The sun., 1878-10-13

thousands OF lives have been expended In
this propagandism, and In spite of much
| that Is discouraging in the past and com
paratively little that is hopeful In the pres
ent all the different branches and sccts Of
the Christian Church, with Insignificant eX-
ceptions. are to-day rs Jealous as ever In
| the work of heather conversion.
No religious contributions are more regu-
lar and very few are larger than those col
lected to pay the cost Of carrying the Cos
pei to heather lands. Christian mission
aries are scattered throughout the East,
the Bible has been translated into nearly all
the tongues of the world, the prayers Of
myriads OF the faithful ascend TO HEAVIER for
the success of the efforts at heather an
gelzation, and the theological semina les
have constantly in training recruits for the
foreign missionary field.
Doubtless progress has been made I'm The
work since the Church first undertook the
tremendous task OF converting the heathehs.
The reports OF the foreign missionary So
cicties present encouraging facts and stimu-
late the religious to further self-sacritces.
10 the end that the ancient faiths of the
East may be broken down and the purer
truths Of Christianity substituted for them.
| But IL cannot be denied that 50 far not even
the outworks OF heathendom have been
taken by the army Of Christian missionaries
which has steadily assaied them from the
early days Of the Church up TO the present
moment. In the Indies Brahmanism still
has more followers than Christianity. and
the Oriental mind turns away from the re-
ligious teachings Of the West.
Our missionaries to India, China. and
| Japan do not go to rude and unlettered peO-
| pies, like the Fiji Islanders, or the African
savages or the Sandwich Islanders. a. they
were hundred years ago but to races who
have developed creed and who can give n
reason for il, a creed which has many learned
| eXpounders and dett logicians to defend IL.
| They are. therefore, unless they are very
clever men, sometimes actually beaten In
| the argument with the hcathcns they set
out 20 convert and are driven tO their wits
ends to save themselves from appearing 10
need conversion to Brahmanism, instead of
! having a superior religion Of their own To
offer. 1t is very great folly To send dull
and stupid man, minister who is not bright
enough 10 get on at home. 10 convert the
| Oriental heathens. They are pretty sure to
be too sharp for him.
and how devoted, suffer under many disad-
vantages in trying to propagate Christian
| ity in the East. 1t is uphill work with them
from the start and all through. They must
he content with accomplishing compara-
lively little, and yet keep alive the zeal Of
the faithful. who send them out in ignorance
OF the difficulties Of the task OF supplanting
IA faith SO Old and SO deeply rooted as that
| Of Brahmansm.
But hard as the work now Is, and eXpen-
sive as IL has always been. it seems ii is
hereafter to be made more arduous and
more costly. The heathens are about to
gain recruits from the West, who instead
Of conducting a defensive warfare, will at
once throw their columns against the walls
Of Christianity ITSELF We are informed
that Hieruphant OLCoTT and Nine. BLA-
vATsKY, the Theosophists, are now packing
their trunks preparatory to Il pilgrimage TO
India, there to challenge the Christian mis-
sionaries to debate the respective merits OF
Brahmanism and Christianity
| The Intelligence is the more startling be-
cause the Hierophant has lately been re-
ccivcd into the Brahmanical sect and IS now
Pandit Of New York, and Madame BLA-
vATsKY. who has long been known as an
out-and-out Brahmanist, with contempt
uous opinion Of Christianity has set her
| heart on Overthrowlng the Bible and sub
stituting the Nedas in the United State,
! The Pandit OLCOTT has all the fire and lrnl
Of a new convert, and Nine. BLAvAr5KYs 5
mind is an arsenal Of arguments which can
be used against our religion. Their plan Of
| operations is bold one. Their intention,
evidently, is first to meet and conquer the
missionaries in tho home of the ancient faith
to which they have been converted, and
then, flushed with victory, to plant the stan
dard OF Brahmanism in America and 60
forth eXhortng the people to return to the
old Aryan religion, with its mystical doc
trnes Of mctompsychosis and the rest and
peace Of annihilation.
This is plan of assault not contemplated
by our foreign missionary societies They
have been wont to regard the Brahmanical
as quiescent faith, against which they
could bring to bear the forces Of Christian
ity-a faith on the defensive merely. But
now, inspired by the zeal of lIierophant or
CoTT, tho Pandit, and Nine BLAvATsKY, the
seeress the Brahmans are about to begin an
aggressive warfare against Christianity,
and establish propaganda Of their own III
the West to Offset that which has been SO
long carried on 10y Christians in the East.
We are not informed as to the exact plan
OF campaign of the Pandit nor do we know
the means he intends to use to got the mis-
sionaries into a defensive position; but both
he and Mime. BLAVATsKY are full Of re-
sources, and we doubt not they have care
fully considered their strategy. Nor do we
hear from India that there is yet any great
excitement among the Brahmans over the
prospect OF their arrival. They ought to be
received with great pomp, however, for they
are the first allies the United States have
sent out to the heathens, and Hierophnnt
OLcorr Is the first and only American
Pandit. 1t would be n pity II both ho and
Mime, BLAvATsKY should land in India to be
received without honor, and nothing would
give them such start a. a rousinG ovation