Huntsville gazette., 1889-12-21
TN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
MANS MISSION.
According to st. Paul, he Should Lift Up
and Sustain Woman as his Equal.


According to st. Paul, he should Lift Up
and Sustain Woman as his Equal.
Now, in all lands where the influence
of Jesus Christ is unfelt, woman is de-
graded. The man rules over her with
selfish tyranny. There is nothing that
distinguishes a country in which the in
fluence of Jesus Christ is in any degree
felt from heathen country so much as
the revolutionary change in the condi-
tion of woman. / was very much struck,
says Rev. Hugh Price Hughes, M. A., in
Methodist Times, by conversation that
my colleague, DR.. Lunn, had with me
the other day with respect to very en-
lightened and distinguished native
whose acquaintance he formed when he
was in India. This native, who had
seen something of a Christian home as
itexists in the family of a missionary,
was bitterly regretting that they had
no trace of that relation between man
and woman in Hindu society. The fact
is that the home is the peculiar product
of Christianity. 1t is difficult for any
one who has not been in Asia to under
stand how entirely different is the
position woman occupies where
the. power of Christ has not
been felt. But the work Of
emancipating woman from the tyranny
of masculine selfishness has been only
very imperfectly done in Europe; and
the mission of the 'Christ-like man is, as
ST. Paul teaches us, to lift up woman to
his own level, to share all he has with
woman, as Christ shares all He has with
US. Remember that the Christian
shares not only the JOY, but, as Christ
himself said with his own lips, the
throne of His Saviour; and in due time,
as the purposes of Christ are fulfilled,
woman will share all that man has as
fully as the Christian is invited to share
all that Christ has, So that when per-
sons talk about woman's sphere and
apologize for using the phrase even as a
title for nay address, for it seems to i'm
ply some inferiority or some limitation
the only possible answer that any one
can give who understands either the
love of Christ or the teaching of ST.
Paul is that woman's sphere is the
world, and that whatever 1t is right
for man to do, it is right for
woman to do. Of course, her inferior
physical strength should be spared the
severe forms Of physical toll. But that
same argument would obviously apply
to any man who did not happen to be fit
for a navy. 1t is clear that some men
are physically weaker than others, and
are not fitted for great physical labor.
II of.I ho rxf
human society is ever in direction in
which differences of physical strength
become of less and less Importance. Any
one whog has watched the larger effect
of the discovery of modern machinery
will be consoled, amid great deal of
regret that he may share with Ruskin
on certain points, by the fact that the
ultimate tendency of machinery obvi-
ously is to do for the human race the
more mechanical and more laborious
work which has hitherto been done by
human hands; and in this way there can
be no doubt that the tendency of ma
chinery is to take over that very labo
rious physical. work for which women
are obviously unfit. As far as l know,
there is only one occupation of man
for which woman is absolutely unfit,
and that is war. But then war is of the
devil, and ought to cease. The very fact
that it would be outrageous for women
to initiate the ancient Amazons and en-
gage in war, is only one additional
reason why the insanity and wickedness
of war should come to an end as soon as
possible. In fact | do not know a better
practical ethical maxim than this-that
whatever is wrong for women is wrong
fer:man. God forbid that should ever
do anything which it would not be right
for woman to do! And, if men have
ever done anything that women ought