The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-10-19
NO BACKWARD STEP BY A LIVING
CHURCH.
BY G. ELwooD NASH, DID.
President-Elect of Lombard University.

mo man, having put his hand to
the plough, and looking back, is fit
for the kingdom of God" These
singing words of Jesus are self-evi-
IDENTIFY meant to arraign, not the we'll
considered change of program which
simply interprets new light or al
tered conditions, but the fckleness of
purpose which, like a vane, turns
about with each shifting of the wind,
the treachery which acknowledges no
binding obligation of contract, express
or implied, the cowardice which
blanches at the first note of danger
and collapses before the first serious
difficulty. If the Japan Mission of
the Universalist Church has been
proved by five years of experiment CD
to be inopportune, unpromising, and
fruitless, then let us have the courage
to confess failure and close the chap
ter without further waste. But if, on
the other hand, our investment there
has been reasonably remunerative; if
the results, thus far, are not only
pleasing in themselves but prophetic
of large and more rapid results by
and by, then every consideration of
good faith with the Japanese who
have already enlisted under our ban
ner, of self-respect before Christen-
dom in view of it's distrust of us and
our own pretensions, of loyalty to the
cause whereof we are the heirs and
the constituted champions, COM
mands us to proceed with the under
taking and carry it triumphantly
through.
AS to the facts in the case, | am
sure there is and can be but one
opinion among Universalists, or at
least among those who have kept
pace with the developments of our
work in Japan. The testimony has
been all on one side. Difficulties
have, as matter of course, been en-
countered, but unmistakable progress
has been made. The more cautious
among us may feel it incumbent up
ON them to discount somewhat the
| appearances of success, and to fore
bode relapses and disasters in the
future experience of the Mission. 1t
is just as well, indeed, that we should
not entertain too sanguine expecta-
tions, and should more keenly appre-
ciate the obstacles which must in
evitably embarrass every such enter
prise. But after all allowance has
been granted something yet remains
accomplished, a positive achievement,
enough to show that Universalism is
not impotent amid Oriental condi-
tons, enough to give rational heart
and hope to campaigns yet before us.
will leave others to rehearse the
details of the fascinating story of our
first half decade in that land of sin
gular customs and inverted processes.
But there are certain general and out
side aspects of the enterprise which
seem to me worth yet another under
scoring. The Japan Mission has been
a revelation and an education to us,
"a revelation of our own preparedness
for wider and more catholic applica-
ton of our faith; of the unguessed
and undeveloped resources within
our church organization, of the will
ingness of competent and consecrated
men and women of our household to
enter service in the foreign field, of
the responsiveness of our people, who
appeared half lethargic under routine
conditions, when a new and more
daring appeal was made to their gen
crosby; and of the fitness of our
special Gospel, hitherto shackled and
paralyzed by prevailing fancy that
its nature was intrinsically and irwin
chilly esoteric, to touch humanity at
the antipodes, through the difficult
medium of strange lingo and no
less strange modes of thought. The
operations abroad have also had an
educational value. We owe special
debt to the Missionaries for the wis
dom and fidelity with which they
have kept us aware of their move
ments. Their tale has not always
been triumphant, but it has always
been vital, and thereby our sympa-
thies, at first mainly emotional, or
even personal perhaps, have grown
intelligent and deep. Then, seeing
how promptly and how naturally
their endeavors bore fruit, we gained
quicker apprehension of the truly
catholic genius of our faith, and ac-