The Detroit times., 1910-09-14

We're fully agreed that God had given
his Church the commission to convert
the Who'll, world and To establish Mes
slabs Kingdom. when the nations
would learn war no more. but beat
their swords into plowshares and their
spears into pruning hooks Jealous
Christian people urged that the heath
en- were going down to hell OF
eternal torment at the rate or ninety
thousand every tWenty-four hours:
And noble men and women sacrificed
their earthly Interests for the assist
ance OF the hcathen-to prevent that
awful catastrophe, 70 help thwart the
very program OF God which some
other Christian people OF an earlier
day had declared was predestlned ana
foreordained az unalterable. Good was
certainly attempted. We trust that
that some harm was done, In that raj
lacious conceptions OF the character
and plan OF the Creator were promul-
gated amongst the heather, which have
hardened and embittered some OF them.
But by and by practical people sought
for statistics. and now know that there
are twice as many heathens In the
wafia= =theEeAWa "A century ago. OF
course. there are unthinking ana UNI
statistical people who refuse knowl-
edge and who are today aiming with
commendaple zeal. but reprehen-
sible ignorance, that large contribu-
tions of money would enable them to
capture the whole world for God. Never
theless. the masses no longer see tie
matter as they did. and can no longer
he swayed 10 the same extent Think
ing people refuse to believe that God
for centuries has sat calmly viewing
the situation. allowing millions to 20
to eternal torment. They refuse to be-
lieve that their hearts and sympathies
are more tender than those OF their
Creator.
Even the heather are getting awake
to the Inconsistency OF what has been
They are finding out that the word
Gospel signifies good tidtngs and
that what has been preached TO them
IL the most awful messase conceivable
that all of the heather and the ma
jority OF their civilized neighbors and
friends and relatives have been de-
creed sentenced, foreordained, 10 eter-
nal torture because OF ignorance, be-
cause OF a misbelief in respect TO
-wfftetf-they-w eFe-tharonghlY- honest
PerpleXed. the missionaries ask, What
shall we preach? The message OF dam
nation does not sound good 10 the
heather, and they do not run after IL
nor feast their souls upon II. Tho
question comes TO the ministers ana
Christendom and they are perplexed
what answer TO give. The majority
OF them have become higher critics
and no longer accept the Bible as the
and no longer believe the Gospel which
the missionaries societies were organ
lied TO proclaim. They are In perplex-
ity And many of them are prepared
TO abandon the former theory OF mis-
sions and to continue their work
henceforth merely along humanitarian
lines. Indeed. within the last % years
missionary effort has turned gradually
TO secular education and medical prac-
tice in the interests OF the heather,
with little religious doctrine-and so
much the better.
Everybody Is agreed that the King
dom OF Messiah cannot be brought
about by the wholesale conversion OF
the world. And logical people see
that larger numbers have been lost TO
Christianity in civilized lands during
the last 20 years than were ever claim