Evening star., 1903-10-23

| as provision for the sick and the old and
| HELPLESS DOOR 1t is a striking fact that the
success of the Messiah is assigned by the
| psa almist to such beneicence. For he
| says He shall deliver the poor when he
| crieth. the needy also and him that hath
| The methods used should be those which
| tend to keep the Indian strong, if he has
| any strength and make him strong if he
| lacks it. The wild Indian has a certain
! strength, strength in the use of his re-
| ligious nature, strength in the use of his
| physical nature.
| AS to the old religion of the Indians it
was great fact and great power in their
| lives 1t had its scored stories which fed
| the religious instinct. The changes of the
| seasons and the events of individual and
social life were marked by holy rites. made
| attractive by singing, professions and
! dances. But the whole system goes to
! pieces in the presence of civilization and
; Christianity. The people are disconnected
and perplexed. They lose all faith. They
| Erow not which way to turn. They are
| helpless. They become hopeless. They be-
| come reckless and do desperate deeds. or
| they become broken-hearted and sink into
| pauperism, 1oathsome disease and death
AS to the physical strength of the Indian
| Who could cover long distances on foot.
| who ride horse, who drive arrow
| through the buffalo, who make wild nature
| serve his purposes better than he? The
| gre attest danger to this strength is his be-
| coming a loafer and pauper. No one be-
lieves that a loafer and pauper is strohs
| The Indian does not believe it himself.
An Indian mission should therefore meet
| the Indian just where he is: appropriate
| what is good in his religion and take / up
| into the fuller and newer life of our re-
| ligion. To use scriptural figure-"The
| wild olive should be grated into the tame
| olive tree and our religion should be r:c-
sented to them in way to enlist his
imagination and encourage his heart. Tne
| religion which has its Bible Stories its out
| ward and visible signs of inward and spr-
| itual grace. its sacred seasons. its solemn
| liturgy and ritual can. in the hands of eX-
| rerts. readily do all this
An Indian once saluted ME with this con-
| fesson' I'VE Indians have no paper from
| God Che meant no written revelation), but
| have anything that will please Him we
offer it to Him and ask Him to have pity
| On US" Who could rebuff an Indians re-
| ligion after a salutation like that?
OF course the three manuals which the
church puts into the hands of her children
| the Bible, the Prayer Book and the HYm.
| nal-should be committed to the Indians, II
| possible in their own language, and as all
| of them in the early days of the mission
| among them and many of them tC their
| lives end, will not be able to read and
| write, the memorizing of the most I'M
| pcrtant parts of these manuals should be
| made an important part of their Christian
| training There should be services in which
the whole congregation should be trained
| in saying audibly together sacred words
| and in assuming postures suitable 10 Wor-
ship.
| Further to preserve and develop the In
| dams strength give them sufficient oppor-
| tunities of putting forth this strength spon-
| taneously and freely in meetings in which
| they shall seem to themselves to be prime
| movers. No dependent people, whether of
| the Indian or of the colored race. will do
| their best if they are so outnumbered and
! Observation-Disclosures less II they are so
| over-borne by the superior race that their
| proper self-Contidence is undermined and
| their own initiativenesS and freedom of
| mt hiQNpIed. Il
relation puts them in a d1Sconcer1ng, en-
| barrassing, enfeeblng position of conscious
nobodies. Let them have their own con-
vocationS Let one of their own number be
! their presiding officer-at least in the alb
sence from the chair of the bishop and that
| absence, l should say, should frequently
occur. Let them assert their wills in the
| election of their officers. Let them freely
express their minds by debating questions
and passing resolutions. To most persons
passing resolutions is satisfactory as
making laws and often quite effective.
This plan has been followed in South Da-
kota with marked success, though the In
dian convocation there is made up OF those
who few years ago were known every
where as the turbulent and warlike Sioux,
and though the native clergy stand to the
white clergy in the ratio of 1G to q and the
| Indians outnumber the whites more than
| one hundred times, and though the conVoca-
! tions are held in the wild country, far away
| from the influence of the white mans great
ness, all the proceedings move along with
admirable decency and good order.
| Now, speaking more broadly, let all meth
| DDS be inspired and perFaded by generous
| human spirit. In other words, let there
| be identification with the subjects of our
| effort. This is an essential of Christian
| work always, everywhere and among all
| classes
| The fundamental of our Christian faith is
| the identification of the Son of God with
! the subjects of His interests. He took
manhood unto God," and if He did this in
| His person He did it also in His life. He
put himself a level with the woman of
| Samaria identified himself with her, by
| asking a favor, Give me to drink before
! He undertook to touch the sore place in her
| heart. 1t was Christ living in him that
| made St. Paul identify himself with the
people of Lycaonia and say, He gave US
| rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, fill
| ing our hearts with food and gladness.'
| Our religion is ladder whose top, to be
| sure reaches unto heaven: but only as we
| enable men to see it set up on earth right
| alongside them, God placed the ladder
| alongside Jacob in his vision, will men real
ize that our religion is for each one the gate
| of heaven. \ Wel-meaning tract diStrib
| utor once told of his discontinue by
reason of failure to practice Identification.
| AS he passed along through the market he
| handed a butcher tract. The butcher
called after him. Say, mister, have you
| read il yourself?' And as he had not read
| it he beat quick retreat.
| So far my observation goes, nothing
| has more marred and vitiated missionary
| enterprise both at home and abroad than
lack of just this fellow-f feeling with the
! subjects of my etforts-lack of quick ability
| to appreciate and ready power to do what
| ever is required by circumstances. This is
| the special infirmity of our Anglo-Saxon
| stock. There is certain obtuseness which
makes US fail to feel to situation. There
| is proud unwilngness to put ourselves in
the other mans place and to see with his
| eyes, yea, naughty denial that any senti-
| ment can be sacred unleEs it be our sent-
| ment; that anything can be a real convic
ton and have any power with another un-
| less it be our conviction and have power
| with
| Lecky. in his book THE Map of Life"
| has shown that the event which he terms
the awful mutny'' in India, which for
time shook the English power there to it's
very foundation, took its rise in just this
defect. 1T was simply a glaring instance
of indifference, ignorance and incapacity
too often shown by British administrators
in dealing with beliefs and types of charac
| ter wholly unlike their own
| Cows fat and lard We're used in the lu-
| bricatng mixture with which the cartridges
issued to the Sepoy soldiers We're smeared
''one of these ingredients being utterly i'm
pure in the eyes of the Hindoo, and the
| other in the eyes of the Mussulman. To
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