The Portland daily press., 1896-02-10

was the passage IN the blple Arsg 1ntEo-
| duced to Japanese disposeu 30 p5ooile
| Christians, Above all others 1t afforded
! TO them IN brief clear side Oh tine prln-
oiples and spirit Prevailing the religion
OF Christ. The precept it contains to
love our enemies and to do good 10 Ghose
| that hate us, is something enUlrely new
| aud surprising to the japanese mind and
produces n deep impression upon it with
| regard to the nature and purpose or
Christianity. He told also of youngs
| Japanese who was also persuaded TO De-
come Christian, hut was prevented
taking the step by regard for his own
| faher and mis- father by adoption who
were hioh functionar1es in the Shinto
form of worship. The chief religions
| followed by the japanese are Shintolsms
| Confusoianism and Buddhism, but out
of 42, ,000, 900 Japanese it is estimated that
at least $4,000, 900 Of the lower classes
| who profess a Genased form of Buddhism
arc actually idol worshippers. There
is also class who are atheists and fatal
lists, whose mental attitude is expressed
| by their motto, before mentioned: There's
no help for it, which really indicates the
depth of apathetic despair. 10 each or
these classes Christianity presents O diff
ferent aspect 1t is natural that Chris
tianity sh ould be viewed altogether
| differently by the Japanese who are the
descendants of Vulnerable generations
of unbelievers, from the view we whose
ancestors were CHRISTIANS Jake OI IT,
| Within 80 years death was the penalty n
Japan for joining the new religion, aHa
| edicts were placarded in all public
HOUSES offering rewards to those who in
formed the authorities of any who had
| become Christians. The new constitu
tion introduced by the present emperor
Of Japan abolished that law and estab-
lished full religious liberty III his
dominions. In the days when Christianity
was prohibited there vas no railroads,
no steamers, no telegraph lines in Japan.
Now thousands Of miles Of railroads and
telegraph lines crossed that country,
steamships piled between Japan and
foreign ports, a regular line Of. them
was about to be established between
| Yob ahoina and San Francisco to compete
with the American steamships. a su
perior school system had been introduced,
and the newspapers were numerous and
| influential.
| Since Commodore Perry opened Japan
| to the world the observance of the
| Sabbath has been adopted in Japan.
Although the number of ETofessed Chrls-
| tlans in Japan is still small in proper
tion to the publication. the influence of
its spirit upon the japanese is already
plainly observable.
% AL THE HIGH STREET CHURCH.
Rev. Mr. Browne spoke at the High
street church yesterday morning on Ar
menia. He is returned missionary, and
when in Armenia makes his homo at
Harpoot. He said that in view Of recent
utteranoes here it may be proper to state
why we have missionaries in Armenia.
When the first missionaries were sent to
Turkey, it was thought that it would
not be necessary for them TO work other
than among the Moslems, and the idea of
ministering to the people of Armenia was
the furtherest from their thoughts, but
everywhere the bIoslems met them with:
"We have had Christianity in our midst
for six hundred years. we know the re-
Suits and we want nothing OF it,. The
missionaries looked about them, and saw
reached they must first of all reach the
so-called Christian people of Armenia.
They saw the corruption of that people.
and the ignorance and degredation OF the
priests, blind leaders of the blind. They
found a service said in the ancient Ar
menian language, unknown to the
people, they found the confessional, and
the pictures in the churches, they found
the Armenian or Gregonian church
dtsFibS @ SSAEDlsSuC6 "a OOU1luSSss UuO
denying the power thereof" and they
entered into the work of converting the
Arnienians to belief in the old satory of
the cross, to q real life in Christ. Eor
| time they hoped that they might reform
the old Armenian church, but it's high
officials found that the people were dis
pising their Ignorant priests, and turn
| ing gladly to a more simple service, and
| so at time when many of the more de-
vout and intelligent priests were turning
to the restored faith, the Armenian
church thundered it's bull of ex-conl-
Inunioation against the missionaries and
all who adhered to them. Out OF that
course grew the necessity for the Protest.
ant movement
The old Armenian or Gergonian church
| sank still lower. The Catholic church
oame in and threatened to take the field.
The Catholic church supplied with
money in plenty erected churches with
out asking for the help of the people and
literally bought whole villages by paying
the unjust and excessive Moslem taxes
Still as time past much Of this oppusition
softened down, and before the horrors of
tho last three months began, the demand
of the adhearents of tho old church fer
an educated ministry grew so great that
arrangements were pending for the edu-
cation of priests of the ancient church at
| the American college. Danger hos drawn
the Armenian church, and the Protestant
churches still closer together, and even
out OF these fearful scenes may come a
better day for Armenia and Turkey.
| And now it almost seems that the Ar
| menian people, and Armenia has been
q nation for three thousand years are to
be exterminated. He gave vivid picture
| of the scene to have been observed from
the top Of any one of the mission build
ings in Harpoot before the recent troubles
began. There were two large churches,
| and below lay three hundred Christian
villages with twenty-six Independents and
self supporting churches; 45 common and
nine high schools, forty -four hundred
Sunday school scholars, an average
church attendance of seventy-hve hun
dred, and with twenty -one hundred
church mem bers,
And now but one single mission build
ing Is standing, and a Christian pastor
at whose house he had often visited was
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