The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-28

eCopSr1ght, 1908. by Joseph B. BowIes
 -Copyrtght in Great Rritain-Alt
 Rights ReservedJ
 i, Lincoln. Neb., Oct. 5, 1s06.-In tor nor letters have mentioned the mis- 3aonary work being done by Americans Ii the Orient, and I ueem the subject Important enough for an article. m view of the conflicting reports which have been brought back by tourists, < We had an opportunity to inVest'- rate the work done by American mis- eionaries in Hawaii. Japan. China. the Philippines. Singapore. India, Egypt. Palestine and Turkey. We met repro eentatives of nearly an :ne churches sn the various departments of mission ary V ork and result of our op- eervations our interest in foreign mis- s1ons has been quickened. Tn Hawaif the missionaries laid the foundatioh for the present civilization In the ss- lands and exerted a most beneficial i'm Auence upon the natives.
 Tn Japan. the missionary work mas spread rapidly. and is carried on un- der four heads- The religious teacher presents the gospel and establishes churches; the school seacher arouses an interest in education and estab- aishes. schools; the medical missionary. by unselfshiy rendering an obvious service, opens the way for both the preacher and the school teacher. while the Young Mems. Christian Associa- tion, weld the church membership Tn to a religious. but uaeectarfan work- ing body. The rapid growth in puphc instruction has somewhat dwarfed tne relative importance of the mission schools in Japan, and the spread or the science of medicine has made the work of the medical missionary less consplc- nous. but the religious teacher in Ja- nan has a field which Is not surpassed anywhere. The Japane"- people ar" vanidly drifting away from Buddhism which until recently was the national faith. Shintoism. which has become < the state religion. is not religion at all but a reverence for ancestors. Ja- nan must have a religion for no na- tjon Is likely to avoid decay unless It's morals are re-enforced by religion II I had the authority to decide the aues- tton, I would send some of the leading men of each denomination to Japan to present Christianity to the educated Japanese. English is taught in the schools of Japan, and one can speak t" the Japanese without the aid of an i'm terpreter. This proposition tested several times. While :i would be an advantage to have preacaers who could speak the Japanese language, still, It is more important that we should send our ablest divines there-men who can meet the most intelligent of the Jara- nese upon an equal footing "nd detend before them the Christian philosophy of life.
 Japan is the gateway of the orient. and today Is exerting an influence upon China greater than the combined in-
 Ehr g. Western civilization is likely to en- fer China through Japan. In fact. believe that the Christian religion, presented to the Chinese by the Jap lnese, would spread more rapidly than if presented in any other way. Tor China has come to regard Japan as leader of thought. More than 5'ooO Chinese students are now at school in Japan, and Japanese teachers are hefne more and more employed Tn China. Some of the most earnest Christians whom we met are natives of Japan At Tokio, at k!oto. and at Kaxoshima I was especially impressed with the sincerity and enthusiasm O! the Japanese Christians. I could not but recall the lines. Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love" as I saw how much stronger this heart tie is than the ties of blood ar race or language,
 In Seoul, Korea we found very successful medical mission and Aourishing Young Mems Christian AS sociation We also learned of seE- sral Christian congregations.
 In China mission work has made great progress. although 1t has had t" bear the brunt of the fight now be- inr made against foreign influence During the Boxer trouble there were examples of heroism among the Ch'- nese Christians which recalled the early days of martyrdom There were those who suffered death because ot their devotion to the Christian faith. and thousands more who did not hest