Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-05-04

n, ".
Missionary Passion and Make Them
Leaders of Missionary Churches"
| In the course of his remarks DR.. Hall
said:
THE problem of the divinity school is
! not how to train an occasional man for the
| foreign field but how to kindle the mis-
sionary passion in every man that passes
through the school, that he may thereby
become an able minister of Christ. The
conception of the life IF the divinity school
as life transfused and saturated with
the spirit of the missions is founded upon
TWO practical needs. The need of the man
who may possibly have the gifts for Serv-
ice abroad: the need of the man who shall
enter the pastorate at home.'
The papers We're followed by gen
eral discussion by the delegates. They
were limited to five minutes each.
At the same time sectional meet
ing was being held at the Central
Presbyterian church, the general SUBJ
ject being "NonChristian Religions"
The meeting was led by j. H. Laugh
! la1.-of China.
DIR. Barrows Speaks.
''The Right Attitude of Christianity
Toward Non-C Christian Faiths" was
the subject spoken upon by Rev. DIR.
John Henry Barrows, president of
Oberlin college.
One feature or element in the right spir-
itual attitude of Christianity toward other
religions is a beneiicent and hopeful cour-
age The ultimate contest in the world
of religions will not be between Chris
tianity and the non-Christian faiths, but
between Christ and unbelief, or the nat
| ural heathenism of the human heart
| The non-Christian faiths have been found
| out, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ has
| no reason to be abashed before them. In
time they will become like the religions
| of Egypt and ancient Greece
THE chief business of an aggressive
| church is to set forth the redeeming and
| risen Lord. This message should be car
ried to all men with glowing love and
| radiant loneliness of spirit The mission
airy effort is not primarily to measure this
or that ethical or theological conception
Of the Bible or the creeds with the ethical
and theological conceptions to be found
in the other sacred books of the east.
The missionary is primarily a messenger
sent to tell great story, and also a wit
ness of what the Christ of that story has
wrought for Himself and the world. The
great mass of heathendom needs not argu-
ment SO much as mercy, relief, sympathy,
primary instruction, the sight of pure
homes and Christly lives, and, in the midst
of all these things, the lifting up of the
| one Lord and Redeemer.
christian evangelism is marvelously
successful in many ways, but every clear
eyed missionary perceives how progress is
handicapped and what misfortune it is
that christianity is compelled to apollo
size for Christendom 1t is not the best
of Christianity that has always made itself
most prominent and pervasive in the non
Christian world.
I'm spite of all this however, those who
know the best of heathendom and the
worst of Christendom, we who have seen
comprehensively and fully both of these
two worlds believe that heathendom is the
| condemnation of heathenism and that
| Christendom. with all its faults, is an
| argument for Christianity. Nevertheless,
| the sins of Christian nations are so con-
| spicuous that the ambassador for Christ
| is compelled to become an apologist, and
| II this position is one of weakness 1t should
also be one of candor, frankness and mod
| esty."
THE Religious Condition of India
as Seen From the Missionary Stand
point" was the subject of paper by
Rev. w. S. Sutherland, of Edinburgh.
Rev. George William Knox, of New
York, spoke on "The Ethical and
Philosophical Systems of China and
Japan"
"Mohammedanism and Christian
Missions" was the subject discussed
in paper by Rev. c. t. Wilson, OF
| Palestine.
| DR.. Wilson said:
1.-THE difficulties of winning Moslems to
| Christianity is admitted by all who have
| tried. The spirit of Islam is a spirit of
| anti-Christ. 1t is almost certain death for
| a Mohammedan to embrace Christianity
| and should he escape with his life he will
| Still meet the certain and unqualified con-
tempt of his fellows. There is in the holy
| land to-day a sentiment looking forward
to the visitation of some great prophet
| The oppression of the Ottoman empire is
/ doing much to disgust the people with
| Mohammedanism and will be effective In
time in bringing them to Christ. He who
would win the Mosem must know the
| Koran next to his Bible" He said that the
| English and Americans have greater in
| fiuence ON the Moslem than any other ma
| ton.
During the afternoon meeting at
Carnegie hall the discussion of the
same subject was continued, address
es being made by Rev. B. L. Whitman,
of Columbian university, Washington;
S. Earl Taylor and b. brewer Eddy.
| AT the Central Presbyterian church
in the afternoon Rev. DR.. George T..
Purves and Rev. DR.. George Robson