Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-12-07
MORAL TEACHING OF WORLDS
j., GREAT RELIGIONS IS THEME

| III inc btiIbi Oi tIitlI iULIbNtI =, IuC
gOts o. most religions are sensitive
TO disrespcct and demand suhmjssi
ness and homage. Those who are
guilty Of diSTespCCt TO the gods arc
often punished by men also. & Mo
hammedan who is gully Of blasphomy
is Immediately put to death The
GODS Of Brahmanism have mystic
names Which no one dares to SPEAK;
the real namr Of Confucius is SO
in China 10 pronounce it. Among
Christians there is common disin
clination TO use the word God" or its
, equivalent in everyday speech.
t. One of the greatest insults which
can be offered TO a god is to deny his
existence. Some gods are extremely
ungencrous towards all who do not
recognize them and only them as
their objects of worship. Intolerance
is q characteristic of all mOnOthelstiC
religions, while pOlyhteism is by ma,
ture tolerant. (gods who are used to
sharing their favor cannot be very
jealous gods). One great difficulty in
persuading the Chinese to accept
! Christianity is said by missionary
to be due to their notion that one re-
liG.Un is as good as another.
Prayer is also tribute to all self
regarding gods, some of whom love
fiattery. The Mohammedan invokes
Allah with such phrases as: Cod is
great, God is merciful, God is he who
seeth and heareth.' The following
- tDII Of Thinn.n- hn
hottest season of the year the . was
snowstorm in SoOChaw. People, in
conservation, went to the temple of
the great prince to pray. The spirit
moved one of the company to say:
You now address me as your honor,
make it your excellency and though
i an but lesser deity it may well
be worth your while to do So" There
upon the people began to address the
god in flattering terms and the snow
stopped at once. The Hindus believe
that by praise a person may obtain
from the gods whatever he wishes,
and a single invocation Of the divine
name may cancel a whole life of sin.
Buddhism is rather a system of con-
duct than a religion. If the genuine
Buddhist worships any higher power,
it is the moral order which never fails
to assert itself in the law of cause
and effect. Man is entirely dependent
upon his own resources in winning his
salvation; every thought and action
entails its just reward and leaves him
nearer to or farther from his goal.
Confucius, as well as Buddha Meth
er asserts nor denies the existence of
a supreme god and, he makes morality
infinitely more important than re-
ligion. Confucianism holds that all
men are naturally good and that the
example of wise fathers is all that is
necessary to keep them so. Prayer is
useless and rewards and punishments
are only natural results of conduct.
The god of Mohammedanism de-
mands a righteous life; he Furnishes
the evil and rewards the good The
foremost duty of men is to believe in
Allah, god of force, in whose hands
his children are mere tools. Moham-
mechanism is ritualistic religion re-
quiIing the performance of certain
definite ceremonies, the reciting o. the
creed, stated prayers, fasting, giving
of aims and a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Men are absolutely predestined to
lives of good or evil but at the same
time they are punished for their
wrong deeds by an intolerant and I'M
loving god.
Conduct Towards Other Men.
II is commonly maintained that the
most sacred duty which we owe to
our fellowmen is respect for their
lives. Hbmicide is generally pronlbit-
eG within smaller or larger circle;
in primitive society it Is prohibited
within the tribe and in more advanced
culture the circle of prohibition in
cludes the nation. How little regard
is felt for the lives of strangers ap-
pears in the readiness with which " ar
is waged against foreign nations, COM
bined with the esteem in which the
successful Warrior is held by his coun-
try men.
To kill a Beahman is an unpardon-
allie sin among the Hndus, but the
lives Of men of lower cate are not
held in such high esteem. The vediC
HYMNS are full of prayers of misfor-
tune upon men of another race
The shedding of human blood is
commonly prohibited in scored places.
and in India there are certain peace
able towns in which hun
ne yer been shed.
Mohammedanism protects its own
followers from homicide. but Is ever
hostile towards those who are not be-
levers. and the infidel not the foreign
c., as such, is the proper object of
In Buddhism and Confuciasism the
CT: Gle, within which homicide is pro-
hIbited, comes to inludc all mankind
The Buddhist is enjoined to abstain
from even defensive warfare and the
FLOWERS of ConfuCius must use weaI-
ons only when compelled by most dire
necessity.
christianity introduced high re-
Gard for human life. but the command
~ hou shalt not kill'' was not stead
lastly followed by the Christian
church, which was engaged during one
period of its history. in a series of