Foreign Mission Journal, March 1890

• • 1 “ 'К1-1'*. » Foreign Mission Journal. PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE FOREIGN MISSION ВОЛШ) OF TIIE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION. "ALL. POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE, THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS.” Vol. 2i — New Series. RICHMOND, VA., MARCH, 1890. No. 8 — Whole No. 260. I Entered at the Poet-Offlce at Richmond, Ya., as 1 sscond-class matter.] Foreign Mission Journal. RATES PER ANNUM : I. For papers separately addressed, either lo same or to different post offices j rlna rant* . .... ........ .... .......... 3ft els, Threo copies @»l. or . . 83X cu. apiece. U For pncksitee sent to one person, who shall be responsible for their distribution: Poor ooples for $1, or more at. . . 2Sctr. Twenty-flve copies for 45. or more at . 20cts. OnsIIondred copies for *10, or more at. .18 eta. «-Please remit by Draft, Foetal Order, or In Regis- isred Letter, and notify us promptly of any change in address. Address, FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL, Richmond, Va. m ADVERTISING RATES. "ягдоя. 1 Month, 3 Months e Months 12 Months Two Inches . Three InchM . Quarter oolnmn... Hall oolnmn . — . One column.......—. 1 IS • 40 3 80 4 78 9 26 la 00 3 45 6 45 0 20 IS 00 23 25 CO Ofl в Л0 12 DO 18 00 85 00 48 00 92 CO II 90 00 178 00 FOREIGN MISSION BOARD OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTI8T CONVENTION. Locayxd AT RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. PnaeiDBNT— H. H. K. units. Vica-PnaeiDBXTe — .Tosbua Levering, Md., O. W. Tomkles, La.. A. B. Owen, Va., N. A. Hatley. Fla., }. L. While, N.O., О. P. Dagby, Ky., W. 0. Bled¬ soe, Alabama, J. P. Greene, Mo., ,1111. Oarroll. Teins. W. L. Kilpatrick, Its., A. J.S. Thomas, S.O. a. J. Willingham, Tenn..J. II. Searcy, Ark., George Whitfield, Miss,. W. F. Attklsson. W. \a. CoanaePOHDUto SacnaTuiY— It. A. TUPPER. Assistant Sycbktaoy, T. P. HELL. Tnaaeonan— J. O. WILLIAMS. RXCOUDINO SkCUBTAnY— A. B. GI.ARK К Аотлтоп-Н. O. BURNETT. ВОАППОР МАНАОКВв,— H. K. Ellyson.C. If. Win¬ ston. W. E. Hatcher, J. Pollard, Гг., S. О. Сор¬ ит. J.H. Hatton. W. D. Thomas, W. W. Landrum, aeo. Cooper. О. H. Ryland, И. C. Bnrnettt T. P Mathews. R. H. Pitt. It. S. Bosher, J. L. M. Carry, Theo. Whitfield. tefAll communications in reference to the business of this Board should be addressed to H. A. Tupper, Corresponding Secretary, Richmond. Va. sisters they say, “'You must wait. We have other things to attend to ; after these are attended to, we will consider the matter of sending you to the fields abroad.” The churches— yea, the members of the Baptist churches of the South— are dilly¬ dallying with God and God-cnlled men and women in this great matter of foreign missions. Our people ought to be so im¬ pressed with God's gracious answers to their long-continued prayers as to furnish from time to time, as needed, all the money required to send to the field every approved man and woman who oilers for the work. Thus would they show their appreciation of God's goodness and prepare the way for still greater blessings from his hand. Let our people but respond to the mov- ings of God’s Spirit, and how great things he will do for us and through us no tongue can tell and no mind conceive. But if we fail so to respond, will God waste the exer¬ cise of his power on us? Will there not come again a time when calls from the field and calls from the Board will go unanswered, be¬ cause God has ceased to call, and because men and women have ceased to consider the claims of the foreign field ? Let us consider these things. LET THE PEOPLE CONSIDER. It was with a sad heart that we read' in some of our denominational papers a let¬ ter from the Corresponding Secretary, ad dressed to “Applicants for Foreign Mission Work,” in which he informs them that no new appointments can be made to the mis¬ sion fields at present, and gives the reason for this decision. What is the reason ? Sim¬ ply this: the churches have’ not furnish¬ ed the money needed to support the pre¬ sent force. And that is one sad feature in the case. Another is that after'God lias sent his Spirit into the hearts of men and wo¬ men, calling them to go and carry the news of salvation to the lost, and they have an¬ swered the call with a "Here am I; send me,” they should have to stay at home, and perhaps engage in work, in the prose¬ cution of which they may become so entan¬ gled by various alliances as to be compelled to stay at home altogether. But there is to our mind at sadder fea¬ ture still in this failure of the churches in their duty, of which we wish to speak briefly. It is this: For years past our fa¬ thers and ourselves have been pleading with God to send his Spirit into the hearts of some of our ministers and call them to go to foreign fields. Petition after petition has gone up to the throne of God from family altar, from prayer-meeting, from pulpit, from assemblies of our people, bur¬ dened with this gne need of men and wo¬ men to go to foreign lands as ambassadors of the Lord. At last God has answered these prayers. Choice men and women, by dozens and scores, have heard the call of the Spirit and have said, not only to the Lord, but to the churches who have prayed for them: “Here we are, ready and waiting to go." In this time of the manifestation of God’s power in calling and of men’s consecration in answering to the calls, what is the attitude of the churches ? How are they acting to¬ ward God and toward these consecrated men and women ? To God they seem by Ihelr actions to say, "You are over-doing this matter. We prayed for missionaries, but we did’nt want so many, and we can¬ cel accept so many,” To the brethren and UNTABULATED RESULTS OF MISSIONARY EFFORT. That the results of missionary work can not be summed up in the statistics which are reported from the mission fields year by year, is a fact that needs only to be stated to be recognized by the thoughtful. And yet very many unthinking people estimate these results only by such statistics. They overlook or are ignorant of those ten thousand influences which are being exert¬ ed by the missionary and his work upon society, upon the family, and upon the indi¬ viduals even who do not accept the teach¬ ings he brings. The whole social, intel¬ lectual and moral life of a people is af¬ fected for the better whenever the mission work is established in a land. Numerous illuslrations of this will occur to every one who keeps informed upon missionary top¬ ics, but one has recently been afforded in Bombay, India, which is very forcible. A proposition was made to change the day of sailing of the English mail steamer from some day of the week to Sunday. This awoke a storm of opposition, not from mis¬ sionaries, or even from Christians only, but from Hindus, Parsees, Jews, Mohammedans and indeed from persons of all religions, and none. A Parsee lawyer, speaking in a grratmeetlng called to oppose this taking of the Sabbath for secular uses, described it as "the respectable, the beneficent, the humane Sunday of England,” while a Hin du gentleman said that by the introduction of a Christian government into India, her people had been taught one of the grandest of Christian virtues— the observance of Sunday as a day of rest. The Christian Sunday, the Christian school, the Christian hospital and asylum these and a hundred other outgrowths and attachments of Christianity, are, along with the truth itself, working great and un/abu- lated changes among the heathen of all lands. The leaven is at work leavening the whole lump. In a line with what we had just written comes the following, which we find in the Missionary Herald, and which shows how the leaven of Christian truth is working among the youth of India: We have recently received a copy of a let¬ ter sent bv a Brahman student in a mission school, addressed to a Hindu newspaper in reply to its declaration that the increase in the attendance on mission and day schools arose from selfish motives, and that the pupils attend school only to win the favor of their teachers. We quote at length from the letter of this young man, inasmuch as it shows how the leaven of Christianity is spreading, as well as the difficulties in the way of Hindu youth who would be¬ come Christians. This Brahman youth says: "I am a student in a mission school. Myself a Brahman, most of my friends are of the same caste. For seven or eight years we have all been receiving instruc¬ tion in the Bible an hour daily, and have been taught by well educated instructors. If it is true that we are not at all impressed by the truths of this religion, then what is the import of the words: ‘If n«d be, close the high schools, but don 1 ?JlowLj ‘ come under the control of the missiona¬ ries ?' What is the reason for establishing the new sects of the Brahmo-SomaJ and Prarthana-Somaj ? The leaders of these sects have no conception of the extent to which we have been impressed by Chris¬ tianity. “I mention a few points in which this influence may be seen. We do not believe In our senseless rules about ceremonial purity. Looking on festivals as mere holi¬ days, we take no pains to observe them re¬ ligiously. We are convinced that ablutions and pilgrimages canafford no relleftothesin- burdened. We think there should be spir¬ itual union with God, Knowing that there is salvation only through the one sinless Saviour, we long to accept him, and with this in mind we oiler prayer in secret to him, morning and evening. If this is not ‘ being impressed.’ what is it ? “ But how hard it is to make a public profession I Not only must we leave father, mother, relatives and loved friends, but they all become our bitter enemies, as though we were guilty of some terrible crime. To escape this really needless suf¬ fering, although we do not embrace this re¬ ligion openly , still, not doing so, we undergo mental agonies, night and day. When this suffering becomes unbearable, feeling that something is better than nothing, and in order that we may pray openly, we are im¬ pelled to join the Prarthana Somaj (The Prayer-Somaj), and to-day there is a con¬ siderable number of such students belong¬ ing to that body. Later on, however, feel¬ ing that these sects are not of God, but devised merely with a view to meet the present state of things, we weary of them. Then indeed our condition is a rad one. This, Mr. Editor, is not my condition alone, but that of many, and as these experiences have come to us only as a result of a study of the Iiible, when editors of other papers say, 1 These boys are prompted by selfish mo¬ tives, and attend Sunday-schools only to secure favor,' we can but be amazed at their obtuseness. Are all those boys who attend Sunday-schools the recipients of scholarships? When it comes to be under¬ stood that becoming a Christian implies no mere change of outward circumstances, but a change in faith, then the extent of the secret influences working on us will be perceived. That such a time may come soon, we pray Almighty God." THAT APPEAL FROM TUNG CHOW, CHINA. We desire to call special attention to the appeal of the Tung Chow church to South ern Baptists, which will be found on another page of this paper. Mrs. Crawford sug gests that the appeal be read first at the Convention and then published in all our denominational papers. We feel, however, that just now is the best time to publish it — requesting all our denominational papers to copy it. We so conclude, because the gifts of our churches to foreign missions be tween now and the Convention will deter¬ mine, in large measure, the question of sending reinforcements to our missions du ring the coming year. If the churches send up money enough to enable the Board to meet all its obligations this year, in which such large additions have been made to our working force, the Board will be en¬ couraged to go forward and send other workers out. Such giving will be the most practical endorsement the churches can give of the Board's policy of a steady in¬ crease of laborers, and will make them feel that in that policy they have tho churches with them. But if the churches fail, the Board will be compelled to say, in answer to appeals of missionaries and churches in foreign lands, “The churches at home say ‘No’ to your appeals, and we must heed their voice.” But we are hopeful of better things. In a letter just received Bro. Powell says ; "It is sad to think that the churches have so tied the hands of the Board that no new missionaries can be appointed for some time to come.” Will not the churches untie those hands and so bring joy to many heurts at home and abroad? THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD. We are sometimes asked by brethren to suggest the best missionary periodical for a pastor’s use, one from which he can get such general information concerning the great missionary movements of the day, as would be of service to him in keeping his people informed and interested in the Without hesitation, we would rec- the one whose name stands at the of this article. We know of no other that compares with it in the extent and va¬ riety of its missionary information. It claims to be undenominational, and so far as we can judge, maintains its claim, ag it does that of being a missionary review of “The World." We append the following notice, which will give sevne idea of the richness and va¬ riety of its contents, and will only add that any man who takes and reads his own de¬ nominational missionary publication and the Review, may keep himself pretty well posted on missionary matters: The leading paper of the number is by Rev. James Johnston, of London, on " Pro¬ testant Missions a Hundred Years Ago and Now.” The contrast is sharply drawn, and is a bright prophecy for the future. Dr. Pierson’s first Letter from Scotland is given, and will be read with intense interest. There is a very remarkable paper on “The Charities of Germany," by Dr- A. H. Brad¬ ford, which is instructive reading. Dr. Steel, of new South Wales, has a ringing articleonThe Jubilee of the New Hebrides Mission. J. Hudson Taylor rings out a clarion appeal “ To Every Creature." Sec¬ retary Elllnwood sketches with skillful hand •' The Credulity of Skepticism.” Then follows a graphic picture of pioneer Missionary life in Alaska, which will thrill the reader. Dr. Starbuck gives another chapter of translations from the foreign Missionary magazines— a unique and valu¬ able feature of this Review. And the Lit¬ erature section closes with an account of the student uprising and work. All the other seven Departments are replete with facts, intelligence, correspondence, reports, International papers, Monthly Concert Mat¬ ter, prepared by Dr. Ellinwood, and Edi¬ torial Notes on many live topics. It fairly epitomizes the Missionary World in its varied interests, ongoings and triumphs. We cannot see how one can read it from month to month and not catch its enthusi¬ asm and be moved by its discussions and array of facts. Published by Funk & Wagnalls, 18 and so Astor Place, New York. $2.00 per year; in clubs of ten, >1.50. Specimen numbers, 20 cents. DEAD, YET SPEAKING. In remitting to the Corresponding Secre¬ tary the gifts of a missionary society in one of our city churches, for the Pingtii work, a lady sends along an envelope which came in, bringing the contents of a little boy’s mite box. The grand-mother of the little boy is an active worker in the society and the mother would be, were it not for restraining influences. But she wanted the money her little deceased boy had saved up to go to tell among the heathen the story of Him, through whom her heart had been comforted when tTie child died. May the child's savings be for the saving of some child in China, and the mother’s gift be for the making known to some distressed Chinese mothers Him who is the consolation of Israel— the giver of joy and peace and hope and comfort to the bereaved of the earth. The hopelessness of heathen mothers in the loss of their children should appeal very strongly to the sympathies and pray¬ ers and gifts of Christian women. HOW STAND THE ACCOUNTS? We are approaciiing the end of the tenth month of our financial year, and we know that our brethren generally would like to know just the financial condition of the Board. A comparison of the receipts for the ten months of this year with those cf the cor¬ responding months of last year, shows a gratifying increase for the former. On the 18th of February, 1889, the day the monthly report was made up for the Journal , the receipts were $60,294.73, On the same day, 1890, the receipts were $66,92.3.66 — an increase of $6,618.94, There are, however, some other figures, not so gratifying, which our brethren should also consider. The treasurer informs us that the Board now (Feb’y 18) owes $23,709 57, while there are on file in his office notices of drafts from the missionaries amounting to $7,000, all falling due in February. These amounts must be provided for, and the heavy expenses of the last two and a half months of the year met, by the contribu¬ tions of the churches between now and : last of April. By earnest effort on the part of the brethren generally this can be ne. We feel all the more anxious that it shall be done, as the doing of it will be an indication to the Board that the churches will stand by them in all advance move¬ ments they may make in the future. It will be a good thing for our work if the Board, after having sent out twenty-seven missionaries during the year, shall be able to report a clear balance-sheet to the Con¬ vention. How much better it will be if it should be able to show all expenses met, and a few thousand dollars over, with which to equip and send out reinforcements to the needy fields. Brethren, help us to have it so. CONGRATULATIONS. We extend our hearty congratulations to Rev». E. ’F. Tatum and Miss Alice Flagg on the happy event of December 17th, whereby the two were made one. Such an event was in the air before either of them left this country, and we rejoice with them in the realization of their hopes. May they enjoy rich blessings from the Lord as they together work for him. As Bishop Taylor, Missionary Bishop of Africa, could not be present^at the meeting of General Missionary Committee of the Methodist Church North), a report of his work, prepared by him, was read, and was listened to with profound interest. Yet, when the subject of African missions was brought up for discussion, the general opinion of the Committee, says a corres¬ pondent of The Independent , was that self- supporting missions ore not a success in any true sense of the word. The idea was that when a man is struggling to keep body and soul together, he cannot devote himself to preaching and teaching with anything like the effectiveness whicn a man may have who is supported, and has not the question of bread and butter to worry about. It was maintained, too, that self supporting mis¬ sions, so-called, are notself-supporting, but in reality, draw large sums of money from the people which would naturally come Into the Treasury of the Missionary Society, but is diverted by n plea which, if it had a foun¬ dation in absolute truth, would make their gifts unnecessary. — The Missionary. So, one by one, evidences are forthcom¬ ing that the wisdom of the churches has not been at fault In devising and maintain¬ ing the method of conducting their mis¬ sionary operations by means of boards, appointed by, and responsible to, the rep¬ resentatives of the churches. Every now and then there is a hue and cry against boards, and new plans and methods are/ devised which are to accomplish greater^ results than have ever been accomplished^ by the boards. But the boards go on with their work, unmoved by the harsh criticisms that sometimes assail them, and all the while the good common sense of the peo¬ ple whom they represent sustains them, God blesses the work, and the all-accom¬ plishing new methods fail and are forgotten. This vast increase of our knowledge (of the condition of the heathen world) acts in a two-fold way on the Christian church. First, it excites interest In, and sympathy for, the poor and the perishing; and second, it awakens a sense of responsibility for those with whom we seem by our knowledge to be brought into personal relations. The-, question, " Yfho is my neighbor?” acquires; a new meaning and a uider scope. Our fellow man who has fallen among thieves, is now found by the Samaritan spirit in the church, not on the way down from Jerusa¬ lem to the neighboring city: Jericho ; he is found wounded by sin, and robbed of his divine inheritance by the idolatries of heathenism and the deceptions of the false prophet in all lands. . But as it was in the Saviour’s day, so In ours, many are found to play' the part of Priest and Levlte— some pass on, heedless of the needs of the wounded ones, while others look on the wounds and then pass on. How few are depriving themselves of their own comforts to relieve the distress of these wounded ones? How is it with you, reader ? The hostility of the natural heart to God is not shown among the heathen as long as only Ы» unity and spirituality are presented to them. It is when God in the fiesh, Jesus Christ, is declared to them as their Saviour and King, that they evince their determi¬ nation to reject God. When the “short Aryan Catechism ” was made up some time ago in India by plagiarisms Jrom the Westminster Shorter Catechism, such questions as, What is the chief end of man ?' and What is God ? were put and answered exactly as in the original. But when it came to the question of leaving all mankind to perish, the Aryan Catechism said: "God, out of his mere good pleasure, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver man¬ kind out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salva¬ tion," but omitted the essential part of the answer, “ by a Redeemer.” Everywhere on this earth the stone of stumbling Is Jesus Christ. — Exch. All the greater necessity for the.rxission- aries to devote themselves entirely ta.the preaching of “Christ crucified, * * ft * the power of God and the wisdom of^God." Among the most cultured of the heathen the example of Paul (I Cor., j : 1&31) ought to be most closely followed. *-ri u 5,