Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-24
DONE AND TO DO IN INDIA
Secretary Of Lutheran Foreign Board Talks
of Missionary Work.
MANY HEAR THE INTERESTING REPORT
Speaker Says Congregation at ountEs
Memorial f. the Largest He Has
Addressed since Leaving
Baltimore.

an DldNb vi II IuhNOLLuAN hpl Lille I
mon at Kountze Memorial church was sub
stituted an address by Rev. Marion J..
Cline, secretary Of the Board OF Foreign
Missions Of the Lutheran church., who spoke
particularly Of mission work in India.
In entering upon his discourse the
speaker expressed his qualification at being
afforded an opportunity to address this
congregation. which, he said, was the
largest he had seen since leaving his home
in Baltimore. He said there was a great
deal he would like to say, but on this
occasion he would confne himself to the
subject Of the work in India, trusting to
be enabled at some future time to talk to
this same congregation on African mis-
tBions.
The great object of missionary work, the
speaker said, was to offer Christianity to
the last man in the uttermost parts Of the
earth, and the spirit Of this work was
expressed in the words Of the Saviour to
the fishermen Of Gallilee: Come, follow
LIE. and l will make you fishers of men,"
One great duty of a Christian disciple,
Rev. Cline said, was to become also an
apostle and aid in the work to disciple
the nations of the world.
of the Work.
The missionary work of the Lutheran
church was begun many years ago, the
speaker continued, but the first American
Lutheran mission was established in India
at Madras in 1912. In 1900 there were
BOAST baptized converts Of the church and
in 1901. 24,sOo, an increase for that one
year greater than in the thirty-fve years
preceding. The policy of the Lutheran
church in India. he said, had been one Of
aggressiveness and activity, and to that he
attributed this success. He particularly
emphasized the point that only the best
Of missionaries should be sent to the East
indian field, for the reason that there
Christianity must combat conditions not
easy to overcome. Centuries of heathenism
and generation after generation OF highly
philosophic culture had made the people
of India difficult material to deal with, and
only the ablest Christians should be sent
to that country to cope with the Hindoo
philosophers.
An Immediate Need.
BY those who had studied the situation,
however, It had been said that there were
1900 Of the people of India who were
6itting on the outskirts of Hindooism,
whose old chains had been broken and who
we're ready to give up the worship Of idols,
kut had not become Christians. II these
people are not given aggressive Christian
itS, he said, they will become atheists.
Beside the strictly evangelical branch of
the work he also spoke of the educational
and medical phases of missionary effort
among the people of India. The Lutheran
church, he said, was born in a university
and its father was a university professor,
and It possessed the best educational ad-
vantages Of any of the churches. In its
missionary work the schoolhouse and the
college were to be found side by side with
Gods temple and one of the features of
the curriculum in it's schools was the
teaching OF Gods word. There we're, he
ssid, at the present time 1000 or more
heathsn students in India who were receiv-
ing instruction in the Bible.
some of the Obstacles.
The speaker referred to the barrier OF
caste as one Of the great obstacles to the
C~hristianizing Of the people Of India, since
entrance into the Christian church meant
10 a Brahmin the severance Of all family
and social ties. But in spite OF this graft
tying progress had been made.
The medical branch OF missionary work
he spoke OF as essential and important,
Rnd the medicine case, he said, had been
found to be one Of the keys to unlock the
Goers of heathenism. In this connection he
dwelt upon the usefulness of the women
missionaries, by reason OF the fact that
the social rules in India were so stringent
that a woman would be permitted to die
rather than that she should be attended
by a male physician. AS an example Of the
excellent work of the women in this field
he said that in South India there was a
hospital which cost $50, 900 and which wa
erected by the women. In the English gov
eminent reports this hospital was COM
mended as the best in South India.