The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-11-04
The RELIGIOUS Rambler

more seriously needs 10 receive from
the experience rebirth OF spirit than
old China.
Reaction aud indinersnce
some lifelong students OF conditions
! Ia China told me that there Is a mood
OF RELIGIOUS reaction now manifest IN
China. At the beginning OF the repub-
lie there was disposition 10 accept
Christianity. along with other hcnofits
OF tho west. Nov that spirit has lasa''
cd. Others equally aualifed to judge,
only partly asscntcd 90 this Their
judgment Is chat phc prevent attltudc
Of Chlaa toward all ccii.iOu l. one of in
difference. Tho influx Of new fashions.
and OF war prosprit., which South Chit
un IN particular has shared, has divert
Ell the minds OF the people from rcli.
gion and from the war itself.
One may travel long In China with
olt seeing any signs whatever of the
peoples interest in religion Aside
from the holidays, which all have u
soIniroliGious character there Il sea nj
recognition uf the temples Zeal for
the old faiths. Confuclanism buddhism.
ara Taoism. is difricult 70 find. No,
has there been any such widespread
turning To- Christimits as would thrust
itself upoy thr attention OF the traveller
on casual observer Thousands Of tor
cicncrs So 10 Chirs cvory year without I
seeing amy sign of China's RELIGIOUS
interest. hcathen on Christian The I
Chinese are not g. religious people. MS |
Indians or even Jhranosc are religious. /
They are first OF al matorialiS;s
\ Little Leaven IN q Large Lump.
This docs not mean that there are
not - great many earnest Christians
and BuddhistS and other reliGionists in
China. 1t is only stating in perfect
candor. the general condition Of the
nation. Whoever searches for II will
fnd a great deal OF successful. mission
AIRY worl, under way in China. There
are also shining examples of beautiful
Christian character to he found among I
thc conyprts. Bui as yet Christianity
has not produced among the Chinese
either Lational lcacer or a national
purpose of self-denying patriotism.
That the little leavcn of Christianity
is loavcnine this huge lump of China
is manifest IN many ways. Here, for
example, arc Chinese Christians. from
the districts where American famine
relief funds were administered a few
years aga. sending substantial gifts TO
the s.Tering Armerians. In the large l
new department store ir- Canton there
is q welfare organization called THE
Sincere Christian Association" A va
riety of social service work is done In
Peking and elsewhere by Chinese Chris
tians
Curious evidences OF the permeation
Of Chinese thought by Christian imag.
cry and phraseology intrudo themselves
upon the attention of the observer who
even confines himself to politics. The
daily newspapers issued in English by
Chinese stem to be mostly written by
men trained in Christians schools: for
their figures OF speech are largely taken
from the Bible, ana not from the Con- ,
fucisn classics During the recent Chi. :
nese crisis there appeared in the Pek-
ing Gazette a remarkable document !
signed by The Women Of China" and
called an appeal for God and our
Country" Its arraignmcnt OF the pa
silanimity of the officials was urspar- S
Ing, but more remarkable was its mix
iurc Of Scriptura and American i'd
oms. az when the women adjurei China
a "glrd zap our ioins and try % go the
Japanese one step better" Again "Oh :
he shame of this selfish spirit Does f
not the book say truly. What doth it
profit man if he gain the who,o world
and lose his own soul?'" BY suci l
okcns as this il is evident that Chris "
ianity is exercising an influence upon
,hina out Of all proportion to is nu-
nerical strength. The power OF lem
'cracy In South China is largely n ty.
product OF Christianity.
China's Call for Crusaders.
Clearly, though. Christianity and The
vest need to do something far more
iefinite in helping China to acqure tn
pirit which may be called the wy
,enius Of Christian civilization. the val
ngness to serve and suffer, for the
axe of ideals and OF the common wei.
are. Among the Christians Of Chira
here should be raised up definitely