The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1892-12-22
4 MISSIONARY LECTURE.
Rev. Ben Mitchell on 'ThG Religions
Ct India"
PARSEE, MOHAMMEDAN, BRAHdIN.
The Fire Worshipers and Their Pc
culiar Beliefs-The Five Means of
Grace the Mohammedans Believe
in-The Triune God of the Brah-
minis. Brahma. Vishnu and silva.

! minis. Brahma. Vishnu and silva.
Rev Ben Mitchell, missionary of
/ the Christian church who has return
ed to this country to appeal to his
country for aid to prosecute the
| foreign missionary work in India, lee
tured in the Presbyterian church Dec.
| 10Th to a fairly large number Of peO-
pie on the subject of ''Religions in
I India" MIR. Mitchell, after reading
the last commandment of Christ, go
We into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature, proceeded
with his lecture.
He showed in regard to the density
of population in India that while it
is only half the size of the United
States. it has according to the census
of 1890, 269, 900. 0 10 people. The United
States has SO. 900, 600. Only four per
cent of this population can read or
write.
Mr. Mitchell made an earnest ap-
peal that the knowledge of salvation
be sent to this denSely innOrant peO-
/ pie. and pronounced scathing re-
| buke upon those who did not believe
the mission work was worthy of sup
| port.
| There are three religions in India.
| that of the Fire WorShippers or Par
sees, that of the Mohammedians, and
| that of the BrahminS or HindooS. In
discussing these, Mr.. Mitchell said he
was not going to tell anything he had
| read from books. but simply relate
what he knew from personal inquiry
| and contact with the people.
| The Fire-worshipperS were driven
| out of Persia in the seventh century
| ard settled in western India. There
are 200 living in BOmbey. Their re-
| ligi0n is very. peculiar They believe
| that in the beginning God created the
| II I In5 fiIl1n lfn
| ted two other gods, the god of Light
and Goodness and the god of Darkness
ana Evil. These two are continually
warning against each other. If disas-
| ter comes. the god of Darkness and
| Evil has the ascendency: if prosperity,
the god of Light and Goodness. The
| latter, the Parsees believe will event
| ually gain the ascendency and the
I whole world will be filed with true
believers, and general prosperity pre-
vail. They are very secretiye about
their religion and try to keep their
beliefs hid.
Their, women are degraded and des-
| pissed. One of the men eyinced in
| tense surprise when the missionary
asked him why the women We're so
| looked down upon and said 'Why.
| sir, don't you know woman is the low
est humon being God ever created ?"
'.There is not woman in India
| with any hope of eternal salvation" ;"
| said the speaker.
On the affairs in their temples, the
sacred fire is kept burning continually
| Only the priest can approach it. If
any other should by chance come near
| it they take him lOut and kill him
without trial, srying he has detfed the
holy fire. These people also worship
the sun, moon and stars, the elements
and even trees.
'.They pray terribly in earnest"
| continued the speaker, sometimes
three hours at time. In this con-
nection, | will say, lest | forget it
when | come to the Brahmins, that |
| have known a Brahmin to pray no
less than two hours every morning be-
| fore speaking to any one. There is an
| idol" taking up one the images be-
| fore him, (which has been worship
ped, as the true God is rarely ever
worshiped in this country
The Fire wOrshippers dispose of
their dead by placing the corpses in
open towers built in their enclosed
burying grounds. The buzZards soon
| tear the flesh from the bones. Before
being placed in the tower, a sacred
white dog is placed near the head of
the dead If the dog looks down in
the face of the corpse it is well with
the departed soul. If not, tue soul is
eternally doomed.
There are $1,000, 600 Mohammedans
in India. The essence Of their relig-
ion may be stated thus: ''There is
one God and Mohammed is his proph-
et." They believe Christ was merely
prophet and have never heard that
he was the Son of God. Mohammed
was the last of the prophets and wrote
the Koran, their ''Word of God"
Their Koran points out five ways
of obtaining salvation, by prayer, fas-
ting, charity, making a pilgrimage tC
Mecca, and fighting unbelievers-
Whenever the word ''Allah'' sounds
from the minaret of the mosque, they
Mohammedan wherever he is and
whatever he may be doing falls to his
J knees and prays. They never make any
excuse for praying. II heard a man in
this country apologizing for going tt
prayer meeting. The Mohammedan:
are more in earnest than you"
They have many fast days during
which they eat nothing from sunrise
to sunset. This is very trying in thai
hot climate.
They never turn away a beggar al
though they are generally extremel!
Door. the average earnings in lndi;
being cents day. When converted
they are as much in earnest as befor,
and are willing to give all of theil
4 earnings 1Or CHRISTIAN WOfk, ana ca
less rice, which is their main food.
Hundreds die in the vessels whicl
take the pilgrims to Mecca. The
are packed on these as we would no
= pack hogs to be sent to slaughter
! Hundreds more-die crossing the des
ert.
There are POI, ,OOo,oo Brahmins il
India. Their religion is most pecu
lar and the hardest to make convert
in. 1t has been spoken of as the 'sG
braltar of Idolatry." The Brahmin
believe in a triune god, god VIII
, created all existence, Brahma; a go
; who preserves the life that Brahm
created, Vishnu, and god who is
: destroying deity, silva. In additio
to these, there are 100000 othe
gods, 81, 600 of whom are named
!. The Brahmins have little inches i
j the walls of their house for thei
!. idols Mr.. Mitchell went on to Civ
= an account of the mission work in Ii
o dia, Illustrating his remarks b
y mans. Tt is being successfully pros,