The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-22
Missions to the Heather.

intended for the benefit of Mr. Carnegie,
in reiialf of endowed missions to the
heather. and he says that the evangeli-
cation of the world is the supreme claim
upon the Christian Church. and that
this obligation was enforced throughout
the ministry of Christ hnd reaffirmed in
the sacred terms of his last command.
The command referred to probably Is
that adjuring the disciples to go into
all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature shrewd old farmer
once made the comment, aprupos of the
desire of feckless nephew of his to be-
come missionary. that when Christ
commanded 'em to preach the gospel to
every critter he didn't mean that every
critter should preach the gospel"
There is considerable sense In this.
The minds of most intelligent people.
in and out of the churches, are just now
being disturbed by a doubt as to the
wisdom of foreign missions carried on
after the present plan. In the first
place, there is nothing in it which much
resembles Christ's plan. According to
Matthew. Mark, and Luke, the apostles
were given power to heal diseases, cast
out devils, raise the dead, and drink
any deadly thing without its hurting
them. No modern missionary pretends
to do anything of this kind except the
medical missionaries. who do heal dis
eases. and whose work is productive of
great good. The Catholic Church, in
sending its priests to out of the way
corners of the world. has long taken the
precaution to give tEem an education in
medicine as we'll as in theology; and it
is a noteworthy fact that ii has not sent
women into places where they viii be
at the mercy of savage rebels in case
of a revolt. Another rule laid down by
Christ was that the missionaries were
to take nothing with them, not even
bread. and were to support themselves.
Some of the early Wesleyan preachers
followed this command literally. work
ing with their hands for their living,
and preaching during their scant leis-
ure time, and some of the Salvation
Army missionaries do it now. Finally,
if they were prosecuted in one city they
-
there and call for troops, or loot, or de-
mand indemnities for loss of property.
OF course. it may be said that times
have changed. and that all these mi
nutiae are not to be taken literally: but
ii is difficult to see where some of these
good people get their authority to say
what in the Bible is to be taken liter
ir i,,
tainly not much sense in picking out
this one command, to go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every
creature. and disregarding all the other
especially that enioining the
to go first to the lost sheep
of the house OF Israel. For consider
able length of time the Christian
Church of Europe was sending mission
aries to preach the gospel in all the
world. and savagely prosecuting the
lost sheep of the house of Israel mean
while. Moreover. how is it to be ascer-
tanned which part of the world is first
to be converted? 1t looks to the impair
tial observer as if it might be just as
we'll TO see that every creature in the
United States of America has been CON
verred, before attacking Bombay, Con
stantiIople, and Pekin. IL would surely
be quite possible to convert all the can
tonese in the Chinese quarter of New
this lard, if it is going to be possible to
the four hundred millions of
people in China itself: but even that
has not been done. and is not likely to
be. Even among native Americans
there is considerable need for one kind
of mission or another Until it is safe
for a young girl to go anywhere alone
in this country without being insulted
or harmed. until the police department
Of New York is purified, and the poll
ticians of this country convinced that
rotten ward politics is bad for the
health Of the people and worse for The
moral welfare of the persons most con-
cerned, until Phariseeism-the one sin
for which Christ seems to have had no
mercy-is a little suppressed and dis
credited, it seems as if it might be well
to leave the Confucians, Buddhists, and
Shintoists to the workings of their own
religion and the beneficent Influences
of the Christian civilization of the
West, introduced by secular means
There is not much use in spreading civ
ilization which does not civilize; and if
the secular authorities of Western ma
lions had been converted to a sense |
Of their responsibilities. perhaps the
opium trade would not have been in
into China, and there would |
not be seventy saloons in Lucknow |
where there was not one before the add |
rent of the foreigner.