The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1897-10-05

velopeS the relations of Christaiait,
TO the Oriental religions, and de
elares boldly and confidently, tina
science and civilization must be th'
pioneer missionaries in the Orient
After they have broken the intel
leetual errors of the ancient reli
gionS and shown by rational pro
cess their incompleteneSs and fail
Iure to supply the aspirations Of
man, then Christianity viii take it,
place,
Mr.. Guhck starts with the bolt
land broad assertion, that Christ
came to fulfill, not the Jewish law
and religion only, but all that wa:
good in every religion; TO fulfill
the genuine moral truths and as,
pirations of the great ancient reli-
gions. He believes that "Occident,
Ial science and civilization will bring
these religions TO their Inevitable
DOOM" that is, will gradually re
place them, with the better religion
of Christ. He asks, docs not the
gospel enter these lands as dis
turber and desroyerl Does it not
inevitably undermine their social
systemi What duty, nay what
right have We, then to force on
them out faith"i
These are bold questions, and are
torrents OF new thought smging
and laundering through the deep
and narrow channels of the old
thought. When the Hindoo mother
in final and uttermost devotion To-
her religion, cast her child into the
Ganges, the old teacher standing
by, eoldly said, that is murder, it |
is not religion" Did he think, for
4 moment, that in that moment OF
her supreme self sacrifice and an
guish, he was trying to anihilate
the only relations she had with the
supernatural!
1t is little wonder then, that
fifteen years ago, Cannon Taylor,
If the great Church Missionary so
,iety of Great Britain, told his as
'ociates that there was something
wrong in missionary work in the
Orient.
In illustrating his points, Mr..
iuliek quotes the Chinese, who
AVE been led by the teaching of
1onfueius up to Christ, and since
hey have become Christians, have
earned to appreciate and love the
of Confucius."
Of the japanese, Mr.. Gulick
avs that they will choose Christ
II materialiSm. As the latter can
lot answer the needs of man, it will
md, he believes, in the choice of
Thirst As a philosophical thinker,
Mr.. Gulick takes no account of
ime. 1t NAV take three hundred
ears to bring this about. In the
the enlightened mis-
ionary viii not worry himself in
he expectation that every one of
hese believers in the old religions
,oes, at the moment of death, into
yerlasting torment.
Mr.. Gulick has, evidently,
lard fight before him. 1t took
wenty years for Professor Tyler
4ewis, to convince the clergyman
i New England that the account
4 the Genesis. was not literally j
rue. There is something of rom
nee in it, that the grandson of one
+ the Hawaiian missionaries,
hould come to the front, Just as
he japanese have gone into state
I religious reaction, and, need
bove all things, to be confronted
nth the very best, truest and unas-
ailable religious philosophy, which
he Occident can give. After nine
cen hundred years Of Christianity,
be light breaks in a food and men
egin TO learn that He came, not to
estroy, but to fulfill the law, but
4 a grander sense than men have
or realized.
Another important experiment