uals and various mission groups. has now been absolutely prohib- The British and Foreign Bible The Main Currents and Problems of ited, the "Measures for General Society lent the famous Morri- Contemporary Theology. Detection and Suppression of son Bible of 1823 and the Morri- Poppy Cultivation" were issued. son New Testament of that same The Thought of the Old Testament date, printed from wooden Prophets. -China Weekly Review. blocks made 10 years earlier. There was also the first Protes- The Church and Culture. Market Town Campaign tant Chinese version to be pub- The Fundamental Principles of the lished. Protestant Reformation. Generally speaking, China's vas t population is grouped No V'olume, however, attracted_ Open discussions were conaround market towns. It is esti- as much attention as the Manda- ducted on The Pulpit and the mated that there are some 40,- rin Bible loaned by Generalis- Church; The Sunday School 000 market towns in China, and simo Chiang Kai-shek-the one and the Church; The Pastor and that an average of about twenty- he used during his imprisonment His Readings, and The Church five surrounding villages are fed at the time of the Sian revolt in and Society. by each market town. On mar- December, 1936. ket days, held every third day, -Translated from Fukuin the people of these villages flock -Monday Morning. Shimpo. to the market towns to do theIr buying, selling and "neighbor- Kagawa Fellowship ing." The Kagawa Fellowship in Ja- The "Oriental Missionary So- pan is an informal organization of about 150 Occidental friends of Dr. Kagawa living in Japan, whose purpose is to share with
OUR WORLD-WIDE OUTLOOK
Kagawa in the rich experience missionaries were sent to the Manchuria, and helping to send that God has given him; to study Chinese in East Shantung, them to China and elsewhere. his program for the extension of China. This work has been the Kingdom of God, and as far maintained for 25 years and the The Australian Mission as possible to cooperate with him Korean missionaries there are in achieving this program. The ministering to 25 churches and South Kyengsang, in which fellowship assists Dr. Kagawa in groups in which are enrolled the Australian Presbyterian the translation of his writings 1,500 professing Chinese Chris- Mission has work, is the third into English, gives information tians. smallest of the thirteen provabroad and in Japan about his inces of Korea. It is the most work, and endeavors to get The Korean churches are in- densely populated, the nearest whatever financial support for digenous, self-propagating, self- to Japan and according to stahis program it can. supporting, but need more mis- tistics it consumes per capita sionaries to help in the evangel- the largest amount of beer. Effort is being made to obtain ization of 22,000,000 Koreans in These three circumstances presupport for the promising Medi- Korea, a million in Manchukuo sent their own problems. cal Cooperative Society in To- and 500,000 in Japan proper. kyo, an interesting pro j e c t In 1914, when the mission of started by Kagawa. More than -Korea Mission Field. the Presbyterian Church, U. S. seven thousand people are mem- A., handed over this province to bers of it. The society has a hos- Protestant Christian the Australian mission there pital with fifty-one beds as well were 101 churches, 1887 bapas conducting a clinic, dispen- Membership tized members and 3,816 adhersary and visiting nurse service. ents. Just now money is being raised Of 410,000 enrolled Protesto erect a residence for the tant Christians in Korea, 78 per Comparing these statistics nurses; the building will be cent are Presbyterians, 14 per with those of 1936, we find that called the Nitobe Memorial in cent Methodists and eight per now there are: churches 313, remembrance of Dr. Inazo Ni- cent of other denominations. Of baptized members 7,941, adhertobe. -Christian Observer. the total number 210,000 are ents 26,955. either baptized or members on "God Shelf" for Kitchens probation. The remaining 200,- Each of the five stations has 000 are enrolled as professing some form of institutional work. One of the large department Christians and are regular at- The Harper Memorial High stores of Kyoto is displaying a tendants. School for Girls, near Fusanmod e 1 Japanese kit c hen, chin, trains Christian leaders equipped with electric icebox, With 3,880 churches and for church and school. The Vogas stove, kitchen cabinet, and groups, the average sized con- cational Farm School for Womso on. On the walls hang an gregation numbers about 100. en seeks and saves those in morelectric clock, a thermometer, The largest congregation in Ko- al danger and destitution, and and a small, but complete "god- rea is in the city of Sin Euiju the Paton Memorial Hospital ill shelf" for the spirit of the deity with 4,000 adherents. The Sun- Chinju cares for the sick, espethat presides over kitchens. The day school enrolment of 316,000 cially the sick poor. There are shelf is complete and up-to-date in the Presbyterian and Method- also Men's and Women's Lower with miniature lanterns and ist churches in Korea is about Bible Schools. dishes for the food offerings. the same as the total number of professing Christians. Method- -Korea Mission Field. -Living Church. ist and Presbyterian mission- aries in Korea number a little ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC Korean Christianity more than 400. Many mission lands have a less number of mis- About the Philippines Of the first seven Koreans to sionaries in proportion to the be ordained to the ministry in population, but none h a v e Did you know that there are the Presbyterian Church, one yielded a better return for the three classes of people on the was sent as a home missionary expenditure of time and money. islands, each of a different colto the island of Quelpart. That or? That the Chinese have been church is now supporting 500 -Presbyterian Banner. coming to the island for years, evangelists to unevangelized dis- thus solving the employment tricts in Korea and to Koreans On Their Own problem, since a Filipino will in Manchukuo, Peiping, Shang- not work until the money he has hai and Japan proper. The A Presbyterian church in on hand is all gone? That 10,000 Methodist Church is also carry- Wiju, Korea, has a membership converts were received within ing on an extensive home mis- of 3,000. Not a cent of Ameri- ten years? That there are nine sion work among Koreans in can money has gone into the flourishing mission stations now Manchukuo. When the Korean work of that district for 20 in operation? That there are Presbyterian General Assembly years; no missionary lives witn- 7,000 Americans on the islands? was organized in 1912, three in 20 miles of it. The people That before American occupa- have erected and financed their tion funeral arrangements were own church and are sending mis- always made before calling in a sionaries across the border into physician? That only one and
one-eighth per cent of the popu- ments. In ten years they have and the imminent consummation lation are classed as Frotestant not only banded themselves into of union with the Methodist Christians? effective intelligent groups for Church of France. Nearer home, -Monday Morning. mutual improvement, but they the Alliance welcomed a new have transformed their village member in the Evangelical and Club Women in Polynesia life.-London Chronicle. Reformed Church. The Re- formed Church of the U. S. A., The Polynesians have been NORTH AMERICA recently united with the Evan- evangelized by Samoan Chris- Coordinated Missions gelical Church, was already a tians, who themselves received member.
the Gospel a hundred years ago. The International Foreign The International Women's Mission Association of North Council of Women's Missionary While the men folk have fishing America (composed of inde- Societies was recognized as the for excitement, the women have pendent undenominational mis- women's section of the Alliance, no activities which give interest sions) brings together for coun- with a provision that a certain and variety to island life. Miss E. sel sixteen mission enterprises, quota of del ega t e s shall be A. Downs, principal of the Girls'
School at Puapua, Samoa, sug- under which some 2,231 mis- chosen from the women, with au- sionaries are sent out. They ad- thority to hold sessions during gested that they form Women's the meeting of the council. Sim- Clubs, and that they should work minister over a million dollars ilar action was taken with retogether for the general uplift of annually, and go into many of gard to a youth section of those under 30 years of age, the deletheir village life, for the applica- the out-of-the-way corners of the gates of this group being authortion of simple laws of health and world. The doctrinal basis of hygiene, for mothercraft and in- all these missions is: (1) The fant welfare work, for the pres- plenary inspiration and divine ized to bring to the notice of council matters of deep concern ervation of native arts and authority of the Scripture; (2) to youth. crafts, for social intercourse and the Trinity, including the deity religious expression. They de- of Christ and the personality of -The Christian Century.
cided to call their club "The the Holy Spirit; (3) the fall of Women's Committee," and on man, his moral depravity, and Lutheran Church Leaguers each island the pastor's wife was his need of regeneration; (4) Interest in the education of made the leader. the atonement through the sub- youth tow a r d international Returning to visit the islands, stitutionary death of Christ; peace and continued support of Miss Downs found the women no (5) justification by faith in mission work through a special longer apathetic, but eager to Christ, apart from works; (6) project were the outstanding show what they were trying to the bodily resurrection of Christ, features of the twenty-first bien- do. In Nanumea they had re.- and also of the saved and the un- nial convention of the Luther vived their art of making beauti- saved; (7) the unending life of League of America at Spring- ful fans decorated with seabirds' the saved and the unending pun- field, Ohio, in July. The sessions feathers; in Nui the women were ishment of the unsaved; (8) the brought together between six making mats with patterns of personal, bodily and visible re- and seven hundred young people secret native dyes. In Nanu- turn of Christ. and leaders from the United maga there was a new taro plan- Lutheran churches throughout tation w h i c h their Women's Presbyterians in World the United States and Canada.
Committee had made in the face Council Climaxing the mISSIOnary of a good deal of jeering from Last June Montreal, most project for the past biennium the men; the women had grown Catholic of any large city in this much-valued food product North America, entertained the with a gift of more than $11,000 by dividing the swamp into General Council of the "Re- for a community center building workable sections with walls of formed Churches throughout the at T'ai Tung Chen in the foreign coral from the reef, and in them World Holding the Presbyterian mission field in Chi n a, the making soil from rubbish and System." The central theme Luther League of Arne ric a rotting vegetation; Nanumaga was "The Church in Modern adopted another $10,000 project had in the past been one of the Life." for the coming biennium. This poorest islands,. and liable to time the objective will be the famine, but here was a source of An advance was made in the complete furnishing of a medical prosperity. The women of Niu- unification of Reformed Chris- center established at Konnarock, tao were especially interested in tians. The Reformed Church of Virginia, for southern mounmaking soap from caustic soda. Denmark was admitted to mem- _taineers. bership in the Alliance, now Last year, the triennial church comprehending more than two The Convention of 1939 will conference saw women delegates hundred church groups through- be held at Long Beach, Cali- fornia.
for the first time, eager to ex- out the world. The Reformed Bible Teaching in Kansas change ideas and report achieve- Church of France announced the ments, and to draw up a list of completion of union among all Kansas City, Kansas, has comproposals for future develop- Reformed Churches in France, pleted thirteen years of religious
OUR WORLD-WIDE OUTLOOK
education of its school children. many new people have been seek- sacrifices, without ever obtain- The Council of Religious Educa- ing association with the church ing healing for my poor chiltion, representing all denomina- during recent months that he dren. When my second child betions, sponsors this work. The has been completely "snowed came dangerously ill, I went to Jews are interested but as yet under." Throughout the spring consult a witch doctor and asked not participating. and early summer season every him if he could heal my child. service has been conducted in a He assured me that he could, There are 74 church schools, packed church, and with the provided that I would give him enrolling 91 per cent of public coming of fall the pastor believes thirty dollars. I offered him scholil pupils. The courses are it may become necessary to con- twenty dollars, which he acplanned to correlate with the duct two morning services. cepted. I paid him half the sum work of each grade in public on the spot. But on my way school from October to the end LATIN AMERICA back to get the balance of the of April. Classroom work in- money, a messenger came to tell cludes Bible memorizing, Bible Liquor Ban in Mexico me that the child was dead. I reading, Biblical and character- saw that I was being deceived by building stories and dramatiza- Within ten years statesmen the devil. As a respected antion, notebook and expressional below the Rio Grande, led by cestor of my family was a Chriswork. President Cardenas, hope to tian, I had often heard him speak complete the prohibition of alco- of God, so I told my wife I was -Women's Missionary holic beverages. Governors of going to Port-de-Paix to find out Magazine. all states have helped by order- about Him. ing municipalities to cease issu- Texas Wars on Evil ing licenses for saloons, to cut At a service held by the Hai- down the production of alcohol tian Gospel Mission at Port-de- Texas legislators are out to gradually but none the less Paix I first heard the Gospel. "clean up." In special session surely, and to trim the sales they have outlawed pari-mutuel through higher and higher taxes. After attending services for gambling on horse races, pro- The governor of Coahuila has some time, one Sunday my wife hibited the operation of bookies, gone even farther. He has acted said to me, "Wait for me, I am abolished dog races and insti- to stop the vending of liquor on going also." Since then, not only tuted such an anti-gambling cru- all trains passing through tl}e has God in His mercy saved my sade as has seldom been seen state. The main line of the Na- wife and myself, but He has also anywhere in the whole country. tional Railways of Mexico, healed my child who was para- The Texas supreme court has carrying many passengers be- lyzed from birth. definitely ruled out lotteries. tween Laredo, Tex., and Mexico The Dallas News, the Houston City, is affected, for the route -Haitian Gospel News. Post, and other leading dailies for many miles lies through have ceased the publication of Coahuila, with a stop at Saltillo, Religious Census in Venezuela racing results. In nearly all of the capital of the state. The govthe several counties voting by ernor gives this explanation for The Government of Venezuela local option recently, liquor has his order: vendors from pass- is making a survey and census been outlawed. Anti-vice squads ing trains have sold intoxicants of all religious work and workare also being called into action. to the villagers along the way, ers in the country, collecting full checking the good work that was data regarding the work of both -Christian Century. being accomplished by means of Catholics and Evangelicals. The prohibition in the country towns. purpose is to decide on some "Church of the Lighted Since the government now con- policy regarding the admission Window" trols the railways, this order of foreign religious workers. should be easy to enforce. No disposition to oppose the The Lutheran Church of the work is indicated, but it is pro- Redeemer in Atlanta, Ga., is -Christian Advocate. posed to fix the number of those gaining state-wide recognition who may be admitted, and when as "The Church of the Lighted From Darkness to Light that n u m b e r is established, Window." It is the custom each others will be admitted only night to light up the large color- A convert from heathenism in when some of those at present in ful front window. The effect of Haiti gave the following testi- the country leave for furlough the window is so unusual that it mony on the occasion of his bap- or other reasons. has attracted the attention of tism: "From my earliest life I people throughout that section. put myself under the protection In view of the tremendous A recent monthly publication of of demons. I built a small house, need, it is hoped that new misthe Georgia Power Company, and furnished it expressly for sionaries may be admitted, espewhich lights the window, car- their reception. I had two sick cially those who are accepted ried front-cover pictures of the children one of which had never and waiting to enter. church with particular reference walked from birth. I spent to its beauty and the unique cus- everything I possessed in pay- -Moody Institute Monthly. tom of lighting the window. ment to the witch doctor and in "Voice of the Andes" The pastor reports that so Senor Manuel Aldama was born in the Basque Province of
Spain, trained for the priest- then asked, "Will you read the they can understand, they are hood, became Professor in the University of Santander, was book if I give to to you?" surprised by songs of deliver- converted to evangelical Chris- tianity in 1925, and after in- "Gladly," said the gentleman, as ance, victory and blessed assur- struction in the Bible Training Institute, Glasgow, was accepted he rose to leave the bus. ance ; they are moved by the by the Evangelical Union of South America, for work in When he had gone, the work- words of sympathy expressed by Lima, Peru. Here he took up the ing man said, "It is a funny the pastor, and cannot believe editorial work of the Mission thing, but that text was my their eyes when they see him press and the translation of the mother's favorite, too. I have mourn with the bereaved fam- Sunday school lessons. His gone a long way on the wrong ily. Thus it is that a Protestant mastery of Spanish and his fa- funeral service conducted in a miliarity with Romanism en- road since those days." The Roman Catholic country is a abled him to contribute largely woman gave him a Gospel of St. great opportunity to put the to the development of the Evan- John, which he promised to read, truth of the Gospel before the gelical Church of Peru. and went on her way praying people.
Recently, a call has come to that both might be touched by About 2,000 people assembled him to full-time cooperation in the Word that giveth Light." the only Evangelical broadcast- ing station in South America, La -Life of Faith. for the funeral of a young Voz de los Andes (The Voice of mother, whose last words were, the Andes). This Voice of the Andes operates from Qui t 0, The Gospel in Spain "Whether I die or live, I am the Ecuador, and was established Lord's." The Mayor, the Town some five years ago by an inde- Opinion is divided as to the Council, the teaching staff of the pendent worker from Chicago. religious outlook in Spain. Some high school with their 400 chil- believe that opportunity for Gos- dren, and many notables had The Board of the Evangelical pel teaching will be assured if gathered to pay homage to the Union of South America is set- the government wins, while deceased. The first meeting be- ting Sr. Aldama free for this others are convinced that the gan at the home; another meet- special service. He will combine government is not only anti- ing followed at the Mission Hall, with this ministry some service clerical, but anti-Christian. Rep- and the last one took place in for the British and Foreign resentatives of Anglican and Bible Society throughout the Re- Free Churches of Great Britain the cemetery. At each place the public of Ecuador. went to Spain recently to gain Gospel was listened to by thou- first-hand information. They sands who had followed the pro- -The Christian. were given full liberty of move- ceedings from half-past one till ment, and upon returning to five o'clock in the afternoon. As EUROPE England reported as follows: a result, the evangelist had many requests for interviews. . "The Entrance of Thy Word" We found no evidence of an organ- -Belgian Gospel Mission. A member of the Pocket Tes- ized "Godless" propaganda such as tament League was riding in an exists in Soviet Russia. We were un- Paul's Speech on Mars Hill English bus with two other pas- able on inquiry to hear of any carica- sengers – an elderly business Unlike the ancients, tourists man and a working man. The tures of God, of Christ, or of the who go to Athens are not search- business man leaned across the Virgin and Saints, such as have been ing for "some new thing," but bus and asked the woman, features of "anti-God" propaganda in for things associated with the "Would you like to read my other countries. On the other hand, past. With this in view, one of paper?" "Thank you," she said. members of our party found copies of Mr. Rockefeller's projects has "Would you like to read my the Scriptures offered freely for sale been the restoration of the Par- book," holding out the New Tes- on street bookstalls. The situation in thenon; and because it is fitting tament. He took it, and after regard to religion in Spain was that something far more signifi- glancing at the page said, "Why summed up to us by a very acute cant than the friezes of Praxit- did you give me this?" "Why English observer of dispassionate eles should be remembered, Mrs. did you give me the paper?" she views, one who knows Spain well and Josephine Demas, daughter of countered. "Because the news is is himself a practicing Catholic, in the one of the most famous archi- interesting this morning," he following terms :-"There is a strong said. "My book is interesting anti-clerical movement but no anti- every morning." He looked God movement in Spain." again at the book. "This is my mother's favorite text, John -The Christian. 5: 24. It is years since I have read it." The P. T. L. member Evangelizing at Funerals tects in Athens, has urged upon the municipality the enshrining Great is the astonishment of of Paul's speech in the rock of Catholics in Belgium when they Mars Hill. T~e press an~ a attend their first Protestant number of emment Athemans funeral. They are familiar with – have. backed the proposal ~nd the pomp and ceremonies of the dIrector of.the A~cheologlCal their own funerals, the mo- Bureau has gIven hIS endorse- notonous recital of the Latin ment. He says that £350 to £400 liturgy, the gestures of the offi- is ne.e~ed,. and h.e hopes .that t~e ciating priest and his apparent ~umc}pahtr ~Il~ prOVIde ~~IS indifference to grief. At a Prot- relatIvely mSIgmficant sum.
estant funeral they hear things -Christian Advocate.
OUR WORLD-WIDE OUTLOOK
Paid Persecutors in Galicia Church has extended its serv- while Pravda laments the inac- ice and the social side of the tivity of the "Godless League." The National Lutheran Coun- Church as a colony center has cil is authority for the report not been neglected. Spiritually, This new life is particularly that agitators in Poland are be- there are the regular services noticeable in the country. Heads ing paid approximately 120 zloty the Church Festival6bservances' of collective farms even conduct per month to persecute members and th?se on national holidays; Church Councils, and other colof the Lutheran Church and MemOrIal Day, Fourth of July lective farms permit Bible readcompel them to return to the Thanksgiving Day and the like: ing, ch?ir singing, and evening Catholic Church from which The names of Ambassador W. entertam~nts. It is also anthey originally came. In a re- E. Dodd and Consul-General nounced that the number of cent legal process it was re- General Jenkins are on the members of the Militant Godless vealed that one such agitator Church Council roll. League has decreased from was offered a bonus of 50 zloty 5,000,000 in 1933 to less than for every person he succeeded in -Lutheran News. 2,000,000. Five anti-religious intimidating to return. But even though there are constant Religious Freedom in Russia museums in the provinces have difficulties and hardships the been closed. A correspondent Ukrainian peasants are firmly The much-heralded religious in another paper notes that the steadfast, and manifest an ever- freedom promised by the new jeering at religion has largely increasing interest in the Gospel constitution of Soviet Russia gone. turns out to be a disappointof Jesus Christ. ment. Four conditions must be AFRICA Christian Convention in Italy a~op:pvrocvleosd~d,be.if~oorepenaendy. Tchheurpcoh~ Student Alliance in Alexandria The Director of Spezia Mis- htIcal rehabIlIty of the petition- as Young Emgaytpetriiaanlissttiucdaenndtsiarrree~ ers "must be above suspicion." a rule, sion writes: "Those who can go The church must be more than 15 minutes' walk from a school ligious; their education is of the freely to Christian conferences the condition of the building must be above criticism, there sort to make them vain, shallow, and share the fellowship of kin- must be no protest from the local organization of the godless. selfish. For this reason Chrisdred minds know little of the tian work among them advances According to official Soviet grave difficulties to be sur- figures, 14,000 churches and slowly. But a young men's club chapels were closed in 1935 and mounted, the severe testing of 3,700 priests, preachers' and known as the "Christian Alliance other servers of the churches of Young Men," reports some faith, the patience, and the condemned, twenty-nine of them to death. prayers involved in accomplish- progress. On the other hand a renewal mg such a gathering in Italy. of spiritual life is appearing. In Two Bible classes and other the province of Swerdlovsk the prayer – meetings are h e I d But God worked what seemed to population have requested that at~eist propaganda be stopped. us miracles indeed, in breaking ThIS movement began in the in- weekly; Copts, Moslems and dustrial districts, where almost Jews sing hymns together and down obstacles." the whole population consisted of factory workers. Collections Representatives cam e from are held among the workers to study God's Word; the numbers restore the churches and rebuild far and near, and the organizers them. A Czech correspondent are increasing. Two young men wr!tes that !Ie found a newly !Iad their hands full, in arrang- bUIlt church m almost every vil- have been converted recently lage in the neighborhood of Mosmg for the accommodation and cow. In some of the collective one a Copt, one a Greek. ' farms, club buildings are being the meals for those to whom they set up to get the church free The members of this Alliance once more. gave so warm a welcome. are asked to sign a basis stating Religious Interest in Russia T~e supreme point of the Con- that they are uniting with other It seems unquestioned that reventIOn was the service in the ligion is reviving in Russia to a young men who know the Lord degree disturhing to commu- Church of Casa Alberto, which nists. W 0 r l d Evangelization as Saviour, and desire to bring mentions a town of 4,500 which was crowded,-a long and won- has 30 religious organizations, others into the Kingdom. Twelve derful service. It included the baptism of groups of those who members have signed. -Life of Faith. at La Spezia and at Leghorn'
had recently tfhoeuncdelCebhrraitsit~nanodf Medical Service to Felahe'en ended with Dr. Harpur of the Church the Lord's Supper. Missionary Society founded a hospital in Old Cairo 48 years -Life of Faith. ago which is still known 'to Egyptians, especially the fela- American Church in Berlin heen, as "Harmel," a corruption of Dr. Harpur's name. The Despite the fact that the felaheen are a lovable and Ame~ICan Colony in Berlin is friendly people, though ignorant and superstitious; it is from growmg. smaller, the American this class that the majority of Church m that city is growing the patients are drawn. They ~tronger both financially and in are almost overcome by the mfluence. Truly American is strangeness of being put into the "Ladies Aid Society" in the form ?f an active Sewing Guild. The hbrary connected with the
beds with sheets and blankets, favor the Westernization of the ing developments, avoiding un- instead of lying in a dark and country. There is a movement necessary risk and exposure of dirty corner, surrounded with in the Egyptian University to missionaries, and at the same noise and clatter, the talking of introduce compulsory Moslem time gradually reducing ex- relatives and neighbors, and the religious equcation and to abol- penditures in view of the uncer- noise of animals and chickens. ish coeducation. The Dean of tainties of the future.
Arabic texts are painted in red Arts in the University thinks The Italian Minister of For- on the white walls, giving a there is nothing in the Koran eign Affairs has informed the touch of brightness t~ the whole; against coeducation, while the American Ambassador at Rome instead of being thought too Rector of EI-Azhar University is that "The Italian Government much bother to be looked after, against it. has decided not to entrust to for- the patients are treated kindly The Westernizing faction ig- eigners whatever may be the re- by the Egyptian staff of nurses. nores the Ramazan Fast, neg- ligion they profess, the work of Biblewomen and evangelists lects the study of the Koran, establishing schools in terri- have prayers for half an hour in seldom prays in the Masjids and tories of Ethiopia." The com- the mornings in the out-patient encourages their women to dis- munication also states: "Should departments; for those in the card the veil. An article in a pro- foreign missionaries wish to con- wards prayers twice each day. Moslem paper declares that tinue their other humanitarian Recently some of the Egyptian "Most Egyptian households, es- and philanthropic activities, out- men nurses have been singing pecially those in high life, have side the field of education, their hymns and giving a talk on Sun- no prayer-carpet, and no copy requests for permission will be day evenings to the patients in of the Koran, and do not know considered in due time and after the men's hospital. what these are." de jure recognition of the Italian -Life of Faith. -World Dominion Press. empire is an accomplished fact."
Missionaries can scarcely see Faith and Freedom Times of Trial how evangelistic and medical The February number of Protestant missions are rapid- work can be carried on success- Faith and Freedom calls atten- fully without at least some type tion to the new constitution of ly disappearing from Ethiopia. of educational institution. the Soviet Union, in which many Mussolini's own paper, the Gior'- nale d' ltalia, has carried a front -United Presbyterian.
have seen the end of the struggle page story predicting the end of Liberia's Hinterland against church and worship; Protestant work. The Swedish for protection of religious con- missionaries and three Ameri- The native population of Liviction is expressly guaranteed can independent mlSSlOnaries beria, divided into many tribes, in the new project. This in no have been expelled, and the prop- is about 1,000,000 of good, virile erty of the Sudan Interior Mis- stock. The Liberians, who are sense means that a change has sion has been requisitioned. the descendants of liberated Necome about in the attitude of offi- groes brought to Africa by the cial circles towards church and The pastor of the Swedish United States and Great Britain religion, or that the time of per- church in Addis Ababa, Kes Ba- about 120 years ago, now numsecution is past. The Soviet at- dima, has grown old and gray ber about 12,000, and are the titude remains the same. The in the service of his Lord, and ruling group of the country. new policy means that those re- knows what it is to be chained sponsible must carryon with the and driven from place to place The Methodist C h u r c h of eradication of church and reli- for his faith. His son was killed America has been active in gious life, though they must not during the riots. He spoke often spreading the Christian mesthereby injure too greatly the of the keeping power of God, sage, and churches now number religious conviction of the peo- and of his longing for the day 102. The great need is to peneple. Stalin has said, "Why when his earthly pilgrimage trate the thick bush country of should one be actively unmerci- would be ended. He told count- the interior, where live most of ful? One must explain the harm- less people how God had judged the natives who have been pracfulness of religion to the young Ethiopia, and warned the-:n tically unreached with the Goswith patience, and supply them against the final judgment. He pel. A pioneer mission penewith propaganda for a material- encouraged those who were trated for 200 miles to Ganta istic outlook as the only scientific weak, gave liberally to the poor, and there organized a station a one !" Communist patience will and not even the great slaughter few years ago, and a road for 80 in future be set against Chris- of February shook his faith in miles of this distance has been tian and religious patience; but the least. -Alliance Weekly. _ made. For three years a doctor the extirpation of church and and his wife have labored here, religion is still the purpose. Ethiopian Situation then sleeping sickness claimed them and forced them back to The V nit e d Presbyterian Modernism in Islam Board has not been willing to the States. A similar effort by abandon established work in another doctor and his wife was A conflict is going on in Egypt made three years ago to reach between those who would revive Ethiopia unless obliged to do so. the tribes in the hinterland of interest in Islam and those who They have been watchfully wait- Barclayville, sit u ate d in the
OUR WORLD-WIDE OUTLOOK
southeastern corner of Liberia. ble and Prayer Circle, a move- 'the blood of martyrs is the seed Sickness again defeated a fine ment which has grown out of of the Church," for not long aftwork, and the workers have been the evangelistic ministry of Mr. er Rasalama's execution church compelled to return to the States. G. A. Gush, a colporteur-evan- membership increased tenfold, gelist who was at one time a and the adherents twentyfold. The Firestone Rubber Com- farmer, and who was converted pany have cleared 70,000 acres during a mission conducted by -The Chronicle. of jungle and planted it with Gipsy Smith in South Africa, rubber trees, 15,000 acres of about thirty-three years ago. Call for Protestant Unity which are now bearing. This has Those who found Christ through greatly increased prosperity in Mr. Gush are to be found all Dr. Daniel A. Poling, inter- Liberia. over South Africa today; and national president of Christian there are hundreds, especially Endeavor, told a group of hear- -World Dominion Press. among the European population ers in Grand Rapids, Mich., re- of the eastern Cape Province, cently that Protestant Christian- Angola Leper Work where the Prayer Circle has been ity, instead of being in a posi- the result of a hunger for deep- tion to conduct a successful of- A large part of the work con- er spiritual life. fensive against the powerful nected with the Camundong~ forces opposing the Church, Leper Colony, Angola, South Af- The Prayer Circle is an unde- might be unable to maintain its rica, is undertaken by the lepers nominational body made up of own position. Among these opthemselves. It was considered many praying bands in cities, posing forces he cited militant impracticable to send nurses or towns and villages. The differ- Shintoism in Japan; a united orderlies from the station to the ent bands meet on different eve- Hinduism in India, Burma and villages; the more intelligent nings~ and each has its own Siam; a united, world Bud- Christian lepers were therefore method and procedure; but dhism; Mohammedanism, shaktaught to use the hypodermic twice a year there is a large ing off its age-old superstitions; syringe, and to administer chaul- gathering in a central place. the German Neo-pagan movemoogra oil treatment. Only ment, and Communism. Christians, and those who can -Life of Faith. read the Bible and preach the Under the slogan "Christ for Gospel, are sent out. Dlalagasy Centenary the Crisis," Christian Endeavor has adopted a program of ob- Christian lepers have also en- Among this year's centenaries jectives that have to do with gaged in evangelistic work. Re- is that of the martyrdom of Ras- world peace, cooperation in the cently a party, many of them alama, Malagasy Christian, in enactment and enforcement of advanced cases, set out on a the reign of Ranavalona I, "ty- law support for Christian mismission of testimony, traveling rant queen of Madagascar." sions at home and abroad, the from village to village, telling During her reign of thirty-three furtherance of economic justice what had been done for them, years from sixty to eighty pro- and racial good will, and the and preaching the Gospel. This fessing Christians were publicly fight against alcohol and narcombined medical and evangel- put to death; s 0 m e were cotics. istic work is meeting with great speared, others burnt, and many response. -Life of Faith. stoned. Later, 500 died from -Presbyterian Tribune. the poison ordeal. Of those who Congo Prayers voluntarily confessed the i r Interesting Documents Christian faith, 400 officers were A missionary has w r itt e n reduced in rank and 2,000 were The Life of Faith reports that down some of the prayers of fined, while an unknown number half a million private journals men and women in the Congo. suffered privation and under- and letters sent home by mis- Here are two of them. mined health as they hid away sionaries in Africa, India, China in mountain fastnesses, or up and the West Indies, during the We have two hands each full of to their necks in rice bogs. last 140 years are to be reclassiseeds, seeds of goodness and seeds of fied by experts and preserved in evil. Day by day we scatter thfs8 Rasalama, 39 years of age, fireproof rooms at Livingstone seeds. Father in lieaven, help us to sang cheerfully most of the way House, Westminster, England. fill both hands with good seeds. Daily to her execution, and when This task will take two years. I seem to scatter evil seeds, and as reaching the spot where she was The documents include letters yet I am not worthy to go and tdi to be martyred, she asked per- from the first missionaries to others of Jesus. mission to kneel in prayer, and reach Tahiti, in 1797; from Dr. in that posture she was speared John Philip, who defended the * ** to death. rights of the Kaffirs in South Africa; Robert Moffat, during As the charcoal burns in the fire of Today, Rasalama's cottage his pioneer days in Southern the village smithy, and is consumed as still stands as she left it. There Rhodesia; David Livingstone; it makes the iron hot, so let me burn is a strong church here under Robert Morrison, the first transout in Thy service, 0 God, my King the London Missionary Society, lator of the Bible in Chinese; and Lord. and Christians can worship W. G. Lawes and James Chal- without fear of consequences. mers, of Papua; and from many -Wonderlands. It has been literally true that others.
Young People's Prayer Circle Between 500 and 600 people attended the fifteenth rally of the United Young People's Bi-
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Our Missionary Bookshelf Books Briefly Reviewed for the Readers' Information I ~i==============–=-=~ TWENTY-FIVE "BEST BOOKS" IN THE STUDY OF MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS PREPARED BY THE REV. SAMUEL M. ZWEMER, D.D.
Editor of "The Moslem World"; author of "Arabia, the Cradle of Islam," etc., etc.
Shortly after the World War 3. The Origin of Islam in Its signon's Annuaire du Monde a German scholar, Gus t a v Christian Environment. By Musulman. Paris. 1934. Pfannmuller compiled a Hand- Richard Bell. $3.50. Macbook of Literature on Islam and Millan, New York. 1926. 8. Christendom and IrSlam. By missions to Moslems. It com- W. W. Cash. $2.00. Harpprised over four hundred pages The writer gives the back- ers, New York. 1937. and over two thousand titles. ground of the new religion in Since that survey appeared, in- Arabia and indicates the sources A succinct account of the conterest in Islam as a world prob- of its strength and vigor. . tacts between Christendom and lem, and in missions, has not de- Islam and the influence for good creased. For one who has him- 4. Islam: Beliefs and Institu- and ill mutually exerted by Cruself written more than twenty- tions. By H. Lammens. sades and conquests. five books on Islam and Missions 8's. 6d. Methuen, London. to be asked to select twenty-five 1929. 9. An Eastern Palimpsest. By "best" books is therefore some- O. Wyon. 2s. 6d. World what an embarrassing task. A careful analysis of the creed Dominion Press, New York. New books (like new art, new and practice in Islam. Full of 1928. wine, or new violins) are not information and accurate in all always better than the old. Yet its statements. A brief account of missions in the latest view may be the only the Near East with maps and true picture of a scene that has *5. The Legacy of Islam. By statistics. witnessed kaleidoscopic changes. Sir Thomas Arnold and We have therefore selected some Others. Oxford. 1931. *10. Moslem Women Enter a new and some old volumes, while New World. By Ruth scores of others here omitted are A compendium of what the F ran c e s Woodsmall. "best" in their own field. The West owes to Islam in literature, $3.00. R 0 u n d Table titles marked with an asterisk art, architecture, science, phi- Press, New York. 1936. are popular and suitable for losophy and culture. No other younger readers also. book contains such fascinating The most recent book on the material on the "glory of Islam." subject and gives the brighter r. MOHAMMED AND ISLAM: side of the picture. Needs to be 6. The Koran (translated). By supplemented by present-day re- 1. Mohammed the Man and His E. H. Palmer. 80 cents. ports of women – missionaries Faith. By Tor Andrae. Pocket edition. Oxford Uni- who live close to the illiterate Scribners, New Y 0 r k. versity Press, New York. masses. 19.36. 1929. 11. The Moslem World of To- The latest attempt to evaluate The most idiomatic transla- day. Edited by John R. Mohammed's character. It is tion of the Koran with valuable Mott. $2.50. Doran, New fair and discriminating. Shows introduction and good index. York. 1926. how much Mohammed owed to Nestorian Christianity. II. EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF This consists of a series of monographs by missionaries and THE MOSLEM WORLD: orientalists on present-day as- pects of the problem, education, *7. Across the World of Islam. the press, medical work, etc. By S. M. Zwemer. $3.00.
2. Mohammed and the Rise of Revell & Co., New York. III. MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS: Islam. By D. S. Margo- 1929. liouth. $2.50. Putnam, THEIR VALIDITY, HIS- New York. 1905. A statistical and political sur- vey of the Moslem world and its TORY AND CHARACTER. The best brief life story of the missionary opportunity. Lacks Prophet; fully documented from a clJ,apter on the Near East and *12. Henry Martyn, Confessor original sources. should be supplemented by Mas- of the Faith. By Con- stance E. Padwick. S. C. M., London. 1922.
Any of the books noted in these columns will be sent by the R~IllW publishers on receipt of price.
[510 ]
OUR MISSIONARY BOOKSHELF
The best life of the first mod- it deserves special mention. Full They teach a lesson without the ern missionary to Islam. of inspiration. necessity of pointing a moral. Children, parents and teachers 13. Modern Movements Among 21. The Arab at Home. By Paul will find these tales delightful Moslems. By S. G. Wil- and helpful. son. $1.50. Revell, New W. H a r r i son. $3.50. York. 1916. Africa and Christianity. By Diedrich Crowell, New York. 1924. Westermann. 221 pp. $2.25. Ox- Excellent, especially on Iran, ford University Press. New York. but not quite up-to-date. One of the best books for the 1937.
*14. The Persian Journey of the study of the Arab mind and soul Dr. Westermann of Berlin, Rev. Ash ley Wishard, the author of "Africa Today," is etc. By Elgin Grosclose. by one who has lived close to this one of the best-informed and $2.50. Bobbs – Merrill, people and loves them. . most interesting writers on Af- Indianapolis. 1937. rica from a Christian point of *22. The Expansion of Islam. view. He is professor of African A novel full of missionary ap- By W. W. Cash. 38.6d. languages at the University of peal and interest. Edinburgh House Press, Berlin and the material here London. 1929. presented was given in the Duff 15. History of the Arabian Mis- Lectures in Scotland in 1935. sion. By Mason & Barney, An excellent, popular general The author dwells on aspects of 25 East 22d Street, New survey. missionary work in Africa and York. the change this work is bringing 23. The Eclipse of Christianity about in the character, culture An account of thirty years' in Asia. By L. E. Browne. and condition of the people. He pioneer effort in the hardest of $3.50. Cambridge Uni- shows the old and new standards Moslem lands. versity Pre s s, London. and ideals in family and commu- 1935. nity life; the influence of Euro- 16. Vital Forces of Christianity pean commerce and control; the and Islam. 3s. 6d. Oli- Here is the history of Islam's changes in religious faith and phant, Anderson & Fer- penetration and spiritual con- practice-from superstition, ig- rier, London. 1915. quest of those lands in Asia norance, fear, to belief in God as where the Crescent has super- presented by missionaries. Dr. Six studies by missionaries to seded the Cross. Scholarly yet Westermann includes a chapter Moslems on Method of approach most interestingly written. on Christianity vs. Competition to the Moslem heart. with sects, with Islam and with 24. The Crescent in Northwest secularism-not c h e e r i n g to 17. Indian Islam. By Murray China. By G. Findley An- read; the growth of the Church; T. Titus. 12s. 6d. Ox- drews. China Inland Mis- and the production of Christian ford Press, New York. sion, London. 1922. literature. He does not hesitate 1930. to criticize missions construc- Sketch of Missions in North- tively as a friend. A scholarly survey of the his- west China. tory, character and peculiarities The information is general of Islam in India, its distribu- 25. A Desert Journal. By Evan- rather than specific for Africa is tion, and its present-day in- geline French & Mildred too large a continent to be sucfluence. Cable. $3.00. China In- cessfully dealt with in one short land Mis s ion, German- volume. For a general view, 18. Temple Gairdner of Cairo. town. 1934. however, this volume is highly By Constance E. Padwick. commended. It shows the prob- $3.00. Macmillan, New This book is a type of many lems and the progress noted in York. 1929. that tell of the daily life of Mos- two centuries of modern mis- lems and their attitude toward sions in Africa; also the forces The life of a versatile, schol- Christians in the great unoccu- for and against Christ and the arly and devoted missionary by pied areas. Church, forces that must largely one who is herself doing work determine the future of this for Moslems in all lands through OTHER RECENT BOOKS great continent. Christian literature. Stocking Tales. A Book of Stories Ablaze for God. By Mary W. Dunn 19. The Reproach of Islam. By for Children. By J. T. Stocking. Pattison. 317 pp. 38. 6d. Japan Temple Gairdner. C. M. Illustrated by Winifred Bromhall. Evangelistic Band, London. 1937. S., London. 119 pp. $1.25. Pilgrim Press. Boston. 1937. This is the biography of Paget There is no better textbook for Wilkes written by his sister. all who desire to know Islam as Dr. Stocking is a prince of Wilkes was born in Suffolk in it is and Christianity as it ought story-tellers, with lit era r y 1871, was educated at Oxford to be in witnessing for Christ. charm, a truly Christlike spirit, with Temple Gairdner, J. H. Not a lukewarm book, but full of imagination and a love for chilfire. dren. He fascinates adults and young people as well. His death *20. Young Islam on Trek. By has brought a great loss as his Basil Mathews. 25 cents. life was a great blessing to Friendship Press, New many. These stories are a mix- York. 1926. ture of fairy tale and parable.
This earlier textbook for mission study is so well written that
Oldham and Stuart Holden and the Plan of Union between Pres- meet are not so ready to be led." went to Japan to work with Bar- byterianism and Congregational- Doubtless Dr. Wilson has also clay Brocton in 1897. Later he ism and the controversy growing met many utterly indifferent to became the leader of the Japan out of it. the Word of God, who needed to Evangelistic Band, an undenom- be a wakened to a sense of sin. inational movement which em- Part Two is made up of docu- This is probably a selection of phasized direct evangelism and ments illustrating the frontier certain experience.'3 that show the "Second blessing." He was work of the Pre s b y t e ria n the great truth to be presented a man of great ability and of churches-an immense wealth of in Bible words to sinners, namepure devotion, whose motto source material. It is of course ly the way of justification and might well have been Henry ·only a fraction of what is avail- peace through the atoning death Martyn's "Now let me burn out able and a vast deal is of neces- of Christ. These true sketches for God." He mastered the Jap- sity omitted, many times as are very informing because they anese language and he inspired much as could be included; one show how thousands of people his associates, both Japanese and would rather have some of the who have gone to church and foreign, with his own zeal, and omitted material than that which have read the Bible for years, his consecration and sacrifice is included, some, for example, have never really understood the were a stimulus to many in the from the records of the old Penn- Gospel that Christ died for the missions of the British and sylvania presbyteries and from remission of sin, and that we American churches. At home, the period and area covered in are not saved by our own goodin England or in Canada or in Waddell's "Annals of Augusta ness, but by faith in Jesus South Africa, he conducted mis- County, Virginia, from 1726 to Christ. That is the one thing sions for the conversion of non- 1871." But we are grateful for that stands out in this book. We Christians and for the deeper the mass of old documents which must add this also that readers life of Christians. He was a Dr. Sweet has presented. They will be convinced that most Church of England evangelical enable us to enter intelligently Christians do not sufficiently and was a notable illustration of into the religious atmosphere of recognize the sinfulness of sin, the great body of British Chris- our country a century, and a cen- and the necessity of the shedding tians who move out on their own tury and a half ago, to realize of Jesus' blood; therefore they lines beyond the bounds of de- the social and cultural conditions do not feel impelled to seek the nominational action. He had the of that early time and, by such salvation of others. Finally, this Keswick mind, with a turn of a term of comparison, to see how book shows that Christians his own, and he served his Mas- far on we have come in true re- ought to know their Bibles and ter with his whole heart and ligion and Christian charity. be able to diagnose a soul's need mind and soul and strength. T9 and offer the remedy. We should read such a life is to have one's ROBERT E. SPEER. definitely study the book with own lethargy and reticence :r:e- this in mind. We may well note buked and to feel the glow of the The Romance of a Doctor's Visits. the Scripture passages used. New Testament discipleship at By Dr. Walter L. Wilson. 128 pp. Dull is the conscience of the work amid the conditions of our Is. Pickering & In~lis. London. Christian, either at home or on own day. 1937. the mission field, that will not be moved to personal work by read- Religion on the American Frontier. This small, easy-reading vol- ing this book. Vol. II, The Presbyterians, 1783- ume is one of the "World-Wide 1840. By William Warren Sweet. Library of Famous G 0 s pel FRANK LUKENS. 939 pp. $3.50. Harper & Brothers, Books." The author is a physi- New York and London. 1936. cian of some years' experience Consider Him. By Vance Havner. who but devotes much of his $1.00. American Bible Conference This volume by Dr. Sweet of time to Christian ministry. For Association. Philadelphia, Pa. 1937. the University of Chicago is the a number of years he regularly broadcast the morning Bible les- For those that like a "stimsecond in a series dealing with son over the radio station of the ulus" in Bible study and meditathe different denominations on Kansas City Star, and was said tion and desire a greater fellow- to have an audience of a million ship with the Spirit of God, this the early American frontier. people. book will be of great help. In it we find one hundred medita- The first volume dealt with the Here are twenty-eight short tions on some of the great pas- Baptists and the third is to deal pen-pictures of different persons sages of the Bible. These mediwit h the Congregationalists. seeking salvation whom he led tations were gathered by a Part One (125 pages of this to assured faith by use of Bible pastor from his everyday "walk volume) deals generally with passages. The cases represent and talk" with the Master and American Presbyterianism at all sorts and conditions of life, with his people in the parish. the close of the Revolution, the but the need and the solution In a book form they will inspire Presbyterians and Westward are practically the same in all. a much greater parish. To min- Expansion, the cultural and edu- The first impression on the read- isters they will serve as seeds of cational influence of the Presby- er is that everyone of these peo- thoughts for sermons. terians in the Early West, re- ple were seekers, conscious of vivalism and Presbyterian con- their sin, and wanting peace. A. H. PERPETUO. troversy, and the operation of Some may say, "The people I
Books Obituary Notes The
Across Africa in a Lorry. W. B. Red- (Concluded from page 449.) A weekly religious newspaper in mayne. 128 pp. $1.40. Zondervan. Grand Rapids. Dr. Edward M. Poteat, prominent its lo6th year of continuous pub- in Baptist work both North and South Books for the Traveler or Sojourner for two generations, died June 26, at Iication under the same name. in China. Harriet Hardison Rob- Raleigh, N. C. After a period of son. 24 pp. 25 cents. American years as preacher, college president, It is conservative and evangel- Council, Institute of Pacific Rela- and denominational worker, he went tions. New York. to China to be a professor in Shang- ical, gets its news by telegraph hai College. His son, Gordon Poteat, is Burmese Brothers. Story Lessons professor in Shanghai College; an- and keeps abreast of the times. for Little Children. Eleanor Mar- other son, Edwin M. Poteat, Jr., is a tin. 42 pp. 6d. S. P. G. London. prominent pastor in Raleigh. It goes into every state of the Union, the District of Columbia, Fun, Fear and Faith. The Story of *** the Church in Burma. Ruth Hen- and U. S. possessions. rich. 91 pp. 18. S. P. G. London. Dr. Danjo Ebina, Professor Emer- itus of Doshisha University, died in It goes to Asia and AFrica, South Cycle of Prayer and Praise, 19'37-38. Tokyo, on May 22. He first learned 100 pp. 68. S. P. G. London. about Christ from Gapt. L. L. Janes, America, Canada and New Zealand and afterwards was a member of the Christ of the Countryside. Malcolm first graduating class of Doshisha in and into twelve countries of Eu- Dana. 128 pp. $1.00. Cokesbury. 1879. He founded the Hongo Congre- Nashville. gational Church in Tokyo, was its rope. pastor until 1920 when he became Communism. John Horsch. 30 pp. university president. He was the Subscription Price, – 15 cents. B. I. C. Assn. Chicago. author of many books on Christianity. Ministerial Rate, The Land of Umbrellas. Lessons on *** the Church in Burma. Ruth Hen- 50c. extra—Canadian postage rich. 92 pp. Is. S. P. G. London. Emile Doumergue, for 66 years the leader of the French conservative $1.00 extra—foreign postage Flaming Milestone. Report of the theological group, died recently in World's Conference of the World France at the age of ninety-three. He THE PRESBYTERIAN Alliance of the Y. M. C. A.'s. 115 was the author of the Life of Calvin pp. World's Committee, Y. M. C. A. in seven volumes, and contributed 1217 Mark..t: Str….t, Philad..lphia, Pa. Geneva. editorially to the leading journal of Protestantism in France. He was not ciety, and president of the Bible Highland Heritage. Edwin E. White. in favor of church union for the sake League of North America. 196 pp. $1.00, cloth; 60 cents, of union. His was the phrase: "Fu- paper. Friendship Press. New sion without proper evangelical basis *** York. is nothing but confusion." Sir J. Charles Clegg, president of Is Not This a Brand? Percy Rush. *** the British Temperance League for 96 pp. Is. Pickering & Inglis. sixty-three years, died at Sheffield, London. Mrs. Elizabeth Murdoch Poage England, June 26. His most recent entered into rest at her home in Co- efforts in the cause of temperance was An Introduction to the New Testa- lusa, California, on July 4, at the age the preparation of a booklet, "Out to ment. Edgar J. Goodspeed. 362 of sixty–one. For forty years Mrs. Win." pp. $2.50. University of Chicago Poage had been an officer of the Press. Chicago. Sacramento Presbyterial and for nine *** years was president. The loss of her Little Talks to Little Folks. Charles service is keenly felt for she had been John T. Underwood, founder of the A. Puncker. 92 pp. Is. Pickering faithful in the performance of re- Underwood Typewriter Co., and & Inglis. London. sponsibilities both little and great. brother of Dr. Horace G. Underwood of Korea, died July 2. Mr. Under- Lessons in Soul Winning. Will H. Dr. Frederick H'" . W* ri*ght, who ren- wood was a former member of the Houghton. 23 pp. Free. Moody Presbyterian Board of Foreign Mis- Bible Institute. Chicago. dered effective service in both the sions, president of the Buckhorn As- heme and foreign work of the Metho- sociation of Kentucky, and a generous Medical Missions at Work. H. P. dit<: Episcopal Church, died June 11 supporter of work in Korea. Thompson. 82 pp. Is. S. P. G. in Ocean Grove, N. J., aged seventy- London. eight. He served as past)!· of the Gifts during his lifetime were con- Methodist Church in Rome from 1899 tinued in numerous bequests, among More Sources of Power in Famous to 1905. Some years later he becama them: $50,000 each to the Buckhorn Lives. Walter C. Erdman. 160 superintendent of the Italian Mission Association and to Chosen Christian pp. $1.00. Cokesbury Press. Nash- Conference under the Board of Home College; $20,000 to the Orphan ville. Missions and Church Extension. Asylum Society of Brooklyn; $10,000 each to the Lafayette Avenue Presby- Work of the Chaplain in the Civilian Mrs. Thomas *E. * Ba*rber, former terian Church of Brooklyn, the Pres- Conversation Corps. Col. Alva J. byterian Board of Foreign Missions, Brasted. 48 pp. Command & Gen- missionary in the Columbia Mission, the Brooklyn Bureau of Charities and eral Staff School Press. Ft. Leaven- Presbvterian, U. S. A., died in the the Brooklyn Museum. worth, Kansas. Pasad"ena Hospital, Pasadena, Cali- fornia on June 2. Most of Mrs. Bar- *** Women of the New Testament. ber's time during her 25 years on the Abraham Kuyper. $1.00, cloth; 65 field was spent in educational and Rev. Wilhelm Zoellner, D.D., for- cents, paper. 95 pp. Zondervan evangelistic work at Barranquilla, Bo- mer head of the Church Affairs De- Pub. Co. Grand Rapids. gota and Medellin. partment of the Nazi government and one-time leader in the ecumenical The West Indies. H. P. Thompson. *** movements of Stockholm and Lau- 70 pp. 18. S. P. G. London. sanne, died at Duesseldorf, July 17. Mr. William Philips Hall, for 26 The World, the Church and You. years president of the American Tract When, in December, 1936, Hitler Outlines for Group Study. 34 pp. Society, died on August 14 at Walling- ,rarned Nazi leaders to cease their at- 3d. Edinburgh House Press. Lon- ford, Conn., in his seventy-third year. tacks upon Christianity, part of the don. Mr. Hall was born at Stamford, credit was given to Dr. Zoellner, who Conn., on February 1, 1864. He was was reported to have warned the gov- Yahrbuch Der Ostasien Mission. 96 the founder and for many years the ernment that its anti-Church program pp. Allgemeiner Evangelische-Pro- president of the Hall Signal Co., vice- had gone too far. tantische Missionsverein. Berlin, president of the American Bible So- Germany.
The Man that Changed the World. Frederick B. Fisher. 208 pp. $2.00. Cokesbury Press. Nashville.
~o Noi MU4 A DAILY USE
THE •.. Cbt lIPPtf Room (America's Leading Devotional Guide) MOSLEM Will Lift the CONTENTS OF THE WORLD Level of the OCTOBER-NOVEMBER- Sfiritual Life A Christian Quarterly Review of o Any Church DECEMBER ISSUE Current Events, Literature and and Its Homes Thought Among Mohammedans Inte,.pretation of COf)er Picture, "Christ amont the Lowl," Editor: SAMUEL M. ZWEMER October 1-9 SOME ARTICLES IN THE The Christian and His Home OCTOBER NUMBER October 10·20 Herbert Udny Weitbrecht Stanton The Christian and His God By Samuel M. Zwemer Octobe,. 21-21 Missionary Adventure in the Sahara The Christian and the Christ By Dugald Campbell Octobe,. 28-31 Northern Nigerian Opportunity The Christian and the Holy Spirit By H. G. Farrant NOf)ember 1-6 Islam in India The Christian and Social Responsi. bility By James W. Sweetman NOf)ember 1-13 Moslem Women of North Africa Foundations for a Stable and Peace. By Frances E. Roberds ful Society The Joy of Preaching to Moslems N of)ember 14-20 By Stephen Khoobyar The Kingdom of God and the So· cial Order The Political Fortunes of Islam By G. L. Schanzlin NOf)embe,. 21-21 The Spirit of Thanksgiving and Hitti's History of the Arabs the Social Order By Nabih A. Faris NOf)ember 28-30 Also Book Reviews, Current Top. Working Together with God ics, Survey· of Periodicals, and the Index for the Year. December 1-11 The Christian and His Attitudes SUBSCRIBE NOW December 12-18 50 Cents a Copy. $2.00 a Year (postpaid) The Christian and His Daily Walk THE MOSLEM WORLD December 19-25 156 Fifth Ave., New York City "Unto Us a Saviour Is Born"
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The Missionary Review of the World — July 1937
1937
, The Murdoch Trail in Kentucky Alvin E. Magary What Rural Churches Are Doing w. H. Thompson Pioneering for Christ in Kwangsi A. C. Snead China and the New Life Movement Generalissimo. Chiang Kai..shek Thinking Yellow vs. Acting Yellow Geoffrey W. Royall The Problem of the Rural Church in Canada J. R. Watt A Brahman Christian……Nehemiah Goreh 25 Cents a Copy $2.50 a Year
to Remember September 27 – October 1 – Houston, of her service to Japanese women
Texas. Dean, Mrs. A. B. Haynes, the field of education. M>iss Loomis July 5-16-New Jersey Summer 618 Highland Ave., Houstori, Texas. was principal of Doremus High School School for Christian W 0 r k e r s, for girls in Yokohama from 1901 until Blairstown, N. J. October 5-6- Warren, Ohio. Mrs. her retirement last year. She is the George Konold, 314 Scott St., N. E., second missionary in this school to be July 8-13 – International Christian Warren, Ohio. so honored by the Emperor, the first Endeavor Convention, Grand Rap- being Miss Julia N. Crosby, one of ids, Mich. October 21 – Baltimore, Md. Mrs. the founders of the mission, who went David D. Baker, 410 N. Calhoun to Japan in 1871. July 11-16 – Anniversary, First Con- St., Baltimore, Md. ference of American Methodism. *** Old St. George's Church. Phila- Personal Items Dr. Tom Lambie, recently in charge delphia. Dr. E. Stanley Jones expects to be of the work of the Sudan Interior Mis- July 12-26- World Conference on in China for six months from August sion in Ethiopia and a naturalized Life and Work. Oxford, England. 15. He goes at the invitation of the citizen of Ethiopia, has recently re- National Christian Council of China. turned from a visit to Africa to sur- July 14-17-National Council of Fed- He will be asked to give attention vey the Nigerian field with a view to erated Church Women. Lake Ge- primarily to the strengthening of opening new stations to be occupied neva, Wis. church leadership in evangelism, lay by missionaries who will no longer be service and the Christianizing of the welcome in Ethiopia. Dr. Lambie has July 19-30-Religious Education Con- home, with such work for non-Chris- applied to have his American citizen- ference. Northfield, Mass. tians and students as may be carried ship restored. During his trip he and on without diversion from this main Dr. Rowland V. Bingham went up the July 24-31-Conference of the Asso- Nile to Khartoum and later flew from ciation of Christian Youth Move- objective. there to Kano, 1,800 miles across ments of America. Stony Brook, *** Africa to the west.
L. 1. Mrs. Orrin R. Judd, a member of *** the Board of Directors of THE RE- July 31-August 6-General Confer- VIEW, has been elected president of Rev. Hafiz Abood Faris, elected to ence. Northfield, Mass. the Woman's American Baptist Home represent Syria at the Centennial cele- Mission Society at its recent annual brations of the Board of Foreign Mis- July 31-August 7-Annual Interde- meeting in Philadelphia. sions of the Presbyterian Church in nominational Young People's Con- the U. S. A., is pastor of the church ference. Stony Brook, L. I. *** at Horns, Syria; president of the Synod Dr. William J. Reid and Dr. Wil- and moderator of the Syrian Evan- August 3-18 – World Conference on gelical Church. Through his leader- Faith and Order. Edinburgh, Scot- liam J. Reid, Jr., as father and son, ship federation among the Protestants land. in Syria has been effected and included have continuously led the First United the Covenantor churches (Reformed), August 16-23 – Christian .Endeavor the Irish Presbyterian Mission and the Conference. Northfield, Mass. Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh Danish Mission churches.
August 21-29-General Bible Confer- for 75 full years, the father holding As a schoolboy Mr. Faris attended ence. Stony Brook, L. 1. the American Presbyterian Mission the pastorate for 40 years. This School at Sidon and received his the- Sept. 28-30 – Annual Interdenomina- unique anniversary has recently been ological training at Suk-ul-Gharb. He tional Missionary Institute, Wom- is related to the talented Abood fam- an's Interdenominational Union of celebrated in Pittsburgh. In a curious ily which has furnished the Christian Philadelphia and Vicinity. First way the younger man has reproduced Church in Syria and Palestine with Baptist Church, Philadelphia. six pastors, several teachers, and a his father's work. The father was for number of workers along other lines. SUMMER CONFERENCES AND 15 years editor of the United Pres'by- He spent a number of years in Amer- SCHOOLS OF MISSIONS terian; the son has edited the same ica (1903-07), and organized an Arabic-speaking Presbyterian Church Council of Women for Home Mis- paper for 16 years. The weekly Bible among the Syrians of West Hoboken. sions and Affiliated with the Committee on Women's Work, School at the Y. M. C. A., which the *** Foreign Missions Conference elder taught for 30 years, was after- Rev. and Mrs. Phineas B. Kennedy, July 7-15-Northfield, Mass. Miss v.ho have spent forty years in Al- Amy O. Welcher, 796 Prospect Ave., ward led by the son for almost 20 bania and Macedonia as missionaries, Hartford, Conn. years. The U nit e d Presbyterian first under tHe American Board and Handbook, which the father prepared later in the Albanian Evangelical July 10-17 – Mountain Lake Park, Mission, are now in America and are Md. Chairman, Mrs. J. M. Knight, annually for many years, has been available for addresses on conditions 207 Roane St., Charleston, W. Va. and work in Albania. Mr. and Mrs. issued by the son for 22 years. The Kennedy have a fine lot of stereopticon July 17-24–Mt. Hermon, Calif. Mrs. slides and a large fund of interesting N. J. Forsberg, 1144 Eddy St., San father sent a full-page weekly discus- Francisco, Calif. information in regard to this little- sion of the Sunday school lesson to known part of the storm center of July 19-23 – Bethesda, Ohio. Miss Europe. Their address is 718 Ken- Mary 1. Scott, 310 Tomlinson St., his paper; here, too, the son has car- sington Ave., Plainfield, N. J. Moundsville, W. Va. ried on. *** ••• August 15-22 – Chautauqua, N. Y. Chairman, Miss B. Louise Wood- Dr. J. D. Jones, long pastor of one David Griffin, son-in-law of Rev. ford, 930 23d Ave. North, St. of the leading Con g reg a t ion a I Paul Rader, Chicago evangelist, ex- Petersburg, Fla. pects to make a 20,000-mile tour of churches of England, and well known Asiatic and African frontiers in a August 19-25 – Kerrville, T e x a s. three-wheeled motorcycle truck, ac- Chairman, Mrs. T. M. Cunning- in America as well as Great Britain, companied by Hubert Mitchell, of Los ham, 618 West Sydamore, Denton, Angeles. From Singapore their Texas. has been elected to the presidency of route will take them through the Ma- lay States, Burma, Tibet, across September 20-24 – Minnesota (Min- the National Free Church Council. Khyber Pass, through Persia and neapolis-St. Paul). President, Mrs. finally across the mid-section of Charles L. Grant, 610 Aurora Ave., *** Africa. St. Paul, Minn. Prof. Arthur H. Compton, eminent September 20-24–Southern California young physicist and Nobel Prize win- (Los Angeles). Mrs. H. M. Horn, ner, has been installed Chairman of 1955 Carmen Ave., Los Angeles, the Laymen's Missionary Movement, Calif. Chicago. Prof. Compton has served on the Committee for eight years. September 27 – October 1 – Dallas, Texas. Pres., Mrs. E. R. Alderson, *** 561 Goodwin St., Dallas, Texas. Miss Clara Denison Loomis, for thirty-five years a missionary in Japan under the Woman's Union Mis- sionary Society of America, was re- cently honored by the Japanese Gov- ernment by being presented with the Renju Hosho, the highest decoration
MISSIONARY for your magazine as a whole. lt IS Fastest
REVIEW OF THE WORLD well for all of us to keep before us to the DELAVAN L. PIERBON, Editor the general trend in the missionary world, as well as to know some of the ORIENT VOL. LX JULy-AuG., 1937 Nos. 7 & 8 speclllc pieces of work which are be- ing carried on by other churches Japanese Publication and Business Olllce– throughout the world. Your MISSION- Girl Third and Reily Sts., Harrisburg, Pa. ARY KEVIEW helps to keep us informed with at these points." Editorial and Executive Olllce– lantern. 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City. MABEL NIEDERMEYER, Entered as second-class matter at Director of Children's Work, Go direct fromVancouverand Victoria in 10 days by Em- Post Office, Harrisburg, Pa., under United Christian Missionary press oj Asia or Empress oj Act of March 3, 1879. Society, Indianapolis. Russia. Only 3 more days via Hawaii by Empress ojJapan 25 cents a copy-$2.50 a year. *** (fastest ship on the Pacific) Foreign Postage, 50 cents a year. or Empress oj Canada. Con- Published monthly, except August. "You are surely issuing a most nect at Honolulu from Cali- All rights reserved. Copyrighted 193 7. splendid magazine. I bind the copies fornia ports. Low round-trip British agents – Marshall, Morgan so as to maKe constant use of them. fares include passage from and Scott, 12 Paternoster Buildings, I have known of interest and contribu- and to Seattle. London. E. C. 1 shilling per copy, tions through people learning of needs 10 shillings a year. as given in THE REVIEW." ~r;4 MISSIONARY REVIEW PUB- REV. WILLIAM H. ENSIGN. For rates and sailings, see LISHING CO., INC. Los Angeles, Calif. YOUR TRAVEL AGENT or Cana- dian Pacific: New York, Chi- BOARD OF DIRECTORS "I think ever*y *Ch*ristian ought to ca~o, San Francisco, 38 other ROUERT E. SPEER, President citIes in U. S. and Canada. A. L. WARNSHUlS, Vice-President read THE REVIEW. It is the best thing I have ever seen on missions. Many WALTER MCDOUGALL, ~'rea8urer of my congregation are oecoming en- thUSIastic over it. One night when a DELAVAN L. PIERSON. Secretary speaker disappointed me I talked for an hour on mIssions, giving informa- SAMUEL MCCREA CAVERT tion gleaned from THE REVIEW."
WILLIAM I. C'luMBERLoUN PASTOR F. L. SHANNON.
D. J. FANT Beckley, -W.-V-a.- – – – MRS. ORRIN R. JUDO THE SECRETS OF SUCCESS WM. B. LIPPHARD ERIC M. NORTH "Push," said the button. "Take pains," said the window. SAMUEL M. ZWEMER "Never be led," said the pencil. "Be up to date," said the calendar. Editorial Chat "Always keep cool," said the ice. "Do business on tick," said the clock. Our June (Rural America) Num- "Never lose your head," said the ber has already had a large sale and is still in great demand. Order your barrel. extra copies before the supply runs "Do a driving business," said the out. Here is only one of the many favorable comments we have received: hammer. "Aspire to great things," said the nut- "Allow me to congratulate you on the splendid issue of THE REVIEW for meg. June in which you present a fine pic- "Make light of everything," said the ture of rural America. This will be of great help to the rural church fire. movement." "Do nothing off-hand," said the glove: "Look up," said the telescope. THOMAS ALFRED TRIPP, "Make much of little things," said the Associate Director, Town and microscope. Country Dept., The Church Ex- "Look ahead," said the spy-glass. tension Boards of the Congrega.- tional and Christian Churches. Obituary Note.
*** Emma Belle Dougherty Pierson, for forty-two years the beloved and Other articles on "Christ and Rural faithful wife of the Editor of this America" appear in this present issue REVIEW, fell asleep in Christ at her and more will follow later, since the home in Montclair, New Jersey, on subject is to cover a year of Home June 18, after a serious illness, last- Mission study. ing over five months. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December *** 15, 1871, and early gave herself to Christ,., trusting in Him for salvation As usual, in recent years, there will and all her daily needs. For nearly be no August number of THE REVIEW. fifty years she was a remarkably suc- Instead the June and July numbers cessful teacher of little children in the each have a larger number of pages. Sunday school and led many of them Many subscrioers are away in August to Christ. Her personal charm and and the summer months are less (un- many talents were dedicated to His fortunately) active in church circles. service. Mrs. Pierson was deeply in- The omission of the August issue is terested in the work of Christ at home also a help in meeting publication ex- and abroad, was active in the missionpenses. ary work of her own Church, was an officer of the Montclair Missionary *** Union and for some years a mem.:er of the Board of Foreign Missions of Our October number will be looked the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. forward to with great interest as it will be devoted to the very important (Concluded on 3d cQ'/Jer.) topic, "Christ and the Moslem World." [337 ] Other recent *com* m*ents on the RE- VIEW show that God is using it to stimulate interest in the Cause of Christ. The following are some extracts from letters: "I wish to express my appreciation
© International Photo
A RECENT PORTRAIT OF GENERALISSIMO CHIANG KAI-SHEK AND MADAME CHIANG (See article, pages 356 to 362) REVIB ORLD AN INTERDENOMINATIONAL REVIEW OF WORLD-WIDE CHRISTIAN PROGRESS VOLUME LX JULY-AUGUST, 1937 NUMBERS 7 AND 8 Topics of the Times YOUTH – WHITHER? The situation is not wholly new except in the complacency with which many parents, teachers This is ideally the golden age of youth. Never and even professing Christians look upon it. have the young men and young women had such There are many who have high ideals for the opportunities. They are awake to this new day, Church, the school, the home; what are we going with its problems and possibilities in education, to do about it? Boys and girls are capable of in politics, in science and business. Youth is also great things and their interest is not difficult to awake to the new license and opportunities in capture for the best in God's creation and procrime and lust, in war and lawlessness. It is well gram. Left alone or misled they naturally run known that the age of convicted criminals has de- wild. creased by one-half in the past twenty-five years. The widespread use of the automobile for vice and The Christian Church has a responsibility for crime, the pernicious effect of intoxicants and the the guidance of youth because of her commission degrading influence of much that is found in from God and the ideals for which she stands. At movies and theaters and in modern literature; a crime conference held in Albany, former Justice the decrease in the influence of the Church; the Alfred J. Talley said that judges of the bench laxity in parental control, and the new disregard declare the main cause of criminality in Amer- ica is the "indifference of our people to the need for God and His laws fostered in too many schools of the American child for daily religious teachand colleges – all these have not only helped to ing." He continued: further inflame "flaming youth" but now endanger the whole life of the coming generation. Recently Why is it not time to make a fresh start? In the some high schools in Greater New York and else- policy of the State, religion is kept out of the schools, where have been the subject of shocked investi- because, unhappily, one religion was fearful that another gation because of the widespread immorality that religion would get some advantage and the fatal course was reported. Such immorality is not new but was adopted of wiping out religious teaching altogether. modern tendencies have made it more prevalent Pagan divinities and their amours may be glorified in the and open and less disgraceful in the eyes of youth. school- Nero, Cresar, Hannibal, Napoleon, Henry the In one city alone five tons of salacious books and Eighth-with all their human frailties, their wars and pictures, chiefly intended for boys and girls, were devastation, but the Almighty Father, the Divine Archirecently seized, while many tons more have barely tect, the Merciful Creator who holds the destiny of the escaped a similar fate. In New York certain de- American people in the hollow of His hand must not be grading "shows" have been closed but still the mentioned before an American child in an American State refuses to exercise <censorship in behalf of school. Why is it not time to make a fresh start? the youth. While we enact and enforce laws to protect physical health, lawmakers still permit The Hon. John C. Maher, Chairman of the the deadly germs of moral and spiritual diseases Parole Commission of New York, speaking of the to be spread by those who seek to grow rich there- influence of religion in the life of the criminal, said: "To me religion stands preeminently above all the police forces and all the armies that the world has ever conceived. It has an influence on by. Who can wonder at the wave of banditry, an individual that cannot be injected by a prison, murder and increasing sex crimes that have but can be injected by those who are experts in spread alarm all over the United States? the art of reaching the inner man. The aid of the [339 ]
Church and the clergy should be definitely en- Today superstitions are breaking down before listed to help solve the problem of crime." modern education; harmful social and religious customs-such as infanticide, child marriage and A member of the New York Parole Board re- the burning of widows-are outlawed by growing cently called attention to the need for cooperation. public opinion; caste is breaking before the ad- vance of modern progress and the awakening of While it is highly desirable that something be done on a the outcastes; women are coming out of purdah religious basis, practical experience shows that not much and are taking part in public life; Christ and His can be done unless the religious groups actually will be- teachings are coming to be honored by multitudes, come interested in doing something for the criminal. Judg- even of those who are still Hindus. All these ing from my personal experience of five years in New changes have come about by the patient teachings York City, in which we have dealt with now some ten or and influence of Christian missionaries and by twelve thousand cases, I believe that generally speaking the laws and education promoted by the British the individual clergymen of all the different groups are Government. definitely disinterested in the criminal. These and other signs of progress in India are Christians have tremendous opportunities and especially evident to those who have visited the duties of service which have not yet been accepted great peninsular continent at intervals during the adequately. Some of the greatest achievements past half century. Dr. John R. Mott, who has reever accomplished, not only in science and public cently returned from his fifth visit, first went out life but in religion, have been under the energy there in 1895 in the interests of the Student and leadership of youth. Jesus Christ and the Christian Movement. Again he visited India in apostles were young men; General William Booth 1901-02 to conduct an evangelistic campaign, and was a young man when he started the Salvation eleven years later to help organize the Christian Army; the Y. M. C. A. and the Student Volunteer forces of missionaries and Indian leaders. In Movement, the Missionary Education Movement, 1928-29 he went again to help interpret the J eru· and many similar activities were initiated and led salem Conference and to form the National Chrisby young men. Where are those today that will tian Council. Now he has returned from a three organize and carry forward a new Christian cru- months' visit in connection with the International sade to enlist the youth of today in the service of Y. M. C. A. Convention at Mysore. He returns Christ and their fellowmen? with great burdens on his heart for India. The new impressions he has received have brought The responsibility for the proper training of deepened convictions and a sense of wonderful youth is divided between the State, the Church opportuni ty. and the home. In most instances the influence of the State and the school is nonreligious and non- 1. There is the conviction that the work of the Christian, if not positively antireligious and anti- missionary is not yet done in India. It is only be- Christian. The churches today have little oppor- ginning and is of prime importance. With the tunity to train the youth because the breach has new constitution the land is progressing toward been widening between them. It is necessary that independence and is struggling to attain greater the clergy and Christian laity go after the youth unity and power. In view of the new possibilities and win them, rather than expect the youth gen- in material advancement in education, in ecoerally to come to the Church for instruction. But nomic, political and social life and in religious the key to the situation is the home, the funda- attitudes, it is no time for Christians to relax their mental unity of society. If the home is character- efforts. ized by unity, purity, honesty, love, joy, faith and reverence for God, and by a true understanding 2. The present-day opportunities of evangelism of Christ and His Way of Life, then there need offer a greater challenge than ever – especially be no fear as to the way youth, under the guidance among the Depressed Classes and the students. of God, will react so as to build a Christian world The Indian Church is in the midst of a five-year for tomorrow. campaign of evangelism. This calls for a clearer understanding of the needs of India and of the THE MODERN CHALLENGE OF INDIA power of Christ to meet those needs, both indi- vidual and social, temporal and eternal. India It is diffi<;ult for many today to realize the re- needs the whole Gospel adequately presented. markable changes that have come in India in the through united Christian effort. past half century. Things that were considered impossible then have now come to pass and 3. There.is the challenge presented by the Lindchanges that seemed could only be brought about say Commission to unify, extend and improve the in a century of effort are now taking place. This Christian educational work. There are today very is true in regard to religious superstitions, and unusual opportunities to reach the college students social customs, the stranglehold of caste, the low and to train them for Christian service. position of women, the immoralities of Hinduism and the strong antipathy toward Christianity.
TOPICS OF THE TIMES
4. There is the challenge presented by the med- the Mexican republic have been unusually strin- gent against the practice of religion, some States ical opportunities in India. The physical needs of having enacted legislation that is a drastic at- tempt to throttle all public worship and religious millions of people are still uncared for, and the teaching.
medical missionaries are now looked up to and Certain states have limited the number of priests to about one for every 80,000 of the poptrusted by all classes. This work is practical ulation. In others, as Chiapas and Chihuahua, only one priest has been permitted for the whole Christianity that opens many closed hearts and state. Such limitation has now been declared il- legal by the supreme court of Mexico. In the case closed doors. of Roman Catholics, who form the greater part of the population, the number of priests allowed 5. The rural probtem in India presents a tre- by law has been far below the needs of the people. In at least two states, Tabasco and Campeche, mendous challenge in a country that is ninety per the law permitted only married priests to officiate in religious worship and to administer the sacracent rural. Here is a basic problem that affects ments, so that no Roman Catholic priest could celebrate mass unless he violated his oaths of the whole work. It calls for "new investigation, celibacy and broke the discipline of his Church. In Tabasco, which is perhaps the state in which agitation, experimentation and demonstration" by antireligious legislation was most extreme, church edifices have been razed, the bricks and stones those who have the best interests of India at used for paving the streets, and the sites converted into public playgrounds. Even children have been heart. obliged to take part in the public burning of cruci- fixes, and rewards have been given to those who 6. There is the challenge of the growing literacy informed against Mexicans who privately prac- ticed religion in their own homes. Now, however, and the need for good literature. With a rapidly the governor of this same state reports that he increasing number of readers, ~nd the influx of proposes to assume an "attitude of conciliation to cheap and harmful literature, Christians must the Church." So far, that conciliation is limited to granting the privilege of private devotion; provide better periodicals and books for the read- there has been no published statement lookina- toward the renewal of permission for public reing public. With a growing Church there must ligious exercises. In other states, as San Luis Potosi and Sonora and in the Federal District, be more funds provided to supply the members masses may be celebrated in most of the churches, and there seems to be a considerable relaxation with wholesome Christian reading. in the stringent enforcement of antireligious laws. In the State of Vera Cruz, some months ago, the 7. There is the challenge for an increase in the people forcibly opened the churches after a young girl had been shot by the police during a religious missionary staff in India. The economic depres- celebration. The President of the Republic sus- tained the people and the churches have remained sion has led to a decrease in workers and a con- open, although still under police surveillance.
sequent increase in the burdens borne by those Although there are indications that the rigor of the antireligious laws of Mexico is being rewho remain. While the Church of Rome is in- laxed, the concessions thus far made are of com- paratively little importance, except so far as they creasing her missionary activity, the Protestant show a desire on the part of some officials to be less strict and unreasonable. This more lenient Church is curtailing hers. There is danger that attitude may pave the way for a more liberal interpretation in the future, or for the abrogation as the older missionaries retire younger men and of legislation that has proved ineffective because obnoxious to the majority of the people. women will not be sent out'to take their places. During the period of antireligious agitation in The result will be an alarming hiatus. . Mexico, the Protestant work has suffered very 8. There is the' challenge of new opportunity for native leadership in India. At the coming Hangchow Conference in 1938 there will be fifty Indian delegates to ten missionaries. The Indian churches are eager for help and the Christians of other lands must stand by them. The National Christian Council of India, Burma and Ceylon has now formed provincial councils that have a most important field for service – but they need help to do effective work.
India, without doubt, offers one of the greatest challenges to Christians of the present day. The progress already made, the great vital needs of the people especially along spiritual lines, the dangers that come from anti-Christian sources, the new attitude of Indians toward Christ and the Gospel, and the readiness of the Indian Church to take up the burden of responsibility-all call on the Christians of Europe and America to in- crease rather than relax prayer and sacrificial effort.
THE .CHANGING SITUATION IN MEXICO In Mexico, as in Soviet Russia, the antireligious movement seems to have lost something of its former strength and vigor. The Federal laws in
_ THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD [J uly-August
little in comparison with that of the Roman Cath- social strife in America, show that it is high time olic Church. This is largely due to the fact that for the Church of Christ to reveal His power to Protestants are a small minority of the popula- transform human society as well as to save indition, their ministers are g.enerally married, they viduals. have been careful to comply with all laws affecting registration and those that regulate public The missionary work of the Church has always worship, so that foreigners have refrained from been greatly affected by the attitude of the govconducting what have been defined as religious ernments in non-Christian lands, by the social services. Recent letters from Mexico indicate conditions and customs, and by the state of relithat there are now unlimited opportunities for re- gion and the influence of religious leaders. At ligious work of all kinds, and that ministers of the same time, missionary work has greatly af- Protestant churches, even foreign missionaries, fected these phases of life. Christ desires to transmay come and go when and where they will, form politics, society and religion in order that preach and otherwise help in conducting services, all life may be brought into harmony with the without restrictions on the part of public officials. will of God. It has always been stated by government officials that the drastic legislation was not aimed at the THE EDINBURGH CONFERENCE on "Faith and Protestant minority, which has always been law- Order" (August 3-18) will emphasize the reasons abiding and in no way has tried to exercise politi- for Christian uni,ty and the beliefs held in comcal power; it was directed against those mem- mon where all followers of Christ may unite. bers of the Roman hierarchy who presumed to consider themselves above the law and refused to The first World Conference on "Faith and submit to the laws, especially that one which de- Order" was held at Lausanne, Switzerland, in manded their registration. The main object of 1927 with 400 delegates present, representing over the lawmakers, it has been asserted, was to oblige 100 churches. The delegates of Edinburgh inthe Church to limit its work to the spiritual realm, clude representatives of Protestant churches in rather than attempt to control the State, and that, many lands and also from the Greek, Armenian in so far as it has obeyed the law, there has been and Assyrian communions. no thought of persecution. Today Christianity is being challenged as never WEBSTER E. BROWNING. before since the days of Constantine. From the fourth to the twentieth centuries a steady advance PROBLEMS AT OXFORD AND EDINBURGH was made in winning the allegiance of mankind to Christ, but now tkere seems to be a renewal of While Christians are told to be "in the world activity in non-Christian and anti-Christian but not of it," that does not relieve them from re- forces. The 1937 Conference 'must be conducted sponsibility for proclaiming truth, lifting stand- in such a way as to face realistically the present ards and righting wrongs. Jesus Christ not only situation of the Church in the world. preached the Gospel but rebuked sin wherever found and helped meet the material and temporal One of the definite achievements of the Conneeds of men, as well as those that were spiritual ference ten years ago was the conviction that and eternal. unity will not come by glossing over differences of belief. Now the churches must go on to the Important conferences of Christian church task of trying to share with one another what it leaders are to be held this summer at Oxford and is that the various confessions mean until we dig Edinburgh to consider how Christians, especially down through the rocks .to the Eternal Rock. of the Protestant churches, can work together more harmoniously and effectively to give Christ The first task is to realize the urgency of the the preeminence in our thinking and in following challenge of the world situation to Christendom His teachings and spirit in every walk of life. as a whole, and in the face of that challenge to discover and accept the underlying unity which At Oxford (July 12-26) about eight hundred binds Christians together through common loyalty delegates from North America and Europe, Af- toone Master, Jesus Christ. The second task will rica, Asia and Latin America, are to gather for be to press forward to help the Christians of all two weeks in a conference on "Life and Work in churches to realize, in things both outward and the Church, the State and Society." The presiding inward, the true unity of the Body of Christ. officer will be the Archbishop of Canterbury. The main lopics to be discussed at Edinburgh The conditions in the world today clearly call are: for more effective Christian testimony. The wars that devastate Spain and the threats of more Jesus Christ and His Grace. widespread and destructive conflicts in Europe, The Church of Christ and the Word of God. Africa and Asia, and the growing industrial and The Ministry of the Church of Christ. Church Unity in Life and Worship-visible and invisible.
A VIEW OF THE CHRISTIAN CENTEH AT BUCKHORN
The Girls' Dormitory (Englis Home, accommodating forty students), McKenzie Hall, and the Domestic Science Building The Murdoch Trail in Kentucky By the REV. ALVIN E. MAGARY, D.D., -<t&f Brooklyn, New York Pastor, Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church T HERE is a new state road in Kentucky, called Kentucky mountains to investigate conditions for the Murdoch Trail. the Board of Home Missions and, once having Thirty-five years ago a young Presbyterian seen the possibilities around Buckhorn, the life minister arrived at the little mountain hamlet of of an assistant minister in staid old Brooklyn was Buckhorn, Kentucky, with $250 in cash and un- far too tame. He proposed to some of the men of searchable riches in Christian faith. His name the church that they back him in a modest way was Harvey Murdoch. in a missionary adventure. They consented, and Today, Murdoch is gone, but the fruits of his since that day the people of the church have been faith remain. There is a school of 400 pupils, the main financial support of the work. Until more than half of whom are in the high school Harvey Murdoch died, in October, 1935, he came department, there is an orphanage, a hospital, a back to Brooklyn each year to tell the people how large farm on which most of the food for the things had gone in their beloved Buckhorn since school and orphanage is raised, and a church with last they saw him.
800 members. When Harvey Murdoch came to Buckhorn, Murdoch had been, for some years, a member there was no railway station within twenty-4ive of the pastoral staff of the Lafayette Avenue Pres- miles. There were no roads worthy of the name.
byterian Church, in charge of the work at the If you could afford transportation you rode on Cumberland Street Chapel. He had gone into the mule-back up the bed of the creek, realizing the [343 ]
while how much a mtile wouid 'be-impr()ved' if it a rare thing and even fUIieralsweI'EHioinftequeht could be equipped with springs. But most people as to be marked occasions. Usually, the body was walked and a tramp of thirty miles to school was put into the ground without even a prayer and not regarded as anything out of the ordinary. the funeral service was held at any time, from Conditions in that country are still primitive. The one to five years later, when a minister happened railway is still a dozen miles aw.:f1Y and the mule to be in the neighborhood.
Five years after Murdoch's coming the Buck- horn church had been organized and he was for- mally called to be its pastor at a salary of sixty dollars a year. To pay a minister anything was entirely against the traditions and practice of the people in those days. Today there is an entire Presbytery of 37 churches that has grown out of that first work. :.'Since the beginning, more than a church per year, has been organized. The first little log-house structures have been ' supplanted by buildings still extremely inexpensive and simple, but adequate and comfortable. To the eyes of some of the children from distant hamlets, children who have never seen a railway train, nor a building larger than a mountain cabin, they doubtless seem grand enough.
Buckhorn has worked a transformation in the country round about, but there is still much to be done. The old days, when the country was the scene of murderous mountain feuds, have passed, but even now the resort to gun-play is by no THE LATE HARVEY S, MURlDOCK (Grist Miu.. KEY "&Saw Mill Ir Eleeme Pta"… 10. Boys Dormitory.(, StoriQ) has by no means lost his place in the economy of life; but, when the season is not too wet, one can 2.Churth. " . Presidenb HOme . (l3tonea) get in by automobile in these days. Boys and girls still tramp over the mountains, a score of miles 3.6ymtlClsium. 12.. ReseY''Ioir. and more, at the opening of school. Sometimes a dozen of them will be brought in by truck, hav- A..LafClyette School Hell' (.t.1te'*~ 13. H~spitClI. ht St,rie') 10 Sm. ing ridden at least a part of the long way. There 14. G~ "s Home : (~t S"."'5) is often no other way to bring the sick to the hos- 5. M"nuo' Trofni"" H"JJ 15. G,,15 Dormitory. (5 St'Or,,,) pital except to carry them on a litter over the mountain trails. When the writer was there re- 6 . PrimC)1"V Hall. cently, a little procession, with mother and father leading, came in carrying a boy of six from his 7. Ki"d."fJOrt.".. 16. Oin,f't9 ,Hall. ~JL' Sto,let) home eight miles away. While we looked, as the 8. Boy~ Horne. (a 5…..iH) IT. Dome$tlc Sclenc.e. Hcdl (,a S"'lc~ little cortege stopped, we heard the mother utter a cry. Her little boy had died within a hundred e.Vie. Presidenb Home. (2 S't"'_ yards of the hospital. They had not reached it soon enough. THE BUCKHORN · PLANT In the old days freight was brought up the river in little hand-pushed boats, traveling a mile and a half an hour. For many children of the district almost no schooling was available and only one person in seven or eight was able to read or write well enough to be called literate. Harvey Murdoch was the only ordained minister of any denomination along the middle fork of the Kentucky River for 'a distance of sixty miles, from Athol to Hyden. Before his coming a religious service was
JAKE WOODS, THE OUTLAW
means a rare occurrence, particularly when plenty Church, Dr. Dinsmore, proposed that the class of mountain whiskey is mixed with the situation. undertake the support of a boy at Buckhorn. His The people are still desperately poor. The farmer proposal was adopted and the youth selected was may have ten acres, planted in corn. The arable a mountain boy, Elmer E. Gabbard. Through land runs along the creeks and is so steep that school and college and theological seminary they much of it can be cultivated only by hand. Many stood by him. Now, after a successful ministry, of the parents of the young people at Buckhorn he has left the pastorate of the North Side Preshave the best will possible toward the idea of edu- byterian Church of Chattanooga and has gqne cating their boys and girls but it is impossible for back to Buckhorn. He knows the people and them to pay as much as ten dollars a year for tui- they know him, and we may believe that he will tion. Yet the school takes them, so far as its carryon the work to yet more notable achievestraining capacity will permit. They work on the ments. farm, in the kitchen, everywhere; they do the baking, the cleaning, the plowing and harvesting. In these thirty-five years 6,000 persons have They are busy from dawn until night, with neces- professed their faith in Christ and 4,000 young sary time for rest and recreation. No busier, hap- people have been educated in this work started by pier, more attractive lot of young people will you a young man with $250, some good friends, and a see anywhere. They come out of poverty-stricken resolute faith in God. The influence of Buckhorn mountain cabins, knowing as little of the civilized is felt throughout the state of Kentucky and it world as a squirrel and, after a term of years at was a proper tribute to its founder that the state Buckhorn, go back as teachers, doctors, leaders in road passing near by was named "The Murdoch their communities, to change the whole aspect of Trail." It leads to Buckhorn; but the trail of life among their neighbors. Harvey Murdoch leads straight to Him who said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the One Sunday, some years ago, the leader of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Men's Bible Class in the Lafayette Avenue me."
Jake Woods, the Outlaw* By J. S. BURNETT, Chattanooga, Tennessee Superintendent, Tennessee Mountain Home Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church O NE night high up in the Smoky Mountains other preacher ever had; you must try to save of Tennessee I was lost in a snowstorm. Jake Woods." Though I was frozen into unconsciousness, my horse carried me to a house. When conscious- How should I begin ? Jake was sitting before ness began to dawn again, I heard a fire cracking the wide fireplace as I packed my saddlebags. I and looking up saw a bearded man bending over, walked over to him. Taking a bill from my pocket, swearing because I would not open my mouth to I said, "Mr. Woods, I regret to offer you so little admit the neck of a bottle. In the moment of when you and your good wife have done so much delirium, I thought I was dead. for me, but this is a little expression of my ap- preciation for what you have done. I could not When my senses returned, I recognized the man pay you even if I were rich." asa notorious outlaw, with a price on his head, a man who had vowed that physical violence would He looked me over from head to foot with asfall heavily on any preacher who dared to enter tonishment. his house. "Put up your money, Doc," he said; "what we My rescuer and his wife did everything possible done for you was because we wanted to be clever for me. When bedtime came, he took me in bed to you. If you had come to my house last night with him and held me .against his great warm as a preacher, I would have turned you away in breast all night, never relaxing his vigilance for the storm and been glad if you were frozen to a moment. In the morning, I was little the worse death. Twenty odd years ago, when the Almighty for my experience, but the sun shone and the snow took our little boy, our only child, I swore that no was melting, and I was ready to go. Then it was man representing Him should ever come under that a Voice said, "You have a chance that no my roof. I kept my word till last night, but when your horse brought you I couldn't turn you away. • Condffilsed from The ahri8t~an Advocate. Now, you can go and have it to say that you have stayed all night with Jake Woods."
His last sentence was hissed through clenched I gave him the book and turned away saying, teeth. I never saw a man look so fierce. I had that his ','old woman" might come to hear me failed, so I picked up my saddlebags from the bedside and started toward the door. But some preach when I returned to the Flats School House. Power gripped my conscience like steel. "You Several times before I had preached at the Flats must try it again," the unmistakable order came. to but a few good souls, but when I arrived this I walked the floor, trying to find a ship to time the whole schoolyard seemed to be covered Tarshish, but none was in sight. I was sure that with people. The first man who gripped my hand, Jake guessed what I was suffering but he never until I thought I would fall off my horse, was Jake turned his head. Finally, I walked over to him Woods. "Doc, I fetch 'em," was his greeting. again, and with voice trembling from emotion, I said, "Mr. Woods, I have a little book that I want I walked into the schoolhouse. The women were to read and talk to a Friend of mine before I go, on one side of the aisle. On the end of the second will you let me?" He turned in his chair with his bench from the front there was one who caught back to me. His wife, sitting in the corner, said, my coat sleeve as I passed. It was Nancy Woods, "Doc, it's all right; go ahead." I began reading at church for the first time in more than twenty that wonderful fifteenth chapter of Luke, about the one sheep that had strayed, but was found. years. "Doc," she said, "there is something the matter There was the story of the Prodigal Son, too. When he came home, in tatters within and with- with Jake." out, his father was so happy that he would gladly "What like?" I asked. have killed everything on the place to make merry "I don't know, but he hain't like he used to be because his son had come home; maybe to spend some more. since you were there. He's been real good to me. Doc, please call for mourners today; maybe Just then I looked out of the corner of my eye Jake'll go up." and Jake Woods had turned around and was looking' at me with eager interest, as much as to say, The tears came to my eyes as I walked to the "Why are you talking about me?" He had sneered table and laid my saddlebags down. Jake Woods in the messenger's face who came when his father had beaten that woman almost to death once bewas dying and begged his son to come home. cause she had given a coin to a preacher. Many I dropped on my knees and took hold of God times he had driven her off in the storm. Once, while I tried to reach Jake Woods with one hand, but he was too far away. I held on until I re- in a drunken delirium, he had thrown her in the membered that the sin of lacking hospitality is fire. Now, she had been in heaven for three whole unpardonable with us in the Southern mountains. I said, "0 God; I came here more dead than alive weeks! last night, and this man and his good wife took The men came, with Jake Woods at their head, me in and nursed me back to life, and now they refuse to accept anything for their kindness. But walking like he was on air. Just behind him was Jesus Christ has stood at their door, ever since an old soldier of the Civil War, hopping on a stiff they have had a house, with outstretched hands knee. He hadn't been ih church since the war bleeding, and with thorncrowned brow, and they have slammed the door in His face. Help Jake closed. Woods sat on the end of the front bench Woods to tell Jesus Christ to come in today." and the old soldier by his side.
When I got up, Woods was sitting on the floor, The house was full of the good and the bad. looking at the door. I followed his gaze but saw The sermon that I had prepared would not fit, so nothing except the open door, with sunshine and I took for my text, "The Son of man is come to melting snow. After a minute, he said, to Someone apparently in the door, "Come in." Then seek and to save that which was lost." turning to me, he added: "He came in," as much as to say, "You can't throw it up to me any more." One standing by that·table at my side, preached that day, with convincing power. When I left the cabin Jake followed me to the gate. "Doc," he asked, "have you another of those When I let down the net, Jake Woods sprang to little books like you read out of awhile ago? My his feet and went down the aisle, speaking in a pap used to read about that boy and I guess I've voice that drowned mine: "Men and women come been him. If you'll lend me one and turn down a on! Doc's telling you the truth for I saw that leaf, I might find someone to read, and I think I Man when Doc prayed in my house. When I would like to hear it again." opened my eyes, He was standing in the door, with His hands stretched out and there were holes in them with blood running out. I saw thorns on His head, too. I told Him to come in and He came and I haven't been the same man since." , They came until it seemed that all would come. The result was thirty-five candidates for baptism.
Jake Woods went out to exhort and save the peo- ple of his acquaintance, and he reached more of that class in two years than I could have reached in a lifetime.
Some Rural Churches Are
By W. H. THOMPSON, Columbus, Ohio Field Secretary, Ohio Council of Churches SCATTERED widely over. the land are out- meetings, such as Day of Prayer for Missions, standing examples of what Christ can do for Youth conferences, annual business meetings, and country people through pastors who have social fellowship and creative leisure activities.
been born of His spirit of sacrificial service, and The pastor and his coworkers, the Rev. Rowland who have been endowed with consecrated intelli- Jones and Miss Elizabeth Streid, share their time gence. They have been scientifically trained, and in personal and pastoral parish visitation, each have answered the Divine call to country fields as church sharing in financial support according to foreign missionaries have dedicated their lives to ability. The pastor joins with pastors of other Africa, Asia, or the Islands of the Sea. denominations of the area in community-wide Parish of Templed Hills projects of religious and social welfare. He co- operates with the Agricultural Extension Service, Until eleven years ago when this parish was Farmers Institutes, Four-H Clubs, public school organized, there were in the region near Oak Hill, leadership and the county ministerial association.
southeastern Ohio, from eight to twenty Welsh "As prosperity seems again to be coming upon Presbyterian churches on a circuit served by a us," says Mr. Bicksler, "and the cities are beck- group of ministers, each living on a farm or hav- oning our youth to jobs, we feel we can send them ing some other occupation. with a background of respect for the church, be- Urider the advice and counsel of the late Warren cause locally the church has kept abreast of other H. Wilson, six of these churches and a mission things such as the schools and adequate equip- chapel were brought into a definite cooperative ment. Though we cannot expect to keep all of parish relationship with two pastors and a full- our youth on the farm, we can, with our spirit, time social worker. program and equipment, at least prepare them Five years ago the Rev. Harry E. Bicksler* was as Christians and church leaders." t· .
called as director of the Parish of Templed Hills. Ohristian Fellowship Parish At his coming the churches cooperatively purchased a fourteen-acre tract of land in the open A second example of the transforming power country, including five acres of dense thicket and of Christ in village and rural communities in Ohio a fine piece of clover mea,dow. Under Mr. Bick- through cooperation of a group of churches is sler's direction, a modern manse with every con- found in "The Christian Fellowship Parish" in venience was built, the thicket was transformed the southwestern part of the State. Six Christianinto a picnic grove in which a shelterhouse was Congregational churches entered into a "Parish erected, with table and kitchen equipment, with a Fellowship" two years ago under the joint passeating capacity of 600, for use by local organiza- toral leadership of the Rev. Ralph A. Brandon as tions, and as a meeting place for youth training Minister of Parish Administration, residing at conferences for southeastern Ohio. Hamersville, and the Rev. Theron A. Zimmerman as minister of Christian Education, residing at Each church in the Parish is organized and Pt. Isabel. cares for its own local business. There are three councils-the Elders' Council, Council of Women, The constitution under which these churches and Council of Youth. Parish Trustees are the work includes the following: holders of property which is owned jointly by all the churches. There is also a parish Federated Believing that friendly cooperation between our several churches in their religious, moral and social work would make possible a program of Christian activities that would Flower and Garden Club. The manse and the vitally strengthen the Kingdom of God in our several com- parish grove are used as a central meeting place munities, bring about a more efficient church and i:>etter build into the lives of our people the teachings of Jesus for the councils, and as a center for various group Christ and the principles of the Christian Church, we, the • Mr. Bicksler had completed a term of service in a Home Mis- following churches . . . do hereby pledge our loyal supsion Rural Parish in the far West, had been sent by his Board of port to the following Constitution and By-Laws. . . . National Missions to Europe to visit the great rural parishes of the ~~~~~~~?tt{es~nd had spent a year in graduate work in one of our pa~i~r'Or~:~~r~ 1r7Ils~,~ory is published in his recent book, "The [347 ]
The object of this organization shall be to promote the now joint studies are being made by all the pas- Kingdom of God through systematic and persistent meth- tors of the area, exploring the possibility of enods of Christian education, evangelism, worship, and com- larging the parish group to include churches of munity services; and to bring about a better religious, other denominations. Here again is a case of moral, and social atmosphere in our communities through especially trained pastoral leadership for the pasthe coordination of our efforts. tors are dedicated to town and country work, backed up by their national and state denomina- A Council, consisting of six representatives tional Councils, and have in their hearts the Spirit from each church, six members at large, and one of the Christ who "came not to be ministered unto, representative from each denomination included but to minister." in the Parish, chosen by the State head of that denomination, and the members of the staff, meets Example number three is the Federated Church quarterly and acts as the executive body. in the village of North Jackson, in. northeastern Ohio. More than ten years ago the Spirit of Christ moved the hearts of the denominational leaders and the members of three of the four local churches-Church of Christ (Disciples), Presby- terian, and Reformed in the U. S., to recognize the sin of local competition and division, and to work out a plan of union whereby the three churches united under the leadership of one pastor.
Each church retains its denominational connec- tion and benevolence contributions are divided equally among the three State and national offices. The Presbyterian building was selected ·as the place for united public worship. Sunday school classes use the public school classrooms. The Church of Christ building is used for Women's So- . ciety activities. The Reformed Church building is being razed and materials used to enlarge the Presbyterian building.
The present university trained pastor, the Rev. James D. Wyker, was formerly a member of the staff of Groton Larger Parish, New York. He came five years ago and under his dynamic lead- ership, and that of his unsalaried wife, a varied program of constructive Christian leadership is being developed with the many groups in the com- munity.
Horse-sheds Transformed ELDERS' COUNCIL, PARISH OF THE TEMPLED HILLS Two features of the program at North Jackson are worthy of special attention. A camp has been A program of systematic pastoral visitation, developed in a natural beauty spot, with creek, regulaz: Sunday school and worship services, an- woods and hills, with cabin, mess-hall and craft nual .evangelistic meetings and preaching mis- shop, vesper spot and recreation field. Here local sions, vacation church schools, youth activities, groups, including youth and farm women, asleadership training institutes and mission study, semble during the summer for from two to fiveis provided for each church. day- courses of study of the Bible, personal and community problems, recreational leadership, and A mimeograph machine, owned cooperatively, for social fellowship. The camp is also used for is used to publish a parish paper and by it the community picnics and family reunions. reports of all departments and committees are made available to all members. Was it not the Spirit of Christ who inspired the men of the church and community to dismantle These pastors cooperate with pastors of the the obsolete .horse-sheds of the Disciple's church' other churches in the area so that the program and use the materials in the construction of the for the whole community is coordinated. Even camp mess-hall and craft shop and the bridge leading to vesper hill?
As an expression of the ideal of Christian unity in local community Kingdom building, Mr. Wyker
AWAY WITH SORCERY AND MURDER IN PAPUA
has helped to develop a community coordinating absent in parsonages, and parish travel obligacouncil of character building agencies in North tions ten times greater than that of the average Jackson. Frank study of local problems has been city pa~tor. undertaken and allocation of responsibility for service programs has been made looking toward Through the le:;tdership of these pastors, town wise use of available resources and talent. and country youth are being won to Christ through evangelism and religious teaching, and The pastor also has assisted in developing "folk schools" for the study and practice of the prin- HORSE SHED TRANSFORMIDD INTO MESS HALL ciples of Christian cooperatives in his own and AND CRAFT SHOP neighboring communities. He is one of the vicepresidents of the Ohio Pastors' Convention and a are trained in the Christian use of leisure time member of -the executive committee of the Ohio and in high civic and economic and social ideals. Rural Pastors' Summer School maintained at Neighborhood feuds are being healed by their Camp Ohio by the Extension Service of the Col- ministry; lonely souls are befriended; comfort lege of Agriculture of Ohio State University. and counsel is brought to the sorrowing and the disillusioned. Churches having fallen into dis- The picture would not be complete if recogni- repute are being restored to the respect and contion were not given to scores of high-minded and fidence of their communities. devoted town and country pastors and their wives who, without special technical training of colleges and seminaries, never-the-less by diligent reading and frequent attendance at summer schools, short courses, and rural institutes, have kept abreast of the times in techniques and programs and ideals of religious education, youth activities, community cooperation with public schools, the Grange, Farm Bureau, Four-H Clubs, and Boy and Girl Scouts. They have served wisely and effectively in fields where the odds and handicaps have been terrific, salaries inadequate, modern home conveniences Away With Sorcery and Murder in Papua* A Story of the Work of God Under the Kwato Mission of Papua T HE Bohutu Valley, in Eastern Papua, long grasped him by the wrist, crying, "What are you presented a problem which no Government doing?" forces could solve. Fear of sorcery and spirits had led to the complete depopulation of the It was Lobai, the sorcerer, who was out to do valley, the tribes having fled to live in small the village policeman to death that night. Think- ing Merari was another sorcerer he pleaded for groups in the mountains around. No offers would his life, but Merari explained that he did not want possibly induce them to return to their villages. to harm" him. He told him about God, and ar- Reason is helpless before fear in Papua as in ranged to meet him next day at the village. Be- Europe. . fore the night was out he had surprised two other It was Merari, a tall, athletic Papuan of twenty- sorcerers on similar errands and arranged to meet eight, who first saw how these deep-seated prob-_ them the next day as well. lems could be answered. God told him in his time When they met at the village, two of the sorof listening to go up into the valley and investigate. So he went and lived in one of the villages. cerers immediately produced their ginauri, de- stroyed them, and gave their lives to God. But One evening he was out in the bush, and, as he Lobai held back, the sacrifice being too great. walked, heard some one approaching along the Then Merari did a daring thing. "We'U put it to track from the opposite direction. Stepping off the test," he said. "You say your charms are the track he waited, and as the man passed strong; I say God is stronger. Over there is the • From the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society Quarterly. This platform on which I sleep. You may come tonight Mission, founded by the late Rev. Charles W. Abel, has American headquarters at 156 Fifth Ave., New York. and put any charm on me you like. Then we will
see which is the stronger." Lobai hesitated, then life has been changed the death-blow to adultery answered slowly: "No, you are right. I tried has come because the sexual life of the natives is them all last night. But every time I threw my God-guided and released.
magic at you it came back at me." So he too was Eighteen months ago it became clear that new changed, and is one of the most fearless leaders ground must be found for the activities of the in the valley today. teams already mobilized. The Abels were granted Merari immediately sent an S 0 S to Kwato, permission to take on the mountain district of and a team came up to help him. They stayed a Abau, where the tribes still practice their homi- month, moving from group to group, bringing a cidal customs. Before a man was considered new life to hundreds in personal interviews. Some eligible for marriage he had to have killed or time later thirteen sorcerers and sorceresses came helped to kill some one. "Every male I met,"
to Mr. Cecil Abel of the Kwato Mission, and vol- writes Mr. Abel, "-and I met a great many-had unteered to give themselves up to the Government, served sentences of between two and ten years for sorcery being a punishable offence. The Governor murder."
pardoned them, and none of them have gone back Here the tribes have no background of teaching to their old ways. In the same way those changed whatever. No missionary had ever been into the in the little hamlets in the mountains received area. Everyone predicted the greatest difficul- spontaneous guidance to return to the valleys. ties, but when Cecil Abel went in with a team of Their fear had disappeared. Now they are gath- Papuan leaders the response was immediate. The ering into three large villages. The Government patrol lasted threll1 weeks, and at the end of that Patrol visiting the valley recently said that they time five chiefs came together, said how they could not recognize the place; the people and the agreed with the new way of life, but wanted to distribution of them had changed so utterly. see how it was lived out in the villages of the After four years the new life is increasingly Kwato district. "Only send a messenger," they active. A new corporate life is developing. In said, "and we will come down to you."
some villages the day starts with the blowing of When Abel sent for them, not five but forty a conch-shell in the dark morning stillness. A wanted to make the three days' journey to the sleeping village rouses itself and goes to bathe- coast. Only six could then be accommodated, but a reform which neither Government nor mission- for two months these chiefs mingled in the vilary could ever have enforced. Half an hour later lages and watched the everyday life of the inanother note on the shel.!, followed by complete habitants. When the time came to return home silence for about half an hour, indicates that the they got together for a farewell party, and Bawhole village is having a quiet time of listening ruma, their leader, made this speech: "The Govto God. Twice or thrice a week they meet cor- ernment tried to make friends with us, inviting porately as a community. us to feasts and 'Christmases' at Abau, but we It was in this way that guidance came to one went back unchanged. Then they took us off to previously poverty-stricken village to make one jail, four, five, six years. We didn't mind. Gov- corporate holding of all the land where their crops ernment rice and biscuits are very good. We were produced. Private interests gave way vol- came back unchanged. At last God's children untarily to community guidance, and the village came out of love for us and changed us right flourishes. Another village was guided to give round inside. Your food ·at Kwato is very good, its large surplus of produce in a bumper year to but we have good food too in Dorevaidi. We another village that was hard hit by a local bad haven't come for that. Your schools and works harvest. The men loaded their canoes, and the are very good. We would like to learn too, but we emotions of generosity and gratitude produced haven't come for that. We have only come for more spontaneous delight than the old communal one thing. To learn about God. Our hearts are orgies, for which the appetite has been lost. burning to go back and tell our friends all we In another community a common pool of coco- have learnt."
nuts, the only form of capital the native possesses, The true task has just begun. In Kwato are be- was made to inaugurate a new corporate manage- ing trained leaders adequate to changed the whole ment of the village consequent upon the change in course of Papuan life, while in the district itself the individuals composing it. The damage done the way is clear for a God-directed civilization to'
by civilization has been in some measure repaired. come into being. For the changing of lives is but Adultery, which was unknown under the old tribal the clearing of the undergrowth and the setting morality, became common when these ancient of firm foundations on which God may build a sanctions were removed, and the only penalty was culture of amazing richness, perhaps the pattern a fine. In many villages where the community for the Pacific.
HUNAJj._
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KWANG .TUNG PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN THE PROVINCE OF KWANGSI, SOUTHWEST CHINA The Chcistian and Missionary Alliance has ten centers where 26 missionaries reside; in thirty other towns and cities chapels have been opened, lllanned by Chinese Christian workers.
Nine other societies are at work in the Province: Church Missionary Society (Kweilln); C. of E. Zenana Mission (Kweilln); Bible Churchman's Missionary Society (Nanning, Noming); Southern Baptist (Kweilin, Wuchow); Seventh Day Adventist (Nanning); Assemblies of God (Chungshan and Hohsien- both vacant); Independent (Wuchow, Kwelhsien). These societies report 34 missionaries.
Pioneering for Christ in Kwangsi By the REV. ALFRED C. SNEAD, New York I Foreign Secretary of the Christian and Missionary Alliance 11i- ~==========================~ SOME years ago Old Eagle, a Chwang tribes- but still earnest and active, has been tramping man of the Province of Kwangsi, southern over the mountains and hills as a colporteur of China, came with ten other men from their the British and Foreign Bible Society, visiting the country homes to the city of Liuchow. There they wildest parts, wherever he could find members of heard the Gospel message. As he listened to the his own tribe. The Lord has blessed his efforts Gospel night after night Old Eagle accepted and a number of his people have been converted Christ and the joy of salvation filled his heart. and are now faithful members of the Christian He became eager that his own Chwang people Church. should hear the Good News and later accompanied The large southern Province of Kwangsi was the missionary on many tours of exploration and formerly one of the most backward in China. In preaching trips. There are nearly three million recent years, however, the province has become of these tribesmen in the Province and for the one of the more advanced in education, enlightpast few years Old Eagle, now seventy years old ened government, engineering projects, and the [351 ]
building of roads. The honor of having one of there is now a membership of more than 320 the first resident missionaries in the then hostile Chwang tribesmen in the Alliance Mission in and forbidden Province of Kwangsi fell to the South China. On an 800-mile trip in Western Christian and Missionary Alliance when its mis- Kwangsi, the .missionaries and Chinese found that sionary entered Wuchow in 1896 and resided in a thousands in the country markets could under- "haunted house," the only place then available stand scarcely a sentence of Mandarin, the pre- for residence. vailing language being Chwang. The Yao is one The city of Wuchow was built in A. D. 592, so of the least known and most primitive of the tribes that more than 1,300 years passed before the and there are many subdivisions. The Tung Church of Christ began to fulfil' the Lord's com- tribes, estimated at 300,000, live in the wild moun- mand, so far as Kwangsi was concerned. Today, tain fastnesses of Kwangsi and the neighboring besides the Alliance, the Southern Baptists and Province of Kweichow. These people, among two other American societies, there are four Eng- whom a missionary couple and Chinese workers lish societies, and a few small independent groups have been ministering for six years, listen to the working in the province. The Bible Societies are Gospel eagerly and some have accepted Christ.
Various divisions of the Miao tribes are scattered through the northern and western parts of the Province· and some of these, as well as other less well-known tribes, are being brought to the atten- tion of the Mission through long and often la- borious itinerating trips into hitherto unreached territory. The spirit of those who make these trips is shown in a letter written by the intrepid pioneer, Rev. W. H. Oldfield, the Chairman of the Alliance Mission in South China: "Here we are in the wilds of the west ready to start out with a party of thirteen for a tour among the tribesmen. The whole trip has been a time of blessing. First, we made a tour in the moun- tains of the north, which is commonly called Miao- land. There we came in contact with six differ- ent tribes, two of which we had never seen before.
The Gospel message was given and tracts .were left among them and we trust that this seed will be watered by the Spirit and will bring forth an abundant harvest to the glory of God.
Photo by A. F. Desterhajt "On the entire journey of over 1,000 English TUNG WOMEN OF KiWANGSI miles on foot through all kinds of mountain ter- cooperating with the various missions in circu- ritory, we were led in safety, but the very last lating the Word of God. Today after more than day, when almost within shouting distance of the forty years, there are still millions in the province city of Poseh, we were held up by robbers and two who have not been brought into vital touch with of the three loads we were carrying, containing the Gospel of Christ; and in the northern and bedding and clothing, were taken from us by these western portions of the province, where the Al- evil men. It occurred the day before Christmas. liance is responsible for evangelizing the people, It seems strange that this term of service should wany.tribes are entirely unreached. begin and end with a highway robbery, but I am glad we still have clothing. We do not change our During the past few years, pioneering trips plans, but in spite of somewhat disturbed condihave brought to light many tribespeople in the tions, we plan to leave day after tomorrow for the fastnesses of the mountains and the valleys of the last few weeks among the tribesmen of the west, interior, and these the mission and the Chinese and we trust through the prayers of faithful Church are making earnest efforts to reach. friends that we may be saved from further ·The population of Kwangsi is approximately trouble, though trouble or not we go forward in 12,000,000, according to the latest government His Name to the many peoples of the west that census. There are believed to be at least 5,000,000 have not yet heard the saving message of the tribespeople in the Province. The Chwangs, Gospel."
members of the great Tai race, are the most nu- With the growth of the Chinese Church in merous and easy of access. One hundred mem- Kwangsi, there has been a very encouraging debers of this tribe were baptized last year and velopment along true indigenous principles. Mis-
PIONEERING FOR CHRIST IN KWANGSI
RED-HEADED YAOS OF THE LOH-LI AND SI-LIU DISTRICTS, MR, YUEN, THE' EVANGELIST FROM POSEH, IS STANDING, HOLDING HIS ACCORD'EON siOonaries and Chinese workers are earnestly the church treasurer a sack of pennies amounting laboring to make the Church fully self-supporting, to $5.00, hOoping that other members might be wisely self-governing, and zealously self-propa- stimulated by his example, so that they could have gating under the leadership and by the enabling their own building. Mrs. Tseng, the treasurer, of the Holy Spirit. had a flourishing business and every comfort, yet she gave nothing. She was ashamed as she gazed When a congregation is able to supply six- on the sacrificial offering and a few days later she tenths of all its running expenses, including sal- left her shop and hurried off to see Dr. Moh, a aries, it passes from the oversight of the Joint prosperous man and a member of the church com- Committee (Chinese and Mission Executive Com- mittee. She Ooffered to give a plot Oof land fOor the mittee) to the direction of the Chinese Commit- building and to help buy the brick and lumber, if tees. The goal is to attain full self-support within Dr. Moh would take time to direct the workmen. four years after the church has become sixty per cent self-supporting. Finally a spacious street chapel was completed and furnished. The prosperous members felt a One group of Christians in the inland town of little ashamed of their ragged brother Lan and Kong Cheng rented a building as a chapel but urged him to wear better clothes. He quietly rethey often had to change their place of meeting plied that he had frequently been tempted to buy because the landlords blamed them for any calam- clothes but that he felt he must lay aside his penity that might befall their households. Finally nies for the church. As Dr. MOoh listened and Mr. Lan, one of the poorest of the members of remembered that he himself wore silk and fur the church, declared that they must build their garments while his brother member WOould not ownchapel. Daily he prayed to God to help him even buy a cheap padded gown because he was so think of some plan by which he might save money intent on His Lord's interests, Dr. Moh invited for the building. His fOOod was only such as the the poor man tOo his home where he gave him a poorest of men could affOord even in China, but good hot meal and a new gown. His son also was finally he and his wife decided to eat less and lay given work in the doctOor's office. NOoW a happier aside a few pennies saved from time to time. The man than Brother Lan can scarcely be found in poor man's body was weakened from the lack of all the countryside. He and his fellow church nourishing food and he was often chilled because members have found that giving is the Father's of insufficient clothing, yet he rejoiceq as his sav- way to added blessing. ings grew. After several months he brought to
Eleven organized churches, with a total mem- provided by the converts for continued meetings bership of 993, are now under the direction of the before the Bands have finished their ministry in Chinese committee. The combined membership the section. of all the Alliance churches in Kwangsi is 2,539 and many of these are expected to come into full In recent tours in Kwangsi and Kweichow, seven counties have been traversed, great moun- tain ranges were crossed, where the foot of a white man had never tramped. Thus, the search for new tribes and peoples goes ever onward in the confidence that, when they are discovered, mis- sionary volunteers will not be lacking and through the prayers and assistance of loyal friends at home, earnest efforts will be made to reach these tribes with the Gospel message.
One of the encouraging discoveries of recent trips is that a number of the tribes can be reached through the Chwang dialect, the Chwang workers had no difficulty in being understood by the vil- lagers and people along the pathways to whom they spoke.
During one part of the trip, four tribes were found of which the missionary writes: "The Heh-i, the Loh-Loh, the Ta Pan Yao and the Lan Tien Yao are still practically as much A CHWANG WOMAN AND HER BABY relation with the Chinese Conference within two MR. LAN, FORMER TAOIST PRIEST, NOW or three years. AN EARNEST CHRISTIAN The great unevangelized Yao Mountain terri- He is seated beside; some of the idols that he formerly worshiped. tory in Kwangsi, with its many thousands of unreached tribesmen has been entered by repre- neglected as they were a thousand years ago. It sentatives of the Chinese Church as their field for is true some Gospels and tracts have been distribevangelization. The Church publishes the Al- uted to some of them, but they have not as yet liance Weekly in Chinese, Sunday school papers, had an opportunity to hear and understand the and other helpful literature. Some of these have Gospel. On this tour we determined to get in a circulation reaching into nearly every province of China, as well as into foreign countries where Chinese have emigrated.
The Bible Training School, under Chinese leadership, often has among its student body representatives from many other missionary societies and church groups. It is recognized to be of a high standard and absolutely loyal to the Word of God and the fundamental truths of our Christian faith. Two important phases of work are the Short Term Bible Schools held in various districts and the ministry of the Chinese Evangelistic Bands who labor both among the Chinese and the tribespeople. In one month members of one of these Bands gave a brief Gospel message in 1800 homes and preached in all the towns and villages of the section in which it was laboring. In some places the work of the Bands is so fruitful that several groups of converts are baptized and places
PlWto by A CHWANG TRIBESMAN'S HOME IN THE' MOUNTAINS-HERE A MISSIONARY OFTEN SPENDS THE NIGHT. PIGS AND COWS ARE FREE TO ENTER THE FRONT DOOR ON THIID GROUND FLOOR.
close contact with them. On other trips we have long so as to discourage travelers, especially met them on the mountain pathways and have soldiers or robbers, from going that way. Though found them usually timid and retiring. On this the Miao carrier did not wish to continue the trip, however, we left the main pathways, secured journey, the Commission of the Lord still reads guides to take us back behind the mountain ranges "unto the uttermost part" and so the messengers to where the tribesmen have their homes, lived pressed on. Tribes in these distant places are with them in their huts, ate with them, slept with them, sat with them around their' camp fires, almost 100 % illiterate so the Gospel must be given dressed their sores, bound up their wounds, and told them the story of the Gospel. In a few days them by word of mouth. they became so friendly that they flocked around How do the tribespeople respond to the Gospel us as if we belonged to their tribe; when we left one tribe to pass on to another, there was a hearty message? A Tung tribesman, having been told invitation to call again, and we felt that another that a strange white man who loved his people tribe was ready and waiting to receive the Gospel was living in a distant town, left his mountain when we have men to send and means to support home and came to the city where he cautiously inthem." quired for the missionary. That tribesman is now studying the Word of God and looking forward to The Timber Yao people differ noticeably from the time when he can tell his ownpeople the glad other tribes in their language and in the women's new Story which he has so recently heard. Many dress. Their houses are scattered in groups of who hear the Message are eager to tell it to their two to five, with only an occasional small village. people in the scattered villages, and they find a The women of this tribe, as well as the Miao and hearty welcome as they sit around the camp fire Tung tribes, wear trousers instead of pleated evenings and tell to their friends and neighbors skirt like those worn in other tribes. Their silver the story of God's redeeming love. ornaments include a number of Hongkong coins, beaten plates of silver and earrings. Another young Tung from the hills of Kwangsi, who had studied in the City of Canton, returned to After passing through a valley, far beyond the his mountain home among fellow tribesmen, and contacts of civilization, the party came to a moun- was so oppressed by the dullness of his surroundtain pass where the natives had spiked the road ings that he planned to seek escape through suiwith sharp spikes of bamboo four to six inches cide. Then it was that a Chinese preacher, Mr. Loh, visited the village and gave the young stu- dent some Christian books. Through reading
these, a desire was created to know more of the This answer to prayer made a powerful impres- Gospel and finally the young man expressed his sion, not only on the sick man's household, but purpose to follow Christ and to become a teacher also on many other members of his tribe. They of the Gospel to his own tribesmen. had never seen prayer answered in this fashion and reasoned, "If the Lord can answer prayer in Through the witness of two Chwang converts, this way, surely we ought to trust Him for the Mr. Lan, formerly a Taoist priest, and Mt. Chiu salvation of our souls and our future happin!,!ss." Tak-sun, an earnest Christian farmer, a consider- Before long about forty of the tribespeople asked able number of Chwang tribespeople have been to be enrolled as inquirers and from this number converted, twenty-seven being baptized on one twenty-seven were baptized. occasion. Mr. Chiu constantly urged his tribespeople to accept this Jesus who worked such won- Many similar instances could be given as eviders when on earth and who is still the same dence of the saving grace of God among the tribestoday. people of Kwangsi. Millions of Chinese and tribespeople are yet unreached and the Mission One day a neighbor became very ill and the with its thirty-four missionaries and the 102 sickness increased in severity until the family Chinese wor-kers, 29 of whom are women, have a feared that he was going to die. After tribal large task before them. We commend to the remedies had failed, the family sent for Mr. Chiu, Lord's people for prevailing prayer these earnest who went at once to the sick man's bedside. After missionaries and Chinese workers that, as the exhorting the family to cast away their idols and new-born souls are instructed in the essential trust alone in Christ, the Christian farmer kneeled truths, they may be established in the Christian down and prayed to God for the tribesman's re- life and become effective witnesses to their fellow covery. The next morning he was much better tribesmen. and in a few days he was well.
China and the New Life Movement* CHINA'S present attitude toward religion and nificant Easter message is significant of the atti- toward Christ is somewhat confused. Con- tude some of China's leading spirits take toward fucian ideals, though a factor in the New religion. The country is more widely open to Life Movement, do not function religiously any religious propaganda than ever before. Though more than they ever did. China does not promise there may be some discrimination against gradto be more Buddhist than at any time past, nor uates from unregistered Christian schools there is is it turning Christian. To promote religion in none against qualified Christians for important China is no easier or simpler than in "Christian" governmental and commercial agencies. Furthernations. Nevertheless, the attitude of China to- more, there is apparent a desire for Christian day toward religion is different from what it has and church cooperation in reconstructive projects been in the past. No religious system is receiving that implies recognition of the religious dynamic the special favor of the state, nor is the state at- as one of the essentials to China's rebuilding. In tacking religion. Prominent Chinese, including other words, China has passed from a mood ansome Christians, do not in their attitude distin- tagonistic to religion. guish as sharply between Protestantism, Roman Catholicism and Buddhism as some Christians Present-day China is more aware of religion might wish. Official courtesies are paid to rep- than once was the case. There is an inarticulate resentatives of all religions when occasion re- feeling that economic, social and political changes quires. One hears little discussion of religious are not enough. Thus for all kinds of aggressive liberty yet it seems to be a fact in China though religious movements the hour is propitious. some deem it infringed upon as regards educational freedom. China is not aggressively anti- Three years is too short a time in which to religious at the moment. judge the New Life Movement which has set itself a stupendous task under unusually difficult cir- There is something to be said of a seeming cumstances. It is not an organization but a movefriendliness on the part of China to religion. ment. It cannot be judged solely in terms of its High officials participated in the platform ad- purpose- and a summary of its achievements bedresses given before a Catholic Action Congress longs to the future. Nevertheless, it has moved a year or so ago. General Chiang Kai-shek's sig- forward as regards the clarification of its purpose and understanding of what it should aim to do in • The first part of this article is freely quoted from an editorial terms of reconstruction. Taken generally it is in The Chinese Recorder. "An attack on the fundamental moral problem in
THE MOVEMENT OFFICIALLY DESCRIBED
China's social life." As a matter of fact insofar as program are already cooperating with the New the Movement tries to reform manners it has both Life Movement. All churches not so engaged to curb the exuberance of modernized Chinese might well consider how they may participate. manners and jar the inertia out of traditional What can Christians add to the New Life Moveones. In some places, however, the Movement ment is a question. But cooperation in any field has disturbed gamblers and those promoting com- can only be worthwhile if it is reciprocal. So the mercialized vice to the point where they have question, What can the New Life Movement conurged that the Movement should show less zeal. tribute to the churches? needs also to be consid- This is an indication of its possibilities as a moral ered. The Movement provides an opening for the force. The program outlined indicates how the manifestation of the religious dynamic hardly Movement is becoming a positive force for re- equalled heretofore in China. It offers to tie up building life as well as an obstruction to evil Christian energy and moral fervor with the life agencies and a reformer of manners. So far it is of China in new ways. As an indigenous movelargely urban but the direction and scope of its ment it is setting out to endeavor to do along sevactivities are turning to rural centers also. eral lines what Christians have been trying to do for many years. Church response to the Move- It has been said that "The New Life Movement ment's appeal for cooperation should aid in keepaims at the revival of the traditional virtues of ing it creative. If in places the Movement is more China." But those responsible for it also feel the sound than success the church should help give need of a religious fervor to energize these tra- the sound a deeper note. If, on the one hand, it ditional virtues and that they seek the aid of those is a revival of traditional virtues it is, on the other motivated by the Christian faith in particular. In- hand, a search for ways of developing and manideed, while his Movement is not set on building festing a modernized and vitalized life. It cannot up a religion or a church as such, Christians are go far in this without the deepening of spirit and to some extent active in directing its activities. consciousness that religious faith can give. Chris- The time has come for the churches to give it tians can help by demonstrating how their faith serious attention as a force in the life of China works in the simple or elaborate forms of reconwith which they can work. struction.
Churches engaged in activities as given in the The Movement Officially Described* By' GENERALISSIMO CHIANG KAI-SHEK President of the Chinese M'litary Affairs Commission THE New Life Movement aims at revolution- such traditional virtues as Li, Yi, Lien and Chih, izing the mode of life of the whole of the they are living today under conditions. which sug- Chinese people. It seeks by the application gest that they have just emerged from savagery. of the simplest and most effective methods possible to eradicate from the people those habits that China has 35,000,000 square liof territory and are no longer suited to the times and to replace abounds in natural resources, which if developed, them with a new mode of living in accord with could easily make this country one of the wealththe spirit of the age in which we live. In other iest nations of the world. Yet there is widespread words, the movement stands for the rationaliza- poverty and misery in the land. This again is due tion of the lives of the people, and is based on the traditional virtues of China as expressed in these to the neglect of the traditional virtues of China, characters, Li, Yi, Lien and Chih. namely, Li, Yi, Lien, and Chih.
The Chinese people used to set great store on China has 400,000,000 people who used to be these traditional virtues, the revival of which is well organized in all the essentials of life. But imperative and essential to the welding of China what spectacle do our people present to the rest into a modern nation. of the world today? They are disorganized, in- dolent, cowardly and torn between conflicting per- With a civilization of more than 5,000 years the verse teachings, leading a life little better than Chinese people attained long ago a high degree of that of savages. This again is due to the neglect refinement in matters of food, clothing, shelter of Li, Yi, Lien, and Chih. and deportment, but owing to their neglect of While it is true that the removal of the existing • From ChAnese Affairs, Shanghai crude and degrading modes of life of the Chinese people in favor of one of refinement depends to a
great extent on the revival of the old virtues of anything else. This work may be described as Li, Yi, Lien and Chih, it is equally true that under the work of the New Life movement. The extenpresent circumstances, when society is in a state sion and progress of the movement depends upon of chaos, when perverse ideas have permeated the the extent to which the people realize its need. It country, and when the great majority of the peo- should begin with individuals and later spread to ple are sunk in pleasure and indolence, immediate families and the community at large. It serves success can hardly be expected to attend the in- as the vanguard of the political authorities, but it troduction of political measures or the inculcation should not depend upon the latter for its success. of teachings of the right sort. If the modes of living of the people are to be improved, a start Objects of the Movement must be made first with the rectification of their bad habits. For this reason, the New Life Move- The attitude of mind of the great majority of ment offers the only road to the salvation of Chinese today is marked by drift and insipidity. China. This expresses itself in acts which do not distin-. guish between good and evil, right and wrong, Our late Chungli, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, said: "Min and private interests and public welfare. Hence, Sheng means the life of people, the existence of our officials are hypocritical, greedy and corrupt; society, the livelihood of the citizens of the country our people are disorganized and indifferent to the and the welfare of the masses." Although the welfare of the nation; our youths are degenerate problem of the livelihood of the people, or Min and irresponsible; and our adults are vicious and Sheng, may be considered from four angles, the ignorant. The rich are given to pleasure and exquestion of life is really the manifestation of the travagance, while the poor are low, filthy and other three aspects of the problem of the people's groping in the dark. All this has led to a complete livelihood. For the continued existence of so- breakdown of authority and discipline, resulting ciety certain guarantees are necessary. As re- in social unrest, which has in turn made us helpgards the problem of the livelihood of the people, less in the face of natural calamity and foreign there must be room for development and expan- aggression. If this state of affairs is allowed to sion. For the continuity of life, propagation is continue any longer, it will be impossible for us necessary. Life is the manifestation of all these even to lead the present kind of existence for very activities. In other words, life is a general term long. . . . . for all human activities. To rebuild the life of the people in accord with All activities arising from the propagation of modern conditions, especially to build a new social the race, from the preservation of life and also order, resort has to be made to political reform, from the development of the livelihood of the peo- particularly education, but in the past education ple assume different forms at different times and and politics in China have suffered from one beunder different conditions. Sometimes the en- setting sin, namely, cant and hypocrisy. This vironment also changes. Not until a man "renews has led to the ineffectiveness of laws, the uselesshimself daily" can he hope to have a rich and ness of technical talent and the impotency of abundant life. The life of a people must accord machines. Where a C.hinese is placed in the post with the time and environment in which it lives. formerly Occupied by a foreigner, it invariably A new life is possible only when there is a com- happens that the Chinese official cannot attain the plete break with the old modes of living. same degree of efficiency .as the foreigner. This is true of machines. Run by a Chinese, a machine Whether the people have a rich and abundant cannot yield the same output as it does when life depends primarily upon the existence of good under foreign· supervision. If we want to make government and on the extension of sound politi- our laws effective, the thing to do is not to imcal institutions, but this has a close connection prove the laws, but to get the right· men to adminwith customs and usages. ister them. The same is true of machines; Struc- turally, there is nothing defective about them: If during the transition from an old social what is needed is the right men to operate them. order to a new one nothing is done to assist the It is true that politics and education have an imintroduction and spread of new political· institu- portant role to play in the formation of character, tions by the introduction of new customs and but at the same time it is equally true that social usages, such new institutions are liable to be stul- customs and usages exercise a more important tified in their development. In other words, they influence over the lives of men. must be assisted by the inculcation of new ideas, preparing the minds of the people for their recep- That the Government will exert itself for potion. For this reason, every country makes the litical reform goes without saying. Unless we are task of changing the customs and usages of the prepared to let the nation go under without a people its first concern during the transition from struggle during the present national crisis, we the old to the new, for this is more important than
must act resolutely to put a stop to the present of food and clothing will not bring about social state of affairs and throw ourselves into the work peace, and if any proof is needed to substantiate of social reform. In short, we must make a clean this statement, it is an unquestioned fact that sweep of the existing social abuses and evils and crime abounds always in cities where there is take prompt measures to foster what is best and plenty and abundance. Moreover, can one serivital in society. This is the mission of the, New ously maintain that many of those who have Life Movement. turned to brigandage or become traitors and greedy officials have done so owing to fear of Contents of the Movement hunger and starvation? . . .
The New Life Movement advocates a mode of Li, Yi, Lien and Chih are general principles in living based on the principles of Li, Yi, Lien, and the establishment of states. This was true of Chih. In other words, it seeks to apply those ancient times and is true of the contemporary age.
time-honored principles to the daily conduct of Of course, each age has its own interpretation of men and women, especially in matters pertaining those principles. Let us explain them in the light to food, clothing, shelter and deportment. Any of modern conditions of life. Briefly, Li means one who fails to order his life in accordance with polite manners, Yi, chivalrous or upright conduct, this code is bound to fail. This is true also of Lien honesty or a moral sense 'of right and wrong, nations. and Chih, decency or an appreciation of moral There are people who are skeptical of this view. values. It is contended that Li, Yi, Lien and Chih, undoubtedly excellent virtues in themselves, may be There are two conditions associated with food, able to produce men of exemplary character, but clothing, shelter and deportment, namely (1) tanif we are backward in technical knowledge, no gible things, such as food, houses, roads, carts, amount of virtue can save China. This line of steamers, etc., and (2) manifestations, such as reasoning is untenable. It is true that knowledge eating and drinking, living, ·walking. is power, but knowledge is liable to be abused in The word Hsing, or deportment, however, has the hands of those who have no moral scruples. two senses. In its narrow sense it means walk- Li, Yi, Lien and Chih are the guiding rules of ing. In its broad sense it means behavior. Inconduct for individuals, society and the state. deed, in this sense Hsing ~ncludes food, clothing, shelter and deportment.
When educated men act contrary to these rules, The "San Min Chu Yi" ("The Three People's both the public and the nation will suffer. In Principles") in the chapter dealing with the short, Li, Yi, Lien and Chih are able not only to questions of food, clothing, shelter and deportsave China but to remake her. ment, emphasizes the material aspect of the prob- There are others who declare that Li, Yi, Lien lem. If there is any doubt on this score, it should and Chih are empty principles and can hardly be be dispelled by a perusal of this passage in "The expected to serve as rules of conduct for those Fundamentals of Reconstruction" which says: who live from hand to mouth and do not know The Government should assist the people in the where their next rice bowls come from or what development of agriculture so that they will have the morrow may bring. This fallacy is due to the enough to eat. It should promote the textile inteachings of Kuan Tze who maintained that be- dustry so that the people will have enough tovvear. fore a man can know decency he must have enough It should help the people to solve their housing to eat and wear, or as the Greek philosopher Aris- and transportation problems by building more totle said, before a man can be expected to be houses and repairing canals and roads. The virtuous he must have a competence. The funda- "Hsing" in the present New Life Movement is mental fact seems to have been overlooked by used in both its narrow and its broad senses. these skeptics that Li, Yi, Lien and Chih are the "foundation" of a man, and that if he does not Methods of the New Life Movement possess these attributes, he cannot have food and clothing. Leadership.-The direction of the whole New Life Movement is vested in the hands of the New In a society based on Li, Yi, Lien and Chih, one Life Movement Promotion Association in Nancan make up the lack of food and clothing by hu- chang. Branches of the association may' be estabman means, whereas in a society where these lished in the various parts of the country, but in principles are not observed, no amount of wrong- order to avoid confusion and to ensure common doing, such as robbery and theft can bring suffi- action, district branches should be subject to the ciency and abundance to the needy: Acts of Li, control of provincial New Life Promotion Asso- Yi, Lien and Chih are correctives to acts of strife, ciations. theft and robbery. In cases where Li, Yi, Lien andChih are flouted, even sufficiency in matters District and provincial branches should be jointly organized by representatives of various
public organizations, such as the Provincial and Chinese should have a decent standard of living, District Kuomintang headquarters, Bureau of which is another term for an artistic mode of liv- Public Safety, Social Welfare and Education, and ing. In ancient times China used to have the somilitary commissions. Subject to the direction called six arts and sciences: Rites, Music, Archof the l~al district New Life Promotion Associa- ery, horsemanship, calligraphy and mathematics. tion, the various guilds, schools, women's organi- These six things today have made the Western zations and rural groups may start separate New powers great and strong, although the Chinese Life groups. people for centuries used them as guiding prin- ciples of action in life. The reason why there is The work of the New Life Movement consists so much suspicion, jealousy and animosity in of investigation, planning and promotion. Chinese society today is that we have forgotten the teachings of our ancients. There is no hope The expenses of the movement should be re- of improvement unless we order our lives in acduced to a minimum and borne by those respon- cordance with the principles of Li, Yi, Lien, and sible or raised by the authorities of the locality in Chih. which there is a branch of the New Life Movement Promotion Association. Solicitation of con- (2) The poverty of China is due to the existtributions from outsiders is forbidden. ence of so many people who cannot produce any- thing of their own and who live on others. The The program of the New Life Movement will be productivity of the people must be increased. We drawn up by the New Life Movement Promotion must develop our immense natural resources and Association in Nanchang. The Movement will avoid waste. Everyone should consider it a first begin with a campaign for cleanliness and shame to depend upon others for his support. In orderliness. other words, everyone must work for his own living. There is no other way to relieve the pov- The formula of the Movement.-The Movement erty. of China and remove the source of civil strife should start with oneself and then extend to than to practise the principles of Li, Yi, Lien and others, with officials first, and then the masses, Chih in our daily lives. from simple things to more important tasks, and from public organizations, schools, etc., to the (3) In advocating Li, Yi, Lien and Chih as the lower classes of society. code of our daily conduct, we are inspired by the How the Movement may be promoted.-Per- or desire to "militarize" the life of our people. When sonal example, oral instruction, illustrated posters, campaign literature, plays and motion pic- a nation cannot fight for the defence its soil tures are some of the means by which the Move- against foreign invasion, it cannot be considered ment may be promoted. The New Life Movement a nation. We must cultivate martial arts if we Promotion Association will send delegates to visit are to overcome the present weakness of our counthe various provinces and districts from time to try. China today is overrun by Communisttime and inspect the work being done by the re- bandits. Civil war has not yet been completely spective New Life groups. In order to promote banished from the land. Our national territory a healthy spirit of rivalry between the various is growing smaller and smaller every day. Imgroups contests will be held. There will be prizes perialists join with traitors and Communists in for the winning groups. oppressing our people and undermining our coun- try. If we wish to deliver China from ,the present No compulsion should be employed in extend- crisis and bring peace and order to the land, we ing the Movement. Persuasion should be the must prepare to "militarize" the whole country. watchword of the "New Life" canvassers. Before this is possible, the people must be trained in habits of orderliness, discipline, cleanliness, Conclusion simplicity and accurate thinking. They must be law-abiding, conscious of their responsibilities and To sum up, the New Life Movement aims at the ready to die for the country. substitution of a rational mode of living for the present irrational mode of living of the people. A rational mode of living is realized when the How can this be effected? My answer is: by principles of Li, Yi, Lien and Chih are applied to making Li, Yi, Lien and Chih, the code of our the daily conduct of the people, especially in matdaily conduct. ters pertaining- to food, shelter, clothing and de-. portment. A great revolution will have been ef- (1) In advocating the revival of our traditional fected and the foundations of new national strucvirtues such as Li, Yi, Lien and Chih, the object ture laid when every Chinese lives in accordance in view is an artistic mode of living for all our with the principles of the New Life Movement, people. Many are apt to think that only a few which are based on the traditional virtues of Li, privileged persons can lead an artistic life. This Yi, Lien and Chih. is a mistake. It is within the reach of all. Every
Chiang Kai–shek's Interpretatiqn
of the New Life Movement in China* T HE New Life Movement was inaugurated medireval into the modern world. Those who have three years ago to quicken and to deepen the failed us are those who have refused to pay the work of reconstruction in China. Since then price of living the New Life. "You cannot serve the nation has progressed farther than we had God and mammon"; you cannot live a regenerated dared to hope, giving us a new faith in the future vitalized life and at the same time maintain a of our race. After these three years of experience selfish attitude toward society. we are more than ever convinced that the most vital force in the reconstruction of our nation is On this our third anniversary it is fitting that the spiritual life of the people. we should review some of the accomplishments of the past and perhaps more important still outline It has been a long and difficult task, and one the most pressing needs of the nation. that has required the cooperation of all the leaders of the nation, to unite China's scattered troops First and foremost let us mention the needs for into one strong national army. It has not been unity and internal peace. easy to improve communications, remodel cities and set forces in motion that will eventually im- The policy of the National Government is enprove the living condItions of farmers and work- tirely one of harmonizing, composing and settling ers. Yet in the long run these are the outward all differences through peaceful means, thus presigns of a new controlling principle, a new law of serving national resources and strengthening the life which we are slowly learning to follow. faith of the people in the ability of the nation to weather any storm. The unification of the armies This energy and courage animating our people, is not sufficient in itself. There must go with it and sometimes referred to as the national renais- that oneness of purpose and broadmindedness that sance, has been at work in China for two decades. enables men of all parties and of every faith to In a very real sense, the New Life Movement is keep in step, regardless of conditions, and while gathering together spiritual forces that are partly keeping in step to work together for the commonindigenous and partly from abroad. The New wealth. Life Movement is slowly winning the confidence of the people, for we are still very conservative, Throughout the country there are still minor and is fast becoming a centre where all agencies, disturbances where hungry men, masquerading both governmental and private, interested in the as bandits, take by force from their neighbors and welfare of the people, may find a common meeting from travelers what society should provide for ground. them in some other way.
Heretofore various organizations shouldering Economic Betterment and Education the burden of building a new social order have not only been scattered but they have oftentimes Benjamin Franklin has well said, "Poverty been perplexed by what seems to be cross-currents within the life of the nation. The river of New often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it is Life released three years ago in Nanchang is gradually gathering into one great flood embody- hard for an empty bag to stand upright." ing the currents of life and thought that go to unify and reconstruct the nation. Idleness, intemperance and extravagance are A year ago, on the occasion of the second anni- not the only stones that pave the road to poverty. vers.ary of the New Life Movement, the Generalissimo emphasized three immediate needs of the Corruption, inefficiency, oppression, malnutrition nation: sincerity, efficiency and living of the New Life. During the same year mistakes may have and an unjust social order also help to depress been made but none can question the sincerity of our national leaders. Most Of them have been the economic level. When the New Life Movelending. a hand as the nation emerges from the ment was inaugurated in Kiangsi, one of the first • Radio broadcast speech by Madame Chiang on February 19, 1937, In commemoration of the Third Anniversary of the launching things it did was to establish welfare centers st~::h~tW Life Movement. Reprinted from The Peoples' Tribune, where the economic and social needs of the people might be studied and gradually relieved. Through- out the nation it will continue to focus attention upon the economic factors underlying the needs of the masses. Without this there can be no in- ternal peace. Banditry and rebellion will cease only when nt heex tpteoopt hlee have enough to eat. inte rnal Second, need for unity and peace I should place education.
[361 ]
The growth of the modern school system Almost anyone of us can gather together a few throughout China is phenomenal. Everywhere we see the children with their school books com- friends interested in social service and through ing and going. The fact· remains, however, that the vast majority of the people are not informed pooling resources can bring new life to many a on many matters that concern their every-day life; ignorance and superstition still influence them to community. Incidentally in so doing you will find an alarming extent. great joy and lasting satisfaction. The New Life Movement last summer presented this challenging situation to the college students , A group of well-equipped devoted national leadof East China and received a hearty response. College students, both men and women, spend time ers without your help cannot bring new life to our in their own or neighboring villages teaching summer schools for both children and adults and nation. Such a social revolution calls for the coholding popular lecture courses in the evening. In time our educated people will catch this spirit operation of every intelligent man and woman of service and voluntarily will do 'what they can in their immediate neighborhood so that in a short throughout China. time illiteracy will be greatly reduced. What the national and provincial governments are doing to Many a great movement has slowed down bemeet this gigantic problem is very encouraging but we wish to make this appeal to our educated cause it has failed to grip the imagination and to people everywhere, that they must not rely solely upon the Government but should also carry re- enlist the enthusiasm of the rank and file. This sponsibility for those closest to them. I, myself, have found deep satisfaction in mothering a few is not true of the New Life Movement, and from hundred students in the schools for the children of the revolution and I recommend this form of the bottom of my heart I hope it never will be social service to my friends throughout China. true. You know as well as I do that the great Games and Healthy Sport failure of democracy is that we rely too much We all know that we receive much valuable education outside of the schoolroom. Last summer a upon a fe,w chosen leaders. In democratic China student from a Shanghai college, visiting his home village in Kiangsu, discovered that a large per- you are showing your appreciation of the nation's centage of the people were spending their leisure time gambling; without discoursing on the evils leaders in many ways and we are deeply grateful, of gambling he hastened back to Shanghai where he purchased and borrowed a few outdoor and in- for it makes us doubly sure of the solid foundation door games, including a small radio. He worked with the young men of the village in cleaning and of unity upon which we are building. I beg of whitewashing an old temple and in levelling a playing field. Within a few days he had games you not to take too much for granted and not to and competitions in progress for the younger members of the community and victrola and radio expect too much of a few leaders. If New Life entertainment for those who preferred to be less active. From his knowledge of the outsilje world really comes to all our people throughout the provand from newspapers and magazines he gave a series of evening lectures on subjects of interest inces, it will come because it has been unanimously and value to the community. When the time came for him to return to his studies at college the vil- supported in the heart of the country. lage schoolmaster had already taken charge of these activities and they are doubtless still in The last and most important thing that I have progress. to say to you is something that the President of Through the social-mindedness of another college student in providing a village radio, the peo- the New Life Movement has said over and over ple of his community have just heard the President of the N~w Life Movement speak to them. again. "New Life is something we live, not some- thing that we promote." It is a quality of life within ourselves, a standard of ·values that in- fluences every thought and action. The greatest Teacher that ever lived has told us that "what goes on in a man's heart determines the quality of his life." If New Life implies a change of heart then let us all make that change together on this the third anniversary of our great spiritual move- ment. A change of heart within each of us will soon prOduce the :riew and prosperous nation that we all long to see. .
*** A Missionary Resolve – By the Grace of God: We will "maintain the spiritual glow."
We will depend on spiritual means to achieve results in God's work.
We will not magnify statistics nor glory in mere numbers.
We will be slow to criticize others, but will seek to be our best and look for the best in others.
We will earnestly try to be free from race prejudice.
We will show love to others and devotedly seek their high- est good. _ We will ask God's help to solve our own spiritual problems so as to be more free to help others.
We will not be too impatient for visible results, but will steadfastly trust God to do "exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think."
We will tarry until we are "endued with Power from on High" and then go forth to witness for Christ.
"He giveth power to the faint." Isaiah 40: 29.
Yellow vs. Acting Yellow*
By GEOFFREY W. ROYALL, Chao-Cheng, Shangtung, China Missionary of the Church of the Nazarene THE eyes of the world are turned to China to- ventions, raising money, holding bazaars in order day more than at any time since the Boxer that the Gospel (!) might be taken to the poor Rebellion, a generation ago. So much has heathen – these slit-eyed, flat-nosed, oily-faced happened in the last five years and so much more Sons of Han included!
seems about to take place. . . that' even the Span- A tragedy! Yes, and one that is enacted too ish situation has not turned the attention of the often in other churches. Can it be true in yours?
people away from the land of Sinim. If we are not vitally interested in the salvation Now, instead of attempting to transport you of the ",heathen" who live on your street, your to the Orient and thrusting you heart first into the neighbors and fellow-citizens, then why try to fool intriguing life of the Chinese, we will stay in the ourselves into believing that we are really con- Occident, and spend a few moments "Thinking cerned in the redemption of heathen ten thousand Yellow." We have "thought white" for so long miles away? If one cannot "think yellow" at that it will be no easy task to suddenly "think home, it is useless to try 'imd stretch one's reli- yellow." gious imagination across the Pacific. It will prob- Having just returned from the Middle King- ably be drowned before it reaches Honolulu!
dom, I was in a store in Toronto purchasing a Cincinnati, the metropolis of Ohio, is a great daily paper. A lady of large dimensions came in centre of religious activity. Some years ago at and asked for one of the popular weekly'maga- the annual district convention of one of the larger zines. As the news agent handed her the maga- denominations, the largest auditorium filled to zine and her change, he pointed in my direction hear a missionary of national repute lecture on and said: "This is the Reverend Geoffrey Royall China. The two front rows were reserved for who has just returned from China." ecclesiastical dignitaries – bishops, superintend- "Why how strange," she replied, responding to ents and the like.
my recognition. "I have just come from the Chi~ A passing Chinese, with a staggering burden of nese laundry. You know, Mr. Royall, I have a laundry, was attracted by the bright lights' and horrid sensation run down my spine every time I paused to read the announcements. When his enter that place. That yellow face that pops up eyes caught the word "China" and noted that this behind the counter when I hand over my husband's evening was to be devoted to an address on his shirts is enough to scare anyone. Slit eyes, flat own country, he passed through the doors and noses, oily face . . . ugh! I'm glad I was not walked down the aisle towards the front, with the born a Chinese. How awful it must be for you to bundle of clothes. The speaker was waxing elo- have to live among such people." quent when his eye caught the face of the Chinese I opened my mouth to reply but the words laundryman beaming celestially into his own.
clogged in my teeth and I was silent. . With a quick gesture he motioned the visitor to a "Well, we have a meeting of the Women~s Mis- seat and the visitor promptly sat down next to a sionary Auxiliary at three, so I'll be running corpulent bishop, at whose feet he unceremoni- along," the woman continued, picking up her ously planted the laundry. A few minutes later magazine. We watched her sail out of the store the good bishop discovered that one end of his with the trail of a Pekinese dog in her wake. frock coat was caught beneath the individual next "Mrs. Jones is one of the best workers in her to him an,d, as he turned to look and he discovered church," remarked the storekeeper. a Chinese, he rose to move to another seat. Near- My mind followed her down to her missionary sightedness prevented him from seeing the bundle meeting. Here was a church woman, busy week at his feet, and he tripped ungracefully over it after week, no doubt, year in and year out, work- with a resounding thud.
ing on garments, preparing boxes, visiting con- Can we doubt that at the moment the bishop moved away from the Chinese, Jesus came and * C()lldensed fram a missionary address given In the First Church sat down in his place? To separate ourselves in ~Is~~oena~:z~~~~':;nk~:, ~~~~~~s'19~~~lfornia, at the annual District pride from our fellowmen because of the color of [363 ]
his skin is to segregate ourselves from the Son of the window display. His hand was on the door- knob, when he looked up and saw a plain notice, Man, the "Friend that sticketh closer than a in English and Chinese, nailed just above the door: "Chinese and dogs not allowed." The suit brother." There is danger that a "paternal" at- in the window was most inviting, but the words above the door were not. titude toward the heathen prevents us from being The same ancient tram took the prospective "fraterna1." . customer back to the Chinese quarters and the next day his customers noticed a new sign tacked In the city of Los Angeles I heard the following above the entrance to his restaurant: "Europeans and dogs not admitted." story. The new Chinese Vice-Consul decided to As we think over these four incidents we are patronize American stores during his residence in forced to admit several things.
California and visited one of the American bar- First, the average American church member does not appreciate the wonderful advancement bers. The shop happened to be without other his cousins of Cathay have made in recent years. There is also a tragic lack of soul passion for their patrons on his arrival, and the head barber was redemption. When we have learned that we are our "brother's keeper" in America, only then can seated on a chair reading a newspaper. Hearing we accept this responsibility for our neighbors in other lands. a customer enter he lowered his paper and looked Second, a spirit of aloofness and feeling of suover his glasses. The Chinese official smiled, but periority is a great barrier to Christian progress in foreign fields. How much of our missionary the proprietor growled: activity is superficial? There is a vast difference between being "interested in foreign missions" "What do you want in here." and in being vitally burdened for those of other races tor whom Christ also died. How often we "Oh, just a hair-cut today," smiled the Chinese foolishly interpret the former for the latter!
Vice-Consul. Third, the influence of Christian civilization that we endeavor to send to the Orient is often "Well, we don't cut Chink's hair here, so get nullified by our pagan attitude of superiority to- ward those who come to our own shores. out," was the reply. Fourth, many representatives of so-called "And may I enquire the reason," asked the Christian business houses that trade in the Far East, are a positive hindrance to the efforts of the Celestial, his smile disappearing. Christian missionary.
"I've got no time to argue," snarled the hair- "Thinking yellow!" does not mean "acting yellow!" It is a fallacy to suppose that Christ dresser. "Suppose our best customers from Holly- was a white man. In the book of Acts we read that when the Apostle Paul was standing on the wood should see me cutting your hair; what would steps of the castle waiting permission to address the Jewish rabble, the chief captain of the Roman they think? Do you suppose they want their hair guard asked: "Art thou not that Egyptian?" Christ and Paul were contemporaries and if the dressed with the same tools as I use on you? The chief captain mistook Paul for an Egyptian, it seems that he might well have mistaken Jesus for trade I have built up through years would be one also!
ruined in a day." The seventy-five thousand Chinese in America today constitute an outstanding challenge to the . "Before I leave I want to ask you a question," Christians of America-a challenge that has never been adequately accepted. said the Vice-Consul as he turned to the door. Christians can-learn to "think yellow" by learn- "Make it snappy then," grumbled the barber. ing to understand and to' sympathize with the Chinese. We need not "act yellow" in a sense of "I'm expecting a customer any moment." doing what is unworthy of a follower of Jesus Christ. The same Gospel that transforms us will "If my country came to you, as it has in the burnish the Chinese into gold fit for the King's crown. past, and gave Uncle Sam an order for five million dollars worth of machine guns and ammunition, seventy-five aeroplanes, two million dollars worth of scrap-iron and half-a-million dollars worth of modern factory equipment, would your people re- fuse the order? Would they say, 'We don't take Chinks as customers?'" Without waiting for the answer the Chinese stalked out of the shop. .
The tragedy was that at the same time he slammed the shop door he also slammed his heart's door on Jesus Christ. Today, that Vice-Consul is a chief executive under Emperor Henry Pu-Yi of Manchukuo. One of his tasks is to interview mis- sion board representatives who come with re- quests for government grants of land for hospitals and for other concessions. We wonder if he ever says to himself: ". . . We don't serve white for- eign devils."
Now let us take a boat to a foreign port in the "Dragon Kingdom," "thinking yellow" in Hong- kong. A young Chinese restaurant owner needed a new suit, and noticing a special sale advertised by a prominent down-town tailor, he planned to investigate. An antiquated street car took him to the foreign concession where he eagerly viewed
of the Rural Church in
~-.. I By REV. J. R. WATT, D.D., Kingston, Ontario I Registrar in Queen's Theological College EXCLUDING Greenland, Alaska and New- gave the ratio of urban to rural population as 53.7 foundland (a separate British Dominion), to 46.29 (urban, in Canadian census terminology, Canada comprises the entire northern part includes any separately organized municipality of the North American Continent. It has an area regardless of population). Since 1881 there has of 3,729,665 square miles as compared with the been a steady decline in the ratio of the rural pop- 3,776,700 square miles of the United States and ulation. In many of the older townships the rural . its dependencies and is slightly smaller than the population has declined as much as 50 per cent.
Continent of Europe. The estimated potential Even so two-thirds of Canadian congregations are agricultural land is 2,218,747,200 acres. rural or semirural in character. For this reason Occupying this vast area are 10,376,786 people, alone the welfare of rural congregations is a an average of 2.99 per square mile, but because major concen of the Canadian Church.
large areas are unoccupied this figure may be mis- It seemed necessary to state the foregoing facts leading. Prince Edward Island, with little unoc- that non-Canadian readers, unfamiliar with con- cupied land, has an average density of 40.3 while ditions here, might have some background against Ontario, with great areas unsettled in the North, which to look at the problem. In many respects has 9.45. East of the Great Lakes most of the the problem of the rural church is the same in population is found south of the 50th parallel and China, India, Canada or the United States. But in the West south of the 55th. the approach to and the solution of it must always Of this population 5,381,071 are of British take into account the local background with its origin, 2,927,990 of French, 2,067,725 of other unique local characteristics. Climate, density of races. The largest non-Anglo-Saxon groups are population, religious complexion, racial traditions, German 473,544, Ukrainian 225,113, Dutch 148,- are all factors of prime importance to workers in 962, Polish 145,503. The largest infiltration of this field, and must be taken into account in any non-Anglo-Saxon population is in the West. efforts at betterment. Some of these factors are Prince Edward Island is almost solidly Anglo- permanent, others are modifiable, and the problem Saxon while of the people of Manitoba, Saskatche- will change as they change.
wan and Alberta half are of non-Anglo-Saxon In a contribution as brief as this must neces- origin. sarily be, many significant elements must be In religion the population is 4,285,388 Roman passed by without reference. For example, there Catholic (of whom 2,853,117 are in Quebec and are in not a few communities the changing racial the Maritime Provinces), Jews 155,614, Greek complexion. Areas that once were solidly British Orthodox 102,389. The United Church is the and populous enough to maintain adequate reli- largest Protestant group with 2,017,375 persons, gious services are by steady infiltration becoming and the Anglicans second with 1,635,615. French or Ukrainian or some other racial color.
The climate varies with the latitude and other Then follows inevitably the ethical confusion and factors. Compared with Europe, except in the uncertainty that accompanies the clash of cultures territory on or near the Pacific coast influence by and the, difficulty that a thinning Protestantism the warm waters of the ocean, Canadian winters has to support its own religious usages.
are colder and longer with shorter, warmer and Since this and many other problems of the same drier summers. The temperature of the Pacific order are local to certain communities, they must Coast is identical with that of the British Isles in yield place here to other handicaps much wider in the same latitude. Of Canada as a whole it may their influence which effect all rural work. Of be said that the climate is healthful and invig- these denominationalism must be given first place.
orating, favorable to hardy bodies and vigorous Denominationalism is an inheritance. Histori- minds. cally Christianity was propogated and maintained Agriculture is the chief industry. In a single in the Dominion on a denominational basis. It year the value of the total agricultural production would serve no good purpose to quarrel with a has reached $2,000,000,000. The Census of 1931 fact that was, perhaps, in the evolution of Prot- [365 ]
estantism inevitable. But inevitable or not de- In these overchurched communities the work nominationalism in spite of much that was ad- suffers in several directions. Ministers are undermirable and praiseworthy must be debited with paid. If three men have to be supported where some things inimical to the rural church. When only one is needed stipends are inadequate and a pioneer community found itself, because of de- home mission funds that ought to go to new nominational zeal and prejudice, supplied with all pioneer work are expended in communities that the branches of Presbyterianism, Methodism, the might and ought to be self-supporting. Because Baptists and Anglicanism, it was not well of competitive denominationalism ministers have churched but shamefully overchurched. The con- to minister to areas too large for efficient work. sequence was a burden of maintenance that over- Serving, as many must, three, four and five points taxed the financial resources of the community, there is not a full program of religious work at inadequate buildings, and ,a conception of religion any place. Sunday school and Young People's that would be difficult to justify from the New work suffers because the groups are too small Testament. This condition has been improved for effective work and the minister's time is too greatly by the various unions that have taken much dissipated. Buildings once adequate when place. In 1876 the Presbyterian churches united preaching was the only function of the church to form the Presbyterian Church in Canada. In Gan scarcely be maintained and seldom are re- . 1883 the various Methodist bodies came together placed with modern buildings in keeping with in the Canadian Methodist Church. Then in 1925 present-day conceptions of church function. the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church and the Congregational Churches merged their A second handicap that adversely affects all identity to make the United Church of Canada. rural work is the measure of disesteem with which The Methodist Church as a whole entered this society and the Church regards the country and union, practically all the Congregational Churches country life. As a generation we are urbanand two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church in minded. The proof and causes of this fact cannot Canada. be here examined. It must stand biuntly while the consequences are set forth. The consequences of this latter Union for the rural work affected by it were far-reaching. The Very few men voluntarily and deliberately degreatest single incentive in achieving Union was vote themselves to country work. In too many the religious needs of the rapidly expanding fron- cases it is accepted as a second best because nothtier. In anticipation of Union hundreds of con- ing else offers. It is accepted with the hope that solidations took place and in the three years fol- a few years apprenticeship will open the way to lowing Union 560 amalgamations, rearrangement an urban appointment which carries with it the of fields, or uniting of charges were affected, in- hall mark of success. When this ambition is not volving 2,000 congregations. One Presbytery, realized there is a measure of secret disappoint- Kamloops, B. C., reported a saving of $2,750 per ment and a restlessness which most men strive year in Home Mission Funds. Within the area of heroically to conceal. But concealed or admitted the former Presbyterian Synod of Toronto there it reacts on the work and robs men of the joy in was a saving in money of $50,000 while 126 men service without which no man gives his best. required on a competitive basis were released for work elsewhere. In part society is to blame for this deprecation of rural life and service. The stage farmer with In spite of this improvement there still remains hayseeds in his uncombed hair is a libel that gets in the older parts of the Dominion much over- raucous laughter from cr'owds who appreciate churching in rural areas. The Union of 1925 af- very little the farmer's part in national economy. fected only three of the national churches at work "Who's Who" is a roster of city names – even in Canada. But within the United Church itself though many are farmers' sons. It is difficult to there is a natural enough reluctance on the part imagine any farm achievement that would earn a of many people to close unneeded churches, hal- man a place beside those who have achieved prolowed by'memory and long association, in the in- fessional distinction or made money. Urban newsterest of an efficiency that was not demanded in papers frequently publicize city pulpits while earlier days or encouraged by older conditions. rural utterances of equal merit go unnoticed. For this reason it is not impossible to find many hamlets of six or seven hundred people striving In part our Theological Colleges are to blame. to maintain four or five churches where only one They graduate students hopeful that they will add is needed. Eventually this anachronism will cor- lustre to the school by winning tall city pulpits. rect itself, but when it comes it must be without Among the courses they offer there is little serious too much overhead compulsion and so it will be effort at instruction in rural background or rural slow. psychology; and as little to impress students with the contribution that the farm makes to national character, culture and stability. Little pains are
PROBLEMiS OF THE RURAL CHURCH IN CANADA
taken to correct the silly heresy that country pas- Church at large. Today the average urban church torate,is a proof of mediocrity. has at its command much more adequate and In larger part than either society or the theo- steady resources than its rural neighbor.
logical college the Church itself is to blame for Today the farmer is not prosperous in Canada.
accepting these standards without vigorous pro- When taxes are paid and necessary living expenses test or effective resistance. Whatever it may have are provided for there is little left over for the held in theory in practice it has consented to such Church or any other community enterprise. Why a judgment. This is to be seen first in the scale agriculture should remain the Cinderella among of salaries in town and country. The average in industries is a question that clamantly calls for an the city has been always very much higher than answer. Of its truth there can be little doubt and anything attempted in the country. This, doubt- neither the Church nor the nation will be steadily less, is justifiable in a measure but the spread is prosperous until such adjustments are made as greater than can be justified. Because of the will secure for the farmer a fair return for his larger stipends and other advantages that urban investment risk and labor.
life offers the city exercises a selective power that It is obvious, then, that this problem cannot be tends to bring the ablest men to its pulpits. This solved by Church action alone. The economist and happens not because city posts are more difficult statesman must lend their aid before this handi- or more important but because of very definite cap can be removed. When it is corrected, as it financial and social advantages. The rural min- must be in the national interest, a new day will ister, frequently isolated, serving a community dawn for the country church. For the farmer is with a declining population of three or four small essentially religious. He is too close to the vital discouraged groups, who provide little effective processes of the world to be much impressed by a local leadership has a task far more difficult than godless humanism. His religion may be touched the average urban minister and needs, if he is to with fatalism but he knows that it is only the fool carryon, courage of the highest order. Yet the that says in his heart there is no God. If his Church is content to send its weakest men to the Church is meagerly supported it is by necessity most demanding tasks and remunerate them on and not by choice.
the lowest scale in the Church. That rural pas- Three conditions that enter into the rural torates are brief, too brief to face and solve the church problem have been briefly noted. What problems they present, is not to be wondered at. of the future? It is pleasant to be able to state in It is the direct consequence of the factors we have closing that definite progress is being made. The been considering and will not be corrected until outlook is promising. Overchurching is on the de- the Church wins back a true perspective and cline. The generation that takes up our work is creates sufficient spiritual dynamic to remove going to see some changes that the boldest prophet these abuses and inspire men to choose as Oberlin did not dare to anticipate a generation ago. The did more than a century ago. Church is slowly opening its eyes to the need and A third major handicap which touches the pros- profit of strengthening the rural base. More men perity of the rural church is the depressed status are hearing and responding to the call of the coun- of agriculture as an industry. The Church as an try without apology or the old sense of inferiority.
institution cannot carryon without suitable build- And governments are slowly learning that pros- ings, equipment and trained leadership and for perity and national greatness are not products of these a sufficient measure of financial support mass production in city factories but have their must be found in the community served or in the roots much deeper in the life of the soil.
FOLLY OF BEING POWERLESS If an electric car stands motionless on the tracks, it is nothing against the power of electricity. If an invalid has no appetite, and cannot go out of doors at night, it is no argument against things good to eat and the joy of starlit air. If a man does not know a flower by name nor a poem by heart, it is no indictment of the beauty of a rose or the charm of some poem. If we bear the name of Christ, but give no other sign of Him; if we go through the forms of Godliness, but live powerless lives, it is a thousand reproaches to us. To be powerless when Christ has all power, and we can have all we want, is an arraignment to which we can make no answer that is not self-incriminating.-Selecfed.
Service for Rural
~-.. I By the REV. LOUIS C. HARNISH, Standish, Maine IPJ…- W HERE shall we spend our honeymoon? Why should so much outside help be needed in This was one of the questions that two carrying on the work of the rural church? young people discussed as they made plans This question involves two other questions: for their wedding. One was a recent graduate of "Why not depend on local leadership?" "What a well-known college who was serving as Dean of are the special or unusual needs that ought to be Women in her Alma Mater. The other had pre- met?"
pared in a midwestern college for teaching. The In other words, what are the conditions which answer to their question came from the American make the revival of the rural churches so difficult, Friends Service Committee to whom the Sebago and why is there need of such a large amount of Lake Regional Parish of Maine had applied for volunteer work that can be done only with the help vounteer summer workers. Arrangements were of leaders from outside the community?
completed and the young bride and groom arrived The task of the Christian Church might be deon the scene. They found themselves in a colony fined as "ministering to the abundant life." Chris- of eight volunteer summer workers, housed in the tianity is a religion of culture. Ministering to hu- large parsonage at Standish. man needs in the spirit of Christ makes religion The Sebago Lake Regional Parish was one of vital. It was in this way that Jesus began the a number of so-called "Larger Parishes" founded work of the Kingdom in His day. People are led largely through the vision and energy of the Rev. from the needs they recognize to the needs that Hilda L. Ives who, in this case, served as one of are more fundamental, that is, spiritual needs. the volunteers. Other members of the colony In spite of all the advances and facilities of were a mother and daughter, two young women college graduates, and a young Harvard student. modern civilization, there are multitudes who need the ministry of health, of sympathetic understand- The mother was a woman of culture and of ex- ing, of encouragement, of wholesome recreation, perience in higher education, who served as house of social satisfactions, of culture, including music, mother. Her daughter was a teacher in the pub- beauty, literary appreciation, etc. Homes need to lic schools of a large city. be made more livable, more attractive, more com- The group lived together as a family, each par- fortable, more sanitary, and in many cases, more ticipating in the household duties. Daily confer- commodious. Parents need assistance and guid- ences were held at which reports of the preceding ance in the care of their children and in habit day were received and plans for the day discussed. training of their children from infancy. They With the aid of cars in various degrees of senility need cooperation in dealing with youth and in the group scattered over the field. Every home in family problems along many lines.
the entire region was visited and studies were This is a spiritual ministry and can never be made of the needs and problems which were re- made fully effective by any other ministry than vealed as a result of the home or individual con- that of Christ-directed lives prepared for the spe- tacts. cific task to which their energies are to be de- Partly as a result of the summer's experiment voted. It is this phase of Christian service that the Church must meet if its ministry is to be efa call for student volunteer Christian service was fective. This is true especially of underprivileged sent out through various channels. An article in sections. Nowhere is this service more needed the Boston Transcript brought many responses. than in many rural regions. More than thirty-five young people have served on the Regional Parish staff, mostly on a non-salary The lack of competent local leadership in many basis. For the past three years the whole staff rural sections..is obvious. The reasons for this. has been serving without salaries. Ordinary liv- lack are also obvious. ing expenses are provided and the staff live as a family in the Standish parsonage. Each person First: The membership of the rural churches is allowed ten dollars a month for strictly per- is for the most part pitiably small. Those who sonal use, but it is understood that no one will be constitute the membership are as a rule older peoallowed to suffer in case of emergency. ple. Many have lost their vital touch with the younger generation. There is also, to a large ex- [368 ] tent, a spirit of pessimism that weakens the in- sick. This is one of the greatest opportunities fluence of the group. for devoted service in the rural field. One member Second: At least one generation has lost out of our present staff is a registered nurse and has both in religious and cultural training. The demonstrated clearly the demand for such servyounger generation, including the young married ice and its practicability as a means of spiritual people, are not even connected with the church, service. except in a few of the more progressive parishes in very recent years. Even those who are mem- There is great need for people with home ecobers often do not take their religion very seri· nomic training, especially fitted to deal sympathetously. ically with families. Here is an opportunity to really transform homes and to instill in them the Third: Those who have the qualities and capac- religious atmosphere. Another line of service is ity for leadership have left their homes to find em- for people with nursery school and kindergarten ployment in other places. Some of these have training. The Regional Parish was instrumental become religious leaders in other churches. in securing Federal Aid for a nursery school which has been carried on for over two years in very Fourth: In rural communities people are scat- close and sympathetic relation to the leaders of tered, many living at a distance from any center, the Parish. It seems almost impossible to overmaking it inconvenient or impossible to attend estimate its value. Elementary Christian educagroup meeting with any regularity. tion must be closely related to the home and Fifth: The demands for Christian service in should begin in the earliest stages of the child's thinly populated regions of Maine and other parts life.
of New England are especially great. Facilities We recognize the value of music in the church that are available in cities and more advanced and in the home and in almost every phase of neighborhoods through schools and clinics, and neighborhood life. Whole generations have lost visiting nurse associations, through settlements out in music training. The schools have made a and civic centers are almost entirely lacking in beginning. Here is a great opportunity for the many country districts. Some "homes" are even Church. Every child that has the capacity ought worse off than those in the congested districts of to have the opportunity to learn to playa musical cities. instrument and to sing. We have done something Sixth: In most country districts there is a lack along this line, but very inadequately. There is need of, and in fact, a demand for many other of social responsibility on the part of the more lines of cultural service. A Harvard graduate privileged people. There is a tendency to regard interested in oriental pottery spent a summer in the people of lower standards of living as "no our parish teaching "coil and pat" method of good" and incapable of rehabilitation. These conditions are, in a way, similar to the making pottery. The response was astonishing. conditions that gave rise to the settlement move- There is demand for all lines of manual work ment in the cities fifty years ago; They give the' for both boys and girls. Recently our boys' Church its opportunity for the revival of the rural worker became very popular teaching the boys to church. Here is a situation that calls for the same make airplane models which could really fly.
heroic service as the foreign field. It is a service The call for volunteer service on the part of that demands the very highest qualifications of younger (and older) Christians is a reasonable character, consecration, spiritual development, one and is certainly in keeping with our Christian and technical training. It calls for the "mission- traditions. It has saved the Church in more than ary spirit" in the highest sense. But it is espe- one crisis. Why should not our young Christian cially in these sections that money is not available students and graduates give one or two years of for the employment of trained workers. How, free service in recognition of the privileges they then, can the situation be met? have enjoyed? Has the Christian Church less The experiment of the Sebago Lake Regional claim on its youth than the Mormons whose young Parish suggests one way of meeting the situation men are called upon to go out without scrip or which is, perhaps, worthy of consideration. It purse or remuneration to serve for a year or two involves, in the first place, sending out to our col- as missionaries? Has the Christian Church less leges and technical schools a call for volunteer right to such service than the State that drafts its service on the part of men and women of excep- young men for military service and training? tionally fine Christian character, technically Moreover, there are many educated Christian peotrained for some specific task. There is need for ple who are economically independent who might nurses with public health training to do educa- well practice their profession without salary.
tional work, serve as visiting nurses, and in case But how are these people to be maintained who of emergency to care temporarily for the very have not the means of their own? This leads to
370· THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD [July-August
the second suggestion which has been tried out on is a project that ought to appeal to many people of a small scale in our Sebago Lake Regional Parish. larger means.
A staff of workers can live as a group or colony, The life of a group living as a family is an inunder good leadership, on a very small allowance. teresting experiment in many ways. It calls for The funds usually provided for two salaries will the exercise of. the finest Christian virtues. It maintain a staff of four or five. There is the pos- also provides the very maximum of social and culsibility, also, in rural regions of doing a little subsistance "farming." People in the country can tural satisfactions.* often give produce where they cannot give money. Evep so, funds are likely to be needed from be- • The Director of the Sebago Lake Regional Parish will be glad nevolent minded people outside the region. This to correspond with people who wish to consider giving themselves for volunteer rural service. It Is hoped that the Parish may become a training field for those who enter such service. .
Saving ~ Whole Rural Community* The Life and Work of John Frederic Oberlin T HE biographer says: "The story of Oberlin The soil was poor, the roads were bad, th€ peo- is that of a man who stayed in a remote valley ple were sick and ignorant – the only school- and did his work so well that the world made teacher was a man whose job had been pig herda path to his door. ing but he had become too old and weak for that so they sent him to care for the children. "John Frederic Oberlin was Franco-German. He never came to America; but an American col- Oberlin took a census which showed five villege was named for him. lages, 100 families, and 400 inhabitants.
"His salary was less than that of a teacher in Service. Oberlin said in his first sermon that our grade school; put, more than a hundred years "minister" meant "-servant" and he had come to after his death, the New Standard Dictionary lists serve. He told the congregation that men serve him as a 'philanthropist.' God by doing good to their neighbors. "Dear friends, one especially please-s God by good works. "He founded the first 'infant schools' on record. To do good works one does not need to have "He was a pioneer in scientific 'agricultural ex- money. Everything that is done for the public tension.' good or to ease the burdens of man or beast, when "In an age of intense religious animositie-s both it is done for love of God, is a good work which Protestants and Catholics worshipped together in rejoices his heart." his church. "He shielded Jews from persecution, and per- Road building. "Such a work, especially," sonally indemnified them for injuries -suffered in Oberlin continued in that fi:r:st sermon, "is the rehis parish. pair and good upkeep of roads." "Although in peril of his life during the French Revolution, he was given 'honorable mention' by He raised money in the city to buy gunpowder the National Convention for his work as an edu- to blast the rocks; he asked villagers to work with cator. him and when only two or three came, he started "He was nominated for the Legion of Honor the job alone. before the fall of Napoleon, and was given this decoration by Louis XVIII. Others joined him; a good road was made; a "He was awarded a gold medal for his work in bridge built and the Valley of Stone was connected agriculture and community betterment. He re- with the outside world. ceived messages of endearment from the Tzar of Russia." The other villages asked Oberlin to help them build roads. Work in a Country Church Schoolhouses. Oberlin bought a lot for a new Oberlin went from a city to live in a small vil- school building; raised the money to buy the malage and work in a rural community. He planned terials. to remain there 30 years. He worked as a carpenter and finished the job • From "Good News-Well Told," a pamphlet published by the in two and a half months. National Christian Council of the Philippine Islands. The facts are taken from Dawson's book entitled, "John Frederic Oberlln-A Prot- Next he built schoolhouses in the other four estant Saint." villages.
SAVING A WHOLE RURAL
Sanitation. Oberlin concluded one of his ser- the villagers, continued to dig. When the trenches mons thus: were four or five feet deep he lowered young trees "My friends, remember what I have told you. into them, mixing and pressing lightly around The pestilences which from time to time have car- their roots the kinds of soil believed to be best ried half the people of this valley to their graves suited to their rapid growth. He alsO" procured are not caused by witches. They are caused by slips of a few pears, plums, cherries, and some filth. Some of you, showing love to God by a re- nuts, and turned one of his gardens into a large gard for the common welfare, have heeded what nursery. Then he waited. The mountaineers had I have asked everyone to do and are keeping your never seen trees grow so fast. At last their premises free from filth that is a public nuisance. curiosity got the better of them. Of their own Others, showing an obstinacy that fills Satan with accord, they came to express their astonishment joy, have continued in their old and detestable and to ask him how they could raise such trees ways. What shall I say, then? Shall I leave them ' for themselves."
to start another pestilence, and let them learn Next Oberlin gradually introduced scientific from the Angel of Death when that messenger agriculture. comes to their door? Indeed, they well deserve "He was interested primarily in the character such teaching; but alas, when calamity comes the of the inhabitants of the Valley of Stone. He had good must suffer with the bad. No-I must try seen a vision of perfected humanity' in the char- again to save you. I cannot command you. But acter of Jesus unfolded in the Gospels. His con- see, dear friends and compatriots, what I hold in suming passion was the desii'e to lift all men to my hand ! Yes it is money – money that came that level. But it did not take long for a man who through the sale of grain from my fields. I offer had trained himself both in medicine and theology it as prizes to our countrymen whose yards, upon to see that bodies enfeebled by a degrading desti- inspection, are found to be free from filth." tution cannot go far on the road to spiritual per- An educational system. Oberlin changed office fection. Oberlin heard a voice that said: 'I was of teacher from standard of a pig herder to that hungry, and you fed me.' He must feed these peoof highest honor in the village. He wrote new ple. 'God is immensely rich!' It is not necessary textbooks; he organized "infant schools," the first for any child of his to go hungry. Wherever there kindergartens in the world. Thus he established is a need, there is also a supply. Apply the Golden in his rural parish the best school system in Rule and the scientific method, and everyone will Europe. have enough and to spare."
A demonstration in farming. When the people Then Oberlin's wife taught the people how to saw these things, they began to believe that their spin. In one year the small Valley sold to one manufacturer about 12,000 pesos worth. leader knew what he was doing. "The mountaineers were ready to admit that "Visitors to the Valley of Stone discovered that the inhabitants were more intelligent, honest, and Oberlin could lay a stone wall, clear a road, build polite than were any other peasants they had ever a bridge, construct a school, and teach them to seen. The schools and the church had done their read and write. But there was one thing a peas- work! A distinguished Swiss patriot, who had ant, living in the eighteenth century, would not founded a ribbon factory at Basle, was attracted believe that a city man could do. He could not to the Valley of Stone by the fame of its minister. teach them anything about farming. He urged his two sons to move their ribbon fac- tory to this place. . . . "Oberlin knew this feeling on the part of the peasants. He was wise enough to respect their prejudices, where these were deeply rooted. He "The factory was located in the Valley of Stone would not start by telling them about new meth- without further ado. (In 1812, Legand's entire ods and undreamed-of possibilities. But there establishment was removed to the Valley of was nothing to prevent his setting out some trees Stone.) The prosperity of the region was then as- and plants in his own gardens and fields. sured."
"One day there was much merriment in the vil- Called to America, Oberlin decided to remain lage of Waldsbach. Two fields, noted for the bar- in his Valley. He lived there sixty years (1767- renness of their soil, belonged to the parsonage. 1826) and won the whole Valley to Christ. Prot- These fields were crossed by paths much fre- estants and Catholics worshipped together in his quented by the peasants. The passers-by noticed, church. .
on the day in question, that the minister, with the This remarkable life of a Christian preacher help of a servant, was digging deep trenches shows how effective witness may be borne to through the barren fields. What did he expect to Christ through service that helps to elevate men grow in that place? . . . intellectually, economically and socially as well "Oberlin, disregarding the sly amusement of as spiritually.
BELLINGHAM PREACHING AND PRACTICING AMONG BEDOUINS OF
Medical Work Among Arabs in Iraq* -·of/ifJ.!,;;;1====B=Y=W=.=B=EL=L=IN=G=HAM=====~lll>o- -THE vast expanse of the Shamiyah Desert, gists, geologists, also search and journey with .. which lies west of the River Euphrates in high hopes of adding a little more to our knowl- Central Mesopotamia (the Kingdom of Iraq) edge of the almost unknown.
extends far into the Nejd (in Arabia). It is There are a very few who are called and sent bordered by the Syrian Desert to the north and to heal the sick and to preach the Gospel among by all the mystery of Arabia to the south. the widely scattered tribes of Nomad Arabs.
A trip into that supposedly empty desert would Nothing can turn them aside from their objective seem rather reckless to the ordinary individual; once the "call" is upon them and so long as their a sojourn over a period of years~whatever one's trust is in the Risen Lord. To them the way is objective-would appear nothing short of mad- old yet ever new with new and exciting dangers ness. Yet people do travel there, though one often and difficulties. There are the unpleasant sensawonders what attractions those great arid wastes tions in the burning sun at midday; terrible footh.ave to offer, and why people endure untold hard- soreness, thirst, fevers, loneliness-all new with a grim unexpectedness. The aches and pains, the ships, wandering about its vast empty spaces. sufferings and anxieties experienced along the Some travelers seek something new by way of wayside in the journeyings of a missionary are adventure: they experience queer itchings in the never fully told. Nor need they ever be told, for blood known to many as wanderlust. Organized they are forgotten mid blessings derived from parties of explorers, anthropologists, archreolo- ministering to the greater sufferings of those to * Condensed from 'The EvnngeHcal Ohristian, Toronto. whom they are sent. For those sick bodies and [372 ]
MEDICAL WORK AMONG ARABS IN IRAQ
sicker souls to whom they journey know not the women; they are moving off at the sight of uscomforts and love of the Risen Saviour. single file, along a well-worn track, carrying skins of water. The water in the water-hole is dirty But come with me-or rather with us, Christ and stagnant, but oh, how precious – water is and myself-if you would know something of the Life !.How sweet on the desert! "Let us hurry desert. We will take you into its unquenchable and tell them of the sweet water of Eternal Life." life as we live it, and as it really is. It is only a thought and cannot be done, for sud- denly we think of the. unwritten laws of the desert The journey requires a little over three hours and content ourselves and follow on, not daring by either camel or horse and is just as uncom- to mention them more than once to our Arab comfortable on either. Leaving our little home of dried mud, dwarfing itself in the distance, we THE MISSIONARY IN ARAB DRE.SS sway off into the wilderness, soon to lose sight of everything one connects with mankind. There is panion, who in the roughest voice he can muster, not a structure, mechanical contrivance or human is bidding them ,move from our path.. "It's easy being within sight. On every side is sun-scorched for us to go aroun~," we protest with a feeling of desert, dry, empty, silent, uncanny and bare but pity. .But t~y h~ve scrambled aside. One has for the presence of a few clumps of camel-thorn fallen over, and we pass on trying hard not to and ourselves. The sun beats down with a pitiless hear the oaths muttered by the Arab at our side. glare, and the surface of the desert becomes so hot that it will fry an egg. 'Perspiration oozes from The tents of the other Arabs are not to be seen. every pore; a gentle breeze from the south lifts The path winds and, twists through the thorns for up particles of sand that adhere to every inch of another four miles and we cross a rift in the desour uncovered skin. Even the thought of water ert, and there, to our relief, are the tents, black as makes us thirsty, but we refrain from drinking– the lean goats moving around. Our thoughts we shall only perspire more freely if we do. Our Arab companion comforts us with an Arab prov- flash to Genesis, arid we think of Jabal, Abraham erb: "Don't drink-less thirst; don't eat-less hunger?" So we sway along to the rhythm of the and Jacob, who were plainsmen dwelling in tents. gurgling water in our waterskin. To talk is a Surely they must have used tents like these even fatigue, so we rock and think, think and sway, Oh, why were camels made to walk so oddly? It's such an uncomfortable ache we feel across the belt. The glare hurts our eyes. We wish we could talk; we wish we could drink. Oh, if only there were one shady tree where we could rest. If only we could see something new or other nomads in the distance. Why, oh why, do people waste so much water over the simple washing of hands? A thousand and one thoughts flash on through the mind-we straighten up-relax, close our eyesmeditate-. We shall not get lost, Christ is at our side and even if there is no track we are comforted somewhat for our Arab companion is with us. On and on! .
Over a ridge and dpwn into an indentation. There is more thorn now:, and there-away in the distance-camels-"El Hamdu lillah"-unto God be praise. Further ~n are flocks of sheep and goats that 'appear to be grazing on sand for we see no grass. We begin to wonder what the black hundles are that move, for from where'we sit they appear to be framed between the camels' ears. It's a water-hole-no need for the Arab to tell us. The camels smeUed it long before we crossed the ridge and had we been unconscious from thirst the camels would have taken us there even if they themselves did not want to drink. They are wonderful, in spite of being awkward at times.
But there! we see that the black bundles are
in those long ages past. There they stand in all is in God. "God is great," they mutter, and now the stark loneliness of the desert. is the time to tell them of God's greatness. They love a good story and will listen with patience; Someone is running to meet us; a shout goes but in like manner we have to listen to their up, others follow. Several barking dogs race to stories, with patience equally as great, or they will show their teeth, but the first to greet us are the not listen to our next. Usually their stories are flies. We attempt to speak. Several flies are in about the prophet Mohammed and Jimree, and our mouth, but we soon get used to it. what they lack in propriety they soon gain in amusement. The Arab has perfected the art of The Arab at our side mutters: "Allah Wakeil" telling a story; much gesticulation, gasping and (God our Trustee), and touches the camel's neck. repetition goes with everyone. The following is With a series of grunts it kneels at an alarming typical of the kind that tickle their imaginations, angle, head down and forelegs first; we hold tight and this, by the way, is believed by them to be until we get a jolt from behind and know then she true. is properly settled. We alight with relief and have the feeling that it is good to he on mother One mullah, such a good mullah he was, never was there earth. But before the feeling has rushed around a mullah like him. Never! our aching limbs we must give our greetings with "Peace," which is answered by "And on you be He was always most careful in his ablutions, and always peace." washed his hands before going to pray. And as was his ha0it he always held out his hands, always held out his A dozen or more dirty palms are thrust into hands he did. But the sparrows belonging to the mosque ours and in our pockets with impunity. The bag knew, and at prayer time always flew down to rest on his with the medicines is in the safe-keeping of the hands and cling to his fingers to drink the drops of water Arab, who freely clouts one and then another of that gathered at his finger ends, until not even a drop rethe besieging crowd. A score of questions are mained and his hands became dry. asked in as many seconds about our health and welfare, and what we have brought. We are then At the end everyone gasps, and the teller, to led to the Sheikh's tent where some measure of confirm it, will swear by his Prophet that it is not peace is assured. Greetings and questions are re- false. peated and a dusty rug is placed at our disposal. So we relax. A new dung fire is lighted right at Finally we tell our story, a guest's, privilege. our feet; coffee beans are roasted and pounded. Then comes our time for medical treatment and We ask someone to bring our water but sour milk more Gospel. These Arab nomads suffer from alis brought in a filthy container instead, with flies most every ailment it is possible to imagine-sore swimming on its surface and every inch of its ex- eyes, open sores, the only covering of which are terior covered. To brush them off would send the flies; infected wounds; cuts, burns, skin dismore diving into the beverage, so instead we blow eases and internal complaints too numerous to them to the far side and take sucking drafts of mention. Very seldom do they wash and never the milk until our thirst is quenched. If we should with soap. They are so poor that one cannot be weak in the stomach and complain about the imagine how poor until they are seen-no money, flies, we may hear comments to the effect that we no stores. They live mostly on dates and the have been given both food and drink and that meagre supply of milk from their flocks. Perhaps they were sent by' Allah. twice a year they take wool, hair and skins to the town, which may be a handred miles away, and But we have come to preach the Gospel, but preaching, in the ordinary sense of the word, there they exchange their pJoduce for clothes and cannot be done, so we shall have to win them by cheap luxuries. tact. If we can first attend to their sadly-neglected bodies they will then listen with eagerness Those diseases for which we have no cure we to the wonderful healing power of the Great Phy- commend to God in prayer and He honors the sician, for they never forget a kindness. faith of His servants. The men and boys are treated first; then we go to the women and girls. First we must have coffee and discuss the latest It is pitiful. But a half can never be told. We news; then follows a general talk. They know leave messages of comfort and promise to come why we are here but it's beyond them to know again, if God so wills. "Inshallah" they repeat why we are not afraid. Government officials visit from their hearts. them on rare occasions, but always with an escort of several armed police. After giving our treatments we return to the Sheikh and ask permission to go. He presses us "Are you not afraid of being stabbed and to stay the night, but we have had the experience robbed," they often ask, for they love talking of before. We pick off a few lice that are visible on such subjects. We tell them briefly that our trust our dress and make excuses. We return home as the. coming night chases another passing day to
HANS EGEDE-MISSIONARY TO GREENLAND
the west, to bathe in four gallons of water. If Their trust is in a dead prophet while ours is in that is not available-be patient, Brother! Christ the Risen Lord. bore our sufferings on Calvary and made one sacrifice once and for all; therefore no sacrifice is too When next we visit the spot we find the water great for us to make for Him. We think of the hole dry and the desert empty and bare. All is Arabs we have left behind, and our hearts ache. quiet. They have gone, Gone! GONE! BUT WHERE???
Hans Egede – Missionary to Greenland Last year was the 250th anniversary of Hans Egede's birth. We are indebted to Dr. O. M. Norlie of Luther College, and to the News Bulletin of the National Lutheran Church for the following sketch of this interesting and inspiring Lutheran missionary of long ago.
H ANS EGEDE, the Apostle to Greenland, Gardar, Greenland. Then, for a long and dreary was born January 31, 1686, at Senjen, stretch of over three hundred years, nothing is Northern Norway, 250 years ago. This said about Greenland.
busy world will do well to pause a moment to It was Hans Egede who brought the question up listen to a brief tale about his life and labors. He again. A graduate of the University of Copenwas a hero and saint whose monument is the hagen at 21, he at once married and accepted a ChuroCh of Greenland, of which every person in pastorate in the fishing town of Vaagan, Lofoten Greenland, except two, is a baptized member. Next to Australia, Greenland is the largest island Islands, Norway. While there he read about the in the world. It is more than one-fourth as large Greenland settlements and the Church that had as the United States. It is the most northern once been planted on that remote island. He beland in the world, and perhaps the coldest, for its gan to think about it and to talk about it, and, interior is covered with an immense shield of ice after much careful and prayerful consideration rising from 4,000 feet to 11,000 feet. Its mon- concluded that he ought to go there as a missionstrous fjords discharge numberless icebergs, some ary to his countrymen. He laid the matter beof them ten miles long and a mile or more deep. fore the bishops of Trondheim and of Bergen, but The habitable portion is a thin fringe along the their replies, which were delayed a whole year, southwestern and the southeastern coasts, an area were just honeyed words. His parishioners at first thought his views interesting, then they proof 46,740 miles, or 5% of the total island. tested, later became angry and finally regarded him as deranged. His wife, Gertrude Rask of The first settlers in Greenland were the ancient Bergen, at first did not share with him his desire Norsemen. GunnbjflSrn, Ulf Krage's son, the sages to go to such a desolate and unknown field, but say, was driven by a storm to the coast of Green- through prayer she became convinced that God land in 876 and wintered there. Erik the Red willed it and never afterwards wavered in het made a settlement there in 983, and called the support of him. To this day she is reckoned as land Greenland, hoping to attract settlers. At one of the noblest missionaries in all the annals one time there were six thousand Norsemen liv- of nineteen hundred years of mission work.
ing there. In 1715, Egede wrote a pamphlet defending his In 999, King Olaf Trygvasson of Norway sent idea as to the need of mission work in Greenland and resigned from his pastorate in order to arouse Leif Erikson to Greenland to Christianize it. In- interest for the mission cause. People regarded cidentally he made a voyage of discovery and him as a madman. Church people would not listen found Vinland, and his name is best known as the to him anymore. He turned to the merchants. discoverer of America in 1000. In the Norse He went to Bergen to enlist the merchants in an sagas and the Vatican archives are found occa- expedition of trade with Greenland. It was all sional notices of the Church which Leif established in vain for they dared not make the venture. in Greenland. Thus, in 1112, Pope Paschal II ap- Now, fortunately, the King of Denmark-Norway, pointed Eric Knutsson Bishop of Greenland. In Frederick IV, had started a mission college and 1121, Bishop Eric left Iceland for Vinland. The had sent two missionaries, the German Pi~tists bishops after him are mentioned in the Icelandic Ziegenbalg and Pliitschau, to be missionaries vellums by name in regular succession down to among the Tamils around the Danish trading set- 1409. In a letter of Pope Alexander VI, dated tlement at Tranquebar, South India. The sending 1492, the year of Columbus' discovery of America, of these two to India is considered as the beginthe sad condition of neglected Greenland is reviewed and Matthias is appointed Bishop of
ning of modern Protestant missions. Egede be- ing venture rather than a missionary enter,prise, took himself to the King, who at first refused to and for a year they had not been able to do any consider the Greenland project, but later prom- trading with the natives. In fact, they could not ised to give an annual amount of money to it and even buy provisions and as their supplies were gave Egede public endorsement. With this back- .getting dangerously low, were firmly determined ing, Egede began to get a more respectful hear- to leave for home on a certain day. But, on the ing and by 1721, after thirteen years of agitation, day set for leaving Greenland, three Norwegian he had a trading-colonizing company organized boats came into sight. They brought supplies and and a ship purchased for the voyage. With his reinforcements, and took home such of the colfamily and forty men on board he set sail from onists as were discontented. And so the work Bergen on May 3, 1721, and arrived off the south- went on. At length through the children Egede west coast of Greenland on July 3, 1721, two was permitted to do some small acts of kindness months later. As the natives seemed fearful and among the Eskimos. Fear of him waned and he fled at the approach of the newcomers, he occupied became a welcome guest. He was a hard student a little island off the coast, which he called and made good progress in their language and HaabetsjiS (Island of Hope). This island was to began to understand their ways. At last, on Janbe his headquarters for seven years. uary 10, 1724, he gathered some seventy of them in one of the larger houses and for the first time The Greenlanders, Egede found to be, I).ot de- preached to them in their own language. scendants of the old Norsemen, but an Indian tribe called Innuits or Eskimos. The Norsemen Four years later Egede moved his colony from had disappeared, and their sixteen large churches the little island to the mainland and named the and their houses were all gone. As stated, the new station Godthaab (Good Hope). It is still natives were timid and afraid and unapproach- one of the chief towns of Greenland and the seat able. They had had experience with strange of the Greenland Lutheran Theological Seminary, ships, with whalers and merchantmen who had which trains the native ministry of today. Other often come to rob and kill as well as to barter. stations were added as time went on: one at On one occasion, according to Egede's "Dagbog" Christianshaab in 1734 by Hans Egede, several (Daybook) a whaler came and set fire to an by his son, Paul, later on, as at Frederikshaab in Eskimo village, came again the next year and re- 1742, at J akobshavn in 1749, at Claushavn in peated the crime. No wonder they were afraid 1752. The king gave Hans Egede the title of of Egede and fled to the hillsides when he came Bishop of Greenland, later applied to his son, Paul ashore. In fact, the first year he was on the Island Egeqe, and other successors. of Hope the village on the mainland near by was emptied of its inhabitants. It was mainly through But though Egede had won the confidence of his children, Paul and Nils and the two daughters, the Eskimos, there were many hardships. Buildwho played with the Eskimo children, that ing material and many kinds of food had to be imfriendly relations were gradually established. ported from Europe. There was often danger of starvation and real famine. There was sickness Egede set to work to learn the language, which and even plague. The opposition from the native was not then written. He started to translate the priesthood was deep-rooted. Some of the colonists catechism and portions of the Bible into their and traders that had come over were not morally tongue. It was a difficult undertaking, for their what they should be. In 1727 the trading comvocabulary was very meager. How, for example, pany which Egede had organized dissolved, as it could he render "Lamb of God" to a people who was not a paying venture. This was a hard blow, had never seen a lamb and had no word for it in but Egede asked his king in· faith to send him their language? There were other obstacles too. more workers, and he sent him two new mission- The native priests did not welcome the new re- aries, Ole Lange and Heinrich Milzong. In 1731 ligion. The people, like ignorant heathen else- a ship came to port with the sad news that Fredwhere in the world, were prone to superstitious erick IV, the friend of missions, both in "Greenbeliefs and practices. One superstition was that land's icy mountains" and· on "India's coral sickness was due to witchcraft. So, when some strands," was dead. Egede got orders to return one got sick, the thing to do was to find the witch to Norway. The royal support was withdrawn. that was causing the trouble. Usually some poor, But the Greenlanders urged him to stay, and Gerhelpless old woman was seized, tortured to death, trude, his wife, agreed with him that it was their her heart taken out, her body sawed to bits and duty. So they stayed on. The new king, Christhrown into the waves of the sea. There was tian VI, joined the Pietist movement and became no hope of curing a sickness until this had been friendly to the mission cause. Count Zinzendorf done. Such superstitions died hard. was present at his coronation and witnessed the baptism of two Greenland boys that Egede had Again, the expedition had been at base a trad-
HANS EGEDE-MISSIONARY 1'0 GREENLAND
sent to Denmark to be trained. This gave Zin- and enlightened people, due to the solid foundazendorf an idea, which his Church, the Moravian Brethren, then and there began to .put into action. tions laid by Hans Egede and his son, Paul. The idea was to bring the Gospel to the heathen. Zinzendorf pleaded with King Christian VI to When Hans Egede came back to Norway he was support Egede, and from then on Christian was a staunch friend of the Greenland mission. Zinzen- engaged in speaking about the work of his misdorf went a step further. He himself would send missionaries to Greenland to help out. He sent sion. The University of Copenhagen established three good men to start with who made their first station and headquarters at a place they called a Greenland Seminary and made" him the director New Herrnhut, some distance north of Godthaab. Strange to say, their coming was in many ways a of it, a position he held until 1747, when he asked hindrance to Egede's work, for they opposed him, notwithstanding that he was always kindly and to be relieved. In his retirement he lived at Stubhelpful towards them. The worst hardship that befell the mission during Hans Egede's stay was bekj~bing on the little island of Falster, Denmark. the smallpox plague in 1735. A boy came down with this dread disease, which spread rapidly from There he died on November 5, 1758, at seventyhut to hut and laid waste whole villages so that there was not a man left to bury the dead. Some two and was buried beside his dear wife in the three thousand died of the scourge, including Gertrude Rask Egede, the beloved and faithful Nikolai Cemetery. The Eskimos to this day call wife of Hans. Then, at her death, broken down by untiring labors and sorrow, he asked that he him the "Unforgettable Father." " might return to his homeland for a season of rest. He preached his farewell sermon on July 28, 1736, A DOCTOR'S NIGHT AT FATEHPUR* vona.mth.e. s.a.d"text Isaiah 40: 4-"1 have labored in (By one who sleeps on the Hospital roof) But had he labored in vain? Although after The birds have hushed their sweetest bedtime songs, fifteen years of work he had baptized only twenty For dusk has quickly faded into night. people, he had prepared the soil and had /'lown much good seed that was to bear abundant fruit. The monkeys, crooning, moaning in the trees, Said one native to him: "You have done for us Are soon to hush, until the break of light. what none of our own would have done. You have stayed by us in our sickness and fed us out of A traveler on his way to cheer of home, your store. You have buried our dead who other- Goes singing down the now-deserted road. wise would not have received burial and would have been devoured by dogs and ravens and foxes. Anon come jingling bells and trotting hoofs- But above all you have told us about God and the An ekka driver clicking-on his load. Saviour and Heaven, so that we can die in joy and have a sure hope of a better life in the world When time has come for sleep, a jackal howls, to come." And then the pack let out blood-curdling cries His work was continued by his son Paul Egede, 'Til all the dogs awake and start to bark; who spoke the Eskimo like a native and was a It seems as though they echo round the skies. truly great linguist and administrator. He wrote in the Eskimo language a dictionary, a grammar, And from the distance comes the rhythmic drum Luther's Catechism, the New Testament, the Of tom-toms, of some Hindu wedding feast. Church Book. He extended the missions along the whole west coast of Greenland over one thou- And long into the night their frenzied beats sand miles. The Church in Greenland has ever Grow faster, when all else from sound has ceased. since been a living Church, although like the churches in the homeland it was at low ebb dur- Then wearied from their play, 'tis silent night ing the period of Rationalism. The first heathen And all sleep on, but those who guard the townin Greenland to be baptized, a Protestant, was in 1725, the last was in 1856. Heathenism has been The chaukidars, who call abruptly out, driven from the land. They are a God-fearing While others answer, walking up and down.
And then-sometimes-that sleep disturbing cry: "Oh, chaukidar, oh, come unlock the gate,"
And heavy wheels come crunching down the path. The prodded oxen stop, and then I wait.
And muffled voices soon are heard below, The lights flash out, with tasks soon under way, Inevitable footsteps to my roof Of nurse who calls, "A patient's come to stay."
And then below, the night becomes as day, And we all work to save that woman's life, The baby's too, if haply it still lives 'Spite villagers with ignorance so rife.
And just before the dawn there comes a lull, The woman resting, sleeping after pain; Before the birds their morning chatter start, There's stillness and some peaceful sleep again.
Upon my sleep there breaks a glorious hymn; It is the nurses at their start of day.
"So soon, another day in which to live?" Oh yes, to praise and pray, and work and play. GERTRUDE J. SMITH, M.D.
• From The Missionary lAnk, New York.
Martyrs of
1- 1Ilf By the REV. MURDOCH MacKINNON, D.D. Il~- THREE generations ago Erromanga, a large tions of war. Now we have built a vessel to carry island in the South Seas, was in the grip of the Word of Life, a more excellent thing, and no heathenism. Domestic life was practically vessel has ever been built in this historic dockyard unknown; the tribes were at war, and victories with more pleasure than John Williams V."
were celebrated by public feasts at which the The report of this happy event stated that as bodies of captives were served as a delicacy. But the vessel struck the water the Scottish pipers, the cries of little children and the groans of without direction beforehand, struck up the Scot-'
strangled widows were wafted hither by the warm tish air, "Off to the Isles," amid a hearty burst of breezes from the South, and found response from cheers.
the heart of Christendom. Eighty years ago Mr. and Mrs. George Gordon "I am received with the utmost respect," writes arrived at Erromanga on the mission vessel, the Dr. H. A. Robertson, in one of his recent reports. John Williams, and for upwards of four years "Peace and goodwill prevail all over this fair they lived and worked there. Three months later, isle." he had translated the Ten Commandments. Mrs.
The secret of this change may be deciphered Gordon began by teaching two small boys, who from a tablet erected within "The Martyrs' Me- afterwards became faithful Christian teachers. morial Church," Erromanga. A part of the in- Kindness and unselfishness never yet failed to scription reads thus: disclose hidden worth in the human heart. The younger people listened to the story of Jesus and SACRED TO THE MEMORY the love of God; the old people heard of the cross of the Missionaries who died on this Island of Calvary and the Home of "many mansions." They were intensely interested, and the work GEORGE N. GORDON seemed to prosper. ELLEN C. GORDON But heathenism dies hard, especiaiIy when the Killed by the people of Unepang greed of civilized men allies itself with it. The May 20th, 1861 cruelties and falsehoods of the sandalwood traders JAMES D. GORDON. outstripped anything that benighted Erromanga Killed at Potnuma, March 7th, 1872 could produce. The influence of the missionary tended to make the dishonesty of the trading more difficult. Hence the trader prejudiced the people George N. Gordon and his devoted wife were against Mr. Gordon, saying, "He brought the the first European missionaries to live on Erro- measles to you for did he not tell you that God's manga and to John Williams belongs the honor judgment was coming? He also caused the earth- of having been the first to suffer martyrdom quake and your other misfortunes."
there. He had carried on successful work for The poison had the desired effect. A plot was over twenty years in other islands of the South laid and speedily executed by nine savages, Lovo, Pacific, but no sooner had he and his friend Harris a chief, being party to it. What are one unsus- landed on Erromanga than the murderous people pecting couple against Erromangans with toma- fell on them. Thus they consecrated the island hawks. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon sleep on the banks with their blood, and the little streamlet flowing of the Williams River but no heathen celebration, red that day spoke of peace to the dusky sons of no cannibal feast disturb their dreams. The the South. Christian young men who laid them to rest vowed The launching of John Williams V at Grange- that they would win Erromanga for Christ or mouth, England, a few years ago, forms a sig- perish with their missionaries in the attempt. .
nificant commentary on the saying that "the blood The mother of George Gordon, of Alberton, of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." A rep- Prince Edward Island, had still another son, and resentative of the shipbuilding company said: the heroic spirit which she communicated to her "We have built vessels for commerce, for pleas- children was not crushed. By the grace of God ure, and, I regret to say, vessels to carry muni- she was ready to give this other son to Christ in [378 ]
SIXTY YEARS IN THE CONGO BELGE
so great a cause. J ames Gordon was preparing to them and the Spirit of God worked directly ort for the ministry, and when he heard of his broth- their hearts. He who called Williams called his er's death, he said, "Now it is my turn, I must successors. The Gordon brothers were nature's go." He sailed from Halifax on the famous Mis- noblemen, tall, handsome, athletic. They were sion ship, Dayspring, and in 1864 arrived at the men of intellectual power, with a genius for lanscene of his brother's labors and martyrdom. He guages. They were eloquent, persistent, fervent. gave himself to the work with enthusiasm, pre- They were men of prayer. senting the Gospel to the people in its simplicity and power. Progress was evident on every hand, The Church lives by spiritual conquest, and the and the Word that was sown in weakness was be- Gordons were bent on conquest in the name of the ing raised in power. But the spirit of heathenism Christ and in the power of the Cross. Their death was not yet appeased. It called for another vic- seemed premature and the sacrifice great, but tim. Disease broke out and the missionary was Erromanga is now a Christian island and today again blamed. Nerimpaw's two children died sends out missionaries. The heart of our people after Gordon had given them medicine. (The was stirred and the church at home was wakened hundreds of other children whom he treated, re- out of sleep. covered.) Enough! While he was translating the Acts, and had reached the account of Ste- The foreign missionary not only extends the phen's martyrdom, Nerimpaw's tom a haw k Church abroad, but also is used to save the Church plunged deep into his head, and he too "fell at home. In an age when the world is too much asleep." in evidence, it is inspiriting to hear of these brothers, who gave themselves to the service of There is nothing that calls forth the heroic Christ for the sake of redeeming men. The one spirit like a manifestation of heroism. The Gor- was the first missionary to live, and the other the dons had heard of Williams and as growing boys last martyr to die, on Erromanga. The Church had listened to the voice of John Geddie. The re- that gave the Gordons has other heroes awaiting ports of his work in Aneityum appealed strongly the call of the Master. The Christ who has saved Erromanga can save the world.
Sixty Years in the Congo BeIge By the REV. THOMAS MOODY Missionary of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society AFTER Henry M. Stanley crossed equatorial Congo, with one thousand mISSIOnaries superin- tending the work. The church members in all .L'. Africa and came out at Bauana in August, Belgian Congo number over 250,000, in addition 1877, the English Baptist missionaries to Christians under instruction who number 275,- started for the Congo in 1878. The missionaries 035. More than ten thousand village schools enof many other societies have also entered until roll over 350,000 boys and girls. they have practically occupied the Belgian Congo Many of the mission stations have had very for Christ. great blessings. Sona Bata, of the American Bap- From that day to this the progress of the work tist Foreign Mission Society, where I spent the last few years, was opened in 1890. After several has been wonderfully blessed of God. The mission- revivals we had an exceptional turning to God of aries have gone in with the idea of preaching the the natives in 1921 in which for ten years in suc- Gospel of Christ to the natives and giving them cession over a thousand people were baptized each the Word of God in their own tongue as soon as year and were received into the church on confesit was possible. As a result today the Christian sion of faith. At present there are 10',309 memchurches are in every part of the Belgian Congo, bers connected with this station, with 303 village a large number being self-supporting, self-propa- schools and 7,874 pupils. Besides the church gating, self-sustaining, indigenous churches and boarding school there is a school for medical aswith schools, from the common bush school to the sistants and nurses. The Sona Bata field covers schools for the preparation of teachers and 10,000 square miles with 100,000 people and 2,000 preachers to carry on the work. A large amount villages. We have preached the Gospel in one of the work is done entirely by the African teach- half of their villages but the other 1,000 we have ers and preachers, the oversight of the mission- not entered. When I went out in 1890, there were aries, often being limited to one or two visits a less than 5,000 church members in all the Belgian year to the churches in charge of the natives. Congo and now they number 250,000.
At present there are some forty different Protestant missionary societies working in Belgian
GIFT REVEALS THE GIVER-A
"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3: 16.
This verse tells of the greatest Gift the world has ever known. Other passages from God's Word march in procession before the mind : "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, b.ecause that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." 1 John 4: 9.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15: 13.
"Without shedding of blood is no remission." Hebrews 9: 22. "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him."
Hebrews 7: 25. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, . . . he hath declared him."
John 1: 18.
The mind clings to the thought, God's Gift, even Jesus, reveals God to me; then is it not true that my gifts reveal me to God?
Jesus, God's Gift, reveals to the human heart far more of God than mere paper and ink can ever convey. Four characteristics of God the Father are definitely revealed in His Gift and are all suggested in the words of John 3: 16.
1. GOD'S GIFT REVEALS GOD'S LOVE "GOD SO LOVED . • . that he gave his only begotten Son." "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
2. GOD'S GIFT REVEALS GOD'S VISION "God so loved THE WORLD that he gave his only begotten Son." "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
3. GOD'S GIFT REVEALS GOD'S WISDOM "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him SHOULD NOT PERISH." "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
4. GOD'S GIFT REVEALS GOD'S POWER "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in hi1n should not perish, but HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE." "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life."
If Jesus, the Gift of God, reveals to us God's love for us, God's vision of the needy world, God's wisdom in providing a way of escape from sin, and God's power to save, surely our gifts also reveal us to God.
Take a. backward look at your gifts of the past year, to test yourself by them. Center your thoughts on the gifts which you plan to bring in the coming year as gifts to Him, week by week and month by month. Ask yourself: What do my gifts reveal of my love for Him who gave all for me, of my vision of this sin-stained world, of my knowledge of the way of salvation, and of my faith in God's power through Christ to save all men everywhere. If you are not sure that the revelation made through your gifts is in line with what you feel in your heart, will you sacrifice even more, until you are confident that, seeing the gifts, God will know the depth of your love. Then you will know the secret which Jesus sought to disclose, but which has been kept from many of us: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." -Adapted from Janie McCutchen, in "The Presbyterian Survey."
[380 ]
A Brahman Christian-Nehemiah
The Father of the Author of Uln the Secret of His Presence"
I T WAS a great victory for the Christian mis- the fame of Pandit Goreh, had an interview with sions when Nilakanta Sastri, the Indian pandit him at Benares and took him to Europe as his and scholar, abandoned the Brahmanic reli- tutor in 1854. ,In England, the Goreh was allowed gion of his forefathers and accepted Jesus Christ. an audience with Queen Victoria along with the Nilakanta was born on February 8, 1825, in a Maharajah. He also attended theological lectures village near Jhansi. He belonged to a high class at Islington. This stay brought him into contact konkan family and his father, though born in with some of the great men of the Church of Eng- Poona, migrated early to the north. Soon after land and he had the privilege of meeting with Prof.
Nilakanta's birth the family moved on to Benares, Max Muller at Oxford.
the citadel of Hinduism. Here Goreh was brought For thirteen years Goreh worked as Headmas- up in the lap of luxury as an uncle became Dewan ter of a school under the Church Missionary So- of a State and he was given the best of education ciety., In 1861 he was ordained a Deacon and at that time. He studied Sanscrit under learned sent to start a mission at Mhow in Central India Shastris, specializing in the Vedas, the Nyaya and and later to Chanda in Central Provinces. At grammar. He had a strong prejudice against Cawnpore he came in touch with the Brahmo Christianity as he thought it a "religion fitted for leader, Keshub Chandra Sen, and in the course ignorant Mlechchas only." But Goreh began an of discussion discovered to his surprise that earnest study of the Bible to pick holes in it and Keshub had not read books on the evidences of strengthen his position as a st,aunch advocate of Christian faith. This interview made Goreh Hinduism. The Sermon on the Mount captivated take a special interest in Brahmo Movement and him and drew him near to Christ. His interest write pamphlets to win them over to the Christian steadily grew and contact with missionaries con- faith. He criticized Brahmo Movement as a com- vinced him that Christ's religion is the only satis- promise between Hinduism and Christianity.
fying faith. His father and uncle implored him In 1883 Goreh wrote his important work in not to desert them and their religion, but Nila- Marathi entitled, Is there any proof that Chris- kanta stood firm in his conviction. He challenged tianity is a divl~nely given religion? to meet cer- the pandits of Benares to debate the truth of the tain religious difficulty of Pandita Ramabai who Gospel of Christ. Though his deep affection for was not then a Christian. Later he published a his father made him hesitate to embrace Chris- series of his lectures entitled, Christianity not of tian religion, he finally was baptized on March man but of God. Among his many other publica- 14, 1848, by the Rev. Robert Hawes at Jaunpur tions, and one of the most useful to missionaries, and was given the Christian name of Nehemiah. was-The genuineness of the Holy Gospels. His It was not easy to bring his wife to the new health gradually failed and he passed on to his faith. After his baptism she was supposed to be Rest on October 29, 1895, at the age of 70. It widowed and was kept in privacy. Later, by great has been remarked of him, "The intensed devotion efforts, the husband and wife were brought to- and self-denial of the Brahman missionary, his gether though she remained Hindu for some time. genuine humility and modesty, as well as his pro- Finally, she saw the light revealed in Christ and found erudition, set off the eternal mode of his was baptized with their only daughter, Ellen life, his poverty, his emaciated look, his plain Lakshmi, shortly after joining the Goreh Church. mendicant-like attire-made him to be regarded Unfortunately the mother died soon, leaving the by the people generally, European and Indian, as orphan girl who was the father's pride and joy. a Sadhu, the beau ideal of a Christian missionary."
This daughter has immortalized her name through By his example, and the vigor and persistency her great hymn, "In the Secret of His Presence." of his advocacy of the Christian Gospel, he was She passed away recently at Cawnpore, after a able to convert several men who afterwards be- long period of distinguished service in the cause came his colleagues in the great task. Christian of Christ. evangelism to be truly effective and fruitful in Nehemiah Goreh was an excellent writer and our present day calls for Christian Indians of a used his profound knowledge in Sanscrit in trans- rare type like Nehemiah Goreh with intense de- lating some work to justify the ways of Christ to votion, deep conviction and self-denial.
his fellow-countrymen. Maharaj Duleep Singh, By T. D., in "The National Missionary himself a convert to the Christian faith, heard of Intelligencer."
[ 381 ]
Ways of
'Tested Methods for Increasing Interest at Home EDITED BY MRS. ESTELLA S. AITCHISON, GRANVILLE, OHIO The Place of Missionary Edu- ary interest and motivations that outlook. Circulation of the right sort cation in Church Enterprise will withstand winds of criticism of books will help. and droughts of spiritual aspira- Shall missionary education be tion. There is a lack of qualified teachers integrated into religious educa- of missionary education. Three things tion? "This," says Bulletin Dr. T. H. P. Sailer and a com- are needed by these teachers: Mis- No. 5 of the Professional Ad- mittee consisting of Leila Bag- sionary information, knowledge of visory Section on Missionary ley, Genevieve Brown, S. F. missions, and contagious missionary Education of the International Mack and J. L. Lobingier (chair- interest. A s'U!bje'ct like missions Council of Religious Education, man) have gathered together the needs not only the material that can "is a perennial subject." Among results of the discussion of the be found in the teacher's quarterly, the bulletins of this Section, topic at a meeting of the Profes- but a broad background. Few teachprevious issues of which dealing sional Advisory Section, in Chi- ers have this. Methods other than with specific, interdenomina- cago, and supplemented them those in Sunday school classes and tional methods have been re- with suitable new material for group meetings will be needed. . . . viewed in this Department, the the pamphlet. Here are a few present one is far and away the high lights indicative of the Without leaders of this type missionmost comprehensive and schol- motif, method, trend and sub- ary education will be integrated only arly and deserves careful study ject matter: in name but not in fact. The most on the part of pastors, Sunday ideal curriculum on paper will be deschool superintendents and de- The principal aim of education is vitalized if presented in a perfuncpartmental heads, as well as tory way. Therefore the first move leaders in men's and women's to expand our interests and help us should be to concentrate on securing organizations in the local church leaders and improving their quality. and denominational executive to see things in a broader perspective. boards. It goes deeper than any Has missionary education a real mere "ways of working"-down Missionary education should not seem contribution to make to work that is to the undergirding religious already being done in religious eduand educational principles which to be a competitor with issues that cation? Let us not seek to introduce render mere patterns secondary are more immediately important, but missionary applications, illustrations and relatively inconsequential in and talks because missions must be that the trained person can work an aid in broadening our vision so gotten in somehow, but because it out his own methods on any really enriches experience. Chrisgiven subject – whether it be that we shall see thin~s more as God tianity is essentially a world religion "Rural Missions" or "The Mos- sees them. The essential thing that . . . and is needed by the whole lem World." world. . . . The material should not missionary education contributes to be lugged in by the ears but help to The claims of this new Bul- add significance. . . . The five min-' letin to citation in a methods religious education is a sense of uni- utes a Sunday or 20 minutes a month department are valid in that talks to a whole department or school very fact and also that in its versality, with a knowledge of the should not seek merely to add variety latter portion it dips deeply into or furnish information, but to make specifics for every department needs of all mankind and a growing religious education more vital by supof church endeavor. It is a plying the elements that are needed large-sized, twenty -three – page participation in the meeting of those but too frequently omitted. pamphlet that will challenge the understanding of simple folk as needs. . . . Missionary education The new courses of study for the well as the most intellectual church school are inserting specifically workers who desire to dig more rests on the assumption that Chris- missionary lessons or short units. deeply and discriminatingly into tianity has something of supreme . . . The present arrangement offers the human soil of all age inter- a great opportunity. Well qualified ests in order to implant mission- value for all mankind, and that this teachers can arouse such interest in the subject that outside work will be will not be transmitted without spe- undertaken. This may lead to church schools of missions, independent dis- cial effort. It holds that Christianity cussion groups on missions, campaigns of missionary reading and special is a universal and not merely a na- projects. The only way to secure time is to make the subject so attractive tional or racial religion, that what- that people will give time.
ever efforts are worth making to pro- The best way to deal with such a situation (where the atmosphere of vide religious education for ourselves local churches is depressing to the missionary spirit) may be to trans- and our communities are equally de- plant individuals temporarily to other climates such as summer conferences sirable for other groups throughout where they mary catch the heOJ1Jenly the world. . . . Without the knowl- edge of Christ for personal guidance or social cooperation, their (the ma- jority of needy mankind) welfare be- comes a major concern of a Kingdom- centered curriculum. – The attitude of the pastor and other church leaders will be very important (in securing an adequate ideal of a basis for this new curriculum). The issue may be faced in meetings and discussion groups. Delegates may be sent to summer conferences and in- stitutions where they will get a larger [382 ]
EFFECTIVE WAYS OF WORKING
VtstOn. Where this is not possible it 3. Do I carry these brotherly Methods Briefs for Primary may be best to concentrate on a small, ideals into my daily rela- Teaching select group. Under these conditions tionships with people of the temperature may be raised as it other racial, national and Mexico: On table covered would not be for the staid majority. social groups? with serape or other colorful Manifestly, missionary education 4. Am I adding an intimate woven scarf, arrange pottery, will never be effectively integrated knowledge of a race or unless people will bestow brains and people to my intellectual plain or painted gourds, clay pains on the process. At the founda- assets each year? tion of the whole matter must be the hats used as pin trays, cans of effort to bring people to care deeply 5. Do I feel that other people string beans, Mexican pictures for the thorough integration of mis- have a contribution to cut from magazines, etc. Make sionary education. Churches which make to my life, or do I posters of cut-out pictures to iltry to operate machinery without suffi- feel that missions implies lustrate talks. Tell how the rovcient steam will surely be disap- a one-way relationship? ing vegetable pickers live in povpointed. erty and squalor, children- 6. Does my conception of home working hard like their elders- Then follow "Practical appli- missions inc 1u d e the do not even know the meaning cations of integration for church Christian solution of such of "home." Adapt stories from organizations"; some "Practical problems of our national "The Laughingest Lady," by questions for discussion" such life as social and economic Elinor Cowan Stone; "From as: the use of costumes, curios, justice, race relations and Every Tribe and Nation," by stunts, etc., for entertainment or the alcohol problem? Belle M. Brain (using the story, decorative purposes, employ- "Dona Carmen, a Living Episment of conventional methods, 7. Am I endeavoring to secure tle") and denominational leaflets outlining a year's programs for for missionary education on the subject. Have the chila women's association so as to its normal, integral place dren cut small adobe houses integrate their work into the in the worship, the in- from bogus paper and make a whole program, best plans for struction, the offerings Mexican village on sand table or linking up the Sunday school, and the activities of all in window, adding trees, a donetc. ; "factors essential to in- departments of the local key, chickens and children. Posttegration"; some practical cur- church life? ers may be made of children riculum suggestions as to form, feeding donkeys or chickens, material and methods; "Over- 8. Am I increasingly seeing picking beans or carrying hamhead counsel and cooperation"; and using opportunities pers of them, and donkeys bear- "Integration from the viewpoint for the disseminating of ing panniers loaded with beans. of the denominational program" ; missionary knowledge and Women may be making pottery. questions proposed to executive interest through the loan- Have offering taken up by darkboards of the Presbyterian, the ing of missionary books haired boy in white suit with Congregational and Christian, and magazines, the choice wide, bright sash tied over the United Lutheran and the of hymns at meetings shoulder and under arm, the Methodist Episcopal churches where I preside, the em- gifts being received in highare given with summaries of the phasis in my pub lie crowned beach hat with little replies; and a very concrete prayers, the collecting and balls on edge of wide brim. He specific section devoted to plans sharing of pictures, sto- may be assisted by girl with for children's, young people's ries, pageants, p I a y s, straight black hair, wearing red and adults' programs in mission- curios and costumes? or yellow dress and bright scarf ary education. This last is well tied over hair. Chicken sandworth the price of the pamphlet, 9. Have I read at least one wiches, small servings of string which is only 25 cents. Send book the past year in the beans with oil dressing, sliced orders to Miss Leila Bagley, 810 general field of missions? hard-cooked eggs or sman bowls Broadway, Nashville, Tenn. of chile con carne, both of the 10. If I work with children or latter served with crackers, may Measuring Myself-A Mission- young people have I read be used as refreshments. "Jesus ary Efficiency Test at least one book on mis- Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the sions in my specific field? Little Children of the World" 1. Do I have thoroughly Chris- are appropriate songs. tian motives for my mis- 11. Am I sharing my resources sionary activities? Are with the missionary cause Indians: Give local color with they definitely based on in a systematic manner? pottery, baskets, beads, mocca- love for God and love for sins, tiny totem poles, etc., ar- man? 12. Have I made any actual con- ranged on table covered with tribution to the cause of Indian blanket, and with bright 2. Am I cherishing more broth- missions during the past posters made from cut-out pic- erly ide a I s concerning year other than my finan- tures. Feathered headdresses other peoples each year? cial contribution? may be made by the children Can I see the worth of the from craft paper or even com- individual regardless of -United Christian Mission- his race or culture? ary Society Leaflet.
mon brown wrapping paper, from "The World's Children for for Indian and South American Jesus." Refreshments of pop- studies (which were used in the ornamenting with feathers and corn balls or plain popcorn, United Study Course last year) drawings with colored crayons. candy in shape of pumpkins or may be had from denominational Large or small wigwams can be grains of corn. One may some- missionary literature headquarmade from the same paper. times find little candy turkeys. ters or the Missionary Education Color long strips of paper first Movement, 150 Fifth Ave., yellow, then orange, then brown South America: Keynote, a N. Y., at 75 cents each. "Stories (several children working on large map of country with inter- South of the Equator" will be same strip), making all strokes found very helpful. lacing letters, A, B, C, for Arin same direction. Soak paper gentina, Bra z i I and Chili, Groups not adhering to the mounted down front. Leader current United Study courses two or three minutes in water, may form their plans from such open carefully over bucket, drain points out location and tells suggestions as the foregoing; off water and crumple between something about each of three while workers using the new fingers as fine as possible. countries, then says she has a Spread flat on folded news- bag of gifts from South Amer- topics of "Rural America" and papers, coat with orange shellac, ica from which the children, "The Moslem World," noting the coming up one at a time, may principles involved, may be aided using large, flat bristle brushes select something. For this a in working out their presentawhich may be cleaned in alcohol, going-away bag has previously tions to little folks at the age the shellac being diluted with been paeked with a bone button, when eye-gate, ear-gate and a-lcohol if too thick. When dried bone-handled toothbrush, leather hand must be made teammates. coin purse, little red shoe, billthis paper looks and feels like fold, band from sewing machine, The suggestions are from skin and makes a fine wigwam. leather-covered boo k, jacket, Annye L. Allison's work among Large one very effective made chipped dried bee f, gelatin, juniors. over framework of poles, tied together at top and fastened to coffee, chocolate, cocoa, Chili The outlines raise the quesfloor. Fasten paper securely to pepper, mixed spices, orange, tions of the Church's responsipoles at bottom and lace together bility in relation to social condiwith raffia or twine, using large lemon, grapefruit, Brazil nuts, tions, to what extent such re- silver spoon, glass set in lieu of sponsibility can be formulated raffia needle not too sharp. Have a diamond, ostrich feather, into a universally applicable sys- monkey fur, rubber bands, children draw on 9'xI2' paper eraser, comb, phonograph rec- tem of Christian social prinfigures of Indians, wigwams, ciples, what our personal and shocks of corn, fish, pumpkins, ord, bright feathers, sea beans, group responsibility is, where toy snake and other appropriate we obtain our criteria and data deer, bears, turkeys, ponies and objects wrapped in tissue paper in arriving at judgments, and large Indian heads. They may to look like gifts. Have each how we can implement these string popcorn or macaroni principles in terms of social ac- gift opened, laid on table and tion. The programs are inbroken into small pieces, with explained. When bag is empty, tended primarily for the monthly disks of construction paper in meetings of the women's or- give talk on the country, discuss- ganization, but have additional lieu of beads, to be worn with ing the things it needs from us suggestions for their more exthe headdresses. They also en- – Bibles, religious literature, tensive use in general group joy making posters of wigwams churches, Sunday schools, hos- meetings. Pastors would find pitals, etc. English books not them heJpful for the midweek or cliff dwellings, trees, corn, church services. pottery, rugs, baskets, etc., these available because the language to be drawn, painted or done in is mostly Spanish. Names of *** paper-cutting. Let them bring missionaries may be given, prayer offered for their work "Prayer in the land of the fir such things as arrowheads, bas- and Bible verses found begin- tree and pine. kets, beads, shells, etc., from home. Indian nature writing ning with A, Band C. Prayer in the land of the fig always interests them and they tree and vine. like to learn the signs. Have The results of an imaginary dark-haired boy wearing head- trip to South America were vis- Prayer where the waves dash loudly and cold. dress and blanket collect offer- ualized by the writer in an iming in basket or jar. A box for provised moving picture – pic- Prayer where the lion stalks fearless and bold. some Indian mission may be tures pasted on strip of paper packed. If a victrola is avail- with explanatory cap t ion s, Prayer in cathedrals whose able, play such selections as names of missionaries written spires tower high. the "Love Call," "Marcellina," etc. Use selections from "Hia- and verses chosen for each Prayer in kirks and cabins watha," "Lady Yea r dIe y' s country, the ends of this long close by. strip being fastened to two Guest," "Joc's Coals of Fire" broomsticks turned by boys to Prayer where two are gathered (from "The Rules of the Game" show the entire reel. The leader to pray. by Lambertson), and various read all script aloud for the benstories of mission work among efit of the little folks unable to Everywhere, eve r y w her e, prayer today." Indians. Close devotional part read for themselves. Textbooks of meeting with Indian stanza The Council of Women for Home Missions EDITH E. LOWRY, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, 105 EAST TWENTY-SECOND STREET, NEW YORK "I Was a Stranger" the curt 'Move on, you!' of the transient bureaus and camps in sheriff at the county line, or ac- operation-295 bureaus and 190 "For I was hungry, and ye tual arrest and sentence to the camps. With the reduction in gave me to eat; I was thirsty, workhouse or the chain gang, relief spending in 1934-1935 and ye gave me drink; I was a have been and still are the pen- came the order to the states "to stranger, and ye took me in; alties too frequently exacted close intake at the transient cennaked, and ye clothed me; I was from the victim of unguided mi- ters and camps and to liquidate sick, and ye visited me; I was in gration. Having no responsible the entire program as of Novemprison, and ye came unto me. agency to direct him to oppor- ber 1, 1935. Then shall the righteous answer tunity for personal employment, him, saying, Lord, when saw we he drifts or is shoved in this di- "During the 20 months of life thee hungry, and fed thee? or rection or that. ' of the transient program, state athirst, and gave thee drink? and local authorities had been And when saw we thee a "Not all those who move from completely absorbed in adminisstranger, and took thee in? or place to place are mentally or tering ERA, CWA, and various naked, and clothed thee? And physically competent to under- other related activities under when saw we thee sick, or in take to fend for themselves in a 'emergency' legislation. No prison, and came unto thee ?" new field. But men are not al- thought had been given to an Matthew 25: 35-40. ways at fault for having no adjustment of the old poor laws money saved on which to sup- to meet new conditions." "Move On, You!" * port themselves after months in the lumber camp, or on railroad "By March, 1936, many states "Traditionally the American construction, or following the had become thoroughly alive to people have regarded the stran- crops. Often enough the wages the fact that it was not enough ger who asked for alms as a for which they work are grossly to ask for federal funds with ne'er-do-well whose own fault it inadequate to meet their needs. which to meet the needs of tranwas that he found himself in Compelled as they are to take sient relief, but that there must such sorry straits. Let him help the only jobs they can get, there be a sharing of responsibility himself ! Was there not oppor- are times when they need help between national and state govtunityand success for every man from the society which tolerates ernments and that the states to take care of himself if he these conditions." must face the fact that their 'had it in him'? own laws of legal settlement The depression years of 1930 were, by their rigidity and lack "The man who takes to the and 1931 saw a tremendous in- of uniformity, creating some of road' today in quest of work crease in the numbers in those the very problems of which all carries with him, unaware, the illegally "riding the rods." Still states complained." ball and chain of the settlement more were "thumbing a ride." laws of Old England. If work is The budgets of private agencies Three interstate conferences not found and, need develops, he which had been aiding these have been held. suddenly finds himself in an transients were steadily declinalien community, unwelcome, ing and the numbers needing "In all these conferences the with no legal claim for aid, with help were steadily increasing. Committee on Care of Transient limited private charitable re- A National Committee on Care and Homelesst kept up a drumsources available to him, and of Transient and Homeless was fire on the objective of federal, with suspicion directed toward composed of individuals from state, and local responsibility in him as a dangerous character. national agencies concerned with this field, together with em- The hospitality of the police some phase of the problem of phasis on the basic remedies of station, the 'two meals and a transiency and homelessness. 'surer direction and guidance' flop' in a municipal lodging Through the efforts of this com- for men in search of employhouse or second-rate mission, mittee the Federal Transient ment. Unification of the laws Program was formulated. of legal settlement throughout • Excerpts from "After Five Years," pub- the United States was urged, as lished by the Committee on Care of Tran- By 1934, forty-four states and was the vesting of responsibility sient and Homeless, 1270 Sixth Avenue, New the District of Columbia had York, price 10 cents, t The Council of Women for Home Mis- [385 ] sions Is represented on this Committee. in the state governments to de- was a desire to express the spirit Kingdom of God under the captermine settlement. The federal of the Preaching Mission-unity tion, "Thy Kingdom Come." Dr. and state authorities were asked of effort for the Kingdom of Lyman said that to Jesus the to prov'ide the necessary funds God. Kingdom meant living the will with which to meet the relief of God and that His was one life needs of the unsettled person. The four organizations, The lived in harmony with God. An Council of Women for Home ideal was held before this great "Each of these conferences Missions, the Women's Commit- group of city women to leave the appointed a continuing commit- tee of the Foreign Missions Con- distracting small things and live tee charged with carrying out ference, the National Council of lives in harmony with God, decertain recommendations of the Federated Church Women and voted to the interests of His conference and with bringing the Women's Cooperating Com- Kingdom. What could not be the resolutions of the conference mission of the Federal Council accomplished by this challenge to the attention of the proper of Churches, combined to bring to seven hundred women put authorities. together the church women of into action? metropolitan New York. Nearly "The Council of State Govern- 700 sat down in fellowship. The second speaker of the day, ments, meeting in its Third Gen- While the greater number were Rev. Joseph R. Sizoo, D.D., lately eral Assembly in Washington in from metropolitan New York, come to New York from Wash- January, 1937, with representa- including cities and towns in ington, D. C., brought rich extion from 45 states, adopted a New Jersey, We s t c he s t e r periences from his contacts with series of resolutions favoring County, New York, and Long varying groups. All he found 'uniform and reciprocal state Island, there were guests from going back for satisfaction of laws to iron out some of the con- Poughkeepsie, New York; Stam- heart-hunger to the Christian flicts in the field of social se- ford and Norwalk, Connecticut; faith. Dr. Sizoo had as his topic curity.' It recommended a stand- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; "For Such a Day as This," and ard requirement of one year to Washington, D. C. ; the Bay pointed out how Christian womgain settlement; a provision for region and Southern California; anhood in such a time must meet retaining the old settlement un- Atlanta, Georgia, and Toronto, the heart-hunger of the world til a new settlement was ac- Canada. for the Gospel. He said we quired; relief and service dur- have got to develop a new kind ing any period of inquiry as to The luncheon was planned of heroism. settlement; authority vested in the state public welfare depart- under the chairmanship Of Mrs. Dr. Robert M. Searle, as secment to determine settlement; retary of the New York Federafunds available to the state for Augustus Trowbridge, who was tion of Churches, offered the inreimbursement of local commu- vocation, and the benediction nities for service rendered to also the charming presiding was pronounced by Rev. William transients; and approval of the officer. By her long-range plan- Adams Brown, D.D., Chairman 'Uniform Transfer of Depend- ning Mrs. Trowbridge was able of the Committee on Universal ents Act.' These resolutions, to bring to the luncheon group a Life and Work. bearing as they do the stamp of cable message from India from approval of the official delegates Dr. E. Stanley Jones as follows: In closing we quote from a from 45 states,constitute the "Personal gratitude your signifi- letter of Dr. Brown's received crystallization in government of cant move toward unity. Light after the luncheon, for it exa sense of social responsibility in that direction. Follow it." presses what so many feel: for the non-resident." Another cable message of bless- ing on the undertaking from I do not know when I have attended May Luncheon for Church Maude Royden and a third mes- a meeting which seemed to me more sage from across seas, from vibrant· with thrilling possibilities. Women Lady Astor, "All we who profess It was not merely the fact that the the Christian faith will unite large company assembled was an ir:.- On May 10 at the Hotel Bilt- when we understand and apply dication of the resources of far-reachmore, New York City, a really Jesus' message, 'Now are we the ing and intelligent service which the significant luncheon took place. Sons of God,' and follow His Church possesses in her consecrated There had been several May Day command." President Mary E. womanhood, but still more the fact luncheons sponsored by one Woolley was prevented by the that your meeting together, instead interdenominational organiza- one hundredth anniversary of of separately, was an indication of tion for the missionary women Mount Holyoke College from be- your recognition that whatever difof metropolitan New York but ing present. In her place at the ferentiation of function may prove this luncheon sponsored by the guest table was Mrs. William wise from the point of view of effecfour interdenominational or- Adams Brown. tive administration, the cause is at ganizations . t h r 0 ugh which heart one. Dr. Mary Ely Lyman, just rechurch women have been work- turned from receiving an hon- May this cause which is one ing, symbolized a new epoch. orary degree from Mount Hol- be served whole-heartedly by The thought back of this effort yoke, brought a strong message every woman who has taken the on what church women can con- name of Jesus Christ upon her, tribute toward bringing in the and may she give herself entirely to Him in "Such a Day as This."
EMMA JESSIE OGG.
~ Our World–wide
I A Missionary Newspaper of Current Events EDITED BY MRS. HENRIETTA H. FERGUSON, XENIA, OHIO EUROPE the influence of a book by the restore the crucifixes to their original headmaster of a Jewish girls' places on the walls. The Bible in Spain secondary school whose study of anti-Semitism has led him to In his May Day speech Hitler In the latest report of the realize that the only solution to is reported to have declared: "I British and Foreign Bible So- the Jewish problem is to be will not tolerate that the German ciety, reference is made to the found in Christ. Two hundred people's authority shall be mentriumphs of the Bible in Spain Jewish families in Bucharest are aced from any quarter. . . . during the present conflict and prepared to become Christians, That holds good above all for distress. Although the civil war but the State church refuses to the churches." was raging in Spain for half the encourage the movement. . year with which the report As to the children of Chrisdeals, a circulation of 211,000 -Watchman-Examiner. tian people he said: volumes was achieved. The Bible Society's depot in Madrid Religious Education in Sweden We will take their children and was kept open during the siege will educate them to become new Gerand the Society's agent remained The Lutheran Church is the mans. We will not permit them to at his post. State Church in Sweden and in lapse into the old ways of thinking. all high schools and colleges re- We will take them when they are ten Evangelism in Belgium ligion is a required subject. It years old and bring them up in the includes Bible study, church spirit of the community until they are Within the past few months, history, comparative religion eighteen. They shall not escape us! the Belgian Gospel Mission, and missions. School work befounded by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph gins every day with a religious -New York Times. Norton, has opened seven new service lasting about fifteen mincenters, making a total of sixty- utes, with a view to training What of the Waldenses? six in which the Gospel is reg- pupils to do serious thinking on ularly preached. M. Vansteen- religious and ethical questions. This oldest evangelical church berghe, one of the directors of in the world, a church that has the Mission, was converted from Teachers of religion are re- withstood more than 30 organatheism in England during the quired to be members of the ized persecutions, today has 250 war, through the reading of the State Church. Great demands churches and missions in Italy. Bible while in a hospital. are made as to the teacher's per- Because of retrenchment in sonality; he must preach by his other churches, the Waldenses M. Vansteenberghe tells how character the same ideals that are carrying more responsibility one center was opened as typical he teaches. for Christian witnessing in Italy of all the others: A brushmaker, than ever before. Last year living near Ypres, heard the -The Christian Advocate. they provided over 88 per cent Gospel at a meeting last June, of the money spent upon their was converted, and straightway The Cross in German Schools Missions throughout Italy, their asked if a hall could be opened H 0 s pit a 1s, their Children's in his village. With his small An order to replace the cruci- Homes, their Homes for the life savings, he enlarged a brick fix in classrooms in Germany Aged, their College at Torre Pelshed attached to his house, so with pictures of Adolph Hitler lice and their Theological Semthat it is capable of seating forty has resulted in great excitement inary at Rome. Their congregapeople. On the opening day, and open resistance. The Liv- tions are larger than ever, and sixty crowded in, and others ing Church says: Italians in increasing numbers stood outside the door listening. are joining their churches. The unyielding attitude of Roman -Life of Faith. Catholic parents forced the authori- It is clear that an evangelical ties at Konnersreuth to restore the agency, such as the Waldensian Jews Turn to Christ crucifixes to the classrooms in that Church, is more needed in Italy city. Upward of 100 irate townsmen than ever before. The Barbican Mission to the marched to the home of the school Jews, London, reports that sev- superintendent and chanted in unison AFRICA eral hundred Jewish families in their demand for restitution of the Rumania are prepared to accept Christian symbols. The intervention 11 Duce and the Moslems Christ. This is largely due to of the police, with drawn revolvers, failed to intimidate the townspeople. A New York Times corre- The upshot of this demonstration was spondent in Egypt declares the an order from the local authorities to majority of Moslems are unal- [387 ]
terably opposed to Mussolini's Protestants Not Wanted Tea With Tracts claim to be "defender of the in Tripoli Moslem faith." Sheikh Musta- Dr. Burkitt of Nairobi in pha el Maraghi, rector of the The medical mission for Mos- Kenya Colony, Africa, is a dithousand-year-old Azhar Uni- lems and Jews in Tripoli has rector of a tea plantation and at versity in Cairo, and recognized been closed by Italian authori- the same time carries on Chrisas the ecclesiastical head of Mos- ties, and the missionary doctor tian work. He is promoting an lems throughout the world, says: was ordered to leave the terri- East Africa Colportage Society "Only a Moslem who believes in tory. For half a century the for the distribution of Scripture the religion of Mohammed and North Africa Mission has main- portions and evangelical booklets lives up to the laws of the Koran tained this healing and preach- among the blacks from many can be the defender or protector ing center, the only evangelical tribes who pass through on their of Islam. No other person, no witness in the whole of Libya. way to mines and plantations. matter of what race or religion Complying with Government re- They eagerly read anything they or nationality, can be our de- quirements, the purpose of the can get in their own dialects. fender." mission was described as: "Ex- Dr. Burkitt has an attractive plaining the way of salvation depot in Nairobi which he hopes Their religion forbids Moham- through the Lord Jesus Christ to duplicate in other centers of medans from being ruled by non- in obedience to His commands, East Africa. -So S. Times. Moslems, and those of that faith and also endeavoring to show the in the Near East are not at all love of God in our medical con- WESTERN ASIA interested in Mussolini's pro- sultations." nouncement. After Fifty Years A' government ordinance of Cairo's College for Girls Two reports from North Syria August 26 authorized the mis- prove that progress may appear The American College for sion to continue under three con- over a stretch of half a century, Girls at Cairo, administered by ditions: (a) No religious prop- which cannot be seen from year the American Mission in Egypt aganda. (b) Nurses to have to year. The first is that of for the United Presbyterian Italian diplomas. (c) Premises Rev. D. M. Wilson in regard to Church of North America, is the to conform to Hygiene Inspec- Tripoli, written in 1853; the lineal descendant of the first tor's regulations. The doctor other, written fifty years later girls' school in all Egypt. The was unaware of this Ordinance by Rev. F. W. March, who died cornerstone of the first building until it was read to him at the last year after 60 years in Syria. was laid February 25, 1908. The police station; after which, original college building fund charged with disregarding its "We mention schools not bewas raised through the personal terms, he was ordered to leave cause we have any, but to state efforts of its founder and first and the Mission was closed. the reason why we have none. president, Miss Ella O. Kyle, Near the close of the last year supported by a committee in -Moslem World. our school in Tripoli was broken Pittsburgh and individuals in up by the Greeks…. At none both Egypt and America. The Good News from Nigeria of the villages is there any proslargest single contribution was pect that a school would open the $30,000, a gift from Mr. John D. H. G. Farrant, field secretary way for a preaching station; and Rockefeller, Sr. It is the most of the Sudan United Mission, to sustain a school for the sake advanced Protestant missionary gives an encouraging account of of the influence of the school school for girls in North Africa, present conditions in northern alone, under any native teacher occupying a strategic position in Nigeria. Although a few years we can. employ, we regard as a a city that is the largest in the ago a missionary would be able waste of missionary funds. . . . continent, and that is, at the to give the names and histories Since last spring the Christians same time, the intellectual and of all the converts, today that have lived in constant fear of spiritual center of the Arabic- would be impossible. By far the their Moslem neighbors, indeed speaking Moslem world. greater number of converts of a large part of the Christian recent years have been won, not population fled in midsummer The student body numbers by Europeans, but by Africans. to the mountains where many of mor~ than 400; courses include It is the aim of the Mission to them still remain. . . . If asked the whole gamut of a girl's edu- "blacken" the work as much as whether there be signs of a cation, from the Beginners' De- possible. Thirty men with their brighter dawn our answer would partment through the equivalent wives and families are being be very unsatisfactory." of an American Junior College trained at Gindiri for evangeliscourse. Among graduates are tic work. Two centers in the "The Tripoli field has eight found doctors, nurses, lawyers, heart of one Moslem district, organized churches, most of musicians, teachers, office work- which had not been available for which include groups of villages, ers, an artist of note, Egypt's missionary effort during thirty so that the eight churches take sole aviatrix, and a host of effi- years, are now occupied. The in all the church members of the cient wives and mothers. opening of a new leper colony at whole field. Each church has a Maiduguri means the possibility native preacher. There are 23 of reaching 1,000,000 people. outstations including 25 schools -The Christian.
OUR WORLD-WIDE OUTLOOK
which are visited regularly. In suggested that since the mission- threw herself on the body of her the eight churches are 767 mem- aries had discovered the source dead husband prepared for crebers. . . . During the year, 31 of disease, doubtless they would mation. God knows what else persons have been received on provide a new and safe fountain. she did in the name of Christ the profession of faith. The eight "Unfortunately," said the mis- Great Physician." churches working together as a sionary, "our mission has no Presbytery have established a money for such projects, nor Physical Training for Women Home Mission work; a commit- have we as individuals." tee composed wholly of Syrians The Physical Education Colhaving been appointed to receive Finally it was agreed that if lege for Women in Bengal is an and disburse funds and direct the missionary could provide the experiment financed in Canada. the work. They have raised cement for a sealed fountain, the It has made a beginning with 9,000 ps." headman would provide the 16 pupils, Europeans and In- labor. Now the 2,000 people of dians, from various parts of In- -Syria News Quarterly. the Moslem village get clean dia, women of good educational water and the Christians are standing who think it worth American Mission Press welcomed as friends. while spending time and money to obtain this extra qualification. The year 1934 marked the -Monday Morning. Even for girls, education is no centenary of the American Mis- longer confined to books; they sion Press in Beirut, Syria. The INDIA AND SIAM are the healthier and happier Press was founded in 1822 on for the change. Calcutta has the Island of Malta for service Seeing Below the Surface had a physical education college in the Near East, but it was not for men for a few years, and its until 1834 that it was actually "World travelers who visit influence is already felt throughmoved to Beirut, where it has port cities, stay in good hotels out the province. The girls' colnow completed over one hundred and follow guides may have an lege will soon be as well known. years of missionary publication interesting time, but they learn and printing for Arabic-speak- little of human suffering and its A recent demonstration of the ing lands. Its literature now amelioration," writes a corre- College was largely attended by goes to some twenty-five differ- spondent of the Christian Evan- prominent people of Calcutta. ent countries. gelist. -Indian Witness. Many missionaries and in- "My saddest experience has digenous workers have aided in been to note the look of fear, as New Methods in Rural Work various ways. A zealous young well as suffering, in the faces of Swiss has recently printed at the teeming thousands-a look born Evangelistic work in rural Press a useful leaflet, "How to of ignorance, disease and under- areas seems to be taking a new Read the Bible." Dr. N. Nucho, nourished bodies; a ghastly look turn, and promises well for Director of Hamlin Memorial of futility because there is no building up the Church. In gen- Sanatorium, has distributed in physician, no hospital, nurse or eral, the emphasis is: the past several years thousands medicine; and worse yet, no of copies of a tract on "Tuber- courage that comes from the (1) Seek to concentrate evangelistic culosis and Its Prevention," Spirit of Christ. In most orien- effort in villages and seek to build largely at his own expense. tal countries, as well as in Cen- up the old Christian communities; tral Africa, there is probably no (2) oDtain a mediating leadership; -Syria News Quarterly. more than one trained physician (3) make a decisive and deep im- to every 200,000 people. pression on chaudhri leaders by liv- Disturbing the Village ing with them; (4) aim to make them "A few years ago I spent sev- the firebrands that will set the villages When a missionary came to a eral hours with a medical mis- aflame, and (5) get them to take re- Moslem village in Syria, it did sionary in India. This delicate sponsibility for follow-up work. not take his trained-nurse wife woman gave herself and her long to tell him that much of the service to people in their filth, It is a new experience for old disease rampant in the town was ignorance and abysmal super- converts from the sweeper class due to the public fountain, where stition and suffering, packed in to live in the same tents with the women dipped hands and poverty like rabbits in a warren. city folks, and "break caste" by jars to draw the family water She dressed wounds many times eating with them. It is also a supply. after having taken out the mag- new experience for them to work gots. She cleansed the fly larvae to schedule and obey the call of "It is the will of Allah that from the festering eyes of little the bell, and in the evenings to there should be sickness," said children and bound them with get the exer_cise afforded by the village headman when it was healing lotions. She gave con- games of football. urged that he take steps to rem- solation and sedative to a dying edy this condition. "You stran- man who had hold of the tail of -Indian Witness. gers are disturbing our village. the sacred cow which had been Please go away and do not come brought into the house to help Andhra Christian College back." in his dying moments. She com- forted a wailing widow as she The United Lutheran Church On second thought he shrewdly of America and the Church Mis- sionary Society of Great Britain have worked out a plan of coop-
eration in Andhra Christian Fruit of Leper Work and shot them. Their bodies College. The first C. M. S. pro- were dumped in a lime-filled fessor will join the staff on Dr. and Mrs. J. W. McKean, trench, and the village was looted July 1. Lutherans will provide now living in retirement at and burned. A smaller group a dormitory for C. M. S. stu- Claremont, California, were mis- was slain near Canton, and Candents. sionaries in Siam for thirty ton authorities are also said to years, establishing the first or- be engaged in making a round- It is hoped that the American ganized work for lepers in that up of all lepers. Lutheran Church Mission, the kingdom. About 2,000 lepers American Baptist Mission, the have since entered the asylum at Military authorities had long English Methodist Mission, the Chiengmai. There are 450 there threatened to end the little Canadian Baptist Mission and now and nearly all have become Happy Valley colony in their efthe American Methodist Epis- active, praying Christians, mak- forts to wipe out the disease. copal Mission will also coop- ing regular contributions to the work out of their very limited Mission to Chinese Buddhists erate. allowance for food money. The Christian Mission to Bud- Women Elders in Siam A recent letter from Chieng- dhists is now fifteen years old. mai Leper Asylum includes this Its first headquarters were in The Leper Asylum, Chieng- statement: "Mr. Pia begs to Nanking, but in 1926 the center mai, Siam, has the distinction of hand to Dr. McKean two ticals was moved to Shatin, near Honghaving the first women elders in and to Mrs. McKean two ticals kong. The influence of this work the Presbyterian Church. Nang to be used in God's work." (A extends to every large monastery La and .Nang Kan Gao were tical is worth about 50 cents.) in China and even reaches elected to eldership in April, Japan, Malaya and Formosa. 1925. At that time Siam formed -Monday Morning. Since the beginning of the mistwo presbyteries of the synod of sion over eighty Buddhist and New York. These two saintly CHINA Taoist monks of "lay-devotees" old women went about the duties have been baptized as Christians of their high office with a hu- "The Bread of Life" and some have become pastors mility and joy touching to be- of churches. In addition, there hold. A cracker manufacturer of are several thousand "Tao Yu" Hongkong encloses in each tin -interested men and women. There had been good reason of his wares, shipped throughout for their election. Many leper China and the Netherlands In- Until recently this work has women were so crippled they dies, a small paper on which is been supported by funds from could not come to the chapel, and printed in four languages- Norway, Sweden and Denmark, missed the comfort of the weekly Chinese, Javanese, Malay and but it is expected that the Anservice. These women therefore English-the text, "Jesus said, glican Church will help next asked that two of their number I am the Bread of Life." year. The plan is to form a be made elders to comfort, teach brotherhood of converted Budand administer sacrament to When a representative of the dhist monks, already accustomed helpless shut-ins. The two most British and Foreign Bible So- to celibacy, who will live together loved were Nang La and Nang ciety called on this man recently and be available for special evan- Kan Gao. Nang La had been a he showed him a drawer full of gelistic· work among educated wretched beggar. Her near letters which he had received, Buddhist lay folk in the cities, relatives did not care for her asking for more information and among the hills of Yunnan. and at the progressive signs of about this Jesus, "the Bread of leprosy drove her away from Life." In reply, he always sends .-Chinese Recorder. her home. Her only recourse a copy of St. John's Gospel, with was holding out her twisted a personal testimony to its in- Results from Small Efforts hands for alms. Then she found fluence on his own life. Christ and began to "serve the During her stay in China, Lord with gladness." -Alliance Weekly. Muriel Lester says the most re- markable piece of work she saw Nang Kan Gao lived in He~then 'Cruelty was the transformation of a vil- Chiengmai where her husband lage in twelve months. Two was an elder in the church and Presbyterian missionaries re- missionaries lived so close to the she herself was a great Bible port the execution of 80 mem- Chinese in fellowship and so student and ardent Christian. bers of a leper colony in Yeung- close to our Lord in spirit, that Her husband died and Nang kong, Kwangtung Pro v inc e, by using only their spare time· Kan Gao carried on alone. China, by civil and military au-_ and spending almost no money When it was discovered that she thorities. These lepers lived in they were able to evoke from the had leprosy, still in its early a little cluster of huts known as peasants of a neighboring village stage, she immediately started Happy Valley, and existed by sufficient confidence, communal on foot to Chiengmai. Because their own efforts, aided by the ambition and initiative to set up the disease was caught in its missionaries. A lone survivor three schools, a library and early stage, it was arrested. told of hiding in a sewer of the reading room, a daily clinic, a village while soldiers bound his -Siam Outlook. associates, carried them to a hill
OUR WORLD-WIDE OUTLOOK
public exhibition of agricultural Better Conditions for Women "I told her that the baby produce in which five or six other villages cooperated, and a A Woman's Life Improvement seemed well and strong, a finegroup of voluntary actors, stilt Association is being sponsored looking little fellow-I thought walkers, conjurors, to enliven by the Kiangsi provincial gov- she was doing a good job. She the long days of the New Year ernment. For six months the holiday. Association will investigate the said no, he was spoiled. She living conditions of women in couldn't feed him properly, she A leading medical man had Kiangsi. Then plans will be couldn't train him properlybeen helping the peasants near the grandparents wouldn't allow his hospital set up a credit and worked out for the promotion of it. Every time she tried to cormarketing cooperative. Amazed the welfare of women. From rect him, they interfered and at the resourcefulness and re- July, 1937, to June, 1942, is to scolded her! I tried to sympaliability that was forthcoming be the period of enforcement. thize with her, but I told her it In the first year a home econom- was her job, and a tough one. he summed up his whole ex- If only there were any hopes of perience of China: ics' school will be established. training the grandparents !" The second year will see the ex- "There is no country like it. tension of the program to ten JAPAN-CHOSEN Here one gets such big results more districts: the third year to 20 more districts; the fourth from such small efforts." year to 25 more districts; and Intensive Rural Campaign -The Christian Advocate. the fifth year to 27 more dis- In experimenting with ways Mui Tsai Slavery tricts, thus finally covering the and means to carryon its cam- whole province. Special stress paign for "100,000 new men and boys for Christ in ten years," For some years the British will be laid on needs of farming the Brotherhood of St. Andrew Government has been trying to and working women. Physical is giving a full half of its energy education, civic training, indus- this year to stirring up activity end the practice called Mui Tsai, trial and farming production, whereby young girls are sold useful social activities and set- in rural evangelism. An Insti- ting up of good habits will all tute for training rural workers into service – to work for the receive attention. will be held in Tokyo, August purchasing household without pay and without the right to -China Critic. 16-21, when a well-planned, leave. Yet in spite of legal en- practical demonstration course actments, ways and means have How Would You Answer This? will be conducted by rural workbeen found to continue the prac- ers in such problems as evantice, which cannot be considered What is the proper way to de- gelism, woman's work, young anything but a mild form of cline taking a baby to bring up? slavery. The recent findings of This is what a missionary in men's work, church school meththe Royal Commission appointed Hainan would like to know, and ods, and health and occupational to investigate this matter make here is why. schemes. Only three rural work- ers, lay or clerical, from each of clear such a conclusion to any A young Christian mother the ten dioceses, will be invited has been much interested in the to participate in the first instiimpartial investigator. feeding and care of her baby, and came to the Mission at in- tute. The Onabake Mission was The Manchester Guardian gets tervals with questions. She had chosen as being best suited for to the heart of the problem when asked for a book on "Care and demonstration purposes, being it says: Training of Children." Let the missionary finish the story: located five miles from the rail- If it were possible to discover what way station, in the midst of a girls are Mui Tsai, the present legis- "She was the fi'rst mother I countryside completely population in Hongkong and Malaya, properly enforced, would be sufficient to lated by small farmers. This abolish the practice. The difficulty, had known to intimate that she little mission was made possible as the Commission and all other in- was not fully qualified to bring through a gift of $1,000 secured vestigators have realized, is that the up any number of children. But by Bishop Dallas, following his possessors of a Mui Tsai naturally claim that the child is something else I had not seen her for several visit to Japan last year.
-an illegitimate daughter, a child left weeks, when she came up one -The Living Church. in their care by relations, or, gen- Sunday after church. When I erally, "an adopted daughter-in-law" went downstairs to greet her, More Japanese Deities -that is, a girl child adopted until she said, 'I've brought my baby she is old enough to marry a son of to hand over to you, so you can To Japan's national pantheon, the house. The only practical meas- bring him up properly,' and she which is said to include "eighty ure that has ever been suggested to myriads of gods," 1,148 new stop this is to register. all adopted pushed him into my hands, con- deities were added in solemn daughters-in-law and, if necessary, all tinuing, 'I don't know how. I ceremonies last April. They children transferred from their par- want you to teach him and feed were soldiers of the empire who ents' care. The Governments in Hong- him and train him-it wouldn't had died during the past year. kong and Malaya have always resisted be hard for you. It's hard for this on the ground that such measures me. I'm not equal to it. Oh, The ceremonies in form and would logically lead to the registration and supervision of every girl in meaning have no Occidental the colony. I'll pay you,' she added.
counterparts. The rites were Even before the tent meetings ISLANDS OF THE PAOIFIO carried out in darkness. Against the local congregation had felt the black background of the the old church building inade- Demon Possession in shrine the white-robed Shinto quate, and had taken up a sub- South Seas priests and military officers who scription, at great sacrifice, of assisted made striking, ghost- one hundred yen. A wealthy A missionary in the South Sea like figures. Three thousand Christian woman in Taiku Evangelical Mission, working in members of the families of the who had grown up in that village the Solomon Islands, thinks that dead and the highest officers of gave another hundred. Follow- those who scoff at the reality of the army and navy were present. ing the Sunday service all joined Satan and demons, would revise in a parade. "A couple of hun- their theology if they could be First, the chief priest of the dred strong we marched a half in a heathen village for a few shrine invited the spirits of the mile to the river-bed," writes days. He tells of a notorious departed to enter the sanctuary. Mr. Adams, "We each, men, old witch doctor whose mind was Rites were held to felicitate the women and children picked up a incapable of grasping spiritual new deities on their elevation. stone according to our strength. ideas. When he was convicted In solemn procession, with a mil- We marched back to town, while of sin and he accepted Christ his itary band playing a funeral an- non-Christians lined the streets mind cleared, and his joy was them, a small portable shrine, to see the strange parade. We unbounded. But Satan did not conceived to contain the spirits deposited the stones in the easily release him. Next day a of the new deities, was carried church courtyard, and then held man hurried to the mission, crythrough the courtyard to the a brief service dedicating these ing: main temple. All lanterns and first offerings to the future place other lights were extinguished of worship to the one and only "Come quick! Old Mae-hui during its passage. When the true God and His Son. It was shake-shake too much; old fell a ark was placed in its proper a witness of solidarity among devil come back." niche the shrine lights were relit Christians." and offerings of fruit, vegetables The old man was found graspand wine were placed before the Stages of Growth in Korea ing the rafters of his low dwellnew spirits. ing, shaking the building with The figures tracing Presby- great power, and crying out in Those deified in the recent terian Church growth in Korea an unearthly way. Prayer was ceremony brought the total so since 1900 are significant. The offered and soon Mae-hui called worshipped to 130,967. first decade of this century saw out, "Lord Jesus, save me from a growth of 1,1000/0 in adher- this devil's power." Immediately -New York Times. ents, but in the second decade he fell exhausted to the floor and slept heavily for a few hours. A Witness of Solidarity the increase was only 3 %. Dur- He soon recovered and has gone on since a happy Christian. Edward Adams writes from ing the third, the figure advanced Taiku, Korea, of results that fol- to 26%, while in the six years of NORTH AMERIOA lowed a week of tent meetings this fourth decade there has ten miles from Taiku, where a been the almost unbelievable in- Oommission on Unity church had been established ten crease of 75.5%. years ago, but they were ten Largely as an outgrowth of years of struggle for bare exist- Baptized membership has not the National Preaching Mission, ence. A little farther into the kept pace with this. While it a new "Commission for the mountains are two more groups was 1,000% between 1900 and Study of Christian Unity" will -about three miles apart-very 1910, the next decade shows carryon. "a continuous educamuch in the same condition. Too 76%, the third 33%, and the six tional program," both as to the far from the main currents of "conditions that create the de- Christian activities, and with the years of the fourth 24 %. There mand for a greater unity" and strong and overwhelming back- as to the various proposals by ward pull of a hostile society, it were no native pastors in 1900; which unity may be achieved. has been a discouraging strug- there were 40 in 1920; then an The educational program would gle. A native pastor, four lay increase of 3500/0 in 1920, of strive to produce attitudes favorworkers, two women and two 127% in 1930 and 29% in 1936. able to an advance in unity, and men made up the Gospel team. readiness to give open-minded For three days the tent was filled These figures reflect the great consideration to whatever plans (500-800 people) morning, noon revival that followed loss of in- seem most promising. and night. Workers took turns dependence; the period of conin addressing the multitudes solidation that followed, a period Some of the conditions behind· with time out only at meals. By that has now passed and the the demand for greater unity Sunday night 140 decided to ac- Church seems to be entering an– are: cept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. other forward movement. Mis- Two evangelists ~tayed to do fol- sionary work in Korea began in Overchurching in local areas. low-up work, and the next week 1884; Christians now number Inefficient use of resources. 20 more decisions were made. 520,000. Since the total popula- The meaninglessness of our divisions tion is 20,500,000, each Chris- tian must win 40 others! when transplanted to the mission fields, where new churches are -Christianity Today. being created.
OUR WORLD-WIDE OUTLOOK
The lack of moral authority in a British Army by a man named been studied very little, if at all. Church which appeals for unity Jackson at the time of the Amer- The results of their research is in the world at large, when it ican Revolution. Today one can then compiled, and used by gov- find albinos, mulattoes, as well ernment agencies, universities, has such insufficient unity within itself.
Progress in Kentucky's as combinations of these, and Bible translation societies and negroid and Indian features. scientific research societies. Mountains Little was done concerning This offers opportunity for their physical, mental or spir- Rapid changes are being made itual needs until the Episcopal service and discovery seldom in the Kentucky mountain com- Church began work there sev- surpassed in the realm of scienmunities. Many county seats eral years ago. Two years ago, are connected by good roads; tific research, as there are hunrivers once crossed only by fords Rev. Albert Chillson took hold dreds of extremely interesting have been bridged. Many good of the work. He found malnu- languages about which very schools have been erected. trition was widespread, high mortality among children and little is known, and long-sought 'rhe College at Berea operates destitution in general. Mr. Chill- secrets about the relationships a "book car." One who travels son gained their confidence by of people and streams of migrain it writes: tion. The Institute's headquar- repeated visits, and when he ters are at 506 Commonwealth During my almost six years of trav- proposed a religious service in Building, Philadelphia, Pa.
eling I have seen six new school build- the near-by schoolhouse on Sun- The Mormon Program ings replace old ones. In three in- day afternoons they responded of Today stances a two-room building has taken amazingly, both in numbers and the place of a one-room school. With It is well to know just what the new buildings, conditions have im- in their participation in the serv- the Mormons are up to in these proved. The better light and freshly ices. So far, only a beginning United States: painted walls seem conducive to clean- has been made. liness. In one school a small kitchen 1. Nearly 2,000 emissaries at work, has oeen equipped for serving hot -The Living Church. without salary. lunches.
Transportation of pupils to Saving the "Shreds" 2. Using deceptive radio talks mis- leading many.
county high schools is becoming Said Horace Mann in a lecture 3. Using millions of copies of perimore common. For the Cumber- on education: "The ash e s, odicals and tracts, all craftily written land National Forest the govern- to lead people to believe things utterly shreds and wrecks of everything contrary to the Bible. ment has already purchased are of some value." A California 300,000 acres, and plans even- reformatory is acting on this 4. Having a great building era; theory, and results are in sharp while it has already seven so-called tually to buy a total of 1,338,000 "temples" costing an average of acres, in seventeen counties of contrast to most misnamed "re- Kentucky. formatories" from which youtps $770,000, it is building soon a $525,000 plant in Los Angeles, another in Idaho, a new meeting-house in Chi- There are still very many commonly come out worse than cago costing half a million, besides its regions in which "the roads run when they entered. two $100,000 ones there; has another planned in Philadelphia; owns Manup the creeks, and the creeks run At the Preston School of In- hattan Congregational Church, New down the roads," many regions dustry, as this institution is York.
in which one must abandon all called, the boys are "cadets" in- 5. Has doubled its numbers twice thought of a car, and travel on stead of "inmates." Its cluster and one-third since the census of 1890 mule back or in jolt wagon to of buildings, with campus and and teaches that it is to rule the one's destination at some settle- world. ment or schoolhouse. athletic field, resembles a pleas- ant little college. Bars and 6. Has nearly all its Senior high- WILLIAM J. HUTCHINS. school students in its "Theological armed guards are only for a few Seminaries" one hour daily. "Jackson Whites" in sullen and vicious ones. The 7. Has millions of yearly income, rest have classes and military from tithing and large secular busi- ness interests, with which to do all New Jersey drills, learn trades, and are made this. 8. Has enough control over its peo- An isolated, backward group to feel that society is not against known as "Jackson Whites," liv- them, but on their side to aid ple to keep its proselyting force filled; ing in New Jersey, a few miles them to b e com e physically~ every young man expected to serve from the most heavily populated morally and mentally fit for use- two years or more. section of the United States, pre- ful citizenship. sent an ethnological puzzle. To -Light on Mormonism. -Evangelical-Messenger. Economic Freedom for Indians the original Indian settlers were Linguistic Research Hundreds of Navajo Indians added at least two other strains; met early in April in the Navajo Hessian deserters who in fleeing Each summer there is held an capital, Window Rock, Arizona, from their British masters had Institute of Linguistics, for the to draw up a new constitution.
settled in the hills and a part of purpose of training practical They desire a Legislature instead the 3,500 women, some white, linguistic investigators, and to of the old Tribal Council, which some black, imported under con- locate them among indigenous is claimed not to be representa- tract as camp-followers for the tribes whose languages have tive of all the people. Some of
the delegates were draped in torial officials, as well as mis- Fellowship will take part. The blankets, and some, college edu- sionaries, are deeply concerned campaign, lasting five or six cated, appeared as business men. over the situation. years, is designed to reach the All discussions were in the The Alaskan Native Brother- entire population of 16,000,000, Navajo tongue. hood, a Christian organization, which includes 3,000,000 of non- Seventy years ago this tribe has appealed to the missionaries Spanish – speaking Indians. A numbered 8,000; today there are for help in applying such restric- large circulation of the Scrip- 50,000 members. Their reser- tions to the traffic in intoxicants tures will be a feature of this vation includes 16,000 acres in as would afford the native people great effort.
Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. some measure of protection, and -Christianity Today.
Their land is rich in coal and save them from the moral de- oil. They own a million sheep, struction with which they are In the West Indies threatened. Victories over tempand their blanket business is ap- tation are being won by Alaskan The Presbyteries of Puerto proaching a million dollar indus- Rico and Cuba have been contry. Their constitution will be church members, who are sub- ducting evangelistic campaigns j ected almost daily to the sever- far more extensive than ever besubmitted to the "white fathers" est tests of the genuineness of fore. It is estimated that about at Washington. their Christian profession. 2,000 new members will be re- -Alliance Weekly.
Canadians Plan Federation Point Barrow Hospital Burns ceived as a result. These mem- bers have been trained for the Plans for a Canadian Federa- The hospital at Bar row, most part in the Sabbath schools. tion of Churches, fashioned Alaska, erected in 1921 by the The campaign has been carried somewhat after the Federal Presbyterian Board of National Council of Churches in the Missions, has been totally de- on by the pastors after weeks of United States, have been sent to stroyed by fire. The patients preparation. the heads of the Anglican, Bap- were removed safely, but meditist, Presbyterian and United cines and surgical equipment The Presbytery of Cuba or- Churches, the Salvation Army were destroyed. The loss is cov- dained two new ministers this and the Disciples. This proposed ered by insurance. Until July 1, year. They were members of federation would provide for 1936, when the operation of this the Sabbath school years ago, "the setting up of some coordi- hospital was transferred to the received their training from the nating council, so that in mat- Office of Indian Affairs of the ters of common interest we may U. S. Government, it provided mission schools of Cuba, and have the means of expressing the only health service available their seminary training in the ourselves, through one voice, to some 2,000 Eskimos. which could speak for the Prot- Evangelical Seminary in Puerto estant Church of our country." Emergency quarters h a v e Rico. One of them has estab- been fitted up, and medical sup- It is hoped thus to formulate plies and surgical equipment lished a church in what was fora united front of all Protestant have been shipped by dog team merly a garage, the only buildbodies on social questions, such from the Kotzebue Hospital. ing available when he was comas war and temperance, and for Mrs. Fred S. Klerekoper, wife pelled to move from a rented national evangelical work. of the missionary at Barrow, building, because of the annoy- who is a fully trained, registered -Advance. ance of a public cafe. The gar- age has been transformed into a nurse, will respond to emergency very attractive church audi- calls. Encouraging reports. have torium. The young minister and been received from the Klere- kopers regarding the progress his wife represent the new gen- Liquor Evils in Alaska of church work in the Barrow eration of Cubans, well prepared area. With characteristic devo- intellectllalIy, thoroughly identi- "The repeal of the Prohibition tion, the congregation continues fied with their own people, and Amendment was a major calam- definitely committed to the ideals ity for Alaska," says Dr. John of the Kingdom of Christ. M. Somerndike, Secretary for Alaska under the Presbyterian -The Presbyterian.
Board. "Ketchikan, for example, to carry forward the local pro- New Deal in Dominican with a population of less than gram of community worship and Republic 4,000, has 65 saloons where service. -Monday Morning. liquor is dispensed. Similar conditions prevail in every Alaskan LATIN AMERICA Long before the present gov- ernment used the term "New town and city. It is claimed that Evangelism in Mexico nearly two-thirds of the ship- Deal" it was a reality in the ments of Alaska steamship lines A cooperative effort in wideconsist of liquor. Its devastat- spread evangelism is being ar- Dominican mission field, and sixing effects are seen especially ranged, in which, among others, teen years of united action on among the native population. the National Bible Society of the part of United Brethren, Methodist and Presbyterian forces have proved its value. Immorality and every form of Scotland, the Scripture Gift Mis- Operating under four departvice follow in the wake of this sion, the Evangelical Churches ments – evangelistic, medical, evil. Government and terri- and the Latin America Prayer educational and social, the Board
OUR WORLD-WIDE OUTLOOK
for Christian Work in Santo Do- Need for Nationals in its annual feast and bull-fight. mingo has moved forward in a The constant noise and din of unified program w h i c h has The general situation in Cen- the drunken band all night long reached every stratum of Do- tral America directs attention to made sleep well-nigh impossible. minican life, and has become a the need for national Christian With the governor's permission vital factor for improvement. workers. Efforts are being made I was able to preach in the pub- There has been a substantial in- to send Christian workers into lic plaza as well as sell books, crease in the number of evan- several new Departments in before the bull-fight began. We gelicals. English Wesleyans are Guatemala, EI Salvador, Nic- had a good congregation and the now incorporated in this union aragua and Honduras. Foreign people were quite keen to listen church, and this year there was missionaries will take part in the to our message. held in Samafia the centennial advance, but the importance of celebration of the founding of the Bible Institutes at Pana- "The governor is a slave to the Wesleyan Methodist Church jachel for Indians, and that at drink. His wife asked if we had in that district among the Eng- Guatemala City and at San Jose a cure for this curse, and turnlish-speaking colored people, who in Costa Rica for Spanish-speak- ing to the two boys with me, I had migrated there from Penn- ing students, is increasingly ap- said, 'Senora, there are two of sylvania, New Jersey and the parent. Moreover, travel be- them. Ask them,' and Matias Carolinas in 1824. In 1837, tween the republics becomes Arela warmed my heart with his England sent a pastor who more difficult by the application splendid testimony. He was a founded a church with 60 char- of measures chiefly designed to known drunkard, but is now a ter members. The oldest mem- exclude foreign competitive im- free man through Christ. ber is 96 years old. Hanging on migration. News from Costa Rica the wall of her home is this indicates that the Government is "A seven hours' horseback motto, painted by her husband: taking drastic measures to limit journey took us to Copapata, "Childron United you stand de- the number of incoming mission- and here we saw the nucleus for vied you faull. Childron when aries; and the Minister of For- a growing work. We visited this you see remember me-E. eign Relations of Colombia has other small towns and made con- Anderson." Thus the idea of also announced that no more tacts with some who are really unity is foretold. -Advance. missionaries are wanted in Co- keen to know the way of salva- lombia. His veto is particularly tion. I always think of the town Woman's World severe against any further in- of Santa Rosa as the place where crease of single women workers. Satan's seat is. The ]ileople are The Presbyterian Board re- exceedingly bitter against us ports great progress in the West -World Dominion Press. and are very fanatical Catholics. Indies during the last few years In 1931 we held meetings there, in the organization of women's Belated Eft'orts in Guatemala but owing to continued persecu- tion the Indians stopped roming. societies in the churches. There Roman Catholics are making However, on this visit we had are now 18 church societies in every effort to regain lost ground the joy of baptizing five from Cuba, with 491 members, re- in Guatemala. Their efforts are the town itself, who professed porting more than 700 meetings commendable in many ways: a faith in Christ as Saviour. So during the past year. On their better type of clergymen; more keen were they that we hold a own initiative they have con- active rural work; better educa- convention there, that we did so. ducted seven Sunday schools and tion for children; certain im- Some fanatical women turned distributed 7,000 pieces of litera- provements in the quality of up, hoping to disturb the meetture. Each society has estab- their press; and even a strong ing; but we sang hymns until lished a "wardrobe," collecting party within the church, work- they went off in disgust. They and distributing used clothing to ing to purify the church, or at repeated the experiment the folthe community. Miss Edith M. least to remove the objections lowing day, but a terrible hail- Houston, worker at large, re- that laid it open to'complaint and storm drenched them and they ports that while visiting in the favored the advance of the made a hasty retreat. Not once home of one of the members of Evangelicals. Meanwhile, the were we disturbed again. Later, the societies, she found the evangelical cause continues to a son of one of these fanatical woman of the house examining grow by leaps and bounds. women who had attended the her coat and murmuring, "It meetings for the first time exwould make three little pairs of -Guatemala News. pressed the desire to know the pants." She lost no time in res- Lord. cuing her coat from the modern In Southern Peru Dorcas. Afro-Cuban Cult Alex. Jardine, writing for The Many of the societies have Neglected Continent, tells of a According to the Literary Diprayer groups, meeting once a new Christian group at Macu- gest there is in Cuba a cult month with the sole purpose of sani, southern Peru, who had whose rites sound like a page praying for the evangelization sent a special reque>st for an from pagan Africa. Kidnapof Cuba. -Monday Morning. evangelist to visit them. Mr. ping white children and human Jardine responded and says: sacrifice are a part of the cere- "We found the viUage occupied
monia!. Forty of their witch (66.79 %) are of the opinion aries in fourteen different fordoctors were arrested last De- that religion is losing ground. eign countries. Of the 2,728 cember and twenty others are churches in these foreign counalready serving long terms in World Religions tries, 2,000 are self-supporting. the Government prison. The total membership is 204,894. World Dominion has recently Rumania reported 6,050 bap- This cult originated at Sabee, published tables as authentic as capital of the West African slave are available of the percentages tisms, which was the largest coast kingdom of Whydah. It and numbers of the religions of number reported for the year. claims 500,000 votaries in Cuba, the world: of whom 100,000 are whites. – Watchman-Examiner. Catholic …….. 350,000,000-17% Gospel Bus in Chile Orthodox ……. 150,000,000- 7% Asia's Children in Sunday Protestant …… 230,000,000-11% School For the past three or four years the Presbyterian mission Of the non-Christian religions India has the largest Sunday in Chile has taken an active part school enrolment in Asia, with in the work of distributing the the Confucianists form 17 %, Korea a close second. There are Scriptures throughout r u r a I Hindus and Moslems 12 % each, 285,000,000 children in Asia areas by means of a gospel bus. under fourteen years of age They have made long trips with Buddhists, Animists, Shin- (excluding Asiatic Russia), out through the country whenever toists, Jews and others making of which number 2,800,000 beweather permitted traffic away up the remainder of the 2,040,- long to Protestant communities from the central highways. 000,000 in that class. -that is one in a hundred. Only Hundreds of New Testaments about one-quarter of these chilhave been left in the homes of Lutherans Go Forward dren have been touched by the country people, many of whom Sunday school. Some have been never leave their thatched huts. The American L u the ran receiving religious instruction in In each place the missionaries Board of Foreign Missions in day schools, but such privileges take the opportunity of telling adopting its budget on April 22, in day schools are rapidly disthe story of Christ, reading from removed a 10ro cut in mission- appearing. -Alliance Weekly. the Bible itself, training new ary salaries, and voted to send Christians, and opening new during the year one new or re- Women's Missionary Magazine avenues of interest. placement missionary to each foreign field, and also to make After years of discussion and -Presbyterian Banner. to each field a special contribu- planning, the Women's Mission- tion of $1,000 during the year ary Magazine of the United MISCELLANEOUS ($500 for British Guiana) for Presbyterian Church issued its buildings or general work. Ar- first number in August, 1887, Is Religion Losing Ground? gentina gets $1,500 because of with 2,300 advance subscrip- special needs at Eldorado. The. tions. Mrs. Sarah Foster Hanna In the January Fortune ap- total financial advance for the had the honor of first advocating peared the results of a survey on year is $30,000. such a magazine. Mrs. W. the status of religion in the Clark Hutchison, of Xenia, Ohio, Other indications of renewed was its first editor, and served United States today, based on progress are the building of a for 27 years. She was followed 4,500 interviews secured by For- church in Kobe, Japan, and three by Mrs. George Moore, who tune's investigators. new buildings at Zorzor, Liberia. served for 21 years. A fund The erection of new buildings at raised as a memorial to her sup- An equal number of men and Tsingtao, China, will proceed as plies illustrations for the magawomen were interviewed in all soon as the Luther League of zine. It is now under the capable major geographical areas, in America has attained its objec- editorship of Mrs. J. P. White, both rural and urban communi- tive of $10,000. formerly a missionary in Egypt.
ties. The various economic A special effort to cancel the o Lord our God, thy mighty hand levels were represented as fol- Board's debt is making headway. Hath made our country free; lows: prosperous, 10%; upper The treasurer was able to report that indebtedness had been re- From all her broad and happy land middle class, 27 %; lower middle duced to $80,000 by last March. The regular budget of the Board May worship rise to thee; class, 38%, and poor, 25%. is $471,727. The question: "Is religion in Fulfill the promise of her youth, Baptist Gains Her liberty defend; , America today gaining or losing .More than 17,000 persons, the By law and order, love and truth, ground?" The consensus of largest number in one year in judgment: the history of the Foreign Mis- America befriend! sion Society of the Southern Religion gaining……….. 24.8% Baptist Convention, were bap- The strength of every state increase Losing……………….. 49.90/0 tized by the Society's mission- Same ………………… 17. 20/0 aries and native workers last In Union's golden chain; Has no influence ………. year. The Society has mission- Don't know…………… 1. 3% Her thousand cities fill with peace, 6.8% Her million fields with grain- The virtues of her mingled blood Of those definitely believing In one new people blend; that religion is either gaining or losing, more than two-thirds By unity and brotherhood, America befriend! AMElN. -Henry van Dyke.
Missionary
Books Briefly Reviewed for the Readers' Information Christianity in the Eastern Conflicts. Eastward. The Story of Adoniram tions and achievements of the A Study of Christianity, National- Judson. Portrait. 8vo. 240 pp. next thirty-seven years fill the ism, and Communism in Asia. By Round Table Press. New York. volume. Judson's first wife died William Paton. 224 pp. $1.50. 1937. after fourteen years in Burma Chicago, Willett Clark and Co. and he later married Sarah 1937. There is no more fascinating Boardman. After a few years she too entered into rest and This is a very timely book. or more stimulating reading Judson married a third time. Mr. Paton is a secretary of the The dangers and the difficulties International Missionary Coun- than good missionary biog- overcom~ in pioneer mission cil. Last year he made a trip work for Christ present a very which took him through the Far raphies. They contain stories different story from that of East, India, and the Near East. most modern missions. Those The letters which record his im- of adventure in new fields, sac- were the days of giants and of pressions are among the most heroes and heroines. informing documents of their rificial service, love and rokind that this reviewer has seen. mance, information about new The biographer is a graduate At the insistence of his friends, of Brown University and now Mr. Paton put the substance of peoples and strange lands and professor of missions in Berkthose letters into book form. eley Divinity School, California. Here, then, is a record of what customs, and the study of char- He naturally sympathizes with a thoughtful observer has seen acter development under many Judson's change to Baptist of present conditions in the adverse conditions and toward views, which was the immediate most populous parts of Asia. high ideals. The life of Adon- reason for the founding of the Mr. Paton's concerns are pri- iram Judson, pioneer mission- American Baptist Missionary marily missionary. He is, how- ary to Burma, is such a treas- Union. The biography is vivid ever, interested also in the set- ure house. He has furnished and sympathetic, revealing the ting in which missions must material for many biographies, way God works to build up His work. These chapters contain, histories and historical novels Kingdom "in spite of dungeon, therefore, pictures of trends in in the past eighty-five years. fire and sword." politics, economics, and thought This is a well written life his- tory, documented, with clear The Israel Promises and Their Fulwhich affect the life of the purpose and abundant human filment. By Samuel Hinds Wilkin- Church. interest. While not a spiritual son. 195 pp. 88. 6d. John Bale, interpretation, it is a sympa- Sons, and Danielson. London. 1936. The book does not end with a thetic record. travelogue. The author has What is the teaching of the properly added an interpreta- The subject is too well-known Bible regarding the future of tion. The second half of the to require extended comment. the Jews? The answer would book he terms "Reflections." Going out with his young bride, seem to be simple enough. It is Mr. Paton states what he be- in 1812, as one of the first in fact far otherwise. There are lieves to be the Christian mes- American foreign missionaries, in general two main views held sage. He discusses the relation he found they were not wanted by Christians. One follows the of Church, community, and state by the British East India Com- Jewish interpretation of the in the Far East. He describes pany that controlled foreign re- ancient prophecies concerning the present condition of the lations with India. Moreover, Israel that there will be a recon..; younger churches as he has seen Judson and his wife decided stitution of the Jewish nation in them. He also gives space to that they could not work as Con- Palestine under the Messiah the relation of the Church to the gregational missionaries but when the Jews will reach the changing social order. Mr. must work as Baptists. This highest pinnacle of earthly do- Paton is always soundly evan- cut them off from home support minion and glory. Some Chrisgelical and always sees below for a time. Forbidden to work tians maintain that this will be the surface to the significance in India, after they had come realized at the second coming of of the transient scene. 12,000 miles and were five months away from home, finally K. S. LATOURETTE. after trying Mauritius and Pen- ang, the J udsons found a "crazy old vessel" to take them to Ran- goon. The trials, horrors, hero- ism, joys and sorrows, priva- Any of the books noted in these columns will be sent by the Rl!VIIlW publishers on receipt of price.
[ 397]
Christ. The other view holds that have taken place. Arabia, terest. Dr. Corey is one of the Syria and Palestine, Egypt and recognized leaders of the foreign that the old covenant was abol- Africa, Turkey, Iran, India and m iss ion a r y enterprise, and the Farther East are then con- writes out of long and rich exished by Christ and under the sidered specifically in illumi- perience, first as secretary and nating chapters. While Islam is now as president of the. United new covenant the Church is the still considered an almost impos- Christian Missionary Society of sible field for Christian advance, the Disciples of Christ. His legitimate heir of the promises this book gives an encouraging knowledge of missions is wide record of the progress made. and accurate. He shows the made to Israel. Instead of an The Moslem attitude to Christ is wider range of world missions, changing but Mohammed's fol- "beyond statistics." His clarity earthly dominion and glory, the lowers are becoming more ma- of literary style, wealth of facts terialistic. The weakness and and illustrations, and cogency Church has come into possession strength of Islam are clearly of argument make delightful shown. The absolute necessity reading. So good a book should of a spiritual Zion and a richer of life through Christ might be have an index. more positively stressed. Mosspiritual inheritance. lems who become Christians ARTHUR J. BROWN. know that there is no hope in One of the ablest exponents of Mohammed. The Young Moslem Looks at Life. By Murray T. Titus. 8vo. 181 pp. the latter view is Philip Mauro, Christ and the W orId Today. By $1.00, cloth; 60 cents, paper. Wm. E. Doughty. 12mo. 126 pp. Friendship Press. New York. 1937. whose volume, "The Hope of Methodist Book Concern. New York. 1937. Moslems are an interesting Israel: What Is It?" has had a people. They follow one of the Dr. Doughty was for some most positive religious systems wide circulation and a potent in- time a secretary of the Laymen's in the world and are exceedingly Missionary Movement and later missionary-minded. Many Mosfluence. It is because of this in- of the Near East Relief. He is lem youth are wide-awake and a man of missionary vision and are in training for leadership. fluence that Samuel Wilkinson a clear and convincing speaker In the first chapter of this study and writer. This little volume book for young people in Amerhas written his book to counter- describes the "New Age" in ica, the author introduces Mo- which we live – with its good hammed Bey, a young Moslem act its effect which he regards and evil; "The Changing World" of Kashgar, who desires to see that offers a challenge to Chris- the world by making a pilas harmful and misleading. tians; the "New Destiny" that grimage to Mecca. The book is faced by the Church and the describes his experiences and As director of the Mildmay various nations and races; the reactions and shows that while "World Mission" of Japan, India his eyes were opened to many Mission to the Jews, of London, and other lands; "America in weaknesses in Moslems, his ex- the New Age" and its vast op- perience at Mecca overwhelmed Mr. Wilkinson brings to bear on portunity; the "New World So- him with Islam's greatness. ciety" seen as the Kingdom of the problem a deep interest in God and "Christ's Summons" to Dr. Titus then goes on to show a new departure, calling for a clearly the main facts about Mothe Jewish people and the re- new crusade. hammed and his religion, the practiC'es of Islam and the results of a life-long study of the It is a book of facts, carefully sults seen in the family, in poli- selected and interpreted to show tics and religion. He closes with Scriptures concerning the m. the author's views as to why and a Moslem view of Christianity how the world should be made and Islam's challenge to the He undertakes to establish on over to conform to the spirit and world. Young people will do purpose of Christ. The facts well to read it. They will then impregnable foundations the in- are impressive but we believe have deeper appreciation of that the Bible leads us to expect Christ and Christianity. violability of the promises con- the complete fulfilment of Christ's purposes only when lie What Is the Moslem World? By cerning Israel and the certainty returns to reign. Charles R. Watson. 8vo. 207 pp. $1.00, cloth; 60 cents, paplr. of their plenary fulfilment. His Beyond Statistics. By Stephen J. Friendship Press. New York. 1937. Corey. 188 pp. $1.00. Bethany book is a very valuable contri- Press. St. Louis. Mo. 1937. Few men know the Near East Moslem world better than Dr. bution to the study of the sub- Here is one of the best of re- Watson. He was born in Egypt cent missionary books, small in of missionary parents and has ject, but we wish that its mes- size, but large in value and in- been a missionary there for twenty years. In this adult missage had been less controversial and less limited in its scope by the arguments which he seeks to meet. These books by Philip Mauro and Samuel Wilkinson are keen and interesting ex- amples of diverse Biblical inter- pretation. J. S. CONNING.
Mecca and Beyond. By Edward M. Dodd and Rose Wilson Dodd. IlIus. 12mo. 222 pp. $1.00, cloth; 50 cents, paper. Central Committee on the United Study of Foreign Missions. Boston. 1937.
Mecca, the "Forbidden City" to Christians, is a name to conjure with for Moslems. Dr. and Mrs. Dodd have both lived among followers of Mohammed in the Near East and have been in touch with them ever since they left Persia (Iran). This popular and well-written study book is good reading for it deals, not with abstract, but with concrete facts and incidents. First the authors view "the Moslem and his world" as a whole and show the remarkable changes
OUR MISSIONARY BOOKSHELF
sion study book he has given the the churches and missions are well told, always attract children main facts about the lands and included, with 2,298 mission- and at the same time educate peoples where Islam holds sway. aries. The information is un- them and develop their human He points out many peculiarities avoidably and unfortunately in- sympathies. A child naturally of the Moslems and the "grip- complete. has no racial prej udices and can ping power of Islam." He also Bust., Until Seventy Times Seven. By be deeply interested in the way May Wyburn. Illus. 12mo. 192 presents the main facts as to the children of other lands live and contact of Christians with Mos- pp. $1.25. Loizeaux Bros. New talk, work and play. Here, by lems. Where Dr. Watson fails, York. 1936. means of captivating pictures we think, is in dealing with the The Water Street Mission, on every page, with attractive New York City, has long been verses and stories, the reader is weakness of Islam, its increased introduced to children from antagonism to Christ as known known as a place where modern Greenland, China, Japan, India, to Christians, and its supreme miracles are wrought. The story Africa, the Philippines and from of lives and natures transformed Palestine. Here are friendly, need for the Gospel. In looking and regenerated there have a attractive stories for very young to the future he calls on Chris- perpetual thrill and will never children, suitable for use in the grow old. Here the widow of home and Sunday school, as well tians to make better use of their as by teachers of young children resources, to understand the the former superintendent, a in day school. true man of God, gives some of task and its difficulties, to use these wonder tales of city mis- Kill or Cure. By Muriel Lester. 135 more strategy with a united ap- sion work, under the subtitle of pp. $1.00. Gokesbury Press. Nashproach to the problem. Mission- three Biblical names of three ville, Tennessee. 1937. aries to Moslems know that un- superintendents – J ere m i a h failing faith and prayer and lov- This is an avowedly "peace (McAuley), Samuel (Hadley) tract," by the woman who has ing sacrifice are required, but and John (Wyburn). These men been called "the Jane Addams" that the fruit must come from of England and who had become the Spirit of God opening blind are worth knowing and the eyes and bringing new life to dead souls. stories of their lives and the In the Jungles of New Guinea. By harvest that resulted from their internationally known not only Missionary R. Hanselmann. lllus. seed-sowing and watering fur- for her remarkable Christian Pamphlet. Lutheran Book Concern. nish good illustrations for ser- Columbus, Ohio. mons as well as excellent read- service in the tenement district ing. Here is a place where men New Guinea is still unknown were truly converted. They of London but for her eloquent to most Americans, in spite of knew it and others knew it by the fact that it is an immense the way their light shone before advocacy of world peace. In island and has great wealth and men and glorified God. Read interest for explorers, anthro- these "wonder tales" and pass this little book she convincingly pologists, scientists, exploiters them on to others as a witness and especially for missionary- of the redemptive power of shows the utter futility of war minded Christians. Christ. and the urgent need of develop- Mr. Hanselmann, a Lutheran Just Like You Stories. For Boys and missionary in the Mandated Ter- Girls. By Mrs. Henry W. Peabody. ing attitudes and methods for ritory, gives here his impres- Illus. 186 pp. $1.50. M. H. Leavis. sions of the flora, the fauna and Boston,. Mass. 1937. preventing it. Some readers the natives. A little is told about his experiences with them Eyegate is one of the most ef- may feel that she carries her and the effective work of the fective means of entrance into Lutherans. the mind and heart and soul. pacifism to extremes, but they will respect her sincerity. Dr.
Stanley Hunter adds an inter- esting biographical sketch of the author. ARTHUR J. BROWN.
About the Old Faith. By Henry W.
Frost. 12mo. 128 pp. $1.25.
Fleming H. Revell Co. New York. 1937.
The Evangelical Handbook of Latin Wise guidance in a child's read- In these days of new man- America. Paper. Quarto. 119 pp. ing is therefore one of the most made cults and of militant un- 48. Committee on Cooperation in belief there is need for short, Latin America, New York and the important avenues of learning. clear studies in revealed truth. World Dominion Press, London. And yet multitudes of children 1937. today, even in Christian homes, Those who are experimenting in With excellent maps, statisti- are having their tastes vitiated, new creeds need to avoid the cal tables, general information, their standards lowered, and toadstool variety of philosophy and directory of missionaries in their future endangered by the that carries death. each of the Latin American silly, distorted and often degrad- For half a century Dr. Frost countries, this volume gives val- ing reading they find in news- has tested the brand of faith uable up-to-date information. papers and books. Dr. May which he presents here in simple Everyone interested in the Lazar, research assistant of the outline. It has, m 0 reo v e r, progress of missions in these Board of Education, New York proved its value for two thoutwenty-one countries (including City, warns against many fairy- sand years and continues to islands in the West Indies) tales and "series books" that bring life and strength today to should have this Handbook for distort their ideas about life. those who follow it. Here is an study and reference. Most of True stories of children, when elementary volume for students,
rather than an advanced treatise Immensity. God's Greatness Seen in With Christ in Africa. By Rev. D. A. Creation. By Clarence H. Benson. McDonald. Illus. 158 pp. 28. 6d. on the Christian faith. Dr. Frost Illus. 8vo. 140 pp. $1.50. The Marshall, Morgan & Scott, Ltd., bases everything on the Bible, Scripture Press. Chicago. 1937. London, Edinburgh. Obtainable in though in many cases the refer- America from Zondervan Publishences are lacking. His general The wonders of God's uni- ing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan. verse can be grasped only faintly $1.00. 1937. topics are: The Godhead, Christ, Man, Sin, The Scriptures, Fun- -its magnificence, its order, its "The persons who say, 'Let design, its harmony in immen- the Africans alone; they are damental Doctrines, The Church, sity and in minuteness. There quite happy,' have never lived Christian Experience, Christian is fine opportunity for unending close to African life." For Privileges, Christian Services, forty years (1892-1931), Rev. Vital Topics, The Unseen World, study for it is a study of the D. A. McDonald lived among the works of God. Mr. Benson here people of South Africa, daily Prophecy and the Final State. gives glimpses of the wonders adding to his evidence that "The For most purposes the studies of astronomy and the lessons we dark places of the earth are full learn as to God's character and of the habitations of cruelty." are too analytical. There is no purpose. The author is director The story of his life and work argument but rather a series of among the peoples of Kafraria numbered statements to set forth of Christian Education Courses and North East Transvaal rethe author's interpretations of in Moody Bible Institute, Chi- veals a genuine understanding and appreciation of the Zulus the Bible teaching. There are cago, and is author of "The and Vendas among whom he almost no extra Biblical illustra- Earth, the Theater of the Uni- faithfully and victoriously contions or examples of the way verse" and other volumes. Here ducted his business of "life- is a book that makes infidelity changing." these truths work out in life. impossible to an honest, intel- Young people who wish to know From the point of general in- ligent thinker. It is also fasci- terest the effectiveness of the what the Word of God says will nating reading and furnishes an book is somewhat hampered by find Dr. Frost's studies illumi- immense amount of material for nating. Missionaries will also sermons. Every chapter is linked up to Bible passages and find them of real value to clarify the closing chapter is on the their own thinking and as a text- book for use with converts.
Except Ye Repent. By Harry A. "Star of Bethlehem" – not yet a too exact emphasis on the Ironside. 8vo. 191 pp. $1.50. clearly identified. names of obscure places and American Tract Society. New York. people. But the genuineness, the 1937. Pioneering in Kwangsi. By W. H. Oldfield. Illus. 8vo. 208 pp. whimsical naIvete and the splen- The number of strong and Christian Publications, Inc. Har- did Christian vitality of the man convincing evangelical preach- risburg, Pa. 1936. make his narrative a real testi- ers seems to be diminishing Kwangsi is one of the larger mony to the joy of courageous rather than increasing, so that and generally unevangelized Christian living.
volumes of sermons, like this, provinces in southwest China. FLORENCE LERRIGO.
are prizes worth having. Dr. Here The Christian and Mission- Ironsides, pastor of the Moody ary Alliance has done and is do- Cross of Christ. By George P. Pier- Memorial Church, Chicago, is a ing a remarkable work among son, D.D. $1.50. 173 pp. Amer- ican Tract Society. New York. powerful evangelical and pop- Chinese and aboriginal tribes. 1937. ular preacher and a clear ex- The courage, sacrifice, and perpositor. This series of sermons severence of these missionaries This timely little volume is , on Repentance won the $1,000 have produced some remarkable well worth a young Christian's prize offered by the American results. (See the article by Rev. examination and p ray e r f u I Tract Society. They are worth A. C. Snead in this issue of THE study. Dr. Pierson, for forty years a missionary in Japan, it – short, evangelical, Biblical, REVIEW.) practical, arresting, adapted for The Rev. W. H. Oldfield, one places the Cross where it should present-day needs. This series of the pioneers, describes vividly be, at the center, and he focuses takes up the meaning of repent- the land and people, the material the divine light of God's Word ance, Christ's call to repent, the progress in recent years and the upon it from all angles-"from teaching of various apostles and work of the Alliance in its vari- above, from the background, Biblical writers on the subject ous stations and outstations. It from its very self, from either and the results of preaching re- is a story of faith, of courage, of side, from the foreground, from pentance today. Ministers and adventure and of achievement. below, and from the ensuing missionaries will do well to study There are still millions who are centuries." In doing so he brings this volume carefully and to unevangelized and one can travel forward the essentials of the preach on the same subject hundreds of miles without see- Christian faith that need emoften. It is too much neglected ing a Christian chapel. Some phasis and restatement at the and too superficially treated. of the best work is being done present hour.
"Except ye repent, ye shall all by Chinese Gospel Bands that Dr. Pierson is well qualified likewise perish," are the words are trained and then go out to for this work not only from a of Christ to religious leaders of evangelize their fellow country- scholastic standpoint but also His day. men. from personal experience. After
from Princeton Uni- The Deeper Life. Max I. Reich. 115 of this Course
versity and S e min a r y, he pp. $1.00. Wm. B. Eerdmans. Young People's Society may preached these truths in Japan Grand Rapids, Mich. , converted into a School for and America. A. H. P'ERPE1'UO. Bible Training. Four Point Project Program. Based New Book. on Missionary Heroes Course No.1. 1936 STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE Theodore L. Conklin. 30 pp. Board But, Until Seventy Times Seven. S. of Education, American Baptist Four Parts-52 Lessons. Part I, The Bible-The May Wyburn. 192 pp. $1.25. Asso. New York. God of the Bible. Part II, The Christ of the Bible Loizeaux Bros. New York. -The Holy Spirit. Part III, Man-Sin and Redemp- God's Methods for Holy Living. tion. Part IV. The Church-Future Events. Christ and the World Today. Wm. Donald Grey Barnhouse. 93 pp. E. Doughty. 126 pp. Methodist 50 cents. Revelation. Philadelphia. Send 15c in stamps for current issue. Book Concern. New York. The History of Sin. Happy Though HRISTIAN PUBLICATIONS.IN(; My Servant Moses. E. Ray Cameron. Poor. History of Temptation. Men 187 pp. $1.50. Revell. New York. Whom God Struck Dead. The 1502 N. Third St., Hlrrisburg, PI. Marks of, Sonship. When Winter Then and Now in Kenya Colony. Comes. Donald Grey Barnhouse. Bishop Lauress J. Birney, retired, Willis R. Hotchkiss. 160 pp. $1.50. 16 page leaflets. 10 cents each. of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Revell. New York. Revelation. Philadelphia. died in Pasadena, California, on May 10 at the age of 65. He was born in James Hudson Taylor. James J. Living in the Ministry of Song. Tom Dennison, Ohio, and after graduation Ellis. 96 pp. 18. Pickering & Jones. 180 pp. 2s. 6d. Pickering from Boston University School of Inglis. London. & Inglis. London. Theology, served several pastorates. He was elected Dean of Boston Uni- Pioneering in Kwangsi. W. H. Old- Obituary Notes versity in 1911 and in 1920 was ele- field. 208 pp. Christian Publica- vated to the Bishopric, with China as tions. Harrisburg, Pa. (Concluded from page 337.) his special mission field. Mr. Frederic F. Helmer, editorIal Christendom and Islam. Their Con- secretary for North America for the tacts and Cultures Down the Cen- China Inland Mission, died in Toronto, turies. W. Wilson Cash. 205 pp. Canada, March 19. Mr. Helmer had $2.00. Harpers. New York. filled various positions in the C. I. M., among others Publication and Prayer Church Unity. F. H. Knubel. 86 pp. Union Secretary. He remodeled 75 cents. United Lutheran Pub. China's Millions and founded Young House. Philadelphia.· China.
OBJEOTIVES AND PRINOIPLES FOR YOUTH We earnestly commend the following personal and social objectives for. the enlistment of youth: .
I surrender my life to Jesus Christ and His way of living and I enlist in His service.
I believe that it is the purpose of God to make Christ known in all the world so that all human relationships will be controlled by God's law of love. I propose to live, so far as He enables me, as if His Kingdom were now recognized.
I will faithfully observe a "quiet time" each day for meditation and prayer and the study of God's Word.
I will regard my lifework as my share in extending God's Kingdom. I will choose my life- work in accordance with what I can discover to be God's will, and not for personal selfish gain. I will practice restraint and self-denial in all my personal nabits.
I will keep my friendships on a high level, not conforming to lower standards of the world, but helping to lift the standards of my group to the best that I know, as God has revealed His way of life.
I will serve Christ through the Christian Church, doing all that I can to make it the effec- tive instrument that it must be if God's world is to be truly Christian.
I will oppose the war system as murderous and selfish, and will work ceaselessly for the establishment of peace based on righteousness and love.
I will refrain from the use of alcoholic liquors, and will work to rid the world of the degrading liquor traffic.
I will treat those of all races as my brothers and sisters made in the spiritual image of God.
I will give myself to the creation of better economic and social conditions wherein every member of society shall have opportunity to earn a livelIhood for himself and those dependent upon him and wherein every member of society shall have sufficient to meet his economic needs.
I will use my leisure time only for such recreation as is wholesome and will enrich and uplift personality, and will refrain from amusements which injure or degrade myself or others.
I will give of my time, as far as possible, to working for the building of a Christian world -in personal work, public speaking, writing, and circulating literature, and in every possible way evangelizing for Christ.
I will give sacrificially of my earnings and other possessions to support the enterprises which are working to build a Christian world.
I will conscientiously seek to obey the Will of God as revealed in His written Word and will put Him first in all things-that Christ may have the preeminence. -Adapted from "The Evangelical-Messenger."
THE SPECIAL uMOSLEM NUMBER"
OF THE MISSIONARY ~'WORID This October Issue will contain articles on CHRIST AND THE MOSLEM WORLD Why Take Christ to Moslems? Samuel M. Zwemer The Gospel for Mohammedans W. Wilson Cash Present.day Trends in Islam Edward C. Dodd Moslem Reactions to Christ • James Haldane My Experience with Moslems Frank C. Laubach Christ and Moslem Homes . Eleanor Calverley What Christ Has Done for Me • S. Khoobyar A Sermon by a Former Moslem Saee'd Kurdistani and others—with maps and illustrations ORDER COPIES IN ADVANCE FOR YOURSELF AND MISSION STUDY CLASSES 25 cents a copy $20 a hundred $2.50 a year THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD Third and Reily Streel:s, Harrisburg, Pa.
ROBERT E. SPEER, President DELAVAN L. PIERSON, Editor READ THE MOSLEM WORLD SAMUEL M. ZWEMER, Editor SOME ARTICLES IN THE JULY NUMBER Patience (Editorial) George Swan The Arabic Version of the Bible Paul Erdman The Bible and Moslems • J. Christy Wilson The Bible in the Balkans • James Oscar Boyd The Koran as Magic Bess Allen Donaldson Moslem Chronology in China Isaac Mason Shi'a Standards of Hyderabad • • Kate Greenfield A Statistical Survey Carlo Gasbarri Why Not Canonize Mohammed? Mounir R. Sa'adeh Egypt Tastes Independence Pierre Crabites Book Reviews ••• Current Topics••• Survey of Periodicals __-+)0 SUBSCRIBE NOW ~~-._ 50 Cents a Copy. $2.00 a Year (postpaid) In combination with THE MOSLEM WORLD THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City $3.50 a Year. (Foreign Postage, 50 Cents.) British Agents: MARSHA!.!., MORGAN & SCOTT, 12 Paternoster Buildings, !.ondon, E. C. Price in Great Britain, Eight Shillings a Year, net
The Missionary Review of the World — November 1925
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Should be Saved or Were Saved Many devout Christians could never quite grasp that passage in Acts I: 41, which in The Campbell Morgan former versions of Scripture reads: Analyzed Bible '6And the Lord added to the Church daily such as .hould be saved." How understandable then this (AlIIerl".. Staadud Venl••) passage becomes when it is more accurately trans- No. 3172-TopicaI Headings; lated, as in the American Standard Bible-"And the Referencesj 2'; Outline Mapsj Lord added to them day by day day tbose that w….. Analysis and Spiritual inter- saved." Through this clearer renderimr-which is pretations; Bourgeois type i mical of thousands of passages-the earnest Bible $5 size 5~8X8 in. Genuine leather; student realizes the need of the more faithful. accu- divinity circuit overlaJ;lping rate, marvelously beautiful translations which are cover; round ….or- 0_ 0 nen; red under gold edge. : : : – found only in the l1T,nl~nOnSAmt.aenrdicaarndB~"Wklle (Edited by American Revision Committee) NELSON BIBLES in an sizes, types The American Standard Bible Text has been adopted by all leading Colleges, Theo- logical Seminaries, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A. and Bible Schools throughout the and styles of binding United States and is used by over 13,000,000 scholars from which to study the are obtainable wber~ International, graded or other Bible lessons. ever Bibles are sold. A Nelson Bible is a guarantee of the best character of printing, binding, paper, Free Booklet as well as of the latest and best translation. Two hundred styles of binding and ten sizes of type. I A charming 36-page IUOOUSnU~&SONS-3;~h~h~~~~~:;; booklet entitled "The Wonderful Story," published at 10c I Authorized publJshers tor the American Revision Committee. per copy, telling how the Bible came down through the ages, and w~e::r1~rSs~or~~~as~hisn~o~se :O~~~li~~~~ ~e Yl~U~:~O!a;~t1tled liThe I containing many facts of vital in- Name .; …………………………………………•….. terest, will be sent FREE on re- I quest to anyone mentioning THE Street No……..•.. ? ………………………………… . MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD:- City .. State … "………•••.• Please mention THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD in wrftJng to advertisers. THE MISSIONARY YOUR Children REVIEW OF THE W ORLO What Are They Studying at DELAVAN L. PIBRSON, Editor SU..,NDAY-SCHOOL?
Contents for November, 1925 • g Are th~ learning th.t T'~el!iICiihLretre~r'n the Bible lS the Word of Page – •. It God~ and a trustworthy FRONTISPIECE .• CHRISTIAN GIRLS OF THE g:uidC to eternal life? Are they being taught that SOU'I'H SEAS IN A JAPANESE MISSION Jesus Christ is the Son of EDITORJALS ••.••.••.••….•…….•• 837 &~W:~:hc;a::~he~: A PROGRAM OF UNITED PRAYER. minds being filled with SATISFACTION IN STEWARJ)SHII'. the doubts and denials of POSSIBLE! BENEFITS OF THE CHINESE Evolution and Modern- AGITATION. ism? THE MISSION BOARDS AND CHINA. You teachers and ~, ORGANIZED PRAYER AS A MISSIONARY ents ought to know. Our AGENCy •••••.•• HERMANN A. LUM 845 Sunday School publica- tions, written for all de- Concrete examples oj the power oj unit.. nominations, are true to the Word of God. ed interoession. The "Full Gospel" Line of CHINA'S CRISTS AND CH,USTIANITY International Lessons • .• , …………. S,Dl';'EY KOK WEI 848 TEACHERS' QUARTERLY A CMnese 'view of the present situation. An absolutely new publication, prepared with :no ex- THE DOCTOR WHO SWALLOWED THE are pense spared to make it the very best handbook for FLUKES .••••• JAMES H. FRANKLIN 853 ~~~fde;~':>!n~~cherS available. There five dis~ The thrm>ng .tory oj umeljish service. YOUNG PEOPLE'S QUART ERLY CHRISTIAN MISSIONS AND WORLD For use in Young Peopfe's Societies and Bible Study PEACE . • • • . . . NEWroN W. ROWELL 856 classes. Topics are selected, and expositions furnished THE STOCKHOLM CONFERENCE AND to cover every phase of Christian experience. WORLD .MfSSIONS. . .. . …….. . ………… WALTER W. VAN KIRK 857 SENIOR QUARTERLY Special features are: Lesson Subject, Lesson Text! JAPANESE CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN THE SOUTH SEAS •• HILTON PEDLEY 861 Lesson in Brief, Lesson Outline, Lesson Expositiont Lesson Questions, Home Readings, Practical Points. CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM IN AFRICA • ••••••••••• ORISHATUKEH F.ADUMA 865 INTERMEDIATE QUARTERLY Meets the needs of young people between the ages of REACHING SPANISH-AMERICANS WITH THE GOSPEL .. ROBERT N. McLEAN 869 I4-17. A simple, instructive publication, with special features and an attractive cover. Successful home mission 'WOrk in the ISlYUthwest. JUNIOR QUARTERLY MY FIRST REVIVAL ON THE MISSION te:i~:J~~~r~:!~.of r~~iie~pl:a~~~e~~e~Sc~;:u~ FIELD …..••..•. L. P. VAN SLYKE 875 Reading, Memory Passage, Questions, The Lesson EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY IN RUS- Storyt Illustrations and an Introouction. SIA …………. NORMAN J. SMITH 876 H2~t~e~!~:r~~~~~en9o~~~Ri!~YQ…rl<rl~. RUSSIANS IN THE U:-IITED STATES ••.•••••…•.••••••1. V. NEPRASH 878 adapted for home use.
BEST METHODS ……….•.•…….. THE ALUANCE WEEKLY • ••. EDn-ED BY Mus. E. C. CRO>'"'K 879 For adult classes, The AlliatUe Weekly is an e:z:cep- WOMAN'S HOME MISSION BULLETIN .. 884 tionally fine Sunday School paper. In addition to a Lesson Exposition in each issue, there is an abundance WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSION BULLETIN 887 of Bible study material, sermons and missionary articles. NEWS FROM MANY LANDS ………. 891 THE YOUTH'S COUNSELLOR THE MISSIONARY LIBRARY ••…….• 907 Gives young people a grasp of the essential truths of TERMS.-$2.50 a year. ($2.00 In club. of the Bible in such a way as to prov e both interesting live.) Foreign POlltap, 50 centa. Single copl••, and entertaining. Clean, spiritual stories; live mis- sionary news; helpful Sunday School notes, and ineo..· 25 cent.. Published monthly. Copyrighted. structlVe Bible studies.
1925. by MlB8IOKUY R"VIBW P1IBUaHIN& JUNIOR BOYS AND GIRLS p,un, INC. All right. r ..erved. A lively, interesting paper for boys and girls between 'rHm MISSIONARY REVIEW PUBLISHING the ages of ten and fourteen. Eristles with Bible stories, COMPANY. Inc. inddents and applications. lllust,aktl.
ROBBBr E. Sl'lIIOB. P,..Ii/Jefl, JOY BELLS WILLLUI I. CX…..BBBLAIN. Vke-Pr.,lden' Delights the little prim.ry people. The pictures and DBLAVolN L. Pni:UON, S.cr.t<W1/ simple stories are fine. Issued weekly. WALTHB McDOUGALL. T…""'….. Publication "ffice, 3d & Relly Sts., Harrisburg, Picture Lesson Cards Pa. 25c a copy. $2.~0 a year Picture Lesson Rolls Edltorl..l and Business Office, 156 Fifth Avenue, Lesson Leaflets New York City Write for Free Samples and Price Entered as f>.econd~class matter at the Post Lists of Sunday School Supplies omce. Harrisburg, Pa.., under Act of March 3, 1879. Send lar Our,Catalo6 The Christian Alliance Publishing Company Boob Bibles Tracts Mottoes Sunday School Supplies 260 West 44th Streot NEW YORK, N. Y.
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AND here are some of the outstanding For Primary Teachers-in which Mrs. reasons why it can do just that for every Eleanor B. Hatton talks with the children teacher, officer and pastor: on the lesson in a way that greatly helps other primary teachers. The Lesson as a Whole-a masterly, comprehensive and thoroughly practical Your Class of Girls-what to teach and treatment of the International Uniform how to teach those teen-age girls of yours, Lesson, by the distinguished Scottish Bible- in getting the lesson into their everyday teacher, W. Graham Scroggie, of Edin- living. burgh. "Say, Fellows"-is the boy reaching les- Questions for Teacher and Class-just son-teaching of 'vYade C. Smith, a genius the questions you would like to assign to at the job, who will giVe you many a weldifferent members of your class, for be- come hint in teachillg and guiding those tween-Sunday research, and for class dis- boys of yours. cussion. Little Jetts Teach the Lesson-Yes, in- The Busy Men's Corner-that inimitable deed they do! And you'd be surprised to paragraphic lesson commentary, by Iron- know how many different kinds of folks master Ridgway, which .has been called, delight to use these little Bible-picture pen- "White hot sparks of spiritual steel!" and-ink creations of Wade C. Smith's clever touch. Bettcr get acquainted! This Week's Teaching Principle-where in connection with each lesson an important Pace's Christian Cartoons are another principle of true te:lchin,~ is set forth by distinctive and exclusive Times feature, Prof. C. C. Ellis, a leading educationalist. with their heart-searching, unforgetable thrusts, and flashes of spiritual illumina- The Illustration Round-Table-anec- tion. Nothing of the sort approaches them dotes and incidents illustrating the lesson, in power and pointednes5. supplied by the worlrl-wide family of Times readers-bv far the richest source of fresh Editorials greatly enriching the devotional illustration's in periodical literature. life, and both challenging and encouraging a deeper spirituality and more effective From the Platfonn-a three-minute talk service. by Philip E. Howard, suggestive to the superintendents, in clinching the lesson's Notes on Open I,etters-where answers heart-truth for the school. are plainly and c1e'lrly given to vital ques- tions asked by readers.
I / I …. Il' //f (published every week) I~ I 0; THE 111 In addition to the above, there are: Ernest Gordon's fascinating vey of Religious Life and Thought; Question Box and Articles Sur- / # SUNDAY on Sunday-school Methods; Helps for the Young People's Meeting; a / ~.. SCHOOL rich feast of special articles from the leaders in Christian life and I ~ TIMES COMP', thought; . Pr~f. Malvin Grove Kyle's repor~s of the latest re- /.~ 11.. 1550 more that you welcome eagerly. /~.. Ii, WseaI'nrchyeosu ItnryBII.bt.?le lands–and w.Il Q Philadelphia, Po.
For the 25 cents ::: 10 weeks The Sundaf' School Times is an international, inte-rdenominational, l~ jh~lS~~~asS;k:~ S~~~:y-!cl!~~i !~na';!~~t:n a~J ~h~d glTFsn~~ Sf~~Y ~~~~~~~, I § Times for to :n Fourteen lessoDahelns on the International TJniform and Whole I,,~ Bible C oTu~rsee s are each tiossueev,erwy itshtatme~antyer o ther special depart- I~ N .ments. pape r goes in ri tory and province I .(t,tb arne ••••.•••••..••••• In the Untted States and Canada, and one hundred forP-ign .. countries. Subscription price, $2.00 a yea,. or $1.50 in dubs IS Address …………….. . a I of ,five or more copies, either to separate addresses or to PI,aJlsmd m,a/soa rree(lJ/.1 of,,,,,r .1 one address. catalDZ of hlJOJ puhlicati~71I.
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SEA ISLAND GIRLS IN A JAPANESE
Girl. In the KUBal. (Caroline Islands) Training School, wIth a. Ilttle Gilbert Island girl and others from the Ma.rsha.lI r.lands. (See page 861.) EVIEW~ ORID VOL NOVEMBER, 1925 NUMBER ELEVEN XLVIII A PROGRAM OF UNITED PRAYER T HE number of prayers to God that find expression hour after hour, day after day, month after month, staggers the imagi- nation. There are prayers stereotyped and spontaneous, long and short, earnest and insincere, agonized and perfunctory, public and private, by the aged and by little children; prayers for health, for life, for food and clothing, for money, for favorable weather, for wis- (10m, for victory in conflict, for forgiveness, for comfort in sorrow, for the salvation of self or of others, for spiritual vision, for power and fruitage in personal life or in Christian service! Is it strange that those who have a materialistic or rationalistic philosophy doubt the value of prayer or the possibility of direct objective answers to all or any of these petitions1 With men and from man's standpoint, it is impossible, but not with God.
It is because Christians believe in an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God that we believe He can and does hear and answer prayer. God is infinitely greater than the sum of all the highest human conceptions of Him so that Jesus Christ could invite His followers "always to pray" and could promise them answers to whatsoever they should ask in His name-with His endorsement. For this reason, too, the Apostle Paul was justified in urging that "men pray in every place," "for all men," "without ceasing," "continue steadfastly in prayer" and that "in everything by prayer und supplication with thanksgiving" we should let our requests be made known u:n'to God.
The infinite greatness and goodness of God make prayer to Him reasonable and fruitful. Failure to pray intelligently and in harmony with the principles of true prayer means failure to cooperate with God so as to draw on His infinite resources. Such men of God as George Muller, Hudson Taylor, D. L. Moody, Pastor 837
Harms, and thousands of other Christian men and women, known and unknown to fame, have tried and proved the marvellous results that come from thus cooperating with God through prayer and service.
A Day of Prayer for Missions has been appointed for February ] 9, 1925, and a special program has been prepared by a joint committee of the Federation of Woman's Boards of Foreign Missions Rnd the Council of Women for Home Missions. The chairman is Mrs. • William A. Montgomery, the author of the excellent new study book on "Prayer and Missions." The theme of the day is "In Everything by Prayer" and the program includes suggested songs, scripture readings, prayers, recitations and a practical plan for con- ducting the period of intercession.* Prayer is a form of service in which everyone can engage. Private prayer is stimulating and efficacious but united public prayer has especial promise of blessing. In such a symphony of intercession, there is a definite promise of the cooperation of Christ. There is also an added opportunity for a knowledge of definite npeds and a lessened likelihood that the petitions will be for petty, sehish favors. If Christians everywhere, on this special Day of Prayer for Missions, will unite in fervent, believing, intelligent and Christ-endorsed prayer, who can estimate the results that will follow in the Church at home and on the mission fields'
SATISFACTION IN STEWARDSHIP NOT long ago a Christian man of strong convictions and deeply interested in the wide extension of the Kingdom of God made some observations that greatly ~mpressed me. He had just heard of a man who had given a substantial sum to missions and had promised additional gifts for important work which could not he carried forward without special help.
"That certainly is good news," said my friend. "These mis- 8ionaries who are working in lonely places are noble people whom we should all help to support." Then he added with a glow in his race: "A cousin of mine is just such a man. He is working with deep devotion in one of the hardest places, among people who have heen downtrodden and who are not highly beloved by most Ameri- ('ans. He is a noble fellow who, fortunately, does not have to worry about his support and has money given to him to help some of these poor people in the crises of their lives."
I guessed that this man furnished the support of his cousin. And what this man is doing thousands of others would do if they • These prQgraIILS may be obtain€d from Denominational Board headqua.r..ers or from the Federation, 25 Madison Avenue, or tbe Counoil, 156 Fifth Avenue~ New York.
EDITORIAL OOMMENTS
realized the opportunity and the satisfaction. Many families or individuals could well take on the regular support of a missionary, without interfering with contributions to the regular offerings through their churches.
Once before when I met this friend I had said to him: H Of course you have thought of what you are going to do with your fortune~" "Yes," he replied, "I have given that very careful con- sideration and everything is settled. Among other things my last will and testament will set up a memorial for my mother that will perpetuate her iniluence and her consecrated life."
Thousands of Christian men and women ought to establish memorials to mother, or father, or wife, or to brother, or sister, or other relative, or to some noble minister or teacher whose life bas been a blessing to them and whose Christian iniluence may thus be perpetuated. c. L. W.
POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF THE CHINESE AGITATION T HE present agitation against foreign domination in China will doubtless yet prove a blessing to China and to the Church. It is already proving a bond of union among a divided people. The prolonged revolution, the absence of any strong central government and the prevailing illiteracy of the people, with the lack of means of speedy intercommunication, have kept the nation from establishing any united policy and program. Recently, however, the agitation carried on by student leaders against extra-territoriality, foreign control of the tariff, unequal treaties and concessions that interfere with Chinese sovereignty, has spread to all classes and to all parts of the land. There is an overwhelmingly united sentiment in China today in favor of a revision of treaties with foreign nations in the interest of justice and the recognized equality of China with other sovereign peoples. All China is of one mind on these points as a great moral issue, all patriots being bound together, high and low, rich and poor, ignorant and learned. None are considered friends of China who oppose this program and the people are unwilling to listen to any missionaries or teachers who fail to take a sympathetic stand in favor of these demands of the Chinese.
This patriotic fervor has brought about great demonstrations, especially among students iu Shanghai, Nanking, Peking and elsewhere. In Peking alone 25,000 students paraded the streets bearing placards denouncing foreign oppression and unequal treaties and demanding equality and justice, the withdrawal of foreign troops and warships and the abandonment of concessions and extra-territorial rights of foreign nations. The Chinese judge all people according to their stand on these questions. Feeling is bitter against
Great Britain because of the Shanghai incident and the general attitude of the British Government. Soviet Russia is accounted a friend because of its full abrogation of all treaty rights forcibly obtained from unwilling Ohina. The Ohinese are eagerly watching America and are inquiring as to the attitude of Christian missionaries. The leaders of the movement deny that it is pro-Bolshevik or anti-religious. All over Peking were posted great signs reading "The Student Movement is not Bolshevik; nat anti-Christian; not antiforeign; but is a cry for humanity." The Chinese Student Ohristian Union has consistently taken a stand agaillBt violence.
This is a time of crisis and may prove to offer a great opportunity for Ohristian missions. Ohinese Ohristians are showing a united and fearless spirit of patriotism that proves false the former charges against them as pro-foreign. Any lack of sentiment or action in favor of justice and sympathy for China on the part of missionaries or mission agencies arouses bitter antagonism. Any definite expressions in favor of international equality and justice, or a readiness of missionaries to abandon special privileges and reliance on foreign courts and foreign military protection are hailed as signs of Christianity in practice.
Already both Chinese and foreign Ohristians have done much to improve the situation by proving their readiness to stand for Ohrist's principles even at the risk of life and property. The Ohina Christian Council has issued a statement urging a study and removal of causes of irritation, misunderstanding and unrest, both in national and international relations, the carrying out of Christian principles and the promotion of Ohurch unity. General Feng, the Christian general, has spoken fearlessly against British policies of unequal justice; the Chinese Student Unions have voiced their demand for national sovereignty; representatives of the Chinese Church in Peking and elsewhere, and the faculties of some Christian universities have also passed resolutions in favor of justice and equal rights.
These actions have had their effect on the Chinese attitude toward missionary institutions. The threatened strike of students in mission schools and colleges has not materialized. We have heard of only one such institution that has failed to open for the fall term; a few report a decreased enrolment, as is natural in a time of such unrest, but most of the missionary institutions for higher education-in Peking, Nanking, ·Wuchang and elsewhere-report a full enrolment with a waiting list.
Mission groups have also adopted resolutions of sympathy with China's legitimate. aspirations, and individual missionaries have spoken out f~arlessly in favor of the Chinese demands. In cont.rast
19251] EDITORIAL COMMENTS
to the expression of some commercial and political groups, in favor of maintaining foreign concessions in China by the means of foreign troops, some missionaries have sent resolutions to the State Department at Washington urging the abandonment of extra-territorial rights and a revision of all treaties that discriminate against China. Missionaries have also expressed a readiness to trust their Jives and properties in the keeping of God without dependence on foreign courts and gunboats, and show a willingness to cast in their lot with their Chinese brethren in submitting to Chinese courts and Chinese laws. In other words they are ready to stand by their position that Christian missions have no political connection but are super-national and are dependent wholly on spiritual ideals and forces for their success.
In view of the international conference on October 26th, and courts of inquiry that may investigate the Shanghai and Canton affairs, and iIi view of the Chinese demands, various mission bodies in America and England have passed resolutions urging justice and equality for China and an abandonment of special privileges maintained.
At an unofficial conference, held in New York on October 2d and 3d, representatives of thirty-seven foreigp mission boards of the United States, and other societies having work in China, expressed their desire to surrender special privileges in any new treaty negotiated with China. They also advocated the revision of existing treaties at an early date, so as to make effective the "nine-power treaty" signed in ,Vashington on February 6, 1922, so as to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial and administrative integrity of China; to give China the fullest opportunity to develop her resources and establish a stable government.
Great benefit will come to China, to world friendship and peace and to the Kingdom of God on earth if Christians everywhere will use their influence to lead governments to remove causes of irritation and to show a disposition for fair dealing, for faith in the Chinese and a sympathy with them in their present difficulties. Let Christians everywhere manifest their dependence on God and His moral forces rather than on governments and physical forces. An unselfish spirit, a reliance on God and a readiness to suffer for righteousness sake will do more to win Chinese for Christ than all the material forces of Christendom, together with the prestige of the Church; Missionaries must register their convictions and must live more nearly up to the spiritual standards of Christ if they are to have continued influence in China as ambassadors of the Saviour of the world.
THE MISSION BOARDS AND THE CHINESE SITUATION .1"1. A N UNOFFICIAL meeting of eighty-six officers and members of thirty-seven different missionary boards and societies of the United States and Canada that have work in China was held in New York October 2 and 3, 1925. The purpose of the meeting was to carefully consider the facts in the present situation in China and to study the way in which these facts affect Christian missionary work.
After listening to several addresses and an extended discussion, this meeting adopted the following resolutions: WHEREAS, we heartily sympathize with China in her aspirations for just, equal and fraternal relations with other nations and in her sense of the present injustice of existing treaties; and, WHEREAS, we believe that the developments that have taken place in China in the course of several decades necessitate the revision of the existing treaties between China and the other Powers; therefore be it Reso~ved, 1. With reference to the existing treaties: That we urge the early revision of the treaties with China in such a way as to give effective application to the following principles agreed upon in the treaty signed by nine Powers in Washington on February 6, 1922, .namely: Article 1. The Contracting Powers, other than China, agree: (1) To respect the sovereignty, the independence, and the territorial and administrative integrity of China; (2) To provide the fullest and most unembarrassed opportunity to China to develop and maintain for herself an effective and stable government; (3) To use their influence for the purpose of effectually establishing and maintaining the principle of equal opportunity for the commerce and industry of all nations throughout the territory of China; (4) To refrain from taking advantage of conditions in China in order to seek special rights or privileges which would abridge the rights of subjects or citizens of friendly States, and from countenancing action inimical to thp security of such States. 2. With reference to extraterritorial jurisdiction: a. That we express ourselves in favor of the abolition of extraterritoriality in China at an early date. b. That we further express the opinion that the determination of that date and of the provisions that may be considered mutually desirable should be undertaken cooperatively on terms of equality by China and the other Powers. 3. With reference to the treaty provisions according special privileges to missions and missionaries: a. That, when our respective governments negotiate the new treaties which are so urgently needed, we wish it to be understood that we do not desire any distinctive privileges for missions and missionaries imposed by treaty upon the Chinese Government and people. b. That correlatively we consider it desirable that the Chinese Government by such legi':llation as may be deemed necessary define the rights and privileges of missionaries, in particular to acquire and hold property and to carry forward their work in China.
-EDITORIAL COMMENTS
c. We also express our desire and judgment that the principle of religious liberty should be reciprocally recognized in all future relatioIL'Ships between China and other nations.
During the two days of this important conference there were many expressions of hope, and confidence that great days of Christian advance are ahead for China. The aspirations of the Chinese were most sympathetically considered and as the resolutions show, there was a unanimous desire to secure justice and fair play for China.
In general) while there is continued conflict and unrest, the immediate anti-foreign agitation seems to be subsiding, and, so far as reports have been received, missionary work is progressing without very serious interruption-except in a few areas. It is well recognized, however, that there has been a very definite increase of clamant patriotism and a very vocal challenging of all that exists. This is probably the surface indication of deeper currents of which the Christian Movement needs to take account.
Mission Board Administrators are faced with the problem of discovering what steps may be necessary in meeting the changing situation with new plans and policies in order that the work of Christian missions may be advanced in harmony with the spirit and teachings of Christ. It was in recognition of these facts that the conference agreed to express its opinion in regard to the chief problems that are disturbing the Chinese. Common humanity and justice demand that the treaties with China be revised in accordance with the principles enunciated at the Washington Conference in 1922. All fair-minded opinion seems agreed that extraterritoriality is doomed. It may not be practicable to abolish the system" at one blow" but it should be done as quickly as possible.
Christian missionaries in China have worked under special treaty protections and this fact has produced a great deal of misunderstanding and has created many awkward situations. So far as the Christian movement is concerned, an increasing number of missionaries are asking that the Government should not impose any such special privileges in the new treaties to be negotiated. Discerning foreigners, whether business men or missionaries, have accepted the fact that special privileges are already invalidated in the minds of the Chinese and they are wisely adjusting their relationships with this in view.
There is no disposition to withdraw missionary workers from China. Rathel', there is every reason to believe that if proper adjustments are made, this IDay well be the beginning of a new and enlarged appreciation of Christianity on the part of the Chinese. One thing is absolutely essential, namely that in every place and immediately the burden of responsibility for the advancement and control of the Christian program in China should be settled on Chinese shoulders
without equivocation. Leaders cannot be developed altogether by example. Practice alone makes perfect. Any dodging of tJIis para- mount issue weakens the value and effectiveness of the Christian message in Chinese life. L. n. M.
A "MIZPAH" FOR FRANCE }.ND GERMANY A GREAT step toward permanent peace in Europe was taken at Locarno, on October 15th, when a compact was made between France and Germany never again to go to war against one another. They agreed to have recourse to arbitration in all disputes and to establish a neutral, demilitarized zone along the Rhine.
This zone is a "Mizpah" (Genesis 31: 44: to 52) -each party pledging not to cross the neutral territory to the injury of the other. In case the pledge is broken Great Britain and Italy agree to give military assistance to the nation attacked. Belgium, Poland and Czecho-Slovakia are also parties to the compact. It is still more important to remove causes of friction and to adopt a program that will promote international confidence and good will.
CHRIST'S PRACTICE OF PRAYER The earthly ministry of our Lord was begun in prayer (Luke 3 ; 21), continued in prayer and ended in prayer (IJuke 23: 34).
The heavenly ministry of our Lord was begun in prayer (John 14:] 6), and is now continued in prayer (Heb. 7: 25).
"Lord teach us to pray" (Luke 11: 1) . Prayer was even more important than tcnching and healing, for though" great multitudes came together to hear and be healed," He withdrew Himself into the desert and prayed (Luke 5: 15, 16). Prayer was more important than rest., for "in the morning a great while before day He rose up and went out into a desert plaee and there prayed" (Mark 1: 35). Prayer was more important than sleep, for "He went out into the mountain to pray and He continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6: 12). Prayer was more important than the working of miracles, for instead of working a miracle to deliver Peter He said, "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not" (Luke 22: 32) . Prayer was more important in securing workers than either money or machinery, for He said, "Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that He send forth laborers into His harvest" (Mat. 9: 38). Prayer was more important to be taught than preaching, for He taught men to pray but we have no record that He ever taught them to preach (Mat. 6: 5-15). Prayer L"! as important as His other ministries, for He ever liveth to make intercession for us" (Heb. 7:25).
-F. W. Troy, D.D.
Prayer As a Missionary
A Practical Experiment and Some of Its Resttlts BY HERMANN A. LUM, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
"WESecretary of the Board of Trustees of the American University at Cairo set up a program for Christian work with such a splen- did organization that it was sure to succeed-whether God helped us or not." These were the words of a friend as he told how he learned by bitter experience the importance of undertaking tasks so gTeat and so impossible that there can be no hope of success without God's aid. Such a task is that of the American University at Cairo. The missionary work of the Church in any section of the non-Christian world requires more than human resources and wisdom, but the work in a Moslem field is specially difficult, and challenges the faith of any Christian. To establish a university in Cairo, the brain center of the whole Moslem world, with the express purpose of winning Moslems to Christ, is an undertaking so humanly impossible that, without divine guidance and support at every step, it must inevitably fail. Deeply impressedJ with this fact, the Trustees of the University, as one of their first steps in organization, appointed a Committee on Spiritual Resources. This Committee has now been actively at work for five years; and what it has accomplished forms an interesting study of the use of organized prayer as a missionary agency.
It must be borne in mind that the University is purely a venture of faith, called forth by a vision of great need and boundless possibilities. It has the endorsement of several mission boards but receives financial aid from none of them, and it must encounter to a special degree all the difficulties and discouragements of work for .Moslems. The Trustees and Faculty recognized, that, even as they could not give all the money required to establish and support the University, so also they could not give all the prayer that the work demanded. They believed that there were Christian people whose special contribution could be prayer while that of others could be money. Accordingly the Committee on Spiritual Resources has been working to build up a "prayer constituency" in the following way: 1. To anyone who is recommended as a possible member of this constituency, there is sent a pamphlet, written by the President, Dr. Charles R. Watson, and entitled "Undergirding a University with Prayer." It outlines the general principles of intercessory prayer, and the challenge of Cairo University to prayer of this kind. It makes clear that what is desired from the recipient is prayer and 845
not money. A financial appeal is never brought before those who enroll themselves for this part of the work.
2. The person who is willing to join the group of intercessors signs an agreement to pray for the University, provided the objects presented for his prayer seem to be in harmony with the will of God. The agreement is only for one year, at the end of which time it may be terminated or renewed according to the wishes of the intercessor. This insures the certainty of active interest on the part of every member on the list; for a name, if not renewed, is dropped.
3. Each member is kept informed of the needs of the University by letters and leaflets stating the reasons for prayer or thanksgiving. Literature bearing on the general missionary situation and work in Egypt is also sent to enable them to pray intelligently. As Nolan Rice Best has expressed it, "Like the supreme court of our land, the Supreme Court of Heaven passes on no hypothetical matters; the petitioner must have a real case in order to obtain attention."
4. It is believed that members of the group will cooperate more actively if' their own spiritual lives are quickened by the experience of others in prayer and the personal problems of the Christian life. Every two months, therefore, an inspirational pamphlet is sent to each member. The list includes such writings as "The Secret Prayer Life" by John R. Mott, "Secret Prayer a Great Reality" by Henry Wright, "The Possibilities of Prayer" by .J. H. Oldham, and "How to Know the Will of God" by Henry Drummond.
There are today four hundred and twenty active members in this prayer group, representing forty-one states and many foreign countries. It is a small body-hardly more than the membership of the average church-but it is made up of persons who have gladly undertaken the ministry of prayer as their portion of the University's work. What have they accomplished ~ No man can answer this to the satisfaction of a disbeliever in the power of prayer. In whatever direction we point, the doubter's query will be, "Would not the results have been exactly the same without the prayersT" But those who belong to this group of intercessors find in the five years of the University's life repeated proofs that their prayers have been heard and answered. A few instances may: be cited as a sample of many: In these trying days when many missionary educational institutions, much older and with far larger circles of givers, have found it impossible to meet their budgets, this University has ended each year free from debt. The task of raising its funds has been by no means an easy one, but it has always been accomplished. Only recently the University was greatly disappointed by the failure to receive from a large Foundation a gift of $100,000 for a much needed auditorium; but within a month afterwards there came that exact
19251J ORGANIZED PRAYER AS A MISSIONARY AGE:NCY
sum for that same object from a donor hitherto wholly unknown to the Trustees.
Because of its Christian character the University has been openly attacked by Moslem newspapers, who have insisted that it be investigated by the Government; but no investigations have been made, and the Government has constantly remained friendly. The University insists that all its college students shall attend the chapel service at which there is Scripture reading and prayer, and shall take courses in religion including a study of the life of Christ and of the comparative merits of the Moslem and the Christian faiths. Nevertheless, fifty per cent of the students are Moslems, many of them from families of high rank. This work is carried on in a city universally recognized as the great teacher and promulgator of the Moslem religion!
"We of the administration have been over and over again conscious of more than human power being built into the work during the past year," wrote Dean McClenahan on behalf of his colleagues at the close of the University's first year. "vVe have been conscious of the unspeakably large dynamic of those who are maintaining this work through prayer. Nothing has been so encouraging and refreshing to us as this consciousness." His testimony has been repeatedly echoed by others of the staff, and its truth has been shown by the efficiency of their labors.
It is well known, but not always remembered, that intercessory prayer benefits not only the one for whom the prayer is offered but also the one who prays. Abundant testimony to this fact has been given by members of the University prayer group, some of whom have written as follows: "My interest in the University is greater than ever before owing to the information which you send out, and also owing to the fact that one's love for a cause daily remembered in prayer always grows."
"It has been a blessing to me personally to belong to the prayer group. May 1 continue to be one of the circle? My own life has been enriched and my heart gladdened by the reports of answered prayers which have come from time to time. The tracts that you have sent out have been regularly received and read and enjoyed."
"It is a great cause for thanksgiving that Mohammedan young men are learning something of Christianity which makes them dissatisfied with their false religion, and that Moslem fanaticism has not interfered seriously with the work of the University. 1 consider it a privilege to belong to this prayer group, and eagerly read every word you send out."
"1 never before have known any institution doing the work of our Lord to act on a plan that has commended itself so heartily to my best judgment, as that outlined in your pamphlet."
In this way the American University at Cairo has endeavored to undergird itself with prayer. It is a practical experiment in prayer as a missionary agency, and the evidence as to its success is gladly offered. The possibilities of prayer have only begun to be realized.
FAC1rORS IN THE SOLUTION OF CHINA'S
Officers of the Student Ohristian Association, Canton Christian College, 1924·'25 China's Crisis and Christianity BY SIDNEY KOK WEI, PH.D., CANTON, CHINA Professor of Philosophy :lnd Government, CanlonChrhlinn College CHINA today is different from China of yesterday. Fifteen years ago to talk about a republican form of government was high treason. Today to; consider the re-establishment of a monarchy is high treason. Before the Opium War China was regarded as a free sovereign nation. Today she is a national cripple, bound by unreciprocal trea ties, enchained by foreign control, and paralyzed by foreign exploitation. Formerly it was honorable for a man to have one or more secondary wives. Today no modern Chinese wife would allow her husband to have another wife unless she were a big fool. Then marriage was determined largely by parental authority, and there was little divorce. Today young husbands hesitate very little in divorcing their first wives and" modern girls" do not hesitate to ask their sweethearts to divorce their wives. Previous to the inauguration of militarism soldiers were seldom seen on the street. Today the streets and alleys are full of them and they are responsible for the military epidemic in China.
China has changed. Is she better than before 1 In some cases she is better, but on the whole she is not. What is the trouble? Since China came into close contact with the vVestern nations, she has been put in a new and different situation' and she has been finding it difficu.lt to make proper adjustments. After we were forced by Eng- 848
CitiNA'S CRISIS AND CHRisTiANITY
land and France to make concessions, we thought that what we needed was an army and a navy. So we began to build up a new Chinese army and a Chinese navy. 'We thought we were able to tight Japan.
"I'Ve were defeated. Then we realized that our governmental and educational systems were not efficient. So we wanted to reform our government and inaugurated a new educational system. Then we thought that perhaps there was something wrong in our social system, and so we began to institute reforms.
In other words, we decided to change our country to suit modern customs and conditions. 'While we do not have a navy, we have numerically the largest standing army in the world. Having over- thro-'11 the monarchy, we estab- lished a republic. We have differ- ent grades of modern schools in a carefully worked out educational system. In social matters we have elevated the position of the women, our young people defied the authority of 'their parents, and we have raised the wages of laborers.
And yet the suffering in China has not been greatly lessened. In'
some cases it has increased. '1'he international position of China has not been uplifted; it has even been degraded. The family has not A PROBLEM SOLVED WITHOUT been made more wholesome; and BLOODSHED class relations have not been har- General Lei Fuk Lam, Governor of Heoam ISland, receiving a madJl.lllon trom Dr, Sidney K. Wei? of the Canton Christian College Faculty, monized but are more antagonized. presented on behalf of kldnappE:'.d students and Yes, China is facing a serious Chinese staff rescued without ransom by Lei Fuk Lam's soldiery, December, 1924.
crisis. What shall we do in order to save her from decadence '! Hecently we have witnessed a new awakening. "Ve have decided that we must have nationalism; we must have science; we must have social revolution. But bow are we going to reach our objective ?
We say we want nationalism, and yet we are tigbting for selfish interests without due regard for political unity, which is one of the most important elements of nationalism. "Vithout political unity we cannot have a strong nation.
We say we must resist foreign domination; and yet we accept willingly Russian propaganda without realizing that Russia only wants to make use of China to help her play, a diplomatic game against the other foreign powers. Te are accepting uncritically Western ideals and Western ways of doing things so that mentally we are submitting ourselves to foreign domination. This is worse 2
than political domination, for we are enslaving ourselves internally so as to lose our national soul even though we may have political independence. What profit is there if Ohina gain the world and lose her soulY We say that we must preserve our national culture and yet we are giving up the precious ideals that once made Ohina a great nation. Our forefathers believed in the supremacy of moral force. Now we accept the doctrine that might is right and are worshiping brute force. The result is that militarism is sucking our blood, destroying our homes, burning our cities, and making us no longer a respectable member of the international community.
We say that we must have science; and yet we are not scientific in our thinking. We make hasty generalizations. We draw conclusions without making adequate investigation. We apply principles under inappropriate conditions.
We say that we must have social revolution; and yet we are doing everything we can to strengthen the military class who are the oppressors. Instead of uplifting the lower stratum of the population -the farmers and laborers-we have made life intolerable for them because of militarism. The relationship between the employers and the employees has been dominated by the spirit of cooperation, but now we are creating unnecessary antagonism between them. This is not social revolution. It is social elimination.
Ohina is facing a very serious crisis, which is greater than any that we faced before. We were an old nation and our civilization had become comparatively static; whereas the Western nations, on account of rivalry and competitions, had to struggle for national supremacy. Politically they have established nationalistic states. Diplomatically they have pursued imperialism. Economically they have built up their industrial and commercial systems. Socially and educationally they have made remarkable changes.
It is well for Ohina to remember that there are three main sources of Western civilization. From the Greeks the Western nations got their arts and sciences; from the Romans they got their law and government; and from the Hebrews they got their religion. In the development of Western civilization arts and sciences, law and government, and religion have all made contributions.
When we came into contact with the "Vestern nations we could not help being greatly impressed by their political and economic organization, their social and educational systems. It was natural that we should desire westernization in order to catch up with them. The trouble has been that we sometimes forget that we had a past which makes us different from the western national and that in the process of development the West has produced some bad things along with the good things. For instance, militarism has been responsible for the disintegration of Europe. It has made her a disintegrated na-
1925:] OHlINA'S CRISIS AND CHRISTIANITY
tion. Individualism and self-assertion have been responsible for many of the social evils in Europe and America. They have broken up our homes and uprooted our social virtues.
I need not multiply examples. Suffice it to say that if we want to save China from complete disintegration we must take a new course of action. Either we must continue the process of foreignization and denationalization and ultimately disintegration or else we must preserve what is best in our culture, making the vVestern things adapted to our needs before they are adopted, and ultimately build A NEW TYPE OF WOMEN TO SOLVE CHINA'S PROBLEThl]S This small group" of women students at Canton Christian College ha.ve undertaken to ralse the money for a first women's dormitory. costing approximately $57,000, but they will need substantial help from Am.erica. In South China this amount will construct a modem fireproof dormitory with rooms for eighty girls. China's womanbood is her greatest undeveloped natural resource.
a new civilization of our own. But how are we going to do it 1 'Ve cannot expect God to perform a miracle by transforming China while we are asleep, so that when we wake up we shall have a new China. If we want a new China, we mnst do what we can to build it.
We need a new type of men and women as builders of a new China. It is here where we need Christianity most. The type of men and women that we need is well described in the Bible. You may say that tins is a truism, that there are many Christians in China; and yet China is not a better country. We need an efficient central government. Can Christianity give us that! We need a uniform currency. Can Christianity give us that? We need big business. Can
Christianity give us that 1 1 say, give us intelligent, far-sighted, talented, and strong Christians and we shall have those things that we need and even more. Government, currency, industry and commerce are institutions that we want to opild and we must have thp. right kind of men and women before we can establish these institutions.
Science can only furnish 11S with tools and knowledge. We need wholesome motives and good ideals for our work. Ethics will give us motives and ideals, but religion will giye us motives and ideals plus enthusiasm and hope. ']'hat is what Christianit.y can do for us.
One of the basic ideals of Christianity is the ideal of service through self-sacrifice. That is whl1t.~ Christ.iall love means in t.erms of service. It is not. sufficient that we should have simply t.he ideal of sacrificial service. vVe need- faitil- that will make it possible for the realization of that ideal. The Christian faith in God and in the future life is the faith that. gives us assurance, enthusiasm, and hope while we are working for the realization of our ideals.
Finally, Christianity gives us a social and internat.ional ideal in our relation to our brot.her men. In order to appreciat.e the need for this ideal in China, we must observe the conditions of our country. VI{ar is raging all over China. Only moral and religious considerations can make us lay down our arms and establish peace.
We need the ideal of brotherhood in our international relations also. The foreign powers are guilty of violating Christian principles in international affairs. This makes it more impera.tive for the application of Christian principles in'international conduct. We are so inter-related and inter-dependent that we must think in international terms.
China is facing a national crisis. We have given up our old ideals that made us once a strong people and have been trying to build up a new nation on a foundation that is undoing itself in Europe. If China is to be sayed, we must take a new course of action. We need Christian men and women who have undaunted faith in God and who will serve the cause of China through thick and thin and .who will die for China if necessary. Militarism is making life intolerable for us. Are we courageous enough to wipe it out1 Political corruption is making good government impossible. Are we honest enough to stop it? Social evils are causing degeneration. Are we pure enough to eradicate them 1 ~<'ll these call for Christian character. Let us by the help of God through .Tesus Christ present ourselves as living sacrifices for the building up of a new China.
Doctor Who Swallowed the
A Story of the Heroic Service of a Missiona,'y Physician in China BY REV.•JAMES H. FRA}''XLIN, D.D., NEW YORK Secretary of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society I N THE summer of 1913, Dr. C. H. Barlow had just been dis- charged from a sanitarium at Saranac Lake, New York, where he had been treated successfully for pulmonary tuberculosis, and was ready to return to China, where his effort to save a patient in his mission hospital at Huchow -very nearly cost him his own life. A Chinese, already very ill with tuberculosis, had developed some minor trouble requiring surgical attention and was brought to the hospital. Dr. Barlow explained that it ~would be hazardous to administer an anesthetic to such a patient for even a minor operation. The friends insisted that the doctor operate hut, as had been feared, the patient ceased breathing when the anesthetic was administered. As the mission hospital lacked a pulmotor, Dr. Barlow placed his own lips against those of the Chinese patient, and the patient was soon breathing again. The next year Dr. Barlow himself was at Saranac Lake ill with pulmonary tuberculosis.
When he came to my office asking to be sent back to China he was reminded that an interior Chinese city, with its wretched sanitary conditions, was no fit place for a man recovering from tuberculosis. "But I am fit," he responded, as he threw off his coat and vest and struck his ~ chest with both fists; The Society's medical examiner looked him over and said, ' , Yes, he is fit. Let him go back to China." So back to China he went in 1914 after spending a few months in postgraduate study at the London School of Tropical 'Jfedicine.
In 1921 a letter came from .Johns Hopkins University, saying: "One of your missionaries, Dr. C. H. Barlow, of Shaohsing, China, is here with us for a few weeks. "'¢e find that he has been making a study of the life history of a certain fluke which in the form of intestinal parasites is discovered in the bodies of many Chinese and often proves fatal. He has had no proper laboratory facilities in China but if your Society will release him from regular missionary work for twelve months and allow him to continue his study of the fiuke, we will find money to provide a small building and necessary equipment at Shaohsing,"
Of course, the Society released him. If anyone could trace the intestinal parasite back to the foodstuffs in which the germ was being taken into the bodies of multitudes of Chinese, often with fatal result, it would prove to be a high form of Christian service.
A few weeks later, Dr. Barlow was at my office again and had with him a heavy fiber suitcase jammed with bottles and jars filled v..ith live and dead flukes (horrid looking things they were, somewhat 853
like very small oysters). There were other containers in which were .millions of eggs of the parasites. Here is the story in brief that Dr. Barlow told: Several thousand Chinese in a Ringle province were afflicted with a disease that, to the layman, looked much like dropsy. After two or three years, they died unless something could be done to free their bodies of the intestinal parasites. To cure the individual was not difficult if he could be brought to the hospital for proper treatment, but the disease could not he controlled in that way. Several hundred thousand patientA could not be cared for in the hospitals. '1'he origin of the disease must be discovered. Some one must trace the parasite to its breeding places; that is, discover the foodstuffs in which the germ appeared. But that required a properly equipped laboratory and there was none near Shaohsing. If the doctor could take some of the full-grown live flukes to America, he could easily study them in a laboratory! But our immigration laws would not permit him to bring them here in the body of a sick Chinese.
"How did you get them over here~" I asked. "Well,'" he replied, "one Sunday morning when most of the assistants were at the church service, I took thirty-two of the flukes from the body of a patient in the hospital, put them into a tumbler, locked my office door, and drank them down." The memory of the experience seemed very vivid to the doctor and he paused for breath.
"Did you tell any of the other missionaries what you had done 1" I inquired.
"No," he answered. "Did you tell your wife ~ " "No. I did not tell anyone. I boarded a ship and came to America." I do not know how long Dr. Barlow allowed the flukes to multiply in his own body but after several months he presented himself at Johns Hopkins University and told his Atory to the amazed experts who gladly helped him to free his bod, of the parasites and to make a careful study of them. One of tbe experts with whom I sat at table on a Pacific liner last year told me that only one of the flukes survived the treatment given them at Johns Hopkins, and that Dr. Barlow slept and 'ate in the laboratory watching it lest the temperature change suddenly and something go wrong with the experiment. He had only one chance. In April, 1922, I found him back at Shaohsing working in his little laboratory. "Well, Doctor, have you found where that bug germinates?" I asked. "I think I have," he replied. Then he explained that he had exposed all manner of things to it, but a single species of land snail ',,"hich the Chinese eat as freely as we do oysters was the only article of food which did not seem to
1925:J THE DOCTOR WHO SWALLOWED THE FLUKES
be immune when exposed to the germs of the parasite. However, he was a bit confused because of evidence of two forms of malignant life in that particular species of snail, and he was not sure which was which.
"How will you determine?" I inquired.
"I have swallowed number one, and if it works I will know which is which."
Moved by the thought of possibilities, I exclaimed, "But that is dangerous, man." "So it is," he remarked quietly, "but the game is worth the candle."
When I inquired whether his wife knew what he was doing, he answered, ' ,No. You are the only person who knows anything about it."
Not thinking of anything more appropriate to say to such a man, I remarked that the Board would surely stand by the wife and chil- dren if he should not survive the fatal germ. He chuckled and in- formed me that a friend in Mich- igan, a life insurance man who knew of his adventures, had presented him with a policy just before he left America the last time.
Greatly impressed by his hero- ism, I asked a question regarding his convictions. He replied that he had some convictions, and added, "This is my favorite passage of Scripture: 'My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.' No Heaven C. HEMAN BARLOW. M.D. for me with a harp and a crown.
I want a Heaven with some blueprints in it-something more to do."
What came of it all? Dr. Barlow traced the parasite back to the species of land snail and advised the Chinese accordingly. If you are interested in the actual results, write to Johns Hopkins Uni- versity and secure a copy of the Barlow Monograph now being printed, which tells in strictly correct terms of the remarkable piece of service rendered to God and man. Nothing less than the spirit of the Eternal Christ could have prompted it. Such sacrificial service must compel Chinese and others to inquire, "In whose Name and by what power have you done this thing~"
Missions and World Peace·
BY THE HON. NEWTON W. ROWELL, K.C., TOROKTO, CANADA Representative of Canada ill the League of Katiolls Assembly T HERE can be no permanent peace unless the spirit of peace finds an abiding place in the hearts of men. The movement among governments mnst be inspired and sustained by a great growth of the spirit of peace among the masses of mankind; not the peace of stagnation or of oppression, but the peace of justice.
Christianity is not nationalistic but universal in its outlook, and it was in the proclamation of this world-wide Gospel that the Church won her great triumphs in the early centuries of the Christian faith. While the Roman Empire, which was the visible symbol of a united humanity, was breaking up, this new power making for unity was rapidly extending its sway over the minds and IJearts of men.
It is the missionary movement which has brought the Church back to the conception and the spirit of St. Augustine, a conception ooda spirit which he derived from the New Testament, and which transcend all national boundaries, and recognize as brothers the men o-fevery.race and color.
It is only the world-wide acceptance of this conception of the solidarity of the race that can provide a sure and enduring basis for World Peace. Important and influential as may be the governments of the Great Powers, and the League of Nations, in preserving peace in the world, the Church, because of her universal appeal to the human spirit, should be still more influential.
Difficult, and in some aspects menacing, is the racial problem to the peace of the world. That problem can never be solved by civil power alone, but toward its solution the modern missionary movement has made one of its greatest contributions. What other movement during the past century has done so much toward breaking down racial barriers between East and West 'I So much that is unworthyand ignoble in our Western civilization finds its way to the East that, were it not for the work of Christian missionaries, the racial prejudices which exist today would have been greatly intensified. The missionary has gone to Africa, China, .Japan, and India, with hospitals for the care and treatment of the sick, with schools for the education of the children and the youth, with printing presses for the distribution of literature, and with a spirit of unselfish altruism which has mitigated if it has not altogether counterbalanced the evil effects of the contact of other phases of our Western civilization, and has given back to the East that great conception of human brotherhood which Jesus of Nazareth, that son of the Semitic race, gave to -our humanity. • From The British Empire and World-Peace. 856
UNIVERSAL CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE IN SESSION AT
Those sitting in the central and right hand sections of the Academy of Music only are shown. The left section does not appear. In the box seat. rear center. the CroWD Prince and Princess sat almost daily.
Stockholm Conference and World Missions BY REV. WALTER W. VAN KIRK, NEW YORK Commission on International Justice and Good WiII, l!'ederaJ Council of Churches W HILE no definite place had been reserved for missions on the agenda of the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work which met at Stockholm in late August, yet in a very real sense it was a missionary gathering. The Protestantism of the world had come together in the Swedish capital to consult together for the evangelization of the world's life and work in the name of Jesus Christ. Surely that is a missionary activity.
Si.x reports were considered: "The Church's Task in View of God's Purpose for the 'World," "The Church and Economic and Industrial Problems," "The Church and Social and Moral Problems," "The Church and International Relations," "The Church and' Christian Education," "Methods of Cooperative and Federative Efforts by the Christian Communions." Each report might be regarded as an exposition of important parts of the modern missionary program.
The missionary cause, at home or abroad, is greatly hindered by unchristian industrialism which is permitted to starve the souls of men. Christ cannot reign in human society until social iniquities and economic maladjustments have been eliminated from the thoughts and actions of men. The effectiveness of the missionary's message is 857
seriously negated by the fact that little children are made to toil in mines and factories for the selfish gain of so-called "Christian" peoples. If the property" rights" are preserved at the expense of human "rights" then the preaching of the Gospel of Christ is robbed of its effectiveness. A civilization that traffics in howitzers, poison gas, disease germs and diabolical chemical concoctions for the wholesale slaughter of men, women and children in needless wars can have nothing very promising to offer in the way of Christian idealism for the non-Christian peoples of the earth.
Oriental Christian delegates present at the Stockholm Conference showed a deeply seated resentment toward their former Occidental benefactors, and almost wistfully look back to the days before the" superior" civilization of the West was thrust upon them. The present-day revolt of the Riffians in Morocco, of the Druses in Syria, of Ghandi in India, of the countless multitudes in China and elsewhere is a revolt fraught with the most serious consequences for the advancement of the cause of Christ.
Unless the Christian Church is speedily disassociated from shortsighted poJitics, secret diplomacy, commercial imperialism, economic despotism and international warfare, much of the missionary achievements of the past will be undone. The Easterner identifies the Church of Christ with the Vestern civilization which he discredits. Instead of the Church leading the State in idealism, he is persuaded that the State leads the Church into materialism. The voice of Ohrist is seen to be subordinated to that of politicians in assemblies and of financiers in counting houses. The Ohurch seems to be another institution made use of by the State for tlie preservation of the existin~ order.
Representatives of the Ohurch have courage enough to condemn some abstract devil who resides in remote parts, but too often they lack the stamina to call down the judgment of God Almighty on leaders who scoff at moral mandates and who recklessly preach their self-sufficiency to determine the policies of State and their unquestioned right to draft the individual's conscience for the furtherance of selfish ambitions. When the Church asserts her moral independence of the State she is denounced as disloyal and is advised to mind her own business. Any intimidation of the Ohristian pulpit means a discrediting of missions throughout the world.
This suggests the reason why the Universal Ohristian Oonference on Life and vVork was of such strategic value to the missionary program. There were presented evidences of the continued growth of a tendency within the Ohristian Ohurch to establish a clearly defined division of responsibility between the Church and the State in the development of national and international policies. The candor with which the Church representatives gathered at Stockholm called upon political leaders to observe Christian principles in their political
1925i] STOCKHOLM CONFERENCE AND WORLD MISSIONS
and social conduct was stimulating. Each report assumed the Godgiven duty of the Church to speak fearlessly and with authority on matters of morals and religion. This is of great value to Christian missions in this critical honr.
The State that is not Christian must live outside the sanction of the Church that thrives in her midst. The Church is the one institution that is required to remain forever superior to the dictates of man. While the Church should be of the greatest possible service to the State, this must never be at the cost of her own self-effacement. She is a light set upon a hill and that light must not be extinguished. It seems that now the Church has awakened to a sense of her responsibility, and with apostolic fervor is once more standing before the world in her own right. The Stockholm Conference served the cause of missions, showing that the Church is not identified with the material civilization that is so definitely unchristian. When the missionary no longer shares in the responsibility for the injustices and tyrannies of modern civilization, he will be able to proclaim with more power and persuasiveness the gospel of the Crucified Christ and the Risen Lord..
The Stockholm Conference emphasized the unity of the Church and likewise, helped to erase the word "foreign" from missionary activity. Th8l'e is something patronizing about the term that is very objectionable to the "foreigner." The mission fields should refer to moral areas, not to geographical. The "foreigner" who willingly undergoes the most rigorous privation as a penance required by the only deity that he knows anything about, is no more "foreign" to the heart of the Eternal than is the man or woman in the home land who lives in selfish comfort while Christ is being crucified afresh. The Stockholm Conference has contributed wisely to a new missionary terminology. The text of that Conference was that of Paul to the Ephesians (2: 14): "He is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition." Those dividing partitions are disappearing. The world, geographically and morally, is a unit, and must be so considered by the Church in world evangelization.
The experiences at Stockholm also strengthened the conviction of many that Christianity is not a religion so rigid that its form of ex- pression is incapable of adaptation to the peculiar conditions of the country and people to which it is carried. They need not be required to accept Western ecclesiasticism. The glory and triumph of early Christianity was its elasticity. Without yielding to false Greek phi- losophy Christianity conquered the Greek by adapting itself to Greek forms. -Without yielding to Roman materialism Christianity con- quered Rome by a similar power. The early disciples were not illiterate men. They possessed a heavenly wisdom that has not always been in evidence in these late centuries of missionary activity.
The resentment expressed in certain circles toward Western
Christianity is not a resentment toward Christ. It is confined to a superimposed ecclesiasticism and denominationalism that is unacceptable to those required to submit to it. Just as a distinction must he made hetween the religion of Jesus and Western civilization, so a similar distinction must be made between the religion of Jesus Christ and Western ecclesiasticism. That was made quite clear at Stockholm. The shrinkage of denominational pride and an exaltation of .Tesus Christ as supreme is the necessary prelude to anything approaching success in world evangelism. Missionary efforts of the future must be unfettered from the mischievous implications of denominational rivalry. The religion of Christ must reveal that firstcentury adaptability to local conditions that was one of the reasons for its success. Denominational titles and divisions and misunderstandings must not be grafted into the religion of Jesus Christ that is preached by the missionary in other lands.
Such is the missionary message of a Protestantism united in life and work, sent from Stockholm to the ends of the earth.
AN AFRICAN SERVANT D AN CRAWFORD sends us from lJUanza Mission, Congo BeIge, the following characteristic note, giving thc discriminating esti- mate of an African servant 'girl by her mistress-a "literary lady" who is a "frank but not a rank outsider" in missionary circles. The lady, who was somewhat critical of the results of missionary work for natives, after watching this black servant for years, sums up her estimate of the Christian girl as follows: First Fact. "A- is intrinsicallv noble." Second Fact. "Her life has been a long sacrifice for first one and then an· other of an unsatisfactory family." Third Fact. "She has never, in any particular, failed a human being." Fourth Fact. "She lives bv her conscience."
Fifth Fact. "She is not, f admit, neat or grac~ful but she is cheerful, and often wise. ,I, Sixth FaDt. "I cannot think what kind of a world it will be when A- no longer knocks at my room in the morning, saying, 'Ten minutes past seven., , , ' , '
Seventh Fa,ct. "About that, by the way, there is a secret between us. I am the only white person who is aware that A- cannot tell the time!"
Eighth Pact. "She gets up betimes in the morning beeause she is, as she says a fowl."
'Ninth Fact. "But she is proud in her own way. It is her pride that prevents her both from admitting her ignorance of rpading and from curing it."
Tenth Fact. "Also it is her poor pride which makes her sit every afternoon on a stone in view of the passers-by reading a paper. A- does not, as she con· fesses, know 'where the a points,' but it looks well for the house, she thinks, that the cook should sit near it reading the paper! "
Mr. Crawford continues: "Madam Microscope, who had heard so much about missions spoiling the blacks, has made a discoyery. The white lady is a frank outsider and had been stuffed full of the usual anti-black accusations. Then she sums up the whole situation in these ten astounding descriptive heads."
OFFICERS AND CREW OF THE JAPANESE MISSION BOAT, "IJU RAN"
Japanese Missions in the South Seas BY REV. HILTON PEDLEY, D.D., KYOTO, .TAPAN Missionary of the American Board, 1889· O RGANIZED missionary work in the South Sea Islands was taken up by the Japanese Christians in .Tanuary, 1920, when the first two missionary families sailed away from the homeland.
In 1852, one year before Commodore Perry came knocking at the door of Japan, "three foreign and two Hawaiian missionaries with their wives" reached Kusaie and Ponape, two lagoons of the Caroline Islands. For the next fifty years the Protestant Christian work was under the direction of the American Board of Comissioners for Foreign Missions, and the work developed until it came to embrace the Truk lagoon on the west, and the whole Marshall group on the east.
After the purchase of the islands from Spain by Germany, the American Board transferred its work in Truk and Ponape to a corresponding society in Germany, and until the outbreak of the World War, the American and German societies divided the work in Miconesia. A few weeks after hostilities had begun, Von Spee's fleet tied from a Marshall Island port, to be replaced some days later by a Japanese squadron, and the flag of the Sunrise Kingdom was soon 861
hoisted over all three groups. Five years later all Germans in the mandatory were ordered home by the Japanese authorities.
'rhe new rulers before long came to realize the immense value or the missionaries' work as seen in the lofty ideals presented, the introduction of law and order, and the consequent ease with which the police could perform its duties. They also recognized that the introduction or other religions would confuse the native mind and wrook the moral structure built up. They therefore forbade all propaganda by non-Christian sects, and endeavored to secure from Japan worthy successors to the deported missionaries. The home Government approached the Roman Catholic and Congregational constituencies in the hope of persuading them to assume responsibility for the work. The former had neither men nor means for such enlargement and declined the offer. The Government then opened up negotiations with the Catholic authorities in Spain and within the last year fifteen or twenty Spanish missionaries have again taken up the work laid down by their countrymen in 1898.
By a strange coincidence, on the same day on which Dr. C. H. Patton, secretary of the American Board, standing before the Kumiai Board of Directors in the Nara Hotel-twenty-five miles east of Kyoto-was pleading with them to assume responsibility for the American Board work in Kusaie and the Marshalls, a letter from the Naval Department was handed in, requesting the Directors to take over the Protestant work which the Germans had been compelled to abandon, and promising such financial aid as might be necessary. The Board of Directors, however, could not see its way clear to accept either proposal, for while the American Board might help to finance the undertaking, there was little likelihood of obtaining suitable men, and there was a strong feeling against receiving a monetary grant from the Japanese Government for purely evangelistic work.
Dr. Kozaki, pastor of one of the largest Kumiai (Congregational) churches in Tokyo, had been the bearer or the request to the Kumiai Directors and was a man in whom the Government had rull confidence. It accordingly proposed that he himself organize a mission for the administration of the thirty-five churches in Ponape and Truk under the direct supervision of Japanese Christian leaders. Dr. Kozaki consented to the proposal and was given carte blanche in the choice of Directors. Within six months he had completed his organization of five Directors, obtained from the Government a pledge of 28,000 yen in aid for the initial year, and had secured two families to enter upon the new enterprise. One of these families came from the Methodist and the other from the Kumiai fold, the former going to Truk and the latter to Ponape. Since then two additional families have been sent out so that now there are four equally divided between the two stations.
19251J JAPANESE MISSIONS IN THE SOUTH
Thus originated the first Japanese missionary work in the Islands.
Under orders from the American Board the writer and his wife went, two years ago, on a tour of investigation that lasted just fiftythree days. We first visited the Bonins, a group of islands discovered by a Japanese lord in the sixteenth century, colonized by Nathaniel Savery of Boston in 1830, and appropriated by the Japanese Government in 1875. The colony now consists of about 1,000 persons, including some naturalized foreigners, but a very large majority of whom are Japanese. Three days later we were gazing upon the Mariannes, first of the great mandatory groups, where we found a straggling village in which dwell some fifteen hundred halfbreeds (Spanish and Kanaka), and five hundred of the native Kanakas themselves. These latter live practically in a state of nature. There was but one church-Roman Catholic-with a Spanish priest in charge, and a congregation of 1,000 of the mixed race at the early Sunday morning service.
Another three days and we were in Truk, the central lagoon within the .Carolinegroup, where the Japanese have naval headquarters. This lagoon is encircled by a white coral reef, one hundred and thirty miles in circumference, contains within its bounds many islands, and has a population of 10,000, 4,000 of whom are Protestant Christians. These latter have been organized into 27 churches under the care of 35 native pastors, and form a large and scattered constituency that requires the supervision of several missionary families.
The journey to the Ponape lagoon, 400 miles distant, involved a voyage of a day and a half and in this beautiful cluster of mountains we found a fine Catholic church building, a modest Protestant structure, and in the latter a congregation of 300 people to welcome the first deputation to be sent out by the American Board. We learned that the total population is more than 3,000 and that there were eight good-sized Protestant congregations under as many native instructors.
Leaving missionary Tanaka in the: midst of his packing, we hastened on to Kusaie, 300 miles to the east, the last of the Caroline group. There are only 600 people in this little cluster and yet more than 300 greeted us at the two services held in the white coral church. Four hours by row-boat from our landing-place is an American Board school of long standing, where for the past ten years the two Baldwin sisters have been influencing mightily the hearts and minds of some sixty pupils, boys and girls, a few of whom are residents of Kusaie itself and the others gathered from the Marshalls 400 miles farther east.
From Kusaie to Jaluit the naval headquarters of the Marshall group is a little more than a day's steaming, and the lagoon was certainly in holiday attire as we entered the harbor where many
small islands lay about us within a radius of twenty miles. The population is in round numbers 10,000, half of whom are Christians gathered in groups far and near, and led by a goodly number of workers superintended by Miss J. R. Hoppin of the American Board, the one Protestant missionary in all that region. At present there is urgent need for a young missionary family somewhat acquainted with the J apaIiese language, equipped with strong powers of endurance for the long tours in a pigmy boat, and with equally strong faith to sustain them in surroundings that furnish little intellectual or moral stimulus. The regular steamer calls but once in two months, there are few others to be expected, there are no newspapers, no books, no magazines, on sale, and there are no sources of entertainment to speak of outside of themselves. Isolation and the consequent tendency to become "not as other men" are factors to be reckoned with.
What the future of this work in the Marshalls and in Kusaie is to be is difficult to prophesy. There is little doubt that Dr. Kozaki's Mission would be willing to take over the enterprise, but their long connection with the American Board has caused both missionaries and native Christians to shrink from any change, especially if such change should seem to increase the right'of the Government to curtail the religious privileges hitherto enjoyed. The American Board has sent out but one family in ten years, that family has since returned, and at present no other is in sight. The Japanese Mission of the American Board has recently amalgamated its evangelistic work with that of the Kumiai Churches, and this union has given rise to the hope that a similar union may be effected with the work in the South Seas. The time for this, however, has not yet come and may never come, but the task already undertaken by Dr. Kozaki in Truk and Ponape is not likely to end with these places. There is as yet no Protestant evangelist in the islands that lie west of Truk and as these are inhabited by more than 25,000 people (half of the population of the three mandatory groups), we may expect to see ere long several missionary families on their way from Japan, to this new and needy field.
Thus Japan has entered into the great South Sea missionary enterprise. Let us rejoice in the fact and at the same time unite in earnest prayer that success may crown the efforts put forth. It is no light responsibility that has come to Christians of little more than fifty years' standing, but if well discharged we shall have once more a fresh revelation of the power of Christ in the lives and activities of His followers.
and Islam in
A Native African's View of the 8it1wtion BY REV. ORISHATUKEH FADUMA* . nAFRICA has an area of 10,175,000 square miles, about three times the size of Europe, more than three times the size of the United States, more than six times the size of China, and about six times that of India. It has more than 100 million people who have no knowledge of the Gospel of Christ.
The three religions of .Africa are Paganism, Christianity, and Islam. Does it pay to spend a great deal of effort to convert the followers of Mohammed, or is it better to concentrate one's energy to bring the African pagan to Christ 1 The Christian missionary makes one convert from Islam to everv ten that the Moslem makes from paganism. .
The African pagan, who is lifted from gross idolatry and human sacrifice by Islam, is a better man than his pagan brother from physical, artistic, intellectual, and spiritual standpoints. While it is good to convert one Moslem to Christ it is far better to convert ten pagans to Christ and this can be done in a shorter time.
Some modern writers, European and African, have affirmed that Christianity is the "white man's religion," and Islam the reli- gion for the African. Christianity and Islam both had their earthly origin from the East. The African is an Oriental in his physical, mental, moral, and spiritual make-up. He takes to Christianity or Islam very easily when they are normally presented. He calls Chris~ tianity the "white man's religion" because it comes to him in an Occidental garb. He feels instinctively that the white man has a foreign way of thinking and feeling. 'What often appears normal to the white mau is abnormal to the African. The spiritual mysti- cism of the Oriental, his religious abandon and race feeling, are overshadowed by the cold intellectualism, though deep spiritual in- sight, of the white man. The white man belongs to an imperial race and imperial Christianity fails to attract the many in Africa.
On this account the white missionary must turn the work over to his converts after he has laboriously laid the foundations. The Af- rican's Christianity must fit the thought of the Negro.
The sword and polygamy are contributory causes of Islam's progress in Africa. Christianity, too, has had her days of fire and • Mr. Faduma is the son of Nigerian parents of the Yoruba tribe of West Afl"ica~ His parents were converted from paganism to Christianity before the birth of their son who received his M:~l!~a, i~~~e i~l~~l:atki~~~~t~C~i~li~it~ ts~h~. Si~~a ~:~onperi~i~~lA~~iC:~bO~;nf~~i~t!~~~!~: N. C., under the American Missiona.ry ASSIociation from 1895 to 1914, was two years principal of the Missionary Colle,giate School in Sierra Leone, and five years in the Educ:ation Department of that colony. serving as an Inspector of Sohools, Tutor in the Teacher Training Department, and Officer in Charge of the Government Model School. He is now jnstructor jn Latin and English IAterature at Linco~n Academy. Kings Mountain. N. C., under th.e American Missionary Association.
3 865
sword. Inquisitions, massacre and persecutions are a standing dis- grace, not to Christianity, but to those of its professors who take part in these crimes.
Polygamy was not introduced into Africa by Islam. Tropical Africa is largely polygamous, not on account of Islam but for social and family reasons. Mr. Morel, the author of "Nigeria, its People and its Problems," says, "The fundamental explanation would seem to be that Islam, in West Africa at any rate, has become an African religion, disseminated by Africans, a religion of the people and the soil; a religion which, both in its spiritual and social aspects, does not dislocate African institutions and social life. The mistake so constantly made is to regard and treat it as an exotic growth, whereas for the last three or four hundred years it has been nothing of the sort. It would have swept all Africa long since but for the absence of ways of communication. JiJurope is now supplying these and the Christian religion can only hope to make permanent headway against an indigenous faith, by divorcing Christianity from Europeanism (African Mail, Feb. 7, 1913).
While Islam presents a united front, Christianity bewilders the native African with endless divisions. In the home fields Christianity is like a Kingdom divided against itself. Sects and sects within sects, standing for no great essential principles, worry the life of their followers. The Moslem apparently takes to the African an undivided faith, an undivided God, and cries out five times a day in prayer, "Allah, there is none but Allah."
This is the basis of a united faith founded on .Tudaic monotheism, "Hear 0 Israel, Jehovah Elohim is one" (Deut. 6: 4). It must not be understood that Islam has no schools of thought. Religion to the Moslem is the greatest thing to live for and to die for. It is part of his being, and is given no secondary place. The Kingdom of God and His righteousness, as he understands it, is first or none at all. For many centuries Christendom has stood appalled at the victories of the Moslem faith won by a religious zeal which borders on fanaticism. Compare with this united front of Islam, the Kikuyu controversy in Mast Africa and the effort of some ecclt'siastics to prevent church unity and we see the disadvantages on the side of the: Christian.
Islam is also a great temperance society. So-called Christian lands still derive considerable revenue from the rum trade and refuse to stop the traffic. The love of money overcomes the love of men. The Holy Spirit is opposed by alcoholic spirits. Prohibition carried out by Christian nations would make Christianity more workable in Africa. The United States of America is leading the way in this warfare.
Islam preserves and respects African social customs, except idolatry and human sacrifice. Probably because the propagators of this faith came originally from Asia and are in sympathy with
CRRlSTIANITY AND ISLAM IN AFRICA
Oriental thought, they find it easy to see what underlies many of the customs of Africa. The foreign Christian is too often unnecessarily an iconoclast. It was once thought that Africans were immoral b~ cause they went naked, forgetting that our first parents before the Fall were naked and were not ashamed. Civilization covers up many valuable truths with unnecessary draperies and paraphernalia. Dress often covers much immorality. Baptism of Africans after conversion is followed in many foreign fields by changing the name of the convert to a foreign name, overlooking the fact that the change Christ requires is not that of ancestral names, but of character and sinful nature. The process of deracializing goes on until, in two or three generations, the convert becomes a nondescript, neither a foreigner nor an African, often scorned by both.
The social customs of the white foreigner are not necessarily New Testament morality. They are sometimes out of harmony with African life. If the foreigner thinks white, the black man should be allowed to think black, and the yellow man to think in terms of yellow. God has no color but is spirit and shonld be worshiped as spirit.
Islam practices a brotherhood of believers and recognizes no superior or inferior race. The Christianity of the New Testament speaks in no ambiguous language of the unity of believers. The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man among believers are involved in the Lord's Prayer, and the whole New Testament recognizes all as one in Christ. The New Testament allows no compromise with wrong. There are forms of modern Christianity that are honeycombed with Pharisaism, the spirit of separation, the spirit of race exclusiveness found wherever the Anglo-Saxon comes into contact with weaker and dependent races.
It is not Christianity that is responsible for these inconsistencies in the religion of Jesus Christ, it is Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic imperialism which is injected into Christianity. Race consciousness, instead of being conquered by the religion, dominates the religion of Christ.
But, in the midst of this alarming inconsistency, there are Christian organizations that not only believe in human brotherhood, but practice it under very trying circumstances. Some of these Christians are" thinking black," like Dan Crawford; some of them, like Livingstone, have conquered African savages with love and kindness.
The problem of Christianity in Africa is not one of precept, it is one of practice; it is not one of dogmatics, but of pragmatics. "Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father," says the great Founder. Ethopia is now stretching out her hands unto God. The Christian Church is asked to "deliver the goods" to Africa's sons with no label on bnt that of Christ and His Cross. The manhood and dignity of the race will accept nothing more or less.
You need not deliver the goods unless they are offered in terms of Christian brotherhood. Show Africa the Christ, not yourself, and. let the transformation that comes he the result of an inward spiritual working, not of superficial accretion. Under these terms Mohammed will bow to Christ, Islam will be no match for Christianity. In Africa, Jesus shall reign from sea to sea.
AN INDIAN OHRISTIAN'S VIEWPOINT T HE following reasons were given to me by R K. Sorabji, an Indian Christian, in answer to the question as to whether Amer- ican missionaries should be working in India or not.
Allahabad, India. SAM HIGGINBOTTOM.
"Wl>.y should American Ohristians worry about souls that are not American?"
1. The Divine Command was "Go, ye, into all the world." 2. American Missionaries have far greater power in India than others: (a) Because they have no political interest in this country. (b) Btlcause they do not belong to the "ruling race." (c) Because they have a greater capacity for fraternity. (d) Because they have not the handicap of reserve. (e) Because they have a life-fulness and energy which appeal by their contrast to the slow-moving East. (f) Because there can be no question that their sole motive for being in India is their Lord's Command and the further- ance of His Kingdom. (g) Because they have a capacity for putting themselves in the position of others. 3. America-so blessed by the Divine with education, enlightenment, prosperity, the Imowledge of God-is a trustee to spread abroad these things. 4. Because talents have to be used in and for the good of all God's world. 5. Because no individual and no people can gain Heaven unless they bring others with them. 6. Because Americans, like other Christians, are honored by the call to be fellow-workers with Christ in His Father's Business. 7. Because only faithful stewards will have the joy of hearing His " Well done." 8. Because no people, like no individual, dare live for self. 9. Because Christ's Gospel is-" Others "-He came to earth for, lived on earth for, died and rose again for, and lives in Heaven for- "Others. " 10. Because they must lift Christ up that He may draw all men unto Him. 11. Because education, medicine, evangelistic work, agricultural devel- opment, and so on, are all means', to the end of winning men for God. 12. Beeause Christian Americans, having learned that we must acknowl- edge God in all our ways, must help to show the Father to non- Christians in all ways.
FRIEN'DLY COMMUNITY -CENTER IN MONSONIA
Reaching Spanish-Americans with the Gospel BY REV. ROBERT N . Mcl..ElAN, D.D., LOS ANGELES, GAl,IF. Associate Director, City, Immigrant and Industrial Department, Presbyterian Church, U. S. A.
T HE story of missionary progress among Spanish-Americans during the past fifty years, is a recital of efforts to discover the best way to reach them with the Gospel; but the Church still awaits some Columbus of the future.
The programs which Protestantism has developed have been planned for people generally of a phlegmatic, taciturn disposition; for people who own property, and who live for generations in the same place. The Spanish-Americans are volatile, emotional, temperamental; and the llexicans, at least, are the most migratory racial group in America. A teaching ministry, which has grown up upon the principle of "line upon line, precept upon precept," does not work well with a man who jumps at his conclusions; and a church building set solidly upon concrete foundations is not adapted for work with the Lopez family, that lives in a tent and a decrepit Ford.
But the story of the Church's gropings for the best method of reaching this people with the Gospel is an interesting one; and in the search, certain valid principles have been discovered.
869
The Pilgrim of New England lived and worshipped according to the dictates of his conscience; the Mexican works, worships, ljves according to the dictates of his heart. He is a creature not of his reasonings, but of his emotions. Consequently, every method for winning the Mexican, or his cousin, the Spanish-American, must be so planned as to win his affections before one seeks to capture the citadel of his conscience.
Grievous blunders have been committed because this psychology of the Latin American has been overlooked. Trade representatives of American business houses are fast learning that an observance of the courtesies is as effective in selling goods as is the offer of irrefragable proofs as to the quality of the article. Controversial tracts have made some Protestants, but they have made few Christians. To "hire a hall" and start a preaching point, has been the first but the poorest idea of practically every work among the Spanish-Americans.
The average Mexican is not a Catholic according to the American understanding of the term, but he decidedly is according to the 'Mexican idea. In Latin America the word" Cat61ico" is used almost synonymously with the word" good," so that storekeepers have been heard to describe their ham and their beans as "very catholic." With this idea, even the irreligious Mexican quickly says he is "Cat6Iico." But as this word has come to represent all good, so "protestante" has come to mean all that is bad. The Southern darkey, who had never seen a Yankee, but described him by saying, "Good Lord, massa, he look like de debbil," is a good sample of the Mexican who has never seen a Protestant. A hall which is known as a place of the Protestant heretics is shunned as a cauldron of hell's broth. One who would speak of liberty of conscience must first win the heart of his hearers.
In the effort to make the Mexican immigrant understand that the Protestant missionary is his friend, a real and ever enlarging place has been found for a social ministry. The Plaza Community Center, conducted by the Methodist Church in front of the old Mexican plaza in Los Angeles, reaches out loving hands into hundreds of Mexican homes. Almost every church now begins its ministry through night schools, clinics, boys' and girls' clubs, or through the diversified activities of the settlement house. A modified form of the neighl,lorhood house is conducted by the Presbyterian Church and called "The Home of Neighborly Service." This type of work owes its existence to the idea that it is better to "show" than to "tell." The "Home" is a house in the Mexican quarter, which has been regenerated until it has become a model home. The worker-an American woman who speaks Spanish-uses the little house as a basis for friendly social activities. Through her love and
19251J REACHING SPANISH-AMERICANS WITH THE GOSPEL
kindliness the Gospel of Ohrist has entrance into lives which would otherwise have remained closed.
One morning at three 0 'clock there came a loud knocking at the door of one of these homes. The worker in charge hastily threw her bathrobe about her and went to the door. Facing her in the dim light was one of the most pitiable creatures to be imagined. Her hair was down, her clothes were disheveled and torn, and from a wide gash in her face the blood flowed. There had been a bootleg party in a house near by and when bad whiskey had bred bad conduct, the ever ready knife was called into use. The poor woman had fled to the "Home" where she knew she would find a friend. Her wounds were dressed, and she was given a bath and a bed. Today that woman is one of the most faithful members of the little church. In another place the American worker who gives of herself so generously in loving ministrations is called by the children "la santa" (the saint).
Not only does this ministry of helpfulness win the hearts of the people but the "Home" itself exercises a decided influence upon the standards. of living in the community. In one large new suburb of Los Angeles, where there are 20,000 Mexicans and probably not more than twenty bathtubs, the Belvedere Neighborhood House provides hot and cold showers for both men and women at a nominal charge of ten cents.
For years the Protestant missions among the Spanish-Americans in New Mexico and Colorado have gone forward upon the backs of the mission schools. These Spanish-Americans were living in their mountain homes when the Pilgrims first came to New England. Education for years was confined to private instruction; in New :Mexico it is even, yet limited by the poverty of the state and the common tendency to overlook the people in the mountains. Many a Spanish heart has been won to the Gospel by the fact that the children have received an education in the mission schools. In northern New Mexico the boarding schools have educated hundreds of the best men and women in the state–men and women who teach in the public schools, run successful business enterprises and make the laws of the state.
Another successful method of approach has been that of the Daily Vacation Bible School. The children come eagerly for the work which is offered, and an entrance is thus gained to hundreds of homes. Last sumIDer the Presbyterian Ohurch reported an enrollment of 1,033 Mexican children in the Daily Vacation Bible Schools of one state, and of these more than half were from homes which had never before been touched by the church. In one city, two children in a vacation school last summer, resulted in twelve adults coming into the membership of the church during the year.
There are also the summer camps for boys and girls. In some
places the outing is given as a reward of merit for exceptional ability, but always an effort is made to select those who have the qualities for leadership. The training is intensive, and lasts for ten days. To spend days by the rolling ocean, to swim and fish and hike, and above all to eat all they want, is a rare experience to those who come from cramped quarters and impoverished homes in the crowded districts of Los Angeles. The Bible classes and the evening campfire talks leave lasting impressions which are followed up during the year.
Among the Spanish-Americans of New Mexico a new and most interesting method of approach is just being tried. The people who live far from the railroad see nothing beyond the narrow boundaries of the hills which encircle them. The monntain roads are very bad for the greater part of the year, and impassable for the remainder. i'he people are agriculturists, and have cared for their little farms and tended their flocks and herds since the early days when the Spaniards first sought the seven cities of Cibola. There has grown np a peculiar sentiment about the land; to sell or trade it is to disgrace the family name. Consequently, as father after father has bequeathed< his land to his sons, the holdings have become smaller and smaller until today the farms are not large enough to support the families which are living< upon them. Added to this, the seed has not been replenished for generations, and has about run out. There is no knowledge as to rotation of crops, and in many places it is considered unclean to use the stable manure to fertilize the impoverished fields. In some districts farms are still plowed with wooden plows, while the grain is threshed by bulls and goats as in the days of Abraham.
In April the beginnings of a demonstration farm were made in one of these isolated districts. A man trained in the cultivation of ground, as well as the cultivatioll of souls, has been sent to be pastor of the little church. He has rented a farm, and for the first year will quietly demonstrate modern agricultural methods. The next year, he will have a class of boys in the mission school, training them in the methods he has used. The boys will tryout these methods on small patches of ground upon the farms of their fathers. Of course, such a man will win a large place in the hearts of the people; a place which the Christ whom he preaches also will hold, as men come to know Him.
In seeking another method somebody, some church, must plan for the thousands whose only home is a tent by the side of the grape or cotton field where they work. The newest immigrants are always the most migrant. They work with one eye on the job they have, and the other upon the job they hope to have. Constantly looking for an opportunity to better themselves they are alway-s on the move. There is also a large group of migrant workers who, year after year,
1925!] REAJCHlNG SPAJ'.TJSH-AMERICANS WITH THE GOSPEJJ
MEXICAN CHILDREN PLAYING AT THE CHILDREN'S ROME OF THE PLAZA COMMUNI'I'Y CENTER, LOS ANGELES A CLINIC AT THE PLAZA OOMMUNITY CENTER, LOS ANGEI.ES, OALIFORNIA
follow the crops from place to place. In Southern California, the cycle covers the navel oranges, the Valencia oranges, the cantaloupes, the apricots, the peaches, the grapes, the walnuts, and the cotton. As these industries are all organized, and large areas are devoted to the various crops, the Mexicans employed are constantly on the move.
In the Salt River Valley, Arizona, the usual Mexican population of 12,000 is augmented by four or five thousand migrant laborers, most of whom are brought in from the border. In all. these industries the organizational talent which has done wonders in the buying of raw material, and in the marketing of the various products, has fallen down in caring for the labor supply. Men are out of work far too often, and the cost of transportation is excessive. These conditions all make the work of evangelization particularly difficult. Obviously the solution must be some sort of a moving mission for migrant Mexicans. The Baptists have made a start in the adaption of the "Chapel Car" idea to a large "White" motor truck. This truck, fitted up with organ, camping equipment, tracts, etc., and manned by a missionary, makes the rounds of the large camps in California. In the Salt River Valley the Presbyterians have, for the past four years, lmdertaken something of the same work. Movies and stereopticon lectures, often in the open air in the cotton camps, have been an interesting feature. Many of the pickers are strangers in a strange land, most of them without a knowledge of English, and a mission which not only preaches the Gospel, but furnishes a friendly, helpful service in time ~f need, will most quickly solve the problem.
With all these activities the Church is only reaching out its hands and showing that it cares. The Southwest today is dotted with evangelical churches where thousands of Mexican men, women and children have come to know the Christ who changes lives. There are probably not less than 12,000 Protestant Mexican church members in the Southwest, with a greater number of Sunday-school children. Then there is a host who, walking the dim borderland between faith and doubt, may be classed as "adherents." But there are not less than a million and three-quarters of these people living under the stars and stripes, and they have not left their ignorance and superstition in Mexico. They are a part of our social, our civic, our industrial life; they are part of America. They crowd our great cities, and because of poor housing, intermittent work, and lowered standards of living, they complicate our health problems.
The need is appalling, and the task is great. When the best method of reaching these people is found, it will be a way of love and not of hate; a way of service, and not of controversy. And by it, men will be brought to the Master, by being made to see His heart of love revealed in the lives of His followers.
First Revival on the Mission
BY REV. L. P. VA"N SLYKE, OAXACA, MEXICO W ORD came that one of the older congregations in the state, that of Nazareno, was in a bad way. Various leading mem- bers were taking an active part in the Catholic fiesta; almost no one was attending services; and the new worker there was thor- oughly discouraged. Consequently I visited the church with the idea of doing some pretty plain talking, but after reaching there was guided to adopt other tactics.
Four services, one right after the other, filled up the first Sun- • day. Adjoining Nazareno is Soledad, the first center of gospel preaching in the rich valley north of Oaxaca, some forty years ago. ~'rom there the work spread to other villages. In Nazareno, the Methodist Mission, then in charge of the work, built a church for the two groups. For a long time no services were held in Soledad but recently, .with the aid of the pastor of the Oaxaca city church, they were reopened. My second service was in this village, and seeing many who had never gone to the services in Nazareno, I felt a strong impulse to stay with them, to teach them, pray with them, visit them in their homes, help them get stronger in their faith.
Later in the afternoon service in Nazareno, the impulse returned, stronger than ever. I had given them a Bible study on the value of prayer in times of discouragement and failure, and then gave them an opportunity to make individual prayers. These were so absolutely sincere, and expressed so much longing for greater near· ness to God and for better lives, that I felt overwhelmed with the conviction that the time was ripe for a special work there, that God had prepared their hearts, and that I dared not risk the responsibility of neglecting the present opportunity. While they were praying, I decided. Immediately afterward I offered a week of my time for a special work of revival in Nazareno and in Soledad. I had never had any experience in such work, but I felt that God would show me how to do it.
At half past five every morning we had a real prayer meeting in the Nazareno church, with about twenty-five present. We knelt on the hard dirt of the floor while one after another poured out intercessions to God. After breakfast, the local pastor and I went to visit the homes, reading from the Bible and praying very simply and briefly in each place. How warmly we were received everywhere r They seemed hungry for help and encouragement and love. Soon after noon each day, having spent the morning visiting in one village or the other, we held a service in a private house in Soledad. At first about fifteen came out, but the interest gradually 875
increased, till Sunday we had nearly fifty, including several who had never before heard the Gospel preached.
In the afternoon, more visits were made until evening service.
I did not preach, but gave very practical and searching Bible studies on the will of God and the daily life of the Christian. About forty came out the first night, about seventy the second, ninety the third, and the last four nights over a hundred. The last few nights a large group of men formed in the street around the front door of the church, and stood there for an hour and a half to listen. Almost every night there was a period of voluntary prayer-most earnest petitions and intercessions. Wives prayed with sobs for their uncon- verted or erring husbands, mothers for their families, and men for themselves and their neighbors. Yet what emotion there was was under control and had its basis in solid convictions. • It was clearly God's appointed time and He had prepared the way. One of the principal families in Nazareno had recently lost a son by drowning in the river near by, and their hearts were sensitive to God's voice. 'fwo of the principal men in Soledad have histories marked .by violence and evil, and in this last revolution they both came within an inch of being hung. One made his escape from prison the night before he was to be executed; the other was saved by the interference of some official. Grateful for their escape from death, the two men have resolved to live more as Christians should, and showed a deep interest in our services. At least two other families that had been indifferent for years returned to an active Christian life. Some thirty or forty new people were reached.
Word comes that there has been no falling away, such as I had feared, since the revival. Some eighty to a hundred people go to the Thursday and Sunday evening services, and a good number are being prepared for church membership. "For with God all things are possible. "
Evangelical Christians in .Russia BY NORMAN J. SMITH, WERNIGERODE, GERMANY Secretary of the American-European Fellowship for Christian Oneness and Evangelization REV. I. S. PROKHANOFF, President of the All-Russian Union of Evangelical Christians, as well as founder and head of the Bible School in Leningrad, is now in America. He probably knows more of the condition of the Christians in Russia than any other man. The Leningrad Bible School student group had fifty young men in the 1924 class. The German Reformed (St. Catherine's) Church in Leningrad gathered an audience of about 3,000 to hear Mr. Prokhanoff preach.
Evangelicals have nine churches in Petrograd, and in all Russia there are 4,000 congregations and groups, many of them very large.
EVaNGELICAL CHRISTIaNS IN RtUSSIa
Not having been free to worship in former years, the Evangelicals have no church buildings of their own, but are free to worship under the present government. In some cases Orthodox church buildings have been given to these congregations, among them an ancient monastery church in the center of Moscow.
The Evangelical Union publishes in Leningrad an illustrated magazine, The Christian, with sixty-four well-printed pages and cover. Ten or fifteen thousand copies could well be circulated among the interested people.
Permission has been granted to print 10,000 Russian Bibles and 20,000 New Testaments. Atheism seems to be wholly discredited, and the people flock to the churches for every service. When a missionary or preacher comes to a town it seems that everybody wants to hear him. He begins to speak in the evening, and they do not let him stop. The entire audience will remain all night, or will return in the early morning.
The Leningrad Bible School, conducted by Mr. Prokhanoff, experiences no antagonism from the Government which gives full freedom to the school. The 1925 class is diminished to 37, while more than 400 young men 'anxiously await admission as soon as funds can be provided. Bishop Blake's $50,000 might better have been expended to train young Christians in this Evangelical Bible School at Leningrad, instead of to educate young priests for the "Living Church" in Moscow. In the Leningrad Bible School, they believe that: The Bible is inspired, Christ is the living Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, and that He died on the cross for our sins, and rose again for our justification.
The problem which most perplexes the Evangelical Christians in Russia is the support of the Evangelical ministers and missionaries, the Bible School and the central organization which supervises the publication work and guides the Evangelical Church. Formerly each group of Christians was able to support a preacher, wholly or in part, as well as to send funds to the Evangelical Union headquarters to carryon the departmental work there. Now this condition is completely reversed. The Union must not only be selfsupporting, in every branch, but it must send to every congregation funds to help toward the maintenance of the minister. Evangelical preachers in Russia work with their own hands because they cannot live otherwise, for it is impossible for congregations to support them. Mr. Prokhanoff asked for 800 or more suits of clothing to substitute for the ragged, worn-out clothes worn by the preachers when they stand before their congregations. There is also great need for funds to keep these men face to face with their open Bibles for study and sermon preparation, instead of keeping them in the fields with hoes in their hands.
in the United
BY PROFESSOR I. V. NEPRASH Of the International Baptist Seminary, East Orange, N. J.
MOST of the first Russians in America came from western Russia and eastern Poland, regarded as one of the poorest sections of Russia. The men could not take their families, because they could hardly pay their own fares. Being inexperienced in any kind of work and not knowing the language, they usually did the hardest and dirtiest work in foundries, factories, and other such places. They sometimes endured unspeakable hardships.
At the beginning of the Bolshevistic movement in Russia, prac- tically the whole Russian population in America was drunk with politics. "There is already paradise in Russia, and soon it will cover the whole earth. Why do you come with your gospel ~ We don't need it any more." This was the usual answer. Now the situation is entirely changed. They have lost hope in human methods.
During the last two years, a new group of Russian immigrants have flocked into this country. From almost every country of Europe, but chiefly from Constantinople, came about 6,000 Russians who had formerly held high official positions, both in governmental and military offices, men of high financial standing, or men of scientific fame. You can meet a girl serving in a restaurant in New York, and little suspect or believe that she was onee the star at the Czar's court at Petrograd. There are former generals who are now dishwashers or shoemakers in America. A well-known lawyer works as a laborer at a biscuit factory. There are many such cases. Unfortunately, only occasional Christian work is done among them. There are about 1,000 Russian university students here, but only about 190 of them are helped by the Russian student fund. All the rest find work where they can, although the new Russia of the future will need all the men of intelligence prepared in the best way. Beyond all, Russia 'will need Christian workers.
The work among the Russians and Ukranians in America is not only for the good of the people here, but also for the good of their respective countries across the ocean. Every Russian converted here who goes back naturally becomes a missionary. He may not know much, but the fact that he comes from America gives weight to his work there. His words have authority, because he comes from a country where everybody knows everything. Not every emigrant may justify this expectation, but the missionary spirit and the desire to become the warriors of the Cross is very strong among them at ,the present time. The support given by Christians here will bring much fruit not only here, but also in Hussia, where millions are <iuffering without the Gospel and v.ithout God.
878
MBTHODS
EDITED BY MRS. E. C. CRONK, 721 MUHLENBURG BLDG., PmLADELPHIA, PA.
LUXURY OR LIBATION zation of many blessings for which Government tax lists show per- we. are thankful. There is nothing fumes as a luxury. There is an old whICh so crystallizes indeterminate story which reveals a secret of mar- impulses of gratitude as does a develous alchemy which changes a terminate thank-offering. luxury into a libation. Announce the missionary thank- "There came unto him a woman offering meeting widely and well.
h!iving .an alabaster box of very pre- Suggest that each member spend thir- CIOUS omtment, and poured it on his head as he sat at meat. ty minutes on receipt of the invitation ~n deci~in!5 whether or not to accept "But when his disciples saw it 1t, by slttmg dthoewnofqfuiiceetl-yanayt whhoemre~ they had indignation, saying to what in the car, in purpose is this waste 1……' to count blessings, forgetting (for "When Jesus understood it he said unto them, Wh)' trouble ye the wom- thirty minutes) troubles and trials and disappointments, except as they an V For she hath wrought a good have been blessings. work upon me…… Verily, I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel Through paarilsehttebrulloeftin,infvriotmatitohn~ shall be preached in the whole world through the there shall also this, that this woma~ hath done, be told for a memorial of pulpit, and by various other anher." nouncements, let it be known that at this meeting thank-offerings will be received as an expression of thanks- The alabaster box kept and hoard- giving for blessings and privileges.
ed, or lavished upon herself, was a Announce that one of the features luxury. Poured out in love on the head of the IJord it ceased to be a of the program will be ttohethreeagdoinoOd~" luxury and became a libation. of unsigned testimonies "The alabaster box was not in the ness of God. Ask each member to budget," says Mrs. Henry wr. Pea- write a testimony and place it on the basket as the thank-offerings are gath- body. ered. It was one of the extra offerings Bet~er than any printed program over and above all the pledges. materIals are testimonies similar to the following given by individuals of Any financial plan that assures men and women that they will not be varying ages and conditions: called on for additional gifts is un- "Out of the grathude of my heart for the worthy. Who shall limit the marvel- restoration of my daughter's health I make lous mercies of the Lord that call anew for our thanksO"iving and our this thankoffering of $25.00." thank-offerl'ng y. 0 ".We have "e!ebrated our golden wedding oanf ntIhveersgaoroydndeusRrmogfthGeoydeathr.rouIgnhroeuctoganihtiaolnf . Gr:;titu.a~ finds its highest expres- century ~e make a thankoffering of $1,000 SlOn mI dglvmg. Thanksgiving is but t~ e~tabhsh .a scholarship for a Japanese a pre u e to thank-offering. gIrl m a ChrIstian schooL"
Plan a November missionary thank- "God gave me a loving daughter and offering meeting for your church. Let then He took her to Himself. I giv'; mm us not drift from one year into another with only a subconscious reali- thar:ks for the glorious hope of the resur- re?~lOn."
and Apsromfeyssoionnlyal sotrnaihnaisngfinainshdedis hnisowcolsleelgfe- 879
supporting, I have decided to make a thank. Church's world-wide work. We have offering to help some other boy through used very successfully, "A Chris- college. '" tian's Wodd Tour," personally con- ducted. l!~or this we hung up a mis- " A student makes a tbankoffering for the sionary map of the world, and from privilege of attending high school. It isn't the current number of the" MISSION- much but it is all I have." ARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD" we showed what might be seen at various "My thankoffering is for losses instead of places that month. The children gains. Several years ago I grew rich and bring toys, dolls, books of their own, counted riches a blessing although I did not and lay them on the chancel steps at give God thanks. I was too busy to have the time when the older people bring any time for the Church. My children be· their money offerings. The children's came careless and indifferent and all of us gifts go to the children of the moun- were very near forgetting Gild. Recently I tains or of foreign lands. have had heavy losses. Then I remembered God. My children and I are back at our 2. The week-night meetings in- places in the church and I thank God for the elude: "A free for all discussion of losses that called us back to Him." Foreign Missions" by a group of men in the lounge of a local club. One "A mother gives ihanks for motherhood of the outstanding enthusiasts for in a Christian Ianrl. and brings her thank· missions is constituted the chief ob- offering to giv9 the blessings of Christianity jector. Men high in ability, but low to other mothers." in missionary information and inter- est may be enlisted to work up the In churches in which such mission- arguments to demolish his opposition. ary thank-offering services are held Such men read books to get their ar- each year members soon learn the guments. They could not be per- happy art of counting their blessings. ~uaded to read them in any other way. One of our men has been talking The thanksgiving testimonies of Headland's "Some By-Products of . Bible days furnish a Bible study of Missions" ever since we held such a meeting. He refused to return this thrilling human interest, and with and other volumes, purchasing them our wealth of hymns of praise lead- for his own shelves. ers should have no difficulty in ar- ranging their thank-offering program. 3. The same type of man can give one of the Board's lantern lectures REMOVING THE MASCULINE at a mid-week service. There are many men who can do it as well or INFERIORITY COMPLEX better than the minister.
By GEORGE ARTHUR FRANTZ 4. A debate between some of the men may be held on such subjects as Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of "Resolved, that we should keep all Van Wert, Ohio our money for Home Missions"; or "That the needs of China for our The men in our church felt that gifts and prayers are greater than the women had more of the Christian the needs of Africa." 'rhe men work international outlook than they. For up their country and make fiery many years the women had held speeches, and the audience hears of classes for. mission study. They knew the needs of all. more about both the commercial and the Christian resources and needs of 5. The men bring some great the world than business men did. church leader such as Dr. Speer or a How then change the situation for missionary like Dr. F. G. Coan of the men and remove the "inferiority Persia, to make an address at a men's complex"? That was the problem. dinner. They invite men from all the churches in our part of the Presby- First, the Women's Missionary So- ciety dropped its feminine prefix. It became the Missionary Society of the Church, for men and women, and the men took the responsibility for three or four meetings each year.
1. The 'l'hank-offering meeting is a Sunday morning service. The address is usually given by the pastor. The subject is some portion qf the
BEST METHODS
tery. In this way men in the smaller bring a book" is not a safe plan for congregations hear some outstanding building a missionary library, if speakers of the church. Otherwise there are no further explanations or they would never have this oppor- qualifications added to that invitatunity. Too much of our intensive tion. If, however, along with the inwork by the greatest speakers is done vitation there is a note to the effect in the large centers of popUlation to that a certain local store has a special the neglect of the rural regions. This display of fifty new missionary books is a deliberate attempt to help. The greatly desired for the church miswomen are admitted to these meetings sionary library, and a salesman who by ticket, to the capacity of the knows all about the plan, then each building. We have as many as three guest who receives an invitation and hundred and twenty-five men, "be- wishes to accept it will be eager to sides women and children" to hear call at that store and bring one of the such an address. fiftv books.
By these methods we have quad- That was the way it worked out at rupled our benevolences, making the Book Reception given by the them the largest total, and by far Court Street Methodist Church of the largest per capita in the Presby- Lynchburg, Virginia. 'fhe committee tery, keeping them there while we in charge agreed that the library have built a three hundred thousand should have fifty new missionary dollar church jn a community of ten books. They carefully studied pubthousand people. lishing announcements, book reviews, and their summer conference notes, The missionary society is the whole and made a list of the fifty books church enlisted for joyful giving and which seemed most desirable for their intelligent praying and always on the library. Then they arranged with a lookout for news of the kingdom-not local store to have a copy of each women, not men, but Christians all. of these fifty books on sale.
FIFTY SELECTED BOOKS ADDED Invitations for a Book Reception were issued with the suggestion that TO THE MISSIONARY LIBRARY each guest bring a book selected from this special list of fifty. Guests who "Come and bring a book" is an would do so were asked to come in invitation fraught with peril for a costume representing some book. As missionary library-if that is all part of the reception program those there is to it. A truly tragic spectacle who came in costume paraded in the is the assortment of books donated spotlight while the other guests were to church libraries_ supplied with pads and pencils, and instructed to guess the names of books Several years ago the pastor of a represented. Highest success in the home mission church in the South, guessing contest was recognized by received a letter from a well-to-do the presentation of a book. church in a Northern city to this effect, There was a large attendance, a general good time, with an unusual "We have recently appointed a committee opportunity for increasing missionary to go over the book~ in our Sunday School interest and extending missionary library and discard those which they regard education. All of the fifty books were as unfit for our usc. Inasmuch as you are presented to the library by the guests. in a mission church, we are sending all these books to you for your library." CONCRETE GIVING Upon receipt of the books the home Reconciling Desirability and Diftl.eulty missionary examined them, agreed entirely with the judgment of the "But," argued the superintendent committee which declared them unfit of the children's missionary society, for a Sunday-school library and "there is absolutely nothing' that promptly burned them.
To invite fifty average, well-meaning, uninstructed guests to "come and 4
means as much to the children as the teresting when we see such an array actual packing of a box to go across of them as 17,7.94, with the informathe ocean to the boys and girls of tion that they stand for a correspondsome other land." "'On the other ing numher of dollars contributed by hand, " answered the missionary on a missionary society. furlough, "when we can buy the presents right there for less than you I'll answer to the query "What are can get them in America, and save the facts behind these figures?" adthe large amounts you spend for d"essed to Dr. B~!shnell, pastor of postage and for duty, it seems a Westminster Presbyterian Church of shame to make the purchases over Minneapolis, a member of the society here except in the case of articles we has given us the facts. cannot get over there." Pioneer women, in the spirit of They looked at each other as they prayer, planted in a growing commuthought it aU over in silence. nity in the Northwest, a women's missionary society. '1'hat adventure "I have it," announced the mis- was fifty-five years ago. This society sionary triumphantly, "I want about is now one of the largest contributors fifty dolls, twenty tops, forty hand- to mISSIOns in the Presbyterian kerchiefs and fifty picture books. Now Church in the U. S. A. The facts suppose we prepare envelopes or behind the figures seem very simple. small boxes-one for each of your There are 562 members although there boys and girls. On the back of each should be 900. The Women's Budget we will write, 'This is a doll for a is not included in the Church Budget little girl in China, from —,' but is presented at the same time. The leaving a blank for the name, or society never conducts a sale. Sys- 'This is a top for a boy in China tematic giving is expected from all. from – – _.. ' To make this permanent the officers seek to enlist and keep a small group "When the gifts are brought in who give from year to year $500.00 we'll have a box all ready to pack, or more; another group of women and the 'dolls' and 'tops' and 'hand- give annually, $250.00 each; others, kerchiefs' and 'books' can be packed $200.00, $100.00, $50.00, or $25.00, and in it by! the boys and girls them- so on, down to many smaller sums. selves. I will explain how I will take lIfore than $700.00 last year was retheir money and put it all in one big ceived in income from legacies, and check to carry it across the ocean, and more than $900.00 from memorial get a Christmas box over in China memberships and special gifts. A and buy the dolls and tops and hand- quarterly statement is sent every kerchiefs and books with their money member, and last year, at the end of and put them in Chinese Christmas the first six months, 49 per cent of the boxes for the Chinese boys and girls entire budget was in hand. to unpack." Officers of the church keep a friend- That was the plan they worked out ly eye on the Women's Budget and with various elaborations. The Amer- personal gifts from them and other ican boys and girls each had the joy friends find their way to the treasurer. of deciding which present he or she At the close of the past year, March would give. '1'hey all visualized the 10, 1924, the treasurer reported that packing of the box in America and" she had sent to the Board of National the unpacking of the box in China, Missions, $9,670.00 and to the Board and also learned their first lesson in of Foreign Missions, $7,625.00, in adthe method of transmitting mission- dition to $440.00 for contingent exary money. penses in the state, and in the local church. THE FACTS BEHIND THE FIGURES Toward the end of the year, when By EM!>!A 'H. PAIGE despair strikes the heart of the treas- Figures cease to be dull and unin-
urer, and all look with dismay at the Society, the Missionary Education goal, the valiant Finance Oommittee Movement, the Student Volunteer presents a lecture, or sends out an Movement and the World Alliance for S. O. S. call and, in Sacrificial Week, International Peace gave helpful co- $488.00 comes in. "The Spirit giveth operation. Thousands of packets of life." They know no such word as leaflets were made up for distribution. defeat. 'l'he total gifts for the year A display of objects of missionary interest was placed in a conspicuous ,vere $17,794. position at the entrance to attract at- Meetings are held every month in tention. Almost everyone who entered the year with an average attendance stopped to observe the horns of a of s~venty-five. Very close touch is water buffalo. A member of the comkept with missionaries whose support mittee explained what they were, and we pay in full, or in part. Notice- followed up the explanation by disable among the work of committees is tributing the packets, adding items of that of the Associate Membership information as opportunity offered. Oommittee, because of its remarkable The large map of the world and the record in the circnlation of books in- charts which formed the background cluding portions of the Bible. of the exhibit also attracted the at- tention of visitors. Over it was print- This organization takes charge of ed in outstanding letters, "Thy Kingthe Women's Prayer Meeting, held dam come, Thy will be done." The monthly, wherein lies its acknowl- map hung directly nnderneath the edged strength, and where it still large banner announcing "Missionadventures in the field of faith.
THE FEDERATION THAT GREW ary Booth." On either side was an FROM A FAIR attractive poster. In one corner was a United States flag, and in the other, The Women's Church and Mission- a Ohristian flag.
ary Federation of Lewistown, Pa., liany of the people who visited the grew out of a missionary booth at the booth last year returned this year and County Fair. Last year, several among the expressions heard were: women decided that the great multi- "Yes, indeed, I want some of your tudes assembled annually by the Fair leaflets. I learned many things from offered an exceptional opportunity those I got last year."
for disseminating information about "This is really the only thing at mission work. There was no organi- the Fair I wanted to see."
zation through which women of all "Please tell me how you go about churches could cooperate, so those in- this. The folks in our county want terested met the problem in the typi- to have something like this at our cal American way. They appointed Fair."
a committee. Members of six differ- " Oan't you people bring this booth ent Protestant churches of Lewistown to our Fair?"
accepted the appointment and con- One of the workers distributed ducted a missionary booth at the Fair copies of the gospels and some strik- with such success that the need for a ing leaflets among the men who had permanent federation was recognized, charge of the horses.
and the Women's Ohurch and Mis- One thousand copies of the Gospel sionary Federation of r~ewistown was of John were distributed and not less formed. 'l'his year the Federation than thirty thousand leaflets. New was in charge of the missionary booth mission study books were displayed at the Fail.'. Preparations were be- with materials for mission study, in- gun almost a year ago. Each cooper- cluding the picture map of Latin ating denomination was asked to America which attracted much atten- furnish maps, articles of missionary tion. THE liISSIO:NARY REVIEW OF THE interest for display, and literature ,VORLD and Everyland had place in for distribution. The American Bible the exhibit.
Woman's Home Mission
EDITED BY FLORENCE E. QUINLAN, 156 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK MORMONISM institution and the individual denomi- By EDWARD LAIRD MILLS nation .concerned.
From the report of the Committee of the Home Not much of interest is to be found N~:~°'i,ii.~~~~ilDr~n~ilf.:u~~ir:::a,,:vomen for in the work of the Mormon Ohurch A considerable shift in population during the year. About eighteen hun- dred missionaries are maintained at both among Gentiles and Mormons is work, but the results of their labors constantly in progress in Utah and are disappointing. This lack of Idaho. This changes the religious numerical results does not, however, problem from time to time and makes make any happier the spiritual lot of necessary frequent re-studies of the those several thousand individuals, whole situation. An every-community formerly Christian, who are converted visitation by local and national Chris- to Mormonism each year. The mis- tian leaders on the order of those sionaries formerly in Japan have been hitherto made in Montana, Idaho and brought home. The life of this mis- other states, would be revealing and sion was 25 years, or in terms of valuable. It would show the existence individual missionary service it can of hundreds of communities un- be figured as 250 years. The resulting touched by Christian ministry, and Mormon converts in Japan were 150, might well form the basis for new which explains the closing of this par- and better support of missionary en- ticular mission.
terprises on the part of evangelical There are occasional welcome indi- bodies. cations of a continuing shift in doc- We would suggest to our mission- trinal emphasis toward the Bible and aries in Utah and Idaho the advisa- distinctively Christian ideas in Mor- bility of giving close attention to the monism. There is also a slight matter· of week-day religious instruc- recrudescence of the practice of tion, in order that a monopoly of this polygamy which is proving to be a increasingly popular and effective source of annoyance to Mormon lead- type of Christian work may not fall ers. The chief hindrance to Christian into Mormon hands. success in Utah continues to be the If the children of Christian homes indifference of the Church toward this in Utah, especially, are to have the peculiar and difficult problem. The advantages of education under Chris- action of the Presbyterian Church in tian auspices, then Westminster 001- forming a "Mormon sector" and thus lege, the only existing Christian lifting the subject into deserved institution of higher learning in Utah, prominence may be commended to must be strengthened and enlarged. other bodies as worthy of imitation.
If this can be brought about as the The Councils have prepared a list result of cooperation on the part of of books on Mormonism and offered various Christian bodies, so much the to supply the same on request to the better. We, therefore, commend the theological schools of the country.
proposal to have each Christian body More than sixty schools so far have at work in Utah become financially asked for the list. This will doubtless responsible for one of the professors mean the beginning of a library on at the college, under such terms as this important subject in many prom- may be mutually agreed upon by the inent institutions.
884 COOPERATION IN SPANISH· our labors and save them from becom- ing a prey to fanatical sects. SPEAKING WORK Dr. Edwin R. Brown, the witty By REV• .JOSIAH HEALD superintendent of Baptist work, put it in this way: "A Mexican is con- From an address gIven at the Annual Meet" verted and joins the Baptist church. ing of the Home Missions Council a.nd Council In a few weeks he moves to a place of women for Home Mis'3ions. where there is no Baptist church. He proceeds to join the local Presby- There are between two and three terian church thinking it is just as million Spanish-speaking people in good. The next move takes him to a the United States. Upwards of three town where the church is Methodist, quarters of a million of these are which he joins thinking it is just as native-born Spanish-Americans, de- good. He next encounters a Pentescendants of the people who occupied costal church and joins it thinking it the large slice of territory taken from is just as good, and finally lands in Mexico about the middle of the last the Adventist or Mormon church, century. The remainder are Mexi- thinking it is just as good. A gradual cans, pure and simple, from Mexico. and steady process of deterioration." The Spanish-Americans were like the With some possible change in the Indians in the fact that we occupied order of events the rest of us would their territory without their consent. recognize this process. The remedy? Although our treatment of the In- Why not the denominations that redians is no cause for pride it is far spect each other form an offensive and better than that of the Mexican. We defensive alliance and see to it that have at least. given the Indian land their members when they move are and schools. ' 'Lo, the poor Indian" connected with some church within is becoming rich, while" Oh, the poor this evangelical group and encour- Mexican" remains poor. aged to think of it as just as good?
Our various missionary boards have An earnest effort was made to bring made serious, if inadequate effort to about cooperation by the organization provide the Spanish-sI?e::king .pe~ple in 1912 of the Permanent Interdewith schools and rehgIOus InstItu- nominational Council on Spanishtions. At least nine of the leading speaking Work in the United States. denominations, not to speak of other This organization has continued to minor sects, and almost double that function more or less ever since. number of boards are engaged in Spanish-speaking work. This work is Earnest efforts at cooperation have of surpassing value. Its effectiveness been made along the following lines: is, however, seriously impaired for want of cooperation and coordination. 1. Comity. An excellent set of Comity rules was adopted by the Certain facts emphasize the need of second annual meeting of the Council cooperation: held at EI Paso in 1914, and has been reaffirmed at several succeeding ses- 1. The strength and unity of the sions. A Committee on Comity was Roman Catholic organization. In the appointed and later the Council autwenty-five years of my connection thorized three sectional committees. with Spanish-speaking work its agen- But this excellent machinery has recies have been multiplied several fold. mained practically idle. Have there been no violations of comity? 0 yes, 2. The activity of the guerrilla sects. and some of them flagrant ones. That The fanatical earnestness of the Pen- there have not been more has been tecostal people, the Holy Rollers and due not so much to om: unselfishness the Seventh-Day Adventists, the per- as to the fact that the field is terrisistent propaganda of the Mormons torially so large and points of conand the flying squadrons of the Los taet relatively few. Angeles Bible House have become an increasing factor in the situation.
3. The migratory character of t.he Mexican people makes cooperation necessary to conserve the results of
This failure of comity is not in my almost from the beginning. The need of more and better-trained workers is opinion the worst thing that could keenly felt by us all. The various means of training such workers happen. It is not so bad as idleness through the denominational agencies are inadequate and Unsatisfactory. and indifference. It is evident that No denomination can afford to equip an adequate agency. And yet the each of us is busy at his job trying to matter hangs fire. A report was made at the meeting in 1924 recommending cultivate his garden even if heedless the establishment of such a school. Will anything come of it? of where the bounds of his own plot What is the trouble? Do you want leave off and his neighbor's begin. the truth? Well, then, here it is as I see it. We have not taken very At the same time' we need coopera- seriously the command of our Lord and :Master that His followers should tion. be one, and have not been sufficiently in earnest to provide effective means 2. Interdenominational Spa nis h of comity and eooperation. We have been too selfish; we have given juspaper. A committee on the subject was tifieation to the charge of our enemies that our denominations are indeed appointed at the first annual meet- sects. The Board Seeretaries have been occupied with pressing problems ing of the Council and made an ex- nearer at hand. The field workers have been too absorbed in their own cellent and detailed report at the sec- task (which is in fact about the hard- est job in America) to give adequate ond annual meeting. The matter has, time and attention to these problems of cooperation. What then? Are our I think, been before every succeeding fine enthusiasms for brotherliness and cooperation doomed to degenerate session of the Council, taking various into the vice of talking without do- ing? Are our splendid plans destined guises. The report of the chairman to go up like a rocket and come down like a stick? Is there no remedy? « of the Committee on Paper, at the * In accordance with a reccmtmendation of the 1924 session in J~os Angeles, closely Committe3 of The Home Missions Council and Counoil of 'Vornen for Home jIissions provision followed that made in 1914-without was made in the joint budget for salary for part time of an Executive- Secretary for the Inter~ his know~edge, for he was not then a denominational Council on Spanish-Sp.eaking Work in the hope that this will help toward the member — thus testifying to the solution of these problems.
soundness of the plan. Yet the plan WE THANK THEE, LORD has failed of realization. Why? For that high glory of the impartial sun; The matchless pageant of the evening skies; 3. Spanish Literature, in the form The sweet soft gloaming and the friendly of tracts and leaflets. It has been con- sta.rs; 'fhe vesper stillness and the creeping stantly recognized that we have many shades; requirements in common and that we The moon's pale majesty; the pulsing dome, Wherein we feel Thy great heart throbbing could produce far better results at near; less cost by cooperation. At the sec- For sweet laborious days and restful nights: For work to do, and strength to do the ond meeting of the Council the Com- work; mittee on Uterature made practical We thank Thee, Lord I recommendations as follow s: –John O;;enham.
(1) That a careful selection be made and list furnished. of suitable liter- ature now available, (2) That such additional publications as are needed be prepared and published by any publishing house willing to assume financial responsibility.
'I'his proposition also has been be- fore every succeeding session with al- most no tangible results until 1924, when a start was made by the Committee headed by Dr. Vernon McCombs. Rev. C. A. Thomson, Sec- retary of the Council, has retrieved forty usable tracts out of some.bushels of trash, and the list will be made available to all.. Also two short new tracts have been prepared for publi· cation. '
4. Interdenominational Training School for Christian Workers. This subject has been befOre' the 'Council
Woman's Foreign Mission
EDITED BY MISS ELLA D. MACLAURIN, 25 MADISON AVENUE, NEW YORK OITY IVA M. MILLER, M.D. fundamental Health Habits or (Dr.
Dr. Iva M. Miller, whose article on Miller's 'Ten Commandments,' as a Health Education in Ohina appears colleague has dubbed them), with lecin this month's Bulletin, was gradu- tures On the following subjects: ated from the Chicago College of l'I'1edicine and Surgery in 1906. After I. The Importance of Good Health. serving as interne a year each in the II. The Health Habits Explained. Frances Willard National Temper- III. Hygiene of the Eye. IV. Food for the Growing Child; demon- stration on the Uee of the Seales; ance Hospital, Chicago, and in the V. Making Personal Weight Charts, Mary Thompson Hospital, Chicago, and a year as Resident Physician in VI. ~tc. the Methodist Deaconess Hospital, VII. Spokane, Washington, Dr. Miller VIII. Hygiene of the Teeth; Demonstrawent to China as a missionary of the tion (If the Toothbrush Drill. Woman's Foreign Missionary Society IX. of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Daily Hygienic Inspection of Pupils. School Sanitation. Home Sanitation with Methods for the Destruction of Fly and Mos- quito Breeding Places. Health Standards for the School From 1909-1923 she was the Physician Ohild. in charge of the Isabella Fisher Hos- X. Explanation of the Outline, "First pital, 'l'ientsin. Steps in Health Teaching in the Primary Schools."
While on furlough in 1924 Dr. Miller studied at tlle Johns Hopkins "At each session Health Posters to School of Hygiene and Public Health illustrate the topic for the day were in preparation for her new duties in made by small groups and tacked on China in the School Hygiene Depart- the wall where they were available to ment of the Council on Health. students and visitors. 'rhat room was F'rom an article by Dr. Miller in the Health Art Gallery. In addition, the magazine Health (Shanghai) each teacher was supplied with a we get a more intimate glimpse of her Health Drawing Book in which he work than she gives in th"l present drew and explained the Health Habits article. Teachers at their institutes, and numerous other health topics.
preachers at their conferences and Each one was asked to record his soldiers who happened in, as well as daily personal health habits in a students in the schools, welcome en- booklet provided for that purpose.
thusiastically the new health teaching. "Each teacher was given a health Of a Teachers Institute at Ch'angli examination. These were our find- Dr. Miller vvrites as follows: iugs: "Miss Clara Pearl Dyer and Mr. Ages ……………….. 17 to 35 years Vray Congdon, the able Directors of Vision defects …………. 44 per cent the Institute, had arranged a full ~~~~~!~et::~~h :::::::::::::: ~g ~:~ ~::;, schedule for the one hundred teachers Trachoma ……………… 29 per cent who planned to attend, but when one Enlarged tonsils. … 17 per cent hundred and thirty appeared, living quarters and lecture rooms were taxed Deficient lung expansion ….. 95 per cent to the limit. ~ry plan for small Enlarged thyroid ………… 34 per cent Enlarged cervical glands ….. 20 per cent Blood pressure, below normal.. 6 per cent demonstration groups was modified to Blood pressure above normal.. 4 per cent admit fOl'ty-seven to one class, while Insufficient exercise during the the smallest group numbered twenty- !~~~~~o~e~~ .~~d. ~~~~. ~~r~~~ 91 per cent fOllr. The course covered the eleven Organic heart lesion. ….. " '.. 1 per cent 881
. DR. IVA M. MILLE'R, SCHOOL HYGIENE DEPARTMENT, COUNCIL ON HEALTH EDUCATION, SHANGHAI Do not drink sufficient fluids to ed by the Y. M. C. A. and other or- ganizations, the value of the new ways keep the body in good condi· tion ……… . ……..•… 95 per cent to good health. It is not at all uncommon in any No knowledge of a balanced diet …….••… . ……… 100 per cent large city in China today, to hear the On the positive side: terms" health" and" sanitation" used in ordinary conversation. They may Had their tonsils removed … 5 per cent Keep the Health Habits ….. 5 per cent be heard on the lips of the most ig- norant coolie or from a child too Dr. Miller is an ardent advocate of young to enter school. Advertisements and sign-boards tell of health garpreventive measures and health teach- ments, health restaurants, health foods, health laundries, while one city ing and evidently conveys her en- has a large sign on a prominent street which sets forth the virtues of a thusiasm to those with whom she group of health doctors.
works. From many directions come So keen is the desire for a strong healthy body that oftentimes a phymore invitations than it is possible sician or surgeon is asked to prescribe a health potion which can be poured for her to accept. A. G. L. from a bottle. Teachers are eager to learn how the health of their students HEALTH EDUOATION IN OHINA may be improved, mothers are asking for a diet that will make thin babies IVA M. MILLE!<, M.D., C.P.H. fat, while one father was so earnest in his desire to have his son grow to School Hygiene Department, Council on Health Education, Shanghai strong manhood that he begged the doctor to giye him a written guaran- Health education in China is in its tee to that effect! infancy, but it is a lusty infant. Missionaries and returned students im- When Dr. Peter Parker, the, first bued with the health idea have done much to make health education popu- Protestant medical missionary, came lar. Some students and business men who have never been abroad, have learned through the daily papers, from books and lectures, or from the numerou!} he~lt]l {Ampai~!j emuluct-
WiOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSION BULLETIN
to China in 1835, it was estimated trained Public Health worker, was that the death rate in China was chosen as Director. about the same as that in Western countries. Through the knowledge The Child Hygiene Department and practice of hygiene and sanita- was started by Dr. Appleton, who tion in the West, remarkable results laid much stress on Health Centers have been obtained. What has been for Chinese children. No less than done in China 1 Until 1910 medical ten of these Centers have been startwork in China was almost entirely ed in as many different provinces. In curative. About that time, the China connection with the Center, a "Baby Medical Missionary Association se- Show" is held once a year, in which cured the services of Dr. W. W. hundreds of babies are registered. To Peter, China's first Health Educator. have a "prize" baby is the desire of Dr. Peter began his work by giving every mother's heart. These Health health exhibits and lectures at med- Centers have been most eife[ltive in ical and educational conferences. The teaching both mothers and fathers exhibit became so popular that it was about the care and feeding of chilmoved from city to city, until fifteen dren. Women doctors, and in some out of the eighteen provinces had cases, men doctors, have been most been visited. successful leaders in this form of preventive work. These Centers have In 1916 the Council on Health Edu- sometimes been the forerunners of cation came into being. In 1923 it prenatal clinics which are logical was departmentalized into Commu- places for health teaching. In some nity Hygiene, Child Hygiene and places they have stimulated the in- School Hygiene, with an experienced troduction of health teaching in the physician at the head of each. In schools. addition, there is a Department of Business Administration and a De- The School Hygiene Department partment of Chinese Literature. Dr. has endeavored to make health popu- Peter has been the Director of the lar by beginning with the youth of Council since its beginning. China. During the past two years an attempt has been made to promote a Each Department has promoted health program in mission schools, health teaching in its own particular in which the doctor, nurse and physfield. The Community Hygiene De- ical director may [looperate with the partment has given many lectures to teacher by giving health examinations organizations in and about Shanghai. to the students. The follow-up work Last year a city-wide Health Cam- includes correction of defects, health paign was conducted by Dr. Ernest teaching in every grade, improved l'I'Iammen, who was then head of the school sanitation and supervised play. Department. Many requests have Lectures have been given at the ancome from interior and coast cities nual meetings of. the various educafor such help but the one that ap- tional associations, while short, intenpealed most came from the mission- sive courses in Health Teaching have aries in Szechuan Province. Dr. Peter been given in summer schools and left Shanghai in December to attend institutes for primary teachers. Visits the General Conference of Christian have been made to more than 200 Workers held in Chengtu January schools in North, Central and South 15-18, 1925. He spent three months China, where teachers and students in the province promoting health edu- have been most eager to learn ways cation by means of lectures and inter- and mean.c; to promote health in the views. Through the cooperation of school and the community. Dr. S. M. the Szechuan missionaries, a Provin- Woo made a Sanitary Survey of cial Health Association was organized seventy mission schools in which he and the annual budget pledged by found a great need for more attention them. Dr. Wallace Crawford, a to school sanitation. One of t4,e most
effective methods of health teaching available in Chinese. This young has been carried on by our dental missionary listened to the Chinese hygienist, Miss Chang. In the schools airs, wrot~ the mUflie, harmonized the where she has worked, the students tunes and lL'Ied them for the health were reluctant to have her leave. songs which are now being used in many mission schools. She finds the Miss Ethel Thompson, a Methodist " Outline for Teaching Health in missionary teacher, is the pioneer in Lower Primary Schools, " health the new Health Movement in Nan- stories and plays published by the chang, Kiangsi Province. Two years Council on Health Education, to be ago, she began by introducing systematic health teaching in the primary most efi'ectiYe in teaching fundaschool through the teachers to whom mental health habits. she gave regular health instruction. Last year the Council began the In each school a Health Club was or- publieation of a quarterly, bi-lingual ganized of which every student be- magazine called Health. This pericame a member. This club met once odical attempts to help teachers, stua week on Friday afternoon for dents and others by furnishing popuhealtb instruction and demonstration. lar health articles, health stories and Monthly weighing of the students be- plays, in each issue. came an estahlished custom. Health was emphasized in all the teaching. We rejoice that a new generation of Needless to say, students and teachers Christian leader~ with the health are most enthusiastic and parents are point of view is being prepared. We becoming interested. When this work look forward to the time when a new began there were few health songs health conscience will be developed in every community.
BE SURE TO READ THE 'rHRILLING FEATURE .~R'rICLE ON "THE DOCTOR WHO SWALLOWED THE FLUKES" (page 853).
EARLY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING If adult leaders, everywhere, will take time to interest parents and Christmas is the time of oppor- grandparents, aunts and uncles, and tunity. Millions of boys and girls are Sunday-school teachers in this plan, already looking forward in anticipa- they ·will "help three"-the puzzled tion to what they will give, as well as relatives and friends who wonder to what they will receive on December what present to give; the boys and 25th. There is a special charm about girls, who wonder what they are goa gift that comes at Christmas time. ing to receive, and the' magazine editors and publishers who wonder Everyland, the boys' and girls' whether the parents and missionary magazine of world friendship and leaders in America are ever going to world peace, is making a special offer rouse themselves to the need for such of six months' subscription for fifty a magazine and their opportunity of cents beginning with the January making its continuance possible number which will be mailed about through increased circulation.
Christma.s time. * A better and more lasting invest- ment than candy provided by some … The regular subscription price Is $1.50 a Sunday-schools for each pupil, would year. A special club oiTer of $1.00 each fOIl be this six months' subscription to tive or more full Yearly subscriptions is made, with a Christmas gift announcement card. Send EVBrytand. to MiSS M. H. Leavis, West Medford. Mass., for sample copies and s~bscription blanks and Christma.s gift announcement cards which you can mail yourself. .
fROMMANY'lLANDS
NORTH AMERICA Whereas this is an unprecedented gift to the cause of city missions, thus dignify· Federal Council on Prohibition ing and exalting this phase of Christian ac- tivity: THE report on the prohibition situ- ation in the United States, pre- Resolved, That we comm,end the wisdom pared by the Department of Research as well as the generosity of Mr. Lawson in of the Federal Council of Churches, making this bequest. In view of the greater which was reproduced in full by many rc·sponsibility that rests upon the churches newspapers, has aroused much discus- for the evangelization and Christian nurtnre sion. The Board of Temperance of of the varied peoples of a great city and the Methodist Episcopal Church at- the vast obligations and opportunity that tacks it as aiding the "wet" cause. are presented at the present time by the Many" dry" leaders, including Anti· unprecedented growth of Chicago, the gift Saloon League officers, call it "a chal- is timely, and we believe sets a new stand· lenge to the churches." Rev. Samuel ard of giving for city missions. McCrea Cayert, General Secretary of the Council, says: Y. M. C. A. Statistics for Yea.r The report comeR from staunch friends of THE total income of the North prohibition. An effort was made to find the American Y. M. C. A. for the year facts so that they can be frankly faced. 1924-25, $51,874,400, which was $40,7 The churches cannot work effectively unless 000 less than expenditures, was" de: they have an exact and thorough knowledge rived as follows: of the <.onditions that confront them. The report has no relation whatever to the Contributions ….. , ………….. : 26% policy of the Federal Council of Churches Membership dues …………….. or to its official attitude toward prohibition. 'l'uition fees, etc. …………….. 12% The Council itself, as well as the great bulk Endowments, etc. …………….. of the churches composing it, is clearly on Dormitories, Restaurants and Camps 12% record as favoring prohibition. The hour has struck for a constructive program for 7% tomperance education in all churches. With the coming of national prohibition there ~% has been a tendency to rely on legislation alone and to relax educational efforts as to Operating expenditures of the Asthe evils of alcohol and the moral meaning sociation Movement in North .America of temperance. in its year 1924-25 were $51,914,400, divided as follows: Lawson's Gift to City Missions Administration ………………. 23% Activities …… , ………… ' 18% Endowments, etc. '" 21% Dormitories, RestauNllts and camps 28% National Councils, etc. ………… 10% THE Comity Commission of the It is notable that expenditures by Chicago Church Federation, repre- the American public for service to senting seventeen of the Protestant young men and boys, through the denominations in the Chicago area, at North American V. 11. C. A.'s, have its September meeting passed unani- doubled since 1918, the last year of mously the following resolution: the war. Nearly 100,000 business and Whereas it has become generally known professional men directed this fifty- million-dollar service, giving their that the Chieago Congregational Soeiety has time without compensation on boards and committees of local Associations, been made a beneficiary in the will of the state and national organizations, and· training schools. Of the 965,921 'late Victor F. Lawson ill the amonnt of members 247,351 are boys.
$1,m,OOO as a direct bequest and also a participant in the residue of his estate, which promises greatly to increase the total bequest; and ~ 891
The Country Church Today tion from a number of institutions AT the meeting of the American concerning their readiness to inaugu- Country Life Association, the Ro- rate at an early date standard deman Catholics were present in force, partments of religious education and though they are a minor factor in the then selected Maryville College in rural life of America. The rural Tennessee and Trinity University in churches are predominantly Protes- Texas as those best prepared to take tant, and at the present time sick the forward step promptly and most unto death. It is the testimony of in need of stimulus from without. Farm Bureau leaders that they are Each of these colleges will receive the securing much more cooperation from income of half of the fund !riven, pro- Catholics than from Protestants. A vided they qualify by March 31, writer in The Christian Century 1926. The requirement of each colmakes these statements, and has the lege is that it shall have a total of following explanation to offer: "Only $100,000 from other sources by the a few years ago there was a great date namea, and that it shall then deal of talk about a new kind of rural maintain a department of religious church. Books were written by ex- education in which are three full-time perts, and in many cases home mis- teachers, giving their time to the teaching of the Bible and related subsionary societies set up a rural de- jects, and which is fully prepared to partment. But the interest cooled off enable a student to major in that dealmost as quickly as it came. In some partment. The donor also provides denominations the departments per- that the Board of Christian Educaished. The reason is apparent as tion shall be the judge as to whether soon as one surveys the literature that a standard department of religious was produced by unbiased sociological education is actually maintained. experts. They were a unit in declar- ing that there were too many churches, far too many. The remedy Training Negro Preachers T suggested squinted in the direction HE Negro theological schools are today nearly all of lower status of the community church. Denominational leaders .took fright at the than other schools for the higher edutendency of the movement. Since cation of Negroes, with lower entrance then much less has been heard about and graduation requirements and the needs of the rural church. At comparatively small enrollment, acthe same time the more brainy citi- cording to the findings of a survey zenship of the open country is rapid- made under the direction of the Inly leaving the churches…… The stitute of Social and Religious Re- Catholic hope to profit by this situa- search, of New York City, by Dr. tion is probably futile. The hazard is Robert L. Kelly, author of "Theonot that the open country will be logical Education in America." The Roman Catholic. Instead of that we survey, written by Mr. Daniel, himface the possibility of a whole gener- self a Negro, states that the Negro ation of rural leadership that will be ministers are not so well educated as cynical and indifferent about organ- men of their race trained for other ized religion." occupations, and that their influence An Educational Experiment as leaders of their people is diminish- ing. All the Negro schools in the THE first of what will probably be United States that adyertised theo- a series of Presbyterian Schools logical courses in 1923-24 were includof Religious Education is made pos- ed in the survey, which showed that sible by a gift of $100,000 from a if all their graduates of last year had Philadelphia member of the Southern gone directly into the ministry, as is Presbyterian Board of Christian Edu- usually the case, less than three per cation. The donor secured informa· cent of the annual vacancies, esti-
NEWS FROM MANY LANDS
mated at from 1,500 to 2,000, in the the Board of National Missions of the Negro churches could have been filled Presbyterian Church, North. There by men "whose combined literary are in this presbytery some twelve and theological training would be churches, seven active ministers and equivalent to three years above high a membership of more than five hun- school. " dred. One of the ministers, Rev. J. R.
Salvation ArDlY Training Vilt, came to Needville, Texas, some years ago and began work. He has THE Salvation .Army conducts in been successful even beyond his breth- the Bronx, New York City, a training school for officers which the ren because of his energy and zeal. Literary Digest calls its " West This is a farming community in the Point." Qualifying for the course black land district of Texas. It is comes only as a reward of three or largely foreign in population; ninety four years' training in the army atmosphere, and cadets are picked with per cent of the people, it is estimata special eye to the quality of their ed, are German and Bohemian. When Mr. Vilt came the Ijutherans had the resolution, for life in the .Army is not only Protestant church in the coma mere matter of drum-beating and munity, aside from the Bohemian psalm-singing. When the year in col- work. Most of the people were Cathlege is finished the graduates become probationary officers, commissioned olic. Because the Lutherans were without a pastor, Mr. Vilt began either as lieutenants or captains, when preaching to them in German and they must undergo trial for another later became their pastor. He continyear. They must study during this period, and are required to read ued, as well, his work among his own specified books, on which they must people. This year the Bohemians afterward pass an examination. If have built a beautiful Presbyterian church costing over $5,000, without any aid from the Board.
they measure up at the end of this An Alaskan BoY'$ Appeal period they attain the full rank of officers. The college is conducted on AT the beginning of the school year a military basis, and students rise by the principal of the Sheldon bugle at 6; 30 in the morning and go Jackson School at Sitka, Alaska, re- to bed by "taps" at 10 o'clock. Each ceived a telegram from a native boy, student takes care of his own bed, inquiring, "Is there room for me f does his own laundry, and has a cer- James." The boy could not be identain part of the building to keep tified and somewhere in Alaska is this clean. They are exceptionally well boy hungering :1'01' education and housed in a fine Gothic building orig- pleadingly telegraphing, "Is there inally built as an orphanage, but room for me f" The school was soon acquired some few years ago by the filled up for the coming winter and Army. Students do all of the cook- there will be many applicants that ing and handle the everyday tasks must be turned away, about forty be- throughout. ing refused admittance last year .fur lack of room.
A Presbytery of BohemiaJUI I N view of the home mission study LATIN AMERICA topic for the current year, "The American Missionaries in Haiti Slavs in America," it is of especial THE Massachusetts Baptist Misinterest to learn that there is in Texas sionary Society appointed Rev. a presbytery made up entirely of Thomas Paul as the first Protestant Czecho-Slovakians. It is known as missionary to Haiti on March 5, 1823. Southwest Bohemian Presbytery, and The appointment was for six months, the work is nnder the direction of the with the understanding that if the Department of Town and Country of work developed, it was to be contin-
ued. Mr. Paul visited the capital of work there, and at several other Haiti, was well received by the presi- places on the island.
dent, and was given every assurance of welcome and cooperation by the Women's Work in Mexico authorities. He settled in Cape Hai- WOMAN is taking a much more imtien, hired a hall, and furnished it. portant place in life in Mexico He held one baptismal service, re- than she did twenty or even ten years turned to Boston at the close of the ago. according to lVII's. W. A. Ross, of year and reported on the open door. the' Southern Presbyterian Church. No further action was taken. "Since the Revolution, which brought In the decade 1840-50 the churches sorrow and loss and poverty into in the North were agitated over the thousands of homes, woman has enquestion of slavery. A group of abo- tered into business, into the profeslitionists protested against the Bap- sions of nursing, medicine, law, and tist Missionary Union receiving funds even into politics. She is taking her from Baptists in the South who prac- stand along with the men. Today we ticed or condoned slavery and they find the Mexican woman everywhere, wished the Missionary Union and the doing her share to care for the home, Home Mission Society to take a more her family, and her country; and outspoken and uncompromising stand on the question. As a protest against even in the church she has been given what seemed to them to be a tem- the privilege of doing more than sitporizing policy, these radical aboli- ting on her side of the aisle, wrapped tionists organized " The American in her black shawl. Today women Baptist Free Mission Society" and are acting as superintendents of Sunfounded a mission station in Haiti. day-schools studying to be deacon.- Their first missionary (Mr. Jones), esses, going into villages, preaching, remained on the island only a few teaching, and living the Gospel. The years and in 1847 they sent out W. H. wom~n of the Methodist Church are Judd, of New York State who re- well organized into F;ocieties, have mained until his death, in 1869. He their own church paper, their secre- 'founded the First Baptist Church of tary of woman's work, and are doing a constructiye work, both in church Port-an-Prince, which is still in exist- and community. The Baptist women also are organized with a yearly proence. The pastor at present is a Haitian, who graduated from Colgate gram, and have for the past two years University and Newton Theological been sending a missionary to the In- Institution. dians in the state of Oaxaca." A The English Baptists founded a beginning has now been made in or- station at Jacmel, on the south coast, ganizing the Mexican Presbyterian in 1845 and maintained missionaries women. there until] 885, since which time no help has come from En!!land. The Prohibition in Latin America church at Jacmel is large, and full T of life, and has reached the entire H:fJ strikingly successful prohibi- tion movement in the state of San south coast of Haiti with the Gospel. They are very backward in education Luis Potosi, JliIexico, was described in and comparatively few can read or the March REVIEW, and it was also write. They need help in developing stated that Calles, President of Mex- leaders, pastors and teachers for the ico, is a prohibitionist. Reports have extension of their work all over the now come that the state of Vera Cruz island. About two years ago The has enacted restrictive laws against American Baptist Home Mission So- alcoholism, tripled the tax on distil- ciety made a beginning at J acmel in leries and raised very bigh the license connection with the more vigorous on saloons. The effect has been to Baptist group, and now carryon close more than sixty per cent of the
NEWS }'ROM MANY LANDS
saloons in two months. A strong tors. The inner mission embraces group of prohibitionists in the state 600 local societies. The Danish Mis- congress is working actively to sup- sionary Society, which was established press alcoholism. 'rhe plan is to form in 1821, had in 1922 in Southern a strong committee at the capital of India 46 missionaries and 9 native the state to work for the enforcement pastors with 264 other native helpers, of laws and direct. the general fight caring for 3,595 native Christians and against saloons. The Federal Goyern- 4,038 school children; and in Man- ment has promised to help materially churia, 78 missionaries, one native in thc propaganda against alcohol and pastor and 198 other helpers, caring the Department of Education is giv- for 2.486 native Christians and 1,770 ing free use of the mail for publica- school children. Other foreign mis- tions on temperance and prohibition. sionary work carried on by Danish A prohibition fight is also on in Lutherans is among the Santals of Brazil, where there are three temper- North India and in Syria.
ance organizations, the International Order of Good Templars, with three Fascismo and the Vatican chapters, the National IJeague Against COUNT CIPPlCO, Italian repre- Alcohol, whose president is Dr. sentative at the Williamstown In- Miguel Calmon, Minister of Agricul- stitute of Politics, discussed in an ture, and a ~I[unieipal Club in Porto interview the present friendly rela- Alegre, in the State of Rio Grande tions between the Italian Government do SuI, where the medical students and the Roman Church. He spoke have started a fight against intoxi- of the fact that Mussolini has always cating drinks. been" a good Catholic, " and said that the crucifix has now been brought South American Lepers back into the public schools. For MISSION study classes, taking up many years before the rise of Fas- the study of IJatin America, will cismo the strongest influence in the be interested in It speeial leaflet on attitude of the Government toward South American Lepers, of whom the Church had been" the Jifassoneria, there are some HO,OOO on the conti- that is, the l'dason~, as you call them; nent. Nearly all of them are in need but they are not like the Masons in of Christian help, which some mis- America and England-a noble, be- sionaries are trying to give. Thif; nevolent society-but a dark, secret eight-page leaflet, published by The sect which has always done its worst American Mission to Leners, 156 against the church and is now con- :F'ifth Avenue, New York City, may ducting a most venomous campaign be obtained at 2 cents a copy or 10 of lies against l!'ascismo." According cents a dozen. to Count Cippico. the Church has never felt itself as free and respected EUROPE as now. Daily processions of pil- Lutheran Strength in Denmark grims pass through the streets to the OUT of a population in Denmark Vatican during- this Jubilee Year, of 3,289,195 persons, 3,200,373 never interfered with. Only nve are members of the Evangelical years ago such things would not have Lutheran Church. which is divided in- been possible.
to nine districts, each in charge of a bishop. The" inner mission move- Pastor Fetler's Work in Riga T ment," as it is called by The Luther- HE service connected with the lay- ing of the cornerstone of the new an, is a free activity within the Danish Church, sending out laymen as tabernacle in Riga, in which Rev. missionaries. About 200 such mis- Wm. Fetler and his associates hope sionaries are employed in addition to to do a still larger work than has 150 colporteurs and a number of pas- before been possible, was conducted
in the Russian, Lettish and English instituted their proceedings, as a relanguages. The meeting lasted about sult of which he was convicted and four hours in the open air, and im- sentenced to lose his position in the mediately afterwards another meeting university. Such stirrings of indewas held in the large tent that has pendent thought are full of promise been ereeted on a portion of the site, for missions to Moslems. and which will be used for some time for the Russian meetings formerly Islam in Africa held in the overerowded ' ,Revival House." At this latter meeting en- CHRISTIAN missionaries continue velopes were issued, and amounts re- to emphasize the seriousness of ceived and promised for the new this menace. Mrs. Edwin Cozzens, building. Mr. Fetler and his friends of the Cameroun Mission of the Presfeel that this New Tabernacle is a byterian Church in the U. S. A., necessity for the efficient carrying on writes: of the work among the Russians in Riga, and he has received from Amer- "Where the Gosnel is preached iean friends the amount required for first, there is no fear of Mohammed. the purchase of the site on which But to the east and northeast of the stands a building suitable for the be- territory occupied bv the French ginning of the Bible School and the Protestant and the Presbyterian Misoffices. si()ns there lies a great unoccupied gap, a No Man's Land-neither AFRIOA Christ, 's nor Mohammed's. But mark this. Mohammed has his advance Heretic Moslem Professor guards in that No Man's Land in the person of the Haussa traders. They THE trial of Sheikh Ali Abdel barter first with soap, salt and beads, Razek, held by the Superior Coun- but finally with souls. From our cil of AI Azhar, the great Moham- eastern frontier almost to the center medan university in Cairo, where he of the Continent in the French Sudan, was professor of religious jurispru- where the Heart of Africa Mission is dence, was reported in the New York working, there are no messengers of Times. In his recently published the Cross….. On the east bank of the book, "Islam and the Principles of Congo and its northern tributaries Government, " the sheikh propounds the Mohammedans are being hamthe theory that the Moslem code is in- pered and stopped in their progress, tended solely as a guide to personal notably among others by the Africa conduct and is not for incorporation Inland Mission. On the west bank: in government statutes. He discusses of the Congo there are no Mohamcurrent Islamic questions from an ad- medans, except in the immediate vivanced viewpoint hitherto unknown cinity of our own Presbyterian in Egypt. His statement that the Mission and the French Protestant Caliphate never was essential and in- Mission, in the Cameroun. dispensable to Islamic institutions, his condemnation of polygamy and his "Successes in the Sudan" severe criticism of the status of Egyptian women naturally aroused UNDER this title, to which they add the intense opposition of the Moslem the word" surprising," the Unitauthorities, who demanded that the ed Presbyterians, report the following Government prosecute the author. features of their work: When it refused to do so they launched a newspaper offensive. This, 1. In Oacupation: Thirty-four mission· however, fell fiat, even evoking edi- aries occupying three main stations, protorials cordially supporting the dar- moting work in numerous out-stations and ing Sheikh's championship of free- launching the new mission of Abyssinia, dom. Finally the Al Azhar elergy which now bas 24 missionaries. 2. 1" Translation: Gospel of John translated and printed in Shulla; other Bible portions and material translated for school work; similar efforts among the half million Nuers. 3.
NEWS FROM MANY LANDS
It; Evangel'ization: One organized, self- ting that the natives are the real supporting congregation ~n. the North. Su?an working class in South Africa. "Some with several groups wa1tmg orgamzatlOn. of the things said in the debate, " says From darkest paganism, 108 Nuers discipled The Christian Advoca.te, "will remind an American of. things that are being into Christ, 9 Anuaks, although we have no mission to the AnlL'lks, and 36 Shullas_ 4.
In Education: In the North Sudan, 11 said in the United States. For exschools with 1,371 pupils enrolled and contributing over $10,000 for their education. ample, the ~Enister of J'ustice de- clared that no one ought to be allowed South African Conference to hold office in South Africa except- ing native whites, though the editors ·HE Sixth General Missionary Con- and scientific men are almost all emi- Tference of South Africa was held grants from Great Britain."
in Johannesburg from .Tune 30th to JUly 3d. There was a large attendance of members and friends, prac- In Livingstone's Field D ticallv all the churches and societies. AVrD LIVINGSTONE wrote in 1847: "We have now been a at w~rk in the sub-continent being represented, and Rev. S. M. Zwemer, little more than a vear with the Bak- D.D. was one of the speakers. The wena. No conversions have taken resolutions adopted by the conference place, but real progress has been included one expressing deep appre- made." One of his present-day succiation of the services rendered by cessors in the work of the London Dr. Donald Fraser and the Rev. Ar- Missionary Society writes of having nold Bryson, together with their examined forty-two Bakwena candivarious colleagues, in the missionary dates for baptism, and continues: campaign recently conducted through- " The majority are women; the ages out South Africa. Another urged run from sixteen to sixty; the numthat members of the Conference make ber of years spent in preparing for all possible use of suitable literature the examination varies, the least bein presenting to Moslems the Chris- ing two and the most seven; all but tian message and secure such liter- twelve can read; twenty come from ature from the Nile Mission Press, heathen homes; seventeen were conand a third stated that the Conference verted by reading their Bibles, eight would welcome any effort to secnre the by sermons, seven by dreams and appointment of a'. trained missionary visions, three by hymns, and the rest to work among the Moslems of South by fear of: death or by reading Chris- Africa, and would commend to the tian books. Of the number converted South African churches the wisdom by rea(ling their Bibles five said that of sharing in the support of such a it was the great Invitation in Matt_ missionary. 11 : 28-30, which drew them to the Master. One would expect these five "The Color Bar Bill" to be- old men and old women weary THIS bill, introduced by the Gov- of life, but on examination I find that ernment of South Africa. has been they are all young women from ninecalled "the most important measure teen to twenty-four. It seems strange acted on at this year's session of the that this should be so until one re- legislature of the Republic of South members that. at that age t.he life of Africa." It would have made it a such a woman is very trying. She has penal offense for any native (Negro), left school and has become a bread- however competent, to take a white winner for the family. From early man's job at a skilled trade. The bill morning until late at night she has to went through the lower house by a work; this is espeeially true when substantial majority, but after a hard she has to weed the gardens under the fight was rejected by the Senate. The fierce rays of an African summer sun bill is fathered by the group which or reap the fields in the cold of calls itself the Labor Party, forget- winter. "-L. M. S. Chronicle.
S
African Missionary Society descendants received twice as much A HOME missionary society, to be as female. The new code gives great known as the "Society to Aid in freedom to the press, but also places Evangelization, " has been organized heavy responsibilities. The right of by the African Christians in Ques- Cabinet members to close newspapers :sua, Angola, aceording to Mrs. R. B. is suspended. The courts alone may Kipp, a missionary of the Methodist fix responsibilities and penalties. Se- Episcopal Church. The natives have vere penalties are enumerated fOl' raised sufficient money 'to send one actions against the State, be they atof their own pastors to a distant out- tacks caused by reaction, fanaticism post and propose to support him and or foreign intrigne. The dominant other home missionaries. "People note is that those who attack the State are coming to us from long distances should be treated more severely than asking for teachers and pastors,' , ordinary assassins.
says ~frs. Kipp. "This last week two men came a distanee of forty miles Bibles in Near East Schools D with the news that 130 of their fel- URING the past two years, 18,000 copies of the Bible have been dislows had given up their idols and want someone there to teach them. tributed in the orphanages of the 'rhey say that if the present location Near East Relief. These Bibles, of their village does not suit the mis- printed in eight languages, were se- sionaries, they will indicate another cured through the cooperation of the to which they will move. At another American and British Bible Societies, point where there is a cluster of small the Greek and Armenian churches, native villages which have hitherto and various other religious bodies. A been considered heathen, twenty-one great many English Bibles have men have promised to begin building found their way to the foreign depots at once a house for chapel and school, of the relief organization, frequently if we will send a teacher. The women gifts of individuals in America. In and children want to help also. At many cases an American church mem- Quessua, after several days of prayer ber, contributing an old cloak or suit and preaching and instruction, 100 to the annual Bundle Day campaign, persons were added to the roll of has tucked a Bible or an English preparatory membership in the Meth- Testament into one of the pockets, odist Episcopal Church and twenty- forgetting that veI'y few of the refu- seven were received into full mem- g'ees are able to read even a single bership receutly.' , word of English. These Bibles are carefully sorted out, and are distrib- THE NEAR EAST uted to the teachers or to students in A New Legal <lode for Turkey English classes for use as textbooks.
A NEW and modern legal code for In most Near Eastern countries, the Turkey, designed to sweep away Bible has been used for centuries as· the old laws based on the Koran, has the basic textbook for instruction in been completed b~T a commission of schools. It is the standard book in experts and will be placed before the language teaching and for classes in Grand National Assembly at Angora the native grammar and writing, for adoption when next that body meets. The civil code of Switzerland while many of the Psalms are intoned and the commercial code of Germany by the singing classes, singing being a favorite subject of study.
have been models for the work of the commission. Polygamy is completely Alexandropol Renamed T abolished, civil marriages only are HE city of Alexandropol, metrop- olis of Armenia, will henceforth legal and the right of inheritance by will is adopted. By the old law wills be officially known as Leninikan, havwere not legal, and automatically male ing been renamed in accordance with
1925J NEWS FROM MANX LANDS
the Russian plan of wiping out all Christians. I had the good fortune place names associated with the days to engage two young men who forof the Czars. Alexandropol, located merly were students of mine in the on the slope of Mount Ararat, is best American University of Beirut. Other known today, however, as the "City teachers were also added until we of Children," it having been selected had seven persons teaching in the by the Near East Relief as the site boys' school, and three in the girls' for orphanages housing at variou~ school. We admitted by January times from 12,000 to 20,000 Armenian first, in both schools, 180 pupils, and refugee children. The American then closed the door rigorously to a orphanage plant occupies more than waiting list and new applicants." Of 500 acres of the fertile Ararat plain, these young people who are paying and includes more than 300 buildings. high tuition fees for Christian educa- The larger dormitories are named tion, only thirty-four are from Protafter the American states. Nearly estant hcmes, The others. including 12,000 children are now housed there, twenty-one Moslems, represent ten receiving a modern industrial train- religions and the various races which ing which makes them self-supporting mingle in cosmopolitan Ba~hdad. as fast as they reach the age of sixteen years. INDIA AND MALAYSIA Turks and MosuI Ohristians Vote for a "Dry" India.
WHILE 'the League of Nations was THE Legislative Assembly of India considering in September the dis- went on record in September as pute between Great Britain and favoring ultimate complete dryness Turkey on the llosul boundary, tele- for the country. Against the combined grams from Chaldean priests living forces of the Government and a in territory under Turkish rule for- strong lobby of "European interwarded to the Secretariat of the ests," the Indian Assembly adopted League by the British High Commis- the motion of a Moslem member recsioner at Baghdad stated that the ommending that the Government ac- Turks were driving Christians out of cept a policy of eventual prohibition the Goyan district of Mosul at the of the liquor traffic save for medicinal point of the bayonet after confiscating and scientific purposes. Under the their property. The Turks answered scheme just approved India would be the charge by persisting in their brought gradually but surely to comdeclarations that all Christians left plete dryness. The rigid control of the territory a year ago. the importation of spirituous liquors would be the first step and the pro- lIIlission Schools in Baghdad vincial governments would be asked REV. CALVIN K. STAUDT, one to introduce legislation vesting con- of the pioneer group of Amer- trol in local licensing boards elected ican Reformed and Presbyterian mis- by popular franchise. Trading in sionaries at work in Mesopotamia, this traffic would be regulated bya writes' of the remarkable way in system of local option wherever poswhich Christian schools have devel- sible.
oped in Baghdad under his leadership The Assembly, which was inaugu- in only one year. In the summer of rated in February, 1921, has the 1924, he says, "the school opened in power, with certain restrictions, to a quiet way, with a handful of pupils legislate for all Indians. Its projects and two native teachers. New pupils of laws must be countersigned by the began to arrive daily, and among King and ratified by the British Par- them were a number of larger boys liament. The prohibition motion who wanted advanced work. They adopted by the Legislative Assembly were Jews, Moslems and Oriental of India is, like hundreds of others
adopted by the same body, merely an given to the village god-a stone from expression of oninion. the river. The god was taken out of the temple when the leaders became Gambling Evil in Bombay Christian, and carefully kept by the teacher. It is only a large pebble THE Executive Committee of the washed smooth on the banks of the Bombay Christian Council passed sacred Cauvery. It took centuries and in August a strong resolution on the millenniums to smooth and round it. moral dangers involved in the present An iconoclast would have thrown the increase of betting and gambling. The god away. 'rhe Indian, however, Dnyanodaya offers the following ex- though he had become Christian, was planation of the situation which made afraid to cast away this sacred emthe resolution necessary: "One of the blem which had been worshipped by gravest deveiopments in recent years his forefathers, and so he carefully in Western India has been the indi- kept it in a dark place in the roof of rect encouragement given by the his house till I asked for it, when he Bombay Government to the Western gave it to me with a sigh of relief. India Turf OIub, by the Governors It cannot harm the Englishman, and attending the horse races 'in state' he is no longer responsible." and by various other methods. It is to be feared that too many charitable India. Studying Christ organizations h a v e compromised themselves and fettered their own lips REV. W. S. HOLLAND, of the by accepting gifts from this same Church Missionary Society, for- Turf Club, which must be regarded merly in Calcutta and now president as having become a grave menace to of a college in Travancore, writes in the moral life of the community. the Mission Pield of the S. P. G.: Vith third-class enclosures provided, "'l'he Hindus seem specially accesspecial trains at reduced fares for all sible to Christianity just now. There classes of passengers, and generous is no doubt that Gandhi's arrest has doles to various charities (some of had a strangely unforeseeable effect_ them, we regret, accepted by Chris- Missionaries from all over the countian organizations), we have come to try will tell you that the story of be surrounded in Western India by a Gandhi's arrest, trial, and imprisonveritable network of temptation to ment has set the Hindus thinking with our poor Christian people, not a few a new wistfulness of the gentleness of whom are being further entrapped of Christ. They recognize that Christ by being led to offer their services, in is unmistakably the inspiration and return for the ever-needed remunera- model of the man whose bearing and tion. " spirit they so immensely admire. They want to understand and see for them- A Stone for a God selves. Never have I during all my time in India known Hindus so acces- W J. HATCH writes in the Em- sible, so responsive; just when one pire Review: "Not far from would expect them to be most angry t here is a village I often visit. The Christianity is receiving a new pubpeople are of the Panchama caste, and licity through the Indian press. One some of them went to Mesopotamia, seldom takes up a Hindu political and helped to win the war, and save weekly or monthly paper without the Empire. They earn their living, finding some explicit recognition or generally a poor one, at farming and discussion of the teachings of Christ, rope-making. The unusual thing and always respectfully sympathetabout this village is that the old ic." Another aspect of the situation Hindu temple has been handed over is shown in the reference in the to the Mission, and is now their Chris- Church Missional'Y Review to a Brahtian church, and regular service i" min lawyer, who is quoted as saying conducted where once worship was
1925J NEWS FROM MANY LANDS
to a missionary during the course of fellow (the son of a rich man in the a long conversation about the spread town) who had attended our school.
of Christian ideals among the educat- He became a Christian and an ascetic, ed classes: " It's an interesting thing going from place to place preaching that though there have been lfoham- like Sadhu Sundar Singh. He has medans in India for a thousand years, just returned from a long tour. His you never hear a Hindu say, 'I wish father does not refuse him entrance you were more like the Prophet.' We into the home, but he has to eat his have known of Christianity for only food on the veranda. He only asks a quarter of that time, but there is of his father sufficient of his share of no educated Hindu who would not the patrimony to enable him to con- Slty to any Christian, ' I wish you tinue his preaching tours without the were more like .Jesus Christ.' " necessity of begging. His father said: 'Why do you not join the Roman Pilgritn. from the East Indies Catholics ~ 'l'hey keep caste whereas NEW light on the report that the these people do not.' Netherlands Government is en- "A different case is the following: couraging its Moslem subjects in the A Christian friend told me that when East Indies to make the pilgrimage visiting a sacred place he round sitto Mecca is shown by a letter from ting there a Brahmin ascetic who had A. J. Barnouw to the Netherland- taken the vow of silence. As the two America Foundation. This states looked one another in the face there that from' :!V1ecca, where they have seemed something familiar, and then come under the influence of the anti- the ascetic took his slate and wrote: European spirit in the Islamic world, 'Do you not remember meV I was the pilgrims return to their native your classmate in the Madras Chrisvillages wearing the turban of the tian College. I have taken the vow had.ii, in token of their accomplish- of silence to prevent my relatives ment of this act or devotion, and fre- from forcing me into hasty action. I quently imbued with the spirit or am not sure of my message to my resentment against infidel rule. They countrymen yet. I am searching for consider manual labor beneath them it in quiet meditation.' There are and, for their idle hands, Satan finds many like that."
the task or spreading discontent among their stay-at-home fellows and Plight of a Low-Caste Man causing trouble to the authorities. ABENARES newspaper recently The Netherlands Government, instead publiRhed a contribution from a of restricting the pilgrimages, dis- low-caste Hindu, part of which reads: turbing as their results are, believes "I tell you the truth, God being my a wiser policy is to facilitate the witness. I took a bath and went to voyages to the shrines, on the theory the. temple to make the water oblathat the hadji, when he ceases to be tion. The priest ordered me to go an exception, will lose in prestige and away as I had no right there. I reinfluence; as more and more of these plied that God was not under any satisfied pilgrims return, they will special man's contract but was for all. inspire less awe among the villagers. The priest then became angry and Hence the ships of the Nederland said, 'Do you not know that it is a Company carry the travelers to the command of the Shastras that should port of Jidda, whence they go by a low caste man (inadvertently) hear caravan to the holy places. a text of the Vedas molten lead should Types of India.n Seekers be pOUl'ed into his ears, and should he pronounce any text of the Shastras AN English missionary writes in his mouth should be stitched up l' I the L. ll1. S. Chronicle: "I had went away sorrowful in spirit, and a visit a few days al!'o from a young I began to think, '0 God, where shall
I go and in what temple shall I wor- China, at home, or in a factory, or a ship Thee? Shall I become a Chris- place like this, become wage-earners tian or a Mohammedan l' I said to before they have reached their sixth my mothfr, 'Come along, Mother, we year. It is an eyil that all religions and all our family shall become Chris- organizations in the Orient are united tians, this Hindu religion is of no in combating.
use to us.' On that my mother began to weep exceedingly. 'My Ron, we Milita.rist Tyra.nny in China are followers of Ram and we are real· WHA'r the peasant population of ly of the warrior caste.' While this China, particularly of Honan was going on a brother of the Arya Province, is suffering at the hands of Samaj turned up, and asked what all s01diers iB depicted in the following the trouble was about, I told him the f'tatements in the China Illustrated full story. He said that was no need Review: "Any farmer foolish enough for us to become either Christians or to drive a cart on any main road is Mohammedans, 'Come along, the at once deprived of its use. Soldiers door of the Arya Samaj' temple is are being quartered in houses of reopen for you and our teachers are spectable folks, and behave themselves ready to instruct you.' " in obnoxious ways. Every factory, farmhouse, inn, and dwelling place CHINA within reach of the main road is oc- Child Labor cupied by soldiers, who do not hesi- ALTHOUGH the National Chinese tate to burn the doors, windows, and Christian Conference in 1922 other wooden fittings, to keep their took a positive stand in favor of one precious hides warm. Every inn seen day's rest in seven, and against child was either full of soldiers. or else had labor, those principles are little recog- been left for more comfortable quarnized by Chinese in general. Mis- ters after having been systematically sionaries and Ohristian Association wrecked. l'Jvery temple is either secretaries, when making a contract ruined, or is in process of being for a building, have a clause inserted ruined by these ruffians, who respect prohibiting work on the Sabbath and neither beauty nor religion." A the employment of child labor, but writcr in The Continent describes they findit difficult to get the clause }JQW thousands of civilians are enforced. – "I succeeded in prevailing sn.atched from their regular pursuits on the workmen to cease their Sab· for transport duty. These men arc bath work," writes a secretary of the herded into a lara-e Ollen house ot' Young Women's Christian Associa- courtyard, fed on.ly once or twice a tion in Shanghai, "but judge of my day, and given nothing to sleep on. surprise at finding it almost impose When the troops move they are taken sible to end the employment of child miles from home, und left t.o get back labor. If I went to the house stealth- as best they can. Some are gone for ily, I would hear a child's voice, but months, and some are gone forever. I could never go so quietly or pop in It is good to remember that it is in on t.hem so unexpectedly, that I could contrast with such soldiers as these find the child. They would shake' that General Feng's army stands out their heads, declaring there was no as such a witness to the power of child there. One day I refused to Ohristianity.
take their word, made search, and found a child of nve hidden under a Questions o£ Chinese Student.
P stairway. His little hands and feet ROFESSOR WILLIAM HUNG, of the theological department of had been serving the workmen against my orders, a look-out telling them Peking University, is quoted in the when I was coming in timp. for them Christian Century as follows: "At to hide the child away." Children of Peking University every freshman is
NEWS FROM MANY LANDS
required to take four semester hours ment. Thev also decided to open of religion. This;1Tear's course at the work among the Mongolians." men '8 college is known as 'The Fundamentals of Ji1aith,' and the method A Prayer of .. Chinese Girl of the course is for each student to submit a series of questions on certain MISS CUF]'ORD BARRETT, a religious problems, each of which is teacher in the school for girls brought up in class for discussion conducted by Southern Baptists in after having been classified and rear- Pochow, Anhwei Province, writes of ranged. Among the fifty students, five girls who are working very hard thirty-six call themselves Christians, on a Bible study course. She says: three Confucianists, and nine students "After they had recited to me the specify that they have no religion. part of the course on which they had Among the most frequently asked prepared, ahout three weeks ago I questions arc theRe: Is there a future suggested that we all have a little life? What is religion 1 Can a man prayer meeting together. I waS quite live a noble life without believing in impressed with the prayer of one of any religion ~ How can we prove the the girls who is about twelve years existence of God? Where is God? old. She ~aid: 'Dear Lord Jesus, you Why does God permit evil? What is know that I love you and want to give the trinity? Is Christ man or God? my whole self to you. My mother is Were the :r,niracles of Jesus true'? not willing to let me unbind my feet. How can the death of Christ save us? Please, Lord, make her willing to let What and where is the kingdom of me do this. My mother does not Un- God 1" derstand the J esm doctrine, and she dMs not want my father to join the <lhinese Home Missions church, though he has already been examined for baptism. Do not let her REv. WARREN H. STUART, keep on hindering my father. Please, D.D., oj' the Southern Baptist Lord, open her heart and make her Church, writes that the China Home willing for my older sister, my little Missionary Society is "the brightest hrother, myself and all our family to light on China's dark horizon." He be Christians. I know that I have says: "It is cooperative, uniting in many sins. Please, Lord, forgive a common enterprise Christians who them all.' " are divided according to Western denominations. It is full of faith .and A Strange Group Baptized hope and love and power. Its mis- Hionaries are welcome and make them- BIS:HOP KEENEY, of the Methselves at horne in any part of China. odist Church in Foochow, China, They and their successors will carry tells the following story: A poor but on the work long after we foreigners industrious Chinese left Futsing with have passed away. At the annual his wife years ago for Java, where he meeting of the Society held in Nan- prospered in business and became king, only forty of the one hundred very wealthy. 'rwo other wives were members were able to come, due to added to his family, for one of whom disturbed conditions. In spite of dif- he built an additional mansion where ficulties, they were full of faith and he regularly spent his week-ends. courage, and made great plans for the Four daughters were born to these future. They decided to hold next three wives. 'I'he father was anxious summer in Peking a great Home Mis- that they should he educated not only sion Convention, with perhaps 400 in his native Foochow dialect, but delegates. Its object will be to arouse also in classical Mandarin. He there" a nation·wirle interest in the enter- fore sent back to his native city and prise, and to unite local and denom- asked a friend to secure the best inational efforts in one great move- teacher possible who could speak both languages. The only one who met all
the conditions was a beautiful Chris- and chapel. This. besides the other tian young woman from the Methodist expenses of opening the station, will mission school. On going to Java she be met from the Shelton Memorial became a member of the family and Fund. surprised them all by not being afraid of evil spirits in the dark. When JAPAN-KOREA 8,sked the reason she told her simple Christian experience. Two of the Japanese Women Attack Vice mothers and the daughters heard with gladness. It was not lon~ before they THE Women's Christian Temperbelieved in Jesus and under the in- ance Association in Japan has alfluence of the beautiful Christian life ways fought in the van of the battle of the teacher eame to love Him. being waged against legalized vice, However, they could not openly con- and through its efforts a bill aiming fess Christ because of the opposition at the abolition of this evil was this of the father, but they took advantage year brought before the Diet. It of his absence each week-end to at- seemed a great victory for righteoustend the church and Bible school on ness that one third of the votes of the Sunday. On the death of the father, House favored the bill. "Five years wife number one made plans to take ago," writes Miss Helen Hurd, of the the remaining two wives and their United Church of Canada, "such a four daughters back to her native bill-if brought in at all-would have city in China, that they all might received short shrift, and a meager learn more fully concerning the Chris- half-dozen votes. The development of tian faith and that the daughters healthy public opinion with regard to might be placed in the school from this matter is something to be thankwhich their Chinese teacher had come. ful for, indeed. We all feel that this Soon after their arrival Bishop partial victory presages a complete Keeney baptized all but the third one in the near future, when Governwife. ment and people will give their hearty support to this reform….. At a meet- New Station Nearer Lhasa ing of the Pederation of Women's Clubs in Tokyo, representatives of the THE Christian Church (Disciples) Patriotic Women's Ileague, Buddhist have just completed plans for the women's societies, the W. C. T. U., opening of a new station on the Ti· Y. W. C. A. and other Christian betan border, West China. Part of groups were present and took an acthe Shelton Memorial Fund was given tive part. The President of the Fedto make this possible and new mis- eration is Miss Michi Kawai, of the sionaries were sent out two years ago. Y. W. C. A.. -that beautiful Christian A study of the possible new location leader whom some one has described -seven days' journey south of Batang as 'the cream of Japanese woman- ·-was made neady a year ago, and hood.' "-Missionary Outlook. the town of Yengin has been chosen. Yengin is a strategic location for a Good News from Chairyung number of reasons. It is as near the border of present Tibet as Batang, FOUR new church groups have been and is on one of the great roads lead- organized at Chairyung, Korea, as ing through Batang and on to Lhasa. a result of the tent meetings conduct- It is a good trading post because of ed by Presbyterian missionaries in the salt well industry and is within four campaigns. new' territory thus a few hours, by horseback, of a num- being opened to the Gospel. One ber of other villages. The first work little community in the hills had never will be the making over of native seen a foreigner before and many houses for three residences and the heard the Gospel for the first time. improvising of a dispensary, school The hospital at Chairyung has served 14,500 dispensary patients and 205 in-patients during the year at a cost
NEWS FROM MANY LANDS
of $6,000, of which the church in ::3tates. There are 125,368 Japanese America furnished $500. This sum on the islands, of whom some 65,000, was used in evangelistic work in the mostly still under the voting age, are hospital and follow-up work, with 600 American born. In other words, the decisions for Christ as tan!!'ible fruits. ,Tapanese in the Hawaiian Islands Accrued savings for six years have outnumber the whites almost four to built new houses for two Korean doc- one. A newspaper correspondent. tors, two foreign-style wards, steriliza- quoted by The Literar'Y Digest, writes: tiOll room and officc.-T7w Continent. The Japanese hare increased numerically Korean Mission Schools Win more than any other racial group, partly because of a high birthrate and partly be- THE ,Japanese Government has cause of considerable immigration up to the given official recognition to Union exeIusion by law last year. The Japanese Christian College, Pyengyang, Korea, are not naturally assimilable. All other and the way is now open for all of races in the islands intermarry and mingle the eight Presbyterian academies in socially to a considerable degree. The Japa- Korea to receive similar recognition. nese remain aloof. ~'hey are striving to per· '1'his means that students who gradu- petuate their culture and devotion to Japan ate from "recognized" schools will through Japanese language schools, which be received into government higher their children attend after the public.school schools and into the law and medical season. American-born Japanese are Amercolleges. Only !!'raduates from "rec- ican citizeus, but anti·American at heart. ognized" schools can teach in public Few of them have renounced their allegiance schools. Manifestly mission schools to Japau, as is now permitted by the Japa· must secure" recognition" if they are nese Government. to serve the Korean Church. Back of this announcement lies a story of GENERAL faith. After the annexation of Korea some fifteen years ago, the Japanese World "Dry" Congress in Geneva Government notified all church and mission schools that complete separa- AN internat.ional conference on tion of religion and education would alcoholism, which has as its obbe enforced. Because mission schools ject the establishment of a working had been established prior to annexa- agreement with the League of Nations tion they were given "ten years of in the fight being waged against grace" in which to conform. The alcoholism in colonies and mandated various missions at once protested, territories and discussion of the rebut several yielded. Seven years ago pression of alcohol smuggling, as well the Presbyterian Mission, facing a as the conciliation of conflicts between crisis, decided to go on in faith that exporting countries and states with relief would come. prohibition or restrictive laws, was held in Geneva in September. It was ISLANDS OF THE SEA attended by one hundred delegates representing fourteen governments The Japanese in Hawaii and twenty-four nations, and was the first actual meeting of the Interna- THE Army-Navy maneuvers in t.ional Bureau Against Alcoholism, Hawaiian waters brought to "the which is the European Scientific De- Crossroads of the Pacific' , many partment of t.he WOl"ld League prominent Americans, some of whom Against Alcoholism. All the delegates made much of the "peril" which they paid their own expenses. discovered in the Japanese population. Every Japanese born in Hawaii Another Stockholm Conference is by virtue of that fact a full-fledged American citizen, entitled under the JUST before the Universal Chris- Constitution not only to vote but to tian Conference on Life and Work travel freely throughout the United convened in August, the World Al- liance for Promoting International Friendship tbrough the Churches held its sixth int.ernational convention in Stockholm, with 150 delegates from
twenty-eight countries. The conven- like this to the women of the United tion voted that it is necessary to re- Presbyterian Church, as they think organize the Alliance in such a of the home-going ot Mrs. George manner as to make it competent to ·Moore, who was for many years one carry out the task of uniting all the of the strong leaders of the denomina- Christian forces of the world which tion. She was a woman of broad are interested in the cause of peace. vision, deep faith and boundless en- The principles of arbitration, security thusiasm. IIer glowing zeal for the and general disarmament were de- missionary cause was unexcelled. clared to bp inseparably related as an application of Christian ideals to the Mrs. Moore's activities ran out political sphere. A memorandum along many lines, but her great servfrom the British national council of ice was in the position of Editor of the Alliance, dealing with the menace the lV-omen's Missionary Magazine, of secret diplomacy, was referred to which she held for twenty-one years. the other national councils for further She kept in close touch with every consideration. _-111 the national department of the work of the Church, councils were asked to exert their in- attending Summer Conferences and fluence on public opinion in all their great missionary meetings. She knew countries in order that questions of every missionary at home and in fornational and international policy may eign fields, and her intimate touch be settled on a basis of Christian with the work and the workers enprinciples .. abled her to keep the women of the Church informed and to inspire them International Missionary Council to better serviee. In 1903 she was made President of the Women's Gen- THE representative committee of eral Missionary Society, and in 1920 this Council, which met in Atlantic was elected by the General Assembly City last January, expressed the con- to membership in the New World viction that, in view of the many com- Movement Committee. plicated problems facing missionary workers in such lands as China, India Mrs. Moore was also interested in and Turkey – involving religious lib- the work of all other denominations erty, education, church independence and attended the great international and race relationships-international conventions in Edinburgh, in 1910, and interdenominational cooperation and in Washington in 1925. She was is essential. The next meeting of the a strong advocate of the United Mis- International Missionary Council will sion Study Course and each year probe in the autumn of ]927 (possibly at vided articles on these courses in the Jerusalem) . This meeting will con- magazine of which she was the editor. sider especially the questions of cooperation, and additional representa- 'l.'hroughout all the years of exacttives from home boards and from the ing toil as editoi' of the magazine she mission fields will Le invited to attend. received no remuneration. Her time, The next meeting of the Committee of her money, her talents were poured the Council will be held in Sweden out in lovin/!: jovous service for the in July, 1926. Mastel'. To her' the supreme joy of OBITUARY life was to spread the Gospel: to her Mrs. George Moore of Xenia it was an honor to serve. These favorite lines sum up Mrs. Moore's Hy MRS• .TOHN P. WHITE thought of Christian service: Phillips Brooks once said, "When "0, matchless honor all 'Insought, some men die. it is .. oJ; I/< like the High privilege, surpassing thought, vanishing of a great mountain from That Thou shouldst call me, Lord to be the landscape and the outlook on life Linked up in fellowship with Thee; is changed forever."· It seems just To carry out Thy wondrous plan, To bear Thy messages to man, In trust with Christ's own word of grace To every soul of human race."
MISSIONARY
China Mission Year Book for 1925. Edited public will also be glad to see what sweet reasonableness lies behind many by Henry T. Hodgkin. 12mo. 408 pp. Japanese ways that have seemed Shanghai. ] 925.
The thirteenth edition of this valu- purely superstitious O'r unreasonable. able year book contains no statistics Missionaries to China will also thank or directory of missionaries and no the author for adding the Chinese biblicgraphy of new volumes on China but has valuable contributions on the characters in connection with his list political situation in 1924, on social of "Japanese Names and Ternis." and industrial subjects, on Chinese 'fhe author, who has been a mission- ary of the United Christian Missionstudents and religion, the anti-Chris- ary Society for twenty years, does not tian movement, the Church and coop- give his authorities, but is almost as erative church movements in China, illuminating and more down to date on evangelistic, educational, medical, than the Paris specialist, Professor social and literary work. Students of Revon. A few others, such as Holtom things Chinese 'cannot afford to over- and Schwartz, are as helpful, or more look it. ~o because of their fuller explana- The Christian Movement in Japan, Korea tions, but they lack the readableness and. Formosa. Edited by A. Oltmans. of Mr. Erskine.
12mo. 836 pp. 1925. Some of the customs explained are social; more are connected with the We have come to look upon this Japanese relig'ious life; some are year book, now in its twenty-third especially important as relating to the year, as a necessity for up-to-date mis- fmperial Family. The chapters on sionary information on Japan. It con- Buddhist and Shinto funerals are tains not only a full missionary direc- very instructive and the two chapters tory by personnel, stations and boards, on Japanese loyalty and the developbut has chapters by various authors ing conscience are important for an on the progress of the year, the poli.. understanding of the Japanese. tical situation, infinence of the Amer- Bushido and Japanese honesty is anican Exclusion Act, and on evan- other fundamental explanation. While gelistic, educational and social work. the author's explanations are clarify- 'I'here are special sections on Formosa ing, some seem to be partly subjective and Korea with statistics for 1924. rather than based on Japanese au- lapanese Customs: Their Origin and Value. thority: and almost all of them are William Hugh Erskine. Illus. xii, 236 of an 'apologetic tone, justifying cus- pp. Tokyo. 1925. toms to an outside critic. H. P. B.
Five "blurb" introductions, even Christian Mi&sions and Oriental Civilizathough three are by eminent Japanese scholars, are unusual and unneces- tions-A study in culture contact. Mau- sary. But the volume is what it rice T. Price, Ph.D. 578 pp. $3.75.
Chicago. 1925.
claims to be. Some of the explanations Many wonder just how people of other religions and more backward supply what many a Japanese mis- civilizations react to the approaches of the Western missionary. Some sionary and some Japanese scholars biographies have given interesting inhave been curious, to know, so that it is a decided help for workers in Japan and for American students of stances but these have been scien- racial customs. The ordinary reading tifically of little value because there 907
they were not collected, analyzed and research into the whole range of imclassified so as to make them useful to modern scholarship. pressions produced by representatives Dr. Price has done this very thing. of one race, civilization or religion From many varied sources he has quoted first-hand accounts of the re- upon those of another. M. s. actions of non-Ohristian peoples to Protestant missions from the stand- The Ao Naga Tribe of Assam. By W. C. point of the individual and the group. Smith. 225 pp. $5.(}(}. London and Los One wOfiders why he has excluded Angeles. 1925. Roman Catholic work, and why so many reactions discreditable to the A short experience as missionary missionary have been cited when an equal number of creditable ones might among the Ao Naga people has enhave been found. abled Prof. Smith to give much valu- The first chapteI'"' "Christian Missions and Oriental Oivilizations" deals able information in his sociological with the different ways in which non- Ohristian peoples act and feel about study of this tribe. the attempts of the Western Ohurch at evangelism. In Chapter two group Though primarily of special interrelationships and loyalties are shown to constitute' a crucial factor in their est to ethnologists and sociologists this attitudes. Reactions, which may be regarded as initial and temporary, are book should prove of value to officials, dealt with separately in Ohapter three in order to avoid confusing them with educationalists and to missionaries the more permanent responses considered in Ohapters four to ten under who are constantly confronted with the classification of "non-approving" and "approving" responses. The problems arising from a rapidly final chapters are devoted to the social psychological aspects of the transition changing social organization. stage where applicants become candidates for Ohristian church member- The value oj' the book lies largely ship. Chapter fourteen offers a summary of the field of study without re- in the comparative point of view from striction to the categories previously employed and without any attempt to which the author approaches his study present finalities. of these people, in his various sug- Students of social psychological gestions for further sociological study processes, Student Volunteers, mis- so that former mistakes may be corsionaries and church leaders will find themselves much indebted to Dr. Price rected, and in thc extensive bibliogfor this painstaking investigation. Had a stud;v of this sort and on this raphy. comprehensive scale been made decades ago, our missionaries and other The book gives much interesting in- Western representatives might have profited greatly in their approach to formation gathered from study and alien nations and races. Dr. Price's study of fundamental ways in which from experience among the Ao Naga Ohristian missions have affected alien civilizations will no doubt be followed people. E. A. M. by similar studies eovering scientific The Laughing Buddha. James L. Stewart. 347 pp. $2.00. New York. 1925.
If one wishes a story of wild ad- venture, with numerous hairbreadth escapes from Ohinese bandits, some philosophizing on life from Oonfucian, Buddhist, Taoist and Christian points of view, occasional observations on various types of missionary work, and after all a happy consummation- here is the book.
It is written by a Canadian Meth- odist missionary, vice-president of the Union University at Chengtu, Szech- uan. Dr. Stewart has been in Ohina for twenty-three years and so has had a good opportunity to know the coun- try and people of the western prov- ince. The story is well told, the characters well drawn and the interest sustained, but one would make a mis- take to think that missionary work or Ohinese life in general is characterized by such continued excitement and fused with the deeply religious and adventure. 'rhere are too many hair- earnest spirit of this true missionary, breadth escapes and some of the who did his work under the. burden scenes draw much on one's credulity. and inspiration of a sense of pioneer The melodramatic climax brings to- responsibility for the people whom he gether the heroes, heroines and vil- regarded as one great race, the Tai, lains of the story, and settles their "the elder hrother of the Chinese." destinies in a marvelous way. Parents with sons and daughters in China are R. E. S. apt to have bad attacks of nightmare after reading this romance of adven- An Educational Ambassador to the Near ture. East. 'rhe Story of Mary Mills Patrick and an Ameriean College in the Orient. Red Blossoms. Isabel Br;)wn Rose. 12mo. Hester Donaldson Jenkins, Ph.D. Illns. 288 pp. $1.75. 1925. _ 314 pp. $2.50. New York. 1925.
This missionary romance of western The veteran founder of Robert India is full of strength, heroism and College, Cyrns Hamlin, and his worlove. The author, a missionary and thy successor, George Washburn; the the wife of a missionary of the Amer- Presidents Bliss, father and son, wh() ican Board in Sholapur, has been in made the Syrian Protestant College, India for twelve years and writes with now the Am.erican University at Beia knowledge of the country and peo- rut; and last and in some respects the ple, ideals of Christian service and an most notable of all, Dr. Patrick, understanding of human nature. The maker of the Constantinople Womheroine is a woman medical mission- an's College: these presidents will ary, whose story will awaken sym- always stand high in the roster of pathy with missionary work. missionarv education in the Near East, and are leaving to their suc- The Tai Race. W. C'lifton Dodd. 353 pp. cessors an enviable reputation to sus- Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 1923. tain and improve upon, if possible.
Dr. Dodd was foJ' 83 years a mis- Dr. Jenkins has had unusual opporsionary in northern Siam and in tunity to know her heroine and the southern China to the people whom College, from having served on its he insisted on caning the T!ll. He faculty and having had access to all worked for manv veal'S in various important documents in the case. She stations of the taos or North Siam disappoints the reader at first, since :Mission of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. Patrick is almost ignored save for always looking northward and ever brief introductorv items and occapressing northward in his desire to sional references: Instead of the understand and evangelize the people maker of th!' College, the multitude whom he believed to be all members of some twenty-fonr faces are introof one great racial stock. He was a duced, their personalities described, man of deep devotion and unsparing their racial differentim made clear, self-sacrifice, reany for any hardship and the general growth of the College or toil in his effort to gather facts, to is sketched from its high school bemeet the people whom he loved, or to ginnings in Scutari, across the Bospreach the Gospcl. During the latter phorus, to its status and fruitfulness years of his life he gathered the ma- today. The author has chosen the terial for this volume, which after his method of depicting' a finely organdeath was published by Mrs. Dodd ized institution, functioning most and Dr. Dodd's friend, Dr. Rink- effectively, and illnstrating to a sordid house of Lenox College, Iowa. It is environment the beauty of young a solid treatise, full of historical and womanhood, its capacity for intelphilological :md ethnological material lectual and spiritual development, but lightened with accounts of travel and especially its enviable record for and incidents of missionary work, all serving as a ullifying center for in- ter-racial unity. At the center of this symmetrical and harmonious or- The World's Living Religions. Robert Erganization there have been a great mist Hume. 295 pp. $1.75. New York. heart and a wonderful brain-that of 1924. Dr. Patrick. All that Miss Jenkins tells us of the girls and the institu- This is a compeudious, well-anation is simply the outworking of these inner forces, supplemented by a like- lyzed treatment of ten of the nonminded faculty and a willing body of Christian religions and Christianity. students. The non-Christian religions in the The volume shows us what feminine tact, an iron will, dogged persever- order of their presentation are Hinduance, a comprehensive racial mind, catholic sympathy and an underlying ism, J ainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christian love can accomplish. Of Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Judacourse the President had a fine home ism, Zoroastrianism, and Islam. No backing, and Mifls Borden was the constant friend and promoter, as well man can present these religions, and as two score of other devoted friends. .And at Uonstantinople itself, what still less Chri~tianity, so as to satisfy could have b~cn aone without .Ambas- Rador -;>'forgenthan and the frequent all other men. Something will be said aid or that great missionary statesman, Dr. Pe'et? Mrs. Henry Durant, too little or too much. But Dr. Grace Dodge, Helen Gould Shepard, Hume's boolz wilJ be helpful to any ~frs. Ru~sell Sage, John D. Rocke- one. It is an honest, careful, first- hand study of these great systems and it exalts Christianity to a place above all other religions and sets it in a class alone. .At the same time it deals with sympathy and fairness with the faiths which have held and still hold the loyalty of so many millions of man- kind. R. E. S.
feller, Jr., and ]frs. Converse were Robert Morrison, A Master Builder. Marindispensable, ag well as other gen- shall Broomhall. 238 pp. $1.50. New erous givers; so that into this struc- York. 1924. ture of the nations have gone a multitude of contributions of varied values. 'l'his thrilling biography not only As representing their President, men- tells the story of Morrison but gives tion should also be made of acting- at the same time a fine historical backpresidents, Drs, Vivian and Wallace, ground of missions in China. The whose administration at critical author makes liberal use of Morrison's periods could hardly have been im- diary and thereby enables us, from proved upon by Dr. Patrick. first-hand information, to follow the great pioneer year by year in his The experienres of the Great War pioneer work, including his prodiare the most interesting in a way, as gious literary labors in translating that was the testing time and the the Scriptures into Chinese. H. A. A. period when international friendship might have ceased, had it not been for Missionary Diagrams and How to Make the example of faculty members and Them. Edited by Hugh Martin and illus- trated by A. 3. Melloy. 62 pp. 18, 6d. London. 1923.
the spirit of Christian international- The purpose and nature of dia- ism which has always been present gramR, how to make them, and how there. Then the stories of outstand- to use them, together with suggested ing alumnre, including the wife of the ideas and sources of information make present President of the Blepublic of the five chapters of this small book Turkey, are' most interesting. very helpful. Twelve specimen types Through these examples, the reader of diagrams, given in full-page draw- cannot help but feel the power of such ings, illustrate the actual carrying out missionary work and such living of the plans suggested. The book is dynamos of Christian efficiency and prepared for amateurs and is prac- devotion. H. P. B. tical rather than technical. K. S. C. VALUABLE BOOKSonMISSIONS The Progress of World- The People of the Wide Missions Philippines ROBERT H. GLOVER, M.D., F.R.G.S. FRANK CHARLES LAUBACH, Ph.D.
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Read Theml DR. AND MRS_ WILLIAM AXLING, widely PassThemOn I known American Baptist missionaries in Japan Itave rc~ently returned to their work A full library of in- in T·okyo. formation and inspira- " 35 ch ea tion at the DR. MABEL E. ELLIOTT, who was in the priceo!.. C Near East during the World War, and re- ceived the Croix de Guerra and other decora- 3 for $1.00 tions, has joined the staff of St. Luke's Hospital, Tokyo. NEW COLPORTAGE LIBRARY (Covers in Two Colon) 1_ SALVATION SERMONS PROFESSOR E-DMUND D. SOPER of North- western University has become Vice-Presi- By RK~. A. B. SIMPSON. dent of Duke University, Durham, N. C.
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By REV. A. B. SIMPSON. * Dr. Simpson answers in his inimitable manner many REv. WILLIAM C.<lREY, pastor of the Union questions that occur to the earnest seeker after the truth of Divine Healing, 7. CHRIST'S RETURN-The Key to Prophecy Church in Mussoorie, India, is a direct de- and Providence scendant of the pioneer missionary whose By ST. CI.EMENT. illustrious name he bears.
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8. WONDERS OF PROPHECY. (Vol_I) MR. T. Z. Koo, of China, has resigned By JOHN URQUHART. from the World's Student Christian Feder- ation, and has returned to Shanghai where Introduction 10 sixth edition by Philip MaurI), he is one of th", Secretaries of the National Volume I traces Scriptural prophecy. and quotes pre- Y. M. C. A. dictions from Tyre and Sidon down through the time of Judea and Babylon. OBITUARY 9. WONDERS OF PROPHECY_ (Vol- II) MRS_ S. W. SCUDDER, widow of the late. By JOHN URQUHART. Dr. John Scudder, ,lied in Vellore, India, late in September, after sixty-four years Volume II contains "A Prophetic Forecast of the of service under the Reformed Church of World's Entire History.j) America.
10. MISSIONARY MESSAGES *** By REV. A. B. SIMPSON. BIs;aop THOMAS B. NEELY, of the Meth- Dr. Simpson's missionary appeals stirred America odist Episcopal Chllr~h, died in Philadelphia on September 4th_ to a new interest in Missions. ** 11. THE LIFE OF PRAYER C. T. HOOPER, originally a member of By REV. A. B. SIMPSON. From the effective practice of a lo~ life of prayer Dr, Simpson was well equipped to wnte this instructive treatise. $3 50 The Eleven Books for the Price of Ten • • • • Write U8 (or liberal AGENTS WANTED commis.ion to Colpor… :~=r:1t:r;0:5~it;.ile~aTh;:eu;':oak: !ilf:ii~t oight.
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The Missionary Review of the World — March 1913
RESULT OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE'S PIONEEl
Part of an Audience at a Preaching Service of the Scotch Pl-esbyterian Mission in Livingstonia. Central Africa
Missionary
@ e of the World VOL. XXXVI, No.3 MARCH, 1913 VOL. XXVI, No. 3 Old Series New Series Signs of the· Times IA CHANGE OF FRONT IN ISLAM Another more hopeful sign of T has been thought that Is[am, like progress is noticeable in the recent Rome, never changes, and it is gathering of some 65 missionaries for true that with change must come a an eight-day conference in Egypt.
loss of identity. Is[am is changing, as Their report of the state of affairs in we see clearly and forcibly in the that country declares that to-day as Moslem press of Egypt. From time never before there is manifest among to time in the daily papers and the the Moslems an interest in Christian- religious magazines, we see signs that ity and its teachings. Copies of the Moslems are becoming less fanatical Scriptures and religious tracts are be- and are not only wi!ling, but anxious ing bought and read by Moslems to to examine the evidence of Christian- an extent unparalleled in the past his- ity as it is found in the New Testa- tory of Islam. A spirit of religious ment. Formerly the New Testament inquiry is manifest among many Mos- was rejected on the charge of hav- lems, even of those who are recog- ing been corrupted, or abrogated by nized as sheikhs or religious teachers.
the Koran. In these days Moslems The attendance of Moslems is in- often seem eager to prove their posi- creasing in both the regular and spe- tion by quoting Scripture. A series cial meetings held under Christian of articles which have been appear- auspices. Requests for baptism on the ing in the paper calIprj El ManaI' part of Moslems are not infrequent.
seeks to prove that the original Gos- Formerly few Moslems were willing pelon which our present four Gos- to listen to Christian teaching, now pels are based, did not teach the deity few there are who refuse to listen of Christ nor His Atonement. In when approached. There is also, we are other words, Mohammedans are fol- told, "a spirit of unrest in Moslem lowing the lead of those who by criti- .circles, and an increasing effort to cal methods profess to be able to discover ways by which Islamic stand- eliminate the supernatural from the ards and practises, Islamic laws and New Testament. institutions may undergo such revis- The editors seek to preserve accuracy and to manifest the spirit of Christ in the pages of this REVIEW, but do not acknowledge responsibility for opinions exprest, nor for positions taken by contrib,-tors of signed articles in these pages.-EDITORS.
ion and reconstruction as will ellable largely attended meeting has been them to retain the respect and com- held, which, strange to say, was at- mand the allegiance of a Moslem pub- tended by a number of Hindus also.
lic which is advancing in knowledge The speakers declared that the Chrisand enlightenment." For all of tian nations have joined hands to rob which . Christians everywhere give the Moslems of all their possessions; thanks. that the believers in the Bible are WHOPE FOR PERSIAN GIRLS always the enemies of the believers HEN the girls who will be the in the Koran, but that they are unable future mothers, become Chris- to extinguish the fire which Mohamtians, we may have greater hope for med has started, and that some day the coming generation. So it is en- the cry "Allah Akbar," once heard cOUl'aging to know that Miss Annie before the gates of Vienna, would be Stockwell, missionary of the Presby- heard again in the uttermost parts terian Board at Teheran, Persia, esti- of the earth. mates that there are now at least 1,000 Moslem boys and girls attend- Mohammedan newspapers are being the 13 Christian mission schools ginning to show more plaillly their in Persia. Miss Stockwell estimates opposition to Christianity, as the folthat this number is twice what it was lowing sentences, taken from an edifive years ago. The education of Mos- torial, show: "In none of the Gujarat lems in Christian schools is, in fact, districts have any Mohammedan ora very recent development, but the phans been handed over to Christian ambition of Mohammedan parents to missionaries during the present famsecure good education for their chil- ine, and instructions have been issued dren is rapidly overcoming all relig- that collectors of famine-stricken disious prejudices. Of this thousand tricts, who have Mohammedan ornearly 700 are paying tuition, so that phans to dispose of, should inform the the movement is no pauper scheme honorary secretary of the Bombay to get something for nothing. There Presidency Moslem League, at Poona, is no concession on religion to these before handing them over to any non- Moslem scholars. They are required Moslem missionaries or institutions." to attend school on Friday, which is the holy day of Islam, and all of the The importance of this Moslem unschools require the Bible as a regular rest and anti-Christian activity in Instudy in the curriculum. So far, how- dia is made clear by the fact that the ever, from there being any prejudice unrest has spread to Hindu colonies aroused by this method of teaching in other lands. For instance, the Mosthe Bible lesson is distinctly popular lem Hindus who have settled in the among the Mohammedan children in Transvaal Colony have addrest a most of the schools. telegram to the British Government in which they ask humbly, but very earnestly, that England aid the Turks against the Balkan Powers. The col- THEMOSLEM UNREST IN INDIA ony of Mohammedan Hindus in Lon- Balkan war has greatly ex- don, also, is showing signs of in- cited the Mohammedans of the creased activity and of great interest Indian Empire. In Calcutta, a very in the Balkan war.
OF THE
It is a peculiar symptom of this and the mission buildings were de-. Moslem unrest that there is shown a mandeel to be emptied at once. The certain anger with the British Gov- faithful servant got a respite of a few ernment for 110t coming to the aid of days by giving gifts to officials. In the Moslem cause, and a certain sym- the meantime the French army arpathy for Germany, which is often rived, and the houses were saved. called the unselfish frienel of Turkey anel Islam. But the activity and un- The work of the dispensary was rest are sure proofs of the fact that kept partly going by the servant dur- Moslems throughout the earth are be- ing the· absence of the missionaries, ginning to feel their oneness in re- so that the people never really lost ligion and in politics. touch with it. Thus the work now moves on again as if there had been THE WORK IN MOROCCO no war. The attendances are large and the evening classes are crowded, THE missionaries of the Southern so that opportunities for the preaching Morocco Mission, who had been of the Gospel are great, tho the ladies fancy that the women are a little forced to abandon their work in the more opposed to the Christian religion city of Marakesh during the rebellion than they were before the loss of inand the war, have now returned to d~pendence by their country. that city and have again entered upon their work. They were warmly wel- REFORM IN THE GREEK CHURCH comed by the natives, who have become very humble, it seems. J:i'ormerly A GREEK paper, St. Polycarp, the fanatical Mohammedans used to say that the blessing of the Prophet edited by the metropolitan biis more than a match for the forces shop of Smyrna, calls for reform in of the unbelievers. N ow they see the Greek Church. The writer, that they have lost their independence George Zacharoulis an "orthodox and that the news from Turkey means preacher," calls attention to the depractically the overthrow of :Moslem cline in religious and ethical life and power. Some, however, declare that says (a s translated in The Orient): Hiba will yet return and turn out all the obnoxious and, more or less se- "We elo indeed hole! and keep the cretly, hated Frenchmen, and they Evangelical Truth, … but our faith seem more firmly than ever deter- is a dead and empty faith, because it is mined to cling to their religion. faith without works (Jas. 2: 17, 20) ; our Religion is empty and vain, be- The Mission itself has suffered cause 'Pure religion and undefiled comparatively little from the war. Be- before God and the Father is this, fore the Pretender entered the city, to visit the fatherless and widows in much looting was done, and many their affliction, and to keep himself buildings were burned, but the efforts unspotted from the world' (Jas. I : 27) . of the servant, who had been left in While sticking to the letter, we have charge, saved the houses of the mis- fallen from the spirit, we have stript SlOnanes. After the Pretender en- ourselves of Christian grace and tered the city, he at once began to comeliness, we have lost the true and seize European houses for his friends, living faith that renews arid cleanses the heart, that uplifts and ennobles·
. the thoughts and fixes the will on the preparatory work is a necessary pre- liminary to this task, to get ready right. . We are named by the and make easy the propitious settle- ment of it at the right time. Who name of Christ, but we have not will undertake the study and exami- nation of the above questions until Christ abiding in us, and therefore the day dawns when the Church her- self will take up their solution?" we have neither the Truth nor the HOPEFUL OUTLOOK IN SYRIA Light nor the Life. We have for- NOTWITHSTANDING the checks saken the Word and turn again to and opposition bound to occur to 'the weak and beggarly elements,' all missionary enterprises in Moslem lands, the work in Syria is in a prosobserving days and months and times perous condition. One should not judge by the advance made in any and years (Gal. 4: 9, 10), and paying one year, but from a comparison with that of a decade or more. The attention to the liftings and moving progress made in self-support and the llesire for education during the past of tables, calling on evil spirits, and decade is wonderful. When we com- pare it with 30 years ago it is most inquiring of the dead, and all but marvelous. In one station alone the amount given by the native church reviving the ancient oracles. To these in one year was less than $100, and last year nearly $10,000 was raised and similar things is religion limited for the support of the Church, its benevolences, and for education. It by us, and Christianity has become with is the experience of workers in Mos- lem lands that the work of Christian us an empty word and an abstract missions is gradual, but sure. If not, why are so many Moslem theologians theory, exercising no influence on and thinkers warning their followers of their danger and arousing them heart or morals. And those who to renewed efforts to place every ob- stacle possible in the way of Christian have some education and have suc- mISSIons. 1S one said, "The work of the missionaries is like a tidal ceeded in seeing that this is not wave; when you see it approach and you make an effort to escape there religion but vain and empty super- may be safety, but if you do not heed the warning, you will be overwhelmed stition, have rejected the superstition, and lost."
but as they have no clear knowledge The problem that is to be settled by the missionary in Moslem lands of the essence of Christian faith and is how he can best assist in helping of true and genuine piety, they have gone into cold unbelief, which is no less destructive and demoralizing than superstition. And so we stand to-day before this wretched division of the body that is called by the name of Christ and see the children of the one Orthodox Church either grovel- ling in the darkness of black and evil superstition or blinded and hardened to stone by cold unbelief, and thus furnishing a cause why the name of our God should be blas- phemed among the nations!
"Religiously we are sick, seriously sick; this is a truth of which no one in his right mind has any doubt. We therefore need healing, that IS, religious reform; but what is the means of healing, and what the method of reform? Long
the people, not, surely, by engaging in by a storm not many months ago the different factional troubles, but and had been rebuilt quickly and well. by maintaining a tactful silence on These quarterly meetings are mile- all things political, and by devoting stones in the work, whose need and all his energies to the advancement growth is daily seen, however. of the principles of truth and light.- DR. IRA HARRIS. The lepers at the Leper Colony, where a service is held every Friday SIGNS OF DAWN IN WEST AFRICA .. afternoon, and many of the poor suf- ferers have con fest Christ, sent a THE news of a record-breaking contribution to the church on the day Lord's Day (June 2, 1912), has of the great meeting. Everywhere in and around Elat and in the part of come from Elat. This was the Kamerttn where the West Africa monthly Collection Da):, and also Presbyterian Mission is at work, the Communion. The preceding week the opportunities are great and the renineteen evangelists returned from sults of the work are inspiring: "God their trip, bringing their "sheaves" gave the increase." with them, and during that week more than 1,700 confest Christ. The PROGRESS IN SOUTH AFRICA sunrise prayer-meetings were attended I T is encouraging to hear from an by large crowds, while the daily meetings at 10 A.M. and 4 P.M. at- expert and a resident of a mission tracted multitudes. On the Lord's field the results of his investigation Day, 5,270 people assembled for a and observation. This is what we three hours' morning service, where 170 adults and 23 babes were bap- have in a statement made by Rev. J. tized. In the afternoon, at another three hours' service, about 700 par- DuPlessis, the author of the excellent took of the Lord's Supper. That day "History of Christian Missions in 50 more confest Christ and 508 were South Africa." He writes in a recent promoted to the "Nsamba," or sec number of the International Review of and year class, from which they are Missions concerning the evidences of eligible to' church-membership in a progress: year. Many of the school boys confest Christ, but, alas, 39 poor people I. Heathenism is receding; old bewere suspended, because they had liefs are vanishing; younger members been overcome by temptation. "They of various tribes are clamoring ever will all come back," says the mission- more loudly for education, which ary, for in the foreign field converts means to them wage-earning abihty; from heathenism are still willing to the old conservative heathen can not submit to discipline. turn a deaf ear to the call.
The collection was about $125, and 2. Societies are closing up ranks; the congregation worshiped in the a united front is appearing. "Edinchurch, which was partly destroyed burgh, 19IO" gave powerful impetus to this tendency; a new and high ideal —— has been set for missionary coopera- '* We have made l-eference to the prosperous tion.
work of the West Africa Presbyterian Mission in 3. The government and the public Elat before. See MISSIONARY REVIEW.. February, generally show increasing interest in 1911, page 151; November, 1911, page 873; Febru- the progress of missions. Governary, 1912, page 147.
ment attitude toward missionaries has seems certain that there will never been not one of mere civility, but of be orderly and settled government in cordial approbation; the most respon- Mexico until steps have been taken sible journals of the Union concur in by which the ownership of the land this judgment. in Mexico passes out of the hands of these landlords into the hands of 4. The end of the missionary enter- those who actually till the soil. prise is within sight. Vhile a generation ago only Cl'l1e native out of every The principles of personal liberty ten wa$ a Christian, we have now and national righteousness must come one Christian convert to every four with Christian education and the of the native population; while during worship of God. that period the native population has about doubled, the Christian cOlistitu- MEMPHIS HOME MISSION CONVEN· ency has quintupled. T TION UNREST IN UNHAPPY MEXICO HE General Assembly of the Southern Prebyterian Church T HE people of .Iexico have not last spring ordered the holding of a Convention in the interest of Home yet recovered from the blight of Missions. The Executive Committee centuries of official misgovernment, of Home Missions not only invited intellectual darkness and religious the Laymen'S' Movement to assist in misleading. The condition of the this enterprise, but practically turned people is such that the masses believe over to them the making of all that no change of government could arrangements for the Convention. make things worse and they hope by As a result, this Third General Consuccessive revolutions to effect a vention of the Laymen's Missionary change for the better. Madero took Movement was held at Memphis, advantage of the unrest and discon- Tenn., February 18-20. tent to overthrow Diaz. He promised numerous reforms and reliefs which As 'an educational event in the he has been unable to carry out. For Church's home activities and opporexample, most of the land is held tunities it promises to be immense. by wealthy owners, and is farmed out It would be difficult to estimate what to peons on terms that give no this Convention may mean in the chance of bettering their condition. broadening of vision and inspiration lI.ladero and subsequent revolutionary to larger things and more thorough leaders have been producing an im- .work for the church in the south impression that if they can be in and southwest. It was expected to power this condition of things will be be the largest assemblage of men changed. When Madero came into ever held in the south in the interpower, however, the same conditions est of one denomination's work. continued and the people are restless and discontented as before. Among the speakers announced were the following: Rev. Homer While no such thing' as the whole- McMillan, D.D., Rev. ";",. L. Philips, sale confiscation of the property of the rich and its distribution among D.D., Harry Wade Hicks, J. E. Mctile masses is feasible in Mexico it Afee, Rev. S. L. Morris, D.D., Rev. T. S. Clyce, D.D., WI11. T. Ellis, and J. Campbell White.
FROM THE LIFE OF LIVINGSTONE"
BY PROF. WILLIAM J. HUTCHINS, OBERLIN, OHIO O~G after men have again, Gutzlaff's Appeal on behalf of China, which led him to resolve to mL forgotten Livingstone, "give everything beyond his subsist- the explorer, they will ence to missions ." remember him as the man whom God chose DAVID LIVINGSTONE as His servant, the man who chose God in Jesus Christ Livingstone's Choice as his Lord and Master. Perhaps the life of Livingstone In these days when the thought of brings to us greater inspiration as the immanence of God is leading men the story of a man who chose God to a subtle pantheism, which denies in Christ as his Lord and Master. to God a personal interest in the Weare all of us in danger of beindividual, it is good for us to watch coming victims of a sort of moral God at work choosing, disciplining, determinism. We drift easily with leading his il1an. Mark how God the tide of circumstance. passes by the homes of the "mighty," the "wise," the "noble," enters the We limp between two opinions till the choice goes by forever. We say cottage of one of His own plain "There are many more summers in the sky," until winter settles down people, picks out for His peculiar upon the heart. Living'stone without service the son of a quiet layman, reservation chose God as his Master. "a tea-merchant, who had the soul In this life-choice there was no of a missionary." At ten years of wavering, no vacillation. From his age, the lad was set to work in the journals written at any period of his mill. "I had to be back in the factory by six in the morning, and 'continue my work with intervals for breakfast and dinner till eight o'clock at night." There were Latin lessons to be learned in the night-school, to be conned by day as the lad at his work passed back and forth before the open book placed upon his spinning jenny. Thus God was training Livingstone to sympathize with the lowliest man that walks the earth, to love the great and the common, the great which always lies hid within the heart of the common.
Note the books which fell so "accidentally," so providentially into his hand : Dick's Philosophy of a Future State, "which led him to Christ, but did not lead him away fr0111 science,"
* For photogr aphs, ITIcllJ, hooli: s, pr ograrns, (,h… , fur the L i villg~tol1c CCll tc c ary ("larch 19 th), sen d to your denominational publishil1g honse,
life, you can pick up words which on one day he was delivered three express this utter life-long sel£-devote- times from impending death. He ment. In the midst of great perils he went on through the forest expecting writes this prayer: "Soul and body, every minute to be attacked. my family and thy cause, I commit By and by he was prostrated with all to thee." A little more than a grievous illness. As soon as he year before his death,. he writes could move, he went onward, but he agam, "I9th March, birthday, My felt as if dying on his feet. Jesus, my King, my life, my He was getting near to Ujiji, howall. I again dedicate my whole ever, where abundance of goods and self to thee. Accept me, and comforts were, no doubt, safely grant, 0 gracious Father, that ere stowed away for him, and the hope this year is gone, I may finish my of relief sustained him under all task. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen, his trials. At last, on the 23d of so let it be. David Livingstone." October, reduced to a living skeleton, The words which close his book, he reached Ujiji. What was his "The Zambesi and its Tributaries," misery, instead of finding the abundmight well serve as the motto of his ance of goods he had expected, to life: "Fiat Domine Voluntas Tua." learn that the wretch Shereef, to whom they had been consigned, had Yes, but one says, "Think how sold off the whole, not leaving one much that choice of God as Master yard of calico out of 3,000, or one cost the man." We count the cost string of beads out of 700 pounds." for ourselves and are afraid. It is true few men in history have paid so Harder for us to bear is what we heavy a price for choosing God as may call social privation and be- Livingstone paid. We dread physical reavement. For years this man met pain, flee willingly to "the land with no white man, heard no English where it is always afternoon." To words save those from his own lips him the cost in mere physical suffer- or from those of his own black sering was enormous. vants. For years he received no let- ters, even from his own children. Take a single passage from his Separated from his wife through biography, and by no means excep- many of his earlier journeyings, he tional. "On the 8th of August they welcomed her again to Africa only came to an ambushment all pre- to see her die of fever in haunted pared, but it had been abandoned Shupanga. Through terrible lonely for some unknown reason. By and years he wandered. with no hand by on the same day a large spear of love to comfort and no word of flew past Livingstone, grazing his love to cheer. neck. The native who flung it was but ten yards off. The hand of God Perhaps still harder for us of the alone saved his life. Farther on twentieth century is it to endure the another spear was thrown, which sight of the sorrows, the degradation, missed him by a foot. On the the cruelty of humanity. How often same day a large tree to which fire we hide our faces with our hands had been· applied to fell – it, came as we pass the weeping places of the people. Livingstone's choice of God down within a yard of him. Thus
FROM THE LIFE OF
compelled him for years to witness the would-be builder of "God's scenes the very story of which leaves Road" to see that the paths he had one stricken and sickened. Again opened to the interior for "Christianand again such records as these ap- ity and Commerce" were proving only pear: "vVherever we took a walk, new ways by which the slavers could human skeletons were seen in every spread misery and ruin over the direction." Or again, "Shot after shot continued to be fired on the LIVINGSTO NE ATTACKED BY A LION helpless and · perishing. Some of the long line of heads disappeared quiet- country. Lincoln "heard the hisses ly (beneath the water) while other turn to cheers." Livingstone never poor creatures threw their arms high saw the results of the travail of his as if appealing to the great Father soul. He counted the cost and gladabove, and' sank." And the man ly, lavishly, paid it. must live in these habitations of cruelty, and hear only mocking laugh- Was Livingstone's choice of God ter or viciotis threatening when he after all worth while? Were any raises his voice in protest. one of us asked, what would be his personal ideal, he would surely an- Perhaps to us the bitterest experi- swer back in one phrase or another: ence of life is the disappointment "I should like to be a friend of God; which comes, when for once we I should like to be a master of life; have given ourselves to the cause I should like to be a servant of of human liberty, and meet with humanity." the disapproval, the distrust, the misunderstanding, the stupidity or the treachery of friends; when we discover that our efforts have but fastened more securely the fetters of those we have been trying to free. For years the men who should have believed in Livingstone were feeble in their support or failed him altogether. The men upon whose cooperation he was forced to rely, sent him "helpers" who hindered his every movement. Other men got the credit for work that he had done. Just when his hopes for the Universities Mission were highest, the Bishop must abandon the project and withdraw to Zanzibar. Happily he never knew that in seeking the sources of the Nile he was blindly following the upper waters of the Kongo; but it must have been most grievous to
A Friend of God nals the great word, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean Precisely these three ideals were realized by David Livingstone as not to thine own understanding. In the inevitable issues of his life-choice. all thy ways acknowledge Him, and as God's servant, Livingstone became He shall direct thy paths. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust also God's friend. He writes, "Traveling from day to day among barbarians in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." Or, :>.gain, the larger porexerts a most benumbing influence tions of the Bible would bring to him on the religious feelings of the soul;"
and yet through this very. experience the· message of his Friend. In the God seems to have drawn the man midst of the hideous loneliness of his more closely to his side. He does, later days he writes, "I read the indeed, cry, "Oh, divine Love, I have whole Bible through four times in Manyuema." God spoke to his friend . not loved Thee strongly, deeply, warmly enough," but that divine again in the calm assurance of duty.
Loye he never doubted. "But for One of the most harrassing experi- ences of the Christian life is this, : the belief that the Holy Spirit works • and will work for us, I should give that when a man has honestly sought up in despair." Ever and again in to do God's will, the horrid question comes back insistently, "Was I mishis journals his level speech will suddeniy ascend straight to God. taken? Was I deluded?" Living- Thus, in 1856, when the air is full stone's letter to Moffat in 1854 is very remarkable: "I had fully made of danger, he writes, "Oh, Jesus, grant me resignation to thy will and up my mind as to the path of duty before starting. I wrote to my entire reliance on thy powerful hand.
On thy word alone I lean. brother-in-law . . 'I shall open Evening. Felt much turmoil of spirit up a path into the interior or perish.'
in. Viiew of having all my plans for I never had the shadow of a shade the iwelfare of this great region of doubt as to the propriety of my and teeming population knocked on course." The servant knoweth not t.he head by savages to-morrow; but what his Lord doeth. Livingstone became God's friend. I read that Jesus came and said, 'All power is given unto Me in heaven A Master of Life and on earth. Go ye, therefore, and Again choosing God as his Master, Livingstone became to a quite extrateach all nations, and 10, I am with you alway even unto the end of ordinary degree a master of life. His character gained a singular unity. To the world.' It is the word' of a gentleman of the most sacred and a woman who complained that as an explorer he had ceased to be a strictest honor, and there is an end on't.. I feel quite calm now, missionary, he writes: "Nowhere thank God." As he became God's have I appeared as anything else but friend, God spoke to him more freely a servant" of God, who has simply of His will. Now some great text of followed the leadings of His hand.
Scripture would be as God's loving I have labored in bricks and mortar, whisper to him. at the forge and carpenter's bench, Again and again occurs in his j our- as well as in preaching and medical
"A LARGE SPR AR GRAZv.n LIVI NGSTONE'S BACK"
MAKING FURNITURE INSTEAD OF BREAKING HEADS These African boys have been taught to make all kinds of furniture at a station in the country south of Lake Tanganyika, which Livingstone discovered on his last journeys THEN AND NOW I N CENTRAL AFRICA'
• Plates from the Missionary Education 1fovement.
"HE ENTERED THE HUT" "HE LET THEM L1ST.EN TO THE TICKING OF HIS WATCH"
SCENES FROM DAVID LIVINGSTONE'S LIFE' .. Plates from the Missionary Education 1-fovement.
FROM THE LIFE OF
practise. I feel that I am not my I t is emphatically no sacriown. I am serving Christ when fice. Say rather it is a privilege. shooting a buffalo for my men, or taking an astronomical observation, I never made a sacrifice." or writing to one of His children. The common Anglo-Saxon tenacity became in him a patient persistency, . " His very being was identi- which finds few equals in history. fied with the Cause. "I mean to Others have used lightly enough the make this a Christian expedition, words, "Try again." Livingstone telling a little about Christ wherever made the words his motto. Mark we go. His love in coming down these highly characteristic sentences: to save men will be our theme." "In my case duty would not call As his character gained unity, it me home, therefore home I would gained as well a singular nobility. not go;" "I shall not swerve a hair- The common Anglo-Saxon honesty breadth from my work while life is became in him the honor of the spared." There is one episode which heart. It was the year 1854. He will never be erased from the memory was at the west coast. On the of men. Gordon Bennett had said journey thither he had suffered frofU to Henry M. Stanley: "Take what hunger, from the hostility of sav- you want, but find Livingstone." ages, from 31 attacks of fever. And After incredible hardship, Stanley now Her Majesty's cruiser was ready found Livingstone, a mere "ruckle to take him back to England, to of bones," a broken down, disaphome, to honors. But there were 27 pointed, deserted man. Stanley plead black men of the interior whom he with him to return home, to enjoy had promised to lead back home. the well-earned rest and glory. Liv": They trusted him, and he led them ingstone refused. His work was not home. Surrounded by the foul moral yet done. Back he plunged into the atmosphere of Africa, he led a life wilderness. The rains descended as so pure that no lips have ever dared if they would never stop. The nahint an innuendo upon his character. tives deceived him as to the way. His followers were worn out by The common Anglo-Saxon courage disease. At last the weary frame became in him a sublime heroism of the man gave way. Nevertheless which feared neither man nor life we find the words written in his nor death, a heroism, too, which de- diary, "Nothing earthly will make clined to call itself heroic. Very me give up my work in despair. I quietly he asks: "Can the love of encourage myself in the Lord my Christ not carry the missionary where God and go forward." So with him the slave trade carries the trader?" it was ever forward, forward, until In his noble address to the students he could go no further forward. at Cambridge, he says: "People talk His servant found him upon his about the sacrifice I have made in knees. He had been praying for spending so much of my life in Africa, when "God's glory smote him Africa. Can that be called a sacri- on the face." fice which is simply paid back as a Livingstone chose God as his small part of a great debt owing to Lord and Master, and God gave our God which we can never repay?
Livingstone a character unified, en- expounded the principles and methods nobled. God's servant became a master of life. of missionary strategy which have A Servant of Humanity been pursued with such glorious suc- Not only this: His choice of God cess in Lovedale, Livingstonia, Ugan- made him what each one of us da and elsewhere.
Bu t through the influence of his character itself he has wrought his greatest service to humanity. Blaikie tells a beautiful story of a later ex- plorer who met a certain black man who wore upon his right shoulder the relic of an old coat, evidently of English manufacture. The coat had been given the man ten years ago by Livingstone, "a white man who treated black men as his broth- ers, and whose memory would be cherished all along the Rovuma Val- ley after they were all dead and gone; a short man whose words were always gentle, and whose manners were always kind; TH E LI V l N GSTO NE l.f ONUMENT I N' CEN TR AL AFR ICA whom as leader it was a privilege At Chitambo's Vi llage, where he died, and where to follow, and who knew the way • his heart was buried into the hearts of all men." Africa, would like to be, a servant of human- the world, is a better place to live ity. To understand how great has been the service, one must read in, because of what Livingstone was. again and again Blaikie's last great chapter, and then one must study Westminster Abbey never received the work of governments and of mis- sions in Africa and elsewhere since higher honor than when her dust be- the biography was written. As an . explorer, "he traveled 29,000 miles came the resting place of this "5011 in Africa, and added to the known part of the globe about a million of a tea-merchant," this Scottish square miles." As a philanthropist he revealed to civilization "the open weaver, the friend of God, the master sore of the world," its character, its causes and its cure. As a missionary of life, the servant of humanity. advocate, he summoned hundreds of the choicest young m"!n and women There is a great appeal to. us in of Christendom to join "the long crusade." As a Christian statesman, the word of President Hyde, '~Ad he pointed out the most suitable places for missionary endeavor, and mire heroes if· thou wilt, but only admire, and thou remainest a slave.
Learn their secret, to commit thy- self to God and to obey Him, and thou shalt become a hero, too." There is a greater appeal in the word of Livingstone himself, "I would venture anything for Christ. Pity I have so little to give. But He will accept us, for He is a good Master. Never one like Him."
HOUSES OF ONE MONSEMDE MAN AND HIS
For each addi tional wife the man must build an additional house.
PIONEERING AMONG KONGO CANNIBALS A STIRRING VOLUME OF AFRICAN EXPERIENCE * REVIEWED BV MISS BELLE M. BRAIN Review and Extracts from a volume by Rev. John I-I. 'Veeks * WENTY_THREE years spirit, who ranked as one of the finest tribes on the Kongo. The risk I lTI ago, on July II, r89O, would be great, but such splendid two Baptist mission- men seemed well worth saving. aries boarded the little mission steamer Peace The experiences of th e Kongo .., at Bolobo on the tribes with white men-King Leo- Upper Kongo and began a long and pold's officials and brutal, unscrupuhazardous journey up river in search lous t raders-made the undertaking of a site for a new station. One of doubly difficult. Nevertheless, the them, Rev. W. H . Stapleton, had just two missionaries started out, unarmed arrived from England; the other, save with a modest supply of nails, Rev. John H. Weeks, had been at tools, barter goods and medicines. In work on the Lower Kongo since his fascinating volume, recently isr881. sued, entitled "Among Kongo Canni- bals," Mr. Weeks relates some ex- The English Baptists already had periences, which are most interestingthree stations on the Upper Kongo, ly told and which give a vivid picbut there was a great unevangelized ture of the life of the missionary in region occupied by the Boloki, a Africa. fierce and warlike tribe of cannibals, strong in physique and independent in • "Among Kongo Cannibals," by John H . Weeks. 8vo. Illustrated. $3.50. (J. B. Lippincott Company.) The ill ustrations are taken fr om the book by permission of the publishers.
Searching for a Site about two hours before, bring two of their young men, and with trustful The search for a site proved full of simplicity, place their hands in ours, adventure. In a few days the dis- saying, 'Here are two of our men; trict of Bungundu was reached and when you have done with them bring the little steamer headed for the them back again.' " largest town. From the deck the missionaries could see the people hurry- After that, on arriving opposite a ing away to the bush with their chil- town, the two Bungundu men went to dren and live stock. On landing not the bow of the boat, and shouted a single soul could be found. Ex- to the ,people not to be afraid, that perience had taught them that white these were good white men who were men, took sheep and goats and fowls buying fowl at a very high price. without paying for them. The mis- As a result, many of the towns were sionaries called to them to come out warm in their welcome and gave and sell them fowls, and at last one pressing invitations to the missionold man ventured to peep around the aries to stay with them. corner of a house. Being assured by some native boys who had come with But it was not so everywhere. As the missionaries that the visitors were they neared one of the Bokome1a not state officers but "white men of towns, the missionaries could see the God," he at last came forward and, women and children hurrying to the beating on a large drum, summoned bush and the men gathering on the the people back from the bush. The river bank. As they were about to missionaries bought a few fowl, and step on shore, the men on the bank by paying the enormous sum of three poised their spears ready to throw; pence each (the usual price was two and others in the trees overhanging pence), completely won the hearts of the river, fitted arrows to their bows. the people. When they understood the purpose for which the mission- It was a critical moment. A single aries had come, they begged Mr. false step would have brought a dead- Weeks and his companion to settle ly shower of poisoned weapons. "Tho in their town and eagerly pointed out outwardly calm," says Mr. Weeks, its advantages. The missionaries ex- "our pulses ran high and our hearts plained that they must visit other thumped our ribs. But not until towns before making a choice, but months later did we know how near asked that two men should go with we came to being the principal dish them to explain who the white at a cannibal feast." strangers were, and keep people from being afraid of them. The missionaries tried to explain what they had come for, but the It was, much to ask on such short savages refused to listen. "Go away 1" acquaintance, but so quickly do the they screamed. "We will kill you if Kongo natives respond to fair deal- you come on shore. We want nothing ing that they readily consented. "It to do with white men." Then, in was astonishing," says Mr. Weeks, frantic unison, the whole excited "to see these nervous, fearful folk, mob took up the cry. Meanwhile who had run helter-skelter from us the missionaries were standing, un- armed, within 20 feet of their up- raised spears and there was deadly
AMONG KONGO CANNIBALS
A KONGO WOMAN OF WEALTf{ pIe to steal; but always bought things at a proper market value." D:"ass rings, belt and neck1ace, aU constitute a considerable bank accoun t When Mr. Weeks asked why they had threatened to spear him on his former visit, he received this sig- nificant reply: "White man, just be- fore you came, some white men on a steamer passing by, shot down our chief and some of our people for no reason at all, and we 'swore to kill the first white men that came our way." In this reply is revealed one of the greatest obstacles to the pro- gress of the gospel in Africa.
Away up the river at the Bumba villages Mr. Weeks and Mr. Stapleton had another narrow escape. Tying the steamer to a tree on the bank, they went ashore. Some dogs barked at them, but no one came to object to their landing. But as they proceeded slowly, they noticed some young men silence on board the little steamer. The crew had gone into hiding.
There was nothing to do but go away. Not until out of reach of those deadly weapons did the missionaries realize how great had been their peril. "Undoubtedly they would have killed us," says Mr. Weeks, "had not God placed His hand over theirs so that neither spear nor arrow was hurled at us."
Some months later, after the new station had been established, Mr. Weeks came again to this same village and received a warm welcome. What had changed them from enemies to friends? "It was this," says Mr. Weeks:' "They had heard of our straightforward and honest dealings with the natives ; that we neither stole ourselves nor allowed our peo- A TYP[CAL BOLOKI B2Al>YAN
keeping about 50 yards ahead of them. to afford the best site for the new There were no women nor children station was the town of Monsembe, to be seen, always a bad sign in an in the center of a very populous dis-' African town. The gullies dividing trict, and it was accordingly chosen. the villages were bridged by old canoe It was a splendid sphere of labor planks; but when the missionaries with immense possibilities, and Mr. came to them, they found these VVeeks and his colleague entered upon planks removed, necessitating their their work with undaunted courage going down and up again. As they and hearts full of hope. started to cross the last gully, a rustle in the tall grass on the far Laying Foundations at Monsembe side startled them, and looking closely, they found the bush alive with A few hours after their arrival at men armed with spears and shields! Monsembe, the missionaries measured Just beyond, in the forest, were the off a piece of land along the river women and children they were en- front, and told the natives that they deavoring to protect from death or would buy it from them the next capture at the hands of the white men. morning. The officials of the Kongo To run away would invite a shower Free State had authorized them to of spears, so the missionaries sat take any plot of ground they wanted, down and parleyed with them. but they thought best to buy it from the real owners, the natives. By "Did you ever hear," they asked, six the next morning a motley crowd "of white men coming to fight with- had arrived to witness the novel out soldiers?" transaction. The men came armed with spears and knives, but after much "No," was the surly reply. parleying' about the price, the trans- "Did you ever know them to come action was completed to the satisfacto nght without guns and 'swords?" tion of all. A hut on the premises was the next question. was also purchased for a temporary "No," was again the reply. "Well," continued the missionaries, home, the price paid being 55. Id. "we have nothing but walking-sticks. Are all you men, armed with spears, ($1.22) . afraid of two white men with walk- By means of the trade language ing-sticks? Come, put up the bridge and help us along." in use on the river, the missionaries After a short consultation, the could make themselves understood planks were replaced and the mission- in minor matters; but for preaching aries helped over. The distribution the gospel a knowledge of the native of a few beads, spoons and penny tongue was indispensable. The next looking-glasses won everlasting good- step, therefore, was learning the lanwill, and the natives shouted and guage-a difficult task, for there was danced around the missionaries, hap- nothing to guide them. By constant- ly asking the question, "What is py that no blood had been shed.. this?" words were acquired one at At length the journey was ended. a time and were recorded in note- books. It was fascinating work and In all the long stretch of river they at night the missionaries added tohad traversed, the place that seemed gether the words acquired during the
13] PIO NEERI NG AMONG KONGO CANNIBALS
day and counted them as eagerly as months, that the natives sometimes mi se rs count gold. They were the purposely gave them many wrong words that would eventually enable words and phrases. th em to deliver their message. The missionaries were a sore puz- There were many mistakes due zle to the natives. They were neither to misunderstandings. One day, traders nor officials. What was their wanting the name for table, Mr. purpose in coming ? " Were you bad AT A BOLOKt DRINKING Bour Weeks tapped on it with his finger men who had to leave your own and asked, "What is this?" From the country?" and "Is there no food in boys standing around he received five your country?" were questions fredifferent answers. Each had given quently asked. what he thought the missionary >vanted and only one meant table. A t first, thinking they were traders, The other four meant respectively, they brought them ivory and rubber, tapping ( the missionary's action); but the missionaries did not want plank (of which the table was made) ; either of these. Then they tried strength (a quality of the table) ; and slaves and sugar-cane wine, but with cloth (the cover on the table). Mr. no better success. Finally, some of Weeks put them all in his note-book the headmen came and said in the and only learned his mistake when most solemn manner: "White men, he asked one of the boys to "bring we have noticed th at you have no him his hardness." wives, and think it will be well for you to marry two of our wo- The greatest handicap, however, men. And (pointing to a row of lay in the fact, not discovered for giggling girls behind them) we have
brought some for you to select from." tience, love, and straight dealing won The missionaries thanked them, ,first their confidence and at last their love." but Mr. Weeks explained that he had a wife in the white man's coun- The missionaries were in constant try, and Mr. Stapleton had a lady danger, often when they least guessed there waiting to become his wife. it. At first, the natives never left their houses without their spears and "That does not matter," they answered in chorus. "You can marry knives. The headmen were in favor of two of these now, and when your killing the white men, but were not white wives come, you can send these sure of their power to resist attack. back to their families." "What have they in those cases and trunks? "they asked one another. "Are When the missionaries persisted in they full of guns and cartridges?" their refusal, the headmen went off in a huff, for they had expected to In order to find out, they resorted m~ke a profit out of it; and the to strategy. Going to the bank, they "i,t"tgr'm:en left, chagrined that their would look down the river, and then charms had had so little effect on call to the missionaries, "White men, the white men. the people in the lower towns are coming up to fight you. Get out This incident seemed to make the your guns and we will help you." problem of the white men still The missionaries had but one gun harder to solve. Mr. Weeks states and th;t was in pieces at the bottom it thus: "Here are two white men, of one of their trunks. They did not rich like other white men (the poor- believe the story of the threatened est white man is a millionaire in their attack, so they merely took out their eyes), building houses in our town, binoculars, looked down the river, working hard from sunrise to sunset, made some laughing remark and went refusing our ivory and rubber, our on with their work. Yet in their slaves, our women, and our drink. hearts they were sorely perplexed to What are they? They say they have know what it meant. The natives, come to tell us about God. But too, were perplexed. "Why are the would white men leave home, wives, white men so calm and quiet?" they family, and work in the sun as the}1 asked. "Have they some powerful do just to tell us about God?" magic that will kill us if we fight them? Have they little guns (re- At last the people came to the con- volvers) hidden in their clothes ?" clusion that the missionaries were Lad men and the best thing to do was The calmness of the missionaries to thwart their designs, prevent their undoubtedly saved them through the learning the language, and make as providence of God. "I was once told much money out of them as possible. by an old German missionary," says Much of this the missionaries guessed, Mr. Weeks, "that a display of force but not for months did they know often incited the natives to try issues the whole. "Meanwhile," says Mr. with a stranger in their midst. Our Weeks, "we tried, in our poor way, experience is a confirmation of this. to live the life of our Master, Jesus A better example of it, however, is Christ, among them, and gradually Doctor Livingstone, who went among their suspicions melted away. Pa-
AMONG KONGO CANNIBALS
the wildest tribes and won their con- get out their guns and help. But fidence because he went among them they refused on the ground that all unarmed." the people of the district were their friends. Greatly angered, the savages About four months after the mis- began to taunt them. .With gestures sionaries began work at Monsembe, of scorn they pointed their spears and a horrible experience revealed the knives at them and shouted, "You are real character of the people they had come to win to Christ. Early one REV. J. H. WEEKS DOCTORING A CROCODILE BITE • morning some of the up-river towns came to attack Monsembe and a not men ! You are women! You are sharp battle ensued. Presently they cowards !" began bringing the wounded to the missionaries to have their wounds This was hard to endure. Yet drest; but after two hours news with pale, set faces and comprest came that the attacking party was lips, the missionaries patiently bore in retreat. The fight was not over, it. "It would have been easy to make for the Monsembe people pursued a show of helping them," says Mr. their enemies to their own towns and Weeks. "Firing a shot into the bush continued fighting until they won .a would probably have stopt their complete victory. sneers; but we were there on behalf of the 'Prince of Peace.' How could Before sunset they returned, bring- ,ve embroil ourselves in their wars ing the spoils with them. As the and take sides with them against missionaries sat at tea, the victors filed those we were hoping to reach?" It past, carrying the diimembered bodies was hard on the missionaries, but of the slain. "The horrible sight the result was good. From that was too much for us," says Mr. time on they were regarded as be- Weeks. "We had to abandon our longing, not to Monsembe alone, but meal, and it was days before we could eat again with any relish. The sight worked on our nerves. In the night we would start from our sleep, having dreamed of processions passing with loads of slain and dismembered bodies."
That night Monsembe was given up to cannibal feasts. In the morning the people brought some of the cooked meat to the missionaries who gave them their opinion of such a horrible custom. When the feasting was over, the people lived in constant fear of reprisals. Conscience made cowards of them all. Every rustle of the grass was mistaken for the coming of the foe. At every alarm the men asked the missionaries to
to all the towns in the district. came they would ask: "White man, Three weeks later, when the up- how does the book talk to you? Can you make it talk to us?" river towns came to make peace, the missionaries had a chance to prove If the missionaries had shown any themselves no cowards. The de- eagerness to teach them, the natives liberations were long and noisy, and wou-ld probably have held back. But several times hostilities seemed on by chaffing them and expressing the point of breaking out afresh. doubts as to whether they had brains But at length all was settled and the enough to learn, the people were put visitors came to say "Good-by" to the on their mettle and begged for a mISSIOnaries. But just as they were school. Apparently the missionaries leaving, the Monsembe people began were in no hurry; but at length it to attack them. A fight would have was announced that a school would resulted had not the missionaries be opened on a certain Monday. When driven the Monsembe people back the day came about 20 lads enrolled with sticks, insisting that they had as pupils and a great crowd of onbought the land and would have no lookers arrived with them. Finding fighting on it. the rolld to learning a difficult one to climb, about half of the pupils left It was a revelation to the Mon- after two weeks; but those who sembe people to see two white men stayed made good scholars and, later armed only with sticks-white men on, became teachers of others. they had taunted with being cowards and women-driving back a crowd Of the later history of the mission, armed with spears and knives. What Mr. Weeks tells practically nothing. power had these white men behind His book is not an account of misthem anyway? sionary effort, but a highly entertain- ing and valuable study of the habits, The white man's books and papers customs, religion and laws of the Bohad a great fascination for the na- loki. Incidentally, however, it is retives, but at first they were afraid vealed that the presence and example to touch them, believing that there of the "white men of God" among was evil magic in them, which the them has been a great uplift to the missionaries alone could hold in abey- people, tempering their cruelty, lesance. But they took great delight in sening their immorality and weakenwatching the white men while the ing their faith in witchcraft. Those "books talked to them." Every who read the book, however, will change of facial expression was have a desire to know -more of what noted; if the missionary laughed, the has been accomplished. It is to be people laughed too, and poking one hoped, therefore, that Mr. Weeks another said: "The book is talking will either issue a new volume tellsomething funny to him." Some- ing the subsequent history, or will times they crept up behind, and look- add a chapter to later editions of the ing earnestly at the printed page, present work. cocked their ears and listened intently for any sound. When none
MOST REMARKABLE CONVERT IN
STREET * BY PHILIP 1. ROBERTS, NEW YORK Editor of the Presbyterian Examiner ~~~E2:ij;1 OR many years there All this happened years ago, and stood, right in the for almost two decades the Suicide heart of Mulberry Tree has ceased to exert its baleful Bend, a solitary ailan- influence over the hopeless habitues tus tree which, in the of Mtilberry Bend. Yet in the plea- days when this now sant, little park no.w laid out around densely crowded section of New York the spot where the ailantus once was a pleasant, rustic neighborhood, stood, ruined, rum-soaked outcasts formed part of a shady grove planted gather as of yore. No longer does in the rear of an old-fashioned home- the sinister gallows-tree invite to self- stead owned by one Henry Passman. destruction. Still, from Mulberry In the early forties, however, the Bend to the East River is no great district began to lose its rural aspect. distance, and somebody or other is The old mansion disappeared. Tene- always making the journey. Like ment-houses sprang up on every side; that of every other great city, the and the trees were hewn down with underworld of New York has its the exception of this single ailantus grades of despairing hopelessness.
which for some reason was allowed And any East Sider will tell you that to stand. the "bums" of Mulberry Bend stand Mulberry Bend now became the ever nearest to the Great Divide.
haunt of desperate criminals, earning Vith o.ne of these outcasts-possibly for itself an infamous notoriety as the most remarkable character that the most. dangerous quarter of the ever entered the doors of Water city. And as time went o.n the ailan- Street Mission-this story has parti- tus go.t for itself a reputation as evil cularly to do.
and ill-omened as the neighborho.o.d One evening in the early part of in which it stood. Dark deeds- May he sat on a bench in his favorite murder and robbery-were committed rendezvous, sullen and silent. Usually under its spreading shadow. When he was talkative enough, and passed the draft riots of 1863 broke out in for something of a wit among his New York, and the lower part of the fellows in misfortune around Mul- city for several days given over to a berry Bend. But on this particular drunken, frenzied mob, a score or night he sat for hours, his chin thrust more of negroes were strung up on down into his chest, uttering never a this tree. In later years, hopeless word. Small wonder that he did so, men, afflicted by remorse or suffering for that day-the first in a long and the pangs o.f starvation, got into the peculiarly evil life-he had ,been way of hanging themselves from its given to see with appalling distinct- brall('hes, until, finally, it became ness that his life was a hideous, help- knov:n throughout the whole East less failure-that he-John Tyler- Side as the Suicide Tree. was absolutely nothing more than a * A sample chapter entitled "Into a Far Country," from the stirring volume "Dry Dock of a Thousand Wrecks," by Philip 1. Roberts. $1.00, net. Fleming H. Revell Co., 1912.
parasite-part of the waste and bur- and sat there wrapt 111 gloomy den of society. thought. A thousand things crowded his brain, the most vivid and recur- The revelation w~s superlatively rent of which were the words of the humiliating. It came with great sud- man in City Hall Park: "A thousand denness-it hit him tremendously times better dead /" Applied to himhard. In its general effect it vividly self, the idea was brand new, bringing recalled a rude awakening he ex- with it the cruel bitterness of defeat. perienced ten years before in Porto Never before had he acknowledged Rico, when having lain down in a himself beaten; never before had he drunken stupor on the dock-wal! he admitted having reached the end of toppled over on to the deck of a his tether, tho many times hard tramp steamer, twenty feet below. driven and in desperate case. Well, Earlier in the day-a day held over he would accept the apparently inconfrom the frigid days of February- trovertible conclusion. That night Tyler had sat for an hour or so in should see the end. City Hal! Park. An icy wind sweeping up Frankfort Street from the river Grimly he set about reconciling snarled across the open spaces, put- himself to his fate. Life was a ting the miserable occupants of the tangled skein anyway, awl its unravelpark benches through the third degree ing was beyond him. He had lived of the homeless. Presently a through his tale of sixty years, rultng wretched, unwashed heggar slouched it in his own fashion-seekinll aovjce by, and a man sitting next to Tyler from none. And the finish should be said: "See that feller? I've known of a piece with the rest. He, himself, him for twenty years. For all the would choose the manner and mode use he is, either to himself or anybody of exit. To die in a hospital, a poorelse, in this world, he'd be a thousand house, or on a park bench some times better dead. Why he does'nt wintry night, he was determined 110t go and make a hole in the East River to do. Yet some such fate must gets me." Tyler started as if stung. assuredly be his, if matters were "Is that so?" he said. "That is so," allowed to work out to their logical replied the other. "There's not a conclusion. vVell, he would himself single reason on earth why that bum take a hand in the game. It should should remain on top of it for an- be the East River as soon as darkother hour." Tyler got up and ness should again brood over the city. walked away. It was the only way.
"'For all the use he is to himself Presently a man who had been or anybody else'-that hits me," he sitting near him got up and walked mused. "'He'd be a thousand times away, leaving an evening paper bebetter dead'-and that hands me a hind him. Tyler took it up anJ wallop too. 'Why he doesn't make began mechanically to read it. Then a hole in the water gets me'-and his eye fell on an account of an anwhy I don't, gets me. That fellow niversary celebration at the Jerry has sized me up to an inch-and McAuley Mission. The paragraph didn't know it." carried his mind back thirty years or more. He remembered how as a He slouched off to Mulberry Bend,
MOST REMARKABLE CONVERT IN WATER
young man of wealth and position he fiung his arms heavenward, "I can't had acted as escort to a party of pray-I don't know how. But if ladies down to this very Mission to you will give me a power to cut this see and hear Jerry McAuley, at that curst drink out of my life, I'll serve time the talk of the town. Some of you faithfully the rest of my days. I the wonderful stories of redemption mean it-I mean it-so help me he heard that night now came back God!" to him with vivid clearness. Then an idea, as new to him as the thought Acting at once on his newly-made of self-destruction had been. crept resolution he hurried down to Water into his brain. Could this Mission, Street where an evening meeting was or whatever it stood for, help him, in progress, and there cried to God John Tyler? It was not likely. for mercy-for power to get the vic- N ever in his life had he made the tory over habits that had held him faintest effort at reformation. Never as with rings of steel for more than in his life had he uttered a prayer. forty years. And what he sought he lIe had no hope of heaven–he had obtained. "Looking backward to that no fear of hell. Such things were memorable hour," he said to me a not for him. He was beyond the short while ago, "I realize that from pale. There was nothing that he the very moment I sought pardon at could think of in heaven or earth that the feet of Jesus the hideous record could make anything more of him of an awful life was blotted out forthan he had made of himself–a total ever. Not for one single moment wreck. There was nothing for it but since that time has the witness within the East River after all. of my acceptance with Christ been withheld. The East River resolve? He flung away the paper, and took Ah! that was a serious business at a turn or two around the park. The the time it was made, but I can afford idea would not down. Why not try to smile at it now!" it? A day or so couldn't make much difference anyway. He came back Yes, Tyler can afford to smile at to his bench again. "God," he mut- it now–he can afford, and does, to tered, as he sat down and pushed his smile on life in general. Things face between his clenched fists, "I have prospered wonderfully with him wonder whether there's anything to during the past four years. I have it 7" His mother he knew had faith said that he is, possibly, the most in such things. He had often heard remarkable convert vVater Street has her say, fifty years before, that Jesus yet had. I repeat that, only to Christ could save the vilest sinner convey some sort of an impression of from his sins–could cleanse and how remarkable a man he really is. make him whole. Could this be done? His experiences and adventures in I f it could, it meant the saving of out-of-the-way corners of the earth, as well as on its well-traversed high- JaIm Tyler, for there were none viler ways everywhere have been alike varied and wonderful. A certain costhan he. A desperate resolve seized mopolitan touch is in his blood–he him. A strange excitement shook is a citizen of the world. His outhim from head to foot. look on life is striking and original.
"Jesus Christ," he cried, as he
He can patter intelligibly in half a fitted me like a glove. Or, as another dozen languages; he has witnessed chap put it one day-'Tyler,' said he, many strange, impenetrable doings 'you're what I call an international of which he never speaks. He is a bum.'
born raconteur, and his budget of "I took my first drink of whisky,"
entertaining stories concerning his he told me on another occasion, "in wanderings to and fro in the earth the year 1866. My people had sent apparently inexhaustible. He has me to a private boarding-school away circled the globe five times and is as in Albemarle County to prevent, as familiar with the East End of Lon- they thought, my contracting evil or don, the Quartier of Paris, the fan- intemperate habits.' One day I, in tan joints of Hong Kong, the Boca company with some other half-grown of Buenos Ayres, or the slums of lads, visited the Monticello home of Calcutta, as he is with the New York Thomas Jefferson, and there tasted Bowery. Six years of his life were liquor for the first time. Forty-two spent in the Australian bush-away in years later I sat in Mulberry Bend the back-blocks where he worked as Park, a ruined outcast. For all that a swagga. "I had the whole world went between, the Lord have mercy for a stamping-ground," he has said, on my soul! Of course I never "for more than twenty years." Tall, intended to become a drunkard, but lithe, with not an ounce of superfluous right from early manhood I became flesh about him, standing straight as a dissipated rake. And an excep- an arrow in spite of his sixty odd tional constitution enabled me to keep years, splendidly shaped head, deeply up a red-hot, cracking pace for more marked features, resolute mouth, and than twenty years. At my' father's a voice of tremendous power, John death I inherited a fortune and Tyler would command attention any- straightway started on a debauch that where. lasted for two solid years. Right He is a son of the Old Dominion. here in this city, living at one hotel Descendant through his mother of in company with the hardest drinking John Clark, whose prayers mingled set to be found within its borders, I with those of Washington during the unloaded money enough to have kept strenuous days of Valley Forge, and me in reasonable comfort the re- through his father of a former United mainder of my days. Among my States president, John Tyler comes drinking pals was an English lord- of the most honored families in Vir- the most" abandoned of us all.
ginia. "Finally, I went broke," he con- "Not a single member of my family tinued, "and then I cleared out of ever brought the vestige of a stain the country. Time and again I tried on the old name excepting myself," to right myself, but to no avail. My he said. sorrowfully to me one day, thirst for liquor drove me like the "and I-well, in almost every civilized wandering Jew-round and round country on this planet I've managed the world. I was always able to to be what a fellow in Gravesend, work, and have tackled every con- England, told me I was-a long, lean, ceivable job under the sun-on land lorn, lanky loafer. The description and sea. When I drew my pay, I
immediately drank it up, and, if dis- American citizen traveling abroad?'
charged, moved on to another place. After some little delay I was con- In India, Australia, Europe, South ducted into the presence of Mr. Bay- America, and the Eastern seas the ard. You can judge of his surprize same shameful story repeated itself. when the American citizen turned out In every country and clime, the devil to be one of the worst vagabonds in robbed me of everything worth hav- Europe whose only business was to ing or holding, and sent me scudding ask for the temporary loan of twenty·· along like a ship before a typhoon, five dollars! Did I get it? Of course knowing and caring not whither. I did. Thomas F. Bayard was a "One time I determined to get Southerner and a gentleman and, away from this awful curse, if it after I had pitched my tale, gave me were possible, by going right up into all I asked. I think, however, that the Australian bush where drink was it was my unblushing impudence that neither sold nor used. I got right carried the day with him. That was up into the 'back-blocks,' more than one of many times that I held up my four hundred miles from Sydney, and country's representatives in foreign joined myself to a sheep farmer. For lands. Indeed, I was unfavorably nearly a year all went well, and I and disreputably known as an incor- imagined myself safe. One day, rigible panhandler to every American however, the old craving came over consul in Europe. And, sometimes, 1l1e like a raging fever and I was when finding myself in some ont-of- done for. I drew the wages due me, the-way corner of the British Empire, and covered that long, weary tramp I would make myself known to Eng- cf four hundred miles back into lish consuls as John McCarthy, of Sydney simply and solely to get Dublin, or Liverpool, and coax assist- drunk. In three days my money was ance out of them as a D. B. S- all gone and I was sleeping under the destitute British subject. Oh 1 the stars in Hyde Park. sordid, despicable meanness of it alll "Let me tell you of another escap- "But there came an end to this ade. I was in London-hard up in globe-trotting. I felt myself old and the East End. I had been paid off unable to rough it, as I had done for f:-om an East Indian steamer, and, of nearly twenty yea;rs. Then again I course, had speedily swallowed the began to have a longing for the old rdoney. Thomas F. Bayard was at country and I determined to return.
tiJat time just entering on his term as My people had long regarded me as {irst American Ambassador to Bri- dead, and I did nothing ,to undeceive tain. Him I straightway determined them. What good could it have to get at, by hook or crook. So off done? They were but the ashes of a I went to the Embassy in Victoria burnt-out life I was bringing home.
Street, Vestminster, and presented I came to New York, and sank lower to the footman a card, on which I and lower with every passing day.
had written : 'Would His Excellency I worked spasmodically, just in order the American Ambassador be pieased to get liquor. But there came a time to grant a brief interview to John when I £lung the whole thing up.
Tyler, of Richmond, Virginia,. an Hope died right out in my life and I
loafed about the city, and slept in the God helped him and he strove to help Mulberry Bend Park pavilion-down himself. His first job was in a on the stone floor. I was beaten at Bowery lodging-house, which brought last. There's a story I once heard, him seventy-five cents a day, his next which, altho it has a touch of humor a clerkship at seven dollars a week. that my awful condition had not, may Then he secured work in Bell~vue serve to indicate my utter helpless- Hospital-working as a painter. ness and need. There was an Irish- Eventually a man who had known man one day passing near St. him years before gave him a chance George's landing-stage in Liverpool which he eagerly seized. To-day he and he saw an English beggar asking is the successful superintendent of an alms. The poor fellow was a dread- up-town office building. "Jesus ful cripple, having lost an eye, an Christ has done much for me," he arm, and a leg. Pat gave him some will tell you. "Health restored, faculmoney and passed on. Then he came ties regained, life changed, hope reback and gave him some more-and newed, I go on my way rejoicing." yet a third time. The poor cripple was profuse in his thanks, and asked Mr. Tyler is much sought after to the Irishman if he would tell him the speak in churches, mission-halls and reason why he had acted so gen- elsewhere. And he readily responds. erously. 'Sure I'll tell you,' said Pat Nowhere is he more popular than at jubilantly, 'an' be mighty glad to. the East Northfield Summer Con- It's this-you're the only Englishman ferences. He has often spoken there I've iver seen in my life that had been and always with acceptance and properly trimmed-trimmed to my power. As a public speaker he has likin.' And, believe me, in some commanding natural gifts. When such fashion the devil must have one remembers that these gifts have chuckled over me, just before I went lain unused and neglected for more to Water Street, for he certainly had than a generation, their quality tome trimmed to his liking. But, praise day is little less than marvelous. It God, I'm out of his clutches now- is my deliberate opinion that forty once and forever." years of wanton and reckless vaga- bondage have deprived this country The days immediately following his of the services of a man who, under conversion were not easy, languorous happier auspices, had ranked as one ones for John Tyler. A man who of the greatest of living orators. has been a drunkard and a vagabond Something has, however, been saved for forty-two years does not easily from the wreck, and out of the salfit in with respectability and good vage God is fashioning an instrument citizenship. But the man persevered. of usefulness and honor.
God never mocks the soul with an impossible ideal, neither should the soul ever mock God with an ignoble one.-Doctor F Watson J-Jannan,
MELTING POT OF THE NATIONS *
BY PROFESSOR EDWARD A. STEINER Author of "Against the Current," Etc.
~T .. HE history of the hu- However strong the economic pres- man race has at its sure which brought and still brings , epochal points the rec- the immigrant, still there has never ord of the injustice of been absent from it a modifying tribes, nations or races. idealism; above the standard of Spain planted by Columbus arose the cross From Abraham of the of the church. Holy men followed with no armor to protect but their East to Abraham of the East Side, cassock, no sword to wield but the crucifix, no higher reward to find the tribes of Israel have gone forth ·than to save the souls of the sav- ages. to seek a better country, and tho The men and women who landed they were seeking only larger pas- at Plymouth Rock or on the shore of Delaware Bay did not come lured tures for their flocks or food in time by the gold in our mines, nor were they led by the trumpet which sounds of famine or lands flowing with milk the note of fame, and among the mil- lions which land at Ellis Island now, and honey, they have often found there are those and in no small num- bers, who are not far removed from Philistines and grasshoppers, flaming their forefathers in their idealism. All of them are looking for a better Sinai and the Ten Commandments. country, economically, many of them politically, and spiritually. Spies have gone out and brought The immigrants brought the church back stories of the wealth of the with them and still bring it under varying symbols. There is nothing land, of strange and strong men to be which warrants the belief that the Christian church in its proper sense conquered, and lured by wealth and is doomed because a people came who were not yet born when the Mayundismayed by fear these pioneers flower set sail for "New England's rock bound shore," nor is the cause were followed by families and flocks of temperance doomed because, in- stead of 400,000 Germans there are into the promised land, which proved landed annually as many Italians; nor is the good government in our a new school of experience, an on- cities doomed because, instead of 500,000 Irish we receive as many ward step in the history of the race. Jews; nor are our public schools doomed because, instead of Scotch That which marks this period from others is that men are not coming as tribes or nations, but as individ- uals. They are coming from prac- tically all the kindreds of th@ earth, and they are all coming to one conti- nent, and more than two-thirds of them to one country. The chief characteristic of this movement is that we are all more or less a part of that human stream. We are not yet so far· removed from it but that we can taste the bitter waters of the steerage and thank God for the sweet waters of Ellis Island and know gracefulness of the shade of the threescore and three palm trees of Battery Park.
'From "Men and Religion." A report of the address delivered in Carnegie Hall at the close of the Men and Religion Campaign. Copyrighted by the InternationM Y. M. C. A. Press.
ane! English the Slavs flock to our when there passed before my eyes cities. 150,000 men and women. I looked into 150,000 throats, and looked intD Until a comparatively recent time, 150,000 pairs of eyes, and of the the churches in America e!ie! nothing 150,000, 96 per cent. of them were for the immigrant. The immigrant coming over here to work and not to did much for the churches. Ex- shirk; to obey the divine command, ploited by the transportation com- to eat their bread by the sweat that panies, and still exploited, treated flows from their own brows, and not like cattle on sea and land for de- to eat their bread by the sweat which cades, the church did not protest, flows from the other man's brow. In the church did not protect him. a way we have no right to say that Poisoned by the foul odors of tene- the people who come to us to-day ments, swallowed by the mines, are facing the economic problems. burned by the furnaces, the church "1e have not too many workers in still did not lift her voice. America-but too· many shirkers. As I stood by the side Df that incoming Not until a decade or two ago did stream of manhoDd and womanhood the churches you represent take notice I said tD myself: "If all the college of immigrant, and then they were professors in creation should strike, moved largely by fear and not alto- it would not make much difference gether by compassion. This fear is to creation." Go through the streets not grounded. The massing of men of New YDrk or any other great city, in our cities, the crowding in of but if you want to see that which en- humanity beginning its struggle at nobles humanity, do not drive along the lowest and most congested rung the fashionable avenues but go over of the economic ladder, children be- to the East Side at 6 o'clock in the ginning life in our tenements handi- evening, when the great army of men capped politically and morally, these and women come back from their are huge problems, but they are tasks, happy because they have dDne twentieth century problems which a day's honest work. I live and every country faces, whether it re- work amDng these peDple and I come . ceives immigrants or sends emigrants away from them always feeling that away. their difficulties ~hrill within me.
On the whole, it may be said that The people who come to America the masses of immigrants who come to-day have also stood the challenge stand the primary test: of our civiliza- flung out in just apprehension by our tion. The challenge at the gate is: civilization: Can they be assimilated? "Are you fit to work?" And the Look at Constantinople, where pretty Federal sieve excludes the unfit. nearly as many races and creeds and nationalities are ·to be fDund as in It was my privilege tD gD abroad New York. They have lived to- on the same ship with the official gether for hundreds of years, the commission to investigate conditions Greeks, the Moslems, the Slavs and in regard to the care of emigrants in the Jew.. I have walked through Europe. I stood by the side of stretches of Arabia, Syria and Greece, the emigration commissioners ap- pointed by the various cDuntries, and stood by the examining surgeon,
MELTING POT OF THE
and Russia and Bohemia and the good and the evil and doing both. Sweden, and Italy, and Jerusalem, They also stand the test of measur- and through them all you can hear the mighty response of this magic ing up to our highest idealism. The power which is taking these people investigation made by the Y. W. C. and grinding out the old and grind- A. reveals this in a most striking ing in the new.' way, and in order to meet this ideal- ism they have wisely chosen to teach How marvellously this thing works English by the means of the simple in America you can have no better but profound theories of the Holy instance of than myself. I have not Book. Every man who has endeava drop of American blood in my ored to come into contact with these veins. I am of an ancestry which new prejudices has come out of this has not for thousands of years, I experience with the profound realizaknow, had a drop of other blood in tion that he is not dealing with the its veins. Last spring I went to my scum of the earth but with ordinary native city of Vienna, and took my humanity striving, blindly often and wife with me. She is an American blunderingly, to lift itself to the diof foreign parentage of the same vine. blood as myself. We walked through my native city, and went into a shop. The realization of these facts ought We were native born and wore cloth- not to lead to a blind ineffective oping made in Vienna, but as soon as timism, but to the consciousness that we opened the door the shop-keeper the church can never accomplish said: "Come and see the Americans." much if moved by fear and not by My children met their little cousins, faith, by prejudice and hate rather who have lived in another environ- than by confidence and love. ment and we found that already they are of two different types. What Can the Church Do? There are a number of things Can these people be assimilated? which the church can do, and first Much more quickly' than we think of all it needs to change its attitude are they yielding themselves to these of mind toward the new immigrant. environmental factors which have Immigration as such, whether it is made Americans out of Celt, Anglo- a good thing or a bad thing for this Saxon, Teuton and Norsemen. country, ought not to warp our minds in our relation to the immigrant. The So long as these factors remain as president of a home missionary sovital as they are, so long as we shall ciety recently introduced me to a have this stimulating air, food enough congregation where the richest man in and a little more, public schools for America attends, but which is made every child, the spirit of democracy up largely of Italians, Slavs and making for a fair chance and for Magyars. One minister made this fair play, a virile patriotic American warped but unchallenged statement: citizenship, so long as we have these "Weare landing annually 200,000 and the other things which make up murderers," while another hoped to a wholesome environment, we need increase the Iiome missionary collecnot fear but that these aliens too tion by stating that we are landing shall become,. as one of us, knowing one million paupers every year.
The belief is current that there is and that is the human race, a fallen a line drawn between the north and race, all of it needing the grace of south of Europe, and that one-half God to raise it to the ideals of the is inhabited by all the good people, Christ. and the other half by all the bad; that prior to the year 1880 the This is both scientific and ortho- United States received only good im- dox, and only as the church believes migrants and that from that till now in this common kinship can it begin only the bad have (,:ome. the task which is before it. Not only must the church change its Professor Hart, who occupies the mind about the new immigrant, but chair of history at Harvard Univer- it must learn to practise at home the sity, declared recently that for a brotherhood it professes. long time the Anglo-Sa:xcon thought that he alone w.as fit for self-govern- The church is facing a new test toment, but that the Germans proved day, and that test is not theological; that they could do it, then the French it is psychological. The question is showed remarkable ability, and then, not: "Do we believe in God as the behold, the Italian fought for a Father of mankind;" this belief is to- United Italy, and gave the world that day almost universal. Do we believe unmatched triumvirate, Garibaldi, Ca- in Jesus, the savior of men? In vour .and Mazzini. Then the Young varied degrees and definitions the Turks struck for liberty and for a masses of religious men believe this parliament, and now even static also. Then we must ask do we be- China, asleep for ages, has supplanted lieve in love and brotherhood? Yes. the yellow dragon with the stars and Do we practise it? That's the testtri-color. do we practise brotherhood?
An emigrant who knows the city It is comparatively easy to love better than I do, told me that the even our enemies when they smell political salvation of this great city of violets, but to act in our relationis due to the new immigrant and not ship with men as brothers who have to the old immigrant. When you eaten garlic, who have a different talk about the corrupt influences of tint to their skin, a different crook these people you must not forget that to their nose, that's the difficult test a city like Philadelphia raised itself we are facing. Christianity has upon the best immigrant blood- modified and changed most of human Quakers, Germans, Scotch, Irish and nature, fallen from Heaven, or risen others, but when these races and the from the beast, and it has a big task Jew came to America there was noth- either way, but it has not modified ing left for them to corrupt. much our ancient hates and preju- dices to any appreciable degree. The Christian church may divide the human race into the undeveloped What we usually claim for Jesus and the more developed, but it can Christ, other religions claim for their not divide it by an arbitrary geo- founders; supernatural birth, mirgraphic line, nor by color, nor by acles of various kinds, even sonship speech into the good or bad, for to of God, but He claimed for Himself the Christian there is only one race -and He was the only one who claimed it for Himself-the sonship
MELTING POT OF THE NATIONS
with man. He, born of a race separ- members of a martyred race, and ated for centuries by religious belief hear all their varied tongues blend and practise. He, royal, divine, into speech, all their thoughts blend pointed and still points with regal into one feeling, then you feel the gesture to these, to all these who do rushing of a mighty wind, for that is the will of the Father, "Are my Pentecost, the supremest moment of mother, my brother and my sister." one's life, when you can disembowel yourself of hate and prejudice, when In the great symbolic miracle at as with a new birth, you can stand the birth of Jesus Christ, the three amid the strife of states and nations wise men not only found a star, but and races and classes, and feel all three wise men, of different race and the human race say, "We, the huspeech, also found each other. We man." This is the supremest moment shall never find the throne of Christ, in a man's life. When the church no matter how brightly the star of gets this new universalism, she will Bethlehem shines, if we do not find get her Pentecost. one another. There is no such test in the church as this test of brother- But let no man believe that this hood to-day. It is easy enough to new emotion is better than the old practise when we are all alike, say unless we really practise this brotherin the Baptist brotherhood, but to hood, and that is no easy task. The practise it among all the nations and thing which your campaign leaders kindred and races of the world-that called social service is an expression is the hard test. ot it. They do not mean that a so- cial survey and social service are I am not a mystic-I wish I were synonymous, that you can serve the -I have lately assailed the gates of immigrant by investigating him, or heaven with agonizing prayer such as fumigating him, or by handing him a comes when helpless man cries out tract on how to prepare a soup bone against death's dark doing, and the so it will taste like a porterhouse. gates were not opened, but when I They mean that by our very profesturned from my own grief and on the sion of brotherhood we are bound street or on the street-car, unselfishly to the toiler, to his children, to his acted the brother to those who could home; that we are bound to keep not even pray, then I knew that there the way open for an honest struggle, was such a thing as communion with and that we are faithless to faith in God and in man if we draw a line in Goo. this endeavor between our kind and the other kind. I know something of the great emotions which flood the human soul. More concretely the church must change her home missionary policy, r have watched the sunri"se and the care for him at the ports en route to the west, to interpret and to desunset splendors of moon and star, monstrate the wisdom and the power storm and calm at sea; I have seen of the gospel. For the last ten years the snow-capped hills, canyons and I have asked that the churches send cataracts, but there is no emotion among these masses of men the best akin to this, of standing in the midst of a human throng in New York, aliens from afar, children of the bondmen and of serfs, hoary-headed
products of our Christian civilization, upon the sea, going to every village to stand between, to interpret the and town of southern and eastern gospel in terms of service, to be Europe, bringing tidings about us, freed from the degrading slavery of carrying our influence of good and denominational year-books, to be the evil. More than 600,000 men and leaven of this lump. A policy of women will return this year to the this kind has been followed to some old world, returning each one of them degree, but the men of America changed by our influences, to village must remonstrate against ineffective and hamlet and town. They are our men and methods in home mIs- messengers-what clo they carry home sions, against wicked duplication, from America?
and overlapping, and against the car- The future of America is still a rying of denominational differences closed book, whose seal none of us is to our alien population, and they must worthy to break, but as the apostle plead and plan for a new type of men who stood on Patmos had his apoca- and women, to form a new army of lypse, so we may hear those who home missionary volunteers equal to come after us, singing the new song, that at the command of our foreign "Worthy is the Lamb that was Slain boards. to take the book and to open the seals Lastly, the churches must realize thereof, for thou wast slain and did that after all this problem is at their purchase unto God with Thy blood, doors, testing their creed, their loyal- men of every tribe and tongue and ty and devotion, that only the leader- people and nation, and madest them ship can be delegated to others, the to be unto our God a kingdom and work must be done by us, and that priests, and they reign upon the after all the most effective work we earth. And I saw and heard them can do for the immigrant is to be saying with a great voice, Worthy ourselves what we want him to be. is the Lamb that hath been slain to Re is in the flux, the molten metal receive the power, and riches and pouring in; we are the matrix, the wisdom and might and honor and mold; he will become what we are, glory and blessing. . . . And the four and, as we are, so will become the living creatures said Amen, and the town from which he comes to us. elders fell down and worshiped To-day there are a million letters him." Let us also worship Him.
HE IS COUNTING ON YOU "He is counting on you!" "He is counting on yotl!" "On a love that will shar.e "Oh! the wonder and grace, In His burden of prayer, To look Christ in the face For the souls He has bought And not be ashamed, With His life-blood; and sought For yotl gave what He claimed, Through His sorrow and pain And you laid down your all To win 'Home' yet again. For His sake-at His call.
He is counting on YOtl, He had counted all you, If you fail Him- And you failed not. What then?" What then?"
THE DAWN IN
A REVIEW BY ERNEST DELANCY PIERSON BOO K has recently 111 "Just Before the Dawn,"* by been published which Robert Cornell Armstrong, M.A., of has a special interest Kobe, Japan,we have an interesting and to Christian mission- pany), we have an interesting and aries as a revelation important study of the life and work of the best type of of the great reformer, and a faith- Japanese character without Christ. ful presentation of the various at- This character was Ninomiya Son- tempts made by the Japanese to toku, farmer sage, moralist, and econ- solve their economic, moral and reomist, the most famous man that ligious problems. The author ex- Japan has given to the industrial presses the hope, that his book will world. Tho he died in r856 (three help to reveal the common,. human years before the entrance of the first side of Japanese character, "anel to Protestant Christian missionaries) the give to those who read it, a broader principles and lessons which he in- sympathy for that wonderful people." culcated still exert a potent influence in the economic life of the empire. Ninomiya himself said: "My teach- To him, perhaps, more than to any ing is that we should reward grace other individual, Japan owes her in- and virtue. If asked for an explanadustrial and agricultural progress, tion I would say, that this means that her habits of thrift, and the develop- we make return to heaven, man and ment of her natural resources. These earth for the gracious benefits we have helped to place her in the pres- have received from them. Heaven's ent proud pOSItIon she occupies blessing is given us in the light of the among the nations of the earth. sun and moon. The sun rises and Since the Russo-Japanese war the sets. The four seasons come and go. teachings of the "farmer sage" have In every living creature there is both gained increased popularity, and the development and decay. In these and Home and Educational Department other ways heaven's blessing is maniof the Government have endeavored fested toward us. Earth manifests to introduce them into the entire her favor through the growth of school system of the empire. The grasses, trees and grain, in the fact fundamental teachings of Ninomiya that animals, birds, and fish live. are known as "Hotoku" (literally Man's grace is manifested in the fact the "Rewarding of the Graces") , that sages teach the Truth; emperors based on the central doctrine of mak- govern their subjects; high officials ing return to heaven, earth and man protect the country and the people; for the benefits received from them. farmers raise our food; mechanics In the year following the peace with build our houses, and merchants dis- Russia, there were 600 Kotoku so- tribute our commodities. "Ve all live cieties in Japan, with a membership by the grace of heaven, earth and of 26,000 and a capital of 300,000 man, and so we· must make it our yen. Since that time there has been first principle of conduct to make rea steady increase in membership from turn to them for their gracious conamong the merchant and farmer class. tributions to our welfare. From H.
'The Macmillan Company.
1. Majesty down to the humblest feudal lords were earnest in their peasant, this spirit must prevail. efforts to purify official life and to Everyone who is, according to his help the people.
heavenly gift, living within his means, Fortunes were sacrificed on the by industry and economy, by saving altar of patriotism; in all parts of his surplus money as a fund for de- Japan men labored unselfishly for the veloping and restoring desert wastes, uplift of their fellows. Doubtless, paying debts, rescuing the poor, help- their example offered an inspiration ing villages and provinces, by saving to Ninomiya in his life-work of ser- home after home, village after village, vice. Like them he was eminently until all Japan has become prosper- practical in his views of helping peo- ous and the prosperity shall spread ple. "Perspiration was to him the to foreign countries, is making return water of baptism," said one of his for the blessing he has received from followers. To inspire men with a de- heaven, earth, and man." sire to help the poor and opprest and In Ninomiya's time (1787-1856) promote their own happiness by the Tokugawa government had ruled bringing happiness to others, this was the Japanese empire for three cen- the reward, he preached, for the most turies, and the power of the Shogun painful and exacting labors.
was at its height. Christianity was In the time of Ninomiya's early not only forbidden, but so was any manhood, Japanese statesmen were teaching that sought to undermine greatly perplexed to know what to the influence of the government. Ni- do in regard to foreign intercourse.
nomiya lived to witness the decay Those who favored opening the coun- and decline of the Tokugawa age, try to foreigners were punished for when the power of the military rulers their liberal views. In 1825 it was was lost forever. Famine, riots, ter- decided to fire upon all foreign ships.
rible oppression, official and social That Ninomiya, a poor fanner, was corruption, had reduced the nation to able to rise under such feudal condi- a pitiable condition. The villages tions, mark him as a man of supreme were almost deserted, and the cities gifts.
were so crowded with idlers and He may be said to have been born criminals, that life was. no longer a reformer, for industry, self-sacrifice safe. During the three centuries of and thrift marked his earliest years.
peace the people had become pleas- It is related that at the age of 12, ure-loving and neglectful. There were having completed a year's service over 100,000 Buddhist temples in the with a neighboring farmer, he re- empire, and many hundred thousand ceived a Japanese kimona and two priests, very few of whom were edu- yen in addition to his board and cated. Various attempts were made lodging. He was on his way home, to check official corruption, to con- when he met a poor man, who had trol the luxury of the rich, and to some little pine trees for sale, and provide employment for the poor. was in great distress because he The history of these attempts at re- could not dispose of them. Ninomiya form are interesting, for many of the was struck with an idea, that here great scholars of Japan, and the was an opportunity to help a poor
THE DAWN IN AFRICA
man and also benefit the entire com- of things it is more essential to have munity. The Sa River near his 'a good man' than to have 'a happy, home sometimes overflowed its boun- prosperous man.'" dary and the boy thought that by planting rows of pine trees along the "Just Before the Dawn" is the banks the neighborhood would be first adequate attempt to present the saved from inundations. So he life and teachings of Ninomiya in bought the trees and spent the rest English, and every scientific student of the day setting them out. To-day and missionary should feel grateful those pine trees have become large, to the author for a work that throws and not only support the river bank, much needed light on the attempts but stand as living monuments to the Japan is making to solve her religious young reformer's thoughtfulness. and economic problems. Ninomiya has been compared with Jesus Christ Industry and economy were his by Japanese scholars, because of his watchwords. "All things except rice, unselfish devotion to human welfare soup, and cotton clothes are only a and the spirit of self-sacrifice which – trouble to their owners," was one of inspired his life-work. "To such an his sayings. Luxuries were to be extent is this true," says the author guarded against as tho they were of the present volume, "that a folenemies. "Work much, earn much, lower of Ninomiya who really .appreand spend little. Gather plenty of ciates the spirit of the sage, is prefuel and burn as little as possible." pared to appreciate the teachings of This, he said, is the secret of mak- Jesus Christ." ing a country wealthy. While he was ever preaching the reclamation of It would be important and interestwaste lands and the development of ing to know if the Hotoku Society natural resources of the country, he of Japan has been of any help to considered the waste and corruption Christian progress in the empire. Are of the mind to be the greatest evil. the teachings of Ninomiya, as fol- lowed by the members of the society, Ninomiya was above all things a calculated to incline the Japanese utilitarian. He did not use morality toward the gospel? This question and religion as a basis for his eco- is not answered by the author, but nomic reform. He introduced the he expresses the belief that Ninomoral, ~o quote from the author of miya's principles should have that rethe book, "because without it indolent sult. For when a man is lifted up and profligate men not only could morally and industrially, he will find not ·assist in the accomplishment of religion a necessity in his life, and his reforms, but his reforms would be ready to accept the gospel of Jesus be a curse to them, in that more Christ because Ninomiya, to a degree, wealth would be placed at their dis- opens the way. This is true only posal and thus hasten their destruc- when men have come to realize their tion. On the other hand he seems own insufficiency, and the inability of to introduce the religious, more be- moral and industrial reforms to save cause the religious beliefs of the peo- mankind. ple were of value to him in his struggle, than because in the very nature Apart from its value as an ad- mirably written study of a remark-
able man, "Just Before the Dawn" ago still goes on. His teachings' were is of general interest for its pithy intended to apply to the conditions sayings, wise counsel, 'and homespun of his time, and there are many reaphilosophy, and is a valuable contri- sons for believing that with his bution to contemporary literature. views, the gospel would have appealed Ninomiya deserves a niche in the to him had he lived in our day. Tho pantheon of the world's great men. he must be called a utilitarian, "He In Japan his fame is ever spreading. saw to some extent the value of the His works are studied, and his fol- moral, and sought to impress on the lowers worship at his shrine. The people at least part of the truth that economical and ethical principles Christ made uppermost when he said: which he taught took firm root in 'Seek ye first the Kingdom of"> God Japanese life and character and the and His righteousness, and all these work he began as a boy a century things shall be added unto you.'"
THE PARABLE OF THE SEED CORN * N Northwestern Iowa The highest mark of honor for an ear of corn is when it is selected for · there is a large corn- seed for next year's crop. I ranch, comprising ten The Church of Christ needs the sections of land. On picked ears, carefully nurtured in the best homes and in the finest schools I l I this land is a tight, and institutions. Many varieties of double-walled build- missionaries are needed fo:- the mul- ing, with a furnace in the basement. tiplicity of work, just as there are This is a corn-crib, in which the tem- many kinds of grain, and all are perature is never allowed to fall be- useful; but when it comes to sowlow 40 degrees. In the winter sea- ing, only the best of each class should son, no matter how cold the weather be used as seed. may be outside, the fire is always kept burning, and the corn never We hear some youthful Jonah, freezes. The ears are laid side by struggling with the call "to go to that side, on racks, which extend up to great heathen city," murmuring, the ceiling. Every ear is large amI "How can I go and bury myself in perfect, for the corn has been care- that foreign land?" Well-meaning, fully selected from the best of the but foolish friends tell him that he entire year's crop on 6,000 acres. will bury his brilliant talents and The scientific farmer who manages rare culture in such a sepulcher. But the estate takes off the imperfect it is the finest corn that is buried. grains at either end of each ear, so Then, in a little while there is a great that only the picked grains of the resurrection, followed by a glorious picked ears are kept for seed, and harvest. "Except a corn of wheat these .are most carefully preserved fall into the ground and die, it abic1for planting. The farmer can not eth alone; but if it die, it bringeth afford to sow "nubbins," for he that forth much fruit." soweth nubbins shall reap-com-cobs.
* From "The Evolution of New China," by William N. Brewster, a missionary to the Chinese.
Published by Eaton & Mains, New York.
MISSIONS AND PUTUMAYO
BY PERCY CROSS STANDING I. S]MALL as it appears on her territory,-white, mestizo and the map of South Indian. America, Bolivia i s large enough to con- . The opening of the Panama Canal tain France, Germany, sounds the bugle call of West Coast Switzerland, Greece development and the first transandine and Great Britain together. The entire population of the Republic, SOME OF THE PUTUMAYO INDIANS however, does not exceed 2,500,000, of whom seventy-five per cent. are railway will soon have rivals. The Indians. hermit repu'blie is destined to be- come South America's great central Bolivia, the Hermit Republic, is the highway when her rails link the roads fifth largest country in the New of Peru and Chile with those of Worlel. It lies wholly within the trop- Argentina and Brazil. ics, yet altitnde, rather than lati tude, determines climatic conditions. F rom To what extent has the civilizing the lofty plateau on the west marked influence of mission ary work so far by the highest peaks of the Andean touched this g igantic native-born range, the republic's vast domain ter- population? Of recent years, more races down through smiling temperate freedom and better facilities have vaIleys to the dense tropic jungle of been afforded to the labors of misthe Amazonian plain. No greater con- sionaries other than Roman Catholic. trast can be pictured than that of the There are at a rough computation Titicaca basin and the Eastern fron- about 300 district tribes of Indians tier. The one, treeless, windswept, scattered through the vast wilderness encircled by the mightiest mountains of th e Latin continent, and in nuof the Americas; the other, a sea of tangled verdure in the heart of the world's greatest wilderness. In a land so varied the products naturally cover a wide range. Precious metals, wrested from the Titanic strongholds of the Andes, rival Nature's most lavish forest gifts.
Two-thirds of the country lies in the lowlands, yet 88 per cent. of the people live on the plateau. The life of the Bolivian highlander is as dreary as his environment, yet he can not often he tempted down into the garden places just over the Andean wall.
Bolivia is 110W spending $30,000,000 on railway expansion, or $12 for every man, woman, and ehild within
MAP OF THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINENT In the area within the circle, 1,320,000 square miles, there is not one Protestant missionary. From "The Neglected Continent. 7'
MISSIONS AND PUTUMAYO INDIANS
merous instances no real attempt has "You would think we were not a been made to reach them with the league from the snow, but IlIimani is Gospel. It is true that there are now forty miles from La Paz. From the sundry grammars of vocabularies of Alto above the city, you can see, 100 Quechua tongue, and that the New miles distant, Sorato peak-21,286 Testament has been translated into feet above sea-level!" that language but it is estimated that some three and a half millions of Mr. Routledge claimed, by the by, these Indian races, scattered along that in a short while he was preachthe great Ancline ranges, are as yet ing regularly to 300 people, including practically untouched by missionary doctors, lawyers, etc, "not to speak influences. It has to be borne in of throngs 0f working men." It mind, when considering this condi- was in La Paz, too, that the heroic tion of backwardness, that Bolivia Robert Lodge of Hartley House Mishas no seacoast since the war of sion passed away, and to-day visitors r879-83, tho, to be sure, its eastern to the Bolivian city may see his boundry includes a portion of mighty humble grave adorned with simple Paraguay River. inscription, "The blood of Christ cleanseth us from sin." Canadian and American Missions To the westward of La Paz, with Seventeen years ago (in 1895), The its curious relics of the old Inca American Bible Society employed a civilization, you may see that exmissionary with headquarters at La traordinary sheet of water-Lake Paz, and a little later the Canadian Titicana-3,600 square miles in ex- Baptist Mission started operations. tent, 80 miles long by 40 wide, and A prominent worker for the latter 12,545 feet above sea level! The only body, Mr. R. Routledge, thus writes known outlet to the other end of this of the natural beauties of La Paz: marvelous expanse of water is the "The glory of the scene is much River Desaguadero which flows enhanced by the fact that the pre- through upper Bolivia to Oruro and vious day's travel is over one of most thence into Lake Poopo. dreary and uninteresting of plains. As the coach stops at the Alto (edge Very many years ago the British of the cliff) and we look down upon and Foreign Bible Society made a the city 800 feet below, we see a tentative attempt to propagandize very compact, pretty little city about some wilder portions of the Andine one mile wide, filled with red-tiled interior, while as far back as 1883 houses and surrounded by high hills. the Rev. A. M. Milne, the veteran The only opening is the beautiful agent of American Bible Society, valley at the bottom directly in front managed to dispose of some five of us, which leads to the great Ama- thousand Bibles on. a Bolivian tour. zon. Every league you go in that That the work has not been without direction means a complete change its perils is evidenced by the circumof climate, but Nature is thriving on stance that a missionary of this Soevery side, flowers, shrubs and trees ciety was murdered by the Indians growing in profusion. some years since. In 1895, and again in 1900, a party led by Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Payne pushed on considerably
farther than the pioneers af Pro- ary lately returned fram Potasi, testantism had previausly penetrated. "covers twenty thousand square me- Their experience of at least three of tres, and illustrates the extraardinary the Indian tribes-the Chiriguanas, wark dane by the colonizing Spanthe warlike Tobas, and the Matacos iards. After about three centuries, -was on the whale satisfactary. the building still stands withaut any signs of decay! The beams of the Patosi and Orura, of silver mining roaf, same of them measuring 14 fame, are among the mast interesting inches square and 30 to 40 feet lang, centers that these workers have are af cedar, and owing to the dry tauched. The populatian of the atmosphere present the appearance second-named tawn, naw perhaps of having been recently cut dawn. 20,00'::>, is said to have once amounted This timber must have been brought to 160,000. Educational and missian at least 40'0' miles aver high maunwork has been engaged in here by tains, across deep rivers, and along :1r. Archibald Reckie, by Mr. and the sides af precipices, and many Mrs. Charles Mitchell in Cochabam- Indians m11st have laid down their ba, and by Mr. Archibald Baker and lives in this work." Mr. Rautledge in La Paz. The Bolivian Indian Mission, of which the Times have certainly changed somewhat for the better in the pic- Rev. J. c. Dalrymple is secretary, turesque cauntry dedicated to the name and fame 0f Simon Bolivar has its headquarters in San Pedra 'El Libcrador.' For one thing, there and several other branches. As one is much more religious toleration, for of their most enthusiastic workers has time was when the missianary inphrased it in eloquent verse: fluences of Anglican and other com- munities were not merely deprecated, "Coming, coming from afar, but were actually penalized by the From the lofty Andine mountains, State. It follows that with greater From Bolivia's peopled plains, freedom of thought higher and more They shall hear the old, old story. civilizing factors will enter into the lives of the Bolivian people. Their The mines of Patasi have yielded country is one of richest, not merely more silver than all the other silver of the South American continent but mines in the world. Between 1545 among the countries of the warld. and 1805, an amount of the Silver, copper, tin, zinc, antimony, precious metal roughly estimated at bismuth, and gold,-all of these are £14,000,000 was praduced, and the produced in increasing quantity, not output is said to have reached 12,000 ta speak af the largely enhanced outper day. The legend is that in the put in such exports as rubber and long ago a woman, Diega Hualca, accidently discovered the existence af cocaa. silver in the atherwise barren regian. One of the most interesting, and at Now there are several thousands of mine entrances, in some instances the same time most difficult phases nearly 17,000' feet above sea-level. of any undertaking in Bolivia, be it At Patosi is the National Mint of missionary or otherwise, is that of the Balivian Republic, in itself a very travel. For many hundreds of miles remarkable achievement. "This building," 'Was tald by an English missian-
MISSIONS AND PUTUMAYO INDIANS
in any given direction, the traveler was in vogue when Bolivia freed this has still mainly to depend upon the and the other South American counnimble-footed but unamiable and tries only one century ago-has its even hostile mule. If such primitive discomforts for the traveler, it is means of locomotion-the same as also not devoid of its humorous point was in use centuries ago, the same as of viev.
THE PUTUMAYO MISSION QUESTION A Statement by J. L. Jarrett Immediately on the publication of and influence with the Peruvian the British Blue Book giving details Government to ask the Government of the horrible atrocities committed to make it possible for Protestants to upon the Indians of the Putu- share in mission work in the Putu- mayo region, an appeal was made mayo, the sphere for which is large for the establishment of a Roman and the call urgent. As usual, she Catholic mission among these Indians stands quietIy by and allows the on the plea that a Protestant mission Peruvian Government to take the would not be permitted. It is to be blame for intolerance for which she noted that the men who make or sup- alone is responsible.
port this appeal claim, in some cases, It is true that the Peruvian Gov- to be disinterested because they are ernment cannot officially recognize not Roman Catholics, but it is also to Protestant mission work, but Bri- be noted that these men are in no tishers and others have treaty rights wise authorities on mission work. whereby they are permitted to carry Neither can we discover that they are on any work which the law does not familiar with Peru as a whole. When prohibit, and certainly the law does not they speak of Roman Catholicism as prohibit Protestant missionary work, being best suited to the needs of medical, educational, or evangelical.
these people, they apparently ignore All that is prohibited to Protestants the great work done throughout the in Peru is the public celebration of world by the Protestant Churches, the Mass (Holy Communion) or the and when they say that Protestant display of images and religious sym- missions are forbidden in Peru they bols. This is no part of our mis- show plainly that they know nothing ionary work, and would be of little of parts of Peru where a successful use or benefit to the Indians of the Protestant work has been carried on Putumayo. On the other hand, the for many years. parading of crosses ·and' images, ban- It has been stated that the Peru- ners and emblems, and the eelebration vian Government would forbid such of Mass in Latin form a large part work, but this has to be proved. In of the Roman Catholic work.
any case we have the assurance that It is interesting to note in this the Evangelical Alliance will not rest connection that the law expelling the content until religious liberty IS Jesuits and prbhibiting their residence granted in Peru. in the territory of the Republic is The Roman Catholic Church has still in force, nevertheless they are not suggested the use of her power resident in fotce in Lima.
The appeal for funds for a Ro- tunity); property is held, buildings man Catholic mission is made on the .are rented, newspapers are printed grounds that "work of this kind and circulated (using the free postal would only be permitted if entrusted service of the country for the purto the Roman Catholic Church." pose); schools are conducted, reli- This statement presumes that the gious meetings held in buildings and Peruvian Government would act to- in the open air; in fact, it has been ward a Protestant Evangelical mis- proved beyond dispute that Art. 4 sion in the Putumayo region as it of the Constitution does not prohibit has never acted during a period of any of such activities.
'THE SOUTH AMERICAN RUBBER BOUGHT BY BLOOD OF THE INDIANS over twenty years, and would read From parish priest to Archbishop into its Constitution an interpretation the Roman Catholic clergy of Peru it has repeatedly refused to read in have tried to get the Government spite of the repeated efforts on the to stop Protestant work, but have part of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. failed. The right to do all that is being done has been recognized in the For more than twenty years Ameri- highest court. can and British missionaries have been working in Peru under the eye Protestant missionaries are, howof the Government in Lima and in ever, constantly subjected to permore remote regions. secution by the intolerant priests, but the civil authorities, whenever ap- Bible colporteurs traverse the pealed to, have reproved the priests country from end to end (selling and protected the missionaries. The what the priests call Protestant Bibles, presence of Protestant missionaries amI which they consequently de- is therefore known and recognized nounce and burn upon every oppor-
MISSIONS AND PUTUMAYO INDIANS
by the GDvernment and their posi- go, but rather a plea for the widest tion well established. range of effort.
Neither civil authorities nor indi- The Protestant Evangelical Churches viduals have ever of their own ac- which have produced a Livingstone, cord molested Protestant missionaries, a Hannington, a Hudson Taylor, a but where at the instigation of the Chalmers, a Carey, a General Booth, priest some weak or ignorant local which have established medical mis- authority has persecuted the mission- sions right round the world, which ary, the Press has at once taken up have educated and trained men of the matter, members of Parliament every nation for every walk of life, have made enquiries, and justice which have always aided the dis- has been done. trest and opprest, are peculiarly Many concrete cases might be fitted to carryon such work.
given, but the story would be too In the letter from the British long for this article; suffice it to say Foreign Office dated May 23, 1912, that the writer, who has been a there is a very strange statement missionary in Peru ever since 1894, made on the authority of the British has been expelled, boycotted, spat Minister in Lima, viz.: "that any upon, stoned, mobbed and persecuted application on behalf of such a mis- in the courts by Peruvian priests, or sion (Protestant) would probably be at their instigation, but has been met by an answer (negative) similar indemnified and reinstated by the to that returned in 1907 when the Peruvian Government, employed in Baptist Missionary Society proposed Government schools, and enjoys to- to send a mission to the Amazon day the friendship of many eminent Valley." The Secretary of the Peruvians. B.M.S. says that no inquiries were The Protestant Evangelical mis- made by his Society, and consequently sionaries in Peru are actively engaged no such reply was received.
teaching, preaching, healing, and We have already shown that perse- otherwise helping towards the moral cution comes not from the people, nor and spiritual uplift of the people. from the Government, but from the Everywhere they are respected by the priests. As none of these are to be people, and encouraged by an classes found in the Putumayo region no except the priests. How, then, can opposition need be expected except it be said that missionary work would from the men who are concerned in not be permitted unless carried on keeping the natives in their power. by Roman Catholic priests? These, we are told, are a minus quantity in A mission to be medical, educathe Putumayo region. tional, and evangelical, which will thus appeal to body, mind, and soul, That "the work must consist for has been started under the direction many years less of abstract religious of the Evangelical Union of South progaganda than of human fellow- America, and a party has already ship, inspired by compassion and set out including Dr. Eliott T. Glenny desire to uplift and benefit material- and Mr. F. C. Glass, both of whom ly," is surely no argument why Ro- have already had experience in "the man Catholic missionaries alone can Neglected Continent."
BATTLES OF A SPIRITUAL WARRIOR *
THE "LIFE OF ARTHUR T. PIERSON" REVIEWED BY ROBERT E. SPEER ~T HIS is the sort of a to those who knew the father well. rJ life story which ought Many did not know of the ceaseless il: to make every reader giving which he practised. Some of of it a better and more us had occasion to discover his courageous Christian habits in this regard, but no one, as – man. It is, as the au- Mr. Pierson says, even in the family, thor says, the account of "a spln- knew all that he was doing. It is a tual warrior, mighty in the Scrip- pleasant story which the author tures, a leader in the modern mis- tells of the simultaneous attempt on sionary crusade." It is the record the part of Dr. Pierson and Mr.
of an unusual life, but it is full of Wright: lessons for every ordinary life as "At the first meeting between Dr.
wen. It is clear that Arthur T. Pierson and James Vright, the son- Pierson had unusual intellectual gifts, in-law and successor to Mr. Miiller, but it is clear also that the industry a curious incident occurred. As and zeal and persistence with which they met in his drawing-room and he developed and used those gifts clasped hands, two five-pound notes would enable many men with smaller prest against each other in the inter- endowments to make a far greater locked palms. Each had been use of them than they are making. prompted by the same impulse and He worked over his Bible, over said almost at the same momentbooks, with men, in church organ- "It has been laid on my heart to izations, in literary activity, in rigid ask your acceptance of a small gift improvement of his tools and his in the name of the Lord." The craftsmanship, and most of all with strange coincidence amused and souls in the clinic of life. Even an touched the hearts of both and as average or inferior man who would each insisted that the other retain work one-quarter as tirelessly as he his gift, both had the joy of giving worked would find himself lifted to a and of receiving at the same time. new level of power and effectiveness. And as the son sayS: During the later years he often "God's bountiful supply never made spoke of the feeling of seriousness Dr. Pierson a careless steward.
with which he came to some particu- Every new talent was received as a lar piece of service. He desired to trust and he was ever studious to do it, he would say, as tho it avoid waste of time or strength or were to be his last. He always money. Often did he joyfully forego put his best power into his work a pleasure that he might give to and that gave him better power for some work which made a strong ap- his next work. peal. At one time he had arranged What those who knew Dr. Pierson to spend a month with friends in saw in his character and his work, Switzerland but appeals for help his son brings out faithfully, but he caused a change of program to a relates much that will be new even week in the Lake District, then fur- * Arthur T. Pierson: A Spiritual Warrior, Mighty in the Scriptm-es; a Leader in the Modern Mis- sionary Crusade. By Delavan L. Pierson. Illustrated. 8vo, 334 pages. $1.50, net. Fleming H. Revell Co., New York. 65. James Nisbet & Co" London. ther caIIs led him to take instead a tion he learned that the traveler was day's walking excursion in the su- a minister of a small parish. His burbs of London. Even intimate son was lying very ill and his heart friends did not know of the many was heavy. In parting Dr. Pierson benefactions that flowed through his prest a sum of money into the man's hand. He delighted to be one to hand and in the outburst of thankanswer the prayers of others, and fulness that foIIowed he learned that hundreds of God's servants have he had again been God's messenger given thanks for timely help re- in a time of dire need. ceived through him. One day he was driving along a country road "Unostentatious giving was his denear his Northfield home, when he light, for he believed in keeping his met a man trudging along carrying left hand in ignorance of his right a valise to the railroad station three hand's generosity. But giving brought miles distant. It was. out of his to him such hilarious enjoyment that way but Dr. Pierson invited the his family and more intimate friends man to ride and drove him to his learned to recognize, hy the peculiar destination. In course of conversa- elasticity in his movements and the particular sparkle in his eye, evidence
of some new benefaction that had the study of the Bible, his belief in brought joy to his heart. Neither and proclamation of the free gospel was his giving confined to times of of redemption and righteousness, and plenty, for he learned to regard the his missionary outlook and ministry.
impulse to give to a worthy cause as The Bible was to him all that the an impulse fr·om his Lord, and he Psalmist tells us in the I I9th Psalm believed that the same God who made the Law of God was to him. It was it possible for him to relieve another's a Living Oracle. His one theme in extremity would make up any tem- public speech and private conversa- porary deficiency caused by his gift. tion was the gospel. Everything he He that 'lendeth to the Lord' will thought or said or heard led to it not long be kept a creditor of the or came from it. And both Bible Almighty." and gospel were to him universal There will be great comfort in messages, meant for all the world, this book for many earnest souls to be carried to all the world, and to who battle with self-consciousness, be carried now without delay. Doubt- with self-confidence, with self in any less, he was often considered an en- form. They will meet here with a thusiast, but that did not trouble fellow-warrior who tells us that from him. Can any man think too highly the first to the last he had this bat- of the Word of God or of the tle to fight, who declares that he Gospel of the Son of God? Paul did "fought not always well," but who not think that he could. No critical knew that he would look back and necessity of guarding his speech lest smile at the struggles in that day, he should claim too much for any when he should awake with the like- word of God or for the incarnate, ness of his Lord and be satisfied. crucified and rise!l Son of God ever Dr. Pierson was no untempted saint, paralyzed his glowing passion. Dr.
who found life easy and who, when Pierson sought to believe with the stung by shame of failure, made an same passion and unrestraint. And easy escape by lowering his ideals that in the mission enterprise he was to ease his self-judgments. He had a devotee, one who believed to the a standard fixt and secure in God's uttermost, and who dreamed in the perfect character revealed in His ample measure of worlds, was to authoritative Word, and all of life him not a reproach but the glory .
must be, in his view, one ceaseless that he sought. This story shows surrender to Christ to the end of ap- how many of his missionary dreams, prehending that for which we are at first deemed ecstatic, came solidly apprehended of Christ. The grace true.
which he found sufficient for forgive- There are few literary tasks more ness and for power, we, too, may find difficult than a son's faithful biog- sufficient and ever near. raphy of a father. The perspective But the great lessons to be learned is likely to be faulty or the charac- here are not lessons of personal ter judgment to be partial or the character only. The three aspects of treatment of delicate incidents to be Dr. Pierson's life which stand out prejudiced. Mr. Pierson's problem most clearly are his reverence for in dealing with many complicated
BATTLES OF A SPIRITUAL WARRIOR
A MESSAGE IN STONE Model of the MODUDlcnt io GreeDwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York situations and in doing ju~tice to the thoroughly Christian temper. We lay many aspects of the varied experi- down his life of his father with a ences of his father's unusual career just view of the father's intense, conwas far from easy, but his success scientious, loyal, uncompromising, onis remarkable. With unfailing good ward battling life, and also with a judgment and discretion and kindli- richer trust in him which is reflected ness, he has handled the mass of from the son's fidelity of judgment material from which he had to select, and kindliness of spirit in his telling wisely and effectively and justly. We of the life story. His work is beauhave been marred for the want of tifully done. It is the Christian story Mr. Pierson's sOllnd-mindedness and of a Christian man.
A VISIT TO AN A!vIERICAN LEPER
BY W. M. DANNER, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Secretary for U. S. A. of the Mission to Lepers in India and the East g-"E ARLY in the morning for the men and women. _All attend services at the same time. of a beautiful summer day, in The Railway The patients here range in years Depot of New Orleans, from a devout Lutheran woman who is 90 years old to a boy of 7. It I met Dr. Ralph Hop- was indeed a pitiful sight to see this little child, living with the group of – kins, the visiting physi- cian in charge of the welfare of the patients .at the Louisiana Leper Col- unfortunate people who had no up- ony. It was Saturday, the day which lifting hope of recovery from the the doctor weekly devoted to the disease.
lepers. Some of the lepers are totally A journey of four miles-most of blind. There are two "terminal which was along the Mississippi cases" that are loathsome beyond levees, where water in the river was description, but the doctor, the sisters high above our heads-brought us and Father 'Keenan, the resident to the Louisiana Leper Colony, where priest, treat them with such consiwe found a "Home" occupied by 74 deration and love that they do not lepers. seem to realize their condition. More than two-thirds of the lepers here After suitable changes had been are native-born, and Dr. Hopkins afmade in our clothing as precautionary firms that leprosy is spreading in measures, Sister Benedicta became my special escort and took me all through Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. the premises, where I saw face to Such work as this, with the addiface all forms of the disease. The home is well conducted, the food tion of gardening, weaving and cergenerous, the surroundings cheerful, tain forms of educational work, incluand in this entire company not a per- ding instruction in the common branches and Bible Study, may be son appeared to be discouraged or seen in anyone of the 82 stations downhearted, except one poor old in which Protestant missionaries in demented patient, whose chief cause foreign lands are caring definitely and of sorrow was that he had not been specifically for the lepers. The Misable to "put his room in perfect sion to Lepers in India and the East order." is now responsible for 52 asylums The religious life of this place is for lepers> in China, Ceylon, India, directed by a priest and sisters, Burma, Japan, Siam and Korea, and whose cheerful appearance and res- for 20 homes for untainted children ponsive attitude to the patients indi- of leprous parents. 30 other stations cate nothing of the hardship and dan- are aided by this mission through gers incident to their self-sacrifice. grants of funds by Christian teach- The little Catholic Chapel is built so ing and by the support of lepers. that the men come in on one side and The Mission to Lepers is in active the women on the other; ,yhile visitors, cooperation with 12 Protestant nurses and doctors sit in a separate American and 18 European Foreign space, between the sections allotted Mission Boards.
MAO; A CHINESE ST. FRANCIS *
~~~~~o hosts of Chinese men clung to most on earth. The prayer and women the name was heard by that God, whose heart of Cheng Mao is sa- not even the follies of idolatry can cred. From him they close to longing souls, and the much learned to trust the Savior, to keep the beloved mother was spared to her little son." faith, through persecutions and privations, sustained by the When twelve years old Mao was glorious hope that some day they apprenticed to a shoemaker and for will see the Master's face. In many a long period he followed this trade. communities his memory is revered In spare hours he sold peanuts and as that of a saint. The good that he other eatables in the street for his did lives after him. The fires of faith father's support. While thus emhe kindled in the hearts of his ployed he acquired a taste f01" reading countrymen still burn with steady which he found of great benefit in flame. As we read the simple story of his pure and beautiful life we feel after life. As he waited for custom that the age of miracles has not at a temple door, or beside the road, he forgot the cares of his toilsome, passed. We are conscious of the sordid days, in a book. His apprennearness of God's presence in human ticeship over he worked as journeyaffairs. man shoemaker beside his father at the sign of "The Daily Victory." It was a hard life. The shadow of "Unseen, because our eyes are dim; poverty hung over his boyhood and Unheard, because our ears are dull. was never quite lifted unto the end.
He walks the earth, the beautiful. Mao grew to manhood slender in And all good deeds are done of him." stature, below middle size, with a pro- In the summer of I8SI a baby boy minent projecting brow, and remark- was born at Chuan-Chow in a family ably bright and intelligent eyes. He of the partly literary, partly artizan spoke quietly with diffidence and class. The boy was named Yung- there was more of the literary man Yuan, but he cried so much that his about him than the artizan. He mother called him "Yeh Mao," her became a reliable worker and could little "wild cat." The second part of earn his ten cents a day making cloth this strange name clung to the child, uppers for shoes. Among his shop- and he was known bv none other in mates he was not very popular. He after life. – declined to join in their rough jests Little Mao's father a stern, hard and practical jokes and so earned the man of a fiery temper, was the cause nickname of "Bighead." But nothing of many stormy scenes in the house- could disturb the calm of Mao's spirit, hold. His mother a mild, gentle he never attempted to retaliate when little woman with strong religious they hid his tools or played some instincts, exerted a quiet force for other trick, patient kindness toward good, and brought peace when the all men marked his character then father was in an irritable and quarrel- as it did in after life.
some mood. Mao grew up devoted In 1878 Mao heard for the first to his mother and his first real sor- time the gospel preached in the row was when she was taken ill. "Worship Hall" which had been "The thought of losing her caused opened some years before by foreign him to hurry to the temple of missionaries. After the services Kwanyin to pray for her recovery, some friends who had accompanied beseeching .her that lookethforever Mao began to criticize the address down on the sound of prayer, to take they had heard. He did not join in the many years from his own life and add discussion at first and then surprized them to that of the being whom he his companions by saying quietly, * A Chinese St. Francis, or The! Life of Brother Mao. By C. Campbell Brown. George Doran Company, New York. Illustrated.
"You blame the teaching we have of the First Epistle to Timothy.
just heard as wrong? I can not but Henceforth, Mao was absorbed with think that it is right." the new doctrine, and while making In the shop where Mao worked shoes he kept an open book on. his the new doctrine was generally con- knee which he read as he worked.
demned, but to all their arguments His uncle rebuked him for going to Mao persisted in saying "it is true." the barbarian church and Mao, who He might have been at a loss to had been trained to show deference to explain why he defended the teach- his elders, was disturbed by conflict- ings he had heard in the "Worship ing thoughts. To disobey his elders Hall," for he understood almost noth- would be to put himself in the 'ing of Christianity, but it would seem wrong; not to obey the truth which that the seed of Truth was already he had discovered would also be planted in his mind. Several months wrong. What was he to do? The later his interest in the new doctrine colporteur to whom he explained his was freshly awakened, when he heard trouble said, "Your relatives are but that several shoemakers had become men and women, the Supreme Ruler Christians. A thorough Confucianist, is Lord of All. His will is para- he wished to believe that some help, mount. Are you anxious to obey or benefit might come from the wor- your superiors? Then first of all ship of God. When an acquain- you must obey God." The solitary tance named Ch'i joined the "Bar- seeker had troubles to contend with barian sect," Mao questioned him at home, in the shop, in his own heart.
eagerly about Christian doctrines. "The strife of the gospel call had A hunger seemed to have taken hold touched him, its calm had not yet of him; a longing to discover whether . fallen upon his spirit."
the religion of Jesus might not help Henceforth Mao would join shyly a man to lead a better life.' When in the discussions that followed the Ch'i told him that the "Jesus Church" services in the Worship Hall. He was the true church, he replied, "If was ever asking questions, pondering, the Jesus Church be thus right, I thinking. A ceaseless conflict raged ought to be all the more careful to be within him between the claims of the right myself." After this discussion old faith, old superstitions and cus- he often snatched a few moments toms, and the new doctrine. One day from his street vending to listen to when alone in the workroom, .worn the word of life in the preaching hall, out by the misery of doubt he seized until the call of duty drove him out a piece of paper and wrote: again into the night. "Supreme Ruler, 0 thou most high Mao's growing interest in Chris- I pray Thee show me the way I vow obedience to Thy will." tianity was strengthened when a book called, "The True Doctrine Accurate- No more of this simple vow has ly Weighed" fell into his hands. He been preserved, for while he was also made the acquaintance at this writing some workmen burst into the time of the colporteur Chhieh-gi, who room and the paper was torn from explained the plan of salvation to him his hand. A friend of Mao rescued in simple terms, and stimulated his some of the scraps, and piecing them eagerness to learn the truth. Night together was able to decipher the after night Mao braved his father's three lines quoted above. From this anger to visit his Christian friend's time Mao found peace for his house where they discust religious troubled spirit in prayer. Powerless matters often until daybreak. On the to save himself he cast his soul on next "worship day" Mao went to God. His family noticing his inchurch to hear more about the gospel. creased interest in the hated foreign On this occasion he was deeply im- doctrine tried alternately by threats and moving appeals to wean him prest by what the preacher read and explained from the third chapter
MAO: A CHINESE ST. FRANCIS
from the new faith. It was a crush- I will tell you about our Heavenly ing blow when his gentle mother Father, your God and mine. You turned against him and assisted in must come and worship with me."
burning his "worship books." But And sometimes forgetting his timi- his patience, endurance and loving dity in his eagerness to save souls kindness toward those who perse- he would stretch out his arms to cuted and reviled him imprest his stop people on the highway, unwilling family and fellow-workmen, and they should pass by until they had brought about more friendly relations. heard the Word of Life.
They could not but see that there One day while preaching before a was something in his behavior dif- temple he described to the people ferent from their own lives. how the Lord Jesus bore with pa- The Bible was now Mao's constant tience and humility insults and indig- companion. At night he took it to nities, and how when they spat in his bed with him and read it by the face and struck Him upon the cheek light of a small lamp he had bought he made no murmur.
for the purpose. He was the first 'Heh 1 cried one in the crowci, up in the morning and again reading "You preach his doctrines, lets see if his beloved book. you can follow his example" and he "He had set his heart on God's spat in Mao's face and thrusting his truth," said a friend afterward "I fingers between the preacher's lips never saw anyone read the scriptures tore at the gums until they bled.
as he did." This habit of bible study Mao wiped his mouth in silence and reacted on his friends and those who then prayed quietly that God might had not read the Scriptures diligently forgive his assailant and bring him began to do so. to a knowledge of the Truth. Mao In the summer of 1882 Mao was had frequently to bear physical in- baptized. His courage in preaching juries inflicted by bullies and rowdies and growth in Christian knowledge during his years of preaching, but was so remarkable that the following he was ready with a kind answer or winter he was ordained a deacon. a prayer for the aggressor. If Mao He now resigned his shoemaking and met or heard of anyone who seemed was employed by Dr. Grant as a to have been imprest with the colporteur to sell books and preach truth, he followed him up with such the gospel in the city and surrounding patience and persistency that many districts. Now began for him a life unable to withstand his eloquence and of constant stir and stress. He was clear reasoning yielded and became daily the victim of persecutions and Christians. He never seemed to des- insults. But the peace of God was pair of anyone. "He reverenced even in his heart and however the enemy those who jeered at the truth. He might rage about him they could not preached to the older people as if they disturb his inward calm or force a were his parents, saying to himself harsh word from his lips. 'This is my father I must save him; Tho Mao was physically timid, this is my mother I must save her.'
his wide knowledge of the masses The younger he sought out as a especially fitted him for the field to father would seek his own children, which he had been called. He knew dealing with each one as tho there the difficulties created in the heathen were no other souls for him to save mind by contact with Christianity and in the whole world."
could help them by relating his own Mao always went shabbily drest struggles and experiences. He was because most of the little money he so eager to persuade men to accept made was spent in clothing others.
Christ that he would crouch down at He was frequently taunted about their feet like a beggar. his poor appearance.
"Listen!" he would say. "Listen! "You have only two ragged jackets
on your back in this 'ten coat bringing about a remarkable conver- weather'" cried a jeering voice from sion. "On the other side of the the crowd one winter's day. "What church was an opium-den kept by a blessings have you got from serving man named Feng Hsien, who was no God?" friend either to the doctrine, or its "You do not understand" he ans- preacher. The drug-vendor who was wered. "If your eyes were opened a large consumer of his own wares, you would see that I am loaded with suffered from a painful form of indi- benefits. You think that I am poor, gestion. While the den was full of but I am rich. By and by I shall smokers he managed to hide his dis- wear beautiful and shining clothes, comfort, but at night, when the last when I go to live with God in the benighted customer had left the place, Heavenly City." he would relieve himself by crying The purity of Mao's life his pa- aloud. One night, hearing sounds tience and endurance under trial, the of distress next door, Mao went to love he showed for those who perse- Feng Hsien's shop, where he found cuted him, did not fail to impress him in great pain. Some warm tea even the enemies of the faith. They fortunatelv relieved the trouble, and recognized that here was a man who after a short time the preacher was lived up to the principles he preached, able to go home to bed. After several and they were curious to learn more visits, the poor fellow softened a of a religion that could so transform little, and was willing to have Mao and beautify character. This spirit pray with him. A section had, for of inquiry was the means of opening the convenience of a previous tenant the minds of many unbelievers to been cut out of the wall dividing his accept the truth. shop from that now used as the Once when he was preaching to the 'worship hall,' and the gap tem- people a rough fellow struck him on porarily filled up with bamboo wattle.
the cheek, while another dashed his Through this slight partition the hat off with a blow. Mao bowed his sound of voices penetrated clearly, so head in prayer and a hush fell on the that long before he entered the church crowd. Even the wildest spirits felt Feng Hsien knew something about awed by the calm with which he had the gospel.
received their persecutions. Mao se- "If you don't serve God" said cretly rejoiced that he was privileged his neighbor, "You will be more to suffer for the faith it seemed to blameworthy than other people, for bring him nearer to his Savior. you hear the truth every day." The At the time he was preaching at opium dealer's mind slowly opened Yingnei the church adjoined an ac- to the light and in time he joined the tor's boarding-house, the proprietor Christians in their gatherings for being a determined opponent of the prayer and instruction.
gospel. When the congregation were "One night after the congregation arriving for the services, this man had dispersed a visitor who was would take his stand with a pair of occuping the sleeping quarters behind cymbals and clash them together to the 'worship hall' heard a continuous make the by-standers laugh. If Mao muttering on the other side of the remonstrated with him he would say partition. Curious to know what was defiantly: "You are going to hold happening he listened intently, and your services, I am going to hold caught the sound of words that mine," and then would set the actors seemed familiar. Presently he made pounding on drums and banging rat- out that someone next door was read- tles and blowing on pipes so that the ing from the gospel of St. John. It din made worship impossible. wa$ the opium-vendor. Afterward It was at this place that Mao be- when describing the incident to a came the influence under God in friend the visitor wrote, 'To hear
MAO: A CHINESE ST. FRANCIS 21
amid the midnight silence the holy sought continually. Three, or four words of Jesus in the feeble tones of times a night, he would rise when he an opium-smoker was an experience thought I was asleep and kneel on not soon to be forgotten' the bed beside me to pray and often After nearly a year's struggle Feng I heard him weep as he prayed for Hsien was by the grace of God en- his brother and uncle." abled to give up his profitable opium business. The sacrifice cost him his It was an ever present grief to all, leaving him to earn a scanty living Mao that for years he had labored in by peddling oil about the viIIages of vain to bring these much loved relathe district. So weakened was he tives to a knowledge of Christ. The by chronic indigestion, that he was struggle was long and heart-breaking often very weary as he carried his but Mao never faltered and before he burden of oil from place to place, but died, he had the blest assurance he cheered himself on by telling the that they were both saved, and had people everywhere he went about the entered the Master's service. love of God. They were the more willing to listen since they knew that We have spoken in another place for conscience sake he had given up a of the keeper of an actor's boardingprofitable business, to depend upon a house, who interrupted the church pittance won by daily toil. In 1891 services by clashing cymbals and who he was received into the Church and, in other ways created a disturbance. when more fully instructed, was em- This man Ts'e was bitterly opposed ployed to sell books and to preach the to the gospel, but Mao visited him gospel. Unfortunately his health frequently and literally prayed him undermined by vice, gave way entire- out of his opposition to the truth. ly; he was attacked by wasting It was on a Sunday that this man leprosy which compelled him to give was gathered into the fold in a rather up all work and entailed months of dramatic manner. The church people lonely misery at the last. The body, were beginning to arrive before the burdened by disease sank slowly, but 'worship hall' when he dashed out the soul remained stedfast until the cymbals in hand with the old defiant end came and he died victorious." look in his eyes and again bent on deviltry. Mao said to him gently, Such remarkable conversions were but sadly, "Ah Ts'e do you think of almost daily occurrence during the that there is no God? If there really years of Mao's active ministry; in- is a God how will you answer Him deed as we follow the splendid record when you meet Him by and by?" of his work for God and humanity we seem to be reading from some Ts'e lowered his cymbals and ancient half-legendary history of the moved away. If what Mao said was miraculous experiences of a medieval true after all; if there was a God, saint rather than the story of a man what then? That very day he gave of our own time and generation. himself to God, bought a testament, broke his opium pipes and lamps, Prayer was the unfailing source and gave the actors notice that he from which Mao drew the strength would entertain them no longer. His father persecuted him bitterly for that made him tho a physically weak and timid man, a fearless soldier in joining the barbarians while his wife showed her spite in a hundred ways. the fight for the Master. "I lived "Sometimes she poured his rice into with Mao for seven years" said a friend to the author of this book, the pig-tub, leaving him without breakfast; sometimes she refused to "During which time we worked to- cook for him altogether. In the progether by day, and slept side by side whenever we could find quarters after vidence of God, however, she took very ill, and, finding that neither docour labors were over. His heart was tors nor idols could effect a cure, she joined to the Savior whom he said to her husband, "You say that
God is all-powerful; if He can heal this house' and forthwith struck me, I will worship him along with him with his tobacco pipe. Despite you." Mao went and prayed for her the insult, which according to the in the sick-room, and his prayers Chinese code no educated men may were answered, and Mrs. Ts'e became condone, Mao after a night of prayer a Christian." From this time she and invaded the enemy for the fourth time her husband were incessantly perse- with a friendly face as if nothing cuted. Their infuriated relatives had happened. When the teachers burned the crops, and the wife was eyes fell upon him in the doorway, attacked and nearly murdered. But he was so much taken aback that the Ts'e stood firm and with his wife and abusive epithets died upon' his lips, child was baptized in 1891. He after- and, in his confusion he asked his ward served faithfully as a colpor- pertinacious visitor to sit down. Here teur and preacher. was a man on whom ill-usage had as During the seven years that Mao much effect as water falling upon a preached at Yingnei, the scene of the stone. remarkable conversions we have cited, he was anxious to win a hearing for "'I submit' said the scholar handthe gospel among the educated class. ing Mao some tea; "you indeed are 'While not so successful with them worthy to be my mentor. Confucius as with the masses, by the time he teaches us to avenge our injuries; your finished his ministry at Yingnei he Master teaches you to overcome your enemies with kindness.''' had persuaded a number to attend the services in the "worship hall" When Mao's last sickness was upon 11ao's visit to one of the literati in him, they bore him tenderly back Yingnei will not soon be forgotten in to the house of his birth, and as, he the district. "The scholar full of crossed the threshold, he murmured, . importance as a representative of "Some one will go to Heaven from Chinese learning gave him a cool this place to-day." He lay with his wellreception, disputed what he said and worn Bible open before him on the declined to accept bible quotations as bed. His lips moved ceaselessly in of any value in the discussion. Mao prayer until he fell asleep. went away feeling rather disheartened that he had failed to make any im- "A Chinese St. Francis" is in many pression on the man, but the next respects a remarkable book, and one day he called again. that should strengthen and encourage missionary workers in every foreign "The scholar nettled by this second field of Christian endeavor. So long visit, attacked the Christian teaching as there are Maos born into the in an uncompromising manner, and kingdom there can be no reason to made false charges against its advo- despair of the ultimate triumph of cate, growing so angry at last that. he the Gospel in the East. blew into a flame the smoldenng hemp-stalk which he held in his hand, The life story of this little Chinese and scorching Mao's chin with it shoemaker is related with simple force said: 'If you come here again I will and brotherly sympathy. He becomes a very vivid personality who enlists beat you.' "The following morning after much our interest from the very beginning of his short but useful life. The prayer, Mao paid another visit to the author C. Campbell Brown was eviirascible teacher who 'changed face' dently in love with his subject as many of the readers will be and he when he saw him, and broke into a has taken great pains to secure from storm of bad language. When at the lips of Mao's friends and relatives last there came a pause, Mao began reminiscences of Mao's career and to speak, but the other cut him short ministry so that the portrait lacks saying; 'Yesterday I said I ~ou1d nothing of interesting details to show beat you if you came back agam to us the man "in his habit as he lived."
EDITORIALS
THE LIVINGSTONE CENTENARY Because the people of Burma need the gospel. I T is an event worth noting when a Scotch boy, born in a poor man's God calls every man to make the cottage and early apprenticed as a best possible use of his life. . weaver's boy, becomes a worldfamous missionary and is buried Because"1 want to help bring God's among kings and nobles. Thus it is Kingdom to earth by telling to those that all over the world we are to who have never heard, the message of celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of David Livingstone, salvation. the famous missionary-explorer of The need at home and abroad. Africa, (March 19, 1913). That occasion has been preceded by a three- Because the home church needs months' educational campaign, for the inspiration of obeying Christ by which excellent literature has been sending me, and ~he native church is provided. There is something for still wofully in need of leadership. every church and every department of every church-leaflets telling what Because I see more need in the to do, fully arranged programs, il- Philippine Islands than here, and lustrated books for everybody from there is no reason why I should not the primary children up to grandparents. go. To fulfill the command of Christ, Pastors and Sunday-school workers have here a great opportunity to de- who intended that His gospel should velop in churches and scho01s a be a world-wide gospel and His dishealthy missionary zeal. The life of ciples its world-wide messengers. Livingstone has been an inspiration to thousands. All can now obtain To share the riches of love in and use the leaflets from the denom- Christ with young men for whom He inational publishing houses. People died and who without Him have no may be persuaded to purchase and hope for this life or in eternity. read the Livingstone books, and the more they read the more they will Because of the need and the anwant to hear. The programs have ticipation of making a Christian home been prepared for the Young People's open to students of Madras. Societies, the churches and Sundayschools. Handsome portraits of Liv- Because in foreign service I feel ingstone may be purchased to hang in assured of the great blessing of a Sunday-school rooms. There are also life of unusual usefulness. suggestions to pastors for sermons on David Livingstone. Because my profession (trained nursing) can do more for God in WHY MISSIONARIES GO China than in Philadelphia. The need at home is great, the need in T HE outgoing Baptist missionaries China is vastly greater. who left America last fall were asked to give their reasons, in a A sense of deep gratitude for what sentence, for going as missionaries. Christ has done for me and a desire The responses make up a testimony to help where the need is greatest of no small value. Missions gives takes me to India. them as follows: 'Knowledge of the great need brought responsibility; every obstacle in the way was removed; gratefully, gladly look forward to service.
I have only one life to live and I want to invest that where it wiII be of greatest service.
Because the gospel of Christ means so much to me that I can not help sharing it with those who need it the
most and who have the least oppor- e. By keeping members from sup- tunity of hearing it. posing that their "apportionment" is Because I know that China's great- the measure of their duty.
est need is Jesus Christ my Savior. 4. Stimulate prayer for missions Because China needs Christian and missionaries.
homes. S. Promote Bible study.
Because I want people in India to 6. Stimulate personal evangelism.
accept Christ as Savior. 7. Hold regular meetings of the To tell the people of India the committee for prayer and consulta- story of Jesus and His love and tion.
His transforming power. 8. Try to discover recruits for the Because of a deep-rooted desire field at home and abroad.
from childhood, when I was also This is a large program and may dedicated thereto by my dying Chris- be too great for speedy realization, tian mother. but a healthy, wide-awake missionary Because I think it is the Lord's committee is one that is making will. progress toward the ideal one step at A need of Assam, known and felt, a time.
and an opportunity to meet that THE VALUE OF MISSIONARY WORK need. SIR WILLIAM MACGREGOR I find the greatest need and there- once told the story of how there fore the greatest opportunity for came to him, when he was governor usefulness in mission work. of New Guinea, a distinguished Aus- trian nobleman, recommended by the I want my life to count for the home government. He took him up most for time and for eternity. the country for some days' shooting, when after a time the gentleman WHAT CAN THE MISSIONARY COM- MITTEE DO?
T HE following suggestions are turned to him and said, "Sir Wil- given for the benefit of church liam, I do not understand it. Where missionary committees that earnestly is your army?" "I have none," said wish to help carry out their Lord's Sir William. "But how do you keep great commission: order? This is New Guinea," asked I. "Take stock at least annually the Austrian, and Sir William .an- and keep records that the growth of swered, "The people keep order them- interest and contributions may be as- selves." Much troubled and perplexed, certained. the nobleman went on. When he 2. Adopt and carry through a com- came to the end of the walk, he said, prehensive plan of missionary educa- "What about the hunting for the tion for the entire church. next few days ?", and Sir William a. By regular missionary meetings. said, "Of course, there will be no b. By the use of missionary pam- hunting on the Lord's day. The phlets, books, and magazines. Austrian looked surprised and said, c. By the organization of mission "Why ?" "Well, the natives won't study classes. go." He said, "Won't they go if you 3. Adopt and _carry through a com- ask them?" "I daresay that they prehensive plan of missionary finance. might, but I never intend to ask them a. By adopting weekly missionary to do a thing like that. But we will offerings; ask them what they are going to b. By adding special thank-offer- do." So the natives were brought ings; up and asked what they intended to c. By a personal canvass of the do on the next day, Saturday. They whole congregation; said, "Weare going home." "What d. By promoting the adoption of for?" "Why, for worship on the higher standards of Christian steward- Lord's day." And so they went.
ship; The governor, in telling the story, added significantly, "I wonder whether the preparation 0 f the masses for that nobleman saw any connection the preaching of the gospel in larger between those two things, and real- measure than ever before.
ized that a Sabbath-keeping people does not require an army to keep it PHILIPPOPOLIS AND PHILIPPI in order. There has been no difficulty A Correction I in establishing order in the South N our December number of THE MISSIONARY REVIEW (page 882), Seas on the part of the government. The missionaries did it for us." there appeared an unfortunate error GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION IN which identified the modern Philippo- polis with the ancient Philippi. This CHINA was probably due to the similarity in name. As a matter of fact, however, A GERMAN missionary calls at- the ancient Philippi, mentioned in the tention to a fact which deserves book of The Acts, was situated about consideration. He says the Manchu nine miles from the coast of the Dynasty never opprest the common JEgean Sea-in ancient Macedoniapeople and w.as never felt as the government of strangers. The em- while the modern Philippopolis is pire in China was really a religious located about eighty miles further institution, and the common China- north, in Eastern Rumelia, which is man thought as little of the fact that a part of ancient Thrace. Philippothe dynasty was non-Chinese, as the polis is a mission station of the German, Irish, or American Roman American Board and of the German Catholic thinks of the fact that the Orient Mission. Ancient Philippi is pope is an Italian. The Chinese em- not now inhabited, but there are peror was to the peasant the son of ruins that mark the spot where it heaven on whom depended all civil stood. The city of Drama is near and moral order. the ancient site and the Protestant Mission Church there is called the Tho the republic has been estab- Modern Church of Philippi. lished many months, there are multitudes of farmers and common peo- ple who have not yet heard of the "NOW, CONCERNING THE COLLEC. revolution. As soon as the change TION" becomes generally known, a great re- ligious upheaval must take place for "What can I spare?" we say: the son of heaven has been removed "Ah, this and this, and the question will arise, Who is to take his place and keep moral and From mine array religious order? Confucianism, as re- I am not like to miss." ligion, is fast losing its power and will not serve as a substitute for the **** suddenly lost faith in the son of "And here are crumbs to feed some hungry one: They do but grow a cumbrance on my shelf"- heaven. Some are inclined to think And yet, one reads, our Father gave His Son, that the moral order in China will Our Master gave Himself. be entirely overthrown when the deposition of the emperor becomes DONATIONS RECEIVED known in the remotest parts of the thickly populated country and the No. 433 Industrial Evang. Mission, India .. $5.00 Chinese religion will be shaken in its No. 434 Chinese Famine Relief. . . .. .. •. . .• 5.00 very foundations, and that the hour No.' 435 Chinese Famine Relief …… , ….• 10.00 of the "yellow peril" win have ar- No. 436 Chinese Famine Re·lief ……..•..• 22.86 rived. We believe that there will be No. 437 Chinese Famine Relief. . . . . .. .•. . . 5.00 No. 438 Chinese Famine Relief.. . . . .. •. . .. 3.00 a severe shaking of the faith of the No. 439 Chinese Famine Relief. .•……… 12.00 Chinese people in the near future, No. 440 Chinese Famine Relief.. • . . .. .. . .• 6.00 but we also believe that it will be No. 441 Industrial Evang. Mission, India.. 5.00 No. 442 Industrial Evang. Mission, India.. 5.00 MISSIONARY NEWS AMERICA sion interests should take part in a conference to be held January 29 to Fifty Missionary Conventions in Store consider what religious movements shall be undertaken in San Francisco FIFTY principal cities, east, middle during the Panama Exposition there. west and coast, will be asked to It is hoped to carry there for that hold missionary conventions between occasion the exhibits which have been October and April next. The request shown in several cities of the "World" is to come from the Laymen's Mis- in Boston, Cincinnati and Baltimore. sionary Movement. These cl;mven- A conference was also ordered with tions will be like those held In the the Home Missions Council with the same cities two or three years ago, hope of developing better means to and the series will form another counteract the introduction into mlsslOnary campaign. This time, America of the religions which. forhowever, the campaign. will ?e. for eign mission forces are fighting in home as well as foreign mlSSlOns, other lands. and the speakers will be of wider range. The largest. matter brought up under the home-base report was a Officers Foreign Missions Conference plan for a new foreign mission cam- paign among the American churches T HE twentieth annual conference early in 1914. This is to aim at ex- of the Foreign Missions Boards tending missionary Bible study, misof North America met at Garden sionary prayer and missionary infor- City, Long Island, Janua,ry IS to .17, mation. Movements have so multi- I9I3. On the precedmg evening plied in the modern church that it is there was held a union dinner in the no longer easy to find a time for interests of Home and Foreign Mis- such an undertaking which shall sions. As usual, the conference 1)1'0- not conflict with similar efforts by gram was made up of important re- other interests. It was, therefore, ports and discussions on t;Iatter~. of ordered that the home-base committee home management and foreign pO:lcy. shall make careful inquiry for a Such subjects as "Administrative period that can be devoted to foreign Efficiency and Expenses," "Anglo- missions without obstructing any· American Communities in Foreign other joint church enterprise. Lands," "Unified Plans of Education and Giving at Home," "Simultaneous The Home Missions Council Campaigns," "The Opportunity in China," "Woman's Work," and the T HE annual conference of officers "Spiritual Side of Missionary Admin- and members of Home Missionistration" were discust with earnest- ary Boards and Societies was held in ness and profit. The situation in New York City January 14 and IS, Korea claimed prayerful consideration I9I3. This council aims to promote and a committee of some of the ablest fellowship, cooperation and efficiency jurists of America was constituted in Christian work in the United States with whom the foreign mission and its dependencies. Among the subboards might consult whenever ques- jects discust this year were: "Work tions of diplomacy or of international Among Mormons," "The Value of law .are involved in mission adminis- Home Mission Week," "Neglected tration. This is a step of far-reach- Fields," "Missions to Indians," "The ing importance and is likely to be New South," "Work for Negroes," of great practical value. and "Rural Fields." Already much It was agreed that the foreign mis-
WORLD-WIDE MISSIONARY
benefit has come to the work, the together for a parlor meeting at the workers and the fields worked by invitation of Mr. and Mrs. E. E.
this friendly conference of home mis- Olcott. Addresses were delivered by sionary officials. The standing com- Dr. James L. Barton, Dr. Charles mittees include those on General Co- R. Watson and Mrs. Benjamin W.
operation, City Work, Immigrant Labaree. The aim and the result is Work, Rural Fields, Indian Mis- a clearer conviction as to the import- sions, Negroes, Spanish Neighbors, ance of missions to Moslems and Neglected Fields, Survey, Literature. deeper interest in the work of the Social Service is included in all of Nile Mission Press.
these branches of Home Missions. The Plans of the Federal Council The Council decided to make Home T Mission Week an annual observance HE Executive Committee of the Federal Council of the Churches in the churches. In 1913 the week is to be the one preceding Thanks- of Christ in America (Chairman, giving and the topic which the Rev. Frank Mason North, D.D.), anchurches will be asked simultaneously nounce the appointment of a joint to consider is "Immigration." A new commssion representing the Confercommittee, of which the Rev. Dr. H. ence of Theological Seminaries and C. Herring is chairman, was ap- the Federal Council for the purpose pointed to work with a like committee of recommending courses of instrucfrom the Council of Women for tion in theological seminaries on so- Home Missions in preliminary ar- cial, industrial and allied subjects. A committee consisting of Dr. Robert rangements for this observance. E. Speer, Bishop A. W. Wilson, Interest in Miuions to Moslems Bishop Arthur S. Lloyd, Dr. Thomas T HERE are many evidences that H. Barbour, and Dr. James L. Barton God is using the recent events has been appointed to arrange cooperin North Africa and the Balkan ative plans between the Commission on Foreign Missions and the Foreign states to arouse in Christians at Missions Conference of North Amerhome new interest in work for the ica. conversion of Mohammedans. Not only have books and magazine articles The propaganda is being pushed appeared to throw a flood of light on with vigor for one-day-in-seven for the subject, but lectures and confer- industrial workers through cooperaences have brought together many tion with the American Association sympathetic hearers. for Labor Legislation.
An all-day conference on the sub- An office of the Council is to be ject of Missions to Moslems was opened at Washington and there is held on January 14 in New York, under consideration a cooperative rewhen 100 or more friends of the ligious campaign to include all possi- ble denominational and interdenominwork came together and able addresses ational agencies and movements, in were given by such men of note as connection with the Panama Expo- Dr. James L. Barton, Dr. Charles R. sition. Watson, Dr. George F. Herrick, Rev. Robert M. Labaree, Rev. Stephen The World in Chicago T Van R. Trowbridge, Dr. Talcott Wil- HE Great Missionary Exposition is to be opened in Chicago May liams and others. The spirit of friendship for Mohammedans was 30 ann will close June 7, 1913. This marked as was the hopeful view exposition is a gigantic entertainment, taken of the outlook for Christian a round the world tour for stay at work among them. homes, a world emporium, where all Another remarkable gathering was kinds of books and foreign goods a parlor meeting at which nearly 300 may be obtained, and a school of of New York Christian leaders came education in home and foreign peo-
pIes, their religion, manners and cus- 000 and will be on the site of the toms and the Christian work being old residence of Bishop David H. done among them. Visitors and Greer, head of the Protestant Episworkers will derive benefit from the copal Diocese of New York, at Gramexposition in direct proportion as arcy Park and 20th Street. It will they put time and thought and energy be like a modern, high-class hotel, into it. eight stories high, and will have 75 bed-rooms, together with rest, music, National Reform Bureau's Plans and dining-rooms. The New York City Mission and Tract Society has T HE National Reform Bureau, of been under the efficient direction of which Dr. Wilbur Crafts is su- Dr. A. F. Schauffler for many years. perintendent, is pressing the follow- It now maintains four churches in ing measures: New York City, all undenominational, but of Presbyterian leanings. Its I. Kenyon "red light" inj unction work extends to all classes and nalaw for D. C. tionalities, including the Jews.
2. Johnston District of Columbia Chinese Women Students in America Sunday bill. THE first Chinese women to come ~. Lea-Sims Interstate Gambling to the United States as students bill under the Boxer Indemnity Fund re- 4. A National Interstate Anti-cigar- cently landed. on American soil, toette bill. gether with 26 young Chinese men, also coming under the same provision 5. An Anti-Polygamy amendment of the Chinese government. Some to the U. S. Constitution. of the party remained in universities in the West, but 6 students went on 6. McComber bill, to suppress to New York and will pursue their liquor seliing in old soldiers' homes studies in that city. The 28 successand all buildings used by the United ful candidates for western education States government. were selected out of 300 competitors in Canton last July. The two 7. Kenyon-Webb bill, to protect no young women and eight of the men license territory from interstate in- were students at Canton Christian vasion. College, whose dean, Dr. W. K. Chung, has lately been appointed 8. Gronna bill to prohibit liquor commissioner of education for selling in ftawaii. Kwongtung province.
9. A bill to suppress liquor selling Protestant Episcopal Work in Alaska in all the "Indian country" of Alaska. NEARLY 20 years ago, before the 10. A bill to stop collecting internal Klondike had been heard of or revenue from "speak-easies" in no the United States had begun to take license territory, or granting them of Alaska seriously, the Protestant Epis- Federal liquor tax receipts. copal Church created a missionary district and sent a bishop to that 1 I. A bill to prohibit the issuing of northern-most part of the United money orders or the registering of States. In that land of over 600,000 letters on Sunday. square miles, a brave little band has surrounded Bishop Rowe, a splendid 12. A bill to prohibit opium traffic leader, and has made a courageous in all territory under U. S. jurisdic- and inspiring fight for Christ and His tion. church. The work has been con- ducted under rema·rkable handicaps. 13. A bill to prohibit U. S. attorneys engaging in private practise.
14. Better State laws, especially extension to all States of Iowa "red light" injunction law.
Home for Women Workers in New York MRS. JOHN S. KENNEDY will build a home for women workers and nurses connected with the New York City Mission and Tract Society. The house will cost $400,-
WORLD-WIDE MISSIONARY NEWS
The mission stations are isolated and the island to-day. It had its beginthe journey from one to the other ning in 1861 when a number of are long; the centers of population colored Episcopalians emigrated from are, with few exceptions, most un- the United States to Haiti, and it is stable, for a sudden stampede may being carried on by about 20 missionpractically empty a town in a week aries who are located in the most imand create another many miles away; portant places. Yet the number of all is in a state of flux; the climate church-members is still less than one is severe and trying; and the neces- thousand and the Sunday-schools have sities of civilized life are peculiarly less than 500 pupils in attendance. high-prized. Thus the budget of ap- All other societies at work in Haiti propriations from the Protestant (the Wesleyan Methodist, African Board has been very high, nearly Methodist Episcopalians, Free $50,000 a year, while in addition very Methodists, Christian and Missionary large sums were needed as "specials" Alliance, and Baptists) have only to make the work nossible. a total of 17 missionaries and 139 native workers of all descriptions, The work of the Protestant Epis- while there are only about 3,000 Procopal missionaries in Alaska has been, testants altogether upon the island. and is, two-fold. The natives, who Surely, Haiti is a needy field, for it were most sadly in need of the gos- has almost 2,000,000 inhabitants of pel, have been approached, and with whom more than three fOl1rths are most encouraging results. At the negroes or mulattoes. same time, the hardy white settlers in the new land have been looked Portuguese in Bermuda Becoming after, in devoted service, by the missionary pioneers, who have given Protestants the whole church a splendid example of complete consecration. Bishop QUITE a colony of Portuguese Rowe, who refused the easier work Roman Catholics has settled in of the diocese in Cincinnati only a the island of Bermuda. Many of few months ago, and his little band them broke away from the yoke of of missionaries furnish an inspiration Rome and began to inquire into Proand a stimulus to the spiritual life testant doctrine, but they had little or of the Church of Christ.· no opportunity of listening to preach- ing in their own language, until they WEST INDIES had a visit from Rev. Kyle a short time ago. Dr. Kyle has been a mis- Missions in Haiti sionary, under the Presbyterian For- eign Board, in Brazil for twenty-five HAITI, second in size of the West years, where he did a tnost excellent Indies and lying between Cuba and successful work. Now he is laand Porto Rico, is nominally a Roman boring, under the Presbyterian Home Catholic country. But the negroes of Board, among the Portuguese in the country districts are ignorant and Massachusetts. He remained three have so many heathenish practises weeks among the Portuguese in Berthat they are sometimes classed among muda and held five meetings every the fetish worshipers. Protestant week. It was the busiest season in all missionaries have been at work in the year for the planters, but crowds Haiti since 1816 and many Protestant came all the same, night after night. negroes have emigrated to the island The intensest interest prevailed .and from the United States during the showed no sign of abatement. One past hundred years, yet Protestants of the meetings was held in the open are increasing very slowly, partly on air, when a baptismal service took account of the very frequent rebel- place. There were about four hunlions and civil wars. The work of dred persons present, and it was evithe American Protestant Episcopal dent that a profound impression was Church is probably the largest upon
being made and a genuine work of and believes that the moral tone of revival was going on. Dr. Kyle esti- Cuban life is bound to be greatly mated that of the thousand Portuguese benefited under the regime of an in Bermuda three hundred belong to honest statesman like Menocal, who the Protestant community, having is popularly regarded as entirely su- broken away from Rome entirely. perior to the graft that has run so A Rest Home in Porto Rico deep in recent years through Cuban public life. Dr. Greene writes: MRS. EARL CRANSTON writes "The Protestant outlook in Cuba is in the Christian Advocate: very encouraging among the middle "After several years of effort at and lower classes. The upper classes last we have seen our dream come seem to be still firmly attached to the Catholic Church for social reasons, true. Near the center of the island, on a mountain overlooking other altho they give no sign of any real ranges of mountains and valleys, religious faith."
stands a beautiful building, with yel- Mi..ions in Porto Rico low-gray concrete wa1ls and red-tiled roof. Against a background of green T HE Baptist, Congregational, Prestrees and blue sky, illuminated in the . byter-ian, and Methodist Home sunshine, it seems to bid a cheery, hos- Mission Boards have agreed on a terpitable welcome. There are beds for ritorial division of Porto Rico, so that eight adults and a nursery for the the work will be done more efficiently children. The idea is that of a quiet and there will be no conflicts between home for rest for all the tiredcout denominations. Americans have prac- American Protestant missionaries on tically built up a public-school system the island; a large number at one time in Porto Rico in the last ten years. in a great sanitarium would prevent They range from high schools downthis. Tho all the $12,000 except ward, are free to all, and are eager- $500 was given by Methodists, and the ly attended. School libraries, school Methodist Board of Home Missions banks, and municipal playgrounds are owns the property, and it is under the established.
direction of our superintendent, Dr. An Archbishop President of Santo Domingo B. S. Haywood, yet our plan from the A first was to extend brotherly Method- CCORDING to the New York Tribune, the Dominican Congress ist hospitality to all these fellow workers. is about to elect to the presidency The Presbyterian Church Archbishop Nuelo, who has been agreed upon by the various warring DR. J. MILTON GREENE, of factions as the only man who in the Cuba, is now the only American present crisis can restore peace to the minister in the Presbytery of Havana. revolution-torn nation. The arch- His IS ordained associates there are bishop's selection is made with the all Cubans, who labor under his su- consent of the Vatican, a cablegram perintendency. The work has, there- to that effect having been received fore, struck deep roots in the native by him from Cardinal Merry del Val, soil of Cuba. There are 15 organ- the papal secretary of state, who was ized churches in the Presbytery, and a classmate of the archbishop. It is IS preaching places beside, with 27 asserted that there is no religious organized Sunday-schools, having a significance in the election, nor is it total attendance of 1,500. There are to be considered as a step toward the 600 pupils in 13 day-schools main- union of church and state.
tained by the mission. President Victoria consented to Dr. Greene has great faith in the resign and allow the archbishop to administration of the newly elected serve out the remainder of the term president of Cuba, General Menocal, of 14 months. The archbishop has
WORLD-WIDE MISSIONARY NEWS
never been in politics except to exert dians living in aboriginal savagery. an influence for peace, and it is ex- The time has come when serious men pected that he will be able to exercise must concern themselves with this that influence to an even greater de- situation. San Domingo and Haiti gree as the civil head of the nation. are the homes of degenerate Negroes engaged mostly in war and present- Religious Census of Jamaica ing an appalling pictt)re of human degradation. T HE Registrar General of Jamaica has published the particulars of Idolatry in Guatemala the religious census taken in the island in April of last year. Accord- HUNDREDS of people from all ing to this census the island contains over Guatemala, from Mexico 7I5,673 inhabitants, of which, in and other Latin-American republics, round figures, one-third belongs to at this time of year are making pilthe Church of England, while only grimages to visit the "God of Esabout 24,000 are members of the Ro- quipulas"-a big, black image in the man Catholic Church. The number city of that name in the eastern part of Baptists is given as 195,053; that of Guatemala. These poor benighted of Wesleyan Methodists as 83,228; people actually believe that this ugly that of Presbyterians as 56,635; Mo- wooden image can work wonderful, ravians, who have had such a flour- miracles, and many of them save ishing missionary work in the island money for years in order to be able for many years, as 36,208. The to make the trip, but invariably they other denominations to be mentioned return in rags, with their purses are the Disciples, the Congregational- looted. Not only the poor and igists, Seventh Day Adventists, Salva- norant are thus deluded, but many tion Army and Friends. of the well-to-do and educated people believe in this foolishness and decep- A rather surprising figure is the tion. All the churches are full of number of Hindus, namely, 9,211. Of wooden images, and all the people Jews who have been settled in the is- who worship in them bow down beland there are only 1,487. Work fore the gods made with men's hands. among the Hindus is being carried on to a limited extent only. EUROPE CENTRAL AMERICA A Great Society in Great Straits Conditions in Central America A CORRESPONDENT writes in the Pittsburgh Christian Advo- W ILLIAM BAYARD HALE, in cate: "I am sorry to say that the an impressive address at the state and prospect of the Wesleyan recent Mohonk Conference gave a Foreign Missionary Fund is giving comprehensive survey of conditions great anxiety to the committee. We in the countries around the Caribbean shall sOon enter on the third and Sea as the result of his own ob- last year of our Centenary celebraservations. He said that in Nica- tion. We have set before us the raugua there prevail poverty and task of raising the sum of $1,250,000 cruelty unsueakable and we have no as an expression of our gratitude to conception of the terrible depths of God for what he has done for us, darkness in which the common peo- and what He has enabled us to do ple are living. In Honduras and as a church in foreign mission work Guatemala the conditions are similar. during the hundred years since our Here the native populations are ut- missionary society was formed. But terly enslaved by brigands striving we could not wisel)' spend that sum for control of the government. From on our missions without entering on one-half to three-quarters of the new fields, and creating new agencies, population of these countries are In- and so making absolutely necessary an increase of the annual income.
Consequently the Centenary Move- would ever let a girl take a situation ment aims at raising the annual in- without due inquiry; all are glad to come by at least $25,000 year by be appealed to." year. The last-named part of the scheme is proving the most difficult A Great School of Languages -in fact, it is hitherto a failure. Two of the three years .are gone, and T HE School of Oriental Languages show a decrease, instead of an in- in Berlin has just celebrated its crease in the yearly income. In fact, semi-jubilee. Lessons, theoretical and for several years past we have had practical, are given in Chinese, Japanan adverse balance of several thous- ese, Arabic, Amharic, Ethiopic, Perand dollars." sian, Turkish, Swahili, and numerous Indian and African languages. In TFree Church Missions in a Nutshell each language there is a native in- HE Free Church of Scotland has structor, as well as the European on its rolls 358 home agents and professor. The school does not only 4,427 native agents. The attendance deal with languages, but with such at its schools is 107,886, and its subj ects as tropical hygiene, practical church-members in full communoin geographical knowledge, the arts, cusnumber 107,886. Of the natives, 68 toms, ideas, commerce, etc., of the are ordained and 2,859 are teachers. peoples whose languages are studied. The stations occupied number 215, Missionary experts have been asked and the out-stations 1,637. With In- to lecture in the school, among them dia the principal field, its workers are being Dr. Richter and Inspector Axalso found in China, Africa, West enfeld. and South, Manchuria, New Hebrides, West Indies, etc., etc. Under the Czar THE CONTINENT RUSSIA is larger than all the rest of Europe put together. For the Unprotected in Paris Less than 10,000,000 of Russia's 163,000,000 population have ever T HE Paris correspondent of The heard a so-called gospel sermon. Living Church claims that few other cities make so good a provision The empire comprises more than for the protection and care of young 25 different languages and nationalwomen coming as strangers for work ities within its confines. or study. He says: "Strangers who come to Paris find a large number of Methodism is preaching in 6 laninstitutions with open, hospitable guages. In St. Petersburg is a Sundoors. For the French-speaking peo- day-school of 300 which meets in a ple there is l'Ami de la J eune Fille, room 20×60 feet. in particular, where Catholics and Protestants unite in a great work. There are 17,000,000 Mohammed- Lists of houses, of pensions, of res- ans in Russia. There is being built at taut·ants, respectable and inexpensive, St. Petersburg a Mohammedan mosunder the surveillance of this society, que, which is to cost about $3,000,000. are posted up at many church-doors, During the last 10 years 10,000 conat ~ome railway-stations and else- verts are said to have been WOn to where throughout the city. DUnian Islam. Chn?tienne des Jeune Gens is a work on somewhat similar lines for young A post-card from Dr. Simons says: men. For English-speaking girls "To-day is another red-letter day in there is the Girls' Friendly Society, the annals of our mission. Have just Miss Leigh's Home, the Christian dedicated the fourth Methodist chapel Association, several admirable Ameri- in Russia. Some people traveled can homes and clubs. None of these from 20 to 30 miles by foot to be present. Here One can see old-fash- ioned Methodism. In nearly every meeting souls are soundly converted."
WORLD-WIDE MISSIONARY NEWS
Mission Work Among Wounded Soldiers been witnessing a living panorama of CONGREGATIONALIST mission- military tactics. Five weeks ago the defeated Turkish forces, estimated to aries in the Balkan peninsula be about 40,000, arrived here from Monastir. Their broken ranks were find that the war gives them some un- in a pitiable, dilapidated condition. This usual opportunities for service. Near- led us to open our home to sick sol- diers. The Greek army, more numerly 1,000 Bulgarian soldiers were ous than the Turkish forces and better equipped, arrived a week ago (Dec. quartered for several days upon the 20), after having defeated the Turk- ish force~ outs!de of the city. Djavid mission in Samokov, and officers and Pasha WIth hIS forces left the city the day before. A staff of Red Cressoldiers were weII disposed and eager cent officers were left in charge of the 200 and more sick and wounded to. receive the r.eli;;ious'pamphlets sup- soldiers temporarily provided for in a school· building near by. Five of p~led by the mlSSlonanes. Daily ser- these Moslem physicians, pharmacists, etc., asked us for shelter under our VIces were held, attended by most of flag, fearing that unless they were thus pr~tected they might be in danthe troops. When the regiment ger of Insult from Christian natives of the place before the Greek armv m~)Ved forward the colonel left $100 arrived. As there is no other fo['- eigner here, I am caIIed upon to do wIth one of the missionaries for safe work which might be caIled consular This has brought me in touch with keeping. He refused to take a re- the commander-in-chief. He tells us he is not responsible for the burning ceipt for it and said that if he failed of the Mohammedan villages and for the outrages committed against Mosto return to claim the money it should lem women along the line of his march.. With the arrival of the army be used for the mission work. a certain class of native fanatics have felt encouraged to indulge in many After the battle of Kirk-KiIIisch lawless deeds, especialIy against the Moslems of all classes in Kortcha and Lulu Burgas, the terrible con- and vicinity. Until the incoming dition of the wounded Turkish sol- arm,y can restore order, the people are m danger and many have sought diers, complicated by the outbreak refuge under our American flag."
of cholera, caused the British and American Red Cross societies to take prompt action to render aid. About November 10 the American ambassa- dor at Constantinople telegraphed Dr.
Dod~ of .th~ American Hospital at Koma, ASIatic Turkey, asking him to go at. once to. Constantinople to help.
He Immmedtately proceeded with Mrs. Dodd, Miss Cushman who is the superintendent of the' hospital and athneaytivheaAvermbeeneinananbulerset~ Yegsha' and rende; mos~ effici~nt and highly appreciated servIces, aIded much by their famil- ~arity wit.h the language. They are mstalled In a Red Crescent hospital, run by T~rks, and have sole charge of wards. with 30 beds, while they help much In the other part of the hospi- Missionary Ordered Out of Albania tal.
News From Albania SOME years ago an Albanian youth appeared at the office of the T HIS land has been closed during the war, but a letter has come from American Board in Boston and plead for teachers for his people. He Rev. Phineas B. Kennedy of Kortcha, stated that his people were nominally dated December 27. He writes: "We Mohammedans, but had been Chris- have not had any mail for over two tians until they came under Ottoman months and just now for the first rule, and were so determined to have time is the way open to travel to western learning that they would Monastir. All this time we have been w~lc?me distinctly Christian and living under martial law. We have mISSIOnary teachers. A wealthy
lady and a friend gave $25,000 to with Bibles, either in the Armenian found a new work among the 2,000,- or in the Turkish language. The 000 Albanians and two married mis- owners have nothing to say against sionaries, Rev. P. B. Kennedy and the plan, except that the Mohammed- Rev. C. T. Erickson, were sent out an owners insist that the Bible must by the American board. Mr. Ken- be hung on tne wall, since it is a nedy was located at 'Kortcha and Mr. Holy Book and it would be a dese- Erickson at Tirana, whence he was cration if it were placed upon the soon driven out by the New Turk old foot-stools, which are the only party, so that he went to Elbasan. piece of furniture found in the rooms There he held on in spite of persecu- of the Caravansaries. tion and arrest. His efforts to acquire property for the mission were We trust that these Bibles will do blocked by the Turkish authorities as much good as those which have and he was forced to live in very been placed in the hotels in the undesirable property. But Mr. Erick- United States. son persevered and he was making some headway, when his son's health A Turks Facing Eastward began to suffer. At the time of the GREAT exodus of Turkish outbreak of the Balkan war he was peasant farmers from Europe to obliged to take his son to Italy for Asia is said to have begun. Red a surgical operation. At his return Cross people report that already more he was arrested at Durozzo and kept than 100,000 Turkish refugees have three days in jail. When he was re- been aided to leave Europe. They leased he made his way to Elbasan, are going prepared to take up agribut was ordered to leave the country culture. in Asia Minor. Deserting within 10 days. their homes they go with families and crude farming implements loaded Thus Mr. Erickson's missionary into bullock carts, and expect to work in Albania has bad to cease for settle upon lands provided by the tbe present. We hope and pray that government. Albania will be given autonomy in consequence of the present 'war, be- INDIA cause tbat would mean an opening of the whole country to the preaching DR.Dr. Mott's India Conference of the gospel. JOHN R. MOTT and Mr. Geo. Sherwood Eddy have re- ASIA-MOSLEM LANDS cently held eight provincial confer- ences in the Indian empire, including The Gideons of Armenia one in Burma.
ARMENIAN Christians in Harput, Sixty European, American and In- Asiatic Turkey, hearing that the dian, men and women, who are "Gideons" in the United States were leaders in the missionary movement placing Bibles in many hotels to in India, met in Calcutta December reach and influence the traveling pub- 19 to 21 for a National Missionary lic with the Word of God, have de- Conference. Among those were the cided to imitate the example, and to Anglican Bishops of Lahore, Madras place Bibles in all the so-called hotels and Chota Nagpore, Bishops of the of their country. Hotels in that part American Methodist Episcopal of the country, however, are not Church, some of the most influential like our hotels, since they contain missionaries of the C. M. S., Prespractically no furniture, and men byterian, Baptist, Congregational, have to sleep upon the bedding which Lutheran, Methodist, and Friends' they bring themselves, and have to Missions, at least ·one prominent S. eat victuals which they secure for P. G. missionary, and also leaders of themselves. These empty rooms in the Indian Nadonal Missionary Sothe Caravansaries are to be supplied ciety. Most of the work was done through IO committees in 10 princi-
WORLD-WIDE MISSIONARY NEWS
pal departments of work. After Sura 4: 38, which reads, "Men are much deliberation these committees superior to women on account of the brought in tindings, which were care- qualities with which God has gifted cully considered in full conference, the one above the other." He also and were adopted with some modifi- stated that "Islamic laws accord the cations. These findings will be same status to woman as man," and printed, and a copy sent to every mis- that Mohammedans "are proud of the sionary and Indian Christian leader. liberal spirit of their religion and One decision, destined to have far- laws, and of the achievements of reaching influence, was that approv- many women of Islam who, by their ing of the use of the term "The In- talents, attained eminence as rulers of dian Church" to designate all Indian territories, in fields of battle, in Christians connected with various ec- wise statesmanship, in theology, in clesiastical organizations. jurisprudence, in philosophy, poetry, Another important result of this and rhetoric."
Calcutta gathering is the impulse to Of the important resolutions we form provincial councils in all parts quote the following as expressing the of the Indian empire, and a national feelings and aspirations of these council of 24 persons to unite and to Mohammedans assembled in confer- lead in promoting cooperation be- ence: tween missionary organizations. The "That all Mohammedan schools Bishop of Lahore, who is soon to be- . should be placed under the come Metropolitan of the Anglican supervision and control of a separate Church in India, is chairman of the inspecting agency, with a separate provisional committee to lead in the inspector directly at its head."
formation of the proposed provincial "That steps should be taken to en- councils and of the national council. courage female education in all possi- ble ways."
Mohammedan Educational Conference "That arrangements should be in India made to give religious instruction in HE Moslem Educational Confer- all Mohammedan girls' schools." T ence of Southern India met in "That government, municipalities, Bangalore a few months ago. It was noteworthy on account of the and district boards be requested to address of its president, Justice Ab- start Moslem girls' schools in all dur Rahim of the Madras High Moslem centers, making provision for Purdah .conveyances for pupils." Court, of some of the resolutions passed, and of the fact that the col- These resolutions show a remarklector of the district delivered a able new spirit in Islam in India, which is not at all friendly to misspeech in which he is said to have sionary work.
exprest sympathy with the conference. Successful Telugu Missions The president frankly acknowledged the low ebb at which the prestige 'THE Bishop of Madras has recent- of Islam now stands, but prophesied ly written: "Every time I go to our the dawn of a better day, because Telugu missions I seem to see fresh there are keen energetic men in proof of the wonderful power of Christ every Mohammedan community who working in the hearts of men. I re- are awake to the seriousness of the flect that about 60 years ago there situation and are determined to dis- were only a. mere handful of Chris- cover and apply the remedy. He de- tians in the whole of the Telugu clared that to meet the crisis the edu- country; now there are more than cation of girls is a necessity and 300,000. And what a change in the recognized that "God has endowed hearts and lives of thousands! The women with intellectual gifts as Telugu clergy and teachers, the chil- much as men," thus contradicting dren in the boarding-schools, the
Christian coolies singing their hymns ciety of England has a remarkable as they go to their morning work, the work, and the Gleaner says: thousands who have given up drink and theft, the thousands of rupees In olden days Bhils used to sow given every year for the work of the just a little patch of Indian corn and church out of the deep poverty of the depend on robbery for their living. people-what a striking witness it all Even to-day the glossary of the is to the presence and power of Christ Government Gujerati School Readers and of the Holy Spirit! When we has the explanation., 'Bhil- robber.' think of all, what confidence it gives Yet there are now nearly 500 Chrisus in facing the work of the future." tians here, settled farmers with their families. They have a church and it A Change of Name Besought is governed by a council and its affairs are managed by committees. The AN Indian ministers' conference at council has employed three lay-pastors Madras, representing about ten and has just added three more to its staff. There is a boys' school in condifferent denominations of the Prot- nection with the mission where these Bhil boys are winning high marks III estant Church, has just addrest a their studies.
memorial to the Governor of Madras CHINA requesting that the phrase "Indian One of China's New Women Christians" may be substituted for the DR. LI BI CU is one of China's new women. A forceful speaker, term "native Christians" which is now using perfec~; English, with a charm- ing personality, Dr. Li Bi Cu never invariably used in all Government pa- fails to win the hearts of her audi- ences. Those who heard her at pers and statistics. The following are Northfield last summer can never forget the appeal made by the little the reasons urged: woman in Chinese dress, to the women of the United States to come (I) The phrase objected to has no to the help of her countrywomen. The mother of Dr. Li Bi Cu was definite meaning. Everybody is a rescued from the street, where she had been thrown to die, when only native Christian in his own country a day or two old, and taken to a mis- sion-school, where she was cared for, and how so vague a designation can educated and trained as a Bible wo- man. She married a Methodist minbe applied to Hindus who have ister, Mr. Li, and her daughter, Li Bi Cu, grew up in a Christian home. embraced the Christian faith can not One of the missionaries, seeing un- usual ability in the young girL be explained. In any case it has no brought her to America for a more thorough education than China afreference to India, and denotes no forded. She studied in Folts Insti- tute and later entered the Woman's particular nationality. Medical College, in Philadelphia. Graduating with honor, she returned (2) The term native has come to to China after 8 years' residence in the United States and was sent to signify something uncivilized, inferior the Fukien province, where the Wo- man's Foreign Missionary Society of and contemptible. By constant usage the Methodist Episcopal Church had it has become synonymous with what is vulgar and unpleasant, especially in the mouths of uneducated Euro- peans.
(3) The whole Anglo-Indian press has discarded the term and invariably uses the word "Indian"; also all for-'
eign missionaries have dropt it in their reports and statistics.
(4) We ourselves have abandoned the use of this objectionable phrase.
Our associations, dubs, funds, con- ferences are all "Indian" and not "native." .
Among the Bhil. in India AMONG the aboriginal hill tribe of the Bhils in the Central Provinces of India, the Church Missionary So-
WORLD-WIDE MISSIONARY NEWS
opened a hospital, and has cared for Methodist Episcopal Church, South the souls and bodies of thousands of Methodist Episcopal Church, North: patients. Dr. Li Bi Cu was sent as Presbyterian Church, North, Presbya delegate to the General Conference terian Church, South, Christian Mis- at Minneapolis and will retmn very sionary Society, and the International soon to China. Committee of the Y. M. C. A. The school opened in three leased resi- A Great Y. M. C. A. Convention dences on the North Szechuen Road Extension, in Shanghai, on Septem- T HE Young Men's Christian Asso- ber 17 with an attendance of SI. ciation's sixth triennial world's convention opened in Peking, Decem- A Bible and the Boxer Rebellion ber 12, and lasted several days. Yuan Shi Kai, president of the Chi- DURING the Boxer ;rebellion in nese republic, received 340 Chinese China, in I9°O, Rev. Webster, of delegates, who represented the most important cities, universities and col- the United Free Church Mission at leges of 14 Chinese provinces, and Kiayuan, had suddenly to flee for his he also received 30 American and life, leaving behind him his house European secretaries of Chinese looted and in flames. A heathen Chibranches of the association. Yuan nese picked up a book from a heap Shi Kai, addressing the delegates, that had been thrown into the street, spoke appreciatively of the work of and carried it home. Ten years later the association in China. The ener- he sent it back to Rev. Webster, with 'gies of the association's branches, he the story that it had been the means said, were peculiarly acceptable at of his conversion. It was a New the present time, when Chinese citi- Testament in Chinese, and he had read zens generally were realizing that it from mere curiosity. The Word of with the inauguration of the repub- God took hold of him, and he became lic the greatest responsibilities and an inquirer under the care of Rev. higher moral obligations devolved on Inglis. Finally he became a member the people. The Chinese government and an office-bearer of one of the vilwould therefore, he continued, give lage churches in the neighborhood of every encouragement to the Young Kiayung. Men's Christian Association in its inculcation of discipline and obedience The Largest Missionary Parish to authority, thus increasing the harmony between the government and THE province of Sinkiang or Chithe people. nese Turkestan, reaches right in- to the heart of Asia. It has an area Union School for Children of Mission· of 550,340 square miles, which makes it approximately equal to the German aries Empire plus France and Spain. Its population numbers 1,200,000 and con- T HE long-needed and long-hoped- sists of Chinese (many being immi- for school for the children of grants), Turks, Kirghiz, Mongols, and American missionaries has at last some Manchu settlers. The first become a reality. Acting on in- China Island missionary entered it in structions received from their mis- I888, and the present missionary, Mr. sions, the representatives of 8 mis- Hunter, commenced his definite work sions conducting work in the neigh- for this long neglected region in 1905. borhood of Shanghai have been organ- The station of Tihwafu (Urumtsi) ized into a Union Board of Man- is the center from which he has been agers, and, as such, have brought into engaged in widespread itinerations in being a school which is known as the the vast territory. In these he has Shanghai American School. The mis- reached Kashgar, close to the borders sions represented are as follows: of Turkistan. There, at Kashgar and American Baptist, Southern Baptist, at Yarkand, 54 days' journey to the
west, are Mr Hunter's nearest Prot- From Soothaayer to Colporteur estant neighbors' missionaries of the T HE new report of the Bible So- Swedish Missionary Union, which sent ciety, describing work in China, its faithful workers into that region in relates the story of a colporteur named 1894. Mr. Hunter's nearest Protestant Tschen. In the man's own words we neighbors to the east are at Wang-ye- read: "When I first approached the fu (Scandinavian Alliance Mission of Christian Church, it was not in the N. A.), considerably farther away hope of finding salvation for my soul, from Tihwafu than Kashgar. The but rather for the souls of my denumber of communicants reported in parted parents. They appeared to me 19II for the province of Sinkiang was in my dreams, exhorting me to find two. Few could endure the loneliness some relief for them. Then I disand hardships of this hero of the covered that I myself needed salva- Cross. who single-handed has contin- tion. I had been a soothsayer for many years, and it was easier then to ued the preaching of the Gospel these make my living than it is to-day; seven years. Alone? No, not alone still, I rejoice to be my Lord's mesfor He abideth faithful who said, "La, senger. 'How is it that you gave up I am with you always."
A Blind Chin~.e Colporteur that fine business?' men now ask me; 'you managed so very well to cast a T HE Rev. W. E. H. Hipwell in his man's nativity, to choose days, and to annual letter gives the following predict our lucky and unlucky days, description of evangelistic work· at and now you are selling these foreign Pakhoi: "One of the leading features booh; and since they are in the counof the year's work has been the in- try, the gods have sent us plague and creased eagerness in voluntary evan- famine in their wrath!' 'Listen to me, gelistic work manifested by all our my honorable brethren. No soothhelpers. The nightly meetings in the sayer knows his own fate, and how town gospel hall, in the absence of should he know that of other people? Catechist Lau, have been carried on Since I have read this small book, I by voluntary help, as each night two know my destiny to be a saved child or three of the workers in turn made of God, and that makes my future life themselves responsible for the meet- bright and hopeful, because I found in ing. One of the men is blind, his this Gospel my Savior.'''
name is So Fuk-Tin. More than IO years ago he was employed as a col- Christian Leaders Visiting Korea porteur evangelist, but he left the em- D ploy of the mission and for some years URING the past four months sev- eral of the great leaders in Chriswas lost sight of. Two years ago he returned. One of the Church mem- tian work in Japan proper have visited bers has promised him a small month- Korea, investigated conditions there, ly allowance; he also earns a little as and held successful meetings. Among a colporteur. He is most keen to help these may be named in particular in any way, and is one of the most Messrs. Uemura and Miyagawa, the regular helpers in the gospel hall meet- giants of the Presbyterian and Ku- ings. I believe he is doing a good miai (Congregational) pulpits; Rev.
work. A few Sundays ago he took T. Makino, of Kyoto, chief secretary the evening meeting in the leper men's of the Japan Christian Endeavor compound. Dr. Thompson, who was Union, and Han. Nakamura, of the present, tells me it was a most path- same city; Rev. R. Inoue, recently etic sight to see this blind man stand from Oberlin and Seattle; Rev. T.
up with his Brai11e Testament and Okumura, a Japanese worker in Ha- preach Christ to 100 lepers. Eyery waii; and Rev. K. Mito, field secre- morning and evening there are Gospel tary of the Japan Sunday-school meetings in the hospital compound. Union.
WORLD-WIDE MISSIONARY NEWS 23
Utilizing Chinese Temples More Missionaries to Mohammedans I N Canton and Honan there are a T HE German Sudan Pioneer Mis- large number of temples to the sion sent out five new laborers to memory of numerous deities about Egypt on October 20th, viz.: one orwhom nothing or very little is known, dained missionary to Daran, two unand the only time one ever hears of married women, the one to Edfu, the them is once a year, when the priests other to Assuan, and two unpaid volare celebrating the birthday of the god unteer workers (ladies). One of the or other festival. The new govern- volunteers is the Princess Mary Agnes ment is of the opinion that without of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, a member alienating public opinion or causing of Germany's highest nobility.
ill feeling many of these temples could The Kongo Eor Christ be put to a much more useful purpose by being given into the hands of the PERSISTENTLY and with wide educational commissioner to turn into reaching results, Rev. Thomas schools. The matter is receiving at- Moody, of the Baptist Mission in the tention and the funds hitherto paid to Kongo, has been laboring for a period a number of lazy priests and caretak- of fifteen years or more. At a recent ers are to be devoted to education. conference of Protestant missionaries Also the many celebrations held on held in his field, Mr. Moody read a the birthdays of the various gods are paper on "Africa and Kongo for to be cancelled and the only festivals Christ in This Generation." At the of this kind to be held are the Con- conference those present were asked fucian celebrations.-Peking Daily to write to their home boards to see News. what could be done to stop Moham- medan invasion from the north. AFRICA In his paper Mr. Moody said: C. T. Studd Goes to Africa The fact is we have in Kongo BeIge 60 fields, of 10,000 square miles each, C HARLES T. STUDD, the Cam- without a missionary. We have in the bridge athlete, who was converted Sudan 200 fields, of 10,000 square under the preaching of D. L. Moody, miles each, without a missionary. We and who went out as a missionary have in Africa 500 fields, of 10,000 to China 27 years ago with the famous square miles each, without a mission'
"Cambridge Seven," has now volun- ary. That is, we have 5,000,000 square teered for service in Central Africa miles of territory and 70,000,000 of under the Africa Inland Mission. A people without any Gospel ministrv farewell meeting was recently held at of any kind. .
the London Y. M. C. A. to bid him Look at what God has done! Stan- God-speed. Mr. Studd is going to ley came out of the Kongo 34 years the heart of Africa, where there are ago last August. Equatorial Africa some 40,000,000 of unevangelized is opened. Look at the east and west people. The Mani-Manis are a pagan coasts-Uganda and the Kongo !
tribe called also the Azandi, who Twenty years ago there was not a number about one and one-half mil- church from Stanley Pool to the Falls lions in the Belgian Kongo, and about -1,000 miles. To-day there are ten an equal number in the French Sudan. mission stations with strong Christian Three other Cambridge University churches.
men are going out with Mr. Studd. The country is going ahead by leaps The Africa Inland Missions was and bounds. A single steamer to-day founded by Mr. Charles E. Hurlburt, carries more tonnage than the whole and is conducted on the same lines as Kongo fleet of 20 years ago. You the China Inland Mission. The work- will soon be able to go from McMinn- ers have been greatly blest in their ville to the Dominion of South Africa labors in British East Africa. by railroad and steamship, by way of
Kongo, Stanley Falls, Victoria Falls, hated. 'When he gained the office, he etc. The Cape to Cairo railroad has suddenly became mild and gentle, and reached Elizabethville, 2,000 miles friendly to both missionaries and na- from the Cape, with its I,6oo white tive Christians, probably that he men at the gold and copper mines dis- might first gain a firm foothold, and covered by Livingstone. now, seemingly having succeeded in Africa is wide open, waiting for the his scheme, he again shows his true men to enter. The country was opened character, and is commencing to be as by Christian natives, and to-day the cruel and bloodthirsty as ever before.
Mohammedans are going in. Cairo, It seems that he hates native Chris- with its IO,OOO students, has a newly tians especially, and several of them formed missionary society. The prob- have been obliged to feel his hatred lem of the twentieth century is this: in their bodies. The whole country Who is going to rule Africa? Two is opprest by the difficulty. Native virile monotheistic religions are con- Christians are preparing to flee, and tending for Africa. Which is going several, especially threatened ones, to win-the crescent or the cross, Mo- have already left the country. The hammed or the Christ? missionaries have not yet come to a A New Station Opened decision what to do, but they agree that things can not go on as they are. AFTER extensive exploration the Angola Mission of the American ISLANDS Board in West Africa has found a site for a new station which is unique Economic Conditions Improving in Africa. It is at Dondi, 6,000 feet above sea level; it has no mosquitos REV. ]. L. McLAUGHLIN, who and seems healthful and beautiful to is in charge of the society's work a degree quite wonderful for tropical in the Philippines, reports that econ- Africa. Here, thanks to the generos- omic conditions in the islands ity of the Canadian churches who have wonderfully improved, that fine public roads are being built, have recently contributed $10,000 to and that the public schools are rapidly increasing in attendance the fund, will be established a new and in potency, as the people station, including an institute having are realizing their value. There are industrial, agricultural, normal and upward of 500,000 children in the theological courses for the training of schools at present.
native workers. This will be the cen- Once Cannibals but Now Christians M tral illstitute for a district as large as ISSIONARY WAGNER of the Papuan Mission in German New from New YO~'k to Chicago, and from Lake Erie to the Gl1if. Rev. W. C. Guinea, announces that 2,000 heathen Bell, who was a Cornell graduate and have in the last few years joined the has been in Africa since I907, will be churches there. He describes how placed in charge of the institute until parties of them came from a great a permanent principal is secured. distance to take part in the last Christ- Difficulties in Ovambo Land mas celebration. Numbers arrived days before, and were set to work RHENISH missionaries in Ovam- clearing away brush, and setting in boland report that a time of trial order the station grounds until they and difficulty has commenced. The fairly shone. Six hundred of these head chief, Mandume, who had been former cannibals packed the station quite friendly to missionaries and na- church. The children from the school tive Christians, has suddenly changed sang, "Peaceful Night, Holy Night,"
front and shows great opposition to and the final choral was sung by the both. congregation with a mighty power Mandume had a bad name on ac- which would have thrilled the friends count of his utmost cruelty before he of missions at home could they have became head chief, and was generally heard it.
WORLD-WIDE MISSIONARY NEWS
Roman Catholicism Working themselves are enthused and awak- ened to the importance and possibil- A WARNING is implied in what ities of this method of spreading the Mr. McLaughlin reports concern- Gospel. ing the steadyreassertion of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. All colporteurs in the Philippines Large numbers of Belgian and Ger- report great willingness of the natives man clergymen have been brought in to listen to the Gospel message. to fill the vacancies in the provinces. These are in the main men of a high MISCELLANEOUS degree of intelligence and training, and they have settled down to their A Church Which Means Business work with a determination to win. Particularly is this true in the south- "WE can not keep up with the proern island, where as yet neither the cession here, so numerous are Philippine Independent Church nor the new events of importance; but the Evangelical missions have been we do want to report, however meaable to supply the calls which have gerly, the great features of advance." come to them. Large numbers of So declares one of the board's mis- French Sisters of Mercy have also sionaries, Mr. Stelle, of Peking, as he been brought in, and schools have been writes concerning the formation of opened in many of the principal cen- an independent Chinese church at that ters, where there never had been any capital. before. In Iloilo, spurred on by the magnificent work of the Baptist-Pres- On the 4th of May, 40 of the Chrisbyterian Hospital, the Roman Church tians representing the various mission has opened a hospital, but only for churches in Peking and Tientsin held paying patients. an all-day conference at the London Missionary Society's Mi Shih Church, Unique Colportage Work and'then and there adopted a consti- tution of the Chinese Christian Church I N the island of Negros, Rev. C. in Peking. This constitution declares Maxfield is rather unique in his it to be the object of the church to management of the colportage propo- preach, according to the Word of sition. He ships large quantities of God, the gospel of salvation; to acliterature-Bibles, portions, and other cept the evangelical and trinitarian Christian literature-to various points creeds of the recognized Protestant throughout his territory. These he churches; to train the Chinese to unplaces under lock and key. Then dur- dertake their responsibilities as Chrising the vacation times he takes a large tians; to adopt as far as is in keeping number of the girls from the training- with Scriptural teaching and Chinese school and stations them throughout custom existing rules and rights of the province. He then sets aside the the Peking churches; to depend upon fortnight or month, as the case may the regular and special gifts of its be, to travel and work with them. He members and friends; to pay special takes his wheel and goes from town attention to the promotion of both to town, stopping a day with each set foreign and home missionary work; of girls and assisting them, encourag- to endeavor to promote aU good work; ing those who become faint-hearted, to organize with preachers, elders, and directing those who are diffident, and deacons (the elders caring for the inspiring those who are working list- spiritual welfare of the church and lessly, and before it is time for the the deacons for business matters), a girls to go back to school, a surprizing church council to which only church amount of literature is disposed bf, a members are eligible, and an advisory large number of homes are visited, and board of foreign missionaries invited churches are aroused by the cam- from the various missions.-Missionpaigns, and last, but not least, the girls ary Herald.
OBITUARY month before his death. He died at Naples in the house of his son, pastor Dr. Thoma, of Arabia Gaio Gay, on November 27th. The last word on his lips was "Christ." N January 15th, Dr. Sharon J. O Thoms, missionary of the Re- Profeasor Martin Kahler formed Church in America, died suddenly in Muscat, Arabia. This un- ON September 7, 1912, Martin expected closing on earth of a useful _ Kahler, professor of theology in life will bring sorrow to those interested in the work of the Arabian the University of Halle, passed away. Mission, and to the wide circle of He was a close friend of the late Profriends. fessor Warneck and an earnest be- liever in missions. To him Christian- Dr. Thoms was one of the gradu- ity was the final religion, which can ates of the University of Michigan, not perish, but must conquer all other and was doing admirable medical systems of religion, and thus, by his work in Arabia. He first went out lectures, he inspired his numerous puin 1898, and during nearly IS years pils with great missionary zeal, and has carried on important medical work through his writings, he greatly aided in Busrah, Bahrein and Maskat. He the cause of missions within the was planning to erect a hospital for Church. which the funds had been supplied and with which to make still more effect- Senior Missionary Handmann ive a medical work which he considered the most promising of any N December 7, 1912, death claimed with which he had had experience O R. Handmann at the age of alduring his service in Arabia. most 73 years. When a student of theology his missionary zeal was Dr. Teofilo Gay, of Italy kindled by a sermon at a missionary meeting, and he volunteered for serv- THE news of the death of Dr. Teo- ice in the foreign field. He labored filo Gay, of Luserna San Gio- as a missionary of the Leipsic Society in India until sickness forced him to vanni, is a great loss to the Evangeli- return to Germany, where he became cal Church of Italy. a promoter of missions by word of mouth and by his pen. A number of Waldensian pastors can, more than years he was editor of the MissionalfY most, apply to themselves those words Magazine, of the Leipsic Society, and of the Apostle, "in journeyings of- he has done much for the upbuilding ten," and Dr. Gay was no exception of its good work. to the rule. From student days he was a traveler, for he chose to take Director H. J. Kluge his theological course at Geneva, and was inducted to the ministry at Neu- HE earthly career of Missionschatel. Thereafter he proceeded to London, where he assisted M. Du- T director H. J. Kluge, of the pontet de la Harpe for a time. His subsequent charges were in Italy. Moravians, closed after a long period of sickness on December 14, 1912. "Dr. Gay was, perhaps, the finest He was a valiant worker in the vineorator the church possest-an oratory yard of the Master for many years, spontaneous and ever within the and the Lord blest him abundantly. bounds of nature. He was master of His last official work for the Morathe most exacting audience, and vians was a visit of inspection to the moved with the same freedom in the work in South Africa in 191 I, and his Italian as in the French language. He report, well and interestingly writwas also a prolific writer, especially ten, proved a source of pleasure and on subjects connected with the history instruction to many friends of misof his people, and he had the satis- sions. Soon after his return from faction of seeing through the press South Africa he was taken sick, and his "Histoire des Vaudois" about a suffered in faith and hope until death released him. AND MISSION LANDS AMERICAN SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDI- Looking on the bright side of pres- ent-day conditions, there is much to TIONS. By Charles Stelzle, Superin- cheer and encourage. Men are awak- ening to a consciousness of their re- tendant, Bureau of Special Service, sponsibilities toward their fellows, they became forces in church move- Board of Home Missions of the Pres- ments for the betterment of their com- byterian Church of U. S. A. 12mo, 240 pp., with appendices and charts. $1.00, net. Fleming H. Revell Company, New York, 1912.
Mr. Stelzle, of the Presbyterian munity. Schools and colleges are Board of Home Missions, is an able aroused to the need of a system and a writer and statistician. Here .he pre- curriculum which will meet the new sents very concisely, yet interestingly, conditions. And the church, the most all the main facts concerning social powerful force in the world, what and religious conditions in the United could it not accomplish if all who call States. It is emphatically a book that themselves Christians would work to- Christian social workers and true pa- gether with unity of purpose, fired by triots should study. It is not merely a the same holy zeal and love for their dry compilation of figures, for beside fellow men? What an army the Ameri- the charts which show at a glance can Protestant Church forces present conditions in various industries, in cold figures: 01Urch-members, 22,- church progress, etc., there are prac- 000,000; church adherents, 60,000,000; tical and illuminating chapters on . Sunday-school enrolment, 16,000,000; what has been accomplished in church ordained ministers, 162,000. "The and social service, and on the evils that church," says Mr. Stelzle, "may be threaten society in the republic, with held largely responsible for the standmany wise suggestions how a remedy ani of ethics which prevails among the may be found. The chapters and dia- people." He believes that a great sograms are a study of city and country cial upheaval is at hand, and when the problems, the liquor question, child church will enter into its larger inlabor, the immigrant, the negro, the heritance. The "great awakening" Indian, the Spanish American, fron- which Christian evangelists have been tiersman and the church. The author prophesying wiII be based upon the is hopeful for the future, for he sees social Gospel for which the church healthy signs of progress, but he feels has been so long preparing. . . . It that we are facing perils that may de- will deal fearlessly with the exploitastroy the home life of the people. The tion of little children, of helpless consumption of liquor is on the in- women and downtrodden men. It crease in spite of the activities of the will demand that men's bodies shall church and temperance societies. In be saved as well as their souls. It 1906, divorces had increased 64 per will seek to convert men socially as cent. over the number granted in 1887. well as spiritually. It will destroy In 1907, there were a million and forever that miserable false concepthree-quarters of child workers in the tion, that a Christian man may prac- United States, mostly in factories and tise unchristian principles in his busimills, where conditions were morally ness life simply because his unchrisand physically bad. These are but a tian competitors find it more profitable few of the sore spots in our national to do so. I t will insist that every life that call insistently for remedy, if community, composed of Christian ever our country is to be "God's coun- people, must also be a Christian com- try." lllt111ity." CATCH-lfy-P.L. By the Rev. R. J. Pat- hold him up in the hour of tempta- tion." terson, LL.B. 8vo, 192 pp. $1.00, net. George H. Doran Company, New The six men, faithful to their prom- York. Hodder & Stoughton, Londoll, ise, appeared on the ~ay aPl?ointe? 1912. After telling them that It was 111 theIr power to start a movement that would The story of a great temperance drive the curse of rum out of Armagh, movement is here told by the foundel. if each man would go out and bring The movement started in Armagh, in a friend who drank, and these in Ireland in 1909, swept over England, turn should bring in others. Only Scotland and Wales, and with force after the men had promised to do this ll!lSpent, still rolls on through the were they allowed to sign the pledge. British colonies. Mr. Patterson was So the great movement had its incepfor seventeen years pastor of The tion. It was like a snow bail swelling Mall Presbyterian Church in Armagh, in size and power as it ro1led along. where he became deeply interested in temperance work. He found that It is interesting- to trace in this volwhile his meetings were well attended, ume the progress of this triumphant that the very class it was most im- movement which Mr. Patterson has portant to reach was rarely repre- described with great spirit., humor, sented and that little was accom- pathos and picturesque detail. Public plished in rescuing the fallen and in houses' were almost emptied. Brawl- ing neighborhoods were completely purifying the neighborhood.. To save changed. Bakers, butchers, and other the drunkard became a burnmg ques- tradesmen reaped a harvest. More tion with him, for Armagh was curst children's shoes were sold in the winwith widespread intemperance. He ter of 1909-1910 than in any similar meditated, consulted others, and period in living memory. About 130,- prayed that the Lord would show him 000 men and women joined the movethe way. In the Gospel of St. John ment in Ireland in the first year, and he found the inspiration for the there were SOD flourishing bran<:hes "Catch-My-Pal Movement." T~e established in the two years follow mg. Christian religion was started 111 Then England, Scotland, Wales, and Catch-My-Pal lines, for thus "Our the British Colonies were aroused, and Lord caught Andrew, and Andrew the good work still goes on. When men caught Peter and brought him to become responsible for the conversion of others there is all the excitement Tesus. Then he caught Philip, and of the ch'ase, of "big game" hunting. The spirit of emulation is awakened, Philip caught Nathanael and brought there is the pride of the conqueror when a man succeeds in "bringing in" him to Jesus." a refractory, elusive, or sin-har~en.ed On the night of July 13, 1909, M.L brother. Christian Endeavor SOCIetIes and men's clubs will do well to read Patterson, on his way home, found SIX this book and take up the good work. men gossiping under a lamp-post on the main street of Armagh. After THE PARISH OF THE PINES. Thomas S. talking with them on the evils of drink Whittles. IIIustrated. 121110, 247 pp. and the blessings of sobriety, he per- $1.00, net. Fleming H. ReveII Co., 1912. suaded the six men that it would be a <Yood thing to sign the pledge. He told The story of F~ank. Higgi?s, .the lumber-j acks' sky-pIlot, IS fascmatmg. them to go home, think a.bout it, talk The story itself is thrillingly i~terest about it, and pray about It,. and c?me ing, and the courage, consecratIon a?d to him in a body the followmg Fnday evidence of the power o.f God are I~ night. They did not wish to come to- spiring. Those who begu: to r~ad ~I1l gether, but the minister was firm. He finish, and those who fi111sh WIll WIsh felt that if he could get them all to to pass on the story to others. sign in one another's presence, that "each one would find himself supported by a public opini;JI1 formed by his companions. So that If one brother went down, there would be five to
THE MISSIONARY LIBRARY
The author of "'1'11(: Parish in the AN ISLE OF EDEN. By Janie Pritchard Pines" is a man whose knowledge and Duggan. Illustrated. 346 pp., 12mo. experience of life in the lumber The Griffith & Rowland Press Philacamps especially fits him to give an accurate view of conditions in the delphia, 1912. $1.50, net. ' lumber camps. He has given us a rousing narrative in a series of realistic The scene of this story is Porto Rico, immediately after the American scenes of life .and Christian work in occupation; a period fruitful in the great woods. It is a story to stir changes for the natives, when rural the blood and awaken the deepest sym- and urban schools sprang up throughpathy in the moral and spiritual wel- out the island, when church governfare of the lumberjacks, who have ment was separated from the State so many attractive qualities of mind and the Gospel of true freedom proand heart, and are dumbly crying to be claimed for all. . saved from the host of ravening wolves that prey upon them. Mrs. Duggan relates the experiences of "a single lady missionary,'·' a When Frank Higgins, the "Sky-pilot stranger, in a strange land, who lived of the Lumberjacks," began in I895 joyously among a people foreign to his work in the logging camps no re- the ways of righteousness and peace. ligious society had ever brought to The heroine, absorbed in her life of them the message of hope. To-day service for the Master, is drawn with the Presbyterian Church alone has or- sympathy and loving care. The ganized missions among the lumber natural beauties of the island, the cusforests of the United States. It has toms of the people, native traits and been estimated that there are 350,000 types are described with attractive demen engaged in various kinds of work tail and intimate relish which should in the lumber camps of the United appeal to every reader. The progress States, and that a large majority have never been reached by1 he Gospel. made in missionary and educational Many young men, ministers, evange- work, the uplifting influences of lists, faithful workers of the Lord, Christian homes and Christian exand who have attempted to work in amples are shown throughout the story. this field, have proved utter failures. "Since the cultos (missions) have They did not understand the men they corne to our barrio, the police have nothing to do," is the verdict of many had to deal with, and thought that landowners in ontlying districts. The conventional religious methods which people so long abased under priestly were successful in towns would serve oppression, are beginning to turn equally well among the men of the forest. But with tact and persever- from their ancient shrines to enjoy ance Mr. Higgins has proved that it the content and freedom of a nobler can be conducted successfully. faith.
The churches in the lumber region "An Isle of Eden," while primarily are far too weak to meet the great de- written to show that the life of a mands. Reading-rooms and branches young lady missionary alone in a of the Y. M. C. A. are few. As Mr. strange land may be one of joy and Vhittle says the lumberjack is without peace, has many claims of interest as a place of refuge behind whose doors a tale. The heroine is the confidant he can find companionship and safety. in a delicate little love story that de- velops among her Spanish-American There are many large camps in the friends, and which is unfolded West that have not been touched by with graceful .art and tenderness. the missionary. In 191 I there were Throughout the book displays a fine 20,000 men in the camps of Minnesota, spiritual fervor, and expresses the and we are informed that not a third constant joy of one who delights 'in of these men had heard the Gospel. Christian service and the promotion of others' happiness.
AN ApOSTLE OF THE NORTH. Memoirs of a Illissionary to China; Henry Dickinson the Right Reverend William Carpenter Smith, son of Arthur H. Smith; Wallace Bompas, D.D. By H. A. Cody, B.A. S. Faris, a Princeton student who went Third Edition. 12mo. E. P. Dutton to China; Peter Carter, publisher and & Company, New York. $1.50, net. Christian worker; Arthur T. Pierson, missionary advocate; Henry Clay Trum- It must be gratifying to all who are bull, Sunday-school expert. William R. interested in missionary progress and Richards, pastor and preacher. the spread of the Gospel that these memoirs of Bishop Bompas have Many of these are the stories of found a wide audience, and that the young men whose life came to an end book is now in its third edition. For early, but others tell of men who were the story' of a life so full of abnega- faithful through many years of temption and self-sacrifice is a cordial to tation and service. Mr. Speer has a the spirit, and should inspire all who gift of grasping the salient features read it with higher aims and a firmer of a man's life and presenting them purpose to carry out the Master's will. with powerful effect. The sketches are Here was a man who cheerfully re- full of incident, and have touches of signed all the comforts of civilization humor and pathos. They are essenthat he might bring the Light Eternal tially human documents of the inspirainto the darkened lives of dwellers in tional sort. The men were men of the wild and desolate places of the vision and men of action. They are north. Isolated from the world for particularly adapted to interest and inlong periods, shut off even from com- fluence young men. munication with people of his race, he gave up everything most men hold THE MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN. By W. S. dear in life, that he might be a spiri- Hooton. 8vo. 188 pp. $1.00, net. tual father to his beloved Indians. For Longmans, Green & Co., London, Cal- 40 years as missionary and bishop, he cutta and New York, 1912. lived with one purpose: to implant the Divine Message in the hearts of a The Christian public are becoming degraded and neglected people. ~s more and more awake to the importcivilization slowly encroached on hIs ance of the missionary campaign. domain he retreated further north, as There are many earnest students of if he feared its softening influences. the missionary policy and progress One can not .turn the pages of this outside of official circles. It is thereamazing record of heroism, physical fore fitting that there should be popusuffering, and triumphs won over lar discussions of the principles, methhardships and difficulties, without feel- ods and problems of missionary work, ing humbled before the majesty of such as we have in this volume. The such a saintly and indomitable figure. author was formerly a missionary ill South India, and therefore knows his MEN WHO WERE FOUND FAITHFUL. By subject from personal experience. Mr. Robert E. Speer. 12mo, 186 pp. $1.00, Hooton discusses in succession the net. Fleming H. Revell Co., New York, scope of evangelization, the attitude 1912. of Christian to non-Christian religions, the native churches, educational mis- Those who know Robert E. Speer sions, women's work, and governknow that his books are worth reading ments. The points are well made, and -books with spiritual power, virility, are illustrated from incidents and and having both heavenly and earthly opinions gathered from the World meaning. Some of those whose lives Missionary Conference Reports, and and works are here briefly portrayed from the history of Church of Engare already well known, while others land missions. are still obscure. They include: ELEMENTAL FORCES ON HOME MISSIONS. Samuel Chapman Armstrong, of Hampton Institute; Arthur Mann, Yale gradu- By Rev. Lemuel C. Barnes, D.D. 12mo, ate and missionary to China; Warren B. 123 pp. 75e. Fleming H. Revell Co., Seabury, a member of the Yale Mission 1912. in China; John Lawrence Thurston, also The chairman of the Home Mis- sions Committee of the Federal Coun-
cil of the Churches of Christ in Amer- iug and picturesque types of Chinese ica, and chairman of the Neglected character, while the lively adventures Fields Survey of the Home Missions that befall the three voyagers afloat Board Conference is in touch with his and ashore are described with pleasant subject. He here discusses briefly the humor and an occasional touch of ideals that should actuate Christian pathos and tragedy. Tho Mr. Mann America, the divine plan in natural wrote his story for boy~, it will also history, the opportunity to transform appeal to adults, through the realistic the nations of the world, the evidences views it presents of Chinese life and of growth in American comml!nities, customs, and the light it throws on and the need for closer coopera·.lOn be- social and religious conditions among tween Christians of all creeds for the the people of Vestern China and on salvation of America and Americans. the difficult problems that confront the The style is clear, progressive, and missionary there.
strong, the arguments and facts are AMONG CENTRAL AFRICAN TRIBES. By well chosen. The book is a valuable Step~en J. .C~rey. . P'.lper. 157 pp. contribution to the theory of home Foreign Chnstlan MISSIOnary Society mlSS1Ons. Cmcinnati, 1912. '
HUMAN PROGRESS THROUGH MISSIONS. By Mr. Corey's journal of a visit to the James L. Barton, D.D. 12mo, 96 pp. Kongo Mission of the Disciple gives SOc., net. Fleming H. Revell Co., 1912. us the report of an intelligent and The statesman's view of history is sympathetic observer. He describes especially valuable. Dr. Barton is a methods of travel, the homes and missionary, a board secretary, a states- habits of the people, the character and man, an author, and his view? carry results of missionary work as he saw the conviction of an expert. HIS pres- them. It is unusually interesting.
ent volume deals especially with the A New Miasionary Reading Course more material and temporal results of missionary work. In this it is a Prof. Ernest D. Bhuasr tporn~poafret hd ea Unibrief study of Christian missions ~nd versity of Chicago, new social progress. Dr. Barton wntes course for ministers and lay workers concisely but forcefully of the con- on "The Expansion of Christianity in tribution of missionaries to the world's the Twentieth Century." Prof. Bur- progress in exploration, language and ton has recently returned from the literature, industry and commerce, Orient. He specializes, in his course, health and social advancement. It is on four gre~t fields-China, Japan and a thought-compelling book and an un- Korea, India, and Moslem Lands. He answerable argument in favor of for- endeavors to show that Christian mis- eign missions, even from a rational- siollS are justified by results, and are istic point of view. worthy of most sympathetic support.
THREE MEN ON A CHINESE HOUSEBOAT. By The Edinburgh Conference Reports,' the Rev. W. Munn. Preface by Bishop The World Atlas of Christian Mis- Cassels, of Western China. 12mo, il- sions, and the MrSSIONARY REVIEW OF lustrated. Church Missionary Society, London, 1912. THE WORLD are some of the valuable helps recommended in the course of This is an adventure-story founded on fact, describing in a realistic and study, which covers five months. Upon spirited manner the experiences of "Uncle Sam," an American, and "Old payment of $3.50, a traveling library Man" and "Billy," Englishmen, dur- of 20 volumes is loaned to members. ing a r,soo-mile journey up the Riv~r Address American Institute of Sacred Yang-tse. Mr. Mann, the al!thor, IS Literature, Chicago. a missionary in Western Chma, and his pictures of Chinese river life are nVID LIVINGSTONE. By C. Silvester Horne, M.P. Illustrated. 12mo. 248 pp. SOc., net. The Macmillan Co 1911 ~ instructive and entertaining. The This year of the centenary of the reader is introduced to many interest- great pIOneer, David Livingstone, is
approximately marked by the appear- NEW BOOKS ance of many new lives of this wonderful hero. .Mr. Horne's biography J)AIJJJ LJI"lNGSlONE. By C. Silvester is a straightforward narrative which Horne, M.P. Illustrated. 12mo, 248 at the same time is briefly an inter- Pl'. SOc., Jlet. Macmillan Co., New pretation of the man and his relation )l ork, 1913. to the times. The story is one of fascinating interest, well adapted for THINKING BLACK. 22 Years Without a Sunday-schools and home libraries. Break in the Long Grass of Central David Livingstone's life is an inspira- Africa. By D. Crawford, F.R.G.S. Iltion to faith and self-sacrifice. The lustrated. 7s. 6d., net. Morgan & Scott, low price is also an attractive feature London, 1912. of this volume. ·TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN QUA IEOE. The DAVID LIVINGS'IONE. By Vautier Golding. Story of a Missionary Effort in Ni- Illustrated. 12mo, 318 pp. 25c. E. P. geria. By Robert L. M'Keown. Illus- Dutton & Co., New York. trated. 12mo, 170 pp. Morgan & Scott, London, 1912. Here is an attractive child's life of the hero of the dark continent. The MISS-IONARY PIONEERING IN BOLIVIA, With simple style, stirring adventures, and Some Account of the Work in ARGENattractive color plates make the book TINA. By Will Payne and Chas. T. W. delightful reading for children. Wilson. Illustrated. 8vo, 147 Pl'. H. A. Raymond, "Echoes of Service," THE PERSONAL LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE. London, 1912. By W. Garden Blaikie. Illustrated. 8vo, 508 pp. New Popular Edition. REVIVALS OF RELIGION. Lectures by Charles SOc., net. Fleming H. Revell Co., 1913. Grandison Finney. With the author's f1nal additions and corrections. Newly Practically all of the "Lives of Liv- revised and edited with introduction ingstone" are taken from this original and original notes by Williams Henry volume by Dr. Blaikie, published 33 Harding. Second Edition. 12mo, 542 years ago. It is made up from original pp. 2s. 6d., net. Morgan & Scott, Lonsources composed of his journals and don, 1912. correspondence. It will not be superseded by other brief stories of the life, BUDDHIST IDEALS: A STUDY IN COMPARAfor it is complete and well written. TIVE RELIGION. By K. J. Saunders. 179 pp. Is. 6d., net. Christian Literature ARTICLES WORTH READING Society for India, 1912.
CHINA: PAS'I AND PRESENT. By Arch- THE EDUCATION OF THE WOMEN OF INDIA. deacon A. E. Moule, D.D. Church By Minna G. Cowan, M.A. 256 pp. 3s. Missionary Review for January, 1913. 6d., net. Oliphant, Anderson & Fer- rier, London, 1912. PALESTINE-A CONTRAST AND A NEED. Church Missionary Review for January, THE PAGAN TRInES OF BORNEO. By Charles 1913. Hose and William MacDougall. 2 vols. 42s., net. Macmillan Co., New York CROSS AND CRESCENT IN TIlE BALKAN and London, 1912. PENINSULA. By Dr. Biggs. The East and the West. DARKNESS OR LIGHT. Studies in the His- tory of the Universities' Mission to BARBARISM FROM A CHRISTIAN STANDPOINT. Central Africa, illustrating the theory Bv Rev. W. A. Rice. The East and the and practise of missions. By Robert West. Keable. Preface by the Right Rev. Frank Weston, D.D. 320 pp. 2s., net. (HE CHINESE CHURCH. By L. Byrde. The U. M. C. A., London, 1912. East and the West. CHRISTIANITY AND OTHER FAITHS: AN Es- RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN PERS,IA. By J. L. SAY IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION. By W. Potter. Moslem World. St. Clair Tisdall. 234 pp. 5s., net. Robert Scott, London, 1912. THE POSSIBILITY OF PERSONAL WORK AMONG MOSLEMS. By Rev. W. H. Reed. THE MISSIONARY PROSPECT. By Charles The Moslem World. H. Robinson, D.D. 296 pp. 3s. 6d., net. Partridge, London, 1912.
PAMPHLETS THE MORNING STAR OF THE REFORMATION, JOHN WYCLIFFE. By William Henry Harding. Id., net. Morgan & Scott, London.
THE HEROIC QUAKER, GEORGE Fox. By William Henry Harding. Id., net. Morgan & Scoft, London.
HENRY MARTYN, FIRST MODERN MISSIONARY TO MOHAMMEDANS. By William Henry Harding. Id., net. Morgan & Scott, London.
The Missionary Review of the World — January 1900
THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD
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(StatIons In Stations In 1800 In __________ — ….— —— ____ IDRMAY 6CO'I NoY.
.L_ Prepared for…. JrIlUtOJilAay .a,.Vllt,W MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD: Old Series. i JANUARY. { New Series. VOL. XXIII. No.1. f VOL. XIII. No. 1.
PROTESTANT FOREIGN MISSIONS IN 1800 AND IN 1900.
BY REV. HARLAN P. BEACH, NEW YORK.
Educational Secretary of the Student Volunteer Movement.
In discussing so broad a topic. it is necessary to select from the wealth of available material those facts that best illustrate the missionary status at the periods under consideration. In making this selection, inheritance, zeitgeist, organizations, agents, the world-field, with its differing problems, are more significant factors than the most striking array of figures.
I. FOREIGN MISSIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE OENTURY.
To emphasize the statement that Oarey is the father of modern Protestant missions is to do a real injustice to agitation and accomplishment that long antedated his important efforts.
1. The fallow fields.-From the initial Protestant foreign mission of 1556, which was equally a colonizing scheme and a Brazilian Plymouth for distrest Huguenots, to the close of the eighteenth century, numerous abortive attempts had been made to affect the life of heathen peoples. SWitzerland and France had toucht for a tragic moment Rio de Janeiro and Florida. Sweden had stretcht out the two hands of government and religion to her Lapp neighbors, and had more winsomely labored for the welfare of the Indians of Delaware-then New Sweden-before Eliot had preacht in the vernacular to New England Pequots. Germany had sent to Abyssinia Peter Heyling, who translated into Amharic the New Testament; and the Austrian, Baron von Welz, had uttered his oracles, laid down his honors, and died as a missionary in Surinam. Holland, escaped from her long reign of terror, had carried the Gospel into the East Indies from Formosa to Oeylon, and had set her eighty clergymen in Brazil to translating for the Indians. Oromwell had built his ambitious aircastle of propagandism that would have divided the world into four missionary provinces, with state-paid secretaries placed over them, and his commonwealth parliament had founded the Oorporation for * This periodical adopts the Orthography of the following Rule. recommended by the joint action of the American Philological Association and the Philological Society of England :-Change d or ~d tIiuIl to , when 80 pronounced, except when the e affects a preceding sound.-PvULlSHEIIS. the Propagation of the Gospel iu New England, the nearest approach to a national missionary society ever realized. Noble Robert Boyle had sent forth an Arabic translation of Grotius' De Veritate Religionis Ohristiance, and his Malay Gospels and Acts into homes and lands not friendly to the living epistle. John Eliot, and later the Mayhew family, had done their splendid work for our already perishing Indian tribes, while a fugitive in Boston, Rev. John Oxenbridge, was in desire going further afield in his" Proposition of Propagating the Gospel by Ohristian Oolonies in the Oontinent of Guiana." Even those fields watered by the bloody sweat of Brainerd's consuming prayers, and by the no less heroic and saintly tears of Moravian lovers of the red Indian, had hecome fallow before our century dawned.
2. ResidtlUrn from failure.-Tho from the enterprises just named no statistical remnant survived to our century, beyond two now much changed societies-the New England Company, and the Christian Faith Society-and a few aged red skins, more or less Ohristianized, God had left a fruitful stock in the earth for the use of His observant children. He had taught that the secular arm, even when strengthened by the missionary spirit that found nominal place in the charters of most of the colonization schemes, and of the great East and West India companies, was still an arm of flesh. He would teach all men that Ohristianity is misused, when made the condition of office or of emolument, and that punishment visited on pagans or heathen who would ignorantly worship their chosen deities, is a mistaken measure. Christendom had learned, that missiouaries sent out for terms of five years, can not hope to grapple with the vernacular, and effectually reach the heathen heart. Men like Junius in Formosa, Baldaeus in Oeylon, Eliot and Brainerd ill America, had, in different ways, exemplified the true missionary norm for later workers.
More important, perhaps, than all, were the prophetic voices that had brought these failing enterprises into being, the echoes of which past on to fainting, yet teachable, hearts of a better time. Luther's on the whole despairing voice-Plitt and Kalkar to the contrary-had been too influential in his world, and men of broader horizons were demanded, who would sound out the call of humanity and of God. Such prophets were von Welz, with his three soul-piercing questions; the philosophizing missionary advocate, Leibnitz, whose principal contribution to missions was the great heart of Francke, whom he had caught in his net of thought; and the young Dutch student of theology, Justus Heurnius, who underscored his stirring appeals concerning the duty of sending the Gospel to India by his later apostolic life.
The missionary efforts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries emphasized the need of suitably prepared missionary candidates. Even the commercial companies felt the desirability of training institutions, and the missionary college at Leyden, which existed for ten years
PROTESTANT FOREIGN MISSIONS IN 1800 AND IN 1900
under the superintendence of Walaeus, was one result of such a feeling. Baron von Welz urged the establishment of a missionary institution that would serve a useful purpose in our day, and Oromwell would have transformed old Ohelsea Oollege into a training seminary worthy of our century. As a missionary text-book, Grotius' work, above mentioned, was an excellent pioneer.
Not the least valuable product of these fallow fields was the opposition aroused which gave fiber and conviction to missionary apologetes of the eighteenth century. The great reformer's apathy or covert opposition to the enterprise, and John Heinrich Ursinus' sneering thesis in reply to Welz's appeal, with its assertion that "the holy things of God are not to be cast before such dogs and swine" as the Greenlanders, Lapps, Samoyedes, cannibals, Tartars, Japanese, and Indians, for" have we not Jews and heathen among ourselves?" are illustrations of such opposition.
2. Eighteenth centllry missionary enterprises.
Two organizations, formed in 1698 and 1701, the English Society for the Promotion of Ohristian Knowledge, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, had existed throughout the century, but had given their energies almost entirely to colonists or to the work of publication, and the same was true of the Scottish S. P. O. K., founded in 1709.
Two other societies were, however, strictly foreign missionary in their aims. The Danish-Halle mission, dependent on Denmark for initiative and largely for support, and upon the pietistic element of Germany for men, sent its first missionaries to India in 1705, and from that time onward did a work of mingled strength and weakness in that land. Men, like Ziegenbalg, Kiernander, and the peerless Schwartz, were the foremost missionaries of their day, in spite of the fact that rationalism at horne destroyed the society at the end of the century. From the Royal Missions Oollege at Oopenhagen also, missionaries went forth to Greenland and Lapland.
The second purely missionary enterprise, originating in the first half of the century, was the Moravian. Aflame already with the fire that Zinzendorf had caught from Francke and the Halle pedagogium, nothing more was needed than the stories of a West Indian negro and of Greenland's sad estate, to cause a conflagration among the warmhearted Herrnhuter8. Forthwith this poverty-stricken congregation sent unlearned men, but men full of faith and the Holy Ghost, to the West Indies, Greenland, the North American Indians, Surinam, South Africa, Labrador, and the Kalmucks. Lapland, the Samoyedes, Berbice, Oeylon, Algiers, Ohina, Persia, Abyssinia, the East Indies, and the Oaucasus, also allured this evangelizing church, but attempts to enter were either unsuccessful, or the fields had to be abandoned
before the close of the century. A marvelous record, nevertheless, for seven decades!
During this period government missions were continued in the East Indies by the Dutch, and in Greenland by the Danes, whom Egede had wearied into activity in connection with commercial and colonization schemes. The Danish crown was also largely contributory to the missionaries in India. The chartered companies of England had likewise done a little through their chaplains.
3. Agitation and organization during the closing decades.–It was in this century that the Wittenberg faculty caHed the missionaries "false prophets," while Neumeister, the Hamburg preacher, had sung, " In former days 'twas rightly said, 'Go forth to every land,' But now, where God hath cast your lot, there shall you ever stand."
And in Britain Carey's historic rebuke was the utterance of a far more virulent disease, prevalent among clergy and laity, and darkly witnest to in the pages of Green, Abbey, and Bishop Butler. No marvel that with such religious leaders, the East India Company shareholders asserted that "the sending of missionaries into our Eastern possessions is the maddest, most extravagant, most expensive, most unwarrantable project that was ever proposed by a lunatic enthusiast. Such a plan is pernicious, impolitic, unprofitable, unsalutary, dangerous, unfruitful, fantastic."
Other more hopeful factors entered, however, into the history of these years. Von Bogatsky's missionary hymn, "Wach auf, du Geist del' ersten Zeugen," was in idea the reveille of the new missionary day. Wesley, Whitefield, and H. Venn, warmed by the living piety and apostolic zeal of the Moravians, and by the divinely sent awaken~ ing that came to Wesleyans, Calvinists, and Evangelicals alike, were the agents used to stir longings for purity of heart and obedience of life in the Church. And external happenings also inclined men to a new missionary activity. England was becoming a great colonizing power, and her awakening conscience bade her obey her Lord's last command. The French and American revolutions had expanded men's thought and sympathy, and a Christian humanism, largely emanating from Wilberforce, Thornton, Charles Grant, Zachary Macaulay, and others of the Clapham sect, aroused the English world to the point of action. The way was still very thorny, but in quick succession there came into being in England the Baptist, the London, and the Church Missionary societies, and in Scotland the Glasgow and Edinburgh societies, while in Holland the Netherlands Missionary Society was organized. The Religious Tract Society, of London, also belongs to the last eight years of this century. The time was now too short for these new organizations to effect much before 1800; yet India was entered, the South Seas received their first instalment of ordained and artisan missionaries, Sierre Leone and the Cape were
PROTESTANT FOREIGN MisSIONS IN 1800 AND IN 1000
toucht. Dr. Ooke had also for the Wesleyans projected an unsuccess- ful artisan enterprise among the Foulahs, and a successful beginning had been made in the West Indies.
4. Oharacteristics of missionary enterprises in 1800.-While "Mis- tress Bland, of the Vineyards," laboring among the Indians, may be entitled to the claim of being the first Protestant woman missionary, and tho two medical missionaries had been sent to India by the Danes as early as 1730 and 1732, the main responsibility of the missionary was to teach and preach the Gospel. 'rhe artisan scheme of the Sweden Missionary Society, and of Dr. Ooke, and the frequent support by manual labor of the Moravians, were exceptional features. Naturally translations of parts or the whole of the Bible, and the preparation of elementary books for Ohristian instruction and nurture, formed part of the work of these pioneers, while for the worker's personal Uile grammars and dictionaries were being prepared. Our own Eliot's program was as symmetrical, perhaps, as that of any missionary preceding 1800.
Missionary literature was exceedingly scarce, and not widely read. Francke, indeed, had from 1710 publisht the first regular reports of mission work, and the pages of the Evangelical Magazine, together with Oarey's « Enquiry," Horne's « Letters on Missions," strong missionary addresses and sermons, furnisht the main printed incentives in the later missionary revival. Oarey and other agitators found in Oook's voyages also, and in other geographical works, a stimulus of the first order.
Greenland's experimentation had shown that heathen hearts could not be won through heads alone, and the distinguisht Kiernander in Oalcutta perspired with embarrassment and mental distress when Oharles Grant sought advice as to the way of personal salvation. On the other hand, the world had seen its finest example of utter consecration and perfect spirituality in Brainerd, and everywhere the Moravians were representatives of heart religion and missionary brotherliness.
As fur the rope-holders of those who descended into heathen mines, they were few, but very devoted. They were knit together in the enterprise irrespective of church and national lines, as is seen in Dr. Haweis' sermon at the formation of the London Missionary Society, and in its determination « not to send Presbyterianism, Independency, or Episcopacy, or any other form of church order and government, . . . but the glorious Gospel of the blessed God to the heathen."
Uhristian opposition to missions is well mirrored in Mr. Bogue's sermon on Haggai i : 2, preacht at the foundation of the L. M. S., in which he combats these ten objections to the work: Arduousness of the enterprise precludes success; the millennium being still distant, the time of the heathen has not yet come; no reason why Ohristians
should do what their fathers had not attempted; non-Ohristian governments will oppose the work; religious status of the heathen unfavorable to success; a lack of proper candidates; how secure financial support; Providence opens no suitable door; no right to interfere with others' religion; and, "We have heathen enough at home; let us convert them first before we go abroad."
5. The rnission fields of 1800.-These have already been named and can be seen at a glance on an accompanying map. Note, however, that missionaries were laboring under the sheltering or persecuting arm of European colonies, with the exception of those among the Kalmucks and South Sea Islands. It is also to be noted that lower culture groups had rendered quickest returns, and that, save in India and in parts of the East Indies, lower forms of religion, and not the great ethnic faiths, had been the factor which Ohristianity had to displace.
6. Sorne stai£stical iterns.-Statistics of non-Ohristian populations in 1800 are only the wildest guesses. Missionary returns are, however, more trustworthy. As we have seen, there were in 1800 seven Protestant missionary societies in full operation, employing, according to Professor Ohristlieb, 170 male missionaries) with an estimated following of about 50,000 converted heathen. This last number does not include the so-called government Christians, who in Oeylon alone numbered 342,000 in 1801, six years after the Dutch had left the island. He also states that there were at that time" only about fifty translations of the Scriptures, distributed in about 5,000,000 copies." God's glory had not yet covered the heavens; "there was the hiding of His power."
II. FOREIGN MISSIONS To-DAY.
In our time of world-embracing secular and missionary periodicals, and of a superb missionary literature, it is unnecessary to speak in detail of missionary occupation and results; only salient features need be recalled.
1. The fields and the powers.-A study and comparison of the accompanying map will reveal the vast missionary expansion of our century. Instead of occupying islands, or timorously standing on the strand of unknown or unexplorEld continents, the Ohurch has boldly knockt at the doors of all the great nations and has gained admittance. It is true that this entrance has been only partial; yet it is possible and dependent on the obedience and willingness of the Ohristian, rather than on the will of hostile government!:!.
Another striking fact, made evident by our recent political maps, is the prevalence everywhere of European powers, who are either in actual possession of non-Ohristian lands, or else include them within their" spheres of influence." About three-fifths of the world's area is subject to Ohristian nations, and with the exception of Russian advances in Asia, and unimportant French, Portuguese, and Italian
PRO'rESTAN'l' FOREIGN MISSIONS IN 1800 AND IN 1900. 'I
spheres of influence there and in Africa, the non-Ohristian world is almost wholly under the protection or sovereignty of Protestant powers, a most significant fact in the missionary situation. Under their fostering care steamers and launches are threading rivers formerly unknown, and railroads are carrying God's messengers to their fields in hours instead of the former laborious days or months. When at their posts, the flags of Ohristian consulates are their protecting egis. Oivilization, a doubtful compound of good and evil, enters with the powers to help and hinder missionary effort. Warneck years ago pointed out that the missionary activity of Protestant nations was almost exactly proportionate to their commerce.
2. The missionary socieNes.-One hundred years ago missionary work was cooperative, nation helping nation, and denominations combining, because of lack of individual strength and the gregarious tendency of a consuming purpose. To-day the old union societies, like the London Missions and the American Board, have become practically denominational, and even small branches of the Ohurch are establishing their own mission boards. These societies are in the hands of secretaries who have in many cases visited and studied the fields, and who come together in national or ecumenical conferences for the purpose of studying the perplexing problems confronting them. A science of missions is thus slowly coming into existence. While a few of these societies are supported by men and women of different denominations; and have reverted more or less to the apostolic type in their faith and practise, most boards have behind them the material and spiritual support of their denomination. With a few structural or conscientious exceptions, these societies work together harmoniously and with considerable regard for comity.
3. The agents and their distribution.-Excepting a few societies, mission boards are now sending out a far higher grade of missionary than was available a hundred years ago. Especially is this the case where the Student Volunteer movement has become fully establisht in colleges and universities, as in America and Great Britain. Most of these volunteers go out after having scientifically studied the great fields and religions, as well as missionary methods and problems. Even Dr. Warneck places American missionaries in the foremost rank for theological preparedness.
As to geographical distribution of these forces, they have gone forth to all the ends of the earth. Asia claims the most of them, Ohina and India alone containing about a third of the entire missionary body to their seven-tenths of the world's non-Ohristian population. South America, in point of habitable area per missionary, is the neglected continent, while the islands of the West Indies and Oceania, with the exception of some groups, have been most fully cultivated and most nearly Ohristianized.
A C I F.' 1 C
AN P A C .I p- I -~ 0 C E A .N 0 C E) A .N A~~~~ N D .I W oCE AN 10 ,,"fJ APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF PEOPLE .KEY POLITICAL POWERS iJNDER PROTESTANT AND OTHER RULERS – OF {l'HE. WORLD Greek Catholic IY 1900 Greek Catholic, _120,000,000_ Roman Catholic, _250,000,000 _ _ _ _ _ __ .Protestant BOlllll4V '" CO. tr,Y, Mohammedan and lolo 000 000 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Roman-Catholic Independent, f ' I Mohammedan and Protestant, _ _ _ 620,000,000 Independent Prepared for the MISSION .A.RY Ri:"IEW NDI A KEY THE UELIGIONS OF THE WOULD o C BAN Protestant ,IN 1900 APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF ADHERENTS Jews, 10,000,000_ :===:… Protestan Heathen, Greek Cathollc, _ 90,000,000 _ _ t, __ 150,000,000 ___ 170,000,000 :=====-_ Mohammedan, _170,000,000 Roman Catholic, 200,000,000 Ethnic Religions ,700,OOO,OOO – – – -_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Prepat'~d for the MISSION.A.XY RX):JElY
4. 2J1ethods on the field.- In the great interdenominational mission lands, as Japan, China, -and India, the workers have met repeatedly in prolonged conferences to discuss together their common problems and to wait unitedly upon God for the enduement of power. This has had a most beneficial effect, both on the inner life and the outward working of these men and women. The conferences have aided also in emphasizing comity and a more economic distribution of laborers.
One of the markt differences between the methods of to-day and in 1800 is the constantly expanding conception of the missionary function. Broader even than Jesus' program of St. Luke iv : 18,19, or His parabolic scheme of St. Matthew xxv: 31-46, is the program of nineteenth century missions. Not only is the necessity of education felt in accordance with the Moravian dictum that the savage must be taught to count three before he can understand the doctrine of the Trinity, but its strategic place in the speedy and thorough evangelization and Christianization of the nations is increasingly recognized. Its necessary coronary, a varied and helpful literature with the Bible as its basis, is being magnified as never before, and most fruitfuny. Medical missions have been among the notable developments of this century, as also the large use of Christian womanhood, so that to-day women constitute the larger proportion of the Protestant force. Through the merciful and gracious ministrations of these two agencies, an influence almost unknown a century since has been gained over factors powerful in every stage of culture, the grateful recipients of bodily healing and the more naturally religious and hopeful women and children. In these and manifold other ways missionaries are touching un evangelized peoples, so that Brainerd and Schwartz, if raised from the dead and allowed to read the pages of Dr. Dennis' "Christian Missions ?nd Social Progress," would be startled by the breadth of present miSSIonary operations. This versatility has most expended itself on the Dark Continent, as may be seen, if one examines the schemes of the 285 Protestant societies laboring among all African peoples.
5. Some recent missionary statistics.-Many months must elapse before returns for the final year of this missionary century can be received, yet some incomplete statistics will give a hint of the extent of the work. The annual issues of the late Dean Vahl's "Missions Among the Heathen," have contained on an average statistics of about 360 missionary societies, while a fuller list combined from his periodical and Dr. Dennis' manuscript, would increase the number working in heathen and other missionary lands to over 500. Many of these are, however, auxiliary or societies in aid, and some of them are laboring in Protestant countries, as the United States, Germany, etc. The leading societies of Ohristendom, doing strictly foreign mission work, reported last year the following facts: Total missionary force, 14,210;
PROTESTANT FOREIGN MISSIONS IN 1800 AND IN 1900
total native force, 54,420-making the combined forces in the field 79,591; stations and out-stations, 25,070; communicants, 1,255,052; adherents, 3,372,991; schools, 20,228, with 944,430 scholars; income during the year, $14,513,972. Oomparing these figures with the meager returns of 1800, one must exclaim, Behold, what signs and wonders God hath wrought among the Gentiles! And the wonder marvelously grows, if to the above be added the sociological, philanthropic, and Bible statistics, to be found in Dr. Dennis' forthcoming volume.
6. The regions beyond.-Thankfulness in view of such results is tempered by the thought of much land yet to be possest, and of conditions unworthy of the Ohurch of the living God. While there is not a country which has not been in some way toucht by work of Protestant missions, there are people in Ohina and India, exceeding in number the combined popUlations of South America and Africa, who have never yet had an opportunity to hear the Gospel of salvation and divine fatherhood. In Ohina's most fully occupied province, each station has a parish of 1,285 square miles. It is as if one town only in Rhode Island contained a church whose pastor and members were responsible for the evangelization of the entire State, and a wide fringe of Connecticut besides; while in the entire empire each foreign worker has for his share about 158,000 needy souls. And think of Tibet, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Turkestan, Siberia, the district east of Siam, the great heart of Africa and South America, scarcely trodden by the missionary's foot, and the vast populations in nominally occupied lands just referred to!
But there are still other regions beyond that the Church must enter before Jesus sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied. A spirit of intercession like that which markt the missionary revival of a century since; consecration of money to missions, that it may send forth the gift of young lives in our universities and seminaries; a longing on the part of board secretaries and their missionaries for such fulness of the Spirit that each may have the strength and wisdom of ten; careful and prayerful thought and cooperation that shall make native churches stronger, as well as independently aggressive and self-perpetuating; such self-effacement as shall make the societies see eye to eye in the matter of distribution of forces and readjustments, where plainly desirable; a concerted and universal advance all along the line-these are some of the outlying realms yet to be entered. For such a forward movement we need still the stirring notes of the first genuinely missionary hymn-Bogatsky's: Awake, Thou Spirit, Who of old Didst fire the watchmen of the Church's youth, Who faced the foe, unshrinking, bold, Who witnest day and night the eternal truth; Whose voices through the world are ringing still, And bringing hosts to know and do Thy will!
THE MISSIONS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.
We now stand on a lofty height. By the prevailing, tho undoubtedly erroneous method of reckoning,* this opening year, 1900, is also the closing one of the nineteenth century, and it is natural to cast a glance backward over what the hundred years have wrought in missions.
For convenience, the century might be divided into ten decades, and its developments be studied by this simple division and classification. For, altho there is no mechanical or mathematical exactness in such arrangement of events, each decade has had its own prominent characteristic, its leading event, its conspicuous man and martyr, and its new wonder working of God-all of which serve to make its features unique.
For example, the first ten years of the century were conspicuous for organt'zation, we might almost say origination, for missions had scarcely past through the throes of their new birth when this centl'lry dawned. In 1801, the Baptist Society and the London Missionary and Church Missionary, and the Glasgow and Edinburgh societies had already begun operations; but these were only scattered bugleblasts calling the hosts of God to the war. 'rhe army as a whole had not yet been mobilized, and the great body of believers had to fall into line; and the movements already begun were timid, tentative, and feeble, and needed to be strengthened by numbers and by that greatest of all secrets of vigor and valor, faith in the fact of the Divine call, and in the success of the Divine cause. How rapidly organization neared its completion during these ten years, a student of missions needs not to be told. And now, not only are all the great Christian denominations fully'in accord with the work of missions, but there is not a local church of any standing in Christendom that has not its missionary band, its missionary meetings, and its offerings, as an indispensable part of its work.
If we should venture to characterize these decades by some special names or titles, indicating their general character, we should perhaps say that the first ten years were those of inception and preparation; the second, of fuller organization)' the third, of occupation)' the fourth, of expansion)' the fifth, of open doors)' the sixth, of rapid advance; the seventh, of woman's work)' the eighth, of radical transformation; the ninth, of the yonng people's crusade)' the tenth, of world-wide federation. These terms may not exhaust the subject, but they briefly express the conspicuous or more prominent characteristic of the decade to which they belong.
* Which is conceded to be four years too late, See REVIEW for January, 1896, pp. 1,2.
THE MISSIONS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Each ten years has also some one o! more illustrious narnethat is inseparably associated with it. To the first decade, for example, the name of William Carey peculiarly belongs; to the second, that of Adoniram Judson; to the third, that of Alexander Duff; to the fourth, that of George Muller; to the fifth, that of Louis Harms; to the sixth; that of J. C. Hepburn; to the seventh, that of J. Hudson Taylor; to the eighth, that of George L. Mackay; to the ninth, that of Robert P. Wilder; to the tenth, that of Joseph Rabinowitz. These again are not exhaustive by any means, but they may serve as examples of the fact that some one or more workmen rise into singular and conspicuous prominence in each group of ten years.
Again, each decade has also its martyrs; men and women, who, if they have not actually sacrificed life for Christ, have exposed themselves to death with the martyr spirit. In the first of these ten periods, we think of Samuel J. Mills, in the second, of Henry Martyn, in the third, of Asaah Shidiak; in the fourth, of John Williams; III the fifth, 0'£ Mrs. Krapf; in the sixth, of Allen Gardiner; in the seventh, of George and Ellen Gordon; in the eighth, of Bishop Patteson; in the Dinth, of James Hannington; in the tenth, of G. L. Pilkington.
The century has been crowded with remarkable interpositions of God, such as the death of the Sultan Mahmoud, in 1839, and of the Siamese king in 1851, at the crisis of affairs in those two countries-the opening of doors in Ohina in 1842 and 1860, of Japan in 1853-4, and Korea in 1884-the visit of David Abeel to England in 1834, and the departure of Peter Parker, thc pioneer medical missionary in the same year; the prompting of George Williams to organize young men into Christian associations, ten years later; the Pentecosts in Hilo and Puna, Sierra Leone, South Sea Islands, Telugu country, Japan, Formosa, etc. In fact, the barest outline of the wonder-working of God through these decades would make other matter impossible in this whole number.
A century of modern missions must, however, be most valuable for its great lessons, and on these we may well fix our thought.
No study is more inspiring than that of God's word in the Scriptures, and His work in history. Each interprets and illumines the other. His word, wrought ont in His work, becoming incarnate in action; His work, thought out in His word, and becoming its fuller expression and exhibition.
Most of all is this true in Ohristian missions, so far as they conform to His method and Spirit. If anyone message of the Master deserves preeminence as a command, it is that last injunction, found repeated at ,the close of each Gospel narrative and again in the opening of the Acts; for it should be remembered that the last words He ever spoke were these: "to the uttermost parts of the earth." These words,
when duly considered, compel attention as designedly a last legacy to His Church. .
So far as the history of the Church has been the actual working out of this plan of worldwide witness, that history has been sublime, and furnishes material for a sort of Divine epic. What a theme for either poet or painter! Whenever and so far as this work has been abandoned or suffered to fall into neglect, all the Church life has decayed and declined, while every advance step, reveals a wonder- working God and guide.
GREAT LESSONS OF THE OENTURY.
Perhaps the most conspicuous practical features of the whole period are found in the permanent lessons which as by the finger of God have been written in letters of light upon the whole missionary history of the century, lessons taught the Church for all time to come and which it is of transcendent importance that every beiiever should both mark and master. To those lessons we refer briefly, as the final purpose of the great Teacher, who, during all these hundred yea'rs has been patiently instructing His people, both by successes and failures.
1. The first of all these lessons is found in the vital bond between missions and Olmrch life. To preach the Gospel to every creature is not only our Lord's great command, it is the" article of a standing or falling church." The question is not only, can the heathen be saved without missionary work, but can the Church itself be saved without "it. When the seed is choked by the thorns of worldly care, greed, and lust, it brings forth no "fruit to perfection"; there is no seed in itself after its kind, and henc,e no provision for self-propagation. Whence is to come the Church of the future, if foreign missions be abandoned! '1'he gauge of all true vitality is the vigor of the pulse, which propels the blood to the extremities; and the measure of Christian life in the individual and in the collective body of Christ is the power of its pulsations-what. it does for, and how it yearns toward, others outside of self. Before the Church of the last century awoke to this duty at the blast of the trumpet of Edwards in America and Carey in Britain, apathy and lethargy were so enwrapping the nominal body of disciples that religion seemed" a-dying "-there was not only torpor, there was petrifaction and putrifaction threatening Christendom. All revivals then and now have either begun or ended in missionary uprisings.
2. A companion lesson is found in the correspondence between home life and foreign work. A stream can rise no higher than its spring, however complete the conducting pipe of supply and distribution, the level to which water rises being determined by natural and inviolable laws. A dead church can not send forth living missionaries. If heresy in doctrine and iniquity in practise obtain at home, they will
THE MIE'SIONS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
be reproduced abroad, first in the workers sent out and then in the converts gathered in. Japan, in 1872, seemed to be destined to become "the nation born in a day," to become the evangelizer of the Asiatic continent. Japan, in 1892, was permeated by the liberalism of the Western Church, and the whole native church seemed doomed to a condition of vital declension; the converts had become perverts, and even such a sacred trust as the Doshisha that Neesima founded was threatening to become a nursery of heresy, and even of treachery to ethical principles. Everywhere the spirit of the Church at home is found to spread into the Church abroad.
3. God is still using the double seed of the kingdom. In Matthew xiii, the first parable gives us the Word of God as the seed to be sown in the soil; but in the second parable, the good seed is represented by the children of the kingdom. There is no conflict in this testimony. From the beginning of the age God has used both the message and the man-the written Word and Word made flesh in the living disciple. Neither is truly successful without the other. Roman Catholic mis- sions have been so largely a failure, even when manned by spiritual and devout and heroic missionaries, mainly by the fact that they have withheld from the people the blessed Book. Bible societies have had but a limited success as evangelizing agencies, because even those who search the Word need, like the Ethiopian eunuch, some man to guide them. But the Word of Life held forth in a believer's life, and pro- claimed by a believer's tongue-the Bible, with the man behind it, believing it, translating it into action, and witnessing to its truth and power by the fact that its truth holds him like a girdle, and its power thrills and fills him-that is God's way of evangelization.
4. Prayer is always the pivot of true success. For a century every crisis, if met by devout and believing supplication, has been safely passed, and only so. Volumes might be written proving and illus- trating this. The examples are legion, and they are found everywhere. A great cloud of witnesses testify. God waits for a waiting people. Men and money are forthcoming when prayer is urgent, importunate. and believing. Dangers are boldly confronted, and deliverances confidently expected when there is close contact with the Deliverer. Every great door has been opened by the key of prayer, like the iron gate that was before Peter. Prayer is the mantle of Elijah that smites the waters of difficulty and opens a dry path across them. Here hides the energy of faith that brings clouds of blessing to cover a heaven of brass and flood an earth of iron. All else may be wanting but, if prayer be not lacking, failure will end in success; all else may be present, but if prayer be absent, there is no true success-even success 'is failure.
5. A kindred lesson is, that faith in God is always mighty. Perhaps it would be better to write it, as our Lord spoke it: "Have the
faith of God )'" that is, reckon on God's good faith. Believe what He says, and boldly issue your fiat)· say to the mountain," Be thou :removed," and to the sycamine tree, "Be thou plucked up by th" roots." We are not to look at natural possibilities or impossibilities; for with Him all things are possible, and so they become possible to him that believeth and who by faith is vitally one with the omnipotent God. Such a career as George Muller's and Hudson Taylor's-types of many others whose names are not so famous-is proof that the God of Abraham and Moses, Elijah and Daniel, is not dead. He will be believed and trusted, if we are to be established, and enabled to accomplish anything for Him. We may attempt for Him, if we expect from Him, great things. Perhaps it yet remains for man to illustrate how great faith may be in its hold on God, and for God to demonstrate how surely and grandly He recognizes and rewards such faith. 'I'he possibilities of a believing heart and life even the angels can not estimate; they lie among the unfathomed depths-unexplored secrets of God.
6. Suffering and success are still closely joined. Dr. Edward Judson finely says they are" vitally and organically linked. If you succeed without suffering, it is because some other has suffered before you; if you suffer without succeeding, it is in order that some one else may succeed after you." In this great world-field it is rare that the same man or woman both suffers and succeeds. Some lay mere foundations and die without seeing the structure complete; some sow the seed in tears, and never reap the harvest of their sowing; others enter into their labors.
The devil's motto was-long before Peter became a satan by his suggestion-" Spare Thyself" (LA-eGOS dOL). The Lord's eternal motto for us is "Deuy Thyself." The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die or it brings forth no fruit. To save yout' seed is to lose your crop, and to lose your seed is to find your seed again in the crop. To avoid suffering is to forfeit service.
7. The Gospel is everm01'e tlte only hope of man, and how simple- "Believe and Live." The gift of God is eternal life, and like any other gift, only to be received-one saving" work," to believe on Him whom God hath sent; one damning sin, not to believe. This is the message committed to us, and that it is Divine is proven by its adaptation to all men; nothing here for the wise and mighty only, but for the child and the savage as well. All through this century this message has been mighty. God's word never returns to Him void. Man's word may, but God's word never. We may not live to watch its return, but He whose promise has been given fails not. It accomplishes His pleasure in His time, and prospers in the errand whereto He sends it forth. Man's life is not long enough, nor man's vision penetrating enough, to trace every outgoing and incoming of God's dove. but all we have to do is to let it go and fly and come back, not to us, perhaps, but to Him. Or, as the figure stands in Isaiah, it is like the rain and snow-they are going and coming. They descend visibly and audibly; they return silently and invisibly in vapor by the process of evaporation. But God sees them coming back with their report-H We have watered the earth, made it to bring forth and bud." Let us trust Him whose word it is.
S. The day of supernatural power is never passed. Miracles change their form and type because their mission is not the same. But God never ceases working. There is still the pillar of cloud and fire iu His leadership, His hand outstretching in miracles of soul-healing and transformation; He still opens doors to nations and to human hearts; He still guides events, riding even on the whirlwind and directing the storm. Not one great event of the century that is not along the line of His purpose. These are not disjecta membra, but members of one organic body of history, and in His Book all were written long beforehand to be in continuance fashioned in actual occurrences. He has interposed in marvelous ways, and in none more singularly than inthe synchronism and succession of workers. If the lives and labors of the missionaries of the century were put on a chart represented by lines of light, it would be seen how parallel they run in various lands, , and how where one ends, another b~gins, as Pilkington took up Mackay's work in Uganda.
9. Numerical standards of S1(CCeSS are wholly nntrustzoorthy. Our God is a wonder-working God, and has His own lexicon of terms, calendar of events, and modes of reckoning. His mathematics are not man's. With man, one and one make two; with Him, one and one make ten, and so, while one puts a thousand to flight, two make ten thousand flee. One Saul of Tarsus was worth a regiment of ordinary converts. God weighs instead of counting, and weighs in His own balances. Nothing is a more awful sign of the ~aterialism of our age than the very question, "Do missions pay?" and the attempt to settle it by comparing the number of converts with the amount of money spent! How He must hold in derision all such carnal principles of reckoning. And then, too, as if there were no results that defy not only our coarse statistics, but our very perception and conception! Our eyes are too dull and our minds too narrow to scan His doings and dealings. Eternity alone will reveal-perhaps even eternity can not reveal, because intelligence with us will always be finite, even then.
10. We may add one more lesson-obedience to God is the one condition of blessing from God. He says" go," and we stay at our peril. He says speak, and we keep silence at our cost. We must obey-nay, we may obey; it is not duty so much as privilege. Let us go and die, if He pleases; the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Let us give largely, freely; our scattered seed will bring its harvest,
tho after many days; in our scattering we shall increase. Let us bear witness -we have no responsibility as to the reception of our witness-tho none believe our report. 'I.'here is no reason why the evangelization of this world should not be attempted and accomplished in our generation. If Ahasuerus could twice send out a proclamation to every subject in his vast kingdom, extending over five million square miles and do it inside of a year, with the slow" posts" of his day, what may not fifty million Protestants do, scattered from the rising to the setting sun, and from pole to pole, with the Bible translated into nearly four hundred tongues; with steamships and railways that can carry us at from twenty to sixty miles an hour, and with all the facilities for the work that make this the unique era of history!
A new century is about to open before us, and the end of the age draws near. The earth is depopulated and repopulated thrice in a hundred years, and every second marks a birth and a death. Our greatest need is to U artse and shine." Darkness and death are abroad, and we have the Light of Life; a world famine, and we have the ,Bread of Life. God is calling, man is calling; the past is luminous with its lessons, the future luminous with the glory of its possibilities.
o for a Church that dares to do great things for God, and to hope greater things still from Him! The God of the future is a greater God than the God of the past, to those who by' faith, prayer, and obedience make possible the discovery of His true greatness.
THE MISSIONARY SITUATION IN SOUTH AFRICA.* BY REV. JAMES CHEYNE DORWARD, NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA.
nIissionary.of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
When the American missionaries first entered the country now known as the South African Republic (1835), that country was occupied by a powerful Zulu tribe, under the leadership of Umzilakatze, the predecessor of the Matabele chief Lobengula, with whom Great • The missionaries of the American Board were among the first to occupy Natal, Zulu· land, and the country now known as the South African Republic. The Transvaal has an area of 119,139 square miles. Its population, according to the State Almanac for 1898, is 1,094,156, composed of 345,397 whites, and 748,759 natives. The latter belong to various tribes of the Bantu-speaking Kafirs, as Basutos, Betchuanos, Ba-pedis, etc., etc., and are scattered all over the Transvaal. Six missionary societies are at work among them. The most prominent of these has Ibeen the Hermannsburg Mission, its work dating from 1857. Attacht to this mission there are some 20,000 black converts. In 1859 the Berlin Mission took up work in the Transvaal, and has carried it on for forty years. It numbers over 14,000 Christians, The Wesleyans from England hegan mission work in the Transvaal in 1875, and have several thousands of adherents. An Anglican mission, begun in 1878, has a few hundred members, whilst the Dutch Reformed Mission from Cape Colony, and a Mission Romande from Protestant Switzerland have each their own fields, and an increasing circle of converts. The American Board, and the American Methodists, have also establisht work in this country. The Boers have shown little interest in these missions, and the law of 1887. which limited the number of blacks on every five thousand acres to five families, if pusht to its natural conclusions would have destroyed every mission in the coulltry.-EDITORS. Britain had a fierce conflict only a few years ago. Their labor among that particular people was short. They had scarcely begun their beneficent work when the great exodus of the Boers from Oape Oolony began. In due time the emigrants and the natives met in bat- tle array-the Boers were victorious, Umzilakatze, with his people, were driven across the Limpopo River, and the country was trans- formed in a few years into a Dutch republic. The missionaries did not follow the natives into Matabeleland, but made for Natal, where a company of their brethren had already begun to labor. The little mission band in N~tal at first seemed likely to fare but little better. The teeming native population which they expected to find had been swept away by the armies of Tyaka, the founder of the Zulu nation, only about fifteen years before. This Tyaka was a great military genius. He has been called the Napoleon of South Africa.
Beginning with a small tribe of about 2,000, he gradually conquered and absorbed all the surround- ing peoples from the Delagoa Bay to the St.
John's River. His reign of terror lasted about twenty years, and at his death he had 100,000 warriors. He was slain by his two brothers, one of whom, Dingane, was in power when the American A ZULU BUT AND SOME OF TBE FAMILY.
missionaries arrived on the scene.
It was the policy of these Zulu conquerors to keep the land imme- diately south of the Tugela River destitute and untilled. The inhabit- ants were, therefore, slain, drafted into the Zulu army, or distributed among the tribes of Zululand. Military kraals were establisht in Natal, but none were allowed to remain outside of them. So thor- ough was the desolation that, on their first journey from Port Natal to the capital of the Zulu king, it is said that the missionaries found no habitations south of the Tugela River, tho they saw the sites of many old kraals and the bones of the dead scattered all around.
At that time there were only twenty-two white people in Natal, and two of these were women. The men were there for the purposes of trading and hunting.
The missionaries were cordially welcomed at first, but when the Zulu king saw his people becoming converts, and mission stations being formed, his jealousy was aroused. That first little company of native Ohristians was slain, and the millsionaries were driven into Natal. Then the advent of the Boers took place. By force of arms they conquered the Zulus, establisht themselves in Natal, raised the republican flag, and founded the city of Pietermaritzburg, which they named after two of their leaders who were slain by the Zulus. The rule of the Dutch, however, was short lived. The British government came on the scene, and the Boers retreated across the Drackensberg.
After the establishment of British rule the work of the American Board made rapid progress. Being first on the field the missionaries had acquired considerable influence over the native population, and thus their work increast very rapidly. Great numbers from the surrounding country came into Natal seeking the protection of the British flag. The Americans were useful to the British government, and in due time, as trustees for the natives, acquired control of 90,000 acres of lamI in twelve mission reserves along the coast from the northern to the southern boundaries of Natal. As these are also surrounded for the most part by native reservations, held in trust by a government body called the Natal Native Trust, and as the most of the natives in Natal live on these lands, the American mission soon became an important and influential body.
MISSIONARY SOCIETIES AT WORK.
There are other missions now at work in Natal, Zululand, and the 'rransvaal. A list of their names would include Anglicans, Wesleyans, Presbyterians, Free Ohurch of Scotland, South African General Mission, the Ohurch of Norway (Lutheran), the Ohurch of Sweden (Lutheran), the Free Ohurch of Norway (Oongregational), the Hermannsburg Mission, the Berlin Mission, the Swiss Protestant Mission, the Colonial Mission Society, the Huguenot Female Seminary Mission (Boer and British), the Independent Baptist Ohurch (African Dutch), the Boer Farm Mission (African Dutch), and others. Mr. Baker, of Johannesburg, a man of wealth, carries on at his own expense a mission operating at several points in Natal and in the South African Republic. The Roman Oatholics are also at work in considerable force, but not with very markt success. The English Wesleyan mission is the only one in Natal that approaches the AmerIcan mission in extent or influence, and the work of that mission is very largely with the Xosa-speaking part of the popUlation.
In spite of the fact that so many missions are at work, many in Zululand even yet have had little or no opportunity to hear the Gospel. That land at present is closed against European occupation. There are a few missionaries, Anglican and others, but no new grants of land are now given Ol' sold. Work in these parts must be accomplisht by itinerating, and where consent of chiefs and magistrates caR be secured, by placing native pastors. The scattered way in which the native!;! live make!;! the work of reaching all with the Gospel, even
TRill MlsslONAttY stTUATIoN 1N SbUTlt AFRIcA
in Natal, difficult and laborious. Yet the work of the missionaries has not been in vain, 110r even slow in development. The result fully justifies the effort put forth. Among the Zulu people there are to-day very many homes where Christ is honored and where family worship is conducted daily. The Lord's day is observed by large Christian communities and to some extent even by heathen people. There are, at least in the American mission, a number of self-supporting native churches. The American Board still sends out missionaries but contributes uothing to the native agency. The churches of this mission have their own Home Missionary Society, which is supported by funds contributed by the native Christians. Every church is assest according to its ability, the churches making the assessment. This society sends out and supports native agents trained and approved of by the American missionaries. Weak churches are thus helpt to support their pastors and evangelists are sent into outlying districts. Many members of the native churches give, besides Sunday offerings, more than the amount of an average month's wages to the annual contribution for this Zulu Home Missionary Society.
The TheologiQal School of the American Zulu Mission is the only one in South Africa for the training of Zulu men for the pastorate. From it many Zulus have gone out to preach the Gospel to their own people. The importance of this department can scarcely be overstated. The men in charge, however, are sadly handicapt by duties that often seem to conflict. The work is so large and is becoming so complicated, while the number of missionaries is steadily diminishing on account of lack of funds, that those in charge of the Theological Seminary are obliged to add to their work the duties of a general missionary. This often necessitates the closing of the seminary while other duties are being performed.
The field opening up for thoroughly equipt native evangelists is large and important, and the opportunities which the near future must bring can scarcely be overestimated. Africa has now been partitioned by European powers. What Roman arms and Greek literature accomplisht for the ancient world, the commercial greed and lust for power so rampant to-day will accomplish for Africa. These forces will open highways along which the heralds of the Cross may enter. Railroads are now being pusht into regions hitherto wennigh impenetrable to the missionary. Here is not only an opportnnity but a resulting responsibility. The experience and strength generated during the past sixty or seventy years should now be fully utilized. The Theological Seminary may be made a radiating center of great power. The Zulu language is understood far into the interior. Native evangelists, properly trained, would be able to carry the Word as far as the Zulu language and kindred dialects are spoken. To that end a proper endowment of the Seminary would be most welcome..
One of the great services of the American mission is the translation of the Bible into the Zulu language out of the original tongues. The people had no written language when the missionaries began their work. This Bible is printed by the American Bible Society, and has gone through a number of editions. The sales are large, and increasing every year. Last year the Bible Society sent out 14,000 copies. This growing desire for the Word of God is a most encouraging feature.
The training-schools for boys and girls in the American mission are largely in the hands of lady teachers. There are three such schools for girls, and one for boys. They supply the mission with its day-school teachers and helpers, and produce its best home-makers. It should not be thought that these schools are educational centers only. They are evangelical agencies of the most aggressive sort. They are centers of light. It is doubtful if any other department of work gives more satisfactory returns. While industrial work is taught in these schools, and a fair common-school education is given, the work of the teachers is preeminently evangelistic. These pupils are taken out of their heathen surroundings and associations for nine months of the year, and brought under the refining and softening infiueJ.lce of American women in charge. In the class· room, in the assembly, and in private, the sweetness and light of the Gospel are so set before the pupils that a large majority of them make confession of Christ before they leave school. In many minds there is an impression that the work in these schools is sec.ular in its tone. Nothing could be farther from the truth. But in the mission field we are made to realize more forcibly perhaps than is possible in a Christian land, that mental quickening is essential to the fullest development of the moral and spiritual nature.
THE AMERICAN BOARD IN THE TRANSVAAL.
The work of the American Board is not confined to Natal and Zululand. It has gone back to the territory it attempted to occupy in the early days before the gold fields were dreamed of. The work in the mining districts in Johannesburg is very important. One mine alone, the" Simmer and Jack," before the present war commenced, was employing 4,500 natives. The mission reckons its native district in Johannesburg as numbering from 70,000 to 100,000. In these mines are to be found natives from far and neal'. Many are brought down from the interior for mine work. A visitor may hear at least half a dozen languages spoken in one mine. The American missionaries are themselves limited to the Zulu tongue, but they have native Ohristians who have learned most, if not all, the languages spoken, and are able to preach in them. Another class of natives is reacht through openair preaching in the Market Square of Johannesburg, and still another
1900.1 THE MISSIONARY SITUATION tN SOUTtt AFRICA
EDWARDS HALL. INANDA SEMINA.RY.
AmerIcan Board MI!91on, Natal, South Africa.
m the mISSIOn chapels, of which there are several in the city and its suburbs. Evening schools are taught during the week in these chap- els, the Bible in the Zulu language being the text-book.
Other mission bodies are also doing a great work among the various peoples of the Transvaal, and there is' room for many more. An impression is being made on the great mass of heathenism. .How great that mass is, and how dense the ignorance and superstition it represents, one must go there to realize in any proper measure. The farthest reach of the American mission at present is Gazaland or Eastern Rhodesia, where a small company of missionaries are at work.
Taking into consideration the present conditions of life among the Zulu people, together with their past, their progress gives much room for encouragement. The missionaries have had to work under many discouragements. 'rhe British government has not placed the natives of Natal under English law, but under laws entirely different, namely, a set of laws called the Native Code. It would seem that in the early days, when natives sought the protection of the British flag, they might have been placed under civilized law; but instead a code was made, based on the old laws and customs of the heathen. Among other things these laws legalized polygamy, set the price of a woma,n given in marriage, and made her marriage legal only when the said sum was paid in the presence of official witnesses. Women are always minors and always the property of the father, his heir, 01' the man to whom she is married; and on the death of her husband her eldest son is practically her owner. Such things sanctioned and legalized. by a professedly Christian government have been a serious stumbling-block to progress
The temptations that surround the native convert are also many and great. They are not supported against the evils that surround them by a strong moral sentiment in the community. They are not buttrest as are Christians in England and America. They are obliged to live close to the heathenism they have forsaken, and for the most part are still subject to heathen chiefs, who have magisterial power under authority from government which allows them to try cases, collect fines, aud yet requires no report or return of money. Meu have been fined by these chiefs for attending religious meetings.
It has been well said that where non-Christian races have a certain degree of culture, tho it be pagan, and where men have been trained by commerce and under the influence of a settled government of their own, they may, after a short period of probation, be entrusted with the management of their own church affairs and with the spread of the Gospel among their own people. This may be true of India, China, and Japan, where the people for centuries have had training in heathen culture, but it is not true of Africa. Such training has bee"n w!lOlly wanting among the Zulu people. For ages, until about sixty years ago, they lived without a glimpse of better thiugs, in naked barbarism. To-day they have only such opportunities for self-development as the missionary makes for them. The British government has laid upon them absolutely no responsibilities, and since Natal has become an independent, self-governing colony, those in authority are inclining more and more to a policy that would hold the people down to the level on which they were found.
THE OUTLOOK :FOR MISSIONS.
As to the future of missions in South Africa, in view of present disturbances, there need be no fears. Irrespective of the merits of the war now raging in that country, we believe that the result will be favorable to missionary and religious enterprise. The past years of jealousy and discord between the ruliug powers has been a serious hindrance to religious progress. The war may be expected to clear the political atmosphere, settle great questions of government control, and usher in an era of peace with all its attendant blessings and opportunities. Africa has been brought vividly before the world, never again to lapse into its former dark condition. The opening of the continent must go on still more rapidly. The railroad is open to Bulawayo, which a few years ago was the capital of a heathen king, but which has now a population of 4,000 white people, 10 hotels, 2 club houses, 6 churches, 3 newspapers, hospitals, schools, and all that goes to make a civilized community. The prince of this world is already making strenuous efforts to forestall the missionary. A strong prejudice exists, even among many good people in the English colonies, against the work of missionaries to the natives, and as for the civilization
l[AP OP
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NEW RULES OF THE EDUCA1'IONAL DEPARTMENT, JAPAN
brought in by an army of adventurers and speculators, it may be c,'1lled Christian, but it does not make for righteousness. At a way~ side railroad station the writer came across a distiller's advertisement; it was a large map of the world, and across it was printed the words, " Our field is the World." Is the Church of Christ characterized by a like zeal and enterprise? 'fhe motto is also theirs.
Millions of dollars are being poured into the Cape to Cairo railroad and telegraph schem'e. Yet the promoters of that gigantic enter~ prise probably will not live to reap dividends therefrom. They are investing for future generations. A nobler investment, making larger promises and offering greater and surer returns, is before the Christian world to-day, an investment that aims at the transformation of a continent-tho redemption of milliolls. Ten thousand per cent. in this life and in the world to come life everlasting is the reward offered by the Almighty.
The f(;demption of Africa and the transformation of its trackless wildernesses, vast forests, and great lakes, now the habitations of wild beasts and, perhaps, of wilder men, is not a chimera. The same forces that wrought out the redemption of Gothland are at work there. The spread of Christianity in the Roman empire, among the Gothic races, in the British isles, with the wonderful story of transformed lands and peoples flowing therefrom, is the history of missionary enterprise. The time is as surely coming when the wilds of Africa shall be subdued, when its fever belts shall yield to sanitary laws, ita great plains be converted into fruitful fields, its great lakes into centers of com~ merce, and the whole be inhabited by a people whQse God is the Lord.
NEW RULES OF THE EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF STATE, JAPAN.
REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D.
The Japanese school ruling, recently made, has created quite a disturbance of missionary circles in that country, and of all missionary societies having educational work there. That they clearly contravene the clauses of the national constitution, which guarantee religious freedom, is recognized beyond mission circles. The Japan Mail, a powerful organ, which is generally accredited with too much sympathy with the government to admit of its being relied on as inde~ pendent in judgment on some questions, is very pronounced against this action of the educational department of state. It says these rules practically amount to a "veto against all religious instructiou." It crystallizes the matter, saying, "To tell a man that if he chooses to send his son to school where religious instruction enters the curricu-
lum, the lad will be liable to conscription involving three years' service in the ranks, at twenty, whereas, if there be no such subject in the curriculum, he will be safe from conscription until twenty-seven, and can then escape with a year's modified service-to condemn a father to such a choice is virtually to deprive him altogether of the privilege of choosing!" It affirms that, "That is not the kind of freedom of conscience guaranteed by the constitution."
Our American readers must not mistake this for neutrality in religion in public schools or other government institutious of learning. There is no dispute over that policy. Nobody asks that taxes paid by men holding various creeds, should be given without their consent to support schools where one particular creed is taught. The contention is over schools which have no relation, direct or indirect, to support from the government. This law establishes a penalty for attending private schools where religion is taught either inside or outside of the regular school hours or curriculum, even tho the government has otherwise officially approved the curricula of these schools, and recognized the grade of their alumni. It is a bold, Jesuit-like stroke of policy, intended to drive students into the government institutions. Whether it is designed to strike at the teachings of Ohristianity, and thus at missionaries, need not now be asserted. If it is nothing but another instance of the extreme nationalism of some of the narrow-minded among the leaders, the effect is the same. If the government were to prohibit all private schools, and make attendance on national institutions of learning compulsory, that would be a distinct move toward nationalism. That law might or might not be proven constitutional. But to pass a law that there should be no private institutions in connection with which any religious iustruction is to be given, is to invade another domain. They might extend this to say that if any religious instruction were given to the pupils on Sabbath, in churches, or at the home, the pupils were to be subject to national disabilities. It contravenes all constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.
That this sort of laws obtains in some Ohristian states has no relevancy. Austria even enters the home and prohibits children between the ages of seven and fourteen Itttelldilolg family worship in Protestant homes. But there is no profession of religious liberty in Austria. No constitution safeguards the conscience of the people. On the other hand, Japan has a constitution, and the other nations waited for ten years while the Japanese became familiar with what that meant, to a degree whir:h gave some guarantee that it could and would be operative. Not till reasonably assured of this would they enter into treaties with Japan, placing their respective nationals under Japanese authority. And this is the specimen notion of the educational department of state in regard to religious liberty guaranteed by
NEW RULES OF THE EDUCATIONAL })EPARTM.ENT, JAPAN
the nation! U ntH recent enactments modified the administration, certain mission schools were exempt from conscription, having a scheme of studies approved by the government, Christian instruction being given aside from the regular curriculum. These continu2d to be Christian schools, aud were not contravened by the government. There was hope that the government would ere long become liberal enough to accept a test of sch01arship alone, leaving each school to do with the religious instruction as it pleased. A standard of educational results, no matter how reacht, would have been satisfactory.
When, however, these new restrictions compelled the entire dissociation with religious teaching, in or out of school hours, the Presbyterian school at Tokyo resolved to break all connection with the government and become an absolutely private school, and so notified intending students. In view of its obligations to students who had already made their arrangements to enter the school, this was subsequently modified for the present. The rigid administration of the new regulations will remove students from mission schools numbering ill the aggregate thousands, even affecting the elementary work of kindergartens.
Fortunately, this prohibition is not a legal enactment of the government, else it might be difficult to get it repealed. It is only the instruction of the minister of education, which he may be induced to modify, or which his successor may withdraw. Tho urged by the educational council to pass a law prohibiting all private schools, the government refused to do so. The laws of the land are not harshly hostile to mission schools. What we are denouncing is only a regulation of a government officer, tho possibly" winkt at" by the government, either on principle or policy. It is like a measure here with us, amenable to public sentiment, which even the party -initiating it may withdraw, and there is reason to hope it will be modified under popular demand.
One can not be unappreciative of the progress made in Japan. Forty years ago the first Protestant missionaries entered the country, with government proclamations on every highway threatening their lives for being there at all. Now, forty thousand Japanese Protestant Christiaus are enrolled in churches. Japanese Christians are important government factors. The speaker of the parliament in recent years is a Japanese Christian; two out of four of the central committee which direct the dominant political party are Christians. The progress of the past forty years furnishes ground for aSS1~rance and for hope. It must not be expected but waves will recede, even when the tide may be advancing. Japan will probably right up this school matter; meanwhile missionaries must have patience. It were desirable that no such checks and setbacks should mar Japan's progress; but still she makes progress. She ought to keep scrupulous faith
with her constitution, or other nations will distrust her in other than religious and educational lines.
ACTION AT A CONFERENCE OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.* This conference, composed of officers and members of the missionary agencies of the Baptist, Oongregational, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Reformed churchel!!, would express its complete approval of the resolution adopted by the missionaries in Japan, on August 16th, in the conference called to consider the question of the relation of the schools supported by these boards to the regulation of the minister of education, forbidding religious worship or instruction in all schools" whose curricula are regulated by provisions of law," to wit: The representatives .of six Christian SChDOls, Aoyama, Gakuin, Azabu Ei-wa GakkD, DDshisha, RikkYD Chu GakkD, Meigi Gakuin, Nagoyo Ei-wa GakkD, met in cDnference .on August 16th in TokYD, tD cDnsider what course tD pursue in view .of the recent instructiDns .of the educational department, excluding entirely all religion frDm private SChODls receiving any recDgnitiDn .of the department, and decided tD submit tD the representatives and .officials of the variDus Christian SChDOls affected by these regulatiDns, the fDllowing statement of opinion fDr their cDnsideratiDn: '1'he cDnstitution .of the empire grants religious liberty; the instructions of the educatiDnal department, definitely and more cDmpletely than ever, forbid all teaching .of religion, as well as religious exercises, to all SChDDls seeking gDvernment recDgnitiDn. We feel that this position of the educatiDnal department is cDntrary to the spirit of the cDnstitutiDn of the empire, in practically restricting the liberty of parents in deciding upDn the educatiDn .of their children. We are here nDt raising any objections tD the educational department's making such restrictions for public SChDDls suppDrted by public funds; but we feel that to put these same limitations upon private schools, supported by private funds, works great injustice. We feel even more strongly that these regulations make it impossible for Christian schools to secure the recognition of the government and its accompanying privileges. We are of the conviction that for any Christian school, founded on Christian principles, supported in any measure by the gifts and prayers of Christian people, to exclude in any degree Christianity from its ruling principles, or from its school life, would be disloyalty to our common Lord, and to the churches aiding our schools. We call upon all officers and teachers of Christian schools to take a firm and decided stand upon this matter, not yielding any Christian principle for the sake of securing or maintaining government privileges.
In the conviction that the great need of Japan is Ohristianity and Ohristian education, and that the members of the churches represented in this conference would not approve of the use of mission .. After the above was in type we received from Mr. Robert E. Speer, secretary, the following memorandum of action of missionary secretaries held in New York, Nov. 9, 1899. We are sure the patrons of all the missionary societies will illdorse their action.- [THE EDITORS. 1
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO AND NOW IN COCANADA, INDIA
funds in the support of schools in which all religious exercises and teaching are prohibited, this conference expresses its conviction that the missions in Japan should steadfastly refuse to make any compromise of whatsoever character, or however temporary or plausible, as to the religious character of their educational work. In the judgment of this conference, it will be most unfortunate if at this time the missions fail to stand together, in maintaining unimpaired the avowed and unmistakable Christian character of their schools, in all their departments, at whatever sacrifice of secular advantage or government privilege.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO AND NOW IN COCANADA, INDIA.
BY Jo:EV. H. }'. LAFLAMME, COCANADA, INDIA.
Missionary of the Canada Baptist Mission.
Bishop Thoburn, in his admirable book, "My Missionary Apprenticeship," a title he applies to the account of his first twenty-five years in India, seems to indicate that as the length of time required to master the missionary's calling. 'fhe census report of 1891 for South India records the fact that at birth the India infant looks out upon the possibility of twenty-five years as a life expectancy. 'fhis statement of a veteran missionary, and this startling deduction from life statistics, solemnize us as we realize that the Telugu mission of the Baptists of Ontario, Quebec, and Western Canada past its twenty-fifth anniversary on the 12th of March, 1899. On that day, twenty-five years ago, J ohR McLaurin, his wife, and two little girls landed at Cocanada, and took over from Thomas Gabriel, an ex-telegraph operator and an ordained minister of the regular Baptist persuasion, the mission, with one hundred and fifty churches, a handful of native agents, and a debt of 10,000 rupees. At that time, from Nursapur, fifty-six miles south, to Vizagapatam, one hundred miles north, and to Rajahmandry, forty miles inland, there was no other Protestant mission station.
In 1899, the venerable founder lookt over a sea of four hundred faces, upturned in eager, intelligent, and sympathetic interest to catch his every word, as he reviewed the gracious dealings of God with the mISSIOn. These were but the representatives of four thousand in the membership of the thirty-three churches of thc mission which he had establisht twenty-five years before. And these again were but the vanguard of a great host, the noise of whose coming mutters like the roll of distant thunder throughout the length and breadth of the mission field. The mission has past its apprenticeship; it has attained its majority; it now stands with head erect and shining face toward the
future, where all the bright promises of God lie, and henceforth it will race with the strong.
The semi-jubilee celebration, held at Cocanada, extended through four days and a Sabbath. The mornings were entirely occupied with devotional and spiritual exercises of great power and blessing. The afternoons throughout were devoted to the history of the mission. The _ programs of the evenings were varied, and consisted of reminiscences and experiences, and on the last night of a consecration meeting that has markt an epoch of new power and higher living in many souls, and has increast the spiritual pulse-beat of the mission. Services of song brightened the periods. Rhythmical histories of Joseph, Moses, Esther, and Christ chanted by small choruses to the accompaniment of the sitar, gave great enjoyment and large instruction. One night a phonograph reproduced among other things messages from the founder, from the sonorous and musical voice of Pastor Jonathan Burder, and some Telugu hymns, to the great amazement of many. An acetyline gas magic-lantern was a feature of some evenings. . The first day was given up to the veterans. The bitter truthful- ness of the census statement that twenty-five years is the average of life in South India received sad confirmation in the absence of all but a little handful of charter members. Thomas Gabriel's grave received his earthly remains twenty-four years ago, and his spirit went home to God after what seemed to be the completion of his life work in the handing of his loved mission over to the Board. Currie Samuel, bap- tized among the very first, thirty years ago, away down in his village near the Colair Lake, was not able to be present. He is the mayor of his village. But his vigorous dearly loved and honored younger brother, Peter, the pastor of Gunapudi, the banner church, was present and told of the beginnings. In the place of their first sixty- rupee meeting-house they now have a chapel costing five thousand rupees, of which he and his two brothers gave twelve hundred. Other friends in India and Canada and the native Christians are clear- ing off the balance. They have four hundred and eighty members and raised over six hundred and twenty last year to support church expenses, five teachers, and four village schools, and to help in other directions. The church is one of the two declared self-supporting in the mission. M. Mark, the Tamil butcher, a deacon in the Cocanada church.• and one of the charter members, related his early experiences. Brother McLaurin spoke with power about beginnings.
The second day covered the first twelve and a half years, 1874- 1886. Mr. McLaurin and his daughter Kate, who represented her mother, and pastors Jonathan Burder and Karri Peter spoke. In the commencement, the first converts had come from the villages about Colair Lake, and so the missionaries and workers were at once led to the heart of India's agricultural village. They preacht, and
taught, and pleaded with the villagers. Among them they establisht little schools for the children of their converts. Out from these villages and up through these little village schools came the bone and sinew of the mission's life and growth. ]'our mission stations were establisht by 1882 at Cocanada; Tuni (,78), Akidu ('80), and Samathota (,82), with boarding-school for boys or girls at each for the brighter scholars from the village school, and for such as could not get to school in any other way. A literary and theological department was added at Samathota for the education of teachers and preachers and their wives. A boarding and day school for Europeans and Eurasians was opened at Cocanada. As the burden of a successful work prest upon them, the missionaries pleaded with the home churches for reenforcements. But from '78 to '86 none were sent. In '84 two missionaries were sent home on furlough. The intense strain precipitated a great calamity. In '85, enthusiastic, devoted, hopeful Timpany died. Returning prematurely to take his place, Currie died in '86. Craig came back just in time to take over the entire burden of the work faIling from the almost lifeless hand of McLaurin, who was compelled to go home in 1887. Miss Frith, the first and only single lady on the staff, after five years' service, was then invalided home. Thus the seminary was closed, boarding-schools broken up, half the stations left vacant, and the burden of the work largely thrown on one man. Thus the first half of the mission's history closed in clouds, darkness, and great distress.
The third day dealt with the second twelve and a half years, 1886-1899. It was not till the end of '89 that all the old stations were fully manned, and the mission prepared to advance into new territory. In that year a memorable meeting of the two Canadian missions, under a profound conviction after long prayer that this generation of Christians were demanded by the commission to give the Gospel to this generation of heathen, issued an appeal to the home chllrches for one male missionary to each fifty thousand of the people, and single ladies in proportion. They prayed that God might greatly multiply tho native agents and strengthen the native. churches. The history of the second period has been the answer to that prayer. The five male missionaries and five single ladies of 1889 have increast to ten of each in 1899; the native agents from ninety-two to one hundred and eighty-two, the seventeen churches to thirty-three, the two thousand church members to four thousand, and the native contributions from 2,300 to 3,766 rupees. There is 11 doubling almost all round. Praise be to God! What might the response not have been had the appeal of '89 received a fulfilment?
On the fourth day of the semi-jubilee the future, its prospects and views, were lookt into. The gigantic proportions of the need are apparent from the following facts: One million ltnd a half Telugus
are dependent on this mission alone for the Bread of Life. Of these 400,000 (not including little children) pass to eternity each decade. The four thousand converts are from the lowest castes, who repreRent only one-sixth of the entire population. The remaining one million and a quarter of higher caste present an almost unbroken phalanx to be possest for Christ. Were the 1,500,000 equally distributed among the evangelizing forces there would be 150,000 souls to each mission station, with eighteen mission agents, preachers, teachers, Bible women, and colporteurs. Among them would be the care of and help from three hundred and seventy-five church members. Out of two thousand villages only two hundred and sixty-two contain Christians. In most of these the Christians are a mere handful from the lowest and most despised castes banisht to the outskirts of an overwhelming heathenism. With the utmost endeavor of the entire mission staff only about one-half of these two thousand villages are receiving anything like regular Gospel ministrations. In many of them only very meagerly is Christ given. In one thousand of them a few only occasionally, and some never, hear the Gospel message.
This distressing need so impresses the missionaries that they are calling for twenty more male missionaries and a proportionate number of single ladies, to be sent out as soon as possible, and, are urging the native churches to increast effort.
The Sabbath of the semi-jubilee was a high day. 'rhe morning congregation of four hundred raised one hundred rupees toward a superannuated ministers' widows' and orphans' fund. The women met in the afternoon. Their aids are marching out in supporting home mission Bible women. The home mission in ten years has helpt struggling causes to four thousand rupees. What hath God wrought!
THE WORK OF CANADIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.
REV. ~. RYERSON YOUNG, JR., TORONTO, CANADA.
In the month of October the mission boards of the principal denominations in Canada were in session.
In the historic city of Quebec, the General Board of Missions of the Methodist Church met on October 12-17. There was a full attendance of members, every conference in the Dominion being represented. The income for last year was $265,979, which gives the handsome increase over last year of $22,927. In his annual report, the secretary, Dr. Sutherland, reviewed the work done in Japan, China, and other mission fields under the control of the Board. Spiritual progress was also recorded in most of the missions. The influence which the province of Quebec is exerting in the Dominion
THE WORK OF CANADIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETIES
has called forth a more aggressive mission work among the Roman Catholics of that province.
A special report concerning the foreigners who have lately settled in Manitoba was presented by the Rev. Dr. Maclean. At the present time there are within the bounds of the Manitoba conference about 25,000 Galicians and 7,000 Doukhobors. The former are chiefly from Austria, and comprise Poles and Ruthenians; the latter are from Russia. These people are chiefly located in Manitoba and the North- west, in and beyond the Swan River district. They speak the Rnth- enian, Polish, and German languages, the first predominating. Owing to their poverty, their ignorance of the English language and cus- toms, and the difficulties incident to settlement in a new country, their social condition is not the best. They are sober and industrious, and, as farmers on a small scale, they are likely to succeed. As they are certain to become an important social and political factor in the building of the nation within a few years, the Methodists feel that something ought to be done toward evangelizing them.
The board of management of the Woman's Missionary Society of the Methodist Church of Canada held its eighteenth annual session in Hamilton, commencing on October 17th. All branches of the work under the control of this energetic society were in healthy condition.
This missionary society raises its money before it "grants" it. 'I'he receipts of last year from the branch auxiliaries amounted to $40,226.
The Easter offering was $7,020, and there was an additional income of $2,400. The appropriations made for the ensuing year aggregate $45,647.
The Board of Domestic and Foreign Missions of the Church of England in Canada met in Montreal on October 10-12. The income for the year ending in July was $34,742, about the same amount as that of last year, which was then a gratifying increase. The Woman's Auxiliary raised in addition to this $23,110. Grants were made to the different missions under control of the Board. A special effort will be made to organize the children and teachers of the Sunday-schools into systematic helpers. In connection with the work in Japan, the Anglican Board had heretofore handed over a lump sum to the Society for the Progagation of the Gospel in England, which money was dis- burst for them. The Canadian Board has arranged to take this work off the hands of the English society and will hereafter engage, pay, and direct its own missionaries. The' transfer will take place on January 1.
THE CANADIAN PRESBYTERIANS.
The executive committee of the Home Mission Board of the Pres- byterian Church in Canada met in 'foronto on October lOth. This board is a separate organization from the Foreign Mission Board.
Gra-uta to the extent of $40,000 were made to mission work in different
parts of the Dominion from Quebec to the Klondike. The General Presbyterian Mission Board purposes to raise a fund of $150,000 in connection with the twentieth century forward movement, and of this amount the Home Mission Board will endeavor to raise $50,000. A proportion of this fund will be devoted to opening up new fields. The fall meeting of the Foreign Mission Board met in Toronto on October 17 and 18. The income last year was $175,000. This society has missions in Central India, Formosa, Honall, China, Trinidad, the New Hebrides, as well as to the Chinese and Indians in Canada. Erromanga (New Hebrides), where the blood of two Canadian missionaries was shed, is now practically Christianized. The society, however, still retains one missionary there. Two other missionaries are on two other islands. In India a total membership of 1,010 is recorded, and 2,108 children attend the schools. There are 16,000 densely populated villages where the Presbyterian missionaries are working. In Formosa the missions have greatly suffered in consequence of the war with Japan.
In 1897, the missions in that island were flourishing, and 286 baptisms were reported. In 1898, 160 baptisms were reported. During the war 436 mission converts died, most of them by violent death. Two hundred and twenty-seven left the country. Then followed a plague of locusts, the bubonic plague, and a devastating flood. Nineteen chapels were destroyed, and, owing to the new Japanese tariff, living expenses have greatly increast. The work, however, is continued in faith. 'rhe society's work among the Indians and Chinese of Canada has encouraging features, and is earnestly prest forward.
There are other missionary societies in the Dominion that are full of life and vigor, and many mission fields are blest by their efforts. The Baptist Missionary Union raised $36,580 for foreign missions and $9,078 for Indian missions last year; and, in connection with the twentieth century forward movement, propose to raise $150,000 for missionary purposes at home and abroad.
POLITICS AND RELIGION IN FRANCE.
REV. RUBEN SAILLIENS, PARIS, FRANCE.
Underneath all the political agitation in France in connection with the Dreyfus affair, there is a great religious problem which has to be solved. The destinies of France hang in the balance; it is the old fight, renewed, between the spirit of Rome and the modern tendencies toward liberty and parliamentary government. At present Rome is doing its utmost to reconquer France, which has ever been its brightest jewel, and the fruitful field from which it has gathered
POLITICS AND RELIGION IN FRANCE
men and money in abundance. It is affirmed by good authorities that the convents and religious" congregations" hold ten thousand mil- lions of francs worth of property (10,000,000,000 I). There are relig- ious houses, new chapels, and churches, on all hands. The amount of movable property, in stocks and funds, is unknown. All that money goes into the war: in support of daily papers, in schools competing with the board-schools, in institutions of higher learning, where young men are prepared for the army and navy, thus furnishing these staple institutions with officers who are the devoted servants of the church. And you know that" the church" is, to-day, entirely in the hands of the Jesuits; the old Gallican spirit has completely died out. It is to the influence of "the church" that the present success of antisemitism is due; those awful cries which one hears now constantly in the Paris streets, Mort aux Juifs! (Death to the Jews) are often led by priests, who do not even take the trouble to go about in disguise.
Along with this hatred against the Jews, the Freemasons, the Republicans, there is also hatred against Protestants. A book, which has been extensively circulated, and has brought notoriety to its writer, is called" Le Peril Protestant" (Protestant peril). It points out that Protestants, who are a small minority in the country, are occupying leading positions in the government, in education, etc., and attributes their superiority not to any moral cause, but simply to the power of money, and to their association with their foreign breth- ren, in England and Germany. It publishes a list of the most obnox- ious Protestants, a list which seems to have been prepared in view of a new Saint Bartholomew. The sad part of it is, that among the masses there are those who take in this violent spirit: the poor people suffer so much by high taxation, the military system, and other evils, that they are ready to fall upon any who are pointed out to them as the causes of all this suffering : Jews and Protestants So far our successive governments have, with more or less firm- ness, withstood this tremendous return of a flood, which one would have thought was dried up long ago. The present ministry, particu- larly, is very energetic in its defense of our republican institutions. The president of the republic, M. Loubet, is a liberal of the good old school, and all good citizens feel assured that, as long as he stands .there, our liberties are safe. Moreover, in the country at large, there are cheering signs that the true spirit of a democracy worthy of the name is not altogether dead; and among the leaders of public opinion who have taken the right side, and whose efforts have so far successfully opposed Rome, one is happy to name, in the very first rank, 1.1. FranciE. de Pressense, the worthy son of a noble father.
A League for the Defense of the Rights oj Man (Ligue des Droits de I'Homme) numbers thousands of members, and has branches all over the country. At the head of it are our most distinguisht men in
letters, science, and politics. Thus, you see, the battle is raging, with able and resolute men on both sides.
Our position, as Christians of the evangelical type, is a difficult one, and which our friends in America would hardly realize. Of course, all our sympathies are on the side of a parliamentary, liberal, and orderly government. We hate the cry, Mort aux Jnifs! remembering that our dear Lord was a Jew himself, and that nothing is so contrary to the letter and spirit of the Gospel as wholesale condemnation over a people, simply by reason of their race. At the same time the extreme views of some of the fiercest opponents of Rome are obnoxious to us, almost equally as the Romish spirit of'intolerance. Come what may, we can not go hand in hand with revolutionaries and anarchists. Even in the excellent Ligue des Droits de l'Homme, we perceive a cause for weakness; there is no acknowledgment on the part of its leaders of the rights of God. We hear a great deal of the necessity to fight for justice, truth, liberty-in connection with Dreyfus-but these abstract words seem to hide from the best of our fellow-citizens the glorious name of Him without whom there would never be any justice, or truth, or liberty. In one word, while the armies of Rome march under the standard of a false religion, the armies of freedom march under_no religious banner of any kind; they simply ignore the cravings of the human soul for a higher life, for an ideal far beyond this poor world of ours.
And it is this that makes some of us fear that in the end, and for some time at least, Rome will conquer. It has on its side the religious instincts which are never thoroughly dead in the masses.
Evangelical Christians are too few, and too poorly furnisht, to create a powerful impression. Yet it is my conviction that if at this time we were able to go about hiring large halls for short campaigns in towns and cities, large congregations would gather. For it is not willingly that the people will return to priestcraft; it is for want of a better thing, as when a famisht man eats what he formerly threw away for want of better food.
A CHINESE STATESMAN'S RECIPE FOR REFORMING 'rHE EMPIRE.
REV. ARTHUR H. SMITH, D.D., TIENTSEN, CHINA.
Author of "Chinese Characteristics" and" Village Life in China."
One of the most influential officials in China is Chang Chih-T'ung, the present governor-general of Hupeh and Hunan. He was born in Chihli in 1835, and in 1882, by reason of his valuable memorials relating to the great famine in Shansi, was made governor of that province. Two years later he was promoted to be governor-general of the two important provinces of Kuang-tung and Kuang-hsi, with headquarters at Canton. In 1880 he was again transferred to Wu Ch'ang fu, which
A CHINESE RECIPE FOR REFORMING THE EMPIRE
is his present post, altho once transferred to Nanking for a year during the late war with Japan, and then returned to his former place.
He has the reputation of being a great scholar, but he has been often attackt by the censors, who have found abundant occasion for criticism in his extended schemes for iron works, cotton factories, and scientific mining, which have proved an enormous expense, and only imperfectly successful. Foreigners generally consider him as a patriotic man, with the best interests of China at heart, tho frequently mistaken in his ideas. His open advocacy of reform would seem to have markt him out for the early and condign punishment of the empress dowager when she began her career of repression last autumn. It seems not unlikely that H. E. Chang was considered somewhat too important an individual to be treated as sternly as so many others have been, hence the empress decided to show him honor instead. A special messenger was sent from Peking, with a verbal message to him, saying that the empress had always thought highly of him, and now, more than ever, relied on his fidelity. According to Chinese etiquette, the official who brought this word was received with as much honor as if he were the emperor himself, H. E. performing the kotow to him like all the rest. Bu t the moment his errand was done, the messenger reverted to his position as a mere tao-tai, and it was now his duty to kotow to the governor-general.
This distinguisht statesman has within a year issued a work in two volumes, which has been enormously successful as a literary venture, for we are told that more than 200,000 copies have been sold, which must be very unusual in China. Some portions of this treatise have especial significance for those who are interested in the reformation of the Chinese Empire, because embodying in definite language a scheme by a man of great reputation, wide knowledge, and extended experience. There are three thiugs in his excellency's discussion of each of the themes considered, which are well worth noting: his statement of the present condition of China, the nature of the change needed, and the meallS by which it is to be effected.
The author has a clear perception of the crisis in China, which he recognizes as being in a transition state. What is needed is the infusion of unity into the body politic. The state, the doctrines of Confucianism, and the Chinese race itself are in danger. This unity can only be attained by increasing knowledge, but this requires the use of force. These propositions are substantiated by the history of Western nations. It is shown that altho Mohammedanism is destitute of all correct principles, yet it is preserved because the Turks are fierce in battle. On the other hand, Buddhism, while not destitute of correct principles, because the Indian people could not defend it, has disappeared from India. Christianity under two forms-Protestantism and Romanism-now covers three-fifths of the globe, and is maintained by
the armies of the nations which profess it. If China were to be divided like a watermelon, the holy doctrines of the sages could not be practist. Wily and crafty men would become pastors, compradores, and secretaries. How is all this to be prevented? He says: Let us exert ourselves to stir up sincerity and benevolence among the people. Let us seek wealth and aim at power. Let us respect the throne and reverence the gods of agriculture. Let those who administer the government inform the emperor on all matters, and focus thought to broaden his influence. Let the censors speak out and criticize fearlessly. Let the provincial rulers consider how they may provide sufficient rations for an efficient army. Let the officers of the army understand that "the principle of shame" is the force to impel soldiers to fight. Let the masses love and honor the emperor, and be prepared to die for their rulers. Let the scholars, standing together like trees in a clump, devote their powers to the understanding of the business of the times; then scholars, farmers, artisans and traders all being of one mind, China will be safe!
That is to say, if the existing evils were removed, they would not be felt! It is precisely the opposite of H. E.'s ideal state which now obtains; is it to be suddenly altered by uttering a number of Chinese verbs in the imperative mood? Chang Ta-jen can no doubt" call spirits from the vasty deep," "but will they come" ?
In the final chapter H. E. Chang treats of opium and its remedy. Nothing ever publisht by the Anti-Opium Society in its most excited moods ever equaled the tremendous indictment here brought against this complex and deadly drug by one who has been its lifelong foe. The devastations of opium are likened to those of wild beasts, and the general deluge in the days of Yu the Great, but opium is worse than these, becausc these evils were limited in time and place, while opium is spread over the whole empire, and has been at work for a century. The deficit caused by this item in the trade balance is put at 30,000,000 taels (ounces) of silver. In this way China is impoverisht. The ability of officials, military and civil, is impaired, and this is worse than the loss in money. Man's will and energy are weakened and his vitality undevelopt. There is listlessness in the performance of duty, children pine away, and there is no offspring. After a few years China will become a wilderness and a solitary place; a habitation of ghouls and satyrs.
The emperor has done all that he could by laws, but in vain. The growth of the opium habit is not traced to foreign compulsion, but to laziness, idleness, and ignorance. In the present condition of things farmers make no good crops, workmen have- no good tools, travelers have no good roads. lIenee nobody exerts himself to go beyond his own to cultivate intercourse with other people.
Effeteness has begotten stupidity, and stupidity lethargy, lethargy idleness, and idleness waste. A revival of learning would save China by directing the attention from opium to more worthy objects. Every
one would have something to learn, and those who could not actually go abroad could learn from current literature. The literati would then know about the affairs of the world, and the tradesmen and artisans would be expert in their trades. Many thoughtful people fear lest opium extirpate the race. Societies have been formed to counteract the great and growing evil, but nothing but a revival of learning will be efficient to stem the tide. This plan of reformation by learning will only reach men of discernment and the younger members of society. Confirmed opium smokers will have to be let alone, as no power on earth can save them. If the plan here outlined were followed out, in ten years yOllng and wealthy men would have grown qualified to control their subordinates, and in twenty more opium would be eradicated! Only our Chinese people love to eat this deadly drug, and in this deadly drug we are self-steept, seeking imbecility, death, and destruction. In all her history China has never been placed in such a frightful situation. From this we might be delivered were Confucius and Mencius to rise from the dead to teach the Chinese a proper sense of shame. This would undoubtedly be the beginning of an opium reformation in China.
We have quotcd thus fully-altho but in substance- because thus only can the Occidental reader gain an adequate impression of the bent of the Confucian mind. To H. E. Chang it is no valid objection that his recipe has been (theoretically) acted upon during the past two millenniums. What else do the Chinese study, what else have they ever studied, but their own classics? Yet it is the very men who give most of their time to that study, who are the most conspicuous and the most hopeless, incorrigible offenders against that" sense of shame," which is to be the touchstone of political salvation. There is no argument, no agency which his excellency himself, when governor of Shansi, has not tried, and there is not one of them which has not proved inert, as he himself despairingly shows. There is not a hintso far as we can gather-as to the modus by which the will-power of the Chinese race is to be turned away from the terrible evil which they have deliberately chosen, toward the ideal good which they as deliberately reject. The classical theory is that influence is omnipotent. "When the wind blows, the grass bends." When the emperor and the officials are right, the people will be right also, for the former are the dish, and the latter the water. If the dish is round, the water is round, if the dish is square, the water is square likewise. This charmingly simple theory lacks nothing but facts and experience to make it perfect. The people are not grass, and they are not water. They are sentient mortals, with narrow, bitter lives, who find in opium some respite for incurable ills.
It is rare to meet an opium-smoker who does not admit, or rather proclaim, the evil of his habit, but he does not for that reason give it up. Cognition does not in his casc,. nor in any other, lead to action. He smokes because he likes to smoke, and H. E. Chang Chih-T'ung must produce something which is to be preferred to the fascinating narcosis, or he will fail to do more than to compose a treatise, with a great deal of learning, much patriotic perception of existing evils, but not the smallest insight into the necessity of a moral renovation to accomplish what must be nothing less than a moral miracle. That miracle will only be wrought, as all other miracles have been, by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A PRESSING NEED FOR OENTRAL AMERICA.
BY REV. J. H. SOBEY, PORT LIMON, COSTA RICA.
The rapid development of the banana industry has made Oentral America a center of importance. Large numbers of men are already on the plantations. Until within a few years very little was known of Oentral America, and very little done for the spiritual welfare of either natives or foreigners. In Costa Rica a few missionaries are at work in the interior of the country. Along the Atlantic seaboard a prosperous work exists among the. toilers on the banana plantations. From the coast to sixty miles inland the soil is suited to the growth of bananas. It is to the workers on these plantations that the Jamaica Baptist Missionary Society sent and, for nearly twelve years, has sustained missionaries. Hundreds have been converted and a number of little churches formed. The present chain of stations tax the energies of the two missionaries on the field, and there are thousands around in darkness and sin. 'ro these sheep out on the mountains wild we have been constrained to go. Evangelistic work is the great need in these parts. The Lord, through one or two of His servants, has made it possible for me to devote myself to this special pioneer work.
Some 70 miles south there are thousands without God and hope, no man caring for their souls. To reach these people, living along the shores, on the islands, and up the rivers and creeks of the lagoons or lakes, it is necessary to travel in canoes. This is uncomfortable, difficult, and sometimes dangerous. In calm weather, and under a burning sun, one is liable to malarial fever. This completely prostrates one. A naphtha launch would enable us to make the best use of our time, visiting stations at regular intervals, and thus securing larger gatherings.
It is not unlikely that among the readers of the MISSIONARY REVIEW, knowing our work to be really missionary, there are some who would like to have fellowship with l1S in this service, and either present a launch or contribute toward the purchase of one.
A gentleman in the States writes that he will be pleased to giye $300. We are anxious to be at the work at once, and therefore make our wants and wishes known to the Lord's stewards, that they may have fellowship with 11S. We require $1,200 for the purchase of a suitable boat. When this little ship, bearing the heralds of the Gospel over these waters, becomes a fact, we hope to furnish some information of interest to the readers of the MISSIONARY REVIEW.
THE PRESENT MISSIONARY OPPORTUNITY
SELECTED ARTICLES.
THE PRESENT MISSIONARY OPPORTUNITY.* BY ROBERT E. SPEER, NEW YORK CITY. Secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions.
It is always dangerous to pray for opportunities. We have already more than we are improving, and God's answers are sure to be in excess of our expectation. Ten years ago the Church was crying for more open doors. God gave them. All doors are open now save one, and because that one remains closed the Church stands aghast before all the others until that one opens-the door of her own heart to receive the pity of God for the world and the power of God for its service. There is no need of praying for any other door to unclose. The whole world is open for whatever messengers will come. Look at the missionary opportunities it offers us.
First of all, because most shunned, is the Mohammedan world. Two hundred millions of people follow the prophet of Medina-Mecca. Sixty millions of them live under a Christian queen in India; seven million live under the shah of Persia; thirty-three million are ruled by the sultan of Turkey. The faith of these people has taught them the unity and reality of God, and made them the fierce soldiers of His sovereignty. Their prophet has taught them a bigotry and fanaticism not to be matcht by the intolerance of any other faith. From the days of Raymond Lull persecution or martyrdom has been the lot of Mohammedan converts, and of those who strove to win them. The way Islam has held the reins of civil as well as religious power in Moslem lands has made it possible for it to bar the advance of Christianity, and to deny all religious liberty. Now the rule of the Moslem in Turkey is disintegrating. The sixty millions of Indian Moslems are as open as the population of America, and in Persia a Christian has been as much tolerated as a Moslem of the Orthodox sect, while Kitchener is opening the Sudan. It is time to reach these followers of the false prophet. Heroes are needed who will hold life of light account, but who will have a passion for Moslem souls. There is an opportunity for such to carry the cross to two hundred million followers of Islam in Turkey, Persia, Arabia, India, and A.frica. There never was such an opportunity before.
Mohammed arose six centuries after Christ. Six centuries before Christ another great religious teacher taught who called himself only a man, but whom hundreds of millions have made a god. His statues fill eastern Asia. In stone or bronze or marble or mud or wood they look down from the hilltops of Korea, from the temples of Japan and China, from the shrines and pagodas of Burma and Siam. Buddhism has left its devotees as feeble and needy as Islam has left its devotees needy and fierce. The whole Buddhist world has been opened up. The Gospel is preacht even in Tibet. From far northern Laos, Mr. and Mrs. Dodd write: We have never known any people so cordial and friendly. They are so delighted to find foreigners who can speak their language. How we wish we could stay right here, and water the seed which there is only time to sow! Sometimes we realize that we have penetrated to the center of a wide field of darkness. The nearest point of light on the south is Chiung-Hai; on the west at Mone, about fifteen days from here, is the Baptist mission; to the north, even farther away in China, is the • Condenst from The Christian Endeavor World.
Inland mission, while on the east, weeks away, are the French Catholics, of many of whom it may be said, we fear, that the light that is in them is darkness. .
Years ago Buddhism lost what hold it had upon Korea; and the 12,000,000 of its people, fearing spirits and bowing down to devils, turn an open mind to the free teaching and an open heart to the loving spirit of the Gospel. Korea is waiting to be won for Christ or lured into a godless wilderness.
And when have China and Japan presented such opportunities? On the 17th of July the revised treaties introduced Japan to an equality with the West, and removed the sense of inferiority which under the old treaties had made Japan fretful and nervous. Free residence anywhere, and a sort of government license of evangelists and churches, of teachers and schools, capable of abuse, but still promising good, it may be hoped, make this "seem like a second opening of the country."
The greatest of all Buddhist lands, which is scarcely Buddhist, because its spirit has been so absolutely shaped by its own great agnostic teacher, Confucius, nearly fell like an avalanche into the ways of the West, and an eager study of the religion of the West as the result of the reform movement of Kang Yu Wei last year. Though that movement collapst, these 50.000,000 homes are open to us if we will go to them. If immediate steps are taken, we may expect to see speedy and marvelous results in the turning of the millions of China to Jesus Christ, and this crisis in China made an immediate blessing to the rest of the human race; whereas, if we neglect to take adequate measures, God may take our opportunity away.
In India two hundred and eighty-six million people are living under the British flag, and civilization is eating away their inherited notions and crumbling the pedestals of their idols. Christianity is free to do just what its disciples wish or attempt. It is a matter, not of making opportunities, but of accepting them. These are recent appeals: From Hyderabad a missionary working among the hill tribes writQs, "In a population of 500,000 my wife and I are the only missionaries. "Chanda, with an area of 10,749 square miles, with 2,700 villages and a population of over 690,000, has twenty missionaries. " BaIlia is entirely unoccupied. The population is 924,763."
As for Africa, the railroads are creeping in regardless of the lives that are spent, laid almost like ties under the gleaming rails. The mili- tary expeditions move up and down, to and fro, heedless of ruin and agony, eager for glory and national fame. Shall a continent be open to the trader and the trooper, and be shut to the messenger of the God who owns all lands and all souls?
And the countries from which the stifling hand of the Churcr. of Rome, cold and throttling as the hand of Islam when left to work its inevitable result, has withheld life and progress and liberty, have one by one opened to light and freedom. The century has witnest the political domination of the pope slipping .off our hemisphere and off the islands of the seas. Forty million people in South America alone, only toucht as yet with the message of a buoyant and delivering Gospel, contribute an opportunity lying like Lazarus at our door.
These are our opportunities. God has done His part and given them to us. As Dr. A. J. Gordon said: "I have long since ceased to pray, 'Lord Jesus have compassion on a lost world!' I remember the day and the hour when I seemed to hear the Lord rebuking me for making such a prayer. He seemed to say to me, 'I have had compassion upon a lost world, and now it is for you to have compassion. . … I have given my heart; give your hearts.' "
1900.] THE WORLD-CHRISTIAN AND NON-CHRISTIAN
THE WORLD-CHRISTIAN AND NON-CHRISTIAN.
BY HAROLD MACFARLANE.
For the purpose of this article the Christian population of the world is taken as 477,220,000 (including Roman and Greek Catholics), and non- Christian as 952,650,000, which are practically the figures supplied by M.
de Flaix.
Fig. 1 shows how the different religions of the world compare in numbers one' with another.
A glance at the four white columns that represent the Christians on this earth, and at the seven black columns representing the heathen, is sufficient to show that the latter greatly outnumber the former.
In Fig. 2, the small squares drawn at the left- hand bottom corner of the figures each represent one million (1,000,000) souls. When we compare them to the great squares of which they form so small a part, we have FIG. !.-THE RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD. some idea of the magni- tude of the earth's popula- tion. If portrayed on the black square the population of England (31,000,000), would be represented by a white strip down one of its sides having the same depth as the small square in the corner.
In Fig. 3 the portion of the circle that appears white represents the Christian population of the continent portrayed, the black portion being drawn in proportion to the number of non-Christian inhabitants.
The English-speaking people of the FIG, n.-CHRISTIANS (Protestant, Papal, Greek, etc.) FIG. III. – CHRISTIAN AND NON-CHRISo AND NON-CHRISTIANS. TIAN POPULATIONS OF THE GLOBE.
* Condenst from The Christian Herald, by whose kind permission we reproduce the accompanying cuts.
earth number more than one-twelfth of the world's population. Of the English-speaking races almost a quarter are Episcopalians; three-twentieths are Methodists; one-eighth are of the Church of Rome; a tenth are Presbyterians; three-fortieths are Baptists; one-twentieth are Congregationalists; Lutherans claim 2~4 per cent.; Unitarians 2 per cent., whilst 13~ per cent. are unclassified. There is still 4>:{ per cent. of the Englishspeaking population to account for, but they, alas! are religionless.
A SAINT IN SUMATRA.* THE LIFE AND WO~K OF HESTER NEEDHAM.
There are lives about which we hear nothing until the light has flickered out, and somewhere the world is darkened by its loss. But the shadow is only that of bereavement, for the influence of character and work lives on, kindling new fires to the glory of God. The history of missions has attested this again and again. If, when the corn waves golden, the sowers, the glorious pioneilrs in the field, are forgotten, it matters little, since He who sees the beginning as well as the end, awards the guerdon of service. So will it be, we think, in the case of Hester Needham. The story of this sainted woman is a blend of Henry Martyn, Allen Gardiner, and David Brainerd. Her letters and diaries glow with a love for souls, and show the footprints of one who has walkt with God.
Her foreign missionary labor began when she heard of "a place in Sumatra where for forty years the heathen have been asking for a missionary, and none have gone, and now the Mohammedans are going, but no missionary for Christ." This was her call, and she at once went to Germany to offer hemelf for the Barmen Mission.
She entered upon the work among the Battas of Sumatra at the age of 46, and for eight years she labored there. Then from a life of arduous toil in the teeth of extreme physical suffering and debility, she was taken to the Eternal Rest; in her own words, "Thankful to stay, but delighted to go."
In order to be appreciated, the details of her work in the East must be read from her letters, graphic and full of sympathetic humor as they are. The results can not be tabulated, for hers was essentially a pioneer work of personal influence. The real lesson of her life is-what may be accomplisht in the face of the most overwhelming disadvantages. Money, social position, and gifts, and even a sphere of great usefulness she forsook, knowing that her place could be supplied, and at an age when many consider their working days over, and already suffering from a spinal complaint, she braved a life of incessant hardship and humiliation, in a trying climate.
The Battas are outwardly a singularly attractive people; refined, gentle, simple in tastes and charming in manner. Their mode of living, too, is far from disagreeable, even to a European, and Miss Needham found little difficulty in adapting herself wholly to it. Some thought that among such a race there was little need or scope for mission work. Setting aside the duty of witnessing for Christ the Lord among them, here is a specimen of what lay beneath this fair exterior: Perhaps there may be [some] who doubt whether Christianity is • Condenst from the .Moravian .Mission Reporter, and the Regions Beyond.
A SAINT IN SUMATRA
much needed by a simple people who live by their rice fields, so I will mention one of their former customs. They would steal a child from a hostile tribe, treat him and feed him well, and then, when the working season began, would ask him if he was willing to protect the fields from evil. He was made to say "Yes," and then taken to the fields, red-hot lead poured into his mouth, and he was buried. alive and left there. As to their cannibalism, it was not merely that their enemies became their food, but they were tied to stakes, and the flesh cut in slices from their living bodies.
Others may be inclined to take the contrary view, that bringing the Gospel to such degraded beings is casting pearls before swine. Let such read the address of a Batta Ohristian, a poor leper, to his countrymen on Acts iv: 13, on the unlearned and ignorant men of whom it was witnest that" they had been with Jesus: "
"Yes," he said, "that is it: we must be with Jesus, and all will be well. I have to work for my living, and God enables me to work. The sun beats down upon me, but I do not mind it, because I am with Jesus; and all my limbs ache, but I do not feel it, because I am with Jesus; and the rain pours down, but I do not heed it, because I am with Jesus. When I sit at home, I am so weak and ill that I can hardly speak above a whisper; but as soon as I get into this church, I know the message must be made to reach the people, and I am enabled to speak loud because I am with Jesus. If no one helps to support me, I don't let it trouble me; but oh, I do get troubled when you turn away from Jesus and will not give up your sins!"
Miss Needham went out under the auspices of the well-known Rhen- ish Mission, which has its headquarters in Barmen, Germany, and car- ries on work among the Batta people in the Dutch island of Sumatra. * The success of its work has been extraordinary; but it had no represen- tative in Mandailing, the district to which she felt specially called. The evangelization of the Dutch colonies is carried on under exceptionally difficult circumstances. A large proportion of the natives are Moslems, ruled by more or less powerful sultans (or chiefs), and in order to avoid conflict with these the Dutch authorities often refuse to grant permis- sion for Ohristians to carryon any active propaganda within their juris- diction. A hindrance of this nature stood in the way of mission work in Mandailing for several years after Miss Needham's arrival. She stayed first at one station and then at another in the Sitindung district (Mr.
Johansen's), working among women and girls. Tho often unable to move, owing to her spinal complaint, she was carried from one room, and even from one village to another. Vhen she had establisht the work, and built at her own expense a "PrinceRs House," in which to carry it on, she removed to a new field, leaving other workers in her place. But all this time she never lost sight of Mandailing.
At last a native evangelist, a most devoted blind man named Barti- mreus, was willing to go with his wife and family, and Miss Needham went with them to direct and help in the work, accompanied by a Ohris- tian Batta girl whom she had trained to be her personal attendant in her almost helpless state. These lived as one family in a native house. , They were not allowed to carryon any aggressive work for fear of pro- * There are now nineteen missionary stations in Sumatra, twenty-two European mission- aries, and about four hundred native workers, of whom about one hundred are paid. The church members number 22,779. Dr. Scheiber, the Director of the Society, says: "I do not know of any other part of the mission field, with the exception of some parts of Java, where such large numbers of Mohammedans have been won for Christ as among the Battas of Sumatra."
voking Moslem riots-so said the Dntch controlleur-but they might visit in the surrounding villages and receive visits, and under consider- able restrictions might circulate the Scriptures in the Mandailing dialect.
This"lfiss Needham had to teach to herself, having already iearned the Batta language. She wrote: We have power and opportunity here to live out Christianity in the very midst of the people. If our singing is clear, and our meetings regu- lar, the neighbors must needs see and hear, and so far all their houses are open to us, tho they know perfectly well by this time that paying a visit means preaching the Gospel. Even from one village to another, the news has spread that every Monday we start off for some Village, spending obviously both money and strength, with the sole object of spreading the Gospel of Christ. . . .
Well done, Bishop Selwyn! I have just read in a German paper his answer to the question, ""Vhat can I do for Christ?" "Go where He i8 not, and take Him with you!" That is what I call concentrated essence of missionary teaching.
I can go and live in Mandailing or anywhere else, only I must not be called a missionary, nor build churches, nor open schools. Well, I am perfectly satisfied to be called a Christian, and do as I have been doing here to forward the things of the Kingdom. . . . If mission work is right at all, and if it is also to include Mohammedan countries, thi8 most certainly i8 right, being contained in the Divine commission.
Illness of a serious character soon limited Miss Needham's traveling, except in a sort of invalid's c!lair, which gave a little ease to what she called" her poor throbbing spine." Her sufferings increast apace, but no murmur is heard, nothing but a sense of the goodness of God. She gives a pretty picture of the way she used to lie preaching the Gospel to the native women.
March 23d. A new work has just come to me. I p:et some one to carry my chair, and go out and sit just outside the grounds by the roadside on the three chief market days to speak to the women as they come home, between 4 and 5 P. 1'1. Friday is the largest market" and on that day I began. Tho driven in by the rain at the end of half an hour, I had two groups round me, ten first, and fourteen others, and we had quite a nice time of singing, reading, speaking, and prayer. On Saturday and Tuesday there were fewer and more straggly, but perhaps quite as profitable, or more so, as two or three women stayed and had a long talk with me, and were quite surprised to hear that white people were sinners.
Miss Needham seems to have appealed in vain for the missionary societies to come and take up the work, and as her end drew near she turned her eyes wistfully to the Salvation Army as a last hope for the people. Too ill now to move, she began to prepare for her closing scene Being left in peace and quietness, I took the opportunity of writing a kind of "wind-up" letter to Commandant Herbert Booth. Dropsy having set in in my feet since the middle of January and gradually creeping upward, there is no knowing how soon it may become the chariot to take me home; so I poured out my heart to him about the dropsy, Bartimeus' precarious health, and my wish to complete the chain of four houses from north to south of Maindailing, only two being as yet complete; to have an experienced Christian worker in each, living with a native evangelist and his family, to do the cooking, mind the house, teach the language, and fill up preaching, which must need be most halting the first year.
March 10th. My arms are like sticks, and my legs like pillars. Shall I not be glad when the proportion gets right, and I may flyaway home, tho according to my present feelings I should prefer to be carried rather than have the exertion of flying.
On May 12th, 1897, this poor and devoted soul past to her eternal peace. She died among her black people, breathing out her last
ISLAM IN WEST AFRICA
messages of love to them, and showing forth in death as in life the praises of Rim who had called her out of darkness into Ris marvelous light. According to her express wish, no mourning of the conventional sort was to celebrate her home-going.
In weakness and acutest suffering Miss Needham was living the daily life of the poor natives, eating their food, living in their houses, and wearing their clothes.
Were these years wasted in Mandailing, when scarce a convert could be named, and none has been found to carryon the work she only laid down with her last breath ? We venture to believe that no work for the Lord is so potent nor so lasting in its effects as a simple, wholly consecrated life spent in publishing the good tidings. "Ye are our epistle," says the apostle, "known and read of all men, forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ." Such an epistle was Rester Needham, and such are needed throughout the Moslem world to-day.
ISLAM IN WEST AFRICA. * BY C. F. HUPFELD.
Leader of a recent Geological Expedition along the Gold Coast.
Whoever marches from the coast into the interior will not at first see much of Islam. It is true one meets along the main routes, and especially in the larger marts, many Mohammedan dealers, mostly from the Rausa states, recognizable by their type of face, their ample clothing, their friendly and intelligent bearing toward the European. The majority are on the march, carrying their high-piled loads of European wares of the most various sorts far into the inland. Only a small proportion have settled in the more important trade centers, such as Agome- Palime. But these few people, so sharply distinct from the permanent population, can not have any influence upon its religious views.
First, in Kete, the most important commercial town of our region, do we gain a full impression of the significance of Islam. Mosques, with Mohammedan priests and scribes, call our attention to this culture coming out of the north. Thenceforth, going on into the interior, we meet with Islam at every step. In the larger towns there are everywhere well-organized Mohammedan communities, and altho the chiefs are, as a rule, heathen, yet one of their first councilors is invariably a Mohammedan, and always a particularly important personage. In the larger places we find mosques, in many smaller at least oratories, besides thoroughly organized bodies of priests; here and there even schools, in which the sons of the more influential men learn reading and writing, and something of the Koran. This, to be sure, is but a weak reflection of the glory of the Rausa states. yet enough to make an impression.
Yet we must not over-value the real might of Islam. Many regions have thus far kept themselves wholly free of it, and even in those places which at first make a strongly Mohammedan impression, we soon notice that the number of the instructed Mohammedans is but a small one. In North Togo-one district excepted-I do not believe that the number of genuine Mohammedans is more than five per cent. of the population.
Yet that Islam has hitherto been advancing in these regions * Condenst from the Basel Missions·Magazin (November, 1899).
is beyond doubt. It is the weight of the snperior Mohammedan culture which, at least in the north, is quite universally recognized. Conceive, on the one side, the heathen, hardly clothed, awkwardly ignorant, often hardly able to use his native tongue more than two leagues beyond his own village; and on the other the far-traveled Mohammedan, finding his Hausa language everywhere serviceable, well informed, amply clothed, often on horseback. The difference is simply immense.
To how many questions the stereotyped answer is: "'Ve don't know that; we have to ask the Mohammedans about that!" The thought begins to glimmer in the heathen mind, that there is something higher than his fetish worship, and that for him, in the first place, can only be Islam. The number of the real Mohammedans is as yet very small, but I am persuaded that within a few decades we shall in many places have to reckon with Mohammedan majorities, and, beyond question, the political guidance of the states, if things proceed as now, will fall more and more into Mohammedan hands.
But the result of a further extension of Islam is a culture which runs exactly athwart our Christian culture, and we shall hardly find laws or men that can do justice to both points of view.
The necessary consequence of this is an antagonism of the Mohammedan element against the European control. Highly, therefore, as we value the Mohammedans now, because they are the soul of the inland trade, sympathetically as their relatively high culture now affects us, yet we must none the less be clearly aware that in a later future, when we shall really begin to rule the land, we shall find in them our most embittered antagonists. Nor may we forget that Islam is the one unifying force capable of welding together the mutually antagonistic negro tribes for a common attack against the domination of the Europeans, an attack so much the more dangerous for us, as Togo, on account of its unhealthy climate, can never be a place for European emigration; tha Europeans, therefore, will always be a vanishing minority.
Accordingly, quite independently of religious regards, it lies in the national interest t.hat as soon as possible the advance of Islam should be checkt. Of course, this can not be brought about by forcibly keeping back the heathen in their present low stage of culture, but only by offering them another and a higher possibility of development. This is the work of Christian missions.
THE CHI~FS OF BASU'fOLAND. * BY M. ALFRED CASSALIS.
With intelligent chiefs, like Khama, resolutely forsaking the old pagan routine to strike into the path of progress, one might make something out of these Basutos, who show themselves sllch good children. But the best efforts of the government or of the mission are too often broken on the apathy or the covert hostility of the chiefs.
*Basutoland, lying south of the Orange Free State, is British territory, and must be more or less involved in the present unhappy war. It is principally interesting to us as being the seat of the flourishing French Protestant Mission. The following is translated and condenst from the Journal des Missions. The author comes from a family oonnected with the beginning of the mission.
THE CHIEF"! OF BASUTOLAND
These chiefs, we must needs own, are sometimes irksome. But would it be well to sweep them away? They are still the one central power which maintains the cohesion of the tribe and makes of the Basutos a nation. Where they have disappeared, there is no longer a nationality. What are the Zulus, the Pondo, the Fingu, the Bapeli, the Bechuana, and the Matabele of Lobengula? The civil and political life is here concentrated around the chief. As long as he is there, there is a bond, a force of concentration and conservation; if he disappears, this will disappear with him.
Besides, to suppress them, there would needs be a war, and a war in Basutoland-oh, no; anything rather than that! Better be patient with them. Even the most disagreeable chiefs have never restrained us from founding out-stations and from evangelizing as much as we wished. It appears to me that this is all which we have a right to require of them.
Nor should we forget what these chiefs have done for their people. We know what the tribe and the country were when Moshesh was a youth. The Basutos still call that epoch mehla ea lif agane-the time of the great wars and of the great distress! Then let us recognize that whatever wrong they may have done or may yet do to the missionary and civilizing work, Moshesh, with his subtle and tortuous diplomacy, Letsie, with his prudence and his loyalty, more boisterous than sincere, it is true, supported by a brandy bottle on either hand, have succeeded, despite a thousand obstacles, in the midst of the almost continual state of ebullition in which South Africa has been for fifty years, and with the powerful patronage of England, in maintaining their territory intact,. their tribe in continual growth, and in securing for themselves a considerable measure of independence. This now is not so bad for savages, and the dynasty of the Ba-Kuena has not yet deserved ill of its country.
And then, if we are frank with ourselves we shall also be not without a certain obligation to a mea culpa; we have been, in the past at least, a trifle credulous with them. We have been too ready-say thirty or thirty-five years ago-to believe in the conversion of the chiefs. But they are a thousand leagues from the Gospel! They can not understand it. To convert them would require a miracle like that on the way to Damascus. All is possible to God, I firmly believe; but you will grant me that such a miracle is rare.
I believe that I do not exaggerate at all in saying that, in the whole of South Africa, from Zambesi to the Cape, and from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, there is but one solitary great chief that is a disciple to Christ-this is Khama. As to our chiefs here, their conversion was merely the fruit of their imagination or of their duplicity, and they have come out of the church just as they went into it, quickly and in a mass.
In brief, to strive to have with our chiefs the best relations possible, not to alienate them by too stiff and unpliable an attitude, to profit by their influence when they are disposed to put it at the service of the good cause, without for this leaning on them-the Gospel has no need of being shored up-to show them that in spite of all their opposition we love them, them whom Christ woul.d fain embrace in His love; to pray that God may renew for them the miracle of Damascus; this meseems, ought to be our attitude toward them. As to the special problem which the question of the chiefs presents, the coming time will charge itself with that.
DELIVERANCES FROM DEATH IN CHINA.
In many lands the life of a missionary is fraught with trials and perils of which those at home have little conception. There are, of course, all sorts and conditions of mission fields, but to the true mission- ary none are "easy berths." We give the following incidents that our readers may be brought into closer sympathy with those who labor amid difficulties and dangers on the frontiers, and so that Christians at home may be led to pray more constantly and definitely for them. We also record, with thanksgiving, these further evidences that our God heareth prayer and careth for those who put their trust in Him.
Rev. W. J. Hunnex, of the China Inland Mission, stationed at Nan- ch'ang, Kiangsi province, writes of imminent peril and divine deliver- ance, on January 21st, 1899, when he was leaving the city in a boat with his wife and three children. He says: * We started about 3.30 P. M., and all went well until about 5 P. M., when passing one of the busiest parts of the city, a number of boats, filled with excited men and women, suddenly surrounded us. The women were screaming and crying for their children, while the men were soon occupied in the more congenial occupation of destroying our boat and its contents. This went on for about half an hour, our chief concern being to avoid the blows aimed at us. By God's goodness, we received but little personal injury. Our boat was close to some large rafts; the people on shore, therefore, were also able to attack us. The attack on our boat became so serious that we tried to escape over the rafts. In doing so, our little girl, Louise, fell into the deep water, but I was able to rescue her. Quite exhausted, with clothes torn and wet, we struggled back into the boat, to wait until the Lord should stretch out his hand to help us.
Just at this moment, Mr. and Mrs. Pownall, missionaries from Wuch'en, came along, in their very strong boat. We sought refuge on their boat, which was immediatelyattackt by the mop, who could, however, make but little impression on it. At this time a military official arrived with soldiers and gunboats. The mob on shore was large and threatening. For several hours, Mr. Pownall and I, with the four boatmen, rowed hard against the strong wind, in order that we might anchor just below the city. The mob on shore followed us for a long time, and the military official was so alarmed that he made several attempts to escape from our boat, and at last succeeded. At 11 P. M. we anchored across the river opposite a quiet part of the city. A Chinese gunboat anchored near by. The next day I past through the city in a chair without molestation, and went to see the district magistrate. He explained that seven children were missing, just at the time that we were leaving the city, and the report had gone abroad that we had the bodies of four dead children on our boat; hence the attack. He agreed to issue a proclamation to warn and instruct "the stupid people," to punish the ringleaders, and to compensate the boatman for the damage done to his boat. He also inquired as to our own personal losses.
When I reacht the banks of the river, on my return, I found a large crowd assembled. Several women, greatly excited, were crying out for their children. On my approach there were loud cries of "Beat the foreign devil," "Kill the kidnapper." The mob tried to seize me, and almost succeeded in doing so, but I rusht to a small boat, followed by the evangelist, who, disregarding himself, did his best to hold back the mob.
* Condenst from China's Millions.
DELIVERANCES FROM DEATH IN CHINA
'Ve pusht off amid a shower of stones, and it was only the presence of the gunboats that prevented the people from coming off in boats to attack us.
In the meantime we had secured another boat, upon which what was left ·of our belongings was placed, and we were soon on our way to Kiu- kiang. We were exceedingly weary, but our hearts were thankful for the manifest interposition of our Heavenly father, in thus preserving us in the hour of danger and distress.
Letters since received speak of everything being quiet in the city. The four missing children have been found, some persons have been punisht, and a very satisfactory proclamation has been put out by the magistrate.
Rev. C. H. Parsons, of Pao-ning, Si-ch'uan, writes as follows in reference to his recent wonderful deliverance from death on January 25th, when returning by boat from Ch'ong-k'ing to Pao-ning, with an escort of four unarmed soldiers, a coolie, and a Christian servant.
While stopping at a place called T'u-t'oh for breakfast, I noticed a lot of people with flags collected on the hills on the opposite side of the river. I was told they were the militia. We entered our boat, and, as a number of people collected, I suggested that we put off at once, altho the captain and one or two of the passengers were still on shore. The soldiers assented, and with the one boatman they got the boat off, intending to take on the others higher up. Then as the boat was rowed on, crowds collected on both sides of the stream and on the hillsides. It was market day, and many people had gathered. We had heard that the rebels, to the number of a hundred or two, were expected, being one of the fragments of U-man-tsi's late army. The people were evidently very excited, and the militia gathered in force. I myself thought it unlikely that the rebels were really coming. Presently the other passengers became excited and wanted to land with their luggage, but the people on both banks refused permission. The boatman became very much agitated. I urged him to go straight on and land the passengers where there were no people about, or go back toward Ch'ong-k'ing. The man would do neither. There were loud reports from the riverside, and a shot came whizzing over the boat. The soldiers got me to lie down in the boat. All seemed white with terror. The boatman lost his head, and regardless of consequences, ran the boat to the shore, in a rocky place, where a lot of people were awaiting us with spears, etc. You may imagine one's feelings. I was praying audibly in the bottom of the boat, pouring out my heart to the Lord, reminding Him that He could deliver in this extremity.
The boat reacht the land, and the passengers, who were all prepared, sprang ashore with their luggage. I saw a man who let them pass waiting with raised sword, probably for me. Then I stood up in the stern of the boat, faced the crowd, and tried to speak. I saw a man pointing a rude sort of gun full at me. Others had spears. Then several sprang on the boat, one with no weapon, and thrusts were made at me. The Christian servant stood with me in the stern of the boat, and tried to ward off the spears. I dropt over the side of the boat into deep water to escape the spear thrusts, and, having a vague idea of swimming away, tho I felt there was little hope of being saved from drowning. An oar was thrown to me, probably by the servant, but I could not get it. A few strokes, and then I saw a sedan chair! which had been carried o~ th~
t~p of the boat, had floated out at right angles to the boat, and I made for one of its long poles. I believe the men on the boat were still thrusting out after me.
In my extremity the Lord wonderfully opened the way of deliverance. A Chinese gunboat had come up, and a man, I think, reacht down a pole for me to grasp. I saw another man leaning over the side with a sword in his hand, and really did not know whether they were friends or foes, but I clung to the side, utterly powerless to get on board, my wadded gown, etc., saturated with water, weighing me down. I askt the men to help, and two or three assisted me in and I lay down on the deck in a heap. Those on shore yelled for me and made as if they would fire, whereupon the gunboat men put one of their antiquated iron cannon in position, and said, "If you do, we will fire." This was repeated when the crowd again seemed to be for attacking. They cried, "Give up the foreigner." The gunboat men said, "Wait a bit and we will moor presently." They kept the boat moving from side to side of the river, the crowds on either side being equally excited. I wanted them to start back to Ch'ong-k'ing, and kept asking what they intended to do, and why delay. After a long time it was thought safe for me to move to the lower part of the boat, and the men lit a fire to warm me.
The magistrate of the place and another man came alongside and had a conversation. The former promist to get me some dry clothes, and they left. There was a long delay, another gunboat came alongside. Some of the men went ashore, probably to have dinner, and to talk matters over about my being sent back to Ch'ong-k'ing. I had askt several times about my servant, but nothing was known of him, nor of the coolies or runners.
It was 4 o'clock before we finally left, I having been on board some four hours perhaps. The two cannons were taken off on to another boat, as also swords, etc. Two or three of the men went off, and others took their place. At last we started, with three men, and two or three passengers apparently. One of the latter very kindly loaned me a dry garment. We were able to go on by moonlight, and did not moor till midnight. Previous to that we were frequently challenged by people on shore, who seemed on the alert on account of the rebels. The men had to put on their uniforms and light their official lantern; and I tried to lie as hidden as possible. The captain slept on shore, and there was a good deal of delay before we left in the morning. We reacht Ch'ongk'ing near 10 A. M., and after some delay I came up to our own house in some of my wet clothes.
Ihad hoped that the servant had escaped and would have reacht herefirst and prepared the friends, but to my surprise, I found it was otherwise. Of course, all were surprised beyond measure, and they proceeded to do all they could for me.
One of the soldiers who escorted me returned, and reported that the poor servant's hand was injured, some fingers being cut off, and that he was held in captivity. * I praise God for my wonderful deliverance. "God is the Lord by whom we escape death." "I sought the Lord, and * We rejoice to be able to add that still more recent news tells of the Christian servant's escape a few days later. After being captured, bound, beaten, he was carried off, and no doubt would soon have been killed. But in answer to many prayers (a day was set apart in Ch'ong·k'ing for special prayer), God delivered him, by that very night causing a deHp sleep to come upon the twenty men who guarded him, and the servant, with his arms bound behind bim, escaped to Ch'ong.k'ing.
He heard me, and delivered me out of all my fears." "What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that He hath done unto me?"
May the life so graciously spared be fully yielded to God for His service and glory!
Miss Alice Harding, of Si-Hsiang, Shensi province, also writes of perils from robbers while traveling by boat.
About midnight we were disturbed by some men coming on to our boat. At first we thought that probably the captain and some of the men had gone away earlier in the evening, and were now returning.
Especially were we convinced of this when we heard the boatmen's cook begin to prepare a meal, which in due time was served. While it was being eaten our cook came to our door, called Mrs. Gray-Owen in a very subdued undertone, and said, "We have robbers on the boat; have you any firearms?" Mrs. Gray-Owen said, "No, but we have the Lord! " The man was very much distrest, and said, "What shall we do ?"
We at once realized our position, and felt that we could with confi- dence ask help of the One who has said, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." So we all knelt together in that dark midnight hour, feeling very helpless, for we knew that humanly speaking, we had no might against this band of wicked men. After casting the whole matter on the Lord, we felt calm, for the Lord gave us each the assurance that He would show forth His power. We decided that if the men came into our part of the boat we would allow them to look into all of our boxes and take what they wisht. We prepared to receive them, for we had no doubt that they would take at least our money. We were glad that we did not have much, but the loss of the little we had would have been very inconvenient.
We sat in the dark waiting until the meal was finisht. Then we heard the robbers ask for money. The captain said that he had none. Before they had eaten their meal they had made all inquiries about the passengers, and of course had been answered most politely by the boatmen, from fear of what the result might be if they were not humble before their enemies. Now they askt about our luggage. The boatmen told them that all they knew about our luggage was that we had a few boxes of books in the hold. Thereupon we heard the boards being removed. The robbers said they would open them and look for themselves. The men said that the customs house officers never lookt into our boxes. They then said, "You go in and ask the foreigners for some money for us." The men said, "They are our guests; we could not think of such a thing." The robbers then said, "Well, we will go in ourselves." One of the men said, "You may if you are bold enough, but remember that the foreigners' card will take them into the presence of the mandarin." They went on talking for a little while, and then to our intense relief we heard the men going off the boat, the boatmen telling them in a very ~gracious why to "go slowly," while I am sure, in their hearts, they wisht them to go as quickly as possible.
Our faithless hearts could hardly take in the fact that the Lord had put His fear upon these evil men, and they were really going so quietly. When they had gone we knelt again to praise the Lord for the deliverance, for we know that it was He alone who had turned them back from coming and turning out our boxes. When they had gone the captain carne and called Mrs. Gray-Owen. Poor man! he was still very agitated, for he could not understand why these men had gone off without taking anything from us. Mrs. Gray-Owen told him that we had been calling upon our God, and that He had caused them to go away, and would not allow them to return. The captain did not feel so certain about the matter, as he knew these men well, so he gave orders to have the boat anchored in midstream. The men did not return, for which we praise the Lord.
EDITORIALS.
A Step in Advance. and importance will be given the precedence in the REVIEW, but the vVe believe that the slight changes usual scheme of monthly topics will be observed as far as practic- which may be noticed in the make- able, so that the progress of the up of the REVIEW this month will Gospel throughout the world will be presented in the course of the commend itself to our readers. The year: most prominent of these changes is January-Review and Outlook. the discontinuance of the Interna- February-The Chinese Empire. tional Department. The depart- March-Mexico, etc., City Missions. ment goes, but its editor remains. April-India, Woman's Work. May-Indo·China, Malaysia. This step is taken in the interest of June-Africa, Industrial Missions. July-Islands, Indians, etc. greater unity in the REVIEW as a August-Papal Europe. September-Japan, Korea, Medical Work. whole. Dr. Gracey himself recom- October-Greek and Mohammedan Land•. mends the change, and will con- November-South America, Young People. December-Jews, Educational Missions. tinue to act as associate editor, The Turn of the Oentury. representing the International Mis- As we enter upon the last year of sionary Union, whose interests are the 19th century, many attempts are being made to show the con- so dear not only to his heart, but to trast between the present and past -100 years ago. The distance is all the editorial staff. too great, and the difference in most cases is between nothing and The following communication present results. It is difficult to from Dr. Gracey will speak for attempt the comparison even with half a century ago. It is an enor- itself: mous task on many lines, to make a comparison even with a decade ago. To the Members of the Interna- There are some contrasts, how- i'ional Missionary Union: ever, not so commonly presented, You will observe that the" In- that ought to be emphasized. We recognize that the best argument ternational Department" is discon- for Christianity is the holy living tinued with the present issue of the of Christians. A hundred years ago, REVIEW. This does not in the roughly speaking, there were here least interfere with any relation of and there on the outer edges of the Union to this magazine, but is heathen lands some few " living designed to give the excellent epistles." These were not without papers contributed by the members their power. "Send me the misof the Union greater prominence in sionary, he will not deceive me," the body of contributed articles. was the way one of the princes You will have the fullest considera- of India bespoke his faith in the tio~ in all parts of the REVIEW, practical embodiment of the and I shall be glad to receive your Christian creed in Schwartz. In communications even more freely many lands the native non-Christhan in the past, from papers to tians reposed, and do repose, faith postal-cards. in the missionary not accorded (Signed) J. T. GRACEY, President. to anyone of their own religion. But a hundred years ago the Rochester, N. Y. heathen saw these evidences of The other modifications have the same object in view-that of increas- ing the unity and efficiency of the magazine as a whole. The editors will work together, endeavoring to make each part of the REVIEW up-to-date, interesting, and helpful.
The important.events of the month, which bear directly on the progress of the Kingdom of God, will be chronicled in the first few pages of the Intelligence. Events and themes of great present interest
1900.J EDiTORIALS
Christianity chiefly, almost exclu- stores, and some gave money as sively, in Europeans. Now they well."
have solved the problem whether Another thing which could not this religion can become incarnate have been seen a century ago, is in the same way in their own peo- the aggressive element of the na- ple. Now they witness the lives, tive church. When the English and hear the testimony, and note Bishop of Uganda visited the region the manner of dying, of Christians of the Mountains of the Moon to of their own race, and tribe, and the far west of Uganda, he found tongue. twelve churches capable of accom- The general moral uprightness of modating three thousand worship- the native Christian community is ers, two thousand of whom were in most countries observable by able to read or were learning to non-Christians where they dwell. read. The pioneers of this work Instances could be multiplied in were native evangelists.
almost every country where mis- The contrast in "open doors," or sions are establisht. Rev. Dr. rather of "doors off the hinges, " is Gordon, of Japan, at the anni- commonly noticed, but that of the versary of the American Board difference, between the recruiting said, that one of the most instruct- .possibilities of a century ago and ive things in Japan to-day is the the present is fresh and forceful.
confidence which many Japanese A hundred years ago the great officials and other men of influence Church of England Missionary So- show in their Christian country- ciety was unable to find a single men, tho they are themselves more missionary in England whom they or less indifferent to Christianity. could send to carry the Gospel afar, When three years ago the empress and had to turn to the Moravians dowager died, large sums of money for the personnel of their evangel- were handed down for benevolent istic force. They have sent over uses, and in many cases Christians two thousand missioparies abroad, were called upon by their non- more than half of whom have gone Christian countrymen to adminis- since 1880. There are hundreds of ter these funds. The Lord Bishop educated men and women now of "Vorcester, in his annual sermon waiting to be accepted and ap- before the Church Missionary So- pointed to foreign service; and it is ciety last May, instanced the time understood that none are too tal- of ruinous floods in northern Japan, ented or too well-qualified for this which rendered homeless thirty service. The very highest order of thousand people. The Buddhist men and women are needed, and monks and priests of Hakodate of- these are available far beyond the fered to collect and distribute limit of any missionary treasury.
money and clothing among the dis- . The above hints will suggest that trest, and met with insignificant it is not necessary to thresh old response. But when the native straw, to show the contrast be- Christians appealed to their towns- tween the missionary status of a people, and sent round carts sur- century ago and now. J. T. G.
mounted by Red-Cross banners, the people shouted, "Here come the The World's Missionary Oonferenoe. Christians!" and they crammed clothing into the carts, even taking Preparations continue for the off what they were wearing, and great missionary conference in New throwing them in; and" shopkeep- York in April. One great fear is ers gave new goods out of their lest our brethren of the committee
be tempted to have tod marty ad- animated presentation of this in- formation in their church services dresses at a single session. Already and prayer-meetings, as a subject of study and prayer, a work of the arrangements for one of the mental and spiritual preparation may go on for the next few months opening meetings include three ad- which will be invaluable to the full understanding and appreciation of dresses of only twenty minutes the great questions which will be discust at the conference next each. Such themes as the" Review April.
of the Century," "Oentennial Sta- The conference is interdenomina- tional; over one hundred societies tistics," and "The Superintending have already responded to the invi- tation, and delegates are expected Providence of God in Foreign Mis- from Great Britain and the Oonti- nent besides missionary workers sions," are too great to be satis- from all parts of the world.
factorily presented within that The outposts of the battle-line of the Ohristian Ohurch are con- space of time. Perhaps it is in- fronted by overwhelming numbers to be reacht, and the cry that comes evitable that, with such a brilliant back to the Ohurch is for the ten- fold reenforcement to meet the array of speakers, and such a mul- pressure of this appalling host of men and women without knowl- titude of themes, the time should edge of Ohrist. The conference ought to answer this cry by arous- be thus limited, but many notable ing the Ohurch to a united forward movenwnt for the permanent occuspeakers, like the late Dr. John pation of every unevangelized land with stations fully manned with Oairns and Prof. Ohristlieb, can those comfetent to teach as well as preach al things He has comscarcely get under weigh within manded us.
that time. We fear that many an A World-Wide Revival.
address may be cut off when its Mr. Abner L. Frazer, of Youngs- introduction is scarce completed. town, Ohio, earnestly asks God's We give space to the following people to make this great ecumen- communication from the program ical council a new point of de· committee, whose aim it is thus to parture in spiritual life. Mr. Fra- enlist prayers and cooperation in zer's letter deserves to be given in the effort to make the conference a substance. He suggests: permanent blessing to the whole A celebration which shall empha- size "the Gospel of Ohrist as the Ohurch: power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth." What If the conference is to meet in it has done proves what it can do the" fulness of the blessing of the in elevating, redeeming, and saving Gospel of Ohrist," and carry the degraded humanity, and in correct- Ohurch forward with it into the ing crime, immorality, and vice, coming century, with the impulse and in building up noble citizens of of a mighty movement, immediate stalwart Ohristian character. and permanent, it must itself be lifted and carried through on a For such a celebration a camfloodtide of prayers. In other paign of prayer and education in words, there should be preparation every church in our country will on the part of the whole Ohurch give a fitting preparation. If a and a preparation that centers in national religious revival should prayer. It is no spirit of ·conven- follow from the Holy Spirit detionalism, but a profound sense of scending upon the churches and need, that leads us to call upon the people, they would be better pre- Ohurch to pray-to pray, not once, pared not only for a grand celebranor twice, but continually, till it may truly be said that the whole Ohurch is, with one accord, waiting on God for the outpouring of His Spirit· upon the ecumenical conference, that through it there may be a renewal of consecration, and that the spirit of wisdom may enter into and fill the hearts and minds of believers everywhere.
If the pastors and missionary workers in the Ohurch will excite the interest of their people by an
EDITORtALS
don, but also to enter upon the tributed by all the churches to one twentieth century with men, common fund, and administered women, and money consecrated for from one treasury, and hence with the vast and 6'lorious work then to no missionary societies whatever. be done. Such a religious revival The truth is, that the one thing to and consecration should be the ascertain is how to get the churches desirable and objective aim of the to become most intelligent and most celebration, for which the unusual zealous in the extension of the kingoccasion is as auspicious as the dom of Christ; and that is not necessity is great. ascertainable by any preconceived theory. Hence some of the great The first thing to be done is to boards have decided at least to arouse all Christians to prayer, make a trial of the "living link" consecration, and appreciating policy. knowledge of Christian work generally, and of the missionary The American Board reports on work especially. Necessarily this its experiment of last year that will have to begin with the com- twenty churches have each assumed paratively few who are conscious the responsibility of sustaining a of the necessity of a general re- missionary. The financial result vival, and who have faith that is encouraging. Prior to the prayers will be answered and adoption of this plan these twenty efforts will be blest because it churches gave an average a little is God's work, and by His power below the per capita giving of the among men. whole denomination; they now are pledged to give twice the per capita Cities, towns, and villages should average donation of the denominawork up their own celebration, for tion; or, an advance from fiftywhich the central committee might nine cents to $1.37 per member. make suggestions. These are average, not exceptional churches. Their average member- The "Living Link." , ship is four hundred and sixteen. It is surely something, that these The "Living Link" was the twenty churches advanced their missionary contribution from popular title of a new policy in $4,871 to $15,561 in one year under the new proposai. missionary administration, which It is quite true that three twigs is in some quarters giving way to do not prove an Australian forest; and nobody jumps to the conclusion the title" forward movement." In that this may be extended to all the churches at once, and that it will its specific intent it means to get a be maintained through any stated number of years. But the comspecial church, or Sunday-school, mittee of the American Board having this matter in charge have or college to support an individual no misgiving in the matter. It is believedthat there are five hundred miSSIOnary. There are many argu- Congregational churches w hie h can each sustain a missionary on the ments urged in its favor, and some foreign field, besides all they are doing for their home church, and a pretty stout ones against it. The large number which can do this in addition to their usual contribu_ balance has not yet been struck.
In one instance it was suggested that a whole Methodist conference in America assume the support of a whole Methodist conference in India. One brother thought to dissipate the force of the proposi- tion by extending it, and proposing that the whole Methodist Church support the whole church in mis- sion lands. It was easily seen that this might be carried out to the still greater extreme of proposing that all that the churches do or ought to do at home and abroad for pastors, edifices, Sunday-schools, and all benevolent work be con-
tions to the American Board. It States, shall be treated as a crime against the pe~ce and dignity pf this Republic. might be well to bundle together SectIOn 3. ~0 person shall be Senator or all the objections to this plan, set Rep~esentatlve l;n Congress, or Elector, or Po~rhe.seIrdoeffni<t,:,,:oorf hVolnCoer-Porrf'esimdeonltu,moernt,howhldetahne~ them to one side, and, at least, CunIVdIel ~or mlhtary, under the United States or any state, or territory thereof, or' be make a fair test of it. The Presby- permItted to. vote at any election for any of terian Board has also inaugurated ssahIadllobffeicfeorusnI~n egI~tihletyr state or territory who of polygamy, or polygthis policy to a considerable extent, a mous ?cfoth:a,,b:Iot-at~tIirOdsn;ofbuetacChonHgoreussse,mreamy'obvye a vote and with, thus far, we believe, only such d.'sablhty In any specific case.
satisfactory results. A great many SectIOn 4. The Congress shall have power strong arguments were made for it to enforce the provisions of this Article by appropriate legislation. at the last anniversary of the Congress has already met and has American Board in Providence, R. refused to administer the oath to I., which would make very in- Roberts until his eligibility has structive reading, but we have no been investigated. Should that be room even to summarize them. establisht, an effort will be made to The best way is not to bother about expel him by a two-thirds vote. the" theory," but to face the" con- dition." J. T. G. Power of a National Oonscience.
Anti-Polygamy Legislation. Apropos of the attempt to un- seat the polygamist in the National As we write, an earnest effort is Congress, we have had a very remaking not only to unseat polyg- markable and almost unparalleled amist Roberts from his place in exhibit of the power of an aroused the House of Representatives, but national conscience and vigorous to secure anti-polygamous legisla- cooperation, in the stifling of Suntion which shall make such a con- day newspapers in London. Two test impossible in the future. It prominent papers produced illusseems a strange anomaly that in trated Sunday editions which were this nineteenth century, and so- so much better than the weekcalled" Christian America," a man day issues, that apart from the incan present himself for admission vasion of the Sunday sacredness, to the national legislature who is they deserved success. But it was an open and acknowledged polyg- felt that in their excellence lay amist! Meanwhile the league for their peril, and that a crisis had social service is issuing its strong come. Their victory would mean booklets on Mormonism, to inform a deluge of similar Seventh-day the public of the monster we have journalism, and the sweeping away to deal with in the "Latter-Day of old landmarks, in the opening of Saints," and the women of our shops, theaters, etc. There was a country are especially active and popular uprising in defense of the earnest in their opposition to Lord's Day, that was both spon- Roberts and those whom he repre- taneous and unanimous. An unsents. offending newspaper led the cru- sade. Circulars were sent to vari- An anti-polygamy Constitution- ous religious and philanthropic al Amendment, somewhat on the leaders, and the national feeling following lines, is proposed for was aroused, until there was an adoption by Congress: immense host who joined in the protest. Petitions rolled in, and (ARTICLE XV!.) Parliament appointed a committee with the Archbishop as chairman. Section 1. Neither polygamy, nor polyg- Then came a "boycott "-which am~lUs cohabitation shall exist withIn the Umted States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
S,,:cti~n 2. Polygamy or polygamous co· habItatIOn, whether practist within the bounds of a state, or a territory of the United
1900.J EDITORIALS
included every publication issuing by independent agencies in the from the offending offices; but even same field." Nevertheless, the enthe dropping of the circulation was tire financial statement of the not enough to bring the Sunday amounts expended is embraced in invaders to bay,and the last blow two pages, containing less than was struck in the withholding of fifty lines and about one hundred the advertisements, which are the and fifty words. "sinews of war." Then came the collapse, in one case with, and in This statement is so vague and the other without, a dying con- g-eneral that it can not be satisfacfession. God has taught us the tory to any business man, and it is wisdom of that sage maxim that not strange that the murmurs of disthere is enough" virtue or piety in satisfaction with the Alliance meany Christian community to over- thods of conducting money transcome its vice and iniquity," if it actions grow louder and more is properly brought to bear. vVhile general. For example, all the ex- American Sunday newspapers are penditures of the Swedish China debauching not only religious con- Mission are comprehended in one science, but refined taste, Sunday lien, whose footing is $11.159.81. journals in Britain will not be How such a sum was divided, by attempted again for another cen- whom, for what purposes, does not tury. appear. The South American Mis- sion, about which the complaints Missionary Alliance Report. are so bitter, has opposite it $8.389.- 26, but nothing shows the mode of "The Second Annual Report of disbursements, or who received the the Ch~istian and Missionary Al- money. A more detailed statement liance," presented April 14, 1899, would not only satisfy donors and has now been widely circulated. the public generally, but would also It is a somewhat glowing account show whether or not the complaints ot a prosperous year, during which against the Alliance are baseless or are reported steady growth, out- not; and no amount of contradicpourings of the Spirit on all the tion or glowing rhetoric will ever mission stations, gathering of dissipate SuspICIOn, while such sheaves in the fields of labor, etc. vague wholesale items are per- The constituency of native Chris- mitted to constitute the annual tians has doubled, and now: num- report. To this matter we feel bers over 1,000, and the spirit of compelled again to advert, as a self-support and unselfish work is serious and fatal defect in the said to be manifest. In Tientsin, Alliance methods, a defect the China, during two years, about more serious since the Alliance $5,000 have been given by the centers about a man and not a denative disciples to support workers nomination. It is hard to underin other fields, and some 22 addi- stand how a man like Mr. Simptional missionarieE are thus set at son would hold on to a method work. New openings are reported which a rogue might adopt as a in Mongolia, Annam, and even in cloak of systematic fraud, and Tibet, etc. plead the founder of this great mis- sionary organization as a prece- As to finances, the total contri- dent! Ve earnestly urge the offibutions reported are" about $160,- cers of the Alliance to change 000 for the direct work, while at radically the conduct of this part of least $100,000 have been spent in the Alliance business, and give the associated lines of Alliance work public a report which enters suffi-
ciently into detail to approve itself of the number Europeans and as a transparent exhibition of natives is surprlsmg. In Oape methods that not only bear but in- Oolony and territories the Euro- vite and welcome the scrutiny of peans number 425,000; the natives the most searching sunlight. 1,750,000. In Natal and Zululand The Duel in South Afrioa. they number 49,000 against 490,000, In times of turmoil such as are or one to ten. In Basutoland they now experienced in South Africa, are only 1,000 to 240,000. In Bechua- it is often of great value to know naland Protectorate, 500 to 700,000, what wise men had to say of the and in Rhodesia 750,000 to 1,000,000, situation in the calm before the pre- an aggregate of 485,500 to 4,330,000.
cipitation of the issue. Acting on In the Dutch states there is a very this prompting we turned to what different ratio. The Orange Free Stanley said several years ago State has 50,500 Europeans and 150,- about South Africa. It was not 000 natives. The South African Re- prophecy, but it was prescience, public (Transvaal) has 225,000 Eu- which comes with great suggestive- ropeans to 650,000 natives, the ag- ness at the present. ]fl'. Stanley gregate of the two states being 310,- wrote: 000 Europeans to 800,000 natives.
There is a peculiar condition in It seems a thousand pities that South Africa found in no other part of the continent, which, as we look European Ohristians must rush forward along the coming century, satisfies us that there must be a into armed strife, in the presence of troublous future in store for these colonies and states. The worst a heathen population under their danger, I think, to be apprehended is from the stubborn antagonism rule, of nearly seven to one; or, in which exists between two such determined races as the British and the case of the British, of nearer ten the Dutch. Years do not appear to modify, but rather to intensify to one. Another striking feature the incompatibility. Already they have lived side by side under one is that the Dutch in the two states flag for over ninety years, but the feeling has been more hostile of number three-fourths as many as late years. The South African Bond (Boer) and the South African the British in Oape Oolony and League (British) represent thevariance of feeling existing. Tho the Natal. Oonsidering the" break but Boers are in the majority at the present time appearances are in never bend" nature of both comfavor of the ultimate prominence of the British. munities, if unaided from without, Bishop William Taylor in the their conflict might be a duel de.
bulky volume issued by Eaton & structive to both. It is not our ]fains, New York, entitled "The province to take sides in this sad Flaming Torch in Africa," says: controversy. We can only deplore The probable changes which will the spectacle of this conflict, for it is take place in Africa during the next (the 20th) century may not be practically a clash of two forms of prophesied, but we can venture to declare that they will be startling modern civilization. ]fl'. Stanley when compared with Africa a century ago, or even at the present long ago said, day. The imperial supremacy … is In the British colonies of South not worth considering. What we Africa the disproportion between want to know is that it will be of such a character as to assure us of the largest possible civil and relig- ious liberty to the people of South Africa.
Bishop Taylor gives an account of missionary work attempted at the Kimberly diamond mines, which shows the inherent power of the Gospel even among heat!len hud- dled in conditions most forbidding to evangelistic work. J. T. G.
RECENT BOOKS ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS
RECENT BOOKS ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS.
BRITISH FOREIGN MISSIONS. Rev. R. Ward- the present year. The estimates low Thompson and Rev. Arthur N. John- of the various men of whom the son. 12mo, 233 pp. 28. 6d. Blackie & volume treats impress us as fair Son, Limited, London. and impartial, even if at times a little colored by the Lutheran as- The Victorian Era has been one sociations and predilections of the of remarkable and unprecedented author. The sketches of Schwartz, progress in missions as well as in one of the model missionaries, is science. The growth and achieve- especially good, and of another ments of British foreign missions hero not so well known, "Father during the half century, 1837-1897, Heyer," who was nearly fifty when are well told in this volume. The he reacht India. Altho he was territorial progress is first described compelled by ill health to leave his and then the educational, medical, field and thought his "sun sink- zenana and other features of the ing," he returned twelve years work. A statistical table and later to place the mission on a good full index are included. The working basis. authors have long been students of missions and have been able not This book is valuable also in that only to give many valuable facts in it sets forth the true principles of small compass, but have narrated missions, and incidentally refers to as many thrilling incidents con- many events and. episodes in misnected with missionary work as sionary history that are of interest their space would permit. It is to all who love the cause. There chiefly valuable as a book of refer- is connected with each survey of ence. the various fields a brief and graphic description of the charac- THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT IN GREAT teristic features of the people and BRITAIN. H. W. Oldham. 16mo, 170 pp. country. 18. British College Christian Union, Lon- don. NINETEEN CENTURIES OF MISSIONS. Mrs. Wm. W. Scudder. Introduction by Dr. This is a concise account of the Francis E. Clark. 8vo, 250 pp. $1.00. origin and development of this Fleming H. Revell Co. modern crusade in the British Isles. It is especially interesting This handbook was prepared priand useful as one of the most im- marily for young people, and is portant chapters in the whole one of the best o;utline histories volume of the century's annals. It that we have seen. It is not only very properly finds the true origin adapted for Sunday-schools and of this great uprising in the relig- young people's societies, but for all ious awakening in the English beginners in the study of missions. universities as far back as 1859-61, The volume is composed of facts, and carries the narrative down to but not of the proverbial "dryas this year, when there are 116 Chris- dust" character. Much prominence tian unions in affiliation with the is given to missionary heroes, espe- British College Christian Union, of cially pioneers, but statistics are which 33 are in theological colleges. few and far between. The first period deals with the work of the A HISTORY OF LUTHERAN MISSIONS. Rev. apostles, and the following periods Preston A. Laury. Illustrated. 8vo, 265 refer to the early Church, the pp. $1.25. Pilger Publishing House, middle ages, the Reformation, and Reading, Pa. the nineteenth century. This last section describes tIte awakening of This brief compendium traces missions in the Lutheran body from their beginnings in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries down to
churches and then takes up each and Korea in 1897. The story of the country in turn, giving a few im- portant facts about the land, the tour is well told and facts and im- people, and religions, and the rise and growth of papal and Protes- pressions regarding the lands visited tant missions in each. are fresh and important. Perhaps The book would have been more complete with chapters on the the most valuable features from a present work among Eskimos and negroes in America, and would missionary standpoint are tha have been more accurate had Per- sia not been included in the Turkish statements as to the difficulties, Empire. The suggestive questions at the close of each chapter and the encouragements, and needs of the index are useful features for purposes of study and reference. We work in these fields. heartily recommend the volume. Monthly Missionary Bibliography. THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH. Dr. Edward Judson. 16mo, 212 pp. Lentilhon &:: Co., VILLAGE LIFE IN CHINA. Arthur H. Smith, New York. D.D. Illustrated. 8vo. $2.00. Fleming H. Hevell Co. Here we have in substance both the theory and the practical work- TH" USE OF OPIUM IN CHINA: The Opinions ing of the church system now under of over 100 Physicians in China. Comcontrol of Dr. Judson. The book piled by Hector Park, M D. 8vo, 96 pp. may and will strike some readers 30 cents. American Presbyterian Mission as not only projecting new lines of Press, Shanghai. church conduct, but as perhaps unduly innovating in its tendencies. TATONG: The Little Korean Slave. Annie M. But Dr. Judson has undertaken to Barnes. Illustrated. 8vo, 252 pp. $1.25. solve the problem of a city church Pres. Com. of Publication, Richmond, Va. in a boarding-house district, on the very borders of the city slums. He A JOLTRNEY THROUGH THE PAMIRS AND TURhas a somewhat elaborate and ar- KESTAN. R. P. Cobbold. Illustrated. tistic church edifice in Greek archi- 8vo. $5.00. Chas. Scribner's Sons. tecture, with a moderate ritual and a musical program of no mean THE CAnoLINE ISLANDS. F. W. Christian. Ilquality. Everything is done to lustrated. 8vo. $4.00. Charles Seribdraw and hold the people, that can ner1s Sons. be done without lowering spiritual standards. It need not be said MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF OUR NEW POSSESthat Dr. Judson is an evangelical preacher, and does not let down SIONS. Charles M. Skinner. Illustrated. the Gospel message. It will be 12mo. $1.50. J. B. Lippincott, Phila. very interesting to watch the future of this church enterprise, with HAWAIIAN AMERICA. Casper Whitney. Illusits extensive system of accessories. trated. 8vo, 357 pp. $2.50. Harper &:: Brothers. LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF MISSION WORK IN THE FAR EAST. S. H. Chester, D.D. Illus- THE SKY PILOT OF THE FooT-Hn,Ls. Ralph trated. 8vo, 133 pp. 75c. Presbyterian Connor. 12mo, 300 pp. $1.25. Fleming Committee of Publication, Richmond,Va. H. Revell Co.
Dr. Chester here gives us some "TINTER AnVENTeRES OF THREE Boys IN THE interesting observations made dur- GREAT LONE LAND. Egerton R Young. ing his visit to the Southern Pres- Illustrated. 8vo, 326 pp. $1 50. Eaton byterian Missions in Japan, China, &::Mains.
THE INDIANS OF TO-DAY. Geo. Bird Grinnell. Illustrated. 4to. $5.00. Herbert S. Stone, Chicago.
PEN-PICTURES OF MORMONISM. Rev. M. L. Oswalt. 12mo, 96 pp. 15 cents. Am. Baptist PUb. Society, Phila.
THE FUTURE OF THE AMJlRICAN NEGRO. Book- er T. Washington. Portrait 8vo, 244 pp. $1.50. Small, Maynard &:: Co., BostoD.
TO-MORROW IN CUBA. Charles M. Pepper. 8vo, 362 PP. Harper &:: Brothers.
NINTO: A Story of the Bible in Mexico. An- nie nI. Barnes. Illustrated. 16mo, 214 pp.
90 cents. Presb. Com. of Publication, Richmond, Va.
IZILDA: A Story of Brazil. Annie M. Barnes. Illustrated. 8vo, 194 pp. $1.00. Presby- terian Com. Pub., Richmond.
HISTORY OF LUTHERAN MISSIONS. Preston A. Lowry. lllustrated. 8vo, 265 pp. $1.25. Pilger Publishing House, Reading, Pa.
A JUNIORIS EXPERIENCE IN MISSIONARY LANDS. 1I1rs. B. B. Comagys, Jr. Illustrated. 12mo, 121 pp. 50 cents. Fleming H. Rev- ell Co.
IN JOURNEYDWS OFT: Travels in Mission Lands. 8vo, 104 pp. Is.6d. Church Mis- sionary Society London.
HAND-BOOK OF COMPARATIVE RELIGIONS. S. H. Kellogg, D.D. 'l'he Westminster Pres., Philadelphia.
THE MODERN JEW. Arnold White. Heine- man, London.
GENERAL llUSSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.
THE MARCH OF EVENTS. this unfortunate African war on hand will find it harder than otherwise to raise a Another terrible fa- famine fund. Yon in your recovering pros- The Famine mine is threatened perity ought to be able to do something, and there are many American missionaries in the in India. in India. Indeed it present famine area. A boy was offered for has already begun, sale in Parantij yesterday for 21Rs. I would not buy him, but his father gave him to lne yet few in England and America at last as a gift! Cattle are dying every- seem to grasp the situation. True, where and people soon will be if help does not as one missionary says, "The time come. for sending living skeletons has not yet come, but it ought never to be It is none too soon to send help allowed to come." Already the now; it may, ere long, be too late. wails of starving and dying are Money sent to the Managing Editor heard. In the province of Gujarat, of this REVIEW will be forwarded inhabited by more than 10,000,000 immediately free of charge. people, the rains have failed for the first time in a century and a The imperial de- half. It is bere that the Christian Another Imperial crees in China villages are located (described in Decree in China. have of late been our December number), and here the Methodists have over 6,000 con- so frequent, and, verts. In portions of northern In- as a rule, documents of such length, dia also crops have failed and the that it has taxt our space to print people are suffering and well nigh them. Nevertheless it seems imin despair. One missionary writes: portant to have these documents available for reference, and hence There is really only one thing to write about we make room for the following here in Gujarat, and for the matter of that in decree of March 18, 1899, which is Western India and a good many other places, more far-reaching than on a casual and that is Famine. The English papers (I reading of the text it might seem don't know about yours) have w far entirely to be. failed to realize the seriousness of the situation. It is not scarcity, but most terrible The Roman Catholic Church has famine. The only real rain we had in our been a great while in China. It is part was acouple of showers one night at the patronized by the French governbeginning of the Monsoon. ment. This document is con- structed in the interests of the As most of the wealth of Gujarat was in Roman Catholic Church; but the cattle and these can not live, on account of principle of the "most favored the absence of fodder, this famine is ruining nation" clause, if applied, will the rich and poor alike. Therefore there is have the effect to enable missionary no class to help the poor. representatives to settle most cases of misunderstanding far more ex- Gujarat is rich land, capable of enormous peditiously than through their conyield. This means, for this overcrowded old suls, and will allow of free andfrecouutry, that there is a greater density of quent intercourse between missionpopulation living at the best of times from aries and Chinese officials, which hand to mouth. When famine comes, the will itself tend to good feeling, and richness of the land is suddenly blotted out, reduce the "number of incidents of while the enormous population remains. friction. The official doors are hereby opened to all missionaries, Imported corn can only be sold at a rate who can gain immediate access to which is almost famine rate. Besides this, the all the local officials, and by their superintendent, or anyone author- ~g~rJ~~~~~e~ei~~~~:e;~n~~ ;m;tn:~¥r.:a~~ ized by the chief official of the church, demand to see the highest of trade. It will not insist on corn being sold at reasonable rates_ But with caste there can be no such thing as freedom of trade. Corn is only sold by the merchant caste, and no man of that caste dare sell below the rate agreed upon; these brutes agree to raise the price up, up, up, and sometimes, with starving people around them holding out their hard-earned coins. the villains shut up their shops and refuse to sell at all–simplyto raise the price. Some missionaries have suggested selling corn, but to do this on a scale which would benefit the people to any appreciable extent would take up the whole time of ten times as many missionaries as there are.
Things are very bad, and I hope America will come to the rescue. English people with
official of the province. This means whom they may negotiate the matter and far more in China than can well be finish it. Whenever a bishop or missionary measured by us at a distance. shall come to see a mandarin on business, the latter Is bound not to delay the negotia- Churches of the Catholic religion, tion, to be conciliatory, and to arrive at a. the propagation of which has been solution. long since authorized by the imperial government, having been built 5. The local authorities shall give timely at this time in all the provinces of warning to the people of the place, and ex- China, we long to see the Christians hort them earnestly to live on good terms and the people live in peace; and in with the Christians; they must not cherish order to make their protection hatred and cause trouble. Bishops and more easy, it has been agreed that priests shall in the same way exhort the local authorities shall exchange Christians to d.wote themselves to well-doing visits with missionaries under the so as to maintain the good name of the conditions indicated in the follow- Catholic religion, and act so that the people ing articles: will be contented and grateful. Wherever a suit takes place between the people and the 1. In the different degrees of the eccle- Christians, the local authorities shall hear siastical hierarchy, bishops being in rank and decide it equitably; the missionaries and dignity the equals of viceroys and must not mix themselves up in it and show governors, it is agreed to authorize them to de- partiality in giving their protection; so that mand to see viceroys and governors. In the the people and the Christians may live in case of a bishoI' being called home on busi- peace. ness, or of his death, the priest charged to replace the bishop will be authorized to de- The American Bible mand to see the viceroy and governor. Missionaries Society is in receipt Vicars-general and archdeacons will be au- Persecuted of reports in China thorized to demand to see provincial treasurers and judges and taotais. Other I'riests in China. which state that as a will be authorized to demand to see prefects result of the palace of the first and second class, independent prefects, sub-prefects, and other function- revolution last year, whereby the aries. Viceroys, governors, provincial treas- empress dowager assumed power urers and judges, taotais, prefects of the first and the emperor was practically and second class, independent prefects, sub- imprisoned, persecutions of misprefects, and other functionaries will natur- sionaries and Bible colporteurs ally respond, according to their rank, with are occuring in various parts of the same courtesie~. China, especially in the far in- terior. These reports come from 2. Bishops wiIl draw up a list of priests Peking, in North China; from whom they will charge specially with the Shanghai, in East Central China, treatment of business and with relations with and from parts of the province of the authorities, indicating their names and Shantung, but they relate to perthe locality of their missions. They will secutions remote from the chief send this list to the viceroy or governor, who cities. In one instance the viceroy will order their subordinates to receive them was forced to telegraph for troops. conformably to this regulation. The Chinese society known as 8. It is unnecessary for bishoI?s who reside "The Boxers" is said to be prooutside the cities to go from a dIstance to the voking agitations and antagonisms. provincial capital to ask to be received by Two colporteurs of the Bible Sothe viceroy or governor, when they have no ciety visited Peh-Shui-Chiang, in business with him. When a new viceroy or the province of Kan-Soo, and were governor arrives at his post, or when a invited to circulate Bibles from a bishop is appointed or arrives for the first Chinese temple. As soon as they time, or again on the occasion of felicita- were inside of the temple the gates tions for the new year and the principal were closed, and the colporteurs feasts, bishops will be authorized to write were terribly beaten with sticks of private letters to viceroys and governors and firewood. The men were tied hands send them their cards. Viceroys and govern- and feet to the pillars of the temple ors will respond with similar courtesies. and spat upon, the people shouting, Other priests who may be shifted Qr arrive "We have tied you up as they did for the first time, may, according to their your Jesus on the cross!" They rank, ask to see provincial treasurers and then began to strike them on the judges, taotais, prefects, prefects of the first face and shout, "This is what your and second class, independent prefects, sub· gods can do for you! Call npon prefects, and other functionaries, when they are provided with a letter from their bishop.
4. When a mission affair, grave or important, shall come up unexpectedly in any province, the bishop and the missionaries of the place should ask for the intervention of the minister or consuls of the power to which the pope has confided the protection of religion. These last will regulate and finish the matter either with the Tsungli Yamen or the local authorities. In order to avoid protracted proceedings, the bishop and the missionaries have equal right to address themselves at onCe to the local authorities, with
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
your Jesus to come and save you." to their countrymen, but also to By this time two of the men were establish churches with resident insensible, and a merchant who pastors, thus definitely occupying had been living in the same inn that place which only organized with them remonstrated with the leaders. The crowd seized the Christianity can satisfactorily fill. * merchant and beat him also. At last the innkeeper got the men off The following by going security for them that A Call to Presby- unanimous ac- they would leave the place. terian Stude,nts. tion was taken In a district in by the Presby- Religious Awaken- South Central terian (North) Board of Foreign Missions in November, 1899: ing in France. Prance not far from Lyons, " The report of the student mis- sionary campaign for the year 1899 where for years, perhaps for cen- has been received. . . . We would turies, there has not been one Prot- commend the thirty-one students, estant Christian, there has recently who have shown such earnestness, .come tidings of a remarkable move- such intelligent appreciation of the ment toward Protestantism. A need of the great cause of foreign year ago an evangelist was sent to missions, and have so unselfishly this Catholic stronghold, namely, devoted their summer 'Vacation to to the village of Le Monteil, four the prosecution of this work in miles from Chavagnac Lafayette. many Presbyteries sadly needing a Now he has gathered together a revival of foreign missionary en- Protestant congregation of over thusiasm. We recommend that a hundred and fifty persons. Be- the campaign for 1900 be carried sides being askt to remain among on in the same manner as in 1899." the people as their pastor, he has been besought by the people of In view of this action, Presbytwenty-two neighboring villages to terian workers are wanted for the come and tell them the story of the summer of 1900. Acceptable can- Gospel. In the manufacturing didates must be deeply concerned town Langeac, near by, the same for the evangelization of the world, evangelist has built up a church of if not Student Volunteers. Final about two hundred members, many decisions must be received by of whom were formerly atheistic March 15th. For agreement blanks Socialists. It is believed that the write to the campaign manager, same startling success may attend Geo. L. Gelwicks, 1060 N. Halsted Protestant ministrations in other Street, Chicago, Ill. parts of France which have hitherto known only the traditional Twenty-five bishops and rebound from superstition to athe- Episcopal two hundred priests of ism. The more rational reaction Mission- the Protestant Episcofrom ecclesiastical tyranny and ary Coun- pal Church assembled ceremonialism, the turning to Protestantism, not atheism, is seen in cil. at St. Louis the last the fact that the reformed churches week in October to of Prance are quite unable to supply pastors for all the demands attend their annual missionary now being made upon them. We council. The most important disshould aid the Protestants of ClIssion seems to have been that France, not only to give the Gospel concerning the Philippines, Bishop Doane st}ongly supporting the *Rev. Dr. David James Burrell, of the Marble Collegiate Church, New York City, is the president of the Franco-American Com- mit.tee.
Ildministration policy and making (Indian), Arizona; Jefferson Park, an eloquent plea for missionary Ohicago, and Second, Pittsburg. equipment in the islands. Yet some people question the ex- pediency of missionary work. At present the greatest need There were 10 pf our churches that is for Bibles. In discussing the more than doubled themselves last report of the missionary work done year. Among them were 3 churches among the colored people, Bishop in Ohina, Ohinan Fu, San Ui, and Oheshire, of North Oarolina, Yeung King, and Laguna Indian claimed that the colored people church in New Mexico. It really were growing worse instead of seems as tho foreign missionary better. It was not expected, he work is the most satisfactory and said, that the people set free be- successful form of our modern c;:tuse of a supposed political church work.-He1'ald and Presnecessity should not retrograde byter. under the weight of responsibility which they were not prepared to The Presbyterian Board reports 27 assume. missions, 1,192 stations and out- stations, 702 missionaries, 2,030 AMERICA. native workers, 368 churches, with' 35,995 members, of whom 4,844 were Missions in'Theo- Of our 120 theo- added last year; 21,516 pupils under logical Seminaries. logical semin- instruction, 30,235 Sunday-school ar i e s, with a scholars, 8 printing establishments, membership of which print 85,546,787 pages during the year; 35 hospitals, 47 dispensa- 6,500 students, 40 are officiated with ries, and 349,785 patients treated during the year. the world's Student Ohristian Federation. There are 18 that admit women, 56 hold regular missionary meetings, with au average attendance of 86 per cent. of the Thus again membership; in 1890 only 39 held missionary meetings, with an at- The American Board we review tendance of 54 per cent.; 48 have faculty instruction in missions; 14 in a Nutshell. the work of have missionary lectureships. Last year 38 gave $7,393 to missions, the Board while in 1890,32 gave $9,994. There are 5 that each support a foreign for another year. In 20 missions, so missionary, 6 that each support a missionary in part and 4 that sup- distributed among the great conport a home missionary. In 53 institutions 392 students are pre- tinents and nations and islands as paring for foreign service; that is, 11 per cent. of the entire member- to encircle the globe, and offering ship. When 89 per cent. propose to stay at home, is not the propor- the Gospel to more than 100,000,000 tion too great? souls, a force of 529 missionaries assisted by 3,155 native laborers in 1,417 strategic points preach the Gospel in 26 different languages; 492 organized churches have a present membership of 49,782, of whom 5,047 have been received on confession this year, and 1,021 Sunday-schools gather 65,903 pupils Last year there every Lord's day; 133 colleges and Presbyterian Addi- were 5 Presby- high schools train 9,088 pickt youth tions at Home and teriatl churches of both sexes, and 1,137 common Abroad. that had over schools provide instruction for 43,- 100 additions 920 pupils; while mission presses on confession. These were San Ui, send out their millions of pages to Ohina; Yeung King, Ohina; Pima instruct the Ohristian communi-
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
ties, and hospitals and dispensaries republic of Ecuador, acting on the minister relief to 120,000 patients, recommendation of President Al- to everyone of whom the Gospel faro, has past a law confiscating to message is given.-Annual Report. the state all church property, and A Shining Example of the true placing the mines, the immense spirit in giving is instanced as the cocoa and sugar plantations, and result of one of the Student Mis- the valuable city holdings which sionary campaign meetings. Two this property includes, under the , sisters of Providence, R. I., work- management of a board of trustees, ing girls, decided that they could to be appointed by the president.
both walk one way between their The proceeds of the sequestered home and the factory, thus saving property will be applied to the 10 cents each working day for mis- support of the state schools. In- sionary work, and supporting their dignation among sympathizers own native preacher ($30 a year). with the church is intense, and "Their faces as they told it were the clergy is protesting violently beaming, as if they were telling of a against the enactment. In many newly-found gold mine, or that a quarters revolution is threatened. large amount of property had re- The Franciscan, Dominican, and cently come into their posession." other monastic orders of the Roman Catholic Church, which, being very Says Rev. J. W. rich, are the principal sufferers, are Methodism in Butler:" In the last hurriedly making conveyance of Mexico. quarter century the Methodist Board the titles to their property for fic- titious considerations to local layhas expended $1,039,694 on this field, and the Woman's Board $147,- men. The government, it is de- 311, with personal donations sufficient to bring the total expendi- clared, will refuse to recognize the ture up to $1,500,000. There have validity of these transfers." been 20 episcopal visits. Thirty missionaries have been sent out by P. Riittel, the parent board, and 21 by the W. F. M. S., whose labor has been Danish Evangelism Danish misaugmented by the service of a large in Greenland. sionary on the number of native helpers, and the eastern coast visible results are 125 congregations, representing 4,694 members of Greenland, gives in the Dansk and probationers, and about 10,000 Miss~ons-Blad an account of his persons under our immediate in- first considerable baptism, of eight fluence. We have 4,056 pupils in our day-schools, and 2,876 in Sun- persons, adults and children. A day-schools. The Methodist Church in Mexico raised $22,043 last year few individuals had been baptized for all purposes, about one-fourth of the amount annually expended in before. These seem to be the first the mission." persons baptized on the eastern coast of Greenland, since the Scan- dinavian diocese disappeared some five or six hundred years ago, in consequence of the lines of icebergs coming down, and the last bishop sent out from the Nuth, Norway, never found. his diocese, which stretcht from Greenland to Massa- chusetts. Herr Ri.ittel says: A correspondent The moment thlft I had yearned after so Church Property of the Chicago long, and yet almost trembled at, was now there in all its peaceful and yet solemn real- in Ecuador. Record traveling ity. The countenances of the newly-bap- in South Ameri- tized beamed with gladness, when we con- gratulated them after the ceremony. Altho, ca has sent the following despatch these persons had never before been present to that paper: "The Congress of the at a baptism, I believe that I am able to say that they bore themselves becomingly, and with dignity.
Statistios of the Missionary Sooieties of the [These tables include only Missions to non-Christian and non-Protestant peoples, and so they omit the United States. The figures are derived almost wholly from annual reports, and relate in the main possible blanks, and hence where official figures were not at hand, conservative estimates have been Mission'y Income. Missionaries. Nat. Helpers. ., — o:i ., ""Q) • .e :5. ai -..=.e ai o:i .,; o.~.0… S oS ~ Q) ~o'loEl S] Q) NA.MES OF SOCIETIES. 0 "'il Q) ~ olS "'OJ :d Ob..i.) 2~ S,,O~ 6"" P:< ~ … ..S»o..l ~ p ~'8 0 ~ ""0 ..=E-I <5 – – – – – – – — – – — – — – —– American Board .. ……………… 1810 $644,201 $135,987 17U 16 1&9 174 234 2,921 Baptist Missionary Union……….. 1814 563,495 118,583 159 23 171 106 280 8,254 Southern Baptist Convention ……. 1845 109,267 7,110 35 0 34 13 27 101 Free Baptist……………………. [1833 80,662 525 71 8 9 6 69 Seventh-Day Baptists…………… 1847 4,500 500 11 2 2 0 9 Christian (Disciples)…………….. 1875 142,823 9,904 45 5 23 12 20 81 American Christian Convention …. 1886 6678 218 40 1 2 5 10 Protestant Episcopal. …………… 1835 2S2,179 12,745 37 11 24 24 87 827 Society of Friends ……………… 1871 88,354 2,370 12 7 18 26 7 84 Lutheran, General Council ……… 1869 20,303 60 4 4 1 142 Lutheran, General Synod ……….. 1837 41,200 7,308 15 8 12 9 1 461 Methodist Episcopal. …………… 1819 954,063 14,652 218 22 211 240 880 4,013 Methodist Episcopal, South…….. , 1846 220,495 .13,404 65 4 59 57 87 147 Free Methodist ………………… 1882 12,982 40 4 4 0 18 Methodist Protestant …………… 1888 10,896 232 51 6 0 5 21 Wesleyan Methodist…………….. 1890 7,000 40 4 8 5 Presbyterian …………………… 1837 882,087 228 55 244 175 204 1,826 Presbyterian, South…………….. 1861 145,000 5,446' 60 7 53 35 11 81 Cumberland Presbyterian……… , 1820 20,000 82 9 11 7 28 Reformed Presb. (Covenanter)….. , 1856 27,351 63 9 6 0 37 Reformed Presb. (Gen. Synod) …… 1836 6,400 800 20 2 6 0 45 Associate Reformed Presb., South. 1874 8,792 559 30 3 3 8 4 United Presbyterian ……………. 1859 188,932 21,216 82 8 35 87 88 600 Reformed (Dutch)………………. 1832 126,888 9,987 30 5 31 24 32 416 Reformed (German)……………. , 1878 80,197 82 7 3 8 80 German Evangelical Synod…….. , 1ss.~ 17,000 70 5 0 12 46 Evangelical Association ………… 1876 1 8,500 1,Om 20 2 0 5 28 i United Brethren ……………….. 1853 75,000 600 26 18 32 0 8 80 Canada Baptist. ………………… 1878 48,186 1,700 17 2 16 16 11 142 Canada Congregationalit..•……. 1881 4,500 12 2 2 0 6 Canada Methodist………………. 1878 147,860 8,005 78 6 82 15 80 34 Canada Presbyterian …………… 1844 175,223 11,984 40 22 48 20 5 290 572,000 85 290 118 813 20 563 15,864 — — – — — — – – – – – – Twenty-two other Societies ……… — – – – Totals ……………………… ,5,522,909 408,951 1,419 516 1,441 1,352 1,534
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
United States and Canada for 1898-99.
work done in non-Ca.tholic Europe, while covering that in behalf of Indians, Chinese, and Japanese in to 1899, though sometimes the year includes a part of 1898. The aim has been to leave the fewest made, based upon former reports.] Countries in which Missions are Sustained.
– – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 3,600 1,426 49,782 5,047 141,761 1,270 60,780 Africa, Turkey, India, China, Japan, 3,993 2,586 128,294 7,575 400,000 1,375 31.254 Micronesia, Mexico, Spain, Austria. 15,000 2,446 200 140 5,347 845 43 3,208 Burma, India, China, Japan, Africa, 100 13 797 62 1,708 94 France, Spain. China, Japan, Africa, Italy, Mexico, Brazil. India (Southern Bengal).
17 2 51 11 150 6 140 China (Shanghai).
185 64 1,717 465 4,000 22 1,570 India, China, Japan, Turkey.
22 27 332 65 1,000 1 20 Japan (Tokyo, etc.'.
500 233 5,582 390 20,000 104 4,534 Africa, China, Japan, Haiti, Greece.
159 66 1,273 125 2,743 33 1,437 Mexico, Alaska, Jamaica, China, Japan.
160 198 2,412 226 5,086 116 2,719 India (Madras).
489 47 6,316 1,210 18,000 118 6,695 India (Madras), West Africa.
5,291 634 114,187 5,520 182,434 1,213 36,818 China, Korea, Japan, India, Africa, 419 Bulgaria, Mexico, South America. 25 1,4&Q China, Japan, MeXico, Brazil. 106 9,503 462 30,000 25 14 99 25 500 5 281 India, S. Africa, St. Domingo.
41 27 410 76 1,000 25 1,165 Japan (Yokohama).
16 2 24 200 1 20 Africa (Sierra Leone).
2,728 1,192 35,995 4,844 150,000 686 21,516 India, China, Japan, Korea, Africa, 247 216 3,378 484 10,000 Syria, Persia, Spanish America. 65 13 800 100 2,500 20 754 China, Korea, Japan, Africa, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Brazil.
3 200 Japan, Korea, Mexico, Indians.
61 14 293 61 1,200 12 645 Northern Syria, Asia Minor, Cyprus, China.
55 15 1,150 80 4,000 8 370 India (Northwest Provinces).
16 14 281 39 1,000 4 90 ~lexico (TampiCO, etc.).
751 290 7,925 573 25,000 336 18,700 Egypt, India (Northwest Provinces).
538 248 4,453 399 15,000 225 7,231 India, China, Japan, Arabia.
58 56 1,817 268 6,000 2 189 Japan (Tokyo, Sendai, etc.).
72 10 807 176 1,498 11 1,106 India (Central Provinces).
37 22 890 85 2,500 1 8 Japan (Tokio, Osaka).
114 516 4,286 149 12.000 12 600 China, West Africa.
233 71 4,200 385 12,000 75 1,200 India (Telugus).
13 2 43 9 200 2 200 Africa (West Central).
245 130 5,762 213 10,951 10 1,210 Japan (Tokyo), Indians.
425 218 3,493 458 15,000 160 6,630 China, India, New Hebrides, West Indies, 1,389 280 8,800 680 20,000 235 19,500 22,344 8,582 410,395 31,571 1,112,381 6,223 255,913
Periodical ac- this same society reportJs an income of £331,000, or considerably over Transfer of the counts of Mo- $1,500,000.
Greenland Mission. ravian Mis- At a single Bibles Sent Out by session in Oc- sions' refer- the B. and F. B. S. toberthecom- ring to the action recently taken mittee of the British and Foreign Bible Society by the Moravian general synod made these grants among others: 5,000 Ganda New Testaments, with withdrawing from Greenland, and references, for O. M. S. mission·· aries in Uganda; 3,000 Portuguese turning its mission over to the Gospels for the Y. M. C. A. of Oporto, for free distribution among Danish Lutherans, says: the soldiers stationed around Lisbon on account of the plague; 5,000 Undoubtedly the most important Chitonga St. John to be printed for resolution past was that refer- the Free Church of Scotland Liv- ring to the transfer of the Green- ingstonia Mission, Lake Nyassa; land mission to the Danish State 400 Welsh Bibles and Testaments Church. We would express the to be sent out to Welsh colonists hope that this step, which was only in Patagonia,whose homes, schools, taken after full and exhaustive and churches had been almost all consideration, will be recognized destroyed in the recent disastrous by the friends and supporters of floods; a small grant of French our missions as an act of comity, Bibles and Testaments for evangel- and that as such it will commend istic work in the villages of Haute- itself to all who know the situation, Savoy, Switzerland. and how faithfully the Danish State and Church have cared for The L. M. S. has the native population of their London Mission- a force in the northern colony. Let us be re- minded of the fact that Hans ary Society. field of 196 men Egede, the Norwegian clergyman, and 76 women. went out to Greenland as a missionary of the Danish Lutheran Of native toilers there are 892 State Church, twelve years before ordained ministers, 2,966 evangelour two first missionaries, and that ists and preachers, 800 Christian these went there expressly in order teachers, and 226 Bible women. In to help him, their instructions be- its mission stations are found 52,- ing "to offer themselves as assist- 803 communicants and 175,588 ants to that apostle of the Green- Christian adherents; in its 1,037 landers, Mr. Egede, in case he schools are 34,499 boys and 16,104 would and could make use of them; girls. In its New Guinea mission but if he did not want their assist- the 10 European missionaries are ance, then not to interrupt him in aided by 104 native pastors, mostly the least." Then, too, we may em- drawn from churches formed in phasize this fact, that the members the South Sea Islands by the soof the Danish Church in Greenland ciety's missionaries in former years. number 10,000, whilst we have only 1,700-that, therefore, it will be a The Paris Missmall matter for the Danish Church to care for these in addition to the French Protestants sionary Somany already under their charge. Jubilant. ciety sounds a EUROPE. note of joy in It has been stated its sixty··fourth annual report, as Wilberforce's recently that early Prophecy. in this century the great Wilberforce, in the British House of Commons, in alluding to the Church Mission- ary Society, suggested that the day might come when that society would receive an income of £10,000 a year. The suggestion was met with shollts of derisive laughter.
Yet in the last year of this century
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
well it may. Four years ago came INDIA. two sudden and urgent calls both for more money and more men. M. In a recent letter, Dr. Coillard askt for a great extension The Woe of Colin Valentine, of of the Zambesi Mission, and the Famine. the Agra Medical changes in Madagascar threw upon the Protestants of France a great Missionary Training responsibility in regard to the work Institution, writes that he has rewhich the London Society had car- ceived the following information ried on there previous to the French from missionaries: In every part occupation of the island. In four of the Punjab where there are no years the special donations for the canals the greatest distress pre- Zambesi Mission have gone up vails. Cattle are dying in hunfrom £2,120 to £9,720, and for Mada- dreds. In the Central Provinces gascar from £640 to £16,000. The the grain is higher in price than at donations for the general work any time during the last famine. have risen from £14,720 to £18,480. In Mairwarra, 40,000 out of the The total income has risen from 100,000 population are on famine £18,000 to £45,320. Not only money relief works. In other' parts of but men have been forthcoming. Rajputana the people are leaving Last year 12 missionaries came the villages by thousands. In Guhome, of whom 5 hope to return to jarat cattle are being sold at a their work at the close of their rupee a head, and children for less. periods of furlough. During the On Sabbath last, continues Dr. Valsame period 36 were sent out-to entine, we had 876 starving crea- Lessouto, 3 returning and 1 new; tures at our Beggars' Church, Agra. to the Zambesi, M. Coillard and 10 The Pioneer states that the numnew; to the Kongo, 4 new; to Ta- ber of persons in receipt of relief hiti, 1 returning and 1 new; and to during a recent week, was 107,992; Madagascar, 2 on temporary mis- that being more than double the sion and 13 others. The society has figure for the previous week, when now 56 European missionaries. Of the total was 48,652. these, 12 are Swiss, 6 are from Alsace, 4 from the Waldensian val- In Karaji, a large leys, and the remainder French. The Woe of the port in Sind The Unitas Moravian Mission- Fratrum culti- Plague. (North India), the ary Figures. vates 21 fields, plague has made with 138 sta- great ravages. The principal work tions, and 54 out-stations. The missionary force includes 376 Eu- here, among the heathen and Moropeans and Americans, of whom 172 are wives, and 1,942 native help- hammedan population, which is ers. The baptized members number 92,071, and the communicants, difficult of access, is that of the C. 33,764. The income reacht £78,- 506 last year, of which £50,000 was M. S. Zenana Mission. Altho their derived from the mission fields, £11,978 from legacies, only £4,118 schools and houses are in the midst from the Brethren's churches, and £12,409 from other churches and of the native quarter, where the friends. plague raged, yet the lady mission- aries and their boards bravely held their ground, amid daily prayer, and appear to have been kept from all losses by the pestilence. Of course they had to close their day- schools. A zenana teacher gives the following account of the im- pression which the heavy stroke made upon the native women.
The visits to the (heathen)
women after the plague were ex- A Persian emigrat- ceedingly distressing. For a while The Bible as a ing to India re- one could do nothing more than to utter words of sympathy and con- Missionary. ceives in the north solation. It was to the last degree country, on his way touching, to see the affliction of the mothers, whose daughters, our to Bombay, a copy of the New scholars, had died of the plague. Testament, which is blest to. his They would bring out the books and conversion. A pilgrim. to the slates of their children, and show shrine of Jaganath, in Orissa, is us the mark drawn where these directed to the New Testament for had last read. In doing this their the true way of life, and accepts wails were heart-breakdng., "Of the faith of Ohrist. A M()hamwhat use is all this now? She will ..medan student of divinity finds never use these things againI " among the books in the mosque a Many of the elder girls, thus carried off, had been attending our schools Gospel of St. .rohn. It leads to for several years, and were therefore well instructed in the truths further study, baptism, and enof Ohristianity, and, as their trance upon a course of instruction mothers testified, already so far for the Ohristian ministry. A advanced, that they could draw Brahman well read both in Sanskrit near to God in prayer.-Evan- and in English, while traveling in gelisch-Lutherisches Missionsblatt. a railway carriage falls into con- versation with an English gentle- Sunday-schools in India number men, from whom at parting he re- ceives an English New Testament, 6,348 with over 10,000 teachers and which he promises to read. The travelers .are unknown to each 2,500,000 scholars. Of these the other, but in two years after their meeting, the Brahman is baptized, Methodist Ohurch is said to lead and devotes his life to the work of Ohrist.-North India Bible Society all other denominations, having Report.
2,406 Sunday-schools, 3,387 teach- There are few The Aggressions regions in India ers, and 86,068 scholars. The Pres- of Islam in India. where Ohris- byterians follow with 1,019 schools, t ian missions have been carried on more vigor- 1,838 teachers, and 40,843 scholars. ously, or, on the whole, more suc- cessfully, than Tinnevelli, and yet Then follow the Baptists, Oongre- it is there that Mohammedanism has had recently its most signal gationalists, Wesleyans, and An- triumphs. Six hundred Hindus in one village were converted to Isglicans. lamism in one day, and the exam- ple thus set was quickly followed There are 5 sta- in other places. What has set this current flowing? A very curious Bethel Banthal tions in full work- influence. It is said that the Shanars, a very low caste, are very Mission.' ing order in this numerous in TinneveI1i, and have been of late extremely prosperous. mission, and dur- This prosperity has made them ambitious. Many of them built ing the last ten years 721 have been fine houses for themselves, and baptized, which brings the total number of Ohristians to somewhat above 1,500. At the last confer- ence over 1,000 Ohristians were present. Each station has a school and orphanage attacht to it, where the boys and girls get their food, clothes, lodging, and education free of charge. During the last ten years the medical staff have at- tended and given medicines to 30,- 000 paLients in 5 hospitals and other dispensaries. Besides 5 hos-'
pitals, there are Ohristians in over 50 villages giving medicines to the poor free of charge.
GENERAL MISSIONARY
sought to make out that they had These statements a right to worship in temples, from which they had hitherto been ex- A Well Equipt relate to the Macluded. The result was a riot, in which they were badly treated by Mission. dura Mission of the their fellow-religionists of a higher caste, and this has driven them to American Board: seek relief in a different faith altogether. "In accepting Islam the "It has in good working order a Shanars enter at once into the fellowsllip of the proudest and most college, a theological seminary, 3 united of the' castes' of India-a corporation which not only never high schools, 2 training institufails to defend its converts, but never dreams of giving them an tions, a Bible woman's training inferior place." – Free Church Monthly. school, an industrial school, 9 sta- Rev. Mr. Hackett, tion boarding schools, 164 day and Not a" Rice" for years a mis- village schools, and 16 Hindu girls' Christian. sionary in India, gives this incident schools, in which 7,159 students are relating to John Mohammet, a studying; with 3 hospitals and 2 native pastor: "He was a man of good family and high position. dispensaries. All this is in addi- Seeing one day a C. M. S. missionary preaching the Gospel sur- tion to the 38 organized churches rounded by an insulting mob, whose spittle was actually dripping down which are independent of any aid the beard of the patient, longsuffering missionary, and noticing from the Board, and the evanthat the missionary had a difficulty with the language, he stept to his gelistic plant which covers an area side, and, out of pity for the man, began interpreting for him. At of more than 9,000 square miles and the close the missionary thankt him and gave him a pamphlet, reaches 2,400,000 people. There are which he put into his pocket with a smile, never intending to look at Christians already in 461 villages in it, but on a bed of sickness he found this tract and read it, and through this mission alone, and 578 natives this became a Christian. When his change of religion was known are working for the intellectual, he was set upon and beaten, and his body cast out on the street as and moral, and spiritual uplift of tho dead. The native pastor coming along, found him, and seeing the people in this one field. The signs of life, took him home." Mr. Hackett said he never could forget mission is more troubled by the the heavenly smile with which this man said to him, "I think I could hundreds who are professing Chris~ allow myself to be cut into pieces by my Mohammedan friends if only tianity and asking for preachers I could win them to Christ." than by the few who return again to heathenism. The day has largely past when the missiollary or the faithful native worker needs to make much effort to secure a hear- ing. India is all ears now, and whoever speaks the words of soberness and wisdom will have a hearing."
Rev. A. E. Funk, Patient Waiting of the Missicn- for Tibet. ary Alliance, has recently been in India, and extended his visit to a town on the borders of Tibet. Here he met two Moravian missionaries, Mr. and Mrs. Heyde, who for nearly half a century have been" holding the fort." Mr. Funk says they are a patriarchal couple, who came from Germany 45 years ago into Little Tibet, waiting all these years to enter Tibet proper, and gather- ing nearly 100 Tibetans into the
Church of Christ. They are now end-the proclamation and establishment of in the seventies, and both well and Chr!st's kingdom throughout the world. In· strong. With his silver locks and Christ we are one. whiskers, white as the Tibetan snow, and his humble, Christlike The countries about appearance, he inspires one as a Chinese the China Sea are full true father in Israel. They have Emigration. of Chinese. By their never been to the homeland on furlough, and their children who went superior energy and home when eight years of age, and business ability they have absorbed now have children themselves of the trade of these lands, and pusht that age, they have never since into the background the indolent seen. They have recently come and shiftless people of these re- 1,400 miles toO this place, Ghoom, gions. There are some 2,500,000 200 miles on horseback and the rest of Chinese in Siam out of a total by rail, through India, and are now population of 8,000,000. In Bangengaged in the work of translating kok, the capital of that kingdom, the New Testament into the Tibet- the Chinese number 300,000 in a an -language. population of 500,000. In Singapore, that flourishing British colony in CHINA. the Straits of Malacca, two-thirds of the real estate is owned by the Over 100 mis- Chinese, and they occupy positions of influence and honor, some of Is the Millennium sionaries have them being members of the legis- lative council. Most of the coast- at Hand? signed and pub- ing trade on the Malayan peninsula is in the hands of the Chinese, and lisht a declara- they are scattered in all the settle- ments and plantations on the seation of Christianity which is board. Fifty-five thousand Chinese arrived in Singapore from China in printed below. They represent one-quarter-three months. From this center they are distributed to nearly every Protestant denomina- the Dutch and native territories. In the city of Manila, on Luzon, tion which carries on foreign mis- there are 20,000 of them. Most of the artisans in Java are Chinese. sions, and they come from many The Chinese form an important part of the population of the British nations in Europe, America, and settlement of North Borneo. They are found in great numbers in Australia. Among the names ap- Rangoon and in other coast towns of Burma. In Saigon and the ports pended are 10 Congregationalists, of French Cochin-China, most of the trade is carried on by Chinese 13 Wesleyans, 18 Presbyterians, 13 merchants.-Baptist Missionary Magazine. Methodist Episcopalians, and 6 Baptists: We, the undersigned missionaries, desiring If all the Christo express to the world· our heartfelt unity in regard to the essential points of our Chris- More Missionaries tians but 750 tian religion, and longing to fulfil the desire of our blest Savior and Master, exprest in his Wanted. were taken out prayer, John 17: 11, 20-23, that His disciples should be one as He and the Father are one, of London, and hereby declare that in our united services, as well as in our daily intercourse with each their places filled by heathen, other, we realize ourselves to be one in the Father and in the Savior. Christianity is not scarcely any of whom had ever so much a system of doctrines as it is a new seen the Bible or heard of the Salife, born of the Spirit of God, a life of vital union with God through the Savior. All those who, by the grace of God, have received this new life are living members of Christ's body, and are therefore one. Christ himself is the center of our union. We may still have different views and opinions on several minor questions of our religion, and may follow different methods of church policyand Christian work, as each one's conscience directs him, but yet we feel we are one by the blood of Jesus, our only Savior and Mediator, and by his Spirit, who moves our hearts. We are like different battalions of one great army, fighting under one great Captain (i. e., our common Savior and Master) for one great
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
vior, and among these 25 mission- cured of the, habit, her ulterior aries, including'wives, were put to hope being his conversion. He work, together with some 60 native came, ~was cured, and also found agents, that would be a fair repre- Christ. And now it is his delight sentation of what is being done by to sit in the waiting-room and Protestant Christendom to win prove the power of God by point- China for Christ. ing to himself. That is evidence Kill or A missionary writes that none can gainsay. All know what Cure! Dr. Cho Ping was SUlU- he was, and that no man ever moned to the bedside of changed as he now is by the wor- one of his patients who ship of idols.
had swallowed an overdose of .. We have had too litopium. First the doctor sat feel- Bulldozing tle rain," writes Mr. ing the sick man's pulse for a the gods! Helgesen, " and the couple of hours; he then wrote out the subjoined recipe, which took people are now prayhalf a day to make up: ing to their gods for it. The other day a man, supposed to be deviI- 2 couples of salted lizards, 2 male and 2 fe- possessed, was carried through the streets in a chair, followed by an male. idol, to 'pray down' the rain, but ~ oz. of Corea ginseng root. no answer came. Then, one even- 6 dried grasshoppers, 3 male and 3 female. ing, the people assembled in the temple, and, making a hole in the 1 oz. sweet-potato stalks. plaster of which the idol was made, 1 oz. walnuts. they put in a live scorpion, and ~ oz. lotus-leaves. closed up the hole. At the same J4 oz. tail of rattlesnake. time they beat their drums and 2 oz. black dates. made their invocations with re- ~ oz. elm-tree bark. doubled vigor. The scorpion was oz. devil-fish claw. oz. hartshorn. oz. birds' claws. M'I oz. dried ginger. J1. oz old coffin nails. The whole to be mixt with two quarts of water, and boiled down to one-half the quantity. Then let the patient drink the mixture as quickly as possible.
There was in one put in to wake up the god!"
A Transformed of the villages a Villain. perfect villain. As One man of a punishment for A Medical Mission wealth and po- his misdeeds his eyes were put out. Convert. sition at Swa- But he could still, as a blind beg- tow was inter- gar, blackmail his neighbors, and ested in what he heard of medical shopkeepershad a horror of him. On mission work, and gave us rice one occasion he found his way to an tickets for poor patients. By-and- oil shop demanding money. When by his wife became very ill, and it was refused he swung his thick was treated by us. "I would like staff and hit out blindly, breaking other ladies to be treated as she the earthenware pots containing has been," said our friend. And the oil, and as they broke and the he gave us $2,000 to help to provide oil ran out, he took up the broken a women's hospital. By-and-by he pieces of pottery and cut himself became alive to the advantages for with them, and then went to the young men of a Western educa- magistrate complaining of the ill- tion, and he has offered $10,000 to treatment he had received. The the missionaries to start an Anglo- shopman was fined $100. He was Chinese School. And now, after also a heavy opium smoker, and . destroying idols and ancestral tab- an old lady begged him to come to lets, he is himself applying for the medical mission hospital to be Christian baptism.
KOREA. verts are already reported in vari- ous places, and the time is yet too Rev. D. L. Gifford, of short to estimate the far-reaching Keeping the Seoul, tells of two influence of this department of religious work. This has produced Sabbath. men who, tho seem- a very large increase in the sale of ingly Christian, for a Bibles. During the six months ending June 30, 1899, the sales by long time kept open their places of other than the colporteurs have business on Sunday. "But finally been more than double what they before one communion I spent an were during the same period last entire evening with the two men, year. A few years ago' the book showing them the Scripture teach- stores in Japan could not be used ing upon the Sabbath, and point- for the circulation of Scriptures, ing out to them the fact that be- because it would injure their busicause they were in other respects ness if it was known that they were such good men their example was engaged in the circulation of Chrishurting other younger men in the tian literature. But now there is church. It was a hard struggle, no hesitation about the sale of but they decided the question Bibles in such places, and arrangearight and were baptized upon the ments are being rapidly made to following Sunday. Now, if you go have them on sale in all the prinby their shop on a Sabbath you cipal cities." will see a little pine board notice tackt up on the door, reading some- G. M. Fisher, colthing as follows: ' We, being Jesus Christians, because this is the Christianity lege secretary of Lord's day, are unable to transact any business to-day. We, there- in Government the Y. M. O. A., fore, make this public announcement.' And all day long that lit- Schools. writes thus of a tle pine board notice hangs there, silently preaching the Gospel." change of spirit in The Presbyterian Mission in the government schools in Kuma- Korea was establisht only fourteen years ago. During the last year moto: "As Mr. Brandram, of the 1,153 members were received, and 3,000 catechumens were enrolled. O. M. S., who has stood by the In the Pyeng Yang district alone the people built during the year 44 work for eleven 'years, said, ,It's houses of worship. The total church membership is now 2,079. nothing less than a miracle-the JAPAN. change of front toward Christianity H. Loomis, agent of the to-day as compared with five years Signs of American Bible Society, Progress. writes to the London ago. We haven't done it. Noth- Christian: " In nearly ing but the power of God could all cases where missionaries consent to give instruction in English, it is have brought it about.' Whereas with the agreement that the Bible is to be one of the text-books to be he was once forbidden to enter the used. In this way a large number of Japanese" are brought under grounds of the Koto Gakko (the direct Christian instruction. Oon- government school), he has recently been askt to select the most suit- able Bible for the school library; and 6 professors requested him to teach them in the Bible. The Flowery Hill Club, of Koto Gakko Christian Association, numbers 19 downright earnest students, and one of their Bible classes has averaged 30. Less than two years ago the intolerance of the faculty prevented anything but a secret
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
religious society, but a few weeks the Sudan, and the Belgian road ago, when President Ibuka, Mr. from the Kongo to the Nile. Cecil Swift, and I were there, a mass- Rhodes has also just secured the meeting of 200 students, presided privilege of connecting the rail- over by the principal, was held in roads of British South Africa with the school building, and our ad- the Atlantic coast in German dresses were on such implicitly Southwest Africa. By the end of Christian themes as 'Obedience, another decade 25,000 miles of rail- Education, and Religion, and True way are likely to be in operation.
Heroism. ' The Christian Associa- The Finnish Luthertion rents three rooms in a house Fruit in an Missionary Soconvenient to both the Koto and Ovamboland. ciety, which has been Chu Gakko, where they hold meetings, religious and social, and at work for forty maintain a reading room." years, is occupying 3 stations and 12 out-stations in Ovamboland, AFRICA. north of German Southwest Africa. Its agents are 6 ordained mission- The results of the aries, 2 missionary sisters, and 12 Good Effects of EngIis h occupa- native helpers. The number of British Rule. tion of Egypt are converts is 700; of day – school thus stated by the pupils, 650; of catechumens, 190. Allegemeine Missions Zeitschrijt. The society's receipts for last year "By the census of 1897 the popula- amounted to $33,500; the expenses tion, since the English occupation $27,000. The Finnish Foreign Misin 1883, has increast from 6,000,000 sionary has a monthly edition of to 10,000,000. This increase has 27,000 copies. been greatest in Upper Egypt, less fruitful than Lower. Then there Says the Monthly: was not one causeway; now there are 200 miles of excellent roads. In Free Church To the recent meetrailway extension Egypt overpasses even Spain and Hungary. At Kafir Mission. ing of the Synod of gigantic cost, and by settled plan, the arable land has been enlarged Kafraria, Rev. by 600,000 acres. At present two mighty dams are building, as reser- Richard Ross made a striking revoirs of the rainwater, which will port on the extension and expan~ reclaim from the waste, at a cost of $10,000,000, it is true, 600,000 sion of Kafir missions. He said: acres more of wheatland." My first report on the Transkei Mission. was in January, 1869- thirty years ago last January. The following comparison will be inter- esting: Jan. 1869. Jan. 1899. Main stations….. .. .. … 1 6 Out-stations….. … ….. 2 62 According to Members in full eom- 3,168 munion……………. 148 Candidates………….. New Received by baptism. . . . 10 1,014 ''.''.: The Railways in the the 2 262 Dark Continent. Yo r k Sun, ~rJ~~~~ .i~ ~~.f.~~::. g there are Deacons ………….. '" ~ 1 58 Schools.. .. . ….. . ……. 1 57 now nearly 12,000 miles of track Pupils……………….. 25 3,600 between Cairo and the Cape, as ;Collections…………… £8 £730 against less than 6,000 miles in 1890, ~ Another very serious dif- and 2,500 additional miles are well Iteastly ficulty has been intro- under way. Besides, there are Kafirs. duced into South African other government schemes, like the hospitals by the establish- German road to Lake Tanganyika, ment of the "English principle"
the French road from Algeria to that male patients should be nurst
by women nurses. No doubt this swai, 21; Batyopi, 1; Portuguese is an admirable working principle and Shanganes, 14, and Transvaal for civilized England, where the Shanganes, 45." average man, however degraded, has a perception and instinct of So m e interesting respect for a refined gentlewoman. British Work papers have beenap- It would be impossible for me to in Uganda. pearing in the Rec- convey even a fragmentary impres- sion of the habits and customs prac- ord, contributed by tised in a Kafir ward. The lan- an anonymous correspondent who guage and the unspeakable conduct writes from Uganda, to indicate of the average male Kafir in hos- some of the good effects of British pital are such that the nursing of rule. He dwells upon the increase these patients would prove a trial of wealth possest by the natives, to a superior native woman. Yet and its effect in stimulating com- a Colonial or English girl of 23 is merce. He mentions that Mika oftentimes in charge of such a Sematimba-our old friend who ac- ward, and at night is on duty alone companied Archdeacon Walker to among these primitive and degrad- England on his last furlough-has ed creatures, without the assistance been entrusted by the chiefs with or protection of an orderly, a Rs. 20,000 in government notes, watchman, or a porter. which he has carried to the coast and purchast therewith the goods Before the breaking as commissioned, and a large cara- Babel at out of war, Mr. van was subsequently sent down Johannesburg. Goodenough, of the to carry them back. Another effect of the prosperityof the native American Board, community is, the writer states, wrote: "We have longed for the that the church funds have greatly 'gift of tongues,' and the Lord has increast. The sum paid in purchasgiven us the equivalent. Here is ing books and stationery alone durour good Joel, who teaches English, ing 1898 was £1,400, paid in shells Zulu, Xosa, Sesuto, and Dutch, and to the number of 6,300,000, the here is Muti, who speaks the East weight of which we calculate would Coast languages, Sheetswa, Ngi- be about ten tons!-C. M. S. Intonga, and Sityopi, besides Zulu telligencer. and English. There have been 225 different natives in the school at "Dr. Borehgre- Mayfair during the year. Of these Norwegians in vink," says the 38 have come from Mayfair, Forde,- Madagascar. lVorsk Missionsburg, Johannesburg, and the location, and the rest-147-from 9 dif- tidende, quoted in ferent mines. Tribally divided, The Chronicle, "writes from Madaaccording to the language which gascar that the outlook of the Northey speak, they fall into 3 groups: wegian missions is now favorable (1) The Zulu group, 58, among in all directions. In Ambatolampy whom are numbered, Zulus, 23; district, which had lately been the Maxosa, 15; Fingos, 2; Bacar, 1; weakest part, a French lieutenant Swazis, 2; Matabele, 5, and Made- has been appointed as governor, belo, 10. (2) The Basuto group in- who shows perfect impartiality becludes Basutoland Basutos, 21; tween Protestants and Catholics. Transvaal Basutos, 35; Barotses, 'Our old persecutor, the native 21, and Zambesians, 7. (3) The governor of Ambatolampy, sees it East Coast group, 81, includes Bat- is time to take a reef in his sails, and has been going about rebuking the Catholics with downright hard
ctENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
words for their persecuting spirit. is doing his best to right some of the wrongs which have been com- In Ilaka, where only four or five mitted. Two churches taken from the Protestants have been restored, children dared to come at our last and permission to build another church, long withheld, has been visit, we now have at least six hun- granted. Better than all, New Caledonia is now open to Protdred children, and a great number estant missions, and those who were compelled to be refugees have of grown-up Christians have ven- now returned, and the chiefs have been reinstated in their former tured to return to us. It is rights.
particularly encouraging that in two districts, where the persecu- tions of the Jesuits have been specially severe (Soatanana and Fahisinana), we have never in any year had so rich a harvest of bap- tisms as in the midst of these very A recent number Fijian Preachers of the Australapersecutions.' " of the Gospel. s ian Methodist ISLANDS OF THE SEA. Missionary Re- A half century ago the station of view describes a farewell meeting Anelcauhat was opened in the held to bid God speed to a party of island of Aneityum, and the first 28 Fijians going out to New Guinea permanent settlement was made and New Britain. The simple, by the Rev. John Geddie. All the heart-felt words of three of the Fi- 30 inhabited islands of the group jians made a great impression on were sunk in heathenism. To-day the audience. there are in the New Hebrides no fewer than 24 missionaries, 5 assist- James said: "I am greatly glad ants, a trained nurse, about 300 native teachers, and about 2,800 to be here with you all, and I am commnnicants, while a training institute for teachers and hospital thankful to go in this work. I are establisht. came this far in the strength of Jesus Christ. As He came into this world to suffer, so He will make us strong to suffer, if neces- sary. I came with this .message: The missions Whatever God calls upon me to do, Better Days under the care in New Caledonia. of the London He will help me to do it, and so I fear not." . Missionary Society in the Loyalty Islands have Joni said: "I stand forth before been greatly opprest for more than forty years. The French rule in. you, a young man, to say a few New Caledonia, which extends to the Loyalty Islands, has been in words to you, my elders. While the interest of the Roman Catholic priests, and the chief official in the in Fiji, I heard words from New group for a long series of years was a tool of the Jesuits. The story of Guinea, calling for help, and I said, the wrongs done the natives who were and desired to remain Protes- 'Let me give it.' I was told that tants is too long to tell here, but is given by Rev. Mr. Hadfield in the they might kill and eat us there, Chronicle of the London society. But a better day has come, and a but I was not afraid to meet that. liberal-minded statesman is now the governor of New Caledonia, and It is gladness to me to take the Gospel of Christ to those in dark- ness. It is an right with me."
Heneri said: "My soul rejoices to look upon you to-day. It is true that we differ. We are black, you are white, but our souls are the same, and we are alike also in faith. We have thrown away our homes and our country to do this work, and He who loves us and died for us, will care for us where we go. It is our mind to endure any suffering and pain which men may give us in order that we may serve our Lord."
The C. M. S. maintenance of the society's mis- sionaries and other purposes ? We Missionary Success Gleaner, as read of the enormous difficulties met with in sending out clergy, of in the South Seas. "An Indepen- occasions when the intending mis- sionary has been compelled to dent Testi- make more than one start, having been beaten back by war 01' tem- mony to Foreign Missions," quotes pest, of the loss of everything on the way, and of the terrible pro- words following up those used by portion who never arrived even on the shores of America, which now Charles Darwin, concerning the seem to us so near; and we may well wonder how in those days the same regions (the South Seas), al- work was carried on at all. But in this latter half of the now rapidly most seventy years ago. In" The ebbing century all is changed; our mar'velous ships convey passengers Cruise of the Cachalot," Mr. F. T. with regularity, safety, and com- fort unknown in previous years, Bullen remarks: and a world – wide organization enables money to be transmitted When all has been said that can with safety and certainty.-Mis- be said against the missionaries, sion Field. the solid bastion of fact remains that, in consequence of their labors, An English ex- the whole vile character of the pop- ulations of the Pacific has been Interest in change say s : changed, and where wickedness runs riot to-day, it is due largely Medical Missions. "T h e interest to the hindrances placed in the way of the noble efforts of the mis- taken in medisionaries by the unmitigated scoundrels who vilify them. The task of cal missions, manifesting itself in spreading Christianity would not, after all, be so difficult, were it not books of travel, in comments of for the efforts of those apostles of the devil to keep the islands as they the press, in speeches and sermons, would like them to be, places where lust runs riot day and night, mur- and best of all, in offers of service der may be done with impunity, slaver" flourishes, and all evil may from medical men, is one of the be indulged in free from law, order, or Tv >,raint. most conspicuous features which It speaks volumes for the in- meet the eye and ear in contemher~nt might of the Gospel that" in spite of the object lessons continu- plating the attitude of the Chrisally provided by white men for the natives of the negation of all good, tian public toward missionary it has stricken its roots so deeply into the soil of the Pacific Islands. work at the present time."
MISCELLANEOUS. Of the 680 medical missionaries But when we go (of whom 210 are women), the Pres- Early Drawbacks backward an d byterians, North, send 83, the in Missions. look into the Methodists 29, the Baptists also 2lt.
last century we the American Board 27, etc. The may well wonder how the society pioneers among women physicians of the day carried on its financial are Dr. Clara A. Swain, who went transactions. To-day it is easy to to India in 1869, and Dr. Lucinda transmit large or small sums; L. Combs, who entered China in checks and postal orders may be 1873, both of the American Metho- sent at home and abroad; but when dist Episcopal Church.
such things were not, how was money sent to London, and still more, how was it transmitted even to our nearest colonies for the
The Missionary Review of the World — May 1899
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT
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~ GULF ~ F S I AM .,,-< l'rcsentDoundO'fJ'otSiam. ________ _ _ _ . _ ~ ~ -::::::::::::= Bouuda.t'J of Siam OWlmuteetl Territory ••..••.••.•.•• "-< RaliroadsCompleted _______ _____ Railroads under Constructiun __ _____ = SCALE Of ENGLISH MIL.ES 120 lGO '00 J)R,U'N ..ro& THE MISSIONARY REVIEW BY DR. W.J.. lIRIGG8 electrfloORnMiAcY f'"ileCoc., rEeNaGtRe'Id. Nb. Yy. cafis.org MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD: Old Series. ( MAY. 5 New Series. VOL. XXII. No.5. I 1 VOL. XII. No.5.
THE PENTECOS'l'AL MOVEMENT-PILKINGTON OF UGANDA·t BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.
The crowning external revelation of the Word of God is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and the corresponding internal revelation of the Spirit in and to the believer is the crowning experience of the Divine life and love.
We have been looking for a series of months at the important spiritual movements of the half century now closing, and surely not one of them all compares in importance with the revival of interest in the person, functions, and offices, and in-working and out-working of the Spirit of God. This last is also first, for without it there could be no other truly sp£ritual movement or development; this gives character, genuineness, spiritual quality, and permanent stability to all other godly growths in knowledge, usefulness, and power.
For the sake of a distinctive name, this may be called the Pentecostal Movement, since the fnll bestowment of the Spirit, and His complete activity in and through the believer, dates from Pentecost. But by this name is iiow meant, particularly, the general movement, peculiar in our day, in the direction of new emphasis upon the work of the Spirit of God in three aspects-sanctifying, enduing, and fiZZing. If any choose to regard these latter terms, enduing and filling, as equivalent, we shall not stop to defend the distinction, which is clear to our own minds, but press on to the grand goal which lies before us as the purpose of this paper, namely, to lay as heavy stress as we may upon one all-important fact, and one all-important need: the fact that most disciples practically have never yet known the Holy Spirit as a presiding and controlling power, and the need, which, of all deficiencies in Christian experience, is the most lamentable and deplorable.
* —————————————-~ This periodical adopts the Orthography of the following Rule, recommended by the joint action of the American Philological Association and the Philological Society of England ,-Change d or ed final to t when so pronounced, except when the e aJiects a preceding sound.-PuBLISIIERS.
t See" Pilkington of Uganda," by O. F. Harford-Battersby, publishad by Marshall Bros" London. and Fleming H. Revell 00.. New York. We pass by all else for the time, first of all, to fix attention on the Scripture teaching, and the progress of doctrine which is so conspicuous, when the great leading texts are set in order as they occur in the New 'restament.
Our Lord, as Matthew reports Him, is represented as saying in that first great discourse which held the germs of all His subsequent teaching: If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him? Matt. vii : 11.
Luke, in his report of the same discourse, was manifestly struck by a particular good gift, specified by our Lord: How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Luke xi : 13.
This Scripture is very important because upon a comparison of the Gospel narratives it appears to be the earliest statement, in the order of time, found in the New Testament as to the gift of the Spirit of God to the believer in answer to prayer. Up to this point there had been no mention of the Spirit of God, except in His relation to the person of Christ, or as connected with the gift of prophecy, as in Zacharias, Elizabeth, Simeon, etc., or by way of teaching the new birth, etc. But, from this point on, it becomes clearer, that believing prayer can claim of the Father a special gift of the Spirit, and a few texts bearing npon the development of this doctrine should ever be written large in the memory. Conspicuous among these are the following: In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried: If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly (i. e., the inner man) shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the spirit which they that believe on Him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given .. because Jesus was not yet glorified. John vii: 37-39.
Here we reach a very distinct stage of progress in the unfolding of the truth. We now learn that this gift of the Holy Spirit will make the disciple's inner life a fountain of life to others, so that from him shall flow spiritual rivers of Holy Spirit power and influence, and that such gift of the Spirit waits for Christ's glorification as the condition of its bestowment.
Next, we meet that inspiring passage in Mark, which is so unique in its teaching as to the condition of a proper asking: And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God (or reckon on God's good faith). Therefore I say unto you, Vhat things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them. Mark xi : 22-24.
Here we touch another sublime height of teaching. The first pas·
PILKINGTON OF UGANDA
sage quoted revealed God's fatherly readiness to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him; the second showed the effect of such gift in making the recipient a reservoir of living spiritual power and blessing. And now we are taught that in asking for such a supremely good gift we must reckon on the faithfulness of God to His promise; we must not only desire and pray fo], the Spirit, but we must trust our Heavenly Father to do as He says. Weare not to depend upon our consciousness of some new force within, or on our own inward frames of feeling. It is a question, not of perceiving, but of receiving. If we come and desire and ask, having no doubt that God will keep good faith with us, we shall have this good gift.
'1'he only other stage at which we need to tarry in this progressive teaching is the last discourse of our Lord, which is recorded in John xiv-xvi, where there is more teaching about the Spirit than in all the previous narratives of the four Gospels combined; out of this wonderful talk of our Master, we select two very significant sentences: He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. John xiv: 17.
Here then appears to be a declaration of a present fact and an intimation of a fact yet future. (7tap' vj1zv j1EVEl, Uat EV Vj1ZV corat.) There was a sense in which the Holy Spirit was already with them, but there was another sense in which He was yet to be revealed as in them. The other Scripture is John xvi: 7: Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but, if I depart, I will send Him unto you.
This teaching reaches mysterious elevations of truth. So important was this gift that to receive it would repay for Christ's withdrawal! How many of us have ever reflected on that fact and have come to realize its awe-inspiring grandeur! To have the personal companionship of the Lord Jesus, lmt lose the fulness of the Spirit's revelation within, would be a calamity-so Christ himself teaches.
How immeasurably important then, that every disciple should know his own need of the Spirit, should feel the impossibility of any compensation for such a lack, should understand how ready God is to give the Spirit, and should pray in faith for the gift!
There is one ditch into which many believers practically fall, so that they never get to the firm resting-place of actual reception of this crowning gift of God. They say the Spirit of God was on the day of Pentecost given, fully, finally, and to all believers, and hence is not to be sought or askt in prayer as an unbestowed boon. In a seme this is true, but in another sense it is a snare. There was on the day of Pentecost an outpouring of the Spirit on all believers. The new dispensation of the Holy Spirit was then inaugurated, and we are not, therefore, to look for any such bestowment of the Spirit. But individually we find disciples filled with the Spirit subsequently, and in Ephesians
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT
v : 18, we find a distinct command, "Be filled with the Spirit." There must therefore be some true sense in which we are to claim, receive, and avail ourselves of this last and greatest gift of God. As Christ was once offered for all, a sacrifice for sin, but every new believer takes Christ as a Savior, and so makes practically available the work of Christ for sinners, so the Holy Spirit was once for all given, but every believing child of God accepts and receives the fulness of this gift by faith, and practically it is to him as tho the Spirit had been specially given to him.
For the philosophy of the matter we are not jealous, but for the practical realization of the fact, we well may be; and it is perhaps best to drop all mere punctilious criticism of terminology and verbal expression in our intense desire that all disciples may know and make real their share in the Pentecostal gift.
One fact knocks over all hostile theories: Men and women are in our day comt'ng -into an eni£rely new experience by the endowment of the Holy Spirit.
The case of George L. Pilkington, of Uganda, whose newly-pub- lisht life is reviewed in this issue presents an instance in point.
Referring to his own need of the Spirit he says: If it had not been that God enabled me after three years in the mission field to accept by faith the gift of the Holy Spirit, I should have given up the work. I could not have gone on as I was then. A book by David, the Tamil evangelist, showed me that my life was not right, that I had not the power of the Holy Ghost. I had consecrated myself hundreds of times, but I had not accepted God's gift. I saw now that God commanded me to be filled with the Spirit. Then I read: "All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them and ye shall have them" (Mark xi: 24, R. V.), and claiming this promise I received the Holy Spirit. (P.222.) I distinguish between the presence of the Holy Spirit with us and in us; our blessed Lord said to His disciples, "He abideth with you and shall be in you." John xiv: 17. (P.224.) "He that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers (not a stream or a simple river) of living water. Greater works than these shall ye do because I go unto the Father." What are these rivers and where are these mighty works? We must ask rather, where is "he that believeth on Him? Surely, He is not unfaithful to a single line of His promise. What wonder that infidelity abounds when the worst infidelity of all is in our hearts! What wonder if popery increases, when we have dethroned the Holy Spirit from our hearts!" (P. 223.) About this same time a great desire arose for mission services to be held in Uganda. In the absence of special missioners from abroad, it occurred to them that God wanted to use themselves, and all in prayer newly dedicated themselves to Him, and askt Him to baptize them anew. This was December 8, 1893.
That very morning they began. They had not told the people, but went up after prayer, at the usual time, believing for a blessing.
Mr. Pilkington conducted the meeting. They sang Have you been to Jesus fOf the cleansing power?
and Mr. Pilkington prayed, and then spoke of a very sad case which
PILKINGTON OF UGANDA
had indirectly led to the conviction that there was need of such meetings, and of a new power from God coming down on the native church and even on the missionaries. A certain Musa Yakuganda had come to the missionaries and askt to have his name given out as having returned to the state of a heathen. The reason he gave was startling. He said: "I get no profit from your religion." Being askt if he knew what he was saying, he replied: "Do you think I have been reading seven years and do not understand? Your religion does not profit me at all. I have done with it." Pilkington dwelt on this case, and pointed out what a cause of shame and reproach it was to the missionaries. The sense of need of the deeper and fuller life and power of the Spirit took strong hold on the missionary preachers and teachers, and first of all humbled them before God. Then bless- ing came to the whole native church. On two occasions hundreds were all praying for forgiveness, while others were in the simplest language praising God. 'fhe meeting, which began at 8.30 A. M., did did not close till 12, and then another service began in the church directly. Each morning fully five hundred were present, and they found them- sel ves in the midst of a great spiritual revival, and their joy was beyond expression. The after meetings saw two hundred waiting for individual dealing. Among others who were the fruits of this work was that same Musa who had askt his name to be announced as having gone back to heathenism. Great chiefs in the land boldly confest their wish to accept Christ, and one chief, who had been a leading teacher and suspended for misconduct, acknowledged, in the presence of the king and his pages, that he had not before accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior, but did so then. The missionaries appointed the week following the mission services as a time for special meetings for the deepening of the spiritual life.
Those wonderful three days, Dec. 8-10, 1893, will never be for- . gotten. They were the signal for years of blessing, pentecostal in character and wonderful in results. First of all God had brought the missionaries to humble themselves, feel their need, and seek larger blessing-to be filled with the Spirit. Then they were led to confess to the native church their previous lack of faith, of power, and 'of prayer, and to ask God for forgiveness. Then came similar humilia- tions and confessions among the Christians of Uganda. Many who had been lookt upon as leading disciples began to see their lack also, and to realize a new force and power in their Christian experience. In fact, such a spirit of confession and humiliation was poured out on the native church, and such secret sins came to light in this great upturning and uncovering of hidden things, that the missionaries felt called on to restrain these public confessions, lest they should bring too great reproach on the name of Christ, and the awakened
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT
backsliders were counseled to seek the brethren for private confession )lnd prayer before God.
It was particularly noticeable how the conversions and reclamations were almost invariably connected with knowledge of the Word of God. At the Liverpool Conference in 1896, Mr. Pilkington said: "The power to read the Bible is the key to the kingdom of God. With the exception of one case, I have never known anyone to profess Christ who could not l'ead."
Throughout this great revival in Uganda God has put special and very remarkable emphasis upon the Holy Scriptures as the means both of the new birth and the new quickening in spiritual life. They adopted a plan of erecting reading houses, or, as the people called them, "synagogi," where native teachers could instruct the people under the supervision of more experienced workers. The system was organizcd and became a leadl:ng feature of the work in Uganda. It was the means of causing the revival which had started in the capital to spread that same year far and wide through the various outlying stations.
By April 1, 1894, between thirty and forty teachers had offered themselves for such service in the country districts, and thirteen were solemnly sent out in one Sunday, and seven more the next week. Shortly word came from the islands of an enormous increase of " reading." A spirit of new inquiry was found, even among Roman Catholics and Moslems. In the autumn of 1894, before the church at Mengo fell in a great storm, at least 2,000 were assembling every weekday morning, and in the 200 country churches some 7,000 more, and on Sundays 20,000 in the various places of meeting. Of these, 6,000 were in classes, under regular instruction; and this great work, reaching out over a circle of territory three hundred miles in diameter, and nearly one thousand in circumference, had to be directed by only twelve Europeans, who workt with the double hindrance of an imperfect knowledge of the language, and constant liability to fever. Yet with all these disadvantages, the work so rapidly extended that, when in December the year 1894 was reviewed, some such results as the following were obvious as signs of God's moving: When the year began the number of country churches, reading rooms, or synagogi, did not exceed twenty; at the close of the year there were tell times that number, and the ten largest would hold 4,500 persons. Exclusive of the capital, there were on week days not less than 4,000, and on Sundays, 20,000 hearers of the Gospel. The first teachers, paid by the native church, went forth in April, and in December there were 131 of these, in 85 stations, twenty of which, being outside Uganda proper, were in a sense foreign mission stations. Even these figures can not represent the whole work, nor does this number embrace all the teachers, twenty of whom not reckoned in the above number were at work at Jungo. At Bu'si also, an island near Jungo, there were three churches, and 2,000 people under instruction.
'piLKINGTON OF UGANbA. 32'1
The" readers" ordinarily became catechumens, and the catechumens candidates for baptism. In 1893 the catechumens numbered 170, during the year 1894 some 800 were baptized, and 1,500 catechumens remained. The movement, so far from having expended its force, seemed not yet to have reacht its height, and there was every evidence that an enormous accession would yet come, as was the case.
When Mr. Pilkington went to England on furlough, in the sum- mer of 1895, he electrified the audiences he addrest, by his stirring account of the dealings of God with the Uganda mission. And noth- ing was more noticeable in his addresses than the emphasis he laid on this fact, that the first step in this vivification of the church in Uganda was this, that the missionaries and teachers themselves were led to just views of their own deep need)' they saw the absolute neces- GEORGE L. PILKINGTON IN UGANDA.
sity for personal consecration, and the experience of a direct and supreme work of the Holy Spirit in themselves.
Here, then, we have another mighty argument for seeking, with a desperate sense of helplessness and with a confident faith in God's promise, Holy Ghost power. Not to Mr. Pilkington and his fellowworkers was this indispensable only, but the whole native church of Uganda owes the almost unparalleled movement of the last decade of years to the new enduements of power which proved to these missionaries such a divine equipment for their work.
It was this outpouring of Holy Spirit power whereby the native evangelists do grand work in U ganda,-another proof that Africa is to be ultimately evangelized by Africans, and that the office of missionaries from America and Europe is to raise up a native church, with trained native teachers. In Uganda, as in many other parts of the
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT
heathen world, the people can follow but can not lead, and some one from outside must lead and organize.
A few examples of the efficiency of these Waganda evangelists will suffice as representative cases.
A missionary visiting a small island in the lake two or three years ago, found but one person who could read at all. Two teachers were sent, and, after nine months, sixty were reading the Gospel. Two teachers were sent to another island, and in a year one very rude church building, that even when uncomfortably full could hold but one hundred, had multiplied into four, one of which would hold seven hundred; the congregation of a hundred had multiplied tenfold, and fifty or more had been baptized.
On the large island of Sese all the chiefs are Roman Oatholics. Yet there are some three hundred and twenty Protestants, nicknamed "The people of the Holy Ghost," which, like the nickname "Ohristians" at Antioch, is an honor, not a reproach; and these disciples, ignorant as they are, evince a like readiness with the early Ohristians to face opposition and persecution for His name, and nowhere has a greater desire for" reading" been shown.
The educational value of the reading of God's Word has been very noticeable in Uganda. The very physiognomy of the people seems to have been modified by it, so that it is almost possible to distinguish a reader by his outward appearance. The reality of (lod seems to impress itself on the native mind more forcibly by this daily poring over the pages of the New Testament, at first mechanically and almost blindly, then with eyes partially opened to catch a glimpse or a glimmering of the meaning, until, with another illumining touch of God, the Divine message of love is intelligently graspt. Sometimes the impression is like a driven nail clincht and fastened by a sermon, or a prayer service, or the faithful words of a friend. What a lesson God is thus teaching us all as to the honor and value He sets on His own 'Vord, and this at a time when, more than ever before, even profest Ohristian teachers in Ohristian lands seem bent on lowering in the public mind the sense of the dignity and majesty of the Heavenly message. At first those who hear these words find them unintelligible; such terms as sin and salvation, love and faith, convey little meaning to minds that have been cast in the narrow and crampt mold of heathenism. But as they hear and read, Scripture interprets itself, and under the light of the Spirit they get totally uew ideas of Divine mysteries.
The outcome of this Holy Spirit revival in Uganda can not be measured; only from the Spirit comes the clear vision of Divine truth, as well as the inward experience of Divine life. And in the native preachers t.here has been developt remarkable spiritual discernment and power in presenting truth.
l'ILKINGTON OF UQANDA
A preacher at Mengo said in his sermon that" to form a judgment of man's deserts, man's way is to put into one scale his evil deeds and vices, and into the other his virtues and religions observances; but that God's way in snch a case wonld be to pnt both these into the same deMt scale." This native preacher had learned that rudimental truth, hidden from many of the wise and prudent, that" all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags," and that the only hope of jnstification is that the perfect obedience of onr adorable Lord, J esns Christ, shall be placed in the credit scale, and so overbalance and ontweigh onr evil and selfish deeds.
Another preacher, discriminating between inward heart piety on one hand and ontwaxd religions observances on the other, used the following apt and original simile: Religion may be compared to a banana (the natural food of the Baganda). The real heart religion is the juicy pulp; the forms and ceremonies are the skin. While the two are united and undivided the banana keeps good until it is used. And so it is with religion. Separate the forms from the spirit, and the one will be of no more value than the banana husk, while the latter will speedily decay and become corrupt, apart from the outward expression. Observances have their value in protecting the holy germ within, and fostering the feelings of the heart. (P.248.) '1'he discourse had its suggestion in a certain spirit of insubordination, which sought to rebel against the ordinances of the church. But as Mr. Pilkington asks, "What European teacher could have used such a simile."
Another native preacher, referring to Romish teaching, said: No poisoner gives poison meat if he would remain undiscovered. The devil knows that. He has two devices; he will do one of two things; first try to deprive you ofo the food, and if he can not, he will corrupt it. (P.248.) Pilkington before British hearers pleaded earnestly for a sufficient force to take possession of this great opportunity in Uganda, for a hundred additional missionaries, men and women filled with the Holy Ghost, as organizers and leaders for native workers, at least ten of whom could mastel', and then translate into, the native tongues; and with rare insight into the true philosophy of missions he urged a new policy ~f occupation. He contended that the only true method of distributing missionary workers is to send a large force when a deS1;re for instruction and an agg7'essive missionary spirit have been strongly developt among the nai£ve converts, instead of sending the bulk of missionary force to places where there is neither desire for teachers nor a missionary spirit And his argnment is that the ultimate outcome of the former method will be far the greater in good. For instance, he says, after ten years little or no impression will have been made on the indifferent and hostile community, and this begets
TUE t>B-NTECOSTAL MOVEMENT
depression among the workers and in the church at home. Whereas, if the work at the field, where God's Spirit has been outpoured, were reenforced, it will so progress that it becomes a source of wide influence; a strong native church is developt with a large force of native evangelists, and thus the fire God has kindled is carried to the other field and transferred to this other center. The result is encouragement both among the missionary band and the supporters at home.
So strongly did this plea affect his hearers and the readers of his addresses that, for example, the missionaries of the Church Missionary Society in India askt the society, when it could be done, to send candidates offering to go to India, to Uganda, for the time being, instead, to avail themselves of the exceptional opening in that field, the growing conviction being that God's singular blessing in any particular field is a signal for a special reenforcement at that time of the force at work there.
Mr. Pilkington gave, in Britain, a vivid pictnre of the Uganda work in the shape of four consecutive scenes, afterward issued in pamphlet form, and called" The Gospel in Uganda."
A hundred thousand souls brought into close contact with the Gospel, half of them able to read for themselves; two hundred buildings raised by native Christians, in which to worship and read the Word of God; two hundred native evangelists and teachers wholly supported by the native church; ten thousand New Testaments in circulation; six thousand souls seeking instruction daily; numbers of candidates for baptism, confirmation, of adherents and teachers more than doubling each year for six or seven years, and God's power shown by their changed lives-and all these results in the very center of the world's thickest spiritual darkness and death shade!
This was in 1896, and later reports eclipse even this. The changes wrought by the Gospel in Uganda can be appreciated only by setting in sharp contrast the state of things in 1880 and in 1895. Old Isaiah, "the good-natured giant," will tell you how three hundred brothers and cousins of the king were penned within the narrow limits of the dike, still visible by the roadside, two or three miles north of Mengo, and by his orders left there to starve to death! A boy of fifteen lost sight of a goat he was herding, and his master cut off his ear. For a trifling misdemeanor both eyes were gouged out. An unfortunate courtier accidentally trod on the king's mat, and paid the penalty with his life. The king, simply to support his royal dignity, ordered the promiscuous slaughter of all who happened to be standing on his right and left hand, or all who might be met on the streets at a certain time, by a band sent out for the purpose of such slaughter. Should a remonstrance be made against killing the innocent, the answer would be, "If I only kill the guilty, the innocent will not respect me." Women and children were sold into hopeless slavery and misery. Spirits were believed in, feared, propitiated, and worshiped. Charms were worn; woman was a beast of burden, etc. Christ and his Gospel has changed all this. Domestic slavery no longer has any legal status, and any slave may claim freedom, and this claim will be honored. Woman takes her place
i'lL1UNGTON OF UGANDA
by man's side. Conversion has brought victory over vicious habits; cruelty is seen to be cruelty, and ar'ound the Lord's table gather from time to time those who were once darkness, but now light in the Lord, "washed, sanctified, justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
One remark we feel constrained to make, as we read the brief account of dear Pilkington's death. This invaluable missionary and translator, whatever may be the justification of it, joined the troops in quelling the second mutiny. He took up his position with Oaptain Harrison, who was leading the attack. :Men were seen coming toward them, and were thought to be Waganda, but they opened fire, and proved themselves to be N ubians. One of them took deliberate aim at Pilkington several times, but each time missed him. Then Pilkington returned the fire, but the shots went equally wide of the mark. He fired again at Pilkington, and this time shot him right through the thigh, bursting the femoral artery. One of Harrison's Nubian officers then shot and killed the man who had inflicted on Pilkington his fatal wound. Shortly after, the beloved missionary fell asleep. He had gone out in the morning at seven; he was brought back before 9 P. M. dead.
vVe have had more than once a doubt whether Ohrist's messengers of peace are to take up weapons of war; whether literally our weapons in the mission field, if they are to be mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, are not to be spiritual in character. Had Pilkington kept himself to his work of translation and evangelization, he would have been, so far as man can see, alive to-day. One can not but notice how, nntil he returned the fire, he seemed to be Divinely sheltered from the deliberate aim of the foe; but after he fired his shots, the first return fire was fatal. What impression must be made on the heathen whom we seek to win to Ohrist, when they see a missionary taking up a rifle and marching against them! "The Son of Man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And what was the act by which the life of the man who had shot down Pilkington was taken, but an act of retaliation ! We know of one missionary society, whose unswerving principle it is not to attempt any act of violence, even in self-defense; and they have never yet lost but one life by any act of violence on the part of the natives among whom they labor. With the utmost tenderness we feel constrained to ask whether our missionaries should not keep themselves to their work as God's heralds and witnesses, and whether an entirely pacific mission on their part would not seem in the eyes of pagans more consistent with their profession and the spirit of their :Master. For ourselves we have long felt that war is not the occupation of the missionary, and every new instance, snch as the beloved Pilkington furnishes, seems to erect a new warning for God's servants.
MIsSION WORK AMONG TRE LAOS OF INDO-CRINA
MISSION WORK AMONG THE LAOS OF INDO CHINA.-II.
BY WILLIAM A. BRIGGS, M.D., LAKAWN.
Missionary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions (North).
For years the eyes of the missionaries among the Laos of Northern Siam have been turned to the vast unoccupied territories to the north and east of the present mission stations. A score or more mountain tribes, each speaking a separate language, and millions of Laos-speaking people far beyond our present stations, are dependent upon us for the knowledge of the Gospel. Dr. Daniel McGilvary (called by some the Apostle Daniel) has for years made extensive tours to the north and northeast. Other missionaries have also, from time to time, visited parts of this great outlying territory, and have done faithful work 111 sowing the seed. God has promist the harvest.
The immense distances to be traveled, and the rough character of the country, make it impossible to follow up this work from our present stations. With a view, therefore, to establishing a station in British territory to the north, and a station in French territory to the northeast, two committees were appointed to explore these regions during the year 1897, as much as possible covering territory heretofore unvisited. Rev. D. McGilvary, D.D., and Dr. S. C. Peoples were appointed to take a tour through French territory to the east and northeast, while the Rev. W. O. Dodd and I were appointed to take a tour through British territory to the north and northwest.* From Lakawn we were absent ninety days. " We slept in Buddhist monasteries more frequently than elsewhere. We came into close contact with the religions and the superstitions of the people. We distributed books, explained picture rolls of scenes in the life of Ohrist, gave away medicines free and in exchange for food, and sought to point all to Him who is both Teacher and Healer." We traveled in a strange land, among strange people, most of whom had never seen the face of a white man before, and everywhere, except ill one small village, we and our message received a most cordial reception.
On Monday, Nov. 8, 1897, at 2.20 P. M., from the height of 5,000 feet above sea level, we saw before us the plain of Oheung Tung. Our eyes beheld in the distance the scene to which our hearts and minds had wandered many times during the past few years. But the view was disappointing. Mountains-mountains everywhere; and the plain-a spot the size of a man's hand. Yet this was Oheung Tung, and our hearts were glad. 'rhis tiny spot among the mountains proved to be a plain ten miles wide by twenty miles long, with a city greater in area and population than any city yet known to us in all the Laos-speaking territory.
• A limited number of the reports of these committees can be had by applying to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. A MARKET SCENE IN CHEUNG TUNG.
Ten full days were spent at the city of Cheung Tung·-days and nights of work, with but li ttle rest. Such openings presented themselves for evangelistic work that it was decidedly a trial to be unable to remain longer. We were, however, comforted with the thought that hundreds of portions of God's Word had been distributed, and the seed had thus been sown in what seemed to us prepared soil. The Sabbath which we spent in Cheung Tung was big :!llarket day, and we might then have judiciously disposed of every Laos book we had brought with us. We had about two hundred pounds' weight of literature with us, but our whole stock could have been disposed of in any one of half it dozen towns.
On the morning of Friday, Nov. 19, we separated, Mr. Dodd going northeast, while I kept on to the north, both of us crossing into the province of Yunnan, China. On our way homeward we met one month later at Muang Yawng, and, with great rejoicing, rehearsed all the way the Lord had led us.* Certainly, our eyes had seen and our ears had heard much of which we had never dreamed. What joy to give the Bread of Life to hungry soulsl What a happy burden had been laid upon us, and what a cause fo r rejoicing, to know that through the medium of our Laos language we can (if the church send us) give to the people in all the territory through which we traveled the t ru th as it is in Jesus. 'fhe following inciden ts from my own experiences illustrate equally the experience of Mr. Dodd.
At Muang Mah, in Laam province, I was kept so busy attending the sick and answering the questions in regard to the" religion of Jesus," that I found it difficult to press my way through the crowd Sabbath afternoon and ride off to visit another village near by. The • Our rejoicing was increast b y the presence with us of Rev. Robert Irwin, who waS returning from America via Burma and the Shan States. head man of the village showed deep interest, listening for hours to the message of truth. The highest official of the district, an old white-haired governor, sent a special messenger to call us to his place, asking to hear our message, and listening to it most thankfully, thoughtfully, and even devoutly. In the evening over thirty of those most interested, who had waited hours in the temple for my return, were gathered together for a farewell meeting. The picture roll was exhibited, and for an hour and a half those people listened with eager attention to the story of the birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and promist coming again of our blessed Lord. A special endeavor was made to have them understand the main particulars, and the effort was graciously rewarded by hearing them spontaneously repeat the main features of the story over and over again to each other. An appeal was made to them not to treat our message as mere gossip, but as the Word from the only true God, and as that which pertained to their own eternal welfare. The appeal and the message were received with outspoken gratitude and intelligent interest, many of the people remaining till long after midnight, reading the books and tracts by the light of the fire, and asking questions of the Christians in our company.
On Monday morning, Nov. 29, I and my boy rode on ahead of the caravan into Muang Laam City, crossing over a mountain 5,800 feet above sea-level. We arrived at the city at 11.20 A. M., in time to see the great market, which was, indeed, worth seeing. Here our message was listened to with a similar interest to that shown in Muang Mah. One A GROUP OUTSIDE THE TElIIPLE IN HUANG LAAlII, YUNNAN, CRINA. priest paid us eight or ten visits-coming every night after dark and staying until we were too tired to talk longer. He was given a copy of our Scriptures (so far as yet publisht), and spent many hours in diligent study, asking thoughtful questions that he might be able to teach others. Just as we were starting on our homeward journey, this priest came with questions as to whether or not the genealogies of Jesus had any special significance or importance in the plan of salvation. After a brief explanation, I was obliged to jump on my horse and hasten after our caravan, which was almost out of sight.
THE WILD WAHS OF YUNNAN.
In Muang Laam we saw for. the first time the real" Wild Wahs," who are big, strong, robust, ugly, black, fierce-looking creatures. Certainly one felt like maintaining a comfortable distance between one's neck and the big butcher knife that was stuck unsheathed into the loin-cloth of every Wah. The Wild Wahs occupy the mountains of the southwestern corner of Yunnan province, China, and the British territory contiguous to it. In customs, costume, and physical appearance they may well be called" wild." It would be difficult to imagine any family of the human race with less cultivation than these black-skinned, almost naked head-hunters. There were a few hundred of them at the market in Muang Laam City on the day of our arrival, and our immediate sensations would be hard to describe. We thought of all the horrible missionary picture books which we had, in boyhood, secretly considered fiction, and we decided that the truth was emphatically stranger. Yet these people have a civilization of their own. They have some thirteen weeungs (cities) in their mountain fastnesses, and are so strong that they have for eight years been able to defy and defeat the armies of China sent to overcome them. This year China is determined to end the matter, and has entered upon a war for the utter extermination of these savages. Tho China may be unsuccessful, the Wahs will in time be compelled to give in. Races of men, more wild and savage than the Wahs, have been compelled to give in, not by a war of death, but by a war of life, light, and love. Our conversation with the Chinese commissioner on these lines provoked no cynical smile, but an exprest desire to know more of this matter. The history of the Christianity of Christ gives no cause to be ashamed of the practical power of the Gospel.
Between seven and eight hundred years ago the Wahs, living in a district called Sam Tow, near Cheung 'l'oong Oity, were converted to Buddhism, and now call themselves Plangs. These Plangs are Buddhists of the strictest type, and seemingly it is only the fault of Buddhism itself that they are not better Buddhists. They are faithful, but continue to look for something satisfying. "Every boy among this remarkable folk enters the priesthood, and there learns the Laos language. This solves the problem of how to give the Gospel to the score of mountain tribes in Indo-Ohina. Each tribe speaks a language unintelligible to the others, but while the Plangs retain their own language, most of even the women and children also understand and speak the language of their religion, the Laos. All the men can read our Laos printed books."
These people, hungry for tnt th that satisfies, and longing for light, are very anxiously awaiting the coming of the promist Messiah of Buddhism. What a preparation for the true Messiah! At every Sam Tow village which we visited the people listened with rapt attention to all we told them, and eagerly requested books, which were distributed carefully among them. In one village the people remained till far on into the night, asking qllestions-llOt about the" outside country," but about the upper country and the God who had come to earth, and who seemed t.o them to be surely the One for whom they had been looking eagerly these many years. I was finally obliged to request them to leave that I might rest. I then went to say farewell to the abbot of the monastery, who was sitting in state, teaching the priests and novitiates their lessons. I presented him with a copy of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, which he accepted with thanks. As I turned to go, I found two or three men to whom I had given leaflets, who implored me to explain some things to them more fully. 'rhus for a shalf hour after midnight I preacht on the "Lord's Prayer" and "Oome unto Me," having for an audience the two or three men of the village, the abbot, and some twenty odd priests and monks, all of whom gave most respectful and thoughtful attention. In the morning, at 5 o'clock, the abbot and all the people of the village were out to wish me many good things; promising a warm welcome should I return.
Are we going to leave these warm-hearted, earnest people-once wild Wahs-to seek on without the help we can give them? The Ohurch must answer. It is well said, "'Yhere the emblem of Anglo- Saxon liberty has once been raised it must never be hauled down." Last year we planted the emblem of eternal life, liberty, and love four hundred miles beyond our farthest outpost. Is it to be hauled down? Or will the Ohurch say, "Go back at any cost, and occupy the land in the name of Ohrist and His Ohurch ?"
There are open doors on all sides. Strong, able, consecrated men and women are ready to enter. Bnt the word has gone out that the Presbyterian Ohurch is saying, "The debt is paid, let us take a holiday." We can not believe it. 'rhe church is made up of men and women who know that since the debt is paid, it is just the tilme for keeping out of debt, not by selling part of our birthright, not by mortgaging a corner of our vineyard, but by enthusiastic labor and consecrated self-denial. To-day the Womau's Foreign Missionary Socie-
PHEACHING '.rHE GOSPEL TO THE LAOS IN BURMA
ties are stronger than ever. The Ohristian Endeavor societies are active in missionary work. Many Sabbath-schools are taught to think and to pray and to give for missions. Missionary literature is flooding the country as never before. God has again blest the land with peace and prosperity. Bugle calls of triumph are heard from our missionary army 'scattered among the nations. Despatches are being received from our pioneer corps in Ohina, Korea, Siam, Laos, and other fields, calling for reenforcements and supplies. What shall the answer be ? It must be quick, definite, and decisive. If the Presbyterian Ohurch loyally and liberally supports the work already entered npon, the answer is " go forward," otherwise-no, I believe there wiII be no otherwise.
A GROUP OF KAWS IN THE BRITISH SHAN STATES.
PREAOHING 'l'HE GOSPEL TO THE LAOS IN BURMA.
REV. W. C. DODD, CHEUNG HAl, NORTHERN SIAM. Missionary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions.
Mrs. Dodd and I left our home in Oheung Hai, North Siam, on the 7th of March, 1898, and spent three and a half months itinerating. Nearly all of that time we were in territory which has, within the past four years, become a part of Burma, but the population of which is nearly all Laos. We traveled by boat some distance up the Maa Kawng, then took pony express, limited-very mnch limited, both by the size of the pony and by the short stages it could traverse-usually from ten to fifteen miles a day. More than a month was spent at Oheun~ Tun~, the capital of the E&f)tern Shan States of Upper Burm&. W. C. DODD PREACHING TO A MOUNTAIN TRIBE IN A KAW VILLAGE 1 CHEUNG TUNG.
We both preacht, but not in the same way. I took few texts, Mrs. Dodd took none, but neither of us spoke from manuscript. We had two picture 1'0113 of scenes in the life of Christ. 'l'hese spoke to the eyes of the people, while wc assaulted ear-gate. Sometimes I wouid be explaining one set, and Mrs. Dodd the other at the same time. We simply told about Jesus to those who, with few exceptions, had never before had Christ and the resurrection preacht to them. Most of our large audiences were in Buddhist monasteries, and often included the monks, but we also went to private houses and talkt to the people, who quickly came together. Sometimes our audicnce did more talking than we, but this was the exception. L sually we had the strictest attention, and plenty of questions afterward, or respectfully put during the telling of the story.
While in Cheung Tung, we turned our boatmen and carriers into colporteurs. Some of them were not Christians themselves, but they did good work in assisting the native Christians in evangelism. All alike were detailed daily, with books and a picture roll. They pretty well covered the villages in the Cheung 'rung plain. More than seven hundred copies of a small tract, on the essentials of truth as it is in Christ, were thus distributed. On market days we were all especially busy. 'rhese market days come once in every five in all the large towns in this region. '['hey are attended by people from all the contiguous villages, some coming so far that they have to· sleep a night on the way. In this way books and the spoken word of truth had a wide dissemi!1ation. Many exprest a desire to learn more. In order to understand the way these people receive the Word, a little Buddhist theology is necessary. According to this theology, myriads upon myriads of ages ago, a white crow living in a "nikote"
tree, laid five eggs. Earthquake, thunder, and tornado envelopt these eggs round about, and scattered them. Each was taken by a foster-mother and hatcht. They became respectively, Kahkoosuntah, Konahmanah, Kasappa, Kotama (afterward Gotama Buddha), and Ahreyah Mettai. After living for a time as sons of the white crow, tlley were reborn in the upper worlds as water lilies or lotus. There they agreed that the lotus which first budded should be born on the earth, as a Buddha, to bless animals and men. First, Kahkoosuntah's lotus budded, and ·he became a Buddha for 5,000 years. His appearance was like gold. At the end of 5,000 years he entered Nirvana, or, as it is called here, Nipplin. After him came Konahmanah, like a jewel, 3,000 years, then Nipplin. Then down came Kasappa, white as milk, for 2,000 years. 'rhen the lotus of Ahreyah Mettai, who was next in age, came to bud, but Kotama swapped lilies with him on the sly, and, coming down to earth, was born on the island of Ceylon. It is acknowledged that his natural life was only 80 years, but it is claimed that he has merely entered upon the second stage of Nipplin, of whieh there are three in all. The first he entered when he made the great renunciation under the sacred Po tree. The second one he entered at death, and in this he still retains consciousness and power; he can come on invitation to inhabit his images, and can bless his votaries. Thus his" life" is not yet ended. It is to last 5,000 years, when he will attain the final stage of Nipplin-complete annihilation -for a time. His religion is only a preparatory one, admonishing to negative virtues, and warning against positive vices. Some say that at the end of the 5,000 years, others, when all men become pure as, white milk-Ahreyah Mettai will take his turn, out of which he was cheated by Kotama, and be born. He is to combine all the glories ot person, and all the virtues and powers of his four brothers who have preceded him, and is to live and reign 84,000 years. All who have white hearts will be born or reborn at that time; and when he enters Nipplin, they too shall enter, and thus stop the hitherto ceaseless round of transmigration. Yet, only for a time. After cycles of ages, all must begin the dreary round again, the five brothers, animals, and men alike.
Most of our auditors lookt upon Jesns for the next Buddha, the Savior, Ahreyah Mettai. Many lifted both hands in worship of the pictures, the books, and the preachers. This, of course, we forbade, and tried to explain how far superior Christ is to Ahreyah Mettai.
The general expectation of a Messiah dou btless explains the reception accorded our colporteurs. '1'hey were treated in most places as the messengers of the Buddhist Messiah. Offerings of food, flowers, and wax tapers were made to them. In return, they were expected to bless the givers. They explained that they themselves were sinners, deriving all merit and blessing from Jehovah God, and then reverently asked a blessing from Him. 'rhus Christian services were held in hundreds of heathen homes.
How many cycles will it be, think ye, at the present rate, and such fast and loose playing at missions, before voluntary, intelligent, Ohristian service~ shall ascend to Jesus the King from these homes?
il40 MISSIONARY INTEREST AND MISSIONARY INCOME
MISSIONAHY INTEREST AND MISSIONARY INCOME.
A SYMPOSIUM.
We have askt a number of the leading secretaries, pastors, laymen, and women of different denominations to give in a few words the results of their thought, observation, and experience as to the cause for decrease in the income of soine of our foreign missionary boards, and the best means of increasing and maintaining the interest in and the contributions to the foreign missionary work. We purposely selecteci parties in different fields, and having different convictions and experiences, in order that the subject might be presented as broadly as possible in the brief space allowed. For the editorial comment on this important subject see the Editorial Departrnent.-EDITORS.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OJ<' PASTORS. By REV. WILTON MERLE SMITH, D.D., Pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church, New York.
The decrease in the income of many of our mission boards is due undoubtedly to the recent depression of the business interests, and to the ever-increasing demands of local charities.
The rerned.1llies largely in the hands of the pastors. The lack of interest on the part of many of the pastors in the great missionary work of the church is discreditable to the last degree. '1'here never fails to be an earnest missionary church when there is an earnest missionary pastor. The lazy, slipshod, indifferent way in which missionary offerings are made in many of our churches is a crying shame to the cause of Christ, The pastors have the remedy in their own hands. 1. Let them present often, faithfully, and fervently, the cause of systematic beneficence. Let them teach their people that worshipful and proportionate giving ought to be an important and integral part of their religion.
2. Let the old missionary concerts be galvanized into life. Have a lantern or stereopticon, and throw on the screen pictures of fields, of mission buildings, of different phases of the work. Let the pastor be willing to do a little hard work.
3. Let each church send out its own missionary. If possible let him spend six months working in the church before his departure, and then go out to some foreign field with the prayers of the church behind him. Let him have a camera, and send home pictures to be thrown upon the screen in the monthly missionary meetings. Let his letters be read at the same time. The church by and by will begin to burn with missionary zeal. Not only this missionary's support will be easy, but the general offering of the church will be doubled on account of the increast interest in the subject.
4. If the pastor has little interest, the trouble lies in his lapsing spiritual life. He knows little of the mind of Christ. Let him go to Northfield next August, and get a baptism of new fire, and of the Holy Ghost.
THE TRUE MOTIVE AND SPIRIT OF MISSIONS.
By REV. JAMES 1. VANCE, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tenn.
Back of the inadequate maintenance of any cause will be found a waning interest in its purpose, and a weakened conviction of its importance. The diminisht income of foreign missionary societies ft,nd boards is not satisfactorily explained by saying that the Ch111'Ch i[l
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PASTORS
in a state of spiritual declension, or that church members are possest of a parsimonious spirit, or that Christians are in the grip of hard times. All of this may be true-it is probably false-but it fails to explain. The decrease in contributions is due to a waning interest in the cause of foreign missions, and to a weakened conviction, of its importance. 'rhree things have contributed to this result.
1. Mistakes have been made in the motives used to awaken an interest in the cause. It is not necessary to damn the universe in order to get an argument for foreign missions. The zeal that has been awakened by the vision of the heathen world marching in unbroken phalanx down to perdition is too hysterical. We may differ as to its scriptural correctness, but we can agree that all decisions pertaining tO,the final destiny of certain classes of our fellow-men may safely be left in the hands of the Supreme Judge of all men. It is a far higher and truer motive that gets its plea from the cross of Christ. '1'he interest that is awakened by a decree of retribution is likely to lack longevity, but the interest that is created by fellowship with Jesus Christ, by devotion to His command, and faith in His ideas, will never suffer diminution.
2. Mistakes have been made in the management of missionary work. Whether justly or not, these mistakes have imprest many earnest Christians with the belief that oftentimes there has been a lack of economy, and sometimes a lack of judgment. Perhaps this impression has not been well-founded, but whether just or not, the suspicion has been aroused. and the result has been diminisht contributions. The glory of foreign Ii1issions is the spirit of sacrifice which is thought to be embodied in them. Once break that spell, and the cause ceases to be magnetic. Let the church suspect that there is extravagance in the management of missions, or that pastors and missionaries who represent this canse, and plead for its generous support, are themselves lacking in that spirit of Calvary, and the fountain of Christian generosity flows weak.
3. It is popular and common to lay everything that is wrong in our church life at the door of the Higher Criticism. 'rhis is not quite fair. There is no doubt, however, that the rationalistic spirit, which has been so much in 'evidence of late years, should be made to bear a large share of responsibility for the falling off in contributions to for~ eign missions. It has tended to weaken the faith of many in the inspired authority of the Bible. It has cast a cloud of doubt over many portions of the Book that bear directly upon the subject in hand. It has supplanted the teachings of Jesus wiLh certain theories gathered from the comparative study of religions, and which insist that the best religion for a people depends upon the intellectual, li;Dcial, and moral status of that people. If it be true that Christianity is the best religion only for those people who have attained the highest, or a high degree of civilization, foreign mission is not only unnecessary, but quixotic. This subtle spirit of doubt has unconsciously poisoned the minds of many Christians. It has affected them sufficiently to lead them to write an interrogation point where they nsed to write a period. The inevitable result is that they give less. Doubt as to the value of the investment leads them to hesitate.
If the foregoing diagnosis be correct, the cure is not hard to dis-
MissiONAity iNTEREST AND MISStONARY INCOME
cover. We must get back to the old confidence in the Book. We must argue our cause from the throne of God and the cross of Cal- vary, rather than from the dogma of eternal punishmeut. Above all, then, must be a fresh baptism of the old-fashioned spirit of sacrifice that made lustrous the careers of the pioneer missionaries. Softness in service will never stir the pulse of liberality; hardship and sacrifice will. It is the old glory that we need above all things else. The cause that has the cross conspicuous in all its struggles will not fail of the adequate support of God's people. We need the spirit of that brave Scotch soldier who fell in the battle of Atbora. As the Came- ron Highlanders stormed the heights, Capt. Urquhart fell, fatally wounded. His comrades gathered around him to bear the wounded man from the field, but he motioned them away, as he said: "Never mind me, lads; go on." It is such devotion as this to any cause that makes friends rally to its support. It is precisely the spirit which the Savior breathed upon the missionary cause, when, for the first time, He sent His disciples forth to preach the Gospe1. 'rhe old spirit of sacrifice in the cause itself will, more than all else, be the guaranty of its sufficient support.
BROAD VIEWS AND DEEP CONVICTIONS.
By Rev. C. M. LAM30N, D.D., Hartford, Connecticut, President of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
The law of cause and effect is better stated as " causes and effect," for usually the effect is the result of two or more causes. The decrease in the income of foreign missionary boards has several explanations; no one can dispute if we affirm them to be causes.
1. The present educational and philanthropic appeal, while it may appear to many as more rational and acceptable, is certainly not as vivid and impressive as that presented twenty-five years ago. To say to the churches, " Men and women are forever lost if you do not now send them the Gospel," was a very awakening appea1. For this there is no remedy but that of making the Hew motive as imperative as the old. Make clear to Christians that if their faith is so real then it must be preacht. The apostle creed means the creed of apostles, of men who must preach to the world what they believe. The missionary spirit is t·he measure of the quality and intensity of our faith.
2. 'l'he nearness and variety of the needs and charities of the times diminish somewhat the unique interest in foreign missions. Great numbers of societies and causes now claim the aid of the churches. A small local interest often receives as much as the great world-wide cause of missions. The remedy for this is the constant affirmation of the fact that the world is one, and that all are neighbors. 'l'he Christian heart must learn from Christ that the unit of Christian interest and work is the UJorld. The whole circle is the unit-the degrees are parts of the circle. The circle is not the sum of the degrees. To think rightly of any human need, or serve rightly any local interest, one must know, lc>ve, and serve the whole.
3. There is a growing impression that the so-called ethnic religions
VIEWS OF A LAYMAN
are fairly well auapted to meet the needs of other races. Through the "Parliament of Religions" and the study of comparative religion, the thought has obtained some influence that the need of the world for Christianity, or rather for Christ, is not immediate or imperative. This seems to imply that there is among Christians a diminisht sense of the necessity of the Gospel for all men. Christianity is lookt upon as a local religion, the religion of a sLlperior civilization. The remedy for this impression is the clearer conviction, gained from the Scriptures, that Christ is the only Savior, and that He is the Savior for all men. The world needs not a religion, but the religion. '1'he best religion is necessary for the lowest race. If Christian teachers and preachers would learn from missiollaries and other sources, what the religions of the world are doing for the people who accept them, of the degradations and sufferings and slaveries they produce, or allow and can not cure, and would teach this to the churches, something might be done to lead all who love Christ to preach Him to the world.
The remedy for all the hindrances might be in increasing the knowledge of what missions are doing. "They are doing more to-day for '1'urkey t·han all the European powers combined," says Dr. Hep- worth. Missions are the pioneers of commerce, and make the world more productive. But the real remedy must be in a more entire devotion to Olm:st, and a consequent spirit of sacrifice, in 'order that the world may have His Gospel. Those who have to do with the active efforts of missionary organizations, and at the same time with the life of the churches, feel that the close union of the two needs, not that criticism be met concerning auministration, nor that the so-called causes of decline of interest be removed, but that in some way the men, the middle-aged business men, the active masculine force of the congre- gation, be so interested in the duty and privilege of evangelizing the world, that they shall even make sacrifice to give to the great work.
When we have solved the question, How shall we reach business men with the touch of the Gospel truth? we shall have solved the question of decrease of income by making it no longer a question.
THE VIEWS OF A LAYMAN.
JOHN H. CONVERSE, Esq., Philadelphia, Pa.
Among the causes for the decrease in income of the foreign mIS_ sionary societies and boards, may be mentioned the following: 1. The foreign missionary work has lost, to some extent, the element of adventure, heroism, and self-sacrifice. The spirit which animated the Crusaders in the middle ages was reflected in the spirit which inspired men in the early part of this century to adventure their lives in the foreign field, and which stimulated those at home to sustain the work. The extension of all that is involved in nineteenth century civilization, and the spread of material improvements, have brought heathen lands nearer to us, and rendered us more familiar with their actual condition. Familiarity has bred indifference.
2. The multitude of causes now appealing to OLlr churches, is probably another reason. '1'he number of benevolent objects in which the church may take an interest is legion. The work which may be
MISSIONARY INTEREST AND MISSIONARY INCOME
accomplisht by the institutional church, the claims of the different boards directly connected with the church, the appeals for educational, philanthropic, and humane work generally, have trencht on the interest and means of the benevolent.
3. Lack of information as to the real methods and results of foreign missions is another element of the problem. Many earnest and excellent Ohristians are not sufficiently informed on this point, and have only a vague idea of what is being done, and what remains to be done.
The consideration last named suggests the course which should be taken to stimulate a greater and more abiding interest in foreign missions.· It is in the power of the pastor to promote such organization and action as will lead to an increase of contributions. The dissemination of periodicals and other literature bearing upon missions, the monthly concert of prayer in the interest of missions, the presentation of the subject from the pulpit, and the promotion of missionary organizations in the churches, are all needful and proper means of promoting greater liberality and more adequate support of the foreign missionary work.
A QUICKENED SPIRITUAL LIFE.
By REV. HENRY C. MABIE, D.D., Boston, Secretary of the American Baptist Missionary Union.
As far as the American Baptist Missionary Union is concerned, while there have been years in the last decade in which there have been larger deficits, they can not fairly be attributed to a decrease of interest in missions so much as to incid.ental causes. If we consider the past decade as a whole, and make allowance for these factors, we find a sum total of markt gain.* The relative number of our contributing churches has very largely increast, and the circulation of our literature has practically doubled. Oonsidering that six years of the past ten has been a period of uncommon financial depression in the country as a whole, we can not but feel that the record made by our churches under the divine blessing is occasion for uncommon thankfulness and rejoicing.
Yet, while saying this, nearing the close of our present fiscal year, * Previous to 1890 there were only two years in which the donations from our churches exceeded $200,000; the offerings from the same source for the last decade have averaged $320,- 000 per year. Within the same period the number of our missionaries has increast from 262 to 474. The contributions just referred to take no account of income from legacies, contributions to Wt)nlSn'S societies, income from funds, etc. If these were included, the average annual income for the past nine years would be nearly double the amount received in dona· tions from the churches. It is true that there have been two years in which unusual stimnla"" tion was applied to our churches. First, in the effort of the centennial year (1892), when we raised from the churches alone over $600,000 of funds available for current work; and again, in 1897–8, when we raised $749,298.31, paying the large debt of about $300,000, besides carrying the regular work of that year. Each of these efforts was naturally attended with a markt falling off in the year immediately succeeding. Of course, some anxiety was occasioned the society again in each instance, so that it will be true to say that there has been a sort of chronic dread of deficits, and much talk about the danger and evil of them. This talk, doubtless, has contributed somewhat to the general impression that is abroad-that t he interest of our churches in foreign missions is dying out.
THE SECRET OF WOMEN'S SUCCESS
and our work requiring $350,000 in donations from the churches, we are in considerable suspense whether the year can be closed without a deficit. The fact is, the wide opportunities everywhere, and the ardent enterprise for possessing new fields is always pressing mission boards to occupy faster than the churches seem able to follow, consid- ering the ever-expanding home demands upon their resources. I do not doubt that the markt defection in faith in many influential quarters, the influence of the Parliament of Religions, and loose views generally on the subject of comparative religions, not to mention the great increase of worldliness in the churches, has had much to do with the deficits in the past, and with the general inadequacy of funds for the increase of the work abroad.
'fhe question as to how to stimulate general, steady, and abiding interest, so as to secure larger giving, fundamentally concerns the development in the church of the vision which Christ had of this world-the increase of motive to personally reincarnate Him among the heathen-and the Christian use of income with respect to the execution of His last great commission. The ultimate problem is that of the deepening and broadening of the spiritual life, and for this the ministry, the Christian press, and our Christian schools are chiefly responsible.
THE SECRET OF WOMEN'S SUCCESS.
Mrs. J. T. GRACEY, Rochester, N. Y., Secretary of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
I consider myself very fortunate in being connected with a missionary society whose income has not decreast during the past few years, bu t has steadily increast. This society has raised within the past five years a little over one million five hundred thousand dollars, which is an advance of more than a quarter of a million dollars over the preceding five years. These results have been accomplisht by the women in one of the most remarkable periods of financial depression this country has ever known, and at a time when some other missionary societies have fallen behind in their contributions. There has been also in the same time an advance in anxiliary societies, young people's organizations, members, etc. Moreover, there has also been a steady increase in the subscriptions to our four missionary periodicals,* by which the society is sending missionary information into more than seventy-three thousand homes. Within the last five years ninety missionaries have been sent to the foreign field, against fiftysix sent in the preceding five years.
The contributing causes to these results have been various, such • The Woman's Missionary Friend, the organ of the society, has a subscription list of 20.857: The Children's Missionary Friend, 21,759, and The Study, a monthly leaflet for the uniform study of mission fields and subjects, has now reached 27,000, while the paper pubJisht in German for the German constituency, has 3,510 subscribers.
MISSIONARY INTEREST AND MISSIONARY INCOME
as a very complete organization, systematic and not impulsive gIvmg, the little from the many rather than the large donation from the few, a free use of missionary literature, systematic study of all phases of work, both at home and abroad; the itineraries of returned missionaries, bringing the auxiliary societies in sympathetic touch with their representatives; the distribution of thousands of mite boxes in the homes, gathering up the small amounts; giving special work to the individual or society who become interested in the development of their protege, in educational and spiritual lines; and the observance of a thank-offering day. The observance of this day has become very general, and since its inauguration, some fourteen years ago, over two hundred and thirty-three thousand dollars have come into the treasury through this channel alone.
The funds of this society are not only raised, but distributed by the women. The appropriation of all money is also made by them, so that they feel a measure of responsibility, which is healthful. These are some of the reasons why the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church has recently taken no backward steps, and we believe that similar methods will produce similar results elsewhere.
EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE.
~1iss V. F. PENROSE, Germantown, Pa.
The people of the United States spend annually for jewelry, $450,- 000,000; for tobacco, $600,000,000; for liquor, $1,200,000,000; and their capital is $80,000,000,000. And yet the funds being contributed by the Christian Church to foreign missions are utterly inadequate to meet the demands of a growing work. Why?
The reason is not found only in the increase of benevolent objects at home, hospitals, asylums, all sorts of charitable work, each claiming our supreme attention. Giving is not systematic. Worldliness has increast, "and the love of many has waxt cold." A personal interview with the living Christ is needed. The" unbelieving world," as has recently been said, is the church at home God's power has not changed. If we would lay hold on Christ we would realize at once the eternal truth of His words: "All power is given unto Me." Ignorance of the world-wide work abounds, and largely explains the situation.
A factor most neglected, a most important factor, is our Snndayschools. True, they are for Bible study, but are they not first of all to make soul-winning their supreme object? Is not Christ to be shown as our head? Has He not commanded, "Go ye into all the world?" Are we faithful to Him if in our Sunday-schools we neglect to teach the need of obedience to this great command, His last?
'rime does not permit? Then omit two hymns and in their place •
EDUCATION 01<' THE YOUNG PEOPLE
have some carefully prepared missionary information.* Tell the story of Blind Cha'ang from the February MISSIOKARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD, or tell the story," In the Tiger Jungle," or "God on the Rock," from" On the Indian Trail." These can be told in the primary, the intermediate, the senior departments. They all interest, all show what Christ's power is among heathen people. '1'he first could be used to illustrate medical missions, that crying need of mission work with only one doctor to twenty other missionaries, and each medical missionary with a clientele of two and a half million patients. "In the Tiger Jungle" would show a phase of missionary life, touring. "God on the Rock" illustrates the need of education, and how work must be begun.
'ren minutes, once a month, thus employed, systematically, carefully, praYe71ully, has in one school interested many who were before uninterested, because they did not know the facts, had been brought up in ignorance of missions, had never read the missionary magazines;· and the money in consequence increast remarkably. The desire now is for more information. Always in view is the map of the world. t Colored to represent the progress of religion, it is a silent witness to "the petty done, the undone vast." It shows that "there remaineth yet very much land to be possest." You can not do the best work without a map of the world.
In the Sunday-school library have an annex for some of the new, delightful books like "Vikings of To-day," by Wilfred T. Grenfel, M.D., "Korean Sketches," by Rev. James S. Gale, "In Lands Afar," "Khamil," "Behind the Purdah." Have the books accessible, and ask some one to read such a chapter as that on the Korean" Boy." One hundred and fifty missionary books, read by one small society, caused them to raise $1,500 for missions.
Let each class take, as a class, one missionary magazine, and have interesting bits markt. Believe me, if once our Sunday-schools as a whole begin to have information of the progress of the Kingdom as, an integral part of their Christian education, much prayer being offered in the schools, as one need after another is shown, the whole church will be better informed and interested. Many are in the schools who attend no other service, who do not belong to the Christian Endeavor Society (where perhaps quarterly they may hear of • Classes can .ake turns in supplying information on the country for the month, or teachers can take turns in hunting up the facts and trying to make them interesting and helpful, because" the love of Christ constrains." The" Twenty Questions," publisht by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, can be used, one for each class, and as they are really undenominational, can be used by any denomination. The information necessary for the answers should be arranged for at the Sunday·schoollibrary.
t The A. B. C. F. M. has a fine map, on cloth, for $2.50. This was easily colored with water·colors, after that beautiful little map of the world in "The New Acts of the Apostles" (which can also be purchast separately for 40c. at the publishers), gold stars marking where all denominations are at work.
MISSIONARY INTEREST AND MISSIONARY INCOME
missions), nor to bands. It is a marvelous opportunity to begin at the beginning and make prominent the fact that our chief work is to make Ohrist known throughout the world.
A DEPARTMENT OF MISSIONARY FINANCE.
By E. A. K. HACKETT, Esq., Fort Wayne, Indiana, Editor of the Fort TVayne Sentinel.
The chief causes for the decrease in the income of foreign missionary .societies and boards is that the field has not been plowed deep enough.
To bring about an increase and steadiness in the missionary gifts of the churches and individuals I wonld suggest that we create a new department-a Department of Finance. At present most of the foreign missionary secretaries are strong men, giants in the pulpit, strong in the Lord. But very few of them have had any training along those business lines necessary to money-raising. In disc.harging those duties for which they are fitted and trained they have plenty to do without being additionally burdened with the obligation to raise the money needed in their work. This is an age of specialism; that is, of scientific economy in business. Men are selected for that work in which they can accomplish most, and those methods are adopted which achieve the greatest results. Money-raising is a business, and depends for its success largely upon business methods, and these methods can not be ignored in the business side of mission work, without inviting failure. Like the federal government, the boards should have a department of finance with a strict function of raising money. At the head of this department should be a man of extensive training in the business of money-raising, and entirely competent to deal with large affairs. He should be made a coordinate member of the board, and paid a salary equal to that paid the other members, or more, if necessary. Empower the head of the department to create a system for money-raising, as little complicated. as possible, but with the design uppermost that it shall raise money. Every person forming a part of this money-raising system, from highest to lowest, should be chosen because of fitness in those specialties that money-raising for mission work requires. A system of working with a view to the greatest convenience, effectiveness, and economy, should be adopted. No one should be engaged in this branch of work, who is not a business man, a money raiser, and a mission worker. Enthusiasm and business mix well; each reenforces the other. Elaboration of method is not here attempted. Essential details will suggest themselves readily to any business man of the right kind who might be chosen to create the system for this work. Thorough method in trained hands working to definite purpose is needed, and this will reach all accessible ends. If some such system could be brought about, I believe that money would come readily. God has mightily prospered the Ohristian people of
POLLING THE CHURCHES FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS
this land, and I believe they are ready and willing to make large illvest~ ment~ for the Lord. Once they have tasted the blessings of giving to the Lord in unstinted measure they will not stop.
POLLING THE CHURCHES FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
By LUTHER D. ·WISHARD, New York, Special Representative of the Forward Movement (A. B. C. F. M.).
The first year of experience in connection with the Presbyterian Forward Movement in Foreign Missions revealed certain facts which were fairly startling in their significance and encouragement. One strongly emphasized feature in the policy of the movement consisted in an appeal to a certain class of churches to assume the Lull salary of specific missionaries. This appeal was made to twenty-five churches, and every Olle of them, without a single exception, either increast its annual contribution to the sum required or contributed a salary over and above its regular offering. The entire number of persons present when the appeals were made did not exceed seven thousand, or about two thirds of the church membership. Fully two thousand distinct pledges were made, which probably represented nearly one-half the families in the churches. The total sum pledged was $21,862, an increase of $16,547 over the average contributions of the congregations for the preceding five years. The increase in the several churches varied from fifty to twenty-five lwnd7'ed per cent. The two thousand contributors averaged over ten dollars, which means an average of at least three dollars for the entire membership.
These churches were not selected with reference to any certainty or even strong probability of a salary being secured. As a matter of fact, leading members of almost everyone of them entertained grave doubts as to their church's willingness or ability to provide a salary. (The salaries averaged from $600 to $1,200, according to the country.) One of the interesting features of the entire canvass was the great surprise of the people at their success. The audience in many cases was in a fair condition for a revival of religion at the close of the collection. * The foregoing facts indicate: First-That the heart of the church is sound on the missionary question. They are abundantly able and abundantly willing to furnish the money for the world's evangelization. Second-A distinct appeal must be made and an immediate opportunity must be afforded the people to respond in terms as definite as the appeal. Third-The people are strongly attracted by the proposition to support their own personal representative. They believe in the policy * One church which had averaged twenty-five dollars a year for five years is now rejoicing over its acquisition of a parish in Africa, whose missionary costs six hundred dollars a year. Another church, which stood at the very head in the denomination for per capita gifts, was not satisfied with its attainments until it had provided two more salaries, averaging eight hundred dollars a year. This brings its gifts up to the !tmazing sum of over thirt1/ dollars ?- rnemger.
THE LOLOS-THE RED MEN elF WESTERN CHINA
so ably advocated by the sainted Dr. Gordon in this REVIEW, of projecting their influence as a congregation into the mission field, of extending the boundary lines of their own parish into the unevangelized world, and maintaining a pastor in the foreign section of their parish. There are doubtless enough of congregations in every one of our leading denominations which are fully able to give five hundred dollars and more a year to missions to insure the salaries of all the missionaries needed for the world's evangelization. The majority of congregations which are not able to give this amount, can be lookt to for the means for meeting all the other items in the foreign budget. In this way the mission boards may be provided with both special and general funds.
The Presbyterian Forward Movement has already demonstrated for the churches in America what the Ohurch Missionary Society has done for the British churches, a method which, if pursued, will insure money enough to properly maintain all existing work and workers, and also send to the front an army of student volunteers many fold larger than the present force.
Weare just on the eve of another census, which will require an army of men and a vast sum of money. 'rhe fundamental method of the census is the personal touch. Millions of men will be personally interviewed. Why may we not make an equally thorough attempt to poll the churches for foreign missions?
'rHE LOLOS.-'l'HE RED MEN OF WESTERN OHINA.
BY REV. WM. )f. UPCRAFT, YACHOW SZCHUAN, CHINA. l1issionary of the American Baptist l1issionary Union.
In the far west of Szchuan, the great western province of Ohina, there lies a long broad strip of country which is practically unknown to any but the tribes of mountaineers who inhabit it. 'l'he west-bound traveler along the valley of the Yang-tze finds his road blockt some distance beyond Suifu, at the junction of the Min and Yang-tze, and if he wishes to reach the Ohinese who live beyond the mountains there in sight, he must make a long detour to either the north or south, and spend weeks in a journflY to reach a place but a few miles distant by a direct road.
'rhis snowy range and the contiguous country is known as Liang Shan, and is surrounded by a fringe of Ohinese territory never opened to the outsider save at the will of the owners, who are known as Lolos, or more commonly called by the Ohinese "yeh ren," i. e., wild men, or barbarians. Such a term, offensive and misleading, gauges the popular attitude of the Ohinese toward the Lolos, and would need to be intensified several degrees in order to express the official estimate.
The first thing that (:ltrikes !J,n obs(,lrver is the distinctive dress of the Lolos. 'rhe men wear a loose blouse and loose short trousers made of blue cotton cloth, over which a stout plaited felt cloak is thrown, which reaches from the neck to the knees, and is useful by day in either cold or wet weather, and at night forms an ample covering. A large mushroom-shaped bamboo hat renders the Lolo indifferent to the swiftly recurring changes in the weather on his native hills. One peculiar feature is their manner of dressing the hair. Instead of wearing a queue in the way adopted by the Ohinese, the Lolos allow the hair to grow long in the front, then braid it into a kind of horn above the forehead and bind it round with blue cotton cloth, so that it becomes the most conspicuous object about them. Their women folk wear a short jacket, often finely embroidered, over a plaited skirt much resembling a Scottish kilt. Their feet and ankles are bare-a fine contrast to the crampt deformed feet of the Ohinese women.
The men are lithe, active, spare, rather over the medium height of the Western Ohinese, with slightly oval faces, and deep brown eyes. The women are stockily lmilt, well fitted for the active share they take in the heavier du ties of life. Their life appears to be simple and free from idolatry, though there are priests or rather "doctors" who seem to have a large control of the people.
The position of the women among the Lolos is worthy of note. When a traveler goes through any portion of the country which is tributary to Ohina, but administered by the Lolos, as is the case in northern Szchuan, a female guide is supplied, who, in starting out, dons an extra skirt, and in case of trouble in any place and molestation of the guest, the guide takes off the extra skirt and lays it there till it is redeemed by her tribesmen and the outrage avenged. Laughing, merry creatures are these Lolo women, so far as one can learn in the brief seasons of our observation. Life among them is cheered by song shared in by both men and women, a pleasant contrast to the screoching nasal noise miscalled singing among the Ohinese.
In language the Lolos are as distinct from the Ohinese as in other ways, and while remnants of a written form still survive, but few among the people seem to understand anything about the queer ungainly-looking characters. In this realm there lies a new world to conquer by such as find a call to it.
Burial customs also differentiate the Lolos from the environing Ohinese, in that the dead are cremated, a fact used by their Ohinese neighbors in ridicule and scorn of the hill people.
One wonders what remedies and alleviating plans are found amongst them, and with what armor they provide theml?elves to meet the last enemy. Here also is a new realm for the all-subduing physician from the Western lands, with cordial for both body and soul.
The relations existing between the Ohinese and Lolos, both politieally and socially, are of the kind known as "daggers drawn." The Ohinese scorns and robs the Lolo in any convenient way open to him; the Lolo pays his enemy back in kind wherever he can. Around their mountain homes the Lolos have made a fringe that might be called dead man's land -so bare of life and the things that sustain life have they made it. When opportunity offers, the Ohinese are captured and carried off into captivity among the mountains, and there compelled to labor for their masters till a sufficient ransom is forthcoming for their deliverance, failing which they are held for life, but are fairly treated, and if skilful as carpenters or mechanics, may even find life very agreeable.
On the other hand, the Ohinese capture what Lolos they can by open seizure or bribery, and hold them as hostages. One would be glad to say that such prisoners are fairly treated and life made endurable for them, but with the Ohinese criminal law in its present state of development, those who know how their own prisoners are treated, will not expect much for the Lolos. Filthy dens is the least possible that can besaid of their quarters, to which must be added every kind of indignity, with examination by torture as a culmination of woes.
It hardly need to be said that no attempt at civilizing the Lolos has been made worthy of the name. A limited effort has been put forth to introduce among them the composite creed, known as the doctrine of the three churches-Oonfucian, Buddhist, and Taoist-but this has been from political motives only, and with scant result. There is at most a pro-Chinese element among the Lolos, bought with Ohinese money, and sustained by Ohinese emolument.
The man who scorns his fellows and dubs them with degrading names can hardly be expected to do much for the amelioration of such, and there stands the Confucianist, while the fire of evangelizing Buddhism has long since died out in Ohina. Thus the elevating force must be imported. An unknown people, yet untoucht by love's ministry, a splendid territory awaiting occupntion, and no danger of ousting one's neighbor from the field.
The difficulties are not few. There will be needed more self-denial and power to endure isolation than falls to the honor of ordinary mission work. A prudent approach will have to be made, so as not to rouse the opposition of the Ohinese officials, and thus add needless trouble. Two languages will be necessary, Ohinese first and Lolo afterward, the latter to be acquired from its very beginning. Finally the prospect of years of unrequited labors, in which the husbandman will patiently wait for the fruit of his toil. Yet, with the magnificent result in Burma from the labors for the Karens, with the cheering success among the Laos in northern Siam, there is every ground of hope and inducement to work for the Lolos.
It some Olle or two at the first, having at their disposal the mean,!
FACTS ABOUT BRITISH MALAYA
of defraying the ordinary cost of living, could come into western Szchuan, patiently look over the ground, take time to understand the condition of things, and give themselves up to be led into the best road and method for reaching this new people-unhurried, yet not delaying -waiting, yet still advancing-what might not God work through such in the course of a few coming years!
SOME FACTS ABOUT BRITISH MALAYA.
BY REV. J. A. B. COOK, SINGAPORE, MALAYA. Missionary of the Presbyterian Church of England.
In Siam the American Presbyterians work among the Buddhistic Siamese and the Laos of the northern hill country, and occasionally visiting the Siamese of the lower peninsula, who in turn wander down among the Malays. But nothing is done by any missionary, Papal or Protestant, among the Malays and Chinese ofthe east coast of British Malaya.
On the western coast of the peninsula Malacca has for centuries been in the hands of the Romanists, but after more than 300 years the native Portuguese are as low morally and socially in Malacca as are the Mohammedan Malays. Religiously they are not much better, and but for difference of dress, and the use of "Santa Maria" instead of "Rasol Mohammed," the two cults could hardly be distinguisht. Their abject state is notorious. The local Episcopal chaplaiu has given up the little Chinese mission of which he had charge, and the American Methodists in Singapore have sent a Chinese catechist to take up the work.
Penang and Singapore form part of what is now locally termed " British Malaya," which, with these islands, comprises a large part of the Malay peninsula. In both Penang and Singapore there is considerable mission work done, especially by the English Presbyterians and the American Methodists, the former in Singapore, and the latter in both islands. There are also several" Plymouth Brethren" working in the islands on the west coast.
The French priests of the Propaganda de Fide are most active, and number their" converts" by the thousand; so do the Portuguese priests of the Padreado, but their people are almost entirely the descendants of former converts. They are not now aggressive, like the French.
On the west coast, Kedah is still nominally independent, but the other states, viz: Perak, Negri Sembilan, Sungei Ujong, and Selangor, together with Pahang on the east coast, form the federated Malay states, and are directly su bject to British control and administration, under the resident-general. What about Protestant mission work in these states ? In Kedah, I believe, th ere still is none; in Perak the American Methodists have a school and church at Ipoh. Negri Sembilan, and Sungei Ujong are still untoucht, and the capital of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, which is also the capi tal of the states, h as been occu pied in part by th e American Methodists und the Brethren.
The Presbyterian Church of England's mission to the Chinese has J ohor entirely to itself. Here, in Bahm, the r esidence of the sultan, a Presbyterian church was built in 1883, one year after t he Roman Catholic church. The priest, like the missionary, is non-resident, tho the priests in the straits are numerous, and the Presbyterian missionary is one and alone. He has also charge of the mission church at Muar, on th e bord ers of Malacca, some 108 miles from Singapore. 'l'hese churches are all in the sultanate, which has over 200,000 Chinese, and 50,000 Malays, besides other nationalities and races.
In the interior of t he peninsula t he aborigines are still to be found. 'rheyare known as Iakuns in Johor, Sakais in Malacca to Perak, and n orth of the Perak river as Semangs.
In the Malay peninsula there are over one million Chinese, and six hundred thousand Malays, besides natives of India by the thousand, and many others, waiting to be evangelized. Who will pray, give, and work fo r British Malaya?
KLING P UPPETS IN PENANG1 MALAY P ENINSULA.
These are monster marionettes. The figures a.rc lIfe-size and represent an orchestra.'
INDIA-THE PENINSULAR CONTINENT
II.-MISSIONARY DIGEST DEPARTMENT.
INDIA-THE PENINSULAR CONTINENT. * In population, diversIty of languages, and variety of conditions, India may well be called a continent. It contains 300,000,000 inhabitants, or more than all of North and South America and Africa put together. India is a land of villages, there being over 700,000 of them scattered over the country, separated from each other by distances averaging about a GROWTH 01…. CHR(ST[A…~ITY.
1~711 18(lc) )len :Iissionaries, .. 906 Women }Ii<sionaries, 370 Native ::len "~orkers, 2,210 Native Women Workers, 837 3,2,~ Protestant Com.muni- cants, 52,813 18",2,122 Pl'otestantAdherants,nt,161 559,661 THE PEOPLE OF INDIA.
Population, 300,000,000 Women, 145,000,000 Voluen uDder instruction, 700,000 Widows, 25,000,000 Yidows under ten, 77,()(X) Children, 117,000,000 Children in Sun- day'schools, 250,000 Tota'l under in- 4,500,()O() struction, 250,000,000 Illiterate, 2,400,000 Christian!;, Non-Chris- 207,600,000 tians, mile and a half. The average population is 370, and the Protestant missionary force provides but one worker for every 400 villages, one to every 180,000 of the population. Thousands of villages are yet untoucht, and millions of men and women have no opportunity to hear the Gospel.
*The map is adapted and reproduced from The Christian (London), The statistics are taken in part from" Across India," by Lucy E. Uuinness.
MISSIONARY DIGEST DEPARTMENT
JUSTINIAN VON WELTZ, THE EARLIEST EUROPEAN CHAMPION OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS.
The February Zeitschrift fur Missionskunde has a thorough and sympathetic essay on this earliest champion of Protestant missions on the continent of Europe. The author, Dr. Bahlow, does not accept the excuses given for the long indifference of Protestants, especially Lutherans, to missions. The reason was not that they were too much occupied at home, or that their access to the heathen was barred. These facts may explain indifference, but they can not excuse active aversion. The truth is, that while Luther's dislike to missions was confined to missions to the Jews, his followers extended this aversion to all missions whatever. It was, we suppose, a widely accepted opinion among them that the apostolate was exhausted, leaving only the local pastorate, with no authority to preach to the heathen. But it seems that even then the verdict was, not "unlawful," but "unpractical" and "fanatical." Thus, when Baron von Weltz presented his missionary proposals at the Imperial Diet at Ratisbon, in 1664, to the Corpus evangelicorum (the Protestant estates), these are his biting words: I sought a place where many distinguisht and zealous Christians were to come together. The place, it is true, I soon found; but zeal in those thus assembled to advance the kingdom of Christ I found not.
Distinguisht people were they, in sooth, in all manner of sumptuousness, but not in Christian exercises and upright zeal. My printed exhortation was read indeed, but only out of haughty condescension. They praised the same, but only in my presence; I sought assistance to convert the heathen, but I might, in very truth, have rather required help to turn away the Christians before me from atheism. I thought the heathen were in far distant lands, and 10, I found myself in the midst of ,them. I sought' help of the clergy, but they past me over to the laity;. the lay- men excused themselves by the lukewarmness of the clergy. Help was given to many petitioners in worldly matters; but I went forth out of my spiritual concernment empty-handed. Had something secular been propounded by me, I doubt not that at least a part of the assembly would have listened to me. But inasmuch as I set myself to prove that we ought to propagate the kingdom of Christ among the unbelieving peo- ples, even tho it cost the greatest hardships, there was a general outcry: "The work at this time is not pnacticable."
Weltz then publisht an appeal full of passionate indignation against these neglecters of Chri3t's last commission. Thereupon the eminent John Henry Ursinus, Lutheran superintendent of Ratisbon, one of the most highly-considered theolog!J:!ns of the day, was provokt to his violent assault upon the Baron, his proposed "Societas J esu " (" Jesus Society"), and all his plans, proposals, and hopes. He taxes him with selfexaltation-him, the humblest of men!-with deceiving the people, with Quakerism, nay, even Munzerism. The "Jesus Society," he declared, would draw to it all the children of the devil, and would prove utterly ruinous. Weltz now went to Holland, where he was soon forbidden to write or speak for his cause. The Calvinists seem to have been as bad as the Lutherans. However, he had publisht his scheme. Some of his proposals have proved unpractical, and of necessity a certain vagueness hung over all. Yet, almost every principle embraced in modern missions is found here, even to medical missions.
Example, he thought, would speak louder than precept. He laid aside his baronial rank, received ordination from his friend Breckling in Holland as a "Gentile Apostle," gathered together his few friends in Holland, took leave of them in a heart-stirring farewell address, and set sail for Surinam, in le66. He died there in 1668.
"How, we do not know. We have no accounts as to whether he had
ARE WE SOWING SEEDS OF' DISCORD?
any success in his missionary activity. He died solitary and forsaken, the sacrifice of a vocation, the exercise of which he had recognized as God's will, and, therefore, as a Christian duty not to be set aside. For this conviction he surrendered everything-rank, honor, wealth, all the conveniences of life, and, finally, life itself. In his faithfulness to his convictions he remains a shining example for all times. But also the manner in which he presents the grounds of his persuasion, and the proposals which he advances for the realization of his ideas, are interesting and weighty enough to assure him an abiding-place in missionary history.
"The inclination to missionary visionary (Schwarrnerei) which Weltz, so deeply pious a man, showed, as well as his familiarity with Gichtel and Breckling, two men so widely disliked as visionaries and fanatics, inspired in many minds a feeling of cool reserve, or of declared enmity. But even apart from this the Protestant Church of Germany could not be roused to a living interest in missions, so long as the living Christian spirit was held in check by a dead, dogmatically-imprisoned and one-sided orthodoxy. When a change for the better came to pass in this, then the missionary duty also was recognized. And to have contributed in no small degree to this, is the abiding merit of Justinian von Weltz. Even tho his immediate endeavors were without results, the seed which he cast abroad in the missionary discussion which he stirred up did not perish, but soon shot up, and has brought forth a rich harvest."
ARE WE SOWING SEEDS OF DISCORD?* BY J. HEYWOOD HORSBURGH, CHUNG-CHING, CHINA.
Missionary of the Church Missionary Society at Mien Chow.
The various churches at home are sending out their missionaries to new lands practically pledged to set up their respective churches side by side, and so to divide the Christians into parties. I do think we ought to be very honest in this matter, and I say deliberately, missionaries are sent to heathen lands practically pledged, and in many cases actually pledged, to set up their respective churches. At this moment the few Christians in this province of China are being divided into parties or sects. Is this Fight or is it wrong?
Of course, the great object of the missionary societies is to evangelize and make disciples among the heathen. But one society advocates the Wesleyan system, another the Church of England system, another the Baptist, and another the Presbyterian. A man, no matter how orthodox and respected a member, or minister, of his church he may be, can not go, out to the heathen as a missionary of the society which is connected with his church unless he promises, or tacitly consents, to set up that church wherever they send him. The churches at home then are sending out missionaries to heathen lands in such a way as to divide the Christians into" parties."
It will be said: "We must have order; there must be some form of organization." But this does not really answer the question which, in my mind, is this: Does the Lord Jesus send His servants deliberately to start divisions in new countries? If so, then it is all right. If not, *Condenst from The Christian (London).
MISSIONARY DIGEST DEPARTMENT
then there is a better way. Itis sometimes said that the different parties emphasize different truths, and stimulate one another. Are these divisions, then, the work of God's Holy Spirit? Look at their attitude one toward another. Do the different churches or sects really help one another? Do these divisions really conduce to the building up of a strong, united Church of Christ? On the contrary, the attitude of the denominations toward each other is often most deplorable, and is a great hindrance to Christian life, and fellowship, and power everywhere. This is not the work of the Holy Spirit.
At present in China there exists generally a very friendly feeling between the different Protestant churches. The missionaries and the native Christians of the various denominations regard one another as brethren, receive one another, and, to some extent, cooperate. Nevertheless the germ of the monster evil is already working, and the Christians are being divided into separate sects or parties. Who is responsible? It is we who are deliberately doing it. To the mind of one who has been thirteen years in the country, and who has watcht this thing taking root, and insidiously spreading, it is inexpressibly sad.
It may be said: "The native Christians would disagree and form sects in any case." Suppose it were so, are we thereby justified in forestalling them and adding to their possible divisions? Some people excuse the importation of opium into China on much the same grounds. In days to come, the divided Christians will then be able to turn to the missionaries and say: "You tell us this should not be, but who sowed the seeds?"
Many will probably agree that in the abstract the present system is wrong, but complain that it can not be helpt. Therefore, it is right! Might we not-ought we not-to come together and earnestly, prayerfully, look for a better way? vVe may deeply value our system, and may be convinced that it is the best. Yet is it always right to insist on introducing it?
Most Christians would agree that it would be wrong to introduce divisions where Christians are already united. Is it not wrong then for us in the first instance to cause them to be divided? Would it not be better to sacrifice a part of a particular system, nay, the whole of it, rather than divide into" parties" those who might otherwise be one? It seems to me worse than a pity to introduce into fresh countries non-essential customs and expressions which have caused endless contention at home". It is natural at first, in a heathen wilderness, where our fellow-country". men and native Christians are few, and everyone is glad to see friends and fellow-Christians without asking to what church they belong, that the danger of our divisions is but little noticed. But the snake is there, lurking in the grass!
Now, what are we to do? That is too great a matter for" one man to settle. My question is, "Are we right?" If not, then the who~e Church or the missionary societies should earnestly, humbly, and prayerfully consider the matter before God, with an immovable determination to find out His will and at all costs to act upon it. But, so far as I can see, the missionary societies and their missionaries are making no serious attempt to avoid or remove these faults which we deplore. Very few seem inclined to sacrifice even trifling non-essentials for the sake of greater unity; unity is not promoted by wilful poliformity.
There are certainly grave and great difficulties in the way of a
OPPORTUNITIES IN TItE PIttLlPPINES
change of policy, yet not so great, perhaps, as might be imagined. ,Ve must have some organization, but I believe a very simple organization is enough, and anything beyond that is a weight. Some churches have become so accustomed to elaborate organization that we can not think of a church existing without it. And yet, perhaps, the native churches are seriously maimed by the amount of organization with which we encompass them. Churches ought to grow naturally; they can not successfully be made to order, according to the particular patterns which foreign missionaries choose to dictate for them. Saul's armor was admirably suited for full-grown Saul, but not for youthful David. The feeble life and weak growth of many native churches, may be due, in part, to our smothering them with grown men's armor imported from the West.
Rather than split the native Christians into sects, let the form of organization be broad enough to include aU the usages which the various churches regard as really essential, and which their consciences will not allow them to forego. But let all yield as far as they can. I long for the day when the missionary societies shall say to their missionaries, " We represent different branches of Christ's Church at home, but remember, we do not send you to the heathen lands to set up our different churches there. Take heed, therefore, to do nothing which shall endanger the oneness of God's people. Make it your aim to unite all Christians everywhere, and to build up, with your fellow workers, one undivided Church of Christ."
I am persuaded the present plan is not, can not be, what God desires. Therefore there is, there must be, a better plan which God does desire. If God's people will consult with Him, and with each other, and be perfectly willing to give up their own plans and preferences, and follow God's direction, then surely He would show us His way.. Among the many things which claim the attention of our societies and councils is anything of more moment than this just now? Something accomplisht in this direction would outweigh a hundred ordinary achievements, because of its Godlikeness, and the blessing, power, and joy that would attend it.
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES.* REV. JOHN R. HYKES, SHANGHAI. Agent of the American Bible Society in China.
The Philippine group consists of more than fourteen hundred islands, the majority of which are mere islets or rocks projecting out of the sea. The total area is about equal to that of New England, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The most important of the inhabited islands are only eleven, namely, Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Panay, Negros, Palawan, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Masbate, and Bohol. The first two of these (Luzon and Mindanao) are larger in area than all the other islands in the archipelago put together. Luzon, the capital of which is Manila, is first in size and importance. Its area is equal to one-third of the entire group. The population is variously estimated at from 8,000,000 to 10,000,000, of which number about one-half are domesticated natives. The remainder is made up of the independent hilI tribes, Chinese Mestizos or half-breeds, Spaniards, and a few other Europeans and Americans.
* Condenst from three reports sent by Mr. Hykes to the American Bible Society.
MISSIONARY DIGEST DEPARTMENT
Before the war there were 60,000 Spanish officials, friars, and soldiers in the islands. The Chinese population is 85,000, besides over 200,000 Chinese Mestizos or half-breeds. Most of the Chinese immigrants come from Amoy; a very small proportion, only about five per cent., coming from Canton. There are scarcely any Chinese women in the islands. The Chinese men almost without exception marry Philippine women, and in Manila the Chinese half-breeds form about one-sixth of the population. As a class they are more cunning and treacherous than the pure natives. The Spanish half-breeds and creoles form a distinct class, as well as an influential one. Formerly the Spanish government encouraged marriages between Spaniards and native women, and such alliances are still quite common. The Spanish Mestizos are more shrewd and intellectual than the pure Asiatic, but they are more suspicious, vacillating, a,nd seem to have inherited the worst traits of both races. Among the native population the Tagals are the principal tribe in Luzon, and the Visayas of the Southern islands.
In the mountains of nearly everyone of the inhabited islands, native races are to be met with which are supposed to be the aboriginal inhabitants. They have not been subdued by the Spanish conquerors of the islands, and even in Luzon there are some of these tribes which have never so much as heard of the Spaniards. The Negritos are to be found in most of the islands. They are a very low type, both intellectually and physically, and will probably disappear before the advance of civilization. The Igorrotes are the chief mountain tribe in Luzon. They are, perhaps, the best of the aboriginal races. They are very tenacious of their beliefs, and after repeated efforts, the Spaniards abandoned the idea of subduing them. There are a number of Igorrote Chinese, who are distinguishable by their oblique eyes and Chinese features.
There are no less than thirty different languages officially recognized. There are four or five of these spoken in Luzon. The Tagalo, the principal dialect spoken in Luzon, is used by one and a half millions; the Visaya by over two millions. Spanish is the language of Manila and or the principal ports of the islands.
SPANISH PRIESTS AND OFFICIALS.
Sacerdotal despotism and official rapacity are alone responsible for the recent rebellion. Not only has the venality of administration been notorious, but the oppression, the cruelty, the injustice of many of the Spanish officials have called to high heaven for vengeance. They sowed the wind and are now reaping the whirlwind. Men, from the governorgeneral down, sought government positions in the Philippines in orde; to make their fortunes, and it was a common saying that a governor who could not in three years retire with a competency was a fool. Every man had his price, and it was almost impossible to get goods through the customs without bribing the officers. The native had to pay tax on everything-the paper on which he wrote a letter, the buffalo that plowed his fields, his chickens, and even upon the eggs they laid. The governors monopolized the trade of their districts. They fixt their own purchasing price, and sold, of course, at current market rates. No conscience was shown by any officer in his rigorous exactions from the natives. The expenses of legal proceedings were so enormous that many a wealthy man was ruined by a single case of litigation.
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES
Under Spanish rule the parish priests were the virtual rulers of the provinces, and by working upon the superstitious fears of the natives they often effected a submission to the Spanish crown, which the secular authorities could not secure by a display of force. The clerical and secular rivalries form one of the disgraceful pages in the history of the islands. The friars often usurped civil authority and openly defied the civil governors. From provincial governors down, Spanish officials held their positions by clerical influence, and many of them were the tools, unwilling it may be, of the friars. To oppose the priests, or refuse compliance with their demands, was sure to make one a victim of their intrigue.
The exactions and iniquities of the friars are the subjects of common conversation. Usually taken from the lowest ranks of society, with little or no secular education, intrusted with civil power over an ignorant, superstitious people in places where they were practically subject to no superior authority, the system of semi-sacerdotal government which prevailed in the Philippines waf:> one of the greatest iniquities of modern times. It gave the unprincipled friars a rare opportunity of fleecing the natives and enriching the great corporation to which they belong, and, more than all, of gratifying their lust. Every event in a man's life is made an excuse for getting a fee. There is a tariff of marriage fees, but the priest usually sets this aside and fixes his charges according to the resources of the parties. This abuse of power can hardly be resisted, as the natives have a radical aversion to being married elsewhere than in the village of the bride. The fees demanded are sometimes enormous, the common result being that many couples dispense with the wedding ceremony.
A funeral is another occasion for exacting money from the superstitious natives. A poor man has a death in his family. He goes to the priest, and requests him to conduct the funeral service. He demands an exorbitant fee, which the man says he is utterly unable to pay, and burial is refused. The Filipinos like to bury their dead within twentyfour hours, and the man is in great distress. The priest hands him a small box surmounted by an image of a saint. He rushes through the streets with this, pushes it into the face of every passer-by, who kisses the saint, and for the privilege drops a coin into the box. He returns with the result of his day's begging to the priest. If he is satisfied, the burial takes place; if not, the man is started out again to collect more. The fees of a church near the hotel at which I was stopping amounted to $100,000 per annum. It is not surprising that the great religious corporations are enormously wealthy, and that they have a power consonant with that wealth.
I was shockt at the stories I was told by men whose word I could not doubt, of the flagrant immorality of the Spanish friars. The men who gave me these statements said they were prepared to give names, dates, and places. It is a matter of common knowledge that there is a halfcaste population growing up in many towns in the interior for which the parish priest is responsible. A young man, a resident of Manila, said to me: "I am a Roman Catholic, but I am free to say that I know many of the friars to be vile beyond all conception. No attractive young girl is safe. Nothing is allowed to stand between a priest and the gratification of his lust." A gentleman who has been twenty-five years in the Philippines told me that it is impossible to exaggerate the immorality of the
MISSIONARY DIGEST DEPARTMENT
Spanish friars. The result of all this iniquity is that the Spanish priests are thoroughly hated by the Filipinos.* I am sure that the Roman Catholics of the United States would be as much shockt as anybody at the immorality of these friars. I am aware that this is not Roman Catholicism as it is to be found in England and the United States to-day, and it is necessary that this should be emphasized in order to comprehend the religious condition of the people, and to adequately realize their spiritual needs. They have had more than three centuries of Catholic Christianity; commodious churches are to be found all over the islands. and they are well attended, but practically nothing has been done to educate and enlighten the people. The Spanish government past a law that the Spanish language should be taught in all the parochial schools, but the order was disregarded because the priests preferred to keep the people in ignorance. It is astonishing that a lower standard of morals does not exist among the people when we consider the character of their spiritual teachers. It is generally conceded that the Filipino priests are vastly more moral than the Spanish friars, and it is perhaps this fact, and their inherent superstitions, that has prevented the people from abandoning all religion. With the native religion is a mere form and not a spiritual life. The symbols of the faith, and the observance of religious rites, are about all he knows of religion. From what I have written there can be little doubt of their great need of the Gospel, and that the overthrow of Spanish rule and priestly domination have, in the providence of God, made this the Church's opportunity to enter these islands with pure, spiritual religion.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT.
While there are doubtless many able men among the Filipinos, I am convinced that they do not have the qualifications which are essential in the founders of the republic. This is not surprising to one who knows the history of the Philippines, and is familiar with the effects of Spanish misrule for more than three centuries. The natives were little better than savages when the Spaniards came to the islands, and while contact with Europeans has of necessity introduced a higher culture, I believe that if Western influence were to be entirely withdrawn, civilization would spontaneously die out in the Philippines. The mass of the people are ignorant in the extreme, and they are not prepared and will not be prepared for many years for self-government. It will be generations before their aspirations to become an independent commonwealth ought to be realized.
I think it would be difficult to find a more needy field, and the call that comes to the Protestant churches of America is loud and urgent. The people are and have been without the Bible.t They know there is such a book, and that is about all.
*Every Spanish friar ought to be banisht from the islands. If not, there will be endless trouble. I ought to have said that the Jesuits were never accused of the gross immorality with which the other orders have been so freely charged. They were driven out of the provinces by the other religious corporations, and their work was almost entirely confined to Manila.
t The Scriptures at present available for distribntion are Spanish, Spanish-English, besides portions of the New Testament in Pangasinian. Tagalog. The Gospel of Luke is being issued in Vicol by the British Bible Society, and a translation of the same Gospel into Ilocan is in progress.
THE ENTRANCE OF THE BIBLE INTO RUSSIA
THE ENTRANOE OF THE BIBLE INTO RUSSIA. * In the first decade of the present century the Bible was practically unknown in Russia. H was indeed possible to secure German and Slavonic texts (the latter being the church language of the establishment, but not at all understood by the great majority of the people), and occasionally a copy in the Finnish, Polish, Lithuanian, or Esthonian languages could be met with; but in the Russian language there were no copies of the Scriptures to be had. In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia, and the Russians, defeated in all the battles, were compelled to retreat. The Ozar Alexander 1. and his advisers were in despair. Only one man among those with whom the emperor associated remained calm and hopeful, and that was Prince Galitzyn. Finally the czar askt him the cause of his good spirits, and the prince drew out of his pocket a small copy of the New Testament a·.d Psalms, and informed his ruler that this book was the source of his comfort and joy. The czar wanted to see the book, but it happened to fall to the ground, and, in falling, opened at the ninety-first Psalm, and the czar's eyes fell on the opening words of this Psalm. Deeply moved, he askt for the book, and became a warm lover of the Scriptures.
Soon afterward John Paterson, a representative of the British Bible Society, arrived in St. Petersburg, and askt for permission to establish a branch in Finland. The czar not only granted the request, but also contributed 5,000 rubles toward_the project, and further is[lUed the order that in Russia proper, even while the French were yet in Moscow, a Bible society on a large scale should be establisht, so that all Russian subjects could have a Bible in their own tongue.
In this way the St. Petersburg Bible Society received governmental approval December 6, 1812, and the czar himself became a member. The first meeting was held in January, 1813, when Prince Galitzyn was chosen president. The members were not only adherents of the state or orthodox church, but also Protestants and Roman Oatholics. In the same year a Bible society was established for the German Baltic provinces. In Moscow, too, a similar organization was effected, headed by the archbishop of that metropolis. As early as 1814 the various local societies were united into a general body, the Russian Bible Society, and among the new members were a number of Russian grand dukes. The outspoken object was to have every Russian family in the empire the possessor of a Bible. In order to secure a good translation into the Russian, the czar contributed 30,000 rubles and a stone building in St. Petersburg. In the year 1823 the Bible had already been translated into sixteen dialects of Russia, and 40,000 copies had been imported from abroad,. in addition to the 805,000 copies issued by the Russian society. There was no lack of funds. In the first ten years of its activity, this society expended the sum elf 3,687,000 rubles, and yet, as Prince Galitzyn himself declared, the supply was not equal to the demand among the people.
An unexpected change came after the death of Alexander 1. in 1825, when Nicholas 1. ascended the throne. In the following year the new czar issued an edict dissolving all Bible societies in Russia, and refused to permit private printing concerns to circulate the Scriptures, and ordered that all the copies on hand in the depots should be sent to St. Petersburg, where their fate was to be decided by the Holy Synod, which ~ From the Kirchenzeitung, of Leipsic. Translation made for The Literary Digest.
MISSIONARY DIGEST DEPARTMENT
body alone was to have the right of circulating the Scriptures. This body did practically little or nothing in this direction, and soon the mat- ter rested altogether. In 1845 an English wholesale merchant in St. Petersburg, when requested to furnish a copy of the Russian New Testa- ment, reported that it had been impossible for him to secure a single copy of either the Slavonic or the Russian Scriptures in that city, altho he had offered the highest price for such a book; and that in Moscow too the supply was nearly exhausted. After a great deal of agitation, the Holy Synod decided that it would print S,600 copies of the New Testament in the Slavonic language, as it was thought this would supply the actual need. Nor was more done at that time.
In the reign of Alexander II., Bible societies were again permitted to do their work in Russia, and in 1869 "The Society for the Spread of the Scriptures in Russia" was organized, and this association has in the twenty years of its existence spread more than a million and a half copies of the Bible, or parts of the Bible, throughout the empire. Headquarters . and depots are at St. Petersburg and Moscow, and a network of col- porteurs has been established in all the leading cities. In the year 1898 Miss Hoerschelmann, the daughter of a high officer, devoted herself entirely to the work of distributing the Bible among the prisoners, and has in this way made use of 60,000 copies.
PROGRESS OF OHRISTIANITY IN KOREA.* There is no more beautiful sight in any land than that of a Ohristian home. In Korea there are twice as many as there were last year; homes where morning and evening father and mother gather children and servants about the family altar to offer to the God of nations homage and prayer in the name of His Son; homes where the dread demons of the heathen abodes, have been cast to the moles and the bats, and Ohrist, and the Bible, and song, and love, and hope and better things have taken their place. We have been in and out of these homes and have found them clean and neat and tidy. Wife-beating, a universal practice in Korean homes, has been banisht. One wife told in a prayer-meeting of the changed behavior of her husband toward her. "No more drunkenness and hard, unkind words and low, vile talk. We eat at the same table. at the same time. and out of the same dishes."
Two thousand years ago, to the sick, the blind, the lame, the lepers, the suffering of every kind, there was no touch like that of Jesus of Nazareth. It will be an underestimate to say that 25,000 Koreans found relief from disease and suffering in Ohristian hospitals of Ohrist, in this country last year. Ohristian medicine appeals probably in a special manner to the Koreans, because of a national weakness for medicine in theory and practise. No country of Asia has paid more attention to medicine than Korea. For centuries the peninsula was the fruitful source whence, on the one hand, Japan came for medical knowledge and China for drugs. Christ and Christianity in the character of a physician has special attractions to the Koreans.
In a beautiful little village near a seaport there lived a man who had once bought a Christian book. He had often studied its contents, but it was meaningless to him. One day a Korean Christian landing at the * From the Korean Repository.
RECENT ARTICLES ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS
seaport saw the village a mile away across the valley, and led by an impulse went there, and to the first man he met announced himself a believer in the Jesus truth. This villager was the man with the meaningless book, and he received the Christian with great joy, "For," said he, "I have a Jesus book, but that is all I know about it. Come and make it clear to me." That was in August. We are told that there are now ten Christian families in that beautiful village, which has not yet been seen even by a foreign missionary.
The fast-falling night found a colporteur of the Bible Society in a strange village. He accosted a villager and ask for food and lodging. It was given and when the evening meal was over the neighbors came in to niagi, "talk." Among them was a school-teacher who did not thiuk there was "any good thing out of Nazareth," but the earnest words of the colporteur imprest him and he bought a Chinese Bible on trust. The next we heard was that the school-teacher and his friends were hard at work weaving mats and sandals to earn money to pay for their Bibles anil. buy more Christian books. In the center of a small town there is a large grave which has been the seat of a spirit shrine for hundreds of years, and which gave the town its name shrine-town. But the heads of the village became Christians and led many of the villagers to follow their example, and now at that grave where formerly the only symbols of religion were barbecued dog and the wailing chant of the mudangsorceress-we have a Christian chapel, and each Sabbath enlightening and uplifting instructions.
RECENT ARTICLES ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS.
AFRICA-Ride into Southern Morocco, F. W. Wynn. Macmillan's Magazine (March); The Kongo State and its Critics, D. C. Boulger, F01·tnightly Review (March); Through Pigmy Land, A. B. Lloyd, Wide World Magazine (April).
AMERICA-Peculiarities of American Highlanders, Prof. M. E. Merriam, Congregational Work (March); Revival of the Mormon Problem, Eugene Young, North American Revl.ew (April); The Future of Cuba, Robt. P. Porter (ibid.); Cuba and Puerto Rico, Bishop Ninde and A. B. Leonard, Gospel in All Lands (April); The Ancient Religion of Mexico, Assembly Herald (March); South America-its Condition and Missions, Woman's Journal (March); Facts About Brazil, The Foreign Missions Journal (April).
CHINA AND KOREA-American Opportunities in China, Gilbert Reid, Forum (April); Chi· nese Church of To-day, Dr. F. L. Potts, Chinese Recorder (February); Family Life in China, Mrs. Pitcher, Gospel in All Lands (April); Martyrs of Kucheng, Henry Mostyn, Wide World Magazine (April); Korea and the Koreans, Homer B. Hulbert, Fort,m (April).
C,TY MISSIONs-Settlement Work, Anson P. Atterbury, D.D., Homiletic Review (April).
EUROPE-After the War in Spain, Missionary Herald, Ireland, (February); Spain and Her Future, Nicolas Estevanez, Independent (March 20).
INDIA AND MALAYSIA-British Rule in India, J. P. Jones, D.D., North American Review (April); Domestic Conditions in India, R. W. Munson, Good Health (March); How Gods are Made in India, E. W. Hopkins, New World (March); Strategical Importance of Work among the Higher Classes of India, J. P. Haithornthwaite, Church Missionary Intelligencer (March and April); Mission Work in Malaysia, R. W. Munson, Medical Missionary (February).
ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC-Samoa Illustrated, Overland Monthly (March); Visit to Samoa, L. M. S. Chronicle (March); Results of Missions in Hawaii, Missionary Herald (April); The Friars in the Philippines, Irish Rosary (March).
TURKEy-Smyrna and its Field, J. P. :IIcNaughton, Missionary Herald (April).
GENERAL-Cooperation in Christian Work in our New Possessions, Dr. Teunis S. Hamlin, Independent (April 6); Selection, Education, and Probation of Native Workers, Rev. G. H. Pole, Church Missionary Intelligencer (March); The Epworth League and Missions, Review of Missions (April); Higher Education of Girls in Mission Fields, Mrs. J. R. Mott, The Intercollegian (April).
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT
III.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
EDITED AND CONDUCTED BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D.
The Situation in China. China, he says, is like a timepiece BY J. T. G. introduced into a Chinese village, Who shall write of the situation which has always been content in China? Sir Robert Hart, baronet, Dr. W. A. P. Martin, of the Impe- with noting sunrise and sunset, rial University of Peking, says, has had a "career to which there and the seasons. " Any news from is no parallel, east or west." What Li Hung Chang is among native China," he says, "is incomplete servants of the Chinese government, Dr. Martin affirms, that is and misleading, unless the precise Sir Robert Hart among its foreign employees. "Rare in personal moment of writing be appended to qualities, and exceptional in opportunity, he looms up like the Tung- what is written." This seems cho pagoda, which, rising from a level plain, becomes a part of the strange about a great people whom landscape, and attracts the eyes of all who turn their faces toward we have been wont to think of as Peking." only making geological progress- Toward the close of last year, at an official dinner party, at which a quarter of an inch in a million of Sir Robert was one of the guests, in a conversation with Marquis Ito years or so. of Jal}an, Sir Robert is reported to have said: RECENT REFORM MEASURES.
China is indeed a difficult coun- Certainly the recent reform meastry. A year or two ago I thought I knew something about her affairs, ures came in an avalanche. Take and I ventured to commit my views to writing. But to-day I seem to those formulated in six weeks, as have lost all knowledge. If you askt me to write even three or Mr. Cornaby notes them; four pages about China, I should be puzzled to do so. There is only June H.-Decree for the estabone thing that I have learned. In lishment of a University at Peking. my country the rule is "break but never bend;" in China the rule. is June 2O.-Decree that the Ts'Ung "bend but never break." li Yam'Un report on the encourage- ment .of art, science, and modern Rev. W. Arthur Cornaby of agriculture. China, writing in the Methodist Recorder, of London, says: "Sir June 23.-Decree that the essay Robert Hart himself has given up (or moral sermonette) be abolisht generalizing or prophesying con- as the chief test of qualification for cerning China. The only safe ob- degrees and rulership over cities jective revelation is, 'The Lord and districts. reigneth.' " He asks, "Who can sketch the view from the deck of a June 27.-Ministers and princes boat heaving and tossing in a ordered to report on the proposal storm?" The new element in to adopt Western arms and drill for all the Tartar troops.
July 4.-Establishment of agri- cultural schools.
July 5.-Decree for the introduc- tion of patent and copyright laws.
July 5.-Board of war ordered to report on proposed reform of military examinations, the disuse of bows, arrows, and other anti- quated anachronisms.
July 29.-Decree for the establish- ment of school boards in every city of the empire.
Little wonder that somebody should think the fire was dropping from the burning axles of this Chi- nese leader. Where the first check came from it is not easy to affirm.
Some say from Russia. The em- peror had taken to a study of Mackenzie's" History of Christian Civ- cials were charged with treason; ilization in the Nineteenth Cen- six of them were tried at night, and tury," and literature of like type. five of them lost their heads. Some The Russian minister is credited of them, if not all of them, were with pointing out that reforms on men of convictions, and with the that line meant democracy; and courage of them. "My head may· the emperor and the czar would drop," said the son of the governor both be counted out. The empe- of Hupeh province, "but know you ror's aunt was equal to the emer- that a thousand heads will rise in gency. She could "screw her cour- its place." age to the sticking point." She had done so before; she had poi- Dr. Ashmore, of Swatow, writ- soned two empresses to make her ing of all this in the Baptist Mis- way to the throne on which she, sionary Review of India, asks: like Milton's Satan, "exalted sat." "Did the dowager succeed?" and When Tung Chih, the emperor, answers it by asking, "Did Athadied, she kept the secret, and four- Hah succeed? Did J ezebel suc- teen days after he was dead issued ceed? " proclamation of thanksgiving for his convalescence. By royal decree The leaven of all this reform has she made the boy Kuang-Shu em- been working through all the years peror, and ran the empire herself since the dowager was born. Right till his majority; and-resumed the under her eyes, right under her control of the government when nose, the whole state of things, for the spirit of reform, shown in the the existence of which she would, measures above named, got away if she durst, decapitate the boy to with him. whom she yesterday committed the empire, and from whom she There is little room for wonder to-day snatches it, has been developthat the emperor's reform party ing. The influence of the diplocould be so easily squelcht, for it matic bodies, of the books written had no backing of military force. by Chinese ambassadors after re- The whole military strength of the turning from abroad, the Western country was under the control of management of maritime customs, the Manchu politicians, who were the Western merchants, and, most opposed to reform, and thus at the of all of the missionaries, has, as disposal of the dowager. One only Dr. Ashmore states, superinduced hope was left them. Li had an conditions of a resistless reform. army of 37,000 men, splendidlooking fellows, but something THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT. befell them in the Japan war and they were not. They had been There is one change-a reform-to reorganized at Peking undEr which the dowager herself has been Yuen Shi-kai, whom the reformers compelled to be a party. Western thought they might trust. They nations think of the emperor of gave him their confidence, and he China as they might of the embetrayed them, and they were left peror of Russia or Germany, as wholly without military backing. having imperial power to act for" the whole nation. This was never The dowager choosing a time heard of in China, till Western when the foreign ministers were powers insisted on dealing with the absent, obtained possession of the emperor as the unit of the Chinese emperor's person, usurpt the government. The several provinces scepter, and commenced a reign of are a confederacy of independent terror, in which sixteen high offi- states. The central government is not to assume any initiative, but to control the action of the provin- merely states in severalty. That is cial administrators, register their reform of a gigantic nature, not proceedings, and to remove, de- even ratified by the states, but grade them, or advance them, as acquiesced in under the law of occasion requires. Itwas less than necessity. Reform goes on resistforty years ago that the Tsungli lessly. China is not, and never again Yamen was establisht to comply can be what she was fifty years with the demand of foreign govern- ago. ments for a central imperial avenue of dealing with the empire as a Meanwhile the missionary movewhole in diplomatic and treaty ment is greatly accelerated. Even matters. It is not yet ten years the present dynasty, at one time, since this emperor's "council," now forbade the teaching of the Chrisgrown to a board of eight persons, tian religion. Christians were first appeared in the Red Book, the obliged to labor in secret and with record of state departments. constant fear. Fines, imprison- ment, banishment, torture, and And yet this central imperial death threatened them. But the power, of which China has, in a edict of the seventeenth year of way, known nothing till within a Kuang HSll made it lawful to prophalf century, has been compelled agate the Christian religion. to recognize the allotment of large Chinese preachers may go everyparts of the China coast to foreign where proclaiming the Gospel. If occupancy. Russia has practically perchance they are disturbed, the annext 400,000 square miles of law is on their side. There is a territory, important strategically, signal turning of the people to the even if it does not contain more missionary since the China-Japan than one-twentieth of the whole war. population. It is said to be ten times as much territory as all the RIOTS AND REVOLTS. rest of the European powers have together got. The other nations have Missionaries, like others, have to appropriated all the rest of the take chances of residence in a coast, except some 200 miles or so on country subject to local outbreaks Pechili. We knowhow it is. Great and uprisings, such as constantly Britain and Germany control the occur in China. The Sz-chuan Shantung coast line, Great Britain province has just now been plunged that of Kiangsu and of Chekia,ng, into peril by one of those organized too. unless Italy gets a slice of it. marauding expeditions. Yu, the Foochow is preempted by pro- son of a deceased opium den prospective claims of Japan. Great prietor, part proprietor of a coal Britain takes Canton province sea- mine in the center of the province, line, and southward from that nicknamed Mantze, the "savage," France claims her "sphere of in- has been for a long time under ban, fluence." and efforts have been made to capture him. He was captured in Thus China has lost all inde- June, 1898, but was rescued by his pendent control except in the sympathizers. He then rallied some " Hinterland." She can do nothing malcontents, whom he armed, and with her coast line, but by pitting they raided the Roman Catholic the foreign powers against each converts in central Sz-chuan, and other. C':tina has ceased to be the captured missionary Fleury. Elumere confederacy she was. The ding capture, they entered Hochou, world has demanded that she be a sixty miles distant from Chungnation-a United States-and not king, with anti-Christianproclama- tions. The movement assumed the proportions of a revolt, and him: "When I was a young man missionary property and mission- God said to me, 'I am going to aries were in peril, and it was said evangelize Inland China, and I am Chungking itself was invested, if going to do it through you, if you not captured, by the rebels. On will walk with Me.' When I learned September 15th they looted the that God was going to do it, I was American mission, and burned the eager to go, because I felt the reproperty of the Roman Catholic sponsibility of the work would rest mission at Hochou. on Him, not on me."
But all this, as we have said, in At the noonday meeting. Janua great empire like China, with a ary 18th, Miss Weatherly, of Lafourth of the population of the hore, said that the C. E. pledge world to be governed, must be emphasizes the old claims of the expected; and disturbances every- Christian life, viz.: (1) prayer; (2) where liable to be provokt by the study of God's Word; and (3) members of the secret societies the doing of God's will. Rev. Mr. which honeycomb the empire, must Chamberlain pointed out that the be reckoned in to the count. They pledge touches the whole range of have little to do with the great our duty to God, man, and self. underswell of change, reform, and Mrs. Nelson, of Lucknow, showed progress. which is everywhere felt the desirableness of getting new over the empire, and affect but converts to Christ to conduct meettemporarily the temper of the mass ings; firstly, for the sake of others, of the population, which is kindly because they occupy such little toward the missionary. time in their addresses that an op- portunity is thereby given to others The Allahabad Oonvention. to speak; a.nd secondly, for their own sakes. Such an one once con- The Student Volunteer Move- ducted the meeting of the society ment, and the Christian Endeavor- which she represents, and remarkt ers of India, held a three-days' afterward: "It's done me a world conference at Allahabad, India, in of good, because it has made me January last. The attendance was hunt up the Bible, as I should never large, and the representatives were have done otherwise." Rev. R. from all parts of India, including Burgess showed that the word" I" many denominations and races. occurs nine times in the pledge, At the reception meeting the ad- which lays emphasis on the indidress of welcome was responded to vidual, and causes one to say: "I by Mr. Chamberlain for South India, stand in single relation to God." Rev. H. Anderson for Bengal, Miss The result of this sense of personal Phillips for Orissa, Rev. S. V. Kar- responsibility is a strong desire to markar for Bombay, Mr. Samuel win souls to Christ. An open pal;'- Baker for Central Provinces, Dr. liament followed, crowded with Campbell for Central India, Miss choice thoughts apd m,etb,odljl, va- Nazar Ali for Punjab, Mr. Andrew ried and helpful. Stuart for Scotland, Rev. R. Burgess for Wales, l'Ir. J. N. Forman At the meeting of January 19th for S. V. M., and Mr. Pollock for two addresses were given, which the Railway Mission. The last re are summarized in the Indian Witsponse was a short, stirring, humor- ness as follows. Rev. Robert A. ous address from Rev. F. B. Meyer, Hume made the following points on in the course of which he remarkt tha,t Hudson Taylor once sa,iq to "GOD'S CLAIM ON OUR TIME:"
1. Time means opportunity. It is helpful to translate common words into those less common, to open of offices on that day, and deget at their deeper meaning. prived large numbers of their week- ly rest. A great mass-meeting, in 2. Opportunity means God. It is which the various non-Christian well to take these common words communities were represented by and transmute them into Divine thousands, assembled, and a veheterms in order more clearly to ap- ment protest was made against the prehend their true significance. proposal of government. The pro- test was effectual. The departure 3. The motto over the platform- of the mail was permanently fixt Christ for India-implies that In- for Saturday, and Bombay has its dia is for Christ. If God is for official and commercial day of rest. time, time is for God. God before Of all. the holy influences that abide time, God in time, God through with him in his manhood, the most time. Time for God, time in God, precious are those of the Sabbath time through God. Holy living evenings with his mother. The makes holy time. Sabbath is God's great opportunity for working out for man His 4. Time is God's opportunity for blessed purpose and plan. us to become what He wants us to become, and do what He wants us Day of all the days the best, to do. He enables us. Emblem of eternal rest.
5. Time is opportunity for God to Rev. G. L. Wharton, speaking on do for us what He wants to do. He "GOD'S CLAIM ON OUR MONEY," wants a chance to do His mighty work in us. As a mother for the read various passages of Scripture, child, so God for us. dwelling briefly on each (Ps. xcv: 4-6; I: 10; xxiv: 1; 1 Cor. vi:20). One 6. Emphasizing time, all time. thought preeminent-God owns The speaker had a vision. He had everything. He is absolute owner seen a great sheet let down from of money, and all that makes Heaven in which were all manner money. The Lord has given us the of days, and a voice he heard say- earth, but that does not affect His ing: "Robert Hume, what God ownership. Passages were read hath cleansed that call not thou from Leviticus in reference to the common." Not simply on Sunday tithe. God is not an Indian zeminwill the Father have men to wor- dar, or an Irish absentee landlord, ship Him, but every day in the enriching himself by impoverishweek. ing others. The tithe is not an ar- bitrary thing with the Lord. In 7. God's claim on our time. Men that little zila, Palestine, God had have been said to be possest of the a great work to do, preparing for devil, but never possest of God. the enri~hment of the world. He God gives us time. The joy of son- made the provision of the tithe in ship is that what is ours is God's. order to carry out His plan. God's Time being ours is God's. operations then were confined to that little territory; no mission- 8. God's claim on our time. The aries were sent abroad. But now compulsion of love is much greater His missionary servants are spread than the compulsion of law, and all over the world. If God required the obedience of love is much the tithe for the maintenance of sweeter than the obedience of law. the rites and ceremonies connected God's claim is based upon what He with a tent in Palestine, how much has done for us, and what is His more for a work that engirdles the world! The fact is, money is plan for us. required for all things and all enter- Finally, we have these treasures prisee. There neVer was a tiwf,) in earthen vessels. The Sabbath was made for man, God's special opportunity for man. ,Vhen we see the awful unbroken drudgery of life in India, how thankful we ought to be for the Sabbath! No let-up for the sons and daughters of toil in India. No opportunity for family life. That the day of rest is regarded as a boon by the thoughtful people of the land, was shown in Bombay a few years ago. The proposal was made by the authorities to make Sunday the day of departure of the English mail.
Th",t wQuld have involved keeping when money was more needed for boards to enter Cuba and Puerto the work of God in the world. Rico, and a number of these boa~ds have appointed "committees of Giving is a higher standing than two" to confer together as a joint receiving. It is more blessed to committee with reference to a give than to receive. The speaker division of these fields. It is im- read from Malachi about the giving portant before any of the boards of the tithe, and the opening of the buy or secure property, and thus windows of Heaven. First giving, determine the location of their sta- then receiving, then dispensing in tions and work, that these fields partnership with God. Can we should in some way be parcelled begin with less than a tenth? out, so that the whole ground may When at home in America, a few be covered without several denom- years ago, he found in seventeen inations working in the same States as many different plans of towns and districts. The probable raising money for religious pur- relative needs of Cuba and Puerto poses-the fancy-fair plan, the pew Rico to other parts of the world plan, the box-or-the-jug plan, etc. are not such as to require all the Compare God's simple, common- boards of missions to open work sense, self-respecting plan with there; but if they do, a wise division those he had enumerated! In clo- of territory will greatly aid in sing the speaker told of a mission- getting the work on a good founda- ary from whom he had requested a tion. contribution for the Bible Society, but inability to give was pleaded. A study of the subject of comity Expense had been incurred by in respect to overlapping and in- moving, by sickness during the efficiency, owing to weak under- year, etc. Besides, he belonged to manned stations, and lack of con- the Priests and Levites, for whose centration, would reveal the support others gave their tithes. possibilities in increast efficiency From Numbers xviii: 26 the speaker and results from the present showed him that even the Levites staff of workers and financial were under obligation to tithe their outlay. It is not only far more tithe receipts. economic for each board to concen- trate in one district, but far better It would be very profitable read- for the whole work. This has ing if we could quote from the ad- ample proof in the countries where dresses of Rev. Mr. Meyer, two or it has been carried out; witness three each day, but we can only Turkey, Egypt, Ceylon, Burma, touch on this greatly important Siam, Korea, Madagascar, and convention. parts of India, China, and Africa, the most vigorous native churches A Word on Missionary Oomity. being where the missions are not bidding against one another for the BY w. HENRY GRANT, NEW YORK. service of native helpers, where the stations are mutually supporting Many of the friends of Christian and well manned by members of missions in this and other countries one body. Thousands of cities and are looking for a solution to the villages are to-day unoccupied by problem of different societies work- the Christian Church, because we ing in the same field without per- are in bondage to denominational petuating the divisions that have traditions and ownership in little to do with the great essentials property. upon which our Savior and His apostles preacht. As a layman who has given te~ Jt is now proposed by some ei~ht years to the study of the economics no; one says, advisable but not of missions, I am in correspondence with all parts of the world, and practicable; Mr. Curtis says, absoknow many cases that need the kindly judgment of an unbiased lutely necessary. Southern Presbyjury, to which the missionaries would gladly submit. I have yet terian Mission: Advisable. Cumto meet the layman who cared what denomination occupied a berland Presbyterian Mission: particular field, providing the people were getting the Gospel and Desirable, but we doubt its practicahis own church was doing its full share, somewhere. The various bility. North Japan Reformed Misdenominations have never been more united and cooperative than sion: Advisable and possible for the they are to-day, and, therefore, we ought to realize in practical co- cooperating missions. South Japan operation and comity what could not have been effected fifty years Reformed Mission: One thinks it ago. desirable but difficult, one not COOPERATION IN JAPAN. possible, and one theoretically Apropos of this communication from Mr. Grant, we note that the simple but impracticable. The Methodist and Presbyterian missions of Japan have united on a German Reformed Mission: It "plan of cooperation in Sundayschool publications." They are to would be a great convenience, and follow the international lesson course and to publish a teachers' there seems to be no reason why journal; a quarterly, for advanced and intermediate pupils; a leaflet, such a uniform scale of salaries for the primary scholars; all to be publisht at the Methodist Publish- could not be drawn up and then ing House, the editors selected from all the cooperating bodies. improved upon from time to time On some other items the several as experience demanded." missions doubt if they can cooperate. For instance, in the It will be noted that these twenty-first report of the Council of Missions cooperating with the answers are exclusively from the Church of Christ in Japan we find the question, "Would it be advis- several bodies represented in the able and possible for the cooperating missions and other missions Church of Christ in Japan. No working in the same or contiguous territory to have the same scale of quotations of views from "other salaries for evangelists and school teachers?" The answers are sum- missions" are given. But if these marized as follows: "East Japan Presbyterian Mission: Opinions cooperating missions can not agree differ. West Japan Presbyterian Mission: Two say, yes; one says, on what at this distance seems so simple a proposition, it is scarcely probable the "other missions"
could be brought to sufficient unity of view to make this proposal prac- tical. Still we think in a general way it can be done. J. T. G.
The Outlook in the Sudm.
The proposal of the Sirdar Lord Kitchener to erect a memorial col- lege to the lamented Gordon at Khartum, and, as Kipling says, where they yesterday mowed to death the people, to "call the liv- ing to school," has been received with widespread enthusiasm,' and quickly the amount the sirdar called for was exceeded by thou- sands of pounds. 'The policy is a farseeing one. Great Britain is in Egypt to stay. But whether a purely secular college is all the memorial that ought to be raised to so noble a Christian as was Gordon, needs only to be askt, and it is the hope that at the earliest moment answered. The becoming memorial consistent with public safety the is a great Christian missionary sirdar's restrictions will be with- movement, prudently and charita- drawn. They are not novices in bly conducted, in which the Church administration who adopt these of England Missionary Society resolutions. Sir John Kennaway might at least lead. This society moved them and Sir Richard Tem- was making preparations to re- ple seconded them. enter the Sudan, from which they were driven fifteen years ago by A petition is being circulated to the Dervish insurrection. Lord Salisbury, expressing deep re- gret that the Church of England But the sirdar, with a strange Missionary Society has been de- sort of fatuity, proclaims that terred by Lord Kitchener and Lord Christian missionaries must not Cromer from entering on work at come to that country. If he meant Khartum and Omdurman, and that war conditions were prohib- this sets forth what we have preitive of evangelists for the imme- viously affirmed, that the British diate present, that would have been learned their lesson in the Indian taken in good part; but it was not mutiny. This petition says: "We so understood. We predicted that have in mind the similar disastrous the British religious public would policy long pursued in British brook no such dictation from the India, and rejoice to know that sirdar or any other official in the governors, generals, and other high British government. They have officers of state have entirely renot yet forgotten Cawnpore and ceded from that policy." Delhi, which, even if it were superstition to believe, yet they believed And the sirdar will have to reand still believe, to have been God's cede from it, too. It turns out to judgment on the British East India be scarcely within" practical poli- Company for its rotten policy of tics" just yet, for the sirdar has exclusion of the Christian teacher not yet finished conquering the from its territory up to the meas- Sudan. ure of its restrictive power. A Forward Movement in the Province We are not at aIL surprised to meet at once with a vigorous pro- of Kiang-si, China. test against the sirdar's mandate. The House of Laymen for the BY REV. WILLIAM TAYLOR. Province of Canterbury has entered its condemnation of this wretched Missionary of the Ohina Inland Mission. policy. They welcomed the sirdar's noble effort to elevate and instruct This is not the first time that this the people of the Sudan and Upper province of China has been brought Egypt through the proposed Gor- before the readers of the MISSIONdon College, but they affirm that ARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD. In "no effort to perpetuate the the issue for February, 1896 (p. memory of General Gordon can be 114), (,here appeared an article enconsidered adequate which does not titled "Notes on Kiang-si, a Provinclude the direct proclamation of ince of Central China." The REthe Gospel of Jesus Christ to all VIEW of September, 1898, presents, the races inhabiting the upper in the Missionary Digest Departbasin of the Nile, which has re- ment (p. 678), "A Call to Advance cently been brought under the con- in China," giving a resolution trol of England. ,. They express ad~pted by the Church Missionary Society, callmg for an advance of all missionary enterprise in the great empire of China, and refer- THE FORWARD MOVEMENT. ring, at the close, to a forward movement proposed by Mr. J. Hud- The great need, so apparent from son Taylor, of the China Inland the above figures, has led Mr. HudlYiission, to be begun in the province son Taylor, general director of the of Kiang-si. We here give again China Inland Mission, to issue an briefly some data of that province, appeal that earnest prayer be and of the forward movement pro- offered to God that He will, first of posed in connection with the China all, grant increast spiritual bless- Inland Mission, commending it to ing to -all the missionaries and the prayers of God's people. native Christians already on the field, and that He will select, pre- THE PROVINCE. pare, and send forth, for work in Kiang-si, twenty a,ble, earnest, and Position: Central China, south healthy young men as a first conof the Yang-tu River. Lat. 25° to tingent in the forward movement. 300 N. (the same as Florida and North Mexico). Lon. 1140 to 1180 E. Mr. Taylor, in some papers on this forward movement, which Area: 72,176 square miles. Larg~r have appeared in China's Millions, than the combined areas of the has writteu that it is intended these Canadian provinces of New Bruns- twenty men should form" a special wick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Ed- itinerant missionary evangelistic ward Island; or than the combined band, willing to consecrate five areas of the American States of years of their lives to itinerate New York, Vermont, and New work, without thought of marriage Hampshire. or of settling down till their special work is accomplisht." He further Population: Over 15,000,000 (some says: "The work would be arduous, estimate it as high as 24,000,000), involving much self-denial; but it at least one-quarter that of the would bring with it much blessing United States and three times that and great spiritual joy, as the comof Canada. mand, 'Preach the Gospel to every creature,' was being obeyed. In Missionary Work: Protestant keeping of His commandments missionary work is carried on by there is great reward. (See Psalm the American Methodist Episcopal xix: 2.) The workers, when ready, Mission, the Woman's Board (of the M. E. Church), the English would go out two and two-i. e., Brethren, and the China Inland Mission. The combined staff (in- two missionaries and two native cluding wives and lady workers) is helpers – to previously arranged about 90, tho the male missionaries districts, to sell Scriptures and do not number over 30. These mis- Gospel tracts, and to preach the sionaries carryon work in some glad tidings. Living together in 50 stations and out-stations, where the same inns, for companionthere are now (1898) about 750 ship and fellowship, they would native Christians. If these workers often separate during the day, one were evenly divided among the missionary and native brother population of 15,000,000, there going in one direction and the would be six missionaries to each other two in another, and meet million. In the United States and again at night to commend to God Canada there are over 1,200 or- the work of the day, as before setdained Protestant ministers to each ting out they had unitedly sought million, not to reckon Sunday- His blessing. Two-thirds to threeschool, lay, and lady workers, of quarters of their time being thus whom there is a vast army. occupied, the remainder would afford opportunity for bodily and mation wiII be gladly furnisht on spiritual rest and refreshment, for application to the North American branch of the mission, at No. 632 continuing the Chinese studies of Church Street, Toronto, Canada.
the missionaries, and the sys- Our Question Drawer, tematic Bible studies of the native A correspondent asks: helpers in rest centers in charge of Will you be kind enough to furnish such experienced missionaries. information as you may be able to give in re- gard to the running expenses of boards of " This forward evangelistic move- foreign missions? What I want to know is, what per cent. of the income of the boards is ment is not intended to be a substi- spent upon the machinery of the boards tute for, nor to supersede, but to (salaries of secretaries, treasurers, and other officers, office rents, expenses of printing, supplement the present localized agents engaged in making collectIOns, and in working up the churches, etc.), and what work. . . . Twenty consecrated per cent. in doing the work for which the young men, with good health, boards exist (salaries of missionaries in the field, etc.)? sound judgment, Christian experi- If this were answered catechetience, stedfastness, a y i e ld i n g cally, we would say from three to spirit, a love for prayer and for the twelve per cent. of their income. The explanation of the variation Word of God, and a deep zeal for is found in the difference of the items which they estimate as cost; souls, are needed." some have loss on their publication account; some count, this, others do Later on, as the way opens, lady not. Some have profit on the same count. Then, of course, the per workers will also be needed for cent. cost is in favor of the societies having large incomes; the salary work among the women. And it and other items will be less per cent. than with those having small is our earnest prayer that the receipts, yet one may be as economi- cally administered as the other. forward movement, beginning in One society raised, several years ago, a separate and special fund, Kiang-si, may very soon be ex- the income from which was to meet tended to all the other provinces of the office expenses, without taking anything from the regular receipts the Chinese Empire. from other sources. Anything like All Christians are urged to unite an intelligent comparison of these ratios would involve an elaborate with us in unceasing prayer for the article. An average ratio would, perhaps, be seven or eight percent. following: The Rev. D. L. Bonner, D.D., 1. That these twenty men, and contributes to the Presbyterian the needed native workers, be Journal the following figures showraised up and sent forth speedily. ing how much missionary money, in the various denominations, goes 2. That the missionaries and native Christians already in Kiang- for running expenses. The above si be daily filled with the Holy statements must be borne in mind, Spirit. however, in order to draw accurate 3. That the duty of each one of conclusions from these figures. us regarding this forward movement be made plain. Let us, in Presbyterian: Per cent. Per cent. deep reality, ask our Master, nsed on used for "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" field. expenses.
N. B.-The mission referred to in Home ……………… 93.48 6.52 this article is interdenominational Foreign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 93.85 6.15 Consolidated ……….. 93.63 6.37 and international. Members of all Protestant Episcopal. ….. 92.30 7.70 Methodist Episcopal. …… 93 60 6.40 evangelical churches, irrespective American Board ……….. 92.46 7.54 Reformed Church (Dutch). 95.09 4.91 of denomination, are accepted for Presbyterian South: Home ……………… 8940 10.6Q service in China, if felt to be other- Foreign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 93.98 6.02 United Presbyterian: wise suitable. The mission will be Home ……………… 95.70 4.30 Foreign…………….. 98.00 2.00 glad to correspond with any who have faced the whole question prayerfully before God, and are clear in their conviction that He would have them take the definite step of offering themselves to the China Inland Mission. Any infor- IV.-EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT.
Money and Missions. enough to awaken an effervescent enthusiasm by tales of dire need 'Ve present this month a sympo- and heroic effort; more attention sium by leading missionary secreta- needs to be paid to the education of ries, pastors, laymen, and women Christians in the true motive for on "Missionary Interest and Mis- missions, viz., loving obedience to sionary Income." It is a subject of the command of Christ. very vital importance, but one on which there is a wide divergence of The fault and the remedy lie opinion. largely with the pastors. Some opportunities have arisen for hostile According to carefully-collected criticism of missionaries and mis- statistics the total gifts by Ameri- sionary boards, but a fuller under- can Christians to foreign missions standing of the difficulties and did not decrease last year, but in- arduous labor connected with mis- creast by $300,000. The figures are sionary life and missionary admin- approximately as follows for the istration would quickly dispel the incomb of American missionary distrust which may be engendered societies and boards: and fostered by partial and preju- diced views. Many, for example, 1890-1891 •.•• .- …………………… $4,180,6G2 severely and, we believe, unjustly 1891-1892 •.•.••••.•.•…..••.••••.•••• 5,006,283 criticise missionary secretaries be- 1892-1893 ……………………….. 6,089,402 cause of their salaries, not con- 1893-1894 ……………………….. 5,173,749 sidering the immense labor which 1894-1895 ……………………….. 5,672,772 their duties involve, or the fact that 1895-1896 ……………………….. 5,693,020 many may give largely out of their 1896-1897 ……………………….. 5,255,006 salaries. We believe that it would 1897-1898 ……………………….. 5,549,340 be of great advantage if some one would give money to endow mis- From this it will be seen that sionary secretaryships in order there has been a fluctuation in re- that no contributors might think ceipts, for which it is difficult to that their money was being used to account. No doubt, the causes of run the machinery instead of going the decrease in the income of many direct!y to the foreign field. of our foreign missionary boards have been manifold. Amongothers, An increase, and a steadiness in hard times, lax views in regard to missionary income proportionate the need of supplanting heathen to the demands of the work, can creeds (probably fostered in part by be obtained only by a cultivation of the Parliament of Religions), the the grace of continuance. The batales of unsympathetic travelers as sis of missions needs to be emphato the "luxurious living" of mis- sized, systematic giving must be sionaries in foreign lands, the false practised, and the mission field deductions from the expensive should be kept constantly before buildings erected by many mission the people-the facts relative to the boards, and especially the many needs, the progress, the difficulties, undenominational enterprises and the administration, etc. Special independent appeals, both at home objects naturally and, we believe, and abroad. Such work as that of legitimately, appeal to the heart of Ramabai in India has, no doubt, Christians. Giving should not dediverted many contributions from pend on sensational appeals, but it denominational channels. But even stands to reason that men and such causes do not adequately ac- women will give largely in proporcount for the falling off of incomes. The most deepseated cause may be the lack of a true foundation for the missionary motive. It is not tion to their knowledge of existing these new enterprises. which are needs. Donors do not like to trust now before the public, than for the distribution of their gifts en- those which are of long standing. tirely in the hands of secretaries, Many societies refrain frOI.J. enterand to feel that they are lost in a ing because they have not the general mass while other definite means, but we .know of none which and worthy objects clamor for help refrains from principles of interon every side. "Ve believe that denominational comity. We believe some method should be devised for that a golden opportunity has been bringing I'!pecial needs before Chris- lost to put these principles into practians, not so much to impel giving tise. Vast fields in Asia and Africa as to direct gifts. remain unoccupied while societies prepare to crowd upon each other The whole problem has been par- in a few small islands. The need tially solved, at least, by the wom- in these new possessions is great, en's missionary societies and prayer but comparatively there are vastly circles. Here spirituality is fos- more needy fields which an unselfish tered, interest is quickened and spirit would lead some to enter directed, and those who give and in preference. pray keep in contact with the work. According to our latest intelli- The Missionary Occupation of Our New gence the following societies have Possessions. entered, or propose to enter, the islands which have been ceded by The recent war has thrown heavy Spain: 'responsibilities upon the people of the United States, not the least of CUBA. them being the giving of the Gos- The Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society. pel to the people of Cuba, Puerto The Presbyterian Board of F. M. (South). Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. The Presbyterian Board of H. M. (North). All of these islands were nominally The Congregational Home Missionary Soc. Roman Catholic under Spain, but The H. M. B. of the So. Baptist Convention. had little opportunity to know the The Baptist Home Mission Society. Gospel of Christ either by precept The Foreign Christian Missionary Society. or by example. It is a commentary The Methodist Episcopal M. S. (South). on Spanish morality, that one of The Methodist Episcopal M. S. (North) (1). the first laws enacted by the United The African Methodist Episcopal M. S. States was necessarily against im- The F. M. S. of the United Brethren in Christ. moral plays in the theaters and the The Christian and Missionary Alliance. sale of indecent books and pictures. The Society of Friends.
The zeal which the various mis- PUERTO RICO. sionary societies have shown in The Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society. planning to send missionaries to The Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. these islands is in some respects The American Missionary Association. commendable, but dashes rudely to The American Baptist Missionary Society. the ground our cherisht hope that The Christian Home Missionary Society. now at last missionary comity The Methodist Episcopal M. S. (North).. would be put into practise. The The African Methodist Episcopal M. S. result of the preliminary confer- The United Brethren in Christ. ences of missionary secretaries The Christian and Missionary Alliance. seems to have had little practical The Society of Friends. results, but every organization which can secure the funds makes THE PHILIPPINES. plans to enter. One reason may be The Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society. that it is easier to raise money for The Presbyterian Board F. M. (North). The American Baptist Missionary Union. The Foreign Christian Missionary Society. The Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society. The Christian and Missionary Alliance.
GUAM. The American Board C. F. M.
In addition to these societies are the independent and interdenomi- E. Speer. Exception has been national workers of the Bible and Tract societies, the Salvation taken to it, notably by The Gospel Army, etc. Some steps have been taken with a view to denomina- Message, in an article headed tional comity and the division of territory, but nothing which meets " Sound the Alarm." The real purthe demands of the situation. "The good is the enemy of the best." We pose and purport of the paragraph rejoice that Christians are stirred with a desire to carry the Gospel criticised was misunderstood by the to these islands, but who will say that this method is right? As men critics. I t was taken by us as a sort and wonlen are converted in our "new possessions," are they to of sarcasm or semi-humorous chalhave denominational labels? For once at least Christians should lenge. Mr. Speer knew that he unite in preaching a simple Gospel, and in founding one church under was throwing down a gauntlet that the simple name of "Christian." There should be no rivalry to estab- would not be soon taken up, and in lish sects, no waste of money or energy, and no· discredit brought the same spirit the REVIEW repeaton the cause of Christ by divisions among brethren. We know of one ed the challenge. The stanchest harmonious church in which there are eleven different denominations, among Protestants may safely say including Friends, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc. It is to the Roman Catholic Church that, not too late to take the necessary steps, but it soon will be. A divided if they will send out men who will church is not according to the mind of Christ. preach the simple Gospel, Protes- Some means should be devised tants will turn to other fields. That for carrying out the principles of Christian unity and of missionary challenge need not be qualified until comity. Why not organize a board composed of representatives of all it is at least nominally accepted. the leading societies of America at least, and give this boardautho1'ity Whoever will faithfully preacb to decide the interdenominational questions which can not be decided Christ and Him crucified to lost otherwise? These conferences accomplish little; somebody must men, should have encouragelnenthave power delegated to it in order that something may be done. should, at least, be let alone.
Roman Oatholic Missions. As to the general principles in- In our November (1898) number, volved in the criticism, a few comp. 869, was quoted a statement on Roman Catholic countries and ments must suffice. missions, attributed to Mr. Robert l. The paragraph, as it stands in our Novenlber issue, does not voice our own sentiments, nor is it free from risk of misconstruction. But our repeated utterances in these pages must have assured our readers that we believe many of the principal doctrines of the Romish Church to be both false in teaching and evil in tendency. There is a demand for Protestant missions in papal lands, not because they are Roman Catholic, but because they are not in any proper sense Christian and evangelical.
2-. In some cases there is a deplor- able state of ignorance, immorality, and superstition, which is con- ceded by papists themselves. A leading missionary in South America says after thirty years' experience, that the average condi- tion of the people there is so de- graded that their state is practi· cally worse than if nominal Chris- tianity had not found entrance; and some papal communities have proven harder fields than pagan lands.
3. The principle of the New Testament is that in all Gospel effort, preference is to be given to the fields most destitute of Gospel bazaars, and score of similar expelight; and that whether in pretense dients whereby money is so often or in truth Christ is preacht, if only raised for "the Lord's purposes," He be preacht, we are to rejoice. so-called. There was a spirit of Whenever, therefore, the Roman giving, praying, and praising mani- Catholic Church sends out mission- fested, and the spontaneity of the aries who by precept and example whole offering was its charm. preach the Gospel, Protestants Thousands of pounds will need to may well occupy more needy fields. be secured yet before the colossal This we believe to have been Mr. building will be completely re- Speer's meaning, tho, perhaps, his stored, but from the cheerful utterance was not sufficiently manner in which previous gifts guarded. have come in without pressure or urgency, there will aparently be 4. 'Ve wish every attitude and little difficulty in raising the whole utterance of this REVIEW to be sum. May the future of this great markt by charity to brethren as church be full of blessing and its well as loyalty to truth, and it is missionary influence pervade the a part of charity not unduly to world. magnify the errors of professing disciples. The Roman Catholic L. H. B. Yie, a Korean stUdent Church has conserved certain pre- at Cliff College, Dr. Guinness' Insticious truths, but dangerous errors tute in Curbar, England, takes exhave permeated the whole lump, ception to some statements in our and we fear that the general influ- February number (p. 117), and we ence of Romanists everywhere is think his words worthy of a place toward a ceremonial righteousness here. It is only fair to say, howrather than justification by faith, ever, that the statements referred and that the mass, the confessional, to were only an extract from an the worship of the Virgin, and article by Robert E. Speer, a man prayers to the saints, and like prac- whom we know to be moved by a tises everywhere foster bondage to deep love for the Koreans, and a priestcraft and an idolatry scarcely sincere respect for many of their less ensnaring than that of heathen- characteristics. Mr. Yie says in ism. If this be true, charity becomes part: laxity when it leads to silence or restrains earnest protest. With I have found in your magazine a few statecharity to all and malice toward ments in which Korea has been very unnone, we must maintain a Gospel favorably estimated, especially that about standard and witness against error His Majesty. the present emperor of Korea. whether found in Protestant or in I pray much f"r the success of every mispapal teaching and practise. sionary there, and I believe there is the light of the Gospel in the" Land of lIiorning Calm," At the Metropolitan Tabernacle where the people begin to seek for the truth of Christ. I speak with the sentiment of the in London, in March, there was Koreans. His Majesty, the present emperor of Korea. is a gentleman and kind sovereign, held a unique gathering for the with an admirable idea of modern civilization and sympathetical feeling toward the missionraising of contributions toward the aries of every country. In regard to the condition of the government, if the new completion of the rebuilding. Mrs. wheels of the political machinery continue in regular motion as they have now begun, the Charles H. Spurgeon, the mother, world will in time see a new Korea.
with her two sons, Thomas, the pastor, and Charles, pastor at Greenwich, stood for some hours to receive the offerings, and a steady stream of gifts poured into Mrs. Spurgeon's hands, until be- tween six and seven thousand pounds were received. The whole affair was well managed and con- trasts beautifully with the various and elaborate festivals, fairs,
RECENT BOOKS ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS
V.-RECENT BOOKS ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS.
PILKINGTON OF UGANDA, by C. F. Harford to anything recorded in apostolic Battersby. Maps. Illustrated. 8vo., 346 days. pp. Marshal! Bros., London, and Fleming H. Revell Co., New York and Chicago. The book, however, possesses an- $1.50. other attraction, in the wise and spiritual sayings which are scat- This book is the brief record of tered through its pages. And of the short life of George Lawrence these we give some few "hand- Pilkington, who recently fell, in fuls " gleaned as from the corners Uganda, and whose name, like that of the field, almost without selecof Mackay, will be inseparable from tion, hoping many may thus be led the Gospel triumphs in that land. to examine for themselves the The book is so full of suggestion and riches this book contains. instruction that we give it ample space in this REVIEW, in addition A few extracts will suffice to to the extended references already show how suggestive and helpful made to it in the article on the were Pilkington's views of Gospel Pentecostal Movement. (See p. 321.) truth. As to continuance in sin: First, the volume is valuable as Once a man sees the awful danger from the story of the life that extended which he has been rescued, he won't see how over only thirty-two and a half close he can get to the precipice without years, from June 4, 1865, to Dec. tumbling over. He will hate that which so 11, 1897. Pilkington died, shot down nearly ruined him, and which crucified his in the effort to quell the "second Savior-sin and the devil. Repentance means mutiny" in Uganda. It was after a change of mind, and doesn't imply sorrow some seven years in the field, dur- of necessity; true sorrow for sin can not ing which he had showed himself come, I believe, till after conversion. Regret one of the most efficient workers for its evil effects is quite possible, but sorever in Africa, and especially gifted row because God hates sin is impossible till in translation of the Word of God. our heart feels the same holy impulses as God. A second attraction of the volume is that it forms a fitting sequel As to lack of assurance: to the biography of Alexander Mackay. That gives the story of Doubt of our own acceptance with God, of the Uganda mission during the Qllr everlasting salvation, comes from selfearlier days and up to the appoint- righteousness in the garb of humility. It is ment of Pilkington; so that the because a man imagines that something in two together give us a connected himself is necessary to atone for sin that he account of the most remarkable doubts whether he is saved. I stick to missionary triumphs which have Leviticus xvii: 2 (probably xvii: 11 is meant). been known in Africa within a half century. Indeed, it may be The difficulties of translation: questioned whether, with the exception of Johnson's work at Sierra Luganda, tho a very rich language, may Leone, the revival at the Hawaiian happen to be weak just where Greek is Islands, and the great work among strong. We have used one word for the the Telugus, the century has known Greek ."..<VI'-4 (spirit), "',;X~ (soul) and KapSt" anything else equal to the victories (heart). of the Gospel in Uganda since the martyrdom of Hannington in 1885. Again, the word for u to love" and ". to These thirteen and a half years will" is the same in Luganda; hence, "achave seen a transformation equal cording to the will of God ., might mean" the love of God." Again, for "accept" and H be- lieve" there is only one word. P. 194, If a man wants to go in for what are called worldly pleasures, I can't see what good it would be to hinder him: if he tastes the pleasures which God gives, the others drop off, as a dog drops a bit of potato when you offer him a bone. There isn't time for both. say, let every man no as he is disposed in his heart. A man is what he is disposed in THROUGH ARMBNlA ON HORSEBACK. George his heart to be; what he does is only a symp- H. Hepworth. Map and illustrations. tom of what he is, and of very trifling impor- 8vo. 354 pp. $1.50. E. P. Dutton & Co., tance comparatively, except as a symptom. New York. The devil changed would be a devil still. Even when he appears as an angel of light, As known to most of our readers, he's still the devil. P.202. the Rev. G. H. Hepworth was sent by James Gordon Bennett of the Referring to the need of being New York Herald, "to take a filled with the Holy Spirit (see lead- bird's-eye view of the Armenian ing article, pp. 324). region, where so many horrible massacres have taken place, and to If it had not been that God enabled me, discover, so far as possible, the after three years in the mission field, to ac- present conditions and future pros- cept by faith the gift of the Holy Spirit, I pects of this nearly exterminated should have given up the work. I could not race." The story of the expedition have gone on as I was then. A book by is told in this book, and told in a fas- David, the Tamil evangelist, shewed me that cinating way. As the journey was my life was not right, that I had not the undertaken with the full knowl- power. P. 222. edge and consent of the sultan, and under the protection of a body- At Liverpool conference, in 1896, guard sent by him, it would seem Mr. Pilkington said some very wise natural that Mr. Hepworth should and striking things: be somewhat prepossest in his favor. But we lay down the book, If yon speak to an African of God, he does feeling that the writer has sought not know what you mean, and your words honestly to tell the truth. The convey to him no significance. If you would tr.uth was indeed hard to get at, win him, you must give him the testimony of for as he says: a Christian life. While I think the sultan is honest, I also To gain the heathen you must live with think he has been misinformed. The docu- them. Get close to the hearts you would win ments sent to the palace were a tissue of lies. for Christ. Let your heart be entwined with The Armenians can not be safely trusted, their's. Let n~ barriers of big houses, or because their terror makes multiplication clotl.es, or custom, or national prejudice easy. The Turkish officials can not be mar your work, nor any pride or daintiness. trusted, for since all Europe was infuriated, Let us become all things to all men-become, their whole business was to minimize the not pretend to be. affair.
As to missionaries' qualifications We get an interesting glimpse of he said: Constantinople, a city of a million inhabitants, without a postal de- Realize the importance of physical care in livery; a glimpse, too, of the Conthe matter of food and flesh. The best train- stantinople Turk, who has learned ing is to be able to live on the simplest food, all the vices but none of the virtues and never to indulge in sleep. In the matter of modern civilization; who, of food the Israelites were first tempted, and while a thousand years behind the in the matter of sleep the disciples failed in times, "fancies he is in the vanthe hour of our Lord's need. guard of civilization."
Uganda was, fifteen years ago, an Trebizond is the real startingisolated mission field in the center point of the journey through Anaof a vast dark continent. Now a tolia. And here we first meet the Armenians, of whom Mr. Hepgreat highway is projected from worth says: Cairo to the Cape, with Khartum and Uganda as its two main junc- A more hopeless people it has never been my lot to behold. The number of those who tions. Livingstone and Gordon and have lost all, and must begin life anew, is Mackay and Hannington have beyond the reach of computation. At every helpt, by their lives and deaths, to missionary st&tioll in the Gountry, you wUI open up this highway. Livingstone declared in the Senate House at Cambridge in 1857, over forty years ago; I know that within a few years I shall be cut off in that country, which isnow open; do not let it be shut again! I go back to Africa to try and make an open path for commerce and Christianity; do you carry out the work which I nave begun; I leave it for you. find orphans by the score, made orphans by note that the Turk is ashamed of the mas- as base a crime as ever stained the page of sacres. The whole nation is conscious of its history. guilt.
At Erzerum we reach the Mr_ Hepworth in his journey " center of the Armenian question." from Erzerum, visited Mt. Ararat, Here the ghastly massacre was past through Bitlis, Diabekr, Ain- begun by bugle call, and ended in tab, and westward again to Smyrna the same way. Frequently the and Constantinople. The book writer pays a tribute to the mis- abounds in vivid descriptions of sionaries. For example: the people, the roads, the schools, the horses, the scenery of the land In Erzerum they live in one of the dirtiest so greatly blest by God, so greatly parts of the city, where the filth is little less cursed by man. than ankle-deep, but they are doing a wonder- ful work. Of course, they attempt nothing in One further glimpse of the mis- the way of conversion. They are practically sionaries: engaged in a mission to foreign Christians. There are nearly two hundred children in the I have seen a large number of these mis- boys' and girls' school, a large majority of sionaries, and I have found them rather a sad whom were made orphans by the recent set of men. They are without congenial comdisasters, and are wholly dependent upon panionship from one year's end to the other; the missionaries for their support as well as they lead lonely and secluded lives; they are their education. keenly on the watch for danger, not to them- selves, but to the people among whom they As to the causes of the massacres; work. That kind of life tells not only on a there is no single cause, but a man's brain, but on his body as well. The complication of causes. In the first price to be paid for the enlightenment of the place, "the Turk has conquered nation is very heavy, but these noble men the Armenian by force of arms, and women earnestly are willing to pay it, but the Armenian has the better of and I for one feel that my poor life amounts the Turk by force of brains. Up to to nothing in comparison; so with a full the time of the recent massacres heart, a heart with a big ache in it, I cry, the Turk was continually losing I. God bless them." money, while the Armenian grew richer every day." This could not THE AMERICAN COLONIAL HANDBOOK. By last. forever, and on occasion must Thomas C. Copeland. Maps. 16mo, 181 end in bloodshed. pp. 5Oc. Funk & Wagnalls Co., New York and London_ . The Armenians, while theoretically on an equality with t.he Turks This is an exceedingly useful and before the law, are subjected to all timely volume, being a "ready sorts of petty tyranny, are fre- reference book of facts and figures, quently tortured to secure testi- historical, geographical, and commony, are continually treated as mercial, about Cuba, Puerto Rico, political suspects by the petty poli- the Philippines, Hawaii, and ticians, who wish to stand well with Gualn." Each of the "colonies" the central government. On the is taken up separately, and is in the slightest pretext a man is regarded form of a catechism, most of the as a revolutionist, and the slightest information desired being clearly incident is the signal for a and concisely given. The facts as to massacre. Cuba are given under the headings of geography, climate, mountains, As to the extent of the mas- rivers, harbors, roads, transportasacres: tion, population, cities, agriculture, sugar, tobacco, vegetables, min- Out of, perhaps, a population of six erals, animals, finance, commerce, hundred thousand, it would be a moderate and shipping. There are also conestimate to say that fifty thousand have been denst historical and geographical killed. These victims were mostly men, heads notes and statistical tables. The of families. Very few women were murdered other "new possession!;!" are simi- !,nd verr few children. It is interestinl;' to larly treated. The following are and conditions of this archipelago. some of the facts given as to Mr. Lala is a man of education, and Guam: wields a facile pen. His descrip- tions are vivid and picturesque, and The Mariana Islands, or Ladrones, were his narratives full of interest. discovered by Magellan on March 6, 1521, The photographic illustrations are being the first archipelago in the Pacific seen good, but the map is too small to by Europeans. They were annext to Spain be of much practical value. The in 1668. The group consists of fifteen small lack of an index is only partially islands, of which only five are inhabited, and supplied by a full table of contents. of these Guam is the largest. The islands are of volcanic origin and partly mountainous, THE TRANSFORMATION OF HAWAII. By Belle with an aggregate area of 420 square miles, M. Brain. Illustrated. 12mo, 193 pp. and a population of 10,170,8,561 of whom are $100. Fleming H. Revell Co., New York, on Guam. Guam is 27 miles in length by 3 Chicago, and Toronto. to 10 miles in breadth, with an area of 198 square miles and a coast line of 100 miles, Any book on Hawaii has now par- in which there are three harbors. The ticular interest for American read- natives resemble the Tagals of the Philip- ers, and any book which does not pines, and are lazy, ignorant, and of low treat largely and sympathetically morality. The soil is fertile, and rice, maize, of the work of the missionaries in cotton, indigo, sugar, cocoa, and tobacco are the redemption from ignorance and cultivated. The inhabitants were nominally degradation of the" Paradise of the converted to Romanism, but are now as Pacific," is fundamentally lacking. much in need of the Gospel as before the Miss Brain has had much experi- priests arrived. ence in educating young people in the cause of missions, and it is for THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. By Ramon Reyes them especially that she tells the Lala. Map. Illustrated. 8vo, 342 pp. romantic and thrilling story of $250. The Continental Publishing Co., "How American Missionaries Gave New York. a Christian Nation to the World." Her book gives reliable information The Philippine Islands have sud- as to the character of the islands denly risen out of obscurity, and and their inhabitants, the main numerous books. of more or less points of their history from their value have been suddenly thrust discovery in 1778 to their annexaupon the market. Next to Dean tion to the United States in 1898, Worcester's volume this by Mr. and some of the remarkable epi- Lala is by far the best. Dean sodes connected with missionary Worcester, writing as a scientific work. Much incidental informaobserver, considers each island tion is also given as to the pronunseparately, describing the country ciation of Hawaiian words, Haand people from an outsider's point waiian numerals, ordinary exof view. Ramon Lala writes, as pressions, proper names, songs, only an educated native could, with prayers, etc. The story is told in an intimate knowledge of the peo- a charmingly simple manner, calple, and, no doubt, with some culated to interest persons of all prejudices as well. He gives the ages. Every Sunday-school library history, political and religious, should have the book. from a native view point, and describes the character, customs, and BRIGHT BITS, for Reading in Missionary Socioccupations of the peoples, and the eties. Second series. Compiled by Mrs. animal, vegetable, and mineral M. S. Budlong. 12mo, 204 pp. Paper. products of the islands in a way 4Oc. Mrs. Budlong, Rockford, Ill. which shows careful study. The last two chapters give the story of Mrs. Budlong's "Bright Bits" Dewey's victory and the American will be welcomed by many leaders .occupation up to Aug. 17, 1898. of missionary societies. They con- These two volumes supplement !;list of Bible readin~s, appeals, each other happily in giving a two-sided view of the cltaracter poems, exercises, stories, and sug- imagination. The day has past, gestions for programs, all of which we are glad to say, when Bible will be found exceedingly useful. pictures were chiefly characterized Many of the readings are from by their grotesque anachronisms, well-known authors, and would and in the Illuminated' Bible the occupy from one to ten minutes in artists show a sympathetic and en· reading. lightened skill.
THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON OPIUM. The report Monthly Missionary Bibliography, of the commission compared with evi- dence from China that was submitted to HISTORY of THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY. the commission. An examination and an appeal. By Arnold Foster, with a pref- Its environment, its men, and its work. ace signed by the Archbishop of Canter- By Eugene Stock. 3 vol. 8vo, 6•. each. bury, and 147 others. 8vo, 41 pp. 6d. Church Missionary SOCiety, London. P. S. King & Son, London. THE FLAMING TORCH IN THE DARK CONTINENT. This seems to us an unanswer- By Bishop William Taylor. Illustrated. able proof of the lack of thorough- 8vo,675 pp. $2.50. Eaton & Mains, New ness and honesty on the part of York. the royal commission as a whole. Opium is undoubtedly the curse of UNDER THE AFRICAN SUN. By W. J. Ansorge. China, and is so recognized by the Illustrated. 8vo, 355 pp. $5.00. Longmans, Chinese statesmen, assuredly by all Green & Co., New York. Christians. The crime of England in forcing the trade upon China, HISTORY OF THE COLONIZATION OF AFRICA and in continuing the imports, is unmitigated. Absolute prohibition BY ALllllN RACES. By Sir Harry H. Johnof the exporting of rum and opium. ston. Maps. Bvo, 320 pp. $1.50. The should be enforced by all nations Macmillan Co., New York. which claim to be either Christian WEST AFRICAN STUDIES. By- Mary H. Kingsor civilized. Read Mr. Arnold's ley. Maps and illustratIOns. Bvo, 633 pp. examination if you wish to be con- $5.00. The Macmillan Co., New York. vinced that the royal commission ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN FRONTIER. Wm. carried on its investigations with a Harvey Brown. Maps and illustrations. view to uphold the criminal traffic. 8vo, 430 pp. $3.00. Charles Scribner'S Sons, New York. THE ILLUMINATED BIBLE. Teachers' Edition HISTORY 0>' SOUTH AMERICA. Translated 8vo. Flexible covers. American Bible from the Spanish by Adah D. Jones. House, New York. Maps and indexlls. 8vo, 345 pp. The Macmillan Co. This is one of the modern Bibles, IN THE KLONDYKE. By Frederick Palmer. self-pronouncing, with marginal Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50. Charles Scrib· references, concordance, maps, ner's Sons. numerous helps, and nearly 600 AMERICAN COLONIAL HANDBOOK. By T. C. original illustrations, (mostly vign- Copeland. Maps. 16mo, 180 pp. 5Oc. ettes). We scarcely know whether Funk & Wagnalls Co. or not to class the last mentioned INDUSTRIAL CUBA. By Robert P. Porter. 8vo. feature among the helps. For the G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. most part they are exceptionally HAWAIIAN ALLIANCE AND ANNUAL FOR 1899 well conceived and executed,and for Compiled by Thos. G. Thrum. 8vo, 203 young people, or those especially pp. 75c. Baker & Taylor Co., New York. susceptible to impression through THE REAL HAWAII. By Lucien Young. $1.50. pictorial art, will be interesting Doubleday & McClure, New York. and helpful. To our mind it is not THROUGH NEW GUINEA WITH A CAMERA. By adapted for a "Study Bible," and Capt. Webole. 8vo. Frederick A. Stokes, as a rule we believe that teachers New York. will find more assistance from the IN THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH AND ON THE COAST " helps" and maps than from these OF THE CORAL SEA. By Richard Semon. tasteful {lroduC£s of the artist's Maps and illustrations. 8vo, 552 pp. The Macmillan Co. CHINA AND ITS FUTURE. By Rev. .Tames John- ston. Illustrated. 12mo. 180 pp. 4 shil- lings. Elliot Stock, London. DAVID HILL: MISSIONARY AND SAINT. By Rev. W. T. A. Barber. Chas. H. Kelly, London. JAPAN AND ITS RESCUE. By A. D. Hall, D.D. 12mo, 150 pp. 750. The Cumberland Publishing Company, Nashville, Tenn. IN NORTHERN INDIA. By Rev. A. R. Covalier. Illustrated, 8vo, 174 pp. 3. 6d. S. W. Partridge & Co., London. MODERN PERSIA. Rabbi M. G. Daniel. 224 pp. 75c. Henderson & Co., Toronto. SPAIN. By F. A. Ober. 16mo, 285 pp. 60c. D. Appleton & Co., New York. THE CITY WILDERNESS. A Settlement Study. Edited by Robert A. Wood. $1.50. !loughton, Mifflin & Co., BostoU.
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
VI.-GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.
EDITED BY REV. D. L. LEONARD, D.D.
THE KINGDOM. 4,367,152 last year. For use in Europe 80 languages are employed, -Rev. I. S. Hankins in the Bap- in Africa as many, and 24 for Mostist Missionary Magazine remarks lems. The number of alphabets that if a missionary could have used is 40. An agency on the line knowledge of everything under the of the Suez canal sells Bibles in 70 sun, he could have use for it every languages. week. In his own experience he has had to be housebuilder, doctor, -The Hindu Shastras have given lawyer, preacher, and teacher. us India; the Koran has given us Arabia, Turkey, and North and -The faculty and students of Central Africa; the doctrine of McMaster University, Toronto, set Gautama Buddha has given us :aside one day each month for the Burma, Tibet, and Siam; the teach- :study of missions. All lectures in ings of Confucius have given us ,the arts and theological depart- enfeebled distracted China. The ments are suspended on that day, Bible has given us Britain, Gerand the large attendance of faculty many, the United States–nations and students shows how much the which, tho unhappily afflicted with day is appreciated by all. The numberless evils because the Bible Volunteer Band corresponds with is not yet allowed full supremacy the graduates of the university in in the individual and national life, the mission field, and letters from are in the van of human progress, the alumni are read at every meet- enlightenment, and civilization. ing. In five hundred years no really use- ful invention or valuable discovery -Rev. F. B. Meyer at a recent has originated in any land outside gathering in Calcutta recom- the pale of Christendom. Neither mended the Christ method of pro- Asia nor Africa for twenty generapagating Christianity, and said tions has contributed a single idea that if he were a young missionary from which the world is reaping he would do his very best to "train comfort, enrichment, or uplifting twelve apostles, seeking to imbue impulse. How is this ?-Indian them with his own spirit, living Witness. with them, working with them, and sending them forth." A man -A company of 60 gentlemen of the fullest consecration, largest dined together in a Boston hotel faith, greatest tact, soundest judg- the other evening. That is no ment, and ripest experience would unusual occurrence. The same be necessary for this kind of work, hostelry witnesses, during the but given such a combination of winter season, many similar gatherqualities and twelve workmen de- ings of business men, but in this velopt in this way, a most effective case they assembled not merely to and blessed service would follow. enjoy a dinner, but to become newly interested in the cause of foreign -An article in Allgemeine Mis- missions. From one of their sions-Zeitschrijf for January on number, who has recently visited a what Bible societies have done for distant country, where missions missions states that the British are in successful operation, they and Foreign Bible Society alone has learned of the amazing progress of put 155,000,000 volumes in print, the last few years. There were summary of rational ideas, etc. other addresses designed to lay We know no other Gospel than upon the hearts and consciences, that which signifies a message upon the intellect and the-push of of the gracious God, and this mes- these business men their responsi- sage has an historical origin. There bility for evangelizing the world. is only one locality in space, from There was little of the conventional whence the person-forming forces, missionary appeal. There was no the complex of which we name gush or inconsequential moralizing. Christianity, have taken their point The meeting was simply designed of departure, only one point in to show these men, many of whom time, from which the certainty are successful and prominent in streamed out to mankind, that their respective callings, what a atonement and love are the highest glorious thing it is for a mau who ruling powers, and that only, there- is making money to-day to see the fore, does this world deserve to be world-wide opportunities for his called a world of God. So far the benevolence.-Cong1'egationalist. faces of all, whether from the rising or the setting sun, must, as -This is our plea for foreign mis- we read in the Gospel (Luke 9 : 51), sions. God has given the earth to be steadfastly set toward Jerusa- the children of men. But the lem. There alone rest the ever- children of men are God's children lastingly availing remembrances, too. Only in His name and fear do from whence bonds of brotherhood they truly possess the earth which are knit strong enough to encircle He has given them. To claim the a world. But this is for us no earth for Him was the great work longer a mere dawn of history, no of Christ. To claim the earth for piece of old cloth that is to be arti- Him must be the work of every ficially patcht upon an alien body of servant of Christ who in any degree history, but it is the center from is like his Master. That claim is to which the history of all and every be made first by living ourselves people needs to be brought into brave, pure, faithful, Godlike lives position as braving the signifiupon the earth, letting men see and cance of a single cooperating scene proving,to ourselves that a man in the great drama of the hismay live upon this wicked earth as tory of mankind. This appears the true child of God. It is to to me the only possible solube made again by telling to all tion of the entangled knot formed _mankind, in the never outworn, by the diverging remembrances of never outgrown story of the Incar- the cultivated peoples. This elenation, that they and the earth in ment of the past must, as still which they live are not their own, working in one and every present, but God's; are their own only be- be taken up into all peoples' book cause they are God's; have been of memory and of life. N everthemade truly and thoroughly their less, India, China, Japan must be own by being redeemed to God in held quit of the necessity of an Jesus Christ.-Phillips Brooks. artificial inoculation with that which natural development has -Dr. Holtzmann, speaking of found only on Jewish, Grecian, the Evangelisch – protestanischer Roman, Germanic soil. This, in- Missions- Verein, goes dn to say: deed, will be' the final test of the "He would do us wrong who should universal character of the Christian ascribe to us the design of bringing message of salvation, that, for Christianity to the heathen world wholly various antecedent histoas an unhistorical somewhat, aSa ries, it can provide a consummation boy who was cast into the Ganges always equally fit, for heterogene- was saved by some soldiers and is ous edifices are equally appropriate now temporarily at the orphanage, pinnacles for the most distant and with his sister, who had been sold, most widely divergent paths of de- during the famine, for 33 cents. velopment by concordant goal. A Now the. parents have become missionary work that pursues right Christians, and the children are aims will result in many national under Christian training. churches. Even so many past histories will Christianity, as it were, -Miss Annie R. Taylor, of Yaabsorb into itself. This variety of tong, is well, but weary. She is manifestations will become ever kept busy. During the first half of multiform, but will bring out only December she took Ra. 400. The the more evidently the inner unity Chinese amban and retinue are and simplicity of its nucleus." good customers. But some of them prefer to help themselves, and a WOMAN'S WORK. sharp lookout has to be kept. Our sister distributes large numbers of -I have been askt, "What is copies of the Gospels, and preaches the most beautiful thing you have Jesus to all comers. Some of the seen in Japan? " The grandest Chinese appear interested, and tell vision is the scenery, but the her they have heard of Jesus in prettiest thing to be seen is a China. They are interested in a Japanese lady riding in a jinrikisha double sense, and seek in this way and shaded by a paper umbrella. to make friends in hopes of getting The whole effect of such a picture things cheaper. It is certainly reis bewitchingly artistic. But if I markable that the opening of Yawere askt, "What is the most tong as a trading station for Euroimpressive thing I have seen?" I peans, has thus far only resulted in reply without hesitation, it is the the missionary trader getting a faces of the Christian women of footing there.-News and Notes. Japan, especially those who have been trained in Christian schools. -Rev. F. B. Meyer, while in India There is an expression in their paid a visit to the Ludhiana Medical faces, revealing a character and a School, which has been establisht purpose in life, which one misses for some twenty years, and is now so much in the majority of faces, under general direction of Miss and one can tell, with a fair degree Greenfield, who lives in the adjoinof certainty, from the face alone, ing bungalow; and of Dr. Edith what Christianity has done for Brown, a thoroughly qualified women through its schools, placing woman doctor. She is assisted by 2 its seal of nobility on what is other- fully qualified medical women, Dr. wise but a vanity fair.-Rev. F. S. Eleanor Dodson and Miss Thor- Scudder. nett. He reports: -More than one-half of the 112 " This is the hospital; lofty, spacigirls in the orphanage at Rakha, ous, clean, sweet. The amount of India, have been taken in during medical work done at this place, the past two years, writes Mrs. and in the 3 dependent dispensaries, Forman. Many of them will never. is something surprising. Last year recover from the effects of the atone village 2,000 cases, at another months of slow starvation during 2,000, in the city between 12,000 and the famine. One little girl was 15,000. Think of what is meant by rescued who had been thrown away 233 major operations-that is, those by her father and mother. A little which required the administration of anesthetics-and 1,100 minor op- erations I" -During its sixty years Mt. again, as always in the kingdom of Holyoke Seminary (now College) God, we see action and reaction. has sent 187 of its graduates to If missions are in a way of owing mission fields in foreign lands, and much to our unions, these already Oberlin has sent 123. Truly, a mag- owe enormously to missions; mem- nificent record, bers full of zeal, captivating ses- sions, instructive recitals, living YOUNG PEOPLE. correspondences, examples such as to restrain from discouragement -The Chicago Y. M. C. A. has 5 and to teach how to praise God.- city, 4 railroad, and 15 college Le Missionnaire (Geneva). branches; 6 buildings, valued at $2,029,245 (above all indebtedness, -Canada has 87,000 Epworth $1,388,295), with annual receipts League members, who have underamounting to $120,140. Five gym- taken the support of 21 missionnasiums are sustained, and 110 sec- aries. retaries and others devote all their time to the work. -The Tenth Legion of Christian Endeavor now numbers over 14,000, -The ninth anniversary of the and nearly 141,000 have joined the Madras Y. M. C. A. has recently Comrades of the Quiet Hour. There been observed. The annual report are now nearly 600 Endeavor sociegave the following particulars: The ties in London. Local unions have membership advanced from 425 at been formed in Johannesburg, Pethe beginning to 521 at the close of termoritzburg, Cape Town, and the year. Of the 521,171 are Indian King William's Town. Madagas- Christians, 236 Hindus, 20 Moham- car's recent Christian Endeavor medans, 1 Parsee, 1 Burman, and 92 con·vention enrolled 500 delegates. Europeans. The treasurer's state- The Endeavor cause among the ment showed a total receipt of 6,503 Tamil-speaking millions of South rupees, all locally obtained, which India has grown so rapidly that it more than met all the expenses of now claims an organ to itself, or the association, with the exception rather a part of an organ, the last of the secretary's salary, which is page of the paper, Joyful News, contributed by friends in America. which amounts to a paper for the The educational work of the asso- Endeavorers. ciation shows considerable progress, and has secured support from UNITED STATES. the government in the shape of a grant of 24,000 rupees toward the -Well may we rejoice and give new building, which will be opened hearty thanks that this action was in April next. A hostel for students taken by the recent Congress just is part of th:J enlargement scheme, before adjournment, which is now and will provide accommodation a part of the law of the land: for 38 young men. No officer or private soldier Bhall -The associations of young be detailed to sell intoxicating people are the junior sisters of drinks, as a bartender or otherwise, missions, called to aid these with in any post exchange or canteen, all the force, let us say with all the nor shall any other person be reenthusiasm, of their youth. The quired or allowed to sell such beautiful journey of our friend, Mr. liquors in any encampment or fort, Mott, has been a brilliant confirma- or on any premises used for milition of this truth-we were about tary purposes by the United States; to say of this axiom. And these and the secretary of war is hereby directed to issue such general orders as may be necessary to carry the provisions of this section into full force and effect. And before this Secretary Long -The annual Negro Conference had issued an order that hereafter no intoxicating liquors be sold on was held at Tuskegee, February 22, the ships or in the yards of the navy. with some 2,000 in attendance. As -Rev. Daniel Dorchester, in a usual, the program was eminently recent Chri8tian Advocate, gives these figures as to the relative practical in its character, as this strength of Protestantism and the Papacy in this country: list of topics discust will show: Roman Catholic population…….. 7,336,000 "How many mortgage their Lutheran population…………… 4,309,000 crops? Presbyterian population………… 4,747,000 Various smaller bodies, population. 10,540,000 "How many are planting noth- Baptist population……………..• 13,013,000 ing but cotton? Methodist population…………… 16,062,000 Total non·Catholic population …… 50,616,000 "How many have raised enough corn, vegetables, meat, etc., for -Mr. Jacob Riis is quoted by the their families? Charitie8 Review as being responsible for the statement that in New "How many live on rented lands? York city 1 out of every 5 persons "How many live in houses with who die, dies in a prison, an alms- but one room? house, a lunatic asylum, or a chari- " How many are paying off morttable institution of some kind. gages? Nearly one-tenth of the burials are "Howmany are building houses? in the potter's fieldo "How many have bought land? "How long is your school ses- -There seems to be a larger de- sion? mand than ever for the young men " Is nothing being done to extend and women going out from the the school term? Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, "Is a new school house needed? and it can not keep pace at all with What is being done to secure one? the calls, especially for young men. "Is the teacher right in educa- Of those who left the Institute last tiD!} and morals? Is the same true year, 34 are pastors, pastors' assist- of ministers? ants, and church missionaries; 13 "Is your teacher properly paid are in rescue and city mission work; and properly treated? 31 are evangelistic preachers and "Are the morals of the teacher singers; 6 are Sunday-school mis- improving? Is a line drawn besionaries; 3 are Y. M. C. A. secre- tween the good and bad? taries; 4 are Y. W. C. A. secreta- "Are the women being treated ries; 16 are in educational work; 18 better? are foreign missionaries. There " Is less whisky being used? never has been a student who took "Is money being squandered on the diploma of the Bible Institute excursions? " who has not found some good opening for Christian work. -The grandson of the first wo- -The American Missionary As- man in Zululand to become a consociation has decided to enter upon educational work in Puerto Rico vert to Christianity was recently on the same lines adopted in the South and West for Negroes and ordained a missionary. This marks . Indians. The points selected are another grand achievement of for- San Juan, Mayaguez, and Utuado. eign missionary work as conducted by the American Board. That John L. Dube, a native Zulu, a de- scendant of a cannibal, could, after such a short time in our schools and colleges, pass a satisfactory examination on all points, includ- ing theology, is worthy of notice.
Mr. DuM was to sail with his wife for Africa in April. Congregation- alists have a reason to be proud of Mr. Dube, as he was brought to Christ by one of their missionaries, Dr. Lindsay, and has been educated in the schooll:i of the denomination, being a graduate of Oberlin.-Con- Ponce, Puerto Rico, Nov. 10. Comgregationalist. [Mr. Dube has gone ment is unnecessary: to Africa to establish an Industrial Mission, somewhat on the line of TO THE CATHOLICS. Tuskegee Institute. His plans are Separate yourselves entirely from the Prot. presented in full in the June (1898), estants, and leave them in peace. By no number of this REVIEW.] means attend their meetings. Avoid all re- ligious conversation. If they come to your -The report of the Oommissioner homes speaking of salvation or religion, of Indian Affairs shows that dur- throw them out in the act. By no means reing the past year there have been ceive their Bibles and other papers. on the rolls of the Indian schools Watch your younger (Catholic) children 24,004 pupils, with an average with great care that they may not attend attendance of 19,671, a considerable any Protestant exercise; and that they may increase over the preceding year. not receive of the Protestants either books or The great majority are in the presents or playthings. regular government schools, 19,899; 1st.. Because Protestantism is truly heretic, there are nearly 3,000 in the con- and of the worst kind. tract schools, 315 in public schools, 2d. Because the Protestants do not come of 7iJ7 in mission boarding-schools, and Christ; the first Protestant did not appear 54 in mission day-schools. The until 1517 years after Christ. appropriations for the education of 3d. Because the Protestants falsify the Indians in schools under private Bible in many points; they mutilate it, and control have diminisht steadily. when they explain it they do not present it For the present year the sumu are v;ithout the words which favors their error. for the Roman Catholics, $116,862; 4th. The creed of the Apostles they indigfor Lincoln Institution, $33,400; for nantly trample on. The creed says: "Christ Hampton Institute, $20,040; the born of the Virgin Mary;" and they deny last two being special appropria- the virginity of Saint Mary. The creed says: tions. The amount appropriated '" Believe in the Catholic Church." They for Indian school purposes by the combat this. government for the present year is 5th. At other times they contradict the $2,638,390, a slight increase on the more clear words of Christ, v. g.: "My flesh appropriations for the preceding is truly bread; My blood is truly drink." year. Puerto Ricans, be firm in the faith of your fathers I Live and die in the Catholic re- -The Episcopal Board of Home ligion, which is the only divine, the one which Missions now has in commission 51 comes rightly of Christ and for the great and missionaries among the Indians, 35 only truth. of whom are natives. They minister to 91 organized churches, com- PONCE, 19th of November, 1898. posed of 4,348 members. The Wo- NOTE: With this action we warn the public man's Board maintains 19 day and of a series of leaflets, of great interest to all boarding-schools, with 67 teachers, Catholics of Puerto Rico, which will be disand cares for 888 day and 539 board- tributed in the church free every Sunday. ing pupils. These results of Indian May the divine aid accompany them missions are eminently satisfactory through the way of the Immaculate Mary. to all who are acquainted with the Now in her protection we place them I Indian, both as to the number of converts made and their steadfast- EUROPE. ness and reliability as Christians. Great Britain. – The relative Puerto Rico.-The following is the translation of a circular dis- strength of the Evangelical Free tributed in the Uatholic Church at Churches and Anglican Church is made evident in the following figures, which are for England and Wales alone: Evangelical Free Anglican Ohurches. Church. 6,886,977 Sittings ………… 7,848,804 1,886,059 Members ………. 1,897,175 Teachers……….. 381,153 219,159 Scholars……….. 3,284,963 2,393,372 Pastors. . . . . . . . . . . . 8,802 Local Preachers… 49,970 22,876 The increase in the membership for the year is: Free churches, 47,708; Establisht church, 45,708. -The East London Institute for – The English Preshyterian Home and Foreign Missions and Church, the mission work of which the Kongo Balolo Mission is hence- is mainly in China and India, has forward to be known as The 165 stations, 153 native and 55 Euro- Regions Beyond Missionary Union. pean mIsslOnaries. Ten hospitals All of the old work of the other are open, at which some 30,000 organization is to be prosecuted, patients are treated annually. The and an effort is to be made to hospital of this mission at Swatow evangelize Behar. In that country, is the largest in all China. about as large in territorial extent as England, there are 24,000,000 of -The Free Church of Scotland people, of whom at least 20,000,000 has 42 medical missionaries, some are absolutely without the Gospel, sent by the home society, and sunk in heathen superstition or several prepared at its training Mohammedan degradation. Volun- school in North India. They have teers for this new mission, trained treated during the past year 145,000 men and women from Harley patients. House, are ready to go out next autumn. France.-The grand total of the alms collected by the Lyons Society -The Salvation Army, during for the Propagation of the Faith the last self-denial week, raised during the seventy years between . $165,000 to carryon their work 1822 and 1891, amounted to nearly among the lowly and neglected, an £10,734,000, of which France con- increase of $40,000 over last year. tributed nearly £7,000,000, the Uni- ted Kingdom £353,236, and the -The London Missionary Society whole of North America (both reports that it received last year United States and Canada), only through collecting cards brought in £311,320. An average of less than by boys and girls, the noble sum of £10,000 a year was derived from $38,627. With this money the America and the United Kingdom society was able to maintain the combined. steamer John Williams, the schooner Olive Branch, the pretty -A second monthly paper ap- little lugger Niue, the Hanamoa, pealing to French Romanists is and quite a fleet of whale boats Le Pretre Converti, edited by a band used by missionaries and native of ex-priests, who have taken their teachers in the South Seas and stand by the evangelical faith. New Guinea; also the steel life- Tho friendly disposed toward Ab- boat Morning Star at the south be Bourrier's paper, Le Chretien end of Lake Tanganyika, the river Franrais, the newcomer moves on boats Jessie at Berhampur, and a slightly different plane, and opens Tara at Calcutta, and the Gospel with a bold pronouncement for Boat at Amoy. The outlay on Protestantism, both in doctrine wages, stores, repairs, and working and practise. Le Pretre Converti expenses, including the heavy coal takes good account of current work bill for the John Williams, was all among priests. It is under the provided for by this offering. The management of M. J. B. Corne- vessels belong to the young, and loup, 25 Rue Carlo-Hebert, Courbe- they keep them going. Besides voie, Seine, France. The subscrip- supporting these mission ships and tion price to foreign countries is boats, the offering is in future to be 3fr. 5c. per annum. used to keep schools for the chil- dren of converts. Spain.-No American believes that all Spaniards are 'Veylers. Nevertheless the splendid example 617 baptized members; of these of Captain Don Petro Millet, of the 8,723 belong to the German provbarkentine Gabriel, in rescuing a ince, 5,957 to the British, 22,345 to crew of American sailors, caring the American. On the foreign misfor them twenty-six days, and re- sion field are found 92,142 Chrisfusing to accept remuneration, at tians, not including the missionaries a time when the two nations were and the:r children, while 372 misat war, quite turns the scale of hu- sionaries with 31 native assistants manity in favor of the Spaniard. and 1,914 helpers work in Green- land, Labrador, Alaska, North -Spain has unwittingly done an America, the West Indies, Nicarimportant service in preparing the agua, Demarara, Surinam, South way for the introduction of pure Africa, German East Africa, Aus- Christianity into the Philippines. tralia, West Himalaya. The total Some time previous to the insur- receipts for missionary purposes rection in the islands, a Filipino, during 1898 amounted to 1,655,650 Don Pascual Pubiete, who had J;l1arks. About one-half of the large influence with his country- heavy debt of the previous year has men, was suspected of inciting re- been paid. bellion, carried a prisoner to Spain, and banisht to a fort in Africa, -The Berlin Missionary Society where he suffered much from ill- (Berlin 1.) celebrated its 75th annitreatment. He succeeded in estab- versary in February. The society's lishing his innocence. Being per- staff in South Africa, East Africa, mitted to go to Madrid, he found and China consists of 93 clergymen, his way into a Protestant service, 21 lay-workers, 82 wives, and 142 became interested, was converted, paid native agents in Africa, and 37 and has lately been received into in China. The native congregations membership in the Church of the number about 35,000 souls in Africa Savior in that city. He now in- and 1,000 in China. The title D.D. tends to return to his own country was conferred by the theological as an evangelist. He has already faculty of the Berlin University on translated the first three Gospels Mr. Rathmann, LL.D., the oldest and the Book of Acts into the member of the mission board, and Tagallanguage, under the direction on Rev. A. Merensky, formerly of an agent of the British and For- missionary in' Africa, but now a eign Bible Society. member of the staff at home.
Germany.-A considerable estate Russia.-Two small steps in the near the city of Darmstadt in the direction of religious liberty have grand-duchy of Hesse has been been taken by the Russian Senate. bought for 53,000 marks, to be used One of them is intended to relieve as a house of refuge for neglected the condition of the Stundists who children who have finisht the have allied themselves with Gercourse of instruction in school. It man Baptists, and the other peris a special object to train the mits a sect known as Old Believers children in manual labor. A large to hold religious services in their garden and 20 acres of good land homes. The hierarchy of the Greek afford ample opportunity for Church actively opposed bothmeashonest work. A Christian house- ures. father superintends the work and attends especially to the spiritual -The following incident is narwants. rated in the Anglo-Russian: In the courtyard of the village of -The Moravian Church has 129,- Ekaterinovka about 30 families of non-conformists were assembled. In all probability the applicants next year will be far more numer- The children, usually bright Id ous than this year. We thought when the influx began, three years joyous, were now dead silent and since, that it was a wave soon to pass. On the contrary, it proves clung close to their parents, grasp- an ever-swelling tide."
ing their father's hand or their -Rev. G. C. Raynolds, reporting his relief and orphanage in Van, mother's skirt. . The police states that the entire amount paid out during the year was nearly officer, accompanied by a priest, $45,000. This sum has been received partly from England, America, and appeared, and read a circular or- Germany, and partly from the sale of materials. It has been "expended dering that all children from two for free aid to the suffering, the healing of the sick, the care of orto eleven years should be taken phans, the instruction of boys and girls in different trades. For exfrom their parents. The victims ample, 65 boys are learning the shoemaking trade, 43 the weaver's lookt more dead than alive, and trade, 42 are in tailor shops, 12 are learning the baker's trade, 8 are in shivered and trembled like yellow a tannery, 8 more in a smithy, while a large amount of live stock autumn leaves. Soon the air was is cared for by still others. Outside of the orphanage there have been filled with shrieks of mothers and 1,100 spinners employed, support- ing probably 4 persons each; 700 indescribable groans and cries of weavers supporting each 4 more, making a total of probably not less the men and children. The police- than 7,200. In addition to this, 480 orphans have received food and 25 men were tearing the latter from more are in the hospital, so that entirely aside from the orphanage, their parents. One peasant, after over 7,700 people have lookt to this bureau for their subsistence. his little daughter was violently -In an article in the Fortnightly torn from his embrace, fell to the Review it is calculated that Syria and Palestine could support a popground unconscious. The officer ulation of from ten to fifteen mil- lions, numbers which the writer kickt him with his boot, exclaim- says "will not appear excessive to anybody acquainted with the fine ing: "Actingl the beast!" climate and extraordinary fertility of the country." The projected ASIA. railways from the Cape to Cairo, and through the Euphrates valley, Turkey.-The statement has ap- are mentioned, and it is p<>inted out peared in some American newspa- that they would meet in Palestine. pers that our government has re- Palestine is the great center, the ceived information from the high- meeting of the roads. Whoever est Turkish officials that, while disclaiming responsibility for the losses of mission property at the time of the massacres, yet the indemnity askt for would be paid. We understand that the State Department at Washington has received information of this sort from Constantinople.-Missionary Herald.
-Dr. Tracy, writing from Marsovan and Anatolia College, says: " The influx of students surpasses all precedent. We now have close upon 250 in the college and its preparatory department. If we permit them to come, the number will rise to near 300. We can not permit it, and are now shutting the gates against them. What shall we do? Weare prest upon by a crowd of students who pay fully, willingly, and promptly. holds Palestine commands the -In India all cailings are heredi- great lines of communication, not tary; a baker's son becomes Ii baker, only by land, but also by sea; not and his son after him, and so on only would the power in Syria con- from generation to generation. The trol the railways, but would be people of Allahabad especially are master of the Suez Canal, and domi- not ashamed of their professions. nate Egypt. Thirty-five describe themselves as "men who beg with tl"reats and India.-A number of Brahmans violence; " 226 as "flatterers for brought to the maharajah of Mysore gain; " 25 as "hereditary robbers;" a petition in which they protested 974 as " low blackguards; " 29 against the following customs and "howlers at funerals," while 6,372 practises which are destructive of publicly announce that they are caste and from which they begged " poets. " In the other districts the maharajah to guard his prov- one finds, besides the ordinary proince: (I) Criminals in jail are com- fessions, 11,000 tom-tom players, pelled to drink from the same water 45 makers of crowns for idols, and supply as that used by Mussulmans –most curious of all-" hereditary and Pariahs. (2) Brahmans are painters of horses with spots."- often compelled to take medicines The Church Standard. prepared by doctors of Pariah orlgm. (3) In educational work -Discussing the question of se1£- caste rules are not observed, and support in the Indian Witness, girls are allowed to be educated. Rev. C. B. Ward, of Shellandu, Female education will be the death- says: blow of the caste system. (4) In the systems of water supply no For more than twenty years I provision is made for separate have fully believed that India is fountains from which the Brah- better able to support Christianity mans alone could draw. that blesses, than heathenism in which there are no compensations. -Last August we drew attention From the most careful and oft-reto the contributions of native peated investigation, I am left no Christians, and showed that for the room to doubt that heathenism last financial year they averaged costs the poorest of its devotees about 6 shillings per communicant, two tithes of all that ever comes to or 2 shillings for each baptized him, in cash, or kind, and in the Christian. This average covers the majority of cases much more than whole mission field. The Rev. A. this. F. Painter has pointed out to us how very much larger this sum is He adds that in thirty years he than appears at first sight. "Many has never known a Christian to lose Christians in South India," he by tithing for Christ's sake, while writes, "earn only 4 or 5 rupees a he has known many who were wonmonth, that is, 5s. or 6s. 3d. in derfully prospered of God both in English money; and men with an body and soul by so doing. income of 20 rupees a month are considered to be in very comfort- –Bishop Foss, with President able circumstances, This makes Goucher, of Baltimore, returning 2s. a far larger subscription, pro- after a visit to India and Malaysia, portionately, than if subscribed by has made a report on Bishop Thoan Englishman earning say £4 to burn's administration, comparing £10 a month."-C. M. S. Gleaner. the record for ten years. During that time the number of communi- cants has risen from 7,940 to 77,963; the number of baptisms during the year from 1,959 to 29,396, while the entire Christian community now numbers 109,489 instead of 11,000. huge cigars. According to Bishop The number of native preachers Thoburn: "The best drest women has increast from 168 to 635; teach- in the street will be found with a ers from 308 to 1,078; day-schools cigar some three or four times the from 545, with 16,412 scholars, to size of an ordinary American weed.
1,259, with 31,879 scholars. Sun- The cigar is not composed wholly of day-schools have grown from 703, tobacco leaves. The tobacco is with an attendance of 26,585, to wrapt up in an ordinary leaf, which 2,485, with an attendance of 83,229. resembles tobacco in appearance, Burma.-Last New Year's day but is as harmless as so much paper. the 7 Baptist churches of Rangoon When in the mouth, however, it met for worship in a hall with 1,400 resembles an ordinary cigar so present. In opening the service, much in every respect, excepting the hymn, "Come, thou Almighty size, that the observer, if a stranger, King," was sung in English, Bur- would never suppose that it was mese, Sgaw Karen, and Tamil- composed of any other leaf."
that is, in all 4 languages at one' China.-Dr. Edkins, giving in the time. Then followed an invocation Chinese Recorder his reminiscences in Pwo Karen. After an anthem of the last fifty years, says: "The by the choir of the college church, great river of idolatry is dried up.
there were Scripture readings in The conflict now is between Chris- English, Burmese, Sgaw Karen, tianity and the world power. Our Telugu, and Chinese. Then fol- books are being widely examined, lowed a prayer in English. Next and the result will be an enormous came an anthem by the choir of accession to the Christian ranks in the Sgaw Karen church, with ad- a few years. Faster than India, dresses in English and Burmese. sooner than Japan, China will be- Next, in 4 languages, they sang come a Christian land, and it will " How Firm a Foundation I " be the greatest victory achieved by Next there were two more addresses, the Christian religion since the con- one in Tamil and one in Sgaw version of the Roman Emperor Karen. In 10 (think of it, in ten!) Constantine. "
languages the Doxology was sung -Chinese conservatism is breakto close the service.-F. S. Dobbins. ing up. People have been slow to be- -In 1857, l1indon-min, king of lieve it possible, but it is so. Ethno- Burma, erected a monument near graphically China is not a modern Mandalay, called the Kutho-dan. nation; but she is about to become There he built 700 temples, in each one. Her place has been among of which there is a slab of white the mastodons of the dead past. marble. Upon these 700 slabs is It is as if an ichthyosaurus, or a engraved the whole of the Buddhist mastodon, had suddenly been raised Bible, a vast literature in itself, up and had taken its place in the equal to about six copies of the procession of living fauna.-Rev. Holy Scripture. This marble Bible William Ashmore.
is engraved in the Pali language, -Rev. C. E. Ewing, of Peking, thought to have been spoken by reports that the British and For- Buddha himself, 500 B. C. Photo- eign Bible Society is having an graphs of some of the inscriptions altogether unprecedented sale of have reacht England, and Prof. its publications throughout the Max Muller has examined them. Chinese Empire. Until within four -For a wonder, Burmese women years the average annual sale of are addicted to the habit of smoking Bibles, and portions, in China was about 250,000 copies, the highest is largely due to his consistency number being 290,000; but during and enthusiasm. The charge is the first ten months of 1898 the often made that the people in our sales amounted to 795,000 copies, churches are mere rice hunters, but and it was expected that by the here is a man who for years has first of January they would amount acted as pastor and evangelist withover 1,000,000. Mr. Ewing also re- out receiving a cent in cash for his ports that the sales of publications services. And there are thousands of the North China Tract Society in China like him." have far exceeded those of any previous year, and that the demand -A missionary writes: "Filial has exceeded the supply. piety in China keeps a man sub- ject to the authority of his parents -In the course of his long mis- all his lifetime. He never becomes sionary career in China, Dr. Grif- of age in our meaning of the phrase; fith John has baptized more than never becomes his own man so long 4,000 converts. as his parents are living, tho the eldest son as male head of the -Any man is at liberty to prac- family has a certain amount of tise medicine in China, and many authority over a widowed mother. men who can not succeed there in But with the Chinese filial piety is, any other branch gf business, will in part, only one division of an allbuy a book of prescriptions and embracing system of subordination start as "doctors." In China there of inferior to superior; a man is are 90 medical missionaries with more or less subject to all the senior British degrees and qualifications, male relatives of his father's clan. and there are as many, or perhaps I have seen an elder brother fiercely more, from America; but what are chastise a younger brother, who 200 medical missionaries among meekly submitted, and no one 400,000,000 people? thought of interfering."
-A colporteur of the Bible So- Korea.-Two magazines and 9 paciety writes: "Last spring, when pers are now publisht in Korea-all visiting a little market town called in Seoul, the capital we believe. Ch'ien-wei, I made the acquaint- Of the 9 weekly papers, 2 have been ance of a well-to-do grain mer- recently establisht-the Christian chant, an energetic Christian, who News, edited by Drs. Underwood gave me a hearty invitation to and Vinton, of the Presbyterian come and preach at his door. There (Northern) Mission, and the Korean he placed a table and chair, and Christian Advocate, publisht by from that improvised pulpit we the Methodist Tract Society and preacht and sold books for over Sunday-school Union. four hours. His place of business, at first sight, lookt more like a -This kingdom appears to be in tract depository than a grain store. the midst of the throes which al- The outside pillars and the inside ways attend the breaking up of old walls were literally covered with ideas and customs. The Independ- Scripture texts, some of the scrolls ence Club is aggressive and determeasuring over five feet in length, mined to secure substantial reand the characters six inches. For forms. The Peddlers are as resolute many years this man suffered much to resist and prevent these, and the persecution, but he never wavered king has the reputation of having in his allegiance to Christ, and the not the least approach to honesty success of the work in Ch'ien-wei or any moral principle. Japan.-It really looks as tho at burned. The first day she did not last, after a serious lapse from its speak, but on the second day she early high estate, and after a severe put her dirty little arm around my and protracted struggle, the Doshi- neck, and said, 'My sister, the fire sha is to be redeemed. took from me my only garment, and this is not kind to my skin,' -Rev. D. C. Greene, of the Amer- meaning the old sack in which ican Board Mission, by his contri- she was wrapt. I was so thankful butions to the Japanese vernacular to be able to go to my room and press, has done much to point out bring her a soft garment. This radical defects in the proposed code poor child died after much sufferof judicial procedure, under which ing. The last time, as I changed foreigners in Japan will have to the lint on her burnt chest and live after consular jurisdiction back, she kept whispering, 'The ceases. He has been strenuously Lord is kind, the Lord is gentle.' contending for recognition of the Poor little one! how did she know? Anglo-Saxon principle, that a man It was just this: she felt the comunder arrest must be deemed inno- fort of cool lint and clean soft garcent until proved guilty, whereas ments, and she accepted them as the code as it now stands is based from the Lord Himself."-Medical on Latin models; gives the judge Mi88ions. undue power, and tempts him to act as if the accused were guilty, -Rev. C. H. Goodman, of the and his conviction a test of judicial Free Methodist mission among the ability and integrity. Mendi people, has arrived in Eng- land, and has told some of the ter- -The Japanese papers give the rible experiences he has past following statistics of Christian through in the native rising. There schools in that country: Protestant had been signs of trouble, but these boarding – schools for boys, 15, were not (till too late) regarded sewith 1,520 scholars; for girls, riously in a country the air of which schools 47, containing 2,527 schol- is constantly filled with all kinds of ars; Protestant day-schools, 105, stories. But when the raid actupupils 6,031; Protestant Sunday- ally came, the children and several schools, 837, with 30,624 pupils. of the workers were in refuge in The Greek Catholics and Roman the old town of Tikonko, while but Catholics have no Sunday-schools. very few were left on the mission The Greeks have 1 boys' and 1 farm. All the Monday morning girls' boarding-school, with 130 pu- many strange men had been loiterpils in the two. The Roman Cath- ing about in a threatening manner; olics have 2 boys' boarding-schools and that afternoon a boy carrying with 200 pupils, and 3 girls' board- into town a box belonging to the ing-schools, with 180 pupils. The Johnsons was set upon. Mr. and Greeks have 1 day-school with 69 Mrs. Johnson went to the rescue, scholars. The Roman Catholics but were both caught by the warhave 41 day schools, containing boys, beaten unmercifully, arid their 2,982 pupils, besides 20 orphanages, clothes literally torn from their containing over 2,000 children. backs, Mr. Johnson also receiving a frightful gash across the face. AFRICA. When Mr. Goodman and his help- ers went to aid, they too were set -Miss M. Copping, writing of upon; and he, with Mr. Campbell, the medical work in Fez, Morocco, the school teacher, had to flee into says: "A country child of about ten years was carried to us badly the bush, where the latter was aries and the natives ~as nad its caught and afterward murdered. reward; and the same thing is true, Creeping through the bush, Mr. we believe, of the Friends' Mission Goodman made for the town, but and the Norwegian Mission. But the door was shut in his face, and quite a different story is told of the he had again to betake himself to mission of the S. P. G., which seems the bush till night, when he entered to be going to pieces for want of a through a breach in the wall, bishop. A correspondent says in reacht the king's compound, and the Church Times: from him found shelter. Disguised as a sick woman, he was taken to " Our mission to Madagascar has one of the chief's houses outside the become the laughing-stock of the town, and there he was hidden by religious world, our enemies are night and in the dense bush by day. triumphant, our friends are falling But he was betrayed and marcht away, our missionaries are in deoff in the burning sun without his spair, and their cry comes home helmet for about three and a half mail after mail: 'If you think hours. The people at Bumpe re- that the mission to Madagascar ceived him with yells of delight, should be continued, let it be done and met in a big palaver to decide with all vigor and in due form; if his fate. not, let us withdraw, for the present condition of affairs can no longer -The African Training Institute, be endured.' "-London Christian. establisht at Colwyn Bay, aims to give an evangelical and industrial -The Norwegian missionary at training to the most promising of Sirabe, in Madagascar, reports that the Africa.Il converts, and to estab- just in the worst time of the recent lish branch institutions on similar persecution 79 new members were lines in Africa, thus sending forth admitted into the church by bapto their own land self-supporting tism, and during the course of the missionaries. The natives of sev- year 416 were baptized. Thatmany eral of the English colonies along fell away in the time of trial is not the West Coast show great interest surprIsmg. "Our native pastors in the work, and have formed have workt with a zeal which has auxiliary committees at various surpast anything that could have places, thus bringing the institute been expected at a time like this. in touch with 3,000 miles of the This i::; especially true of Pastor coast. The students hitherto repre- Rarifoana. His parish belongs to sent many of the districts along the the district where heathenism had line from the Gambia down to St. and still has its greatest stronghold. Paul de Loanda. They are taken Here also was one of the chief seats from all parts of Africa, where 600 of the insurrection, and after the languages are spoken.-The Chris- battles and defeat of Sirabe th~re tian was some wounded man in every house in this district. But now Madagascar.-The latest news things are brightening again. the L.l'LS. has received from Mada- About 100 grown-up men and gascar is of a favorable character. women have lately announced The persecution has abated, at least themselves as candidates for bapin its violent forms, and the com- tism."-Norsk Missionstidende. motion has subsided. Christians can now go about their daily busi- -In a letter from Madagascar. ness and do their Christian work. dated December 16th, M. Escandc The steadfastness of the mission- announces that, in an int()rview with General Gallieni, he obtained the surrender of the last church in the Betsileo, which was still in the hands of the Catholics. If the rain "" did not prevent him, he intended struct the free preaching of the to go in person to take possession Gospel and the extension of the of it. "Then all the churches in kingdom of God, then the Lord has the Betsileo will have been restored other nations, particularly the to us." There are still some to be English-speaking nations, which restored in Imerina, but the num- allow full freedom to carry God's ber has been much reduced.-Jour- Word to the natives, and which he nal des Missions Evangeliques. can entrust with the government of Dutch India." ISLANDS OF THE SEA. In Sir Stamford Ruffles's time, Malaysia.-It is rather a paradox near the beginning of the century, that the nations most advanced in when for a brief season England had Gospel privilege and political free- the possession of Java, there was the dom should be those whose secret fullest freedom and encouragement or present history reveals some of to preach the Gospel. Alas! that it the most frightful inconsistencies should not be so now. May God in their treatment of other races. rouse the Christians of Holland to The United States, Great Britain, press for the overthrow of all and Holland, are kernels to which government hindrances.-Medical one most naturally attaches the Missions. thought of a pure Gospel and its fruits in righteousness. Yet it was -Mr. Morris Coster writes that the United States which had to pass " according to the last reports from through the fiercest and bloodiest Dutch East India there are at prescivil war of modern times before its ent in that Dutch colony 345,000 traffic in the bodies of living colored native Protestant Christians, and men could take end. It is Great also 30,000 native Roman Catholic Britain which continues to make Christians, a total of 375,000. About herself the scandal of Christendom sixty years ago there were in that by an opium traffic which has done colony only about 75,000 native more to demoralize China than Christians, so that in later years any other cause which can be the number of native Christians named. And it is free Protestant has increast fully 300,000." Holland which has the inglorious distinction of a government which -Missionary Simon, of the Rhendeliberately hinders the Gospel ish Society in Sumatra, writes that from reaching vast multitudes of its the falling off of Mohammedan Mohammedan subjects, and which converts (which followed the news cramps and fetters the movements of the Turkish massacres in Armeof the messengers of Christ more nia, and the defeat of Greece) still than any other government. continues. "The battle is still se- Happily, there are not a few in vere, and will be for some time. Holland who feel bitterly the But we have a set of Christians anomaly and danger of the govern- here who really accomplish somemental position, and who are not thing for their religion, and it folafraid to speak out. Here is a lows that these hard times cause word frOIn a recent number of the much good frl!it to ripen. I often Heidenbode, the missionary organ notice with wonder how the Lord of the Reformed Church of the gives those who are so persecuted Netherlands: from without so many other trials to bear. One of our elders, Johan- "Let us understand that, should nes, in the last year and a half, has we still longer deny the Gospel to lost his father, mother, father-inthe millions in our East, and should law, son, and some more distant our government continue to ob- relations. Then came the famine, which tried him sorely; and his relations said to him daily: 'See! if NECROLOGY. you had remained a Mohammedan, all this would not have happened A cablegram from London, Tbursday, to you;' and this and similar con- March 23d, announced the sudden death of stant mockery he bears faithfully Rev. JAMES ARCHER SPURGEON, D.D., LL.D., and loyally. There is another of West Croydon. He was found lifeless in Christian whose little daughter I a railway carriage of the London & Brighton have buried to-day; she was the Express on the preceding day. Few details eighth child he had lost. The scoffs have yet reacht us, but we infer apoplexy to of the Mohammedans are intoler- have been the cause. Dr. Spurgeon was able, but he remains faithful to the born in 1837, and was nearly sixty·two. He Lord."-Berichte der Rheinischen was for a qnarter of a century the copastor Missionsgesellschajt. of his brother, Charles H. Spurgeon, in the great Tabernacle of London. But it is not Tahiti.-" It is my opinion," says generally known that he was also the sole M. Huguenin, French missionary in pastor of a large and i~fluential church at Tahiti, "that if a premature civili- West Croydon, where he lived, and where, zation has accelerated the depopula- for twenty-five years and more, he had been tion of these islands, a more intel- in charge of one of the best Baptist congreligent civilization will tend to gations in England, composed of very intelliincrease the population, only by gent, educated, and prominent people, by means of the Gospel. 1'here are whom he was much loved. He was a man of certain proofs of the good influence unusual ability and of manifold activities. He of Christianity in this respect in was the president of the orphanage founded our Windward Isles, where the by his brother, and until of late was also population is rapidly increasing, president of the Pastors' College. He was a especially at Maupiti and Borabora, man who combined capacity and sagacity, where there has been no war for a and -his counsel and cooperation were much long time; where alcohol hardly valued by his brother. He had been a prom.. ever comes, and where the fatal inent actor in many forms of philanthropy, influence of the traders in this pest was a sound biblical preacher, and a man of has not yet been felt. The race public worth. He leaves a wife, with one deserves to be preserved; it is a son and one daughter. His aged father, Rev. fine race, and might become healthy John Spurgeon, survives him, and lives also and vigorous with right hygiene at Croydon. Dr. Spurgeon's death will leave and right morals. It is intelligent a large lack in many directions to be filled.- and desires to learn; it will edu- A.T.P. cate itself, and will work when manly Christian principles have REV. MICHAEL E. STRIEBY, D.D., for more shaken off its idleness and indo- than thirty years secretary of the Amerilence. It is very gentle; we nevel' can Missionary Association, died at Clifton hear of murders and suicides here, Springs, N. Y., on Friday, March 17th, in the and there are only a few men who eighty-fourth year of his age. His career fight in drunkenness. If the fam- was distinguisht by wise and self-sacrificing ily bond is too much relaxt, still service from its beginning to its close. He the Tahitian loves his children be- was educated at Oberlin College. In 1864 he fore everything, and is happy and left the pastorate of the Plymouth Congregaproud when he sees them acquiring tional Church in Syracuse to become secre- European knowledge. The Tahi- taryof the newly-formed American Missiontian IS a great child till his death; ary Association. Probably no man in the the future alone, a Christian future, country was better informed concerning tbe will make a man of him, and this work for the elevation of the colored people task is to be ours and our succes- than Dr. Strieby. As a reformer, a pastor, a sors."-Journal des Missions Evan- preacher, an administrator of the affairs of a geliques. great benevolent society, Dr. Strieby was wise, courageous, able, and gentle. His name will long be remembered and held in honor.
NOTICE.
The sixteenth annual meeting of the Inter- national Missionary Union will be held at Clifton Springs, N. Y., June 14-21,1899. All foreign missionaries of any evangelical de- nomination are eligible to membership, and as such are entitled to free entertainment., Additional information can be obtained by addressing Mrs. C. C. Thayer,Clifton Springs, N.Y.
The Missionary Review of the World — April 1896
ORIGINAL PIO~EER TIBETAN
u Mi8S Taylor and her'l'ibetan servant Pont:;:o ha ve now separated fronl this Band, Miss Taylor having starttd un intlependent mission. 11 A GROUP OF PUNJAB MISSIONARIES AND NATIVE PASTORS. MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XIX. No. 4.-0ld 8erie8.-APRIL.-VoL. IX. No. '.-New &riu.
GEMS GATHERED. AT THE LIVERPOOL CONVENTION.
BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.
The Convention has passed into history. In time full records of its pregnant proceedings will be furnished for permanent preservation and wider circulation. Meanwhile it may be both wise and helpful to cull, in brief form, some of the many utterances which made this occasion memorable, availing ourselves of such reports af! that of the Gltristian, of London, which has been prepared with uncommon carefulness and fulness. As it would occupy undue space to enter· into the details, and as a previous paper has outlined the Convention as a whole, we shall now put before our readers what seems most of importance or interest, and can be most easily made of use, in furtherance of the objects for which the Convention was held.
Bishop of Liverpool: "The Church of Christ to-day is often taunted with its divisions, and somctimef! there is too much reason for the taunt. How delightful, then, to find an assemblage like this, representing so many lands and so many varied sections of the Christian Church, all united in the one aim of advancing the kingdom of our Lord and Savior in the distant parts of the world."
Rev. Charles Garrett, of Liverpool: "The essential unity of the ChriRtian Church is seen in the midst of manifold outward variety. From the domains of nature and of society may be drawn many illustrations of this point. To a child all the stars may look alike, but astronomers ~now well that one star differs from another star in glory. Look at the human face divine. In that, as in every department, God is always original; He never makes a copy. A fond mother says of her babe, 'There never was such a child, ~ and she is right. There never was, and there never will be. And one reason why all the churches should unite in saving all the children is because each child is the only one that God has ever made or will make of that exact type. If the Church is God's workmanship we must look for the same characteristics in it that we find elsewhere. The gar-
GEMS GATHERED AT THE LIVERPOOL CONVENTION
dener with his shears can trim dead trees to make them all look exactly alike. Let the trees be alive and he will seek in vain to preserve their uniformity. The day after to-morrow the likeness will be gone." Mr. Garrett, referring to his ten chIldren, said he rejoiced in the diversity of form and character among them; the one supplied what the other lacked; so with the Church of Christ,.
Mr. Donald Fraser, of Glasgow University: "This is not the first world's convention, on the subject of missions, held in thIS city. There was held a great missionary conference in Liverpool in 1888, when one hundred and fifty representatives from British societies came together to receive reports of past work and lay plans for the future. The composition of the present conference is, however, much wider. There are thirteen nationalities represented, while forty-two British societies have sent official delegates. The students are but ' volunteers,' but these workers are veterans straight from the field. Their best contribution will be that they go forth from the conference to spread the fire which the Spirit will kindle, among the home congregations and the missionary stations when they return to their distant fields. My fellow-students, make the most and best of the holy influences and impulses that will be generated during the days of conference, by communion with God and one another. Let us wait for God, not for man, not for crowds, nor for eloquence. Our hope is in the living God; we wait with hushed spirits to hear what He will say, and, in obedience, to fulfil his commands."
Hev. A. T. Pierson: "In introducing me the chairman expressed the hope that when in due time I return to my native shores, I would take back the assurance that between the English-speaking peoples, who read the same Bible, there may be peace as long as the world lasts. I reciprocate to the full these sentiments of amity as to the peaceful relations of the sister lands. If two such closely related nations should be found embroiled in warlike conflict, there would be a jubilee nowhere but in hell. As a visible and tangible expression of my feelings on this point, and as representing the Christianity of the United States, allow me, venerable bishop, to shake hands with you" (a little episode endorsed by the heartiest cheers of the audience). " Turning to the specific business of the Convention, let me call attention to the plan of God in the ages, of which I have long been a most interested student. We find in the Epistle to the Hebrews the magnificent conception that, as God took matter and constructed the material worlds, so He has taken time and is building it up into time worlds, or ages. There are ages of preparation, of experiment, and of transition; by and by there will be ages of completion and consummation. As Christ is the corner-stone of the ages, He is yet to be the capstone of the whole structure.
"With respect to the world's evangelization, we have three features specially exhibited in connection with this evangelistic age. First of all, there is a double universality: first, as to the objects of effort-' Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature;' secondly, as to the subjects addresscd-' Go ye.' Not a man, woman, or child who believes in Jesus Christ as a Savior is exempted from the responsibility or excluded from the privilege of proclaiming that Savior to a dying world.
"The second feature in this plan of the ages is celerity. The King's business requires haste. In His last command, Jesus Christ manifestly contemplated that each generation of believers, while on earth, should undertake the evangelizing of the generation of which they formed a part. And in the primitive, apostolic day, the work was more nearly accomplished than in any subsequent generation from that time to this. As to the work to be done by our own generation, let us note (1) the marvellous modern multiplication of facilities for carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth; (2) the remarkable multiplication of instrumentalities and agencies, such as the epiphany of woman in the service of the Church, the work of the Y. M. C. A., the rise and growth of that marvellous if mixed movement, the Salvation Army, the Y. P. S. C. E., and this Student Volunteer Movement. (3) It seems as if in these last days there is an intensification and a condensation of history, so that centuries are compacted into years, years into days, and days into hours, which greatly intensifies responsibility also.
" The third feature of God's plan in our age is spirituality. He emphasizes not machinery, organization, or carnal energy, but the power of the Spirit. If our dependence is on any other secret of success we shall fail. The Spirit of God is in and with the Church; and the more vigorously we push the lines of missionary activity in dependence on the guidance of the Holy Ghost the sooner will the world be evangelized. Machinery is important, but is only cumbrous, unwieldy, and useless without a motive power; and God's one and only motor in holy service is the spirit of life and power. Without dependence on Him we are hopelessly weak, and no one truth needs to be taught and learned in these days more than this, so thoroughly learned in apostolic days, that God. the Holy Ghost, is in the midst of God's people, ready t.o become to them the sevenfold spirit of wisdom, power, nnderstanding, might, knowledge, utterance, and guidance.
Eugene Stock, Esq., C. M. S. Secretary, at the ministers' meeting: " I am more and more deeply impressed with the conviction that on the clergy and ministers in our churches there lies a responsibility which the great majority of them have as yet failed to realize. In most cases it is anything else first, and the advancement of Christ's kingdom last. The churches exist, not tha1; they may have splendid singing, beautiful services, and such like, but that they may evangelize the world. We call this a great missionary epoch, but there will have to be a much wider awakening of missionary interest in the churches than we have yet seen. One despairs of the older men, but our hope lies in the fact that the youngest of our ministers are the most alive. Every pastor who cuts loose from home ties and goes abroad is a grand example to the others; but those who remain at home may be great channels of blessing to the churches and to the work of missions. In the late visitation of his diocese by the Bishop of London, he urged each clergyman to preach at least twenty missionary sermons a year in his own church for the purpose of educating his people in the duty of evangelizing the world."
Rev. r~. Wardlaw Thompson, Secretary of the L. M. S. : "I do not think that ministers generally are so backward in missionary interest, but they are so immersed in the multifarious and minute duties attaching to the pastoral office that neither time nor strength is left for missionary effort. They ought, as leaders in the work of the Church, to hand over the smaller matters to others, keeping themselves fresh and strong for the greater matters; and this missionary question is certainly one of the great matters that ought to be attended to. People may differ about many. aspects of missionary work, but the thought that it is possible for the men of this generation to make Christ kuown to all in the world at present ignorant of Him, ought to kindle:enthusiasm in the most sluggish heart. H that thought were to get into the hearts and minds of all ministers of the Gospel, the life and zeal of the churches would be mightily quickened. The more spiritual propulsion we put into our efforts the further they will go, and the more effectually they will accomplish the desired ends. Ministers can best discharge their responsibility in this matter by constantly keeping the subject before the people. That would involve much new study and research, but the reflex influence on their own life and preaching would be wonderful, not to speak of the direct effects on the congregations. It would be the grandest thing that ministers could do if they would go through the study required for preaching twenty missionary sermons a year to their own people. "
Rev. W. E. Burroughs, of the C. M. S. : "I believe that not one in ten of the ministers in my own denomination could tell, offhand, what were the last recorded tIJords of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have often asked the question over the tea-table; directing the question, of course, to some juvenile member of the household, but really aiming it at the clergyman, who generally could not tell that the words were: ' the uttermost part. of the earth.' "
Dr. George Robson, of Perth: "Let me give you a few leaves from my own pastoral experience. I was prevented from going to the mission field thirty years ago ; my interest in missions became focused and intensified through the great missionary conference in London seven years since j and that awakened interest affected my influence on those under my pastoral care so that their gifts to missions largely increased, and some gave themselves to work abroad. But first of all it stimulated me to a close, careful, and prolonged study of missionary history and biography, and led me to give my people frequent addresses on missionary heroism and triumphs. At the first of these services only twelve or fourteen were present; but they subsequcntly were attcnded by hundreds of deeply interested hearers. "
Rev. A. T. Pierson: "I desire to urge my fellow-ministers to study four books: The Holy Scripture, the book of nature, the book of Divine Provi- dence, and the book of God's grace, where His energy is seen in transform- ing human lives. We have many works on apologetics; the energetics of God are the greatest apologetics in the world, and these are found glori- ously exhibited in missionary history. There is no proof of the living and mighty God more convincing and accessible than thc history of Christian missions, showing that the lowest of mankind can be reached, moved, molded anew by this Gospel."
Dr. Gillison, of Hankow: "My theme is the desirability of a full medical curriculum for those purposing to engage in medical mission work. I maintain that the work of the foreign field demands the very best and ablest of our Christian men and women. Noone can be too good to go, and very few are good enough. The man who neglects intellectual training is using only five out of ten talents with which God has entrusted him. I strongly advise the cultivation of methodical habits of life and work; these would stand the student in good stead when he reaches the foreign field. I would not say a word against partial medical training if more cannot be had, but am very strong in advocating the full course. The medical missionary has to undertake many things in the mission field that he would not be called on to do at home, where the aid of the specialist may be invoked. People in heathen lands cannot discriminate, and they judge the whole profession by the failures or successes of those who are laboring among them. It would be far better, in the long run, for a man to wait at home the extra two or three years needed for the full course of study, than to go out earlier only partially qualified. Missionary societies ought to have it laid on them as a burden to give the medical missionary full support, and to see to it that a hospital is put at his disposal wherever possible. "
Eugene Stock : "I wish to add some plain, practical words on the training of character. Besides the kind of training to which the previous speaker referred, and even more important, is the building up of personal character. That cannot be done in the mission field. Three considerations I submit to my student hearers as of supreme import: 'I and my work; I and my comrades; I and my Lord. ' As to the first, the student must recognize that there are diversities of operation; and while he believes thoroughly in the special sphere to which God may have called him, he must not belittle the work of others. The second point is illustrated by the apostolic dictum, 'In honor preferring one another.' As to the third consideration, while the work is God's and not the missionary's, there is room for the play of his 'personality. We are to speak and work as if the whole depended on us. Faith and fatalism are not the same thing. Above all it is to be borne in mind that every worker is to be absolutely at God's disposal, and that He is entitled to loving, loyal, continuou:; service. " Mr. Stock's talk was so grandly simple that a fuller outline may be helpful: I. I and my work. 1. Recognizing diversity of gifts and sphere (1 Cor. 12). 2. Believe in your own work as a definite allotment. 3. Be willing to take the lowest place or highest. 4. Think soberly, remembering who it is hath dealt, etc. 5. Do small things first and faithfully. Compare parable Pounds and Talents, one spoken four days earlier to a different audience : one to disciples and the other to multitude.
II. I and my comrades. 1. Appreciate God's gifts and graces in others (Rom. 12 j Cor. 12). 2. In honor preferring one another. A great principle. 3. Learn to fit into your place in connection with them. 4. Don't expect perfection, but allow for defects. 5. If any difficulty must arise, have it Qut, etc. III. I and my Lord. 1. His work, not mine and yet mine (Acts 14 : 1). 2. He is my Lord. He is mine, and I am His. His will and title. 3. He is my example in all my work. 4. He is my Savior (Hom. 12 : 1). 5. He is my final arbiter of reward.
Rev. A. T. Pierson: "This Conference reminds of Pentecost.j but here is a moral miracle greater than the gift of tongues. There believers fou,nd themselves speaking in languages hitherto unknown, proclaiming in many tongues the wonderful works of God. Here many tongues, accustomed to heathen worship and idolatrous prayers, unite in testimony to faith in one God. There the believers were mostly of one nation, speaking in tongues not their own to strangers from other lands. Here believers are from fourteen different nations, speaking in tongues which are their own vernacular, and declaring to English-speaking disciples their recovery out of superstition and alienation from God. At Pentecost the miracle was that of a transformed tongue j here, of a transformed soul and life. No one can estimate the possibilities growing out of this gathering. Who can forecast the work, service, self-denial, heroism, martyrdom, which the next thirty years may develop out of the raw material here gathered Y What wide dispersion over various fields of service and suffering, what testimony to Christ, what missions founded, what schools, hospitals, orphanages, and training institutes for the education and salvation of souls! Only God can look forward far enough to see the final outcome of this great gathering. But a regiment of soldiers in uniform is not a regiment of veterans with torn flags and honorable scars. It remains to be seen how memorable we are to make this convention; how august its place is to be in the plan of God and the march of the ages, by proving ourselves good soldiers, enduring hardness and valiantly fighting the fight of faith. Charles Garrett grandly referred to Sir Charles Trowbridge, who at the distribution of medals in Hyde Park to the heroes of the Crimean 'Val' could not, because he had lost both legs in battle, himself ascend the platform where the honors were conferred; and so the Queen graciously came down to him in his wheeled chair, and with her own hands fixed the medal on his breast. Who among us is to be honored with the Lord's , Well done' ?
"I wish now to add a word to the churches of Christ to support the Student Volunteer Movement by sympathetic recognition of it as a movement under God's leadership and the power of earnest, sympathetic, and importunate prayer. It seems to me that apostolic prayer is almost a lost art in the churches. I believe that the day is comiHg when Christian parents will rear up their children for God and His service as distinctly as the husbandman grows a crop of wheat for the people's bread. Let family life be so hallowed that parental aim and endeavor shall have reference to the proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and not to the amassing of fortunes or the securing of social distinction and titular digni- ties. " Mr. L. D. Wishard telegraphed from Athens: "Let us make the col- leges in all lands mission stations." Five members of the Union, ;now in India, sent a message: "India claims one thousand volunteers." A telegram came from Messrs. R. P. Wilder and J. R. Mott, in at- tendance on a conference of Indian students at Colombo: "Asia's crisis demands thousands of mountain-removing volunteers."
Rev. Egerton Young: "Go with me across the sea to the land of the Red Indians of North America. It is a striklllg fact that the first Protestant mission (in the time of Cromwell) was to these Indians. How deeply interesting are the memories of Eliot and Brainerd, and their work among the redskins! Those to whom they preached have all vanished, and so have their descendants; but their work and testimony remain. Brainerd's journal fell into 1he hands of Carey, Henry Martyn, and John Wesley, and its contents thrilled these men, whose names will never be forgotten in the records of missionary effort. I had my first call to the work in the Northwest, while a city pastor in Hamilton, Onto I counsel the young missionaries to give much attention to the acquisition of the language, so as to be independent of interpreters or interrupters. The advantage to the missionary of having even a little medical knowledge is well illustrated by some of my own experiences among the Indians. My diocese was larger than all England, and I had many rough experiences in travel; but the joy of harvest· in seeing these sons of the chase led to Christ was an ample reward. The power of Christ's Gospel was seen in its uplift of woman. In the old days the Indian men's treatment of the squaws was cruel and terrible indeed. But a change came in the course of years, through the blessed influence of Gospel preaching. " Mr. Young moved and thrilled the meeting by his vivid narration of the wondrous changes thus wrought in the hearts of those Indians, already given to the readers in these pages (July, 1895).
Mrs. Duncan McLaren, of Edinburgh : "Let us ask, ' How the vari- ous nations pray.'" Then Mrs. McLare n pictured the ardent but blind' devotions of faithful Mohammedans, Hindus, Parsees, Chinese, Buddhists 'in Japan-all worshipers of false gods, that see and hear not, and can neither answer nor understand. "How dark would be the outlook if we could look only on such scenes as these; but many of these very heathens have seen the light of the Gospel, and have come to its rising. How ear- nestly the native Christians pray! How they understand the value of intercessory prayer; and they call on us who have long known the Savior to bear them up in our prayers unto God. Their idols have all been abol- ished, and prayers to these are a thing of the past. Many of us in Chris- tian lands might take a humble place beside those native witnesses for the Gospel. Most of the converts in Manchuria are the fruit of the labors of the native converts themselves. How the elevating power of Chrisl;'s Gospel has been seen among the women and the children of heathen lands! God is using even the children to confound the things that are mighty. Does anyone ask if missions pay ~ From far and near the answer comes from lives that have been redeemed and hearts that have been transformed. It is too late to ask such a question. Let our earnest endeavor be to make them pay better in the years to come than they have in the days that are past. If we are faithful His promise is sure-the light shall arise and the darkness shall flee away."
Mr. Charles T. Siudd [after prayer by Professor Simpson,of Edin- burgh, in whose rooms Messrs. Stanley Smith and Studd united in prayer when they spoke to Edinburgh students nine years ago. It was out of that time of revival among Scottish students that the British student movement arose] : " My word to my young friehJs is, 'Do it.' It means something- loss, sacrifice, far more than we anticipate; but if we are not prepared to do it, we must give up saying that we love the Lord Jesus. The sight of so many young men and women stirs one's heart. Let them hear the words of the Apostle: 'I write unto you young men because ye are strong, and have overcome the wicked one.' We must get to know that we can do nothing of ourselves; then the Lord will make His life and power to be manifest in and through us. Think of tbe spiritual destitution of vast regions in China, with its teeming millions of population. ' God is love;' but there is no love anywhere among the Chinese without the Gospel. Think of 400,000,000 souls ignorant of God and Christ; and then think of 40,000,000 of Britisbers who would be insulted if they were thought to be ignorant of these things. What a disproportion in the workers! For all China only 2000 workers, and half of them women; for our own 40,000,000 we have at least 50,000 specially appointed ordained workers, not to speak of private Christians. Think of the cruelty to ani. mals in Chma; worse than that, of the child murders! Still more terri. ble, perhaps, the foot-binding, the occasion of snch nnimaginable cruelty. Notwithstanding these deformed feet, the Chinese wemen, when they get interested in the Gospel, will walk twenty miles with a child on their back to a mission service, being ill treated and neglected all the way. How their lives shame us !
"The wonderful changes that take place through the power of the Gospel are seen very much at the Communion, where you see the people utterly broken down at the fresh view they have received of God's love. I have been asked if I thought the communion was to the Chinese a means of grace when administered by unordained hands; my only answer was, , Rather ! ' [The audience cheered to the echo. ] "God search our Brit. ish hearts as we think of the devotion and self-sacrifice of these Chi. nese converts: of sacrifices, losses, and persecutions endured by those who come out wholly for Christ in a Chinese community. My whole soul goes out in these words, as I think of our Lord's last command: ' Go and do it."
Rev. G. H. C. Macgregor: "Paul's question to disciples at Ephesus was, ' Have ye received the Holy Spirit since ye believed ' ~ We ought to expect a wonderful work of the Spirit in our hearts and lives as Chris· tians, even after conversion, as shown by various incidents in the history of the early Church recorded in the Acts. Wherever the lot of a missionary may be cast there cannot be an adequate blessing on his labors un.less he knows experimentally the fulness of the Holy Spirit. This experience is one that is possible for all believers; it is the birthright of all. Fnrther, it is imperative. God's command is, 'Be filled with the Spirit,' and this command is as binding on a Christian as any other. Do we not need to ask forgiveness from God for the sin of not being thus filled ~ It is our risen and exalted Lord who bestows this blessing. It comes only to the believing, obedient, and snrrendered soul. What hinders 1 Self-will. If we knew in their fulness the meaning of the two words, 'absolute surrender,' most of our difficulties in the spiritual life would vanish. This experience may come to us suddenly, tho not necessarily so. But God can bestow on us an amazingly big blessing in a very short time.
" One of the effects of this bestowment will be an enlargement of our knowledge of the character and purpose of God. The heart blessing of joy is another result. Love one to another, a different relation to the will of God, and to worldly possessions, would also result from this surrender to the fulness of the Holy Spirit. Then it would not be possible for men who had offered their lives to the work of missions to be rejected for want of means to send them forth."
Rev. F. B. Meyer: "This truth about the Spirit needs to be applied in immediate and full submission to God. Those who have an intellectual conception of the enduement of Holy Spirit power must pass on to a conscious claiming and reception of it as a personal experience. Hindrances must be put away, such as lack of separation unto God, power in prayer, consistency in testimony. Before Pelltecost there must come Calvary. We must have our share in the death of Christ before we are ready to be anointed with the Holy Ghost. If there be not a full renunciation of all, it would keep back the soul from claiming and possessing by faith this ineffable blessing of the indwelling, the inworking, and the outgoing of the power of God's mighty Spirit. Take, reckon, and act faith, and as the soul believes so it will be done. This is a deeply solemn and impressive time, and many a soul may here have a silent transaction with God that will color and influence the whole future life."
Miss Gollock (connected with the Bombay settlement, of which more hereafter) : "I spent last winter in India, with its many peoples and its great needs j but since my return I have seldom been able to speak of it, because I feel that missionary inspiration comes more from the personal claims of Christ on the soul than from the needs of any particular country. Paul, in his time of imprisonment, with only his pen free to work, thus summed up his life aspiration: 'To me to live is Christ.' That was the secret of his service j and it forms the deepest consecration text in all the Bible. Those who can underline the text and write their names against it in solemn covenant have learned something of what it is to live. Too many Christians have not realized their right relation to their Lord, If they had, that would settle their relations to work abroad. Not service or success, but Christ, should be the keynote of the Christian life. Christ and the student, hand in hand and heart to heart-that relation lies at the basis of the evangelization of the world. Let every soul face it and see that the Son of God, the Savior of the world, says: 'My son, give Me thy heart.' Before your service He claims yourself. How may this exclusive relationship be manifested in daily life and service, as a preparation for work abroad? There is uo mantle of grace which falls on an outgoing mIsslOnary. He has only what he had before, with many new and strong temptations to be fought. If there has been failure at home there will be failure abroad. If there be not daily and deep communion at home, the habit will not be formed abroad. Give the preparatory years to the deepening of the inner life. Seek to know and walk with Christ by the light and teaching of the Holy Ghost. Then, when the time comes, the student and his Lord will go forth together.
" As to life in the colleges-speaking specially as to women students -some principals and tutors in the colleges will be found to be in sympathy with spiritual things, and others not. In contact with others, remember that Jesus Christ is full of sympathy with everything in formationfar more so than our human teachers. When in doubt on many points, and when seas of thought surge around, remember that Jesus Christ remains ever the same. Put Him honestly and loyally into the center of the life, and He will lead the trusting soul into all truth. When everything else is shaky, hold fast to the Rock of Ages. In the college itself there is a work to do for Christ, beyond and apart from any mental and intellectual calls on the student. From the center Christ we can look out fearlessly in any direction. Returning from India this verse: 'To me to live is Christ,' came with peculiar power to me when in Egypt. The Spirit of God pressed it hon::.e time after time, and it was marked in my Bible. A succeeding visit to Italy, with its artistic seductions, revealed the need of this pledge to look at every phase of life solely from the standpoint of Jesus Christ. College work is not easy work. It may mean reproach, difficulty, and often rebuff; but whoever has said, 'To me to live is Christ,' will go straight on and never mind; not in self-strength, but in dependence on the guidance of the Holy Ghost, looking alone at the glory of Christ.
" This also comes as the motto while working in the Church at home. There is a definite responsibility toward pastor and church organization, and the student who is given up to Christ will seek to manifest Him in all home work. As to the great work of the future, unless Christ is the Life, far better not go abroad at all; but if He is the center of the life at home He will choose the station and the life work. He yearns over heathendom, and there are many posts which only students can properly fill. And the very best equipment is needed. In looking around for a sphere, the well-equipped lady student will perhaps be tempted to think that no post offered is good enough for her capacities! Can we forget that our great Master, with all His powers, human and divine, ' threw Himself away' on Galilean peasants ~ If God has touched our hearts by His Spirit we cannot do better than throw ourselves away like that."
Rev. A. T. Pierson: "This has been a day of the Holy Spirit. I therefore change my intended subject and speak of the relation 'of the Holy Spirit to the character and service of the missionary. We are now preeminently in the dispensation of the Holy Ghost; yet the personality, the presiding presence, and administrative work of the Spirit are very largely ignored. In John 14-16 our Lord tells of the character and province of the Spirit of God. In these chapters we have the foundation of the teaching given in the Acts and the Epistles. He is at once the Spirit of light, of life, of love, and of order. As to character, we are absolutely dependent on the Spirit for all attainments in holiness. Behind all intellectual accomplishment lies character. Holy living is as much the product of supernataral power as was Peter's walking on the water. We are taught in Rom. 8 that the Holy Spirit is the element in which the child of God can alone live, and grow, and prosper.
" We notice about an element five things: "1. It is always greater than the animal that lives in it. "2. It supplies vitality to such animal. "3. It is independent of, yet indispensable to such animal. "4. Elements are contrary one to another, so that the life one nourishes the other stifles. "5. There may be rapid transition from one to the other, as from water to air, etc.
" All these facts have corresponding ones as to the relation of the Holy Spirit and the believer. The Holy Spirit is vaster than any disciple who lives in the Spirit. There may be a transition from one element to the other; but the life of the Spirit cannot be lived in the element of the flesh. , He that abideth in Him sinneth not.' All the great questions about holiness are solved here. There can only be defeat when we walk in the energy of the flesh; but when we walk and live and pray in the Spirit, conquest comes out of defeat.
" As to the service of Christ in the work of missions, we find that the Spirit of God is the channel of Divine activity. He is the organizer of the Church, the edifier of the Church, and the multiplier of the Church. But the Holy Spirit also condescends to guide individuals. As a mother has a care for each member of her family, so. the Holy Ghost, the nursing mother of souls, has a regard for the feeblest babe in Christ. He brings together the seeker and the servant who can give guidance to the inquiring soul. He opens the eyes of the blasphemer, and turns a Saul into a Paul. The Holy Ghost separates every worker to his special work, and sends him forth with a personal authority. He restrains a Paul from Bithynia, and directs him to Macedonia. So in modern times He restrained Carey from going to the South Seas, and directed him to India. So He kept Adoniram Judson from India and sent him to Burmah ; and Livingstone God shut out from China, where he essayed at first to go, and thrust him into the dark continent. If we are wholly given up to the Spirit of God, He will bend the heavens and come down and guide the individual worker to his work. Then seeming failures will -be turned into successes, and we can praise Him through all our diversified pathway. Another thought is that the Spirit gives utterance to the consecrated worker. The God who made man's mouth can take out of it any obstacle to the fullest witnessbearing. There is also the' demonstration of the Spirit,' by which the apostle claimed to speak The Spirit's logical processes are wonderfu1. He reveals God to the unbeliever, and uncovers hell to the accusing conscience. If we have not learned to depend on the Spirit, let us tarry till we do, or our work, whether at home or abroad, will be in vain."
Nothing has been more humiliating than to see European powers stand idly by and witness the wholesale massacre of 25,000 Armenians, with outrages never perhaps paralleled in modern times on an equal scale; and yet all this inertia and apathy due to mutual jealousy! It reminds one of the Jew who fell among robbers, and escaped with his money-bags because the robbers were fighting among themselves as to who should get the booty! Mr. Gladstone's saying describes the situation: "The Sultan triumphant in his dark designs against the Armenians." Cold diplomacy is not the vigorous champion whereby to meet and defeat even the wholesale annihilation of a people and an ancient church.-A. T. P.
NINE CEN'rURIES OF BUDDHISM
NINE CENTURIES OF BUDDHISM.-I.
BY F. B. SRAWE, LADAK, TIBET.
Among the philosophical and religious creeds offered to mankind at the present time to replace Christianity as the road to universal happiness, Buddhism, with its modern offshoot, Theosophy, probably occupies the rforemost place; and it is hardly asserting too much to say that the addresses of Mr. Dharmapala were among the most interesting, attractive, and influential of all speeches delivered at the Chicago Parliament of Religions. The speaker, all alive as he was with fervent belief in his own system, and scathing in his denunciation of what we all know to be the vices of socalled Christendom, could not fail to impart to others a reflection of the fire which he felt glowing within his own breast. But a moment's thought will give us an opportunity of asking: "The Buddhist speaker found enough to blame among us; would we find nothing to blame in Buddhist lapds ?" This is, indeed, a natural question and a vital one, urgently demanding a plain answer. Unless both sides of the question are presented we cannot form a true judgment; and the difficulty for the ordinary European lies in the impossihility for him to live in a Buddhist country and study the daily life of professing Buddhists. Several years' residence in Ladak have placed me in a position to do so, and I propose to note down some of the observations made, placing them for the purpose of easy com- * parison opposite to the theory of Buddhism as stated in Buddhist books.
It cannot be said lhat Ladak is not a fair field for observation, on the ground that Buddhism has not had time to develop its full powers. The date of the introduction of Buddhism into Ladak is uncertain. The great Buddhist King Kanishka, a comtemporary of Christ, claimed authority over Kashmir and Ladak, so that it is possible that Ladaki Buddhism and Christianity are of equal age. But Ladak is at present and has for centuries been in the closest religious connection with Lhasa. In order, therefore, to avoid any overstatement, we will assume that the conversion of Ladak was connected with that of 'l'ibet. Buddhism was introduced there in the eighth century A.D., but probably did not become the ruling religion until the tenth century. Giving Buddhism the full advantage of any doubt, we shall not go wrong in assuming that Buddhism has been established in Ladak since about the year 1000 A.D. , Buddhism has, therefore, had nine centuries to show what it is really capable of. A longer period than this will not be claimed by any religion as necessary to develop its powers.
Nor can it be urged that it is not fair to take for examination a country where the Mahayana form of Buddhism has been propagated. Such would * I must apologize if this method appears somewhat learned. It seems to me to be necessary, if the reader is to fully understand the real state of affairs, and I trnst that my remarks will not be quite devoid of interest, if only on account of the fact that they treat of Ladak, a country the social conditions of which have rarely been treated of by previous writers. indeed be the case if Hinayana Buddhists renounced their Mahayana brethren, much in the same way as a Protestant would object to a purely Roman Catholic country like Spam being taken as an example of a Christian land. Southern Buddhists, however, do not object, and not a voice is raised in Ceylon against the practices of Tibetans. The Maha-Bodhi Society, established for the express purpose of propagating Buddhism, has for its patron the Dalai Lama of Tibet, and for its president the Sthavira (Chief Priest) of Ceylon, while Buddhists from Ceylon, China, Japan, and Burma are mentioned as vice-presidents. Buddhists themselves do not consider Tibetans to be schismatics.
Taking, therefore, Ladak as in every way a fair field for examination, what book shall be taken as a fair exponent of Buddhism ~ Voluminous treatises are unsuitable, but Buddhists have provided short compendiums of their belief. I have before me a Buddhist Catechism by Subhadra Bhikshu. The preface states that the book is written with the express purpose of presenting an epitome of Buddhism to the Western reader. I have not yet met with a disavowal of this book in any Buddhist periodical, and in its tone it is quite what we are accustomed to hear from promoters of Buddhism. * After a short Introduction of six questions, the Catechism is divided into three sections, respectively headed: The Buddha (questions 7-68) ; the Doctrine (questions 69-156) ; and the Brothm'hood of the Elect (questions 157-171). Then follows an Appendix containing the inevitable quotations from the Dhammapada, and finally a number of explanatory notes.
Some remark is called for in regard to the Introduction.
II. 2. What is a Buddhist? Answer. One who reveres the Buddha as thc dispen:;er of spiritual light, the supreme guide and teacher of all living beings; who believes his doctrine, observes his precepts, and has given public and solemn testimony to this by repeating what is called the" Refuge" formula.
If this standard is to be applied, not one Ladaki (or Tibetans generally) can claim to be a Buddhist. In Ladak not the faintest attempt is made to observe the Buddha's precepts, and I have yet to find a Ladaki layman who even claims to know what the precepts contained in the canon are. Some lamas (priests) have made the claim, but failed utterly to substantiate it.
II. 3. What are the words of the formula or declaration so called? Answer. I take my refuge in the Buddha; I take my refuge in the Doc· trine (Dhamma) ; I take my refuge in the Brotherhood of the Elect (Sangha).
This formula is constantly on the lips of the people, but I have never heard it repeated as a" solemn testimony." It is gabbled over hundreds * I cannot pause to criticise the book at present, bllt take it for what it asserts itself to be, "an outline of the doctrine of the Bnddha Gautama." If each question were fully dealt with, a large volume would have to be written, lind I am obliged to contine myself to what appears to be the most important points. of times in the same way as the celebrated" Six Syllable" :nrayer, to be noticed hereafter. Scarcely any Ladaki can give any meaning for the words; much less is the orthodox meaning attached. On inquiring what the three " Refuges" are, I have been repeatedly informed that they are the so-called Dalai Lama of Lhasa, the Panchen Lama of Trashilhunpo~ and the Dharma Rajah of Bhotan.
Now follows part first of the Catechism-the Buddha: II. 8. Is the Buddha a God who has revealed himself to mankind? Answer. No. II. 10. Then he was a man? AnBwer. .. Yes; but a man far superior to ordinary men; one of a series of self-enlightened supreme Buddhas who appear at long intervals in the world, and are morally and spiritually so superior to erring, suffering mankind, that to the childlike conceptions of the multitude they appear as Gods or Messiahs; The Tibetan word for" refnge" is "konchog j" Buddha is "Konchog," which cannot be equivalent to "God" according to Buddhist theory. But with reference to " konchog" Jaeschke says in his dictionary: "To every Tibetan ' konchog , suggests the idea of some supernatural power, the exio;tence of which he feels in his heart." In Ladak I have often asked: "Why does the rain fall~" Answer." Konchog sends it." Prayers are offered to " Konchog" for snow. In arguing about the origin of the universe, the few thinking laymen and lamas usually admit that the world must have been created by " Konchog." Protestant missionaries use the word " Konchog" for " God," and are never understood to mean anyone of the three" refuges." Therefore tho the single person Buddha, the abstract doctrine, and the purality of persons the " Brotherhood" are each of them "KoncllOg," the Ladaki know of another " konchog" as God far above any Buddha and carefully distinguished from the deities they ordinarily worship, which are designated by the word " Iha." In this case the Ladaki are better than their creed.
In the following questions and answers (13-68) the history of Gautama is given_ Of this history, the Ladaki, laymen or clerics, know absolutely nothing. Nor does this ignorance in any way trouble them. The Buddha is of no importance whatsoever; he is quite pushed aside in favor of a crowd of deities, demons, and saints, of whom the Hindu deities, Shiva and Kali (Durga), and the saint Urgyan Padma are the most prominent. Subhadra has, however, woven into the history of the Buddha a few remarks on his teaching which call for comparison with the actual state of affairs.
II. 28. Did he (Gautama) nevertheless persevere in his ascetic life? AnBwer. No. He was now convinced that asceticism . . . was only a stumbling· block in the way of truth and moral perfection. (In a note to this passage we are further informed:)" For this reason Buddhism rejects all self-torture and mortification of the flesh as useless and injurious.
If this be so, why are hermits looked upon as unusually holy men ~ Both lamas and laymen sometimes take upon themselves vows of silence and retire to caves in the hills. In the autobiography of Mila Raspa, a very popular book, the author tells us that he once retired to a cave, and, placing a butter lamp on his head, he remained motionless until the butter was exhausted-a period of eleven months. In a later period of retirement he was reduced to absolute nakedness, and subsisted entirely upon nettles until his whole body became green like a caterpillar. Tibetan books abound with similar stories of a more marvelous nature, the inference drawn being that the greater the asceticism the greater the moral merit and holiness attained. Such people are, however, only known as Ilaving existed formerly; at the present time cases are not wanting in which a man and woman have withdrawn for such periods. of " meditation" (anglice-absolute mental vacuity and sleep) to caves or huts not very far apart, with the result that the woman has subsequently given birth to a child.
In a note to II. 43 we are informed that Buddhism neither denies nor affirms the existence of gods. Everyone is free to believe in one or a plurality of gods if he has a wish to do so.
Ladaki, and Tibetans generally, know of an infinite number of deities, both male and female (called "lha," not "konchog"). Deities taken from the Hindu pantheon play an important part. But besides these originally Hindu divinities, every village, every hill, every spring has its own deity, whose rights must be respected. A Hindu vVazir of Ladak once caused some stones to be removed from a sacred hill near Leh, and the epidemic of small-pox occurring in the autumn of the same year was universally attributed to the wrath of the god of the hill in question. The gods of springs must be propitiated by offerings, and to remove stones surrounding the spring is a heinous offense. * To cut down or lop certain trees would bring untold calamities on the inhabitants of the nearest village.
Only a short time ago a woman of Leh hit her foot with a mattock while working in her field. As the foot was swollen and painful on the following day, a lama was called in for advice. After consulting his books he replied that the accident had been caused by the local god of the field; for this reason medicines were useless, but religious services should be held to propitiate the offended deity. The woman accordingly went to great expense to pay the lamas for performing services j but as their efforts during a fortnight proved of no avail, she finally came to the missionary for medical treatment.. During this time the wound had ulcerated so badly that upward of six months were required to effect a cure. And all this solely because Buddhism "neither affirms nor denies the existence of gods.". On another occasion a woman came with a very painful fistula in the lower jaw, of which a large portion was found to be detached. She stated that it had been caused by a " lu"-i.e., a snake demon residing in .. With regard to springs, the Ladaki point to the air bubbles rising with the water as eonclusivQ proof that the deity beneath Is alive and breathing.
MONASTERY, LADAK
Palace of the former kings. A VIEW OF THE TOWN OF LEH, LADAK.
NINE CENTURIES Oil' BUDDHISM
springs and running streams. Renewed inquiry elicited the fact that at the time the trouble began a native practitioner had extracted a molar tooth from the same jaw. She was, however, in no way shaken in her idea of the cause of her trouble by the very natural inference that the man had broken her jaw on that occasion.
A curious custom in Ladak is the so-called" pa-spun," by which a number of families join together in forming a sort of burial society under the protection of some particular god or goddess. Once a year the members of this union assemble and present to the image of the deity a goat, together with a cupful of the water and droppings of the animal. It is of great importance that the goat tremble in presence of the image, for if it should not tremble the enraged deity will revenge itself on the members of the union. The goat is henceforth holy, and is neither shorn nor slaughtered. At the same time a sealed pot of barley is placed before the image. On the occasion of the following annual offering this pot is opened, and if the barley is found to have been transformed into wheat, it is a sign that the deity will procure a good harvest to its adorers. I have been repeatedly aS8ured that this miraculous change often takes place! Unbiassed observers will think it a pity that Bnddhism has not; dared to pronounce decisively on the question of a plurality of gods, but has left its votaries open to relapse into or to remain in idolatry and harmful superstitions.
In the note to II. 54 Subhadra says: .. Each member of the Brotherhood (i.e., each priest, lama) is provided with one of these bowls (i.e., alms-bowls), in which he collects the daily food."
On certain stated occasions the lamas do go begging, but this is a mere form. The lamas hve on the revenues of the monastery and never beg their daily food in the sense that they depend upon begging for means of sustenance. When on a pilgrimage they find hospitality in the houses of the laity, but so do laymen engaged in the same way. Nor do the lamas ever carry an alms-bowl. They have a wooden cup designated by the same name and of precisely the same shape and manufacture as those of the laity. Both cleric and lay always carry such a cup about with them. I have, however, more than once seen a sturdy lama walking through the fields dispensing blessings to the bowing people, while a man behind him groaned nnder the burden of huge sheaves of corn which he was carrying home for the lama.
The note to II. 55 reads: " No member of the Brotherhood is allowed to go unattended into the house of a woman." .
Nevertheless they go, often for immoral purposes. In the answer to II. 61'" !le Buddha's words explaining the necessity of his dea1h are quoted as f( llows : .. There is no such thing as eternal duration. Everything born … of neces. eity inherits dissolution. How, then, could it be possible that any human being, yea, even a supreme Buddha, should Dot be dissolved ?"
Ladaki, in common with all Tibetan Buddhists, however, are wiser than the Buddha, and their" avatar" system is in direct contradiction to his doctrine. The avatars are saints who might at any time enter into Nirvana, but who decline to do so, as they would thus be deprived of the possibility of " furthering the welfare of wandering beings." On death they therefore promptly reincarnate themselves in some child and resume their position at the head of their monastery. The most import,ant and celebrated of these avatars are the Dalai Lama of Lhasa and the Panchen Lama of Trashilhunpo, in Central Tibet j but every monastery of importance has its own avatar-usually tlle founder of the institution. The superiority of these avatars over the supreme Buddha is evident. Gautama taught and then extinguished himself forever in Nirvana. He was, therefore, at bottom a very selfish being, while the Tibetan saints in their compassion are willing continually to refuse the repose of Nirvana and to reenter this world of trouble. The above-mentioned Mila Raspa explicitly says that the doetrine of Southern Buddhists is really very selfish, and that the Tibetan form is far higher. Of course the avatars will have to disappear at the end of the present kalpa or world age, when everything comes to dissolution. Strictly speaking, therefore, they also are finite j but as the end may not come for billions of billions of years, they are for all practical purposes immortal, and the forty-five years of the Buddha's career make a very poor show when compared to this boundless perseverance in loving compassion.
The infinite absurdities connected with this system cannot be described here, but two special cases deserve mention.
The head monastery of the red lama sects in Ladak, Hemis, had been for many years unlucky with its avatars. A number of them in succession died young, before their education in Tibet had been completed. In despair a young avatar was finally bought for 1000 rupees from the yellow sect and solemnly enthroned in Hemis in 1891. This story was several times repeated to me, and not till they noticed that it was used to point out the absurdity of their whole belief did the people turn round. Now, of course, it is as stontly denied as it was asserted then.
In the autumn of 1892 there was a small-pox epidemic in Ladak which carried off a large number of people. In the following spring small-pox occurred only in a single village and in the Trikse monastery, the avatar of which died. The 'explanation givon me by a lama was that he had voluntarily died as an offering in order to stay the small-pox. But why did he, then, not die in the previous year, when the small-pox was really bad ~ His death at the time it took place was remarkably post festum. Moreover, the avatar of the Spituk monastery had caused himself to be vaccinated, evidently to avoid death j he must therefore be less compassionate than his colleague at Trikse. Yet both are alike absolutely devoid of all sin and love of life, inasmuch as both of them could at any time enter Nirvana should they choose to do so. Here is a bad dilemma for a Buddhist.
In this Catechism there now follows the famous story of the boar's flesh. By an ingenious disposition of the matter Subhadra gives the impression that the boar's flesh had nothing to do with the Buddha's death, a view which in the opinion of most authorities on Buddhism is contrary to the meaning of the sacred record. But we are here in1 erested in the explanation given by Sughadra of the Buddha's motives. The story is as follows : A certain Chunda offered the Buddha rice, cakes, and boar's flesh. Taking the pork for himself, the Buddha ordered the rice and cakes to be given to his companions. At the close of the meal he said: " Whatever is left over of the meat, that bury in a hole, for there is none in heaven and earth, among Samanas or Brahmanas, among gods or men, by whom such food may be eaten without hurt to himself save alone the Tathagata" –i.e., Buddha. Sudha'-'ra comments: II. 66. What did the Buddha mean by saying so ? Answer. He wished to intimate to his lay adherents that the flesh of ani· mals is no proper food for men and beings of a higher order, and that everyone who partakes thereof does it to the injury of his own body and mind.
This answer involves us in great difficulties. If the Buddha really considered flesh to be harmful, why did he, as stated in the Kangyur, allow its use under certain conditions and not expressly forbid it q The intimation conveyed here is so dark that Ladaki Buddhists may be excused for not understanding it. They are to a great extent vegetarians, not of choice, but of necessity. Meat is too costly to be a regular article of diet, but it is an essential part of every good dinner. The people are so eager for meat that the carcasses of fallen cattle are always consumed. Further, why is this instruction given only to the" lay adherentR" ~ Are we to suppose that what is harmful to the layman is good for the cleric ~ If so, the Ladaki monastic practice of eating as much meat as possible might be excused. Unfortunately, however, one monastery in Ladak does not even allow any meat to be brought ncar the buildings, thus plainly showing that flesh is forbidden food, as indeed it must be, because meat involves the slaughter of animals and the taking of life, which is contrary to one of the fundamental rules of Buddhism.
II. 67. Why did the Buddha take some of the wild boar's flesh himself? Answer. Because he was anxious not to infringe his own precepts, accord-' ing to which the brethren (i.e., the clerics, lamas, monks) are not allowed, to refuse anything that is kindly offered them.
This answer is marvelous. The Buddha pronounces a thing bad j but if it is "kindly offered" it becomes good, or at least indifferent! In other words, if an ignorant layman entice a monk to do wrong, the latter is at liberty to do so with impunity provided the intention was kindly. Can this be Buddhist doctrine ~ Then the lamas are certainly blameless in habitually transgressing nearly every rule of their order. But then why make rules at all ~ They are evidently, like pie crust, " made to be broken. "
(To be continued.)
THE CHANGE OF FRONT IN INDIA
THE CHANGE OF FRONT IN INDIA.
BY REV. JACOB CHAMBERLAIN, M.D., D.D., OF MADANAPALLE, INDIA.
A generation has fully passed since the writer, in 1859, joined the ranks of those attempting the conquest of India for Christ. How different the condition and the outlook then and now! Then India was just emerging from the troublous and turbulent times of the great Sepoy Rebellion. The sway of the East India Company, which had been growing for some two centuries, had recently been merged into the rule of Great Britain's Queen, and religious t.oleratiou had been proclaimed throughout her dominions. Then the first two hundred miles of railway had just been opened; now some twenty thousand miles run through all the provinces. Then Western education was in its infancy ; now fifteen millions of the educated classes all through the land, but chiefly in the large cities, freely use the English language, and are more or less well up in Western science and Western thought, the vernaculars, however, still retaining undisputed sway in the households of all.
Then Hinduism was as firmly seated on its throne as it had been at any time since the days of Moses. It had, indeed, passed through a slow process of modification, of deterioration. The essential monotheism of the Vedas of Moses' age had degenerated into the polytheism of the Shastras and the Puranas, and, farther, into the gross forms of idolatry o! the later period, with its three hundred and thirty millions of deities, named and unnamed. The system of caste, invented long after the Vedic times, and gradually imposed upon the people, binding them hand and foot and preventing all genuine progress, still manifested all its power, and one would sooner die than break caste rules and lose his caste and so his soul.
Then Hindus thoroughly believed and upheld and practised their religion. Then Benares, Tirupati, Sri Rangam, Rameshwaram, and the host of holy places were monthly thronged with their scores of thousands, and in their yearly festivals by their hundred thousand pilgrims, and on all the roadways you would meet the returning pilgrims with two brass pots hanging from their kavadi, or neck-yoke, filled with holy water at the Ganges, and replenished at each of the sacred streams as they wearily walked their thousands of miles to their distant homes. Then they believed in the efficacy of these pilgrimages and penances and tortures.
In February, 1861, I met a venerable Brahman pilgrim who told me of his sixty years of pilgrimages-of twice ten thousand miles-to every sacred shrine in India, all made on foot and begging his food by the way. " And yet," said he, sadly and with disappointment-" and yet the burdEln of sin is just as heavy as when, a young man, I started on this quest. Oh, Rir, does your Veda tell how I can get rid of this burden of sin, and be at peace with God?" One sees no such pilgrims now.
Then hook-swinging and spike-walking and self-torture and immolation were real verities. Yearly the shrine of Juggernaut saw its throngs of a hundred thousand devotees, from hundreds or thousands of miles of toilsome pilgrimage, and thousands gripped the long cables dragging the ponderous car of Juggernaut, while devotees were throwing themselves beneath its wheels.
Now all is changed. Britain's sway, indeed, has put a stop to torture and immolation, but the waning faith of the people in their religion has been putting a more effective quietus to the ancient order of things, until recently Juggernaut's priests issued the dismal wail that not enough pilgrims came to pull the car around its annual outing, and scarce were they able, with all the coolies they could hire, to move it back to its home.
The throngs of devout worshipers, making toilsome journeys with costly gifts, have ceased. Lessening multitudes now go, indeed, but by train, with more or less comfort, to many of the shrines, and perfunctorily engage in some of the less irksome ceremonies, but little or none of the religious spirit is seen.
Then the rich endowments of the temples were yearly increased by the liberal gifts of those who believed they could thus buy release from sin. Now myriads of temples are slowly going to ruin, and a wail comes up from the priests of the most noted shrines at the smallness of the offerings, while the people are openly accusing the priests of squandering in voluptuous licentiousness the revenues from the endowments of the pious dead. But let us note Hindu testimony upon this point.
One hundred of the chief residents of Tirupati, the most noted shrine of Southern India, signed and sent a memorial to the Viceroy of India in May, 1894, calling his attention to the desperate condition of Hindu religious endowments in general and of those of Tirupati in particular, and praying that government would provide more efficient means of safeguarding the interests of such endowments.
The ])aily .Hindu, one of the strongest native papers in India, the organ of the orthodox Hindus of Madras, published the memorial, and thus commented upon it : " We may well feel shocked at the true yet wondrous tales of huge frauds and heinous crimes which the memorialists have catalogued. The glory has departed out of our religious institutions, and what once contributed to purify the minds of millions of men and women are now the grovelling ground of some of the most ignorant and wretched of human beings, . . . who merely wallow in a mire of voluptuous pastimes, wasting the pious contributions of the widow and the orphan, and breeding around them a whole host of idle, able-bodied vagabonds. The vast majority of these endowments are corrupt to the core. They are a festering mass of crime and vice and gigantic swindling."
What a change of front since the leaders of Hindu thought were the ardent supporters and rich benefactors of these very temples !
The Reis and Rayyet, an influential Calcutta orthodox Hindu paper, sneers at Mrs. Besant's ecstallies over the beauties of Hinduism, and justly says: " Vhen an English lady, of decent culture, professes to be au admirer of Tantric mysticism and Krishna worship, it behooves every well-wisher of the country to tell her plainly that sensible men do not want her elo- quence for gildiug what is rotten. . . .
" If the Upanishads [commentaries on the Vedas, etc.] have a charm for Mrs. Besant., she is quite welcome to proclaim her views on the sub- ject. But the Upanishads do not form any part of the religion of the Hindus as it is found in their every-day life. In actual practise they are either Sivites or Saktas or Krishna worshipers. In fact, abomination wor- ship is the main ingredient of modern Hinduism, and we therefore ask Mrs. Besant to study the subject a little more carefully than she yet appears to have done. If she will follow our advice she may, provided she is sincere herself, admit sooner or later that the course she is now pursuing is fraught with mischief."
Of the Brahmanic priesthood in India at the present day, The Hindu, the representative native newspaper before referred to, speaks in these scorching words : " Profoundly ignorant as a class, and infinitely selfish, it is the mainstay of every unholy, immoral, and cruel custom and superstition in our midst, from the wretched dancing girl, who insults the Deity by her existence, to the pining child-widow, whose every tear and every hair of whose head shall stand up against everyone of us who tolerate it on the Day of Judgment; and of such a priestly class our women are the ignorant tools and helpless dupes."
It seems now to be the profound conviction of all thoughtful Hindus that Hinduism as it now exists, as it was when Christian missions began their campaign in India, as it has been for the last thousand years, must go.
" The stanch, orthodox Brahman editor of a vernacular newspaper" is quoted by The Missionary, London, as taking this gloomy view of the situation: " We entertain no more any hope for that religion which we consider dearer to us than our life. Hinduism is now on its death-bed, and, unfortunately, there is no drug which can be safely administered to it for its recovery. There are native Christians nowadays who have declared a terrible crusade against the entire fabric of Hinduism, and many men of splendid education are also coming forth, even from our own community [Brahmans], who have already expressed a desire to accept Christianity, and should these gentlemen really become first Christians and then its preachers, they will give the last death-blow to Mother Hinduism. This terrible crusade is now carried on by Christians with a tenacity of purpose and a devotion which in themselves defy failure."
But while all thoughtful Hindus seem to agree that Hinduism, in its modern form at least, must go, they are not by any means agreed as to what shall take its place. All agree in fighting aggressive Christianity.
They have even borrowed Christian tactics, and have formed in many cities of India "Hindu Tract and Preaching Societies," and are issuing millions of pages of tracts attacking Christianity and scattering them broadcast. Some of them are of a most blasphemous character and filled with grossest falsehood. Others are simply designed to arouse Hindus to a sense of their danger. One of these, as translated from Tamil by Dr.
J. W. Scudder, makes use of the following language, a singular admission for enemies to make : "How many thousands of thousands have these missionaries turned to Christianity. and keep on turning! On how many more have they east their nets! If we sleep as heretofore, in a short time they will turn all to Christianity without exception, and our temples will be changed into churches. Is there no learned Pandit to be secured for money who will crush the Christians ~ " Do you not know that the number of Christians is increasing, and the number of Hindu religionists decreasing every day ~ How long will water remain in a reservoir which continually lets out but receives none in ~ Let all the people join as one man 10 banish Christianity from our land."
There are three distinct trends of thought ou the part of those who unitedly oppose aggressive Christianity.
One party seeks to resuscitate Vedic Hinduism j to purge modern Hinduism of all its undesirable later accretions, and restore it to its pris- tine purity. But no two agree as to what its" undesirable accretions"
are, nor as to what the" pristine purity" should consist in. Some say that it must be monotheistic and without caste. Others wish to retain a few of the more popular gods, and to keep up caste distinctions. There seems at present no prospect of an agreement as to what this" Revival of Hinduism" should consist in, tho there are multitudes of preachers of such a revival. What will be the outcome of this no one can say.
The second trend is toward the acceptance of a Christianity without Christ-that is, the accepting of Christ's teachings as a system of moral- ity, without accepting the name of Christians, and without admitting Christ to be Divine.
The Indian Social Reformer, edited by non-Christian Hindus, in a notice of the American Arcot Mission's annual report for 1894, makes this evident, as in the following extract: "Why does not Christianity progress ~ The situation at present, admits the report, is 'unpleasant and disheartening' to the missionary. 'Why ~ The reason, to our minds, is this: The ordinary missionary attaches more value to the name than to the spirit of Christ, and judges of his labors by the number of his [avowed] converts. The true Christian spirit, which is also the true spirit of all faith, is making way. It is so very difficult for our missionary friends to see that the mind which revolts from the dogmas and extravagances of Hinduism will not accept those of Christianity j that the man who rejects the theory of the incarnation of Rama would not believe in that of Christ. No j no. Emancipation is once for all. A godlike man is still a man and not god. There is our difference with onr Christian brother in a nutshell.
" We concede that Christ is one of the most perfect, the noblest of men. We read the Bible and listen a we-struck to the Sermon 011 the Mount, and pass on to the soul-stirring sacrifice on Calvary. Does It move us one whit less-this immortal heroism-that we believe that the hero was a man ~ And why do you want more /" A few would go still further in their admissions, and in their willing- ness to borrow from Christianity, even professing to believe in the incar- nation of Christ, but, with the same breath, declaring that they believe Buddha and Zoroaster to be incarnations of the deity.
The A1mita Bazaar Patrika, a stubbornly orthodox Hindu newspaper of North India, in an editorial has these words: " There is scarcely an edncated man in India who has not read the Bible. It is impossible for a Hindu not to feel a profound respect for the Bible. The real fact is that every true Hindu is a believer in Christ also. There is not a true Hindu all over India who does not believe in the Avatar [incarnation] of Christ. Indeed, in the matter of devotion to Christ the Hindus and Christians are on a perfecHy equal level. There cannot be the least objection on the part of a Hindu to pray, , Save me, Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ.' "
They would simply add Christ, with His inimitable life and teachings to their pantheon, but remain Hindus or non-Christians all the same. To this end "The Arjya Literary Society in Calcutta, composed of non- Christian Bengali gentlemen," we are told, " are now engaged in translating the Bible into classical Bengali. They have asked and obtained the assistance of representative men of the Christian communities, lest anything should appear in the translation which should make it anti- Christian in tone."
The third distinct, trend is toward agnosticism, and this I regard as the most portentous trend of all, for it exists not only among those who openly so avow themselves, but untold numbers who for social reasons ally themselves with some one of the other parties, have really thrown themselves into blank and cheerless agnosticism, and the number is increasing faster than we know.
There is, however, in spite of all the above-mentioned opposition, an unquestionable undercurrent tending toward evangelical Christianity. There came to me secretly in my tent, when out upon a tour, a native gentleman high in office, in caste, in social position, wishing to have a private conversation with me on the claims of Jesus of Nazareth to be the Savior of the world. After a somewhat extended conversation he said to me, in substance: " Sir, I am not a Christian. I am still regarded as a devout Hindu. I still perform enough Hindu ceremonies to avoid suspicion, but in my heart I dare not deny the claims of the Bible. I see the power of Jesus Christ in the lives of His followers so distinctly that I cannot deny His Divinity. He must be Divine or He could not work such a change in the lives of those who become His disciples. He is not yet my Savior. Caste, wealth, position, family, all hold me back; but even now I never allow Him to be spoken against in my presence. I have long been reading the Bible in secret. The more I read of Christ and ponder over His life and teachings, and the power to conquer sin which comes from embracing His
TilE PItESENT POSITION OF THE AN'fI·OPIUM MOVEMENT
religion, the more do I feel that in the end I shall have to accept Him at any cost, as my personal Savior; but how can I do it now and bring ruin upon my family ~"
There are more such than we have any idea of. The surface currents so often fail tQ tell what the deep-sea movemeuts are.
Sir Charles Elliott, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, for thirty years a close observer of missionary activities and missionary problems in many provinces in India, said in a public address: " There is unquestionably an undercurrent working among the higher classes in India toward Christianity in spite of all the open manifestations against it, and we may look forward with confident expectation to the day when all India shall bow at the feet of Christ, who alone can uplift, purify, and save."
This changed front, then, gives royal vantage ground to work for India's redemption. The old apathy; the old supercilious indifference ;, the old silent, ~ut dogged resistance; the old conviction that naught could shake Hinduism's firm foundations has passed away, and passed never to return. Religious thought in India is drifting hither and yon. The time to rally all Christ's forces has come. Let earnestness of effort and persistence in prayer bring out and energize these secret half-disciples. Thf! currents that are veering away from Christianity may now, by God's blessing on trebled effort, be turned toward the Cross of Calvary, and India yet be won in this generation. The time for work is now.
THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE ANTI-OPIUM MOVEMENT.
BY JOSEPH G. ALEXANDER, HON. SECRETARY OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE OPIUM TRADE.
India's upium traffic with China has been the subject of protest from English Christians, and even from upright men who do not call themselves followers of Christ, ever since the year 1839, when the Rev. A. S. Thelwall published a pamphlet entitled" The Iniquities of the Opium Trade with China." That same year saw the temporary stoppage of the traffic by the Chinese Government. Its seizure of contraband opium was abundantly justified by international morality, tho all its proceedings toward British subjects cannot be defended. The result was the Opium War of 1840, of which Mr. Gladstone said at the time, in the House of Commons, that he had never read of " a war more unjust in its origin or more calculated to cover this country with permanent disgrace;" while Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, wrote of it as "a national sin of the greatest possible magnitude." China was humiliated and compelled to pay an indemnity for the opium so righteously destroyed, and the trade flourished more than ever. In 1858, after a second war, not so directly connected with opium, China consented to legalize the traffic and to share the revenue derived from it. How reluctantly she took this step is proved by the dignified remonstrance addressed by the Tsring-li Yamen (Foreign Board) of China to the British Minister at Peking in 1869, in which England was entreated to join with China in joint measures for the total suppression of the poppy culture and opium manufacture in both India and China. To this document no reply has ever yet been vouchsafed.
The first leader of the movement was the good Earl of Shaftesbury. In 1843, while still a member of the House of Commons, and in 1859, after his succession to the peerage, he brought forward motions in Parliament attacking the traffic. The first parliamentary division on the subject was taken in 1870 by Sir 'Wilfrid Lawson, now so well known as the leader of the temperance party iu the British House of Commons. His attack was repulsed by 151 to 47 votes. From that time onward the agitation has been continuously kept up. In 1874 was formed the Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade, with Lord Shaftesbury as its first president, and for its parliamentary leader Sir Joseph Pease, a member of the Quaker family which is inseparably connected with the name of George Stephenson and the early history of railway enterprise, and himself at the present time chairman of one of our great English railways, the North Eastern. Other organizations have since been formed with similar objects.
In 1885 the movement won its first victory in the settlement of the long-standing difficulty with regard to the opium clauses of the Chefoo Convention. This settlement, under which the Chinese Government obtained a greatly increased share of the profits derived from Indian opium imported into China, proved a barren victory for the friends of morality, as the decrease in the import of Indian opium has been but small, and has been far more than made up by the increased production in China itself. It has, however, greatly diminished the profits obtained by the Indian Government from the trade in opium, and may thus have an important bearing on the ultimate issue of the agitation.
In 1891 the House of Commons virtually adopted, by a majority of 161 to 130, Sir Joseph Pease's motion declaring" the system by which the Indian opium revenue is raised" to be " morally indefensible." This vote led to some concessions by tIle British Government, mainly with regard to the increasing consumption of opium in India itself. This side of the question had recently come into prominence; and there was only too much reason to fear that an unscrupulous and influential section of the Indian Government were desirous of stimulating the consumption of opium in India in order to compensate for the loss of profits from the China trade. Even the modicum of reform announced in the Honse of Commons was very imperfectly carried out in India.
In the autumn of 1892, as the result of the general election of that year, Mr. Gladstone's last administration came iuto power. Most of his colleagues in the House of Cbmmons had voted with Sir Joseph Pease in the division of the previous year; and an early appeal was made to the new Secretary of Statc for India, Lord Kimberley, to give effect to the policy endorsed by the votes of his colleagues. The influential deputation which waited on him could scarcely have had a more unfavorable reception. Lord Kimberley told them plainly that India could not afford to dispense with so important a revenue as that derived from the opium traffic, and he held out no hope of reform, with one noteworthy exception. He promised that in Burma, where the Buddhist priesthood and the Christian missionaries were equally opposed to the traffic, and even the officials bore unanimous testimony to the disastrous effects of opium on the Burmese, a measure of prohibition should be granted. This promise was eventually carried out; and tho the measure is faulty in several respects, especially in being applicable only to the Burmese and Karens, it is undoubtedly a great reform, and the most important positive result yet attained by the antiopium movement.
Lord Kimberley'S hostile attitude rendered it necessary again to bring the subject before the House of Commons. Accordingly in June, 1893, a resolution was proposed which, arter referring to the vote of 1891, asked that practical measure; be taken to carry it out by the appointment of a commission charged to inquire, not into the morality of the opium traffic, but into the best mode of satisfying the legitimate needs of the Indian exchequer while dispensing with the revenue from opium, without any increased pressure on the tax-payers of India. The motion proposed to refer it to the commission to inquire whether a temporary grant from the British exchequer would be necessary for this object. Mr. Gladstone's government, however, yielding to the pressure of the India Office, refused to accept such an inquiry. It met the motion by an amendment proposing a commission for a very different purpose-namely, to inquire" whether the growth of the poppy and manufacture and sale of opium in British India should be prohibited except for medical purposes, and whether such prohibition could be extended to the native States." The inquiry was to include various subsidiary points, as to the effect on the finances of India, the consumption of opium in the different districts of India, and, finally, the willinguess of the Indian people" to bear in whole or in part the cost of prohibitive measures." The Government resolution was carried, after a plausible speech from Mr. Gladstone himself, by 184 votes to 105, the latter figures representing the strength of the anti.opium party in the House of Commons.
The commission was constituted of nine members. Lord Brassey, the president, is a man of enormous wealth, considerable ability, and that kind of reputation as a philanthropist which is not very hard to acquire by a kind. hearted man who can figure well at public functions and can give away large sums of money. He is a man of extraordinary vacillation of purpose; but this weakness is combined with a shrewd perception of the line of conduct likely to lead to popularity and advancement. Since the close of the commission he has been appointed to an Australian governorship. Besides Lord Brassey, the commission was composed of two Anglo-Indian officials; a medical man and a Conservative member of Par- liament, who were supposed to be impartial members; two representatives of the anti-opium party, Mr. Arthur Pease and Mr. Henry J. Wilson, M.P.; and two Hindu gentlemen of high standing.
The English members of the commission began their work in the autumn of 1893 by a week's sittings in London, where evidence was taken from various ex-officials, missionaries, and others from India, China, and the Straits Settlements. They then proceeded to India, where they were joined by the native commissioners, and made a four months' tour, beginning at Calcutta anu proceeding by way of Northern India to Bombay, taking evidence at various centers along the route.
Bishop Thoburn has remarked that the commission visited India at a peculiarly unfavorable time. The ever-swelling military expenditure on the northwest frontier of India, combined with the continuous depreciation of the silver currency, causing an aggravation of the weight of the" home charges"-that is, the sums payable by India to England, in gold, for pensions, furlough allowances, and interest on loans-had brought about a deficit in Indian finance. At such a time to talk of cutting off the revenue derived from the sale of opium to the Chinese seemed to most residents in India, whether European or native, who had anything that might be taxed, a most untimely display of morality. The official world of India was strongly opposed 10 the anti-opium agitation; and it is difficult for Englishmen or Americans, accustomed to the air of perfect freedom, to conceive the influence possessed by Government in India, especially as regards the nath-e population. Under these circumstances, it cannot be deemed surprising that a great mass of evidence, extenuating the evils of the opium habit, extolling it as "an unconscious safeguard" against malaria, and attributing to it other (sometimes contradictory) beneficial consequences, was brought before the commission. The really astonishing thing is that there were everywhere found witnesses-missionaries, native Christians, and a considerable number of gentlemen from the small but important class of Indian social reformers-who came forward boldly to express the conviction that the opium habit, in whatever form, is a curse and a disgrace.
The majority of the English commissioners readily accepted the crude theories and loose statements put forward by the official witnesses and supported· by the Europeans and Indians whom they had mustered to support them. In the course of their Indian tour, all of them, except Messrs. Pease and Wilson, had plainly shown their bias toward the views prevalent among the Anglo-Indian officials by whom they were surrounded, and frequently entertained. The medical member of the commission, Sir William Roberts, as has been pointed out recently in the Indian Medical Record, an influential Calcutta paper, was strongly predisposed by his own published writings to the view put forward by several leading official doctors in that city, that opium-eating (more properly, swallowing), which is the common Indian form of the habi1:, has some special relation to the racial and climatic conditions of India. He had propounded the general theory tha1; all habits of taking stimulants, such as alcohol, tea, and coffee, are in themselves wellnigh conclusive evidence of some craving which they satisfy. When, therefore, these Calcutta doctors applied his theory of the benefit of " dietetic stimulants" by boldly asserting, on the flimsiest possible foundation of observation,that opium performed just the same service in assisting the digestion of the poor Indian ryot which alcohol had been asserted by Sir William Roberts to fulfill in the case of the English laborer, he readily accepted this opportune confirmation of his own pet idea, and worked it out in an appendix to the majority report. The Indian Medical RecQ1·d has shown, however, that stubborn facts and figures are absolutely irreconcilable with this theory. One of each must suffice as a specimen. The fact is, that the Indian ryot, except in a few districts, which are or have been poppy-growing tracts, does not consume opium at all j the figures show that, on a careful computation (see Mr. 'Wilson's Minority Report, par. 21, and notes M and N), not more than four in a thousand of the total population of India are habitual opium consumers, and that among these the urban populations supply the greatest proportion, while the least proportion is found in some of the most malarious districts.
Before leaving Bombay the commissioners, except Mr. Wilson, who was kept away by an attack of fever, drew up a series of resolutions to form the basis of their final report. The report itself, however, did not appear till fourteen months later, having been drafted in London by a fresh secretary, an India Office official, who had not been with the commission in India, and who incurred the censure of the Secretary of State for India by communicating to the Times, some days before its presentation to Parliament, an extremely one-sided and misleading summary of its contents. This report, which justified the opium policy of the Indian Government in every respect, bore the signatures of all the commissioners except Mr. Wilson. Even Mr. Arthur Pease, Sir Joseph Pease's brother, had been prevailed upon to sign it. Mr. Pease is a Christian man, and had no doubt brought himself to believe that it was his duty to do so. He had not taken a very active part in the anti-opium movement before being placed on the commission j during his tour in India he moved almost exclusively in official circles j and his close political alliance with the liquor interest at home, through whose assistance he has since succeeded in gaining a muchcoveted seat in Parliament, was not calculated to make him enthusiastic for the suppression of the Indian opium traffic.
The two Indian commissioners, who did not come to England to join in the final discussion of the report, appended to it separate memoranda containing important reservations. They both urge the adoption of strong measures for the suppression of opium smoking, a habit which is, relatively, of modern introduction into India, and which the great mass of Indian witnesses, including most of those who came forward in defense of the opium revenue, decidedly condemned. Even. the Majority Report ad- mits that it is generally regarded in India as a disreputable habit. They also urge the need for an improved system of selling the drug in India, one of them proposing to put it into the hands of medical practitioners instead of the " ignorant opium farmers or venders under the present sys- tem," and the other adding the suggestions that, as under British law at home, it "should be sold in bottles or vials labeled ' poison,' " and that " the minimum dose which is likely to be fatal should be legibly printed in the vernacular on these labels."
Mr. Henry J. Wilson, M.P., presented a Minute of Dissent remark- able for its conciseness and brevity, on the one hand, and, on the other, for its impartial reference to and quotation of evidence on both sides. In these latter respects it forms a striking and suggestive contrast to the Ma- jority Report, which, tho three times as long, does not contain anything like as many references, and does not give one solitary quotation from the anti-opium witnesses except in a few cases where they have made admis- sions that can be turned against them. Mr. Wilson entirely endorses the anti-opium program; he shows that the cultivation of opium is to a great extent unpopular, because unprofitable, among the cultivators; that it is principally produced for export to China ; that " opium in China is a gigan- tic national evil;" and that" it is altogether unworthy for a great depen- dency of the British Empire to be thus engaged in a traffic which produces such widespread misery and disaster." As regards the sale of opium in British India, he makes recommendations similar to those of the two Indian commissioners.
The report of the commission was discussed in the House of Commons three weeks after its presentation, on the last evening of the session of 1895 which was available for other than Government business. The fact that the House had had so short a time in which to master the voluminous documents laid before it was made the most of by the Secretary of State for India, Sir Henry Fowler. But he made no answer whatever to the grave charges formulated by Sir Joseph Pease and his able seconder, Mr.
John Ellis, against the Indian Government and the majority of the com- mission for a series of unprecedented and unconstitutional proceedings calcu- lated gravely to prejudice the inquiry. Tho defeated by a large majority on what was virtually a vote of censure of the commission, the anti-opium leaders have good reason to congratulate themselves on having embraced what has proved to be the only opportunity which they could have had, while their own political party was still in power, to repudiate the authority of the report. .
The debate cannot be said to have produced much effect on public opin- ion ; and it was quickly overshadowed by the fall of the Liberal Govern- ment shortly afterward. The new Conservative ministry can hardly be ex- pected to be more friendly than its predecessor to the anti-opium agitation. The press, only too eager to get rid of a " fad" which is inconvenient to both political parties, has generally followed the lead of the Times, declaring the whole movement to have been founded on a delusion, which the commission has finally dispelled. It is not yet clear how the attention of the British public can best be recalled to the main question at issue, which the majority of the commission has done its best to obscure: Shall the name of Christ still be blasphemed among the Chinese because of Britain's participation in the traffic which feeds her great national cancer ~ Not only have the commissioners overlaid this question by devoting more than nine tenths of their report to the Indian branch of the subject, notwithstanding their own admission that more than nine tenths of the opium produced in India is exported to China and the Straits Settlements, but they have actually stooped to gross misstatements of facts and garbled quotations of evidence in their discussion of the Chinese traffic.
A veteran American missionary, Rev. Dr. Ashmore, of Swatow, one of those invited by British consuls in China to furnish replies to questions issued by the commissioners, is a victim of the latter offense. He had stated: "Some Il,len of vigorous vitality will use opium for many years and not show marked results." In the rest of his evidence, all the more weighty for the carefnl reservation of these exceptional cases, he clearly expresses his opinion that" nearly all of those with whom the habit is fully formed" consume opium " with great injury. " Yet he is quoted in support of the statement that some of the missionaries" take a less decided view" than the majority of his colleagues, by whom, it is admitted, " the use of opium is strongly condemned." He is made to differ from them by the simple expedient of omitting the three important words in italics, the rest of the sentence being quoted without any indication of its incompleteness. The Rev. A. Bone, of Canton, is even worse treated-two disconnected passages being pieced together as if they formed part of one sentence, in order to make him out a dissentient from the general voice of his brethren. Three sentences may be quoted from the report containing three allegations directly contradictory to fact. "It may be added," says the report, "that there is no evidence from China of any popular desire that the import of Indian opium should be stopped." There is, in fact, a considerable body of such evideuce. "In the British consular service the prevailing opinion is that opium smoking in moderation is not harmful, and that moderation is the rule. . . . The medical opinions were in general accord with those of the consular body." Two careful and accurate writer;;, Mr. Joshua Rowntree and the Rev. F. Storrs Turner, have shown that these are untrue representations of the balance alike of the consular and the medical evidence, both of them, in fact, showing a strong preponderance of opinion contrary to that here stated. It is difficult to get the British people to believe that a number of presumably honorable men have put their signatures to a dishonest report; yet when these charges, which ha'e already been publicly made without any attempt being made to answer
XACHIN TRADITIONS AND RELIGION
them, are established to the satisfaction of our fellow-countrymen, as they certainly can and will be, there must be a great revulsion of feeling, and an outburst of indignation which will sweep away the Indian Government's opium traffic forever. In what precise mode this result is to be brought about is a matter which we can leave to Him who has throughout been looked to for guidance and inspiration in our crusade. Meanwhile, we are doing what we can to utilize the platform, the press-so far as it remains open to us-and, above all, the Christian churches, in pressing forward the necessity of putting an end to this great national sin, and removing this serious stumbling-block from the way of the Gospel in China. We believe that our God is leading us on to certain victory, and that, mighty as are the forces of interest and prejudice arrayed against us, " they that be with us are more than they that be with them."
KACHIN TRADITIONS AND RELIGION.
BY REV. O. HANSON, BRAMO, BURMA.
The people of Upper Burma (called by the English Kachins, and by themselves Chingpaws or Singphas) occupy the country extending from the 23° to the 27° 3D' of north latitude, comprising the mountain ranges on both sides of the Irrawaddy. It is believed by some that the Kachins are closely allied to the various tribes residing in the almost inaccessible regions bounding on Tartary. However this may be, if the Kachin traditions are in any way reliable, there can be little doubt as to their original home. Like the Nagas and other tribes on the Assam side, with which the Kachins have much in common, both in language and customs, they must have descended from one of the aboriginal hill tribes of Northeastern India.
The Kachins in their mountain homes are savage, superstitious, easily offended, revengeful, and to strangers unusually reserved. It is especially hard to induce any well-informed Kachin to rev~al the mysteries of his religion. Generally, out of a superstitious dread of the Nats, he will keep back, even when closely questioned, the most important and interesting parts. This religion, altho at present mostly a degraded creation of a degenerated race, must have had a purer source than is at first discernible from a superficial observance of the rites and ceremonies now practised. Confucianism and Buddhism have had little inftuence over these wild mountaineers, even tho they must have been in close contact with Chinese, Shans, and Burmans for centuries. FrQm the Kachin traditions alone we meet with occasional glimpses of a life, knowledge, ideas, and aspirations not now in their possession. It is here attempted to give in a condensed form some leading thoughts found in the traditions, customs, and religious beliefs of this strange but interesting race, Traditions.-(a) The creation. The main points in the lengthy account which a Nat priest can give on this interesting topic are the following: Originally, " before the beginning," only wind, clouds, and a mysterious being, half human and half avian, existed in some unaccountable manner through a self-creative power. From these elements were brought forth, by means of a generative process, the first cosmical matter and the primitive spirits or Nats. These Nats in their turn brought forth vegetation, animal and human life. While the elementary parts of this world still existed in their rudimentary forms, a great Nat, named Chinun, gave birth to a monstrous giant, half spirit and half man, named Ninggawnwa. It took seven years for him to be born, and he held at his birth a great hammer and a pair of tongs in his right hand. With these instruments he in due time gave form and order to the visible earth. As soon as the arrangement of this earth was completed, Chinun brought forth a great pumpkin, which the" omniscient" one (also a later son of Chinun), after the death of his mother, divided into two parts. From the part to the right the first man was made, and the first woman from the one to the left. This human pair dwelt at the central part of the earth, by a beautiful mountain created from the head of Chinun. Man was made immortal, but because of a foolish desire to see a dead being, and having by a lie brought over himself the wrath of the Sun-Nats, death was imposed upon him as a punishment. A number of cattle were sent to eat the "fruit of life," which otherwise would have served as a preventive of death. The first human pair gave birth to another, and so on until the third generation, when nine sons and nine daughters were born to a certain Wachstwa. These are the progenitors of the different Kachin tribes, or, as some would assert. of the Asiatic races in general. The pedigree of white people can be traced to a certain kind of monkeys, and according to some were not found un til after" the great flood." Everything is now existing through itself, and an overruling providence in the Christian sense is not recognized. The Nats at times shake the mountains, thus causing earthquakes, or send a great frog to swallow the sun or the moon, which causes eclipses, but are not otherwise interfering with the regular order of the universe. The Kachins, as far as I have been able to find out, do not believe i~ any interruption of the present order of things. Everything has for them an endless existence.
(b) "The great flood." It has often been observed that the story of the deluge has in some form or another been preserved, with surprising exactness of detail, in most separate countries and by widely different races. The Kachins having no written language, and consequently no literature of any kind, form, however, no exception to this interesting fact. Their unique story of the "great inundation" runs in somewhat the following way: Some time after Ninggawnwa had finished his creative work and appointed to the different races separate places where to live and dwell, an IIottempt was made by him to build a huge bridge, at the central part of the earth, over the mighty Irrawaddy. Nine jealous brothers, determined, out of envy, to frustrate the work, came one day and said to him, " Your mother is dead." This did not greatly trouble him, as he thought it easy to find a stepmother. After some time the brothers returned, saying, "Your father is dead." This caused him great sorrow j his heart was filled with anger, and he crushed in his wrath an adjacent mountain, after which he abandoned his work and returned home. Now he discovered that he had been greatly deceived, and the subject of a most perfidious treachery. In order to take revenge on the nine brethren, their relatives and humanity in general, with which he was now displeased, he caused a great flood to overflow the whole earth, and intended to extinguish every form of life. Two orphans escaped, however, in a great ovalshaped drum. They took along with them nine cocks and nine iron needles. A needle was dropped for each passing day, and on the ninth day they heard the last one ring against the stones. The last cock also crowed, and thus they knew that the earth was dry. One of these orphans some time after this great catastrophe was killed and eaten by a fnrious Nat called Chitong. The other married a being half Nat and half man by the name of Ningcut. A child was born to this pair, which Chitong killed when its mother was absent from home, and prepared its liver for her to eat. The body itself he chopped into small pieces and scattered them over an adjoining field. From this" seed" a new race sprang forth, in everything like the antediluvian one, and is now inhabiting the world.
(c) The lost book. A third tradition deserving attention is the following : After the world was set in order and the different races were settled in their respective homes, Ninggawnwa, at a great feast, met with representatives from the chief and most powerful surrounding tribes. At the close of the feast they all asked him to become their ruler. This he refused, but gave to each of them a book. To the Chinese he gave a book of paper j the Burmans received a book of palm-leaves, and the Kachin book was made of parchment. On the way home the one who had received the Kachin book prepared it as food and ate it. (Some Kachins assign as the cause for this that the man was hungry and had nothing else to eat; others, which I think are more numerous, give no reason whatsoever.) Since then the Kachins have had no book, but the great Nat priests and professional story-tellers can by a kind of inspiration relate its contents. This is always done at their great feasts, when it takes three nights and days to rehearse it all. It contains the only authentic records known regarding crea.tion, the flood, the different human races, the origin of the Nats, and their work and worship.
A number of narratives in the same vein could be given, but the above may suffice to give a general idea of their contents. It would be interesting to know something about the sonrces from which these shallow streams have been flowing.
Ideas 0/ a Supreme Being.-Some writers have been a.nxious to prove that races and nations have existed or are now living who are wholly with· out ideas of a supernatural being. It has, however, always been found that such statements were founded on an imperfect knowledge of the races described, and that behind the crude exterior some apprehension of a supreme power is entertained, altho at times extremely vague. It would hardly suprise us if it was found that the savage and barbarous Nat worship of the Kachins had blotted out all higher ideas of the supernatural. For centuries the vilest practices have been perpetuated in connection with this worship. An educational system, even in its most rudimentary form, is unknown ; any especial worship of a supreme being does not exist. Still, even here it is clearly discernible that God has not suffered Himself to be unknown. The Kachins have ideas of a being higher and more powerful than any Nat. He is called by different names, such as " The one higher than the clouds" (this name has to some Kachins an almost magical power) ; the "Omniscient" one, whose wisdol!1 was especially manifested at the creation of man; the" Creator," who also was active in giving life to man; the "Spirit," or the Spirit above all spirits. Other names, as the" Lord of heaven and earth," may also be given, but the same being is indicated in every case. It is true that a further attempt to explain his ideas of the supreme would bring a Kachin to what a Western mind would regard as an almost hopeless confusion. He would assert .that the same being is indicated in each of the above names, and also that the "Omniscient" one and the "Creator" had something like a human birth, while this would not be admitted in the case of " The one higher than the clouds." To us some form of incarnation, or something resembling an Avatar of Vishnu, would offer the most natural explanation, but a Kachin feels no necessity of solving this mystery. It is enough for him to know that there is f:'ome one greater than the Nats. These Nats, the greatest number of which have once been human beings, are in their present state immortal, but not omniscient, omnipotent, or ubiquitous. All of these attributes are without hesitation applied to the one above all. Beings half Nat and half man were endowed with supernatural power, but were subject to change and death, and exist at present in the same way as any other who has passed into the realm of the dead.
The knowledge of a supreme power exerts, however, hardly any moral influence over the Kachins. It is commonly believed that he ordinarily does not concern himself about human affairs. Only in extreme cases is it suspected that he punishes an extraordinarily wicked person, but when and how this happens no one claims to know. 'When any great calamity befalls a tribe or family; when war, famine, or pestilence is raging, and the Nats do not seem propitious, then supplications are made to the Lord of all, but no sacrifices are offered. That we here meet with a few remaining ideas from the original monotheism of India seems almost certain. God has been forgotten by more' favored nations than the Kachins, but those in closest contact with these wild children of nature have had occa· sion to see that deep down in the savage heart a Divine spark is still flicker- ing, ready at any moment to be fanned into a living flame.
Nat Worship.-The real religion of the Kachins, as far as they have any, consists in Nat or demon worship. These Nats are now innumerable, and occupy almost every imaginable place above and below. Certain Nats rule the sky, the sun and. the moon; others dwell upon earth and are found in every mountain-top, hill, streamlet, river, spring, or well j every field, wood, and even individual trees have their guardian Nats; every tribe, village, and family acknowledge some special Nat to whom they must pay honor. These Nats must not be confounded with Grecian nymphs, naiads, and satyrs, or with fairies or goblins of medieval Europe. Most of them have once been human beings or descend from the early half Nats who took such an active part in the first stages of the world. They are a constant terror to the people. They watch with jealous carefulness every occupied place, and are always ready for revenge if any trespasses are committed. If the usual sacrifices are withheld, if a vessel consecrated to the Nat service has been unduly touched, if anyone out of mistake has stepped in the place set apart for the household Nats, punishment may at once overtake the transgressor. Even if a Nat without any known cause desires a new offering, some misfortune will at once befall the intended family or individual. Houses may be burned, fields devastated by wild animals, "bad luck" will attend every undertaking, and poverty will be the sure result of all. The most common form of punishment, however, is by diseases of different kinds. The Nats alone possess the remedies necessary in case of illness, but do not administer any when offended, unless properly propitiated. As soon as a person is taken ill, a Nat priest is at once sent for. The dwelling-place of the offended Nat is found and the desired sacrifice ascertained. This is done by a kind of divination. The greatness of the sacrifice depends upon the importance of the case. Ordinarily, for slight offenses, a little whisky, a few eggs, some dried fish and meat, or a few fowls will suffice. In more important cases, or if a great work or expedition is to be undertaken, pigs and cattle of any kind must be offered. When larger animals are sacrified, the flesh is prepared and distributed among the inhabitants of the community where the sacrifice is made. As the Nat priest receives a part of the animal offered, the size of the sacrifice often depends on his personal desire of profit in the case at hand.
A few particulars regarding this Nat worship may be of special interest. A large number of Nat altars are always found outside of every Kachin house. They are usually made of bamboo, and are only used as receptacles for certain parts of the offering. The Nats are invoked to come down upon them and to accept the sacrific~ made. A new altar must be built for every sacrifice, even if offerings are successively made to the same Nat. Inside the houses of chiefs and other prominent men a large altar of a different kind is often found, which is used as long as the
GOSPEL WORK IN ISRAEL
house is standing. The sacrifices most acceptable and of greatest worth are those of cattle. A tradition says that when the cattle, after the first transgression of man, ate the" fruit of life," a promise was given that they should always willingly offer themselves as sacrifices for the good of humanity in all ages to come. When such a life is given to the Nat, his anger is appeased and the sacrificer's request is fulfilled. The blood is not of any value as a sacrifice. The Nat receives the life (which the Kachins connect with the breath and not with the blood), while the offerer and his friends eat the flesh. In a case of insanity, when other sacrifices have proved of no avail, a goat is selected, and after appropriate cp,remonies sent off among the mountains. If he does not return it is supposed that the Nat who troubled the insane person has taken his final departure. No one would kill or eat the flesh of such an animal. At the time of sowing and harvest, several days are often set apart for larger sacrifices. No work is being done during such a time. Offerings are made at every birth or death, and I have counted as many as thirty skulls of large oxen around the grave of a chief. In order to prevent witchcraft, to procure " good luck" at any enterprise, if a person begins a journey or ends one -in short, at every occasion of any importance-the Nats are consulted and sacrifices offered.
This sacrificial system has always kept the Kachins in a hopeless state of poverty. They never know when their turn may come to offer up the last oxen, pigs, or fowls. It is not an unusual thing to hear the Kachins complain about the insatiable greediness of these burdensome Nats. But wholesale offerings will soon be a thing of the past, as sacrificial animals are getting more expensive and scarce, and the Nats are even now forced to be satisfied with less valuable gifts. Christianity is also slowly but surely uprooting former superstitions, and only this power can give the help now vainly sought.
GOSPEL WORK IN ISRAEL.
BY PROFESSOR GEORGE H. SCHODDE, PH.D., COLUMBUS, O.
In a recent number (March, 1895) of Nathanael, the Jewish mission bi-monthly, published by Professor Strack, of Berlin, Lie. Dr. Dalman, of Leipzig, since the death of Delitzsch certainly the most reliable authority on this subject, publishes a detailed survey of the work done during the ycars 1893 and 1894 for the evangelization of Israel all over the globe. A brief summary of his facts and figures will give an excellent bi.rd's-eye view of the problems and data of this species of church work.
The anti.Semitic agitation has during these two years calmed down somewhat, and as a consequence the national movement in Israel, which largely owed its vitality to the anti-Semitic agitation, has also become a less powerful factor in Jewish thought. As yet not a single Jewish mis- sion society has been willing to make use of this agitation for its purposes; and the organizations effected in recent years for the purpose of agitating the re-establishment of a Jewish state in the ancestral country of Israel, such as the Jewish Christian Patriotic Alliance of London, founded in 1892, have not been able to make their influence felt. The Jewish-Chris- tian plans of Warszawiak, in New York, have not materialized, and the venerable convert, Rabbi Lichtenstein, of Budapest, who still declines to be baptized, but aims at the organization of a Jewish-Christian church, has been cast out by his people. Rabinowitz, of Kishnef, has given up all ideas, seemingly, of organizing a distinctively Jewish-Christian congrega- tion, and is virtually a vox clamantis among his people in Russia and the East. Pastor Gurland, of Riga, together with 72 Jewish Christians, went in June, 1893, to Palestine, but no further news has been heard of them.
The most noteworthy fact in this connection is the organization of a Jewish·Christian congregation in Smyrna, in the summer of 1894. The head of this movement is a Karite from Sebastopol named Abram Levi, who, while an inmate of the Scotish Jewish Mission Hospital in Smyrna, through the study of the New Testament learned to know Christ, and began his work by calling together Jews for the study of the Sacred Scriptures. These men organized themselves into a separate congregation, the original number being 64 heads of families. Of these just one half again withdrew, leaving 32 families and 17 young men, or a total of 185 souls.
This association, in its statutes, says that it is "a society of Jewish Christians j that its first principle is the faith in God and in the Trinity of God according to the teachings of the Messiah, but not according to the teaching of any commentary or principles of any other communion [thereby excluding the teachings of the Talmud] j that each one binds himself to live according to the teachings of the New Testament; that circumcision shall continue to be practised, not as a law, but as a national symbol indicating that they are the children of Abraham and of the other patriarchs j that each one promises to live in accordance with the spirit of the Messiahnamely, in love, unity, and truth."
Christians of non-Jewish origin have also recently attempted to organize Jewish converts into separate communions. The principal effort of this kind was made in London by John Wilkinson, the director of the Mildmay Mission, under whose leadership 11 converts were thus united into a " Jewish-Christian Church." A modification of this idea found its exponent in A. C. Gabelen, of New York, who, in his jargon periodical, Tikwath Israel, reports the organization of a congregation consisting of 20 members. His position is practically that of Pastor G. A. Krfiger, of France. His program is more distinctively Jewish-Christian than any other of its kind, and includes both the acceptance of Christ as the Messiah, and also the continuation of the observance of the Mosaic law in so far as this is not contradictory to the fundamentals of Christianity. In his organ, Our Hope, he pleads for the pure preaching d simple "Mes- siahism," without any admixture of Gentile Christianity. These are about the sentiments also put forth by Gedalius in Berlin.
In Germany the work is entirely that of efforts to win individual souls from Israel, the enterprise being carried on by a nnmber of societies, such as the Leipzig, the Berlin, the Bavarian, and others. Representatives of foreign Jewish mission societies are gradually being withdrawn from Germany. Dalman himself has inaugnrated a new enterprise by publishing a Jewish-German monthly called Berith Ain, in which enterprisQ he found emulators in Pastor Werber, of Baltimore, and Gabelein, in New York. The leading mission organs in Germany for Jewish work are the Nathanael, and the veteran journal, founded by Delitzsch, the Saat auf Hoffnung, of Leipzig.
In Austro-Hungary, Norwegian missionaries have begun Jewish Gospel work, especially Pastor R. Gjessing and Philip Gordon, with headquarters at Budapest. Another laborer here is Rev. A. Moody, representing the Scotch Society. Rabbi Lichtenstein is sending out tract after tract, pleading with his people to accept Christ.
In Roumania the London and Berlin societies, as also the Norwegian, are at work; the first mentioned with headquarters at Bucharest, where there is a flourishing school for girls; the second at Jassy ; the third at Galatz. Russia is naturally the greatest field for Jewish mission work, and even the government has at times aided the societies in spreading the New Testament among the Israelites; and fully half-a-dozen depots for this purpose have been established in the empire, the leader of the work being the late Axelrud, a son-in-law of Rabinowitz. Faltin, the veteran of Kishnef, continues in his propaganda, and Gurland has been doing excellent work in Riga. The Orthodox State Church had also entered upon this work, but its chief agent, Joseph Levin, recently died. In Poland, Swedish messengers are busy, and Dr. Ellis, from London, has been able to report a large number of baptisms. For 1892-93 the number was 78 ; for 1893-94 it was 103. In the last three years there have been 235 Jewish converts in Poland.
In the Scandinavian countries the contingent of the Jewish population is exceedingly small; but the Scandinavian Christians have a warm heart for the work, as is attested by other contributions, societies, and messengers sent forth by them.
In France the London Society has been at work, as also the French Protestant Society. Naturally England is the headquarters of Jewish mission enterprises. Here are found the greatest and the most societies of this kind, and by far the greatest liberality for the cause. At least a dozen periodicals are published in the interests of the work, and it is supported by men and means throughout the Jewish diaspora. The Mildmay Mission alone in 1893 disposed of 18,406 Hebrew New Testaments, and 69,657 parts of the Testament in the jargon. Since the beginning of this
HINDUISM AND ROMANISM
literary propaganda, in all 208,313 Hebrew New Testaments have been used, and 467,577 parts in the jargon. In every way the Christians of England do as much, or even more, for the cause of the evangelization of Israel than all the other Christian peoples put together.
The immigration of Russian and Roumanian Jews to the further Orient has made the latter a more important field of operation. The headquarters naturally are such centers as Constantinople, Smyrna,and Jerusalem, and, in a secondary way, Saloniki and Damascus. Fully a dozen societies are found represented in these districts from half-a-dozen sections of Christianity, and laboring in many methods and manners.
In North Africa, the London Society has its stations, especially in Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco. The Falashas, or Black Jew, converts in Abyssinia are being reorganized again under a native leader, Michael Argawi, after a period of persecution in which Jewish Christianity in that venerable land was almost eradicated. In Persia, the headquarters are at IRpahan and Hamadan, and in India in Bombay, where the leading mission worker is J. Henry Lord, aided by the periodical Ha-Mebasser. In America, the work for Israel has been manifold and multifold, being in charge of fully a half-dozen different churches, such as the Episcopalians, Lutherans, Adventists, and others, and partly controlled by individual lovers of the chosen people. Jewish mission journals in English, German, and the jargon are published in considerable number.
In Australia, both German and English societies have stations in various parts of the island.
HINDUISM AND ROMANISM. * In much of its teaching Romanism is far more pagan than Christian; for tho Roman Catholics believe in Christ, it is not the Christ of the Gospel, but either a wafer god manufactured by the priests, or a stern judge ready to punish the guilty (in the same way that the Hindus regard many of their gods), and only to be approached through His tender-hearted mother, or some other merciful saint or intercessor.
Perhaps, placed in parallel columns, the comparison will be more readily understood.
HINDUS ROMAN QATHOLICS are subject to the Brahmans, on are under the power of the priests, whom they rely in the performance by whom they are taught exactly of all religious rites, and whom they what they must believe, and through are taught to reverence and bow whom they receive forgiveness of down to. sins and all the benefits of religion.
• The following comparison was printed in the M iB8Wna1'1l Herald (Baptist), from a letter by :Mrs. T. R. Edwards, of Serampore College. Are not allowed (except Brah- As a rule are forbidden to read mans) to read the sacred books j the Bible, which the priests alone these may only be read and explained may read and explain. to them by the priests.
Regard Sanskrit as the religious Regard Latin as the sacred lanlanguage; it is used in worship and guage; it is nsed in worship, tho ceremonies, tho not understood by unknown to the majority of the the people. people.
Bathe in the Ganges and certain Are taught that they are regener- sacred rivers to wash away sins. ated by water in baptism.
Use Ganges water in various re- Use holy water in the churches. ligious ceremonies.
Bow down to and utter prayers Bow down to and say prayers be- before idols. fore images and pictures.
Dress the idols in fine and showy Clothe the images of saints in and sometimes costly raiment. gorgeous apparel.
At certain festivals have great At certain festivals in Roman processions, carrying the idols. Catholic countries have great pro- cessions, in whiCh sacred images are carried.
Pray to various gods and god- Pray to saints and angels and desses. especially to the Virgin Mary.
Offer sacrifices. Offer the sacrifice of the Mass.
Say that when the priest utters Say that when the priest utters certain words, the image they have certain words, the wafer becomes made becomes alive by the indwell- the very Christ.
ing of the deity invoked.
Are taught that there is a great Are taught that it is meritorious merit in making pilgrimages to vari- to go on pilgrimages to Rome and ous sacred places and shrines. other sacred places.
Believe that at certain shrines Believe that at certain churches miracles of healing are performed and places miracles of healing are by this or that god. performed by this or that saint.
Have great faith in amulets and Wear medals blessed by the Pope charms as a protection against vari- as charms against misfortunes. ous misfortunes.
Are enjoined to fast on certain Observe prescribed fasts. occasions.
Count beads in repeating the Count beads in saying prayers, names of gods and goddesses, to especially to Mary. invoke their assistance.
THE ATROCITIES IN ARMENIA
Use lighted lamps in certain cere- Use lighted candles in religious monies, even in daylight. worship, even in daylight.
Use incense in worship. Use incense in worship.
Some priests (chiefly a wandering Priests are not allowed to marry. order) are not allowed to marry. The aims and ideal of monks and Some Hindu religious orders con- nuns is to become like a corpse in sider that the highest ideal here is the the hand of the superior. extinction of all desire and all feeling, such as joy, sorrow, hunger, pain.
When death is imminent they are When death is imminent, they taken to the river-side, and the face send for the priest to administer smeared with the sacred mud of the extreme unction, which includes Ganges. anointing parts of the body with oil.
After the death of relatives, in After the death of relatives, in order to assist the spirit in the next order to liberate the spirit from world, they perform Shraddha; it purgatory, and take it to heaven, consists of various ceremonies, and they pay considerable sums to the especially large presents to the priests for masses to be performed. priests.
Comparison might also be made between Romanism and Buddhism, as there is much in common, as the veneration of relics, forbidding priests to marry, large houses of monks and nuns, etc.
THE ATROCITIES IN ARMENIA-IS GOD ON TRIAL?
BY REV. JAMES M. GRAY, BOSTON, MASS.
I have recently heard good men-professing Christian men-question the goodness and power of God. They have asked, Is God indeed a God of love while He yet permits His people to suffer such dreadful and prolonged barbarities as those which have been witnessed in Armenia ~ Or does He lack the power to prevent them ~ Is Satan, after all, mightier than God ~ Nottice : 1. Such questions have been asked before. Jeremiah, Asaph, and Job are Old Testament examples. Thousands of years ago the souls of the righteous were vexed with this same problem. But they approached its investigation not from the standpoint of doubt but of faith. God help us to do the same. In all his afHiction Job did not charge God foolishly. Asaph's feet had almost gone, his steps had well-nigh slipped into open infidelity, almost, but not altogether, because he held to the fundamental postulate that " God is loving unto Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart." Jeremiah would talk with God of His judgments, but he begins by affirming his belief that He is righteous. In no other way can we expect light to come to us on this Armenian question.
2. Let us remember that similar atrocities have occurred before. God's people have known these things in all ages. Israel in Egypt under Pharaoh was not essentially unlike Armenia in Turkey under Abdul Hamid II. Compare the current correspondence from Constantinople with the opening chapters of Exodus in proof of this. And what about" the noble army of martyrs" who suffered at the hands of the early Roman emperors 1 What about the tender and delicate women who were thrown to the wild beasts in Roman amphitheaters? What of those who were covered with tar and set on fire to illuminate Roman gardens? What of the heroes of the Reformation? What of the victims of the King of Spain and the Duke of Alva? What of the massacre of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Day? What of the fires of Smithfield? What of the Catholics, as well as Protestants, who for their loyalty to God were dragged at the cart end, beheaded, drawn and quartered, and burned in "Merrie England" even as late as Queen Mary's day? What of many of the Jews of Europe in the present decade who are realizing the fulfilment of Moses' prophecy that " among these nations shalt thou find no ease" ? . 3. Let us remember that such atrocities as these were not only foreknown, but predicted in the Word of God. " Thoy shall put you out of tho synagogues," said Jesus; "yea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. " Paul exhorts the Thessalonians that " no man should be moved by these afflictions" -that is, he should not be moved away from his faith, because" we are appointed thereunto. " Peter warns the "strangers" scattered 1hroughout these very parts of Asia now so much upon our minds that their" adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour," whom they are to " resist steadfast in the faith." John" saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and they cried, saying, "How long, 0 Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season until their fel_ low-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
4. Let us remember that God gives grace equal to such emergencies as this. Martyrs have gone to the stake with joy. Those who were tortureit in an earlier age would not accept " deliverance." Archbishop Cranmer of his own accord thrust his right hand into the fire because it had deceived him into signing the recantation of Protestantism. We have an illustration to-day of an Armenian in this country recently bereft of his family in Turkey-four of them imprisoned and one murdered-who is nevertheless sustained in his daily calling and enabled to go from city to city and platform to platform awakening our citizens on behalf of his outraged countrymen. Paul had a great affliction, for whose removal he thrice besought the throne of power and mercy. But His answer was, "My grace is sufficient for thee. " The great apostle to the Gentiles found it to be so, and he was able to declare, " Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." There is many a Christian martyr in Armenia at this present moment, man, woman, and child, naked, sick, and in prison, who is saying the very same.
S. Such atrocities as these furnish the strongest evidence of the reality and power of the Christian religion. This conflict in Armenia is between Mohammedanism and Christianity, between darkness and light, between Satan and God. Our Christian brethren in that land could purchase deliverance and peace at the price of apostasy, but they will not pay it. Do the ages show a sublimer proof of the Divine origin of Christianity ~ Men speak of this event as weakening to faith! It would be if the Armenians recanted; but as it is, the event is a wonderful strengthener of faith. Had it occurred eighteen hundred, or even one hundred years ago, it would be employed to prove that; and the Christian apologist or evangelist of the coming century, in his efforts to point men to Christ, will speak of these Armenians who loved Him so as to be willing to suffer the loss of all things for His sake. 6. God is not on trial in Armenia, nor Christianity, but man. Man is on trial there. And it is not man in the persons of the Armenians, nor yet in the persons of the Turks. It is man as represented by the civilized and the Christianized (~) nations of Europe. People sometimes complain of God that He does not convert the heathen; they find fault that so large a portion of mankind are denied the blessings of the Gospel which they enjoy; but it has been found effectual in stopping their murmurings to inquire why they themselves do not convert the heathen. Have they ful. filled their personal obligation in the premises and done all that lies in their power to do to carry out the command, "Go preach the Gospel to every creature 1" It is poor logic which charg-es neglect on God of which we ourselves are guilty. And this principle holds good in the present case. Could we ask God to do more than He has already done to deliver His people in Armenia from the barbarities of the 'l'urks ~ lias He not put the power in the hands of His professing people in Russia, and Great Brit· ain, and Germany, and France ~ Who doubts for a single moment that these nations could stop the outrages referred to whenever they said the word 1 And why do they not say the word ~ Is it anything but selfish. ness that restrains them ~ If all were agreed as to the piece of territory which each should receive in the inevitable division of the Turkish Empire, would there be any longer delay ~ Who is on trial in this matter' Is it God or man' 7. God will reckon with these na1ions when their time comes. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small. General Grant was no visionist ; he was never charged with giving currency to fanciful speculations, but he tells us with all soberness that nations, like individuals, are punished for their transgressions. He cites as an illustration ou,r own Civil War, the most sanguinary and expensive of modern times, as a divinely inflicted penalty for our unjust treatment of Mexico in the annexation of Texas. Turkey will yet pay dearly for her cruelty, and the other nations will have cause to remember that they helped it on.
s. Let us remember that the situation, which seems to us to be so en- tangled, is very clear and plain in the mind of God. In an earlier day, when the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers took counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, He had them in derision, and set His King upon His holy hill of Zion. It is with reference to this same King and this same holy hill that the present commotion l·eigns. The cry of America for the Americans, and Germany for the Germans, is soon to be extended to Judea for the Jews. Tbe capital of that nation is yet to be " a cup of trembling unto all the peoples round about," and then "He that cometh will come and will not tarry," and " out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
9. Let us remember, finally, that there is one who can kill the body, indeed, but after that has no more that he can do. "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." These Armenians dwell where Satan's seat is, but they are holding fast the name of Christ, and they are not denying His faith; and He who once remembered and recalled the name of His faithful martyr Antipas has His loving eye upon 1hem, and to him that overcometh will He " give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name wrItten which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." THE RELIEF OF ARMENIA. * The situation in Armenia is simply appalling! No words can describe the suffering which these Christians in the land of the Turk are experi- encing daily and hourly. In the dead of winter, wounded and weak and weary, many of them without homes or even a place of shelter from the wintry blasts, barefooted and almost naked in the snow, they are likewise perishing from hunger by thousands. All Christendom has been thrilled with horror at lales of robbery, rape, and murder, which has been heaped upon innocent and defenseless men, women, and children. In a single province .a Moslem official underestimates the total killed as nearly 40,- 000 men, women, and children; of these 30,000 were murdered outright, and 10,000 perished in their burning homes. Besides this deaths from cold and hunger (in the one province of Harpoot, remember) number about 10,000 more. Women violated and abused in unspeakable ways number nearly 6000, and those forcibly circumcised (converted to Islam) are over 15,000, besides 1500 women and girls consigned to Moslem harEms. The heroism with which hundreds-nay, thousands-have stood ready to suffer the most horrible and ignominious tortures, and to submit to a lingering death rather than deny their Lord, makes them worthy to be added to the memorable list of the " heroes of faith" (Hebrews 11). Chri.stian pastors have unflinchingly faced death and called upon their congregations to follow them; women have by hundreds sought death rather than submit to a worse fate-surely these are they" of whom the world was not worthy." No one with a spark of Christianity or even of humanity in them can read these tales of persecution without being moved to his inmost soul with sympathy and a desire to help them, and yet there are thousands in Christian lands who have not as yet lifted a finger to relieve the distress of the survivors. In the province of Harpoot nearly 100,000 Armenians are destitute of the bare necessities of life, and in other parts of the country there are three times as many more. Many have generously responded to the call for help, and much has been done to relieve the sufferers. From the first, money sent from America and England has been distributed through the members of the British Embassy and the American missionaries. Amid direst peril these missionaries, men and women, have stood nobly at their posts, and thus have been the one hope of the Armenians. Now that the Red Cross Society has entered the work, the door has been opened to distribute food in new centers. The method of relief work is generally to establish soup kitchens and bread bakeries, employing large numbers of the sufferers in preparing food and clothing. About twenty relief stations are in operation, and $200,000 has already been expended in food and clothing, but not more than one half of the destitute are yet reached. Only about one to two cents a day is needed to keep a man from starvation, but this means $4000 to $6000 a day. At Van alone 16,000 gather each day who have no other means of subsistence than that offered by the missionaries. The need is most urgent; competent and reliable agents are ready to receive and wisely distribute the aid which is so sorely needed. It is heartrending to see the suffering of these people without the means to relieve them. No man, woman, or child can afford to lose the opportunity to give something to this cause; give it NOW· !t * Valuable information regarding the :&Iassacres, Destitution, and Relief Work In Armenla may be found in the following: .. The Rule of the 'rurk," by F. D. Greene (Putnam); Ohrtsttan rAteratu'l'e Magazine (February, 1896); Independent (March 5th, 1896) ; also weekly editions of the (/hrtstian Hsrald (New York).
t Sums in any amounts from one cent upward will be received aud forwarded without delay, if sent to the Managing Editor of this REVIEW, or to Frank g, Wiggin, 1 Somerset Street, Boston, or to Brown Brothers, New York (Agents for Red Cross).
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT
n.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
EDITED AND CONDUCTED BY BEV. J. T. GBACEY, D.D.
The .Rapid Baptisms and Mass Move· years, and multitudes have been think- ing. Thus the present harvest, amount- ment in North India, ing to perhaps 85,000 of a Christian BY REV. T. J. SCOTT, D.D., BAREILLY, community among the Methodists, is INDIA. not a sudden thing without ample The great movement among the plowing and sowing and watering.
poorer castes of North India holds on True. the harvest has been largely gath- unabated. From fifteen to twenty ered in more recent years. Some 65,000 thousand annually are added to the have been added within four years, and Methodist mission alone. The United the number will soon run up to 100,000, Presbyterian mission of the Punjab is and more, if a pastorate to care for the also having a large ingathering. In multitudes gathered in can be raised some cases in the Methodist mission up.
deputations have come in from a long This is no superficial work. It is, to distance asking for teachers to come be sure, not matter for surprise if tares and teach them Christianity and open are found among the wheat in so large schools for their children. In several a harvest. A mass movement like this directions thousands of inquirers are must carry along with it and catch up asking for baptism. One pastor in a good deal that is not altogether good, three months had baptized four hun- and in this it differs in nothing from dred, and was expecting to add at least large revival movements in the home one thousand to his Christian commu- land. But will anyone say such re- nity during the year. The great de- vivals are failures? The weak are mand is for native pastors and evan- strengthened and the utterly worthless gelists to conserve and carry forward are eliminated. So the missionaries the work. The theological seminary deal with this movement which has its at Bareilly is taxed to the utmost to critics in the field, particularly among meet the want. The score or more less successful missions. Those who trained men turned out annually is far know the work realize that a strong below the need. It is much to be re- substantial church is being raised up, gretted that friends in America do not served by a native ministry, and that at once furnish the $40,000 called for effective self-support is being devel- to put this seminary on a larger balis at oped. Tried by the tests of self-sup- once. Instead of eighty at least two port, spiritual life, endurance of perse- hundred students should be on the roll cution, and martyrdom, a true church under training to push and conserve is being founded. Rev. P. M. Buck, this great work. in a recent letter written in the midst This is no sudden movement. For of this work, says, "These converts more than a third of a century the manifest a very encouraging willing- Gospel has been faithfully' preached in ness to do what they can to support the these regions, and many copies of the work among them. Persecution has Scriptures circulated among the peo- been common and persistent. In the ple. They have had the truth held up. region where the greatest Dumber of The sense of sin has been awakened, baptisms has occurred, the leading and the true way of salvation has been men of a large number of villages as- before them. So the baptisms are not sembled in council, where it is said sev- .. hasty" in the sense of some critics. eral hundred were present, and they Preachers, European and native, have bound themselves under a curse to sup- been sounding out the Gospel for press Christianity and prevent its further spread. Petitions were made for moved by the reports brought by the assistance to native government officers. expedition concerning the religious con- Money was freely offered to bribe for dition of the people of that country, I the same purpose, and one of our work- published an article urging the 'misers was asked to name a sum he would sionary society of the Methodist Episbe willing to take and retire from the copal Church to establish a mission in field. Our people have been beaten. Korea. The subject was considered by and were for a time deprived of pastur- the society, but, owing to the pressure age for their cattle, and of fuel for cook- of other claims, it was deemed impossiing their food. One was imprisoned ble to provide funds for the proposed under false charge, and from one village mission. a company of recently baptized converts have been expelled, and the case August, 1882, one of our Japanese awaits settlement in the court. In converts called on me in Yokohama, the face of all this opposition, resulting and requested my wife to teach Engin various other petty annoyances as lish to a class of Koreans, whom their well, I have heard of but one man who government had sent to study in Japan has lapsed from Christianity, and he a the principles and methods of the civlittle later, when we held a meeting in ilization adopted by the Japanese. Mrs. the neighborhood came with his offer- Maclay gladly consented, and soon being for the collection made, which, came interested in the young men, findhowever, his brethren refused, telling ing them to be bright and extremely him he had gone over to the enemy in anxious to acquire the English lanthe time of trial." guage. Shortly after Mrs. Maclay took up this work, Kim ok Kuin, the Korean In all this we have the evidence of a officer who had charge of the students, true work of God. and the home church called to thank her for consenting to may rejoice that great victories are won teach the class, and expressed his dein pushing the conquest of the world sire for the introduction of Western for Christ. civilization into Korea.
Korea's Permit to Ohristianity. March, 1884, while living in Tokio, Japan, having removed to that city BY REV. R. S. MACLAY, D.D., SAN FER- from Yokohama, because of my ap- NANDO, CAL. pointment to the presidency of the Anglo-Japanese College, I received from During the earlier portion of my life the Rev. John F. Goncher, D.D., of in China, commencing with the year Baltimore City, Md., a letter dated 1847. I met in the streets of Foochow January 31st, 1884, in which he wrote City, where I resided, a few ship- as follows: wrecked Koreans who had been picked up at sea by Chinese sailors, and were " Under date of November 6th, 1883, en route to their native country. Their I wrote to the Missionary Committee strange costume, erect forms. and agile that if they deem it expedient to extend movements greatly interested me, and their work to the Hermit nation, and I felt it would be a high privilege to establish a mission in Korea under the carry to the people of Korea the pre- superintendence of the Japan mission, cious tidings of salvation; but at that • . . I shall be pleased to send my time Korea was not open to foreigners, check for, say, two thousand dollars and besides, my time was fully occu- toward securing that result. pied with my duties in China. .. Could you find time to make a trip In the year 1872, shortly after the re- to Korea, prospect the land, and locate turn of the United States naval expedi- the mission? For once we may be the tion to Korea, I spent a sqort time in first Protestant church to enter a pagan New York City, and being deeply land. It is peculiarly appropriate that Japan should have the.honor, and 1t would be a. fitting addition to the ser- some of the Korean and Japanese offi- vices you have been enabled to render cials, enjoyed a season of conversation your church already if you could in- and prayer with a Christian Japanese augurate the enterprise. " colporteur operating here, walked This letter from Dr. Goncher opened through a park-like grove in the vicin- the way for the accomplishment of a ity of the town, and called on Mr. Lov- long.cherished desire, and impressed ett, the American superintendent of me at once as being a Divine call to do Korean customs, who gave us a cordial what I could toward opening Korea to welcome. Fusan is one of the pO1;s at Christian missions. The Japan mission which foreign trade is carried on. In supported Dr. Goncher's suggestion, the portion of the town which we saw, the missionary society indorsed it, and the streets and houses bear the impress Instructed me to go forward. of Japanese influence and many Japa- Communication on the subject with nese families reside here. The place the Hon. John A. Bingham, United with its harbor and surrounding scenery States Minister to Japan, and Hon. presents a cbarming appearance.
Lucius H. Foote, United States Minister Leaving Fusan, we spent forty· three to Korea, satisfied me that the move- hours in steaming round the southern ment was practicable, and, after com- end and up the western side of the pleting the necessary preparations, I Korean peninsula. The fog enveloped embarked June 8th. 1884, at Yoko- us most of the way, and the almost in- hama, with my wife, on board the Eng- cessant sounding of the fog-horn, to- lish steamer TeMm,n, Captain Nantes, gether with the consciousness that we for Nagasaki, where we left the Teheran, were sailing along a dangerous and im- and June 19th, having procured a perfectly surveyed coast, did not con- Korean gentleman to act as interpreter, tribute to the pleasure of the passage; took the steamer Nanzing. Captain Bal- but through all these discomforts the burnie, for Chemulpo. the port of Seoul, Lord brought us in safety, and at capital of Korea. Next morning we 1 o'clock P.M., June 23d. we reached werll off the port of Fusan, near the Chemulpo, the termination of our pas- southeastern point of the peninsula of sage by sea. The following morning Korea; but a dense fog prevented us we landed from the steamer. and being from seeing the land, and it was not till opportunely assisted by T. Kobayashi, noon that the steamer could enter the Esq., Japanese consul at Chemulpo, we harbor, and I felt that at last I waf! procured conveyances and proceeded within Korean territory. up the valley of the Han, a distance of Fusan is a place of historic interest twenty-five miles, to Seoul, where, and commercial importance. It is not 6 o'clock P.M., we were most kindly re- improbable that from it sailed the bold ceived at the United States Legation clans who conquered and whose de- by General Lucius H. Foote, United scendants still hold Japan. Certain it States Minister to Korea, and his excel- is that here landed the military expe- lent lady, under whose hospitable roof ditions of the Japanese, which from the we spent our first night in Seoul. Next eaIlly centuries of the Christian era morning we took possession of a small have harassed and overrun Korea. It building adjacent to the Legation was pleasant and assuring to think that grounds, ~hich General Foote, in ac- times had changed, and that in our day cordance with my request, had pro- tnere came from the shores of Japan cured for our temporary use; and as those who desire to give the Koreans we had brought with us a Japanese the tidings of salvation through faith in cook and some provisions, we were our Lord and Savior. We remained soon settled in our new quarters, and thirty-six hours in Fusan. during which were ready for business.
time we landed, paid our respects to Addressing myself directly to the task before me, I soon learned that the ticipating an emergency so acute as the political situation was not assuring. present one, I had brought with me The party of progress, it is true, con- from Japan. The letter was written trolled the government of the country; in Japanese, and contained an expres- the Korean embassy had recently re- sion of our desire to come to Korea, to- turned from the United States bringing gether with a brief statement of the a very favorable report, and to a fair lines of work upon which it was our degree the business of the country was purpose first to enter. We felt that reviving; but still there was among the if this letter, conceived in the true people an undertone of discontent, a Christian spirit, and expressed in the feeling of insecurity prevailed in many most respectful style, conld be bronght quarters; public opinion was divided, to the notice of the king, he might be and it was matter of common ru.mor moved to grant OUI request. June that the old conservative party, inflexi- 30th I forwarded the letter to Mr. Kim, ble and active in its opposition, was se- requesting him to lay it before the king cretly scheming to overthrow the pres- at his earliest convenience, stating also ent ministry. The entire outlook, in- that our time was limited, and that we deed. seemed so threatening that even must soon return to Japan_ Having my official advisers did not suggest any taken this important step, I felt that method of procedure, or offer me any the appeal had now been made, and encouragement to expect the attain- with prayerful expectancy and ever- ment of the end I had in view. It was brightening faith awaited the issue.
intimated to me that being in all prob- Believing that :Mr. Kim would do every- ability the first Christian missionary to thing in his power to help us, and enter openly the capital of Korea. it knowing that he was in close commu- would be necessary for me to exercise nication with the king, I ventured to extreme caution, both in going about call on him July 3d. He received me the city, and also as to divulging my very cordially, and at once proceeded purpose in visiting Seoul. To increase to inform me that the king had care- and aggravate my difficulties, I discov- fully examined my letter the night be- ered that my own interpreter was con- . fore. and in accordance with my re- nected with the anti-progressive party, quest had decided to authorize our so- and consequently could not aid me in ciety to commence hospital and school communicating with the present gov- work in Korea. .. The details," con- ernment, and, further, that it would be tinued 1:1r. Kim, .. have not been set- difficult, if not impossible for me to tled, but you may proceed at once to procure another interpreter. The situ- initiate the work." The king's favor- ation appeared to be well-nigh hope- able response to our appeal was so less, and for a time I knew not what prompt and complete, that I could not course to pursue. fail to recognize it as from the Lord, " At evening time it shall be light." and after tendering to Mr. Kim hearty "Man's extremity is God's opportu- thanks for his good offices in our behalf.
nity." Fortunately (may I not say I took my leave. repeating to myself, providentially?) Kim ok Kuin, the as I rode through the crowded streets Korean officer already referred to, with of the city, .. The king's heart is in the whom Mrs. Maclay and myself had hand of the Lord, as the rivers of wa- formed a very pleasant acquaintance in ter. He turneth it whithersoever He Japan. was now a member of the de- will. "
partment of foreign affairs in the Ko- The afternoon of the same day Mr.
rean Government, and resided in Seoul. Kim made an official call on me, dur- The problem was solved. Our plan of ing which he tendered congratulations action was easily settled. Among my on the succeSl! of our appeal to the paJ.l6rs was a letter which, without an: king, expreBSed his gratification at the prospect of our society's commencing wanderer from country to country, work in Korea, and stated his readiness with a price on his head, and the sleuthto do anything he could to aid in the hounds of revenge ever on his track, execution of our plans tor the benefit until deceived and betrayed, yet always of his fellow-countrymen. pining for the dear home-land, he fell at last by the hand of the assassin at 'We remained a few days longer in Shanghai, China, in the year 1894, and Seoul to gather information and select his body, cut to pieces, ignominiously a site for our proposed mission. The carried about, oy order of the governelevated grounds near the United States ment. through all the provinces of the Legation impressed me favorably, and kingdom. I arranged with Minister Foote to purchase the house I had occupied as soon It is terrible to think that the gallant as our society could select and send out officer who, on that bright July mornsuitable men to initiate the enterprise. ing in Seoul, announced to me the July 8th we started from Seoul on our king's favorable response to my apreturn passage to Japan, grateful to peal, that the young statesman, filled Him who had thus far preserved us in with the enthusiasm of humanity, who peace and safety, and had enabled us gave promise of a brilliant career as to accomplish so satisfactorily the ob- patriot and reformer, should be overject for which we had come toJrorea. taken by such a fate. Let us hope that during the long period of expatriation, I cannot close this article without re- his heart yearned toward the Savior of ferring briefly to the subsequent sad whom he had imperfectly heard, and life and tragical death of my friend in whose teachings he had become in- Kim ok Kuin. It is difficult to know terested. Let us believe that in the just what credence to give to the ru- time to come, as come it will, during mors that reach us concerning political which Koreans shall rise to a higher troubles in Korea. It is, however, gen- appreciation of the blessings of Chriserally conceded now that in the unsuc- tian knowledge, experience, and civilizacessful emeute which occurred in Seoul, tion, in that noble army of martyrs to December, 1884, the members of the the cause of civic and religious liberty, progressive party were the aggressors, which will then move into a position, and that Kim ok Knin acted a promi- far above canonized warriors and other nent part in the lamentable affair. The heroes, a grateful nation will not fail friends of Kim ok Kuin seek to extenu- to assign a worthy place to him who, ate his conduct by urging that he was knowing the time, in the interest of his acting in self.defence, that he simply country and the truth, procured from availed himself of recognized military the king Korea's permit to Christianity. strategy in striking the enemy, who was preparing to strike him and other Industrial Missions in Afrioa. members of his party. It is stated also that in what he did Kim ok Kuin was Mr. Joseph Booth, who represents acting in accordance with the instincts, the Baptist Industrial Mission of Scottraditious, and precedents of his nation; land, and has been before heard from in and, further, that his proceedings were these pages, a few months ago arrived authorized by the existing government in Scotland from British Central Africa, of Korea. We gladly accord to this to plead for fifty millions of people, acplea. all the force to which it is fairly cessible by the Zambesi and lakes, who entitled, and yet most deeply regret still wait for the glad tidings which are Kim ok Kuin's connection with this at- for" all people," who have a right to tempted coup d'etat. "It was a grievous the Gospel, and from whom we have 1W fault, and grievously hath he answered right to withhold it. it." For ten long, weary years he lived in exile, a homeless, unresting His words are so timely and pungent, we give them a place in our pages and ask that they be well pondered. Tho little. We are made watchmen, and the addressed particularly to Baptists in Book declares their blood 'will I re- Britain, they are pertinent to all. quire at the watchman's hand.' Truly this is an age generous in profession, Of the Central Africans Mr. Booth but parsimonious in performance. God says: is not deceived by our much speaking. If by any effort or self-denial on our ,. They are the constant victims of part we are able to give these the Gosslave-raiding, village-burning, poison- pel, does not our Lord and Judge hold drinking, polygamy, and domestic us responsible for doing so ? In many slavery; yet under Christian and in- cases our churches, houses, ornaments, dustrial influence they rapidly become pictures, investments, and modes of livintelligent, manly, accessible, and tract- ing are a visible evidence that we are able. They voluntarily abandon slave- able to do vastly more. Shall we not catching and selling when employment take up this cross and turn some of is offered them that wJll supply cloth- earth's fleeting baubles into heavenly ing. It is only to buy calico that they and eternal treasure 1 It is written, • If sell slaves. They are both willing and thou forbear to deliver them that are able to work, and prefer doing so to drawn unto death and those that are fighting and trafficking in human flesh ready to be slain. • . . ' 'He that keep- -hence industrial mission centers find eth thy. 80ul, doth not He know it 1' much favor with them because of the • And shall not He render to every man visible temporal good. Great Britain according to his works l' is in no small degree responsible for the slave-raiding habits these people have "We live in an age clever in comfallen into, since history records that promise_ We compound with our duly authorized British ships carried Lord's final and imperative command, fifty thousand slaves yearly from the • Go YE,' by an easily made and modest coasts of Africa for many years prior donation to some society. We flatter to the abolition period. oursel ves that we can thus easily trans- fer our personal liability to service; .. The position of the women in many that we can thus lightly lift the shackles tribes is pitiful: their value but a few of bond-service the Lord has riveted fathoms of calico; their clothing miser- upon us. Our ingenious low-level reaably scant; their children often sonings will doubtless satisfy a self-conwrenched away from them; their bodies siderate and self-centered age whose not their own property; in this life theory is • Seek first the kingdom of they endure oppression and degrada- God,' but whose practice proclaims, tion, and of the life to come they have • Make sure of the comforts of life.' no knowledge. Who is answerablefor these things? Is it not those who have " The inconvenient and pungent utthe remedy placed in their hands and terances of our Lord are too often met withhold it 1 Is it not those who are with an averted gaze, skilfully evaded commanded to carry the glad tidings of and toned down. Nevertheless, the, relief, but tarry at home, with one con- standard He has given remains immovasent making excuse 1 ble. • The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge you in that day.' " For thirty years past have the needs Even to the dim vision of time present and claims of this people been solemnly the shame and poverty of our service is registered in our midst by that man of visible in the mirror His words afford. God, David Livingstone, he who died • Whosoever will come after Me, let him on his knees praying for Africa. Let deny himself, and take up his cross, and us have a care that he be not a witness follow Me. ' It may be that some of the against us in that day. As yet not one prayers we offer and the declarations messenger of the cross has been sent by we make before hea ven and earth, in the whole Baptist denomination. A little has been done by others, but only a song and sermon, will become the very … Lovest thou Me more than these ? '
gibbet upon which is displayed to the has a message for us as well aa for Pe- wondering gaze of angels, man's mar- ter. Our artificial standards of great- velous powers of self-deception, and ness will soon shrivel away and give his complacent nakedness. An empty place to the standard of Him who de- offering of prodigious professions with- clares, 'He that would be greatest out the person and possessions, what is among you let him become the servant it before God? • Sell all thou hast, of all.' Upon those who already have • . . come, follow Me, and thou shalt the Gospel in Great Britain forty mil- have treasure in heaven,' is a recom- lion pounds yearly is spent, while upon mendation and assurance worth reckon- those who know it not, and to whom ing with. we are commanded to give it, we ex- .. We are conscious that a thousand pend one and a half millions only. The million beings with an eternal destiny. mariner from time to time adjusts his all entitled to the Bread of Life, tread compass and seeks to detect any deflec- this earth with us for a brief period; tion from his true course. Should we that this great cloud of witnesses will not do likewise ?
with ourselves soon be ushered into .. The baptized believers of this age the presence of the living God; that alone are able to give the Gospel to the the fierce light of the Great White whole lwathen world in this generation.
Throne will soon beat upon the shallow Let them be yielded up unto God, • a8 excuses coined by deceitful hearts, yet those that are ali'1J8 from the dead.' and the pulse of service and surrender beats this shall be accomplished. Only let low. Truly we are a wonderful peo- God have lI'/,8 wall with us, and we shall ple. In scientific or worldly affairs the behold wondrous things. Let us have nineteenth century is vastly ahead of common moral honesty and give to the early centuries of this era; but in God His own, all we are, all we have, the God-given work of a world's evan- all He can make of us. Anything less gelization, with facilities in wealth, than this, and we keep back part of the numbers, and means of transit incom· price.
parably beyond the first and second cen- " In mission expenditure is not' back turies, we are immeasurably behind in to Carey, ' • back to Paul' the watch- proportionate effort. word needed? Carey lived on £4.0 3, .. Generation after generation has had year. while he earned and devoted to its day of probation and passed away, the mission over £1000 yearly for forty- leaving God's great work unfinished; three years. In East Central Africa none has yet arisen which sought' first cost of maintainence is small; £40 per the kingdom of God' with sufficient year is ample. Those who prefer to zeal to tell e very fellow· traveller to permanently support missionaries with- eternity that the Son of God had tasted out industrial effort can accomplish death for every man, and commanded this upon the outlay named. Many are that every man should know it. This able to go with their own means or is our day of probation. God is testing support their own representative. In us. The responsibilities of the present West Central Africa the Baptists of generation are greater and more aw- Britain have an important work on the fully distinct than ever before. Wide Congo. The lives there laid down for open doors, speedy locomotion, ample Christ's sake will surely bcar abundant resources, leave this generation of fruit. There are about thirty mission- Christ's followers without excuse. aries; the yearly total outlay is £15,000 Nothing but the idols of self, of com- to £16,000. Between the Eaat and fort, and of position hinders the com· West Coasts there remains fully one pletion of the great work entrusted to hundred million souls still unreached man by the Son of God. by Gospellight'-one tenth part of the whole heathen world. Let us consider izing Africa is a measurable one. It this definitely and earnestly. HoW' may also ultimately result in supplying shall we give these the Gospel in this vast funds for the evangelization of generation? How give one missionary other needy parts of the mission field. to every five thousand of these? On Perhaps we have too long set aside present and popular methods that would Carey's example and precept. Is it require £10,000,000 yearly. Can we wise to stake all upon one method of hope to accomplish that task ? or shall working-and that an expensive one? we put to the test Carey's principleviz., make missions self-supporting and .. Stations of this class seem to strike self-propagating. Doesnot the greater at the root of the slaving propensities. hope lie in this direction ? The employment furnished is twice as profitable to the African, therefore the .. 'The Africans are a nation of un- chief sends his people to work instead employed. ' Hence their rich country of to war. The words of • peace and lies undeveloped. The country and the goodwill to men' assumes a practical people have both vast latent resources. form in the daily round of duties; the Both are the Lord's; what more fitting influence of cheerful Christian artisan than that men of God shall go in to workers becomes a rapidly convincing shepherd these lost sheep and develop spiritual power-a living epistle the obthe resources God has stored there, and servant native quickly reads and profits devote the same to His purposes. Shall by. Preaching only he views with this great but broken people be left en- suspicion, for he is a born talker himtirely to the. exploitage of the' children self. He asks awkward questions, of the world'? No, by the grace of such as, • If white men have known God it must not be. By the mouth of these great words so long, and believe His servant Isaiah, God has covenanted them, why have they not let all our to give ' the treasures of darkness, and people know them before?' Does not hidden riches of secret places . . . that this foreshadow the charge of the they may know from the rising of the heathen in the Day of Judgment? sun and from the west' His purposes There are already earnest converts concerning them. Let us send men of among tbe Chikunda, Makololos, Manfaith and skill suited to the work. ganja, Ajawa, and Angoni tribes. The God has the men for the work if we do first seven were baptized on July 19th, not sbut them out by human and arti- 1893 . ficial standards. .. Ten stations afe asked for, and an " At present £1500 capital will com- adequate river transport service. Life plete a station on the basis indicated, is sllffrt, and our opportunities will soon and thus put, in three years, six or eight have passed away. The wO'rk is great, workers in the field. This, judging but we are bidden to get it done, countfrom the facts being realized, seems ing not the cost. God is able, and if able to produce a constant revenue suffi- we are found willing in the day of our cient to plant a duplicate station yearly visitation, His power and glory will be after the fourth year, and further, to seen. Let us not stagger through uncreate a reserve fund with which to belief, or seek subterfuges in multituprovide against contingencies. In the dinous excuscs. Where is the church event of time proving this to be prac- to be found that bas put forth its utticable for twenty.one years in steady most ejf01't to give the heathen their progression, each parent station would rights in Christ? by re-duplication give one missionary to twenty-five hundred persons, reach- .. Brethren! let ulf take heed. We ing a population of five millions. If IJhall only pass thi8 way once. Let us only one half or one third of this be work and endure as seeing Him who found attainable, the task of evangel- is as yet invisible, but before whom we shall shortly appear; let us ' give' or ' go ' as may best forward the end Springs. Some fundamcntal qucstion~ for which Christ died and rose again." of polity were discussed. We needed a President and Executive Committee to properly mix things, but we man- Laos Notes. aged without. But our greatest profit was derived from the exchanging of BY REV. W. C. DODD, LAMPOON LAOS VIA spiritual experiences. The unswerving BURMA. faith and unfaltering devotion to duty Rev. W. C. Dodd, of the Presbyterian manifested by our friends for Africa had a tonic effect upon the whole party. Mission, Laos, in a personal letter, writ- Frequent evangelistic services were ing under date December 9th, 1895, says: conducted by us, and well attended.
.. In some of the older stations our " As for the rest of the journey after mission has reached the second stage of leaving the Atlantic, new and old misdevelopment. The mere novelty of the sionaries have united in the study of Gospel message is wearing off in the the Laos language. All the recruits neighborhood of these older stations. can already read the Laos SCriptures There are beginnIng to be Gospel-hard- with some degree of facility. Our ened heathen, and our native churches view has been broadened by contact are beginning to face some of the intri- with the English, the Scotch, Maltese, cate problems of self-support. Some Italians, Arabians, Africans, and the friction is engendering. New responsi- people of India and the Malay penin. bilities call for new graces. The field sula, as well as the already familiar is large compared with the meagre force Chinese and Siamese. Contact with of missions.ries. How shall we dispose these peoples, and later with our own of our forces so as to get two or three Laos people, has served to deepen our men's work out of each missionary? impression of the simplicity, the com- We need the Spirit of wisdom_ So parative purity, the gentleness, and the heathen Laos Christians and foreign docility of the Laos. Weare more missionaries alike stand in peculiar and firmly convinced than ever that God profound need of the power from has here a prepared people, to whom He above. is sending us as prepared messengers.
"Some of us feel that the vacation May He complete the preparation! in the home land, and especially the to During the nearly eight weeks' last annual meeting of the International river journey from Bangkok we have Missionary Union, together with our been in constant contact with the Laos more or less protracted stay in the at- boatmen, most of whom are heathen. mosphere of the Clifton Springs sani- Devotional services every evening and tarium chapel, have prepared us espe- on Sabbath mornings in the vernacular cially for waiting on the Lord for this have been well attended, and some of blessing. the boatmen have become avowed in· " And our long journey from New quirers. Picture charts of Bible scenes York has not been without its store of have been used of the Spirit in blessing spiritual food or its share of spiritual some darkened minds with a I;'msp of uplift. On the Atlantic we were six- Bible truth. We leave the mcrease teen. Seven were en route to Eastern with the Spirit. During all this long Africa to inaugurate the African Inland journey it has been a pleasure to re- Mission for ninety million Africans. member the International Missionary Rev. E. W. McDowell, whom you will Union in daily prayer." remember as a new member of the In- ternational Missionary Union, was re- Progress of Evangelioal Work in Italy. turning to Mosoul, Turkey, without his family, but accompanied by a new BYE. C.
physician, Dr. Hansen. Four of us Liberty of thought in Italy, that has were returning to this Laos Mission in North Siam, Rev. D. G. Collins and in its ranks many unconscious Protes- wife, and Mrs. Dodd and myself; and tants, has lost of late in Ruggero Bough! we had with us three recruits, Rev. and Mrs. L. W. Curtis, and Miss Ghormley. one of its guiding stars. Almost the In London we were joined by Rev. last public act of this Catholic, who William Harris,' Jr., and in Bangkok wrote a Life of Christ placed in the by Dr. McKean and family and Rev. Index, and whose greatest delight was J. H. Freeman. in whetting his brilliant wit and scath- " Altho there were only three mem- ing sarcasm on the Vatican, was the bers of the International Missionary Union among us, we had frequent mis- contribution of articles in the daily pasionary conferences Ii la Clifton per, La Rijorma, and the periodical, I.e Vita Italiana, on that burning ques- found in regiments he had been among tion of the day, the King of Portugal's years before; most gratifying the at- obedience to the Pope's veto to his in- tendance at the services he held before tended visit to the Quirina1. In La the dispersion of the troops. He was Riforma Bough expressed himself thus: able to talk with many of the younger .. If the Government of Lisbon has officers, some of whom had read the bowed its head to the threats of the Bible, " and from their faces joy mani- Vatican, this is not our affair. The fested itself on knowing and being con- threat of recalling the nuncio J acobini, vinced that the wafer and the wine, if King Charles had entered the royal that the actual laws might still olJIige palace of Italy, reveals all the intrigue me, in this century of progress, to adore practised to fetter the free-will of the as God, are really but bread and wine."
faithful king. For us, meanwhile, I glean from the annual report (1894- this clearly follows that Catholic kings 95) of the W aldensian Church of would have no difficulty in coming to Rome: "There were twenty-six new the Quirinal, and that the fable of their admissions. A group of brethren has reluctance to enter the royal palace of been formed to visit tht: sick, the afflict- Italy is destroyed, … and the Vati- ed, the isolated. The Sunday-school can has recourse to threats to keep numbers sixty·five children."
from the Quirinal the sovereigns of On November 5th, in the great hall Catholic States, using the arms of faith of the Palazzo Saloiati, at Florence, to ends most contemptible and not de- the new term of the Waldensian Theo- terred by the responsibility of engen- logical Seminary was inaugurated.
dering revolution in the States of Eu- Signor G. P. Pons presided, moderator rope' that desire to keep in friendly of the table, surrounded by many Ital- terms with us." ian and foreign evangelical ministers, Pas mal for a Romanist, don't you some of whom Clime expressly from think? other cities to be present. Among I wish I could depict to you, happy them were the Rev. Mr. Miller, Dr.
people, my readers, who adore God Gray, and Mr. Brown. of the Free and honor your rulers with a quiet Church of Scotland, Messrs. Shaw and conscience, the condition of a nation Eager, of the Baptist Mission, and that has to choose between its church many others. After the opening prayer and its king, of a country in which to Professor Comba addressed to the adore God without being a heretic one many persons present a most eloquent must close one's eyes to the testimonies and admirable discourse on the Bible of good sense and reason. Is it so in Italy and its many versions. Mr.
strange that atheism, agnosticism, in- Miller, of the Scotch Church at Genoa, differentism, with all that follows in next spoke, and then Dr. Gray, who their train, should be rampant? Oh, if particularly desired to represent the this people, that by its hatred of super- Scotch Bible Society, of which he is stition is obeying the soul's impulse the agent in Italy. He joined Profes· toward the source of all light, could sor Comba in the hope expressed by be made to know the true God ! the latter in his discourse, that from The reports of the work of evangeli- this theological school a new translator zation are most encouraging. I have of the Bible in Italian might arise.
before me a letter of the Cardinal Luigi Most interesting was the testimony of Cappellini, of the Military Church, Professor Castelli, an eminent Jew, to published in the Italia Evangelica of the Bible, especially as regards the New October 5th. In it he gives an account Testament. ",Vith words from the of his work among the soldiers at the Rev. IHr. Shaw and Rev. Mr. Eager time of the grand maneuvers this au- and of the president, and with a prayer tumn in the Abruzzi. Very cheering and the singing of the Te ])eum, the to him were the fruits of past work he ceremony closed.
FIELD OF MONTHLY SURVEY
III.-FIELD OF MONTHLY SURVEY.
BY D. L. PIEBSON.
India,* OeyloD, Burma,t IDnduiBm.t INDIA. cated and outcaste, rich and poor, men, Twenty-three thousand souls pass women, and children. into eternity every day in India. What Work among Brahmins and students are the Christians of the world doing to give them an opportunity for eternal in India offers a tremendous field for life? The population of this great de- labor. The Young Men's Christian ~endency of England is nearly eight Association has recently entered India, tImes that of the BritiSh Isles, or equal and is doing successful work in many to that of all Europe (excluding the of the colleges and universities of that British Isles), or about four and one half land, especially at Calcutta. The Unitimes that of the United States. Among versityof Calcutta alone examines yearthese nearly 290,000,000 people about ly over 10,000 students, of whom more 1700 missionaries are laboring, or one than 6000 are candidates for entrance. representative for about every 25,000 To many the problem of the speedy Protestant communicants in the world ! Christianization of India seems, hu- If everyone of these missionaries could manly speaking, the problem of Chrisreach (in separate parishes) 50,000, there tianizing the young men while they would still be 200,000,000 without any are still young and while they are means of learning the way of salvation. passing out from under the cloud of The call for more workers and more superstition in which they have been funds to carryon the work comes from reared into the light of knowledge. every part of the field and from every Their period of education is a critical missionary society at work there. Con- stage in their career. and only Chrissecrated men and women of almost every tianity can prevent their passing from type may here find opportunity to use the darkness of heathenism to the cold their talents to the greatest advantage, lifeless state of skepticism or atheism: for there are all kinds and conditions of Much success has attended this work of Hindus among whom to work-edu- the Young Men's Christian Association but the leaders are greatly hampered by lack of funds to support sufficient workers and to supply the necessary • See also pp. 21, 41 (Jannary); 260,286 (pres- apparatus to carryon the work sucent issue). Books:" The Cross in the Land of cessfully. the Trident," H. P. Beach; "Bishop Heber," Dr. George Smith; "Modern Missions in the East" Women have an opening for Chris- Lawrence. Articles:" Studies on India," St'u. tian work in India such as, perhaps, dent Volunteer (October, November, December, they possess in no other land. The 1895); "Kashmir," Littell's Living Age (Janu- seclusion of Indian women in zenanlls ary 11th, 1896); Ohurch at Home and Abroad makes it possible to reach a large class (1896) and Gospel in All Lands (April, 1896). of them only through their Christian StereopttcQn Views and Lecture. Address Li- sisters; they occupy a position at once brarian of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. degraded and unhappy-thus making them peculiarly open to the influence of t See also p. 49 (January); t72 (present is· the Gospel-and influential-thus ren- sue). Article: "Burma," Oornhill (Jannary 1896). '
:I: See also p. 280 (present issne). Books: dering their conversion of special im- "The Religions of India," E. W. Hopkins, portance. As wives and mothers they are the mainstay of Hinduism, and, con- Ph.D. Articles: "The Religions Noofn.ICuhdriia~" verted, may become a tremendous power Biblia (Jannary, 1896); .. Studies in for the conversion of the whole empire.
tian Religions," Student Volunteer (February 1896). ' Another important branch of the submitted to the government, is interestwork is the education of the children, the future men and women of India. ing and significant. It shows the selfish- Sunday-school work has been carried ness of the Hindu system and its inabilon with much success. In one year ity to raise the lowly; it is a striking the number of Sunday-schools increased 1775, and scholars 66,396. The acknowledgment of the power of Chriswork is now carried on in 25 languages among 250,000 scholars_ Orphanages tianity and to the success of Christian and schools are only limited by men and missions. means to push forward the work. About $35 a year given for ten years In spite of the many difficulties to be will educate an orphan into an effective native Christian worker. More than 20,- encountered in India and the lament- 000,000 girls of school age in Indiahave able lack of support on the part of the still no opportunity for an education other than their heathen homes afford. Christians at home, the outlook was An unintended testimony to the effi- never more bright than at present. The ciency of the methods of missionary remarkable progress made during the work in India is the imitation of those methods by the Arya Somaj, one of the past twenty years still continues. There societies of Hindu reformers. They is, first of all, a marked difference obspend much money on educational work, have built orphanages, and opened servable in the attitude of the people meeting houses in many parts of the toward Christianity. Even the expoempire, where they hold Sunday services. This society also publishes tracts nents of Hindu systems seek to make explanatory of the Vedas and issues newspapers in which Christianity is their beliefs appear as much lik£' Chrisabused, but idolatry, caste, child marriage, and other evils are also opposed. tianity as possible without being Chris- Another remarkable and more spe- tian. Christian Hindus are also much cific testimony to missions is given by a Brahmin, V. Nagam Iyer, in his chap- more highly respected than formerly.
ter on education in the census report of Rev.•1. E. Scott enumerates the follow- Travancore. He says: ing signs of promise for further ad- .. By the unceasing efforts and selfdenying earnestness of the learned body vance: of Christian missionaries in the country the large community of native Chris- 1. Caste is breaking down. It is seen tians are rapidly advancing in their in the way people eat and drink, dress moral, intellectual, and material condi- and work; in the way they travel, in tion…• But for them the humble their schools, on their trains, steamorders of Hindu society would forever ships, and in their mills. remain unraised. . •. The heroism of raising the low from the slough of degra- 2. The pOOl" are coming up. The dation and debasement was an element coming man in India is the converted of civilization unknown to ancient sweeper. India. . •. Neither Brahmins nor non- Brahmins can c;laim to have done thus." 3. The people are broadening out. The National Congress, the Social Con- Rev. J. H. Wyckoff, of India, in gress, the newspapers, the patronage of commenting on this remarkable enco- Western science, the study of law, medicine, and engineering, all indicate mium, well says that this statement, that. coming from the pen of a Hindu of the 4. Christ is honored more. Many highest caste and in a public document among all classes now look upon Him with favor. Brahmos, Brahmins, and Mohammedans speak well of Him.
5. The Christian missions are 8UC- ceeding. Never before in the history of India were they advancing so rapidly as now. "The workers were never so numerous; the schools never so spir- itual ; the methods never so good; the fraternity and unity never so strong; the converts never so numerous; the Church never so spiritual as now."
6. The native Church is taking hold_ Often it is becoming self-supporting_ The people are appreciating their own pastors. Strong men are being raised up.
7. All feel it is worth the effort. Here are 282,000,000 people. CEYLON. British control, and this has given the work there a fresh impetus. The recog- "India's Pearl" presents a prosper· nition of the Rangoon Baptist College ous field for mission work; medical and by the State as one of its normal departeducational work are especially pros- ments has also given new life to the perous, and the only cloud on the hori- educational work. The pacification of zon is that of threatened failure of sup- Upper Burma has made it possible again port by Christians at home. Everywhere to man the station at Bhamo, and push the call for" retrenchment" brings sor- the work there. In all there were. in row and apprehension to the missiona- 1895, 148 missionaries, 710 native helpries' hearts, for it not only means hhrd- ers, and 600 churches, with 33,337 ship and trial to themselves and inabil· members, of whom 2187 were baptized ity to reap the fields which are white to in 1894. There are in connection with the harvest, but it means that the un- the missions 505 schools, with 13,306 converted will have another occasion to pupils. The native churches contributscoff and heathen communities and weak ed $1.56 per member-a sum that should Christians lose faith in the stability and put to shame many churches in Ameritruth of Christianity. Calls come for ca. The toils, privations, and sufferfunds for medical dispensaries for wom- ings of the pioneer missionaries have en and for schools to educate the youth. not been in vain. Rich harvests have Over 200 have professed their faith in already been reaped in Burma, and we Christ during the past year, and many are justified in believing that still greatothers are inquirers. The mission er triumphs are in store for us in the schools contain 14,868 and the Sunday- near future, if we do not become weary schools 64.05 children. J affqa College has in well·doing. 160 students, and the high school 391. .. The Master is sending patients to One hundred dollars will support for a our dispensary in the most marvelous year four native village school-teachers way. We have 400 out-patients a day in Ceylon. Each teacher would have on to whom the message is given, and the average 50 pupils in his school, so since the dispensary opened, less than a that $100 would prevent the giving up year ago, have preached to nearly 35,000 of four schools, and therefore keep 200 coming from nf;larly 800 villages in this children in Christian schools, under district. To follow up the preaching Christian instruction, for a year. in the villages is what we want to do ; Twenty-five dollars would keep 50 but the work is so heavy at headquarchildren in school; $10, 20 children; ters we have no staff for itineration." $5, 10 children; $1,2 children. "Quick So writes Mr. Monro from Ranaghat help is double help." District, N uddea, Bengal.
The dispensary for women at Chava- A Parsee Christian Association has gacherri (opened in July, 1894, through been formed, with headquarters at Bomthe self·sacrificing efforts of Miss Leitch) bay. Parsee converts residing there has now over 100 patients daily, patients feel the need of a bond of union, and who had previously been shut out from that if all Parsee Christians throughout European medical treatment, owing to the world were so united, it would ennative female modesty, which prevents courage others to join the Christian them from consulting male physicians. Church and openly confess Christ. Rich and poor consult the lady physi- Rev. Dhanjibhoy Nowroji, minister of cian, and receive spiritual as well as tem- the Free Church of Scotland, is presiporal aid. Many evince their apprecia dent. Almost every Parsee Christian tion by their contributions to the sus- in India belongs to the association, and tenance of the work. within six months five new converts have been baptized.-A. T. P. BURMA.
Since 1886 Burma has been under
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
IV.-EDITORIAL DEPARTlV:ENT.
While the editor-in-chief is on his May 28-Jnnc 1. …….. Bnrnley. missionary tour in the British Isles it June 2-5 ……………. Birmingham. is his earnest wish that all who hold the interests of the Kingdom dear to " 7-10 ………….. Leicester. their hearts would unite in earnest pray- " 11-12 ………….. Bournemoutb. •• 15……………..Christ Church, London (C. E. Anniversary).
er that God's blessing may attend these " 16-19………….. Exeter HaIl (London). services. We append a list of both past " 20th, sails for America..on "Lucania."
and future appointments, that by united prayer of God's people the Holy Spirit The March of Events, may manlIest Himself throughout the whole tour. Thus far God's blessing The difficulties which have arisen in has been manifest in a marked degree. the Salvation Army in consequence of From one to three services are held the recall of Commander Ballington and daily, the subjects considered being: Mrs. Booth from the United States are 'l'he Inspiration and Authority of the much to be regretted, tho such a crisis Bible; the Personality and Power of in the Army might have been expected the Holy Spirit; the Culture of the to occur sooner or later. Dictatorship Christian Life; Christian Missions and has its advantages at certain periods and Systematic Giving. The list of en- for some people; but when a fallible gagements is as follows: man is dictator, and uses his authority to dictate a course which is against the January 1-5 ………… s. V. M. U. Conference, judgment of independent and strong- minded men, a .. rub" is sure to come in Liverpool. the course of time. None will deny 6-9……•.•••. Southport. 11-17……….Cardiff, Wales. 19-21 .•••..•••• Hereford.
2-2-23 .•••••••.. Abertillery . the successful progress of the Army or 24…………. Brecon and Trevecca the many noble Christian principles upon which it is founded, and according Colleges. to which its work is conducted; neither 26-28 ………. Newport. is the conscientiousness of the General 29-31. …….•. Abergavenny. February 1-6.•….•…•. Croydon and London.
" 7…•..••….. St. Paul's Cray, Kent. or of the Commander and his wife called 9-12 ……. " .Cambridge. 13-14 ……..•Colchester. in question. If the Commander still be- 16-20 •..•…..Oxford. lieves in the principles and practice of 23-26………Dublin, Ireland. the Army, he should abide by the Gen- 27-28 •…….. Waterford, Ireland. eral's order; if he has lost confidence March 1-4………….. Cork, Ireland. in them, it is time for him to withdraw. No doubt there was undue precipita- 5-6…………. Galway, Ireland. tion on the part of the representatives 8-11…………. Belfast, Ireland. 12-13………. Newry, Ireland.
15-17•……….. Londonderry, Ireland. of the London Headquarters, which 19-20………… Aberystwyth, Wales. forced Commander Booth and his wife ~~~ 22-25……….. . Bristol, England. to the step they have taken. They have ., 26-28 …•..••.•• . Exeter. the hearty sympathy of all Christian 29-April1. …..Bath.
April 3………………Croydon people in these trying circumstances. " 5-9……………. Brighton. This is a time for Christian moderation " 10-13 …………..Lewes. Ilnd charity to be manifested by both " 14-16………….Hastings. parties. It is earnestly hoped that " 19-May 9………Scotland. the Army will remain united and con- May 10-13 ………….. Barrow-in-Furness.
" 14…………….. City Temple, London. tinue its noble warfare, tho ready to " 17-20 ………….. Manchester. alter its policy when circumstances " 21-24 …………. Warrington. demand it. When the forces of evil are .. 27………………C. I. M. Annual Meet- united, the forces of Cl1rist's army can- ing, London. not afford to be rent with internal dwelleth the love of God in !tim 1" There strife. must be immediate relief or it will be too late 1* The situation in Armenia remains un- changed so far as the attitude of Christ- Ohina'8 Millions says: " The Moham- endom and the Turk is concerned, but medan rebellion in Kan-suh, far from •it has been growing worse daily and being quelled. is spreading into the ad- hourly in the increased suB'ering and joining province of Shen-si. It has death· rate among the destitute Arme- been stated that the rebels are led by a nians in Asia Minor. Russia and Tur- man of relentless energy and high am- key seem to have made a compact to bition. A great gulf of religious preju- stand against the other European pow- ers. The Sultan has agreed to allow dices and hatred separates the Moslems Miss Barton a.nd her Red Cross workers from their neighbors. The authorities to distribute food and clothing for the are helpless; they have had to deal, not relief of the starving and freezing men, merely with an army concentrated at women, and children. This enables one spot, but with a general rising carthe work to be carried on more rapidly ried out on every hand and breaking and in points inaccessible to missiona- out wherever and whenever opporturies. The central station for the Red nity occurred. To add to the difficul- Cross work will probably be in or near ties of the situation, the secret societies, Zeitoun, where the misery and sickness organized for the overthrow of the Manamong the refugees arc indescribable chu Government, are acting in concert with the rebels. Half the province is said to be in their hands. The slaugh- ter of women and children has been ap- palling, and the people in the two prov- inces are panic-stricken."
and inconceivable. Arecent letter says: II Can you in America realize what it A Presbyterian rally for Home Mismeans to Bee for your lives from a burn- sions was held in Carnegie Hall, New ing home, having lost property and mon- York: City, March 3d, at which nearly ey, relatives and friends; to walk: for four thousand people were present, and miles barefooted and wounded through speeches were delivered by Dr. Sheldon the snow, and then thank God for His Jackson, Booker Washington, and othwonderful mercy in preserving you ers. The meeting was too long and not from death 1" Intelligence and rumors a financial success. Christians need still reach us from time to time telling more than a temporary enthusiasm for of fresh massacres and increased suffer- the spread of the Gospel-they need to ing, and there are fears of further das- be more thoroughly enthused with the tardly work by the Turks during the spirit of Christ and more keenly and holy month of Ramazan. The Sultan constantly ali ve to the needs of the work meanwhile seeks to deceive Europe by at home and abroad. While almost pledges of reform and to stop contribu- every mission board is burdened with a tions from America and England by re- load of debt, they could be supported ports of " Turkish Relief Work." But ten times over if Christians everywhere the Turk is neither able nor willing to gave systematically even one twentieth relieve the Armenians. Whatever funds of their income. are collected are used for Moslem sub· jects-for the Turk seeks to extermi- Dr. J. Henry Barrows sailed on Feb· nate the Christians. Are followers of ruary 25th for India, where he willlec- Christ in America and England content tura on the Christian religion. He will to look quietly on while their brethren endeavor to present Christianity in such and sisters die by the hundreds for want of succor in their distress 1 "Whoso • Contributions sent to the managing editor hath this world's good and seeth that his of the REVIEW; to Frank H. Wiggin, 1 Somerbrother have need and 8hutteth up his set Street, Boston; or to Brown Brothers, New oowels of compasaion from him, MW York (agents for Red Cross.) a light that educated Hindus will recog- "1. That the United States is to be nize its simplicity, its truth, and its the future land of promise to the Jews power. There may be some difference is a piece of national conceit on a par of opinion as to the utility of this tour, with our insular conceit which breeds but let the prayers of God's people at· such a theory as Anglo-Israelism over here.
tend him, that he may be used to con- "2. That there is to be no return of vince men that salvation by the vicari· the Jews to the Holy Land, but only a ous atonement of Christ is the only • spiritual' • return to Christ.' is, to my salvation, and that they may confess mind. dead contrary to IToly Writ. For His name with boldness. I believe that the • most stupendous miracle ever performed' will most cer- Three men of wide influence have re- tainly be performed. cently been called to their reward. Rev. Talbot W. Chambers, S.T.D., LL.D., "3. 'The Christian Church to-day is one of the most prominent Christian the Israel of God ' ! t We had that theministers of New York City during the sis as one of our two subjects at the last past generation, died on February 3d in meeting of the Prophecy Investigation the seventy-seventh year of his age. He Society, and Rev. Prebendary Webbhas seen great changes in the city, and Peploe demolished it beautifully. As has himself been an important factor in John Wilkinson says, • You cannot the making of many of them. He was widely known as a scholar, a preacher, make a spiritual Israelite out of a Genas a loyal and honored citizen, and an tile.' You must have a raw potato beable exponent of missions. fore you can have a cooked potato; you must have a natural Israelite before you By the death of Rev. Sandford Hunt, can produce a spiritual Israelite. D.D., Treasurer of the Missionary Societyof the Methodist Episcopal Church " Dr. Jessup talks of the' literal in- (North), not only that society and terpretation as being extremely improba- Church, but the whole Church sustains ble.' Does he forget that there is a U'D- ing God 1 and that' the things that are impossible with men are possible with God' ?
" To my mind, Dr. Jessup's paper just bristles with controvertible points, all opposed to the prernillennial and per- sonal coming of our Lord and His reign over the house of Israel…
a great loss. For many years he has While the editor gives room to the ably filled his positions of trust and has above remarks-which were not meant left the record of a noble life. for public eye, and thus gives them Dr. H. C. Bowen, editor and proprie- pUblicity in order to show how such tor of the Independent, died on Febru- methods of dealing with Scripture ary 24th, in the eighty-third year of his shock certain reverent students of age. It is largely due to his energetic prophecy, among whom the writer of and able management that the Independ- this letter Is one of the most beloved- ent has developed into one of the fore- we wish our readers to understand that most weeklies of the day. no personal hostility to this eminent missionary in Beirut actuates the criti- If any of our friends think the cism either of the editor or his corre- editorial demurrer as to Dr. Jessup's spondent. Opposition to a view or article on the Jews (pages 889-891, of opinion may be most positive and un- 1895 volume) was uncalled for, it may hesitating, while affection for the party be well to let a very devoted child of holding it is most tender and true. We God from the other side of the sea add regard Dr. Jessup as one of the most his testimony. He says: "I am disap- self-sacrificing and serviceable missiona- pointed exceedingly to see the paper by ries now on the field, and the more do Dr. Jessup in the December REVIEW. we regret that he has fallen into that It is most painful reading and full of ready. and, to our minds, irreverent shocking skepticism. Dr. Jessup's God method of handling prophecy which is evidently dead and can work no mir- leaves men to dispose of prediction acle. It contains these errors: upon the basis of human probabilities. The predictions about our Lord's first You can find no promise in the Old coming seemed even to Jewish rabbis Testament with reference to Israelso contradictory (e.g., Isa. 53) that they their conversion and the outpouring of could only undel'stand them by imagin- the Holy Spirit upon them-except in ing a (lQuble .Messiah-one suffering and connection with their national restoradying, the other reigning and triumph- tion to the land which God ga'e to their ing. And in view of the fact that such fa~hers. In that very chapter in Jereimpossibilities as birth from a virgin mIah, when God says He will make a and resurrection and such paradoxes as new covenant with them and give to prophecy presents were fulfilled and them a new heart and put a right spirit reconciled in Christ's actual career ~ithin them-in that very chapter and should make us hesitate at least about In the subsequent chapters are described saying that predictions about Christ's to us distinctly that, in that very land second advent, and the future of the which He gave to their fathers, all this Jewish nation, are impossible of fulfil- would take place, and also that their ment or absurdly paradoxical. And thus national existence would endure as long to affirm of any prophecy is a blow as the sun and moon and the heavens' against the inspired Book, since it as- and so you fiud in all the prophets that these things remain steadfast and sure .
and Jesus Christ Himself confirmed these promises. the oath which God sware to Abraham."
sumes that the human reader is to judge Dean Farrar has publicly stated that what is possible for God to bring about: 7000 of the English clergy are avowed This is judging prophecy by the proba- supporters of the Romeward movement. bilities of events, instead of determining How that movement proceeds is being the certainties of the future by the in- illustrated at St. Pancras, where the fallible Word of God.-A. T. P. confessional is being openly used ; at A:Canadian correspondent calls atten- Stratford-on-Avon, where a communi- tion to an extract from Dr. Adolph cant was refused the cup because de- Saphir's .. Divine Unity of Scripture" clining to receive the bread in the form apropos of the article by Dr. Jessup on of a wafer; and at the opening of a .. The Jews in Palestine," respecting mission chapel in Landport. A proces- the covenant about the land :* sion was formed, of which the follow- .. The covenant with Abraham em- ing is a description: braces three points, and you cannot take anyone of them away. First, from .. First came a thurifer swingiug the Abraham was to come an exceedingly numerous nation; second, that nation censer, from which was emitted the was to possess the land of Canaan' and fragrant odor of incense. Beside him third, that the seed of Abraham"';as to was an acoly!e carrying the crucible. be the center of blessing to all the fami- Both were attired in red cassocks with lies of the earth. When we look at shoes. stockings, and skull caps to these three points, if it were not for the match; and above the cassocks was middle point of the promise of the land worn a white surplice or robe. Other it might be possible for people to say acolytes, similarly dressed, came next. that when Christ came, and when aSnoomtehebrotrheeacloroftssl.ongFowllhoiwteicnagncdalems~ and Christ by His death became the Savior the of sinners, the promises to Abraham choir, the clergy, and other acolytes were fulfilled. He had become a nu- with an upraised crucifix and a censer merous nation; the Messiah had come' with incense. Immediateiy behind the and through that Messiah blessings had choir came the bishop, and on each side gone forth to .all the nations of the of him walked two clergymen. Most earth. Take all the promises which are based upon this covenant that God of the clergymen wore birettas. The made with Abraham in a literal and company of clergymen was brought up concrete sense, and never for a moment by , Father' Dolling in gorgeous cope forget the land of Canaan in which these promises were to be fulfilled. and alb; and then a large number of worshipers, walking four abreast completed the pageant." '
To offset the extreme ritualistic and Romanizing tendencies of the Anglican *P.304. Church, a course of lectures on " Dif· ferenceS between the Church of Eng- cated classes, that has been so proland and the Church of Rome" are nOUl'lCed the last few years, is on the being given at St. Peter-upon-Cornhill, wane, and there is slow but sure moveby Archdeacon Sinclair, on Tuesdays ment toward the Gospel. The revolt and Fridays. The subjects are" Papal from materialism is as marked here as Supremacy and Infallibility;" "Sin in Europe and America; attempts to and Forgiveness, Penance, Purgatory;" reform Hinduism have ended in ac- "The Sacraments, Transubstantiation, knowledged failure; theosophy has Sacrifice of Mass, Withholding of Cup;" been tried and.found wanting; and the "Veneration and Invocation of Saints eyes of thoughtful Hindus are unmisand Images, the Virgin Mary, Image takably turning to Christ as the one and Worship;" .. Worship of Relics;" only fulfilment of their hopes. Pre- " Prayers in an Unknown Tongue;" cisely in what way the Lord will lead "Pius IV.'s Addition to the Creed." this people to Himself I would not This is an unusual step, and it is to be dare to prophesy-for • my ways are hoped these discourses will be put in permanent form and scattered; among not your ways,' saith the Lord-but that He is moving among the high and the low in this great land, and prepar- ing the way for the coming of His king- dom, is manifest to all who have eyes to see."
the people.-A. T. P.
We acknowledge $20 for the Arme- :Book Notioe. nian sufferers from the Salems congregation of the Reformed Church, re- The systematic study, of missions is ceived through the pastor, J. H. Beck, demanding more and more attention, of Waynesburg, O. ; also $9 from the especially on the part of those who United Presbyterian congregation of have in view work in the foreign field. Saltsburg, Pa., forwarded by Robert H. There is a growing demand for books Wilson. Both of these sums have been which present in a clear and forceful transmitted immediately to the scene of way the state and characteristics of suffering. separate mission fields, but as yet this demand has been but sparsely supplied. As a study of India, we would heartily The murder of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson recommend Harlan P. Beach's series of and son in Madagascar is the more sur- studies, .. The Oross in the Land of the prising and disappointing because not Trident. ,,* These studies were prethe work of untaught pagans, but of pared especially for Student Volunthose wp.o had been in attendance at the teers, of which movement Mr. Beach church and schools of their teachers, is the Educational Secretary, and and who plundered also adjoining abounds in valuable information and dwellings. The heathen mind is prone suggestions as to the land, the people, to distrust, and its suspiciousness is not and the work of Christian missions. always allayed even by self-denying One of the most useful and unique fealabors of Christian missionaries. This tures of the book is the list of .. Sugseems a day of tragedies even in lands gested Readings" from all the best not usually linked with the apprehen- books which treat of Indian history, sion of such deeds of violence. life, and religions. The book is packed full of information; it is a thesaurus An Indian missionary, Mr. Wyckoff, on missions in India. We hope that a expresses himself in the following way future edition will contain one or two about the outlook in India: maps and charts, and some additional tables of statistics regarding the work " I have never in my whole mission- of the various societies in the field and ary life felt so hopeful of the triumph the territorial distribution of missionof the Gospel in India as to-day. Un- aries. less I am greatly mistaken in reading the signs of the times, the antagonism * Fleming H. Revell Co., New York, Chicago to Christianity on the part of the edu- and Toronto. 50 and ~5 c~ntB.
MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
V.-GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.
EDITED BY BEV. D. L. LEONARD.
Extracts and Translations from Foreign You may smile, but I know that not Periodicals. only has that man held that view for BY REV. C. C. STARBUCK, ANDOVER, years, and still holds it, but that many men hold that same view. Now is it MASS. conceivable that any man, the most INDIA. unfair of men, could long abide in such -The Harvest Field of a few months an opinion except from absolute igno- since had a valuable paper by S. D. rance of the personal character of mis- PEARS, Esq., entitled" The Missionary sionaries as a class? And surely it i.
and Anglo-Indian Society." ?tIro Pears for the missionaries and not for us to thinks that the missionaries in India remove this ignorance."
seclude themselves too much from gen· The Harve8t Field thinks that Mr.
eral society. He says: "I believe that Pears exaggerates the power that mis- far more might be done by personal in- sionaries could have over Anglo·Indian fluence than is done toward converting society, and hardly blings out in its full the great mass of secular society in this force the deliberate and obstinate ,un- country from a mere apathetic dead godliness of much of this SOciety.
weight round the neck of missionary effort in India into an active and -The Basel Report of South India, vital force tor good, if only mission· among other grounds of conversion, aries would bring the power of their speaks of being "'driven into the fold individual personal influence more of Christ by fear of demons." "Early closely into the midst of non-missionary one morning not long ago the old Chris- society. I know that in some stations tian widow Hanna was seen hastening missionaries do belong to the clubs and to the mission station at Padur. It do intermix in the closest friendship must have been something important with lay society, but I believe these that induced her to leave her cottage so are rather the exception than the rule, early and to come to the missionary.
and from my own experience I know Almost breathless she arri ves and tells that there are other stations where the her story. That same morning at day- missionary and the non-missionary sec- break her neighbor had knocked at her tions are as completely apart as tho an door and told her with streaming eyes ocean divided them. In one such sta- that she could no longer bear the fear tion I remember the complaint being of the bhutas (demons). There was her made by a missionary in the pUlpit that son lying sick at home, and all she did the evil lives led by certain laymen to pacify the bhutas was of no avail, were the greatest possible hindrance to her son was growing worse and worse.
their mission work in the town. Was She had long observed that in Hanna's the complaint justified, I ask, seeing house there was peace and no fear of that the missionaries did absolutely bhutas, and she had now made up her nothing to influence or reform the evil mind to come to the Christians with her lives in question? Again, I heard a whole house to serve the God of the man not long ago, not merely in his Christians in order to get peace and to right mind, but of rather conspicuous have her son made well again. Shortly ability, set to work to abuse mission- afterward the grown-up son of the aries, one and all, as a class without house arrives and corroborates her exception. To be a missionary, he story. He is encouraged in the belief said, was to be, ipso jaoto, a hypocrite. that God Almighty hears prayer, and
EXTRACTS AND TBANSLA1'IONS
can save his brother if it be His will. Methusela, Carolina, Abiathar, Abigail, Mr. Singer, accompanied by his cate- Samson, Abithal, Absalom? We know chist, went to the house in question, that after this custom has been intro· which was about two miles distant. The duced by the missionaries, the native inmates were an old widow, aged about Christians of some parts have now taken sixty-five years, with a face in which it up and sometimes select the most griefhad left visible traces; two grown- singular names for themselves or their up sons, one married to a girl-wife, the children; but we are convinced that other a widower; a widowed daughter, the custom can be and ought to be op- and the sick son, aged about twenty, posed by all right-minded persons, be and looking more like a skeleton than they missionaries or natives."
a living man. These folks belong to Ramkrishnapunt was a name that the caste of the IIalepaikaru, Kanarese- emphasized only the more emphatically speaking people who settled here in an- the conversion of the eminent preacher cient times as soldiers. After a short who bore it, and who, like Hermes, address and prayer the paraphernalia Hermas, Phrebe, Demetrius, and many of the bhuta-worship were destroyed, other apostolic converts, never dreamed and then the people were visibly re- of changing it.
lieved and said, 'Now we belong to -Missionary SeLEScR, of the Danish you.' "-Ha7"Dest Field. Tamil Mission, remarks that the Shiva- -The Basel Report says very sensi- ites have 1008 holy places. It will be bly, and we need not say is confirmed remembered that the great sectarian by the Ha7"De8t Field, which always takes division of Hinduism is that between the sound view of things: " We desire Shivaites and Vishnuites, representing to enter a protest against the custom respectively salvation by works and by prevailing in some of our churches of faith. Which represents which the ransacking the Bible or the German present writer is never able to keep in and English dictionaries in order to find mind. A missionary remarks that names for the new converts. We do when a preacher of either sect is holdnot find that the apostles of our Lord ing forth, you may often see the adchanged the names of their converts. herents of the other sect listening with We find that even the names of Roman an expression of fury in their faces and Greek gods, such as Hermes, Apol- compared with which the extremest relo, etc., were retained. Why should ligious animosities within Christendom we pretend to be wiser than the apos- seem mild. It is, of course, understood tIes? Why should we assist in dena- that Vishnuites and Shivaites equally tionalizing our Christians by giving enjoy all the privileges of caste.
them Hebrew, English, and German -" It seems to me that if Hindus of names? Why should we be guilty of English education can be won for our lowering in the minds of our people the Lord, their families will naturally come estimation they have or ought to have over to Christianity with them, and of the holy rite of baptism by giving then first M accessible to personal in- them cause to believe that baptism is fiuence. The relations of Indian fam- only a ceremony of giving or changing ily life assuredly render almost impos- names? Why should we degrade our· sible -or inconceivable-that a wife selves and our converts by giving our should be convinced before her hus- C!),ristians names of persons whose so- band; their want of independence is so ciety we should shun if they were alive complete and pervading, that an un- now, such as Tamar, Bathsheba? Why cultivated Hindu wife will never come introduce foreign names which to their to a resolution, not even in the com· bearers can have no meaning at all, monest every·day matters, not to speak ,"uch as Asuba, Kerenhappuch, Jemima, of questions of religion. Therefore it
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
would be very doubtful, indeed, tional ideas produced by traditional'
whether a European woman, however teaching and by the services of the capable and zealous, would find her- temple and the mosque. As the Chris- self able to influence Indian women tian advocate tries to reach the heart, (that is, such as are bound by family he finds arrayed against him as protec- ties) so that they could be said to be in tive barriers the doctrines of fate, of some measure awakened to a recogni- transmigration, of the use of sacred tion of the misery of sin, so as really to ashes, etc., and no progress toward the seek a Savior from it. I will never call inner citadel can be made till these are it impossible, for nothing is impossible removed. Then there are some who with God; but hard, immensely difficult are dissatisfied with the religious prac- it is, demanding strenuous labor and tices of their forefathers and neighbors, well-fitted instruments in the Lord's and who are in a state of unrest. This hands. If it is immensely difficult for may have been produced by occasional us men to bring Hindu men, even those glimpses of the realms of truth lying of English education. to true conver- beyond the sphere of accepted beliefs, sion-and experience makes only too caught when circumstances brought clear how hard it is-it is a hundred- them to earnest thought about the pres- fold more difficult to lead ignorant, su- ent and the future, or it has been perstitious, servile women to the same brought about by the religious instruc· goal; and such are the wi ves of the tion received in mission schools or from Hindus, even of most of the cultivated Christian publications. Such men have Hindus; therefore, like minor children, been seized upon by some truth, and we must wait for them to come with they can find no rest till they yield to their guardians. "-Rev. ANDREW LAR- it. They cannot believe what their SEN, in Dansk Missions-Blad. forefathers believed, and yet they can Mr. Larsen then goes on to speak of give no satisfactory reason for their various ways in which the missionary disbelief. They are wrestling with ladies can win the confidence and grati- they know not what. When tbe evantude of Hindu women, and so prepare gelist meets with such, he bas to be an the way for their future coming over interpreter of 'thoughts in the air ;' he with the men. has to be in sympathy with the onward movement of religious thought and -" The acute-minded Brahman, feeling; he has to place himself in con- whose studies and knowledge entitle tact with their inner religious life, that him to a place among the disciples of a he may so present the truth that the in- Hindu school of religious thought, is tellectual, moral, and religious facul- in a different mental state for hearing ties of those he speaks to may feel that the truth from the Pariah, whose it is from God and claims their allegi- thoughts seldom rise above the routine ance. Then there are many whose con- of daily life. The man whose mind re- dition is such that life affords them no ceives fresh ideas and stimulus from pleasure, and they have no prospect of the monthly serials that come from Eu- a better state of things. To them the rope and America must have the truth Gospel of hope, of rest, of joy has to presented to him in a ditIerent way be taught slowly, patiently, lovingly_ from the man whose thoughts are lim- Thus to all classes it must be made ited to the range of bis vernacular known as they need it and can receive studies. These distinctions are marked, it ; otherwise it will fail of its purpose.
but there are others quite as definite. -Rev. W. Joss, in Har'0e8t F'ield.
The mass of those around us have their moral natures and their religious sensi- -" The year has brought much bilities protected against the truth of trouble to some members of our con- Obris~ by the hard crust of COIlVen- gregation, who have been subjected to
EXTRACTS AND
perse~utions such as have passed out of ogy, the Anthropology, and the Soteri· memory in English history. The Su- ology of the Vedas. Under each head· dra is able to oppress the friendless ing he shows how his investigations Pariah in a thousand ways, and, shield- bear upon the theory of evolution ed by his caste and wealth, can often [from a lower to a higher religion]. perpetrate iniquities which are only As literature the Mantras, the oldest possible in a land where slavery exists portions of the Vedas, are vastly supe· in all but name. The wealthy Su- rior to the other portions, the Brahdra is practically king of his village ; manas and Upanishads. In the theolhis word is law, and woe to the man ogy of the Vedas we find regress rather who attempts to thwart him. In one than progress. The earliest writings village toward the end of the year a set forth the Divine nature and attri· member of the congregation was bar- butes in such a manner as to suggest the barously murdered by six ryots (it was probability that they contain fragments said) of his own and a neighboring vil- of a primitive revelation, whereas the lage. Among these ryots was a man later writers have a debased conception who is the terror of the country-side, a of the Deity, and in proportion as we rich unscrupulous Kapu, a descendant come down the stream of time, the of an old PQlygar family. So power- number of the gods gradually increases. ful are these men, that altho a warrant As regards the c08mologyof the Vedas, for their apprehension was issued and the most ancient theory is that creation a reward offered, they were able to took place out of nothing. This ac· avoid arrest for ten weeks, appearing count of the origin of the world is given openly in their own villages, altho in one in the 129th hymn of the Rig Veda, of the villages is a police station. They which corresponds in a striking manner were seen constantly by everybody ex- with the first chapter of Genesis. With cept by those whose interest it was to the spread of Pantheism came the nobe blind. It was with the greatest tion now prevalent, that creation is a difficulty that I got the case taken up, phenomenal emanation from the Deity. but it is now under inquiry. "-Rev. Here. again, there is a marked deteriora- F. L. MARLER (L. M. S.), quoted in tion. A study of the anthropology of Ha1'1Jest Field. the Vedas leads to a similar conclusion. The old is better. There is no caste, -The Intelligencer, noticing a work properly so called, in the most ancient of the Rev. MAURICE PHILLIPS, of the part of the Vedas. Lastly, when we London Mission, Madras, on "The consider the 8oteriology of the Vedas, Teaching of' the Vedas," remarks: we find that the farther back we go, "No little sympathy as well as acute- the purer it is. " ness of intellect is required to enable a European to enter into the subtleties " In days of yore, when the Hindu of Hindu speculation. Mr. PhilLips religion was still a living power, possesses these qualities in an eminent princes, priests, and people vied with degree. He deals with his subject in one another in offering their best to the spirit of the motto from Schelling their idols. They decked them with which he has prefixed to his book: costly trinkets, pearls, and precious , The religious instinct should be hon- stones; they gave their best lands to ored even in dark and confused mys- the temples; they filled the temple teries. ' While he respects this instinct, treasury with wealth, so that the he does not shrink from showing how amount possessed by many temples ran grievously it has been led astray by up to millions. This religious enthuthe' dark and confused' system which siasm has long since died out. Since he examines. He passes in review the 1858 the English Government has en· Literature, the Theology, the Cosmol· tirely withdrawn from the administra- tion of this property, and it rests in the
GENERAL :MISSIONABY INTELLIGENCE
hands of Hindus. It is a sure sign of The Lower Congo.-Wisdom in meth.
the approaching dissolution of Hindu· od is shown in the tidings from this reo ism that many temples are the prey of gion. The plan adopted by Mr. W.
robbers and spendthrifts. Even the Holman Bentley has been to gather to idols themselves are no longer safe from the station at Wathen two or three boys the long fingers ot the greedy temple from each of the principal towns, even thieves. In the Indian newspapers, to the distance of sixty miles, the aim the complaints of the bad administra· being not only to educate them and, if tion of the temple property, the dis· possible, lead them to the Savior, but honesty, extravagance, and wantonness also to train them for Christian work; of the temple authorities and priests, so that on their return to their towns, are constantly increasing. The only they may spread the Gospel among remedy suggested is to call ill the help their own people. Mr. Bentley has of the English Government. Last year reaped most satisfactory results from the most distinguished residents of this method. In arranging a mission· 'rirupati, where there is the most fa· ary journey, Mr. Bentley sends on the mous sanctuary of Vishnu in South lads a fortnight or so in advance of India, sent a long petition to the Vice- himself; and by this means finds, in roy of India, in which they entreated many cases, whole towns prepared for him to publish a new law, appointing his coming, and disposed to hear with special officials to protect the property avidity the glad message. he has to de- of the temples, seeing that the state of clare. The plan is worthy of mention, their religious endowments was des- and many may find it worthy of adop- perate. The government in Madras tion.
was attacked on all sides, until it laid Shantung, Ohina.-Speaking on how proposals of the kind indicated before the light spreads in China, Mr. Ernest the supreme power in Calcutta. But W. Burt, B.A., says; "In nine cases the Viceroy firmly answered: • No! out of ten it is through the influence of The Act of 1863, by which the admin- relations who have already learnt the istration of religious endowments must truth." One effect of this is to make be left solely and entirely in the hands the church, usuaUy small, a rather ot the adherents of the religion to "close clique;" for if the people at which they belong, must be main· the north end of a village become tained.' "-Leipziger MissirJmblatt (The Christians, then that is one reason the Ohronicle). more why those at the south end should have nothing to do with Christianity.
English Notes. Another point that Mr. Burt notices is the advanced age of candidates for BY JAMES DOUGLAS. baptism. This, he finds, to be from Bapti8t Mi88ionary Socwty.-The news tifty to tifty·four on an average, wherefrom Shansi, China, shows that while as in England the probability is that 90 the door is, in a sense, open, there are per cent are received under thirty years yet many adversaries. Mr. Towerby of age. The explanation is that in a writes; •• At present it seems scarcely land where there is no Sabbath, and right not to protect our Christians from where the struggle for mere existence persecution when this has been secured is all·absorbing, men have little leisure to them by treaty right." As matters, to think of their soul and the unseen however, now stand,' the mode of reo world till they have passed the prime of dress seems to be the greater evil of the life. Besides in China, the young are two. Despite all, the work goes on repressed, and not expected to have satisfactorily, and inquirers, chiefly opinions of their own. .
through tbe diff uaion of the Scriptures, Londo-n MisaiorUJd'Y Society. -Most en· are springing up. couragi~ reaql.ts ~e reported in con-
ENGLISH NOTES
nection with a missionary tour in Tien- sion. Last Sunday in this city our big Meu, China. In one town, 10 converts church was crammed with men (at the were baptized; in another, 23 candi- men's side) who had come expressing dates for baptism were examined; in their wish to become Christians."
Chang village a service was held at Nothing like this has ever been seen which there were 14 baptisms; while before.
two other places are mentioned where Presbyterian Ohurch of England.- 12 and 29 respectively were baptized. The Rev. Thomas Barclay, M.A., is In addition to all, much public interest able to speak hopefully of the future was shown and the privilege enjoyed of Formosa. Already abundant eviof much Gospel sowing. dence exists that a new era has dawned Thibet.-Considerable interest will for that island, and missionary prosbe felt by many in Mr. F. F. Long- pects are brighter than ever before. man's trial trip into Thibet. Having The Chinese and Japanese alike are labored among the Bhutiya people in sensible of the value of the mediatory their summer quarters in Northern 'services of the missionaries in the inter- Kumaon, Mr. Longman recently ven- ests of peace and goodwill.
tured, under the regis of this wander- Ohina'8 Milliona.-An increasing earing tribe, into the forbidden land. His nestness in listening to the message is conclusion, as tested by experience, is reported from many of the stations of that "Thibet for the present is un- the China Inland Mission. The Chinese doubtedly closed, but through the Christians have proved themselves most Bhutiyas we have an opportunity of true to their Lord, some under circumreaching and influencing its people stances of severe trial, and others under which, under existing circumstances, bitter persecution. In the far-off Provis of unique importance." inces of Yun·nan and Kan-suh, which Ftnancial.-The Centenary Fund have been much prayed for, tokens of now exceeds £90,000, while the gen- coming bleBBing have cheered the workeral contributions are a trifle in excess ers' hearts, and in Ho-nan there have of the amount received under that head been larger additions to the church at the corresponding time last year. In than in any past year, and greatly inone London suburban church the penny creased numbers of hearers.
a week system has yielded over £40.
We8tern India.-A Parsee gentleman THE KINGDOM. has been baptized at Poonah. It was during his travels abroad he was first -The Missionary puts this pertinent" drawn toward Christ, and notably by a question: "Would it not be well for sermon preached in Leopold Rooms, even Christian people to study afresh Ludgate Circus, in April, 1895. The those bits of wonderful missionary hispreacher enlarged on God's method of tory from the Book of Acts? Paul is justifying the ungodly, showing that now a hero, and his name surrounded the prevailing idea of gaining righteous- with a halo of glory. In every pUlpit ness by works was erroneous, and that and in every Christian home his name there was no righteousneBB comparable and career are a watchword and an into that of our Lord Jesus Christ. spiration. Yet he lived that wonderful life amid human ,surroundings just like Suuth Ohina.-Writing from Fuh- ours, and, if he were here to-day, and chow, Archdeacon Wolfe says: "We proposed to go to Kucheng, China, or are already beginning to see the great- Tanna, of the New Hebrides, or the heart of Congo, how many, even of ness of the bleBBlng which. God is about God's people, would cry, 'Tempting to pour down upon the Fuh-kien Mis- Providence I Why this waste? ' "
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
-This is both Christian and heroic. and moralists. Yd Christianity, as it Rev. Mr. Marshall, the father of Miss came in the fulness of time, is itself the Marshall, one of the martyr mission- fulness of Divine revelation. It is the aries of Kucheng, China, said in a ser- complement of the other religions. It mon: "I believe that I shall see the supplies what they lack. It realizes mighty fortress of Satan, called the what they vaguely aspire after. It Empire of China, handed over to the takes up and assimilates whatever is Captain of our salvation, and on that good in them. Christ is the uncon- day, whether it shall be here or in Para- scious desire of all nations. He reveals dise, I know I shalt rejoice tltat the one the God whom they are feeling after.
who called me father WaB a member of In a word, Christianity is the absolute that forlorn hope. And I shall rejoice religion…
when those from the land of Sinim ac- -Our lineage is heathen. Missionary knowledge that the martyrdoms of Ku- enterprise rescued us from paganism. cheng were a large factor in the deliv- Gratitude tor our own emancipation erance of their country from its age- and love for our brethren, the heathen. bound heathenism. Wasted lives are of all countries, should move us with a not to be found in the noble army of mighty impulse to engage in missionmartyrs." ary work.-R. Long.
-In a discourse in behalf of the So- -It took three hundred years to ciety for the Propagation of the Gos- transform old Rome so that Christianpel, the Bishop of Dover declared: "It ity became recognize!! as the nation's is the will of Christ that Christianity faith; and it may take a century to shall be the ultimate religion of the transform South America. The plans world, and not only is it God's pur- of the Church should include the time pose, but it is also self-propagating. element in transforming opinions; and, Therefore, coldness toward missions is while there is and should be preaching nothing but coldness toward God. for immediate conversion, there must Christian missions are essentially a part also be the application of such methods of the Church's lite, and the day when as will more and more prepare the way any faith ceases to extend is the day of for the Gospel in the broader sense of the beginning of its decay and death. national readiness to receive the truth. We have to make disciples of all na- -Dr. J. M. Allis. tions. There are no exceptions or conditions to be considered." -A few years ago a brother and sis- ter in Cuba, having inherited a Bible. -Those who would dissuade us from could dispose of it in no other way than evangelizing countries possessing an an- by cutting it in two and each taking cient civilization get no sympathy from half. And a colporteur tells an interest· Sir Charles Elliott, who, after forty ing story of a Bible he gave to a negro years in India, has just retired from in the mountains of West Virginia. the post of Lieutenant-Governor of The next time he saw it, behold, all the Bengal. For he affirms that it is " im- Old Testament was gone. The owner possible to !lhirk or conceal the feeling being asked to explain. said that an that the Christian religion is the one aunt living five miles away, and a pre-eminentIy excellent, and that the brother nine miles, had visited him, morality of the Christian faith is what and each wanted the Bible. After is most desirable for Inma." praying over the matter, they conclud- -Dr. George P. Fisher writes in the ed to make a division. The owner kept Outlook: "The ethnic religions are not the New Testament, and divided equal- to be denounced as if they were a prod- ly the Old between the others. And it uct of Satan. St. Paul found ethical was found that each had made good and religious truth in heathen poets use of what they had. -" The first thing the Protestant eral of the South Sea Islands become missionary does among the heathen is that it would be quite safe to leave the to establish a home," remarks E. A. natives to themselves, only that they Lawrence in " Modern Missions in the are so troubled and tried by the white East." "He approaches them not as md and his sinful practices, and by a 'priest, not simply as a man, but as his religious divisions and jealousies. the head of a family, presenting Chris- The trader comes with his rum; the tianity quite as much in its social as in Seventh:Day Adventist comes with his its individual characteristics. The peculiar notions, and seeks to reap the Christian home is to be the transform- fruit of other men's labors; the Roman ing element in the new community. Catholic comes with his unscrupulous Into the midst of pagan masses, where self-assertion; the pleasure-seeker, with society is coagulated rather than reor- no fear of God before his eyes, comes, ganized, where homes are degraded by and Iives like a heathen. To strengthen parental tyranny, marital multiplicity, and safeguard them, their old friends and female bondage, he brings the the missionaries still have to dwell leaven of a redeemed family, which is among them."-London Ohristian. to be the nucleus of a redeemed society. All the hallowed relationships of do- -" How to Raise lIoney for Church mestic life are to be exemplified in the Expenses" is the subject of a fine dismission home; all the traits of noble sertation, which we commend to all social character and intercourse here such as think that the Church exists illustrated; all the regenerating influ- principally for the sake of keeping up ences of family life are to flow forth an unbroken series of shows and supfrom this spot into the darkened. de- pers. The words are from Paul, and formed. misconstructed communities thus lay down the three points necesabout." sary in the successful administration of church finance: When to give-" upon – " The teaching of singing is of great the first day of the week ;" who should influence in winning the wild heathen give-" let everyone of you lay by in Sakalava of Madagascar. Long before store ;" .how much 'each is to givethe children can read, the teacher makes •• as God hath prospered him." There them learn by heart the hymn, which can be no satisfactory system of church is sung in several parts, and I have finance which fails to cover these three often been astonished to find how many points. Thus far The Lookout; but the hymns they had learned in this way. suggestion is equally pertinent and Hitherto our school has been held in equally cogent when applied to raisthe open air, since we have no school· ing means to carry the Gospel to the house yet. It has this advantage, that ends of the earth. all who like can listen to the teaching_ Few avail themselves of this privilege -The late T. W. Chamben. tells of for the rest of the teaching ; but when one of the Reformed Presbyterian the hymn begins, quite a number as- churches in New York City which semble round the singing children and numbers about 300 communicants, listen with pleasure. Surely many a "the most of whom are in very humword of conviction and salvation is ble circumstances. A few families are thus taken up by their ears, and finds well to do, but there are very few of its way to their hearts. And I am sure the young people who do not have to that there is just as much missionary earn their own living. A few weeks work done in this way as in many ser- ago their offerings to foreign missions mons both from natives and Euro- were received, and the amount was peans."-NO'I'sk Mis8ionstidende. $2429. Besides this, one of the elders gives every year $500 for mountain -Let 80melxJdy blush tor very shame. schools in Syria, and the women give t< So thoroughly Christianized have sevan equal sum for tbe same purpose. in Eastern Turkey. And of her noth- Also, one young man, a bookkeeper, ing bett·er than this has been said : "Be- contributes, besides his regular offer· fore starting, she deprecated being ing, $104 annually, or $2 a week, for a spoken of as • the noble Miss Barton,' particular form of missionary work, or • the heroic Miss Barton,' declaring and bas done so for tbe past five years. that she was simply a woman, • an ill- This is not all. Some years ago the strument in the hands of a human pubyoung people agreed to support a mis- lic,' willing to do what good she could, sionary in Cyprus for a term of five and determined not to give up the effort years. To accomplish this they deter- until every avenue should be barred." mined to lay aside a few cents a week (3, or 5, or 10, or 15, and so on) over -London has lately enjoyed the presand above what they gave regularly at ence of the Countess Schimmelmann, a other times, and raised in this way not Danish lady of whom it may be said, leBS than $5300. But liberality is not .. her praise is in all the churches" of confined to the foreign field. Their her own country. She came in her gifts for all purposes save bome ex- yacht from the Baltic, in the ports of penses last year amounted to the ex- which during last summer she was entraordinary sum of $10,000." gaged preaching the Gospel and advo- cating temperance principles. In Ger- -Dr. Graves, of South China, once man cities, where such effort on the asked a Chinaman if he felt he was a part of a woman is very unconvensinner. .. Certainly," was the answer; tional, she succeeded in getting a ready .. I have sometimes eaten beef, and hearing, thousands gathering to hear have passed by written paper and let it her. And so it is that even in the conbe trodden under foot, instead of rever- servative Old World woman is forging ently picking it up," ahead and making herself profoundly felt, especially in matters pertaining to WOMAN'S WORK. benevolence and humanity.
-Using some bold figures of speech, – These fonr denominations sustain the late A. L. O. E. named these as 850 women in the foreign field, of among the indispensable articles in a whom 53 are trained physicians, and missionary's outfit: Gold, that is, Faith each in number as follows: Presbyteand Love, in great abundance; Silver, rian, 379, 19 ; Congregational, 214, 11 ; which is Knowledge, including small Methodist, 151, 14; Baptist, 106, 9. change; Steel, or some physical Courage, and a large stock of moral cour- -The Methodist (North) women own age; Leather of the toughest quality- $433,660 of real estate in the foreign in other words, capacity for encounter- field, including 11 orphanages with 450 ing Drudgery; a Letter-weigher sup- inmates. and 13 hospitals and dispenplied with the smallest weights, by saries which minister to 60.000 women which sound Judgment is meant; a each year. The 440 schools have 14,000 White-covered Umbrella, representing pupils, while the teachers, assistants, prudence regarding health; and, final- and Bible readers number '750. The ly, a capacious B~ of Salve for use receipts last year were $289,227. upon rubs, scratches, bruises, and wounds certain to be received both -The Presbyterians have a Mary from natives and fellow-missionaries I Allen Seminary among the Freedmen, and this is a specimen of how the col- -Just now the eyes of Christendom ored girls give: .. Some time ago Mr. are upon Clara Barton and her assist- Smith, the president, asked the girls to ants as they attempt to carry relief to contribute 25 cents each toward a scholthe thousands of perishing Armenians arship for a girl here. Some are giv- ing it by self-denial, others by sewing, washing, and ironing. Our Christian day·schools; held 1836 meetings; se- Endeavor Society works for Siam, and cured employment for 610 persons; one of our girls has decided to go as a gave away 9052 garments, and afforded missionary to Africa. A collection is pecuniary aid to 1836 families at 7580 taken each Sabbath, all of which goes times. Through the fresh-air fund to missionary purposes. In a year these there were distributed 48,205 street·car collections amounted to about $100. tickets, 2070 round-trip harbor tickets, and 9170 persons were permitted to en- -February Woman's Workfor Wom- joy a day's vacation or a visit in the an contains an article of intense interest country, a larger number than in any by Grace Newton, entitled "Chinese previous year. At Thanksgiving 1085 Women, Heathen and Christian." families were remembered, and the Among other things she sets forth the Whole number of persons who shared unutterably cruel and barbarous treat- the supplies was 4722. ment accorded to babies when about to die, and to their lifeless bodies, and all -There are 2 or 8 five-cent restaubecause "if their babies die it is be· rants in New York City which furnish cause they never were their babies at a hot meal of beef stew, coffee and all, but only some evil spirits who came bread, and also sell either 20 ounces of to torment them, and they must hate sugar, or a third of a pound of tea and the devil that caused so much misery I" coffee, or, say, 2 pounds of oatmeal- other articles in proportionate quanti· UNITED STATES. ties-for a nickel. Butter, cheese, and pork are sold in dime lots. The qual. -" Happy will that day be when the ity of the articles used or sold is good. Church shall learn to honor her self- These restaurants are under the auspices denying servants at home as she justly of the Industrial Christian Alliance. honors those who serve in China or Charitable persons and business houses Africa I" This sentence occurs in the buy packages of tickets, and dispense report of committee on home missions them to the needy. On a recent Sunto the Synod of Virginia. It is worthy day 1375 meals were served in one of of careful reflection. The home mis- these restaurants. sionary has no halo of romance, has no security pledged to him by the Church, -The American Seamen's Friend Sogoes largely at his own charges, and to ciety began its Loan Library work in make his own living, has no periodical 1858, and up to December 1st, 1895, seasons of return and public welcome, had sent out 10,264 new libraries, conand is not mentioned in any church taining 529,726 volumes. As many liperiodical, nor written up in books braries go out 3 times or more, there when his obscure life is ended. All have been 11,850 reshipments, By the more honorable is the sacrifice he first shipment and reshipment these makes, and all the more acceptable to books have been accessible to 389,502 the head and Savior of all !-OentraZ seamen; 1118libraries, with 36,857 vol· Pr687;yterian. umes, have been put on United States naval vessels and in naval hospitals, ac- -The Bo~ton City Missionary Society cessible to 117,889 men, while 151 librarecently held its seventy·ninth annual ries have been put in as many life-sav· meeting. Its income last year was over ing stations, containing 5866 volumes, $52,000. There were employed 19 mis- accessible to 1241 keepers and surfmen. sionaries, who made 58,985 visits to Into a neat case, 13 by 26 inches, are 24,311 families, 4549 of the visits being put about 43 well-selected volumes: to the sick: distributed 613 Bibles and books of biography, of travel and ad- Testaments, and 106,720 papers and venture, of popular science, of history, tracts; gathered 827 children into Sun- of story, of religion. Into each library goes a Bible, an atlas, a dictionary, deepest solicitude the events of the last several books in German, Danish, Swed- six months.
ish, and some other language. -Bishop Taylor recently said, "I -By the Chicago Methodists, DI)cem- see the dawn of a new missionary ber 20th, was dedicated, on Indiana Ave. epoch." To his practical eye the signs and 50th St., a beautiful and commo· of better times, a larger spirit in mis- dious building to the service of train· sionary activity, are clear and assuring.
ing young women as home and foreign Are there any such signs in the United missionaries. The land, the gift of Mr. Brethren Church? Are we at the N. W. Harris, is estimated at $20,000, dawning of a new mission epoch? We and the structure, which has cost about think we are, and we rejoice in it.
$30,000, has been provided for by gifts The statistics of last year show $69,915 from other sources. The home will ac- given for the cause of missions in a commodate 160 guests; instruction will single twelvemonth. This is not the be without cost, and the instructors $100,000 aimed at, it is true, but it is even will receive no pay for their ser- approaching it. Then a sanitarium, or vices. Applicants for admission need home of rest, has been provided for in not be members of the Methodist Africa since last May; a new mission Church. field, Japan, has been entered under most favorable conditions; the work is -At the last communion 24 natives enlarging in Africa,-Religiou8 Teleunited with the Presbyterian Church scope. at Sitka, Alaska, a number of them coming from a long distance for the EUROPE. purpose.
-According to Sadlier's Catholic di· Great Britain.-MedicaZ Missions for rectory, official organ of the Roman January gives a list of medical mission- Catholic Church, there are 1405 con- aries in the service of the various Britvents in the United States, with an aver- ish and Irish societies. From this it apage of 60 inmates to each convent, ag- pears that the Church of England has gregating 84,300 " sisters," or nuns. 30 ; the Free Church of Scotland, 29 ; the London Missionary Society, 20; -The Baptists of the Missionary the United Presbyterian Church, 19; Union have 184 men and 283 women in the Presbyterian Church of England, the foreign field, with whom are asso- 14; the China Inland Mission, 10; the ciated 2583 native laborers. Including Church of Scotland, 9; and the Society Russia and the Catholic countries of for the Propagation of the Gospel, 8, Europe, the number of members in the and other societies each a smaller nummission churches is 117,382 (and not ber. The medical profession of Great 102,351, as given in the statistical tables Britain and Ireland is represented by of January). No other American 187 men and 39 women. As there are church has so many communicants. over 30,000 men and 200 women who possess British qualifications, it cannot '-The American Board has expended be said that the number engaged in upon missions in Turkey during the foreign missions is in adequate propor- last sixty years about $6,000,000, and tion. In 1890 the list included only 125 now holds some $2,000,000 of property. names; now it numbers 226. India has It has 325 stations and out-stations oc- 71; China, 70; Africa, including Mada- cupied by 58 men and 118 women, and gascar, 40; Syria and Palestine, 16; 878 native laborers. In the 125 churches other places fewer than 5 each. The are 12,787 members, and in the 423 distribution among the churches is as schools 20,496 pupils. Therefore, well follows; Presbyterians, 87 ; Church of may its friends behold with dismay and England, 51; Congregational, 21; Methodists, 9; Baptists, 7; Friends, their numbers than any other denomi· 4; Brethren, 4. nation. Out of a membership in Great -At the recent conference in Liver· Britain of 19,000, there are 78 missionpool, Donald Fraser reported that, since aries set apart for work abroad, or the Students' Volunteer Missionary nearly one in 250 of the whole member- Union was formed four years ago, 1038 ship, or one in 166 of the adult memhad been enrolled-832 men and 206 bers.
women, belonging to all the divisions -The Calvinlstic Methodists of of the kingdom, and attending many Wales have a notable mission on the different colleges and universities, and northeast frontier of India, in the lofty representing 26 denominations. Out of range of mountains which separate Benthe total number mentioned, 212 have gal from Assam, and among such semisaUed; 66 others have been accepted; savage hill·tribes as the Khasis, the 22 have renounced; 34 have been re- Garos, the Jaintas, the Nagas, etc. jected, and several died. The best Since 1840 the difficult work has been proof of the stability of the movement pushed forward, and now the last reis the large proportion of volunteers port shows 110 churches with 2726 who have actually left for the field. communicants, 250 stations, 11,608 Dr. Duff said that if 10 per cent of the hearers, and 6191 day scholars. men who offered themselves in a mis- sionary revival ever reached the foreign The Continent.-The latest official field, that revival was a great success. Year Book ot the Protestant Church From the Students' Union many who in France-that for 1894-gives the fol- have left college are still engaged in lowing data: The Reformed Church is home preparation; notwithstanding divided into 101 consistories, composed this, 'ffW'l'e than 47 per cent have already of 583 chief parishes and 699 minor par- sailed, and 61 per cent have been ac- ishes, with 259 preaching places and cepted by the missionary Bocieties. 926 churches-a total of 1182; 128 par- The' 212 students who have left are sonages and 638 pastors paid by the working in 42 different societies and State. The Reformed population num- in 29 different countries. bers 540,483. The Lutheran Church -In Night and Day" An emigration numbers only 6 consistories, 48 parishes, retrospect" shows that 8043 trained 62 pastors, and 77,553 members. The boys and girls have now been sent out Lutheran official organ is Le Temoigby Dr. Barnardo's institutions to Can- mage, issued weekly in Paris. Algiers ada and the colonies, where a success has 3 Protestant consistories, 16 parof over 98 per cent has attended them. ishes, 20 pastors-viz., 11 Reformed and Dr. Barnardo says: "One of my quon- 9 Lutherans, and 10,789 membership, dam waifs has been called to the bar; of whom 4500 are Lutherans. The to- 2 are solicitors; a very eloquent and tal number of ProtestLnts in France is widely known clergyman was one of 639,825.
my shoeblacks; several are doctors, -The Prime Minister of Italy resurgeons, or apothecaries; others are cently gave utterance to some plain clergymen, ministers, and missionaries; truths as to the restless efforts of the 4 are well·known musicians and sing- Vatican to regain its temporal power: ers; while not a few have entered busi· " It is not really for the protection and ness of a superior sort and are already prestige of religion that our adversaries in comfortable circumstances. " demand the restoration of the temporal – With the exception of the lIora- power of the Holy See, but for worldly vians, the Society of Friends appears reasons-from lust of power and from to have a larger number of missionaries earthly covetousness." Again:" Chris- in the foreign field in proportion to tianity is a divine institution, which is not dependent upon earthly weapons of time it would Dot be necessary to for its existence. The religion of have such a vessel in the work of the Christ, as preached by Paul and Chry- evangelization of the country. After sostom, was able to subdue the world the service a member of the church, a wIthout the aid of temporal arms. and dame of honor to the Empress and we cannot conceive why the Vatican widow of one of the best·known diplopersists in wishing for temporal sover· mats of Austria, the Baroness Laneignty to exercise its spiritual mission. genau, stepped forward. and said: The Gospel, as we all believe, is truth. • Doctor, you must permit me to pre- If it has been disseminated by apostolic sent you with that launch.' The plans teachings, such teachings are sufficient for the construction of the launch. for its existence." The remarkable which will bear the name of Auatria. feature in these utterances is that they according to the express wish of the do not proceed from a Protestant source, oonor, are now so far finished as to but from one who, in the same speech, guarantee the hope that the work will recognizes the Pope to be "Christ's be proceeding before long." vicar. "-BJoangelical Ohristendom.
THE PLACE OF GERMANY IN FOR- ASIA.
EIGN MIssION WORIl:.-An article in the Islam.-The situation in Tcrkey is January number of Dr. Warneck's thus summarized by the I1i.Mpendent: AUgemeine Missions.Zeitsclt1·ift is de- "Disaster has overtaken the general voted to this subject. The progress equipment of the American Board's which has been made within eleven missions in Turkey. Except Constanyears is shown by the following table: tinople and 3 other stations in the ex- treme west of Asia Minor. all of the M!ssionaries. Contribn· Baptized Na· American Board's stations have suf- tions. tives. fered. Probably at least 100 of the vil- lage chapels and school-houses have 1883 . . 517 2,707,218 marks 193,975 been pillaged and destroyed, or seized by the Mohammedans for purposes of 1894 • . 685 3,705,456 290,899 their own. Five sixths of the stock of the books which the American Board But it is pointed out that these num- and the American Bible Society had bers represent far less than the share placed on sale in scores of the depots which Germany should have in Protes- and sslesrooms in various parts of the tant missions. Together with Switzer- country have been carried off. cast land. Germa.ny represents a fifth of into rivers and ponds, or used, after evangelical Christendom. while it only saturation with petroleum, as convenfurnishes a thirteenth part of Protes- ient instruments of incendiarism. Contant missionary contributions, and a gregations have been scattered, schools seventh of the laborers. " We work are broken up, leading men are dead, much more cheaply than the English and numbers of Christian women and and the Americans, and our share in children are missing. The congregathe success of missions is relatively to tions, in general. are financially ruined. the means employed greater than and their members are among those theirs." now dependent on charity for daily bread." -Dr. Leuring, of the Singapore Methodist Mission, has this to tell of – These solemn words are fitly spoken an incident which occurred during his by the Mis8ionary Herald: "While recent visit to godless Vienna: "In recognizing cordially. as we do. the one of my lectures on Singapore, held efforts of our Government in demandin the Wesleyan Church, I happened ing protection for our fellow-citizens in to mention the numerous islands and places in the coast that can easily be reached by means of a steam launch, and suggested, whether in the course Turkey, and in the sending of national -Arrangements have been made to vessels into Turkish waters, we are yet publish, at Beirut, 1000 copies of Anfrank to say that we cannot understand gel's Christmas. translated into Arabic, why the difficulties in the way of the necessary permission having been reaching El'zeroum and Harput by the granted by the censor at Constantinomen who are appointed to American ple. This will enable the Sundayconsulates in those cities should have school children of Syria to read the been allowed to prevent their going to story in their native language. their posts. These consulates have been established by act of Congress, and if India. – Among Queen Victoria's the Turkish Government will not give New Year honors was a knighthood for them exequaturs, and provide them safe Nawab Secundas Jung Ikbal-ud Dowescort, no greater indignity could be lab Iktadar-ul Mulk Vikar-ul-Umal'8 shown us or our nation. Our Govern- Batadur, Prime Minister to his Highment has clearly the right to demand ness the NizaID of Hyderabad. consular representation at points where American iuterests are at stake, and we -The Darjeeling New8 applies these cannot see why that right should not Scripture verses to Sir Charles Alfred be insisted upon at all hazards. If de- Elliott, late Lieutenant-Governor of nied, why should not diplomatic rela- Bengal, a devout Christian statesman tions with Turkey cease, and its minis- and stedfast friend of missions, adding ter at Washington be given his papers? that nothing else so eloquent and apt In that case American citizens could be occurs to us to say: "And Hezekiah intrusted to the protection of the Brit- did that which was right in the eyes of ish or of some other embassy at Con- the Lord, according to all that David stantinople… his father had done. He removed the high pJaces, and brake the pillars, and -We cannot all of us consent to con- cut down the Asherah : and he brake fine ourselves to prayers fashioned for in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses us and prescribed by ecclesiastical au- had made; for unto tho&e days the chilthority, but who cannot heartily lift up dren of Israel did burn incense to it ; this petition set forth by the Bishop of and he called. it Nehushtan (i.e., 'a New York? "Most gracious God, piece of brass '). He trusted in the whose tender mercies are over all, and Lord, the God of Israel; 80 that after whose compassions fail not; grant Thy him was none like him among all the Fatherly pity and protection to all those kings of Judah, nor among them that Thy children, wheresoever they may were before him. For he clave to the be, who are suffering from the cruelty Lord, he departed not from following of the oppressor, and especially that Him, but kept His commandments, ancient nation the people of Armenia, which the Lord commanded Moses. whose sons and daughters cry aloud to And the Lord was with him; whither- Thee, their God, and to us their breth- soever he went forth he prospered. He ren in Jesus Christ, for succor. Stay hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the hands of those by whom they have the poor; his righteousness abideth forbeen so cruelly wronged and outraged; ever" (2 Kings 18 : 3-7 ; 2 Cor. 9 : 9). strengthen the purpose of Christian nations to arise and contend for their de- -It is said that the native evangelist, fence; enkindle in their hearts a spirit commonly known as Tamil David, has of service and sacrifice in their behalf ; exerted a greater religious infiuence in and so hasten, we beseech Thee, the the city of Bombay than any evangelist day of their deliverance. All which who has visited Bombay for a number we ask in the Name and for the sake of of years past. This illustration of what Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." can be done by a native evangelist fills the heart with longing to see the dar when hundreds of such men shall ap- view, but which hitherto they had failed pear preaching and compelling the peo- to reaIize.-Indian Witne88.
ple of India to receive the gracious message_ Let it be one of the special bless- -Rev. P. H. Moore, of Assam, ings prayed for that God would raise writes: "Sunday, October 18th, we up such men and give the missions and spent at BaUjuri. At eight in the morntJle churches wisdom to refrain from ing we had the privilege of baptizing discouraging them or putting obstruc- 31 Kohls in the creek, about a quarter tIons in their way. An Indian evan-' of a mile from the village. There were gelist is not likely to resemble a Euro- 16 men and 15 women and girls. There pean evangelist in his methods of work were 9 men with their wives, and alto· any more than in personal appearance. gether the candidates represented 14 households. A preaching service, the -Indian Witnes8. Lord's Supper, and Sunday-school oc- -According to the last census, 76 cupied the afternoon. In surroundings languages are spoken in Bombay, and which would seem strange enough in each one represents a company of peo- America, we worshiped in spirit and in ple, or caste, with special dress, or un- truth, and God's presence was revealed.
dress, or color, or cap, or turban, A thatched hut with roof just high -Some of the missionaries of the enough to stand up under; walls made London Missionary Society attribute of reed and pl!8tered with mud, with much of the success attending the work holes here and there for doors and winof the Salvation Army in India to the dows; the floor (the earth) swept clean. fact that it does not administer either In this hut,34 by 17 feet, picture 100 baptism or the Lord's Supper. In that adults. and children of all ages, some country one may attend any meeting, in the costume in which they were and to any extent, but so long as he born, all sitting on mats on the ground. does not submit to baptism caste is not In the center is a rough pine box, in broken, and he does not encounter the which the missionary carries a part of persecution which befalls those who his camp outfit, and which is now make a formal profession of Chris- drafted into service as a table for the tianity. Lord's Supper. A clean white cloth hides part of its roughness. A cane , -Sir Alexander Miller, in his address stool serves the missionary as a seat." at the distribution of prizes in the Cal· cutta Boys' School, remarked that this China.-In 1894 there were in all school differed from all other schools 1977 missionaries in China-869 men, he had met with in Calcutta in the fact 562 married women, and 546 single that all the different races in the Em- women. Ten hundred and eighty of pire appeared to be represented among these were representatives of British the pupils. The student who carried Irish, and Canadian societies, 812 of off the largest number of prizes was a them of American societies, and 85 of Burmese, an unusual and unexpected Continental societies. The China Inoccurrence, considering the national land Mission leads all others with 593 reputation of the Burmese for disin- missionaries, followed by the Presbyteclination to sustained effort of any kind. teriani! with 180 ; the Methodist Church, This association of so many different North, with 140; the American Board races in the work and life of the school with 117, and the Church Missionary was a matter of much importance in Society of England with 110. the mind of government. Such inter- course leads to the successful welding -During 1895 the American Bible of the races of India into a homoge. Society sold and distributed in China neous community, an object which the Bibles and portions thereof to the ex- Indian Government had constantly in tent of 385,875 copies. -At a recent convention of Chinese literati of the kingdom. The very ap- ministers, a theme of discussion was, pointment of a commissioner of rail- " Shall our women unbind their feet 1" ways is itself among the marvelous re- The women on hearing of it said, sults of the war, since the very railroad "Why should they discuss it? They has been considered a wrong, a sacri- are our feet; cannot we do with them lege, and almost a direct insult to the as we please?" Are women's rights memory of the revered dead of China.
ideas about to enter the Celestial Em- Among the 14 matriculants are gradu- pire? ates from the 3 grades of government -Here is a striking prayer of one of civil service examinations, and from the Hunan Christians: "0 Lord, Thou that height or Chinese scholarship, knowest that Hunan means south of " The Forest of Pencils," which is an the lake, and Hupeh north of the lake; imperial academy whose scholars are the lake is Tung Ting. Thou know- examined in person by the reigning est, Lord, that there are more people Emperor.-Northwestern Christian A~ in these two provinces than there are vocate. fish in the lake; and Thou hast sent us AFRICA.
to be fishers of men. In many places The United Presbyterian has the in- the Gospel net has not been let down, telligence that Rev. Girgis Anshalian, a and there is no means of catching the member of the Presbytery of Egypt, fish, nor is there any fisherman. We and pastor of the congregation at Koos, pray Thee, Lord, to grant that in every has fallen a victim to the Turkish atroci- place there may be a Gospel net and ties in Armenia. He was a native of skilful fishermen. " that country, and in September last, -Our praise is never more hearty with his wife, returned to visit his than when we get gifts from Christian friends at Diabeker. At the time of Chinese in America to be used in evan- the outbreak they were both arrested, gelizing their fellows in China. Such and a ransom of £600 was demanded. a gift reached us to.day from a Chinese The ransom was paid, but instead of Sunday-school in Ohio. It is $50, and being released, the alternative of Maalong with it comes the message, " The homet or death was given. With a Chinamen wish me to tell you that they faith and heroism worthy of the name are very glad to send it, and hope it of Christ, he declared himself a disciwill do much good in their own land. " ple of Jesus, and was at once hacked to Their teacher also adde, "We have pieces by the Turks in the presence of been very glad this last fall to send home his wife. She and her brother were one of the Christian Chinamen. He shot, beaten with swords, stripped, and has been in the class for eleven years, left for dead. and for the past seven years has lived a consistent Christian life, we believe. -The conquest of Ashantee is com- He has gone home at his own expense. pleted, and the bloodiest kingdom in He hopes to keep a little store in his all Africa is to become an orderly Britown village, and thus support himself, ish colony. The military expedition his father and mother and his wife."- did its work quickly and well and China'8 MillionB. without fighting. King Prempeh seems to have recognized the futility of re- sistance, and on the arrival of the troops -Among the matriculants for the in Coomassie, his capital, abjectly sub- present term in that university are a mitted. He was, however, taken as a grandson of the private tutor of the last prisoner to Cape Coast Castle, with his Emperor of China, a nephew of the family, his counseilors, and two other private tutor of the present Emperor, a petty kings, to be kept as security for son of the imperial commissioner of the payment of an indemnity of 50,000- Chinese railways, and of 14 the proud Olillces of gold. With the return of the expedition, the country passes under -lonely, self-absorbed, irritable, and the rule of Mr. Maxwell, the British not to be relied upon. He hates wom- Resident, protected by a guard of black en, whom he regards as unnecessary troops, until such time as the British impedimenta in the campaign, and he Foreign Office shall definitely decide has no idea of friendship; he only rec.
upon a permanent form of administra· ognizes instruments to be used and ene- tion. mies to be dealt with. Success accen- -The Paris missionaries in the tuated his defeats to the point of dis· French Congo State have been cheered ease, and made him so irritable, so selfby the conversion of a chief and his absorbed, and so insolent that none but son, who enjoyed an immense reputa- parasites could live with him. JJ tion as fetish-men throughout a wide -Professor James Bryce has just re- district. If a sick man possessed by turned from South Africa, and in ad- an evil spirit had to be cured, or the dressing the Edinburgh Chamber of guilty person found out who had be- Commerce said that Mashonaland and witclled him to death, it was to Akele Matabeleland were both possessed of the people came. But one day his much wealth, but that railroads would heart opened to the preaching of the be needed to develop it. The most in- Gospel, and he decided to renounce his teresting part of his remarks relates to fetishes and the gain they brought him. the gold production of the Transvaal.
He gathered together all the people of He estimated the probable receipts from his village, and announced that he no that field at £700,000,000 ($3,500,000,000).
longer believed in spirits, but in the one -A recent visitor to Lovedale, with God. Then, collecting his fetishes and its 800 pupils, writes thus: "Perhaps all the instruments of his trade, he the most interesting was the Sunday threw them into the lake before the evening service, When there were gatheyes of all the people. There was a ered together for worship all the boardgreat sensation, and they expected to ers, numbering about 450, along with see these sacrilegious men fall dead; the Europeans. In the congregation but nothing happened, save that the many tribes were represented. The former fetish-men repaired to the mis- Kafirs formed the majority, but there sion settlement, and asked to be re- were also Basutos, whose home is 200 ceived as catechumens.-Journat de8 or 300 miles to the north ; Bechuanas, MiasionB EvangetiqUlJ8. who come from the northwest; and -Dr. Battersby says in Niger and distinctly marked oil' in appearance Yoruba Note8: "The question of mak- flOm the rest, the Gallas, whose native ing a real advance into the Soudan is land is in the north, near to Abyssinia. at present engaging the attention of Those last, of whom there are about 60, the Church Missionary Society Com- were rescued, along with 200 other mittee, and if only suitable volunteers children, from a slave dhow about will offer for this service, a forward 1890, and were sent to Lovedale to be movement might soon be made. cared for."
-In an English paper it is written -Mr. Pilkington, of Uganda, speakthus of Sir Cecil Rhodes: "He is a ing at a recent conference in Liverpool, strong man, of the kind that is never said that the Soudan and the Congo finished by a single stroke. And he is could be evangelized from Uganda. strong with the strength of a coarse, How was it to be done? By seeking ruthless, greedy egotism, the strokes and finding indications of God's plan, of whose piston-rod force the minds which they could surely now do from and the money of weaker men into its the experience they had had of mission reservoir. As he was at Oriel twenty work. It seemed that for every foryeaN ago, SO he is at Cape Town to-day eign missionary there should,be 100 na- tives employed, and thus, in a compar- atively short time, the whole of Africa might be evangelized.