Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-05-25
China and Christianity.

1t. is announced that the home o
Secretary Seward is about to send t.
China, from her Theological Semina
ry, a sacred Embassy of four Chris
tian missionaries uia the Pacific Rail
road The land of Sinim has of late
| been the favorite field Of missions
A few years ago Turkey was, - th(
! Sandwich Island had been at a. ear
iier date. In these matters, asin The
cut of a dress, or the toe of a boot
the fashion changes.
Some twelve hundred years ago
| the HISTORIANS undertook to Chris
tianize the Flowery Kingdom. They
found. the wall of darkness impenc-
trable. The Jesuits tried the same
| experiment some six centuries later.
For time their efforts seemed like
ly tC result in. a thorough religious
revolution, Their plan was to har-
monte, 80 far as possible, the exists
ing religious institutions and their
own. John Chinaman was taught
that Confucius and Buddha and Christ
constitute sacred trinity. There
was a general stampede for the new
religion, for time bnt the seed
lacked root and soon withered away.
When Protestant missionaries went
to China. early in the present centu-
ry, they were obliged to begin at the
very foundation, all traces of previ-
Gus evangelization having been OBJ
liberated. IF any effects remained
they impeded, rather than facilitated
the task to which the missionaries
addressed themselves.
The faith which anticipates the re-
li9ious transformation of four hum
dred million souls through the.agen-
ey of few missionaries, seems to us
to be the child of credulity. A peo-
pie with at least ten times the popu-
lation of the United States cannot
be moved from their spiritual con
victions and religious institutions to
any perceptible extent by direct
agency. History and common sense
unite in discouraging the idea. Re-
ligious changes hardly less wonderful
have, indeed, been effected in other
countries Even China herself al
tords an instance in POINT, for Bud
dism, now the prevailing religion,
was not always their faith. 1t is,
rather, an exotic. But 4 stuuy Of re-
ligious history will convince any un>
prejudiced person that the changes
are conditioned upon causes deeper
and mightier than external inHuen-
ces. The commercial progress Of the
world determines it's religious prog
ress. A people of commercial enters
prise are sure to proseIyte their
neighbors in proportion as they are
enterprising The Christian religion
is the faith of Europe and America,
countries that monopolize the com
mercc ofthe world and it is reason
able, therefore, to suppose that it viii
yet prevail. the world over. The
time is drawing near when China
will exchange the positivism Of Con
fucius and the mysticism of Buddha
for the purifying and strengthening
faith Of Christianity but commercial
intercourse, and not missionary la
bors, must bring about the change.
The latter can at best only prepare
the way
The history Of modern Chinese
missions can be briefly told. Forty
two Protestant societies have sent
out 400 ordained missionaries; 100
are now ut work, with 206 native
helpers, and 5000 communicates.
The aim ia to plant self governing.
self>sustaining and self,propagating
churches, and to train and set over
them native ministry. But with
all due Difference to the Christian
philanthropy which prompts these
efforts, we point to the gold Of Cali
fornia, the Burlingame Mission, and
the Pacific Railroad as the really eff
fective agencies in the great work of
religious reconstruction in China.
Already the arrogance and pride
which built wall around that peo-
pie, shutting them in from outside
civilization, is giving way. The MAJ
terial intellectual, moral and social
superiority Of Europe and America
have unsettled the Chinese institu-
tons, and shaken popular faith in
established ideas and convictions.
The process is steadily going on, and
when civilization has had its perfect
work in this regard, then, and not
before, the Celestial Empire will
adopt the cross as the symbol OF its
religious faith Chicago Tribune