Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-10-26

weak. NOT SelI-car1nE dloHss oos oe1SAA
caring is the higher law Of life: The
Christ in the manEer and on the cross
and that is the one religion Of the life
Of God in the soul OF man.
Is Gathered between the oceans In this
new world are the peoples Of all lands
all governments. faiths and forms OF
worship. Oh, that here the millions may
be one in the great truths and life of the
soul of God, and here be lifted higher
the ideals of the freedom of justice ano
the religion of love-"
AN ENGLISH VIEW OF RELIGION
IN THE PHILIPPINES.
We have from time to time comment
ed on the work of American mission
aries on the Philippine islands and the
various religious problems presented
there. The London Spectator advances
the proposition that the natives are re-
nouncing Catholicism without becoming
Protestants, in other words. are becom-
ing Indifferent to all religion
II this IL correct, we have the singular
spectacle Of eome millions of Asiatics
without a dominant faith. q spectacle
which is not presented anywhere else In
Asia, and which 1t is difficult for those
who know Asiatic history to believe Will
endure for any time. Asiatics. living al
WAYS in the presence of natural forces
almost too strong for them, habituated
to expect cataclysms, and always APP
prehensive of the unknown. feel more
strongly than European the necessity OF
faith; and this faith, once formed, Is
adopted by masses, and becomes dom
inant law. Now IL the Philippine natives
openly or secretly abandon Catholicism,
what faith will they. adopt? The pleas
ant answer would be. OF course, that the
American missionaries will convert
them, ah they have in way converted
the Hawaiians and some of the wilder
tribes Of Burmah. They are very sim
cere, they approach the people very
closely-learning their languages, for
example, with wonderful perseverance
and thye are sometimes more success
full than British missionaries. owing, we
fancy, to greater care In comprehending.
and, SO to speak, meeting native ideas
They may in half century or so sue
coed very greatly. and make OF the is
lapders Protestants of kind, with a
native pastcrate, and mode of life
which will be at all events an imitation
of the life accepted by Protestant COM
munities.
Another answer Is that the islanders
might adopt the Malay form of Mo-
hammedanism-t is, Mohammed-
anism in which the flercer eide is always
in front. Nobody who has studied the
question doubts the charm Of that creed
for all Asiatics and negroes; 1t has
armies Of missionaries always at Its
disposal and 1t is already profeseed by
a quarter Of million of Filipinos. who
call themselves orang Islam. men OF
the Faith" There is. however, some
check to Mohammedanism in the is
lands. The faith rather recedes than
advances, and tho Christian village or
two has embraced Islam, a general
movement from one creed to the other
IL improbable. 1t is also conceivable
that the Japanese, who will WELD most
influence In the islands after the Ameri-
cans, might Introduce one OF their own
1reeds. That, however, Is unlikely, the
Japanese being essentially secularist.
and the Filipinos Of all descriptions
crossed with races in which there is
more aiI2UIl1Ny ~ QISSA4ty ooPSASsssASsAs''
The alternative Is a new creed, and
should one develop itself, its genesis and
progress will be matter of extreme In
tellectual interest. We know much Of
AslatIc creeds, but scarcely anything OF
their origin.
There is also another alternative
which we ought in fairness to state. 1t
may be that the Roman church. touched
to the heart by the spiritual condition
OF the Filipinos, may send forth bands
of devoted missionaries who, without
thought of money or power. will re-
evangelize the half-hearted Catholics Of
the Philippines and make them con-
yerts to nobler and better type Of Ro-
man Catholicism, Probably this is the
best thing that could happen, for tho we
do not pretend that we should not In the
abstract prefer to see the Filipinos
Protestants we expect considering
their past history. that purer. form of
Roman Catholicism would be the type
of Christianity most likely to hold the
Filipinos.