, 1877-04-28


certain race of men you will find Ger
tain language and certain religion.
Both the language and the religion will
generally be found to date back tar be-
you'd the ken Of history, and cover their
origin in mystery.
As have already indicated, it is my
intention to treat these religions in the
broad and liberal way cxemplified by
St. Paul in his address to the heather
Athenians.
We will regard all these races Of men
as of one stock and one origin, ms chill
tiren of one father. We " i'll assume that
it was the will of God that the men Of
each race should seek after him, feel af.
ter and find him, as Paul has it, each in
their own way according to their own
peculiar circumstances, race and nature.
This assumption makes all these re-
ligions of Divine origin. | do not say it
makes all of Divine authority, for the
authority OF n religion can never exceed
the authority OF the truth contained in
it, and if religion contains that which
is false, that is Of no authority.
But in regard to the origin OF these
religions and their place in the Divine
economy, the whole matter may he
summed up in few words Either these
religions are providential in their origin,
growth and development, or they are
not. If they are, they are well worthy
of our respect and study. If they are
not. then during historical times nine
tenths of the men who have hved and
died, have lived and died in Gods world
in entire ignorance of him. II nine.
tcnths seems large estimate, ! ask you
to remember that Christianity has been
a great religion only little more than
thousand years, and at no time has it in.
cluded third of the human family.
Before the Christian Era the Jews were
u small people confined to one small
country, and often, as in the time OF
Elijah, they were more than half false to
their national faith. Now it these ma
tunl rrligiOns--at least three of which
are as old as the Jewish iaith--are to he
considered wholly false and dispeasing
to God, who can imagine an answer to
the question Why did God bring those
races of men into the world and leave
them in darkness and Ignorance to in
vent religions that should prove their
damnation Let us put it still more
plainly: Imagine all the men that are
living, or have ever lived, assembled
in one great company. Divide this COM
pany into ten equal parts, one Of
these ten parts we will say are nominally
Christian, that is Christianity has been
their religion so far as they have had
any. The other nine-tenths have been
worshipers according to the doctrinesof
the other great religions. Now unless
we stop thinking, nay unless we uproot
our deepest human sympathies we can
not keep the question down what is to
be the fate of these whe have never
known God through Christ Paul We
have seen intimates, that they all are
seekers after God, and also says they
may .tfnd him.
Now in this view it is certainly most
interesting study to take up the sacred
books of these other religions, their Bi-
bles 50 to speak and read the results OF
their search for God, and see in how far
they have found him. These Bibles OF
the other religions are only just open to
us. Half century ago we knew Of the
existence Of only one or two OF them,
now all persons who read English, Ger
man or French may read the most inn
portant OF all these sacred books. The
reading of these books gives us what
may be called an inside view of the Eth
mic Religions. The great increase of
knowledge on this subject in the last 90
years has completely changed Christian
estimates OF what were formally called
the heather or Pagan religions.
For example the Christian historian
Mosheim writing more than century
ago says "All nations Of the world ex-
cept the Jews were plunged into gross.
est superstition. Some nations indeed
went beyond Others in impicty and alb