The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1874-03-20
PERISHING RELIGIONS.
Max Muller saws +:

AhaN NtUter says:
Buddhism rules supreme in Central,
Northern, Eastern and Southern Asia,
ana 1t gradually absorbs whatever there
IS lett OF aboriginal heathenism in that
vast and populous area,
! Mohammetlanism claims os its own
Arabia, Persia, great parts Of india.
Asia Minor, Turkey and E.sypt: and
| ITS greatest conquests by missionary
effort are made among the heathen
population OF Africa. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
IN Europe and America, and it Is con-
querlng the native races of POLYNESIA
and Mclanesia, while it's missionary
outposts are scattered all over the world,
Between these three powers, then,
the religious battle of tho future, the
HOLY War of mankind, will have to be
fought, and is being fought mt the pres
cht moment, though apparently with
little effect. To convert a Mohanmc-
dan is difficult; to convert Il Buddhist,
more difficult stiil; to convert Chris
tlan, let us hope, well-nigh impossible.
The religion of Zoroastcr-tllc reli-
gion OF Cyrus, Of Darius, and of Nerxcs
which, but for the battles of Mara
thon and Salnmis, might have become
the religion of the civilized world, is
now professed by only 100000 souls
that Is by about tcn-thous;,nGlth part
OF the inhabitants Of the world. Dur
ing the last two centurics.t their number
has steadily decreased from four to ono
hundred thousand, and another century
will probably exhaust what is still left
of tho worshipcrs of the Wise Spirit,
Ahuramazda.
The Jews arc about thirty times the
Parsis, and they, therefore, represent n
more apprcciablc portion of mankind.
Though it is not likely that they will
ever increase in number, yet such is
their physical vigor and their intellect
ual tcnocity, such also their pride OF
race and faith in jehovah, that wc can
hardly imagine that their patriarchal
religion and their ancient customs will
soon vanish from the face of the earth.
But though tho religion Of tho Par
sis and Jcws might justly seem to have
paid the penalty of their anti-mission-
airy spirit, how, IL will be said, can the
same be maintained with regard to the
religion of tho Brahulans? That rcti-
gion is still profcsscd by at least no.
ooO,oOO OF human souls, and, to Judge
from the last census, even that cnor-
nous number falls much short OF the
real truth. And yet / do not shrink
from saying that their religion is dying
or dead. And why? Because it can
NV oHliu VIC uSht oA Sl;ty. AuC WoT~
ship Of silva, OF Nishnu, and tho other
popular dcitics, is of tho same, nay, in
many cases of II more degraded and
savage character than the worship of
Apollo and Minerva; it be-
longs to a stratum of thought which is
long buried beneath our feet. II may
live on, like the lion and tho tiger,
but the mere air of free thought and
civilized life will cNtinguish ii. A
religion may lingcr on for II long time,
it may be accepted by the large masscs
Of people, because il is there, and there
is nothing better. But when q religion
has ceased to produce defenders of the
faith, prophets, champions, martyrs, il
has ceased TO live; and in this sense
BrahmnniSm has ceased to live for
moro than Il thousand years.