The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-07-20
Foreign Missions.
Abbcville Press and Banner.

AOccVllle PreSS anu Banner.
It seems necessary at all times for
our people to have one thought which
shall predouiuate in a large degree
over all the others. 10 fact we must
slvays have a hobby of some sort,
and IN escape for the exuberauce
of our uatura! feelings, as we'll as an
excuse for the expression Of Impulses
which are ordinarily recognized as the
nobler promptings Of the higher
Christian spirit. How often we fol!
low a phautou and delusion We shall
not attempt to say, uor shall We under
take to make I'll estimate Of the
amonnt of mor"v ~: throw away 20
nnally under aD honest be: mistaken
soavietion that We are wiDuiag favor
With the Lord, and thereby laying up
treasures in heaven, which may be
chequed upon at an opportune mo-
meot. Superstition is powerful
lever with which to operate 90 the
minds of the people, and their wide
spread lack Of ofiudividuality of thought,
together with any significant appeal
from the preacher for money from his
Hock which boIds out the hope Of a
glorious reward, or fatters their per-
sonal vanity, or appeals 70 their church
pride seldom fails to induce the nat
urally kind heart to open the purse
and part from the ready cash, to be
spent in cause which be imagines d
good one, but which in reality is a
mere phantom, and the misguided
citizen is Induced to waste the money
which is too often greatly needed for
the comforts Of his owu household.
Just at this time the subject Of
foreign missi.ns' is being pressed iu
our churches to au apparent neglect
of the. weighticr matters of the law.
It seems that each church organiza-
tion is striving for the credit of giving
the largest amounts of mouey to
foreign MISSIONS and 10 turn each
little church with its chosen ex,
pounder Of the gospel, is ambitious to
make an ostentstious report of liberal
ity. With this spirit perVadiug our
whole people it seems that our minis
tiers are little more than pecuniury
agents for the various enterprises !;
and as a consequence, they devote
much of their valuable time. in the
pulpit and out of it, to the collection
Of money from their poor and super
ssitious parishioners, whom they may
make believe the Lord loves them
more dearly if they deprive their
families of comforts, BY giving ready
money to foreign missions Charity
begins at home, and a man must be
just before he is generous. How Of,
ten do these ministers of the gospel
accept offerings from men who cbea:
their creditors to that extent, and ho#
often do our citizens wrong their fam
lilies merely to crafty foolish church
pride in supporting Intellectual agents
ia China and other countries
In our opinion the ministers of the
gospel are now perpetratiug great
wrong on our people by the constant
appeals for money for 'foreign mis-
sious,' and by the use of their perso-
nal and official influence to induce our
people to part with money needed for
home comforts. It is, in our opinion,
o waste of both men and money to
send them to China. 1t may sound very
grand for a very small squad Of the
Fifty millions of poor people who in-
habit the United States of America to
undertake to Christianize four hun
dred millions of Chinamen who live
on the opposite side of the globe, and
who have not changed their morals,
manners or religion for thousand
years, and it may friuge.the dreams Of
fanatics on the subject of church
pride with the most delightful hopes,
but these hopes can never be realized.
They cannoS by any possibility i'm
press their own religious views upon
the people of China, and this effort on
our part to change the settled couvic-
tions Of that people. reminds US of the
effort of the gnat to lead the elephant.