Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1858-12-11
Christianity. M MOhalnnedanism..- CIV
fliZatiOn!


the Mercantile Library association Course OF
Lectures, by an address upon the relative pro-
gress and growth of Christianity and Islam
ssm; their respective influences OH Civiliza-
ton; and the influence of Race also i'll deter
mining various nations of mankind to adopt
one form of religion or to reject the other.
This is broad subject. The trouble with
il is, that it covers too much ground; groups
in too many facts embraces flood Of ideas,
each rushing and crowding for utterance; so
that the lecturer must experience extreme diff
ficulty in sufficiently condensing his observa-
tons upon the subject to obviate cumbersome
ness of detail and prosiness in deduction.
Eighteen hundred and fifty y-eight years ago
JESUS CHRIST was born. He founded Chris
tianity Its main purpose is unQuestionably
to cultivate the miller and more disinterested
qualities of Human Nature "Do unto others
as YOU would have others do unto you" is
its golden rule "Loye thy neighbor as thy
self" is another modification Of the same rule.
BE reconciled to thy brother" Blessed
are the Peacemakers.' If thou art reviled,
revile not again Such are some of the pre-
cepts He taught. 1t was not an eye for an
eve, nor tooth for tooth; but instead OF
this doctrine of Retaliation, it inculcated that
of Mercy, Lore, Justice, Faith, Hope, Purity,
and Charity. Before that, war had filled the
world with rapine and misery from the begin
of Inc oY1 capSuplItyy and M
purity ruled in the temples of religion, the
courts OF kings, the social circle. The classic
gods of Paganism were libertineS; its goddesses
mo better than they should be-" and Juda-
ism itself but whited sepulchre of forms. 1t
was to change all this, and to re-imbue hu-
manity with the higher Law" of its being ;
with humbleness before the one God OF the
Universe; with love toward each other; with
. desire to cultivate the social virtues, the do
mestic arts, the mental qualities, as truer foun-
dations of Happiness and even Power, than
nations by warfare could rob from each other.
These benefits, from humanitys stand point,
were the objects of Christs mission. The
blood drops from his body on the cross fruc-
tilted bis principles. Voluntary Apostles
bore them over the earth and planted them
everywhere and manured them with blood,
themselves the sacrifice on the altar of sue
cess, mot poor victims gathered by their swords.
Everywhere the worship Of the one God and
Christ as the Son Of God, became dissent
mated. To the poor and lOwly it offered in
contrast to their misery and oppression here,
equality before God and happiness in the
world to come as the price Of social virtue
and Christian faith in this; and the poor
and lowly everywhere were the first to en-
brace the new religion. Its purity and intel
lectual mysticism, so different from the ma
teriasm Of the many-god system of Pagan
ism, drew also into it's embraces intellectual
minds. Prosecuted in the cities the Christians
sought the recesses of the forest and the
caves of the mountains; or driven from the
fields they praised in the underground cat
acombs of the metropolis, or lurked amongst
ruins and made vocal the deserted places.
But under all circumstances, and in every
locality, one popularity distinguished the early
votaries of Christianity. Their faith was
seen in the pure and noble practices Of their
ltres-by their acorks all men knew them.
Forms had not then eaten out the substance
of Christianity. There were no compro-
misses with sin by indulsences; no quieting
of conscience by confessionals and absolu-
ton; no interposition of myriads of human
saints between the worshipper and his God.
Every Christian regulated his life and con-
duct by the conviction that the eye Of Deity
was directly upon him and that Christ was
the only intercessor. The pure, blameless,
upright life of the early Christians was the
admiration of the most liberal of the Pagan
writers.
In the course Of three hundred years after
the birth of Christ, the religion founded on
his life and precepts had taken foot-hold
amongst every civilized nation of the Roman
Empire, as we'll as amongst some of the less
polished and more barbarous.
About that period, however, one unfortu-
nate event happened that changed materially
its character 1t became the State religion
under the Emperor Constantine: and in con-
sequence gradually lost the peculiar charac-
teristics which had given it irresistible power
to overcome the many god religions surround
ing it. 1t before drew force from its cOncen.
tratireness. "There is but one God and
Christ is the Son of God and the Bible is the
word of Gods In this sign the early Christians
conauered-not with the weapons Of flesh
but the sword of the Spirit; not by physi-
cal blows but by argument, reason, faith.
With those watchwords, their columns of
proselvtism had the the po;oer Of intensity,
SO to speak Like Maclonalds wedge-col-
umn of ten thousand at the battle Of Wagram,
they pierced the centres of the divided hosts
of polythesm, and overcame them. Over
came them radically: dsarmed them: SUBJ
stituted Christian sentiments: a Christian
hope and faith: Christians pure life and
practice: for Paganic forms and ceremonies
and idolatrous sensualities. Christianity al
tered and changed entirely the character of the
people and communities that embraced it. 1t
was then living Christianity.
But the unfortunate adoption Of it as a
State Religion by Constantine paved the way
for the ruin ef genuine Christionity and the
practical triumph Of Paganism though under
a different name. Ceasing to be the exclu-
sive religion Of the poor and lowly and the
middle classes it became the profession of the
rich and powerful, and to accommodate them
it became magnificent religion. From being
asimph Worship religion of holy sentiment,
that recognized no inequalities of condition,
it changed into religion of grades and privi-
legged clasSs; of aristocratic honorsj OF pur-
pie and fine linen; Of glitter and show and
insignia and elaborate forrrs. Instead of the
simple prayer that asoended from the lips of
Al Al Al II