Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-02-21
MethOdiSfS
Aligned in
VarArrav
Campaign Opens to Save 3d.
900, 900 Children Now Under
the Blight of Islam.


thirteen cities, beginning at CHICAGO
and ending in New York, during Feb
ruary, is both~a confession and an int
dication of the new emphasis which
Christianity is putting on the teachJ
ing of Jesus Christ with respect to1
boys and girls. It is a confession that
the church has taken too little interest
in those who SO soon become men and
women.
Christian men and women trained in
the fundamentals of modern teaching
to meet the needs of children are a
mere handful in foreign fields. This
Is due in part to the fact that until
very recently the church did NOT talk.
as seriously as 1t might the fact that
child life may be SO nurtured nv
Christian truth as to develop Christian
men and women.
And because of this the oualifica-
tons of secular teacher were not
insisted on in the missionaries sent
out The last few years have seen a
change in policy in this respect.
Foundation on Childhood.
Now the Organized Sunday School
Work, IN taking up arms against the
strongest enemy of Christianity-the
religion Of Mohammedanism-is act
ing on the realization that If tba
largest inroads are to be made IN )
Moslem lands for the teachings of
Ghrlst they must come by way of the
f en. MonaInmedanism has no place
LII, ,or csiiiuren; Christianity builds its
very foundation upon Childhood
Preceding the Worlds Seventh SIM
day School Convention, which was
held IN zurich, Switzerland. last ,Julv,
d strong commission of twenty-fo,Ir
able Christian statesmen, under the
direction of Bishop J. C. Hartzell and
nr >. M. Zwemer, made an investiga.
n he Gu. Il.
needs and opportunities In Moslem
lands.
The commission addressed five hun-
dred letters to the missionary boards
having representatives in lands more
or less Mohammedan, and to mis-
slonarles working in those lands. Thia
letter contained an extensive oles
tlonna1re' asking for information as
TO the condition of Moslem childhood
and it's relation to missionary WORK
including the organized Sunday-school
and kindred methods of Christian
teaching. Suggestions were sought
as to how the Worlds Sunday School
Association can aid in promoting Sun.
day-school organization and eff
cheney.
s00OO,00O to Rescue.
The investigation revealed the fact
that in Africa and Asia there are
more than S0,000,0 900 Mol1ammedan
children, practically all of whom are
living in the most demora Iizing en-
vironments. Under the Moslem teach
ings, to rear pure-minded child is
almost unknown and impossible
There is a lamentable lack of chill
dren's literature, and a startling per
centage of illiteracy, ignorance and
superstition.
considering, therefore, the preva-
lent conditions and crying needs OF
these helpless children in Moslem
lands, the Worlds Sunday School
Association proposes at once to or
game the present Sunday school
FORCES and marshal them for an on
ward march against this foe
Already there are men whose lives
nave been set aside for specialized
Sunday school work. One of these is
to have his headquarters in Constan-
tinople, and will confine his efforts
largely to Turkey, which alone en-
rolls more than $4,000 in her Sunday
schools at the present time Another
VIII work from Cairo, Egypt, and will
cover practically the whole of North
ern Africa under such leaders al
6ishop }. G. Hartzell and DIR. S. M.
Zwemer.
There are men also with headouar-
ters ate Shanghai Jubbulpore, Toxic,
Manila and other centres, all of whom
are IN positions at strategic oppor-
tunity.
This the Appointed Time.
To put before the people of America
this information, Bishop j. C, Hart
eel (Madeira), DR.. S. NJ. Swemer
(EgypD, DR.. c. T. Erickson CAL
oania, Rev. S. V. r. Trowbridge
turkey, Marion Lawrence, Frank
Il. Brown, and several other leaders
OF world-fame are making a tour of
thirteen cities holding conferences
and public meetings in each place.
These men are showing by first hand
living testimony that today is the an
pointed time to strike the blow which
will mean death to sin and life to
Christianity in Moslem land
The possibilities of this campaign
are unlimited, both for the homeland
and the foreign field. No figures in
the Moslem world stand out more
prominently than Bishop Hartzell and
DR.. Zwemer. Under the rulings of
destiny, no territory has undergone
such changes, and is now filled with
such opportunities as Albania, which
is to be represented by DR.. Erickson.
The coming of these men to. New
York and Brooklyn within access OF
the readers of this paper gives an
opportunity for Sunday school leaders
State, Eastern New Jersey, Long ISL
and. Connecticut and Staten Island
to hear the men who produce the
work-the men who will go down in
history as heroes of the Christian
Church.
Islam Is Dying.
The triumphs of Mohammedanisn1
have been by the sword; the victories
of Christianity have come through q
ministry of love- Islam has lost her
hold and is dying; Christianity is
the saving power, and is alive!
But Christianity cannot win hands
down. Bishop William F. Mcdowell,
resident bishop of Chicago of tho
Methodist Episcopal Church, who is
at present convalescing from a surgi-
cal operation in a hospital in that
city, puts the situation with refer
ence to Mohammedanism accurately
when he says:
Eve have yet to come to our death
grapple with Mohammedanism. I
hope that no one will get the impress
sion from any signs of disintegration
that Northumberland Is just crum-
bling and that all that we have to do
is to gather it as 1t crumbles. Mo-
hammedapism is a force with which
as 1t will have to before ii is con-
quered for Christ. we have yet to
measure our strength with that vast
power.
People ask me How much longer
shall we be obliged to give battle
thus?' To all such ] say. Let not the
church get the impression that we are
anywhere near the end of the cam.
paign for the establishment of the