The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-08-06
MISSIONARIES AND WAR.
Relation Of the Former 10 the Disturbance
Now Prevailing in China.
PROFOUND SERMON BY REV. j. C. MASON
The Power of the Truth of the Cos
pei the Only Power that Can
Force Christinntty.

onrlstlan church. delivered a very able
END eloquent sermon at the IL oclocHl
service at his church yesterday morning
on the subject, THE Missionaries and
the War In China His text was taken
from Acts XIV 9-lc, Come over into
Macedonia and help us" Dr. Mason said
This mission of Paul's represented the
need and not the demand or request of
the Macedonians.
A number of expressions now current
would indicate that many persons in our
country believe the Christian mission
aries In China are In some way responsi-
pie for the present disturbances in that
country. II do not believe in forcing
iellglon upon an unwilling people. Cant
snoot religion into people," these and
kindred expressions Indicate that many
otherwise intelligent people wholly mis-
understand the spirit and genius of the
missionary movement No power can
force Christianity upon any one except
the power OF the truth of the gospel. The
gospel Is the power Of God unto saliva
ton" Rom. 1. 16 my people snail be
wiling people in the day of my power,
saith the Lord" Except We turn and
become as little children we cannot enter
the kingdom of God" "Ye will not come
Univ lue tudl ye ulSHl nave ire
These are but few of hundreds OF
scripture quotations teaching that tbe
voluntary surrender of mind heart and
life to the teachings and authority of
Christ Is the only possible way 10 be-
come Christian. Whatever power that
would compel any people to become Chris
tian would by that very fact prove itself
un-Christiau. 1t is impossible to CO.
cree the heart the affections-yet with
tho heliaypth riuhtpOIig /.
ness" Rom. X, 10. It Is claimed that 1t
is wrong to send our missionaries 10 an
unwilling people. Thcse making this ar.
gument have not studied sufficiently the
inspired word Jesus Christ was mis-
sionary to an unwilling people He came
to his own and his own received him
not" 'He was despised and rejected OF
men''-crucifed by mob OF his own
countrymen who were so incensed ut his
teaching that they cried out Let his
blood be on us and on our children" when
the Judge could find no fault at all In
him"
He commanded his apostles to &C teach
all nation; preach the gospel to ever
creature He told hat prosecutions. bonds.
mprisonments ard death awaited them.
He promised to be with them even unto
the end OF the world--not to prevent
their suffering hut to sustain them IN
suffering Paul was appointed APOSTLE
missionary-to the Gentiles--heathen-
unto whom now send thee TO open their
ewes and turn them from darkness unto
light and from the power of Satan dark
ness) unto God " Paul went. though
beaten with rods-even stoned until he
was thought dead. When sufficiently re-
covered he took up his mission again be-
cause he was mot ashamed NJ the gospel
OF Christ" and realized that he was debt
or to all mem The history Of CAristiani,
" is history az conquest bv truth light
ard love Tho story Of the conversion ~
savqges 10 the sweet simple gospel OF
Christ may he road over and over again In
the history Of Christianity.
THE BNCoI1R AG EMENT OF MISSIONS.
! China has been one of the most difficult
fields for the Christian missionary yet
/ the work done there has borne glori-
Gus fruit.
Robert Morrison, the first Protest.
ant missionary to China, left Eng
land via New York for China Janu-
ary 81. 1907. He sailed from New
York in May, 1905 The ship owner
said to him: "And so, Mr. Morrison, You
really expect that you will make an I'M
preston on the idolatry of the great
Chinese empire" NO sir, but expect
that God viii" Morrison translated first
Acts OF the Apostles, then the New Ies-
lament. then the Bible into Chinese. He
puhlished ;, grammar of the Chinese Lam
guage and in 1916 his great Chinese dic-
tionary. established an Anglo-Chinese
college at Malacca. 1t was six years be-
fore he baptized his first convert. In 1882
he wrote ~ have been twenty-five years
in China and am beginning to see the WORK
prosper" In 1877 the Christian communl-
Giants numbered 1905. In three years
There
9560 foreign missionaries, 5000 native
belners and so962 native Christians IL
china There are 542 churches. One nun
dred ~ these are self-supportng. III
thirty-aye years the believers increased
1000 fold. Two hundred thousand nave
abandoned idolatry. ..
Tive chinese revere ancient things
and are constitutionally opposed TO
changing the customs of their fathers.
NJonv an American whlnes with SICK
IL sentjmeutality about forcing our GUS
toms upon the heather and them curses
his neighbor FOR being a mossbacK ne
history OF the Chinese world Is q ms
tory Of development. We may nlnoeI'
but man can not stay this onward ana up
ward movement. few centuries as
5 our Anglo Saxon ancestors were saw
ages nd would be today had not the
J christian missionary taught them the
gcsnel ~ Christ What the Christian
missionary has done for us we must a.
for others As Christians we nave
no choice in the matter, nor any doup'
as TO the result That the changes
wrought through the TEACHINGS OF the
missionaries have had something 10 90
with arouslng the Boxer movement II
probable. In our own country wnere-
ever ignorance dominates the mission
AIRY is IN danger. There are many iocai-
ities IN the slums of our large cites
. where IL would be dangerous for M n
lister to go alone snd tell the people INC
simple truth about their ways Of wing
> Men wearing white aprons and holding
Government State and municipal licenff
; 10 dehauoh the community have been
lknown to bid the missionary go. and e
lncite their DEGRADED victims TO see that
their orders were strictly obeyed.
: The work Of Christiani-inz and civil
izing the heather Is confronted by two
J very great obstacles. One Is the wal
81 heather ignorance and prejudice; the
other the wickedness in christisn lands
with us the average Chinsman Is i,St d
, rhinaman They, too, regsfd az Chris
.ians as Of the same spirit We mus
rhristianize America as we'll as heather