The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1906-11-18

former letters l have mentioned tn
missionary work being done by Amer
leans in the Orient, and L deem tn
subject important enough for an artl
Gle. in view of the conflicting report
which have been brought back b
tourists.
We had an opportunity to investigat
the work done by American mission
aries in Hawaii, Japan, China. tn
Philippines, Singapore, India, Egypt
Palestine and Turkey. We met repre-
sentatives of nearly all the churches il
the various departments of missionary
work and as a result of our observa
tions our interest in foreign missions
has been quickened.
In Hawaii the missionaries laid the
foundation for the present civilization
in the islands and exerted most bene-
fetal influence upon the natives.
In Japan the missionary work has
spread rapidly and is carried on under
four heads. The religious teacher pre-
sents the gospel and establishes
churches; the school teacher arouses an
interest in education and establishes
schools; the medical missionary, by un-
selfishly rendering an obvious service,
opens the way for both the preacher
and the school teacher, while the
Young Mems Christian Association and
it's accompanying organization, the
Young Womens Christian Association.
weld the church membership into a re-
Iigious but unsectarian working body.
The Japanese people are rapidly
drifting away from Buddhism, which
until recently was the national faith
Shintoism which has become the State
religion, is not religion at all, but
reverence for ancestors. Japan must
have a religion, for no nation is likely
to avoid decay unless it's morals are
REINFORCED by religion.
JAPAN AS A FIELD TO WORK.
If I had the authority to decide the
question, l 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 to the Japanese without the aid
OF an interpreter This 1 tested severar
times
While it would be an advantage to
have preachers who could speak the
japanese language. still it is more i'm
portant that we should send our ablest
divines there-men who can meet the
most Intelligent of the japanese upon
equal footing and defend 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
fiuence of all the European nations.
Western civilization is likely to enter
China through Japan. In fact, 1 be-
lieve that the Christian religion pre-
Sented to the Chinese by the japanese
would spread more rapidly than if
presented in any other way, for China
has come to regard Japan as a leader
of thought. More than 5000 Chinese
students are now at school in Japan,
and japanese teachers are being more
and more employed in China. Some
of the most earnest Christians whom
we met are natives of Japan.
At Toxic. at Kioto and at Kagoshima
T was especially impressed with the
sincerity and enthusiasm of the Japa-
nese Christians. I could not but re-
call the lines. Blessed be the tie that
binds cur hearts in Christian love-"
as I saw how much stronger this heart
tie is than the ties of blood Or race
or language
In Seoul, Korea, we found a very
successful medical mission and a
fiourishing Young Mems Christian AS
ISOLATION. We also learned of several
Christian congregations. /.
STEADFAST CHINESE CONVERTS. !
In China mission work has made
great progress, although it has had to
bear the brunt of the fight now being
ir1ftI
ing the Boxer trouble there were ex-
amples of heroism among the Chinese
Christians which recalled the early
days of martyrdom.
There were those who suffered death
because of their devotion to the Chris
tian faith, and thousands more who
did not hesitate to take the part of
the white Christians against members
of their own race. 1t takes time to
educate a race or make an impression
upon a great population like the pop ,
uIation of China, but the next quarter
of a century is likely to see the Chris !
tian religion spread more rapidly /
among the inha bitants of the Ffowery |
Kingdom than it has during the last i
century.
That our missionaries often make
mistakes need not be denied. They are
human and to err is the lot or all.
A missionary among strangers must
exercise more sasacity and discretion
than one who works among people OF ,
his own race. The wonder is not that
missionaries make mistakes. but that
they do not make more than are no"
charged to them
It is even possible that missionary
occasionally proves untrue to his call
ing-is it strange that this should nap 7
non 70 missionary almost alone and
,,i+b hut little sympathetic support
when it sometimes happens TO minis
tors who are surrounded by friends ana +
bedged in so that fan would seem
almost impossible?
pr,ANTIEG WESTERN IDEAS.
ono mart of me missionary work
.l,+,..3 scant notice namely, the