The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1920-10-15

ifil havs tayoribe COW die: ntl-
other VII lose an aunt by SICK
mess: another viii have 9 bow
legged son born every man NH
meet with misfortune suitable 20
his misdeeds.' His responsibility
as the absolute governor nevei
came to his mind.
Such Eatalism, shared more or
less by the Turks with all the
; people of the East. induces iazi.
ness, ccrelessness and stagnatIon
in both personal and public anhtrs.
/ II everything is determined by
| fate. there p no room for human
choice; If there Is no choice. there
IS no responsibility, there can be
\ neither virtue nor vice, ground for
neither praise nor blame, reward
nor punishment.
Turks cannot, Of course, carry
! out their creed with logical con-
sistency. They feel the monitions
az conscience, as all men must.
I and recognize themselves as In
reality morally accountable; but
/ tho tendency OF their faith Is In
the direction indicated. The out
come appears in the remark OF a
! white-turbaned army chaplain:
"You know God Almighty never re-
ouires anything of man the doing
or which is hard" Think whittier
such doctrine would carry one in
conduct! II the path OF virtue APP
pears hard. you cannot expect one
easy and inviting, do It. II you
! have point to gain by a lie, ana
| do not take advantage OF this
means you are hardly bright.
Sin and righteousness consist II,
obedience or disObedienCe TO the
Divine statutes, and. as these pre-
scribe ritual ceremonies quite as
much as ethical principles, one
may be as guilty for not following
correctly the prescribed rules for
the washing of his hands before
prayer. IS for lining his pockets
with stolen gold, or for perVerttng
Justice under the influence OF a
bribe. Neither love to God or man,
nor moral character. but ritual
status, is taken as the ground o!
acceptance at the court OF heaven
Confession is made with the mouth
and 1t matters little whether mlnd
and heart agree thereto. Utter
ance Of the formula, There is no
god but Allah, and Mohammed is
/ his prophet" gives the speaker all
the rights Of THE faithful" though
the confession may have been
forced and may be repudiated with
all the heart. 1t is doubtful wheth..
eli sin would be reckoned sin il
the perpetTutor were not caught.
II one could bribe the gate-keeper
| or gain back door entrance to hea-
J ven without the right of being
there, Gods leniency would be e1-
pected to triumph over his justice,
and the man would be allowed 10
remain.
! earthly monarch, is thought "
AS surrounded by ministers OF vhi;,
/ ious ranks, who do his pleasure and
have direct access to His presence.
! Angels OF different sorts and
names, among whom four are reck--
uned as prominent, are reinforced
by the patriarchs and prophets OF
! the Old Testament, and by count
: less saints" from among the de-
won't of all lands and ages. or ev-
en- by living men Of outstanding
reputation Tor sanCtity. a great
| part Of the religion of an average
! Turk, as is the case with many
other Orientals. consists in the en-:
| deavor so 10 enlist the favor OF
one OF more VI SeSPld CIANSS
the throne of heaven in his behalf
that he may be kept from harm
may be comfortable IN life, and AT
| death may be carried direct TO
| Paradise. In the crises Of life 4
Turk turns to God. with prayer ana
| sacrifice, but he presents his plea
| through the medium OF some sup
posedly influential SAINT. Wheth-
err or not 1t has a mosque, almost
every village has a shrine made sa'
cred by the presence OF a holH
grave. The people of any given
! Village repair to their. shrine, and
with Individual or communal wor'
shin eudeaYor to rouse their medt-
ator to act in their behalf. Or,
one may go long journey to seek
| Il famous sanctuary, or to present
his petition through an intercessor
who has the name of helping those
| in his particular plight. II Turk
/ suffers misfortune, and fears l.
| NAV be due to his maltreatment OF
! a Christian, he will resort to a
! Christian shrine. and pay the priest
| A fec to intercede in his behalf. Or
III a Turkish woman learns that
iher Christian neighbours child was
lhealed from n disease after pill
Erimage to some church or mon
astelry, she will take her child TO
the same place in hope of securing
| ing effectual interCession for the
! Moslem baby where God has al
ready given proof OF His acceptance
of the worship. The idea IN all
such cases Is that a given saint
| In with tho Gil.