Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-01-10
WHAT CHRISTIANITY COSTS.
Natives of India Who Accept Its Teach
ings, Abandoning Their Religions.

ings, Abandoning Their Religions.
The difficulties winch have to be
faced by natives of India when they
give up native religions and accept
Christianity are little realized by the
people OF this country, where to a large
extent p mans religious beliefs are of
Interest to nobody except himself anu
his immediate family. The situation
in India is well illustrated by story
from Rev. F. J. Newton, who is station,
ed at the Punjab mission of the Pres
byterian Board of Foreign Missions.
The story is of man who had been a
christian tor years, before he had the
courage to De baptized DR.. Newton
says:
He lived in country place, was the
Imam of a masjid or mosque, and at
the same time practised kitmate
(medicinel. He came to us years ago
TO learn something Of our system OF
medicine, as well as surgery. His stay
with us OF a little over q month ended
in his complete alienation from Islam.
He is a man OF about thirty-nve, I'M
usually we'll read in Persian, Arabic,
and Urdu, clever above all competitors
in the practice of kitmat in all the
region around, and very ready ana
eager to pick up new ideas. He re-
signed his nasjid on his return home,
and relied thenceforth on his practice
alone for a living. And he lost moth
ing, but increased his income consider
ably.
Meantime he took every op.
portunity of reading the gospel to
others. They did not mind this much,
some few indeed accepted his views;
yet he was rather laughed at, and
called by some a Hiram. All went
smoothly enough until he was baptized,
and then a storm of persecution broke
out which exceeded anything ne had
expected. although he had anticipated
there would ne opposition. His best
friends, even those who had apparently
sympathized with him, joined the
ranks of his enemies, and he stood
alone in his wage.
He has wife and two small boys.
ner reIations are trying their best to
get the wife to forsake him, as having
become Kofir and no longer worthy OF
her. is life has been threatened, he
has been boycotted, and his practice
entirely stopped | appealed to our
of police to give HIM pro,
lection from violence. He readily re-
sponded and took the necessary steps.
Yet with all this there is danger, for
their is nothing to prevent their kill
ling him after dark if he chance to be
ABROAD Murders are very common,
the police are corrupt, and nothing so
common as bribery and false witness.
ing. If crime occurs, the police
make a great ado, but let off the
criminal, even if caught, if he or his
friends be rich enough to bride them,
and in the end do nothing, or seize
some poor wretch too poor to indulge
in bribery, and torture a confession
out of him.
Deceit and untruthfulness are uni
versal among rich and poor alike, and
such is the material we have to work
upon. But II is noticeable-and the
4IduldfA cI4ulO
ferred to is a case in point-that there
are men here and there VINO are
sickened by the corruption among
their own people, and are in search OF
better things. Attempts at reform
are made, as evidenced in the rise OF
new sects among both Hindoos and
Moslems, while some join the ranks OF
the Christians These are subject to
the most intense opposition ana per-
secution, and very few have the
courage to face it, Christians in
America can form little conception OF
the difficulties a convert must needs
encounter 1t is hardest, of course
for those isolated in villages. like my
friend Yaquib with no Christian COM
munity near to stand by them. In tne
case of the Churas, or low caste it. is
somewhat different AS rule they
are baptized in large number together
and their number gives them COURAGE
The Mussulman or Hindoo stands
alone. Communities never become
Christian