New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-10-24
nAHonErAH1sx AND CHRISTIANITY.

L
throw Of at least one Of the civilizations
and check to tAe spread Of one of the
religions. But truth to say, neither the
civilizations nor the religions involved
are of the highest type. The Russ, still
/ cingipg to the traditions of despotism,
de ma Ids the sJmpathies Of the world as
a champion and defender Of the Christian
faith, and that in this character he has
achieved y large measure of success ia
proved by the fact that even in England
the people have risen in violent protest
against their OWE government for It's pas
sive federation of Turkish tarbar:ties.
That the Moslem faith is favorable to
war can not be denied. 1t was first
propagated by the sword and carried so
far into the heart of Europe as for time
to threaten Christianity itself. But for
the indonitable spirit Of Charles Martel
and his invincible followers, the Rhine or
the Baltic, instead of the Danube or the
Black sea, might have marked its present
boundaries. 10 the Aoslem soldier death
npon the battlefield, especially If met in
the cause of Ala and the Prophet, was a
sure passport to eternal happiness in a
paradise suited alike to the passions Of
the depraved and the hopes Of the devout.
Christianity vas, on the contrary, averse
TO war. It's God Was the God of gentle
ness, and its Prophet the Prince Of Peace.
An article in the Pal Mal Gazette re-
Gently observed: 'If the sacred books
Of . religion had really the per-
manent influence which is sometimes
attributed to the Koran. war among the
Christians ought to have ceased long ago,
since the New Testament, rejecting the
deep peace OF the Roman empire has so
little of the warlike spirit in it that it has
been charged With scarcely recognizing
the patriotic, masculine and military viz.
tues. But as soon as Europe again be-
came baYbarous it bfgan again to fight,
and when the Bible was brought to popu-
lar knowledge after the Reformation, the
examples Of the Old Testament were far
more influential than the rrecepts Of the
New. The story of Agag among Protest
ants and the story of Judith among Cath
olics have perhaps caused more slaughter
than the Sermon on the Mount has ar
rested" Our English contemporary then
refers TO the sacking of Ismail, with all its
incredible horrors, less than cetury ego,
by one of the most devout people Of Eu-
rope in the name of God and the En-
press, and enforces its logic by recalling
the fact that all historical records tend to
prove that the Mohometans Of Spain were
gentler, more humane, more civilized
than the Christians who expelled or exti,-
pated them.
Patriotism rather tia n religion fur
nished the ruling passion among the
Christian nations of Europe down to the
period of the Crusades. Then came q
sudden reaction. The Crescent and the
Cross changed places as medium Of in
spiration. The peaeefulness of Chris
tianity became aggressive and warlike,
and the fiery zeal Of the Moslem, softI
ened into patriotic fervor, was seldom
xercised except in defense of his father
and. In their results, this change may
till be observed. The Moslen, notwith-
his Tartar origin, has been
gradually growing more and more effem- !
nate, as we'll in India as in Turkey, in
Persia as in Africa, and the present cry |
# the bearded Russ, ION to Constanti- |
,ople," is but an echo of the old Cru
'ader's cry, "On to Jerusalem" and the
greater portion Of Europe cries, "Amen."
The sympathies which the Bulgarian
atrocities aroused in England seem of late
o have been tanned down by questions of
State policy, and more considerate re-
gard for the influences which determine |
he action of the British government in
IS relations toward continental Europe.
This change may be observed in the pa
riotic refusal of Florence Nightingale and
he Baroness Burdett Coutts to attend
meetings. Of protest against the conduct
# the British ministry. The baroness
'laims to be tolerably familiar with his
DRY, but while condemning the execrable
leeds perpetrated by the Bashi- Bazouks,
declares that they are not wholly un-
matched in warfare and scarcely take
precedence over cruelties legally inflicted
IN dominated people even in our own
generation. She therefore advises her
ellow-countrymen to await what she con-
identity believes will prove a: once Just
md polite course on the part Of her ma
esty's government, and not provoke an
Interference which in the end NAV result
Unfortunately.
The Eastern question has long taken
ank among the ve1ed ones with which
English statesmen have had to deal, and
whether peaceful solution, coupled with
be integrity of the Turkish empire, stip-
lated by the treaty of Paris, and ample
to the Christian subjects of the
ultan, or the forced issue Of warlike
is . matter which can not
auch longer be postponed. Though an
'asteEn war may be regretted, we can not
nder the circumstances see how it is to
Q averted. The ''sick man" has done