m. .m
^"3' ^
% .... ■' ■' "
;'*. J^
-^- ■•^•:. p
r::*
#.. J^
^■■..>
THE HISTORY AND RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
COM. IX,
World Missionary Conference, 1910
{To consider Missionary Problems in relation to the Non-Christian World)
THE
HISTORY AND RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
TOGETHER WITH
ADDRESSES DELIVERED AT THE EVENING MEETINGS
PUBLISHED FOR THE WORLD MISSIONARY CONFERENCE BY
OLIPHANT, ANDERSON, & FERRIER
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
AND THE
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
NEW YORK, CHICAGO, AND TORONTO
CONTENTS
PART I.— HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
PAGE
The Preparation for the Conference ... .3
Previous Conferences — Initial Steps — Constitution and Character of the Conference — International Committee — The Eight Commissions — Parallel Conference and other Meetings — Awakening Public Interest — The News Sheet — Finance — Prayer General Account of the Conference . . .18
Associated Meetings . . . . . .28
The Parallel Conference— Evening Public Meetings — Medical Missionary Conference — Meetings in Glasgow — Church Services
PART II.— RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
List of Office-bearers, Committees, and Conveners
List of Official Delegates
Minutes of the Conference .
Messages from the Conference to the Church
Messages of Greeting to the Conference .
Medical Missionary Conference
Programme of Synod Hall Meetings
Programme of Public Meetings in Tolbooth Parish
Church . . . . •
Programme of Glasgow Meetings
35 39 72
108 III
"3 121
128 130
PART IIL— THE CONTINUATION COMMITTEE The Continuation Committee. ... . -134
V
vi CONTENTS
PAGE
PART IV.— ADDRESSES AT THE EVENING MEETINGS Opening Address. Lord Balfour of Burleigh . . 141
The Central Place of Missions in the Life of the
Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury . . 146
Christ the Leader of the Missionary Work of the
Church. Mr. Robert E. Speer, D.D. . . • 151
Christianity the Final and Universal Religion —
I. As Redemption. The Rev. Professor W. P.
Paterson, D.D. . . . . .156
II. As an Ethical Ideal. The Rev. Henry Sloan
Coffin, D.D. . . . , .164
The Missions of the Early Church in their Bearing
on Modern Missions. The Rev. Professor H. A. A.
Kennedy, D.D. ...... 173
Medieval Missions in their bearing on Modern
Missions. The Rev. W. H. Frere . . . 186
The Expansion of Christianity in the Early Centuries.
The Rev, Professor A. R. MacEwen, D.D. . .195
The Extent and Characteristics of German Missions.
The Rev. Professor D. Mirbt. .... 206
The Contribution of Holland and Scandinavia to
Missions. The Rev. Henry Ussing . . . 218
The Missionary Task of the French Protestant
Church. Monsieur le Pasteur Boegner, D.D. . . 229
Changes in the Character of the Missionary Problem — I. In the Far East. The Right Rev. Bishop Bashford,
D.D. . . . . . .238
II. In Mohammedan Lands. The Rev. W. H. T.
Gairdner, M.A. ..... 251
III, Among Primitive and Backward Peoples. The
Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, D.D. . . 265
The Duty of Christian Nations—
I. The Archbishop of York .... 272 II. The Hon. Seth Low, LL.D. . . . . 278
The Contribution of Non-Christian Races to the Body
of Christ. President Tasuku Harada . . .283
CONTENTS
Vll
The Problem of Co-operation between Foreign and Native Workers — I. The Right Rev. Bishop Roots . . . .
II. The Rev. Pres. K. Ibuka .
III. The Rev. V. S. Azariah . . . .
The Demands made on the Church by the Present Missionary Opportunity — I. Mr. George Sherwood Eddy II. The Rev. Professor James Denney, D.D. The Sufficiency of God —
I. The Right Rev. Bishop Brent, D.D. II. The Rev. R. F. Horton, D.D. Valedictory Address. Sir Andrew Fraser, K. C.S.I.
LL.D
Closing Address. John R. Mott, LL.D. General Index .....
PAGE
289 294 306
316 322
330 336
342 347 353
PART 1
HISTORY
OF THE
CONFERENCE
By the Rev. GEORGE ROBSON, D.D.
COM. IX. — I
HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
THE PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE
Previous Conferences — Initial Steps — Constitution and Character of the Conference — International Committee — The Eight Commissions — Parallel Conference and other Meetings — Awakening Public Interest — The News Sheet — Finance — Prayer
Previous Conferences
The significance of the World Missionary Conference will be set in a clearer light by a brief retrospect of previous Conferences of an interdenominational character convened to discuss foreign missions. They originated apparently in the year 1854. The first was occasioned by the visit of Dr. Alexafider Duff to America, and was held on 4th and 5th May in the hall of Dr. Alexander's Church in New York. It was attended by 150 members, including eleven" missionaries and eighteen officers of .various Missionary Societies and Boards. Besides the scriptural basis of missions, three questions of missionary policy were discussed : — the f?^ question of concentrating or scattering labourers, the question of different Boards planting stations on the same ground, and the question of multiplying and preparing labourers. The second Conference was held in London on 12th and 13th October of the same year. Members of all the principal Societies were present, but, as at New York, the range of
3
4 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
discussion was limited, the main result being the promotion of brotherly feeling and a helpful interchange of opinion on a few points.
In i860 a Conference was held at Liverpool from 19th to 23rd March. It was attended by 126 members, of whom twenty were missionaries, one an Indian, the Rev. Behari Lai Singh, and several were officials of Missionary Societies. At the day meetings, which were private, a considerable number of topics were freely discussed ; the evening meetings were public and were well attended. The volume containing the record of the Conference has still a fresh interest for students of missions.
Eighteen years later, in 1878, a similar but somewhat larger gathering was held in the Conference Hall, Mildmay Park, London, from 21st to 26th October. It consisted of 158 delegates, representing thirty-four Missionary Societies, eleven of them non-British. " At this Conference missions were discussed geographically, with a view to exhibiting the extent and effectiveness of their work. The Report of this Conference is also still a most readable volume.
A great advance took place in 1888. In celebration of the centenary of modern Protestant missions, an attempt was made to convene a world-wide Missionary Conference. (fjj/|j It included representatives from fifty-three British Societies, sixty-seven American Societies, eighteen "Continental, and two Colonial. But the representation was not proportional. There were 1341 British delegates, 132 from America, eighteen from the Continent, and three from the Colonies. Five open Conferences and twenty-two sectional meetings were held in Exeter_Hall and adjoining rooms, the meetings " lasting from 9th to 19th June. The object of this Con- ference, which was designated the " Centenary " Conference, was to diffuse information regarding the missionary enterprise throughout the world, to promote fellowship and co-operation among those engaged in it, and to impress on the mind of the Church a sense of its importance and fruitfulness. The two volumes containing a full report of the Conference furnished a new and illuminating conspectus of missionary work throughout the world, and had a large sale.
PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE 5
The success of this Conference suggested the holding of a similar gathering after ten years on the other side of the Atlantic, but for various reasons the convening of the Conference at New York had to be delayed till 1900. It was designated an " Ecumenical " Conference, not as claiming. to be representative of all portions of the Christian Church, but because it represented mission work in all parts of the ' inhabited world. The Conference was composed of about 1500 delegates appointed by the American and Canadian Societies, together with about 200 delegates from British and Continental and other foreign Societies, and 600 foreign missionaries. They represented 115 Societies and forty-eight'; different countries. Meetings were held from 21st April /]/_(/ till ist May in the Carnegie Hall and various neighbouring churches — in all, over seventy principal and sectional meetings. The programme was encyclopaedic as regards the variety of missionary topics dealt with in these meetings. The number of visitors from all parts was enormous, over 50,000 tickets being issued. The sectional and overflow meetings were y^ w well attended, and the Carnegie Hall, which holds 3600, was always crowded to excess. The two goodly volumes, containing, besides the story of the Conference, the papers read and addresses delivered, are a valuable treasury of information and argument relating both to the theory and practice of missions.
It is beyond the scope of this sketch to refer to conferences on the mission field or to the standing conferences or joint committees for counsel and reference which have been established on the Continent and in America and London. The former are dealt with in Chapter III. and the latter in Chapter VI. of the Report of Commission VIII.
Initial Steps
After the New York Conference of 1900, the hope of another missionary conference after an interval of ten years was entertained by many, but for the realisation of this hope no provision had been made. The initiation of action seemed almost accidental. Early in 1906, the Rev. J.
6 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
Fairley Daly, Honorary Secretary oi the Livingstonia Mission of the United Free Church of Scotland, writing about another matter to Mr. Robert Speer, Secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions in New York, asked incidentally whether the Mission Boards of America had any plans or views as to the holding of another Conference. This letter Mr. Speer submitted at the next stated meeting of the secretaries of the Mission Boards in America, and was instructed to reply that they would heartily welcome the holding of a Missionary Conference in Great Britain in 1 9 ID. Following on the receipt of this information, a meeting was held in Glasgow of the Conveners of seven Missionary Societies in Scotland, who resolved to invite the various Foreign Mission committees or boards in Scotland to appoint three of their number as delegates to a conference to consider the question thus raised. This conference was held in Edinburgh on 29th January 1907, under the Presidency of the late Lord Overtoun, and was attended by thirty-seven delegates representing twenty Missionary Societies. It was unanimously agreed that a Missionary Conference should be held in Edinburgh in June 19 10, and to request the various Foreign Mission Societies in Great Britain and Ireland to nominate each two delegates, with an additional delegate for every hundred or fraction of a hundred missionaries supported by them beyond the first hundred, to form the General Committee, with power to make all the necessary arrangements. The first meeting of the General Committee was held on 12th June 1907, the Committee consisting of seventy-two delegates appointed by thirty-seven Societies. The Rev. James Buchanan, Foreign Mission Secretary of the United Free Church of Scotland, and the Rev. A. B. Wann of the Church of Scotland Foreign Mission, were appointed joint Secretaries, and a beginning was made in the appointment of the Executive. At the next meeting on loth October 1907, Lord Balfour of Burleigh was elected President of the Conference, various committees were appointed, and it was also agreed to request the " Committee on Reference and Counsel " representing the Boards of Foreign Missions in
PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE 7
the United States and Canada, to act as a sub-committee for the United States and Canada. This committee was afterwards enlarged, and became the Executive Committee for America. At a subsequent meeting, Lord Reay, Lord Overtoun, and Sir John H. Kennaway, Bart., were appointed Vice-Presidents of the Conference, and on Lord Overtoun's lamented death in February 1908, Sir Andrew H. L. Fraser, K.C.S.L, was appointed in his place. Communications were also opened with the Missionary Societies on the Continent, and their cordial co-operation was promised.
Constitution and Character of the Conference
The initial steps were taken on the general assumption that the Edinburgh Conference would follow largely the lines of the New York Conference, with such new adapta- tions as the experience gathered at New York or the further developments in the missionary enterprise might suggest. But it soon became clear that the whole plan of the Conference demanded most serious consideration, if the opportunity was to be seized for rendering an effective service to the cause of missions. One fundamental question was the basis of membership. In no previous Conference had the membership been confined to officially appointed delegates from recognised Societies or the numbers determined on a principle of proportion ; the representative character of the gathering had accordingly been comparatively indefinite. It was resolved that lepre- sentation in the Edinburgh Conference should be confined to Societies having agents in the foreign field and expending on foreign missions not less than ;^2ooo annually, and that such Societies should be entitled to an additional delegate for every additional ^4000 of foreign mission expenditure. It is a notable fact that both America and the Continent, as well as Great Britain, sent the full quota of delegates to which the Societies were entitled under this rule. In addition to these delegates, about a hundred places were reserved for members specially appointed by the British, American, and Continental Executives.
8 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
Closely associated with the basis of membership was the determination of the character of the Conference. The Conferences of 1888 and 1900 had been chiefly great missionary demonstrations fitted to inform, educate, and
«-^ i impress. It was felt, however, that the time had now come for "a more earnest study of the missionary enterprise, and that without neglecting the popular demonstrational uses of such a gathering, the first aim should be to make the Conference as far as possible a consultative assembly. It is a striking fact that when the British Executive Committee met to receive from their sub-committee the report which strongly advised this line of procedure, they at the same time received from the American Executive an entirely independent communication recommending practically the very same line of action. It was accordingly unanimously agreed to.
From the constitution and character of the Conference as thus determined, three things inevitably followed. They were formally recognised and given effect to at the meeting of the International Committee referred to in the next paragraph. The first was the determination of the subject- matter of conference. In view of the fact that the Mis- sionary Societies to be represented were organised for work of varying scope and purpose, it was necessary to confine the purview of the Conference to work of the kind in which
^ all were united ; and accordingly the subject of the delibera- tions of the Conference was defined as missionary work among non-Christian peoples. The second was that to deal with all the important aspects of this work would be simply impossible, and that the discussion must be confined to the most urgent and vital problems confronting the Church in "prosecuting it. And the third was that no expression of opinion should be sought from the Conference on any matter
M involving any ecclesiastical or doctrinal question on which
'"■ those taking part in the Conference differed among themselves.
'-^ International Committee
The decisions as to the constitution and character of the Conference involved a new line of preparation. What was
PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE 9
now in view was no longer a local demonstration but an international school of mission study and counsel. The ^ communication from the American Executive was ac- companied by a suggestion that the framing of the programme for the Conference and the arrangements for carrying it out should be placed in the hands of an inter- national committee, and the fitness of this suggestion was immediately recognised both by the British and the Continental Executives. An international committee was accordingly appointed, consisting of ten members from Britain, five from America, and three from the Continent. They met at Oxford (one continental delegate, however, being unable to attend) on Tuesday, June 14, in the Wycliffe Hall, kindly placed at their disposal by Dr. Griffith Thomas, the Principal, and continued together in residence there until Saturday, holding continuous meetings morning, afternoon, and evening, and spending much time in united prayer for the leading of the- Spirit in all the prepara- tions for the Conference. Three, or rather four, important matters were determined at Oxford. The first was the choice of the subjects on which the attention of the Conference should be concentrated. The second was the resolution to prepare for the due presentation of these subjects to the Conference by extensive enquiry and careful study on the part of Commissions appointed for this purpose. The third was the selection of the men and women who should be asked to act on the various Commissions ; and the fourth was the appointment of a Secretary who should give his whole time to the work of preparation for the Conference. In connection with this last item, it may be explained that the Rev. A. B. Wann had left in the beginning of the year for Calcutta to fulfil a special request made to him to undertake the Principalship of the Scottish Churches College for the first year under the new arrangements ; and that the Rev. James Buchanan, the other honorary secretary, had fallen seriously ill (he died in September), and was unable to attend the meeting at Oxford. At the last moment, Mr. J. H. Oldham, then Secretary of the Mission Study Council of the United Free Church of
10 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
Scotland, was asked to go to Oxford to act in Mr. Buchanan's stead. As the work to be done became clear to the International Committee, it was evident that a Secretary would require to be appointed who could give his whole time to it, and the conspicuous ability and spiritual insight shown by Mr. Oldham, as well as his high ideal of the proper aims of the Conference, so impressed the members of the Committee that by a common impulse they with one accord requested him to undertake this olitice. To guide the Secretary in carrying out the resolutions of the International Committee, and to maintain intercommunica- tion between its members, as well as to act on its behalf in any urgent matter, a Central Advisory Committee of five members resident in Britain was appointed. The action taken by the International Committee was cordially approved by the different Executives, and some sub- Committees, which had been appointed in the earlier stages of the movement, were now either discharged or re-arranged in accordance with the method of procedure which had now been matured.
The Eight Commissions
Eight subjects were selected at Oxford for enquiry and study by Commissions who should report to the Conference. It was agreed that each Commission should consist of twenty members, and that the Chairman of each Commission should guide its procedure and have the final decision of all ques- tions which might arise. It was further arranged that the members resident in the same country with the Chairman should form the Executive of the Commission, and that the members resident on the other side of the Atlantic, one of whom should be Vice-Chairman, should form an advisory and co-operative council. This arrangement worked most harmoniously, and was found advantageous. To select the men and women for these Commissions was a task too important and difficult to be completed at Oxford, but so much prof^ress was made that its completion by means of correspondence was not long delayed It was a most
PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE ii
encouraging token of Divine guidance and favour that not more than one in fifteen of those asked decUned the onerous service requested of him. In selecting the members, regard had to Be paid to the fact. that they would require to meet frequently for consultation and discussion. This prevented the inclusion of many missionaries actually on the staff of foreign service, but on every Commission there were those who had had large missionary experience, while it was obviously desirable that the main body of each Commission should consist of those whose outlook upon the world-field was detached from special experience or interest in a particular country. But in every Commission the earnest endeavour was made to gather up and present in summary form the results of the largest experience and best thought of missionaries in the field. As soon as the line of enquiry was determined on, a carefully drawn set of questions was addressed to missionaries all over the world, nearly all of whom had been recommended as suitable correspondents to the Commission by the Societies with which they were con- nected. The response from the missionaries was altogether remarkable, not only in respect of the generous willinghood and interest manifested, but in respect of the care bestowed upon the replies and their intrinsic value. It is a striking testimony to the earnestness and diligence with which all the eight Commissions prosecuted their task, that they succeeded in completing their enquiries and framing and issuing their reports in time for their perusal by the members prior to the assembling of the Conference. The list of members of each Commission, as well as of its correspondents, is given in the volume containing its Report, but it may be well to record here the subjects and chairmen of the eight Commissions.
Commission I. — Carrying thk Gospel to all the non-Christian World. Chairman : John p Mntt, T.T, P., New York. Vice-Chairmen : Pastor Dr. Julius Richter, Belzig ; the Rev. George Robson, D.D., Edinburgli.
Commission II. — The Church in the Mission Field. Chairman : The Rev. J. C. Gibson, D.D., Swatow. Vice- Chairman : The Rev. Bishop Lambuth, D.D., Nashville.
12 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
Commission HI. — Education in Relation to the Christianisation of National Life. Chairman : The Rt. Rev. Bishop of Birmingham, D.D. Vice-Chairman : The Rev. Professor Edward C. Moore, D.D., Harvard University.
Commission IV. — The Missionary Message in Rela- tion to Non-Christian Religions. Chairman : The Rev. Professor D. S. Cairns, D.D., Aberdeen. Vice- Chairman : Robert E. Speer, D.D., New York.
Commission V. — The Preparation of Missionaries. Chairman : Principal W. Douglas Mackenzie, D.D., Hart- ford. Vice-Chairman : The Rev. J. O. F. Murray, D.D., Selwyn College, Cambridge.
Commission VI. — The Home Base of Missions. Chairman : The Rev. James L. Barton, D.D., Boston. Vice-Chairmen : The Rev. J. P. Maud, Bristol ; Sir George W. Macalpine, Accrington.
Commission VII. — Missions and Governments. Chair- man : The Rt. Hon. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, K.T. Vice- Chairman : The Hon. Seth Low, LL.D., New York.
Commission VIII. — Co-operation and the Promotion of Unity. Chairman ; Sir A. H. L. Fraser, K.C.S.I., LL.D., Alyth. Vice-Chairman : Mr. Silas McBee, New York.
Parallel Conference and other Meetings
When it was decided that the Conference should be of a representative and deliberative character, the only doubt attaching to the decision was whether such a Conference would satisfy both the needs and the opportunities of the occasion. The question of supplementary gatherings was accordingly left over for future decision. It soon became evident that they would be necessary. The utmost accom- modation available in the largest suitable place of meeting would not leave more than a thousand places free for others than delegates, and the consideration due to delegates' wives, missionaries, hosts and hostesses, and the press, would not leave room for even a most meagre representation of missionary helpers at home, to say nothing of the general
PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE 13
Christian public. At the same time the requests for in- formation as to admission which were pouring in from all quarters showed that the numbers desiring to attend would fill the one hall many times over. It was also obviously of importance that not only ministers and office-bearers^ but leaders in missionary interest and effort in the ordinary membership of the Church, should have the opportunity of receiving the larger and clearer outlook and the fresh inspiration which might be communicated from contact with the foremost missionary workers and thinkers in the world. And further, it was felt that the special character of the Conference was not fully expressive of the scope of the missionary enterprise and of its appeal to the Church. However imperative its demand for careful study and united counsel by experts, it claimed also the earnest observation -/ and thought of the whole membership of the Church. The enterprise cannot be carried forward without the interest and help of all, and therefore requires to be continually presented to the Church generally in ways fitted to teach -^ a larger obedience and a stronger faith. These considera- tions determined the holding of a parallel Conference. The idea determining its general plan was that of a school for missionary study and stimulus. It was arranged that the Reports of the Eight Commissions should form the basis V^^r/^ of addresses at the forenoon sessions, a series of addresses on the leading points of each Report being given by selected members of the Commission, while the afternoons should "^^
be allotted to sectional meetings, and the evenings to special v^^; addresses, as in the Assembly Hall. The place selected P^
for it was the Synod Hall, so called from being formerly ^
the place of meeting of the Synod of the United Presbyterian Church.^ This hall, though holding two or three hundred more than the Assembly Hall, was not so suitable for a deliberative gathering, nor did it possess so much convenient auxiliary accommodation. But it was eminently suitable for a large conference at which the speaking was entirely from the platform. In order to secure the attendance of those
1 After the union with the Free Church, constituting the United Free Church, the property was sold to the Corporation of Edinburgh.
14 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
for whom this Conference was planned, the tickets of ad- mission were allocated to the various Missionary Societies in proportion to the number of their official delegates, and the Societies were asked to place them in the hands of such local leaders and workers as were likely to be educated and inspired, through the meetings, to more effective service in the home field. By the co-operation of the various Societies, these aims were largely realised.
It became apparent, however, as the time for the Con- ference drew near, that even the Synod Hall meetings v/ould not suffice to meet the requirements of the public who desired to share in the privilege and stimulus of the gather- ing. The Tolbooth Church or Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland, which holds about 1300, was most kindly placed at the disposal of the Conference, and ar- rangements were made for holding a series of public meetings in the evening which should be open to all and sundry.
There was a special development in another direction. Medical missions were duly dealt with wherever they fell under the observation of the Commissions, but those specially interested in medical missions felt that something more was necessary and would prove advantageous at such a time. Arrangements were accordingly made for the holding of a sectional Conference for the discussion of special questions relating to medical missions.
Awakening Public Interest
From an early stage of the preparations attention was directed to arousing the interest of the Christian public in the forthcoming Conference. This was necessary in order to secure a full and balanced representation of friends of missions from all quarters, as well as to enlist their prayers and support. It was necessary also in order to prepare the mind and heart of the Christian public for reaping the full benefit of such an occasion. The soil must be prepared for the good seed if a rich harvest was to be secured. The Church must know what was happening, look forward to the op-
PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE 15
portunity of the gathering, appreciate its significance, and be ready to receive its message. In two ways the endeavour was made to focus attention on the forthcoming Conference. The one was through the public press. The editors of many daily and weekly newspapers cordially welcomed interviews with representatives of the Conference, and many of them, from The Times downward, inserted a number of articles concerning it. Articles appeared also in monthly and quarterly periodicals both of a missionary and general character. Similar articles appeared in the American and Continental press.
The other method employed was that of public meetings. The visits of Sir Andrew Fraser, Dr. Richter and Mr. Oldham to America during the eighteen months preceding the Conference were utilised for this purpose. So also was the visit of Mr. Speer to Scotland to deliver the Duff Missionary Lectures early in 1910. It v,-as naturally in Scotland that this method was most largely used. In upwards of a hundred places meetings, for the most part crowded and enthusiastic, were held to call forth the interest of the Church in the present crisis of missions.
The " News Sheet "
Something more was necessary than to awaken interest. It had to be conserved and deepened and guided into helpful action. It was seen that an effective means of securing this end would be to supply full information of all the arrangements for the Conference as they were matured step by step, and at the same time to set forth various aspects of its significance for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. The better the plan and design of the Conference were understood, the deeper would be the interest, the clearer the vision of its opportunities, and the more earnest and definite the prayer on its behalf. This led to the publication of the Nezvs Sheet, a tastefully-printed, octavo pamphlet, of from sixteen to twenty-four pages with cover, which was issued monthly from October 1909 to May 19 10. It attained a circulation of over 8000, and was
l6 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
not only greatly prized, but was most helpful in every way.
Finance
It was estimated that to cover the expenses of the Cott' ference falling upon the Central Office, a sum of ;^7ooo would be required. The American Executive generously undertook from the outset to meet all the outlays connected with the work of preparation in America, and such as might be involved in the presence of some of their delegates from the foreign field. The expenses on the Continent were also largely met by Continental resources. The appeal for the necessary funds met in Britain with a prompt and generous response, which, although not equal to the sum named, proved in the event sufficient to cover the actual outlay.
[^Prayer
Undoubtedly the most important and the most fruitful of all the preparations for the Conference was the prayer offered on its behalf. From the very first the prospect of such a gathering stirred the hearts of those who were looking forward to it with a conviction of the greatness of its possibilities, which compelled to prayer. The first official statement and appeal which was sent out contained an earnest request for prayer. This was largely responded to, and in some places prayer for the Conference was offered regularly in weekly gatherings for two years before the Conference met. The response from the mission field was very marked. About 2 coo missionaries were communicated with in connection with the queries of the different Commissions, and all of these were specially invited in the communications addressed to them to help together by prayer. A small letter-pamphlet was prepared fully a year before the Conference setting forth the call to prayer, and enumerating various topics so arranged as to be suitable for use as a weekly cycle, and of these upwards of 40,000 were supplied free. Early in 19 10, another similar pamphlet adapted to the more matured arrangements was issued. These were suppUed to all who
PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE 17
asked for them, and more than 33,000 went into circulation. And at Whitsuntide, in response to special appeals sent out by the Archbishops of the Church of England, the Moderators of the Scottish Churches and representative men of other Churches, Sunday 15 th May was very widely observed throughout the land as a day of special intercession on behalf of the Conference. At the Edinburgh Office for several months before the Conference, the secretaries and assistant heads of the staff met daily for prayer. In the whole process of preparation, there was a continual experience of the guiding and helping hand of God, which was nothing less than a continual and growing experience of answer to prayer. Difficulties were overcome, perils were averted, disappointments proved stepping stones to better events, needs were met, and from point to point new encourage- ments were given which strengthened faith and formed an incentive to ask for still greater things. The Conference can only be interpreted aright by those who recognise in it the answer to world-wide, united, and constant prayer.
COM. IX. — 2
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CONFERENCE
In this account it is not intended to attempt either a pictorial description or a complete narrative of the pro- ceedings, but simply such brief notes as may be useful for keeping in memory the setting and the special features of that great gathering.
Edinburgh was a fitting place of meeting. In the earlier missionary enterprise which evangelised Europe no country was more prominent than Scotland, and no country has in proportion to its size contributed to the evangelisation of the world during the last century so large a number of distinguished and devoted missionaries. The beauties of the capital of Scotland, as well as the romance of history clinging to its ancient castle and palace and buildings, made it an attractive gathering-place for those from other lands ; the hospitality of its citizens transformed the city for them into a Christian home ; and the bright sunshine, which was broken only by a brief thunderstorm one after- noon, enhanced the welcome of the city and the comfort of the members in attending the meetings'
Never has there been such a gathering in the history or the Kingdom of God on earth. Larger numbers have often assembled for religious purposes, but this was an assembly in which every delegate represented a proportionate con- tribution of men and money to the cause of missions. Forty-six British Societies were represented by slightly over 500 delegates; sixty American Societies also by ratherl more than 500 delegates; forty-one Continental Societies
by over 170 delegates; and twelve S^Quth African and
j8 "'
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF CONFERENCE 19
Australasian Societies by twenty-six delegates. These Societies represented practically every type of doctrine, worship and polity included in the Church of Christ, with the exception of the Roman Catholic and Greek Churches. They came into conference, none surrender- ing its distinctive testimony or practice, but all recognis- ing in the evangelisation of the non-Christian world a common task in which they stood related as fellow- workers. Never before had the Continental Societies been so fully represented at any missionary gathering. And never before did the representatives of the older churches of the West meet with so many representatives of the young churches of the East. The latter were present from Japan, Korea, China, Assam, Burma, India, and Ceylon. With two exceptions, all the addresses were delivered in English, and even the Japanese delegate, who on these occasions used an interpreter, afterwards spoke in remarkably good English. An unusually large proportion of the delegates were men of personal distinction, well known by name, if not by sight, for eminent service rendered in the mission-field, in literature, in church work at home, or in public affairs. One of the delightful surprises repeated more than once daily in the Conference was to hear a well- known name announced from the Chair, the name of one who in any gathering would have merited a seat of honour, and to see in response a delegate emerge quietly from a humble place in some crowded back bench.
Such a gathering naturally excited the deepest interest wherever its character was understood. Evidences of this came from all quarters. A most sympathetic and appreci- ative message from the King was read at the opening of the Conference : and the reply to this message, signed not only by the British, American and Continental officials, but also by representatives of the delegates from Canada, Australia, and the Union of South Africa, and by representa- tives of the delegates from the native Churches in Japan, Korea, China, Assam, India and Africa, was received by the King with great interest. At the Municipal Reception of the delegates on Monday evening. Bishop La Trobe read
«.»^*,«^
:»s*M
V ■■j.r -w^-
■^i...^ltf^
^;^,.l?^^'
i
.:>::„*':.
■ij,.--^ -,■••■-■ -A';'*^- >^v'^' •
20
HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
a notable message ^ from the Imperial German Colonial Office. A letter was also received from Ex - President Roosevelt, and was read to the Conference. A valuable letter from the venerable Dr. Warneck of Halle, and another of a beautifully fraternal spirit from the Roman Catholic Bishop of Cremona were sent to individual delegates, who referred to them in the Conference. Besides these, there were a host of messages of greeting and welcome from representa- tive ecclesiastical and missionary bodies, as well as from eminent individuals. Much of this interest was undoubtedly awakened through the well-informed and sympathetic articles which had appeared in the London Tifftes and other leading newspapers, as well as in monthly and quarterly magazines of all kinds in Great Britain, America and the Continent. The interest of the members was shown by the presence of some eighty reporters, including three from the Times office and a few sent specially from America.
The hall selected for the meeting was singularly suitable. In 1 90 1, after the union between the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church forming the United Free Church, the old Assembly Hall of the Free Church, which had proved admirably adapted for a deliberative gathering, was greatly enlarged so as to furnish ample accommodation for the Assembly of the enlarged Church, but the general design remained unchanged. There is no regular platform ; but on a dais on the northern side dividing the length of the hall, and raised some four or five steps above the floor, is the Moderator's desk and chair, with two chairs on either side, and immediately in front, a couple of steps lower, is the Clerk's table with five chairs before the Moderator's desk, and room for about twenty more within the railed
' It was as follows: — "The German Colonial Office is following the proceedings ot this World Missionary Conference with lively interest, and desires that it be crowned with blessing and success. The German Colonial Office recognises with satisfaction and gratitude that the en- deavours for the spread of the Gospel are followed by the blessings of civilisation and culture in all countries. In this sense, too, the good wishes of the Secretary of State of the German Imperial Colonial Office accompany your proceedings."
ge:
risegwi
and the
portion I
speateri
aiidieoct
elevatiflD
eitendiag
ihisgalla
msieei
galleiiesi
an:'
pna;.
Hai.
M.
con'a:
n,'ht V
OSce
tiont
level ■•
sen'ec
rooms, reserve, provide, the cor
comfon At ma:, attenda.' from [^
■tk: W.- Mt^' ^* ■ » j&'
■wf "-isr
^ ^^«
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF CONFERENCE 21
enclosure. The benches immediately in front of the table rise gradually as they recede to the other side of the hall, and the benches on either side, accommodating the larger portion of the Assembly, also ascend as they recede. A speaker rising at any point can thus easily address the whole audience and directly face the larger half. At a slight elevation behind the Moderator's chair is a long gallery extending about two-thirds of the length of the hall, and this gallery together with the whole of the floor of the house was reserved for delegates. To right and left were higher galleries reserved for wives of delegates and for missionaries, and facing the Moderator's chair was a large gallery appro- priated to hosts and hostesses and the public. The Assembly Hall with the spacious corridors surrounding it is part of a fine block of buildings, including the New College and the High Church. On entering by the main gateway from the Mound, delegates passed through the fine College quad- rangle, with its statue of John Knox on the left, to the staircase leading up to the front corridor of the Assembly Hall. On the left was the High Church, which was open continually for quiet meditation, prayer, and rest. On the right were classrooms which were utiUsed as a special Post Office and for Committee purposes. At the end of the front corridor at the top of the staircase, and on the same level with the Assembly Hall, was the Rainy Hall, which served as the refreshment room, and off the corridor were a large writing room, enquiry office, bookstall and other rooms, the beautiful library over the main gateway being reserved for the Business Committee. Generous friends provided for the decoration of the College quadrangle and the corridors of the Assembly Hall with plants and flowers, and transformed the little upper quadrangle beside the Rainy Hall into a pleasant garden with numerous seats for the comfort of the delegates in the intervals of the meetings. At many Conferences the attendance fluctuates, but the attendance at this Conference remained practically solid from beginning to end, and the determination to miss nothing seemed to grow as the Conference proceeded, and culminated in its closing meeting.
I
i
20 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
a notable message ^ from the Imperial German Colonial Office. A letter was also received from Ex - President Roosevelt, and was read to the Conference, A valuable letter from the venerable Dr. Warneck of Halle, and another of a beautifully fraternal spirit from the Roman Catholic Bishop of Cremona were sent to individual delegates, who referred to them in the Conference. Besides these, there were a host of messages of greeting and welcome from representa- tive ecclesiastical and missionary bodies, as well as from eminent individuals. Much of this interest was undoubtedly awakened through the well-informed and sympathetic articles which had appeared in the London Times and other leading newspapers, as well as in monthly and quarterly magazines of all kinds in Great Britain, America and the Continent. The interest of the members was shown by the presence of some eighty reporters, including three from the Times office and a few sent specially from America.
The hall selected for the meeting was singularly suitable. In 1 90 1, after the union between the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church forming the United Free Church, the old Assembly Hall of the Free Church, which had proved admirably adapted for a deliberative gathering, was greatly enlarged so as to furnish ample accommodation for the Assembly of the enlarged Church, but the general design remained unchanged. There is no regular platform ; but on a dais on the northern side dividing the length of the hall, and raised some four or five steps above the floor, is the Moderator's desk and chair, with two chairs on either side, and immediately in front, a couple of steps lower, is the Clerk's table with five chairs before the Moderator's desk, and room for about twenty more within the railed
' It was as follows :—*' The German Colonial Office is following the proceedings of this World Missionary Conference with lively interest, and desires that it be crowned with blessing and success. The German Colonial Office recognises with satisfaction and gratitude that the en- deavours for the spread of the Gospel are followed by the blessings of civilisation and culture in all countries. In this sense, too, the good wishes of the Secretary of State of the German Imperial Colonial Office accompany your proceedings."
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF CONFERENCE 21
enclosure. The benches immediately in front of the table rise gradually as they recede to the other side of the hall, and the benches on either side, accommodating the larger portion of the Assembly, also ascend as they recede. A speaker rising at any point can thus easily address the whole audience and directly face the larger half. At a slight elevation behind the Moderator's chair is a long gallery extending about two-thirds of the length of the hall, and this gallery together with the whole of the floor of the house was reserved for delegates. To right and left were higher galleries reserved for wives of delegates and for missionaries, and facing the Moderator's chair Vv^as a large gallery appro- priated to hosts and hostesses and the public. The Assembly Hall with the spacious corridors surrounding it is part of a fine block of buildings, including the New College and the High Church. On entering by the main gateway from the Mound, delegates passed through the fine College quad- rangle, with its statue of John Knox on the left, to the staircase leading up to the front corridor of the Assembly Hall. On the left was the High Church, which was open continually for quiet meditation, prayer, and rest. On the right were classrooms which were utilised as a special Post Office and for Committee purposes. At the end of the front corridor at the top of the staircase, and on the same level with the Assembly Hall, was the Rainy Hall, which served as the refreshment room, and off the corridor were a large writing room, enquiry office, bookstall and other rooms, the beautiful library over the main gateway being reserved for the Business Committee. Generous friends provided for the decoration of the College quadrangle and the corridors of the Assembly Hall with plants and flowers, and transformed the little upper quadrangle beside the Rainy Hall into a pleasant garden with numerous seats for the comfort of the delegates in the intervals of the meetings. At many Conferences the attendance fluctuates, but the attendance at this Conference remained practically solid from beginning to end, and the determination to miss nothing seemed to grow as the Conference proceeded, and culminated in its closing meeting.
22 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
The course of the meetings can be told shortly. Mention may be made of four meetings prior to the Conference proper and outside of it, though having special reference to it. On the afternoon of Monday, 13th June, a prayer- meeting was held in the Assembly Hall, which was very largely attended, and over which Sir Andrew Fraser presided. The same evening, the Lord Provost, Magistrates and Town Council gave an official reception to the delegates in the Museum of Science and Art in Chambers Street. Fully three thousand guests were present. After the formal presentation of the delegates, the Lord Provost delivered a brief address of welcome, which was responded to by Dr. Arthur Brown, New York, Chairman of the American Executive, Bishop la Trobe, Chairman of the Continental Executive, and Lord Balfour, the President of the Con- ference. On Tuesday, 14th June, a special service was held at noon in St. Giles' Cathedral, at which a very large number of delegates and visitors from all lands were present. The preacher was the Rev. A. Wallace Williamson, D.D., minister of St. Giles, who preached an impressive sermon on the text, "The field is the World." The whole service was appro- priate and helpful. The same afternoon, in the M'Ewan Hall, the University of Edinburgh recognised the holding of the World Missionary Conference as a fitting occasion for the conferring of honorary degrees on some of its distinguished members. The Vice-Chancellor, Principal Sir William Turner, presided, and in presence of an audience which filled the hall from floor to ceiling conferred the honorary degree of D.D. upon : — The Rev. K. C. Chatterji, India; The Rev. W. Douglas Mackenzie, D.D., President of Hartford Theological Seminary ; The Rev. F. L. Hawks Pott, D.D., Principal of St. John's College, Shanghai; Pastor Julius Richter, D.Th., Germany ; The Rev. Canon C. H. Robinson, M.A., Editorial Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel ; Robert E. Speer, M. A., Presbyterian Board of Missions, U.S.A. ; The Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, D.D., Foreign Secretary, London Missionary Society ; Herr J. Warneck, Foreign Secretary, Rhenish Missionary Society ; and of LL.D. upon : — The
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF CONFERENCE 23
Archbishop of Canterbury ; General James E. Beaver, U.S.A. ; The Rev. T. Harada, President of the Doshisha, Japan ; The Hon. Seth Low, LL.D., New York ; Professor Carl Meinhof, D.D., Professor of African Languages at the Colonial Institute, Hamburg ; John R. Mott, M.A., General Secretary, World's Student Christian Federation.
The opening meeting of the Conference was held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14th, under the Presidency of Lord Balfour of Burleigh, solely for the purpose of consti- tuting the Conference. The Business Committee was ap- pointed ; the Standing Orders and rules of debate were adopted ; Dr. Mott was unanimously chosen to be Chair- man throughout the day sessions of the Conference, when the Reports of the Commissions were under discussion ; Mr. Oldham to be Secretary of the Conference, and the Rev. J. H. Ritson and Mr. Rowell, K.C, Toronto, Clerks of Conference. The business was transacted within half an hour.
The details of this and the following meetings are recorded in the printed Minutes. These may, however, be supplemented here by a few notes of a general character. The Conference was singularly fortunate in its Chairman. Dr. Mott presided over all the meetings for discussion with promptitude and precision, with instinctive perception of the guidance required, and with a perfect union of firmness and Christian courtesy, of earnest purpose and timely humour, which won for him ahke the deference and the gratitude of the members. No less acknowledgment is due of the fore- sight and care with which the arrangements were made for every part of the proceedings by the various Committees and friends charged with different departments of the work, and above all is such acknowledgment due to the Secretary, Mr. Oldham. Seldom, if ever, has there been a Conference in which details of procedure or arrangements apart from the main work of the Conference were so little obtruded on the attention of the members or so briefly disposed of. Much of this saving of the time of the Conference was due to the issue of a Daily Conference Paper which was de- livered by the early post at the private addresses of the
24 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
members, and which contained the Minutes of the previous day's proceedings, all official notices and various unofficial intimations ; there was thus no necessity for reading these from the platform. A feature of the discussion was the operation of the rule which allowed three-quarters of an hour to the Chairman or other representatives of the Com- mission presenting the Report for the day, and restricting y all other speakers to seven minutes. On the fifth day a proposal to limit the speakers to five minutes failed to obtain the necessary majority, but no proposal was made to extend the time. This rule enabled the Conference to hear, without any sign of impatience, any speaker whose remarks were not relevant or helpful, but such speakers were few indeed. It often cut short a speaker to whom the Conference would gladly have listened longer, and in one or two cases the voice of the meeting demanded a slight extension of time. But on the whole, the rule proved a genuine help to the Conference. It constrained the speakers to dispense with personal references or superfluous matter and to put their points tersely and clearly ; it secured the maximum of speakers within the available time, without excluding what was of importance in the contribu- tion of each.
The conduct of the devotions of the meetings was a matter of careful preparation. For the offering of praise a selection of forty-five hymns had been printed in the hand-_ book ; it contained hymns in most common use in different branches of the Church, as well as a few selections from the Scottish version of the Psalms. In addition to the morning worship with which each day's proceedings opened, half an hour of the morning session was set apart for special intercession, and this was regarded as the "central jict" of each day's proceedings. Befofe the beginning of the Conference, men were selected out of different nations and societies to conduct this special act of intercession both in the Assembly Hall and in the Synod Hall ; and they came each one in the grace of fullest personal preparation to the leading of this service. On the very first day the whole Conference caught the spirit of this great united act,
A
^1
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF CONFERENCE 25
and from day to day they felt increasingly its uplifting and binding influence, until now in the memory of the Confer- ence, according to the testimony of not a few, it stands out as,. the most sacred experience in the great succession of sacred days, the times in which the Conference met most consciously and intimately with the living God. Nor was this experience the whole profit of these half-hours. God heareth prayer. Of all the doings of the Conference, dare we say that any was more important or more effective, or shall be found at last more fruitful, than this of petitioning. God together on behalf of the lands in which His servants; are seeking to spread the knowledge of His name, and on behalf of the infant Churches there, and all the workers in the cause of missions ?
This union in intercession did much to confirm and deepen the sense of unity and spirit of brotherly love which in a remarkable degree characterised the Conference. The very composition of the Conference and the purpose of its assembling of necessity quickened the sense of unity in.^ Christ into a living force in every heart, impelling to brotherly esteem and love, making forbearance and patience easy amid diversity of view, and lifting the proceedings into a harmony unclouded by a single regrettable incident. To many it taught not only a new conception of the Church of / God on earth, but a new experience of " the law of the • spirit of life in Chiist 'Jesus." Very significant was the way in which the secular* press accepted and chronicled this remarkable presentation of unity as if nothing else were to be looked for.
Only to one meeting of the Conference need any special reference be made, that of Tuesday, 21st June, the day of longest daylight in the northern summer. From the outset of the Conference the question was before many minds whether the Conference would simply meet and dissolve, leaving nothing behind it but the reports of the Commissions and the spiritual influences of its meetings? Or would it take such action as might lead to further and permanent co-operation in the missionary enterprise ? Commission VHI put the whole question formally before the Conference
26 HISTORY OP THE CONFERENCE
by its proposal for the appointment of a Continuation Committee to perpetuate the idea and spirit of the Conference and embody it in such further practical action as should be found advisable. The proposal was welcomed on every side. It was felt that it would stamp an aspect of I unreality upon the Conference if it simply dissolved without I an act of patent obedience to the heavenly vision it had ; seen. The agreement among the Societies, both as to the end in view and their need of one another to attain it, compelled an agreement as to practicable common action in the future. The vote was not hurried. During the whole forenoon the motion was discussed from various stand- points ; then the luncheon hour allowed opportunity for any further consultation which any might desire. Mean- while, prayer for the guiding of the Holy Spirit in the
Conference was being offered without ceasing in a little
prayer-meeting in the Hall of the High Church, where during the latter days of the Conference from early till late a changing group of suppliants were led by a succession of brethren, each of whom took charge for half an hour. At the afternoon session of the Conference the discussion was resumed, and nearly an hour passed before the Chairman asked whether the Conference was prepared to vote. On his putting the motion for the appointment of a Continua- tion Committee a mighty " Aye " came from all parl's^of the hall. When he called for those of an opposite opinion to say " No," there was a dead silence ; and on his declaring the motion carried, the whole assembly rose and with full hearts sang "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." And so the bonds which had been woveiTcJurmg the months of preparation and during the meetings were not to be heedlessly cast loose again. The members of the Con- ference had recognised that they should hold together in love and counsel and prayer, and in such practical co-opera- tion as should be found desirable with due recognition of their diversities in faith and practice.
It was scarcely possible for such a Conference to part without giving voice in some way to its sense of the call of the present time to the whole Church to come forward with
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF CONFERENCE 27
new consecration and faith in the work of making disciples of all nations. Nor could it leave unsaid its sense of the great task devolving upon the infant Churches in non- Christian lands and its desire to aid them with all the sympathy, help and love due to fellow-members of the body of Christ. Hence the Conference adopted and sent forth two_ messages, one to the members of the Church in Christian lands and another to the members of the Christian Church in non-Christian lands. These are recorded on pages 1 08-1 10.
It was an epoch-making Conference ; and the closing meeting was memorable. The arrangements for it had been left over to be determined in the light of the proceedings of the previous days. Neither programme nor speakers were announced, but the hall was more densely crowded than ever. It was a simple" and solemn service of thanks- giving, a renewal of personal dedication and prayer in which the presence of God was profoundly realised and the culminating emotions of the members found expression in the closing doxology —
"Now blessed be the Lord our God, The God of Israel, For He alone doth wondrous works. In glory that excel.
And blessed be His glorious name
To all eternity : The whole earth let His glory fill.
Amen, so let it be."
ASSOCIATED MEETINGS
The Parallel Conference — Evening Public Meetings — Medical Missionary Conference — Meetings in Glasgow — Church Services
The Parallel Conference
On the evening of Wednesday, 15th June, the Parallel Conference was opened in the Synod Hall in Castle Terrace. As already explained, it was a Conference representative of home workers for foreign missions. It was not arranged with a view to discussion, but simply with the view of setting before them, in the light of God's purpose and of the facts of the present day, the needs, methods, and urgency of the foreign mission enterprise. The hours of meeting were similar to those of the Conference in the Assembly Hall, and the " central act " of intercession had its correspond- ing place in the proceedings of the forenoon session. But Z otherwise it resembled an^organic series of public meetings. At the forenoon sessions IheTe^was a presentation of the leading facts and findings in the Reports of the eight Commissions, the speakers being chosen from among the members of each Commission ; and the topics of the evening meetings were also largely analogous to those in the Assembly Hall. The arrangements for the after- noon varied. On Thursday and Friday there were general meetings at which the great mission fields were passed under review. On the Saturday afternoon there was a meeting for men only, the first of a series of four such meetings, the others following on Saturday evening and on Sunday afternoon and evening. These formed a special
23
ASSOCIATED MEETINGS 29
week-end series to which large numbers of business men came from various places. Meetings for women only were held in St. George's United Free Church on Saturday evening and on Monday afternoon. The afternoon meetings in the Synod Hall were devoted, on Tuesday, 21st June, to Medical Missions, on Wednesday to Missions to the Jews, and on Thursday to Bible Society and Literature work. In the second week the Tolbooth Church was also utilised in connection with the Parallel Conference, — on Monday and Tuesday afternoons for meetings for ministers, on Wednesday afternoon for a meeting for children, and on Thursday afternoon for a meeting in the interests of the Young Peoples' Mission Study Movement. At all these meetings the attendances were large, practically filling the halls and churches in which they were held, while the evening meetings in the Synod Hall were crowded. From the greater diversity in the character of the meetings and in the composition of the audiences it is impossible to present the same general view of the impression produced as in the case of the Conference itself. But the testimony of the delegates to the Parallel Conference was almost equally emphatic as to the new visions and fresh inspiration re- ceived, and as to the anticipations of far-reaching results from -^ the influences diffused among home workers for foreign missions.
Evening Public Meetings
In addition to the meetings connected with the Parallel Conference, a series of public meetings was held in the Tolbooth Church, which is also the Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland. These were addressed by leading members of the Conference from all lands and attracted crowds which filled the church every night to overflowing. In the three halls together, the Assembly Hall, the Synod Hall and the Tolbooth Church, fully 6000 people gathered . every night for the eight successive week-nights to listen ^- to addresses on missionary topics. '^
30 HISTORY OF THE CONFERENCE
Medical Missionary Conference
Medical Mission work, like Women's Work and the dis- semination of the Scriptures, is kept in view in the Reports of the various Commissions, as it stands related to the various problems selected for discussion in these Reports. But it was felt that in addition to what was said in these Reports, and in addition also to the general presentation of the importance and value of Medical Missions at the after- noon meeting in the Synod Hall, it was desirable to take advantage of so great an opportunity for a Conference of medical missionaries and experts upon points of special interest connected with their work. The first and third sessions of this Conference took place in the Edinburgh Caf^ in the early mornings of Monday and Tuesday, 20th and 2 1 St June, and the second session on the Monday evening in the hall of the Royal College of Physicians. A brief record of this Conference will be found on pages 1 13-120.
Meetings in Glasgow
The proximity of Glasgow to Edinburgh, and the possi- bility of conveying the influence of the Conference to large numbers there without involving the absence of delegates from more than a single session of the Conference, led to an arrangement for a series of meetings in the Western Capital during the second week. Three meetings were held daily, namely, a meeting for business men, addressed by business men, at 1.15 p.m. in St. George's Church ; a general meeting at 3 p.m. in the same place; and a public meeting in St. Andrew's Hall, the largest in the city, in the evening at 7.30 p.m. At all the meetings, places were reserved for representative mission workers from many towns and districts about Glasgow. All the meetings were well attended, and in the evening St. Andrew's Hall was crowded. Many of the most eminent delegates readily undertook the service of addressing a meeting in Glasgow, and the impression produced by the series of meetings warrants the belief that they greatly helped the ends of the Conference.
ASSOCIATED MEETINGS 31
Church Services
On Sunday, 19th June, there was only one meeting of the Conference. It was held at 8 p.m., after the ordinary Church services were over. In the morning at 9 a.m. there was a Communion Service in St. Giles' Cathedral to which delegates and other visitors were invited by the minister and kirk-session. The invitation was largely responded to by members of many denominations and different nationalities, and the hour was felt to be one of hallowed fellowship. In this connection, it may also be mentioned that there was a daily Celebration for members of the Anglican communion at 8 a.m. in the Church of St. John the Evangelist. On Sunday, 19th June, the great majority of the pulpits in Edinburgh were occupied both morning and evening by delegates to the Conference, and on the following Sunday, after the Conference had closed, a very large number of delegates preached in churches and addressed public meetingsln numerous towns and villages throughout Scotland.
PART II
RECORDS
OF THE
CONFERENCE
COM. IX, 3
I
LIST OF OFFICE-BEARERS, COM- MITTEES, AND CONVENERS
OFFICE-BEARERS OF CONFERENCE
PRESIDENT The Right Hon. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, K.T.
VICE-PRESIDENTS
The Right Hon. Lord Reay, G.C.S.I.
The Right Hon. Sir John H. Kennaway, Bart., C.B., M.P.
Sir A. H. L. Eraser, K.C.S.I., LL.D
. _rMr. J. H, Oldham, M.A. iMr. Kenneth Maclennan. Hon. Treasurer.— U.. H. W. Smith, W.S., 23 Nelson Street, Edinburgh.
Offices. — 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh.
BRITISH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
, . „, . /The Plon. The Master of Polwarth.
Tomt-Lhairmen. — \ ,, „ ,.,,,-
■^ IMr, Duncan M'Laren.
Mr. F. S. Bishop, M.A. Mr. Charles H. Bowser. Mr. G. Graham Brown. The Rev, E, P. Cachemaille. The Rev. J, Fairley Daly, B.D, The Rev. Canon Dawson, M.A, Mr. F, A. Brown Douglas. The Rev, W. H. Findlay, M.A.
The Rev. Prebendary H. E. Fox,
M.A. The Rev. John Irwin, M.A. Mr. N. B. Gunn. The Rev. A. N. Johnson, M.A, Dr. Herbert Lankester. The Rev. T, H. Martin. The Very Rev. J. Mitford Mitchell,
D.D,
35
36
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
The Right Rev. Bishop Mont- gomery. The Rev. George Packer. The Rev. George Robson, D.D. The Rev. John li. Ritson, M.A. Mr. R. R. Simpson. Mr. Edward A. Talbot. The Rev. Tissington Tatlow, M.A.
The Rev. A. Taylor, M.A.
Mr. John A. Trail, LL.D.
The Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson,
D.D. The Rev. A. B. Wann, D.D. The Rev. E. Alport Wareham. The. Rev. R. J. Williams. The Rev. C. E. Wilson, B.A.
.Mr. Robert Maconachie, C.M.S., Salisbury Hon. Treasurers in | Square, London, E.G.
England. "j Mr. Eliot Pye-Smith Reed, 9 Drapers Gardens,
V London, E.G.
AMERICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chairman
Hon. Secretaries,
The Rev. Arthur J. Brown, D.D.
/The Rev. Henry K. Carroll, LL.D. I Mr. W. Henry Grant.
Thomas S. Barbour,
The Rev
D.D. The Rev. James L. Barton, D.D. The Rev. Harlan P. Beach, D.D. The Hon. Samuel B. Capen,
LL.D. The Rev. Henry N. Cobb, D.D. The Rev. Bishop Lambuth, D.D. The Rev. R. P. Mackay, D.D. The Rev. W. Douglas Mackenzie,
D.D, Mr. Silas McBee.
Office.
John R. Mott, LL.D. William J. Schieffelin, Ph.D. The Rev. Paul de Schweinitz,
D.D. Robert E. Speer, M.A., D.D. The Rev. Alexander Sutherland,
D.D. The Rev. Canon L. Norman
Tucker, M.A., D.C.L. Mr. R. Mornay Williams. The Rev. L. B. Wolft", D.D. Mr. John W. Wood.
156 Fifth Avenue, New York.
CONTINENTAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chairman. — The Right l\ev. Bishop La Trobe. Secretary. — Pastor Julius Richter, D.D. Missionsinspector Weisshaupt. Missionsinspector Lie. Frohnmeyer, Missionsdirector Jobs. Spiecker. The Rev. Alfred Boegner, D.D. Mr. Karl Fries, Ph. D.
LIST OF OFFICE-BEARERS 37
COMMITTEE IN AUSTRALIA Hon. Secretary. — The Rev. Frank H. L. Paton, B.D., Melbourne.
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE
Chairman.— ^\x. Duncan M'Laren. /6*^ ^^
r- .
r i'ecr^/arj.— Mr. J. H. Oldham. f^ •'« kx
1 1^ The Rev. James Barton, D.D I, •, The Rev. Arthur J. Brown, D.D.
} The Rev. J. Fairley Daly, B.D. >)l-<- The Rev. W. H. Findlay.
The Rev. Prebendary H. E. Fox
Dr. Karl Fries.
Herr Missionar F. Frohnmeyer.
Mr. Silas McBee.
The Rev. W. II. Rankine.
Herr Dr. Julius Richter.
The Rev. J. H. Ritson.
The Rev. George Robson, D. D.,
The Rev. Tissington Tatlow.
The Rev. R, Wardlaw Thompson,
D.D. The Rev. Canon Tucker.
John R. Mott, LL.D. 1 The Rev. C. E, Wilson.
FINANCE COMMITTEE Convener. — Mr. N. B. Gunn.
DELEGATIONS COMMITTEE Convener. — The Rev. A. B. Wann, D.D.
HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE
Convener. — Mr. J. McKerrell Brown.
rr f> , . fMr. Edward F. Gibson, LL.B.
Hon. Secretaries. — ,, ,,,t ttt^ r.r. ^
I Mr. W. L. H. Paterson, S.S.C.
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Convener. — The Rev. George Robson, D.D.
ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE— ASSEMBLY HALL
Chainnan. — The Rev. Professor Martin, D.D. Hon. Secretary.— ^\x. G. F. Henderson, W.S.
ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE-SYNOD HALL Chairman, — The Rev, George Robson. D.D.
38
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
MEETINGS IN CHURCH OF SCOTLAND ASSEMBLY HALL
Chairman. — Mr. Duncan M'Laren.
Hon. Secretary. — Mr. Duncan MacLennan.
SUB-COMMITTEE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTEREST IN ENGLAND
/"The Rev. J. H. Ritson, M. A. Hon. Secretaries. — i ,, -c- c tj- u at a I Mr. F. S. Bishop, M.A.
Office. — The Bible House, 146 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.
PUBLIC MEETINGS (SCOTLAND) COMMITTEE Convener. — Mr. John Cowan, D.L.
BUSINESS COMMITTEE'
Chairman, — The Rev. Secretary. — Mr. J. H. Dr. J. W. Ballantyne, F.R.C.P.E. The Rev. James L. Barton, D.D. The Rev. Thomas S. Barbour,
D.D. The Rev. A. J. Brown, D.D. Mrs. Creighton. The Rev. President Emeritus J. F.
Goucher, D.D., LL.D. The Rev. J. Campbell Gibson,
D.D. The Rev. President Ibuka, D.D. The Rev. Bishop Lambuth, D.D. Dr. H. Lankester. Sir G. W. Macalpine.
George Robson, D.D. Oldham.
Mr. Duncan M'Laren.
The Right Rev. Bishop Mont- gomery.
John R. Mott, LL.D.
The Rev. J. N. Ogilvie, M.A.
Mrs. M'Dowell.
Pastor Julius Richter, D.D.
The Rev. J. H. Ritson, M.A.
The Rev. Bishop Robinson.
The Right Rev. Bishop Roots.
Mr. N. C. Rowell, K.C.
The Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, D.D.
The Right Rev. Bishop La Trobe.
* The Business Committee was appointed by the Executive Committees in Great Britain, America, and the Continent of Europe to prepare the business for the Conference, and was continued by the Conference at its Business Meeting on June 14th (see p. 72).
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES.
I. BRITISH.
I. SPECIAL DELEGATES APPOINTED BY THE BRITISH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Very Rev. P. M'Adam Muir, D.D., Moderator of the Church of
Scotland. His Grace the Archbishop of York. ^
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Durham. The Right Rev. the Bishop of Ripoir The Right Rev. the Bishop of Salisbury. The Right Rev. the Bishop of Hereford. \ The Right Rev. the Bishop of Birmingham. -^^ The Right Rev. the Bishop of Ely. \
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Southwark. \
The Right Hon. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, K.t! The Right Hon. Lord Reay, G. C.S.I. The Right Hon. Lord Kinnaird. The Hon. the Master of Polwarth.
The Right Hon. Sir John H. Kennaway, Bart., C.B., M.P. Sir Andrew H. L,Jxa,serJK.C.ST^LL.D. Sir Francis F. Belsey, J. P., London! Sir Charles J. Tarring, London.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Brechin, Primus of Scotland. The Rev. John Young, D.D., Moderator of the United Free Church of
Scotland. Sir G. W. Macalpine, President of the Baptist Union. The Rev. James Mellis, M.A., Moderator of the Presbyterian Church
of England. The Rev. W. B. Lark, President of the United Methodist Conference. The Right Rev. the Bishop of Aberdeen.
39
40 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Meath.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Ossory.
The Very Rev. the Dean of Westminster.
The Rev. V. S. Azariah.
The Rev. J. Baxter, Wigan.
Capt, Alfred Bertrand, F.R.G.S. (Hon.), Geneva.
?.Ir. G. Graham Brown, Glasgow.
The Rev. A. R. Buckland, M.A., Religious Tract Society, London.
Mr. John Cowan, D.L., Edinburgh. -
The Rev. Canon Cunningham
The Rev. Prof. Denney, D.D., Glasgow.
The Rev. S. A. Donaldson, D.D., Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Mr. F. A. Brown Douglas, Edinburgh.
The Rev. Principal Ellis Edwards, Bala, Wales.
The Ven. the Archdeacon of Levvisham.
The Rev. R. T. Gardner, Central Board of Missions of the Church of
England, Church House, Westminster, London. Mr. John Geddes, Glasgow. The Rev. A. T. Guttery, London.
Principal Charles F. Harford, M.D., Livingstone College, Leyton. Mr. H. Wilson Harris The Rev. R. F. Horton, D.D., London. The Rev. Forbes Jackson, Aberdeen.
Miss Margaret L. Johnston, British Syrian Mission, Beyrout. The Rev. H. H. Kelly, Kelham.
The Rev. Prof. H. A. A. Kennedy, D.Sc, Edinburgh. Miss I^atham, London. Mr. Kenneth Maclennan, Edinburgh. The Rev. W. M. Macphail, M.A., London. The Rev. J. P. Maud, St. Mary Redcliffe Vicarage, Bristol. Mr. James L. Maxwell, i\LD., Bromley, Kent. Mr. Duncan M'Laren, Edinburgh. The Rev. J. Howard Murphy, D.D., Cork. The Rev. W. M. My res, Oxford. Mr. J. H. Oldham, M.A., Edinburgh. Dr. C. M. G. Parkin, Goring, Oxon. The Rev. Prof. W. P. Paterson, D.D., Edinlnugh. The Rev. Timotliy Richard, D.D., Litt.D., Shanghai, China. Miss Ruth Rouse, London.
Professor M. E. Sadler, The University, Manchester. Miss Una Saunders, London. Mr. R. R. Simpson, W.S., Edinburgh. The Rev. Alex. Smellie, D.D., Carluke, Lanarkshire. Mr. H. W. Smith, W.S., Edinburgh.
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELP^GATES
41
The Rev. J. R. M. Stephens, London.
The Rev. Duncan Travers, London.
The Rev. A. B. Wann, D.D., Edinburgh.
The Rev. E. Alport Wareham, London.
The Rev. R. J. Wells, London.
The Rev. Principal Alex. Whyte, D.D., Edinburgh.
The Rev. A. Wallace Williamson, D.D., Edinburgh.
^L1jor Frank Young, R.A. (Y.M.C.A.), London.
STUDENT VOLUNTEER MISSIONARY UNION. The Rev. Tissington Tatlow, M.A., London. Mr. R. P. Wilder, M.A., London.
2. BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
The Rev. J. H. Atkinson.
The Rev. F. G. Benskin, M.A.
Mr. C. H. Bowser.
The Rev. E. W. Burt, M.A.
(China). Mr. W. Goode Davies, J. P. Dr. E. H. Edwards (China). The Rev. Lawson Forfeitt,
(Congo). The Rev. W. Y. Fullerton The Rev. R. Glover, D.D. Mr. H. P. Gould. Mr. G. B. Leechman.
The Rev. Principal A. M'Caig.
The Rev. T. H. Martin.
Dr. R. Fletcher Moorshead,
F.R.C.S. The Rev. W. B. Nicolson, M.A. The Rev. T. W. Norledge (India). Mr. T. S. Penny, J. P. The Rev. H. Ross Phillips
(Congo) The Rev. Arthur Sowerby (China). The Rev. Arnold Streuli. The Rev. S. S. Thomas (India). The Rev. C. E. Wilson, B.A.
3. BAPTIST ZENANA MISSION.
Miss A. G. Angus.
Miss Isabel M. Angus (India).
Miss E. G. Kemp. Mrs. Edward Robinson.
4. BRITISH AND
The Rev. G. H. Bondfield.
Mr. A. J. Crosfield.
Mr. C. A. Flint.
Sir William Ciodsell.
Mr. M. Gutteridge.
The Rev. T. R. Ho(la;son.
Mr. C. T. Hooper.
Mr. Th. Irrsich.
The Rev. R. Kilgour, D.D.
The Rev. Geo. Lowe.
Mr. H. W. Maynard.
FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.
The Rev. H. A. Raynes, M.A.
The Rev. John H. Ritson, M.A.
Mr. E. J. Sewell.
Mr. W. Summers.
The Rev. A. Taylor, M.A.
Mr. C. n. Hay Walker.
Mr. Robert Whyte.
Sir Andrew Wingate, K.C.I.E.
The Rev. A. W. Young.
Mr. A. W. Young.
42
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
5. BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL AMONG THE JEWS.
The Rev. J. B. Barraclough, M.A. | The Rev. Isaac Levinson, F.R.G.S.
6. CAMBRIDGE MISSION TO DELHI.
The Rev. S. S. Allnutt, M.A.
7. CEYLON AND INDIA GENERAL MISSION.
Mr. David Gardiner.
8. CHINA INLAND MISSION.
Mrs. Montagu Beauchamp (Szech-
wan). Mr. Marshall Broomhall, B.A. John Carr, M.D., M.R.C.P.Ed.
(Shansi). The Rev. Samuel Clarke (Kweicheo). Mr. D. E. Hoste (Shanghai). Mr. R. J. Landale.
Mr. A. Orr-Ewing (Kiangsi).
The Rev. E. Pearse (Kiangsi)
The Rev. W. D. Rudland.
Mf. W. B. Sloan.
Miss Edith Smith (Kiangsi).
The Rev. J. Southey.
Mr. James Stark (Shanghai).
Mr. F. Marcus Wood.
9. CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
Mr. G. Austin,
Mr. T. H. Bailey.
The Rev. C. C. B. Bardsley.
Miss E. Baring Gould.
Miss I. H. Barnes.
The Rev. F. Baylis,
Mr. F. S. Bishop.
The Rev. Lord Blythswood.
Mr. J. B. Braddon.
Mrs. G. Wilmot Brooke.
The Rev. Hubert Brooke.
The Rev. Preb. W. E. Burroughs.
Mr. T. F. Victor Buxton.
Sir Archibald S. L. Campbell,
Bart. Mrs. A. Carus-Wilson. Mrs. Chavasse. The Rev. C. W. A. Clarke (formerly
South India). Miss I. Clarke (Mid-China).
The Rev. H. J. Colclough, M.A.
Dr. J. H. Cook (Uganda).
Sir Algernon Coote, Bart.
The Rev. Canon E. C. Dawson.
Sir Matthew B. S. Dodsworth,
Bart. The Rev. R. F. Drury. Miss R. E. Dugdale. The Rev. Dr. R. Elliott (formerly
Palestine). Mr. F. T. Ellis (Palestine). The Rev. J. P. Ellwood (United
Provinces, India). The Rev. H. W. Fox. The Right Rev. Bishop R. K.
Fyson (formerly Japan). The Rev. W. H. T. Gairdncr
(Egypt). Mr. T. Cheney Garfit. The Rev. E. Gibbings.
(f/^/i s^
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
43
Mr. S. H. Gladstone.
Miss G. A. GoUock.
Miss M. C. Gollock.
The Rev. T. Good (formerly
Ceylon). The Rev. H. G. Grey (formerly
Punjab, India). The Rev. J. W. Hall (formerly
United Provinces, India). The Rev. Canon C. J. Hamer. Rev. J. P. Haythornthwaite. Rev. H. J. Hoare (Punjab). Mrs. J. C. Hoare (formerly South
China). The Rev. E. Grose Hodge. Miss R. D. Howard (Japan). Mr. T. G. Hughes. The Right Rev. Bishop Ingham
(formerly Sierra Leone). Dr. Catherine M, Ironside
(Persia). Dr. T. Jays (formerly W. Eq.
Africa). The Rev. J. J. Johnson (United
Provinces, India). The Rev. H. Gresford Jones. Miss G. E. Kennaway. Dr. H. Lankester. Dr. F. O. Lasbrey. The Rev. J. A. Lightfoot. The Rev. LI. Lloyd (Fuhkien,
China). Mr. T. R. W. Lunt (formerly W.
Eq. Africa). The Hon. Florence M. Mac-
naghten (Punjab). Dr. D. D. Main (Mid-China). The Rev. G. T. Manley (formerly
United Provinces, India). Miss L. M. Maxwell (formerly W.
Eq. Africa).
The Rev. D, J. M'Kenzie
(Punjab). Mrs. W. McLean (United Pro- vinces, India). The Rev. Canon A. J. Moore. Mrs. Handley Moule. The Rev. C. G. Mylrea (United
Provinces, India). The Rev. G. C. Niven (Japan). The Rev. J. B. Ost (Mid-China). Miss K. M. Peacocke (Japan). The Rev. R. F. Pearce (Bengal,
India). The Rev. A. J. Pike (formerly
E. Eq. Africa). The Rev. Canon Ransford. The Right Rev. Bishop Ridley
(formerly British Columbia). The Rev. A. W. Smith (W, Eq.
Africa). Mr. R. K. Sorabji. The Dean of St. David's. Mr. Eugene Stock, D.C.L. Dr. B. Van Someren Taylor. The Rev. J. Thompson (Ceylon). Mrs. D. Vl. Thornton (formerly
Egypt). The Rev. Dr. W. St. Clair Tisdall
(Persia). The Rev. C. E. Tyndale-Biscoe
(Punjab, India). Mr. J. Vaughan. The Ven. Archdeacon R. H.
Walker (Uganda). The Rev. Preb. H. W. Webb-
Peploe. The Rev. D. H. D. Wilkinson. Colonel R. Williams, M.P. Miss INL D. Wood (formerly Japan). Miss A. F. Wright (United Pro- vinces, India).
44 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
10. CHURCH OF ENGLAND ZENANA MISSIONARY
SOCIETY.
Mrs. Bannister. Dr. Mary Shire (China).
Miss Bradshaw. Miss A. M. L. Smith.
Miss Ewart. Chancellor P. V. Smith, LL.D.
Miss Grover (S. India). The Rev. C. H. Stileman, M.A.
Miss Karney (Ceylon). Miss Thornton-Duesbery.
Miss L. M. H. Nash. \ Miss M. C. W. Tiipp.
Miss M. C. Outram. , Sir W.Mackworlh Young, K. C.S.I.
II. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND FOREIGN MISSION
COMMITTEE.
The Rev. Prof. Cowan, D.D. Mr. W. H. Mill, S.S.C.
The Rev. R. H. Fisher, D.U. The Very Rev. J, Mitford Mitchell,
The Rev. J. D. McCallum. B.D. D.D.
The Rev. Jas. A. McClymont, , The Rev. John Morrison, D.D.
D.D. I The Rev. J. N. Ogilvie, M.A.
Mr. W. M. McLachlan, W.S. \ The Very Rev. Jas. Robertson, D.D.
12. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND COMMITTEE FOR CONVERSION OF THE JEWS.
The Rev. Prof. Thomas Nicol, John A. Trail, LL.D. D.D. W.S.
13. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND WOMEN'S ASSOCIA- TION FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
Miss Eleanor Bernard (Poona). i Miss Eleanor Walker.
Miss A. F. Stevenson. I Miss M. A. Wingate.
14. CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY FOR
CHINA.
The Rev. W. Gilbert Walshe, M.A.
15. CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY FOR
INDIA.
The Rev. G. W. Jackson.
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
45
i6. EDINBURGH MEDICAL MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
J. W. Ballantyne, M.D., F.R.S.
17. EGYPT GENERAL MISSION. Mr. J. Martin Cleaver, B.A.
18. EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN SCOTLAND- FOREIGN MISSION BOARD.
Mr. C. H. Dunderdale. ^ The Rev. Canon Winter.
19. FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.
The Rev. Alex. Stewart.
20. FRIENDS' FOREIGN MISSION ASSOCIATION.
Robert John Davidson (China). Henry T. Hodgkin, M.A., M.B. Jonathan Backhouse Hodgkin. John William Hoyland. Arthur Mounfield.
Henry Stanley Newman.
Miss Anne Wakefield Richardson,
B.A. Raymond Whitwell, B.A.
21. KURKU AND CENTRAL INDIAN HILL MISSION.
Mr. F. W. Howard Piper, LL.B.
22. LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
The Rev. W. G. Allan, M.A.,
B.D. The Rev. E. R. Barrett, B.A. The Rev. W. Morton Barwell,
M.A. The Rev. W. N. Bitten (China). The Rev. Wm. Bolton, M.A. The Rev. T. Boyson. Miss M. Budden (N. India). The Rev. H. C. Carter, M.A. Mr. Cheng Ching-Yi, The Rev. George Cousins. Miss H. Davies (Hong-Kong). The Rev. L. H. Gaunt, M.A.
The Rev. E. Greaves.
The Rev. I. H. Hacker (Travan- core, S. India).
The Rev. G. A. Hamson.
S. Lavington Hart, M.A., D.Sc. I The Rev. W. Hardy Harvvood,
The Rev. A. R. Henderson, M.A.
The Rev. W. S. Houghton.
The Rev. H. M. Hughes, B.A.
The Rev. A. N. Johnson, M.A.
The Rev. H. T. Johnson (Mada- gascar).
46
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
The Rev. G. Currie Martin, M.A.,
B.D. Mr. Basil Mathews. Mrs. John May. The'Rev. J. E. Newell (Samoan
Islands). The Rev. H. C. Nutter (N.-W.
Rhodesia). Mr. F. D. Outram, E. J. Peill, M.B., Ch.B.,
F.R.C.S. (Peking, China). The Rev. G. E. Phillips, B.A.
(Madras).
The Rev. E. P. Powell, M.A. G. Basil Price, M.D., M.R.C.P. The Rev. C. F. Rich (Papua). The Rev. Chas. Richardson. Mrs. de Selincourt. Sir Albert Spicer, Bart., M.P, The Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson,
B.A., D.D. The Rev. G. R. Turner, M.B.,
Ch.B. Mrs. Whyte. Mr. T. E. B. Wilson. Mr. H. E. Wootton,
23. THE LONDON SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE JEWS.
Mr. F. Batchelor, A.R.H.A.
Miss Burney.
The Rev. E. H. Lewis Crosby,
B.D. The Rev. F. L. Denman, M.A. The Rev. D. H. Dolman, M.A.
(Hamburg).
The Rev. Canon A. L. Elliott,
M.A. Miss Lane.
The Rev. D. A. Maxwell, M,A. The Rev. W. W. Pomeroy, M.A. The Rev. S. Schor, Kelso. The Rev. C. H. Titterton, B.D.
24. MISSION TO LEPERS IN INDIA AND THE
EAST.
Mr. T. A. Bailey.
Mr. Welleslcy C. Bailey.
The Rev. A. H. Bestall.
Mr. John Jackson, F.R.G.S. Mr. G. W. Place (late I.C.S.).
25. NATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND.
Sir Samuel Chisholm, Bart., | The Rev. James Mitchell, D.D.
LL.D. I Mr. W. J. Slowan.
The Rev. R. H. Falconer,
26. NEW HEBRIDES MISSION.
Mr. A. K. Langridge.
/3/1
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES 4;
27. NORTH AFRICA MISSION.
Mr. Arthur V. Liley (Tunis). Mr. Ernest E. Shaw.
Col. G. Wingate, CLE.
28. OXFORD MISSION TO CALCUTTA.
The Rev, Canon Johnston. | The Rev. Cyril G. Pearson.
29. THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ENGLAND FOREIGN MISSIONS COMMITTEE.
The Rev. J. Campbell Gibson, D.D. (Swatow).
Professor A. Macalister, M.D., LL.D.
The Rev. D. C. Macgregor, M.A.
The Rev, Wm, Campbell,
F,R,G.S. (Formosa). Dr. Wm. Carruthers, F.R.S. The Rev. Alexander Connell, B.D. The Rev. William Dale.
30. THE WOMEN'S MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
Miss J. P. Craig. Miss Lecky (China).
Miss Matheson.
31. FOREIGN MISSION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND.
The Rev. S. W. Chambers, B.A. j The Rev. Wm. Park, M.A.
Sir Wm. Crawford, J. P. | Miss Sinclair.
The Rev. R. K. Hanna, B.A. i The Rev. John Stewart, B.A.
The Rev. John Irwin, M.A., D.D. | The Rev. George Thompson.
32. PRIMITIVE METHODIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
Mr. W. Beckworth, J. P. | The Rev. J. Pickett.
33. QUA IBOE MISSION.
Mr. R. L. McKeown.
34. REGIONS BEYOND MISSIONARY UNION.
The Rev. J. Z. Hodge (Behar,
India). The Rev. J. Stuart Holden, M.A.
The Rev. D. F. MacKenzie, M.A.,
B.D. Mr. J. Christie Reid. The Rev. William Wilkes.
48
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
35- SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.
The Rev. Canon F. H. Fisher, M.A.
The Rev. A. Shillito, M.A. The Rev. W. S. Svvayne, M.A.
36. SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL IN FOREIGN PARTS.
The Rev. G. Dexter Allan.
Mr. T. Batty.
The Rev. M. C. Bickersteth.
The Rev. Dr. S. Bickersteth.
Mrs. Bickersteth.
The Rev. Canon Clarendon.
The Rev. W. J. Conybeare.
The Rev. Oswald Craig.
Mrs. Creighton.
The Rev. L. Dawson.
The Rev. G. R. Ekins.
The Rev. W. H. Frere.
The Rev. Lord W. Gascoyne-
Cecil. The Rev. S. Ghose (Delhi). The Rev. F. J. Griffiths (North
China). Miss G. Gurney. The Rev. A. W. B. Higgens.
Miss Humphry.
The Rt. Rev. Bishop Iliff (Shan- tung). Miss Kirkpatrick. Sister Lilian. Mr. W. M'Carthy. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Montgomery. Mrs. Montgomery. The Rev. E. H. Mosse. The Rev. J. O. F. Murray, D.D. The Rev. Canon Proctor. The Rev. Dr. Robertson. The Rev. Canon Robinson, D.D. Mrs. Romanes. The Rev. J. A. Sharrock. The Rev. Mackwood Stevens. Miss C. Trollope. Brother F. J. Western. The Rev. Canon H. T. Wood.
37. SOUTH AFRICA GENERAL MISSION.
I Mr. Arthur Mercer.
Mr. J. C. Gibson Mr. A. A. Head.
i
38. SOUTH AMERICAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. Rev. H. S. Acworth. The Rev. J. M. Harris, M.A.
39. SUDAN UNITED MISSION. Dr. H. Karl Kumm, F.R.G.S. | Mr. W. J. W. Roome, M.R.LA.I.
^^c
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
49
40. UNITED FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND FOREIGN MISSION COMMITTEE.
The Rev. Frank Ashcroft, M.A.
Dr. A. H. F. Barbour.
The Rev. Jn. Bruce (Natal).
Col. Cadell, V.C, C.B.
The Rev. Prof. Cairns, D.D.
HrT^lexander CalTemleE
The Rev. Dugald Christie, F.R.C.P., L.R.C.S.E. (Man- churia).
The Rev. Archibald Henderson, D.D.
The Rev. Professor MacEwen, D.D.
The Rev. Prin. Mackichan, D.D. , LL.D. (Bombay).
The Rev. Alexander Miller, D.D.
The Rev. J. Colville Peattie, M.A.
The Rev. Dugald Revie, M.B., CM. (Nagpur).
The Rev. George Robson, D.D.
The Rev. John Ross, D.D. (Man- churia).
The Rev. Dr. J. Shepherd (India).
Dr. George Smith, CLE.
Provost J. A. Tod.
Mr. G. J. Wildridge.
The Rev. A. W. Wilkie, B.D. (Old Calabar).
Charles Workman, M.D.
The Rev. J. C Young, M.A., M.B., CM. (So. Arabia).
41. THE UNITED FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND JEWISH COMMITTEE.
The Rev. William Ewing, M.A. Sir Alexander Simpson, M.D.
The Rev. J. B. Hastings, D.D.
42. UNITED FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND LIVINGSTONIA MISSION COMMITTEE.
Mr, Thomas Binnie. I The Rev. A. G. MacAlpine
The Rev. J. Fairley Daly, : (Bandawe).
B.D.
Mr. F. J. M. Moir. Mr. John Stephen.
43. THE UNITED FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND WOMEN'S FOREIGN MISSION.
Miss Adam.
Miss Lucy H. Anderson (Nasira-
bad, Rajputana). Mrs. Campbell Lorimer. COM. IX. — 4
Miss Paxton (Poona).
Miss Small.
The Rev. Wm. Stevenson, M.A.
50
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
44. UNITED METHODIST CHURCH MISSION.
The Rev. H. T. Chapman. Sir James Duckworth, J. P. Rev. H. T. Lazenby (South India).
The Rev. G. Packer.
The Rev. F. B. Turner (North
China). Mr. Jos> Ward.
45. THE WELSH CALVINISTIC METHODISTS' FOREIGN MISSIONS.
TheRev. J. Ceredig Evans (Assam). Mr. Wm. Venmore. The Rev. G. Griffiths, M.B., CM. The Rev. R. J. Williams.
46. WESLEYAN METHODIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
Mr. E. G. Barber.
The Rev. F. J. Briscoe (Trans- vaal).
The Rev. J. Milton Brown.
The Rev, J. Currey (Transvaal).
The Rev. W. T. Davison, M.A., D.D.
Mr. J. Vanner Early,
Mr. J. Wilcox Edge.
The Rev. G. G. Findlay, B.A., D.D.
The Rev, W. H. Findlay, M.A.
The Rev, J. H. Greeves.
The Rev. W, Goudie.
The Rev. H. Haigh.
The Rev. G. Hargreaves.
R. N, Hartley, M.B.
The Rev. W, W. Holdsworth, M.A,
Mr. A. R. Kelley,
Sir R. Laidlavv.
The Rev. F. Lamb (S. India).
Mr, Edmund S. Lamplough.
i^The Rev, J. Lewis. The Rev. J. Scott Lidgett, M.A.,
D.D. The Rev. J. G. Mantle. The Rev. F. W. Macdonald. The Rev. C, H. Monahan, M.A.
(S. India). The Rev. T. Moscrop. The Rev. J. H. Moulton, D.D. The Rev, H. H. Newham (S.
India). Sir Robert W. Perks, Bart. Dr. W. C. Plummer. The Rev. G. L. Pullan (China). The Rev. H. B. Rattenbury, B.A.
(China). The Rev, J, Reed (N. India). The Rev. J. D. Russell. Sir George Smith, The Rev. A. A. Thomas, B.A.
(S. India). The Rev. J. A. Vanes, B.A. Mr. Peter F, Wood. The Rev, G. E. Woodford.
/j-v
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
51
47. WESLEYAN METHODIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY WOMEN'S AUXILIARY.
Miss E. Ellis. Miss A. M. Hellier. Miss Lidgett.
Miss Olive McDougall, M.D. (S.
India). Mrs. Wiseman.
48. ZENANA BIBLE AND MEDICAL MISSION.
The Rev. A. R. Cavalier. The Hon. Louisa Kinnaird. Mrs. Simson.
Miss E. M. Weatherley. Miss F. D. Wilson (Bombay]
II. AMERICAN (United States and Canada).
I. SPECIAL DELEGATES, APPOINTED BY AMERICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
The Rev. James L. Barton, D.D.
The Rev. Arthur J. Brown, D.D.
Hon. W. Jennings Bryan.
The Rev, H. K. Carroll, LL.D,
Hon. W. A. Charlton, M.P.
Miss Grace H. Dodge.
Mr. W. Henry Grant.
The Rev. Bishop Yoitsu Honda.
The Rev. Bishop W. R. Lambuth,
D.D., M.D. Hon. Seth Low, LL.D.
Pros. W. Douglas Mackenzie,
D.D. Mr. Silas McBee. The Rev. Prof. Edward C. Moore,
D.D. John R. Mott, LL.D. The Rev. W. H. Roberts, D.D.,
LL.D. Robert E. Speer, D.D. Bishop J. M. Thoburn, D.D. The Hon. T. H. Yun.
ADVENTIST.
2. FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS.
Mr. L. R. Conradi. Mr. W. J. Fitzgerald.
The Rev. W. A. Spicer.
52
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
BAPTIST.
3. AMERICAN BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSION
SOCIETY.
The Rev. J. S. Adams.
Miss Kate Armstrong.
The Rev. T. S. Barbour, D.D.
The Rev. Alex. Blackburn, D.D.
The Rev. A. K. de Blois, LL.D,
Miss Ada Brigham.
The Rev. G. H. Brock.
Miss Z. A. Bunn.
The Rev. J. B. Calvert, D.D.
The Rev. C. M. Carter, D.D.
The Rev. Yugoro Chiba.
Prof. E. W. Clement.
Joseph L. CoUey, LL.D.
Mr. G. G. Dutcher.
Mr. Wellington Fillmore.
Miss Mary A. Greene.
The Rev. H. B. Grose, D.D.
The Rev. F. P. Haggard, D.D.
The Rev. C. H. Harvey.
The Rev. W. H. S. Hascall.
Col. E. H. Haskell.
The Rev. J. H. Haslam, D.D.
The Rev. John Humpstone, D.D.
Mrs. John J. Jones.
The Rev. Thang Khan.
Mr. D. P. Leas.
Miss Ella D. MacLaurin.
Mr. Andrew MacLeish.
Mrs. MacLeish.
The Rev. J. M. Moore.
The Rev. D. D. Munro, D.D.
Mr. H. J. Openshaw.
The Rev. F. W. Padelford.
The Rev. C. E. Petrick.
Miss Nellie Prescott.
The Rev. John Rangiah.
The Rev. A. W. Rider.
Mrs. John E. Scott.
Prof. Gerald R. Smith.
Prof. Ah Sou.
Prof. Tong Tsing-en.
The Rev. B. L. Whitman, LL.D.
Mr. R. Mornay Williams.
4. FOREIGN MISSION BOARD, SOUTHERN BAPTIST
CONVENTION.
The Rev. W. J. E. Cox, D.D. Miss Edith C. Crane. The Rev. E. C. Dargan, D.D. The Rev. H. A. Porter.
The Rev. S. J. Porter, D.D. The Rev. William H. Smith, D.D. Mr. J. H. Tyler. Mrs. J. H. Tyler.
5. FOREIGN MISSION BOARD, NATIONAL BAPTIST
CONVENTION.
The Rev. W. W. Brown.
I The Rev. J. G. Jordan.
6. FOREIGN MISSION BOARD, GENERAL CONFERENCE FREE BAPTISTS.
The Rev. (Japan).
J. L. Dearing, D.D.
Mr. Mayne Jordan. Miss Laura A- d? Meritte
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
53
7. MISSIONARY SOCIETY, SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS.
Lt.-Col. T. W. Richardson.
8. UNITED BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSION BOARD
(CANADA).
The Rev. H. F. Laflamme. | The Rev. J. A. Glendinning.
9. BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSION BOARD IN CANADA.
The Rev. J. J. Ross. 1 The Rev. W. T. Stackhouse.
Mrs. J. J. Ross. I
CHRISTIANS.
10. MISSION BOARD, CHRISTIAN CHURCH. The Rev. J. P. Barett, D.D.
CONGREGATIONAL.
II. AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
Mrs. Lyman Baird.
Mrs. James L. Barton.
The Rev, Frederick B. Bridgman
(Africa). The Rev. Howard D. Bridgman,
D.D. The Rev. S. W. Gentle-Cackett. Edward Warren Capen, Ph.D. Pres. Samuel B. Capen, LL.D. The Rev. De Witt S. Clark, D.D. The Rev. J. D. Davis, D.D. The Rev. William Horace Day. The Rev. Frank Dyer. Mrs. M. L. Gordon. Mr. J. Livingstone Grandin. The Rev. Sydney L. Gulick, D.D. The Rev. George A. Hall. President Tasuku Harada, LL. D. Mr. Chas. E. Harwood. Mr. Harry Wade Hicks. Miss Ethel D. Hubbard. The Rev. R. A. Hume, D.D. The Rev. John P. Jones, D.D.
Mrs. E. D. Marden (Turkey). The Rev. Cornelius H. Patton,
D.D. Mrs. Cornelius H. Patton. Mr. W. W. Peet. Miss Sarah Pollock. Miss Mary K. Porter. Mr. Henry H. Proctor. Miss Bertha P. Reed. Mrs. William Renwick. The Rev. D. Z. Sheffield, D.D, Dr. F. D. Shepard. The Rev. Arthur H. Smith, D.D. Mr. Fred. B. Smith. The Rev. Edward Lincoln Smith. Miss E. Harriet Stanwood. Miss Eva M. Swift (India). Mr. Lucien C. Warner. The Rev. E. M. Williams, D.D. Mrs. E. M. Williams. Mr. Francis O. Winslow. The Rev. Samuel H. Woodrow,
D.D.
54 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
12. FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, CANADA CONGREGATIONAL.
The Rev. J. L. Alexander. | The Rev. E. Munson Hill, D.D.
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.
13. FOREIGN CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
Miss Katherine Blackburn. ! The Rev. J. G. McGavran
Dr. G, W. Brown (India). ! (India).
The Rev. J. H. Garrison. j Mrs. J. G. McGavran (India).
The Rev. Errett Gates, Ph.D. ' Miss Mary T. McGavran, M.D.
The Rev, O. J. Grainger (India). (India).
Mrs. O. J. Grainger (India). [ The Rev. A. McLean.
Prof. R. E. Hieronymus.
The Rev. Edgar D. Jones.
The Rev. W. S. Lockhart.
The Rev. C. C. Morrison. The Rev. J. M. Philputt. The Rev. A. W. Taylor.
14. CHRISTIAN WOMAN'S BOARD OF MISSIONS.
Mrs. E. M. Bowman. Mrs. Ida W. Harrison. Mr. S. G. Inman (Mexico). Mrs. S. G. Inman (Mexico).
Mrs. W. Oeschger. Miss Mattie Pounds. Miss Martha Smith, M.D.
EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION.
15. FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, EVANGELICAL
ASSOCIATION.
The Right Rev. Bishop S. C. j The Rev. Christian Staebler, Breyfogel. ! D.D.
16. FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, UNITED EVANGELICAL CHURCH.
The Rev. W. H. Fouke.
FRIENDS.
17. AMERICAN FRIENDS' BOARD OF MISSIONS.
Charles E. Tebbetts. | William Thompson.
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES 55
18. FOREIGN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF
FRIENDS. Walter J. Hairland.
GERMAN EVANGELICAL SYNOD. 19. FOREIGN MISSION BOARD.
The Rev. Paul A. Menzel. | The Rev. Ernst Schmidt.
LUTHERAN.
20. BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, GENERAL
SYNOD.
The Rev. Ezra K. Bell, D.D. ; Miss Mary E. Lowe (India).
The Rev. Luther Kuhlman, D.D. i The Rev. L. B. Wolf, D.D.
21. BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, GENERAL
COUNCIL.
The Rev. George Drach. | The Rev. E. T. Horn, D.D.
22. BOARD OF MISSIONS, UNITED SYNOD, SOUTH. The Rev. Arthur J. Stirewalt (Japan).
23. BOARD OF MISSIONS, LUTHERAN FREE
CHURCH.
Prof. J. H. Blegen.
MENNONITE.
24. MENNONITE BOARD OF MISSIONS. The Rev. J. S. Shoemaker.
25. MENNONITE BOARD OF MISSIONS, GENERAL
CONFERENCE. The Rev. Alfred Wiebe.
56
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
METHODIST.
26. BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, METHODIST
EPISCOPAL.
The Rev. A. J. Amery. The Rev. J. C. Arbuckle, D.D. The Rev. C. E. Bacon, D.D. Bishop James W. Bashford. Mr. Ernst G. Bek. Mr. Ben Blanchard. The Rev. Dillon Bronson, D.D. The Rev. W. H. Brooks, D.D. The Rev. Fred. Brown (China). The Rev. A. J. Bucher. The Rev. J. M. Buckley, D.D. The Rev. C. W. Burns, D.D. The Rev. J. W. Butler, D.D. The Rev. H. R. Calkins (India). The Rev. H. G. Campbell, D.D. The Rev. A. P. Camphor, D.D. The Rev. J. R. Chitamber. The Rev. F. C. Coman, D.D. Mr. J. M. Cornell. The Rev. Isaac Crook, D.D. The Rev. Homer Eaton, D.D. ' Mr. Charles H. Fahs. \
The Rev. Fred. B. Fisher, D.D. The Rev. John F. Fisher, D.D. The Rev. J. F. Goucher, D.D. The Rev. A. W. Greenman. Bishop J. W. Hamilton. The Rev. W. S. Harrington, D.D, Bishop Merriman C. Harris. The Rev. S. J. Herben, D.D, The Rev. Karl Hurtig.
The Rev. K. A. Jansson.
The Rev. George Heber Jones,
D.D, The Rev. F. T. Keeney, D.D, The Rev. C. F. Kupfer. Mr. J. E. Leaycraft. The Rev. A. B. Leonard, D.D. The Rev. H. L. E. Luering,
Ph.D. The Rev. W. A. Mansell, D.D, The Rev, Otto Melle. The Rev. S. A. Morse, D.D. Bishop William F. Oldham. The Rev. Ole Olsen. The Rev. H. F. Randolph. Bishop John E. Robinson. The Rev. F. Roesch, Ph.D.
(Africa). The Rev. F. N. Scott. The Rev. G. A. Simons, D.D. The Rev. Edmund D. Soper. The Rev. C. B. Spencer, D.D. The Rev. Burton St. John (China), The Rev. S. S. Sulliger, D.D, Mr. G. W. F. Swartzell. Mr. Fred. E. Tasker. The Rev. Bertrand M. Tipple,
D.D. The Rev. E. S. Tipple, D.D. The Rev. Ralph B. Urmy, D.D. The Rev. Leon K. Willman, D.D.
27. WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, METHODIST EPISCOPAL.
Mrs. J. W. Bashford, Miss Clementina Butler. Mrs. Pearl R. Campbell. Miss Carrie J. Carnahan.
Mrs. A. J. Clarke. Miss Grace A. Crooks. Mrs. John Deal. Mrs. Oner S. Dow.
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
57
Mrs. A. C. Ellis. Mrs. John Fisher. Miss Helen R. Galloway. Mrs. J. W. Hamilton. Mrs. J. C. Healy. Mrs. S. J. Herben. Mrs. E. D. Huntley. Mrs. S. F. Johnson. Mrs. J. H. Knowles. Mrs. J. E. Leaycraft. Mrs. F. F. Lindsay. Miss Susan Lodge.
Mrs. W. F. McDowell. Mrs. John Mitchell. Mrs. L. V. Mulford. Miss Elizabeth C. Northup. Miss Mary Queal. Mrs. J. E. Robinson (India). Mrs. J. F. Robinson. 2 Miss Margaret M. Robinson. Miss Grace Stephens (India). Miss Susan B. Sweet. Mrs. R. L. Thomas. Miss Ella M. Watson.
23. BOARD OF MISSIONS, METHODIST EPISCOPAL,
SOUTH.
The Rev
D.D. The Rev. The Rev. The Rev. The Rev. The Rev. The Rev. The Rev.
D.D. The Rev. The Rev.
W. B. Beauchamp,
O. E. Brown, D.D. James Cannon, D.D. W. G. Cram (Korea). S. L. Dobbs, D.D. R. C. Elliott (Mexico). H. M. Hamill, D.D. Bishop E. R. Hendrix,
N. E. Joyner. Robert Kerr.
The Rev. H. M. Long.
The Rev. J. G. C. Newton, D.D.
(Japan). The Rev. A. P. Parker, D.D.
(China). The Rev. W. W. Pinson, D.D. The Rev. E. H. Rawlings, D.D. Dr. J. P. Scott. The Rev. O. F. Sensabaugh. The Rev. T. A. Smoot. The Rev. J. W. Tarboux. Mr. F. P. Turner.
29. WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, METHODIST EPISCOPAL, SOUTH.
Miss Belle H. Bennett. Mrs. Jas. Cannon, jun. Miss Esther Case (Mexico). Miss Daisy Davies. Miss M. L. Gibson. Mrs. J. E. Grubbs. Miss Mary Helm.
Mrs. A. L. Marshall. Mrs. J. C. Mimms. Mrs. A. P. Parker. Miss L. Roberts (Mexico). Mrs. Arch. Trawick. Miss E. Tydings.
30. BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, METHODIST
PROTESTANT.
The Rev. J. C. Broomfield.
The Rev. Fred. C. Klein.
58 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
31. WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, METHODIST PROTESTANT.
Miss Olive I. Hodges.
32. MISSIONARY SOCIETY, METHODIST CHURCH
OF CANADA.
Mr A. O. Dawson. I Mr. H. J. Knott.
The Rev. George E. Hartwell , Mr. Vincent Massey.
(China). I Mr. Newton W. Rowell, K.C.
The Rev. A. C. Hoffman (China). | The Rev. T. E. E. Shore.
The Rev. O. L. Kilborn, M.D. \ Professor F. H. Wallace.
(China). I Mr. G. Herbert Wood.
33. WOMAN'S BOARD OF MISSIONS, METHODIST
CHURCH OF CANADA.
Mrs. W. E. Ross. Mrs. E. S. Strachan.
Mrs. Gordon Wright.
34. GENERAL MISSIONARY BOARD, FREE METHODIST.
Mrs. M. L. Coleman. I The Rev. B. Winget.
Bishop William Pearce. ]
35. FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL.
Miss H. Quinn Brown. | The Rev. J. W. Rankin.
MORAVIAN.
36. SOCIETY OF UNITED BRETHREN FOR PRO- PAGATING THE GOSPEL AMONG THE HEATHEN.
The Rev. Paul de Schweinitz, D. D.
PRESBYTERIAN.
37. BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH IN THE U.S.A.
The Rev. George Alexander, D.D. The Rev. Paul D. Bergen.
The Rev. A. II. Barr. j Mrs. E. L. Carpenter.
General James A. Beaver. | The Rev. K. C. Chatter jee, D.D.
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
^9
The Rev. H. S. Coffin, D.D.
The Rev. R. F. Coyle, D.D.
Mr. Dwight H. Day.
Mr. W. T. Ellis.
The Rev. Professor Charles R.
Erdman, D.D. The Rev. C. H. Fenn. The Rev. W. H. Foulkes. The Rev. H. D. Griswold, Ph.D. The Rev. William Harris. The Rev. James W. Haukes. The Rev. D. S. Hibbard. Miss Margaret Hodge. The Rev. F. E. Hoskins, D.D. The Rev. K. Ibuka, D.D. The Rev. S. Jessup. Mrs. John S. Kennedy. The Rev. Warren H. Landon,
D.D. The Rev. G. M. Luccock, D.D. Mr. Alfred E. Marling. The Rev. William S. Marquis,
D.D. The Rev. Shivram Masoji, Mr. David M'Conaughy. The Rev. W. L. M'Ewan, D.D. Mr, D. W. M 'Williams.
The Rev. H. C. Minton, D.D.,
LL.D. The Rev. S. A. Moffett, D.D. The Rev. D. A. Murray, D.D. The Rev. Joseph H. Odell, D.D. Miss Ellen C. Parsons. Mrs. H. B. Pinney. The Rev. Wallace Radcliffe, D.D. The Rev. A. V. V. Raymond, D.D. Mr. Fleming H. Revell. The Rev. Frank Russell, D.D. T. H. P. Sailer, Ph.D. Mrs. A. F. Schauffler. Mr. L. H. Severance. The Rev. J. B. Shaw, D.D. Mrs. J. B. Shaw. The Rev. J. W. Smith. The Rev. J. Ross Stevenson, D.D. The Rev. John T. Stone. Mrs. James R. Swain, Miss J. Livingstone Taylor. The Rev. Charles L. Thompson,
D.D. Mr. Tsang Ding Tong. Mrs. A. B. Wadsworlh. The Rev. Hugh Walker, D.D. W. J. Wanless, i\I.D.
38. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN U.S.A.
Mrs. E. P. Allen.
Mrs. Champ Clark.
The Rev. Chas. E. Diehl.
The Rev. W. R. Dobyns, D.D.
Prof. J. Lewis Howe.
Prof. Marian M'H. Hull, M.D.,
M.Sc. Mr. H. C. Ostrom.
The Rev. J. C. Painter. The Rev. G. W. Painter, D.D. The Rev. P. F. Price, D.D. The Rev. J, O. Reavis, D.D. The Rev. W. D. Reynolds, D.D. The Rev. J. M. Wells, D.D. The Rev. Thornton Whaling, D.D.
6o
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
39. BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, UNITED PRESBYTERIAN.
The Rev. J. K. Giffen, D.D.
(Egyptian Sudan). V. M. Henry, M.D. (Egypt). H. T. M'Laughlin, M.D.
(Egyptian Sudan). Miss Anna A. Milligan. The Rev. Prof. W. E. Nicoll
(India). Mr. F. O. Shane.
Miss J. Phandora Simpson, M.D.
(India). The Rev. Robert Stewart, D.D.,
LL.D. (India). The Rev. Andrew Watson, D.D.
(Egypt). The Rev. C. R. Watson, D.D. Mr. J. Campbell White.
40. WOMEN'S GENERAL MISSIONARY SOCIETY, UNITED PRESBYTERIAN.
Miss Rena L. Hogg. Mrs. George Moore.
Miss Anna Y. Thompson (Egypt). Mrs. John A. Wilson.
41. BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, REFORMED
PRESBYTERIAN SYNOD.
The Rev. Louis Meyer.
42. FOREIGN MISSIONS COMMITTEE, PRESBY- TERIAN CHURCH IN CANADA.
The Rev. A. E. Armstrong.
The Rev. J. Eraser Campbell,
D.D. The Rev. J. M. Duncan, D.D. The Rev. Prin. R. A. King, D.D. The Rev. W. A. J. Martin.
Dr. W. M'Clure. The Rev. J. A. MacGlashen. The Rev. D. MacOdrum. Mrs. J. D. Robertson. The Rev. J. M'P. Scott. Prof. R. E. Welsh, D.D.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL.
43. DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY
SOCIETY.
The Rev. Reese F. Alsop, D.D. The Right Rev. C. P. Anderson,
D.D. The Right Rev. Charles H. Brent,
D.D.
The Rev. Jas. Chappell (Japan). The Rev. Herman L. Duhring,
D.D. The Rev. J. Houston Eccleston,
D.D.
I I
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
6[
Miss Julia C. Emery. The Rev. C. H. Evans (Japan). The Rev. W. P. Ladd. The Rev. Henry M. Ladd. The Right Rev. William Law- rence, D.D. Mrs. William Lawrence. Mr. W. G. Low. The Rev. Robert B. Parker. The Rev. J. de W. Perry, D.D.
The Rev. F. L. H. Pott, D.D.
(China). The Right Rev. Logan H. Roots,
D.D. The Rev. J. C. Roper, D.D. Mr. William Jay Schieffelin. The Rev. Charles IL Smith,
D.D. The Rev. C. T. Walkley. Mr. John W. Wood.
44. MISSIONARY SOCIETY, CHURCH OF ENGLAND
IN CANADA.
The Ven. Archdeacon Cody, D.D., D.C.L.
The Rev. Canon L. Norman Tucker, M.A., D.C.L.
REFORMED.
45. BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA.
The Rev. E. J. Blekkink, D.D.
The Rev. John G. Fagg, D.D.
Mrs. John G. Fagg.
Mrs, De Witt Knox.
The Rev. J. Edward Lyall.
Mr. E. E. Olcott.
Mrs. E. E. Olcott.
The Rev. A. Pieters.
The Rev. Prof. J. P. Searle, D.D.
The Rev. S. M. Zwemer, D. D.
46. BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSION, REFORMED CHURCH IN U.S.
The Rev. Allen R. Bartholomew,
D.D. The Rev. James I. Good, D.D.
The Rev. William E. Lampe,
Ph.D. The Rev. H. K. Miller. The Rev, John H. Prugh, D.D.
UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST.
47. FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, UNITED
BRETHREN.
The Rev. S. S. Hough, D.D.
The Rev. Bishop G. M. Mathews, D.D,
62 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
48. WOMEN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, UNITED BRETHREN.
Mr. A. A. Moore. | Mrs. Delia Todd (Africa).
INTERDENOMINATIONAL.
49. AFRICA INLAND MISSION, AMERICAN COUNCIL.
Mr. G. E. Davis. | The Rev. C. E. Hurlburt.
SO. AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY.
The Rev, E. J. Aiken.
The Rev, Marcellus Bowen, D.D.
The Rev. Glenn Flinn.
The Rev. W. I. Haven, D.D.
The Rev. John Hykes, D.D.
The Rev. Minot C. Morgan.
The Rev. Frank Mason North,
D.D. The Rev. Henry A. Stimson,
D.D. The Rev. H. C. Tucker. Mr. James Wood.
SI. CANTON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE. The Rev. Samuel Macauley Jackson, D.D., LL.D.
52. CHINA INLAND MISSION.
Mr. Wm. Borden. The Rev. John McNicoll.
The Rev. A. Imrie.
53. CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE.
The Rev. Matthew Birrel. j The Rev. F. E. Marsh.
Mr. David Crear. The Rev. A. E. Thompson.
The Rev. M. B. Fuller (India). ! The Rev. J. D. Williams.
54. INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE, YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.
Mr. H. P. Andersen. Mr. Franklin Gaylord.
Mr. G. I. Babcock (Mexico). Mr. A. C. Harte (India).
Mr. F. S. Brocknian (China), Mr. C. D. Hurrey (Argentina).
Mr. George Sherwood Eddy. | Mr. W. W. I>ockwood (China).
Mr. Galen M. Fisher (Japan). 1 Mr. Richard C. Morse.
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
63
55- NATIONAL BOARD OF YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS.
Mrs. Thomas S. Gladding.
Miss Harriet Taylor.
56. SCANDINAVIAN ALLIANCE MISSION OF NORTH
AMERICA.
Mr. William Englund.
Mrs. Englund.
57. SYRIAN PROTESTANT COLLEGE. The Rev. Jas. R. Swain.
58. YALE FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
The Rev, Harlan P. Beach, D.D.
59. WOMEN'S UNION MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
Mrs. S. T. Dauchy. Miss Mary S. Stone.
Miss Elizabeth B. Stone.
60. DELEGATES APPOINTED BY THE AMERICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO FILL VACAN- CIES IN LISTS OF BOARDS.
The Rev. Charles R. Cooke, M.D.
(India). The Rev. J. Dixen. Dr. Charles H. Frazier (China). Dr. W. H. Howitt. Mr. Delavan L. Pierson.
The Rev. Alvaro Reis. The Rev. A. C. Strachan. The Rev. Judson Swift, D.D. The Rev. Daniel Thomas. The Rev. Bishop Alex. Walters.
III. CONTINENTAL
SPECIAL DELEGATES APPOINTED BY THE CONTINENTAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
Pastor J. R. Callenbach, Dr.
Theol. Professor J. Eggeling, Ph.D. Professor K. Meinhof.
Pastor Julius Richter, D.D. Pastor von Velsen. Skt. Frederic Vernier (Madagas- car).
64
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
BELGIUM.
EGLISE CHRiTIENNE MISSIONAIRE BELGE. Pasteur R. Meyhoffer.
DENMARK. I. DANSKE MISSIONSSELSKAB.
Pastor Bachevold. Herr L. Bergmann.
Missionar Bittmann. Graf Moltke.
2. SANTALMISSIONEN (INDIAN HOME MISSION)
Professor Blegen.
The Rev. P. O. Bedding (Bengal).
Pastor Oldenburg.
FINLAND.
I. FINSKA MISSIONSSALLSKAPET.
Missionsdirektor Joos Mustakallio,
M.A. The Rev. Erland Silvonen (China).
Baron K. A. Wrede. Mr. Anton Wuorinen, M.A., LL.B.
2. LUTHERSKA EVANGELIFORENINGEN.
Frl. Sigrid Uusitale.
FRANCE.
MISSIONS EVANG^LIQUES DE PARIS.
Pasteur E. Allegrel (Mission du
Congo fran9ais). Pasteur Appia. Directeur A. Boegner, D.D. Pasteur A. Casalis (Basutoland
Mission, South Africa). The Rev. F. Chrislol (Basutoland
Mission, South Africa).
Pasteur Daniel Couve.
The Rev. R. PI. Dyke (Basutoland
Mission, South Africa). Pasteur G. Lauga. Professeur Ch. Mercier. Pasteur J. de Visme,
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES
65
GERMANY.
I. ALLGEMEINER EVANGELISCH-PROTESTANT- ISCHER MISSIONSVEREIN.
Pfarrer Fischer.
MissionsinspektorWitte.Lic.Theol.
2. BASLER MISSIONSGESELLSCHAFT.
Pfarrer Correvon. Missionar Dilger. Pfarrer C. Eisenberg. Pfarrer Grein. Missionar Gsell. Missionar Arthur Jehle. Missionar Kutter. Pfarrer Lanterburg. Stadtvikar Mayer. Fraulein Metzger.
Pfarrer H. Moller. Missionar Munz. Herr Carl de Neufville. Missionsinspektor Otth. Stadtpfarrer Pfisterer. Fraulein Raaflaub. Pfarrer Schlatter. The Rev. W. Spaich. Dr. Stokes. Missionsinspektor Wiirz.
3. BERLINER MISSIONSGESELLSCHAFT.
Missionsinspektor Axenfeld, Lie.
Theol. Oberverwaltungsgerichtsrat Berner. Pastor Blumske. Missionsdirektor Gensichen, D.D.
Missionsinspektor Gluer. Pfarrer Haegeholz. Cand. theol. Ohly. Missionsinspektor Schlunk. Missionsinspektor Wilde.
4. DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKANISCHE MISSIONS- GESELLSCHAFT.
Missionar Gleiss.
Missionsinspektor Trittelvitz.
5. DEUTSCHE ORIENT-MISSION.
Direktor Dr. Joh. Lepsius.
The Rev. Jobs. Awetaranian (Muhamed Schiikri Effendi).
6. DEUTSCHE CHINA-ALLIANZ-MISSION, BARMEN.
Missionar C. Polnick. COM. IX. — 5
66
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
7. DEUTSCHER HILFSBUND FUR CHRISTLICHES
LIEBESWERK.
Grafin Else Baudissin. • The Rev. S. Wasserzug.
Pfarrer Brunnemann.
8. GOSSNERSCHE MISSIONSGESELLSCHAFT.
Missionar Pfarrer Hertzberg. Superintendent Dr. Matthes.
Pfarrer P. Richter. Pfarrer Vogel.
9. HERMANNSBURGER MISSIONSGESELLSCHAFT.
Pfarrer Isenberg. Pfarrer Maurer. Pfarrer Meyer.
Pfarrer Robbelen. Pastor von Staden. Graf von Wedel.
10. KAISERSWERTHER ANSTALTEN. Pfarrer Disselhof. | Pfarrer Stursberg.
II. LIEBENZELLER CHINA INLAND MISSION. Pfarrer Corper. | Missionssekretar Kirrmann.
12. LEIPZIGER MISSIONSGESELLSCHAFT.
Missionsinspektor Bemmann. Praepositus Bernhardt. Pfarrer Cordes. Missionar Gehrmg. Missionssenior Handmann.
Kirchenrat G. Kurze, D.D. Pastor Lichtenstein. Konrektor Steck. Pfarrer Ziegler.
I
13. MISSION DER BRUDERGEMEINE.
The Rev. J. Connor.
Miss Louisa Hanna.
The Right Rev. Bishop E. R.
Hassc. The Right Rev. Bishop P. O.
Hennig. The Right Rev. Bishop La Trobe.
The Rev. Prof. Mirbt, D.D.
The Rev. H. P. Mumford.
The Rev. P. von Schweinitz, D.D.
The Right Rev. Bishop F. Stahelin.
Mrs. Stahelin.
Herr Pastor Lie. Henry Ussing.
The Rev. Henry Weiss.
i
I
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES 67
14. MISSION DER DEUTSCHEN BAPTISTEN.
Redakteur Hoefs. | Missionsinspektor Mascher.
15. NEUENDETTELSAUER MISSION.
Pfarrer Kliffner. | Pastor Seiler.
16, NEUKIRCHNER MISSIONSANSTALT. Pfarrer Kriismann. | Herr Rud. Kiihnen.
17. NORDDEUTSCHE MISSIONSGESELLSCHAFT.
Missionsdirektor Schreiber. | Prases Joh. Schroder.
18. RHEINSCHE MISSIONSGESELLSCHAFT.
Missionar A. Bettin. Pfarrer Lie. Dr. Bohmer. Kommerzienrat E. Colsmann. Pastor Hartmann. Prof. Haussleiter, D.D. Pfarrer Hense. Missionar A. Hoffmann. Kommerzienrat Mittelsten-Scheid.
Superintendent Miiller. Dr. med. Olpp. Missionsinspektor Warneck, Lie.
Theol. Missionsinspektor Wegner. Pfarrer Wilm. Pfarrer Witteborg,
19. SCHLESWIG HOLSTEINSCHE MISSIONS- GESELLSCHAFT.
Missionsinspektor Lucht. Missionssekretar Pohl.
Missionar Wohlenberg.
HOLLAND.
I. JAVA COMITY.
L. J. van Wijk.
2. NEDERLANDSCH ZENDELING GENOOTSCHAP.
Techn. Stud. J. W. Gunning. | Prof. Van Nes, D.D.
The Rev. P. J. Muller, D.D. |
3. NEDERLANDSCHE ZENDINGSSCHOOL,
Dr. Theol. A. M. Brouwer.
6?> RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
4. NEDERLANDSCHE ZENDINGS VEREENIGING.
C. Ch. J. Schroeder. | J. J. Voortman,
5. SANGIR AND TALAUT COMIT^. Miss H. B. de la Bassecour-Caan.
6. UTRECHTSCHE ZENDINGS VEREENIGING.
Dr. Theol. J. A. Cramer, J. P. Missionsdirektor Rauws.
Pastor Henzel.
7. ZENDING VAN DE GEREFORMEERDE KERKEN IN NEDERLAND.
Ds. H. Dijkstra. Ds. W. B. Renkema.
Ds. W. W. Smitt.
NORWAY.
I. NORSKE KIRKES MISSION VED SCHREUDER.
Pastor Skaar.
2. NORSKE LUTHERSKE KINAMISSIONSFORBUND
Formand Brandtzaeg. I Missionar O. M. Sama.
Missionar P. S. Eikrem. |
3. NORSKE MISSIONSSELSKAB.
Missionsdirektor Dahle. Dr. Fox-Maule. Pastor Klaveness. The Rev. L. S. Koren.
Pastor Logstrup. Pastor Munck. Pastor Myhre. Dr. J. E. Nilsen.
SWEDEN.
I. EVANGELISKA FOSTERLANDS STIFTELSENS.
Missionspastor Hedberg. Missionsdirektor Lindgren. Fraulein Vivi Rinman.
Missionspastor Ruthgvist. Missionspastor Sundstrom.
2. FORENINGEN FOR ISRAELSMISSION.
The Rev. Axel Svanberg.
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES 69
3. SVENSKA KYRKANS MISSIONSTYRELSE.
Propst Hogner. I Pfarrer Johansson.
Missionsdirektor Ihrmark. | The Right Rev. Bishop W. H.
i Tottie, D.D.
4. SVENSKA MISSIONEN I KINA. Herr Erik Folke.
5. SVENSKA MISSI0NSF0R3UNDET.
Missionar L, E. Hogberg (East ! Missionssekretar Wilh. Sjoholm.
Turkestan). , Missionar A. P. Tjellstrom
Missionar C. O. Orest. | (China).
SWITZERLAND.
MISSION ROMANDE.
The Rev. G. Bugnion. The Rev. H. A. Junod.
Secretaire Grandjean.
SPECIAL DELEGATES.
The following delegates were appointed at a late date to fill vacancies, but information is not available with regard to the Societies wilh which they were connected : —
Mr. Ivor Aasen, Cand. Phil. The Rev. Jakob Bystrom.
The Rev. A. H. Ewing. Mr. C. Henrlk Tjader.
IV. SOUTH AFRICAN AND AUSTRALASIAN.
I. DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH OF SOUTH AFRICA.
The Rev. D. Bosman. " \ The Rev. Prof. J. I. Marais, D.D.
The Rev. Henri Gonin. | The Rev. B. P. J. Marchand, B.A.
70
RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
2. DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH OF SOUTH AFRICA— WOMEN'S FOREIGN MISSION.
Mrs. D. Bosman.
3. SOUTH AFRICAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY (WESLEYAN).
Mr. T. E. Duckies. | The Rev. R. T. Hornabrook.
The Rev. John Gould. 1
4. AUSTRALIAN CHURCH MISSIONARY
ASSOCIATION.
The Rev. W. A. Charlton. [ The Rev. J. S. Needham.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of i Gippsland. !
5. NEW ZEALAND CHURCH MISSIONARY
ASSOCIATION.
The Rev. T. A. R. Ebbs.
6. FURREEDPORE MISSION, INCORPORATED.
The Rev. Peter Fleming.
7. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA-
FOREIGN MISSIONS DEPARTMENT.
The Rev. Johannes Heyer, B.A. Mr. W. S. Park.
The Rev. David Ross, M.A.
8. METHODIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF AUSTRALASIA.
The Rev. W. L. Blamires. Mr. B. B. Chapman, M.A.
The Rev. J. Nettleton.
The Rev. M. Scott-Fletcher, M.A.
9. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA IN THE STATE OF NEW SOUTH WALES — FOREIGN MISSIONS COMMITTEE.
Colonel J. H. Goodlet.
LIST OF OFFICIAL DELEGATES 71
10. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NEW ZEALAND- FOREIGN MISSION COMMITTEE.
The Rev. John Mackenzie, M.A. | The Rev. A. T. Thomson.
II. VICTORIAN BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSION. The Rev. W. T. Whitley, M.A., LL.D.
12. MELANESIAN MISSION.
The Rev. C. W. Browning. The Rev. J. M. Steward.
The Rev, W. C. O'Ferrall.
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE
BUSINESS SESSION— 14TH JUNE
The Delegates appointed to the World Missionary Conference met in the Assembly Hall, The Mound, Edinburgh, this afternoon at 3 p.m. The Right Hon. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, K.T. , occupied the Chair.
I. The Rev. C. C. B. Bardsley opened the meeting with prayer.
II. The List of Official Delegates was submitted, passed unanimously, and the Conference duly constituted.
III. The following Resolution was moved by Sir Andrew Fraser,
K.C.S.I., LL. D., seconded by the Hon. Seth Low, and passed unanimously : — "That the Business Committee,^ which has hitherto, by the unanimous appointment of the Executive Committees of the Conference in Great Britain and America and on the Continent of Europe, prepared the business of the Conference, be asked to continue its worli as the Business Committee of the Conference, and that its functions be to arrange the proceedings for each day and to attend to all other matters relating to the business of the Conference."
IV. The following proposals were moved by the Rev. George Robson,
D.D., as chairman of the Business Committee, seconded by Rev. A. J. Brown, D.D., and passed unanimously. (a) That the Standing Orders of the Conference be as follows : — •
STANDING ORDERS
I. The Conference shall meet each week-day until Thursday, 23rd June, at 9.45 a.m., and shall sit until not later than 4.30 p.m., with an interval from i till 2.30 p.m. Each day the Conference shall close at 12.30, and the period from 12.30 to i o'clock be devoted to united intercession. The Conference shall sit each evening from 8 till 9.30 p.m. On the Sunday the Conference shall meet only in the evening at 8 p.m.
^ For list of members, see p. 38. 73
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 73
II. The first business of each day, after the openmg act of worship, shall be the approval of the Minutes of the previous day, which shall be printed in the " Daily Paper," and when submitted for approval shall be held as read. Thereafter the consideration of the Reports of the Commissions shall occupy the whole time of the day session until the hour for adjournment, or such earlier hour as the Conference may appoint upon the recommendation of the Business Committee. {Note. — It is requested that all minor corrections in the minutes shall be sent in writing to the Secretary, so as to save the time of the Conference.]
III. When the Conference meets to receive and consider the Reports of the Commissions, it shall sit as a Committee. The Conference at its opening meeting shall elect a Chairman of Committee, who shall preside throughout the meetings in Committee, but may from time to time appoint a Vice-Chairman to relieve him when occasion requires. At all meetings other than those at which the Reports are under consideration, the Conference shall sit under the presidency of its President or a Vice- President or other Chairman appointed for the time being.
IV. Out of the total time available for the discussion of each Report, a period not exceeding forty-five minutes in all shall be at the disposal of the Commission presenting the Report. It shall be in the option of each Commission to determine how to utilise the time allotted to it, whether in one general statement or in an introductory statement and subsequent statements on particular points or in reply, and whether such statements shall be made by the Chairman or by members of the Commission. The remainder of the time during which a Report is under consideration shall be reserved for delegates who are not members of the Commission re- porting. In exceptional cases it shall be in the power of the Chairman to call on a member of the Commission reporting to speak, even though the time at the disposal of the Commission is already exhausted or allotted, provided that in no case the additional time allowed to a Commission shall exceed a quarter of an hour.
V. In order to facilitate the most profitable use of the time available for the discussion, the Business Committee, in consultation along with the Chairman or other representative of each Commission, shall, in the light of recommendations from the Commission and of such suggestions as have been sent in by members of the Conference, prepare an Agenda for the day indicating the points in the Report on which it seems desirable to concentrate attention, and the order in which they shall be taken up. The amount of time to be devoted to each topic shall be left to the discretion of the Chairman of the Conference,
lECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
^A\\ members desiring to speak on any point in connection with the ;<<eport, whether in the way of emphasising its importance or in the way of criticism, shall send in their names not later than 2 p.m. on the previous day to the Secretary of the Business Committee, stating at the same time their station or residence, the Society they represent, and the point on which they wish to speak. It shall further be open for any member who in the course of the discussion desires to speak to send up his name to the Chairman by one of the ushers posted in the hall, who will supply the member with a card to be filled up for this purpose. But in view of the limitation of time available, it is understood that the giving of notice does not necessarily secure for any member the opportunity of speaking.
VII. The Chairman shall call upon speakers at his discretion, but, in doing so, he shall endeavour to have regard to a fair representation of different countries and societies and to an adequate expression of differences of view.
VIII. The time allotted to each speaker in the discussion upon the Reports shall not exceed seven minutes,
IX. It is expected that all speakers will direct their remarks to the discussion of large questions relating to the subject under review. In order to save the time of the Conference, all corrections of what are regarded as inaccurate or deficient statements in the Reports should be sent in writing to the Secretary of the Business Committee to be trans- mitted to the Commission concerned for its consideration in the final revision of its Report.
X. When the Chairman submits any point to the House, he shall state the question in briefest terms and ask an expression of opinion, " Aye " or " No." If the result appears indecisive, he may take a show of hands for and against, if possible without counting. No suspension of the Standing Orders shall be allowed unless it be obviously desired by a large majority.
XI. Whereas (a) the Conference has not been convened for the passing of resolutions, and it is not intended that the conclusions of the Commissions should be submitted for vote ; and
[b) Resolutions touching any matter of faith or polity on which those participating in the Conference differ among themselves, are excluded by the constitution of the Conference ;
{c) While, nevertheless, in an exceptional instance it may be the unanimous, or almost unanimous, desire of the Conference that a definite expression of the mind of the Conference be reached with reference to some matter other than those indicated in clause {b),
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 75
It is agreed that no Resolution shall be submitted to the Conference unless the Business Committee, by a majority of two-thirds, has approved it as a Resolution proper to the purposes of the Conference.
It is desirable that any Resolution which the Business Committee approve for submission shall be inserted in two issues of the "Daily Paper." In any case, it must appear in the "Daily Paper" for the day on which it is submitted. In the event of any Resolution submitted not being approved unanimously, the vote for and against shall be taken by a show of hands, and the Chairman shall state approximately the numbers appearing to vote for and against.
This Standing Order applies to all amendments affecting the substance of any Resolution submitted in accordance with its provisions, and such amendments can be proposed only after they have been approved by a two-thirds majority of the Business Committee as suitable for submission to the Conference.
XII. In all questions relating to order and procedure the ruling of the Chairman shall be final.
The Business ^Committee recommend that the Conference adopt the following requests to its members : —
(a) It is most earnestly requested that during the time which is set apart each forenoon for united intercession, no one shall enter or leave the Hall. This act of united prayer is the most important part of each day's proceedings, and on it more than all else depends the realisation of the blessing possible in this Conference.
{b) It is also requested that all members should endeavour to be in their places by 9.40 each morning, so that all may take part in the opening act of worship and intercession, and that there may be no disturbance nor distraction from members arriving late.
XIII. Members having any suggestion to offer with regard to the procedure or convenience of the Conference, are invited to transmit their suggestions to the Business Committee.
RULES OF DEBATE
1. The mover of a resolution shall have a right of reply, but not the mover of an amendment. The reply must be limited to answering the arguments advanced against the motion.
2. Any amendment which does not affect the substance of a resolution submitted in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order XI. may be proposed from the floor of the Conference, but shall be presented in writing by the proposer either before or at the time the proposition is made, and shall be handed to the Chairman through one of the ushers.
ye RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
and the Chairman shall have discretion to decide whether the amendment is admissible under the rule.
3. When a resolution or amendment has been moved and seconded, it shall not be withdrawn without the consent of the Conference.
4. No member may speak more than once on one resolution or amend- ment to it without the consent of the Conference.
5. No resolution on any other subject shall be submitted until the one under consideration is disposed of.
This may be done by withdrawal (Rule 3), adoption, or rejection, or by one of the following motions : —
(1) Amendment of the resolution by varying its terms, omission or
addition.
(a) Should an amendment be carried, the motion as amended becomes the substantive motion, and thereon an amendment may be proposed.
(3) No stcond amendment shall be submitted until the first is dis- posed of, though any speaker may give notice of his intention to propose a second amendment.
(2) Any of the following motions which are in order when any proposal
is before the Conference : —
(a) "That the resolution (or resolution and amendment) before the
Conference be not put." When this motion is moved it shall be put by the Chairman without dihcussion. If it be carried, the resolution or amendment before the Conference cannot be put. If it be not carried, the discussion may proceed.
(b) "That the next business as ordered by the Conference be now
taken." (r) "That the question be postponed either to a definite time, or to
a time to be hereafter fixed." [d) " That the question be referred to a Committee."
6. A motion " That the vote be now taken" may be presented by any member, but no discussion shall be allowed thereon. If the motion .should be carried by a majority of not less than two-thirds of those voting, the Chairman shall forthwith call upon the member, if any, who may have the right of reply, and immediately after he has spoken shall put the question.
7. The resolution and amendment shall be read before being put to the vote. The vote on the amendment shall be taken first. No member shall speak after the Chairman has risen to put "the question" to the Conference until a vote has been taken.
{J>) That Mr. J. H. Oldham be appointed Secretary of the
Conference, (f) That INIr. John R. Mott be appointed Chairman of the
Conference in Committee, in accordance with Standing
Order III. {(i) That the Rev. J. H. Ritson (London) and Mr. Newton \V.
Rowell, K.C. (Toronto), be appointed Recording Clerks of
the Conference.
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 77
A telegram from the Church Missionary Society Committee, London, was read, and with words on its message, John xvii. 21, the Chairman brought the meeting to a close. The Right Rev. Bishop Montgomery, Secretary of the S.P.G., pronounced the benediction.
EVENING SESSION— 14th June
The Conference met at 8 p.m., with Lord Balfour of Burleigh in the Chair. After the singing of the hymn "All people that on earth do dwell," the Rev. Principal Whyte led the Conference in prayer.
His Majesty the King was graciously pleased to send the following message to the Conference through the Chairman : —
" The King commands me to convey to you the expression of his deep interest in the World, Missionary Conference to be held in Edinburgh at this time.
" His Majesty views with gratification the fraternal co-operation of so many Churches and Societies in the United States, on the continent of Europe, and in the British Empire, in the work of disseminating the knowledge and principles of Christianity by Christian methods throughout the world.
"The King appreciates the supreme importance of this work in its bearing upon the cementing of international friendship, the cause of peace, and the wellbeing of mankind.
"His Majesty welcomes the prospect of this great representative gathering being held in one of the capitals of the United Kingdom, and expresses his earnest hope that the deliberations of the Conference may be guided by^divine wisdom, and may be a means of promoting unity among Christians, and of furthering the high and beneficent ends which the Conference has in view."
The audience sang "God save the King."
Lord Balfour of Burleigh then delivered his opening address as President of the Conference.
Addresses were delivered by the Archbishop of Canterbury on " The Central Place of Missions in the Life of the Church," and by Mr. Robert E. Speer, New York, on "Christ the Leader of the Missionary Work of the Church."
The meeting was closed with prayer, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
MORNING SESSION-isth June
The Conference was opened by the singing of Hymn 35, "Jesus shall reign." The Very Rev. P. M'Adam Muir, D.D., Moderator of the Church
78 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
of Scotland, led in prayer, read a portion of Acts xvii., and briefly commented thereon.
At lo o'clock Dr. John R. Mott took the Chair.
Rev. George Robson, D.D., Chairman of the Business Committee, reported that Mr. Mott felt the difficulty involved in liis double duty as Chairman of the Conference and Chairman of Commission I., and had requested that he should be relieved from presiding during the pre- sentation of the Report of Commission I. The Business Committee did not think it wise to comply with the request, but suggested that Mr. Mott should be at liberty to call upon any one to take the Chair at any time during the presentation or discussion of the Report.
The Conference approved this recommendation, and Mr. Mott there- upon requested Sir Andrew Fraser to take the Chair.
Sir Andrew Fraser having taken the Chair, Mr. Mott presented and spoke to the Report of Commission I., "Carrying the Gospel to all the Non-Christian World."
Mr. Mott resumed the Chair.
The following members of the Conference spoke :—
On Africa q
V
The Rev. Dr. Robson, Vice-Chairman of the Commission.
Dr. H. Karl Kumm, Sudan United Mission. — .., : ) ?
Rev. A. Grandjean, Swiss Romande Mission in East Africa.
On fapan
The Rev. Vugoro Chiba, American Baptist Society in Japan. ' '
The Rev. J. D. Davis, D.D., American Board of Commissioners in
Japan. p(X^
On China
Bishop James W. Bashford, D.D., Methodist Episcopal Church of
United States, resident in China. ,^ > '
r
Mr. T. Y. Chang, American Presbyterian Board in China. ^ >-
On Korea The Hon. T. H. Yun, Methodist Episcopal Church in Korea.
On India J
Vix. G. S. Eddy, International Y.M.C.A. in India. > '
The Rev. V. S. Azariah, National Mfssioriary Society, Tinnevelly. • '-•*
The Rev. Robert Stewart, D.D., American United Presbyterian Board
in India. pj '
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 79
On Mongolia The Rev. G. H. Bondfield, British and Foreign Bible Society, China. C^^ ^
On Central Asia Missionar L. E. Hogberg, Svenska Kyrkans Missionstyrelse, Sweden. ^\/^*^'
On South America Rev. H. C. Tucker, American Bible Society. /!
On South Sea Islands
Rev. Joseph Nettleton, Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society &fv\x
(Australasian), Fiji. The Rev. W. L. Blamires, Methodist Missionary Society of Australasia, ^:'^** "
Polynesia.
On the Jews
ktOSst
The Rev. Wm. Ewing, United Free Church of Scotland Jewish Mission. ^ The Rev. Louis Me^'er, Reformed Presbyterian Board, U.S.A. ^'
On Oriental Students in the West Mr. F. S. Brockman, Y.M.C.A., Shanghai.
At 12.30 the Conference joined in the singing of Hymn 13, " Rejoice, the Lord is King."
The Rev. W. H. Findlay, Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, gave a devotional address on " intercessloh for Indfa," and led the thoughts of the Conference while the members engaged in silent prayer.
The session was brought to a close at i o'clock.
AFTERNOON SESSION-isth June
The Conference was called to order at 2.30 p.m., Dr. John R. Mott in the Chair.
The proceedings were opened by the singing of Kymn 24, "Soldiers \ ■; of Christ, arise ! " • "" ' '
^-The Chairman, in calling attention to those points in the Report of Commission I. needing special attention, reported thfi-ificeipt-oLa letter ,, ^i"?^ from Dr. Warneck. Two paragraphs from this letter were read ex- pressing his good wishes and prayer for the Conference, and emphasising the need at present of concentration on the Far East and the growing force of Islam in Africa.
^/U^
8o RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
The Conference then considered the question, "Should the Church seek to enter at once the practically unoccupied fields, or first enlarge its activities in fields where it is already at work ?"
The following spoke on this question, with a special view to Islam : — The Rev. S. M. Zwemer, D.D., Reformed Church in America. The Rev. W. H. T. Gairdner, Church Missionary Society in Egypt. The Rev. Dr. W. St. Clair Tisdall, Church Missionary Society in Persia. /
On the question, "In establishing the Church on the;Mission Field, what should be the relative emphasis on the Conversion of Individuals, and on the bringing of Communities under Christian Influence?" the following members of the Conference spoke : —
Missionsinspektor Axenfield, Berlin Missionary Society.
Bishop J. E. Robinson, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., in India. ^^
Mrs. Ashley Carus-Wilson, Church Missionary Society.
Dr. Robert E. Speer, Presbyterian Missions, U.S.A.
On the question, " Should the Missionary devote chief attention to raising up and helping to develop a Native Evangelistic Agenc)-, or to doing direct Evangehstic Work himself?" the following gave addresses : —
The Rt. Rev. Bishop L. II. Roots, Protestant Episcopal Churchy, U.S.A., in Hankow. /S^'
The Rev. P. F. Price, Executive Committee of Foreign Missions, Presby- terian Church in U.S.A. __ ,*J
Mr. D. E. Hoste, China Inland Mission. r «^
The subject, "Is it advisable to have a large Native Agency for Evangelistic Work among non-Christians dependent upon Foreign Support ? " was spoken to by —
The Rev. C. H. Monahan, Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society in . Jv/ India. " "
Dr. Eugene Stock, Church Missionary Society.
The Rev. Dr. John Ross, United Free Church of Scotland in J^ Manchuria.
The Rev. Dr. S. A. Moffett, Presbyterian Church of U.S.A. in Korea. '
The Rev. Dr. J. Campbell Gibson, English Presbyterian Church in China.
The subject, "The desirability of arrangements for promoting co- operation in connection with the work of making Christ known to the non-Christian World," was spoken to by Herr Pastor Julius Richter, D.D., Germany, one of the Vice-Chairmen of Commission I.
The session of the Conference was closed at 4.30 with prayer by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Montgomery.
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 8i
EVENING SESSION— 15th June
The Conference met at 8 p.m., with the Hon. Seth Low, LL.D., in the Chair. After the singing of Hymn 15, "At the Name of Jesus," the Rev. G. Currie Martin (London Missionary Society) led the Con- / ■' ference in prayer.
Addresses were delivered on "Christianity, the Final and Universal Religion"— (i) "As Redemption," by the Rev. Prof. W. P. Paterson, D.D. ; (2) "In its Ethical Ideal," by the Rev. Henry Sloan Coflin, D.D. ^ ^^^
The meeting was closed with prayer at 9.30, led by the Rev. Dr. W. P. Paterson.
MORNING SESSION— i6th June
Dr. John R. Mott took the Chair at 9.45, and the Conference stood in silent prayer. After the singing of Hymn 16, " Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire," the Rt. Rev. Bishop Brent, D.D., of the Protestant Episcopal Church, U.S.A., in the Philippine Islands, led the meditations and prayers of the Conference, and read Psalm cxxxix.
After the singing of Hymn 6, " Praise to the Holiest in the height," the minutes of the meetings of June 15 were presented and adopted. The Chairman read to the Conference a letter from ex- President Theodore Roosevelt, dated London, l6th May 1910, expressing his regret in being unable to fulfil his duties as a delegate, and emphasising the supreme need of unity of spirit in view of the claims of the world.
The Rev. Dr. J. Campbell Gibson, English Presbyterian Church, Swatow, as Chairman of Commission II., presented the Report on the subject, "The Church in the Mission Field." He suggested that / chapters i., v., and iii. should be dealt with in the morning, and chapters ii., vi., and iv. in the afternoon. Dr. Gibson pointed out the vital topics in the Report upon which it was important to have expres- sions of opinion from the Conference.
On the subject, " The Constitution and Organisation of the Church," the following members of the Conference spoke : —
The Rev. Dr. Arthur J. Brown, Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., New
York. The Rev. Dr. Robert A. Hume, American Board of Commissioners,
in India. The Rev. A. Pieters, Reformed Church in America, in Japan. The Rev. Bishop Honda, Methodist Church of Japan, who addressed
the Conference in Japanese, and was interpreted by Mr. Galen
M. Fisher.
COM. IX. 6
82 RECORDS OF THK CONFERENCE
The Rev. D. A. Murray, D.D., Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., in
Japan. The Rev. W. Nelson Bltton, London Missionary Society, in China. ^Tf'^ Mr. Ch'eng Ching Yi, London Missionary Society, Chinese Church. > V^'* Dr. Henry T. Ilodgkin, Secretary, Friends' P'oreign Missionary ^
Association, formerly in Chengtu. f f^'' '
After IJymn No. 40, "The Church's one Foundation," was sung, the discussion was resumed, and the following members spoke : —
The Right Rev. Dr. Gore, Lord Bishop of Birmingham.
The Rev. Jas. E. Newell, London Missionary Society, Samoa, South
Seas. ^>^^,
Mr. T. E. Duckies, Wesleyan Methodist Church of South Africa. ' ' ^ Bishop Robinson, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., in India. '
The Hon. Yun Chi Ho, Methodist Episcopal Church South, U.S.A.,4^y^
in Korea. The Rev. Y. Baylis, Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, who
spoke on Uganda.
At 12.30 the Conference entered upon the midday intercession _ meeting, led by the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Durham.
The theme for the day was " The Contact of Christian and Non- Christian Peoples."
Hymn No. 14, "Thy Kingdom Come, O God," was sung and I Thess. v. read and commented upon, and then the Bishop led the Conference in prayer.
The session was brought to a close at I o'clock.
AFTERNOON SESSION— i6th June.
The Conference was called to order at 2.30 p.m., Dr. John R. Mott in the Chair,
After the singing of Hymn 18, "Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts," the Conference was led in prayer by the Rev. Dr. R. Wardlaw Thompson, Secretary, London Missionary Society.
The Rev. Bishop W. R. Lambuth, D.D., Methodist Episcopal Church South, U.S.A., Vice-Chairman of Commission H., introduced the further discussion of the subject, "The Work in the Mission Field."
The topic "Training and Employment of Workers" was spoken to by the following : — The Rev. J. P. Jones, American Board of Commissioners, U.S.A., in
India. The Rev. J. R. Chitamber, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., in India,
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 83
Tlie Kev. O. Hertzberg, Gossnersche Missioiisgescllschaft, in India.
The Kev. B. P'uller, Christian and Mibsionary Alliance, in India.
The Rt. Rev. Bishop Brent, Protestant Episcopal Church, U.S. A.,
Philippine Islands. Mrs. Edward Bickersteth, Societ}- for the Propagation of the Gospel,
in Japan. The Rev. Geo. Heber Jones, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., in
Korea. The Rev. C. II. Fenn, Presbyterian Church, in U.S.A., Peking,
China.
After the singing of Hymn Xo. 7, "Jesus calls us: o'er the tumult," the topic " Church Discipline " was spoken to by the following : —
The Rev. Professor J. I. Marais, D.D., Dutch Reformed Church in
South Africa. The Rev. J. A. Sharrock, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel,
in India. The Rev. Leonard Dawson, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel,
formerly Missionary to Canadian Indians. The Rev. A. Bettin, Rhenish Mission.
The topic "Edification of Christian community, adult and juvenile," was spoken to by the following : —
Mr. D. E. Hoste, China Inland Mission (Shanghai).
The Rev. Dr. T. Harada, Kumiai Church, President of the Doshisha,
Kyoto. The Rev. Lord William Gascoyne-Cecil, Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel, London. The Rev. J. Campbell Gibson, D.D., closed the discussion.
The session was closed at 4.30 with the benediction by the Rev. Bishop La Trobe, Moravian Church.
EVENING SESSION— i6th June
The Conference met at 8 p.m., with Genej£d_J5eaver_ in the Chair. After the singing of Hymn 39, "O God of Bethel," the Rev. T. S. Barbour, D.D. (Boston), led the Conference in prayer.
Addresses were delivered on "The Missionary Enterprise in the Light of History" — (i) " The Missions of the Early Church in their bearing on the Modern Missionary Enterprise," by the Rev. Professor H. A. A. Kennedy ; (2) Mediaeval Missions in their bearing on the Modern Missionary Enterprise," by the Rev. W. H. Frere.
The meeting was closed with prayer at 9.30, led by the Rev. W. H. Frere.
84 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
MORNING SESSION— 17th June
Dr. John R. Mott took the Chair at 9.45, and the Conference stood in silent prayer.
After the singing of Hymn 21, the Rev. Bishop La Trobe of the Moravian Church led the meditations and prayers of the Conference, and read i Cor. xiii. The devotional session closed with the singing of Hymn 9 and the benediction, pronounced by Bishop La Trobe.
The minutes of the meetings of June i6th were presenied and adopted.
Mr. J. H. Oldham, the Secretary of the Business Committee, reported that as the subject of Christian Literature came v/ithin the scope of Commissions H., IH., and VHL, the Business Committee had decided that the whole subject should be taken up for special consideration on Monday afternoon. / The Right Rev. JOj^ Om-p Lord Bishop of Birmingham, the Chairman -j Xof Commission III., presented the Report on the subject, "Education I in Relation to the Christianisation,of JNational Life."- ■
Bishop Gore pointed out the vital topics dealt with by the Report and the urgency of action along the lines suggested by the Report.
The Chairman stated that the morning session would be devoted to a discussion of the situation in the mission iields other than China and Japan ; and that the afternoon session would be devoted to a considera- tion of the situation in China and Japan.
The following members of the Conference took part in the tiiscussion : —
India
The Rev. William Goudie, Wesleyan Missionary Society, London, 1 formerly in India.
Sir A. H. L. Fraser. '*-
The Rev. J. P. Haythornthwaite, Church Missionary Society, Principal of St. John's College, Agra.
The Rev. Dr. Mackichan, United Free Church of Scotland, Principal, Wilson College, Bombay.
The Rev. Stephen S. Thomas, Baptist Church (British), Delhi.
The Rev. Dr. R. A. King, Presbyterian Church in Canada^ Principal, ^ Indore College.
The Rev. Dr. A. II. Ewing, Presbyterian Church in the U.S., 1 Principal, American Presbyterian College, Allahabad.
The Rev. J. A. Sharrock, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, formerly Principal of S.P.G. College, Trichinopoli, South - India.
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 85
Africa
The Rev. Dr. Andrew Watson, United Presbyterian Church in U.S., in Egypt.
The Rev. W. H. T, Gairdner, Church Missionary Society, Cairo.
The Rev. H. A. Junod, Swiss Romande Mission, Neuchatel, Switzerland.
The Rev. R. II. Dyke, Paris Evangelical Mission, Director, Normal Institute, Basutoland, South Africa.
The Rev. C. H. Harvey, American Baptist Foreign Missionary /'; Society, Congo.
Levant
The Rev. Franklin E. Hoskins, D.D., Presbyterian Church in U.S., Beirut, Syria.
The discussion was closed by Professor M. E. Sadler, University of Manchester, England.
After the singing of Hymn 19, the Conference at 12.30 entered upon the midday intercession meeting, led by the Rev. Prof. Erdman, Prince- ton, U.S.A.
The theme for the day was " Mohammedan Africa and Primitive Races." 2
Prof. Erdman led the thoughts of the Conference on the theme, and several of the members of the Conference led in prayer.
The session was brought to a close at i o'clock.
AFTERNOON SESSION— 17th June
Dr. John R. Mott took the Chair at 2.30 p.m.
After the singing of Hymn 34, " Lord, Thy ransomed Church is waking," the Rev. John H. Ritson, British and Foreign Bible Society, led in prayer.
The consideration of the Report of Commission III. was continued with special reference to Persia, upon which field an address was given by the Rev. Dr. W. St. Clair Tisdall, Church Missionary Society, in Persia. ^
The Rev. Professor Edward Caldwell Moore, D.D., Harvard , University, U.S.A., Vice-Chairman of Commission HI., spoke to some points in the Report having reference to China and Japan.
The following members of the Conference dwelt on Educational Work in China : —
The Rev. Dr. F. L. Hawks Pott, Protestant Episcopal Church, y\ U.S.A., in Shanghai.
txO
86 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
Mr. R. J, Davidson, Friends' Foreign Missionary Association, in
Chentu, China. The Rev. Dr. Paul D. Bergen, Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., in .\
Shantung, China. Dr. D. Duncan Main, Church Missionary Society in China. (^
The Hon. W. Jennings Bryan, U.S.A. i^
The Rev. J. M. Buckley, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A. " ^^ The Right Rev. Bishop Roots, Protestant Episcopal Church, U.S.A., u^
in Hankow, China. The Rev. Bishop W. F. Oldham, Methodist Episcopal Church,
U.S.A., in Malaya. ^^
The Conference joined in the singing of Hymn 33, "Lord, bless and pity us," and then proceeded to the consideration of Education in Japan. The following spoke : —
The Rev. Dr. K. Ibuka, Meiji Gakuin, Tokyo, Japan. Professor Ernest W. Clement, American Baptist Society in Japan. ^ ^ Miss Dora Howard, Church Missionary Society in Japan. '^
The Rev. Dr. Sidney L. Gulick, American Board of Commissioners, i^j \^ in Japan.
The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Birminghani brought the discussion to a conclusion, and after silent prayer the Rev. Dr. Robson pronounced tlie benediction. ■
EVENING SESSION— I7fch June
The Conference met at 8 p.m., with the Hon. W. A. Charlton, of Torontgj__Canada, in the^^Chair. After the singing of Hymn 36, "A safe stronghold our God is still," the Rev. H. Gresford Jones led in prayer.
Addresses were delivered on " The Missionary Enterprise from the Standpoint of Missionary Leaders on the Continent of Europe": — (i) "The Extent and Character of German Enterprise," by the Rev. Prof. D. Mirbt ; (2) "The Contribution of Holland and Scandinavia to the Missionary Enterprise," by the Rev. Henry Ussing ; (3) "The Missionary Task of the French Protestant Church," by Monsieur le Pasteur Boegner.
During the evening Hymn 23, " Fight the good fight," was sung, and at 9.30 p.m. the meeting was closed with prayer, led by the Rev. H. Gresford Jones.
MORNING SESSI0N-i8th June
Dr. John R. Mott took the Chair at 9.45 a.m., and, after a few moments of silent prayer, in which the Conference stood. Hymn 35,
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE ^7
"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun," was sung. The Rev. Prof. J. I. Marais, D.D., South Africa, read a few verses from Heb. xiii., and, after commenting upon them, led the Conference in prayer.
Hymn 22, " Breathe on me. Breath of God," was sung.
The minutes of the meetings on 17th June were presented and approved.
The Rev. Dr. Robson, Chairman of the Business Committee, read the reply to the message from His Majesty King George V., as drafted by his Committee. By a standing vote it was unanimously adopted. It was also agreed that it should be signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Conference and a few representative delegates chosen bv the Business Committee.
To TuK King's Most E.vckllknt Majesty
May it please your Majesty,
We, the members of the World Missionary Conference assembled from many lands and kingdoms, and now met at Edinburgh, have received with deep respect and gratification your Majesty's gracious message.
Most gratefully we welcome the expression of your Majesty's deep interest in this Conference and its aims, and we rejoice that the work of disseminating the knowledge and principles of Christianity throughout the world has your Majesty's earnest wishes for its furtherance and success. The words of sympathy graciously addressed to us by your Majesty will contribute notably to this end.
That Almighty God, by whom kings reign, and who in His providence has called your Majesty to rule over so great an Empire, may enrich you and your Royal House with all spiritual blessings, and make your Majesty's reign signally helpful to the cause of Christian progress throughout the whole world, is the earnest prayer, may it please your Majesty, of the members of the Conference.
It was decided to hold the daily devotional service in the middle of the morning session instead of at the end of it.
The Rev, Prof. D. S. Cairns, D.D., United Free Church College, Aberdeen, the Chairman of Commission IV., presented the Report on "The Missionary Message in Relation to Non-Christian Rehgions," and in so doing directed the attention of the Conference to those questions arising from it, upon which discussion would be most profitable.
The Chairman reported that the Business Committee recommended that the length of addresses in the discussion on this Report, and on the
SS RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
other Reports to be presented, should be limited to five minutes instead of seven, as provided in the Standing Orders.
After a brief discussion, the Chairman put the question. The recom- mendation was not approved by the necessary majority.
The question of " The Missionary Message in Relation to the Animistic Religions " was then taken up, and the following members of the Confer- ence took part in the discussion :—
The Rev. A. G. MacAIpine, United Free Church of Scotland, Livingstonia Mission, Nyasaland, Central Africa.
The Rev. J. R. Callenbach, D.D., special delegate from Holland.
Dr. T. Jays, Church Missionary Society.
The Rev, L. Dahle, Norwegian Mission, Norway.
The Rev. C. H. Monahan, Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, South India.
The Rev. Dr. Joh. Warneck, Rhenish Missionary Society.
After the singing of Hymn 36, " A Safe Stronghold our God is still," the question of " The Missionary Message in Relation to the Religions of China" was considered, and the following took part in the dis- cussion : —
The Rev. LI. Lloyd, Church Missionary Society, Foochow.
The Rev. Tong Tsing-en, Baptist.
The Rev. Dr. J. Campbell Gibson, Presbyterian Church, England,
Swatow, China. The Rev. Dr. A. H. Smith, American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions, Peking. The Rev. Geo. Heber Jones, D.D., Methodist Episcopal Church,
U.S.A., in Korea.
After the singing of Hymn 9, the Conference at 11.45 entered upon its daily meeting for intercession, led by Mr. D. E. Hoste, Director in China of the China Inland Mission.
The theme for the day was China.
Mr. Hoste spoke briefly on hindrances to prayer, and then led the thoughts of the Conference on the theme, and called upon members of the Conference to lead in prayer. After silent prayer and the singing of Hymn 6, the service of intercession was closed by the benediction pronounced by Mr. Hoste.
At 12.15 the Conference resumed consideration of the Report of Commission IV., taking up the subject of "The Missionary Message in Relation to the Religions of Japan." The following members spoke : —
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 89
The Rev. G. C. Niven, Church Missionary Society in Gifu, Japan.
Dr. T. Harada, Kumiai Church, Japan.
Mr. Galen M. Fisher, Internatioral V.M.C.A., Tokyo.
The Rt. Rev. Dr. C. F, D'Arcy, Bishop of Ossory, closed the dis- cussion on this question.
" The Missionary Message in Relation to Islam " was then taken up, and the following members spoke : —
The Rev. W. H. T. Gairdner, Church Missionary Society, Cairo. The Rev. Dr. S. M. Zwemer, Arabian Mission, Reformed Church in America,
The session was brought to a close at i p.m. by the benediction, pronounced by the Rev. Dr. Barton.
AFTERNOON SESSI0N-i8th June
Dr. John R. Mott took the Chair at 2.30 p.m. After singing Hymn 23, " Fight the good fight," the Conference bowed in silent prayer.
The discussion of the topic "The Missionary Message in Relation to Islam," was continued by — The Rev. Dr. Lepsius, Director of the German Orient Mission.
On the subject, "The Missionary Message in Relation to Hinduism," the following delegates spoke : —
The Rev. Dr. John Morrison, Church of Scotland Mission College,
Calcutta. The Rev. G. E. Phillips, London Missionary Society, in Madras. Brother F. J. Western, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, in
Delhi. The Rev. W. A. Mansell, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., in
India. The Rev. Dr. K. C. Chatterji, American Presbyterian, India. The Rev. G. T. Manley, Church Missionary Society, London. The Rev. W. Dilger, Basel Missionary Society, in India. The Rev. Dr. J. P. Jones, American Board of Commissioners, in
India. The Rev. Dr. Mackichan, United Free Church of Scotland, in Bombay. The Rev. Canon Robinson, D.D., Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel, London.
The Conference joined in the singing of Hymn 12, "Crown Him with many crowns," and then proceeded to the discussion of the topic " General Questions Applying to all Religions."
it
90 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
The following spoke : —
The Rev. Dr. Robert A. Hume, American Board of Commissioners. Dr. Henry T. Hodgkin, Friends' Foreign Missionary Association,
formerly in China. The Rev. Professor MacEwen, D.D., United Free Church of Scotland. On behalf of the Commission, Dr. Robert E. Speer, Presbyterian
Church Foreign Missionary Secretary, U.S.A.
After singing the last two stanzas of Hymn 12, "Crown Him the Lord of peace," the Conference, at 4.30 p.m., closed its session with prayer led by the Rev. Dr. Cairns.
EVENING SESSION— iSth June
The Conference met at S p.m., with Count Moltke of Denmark in the Chair. After the singing of Hymn 32, " For My sake and the Gospels go," the Rev. Arthur H. Smith led in prayer.
Addresses were delivered on the " Changes in the Character of the Missionary Problem in recent Years and their effect on the Missionary Enterprise" :— (I) "In the Far East," by the Rev. Bishop Bashford, D.D. ; (2) " In Mohammedan Lands," by the Rev. W. H. T. Gairdner, M.A. ; and (3) " Among Primitive and Backward Peoples," by the Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, D.D.
During the evening meeting part of Hymn 25, "For all the Saints," was sung, and at 9.30 p.m. the meeting was closed with prayer, led by the Rev. Bishop Bashford.
EVENING SESSION— Sunday, 19th June
The Conference assembled at 8 p.m., when the Chair was taken by the Lord Balfour of Burleigh. Hymn 5, " O Thou my Soul, bless God the Lord," having been sung, the Rev. Dr. Mackichan led the meeting in prayer.
Addresses were delivered on "The Duty of Christian Races," by the Archbishop of York and the Hon. Seth Low, LL.D., of New York, and on " The Contribution of Non-Christian Races to the Body of Christ," by President Tasuku Harada of Japan. " '
Hymn 35, "Jesus shall reign," was sung during the evening, and the meeting was closed at 9.30 by the singing of Hymn 45, " His Name for ever shall endure," and the pronouncing of the benediction by the Archbishop of York.
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 91
MORNING SESSI0N-20th June
Dr. John R. Mott took the Chair at 9.45 a.m., and called the Conference to silent prayer.
The Rev. Dr. Richard Glover, Baptist Missionary Society, Bristol, led the devotions of the delegates. After the singing of Hymn 5, "O Thou, my soul, bless God the Lord," Dr. Glover read some passages from the Holy Scriptures, and after a few words on the subject of unity, engaged in prayer.
The Conference sang Hymn 34, "Lord, Thy ransomed Church is waking."
The minutes of the meetings held on June iSlh and 19th were presented and adopted.
The Rt. Hon. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, President of the Conference and Chairman of Commission VH., laid before the delegates the sug- gestions of his Commission as to the best method of dealing with the Report.
The Hon. Seth Low, LL.D., of New York, Vice-Chairman of the Commission, presented the Report and outlined its contents.
The discussion opened with the consideration of the findings of the Commission on the following points : —
(1) Harmonious Relations of Missions and Governments.
(2) The Right of Entry for Christian Missions. ~'. _j(„
(3) Preparation of a Statement of Principles.
This group of subjects was spoken to by —
Rev. Dr. A. Boegner, Director of the Paris Missionary Society. Colonel ^Ail]iams, Church Missionary Society, London. The Rev. J. M. Duncan, Presbyterian Church of Canada. The Rt. Hon. Lord Reay, G.C.S.I., London. Dr. C. C. Wang, London Missionary Society, in Shanghai, Dr. T. Jays, Church Missionary Society, formerly in W. Eq. Africa. Dr. F. D. Shepard, American Board of Commissioners in Aintab, Turkey. Reference having been made to work in Turkey, the Conference paused in its deliberations, and the Rt. Rev. the Lord Bishop of Durham led in prayer.
Discussion being resumed, the following spoke : — Pfarrer Kiiffner, Neuendettelsauer Mission, Germany. The Rev. Arthur Grandjean, General Secretary, Swiss Mission
Romande. The Rev. L, Dahle, Norwegian Mission,
--^
52 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
After the singing of Hymn 45, the Conference at 11.30 entered upon the service of intercession, led by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Roots, Hankow, China.
The theme for the day was " Unity."
Bishop Roots, after reading selected portions of Scripture bearing on
" Unity," commented thereon, and led the thoughts of the Conference
in prayer for unity. Mr. J. H. Oldham also led the Conference in prayer.
The service of intercession was brought to a close by the Conference repeating the Lord's Prayer, and by the benediction, pronounced by Bishop Roots.
At 12 o'clock, after the singing of Hymn 40, "The Church's one foundation," the Conference resumed the consideration of Report of Commission VH., and Herr Oberverwaltungsgerichtstrat Berner, Presi- dent of the Berlin Missionary Society and private Counsellor of the German Colonial Government in Missionary Affairs, on behalf of tlie Commission, introduced the consideration of (3) "Responsibilities of Christian Colonial Powers," and (5) "Government Regulation of Missions." --- -
The following members of the Conference spoke on these questions : —
The Rt. Rev. Bishop Brent, Protestant Episcopal Church, U.S.A.,
Philippines. Dr. Charles F. Harford, chosen to represent British, German, and
French National Committees as intermediaries between Missions
and Governments as to the liquor traffic among native races. The Rev. J. K. Giffen, D.D., United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., in
Egyptian Sudan. The Hon. William Jennings Bryan, Lincoln, Nebraska. The Rev. B. P. J. Marchand, Dutch Reformed Church, South Africa. The Rev. F. B. Bridgman, American Board of Commissioners for
P'oreign Missions, in South Africa.
The Hon. Seth Low brought the discussion to a close, and at i o'clock Dr. John R. Mott pronounced the benediction.
AFTERNOON SESSION-20th June
The Conference reassembled at 2.30 p.m., Dr. John R. Mott in the Chair.
After the singing of Hymn 13, "Rejoice the Lord is King," the Rt. Rev. Bishop Ingham led in prayer.
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 93
The Conference took up the consideration of the following findings from the Report of Commission VII. : —
(4) The Rights of Native Christians. (6) Missions in British India.
On behalf of the Commission, the Rev. A. B. Wann, D.D., late Principal, Scottish Churches College, Calcutta, introduced the discussion, and the following delegates also spoke : —
Mr. W. B. Sloan, China Inland Mission, London.
The Rev. John Ross, D.D., United Free Church of Scotland in
Manchuria. The Rev. Than Khan, American Board of Commissioners, in Garo
Hills, India.
The section of the Report (No. 7) on "The Belgian Congo" was spoken to by — •
The Rev. T. S. Barbour, D.D., American Baptist Society, Member of
Commission VII. Prof. Dr. H. van Nes, Netherlands Missionary Society, Holland. The Rev. C. E. Wilson, Baptist Missionary Society, London. Pasteur R. Meyhoffer, Eglise Chretienne Missionaire, Belgium.
The discussion of the Report of Commission VII. was brought to a close by the Rt. Hon. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, President of the Commission.
After the singing of the last two stanzas of Hymn 36, "A safe stronghold our God is still," the Conference at 3.45 p.m. turned its attention to the consideration of the subject of Christian Literature, which is dealt with in the Reports of Commissions II., HI., and VIII. The Rev. A. R. Buckland, Religious Tract Society, London, introduced the discussion on the following lines, laid down by the Business Committee : —
1. The imperative call for men to be set apart as Literary Missionaries by their respective societies.
2. The need of literature reflecting the thought and feeling of eack language, area, or people, with special reference to the training and encouragement of converts to produce such literature.
3. The call for the consolidation and federation of existing agencies in order to prevent overlapping, and promote the preparation of the literature most needed.
4. The distribution of literature — how can it best be promoted.
The following took part in the discussion : —
The Rev. Dr. Timothy Richard, Christian Literature Society for China, Shanghai.
94 HECOllDS OF THE CONFERENCE
The Rev. II. D. Grisvvold, American Presbyterian Missions in Lahore,
India. The Rev. II. F. Laflamme, Canadian Baptist Missions in India. The Rev. Edwin Greaves, London Missionary Society, Benares,
N. India. The Rev. P'ranklin E. Iloskins, D.D., American I'rtsliyterian Mission
in Syria. The Rev. W. Gilbert Walshe, Christian Lileralure Society for Cliina,
Secretary in London. The Rev. G. W. Jackson, Christian Literature Society for India.
The session closed at 4.30, when the Rev. Dr. A. B. Wann pronounced the benediction.
EVENING SESSION— 20th June
The Conference met at 8 p.m. The Chair was occupied by the Right Hon. Lord Reay, G. C.S.I.
After the singing of Hymn 5, " O Thou, my Soul, bless God the Lord," the Rev. W. Goudie led in prayer.
Addresses were delivered on "The Problem of Co-operation between Foreign and Native Workers," by the Right Rev. Logan H. Roots, Bishop of Hankow ; the Rev. President K. Ibuka ; and the Rev. V. S. Azariah.
Hymn 7, "Jesus calls us," first and last verses, was sung during the evening, and the meeting was closed at 9.30 by the singing of Hymn 43, "Now may He who from the dead," and prayer led by the flight Rev. Bishop ]\oots.
MORNING SESSI0N-2ist June
Dr. John R. Molt took the Chair at 9.45 a.m., and called the Conference to silent prayer.
The Rev. K. C. Chatterji, D.D., Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., Punjab, India, led the devotions of the delegates.
After the singing of Hymn 10, "AH hail the power of Jesus' Name," Dr. Chatterji read and commented upon i Cor. iii.
The delegates joined in the Apostles' Creed, and the devotions closed with prayer by Dr. Chatterji.
The Conference sang Hymn 33, " Lord, bless and pity us."
The minutes of the meetings of June 20th were presented and adopted.
Sir A. H. L. Eraser, Chairman of Commission VHL, "Co-operation and the Promotion of Unity," presented the Report of the Commission,
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 95
and outlined the manner in which the Co'nmission suggested the Report should be considered.
The discussion of "Co-operation on the Mission P'ield " was then taken up, the following questions being considered : —
(a) What are the Practical Possibilities of Comity and Co-operation on the Mission Field?
(i) What are the Principles which should regulate such Comity and Co-operation ?
The following members of the Conference look part in the discussion : —
The Rev. O. L. Kilborn, M.D., Methodist Church, Canada, Chengtu,
West China. The Rev. E. W. Burt, English Baptist Mission, Shantung, North China. Dr. Maxwell, English Presbyterian Mission. Bishop M. C. Harris, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., Seoul,
Korea. Mr. Cheng Ching-yi, London Missionary Society, Chinese Church. Miss Ewart, Church of England Zenana Missionary Society, India. The Right Rev. Bishop Brent, Protestant Episcopal Church in U.S.A.
in the Philippine Islands. The Rev. S. Thomas, English Baptist Church, Principal, Baptist
Institute, Delhi. The Rev. G. Currie Martin, Secretary, London Missionary Society. The Rev. James L. Barton, D.D., Secretary of American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
The discussion on these questions was closed by the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Southwark.
The Conference joined in singing Hymn 6, "Praise to the Holiest in the height," and then spent half an hour in meditation and worship, led by the Rev. Dr. Murray, Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge. Hymn 12, "Crown Him with many Crowns," was sung, and then business was resumed.
On behalf of Commission VIII., Sir Andrew Fraser moved the following resolution, which had received the necessary approval of the Business Committee : —
I. "That a Continuation Committee of the World Missionary Conference be appointed, international and representative in character, to carry out, on the lines of the Conference itself, which are inter- denominational and do not involve the idea of organic and ecclesiastical union, the following duties :^
(l) To maintain in prominence the idea of the World Missionary Conference as a means of co-ordinating missionary work, of laying sound
96 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
lines for future development, and of evoking and claiming by corporate action fresh stores of spiritual force for the evangelisation of the world.
(2) To finish any further investigations, or any formulation of the results of investigations, which may remain after the World Missionary Conference is over, and may be referred to it.
(3) To consider when a further World Missionary Conference is desirable, and to make the initial preparations.
(4) To devise plans for maintaining the intercourse which the World Missionary Conference has stimulated between different bodies of workers, e.g. by literature or by a system of correspondence and mutual report, or the like.
(5) To place its services at the disposal of the Home Boards in any steps which they may be led to take (in accordance with the recom- mendation of more than one Commission) towards closer mutual counsel and practical co-operation.
(6) To confer with the Societies and Boards as to the best method of working towards the formation of such a permanent International Missionary Committee as is suggested by the Commissions of the Conference and by various missionary bodies apart from the Conference.^
(7) And to take such steps as may seem desiral)le to carry out, by the formation of Special Committees or otherwise, any practical suggestions made in the Reports of the Commissions.
II. That the work of the Continuation Committee be subject to the proviso stated in the following paragraph from the Report of Com- mission VIII. : —
" If the formation of such an International Committee is accomplished, the Continuation Committee of the World Missionary Conference should be authorised to transfer to it, wholly or in part, the task which it has itself received from the Conference ; but if an International Committee be not formed, the Continuation Committee should, either wholly or in part, carry on the work allotted to it."
* The principles on which the Commission are agreed constructive work could be built are stated in their Report as follows : — •
{a) It should from the beginning be precluded from handling matters which are concerned with the doctrinal or ecclesiastical differences of the various denominations.
{b) This being assured, it would be desirable that it should be as widely representative as possible.
(c) Yet it should be a purely consultative and advisory Association, exercising no authority but such as would accrue to it through the intrinsic value of the services that it may be able to render.
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 9
III. That the Continuation Committee shall consist of 35 members of the World Missionary Conference, distributed as follows : — 10 from North America ; 10 from the Continent of Europe ; 10 from the United Kingdom ; and one each from Australasia, China, Japan, India and Africa respectively.
IV. That the Business Committee of this Conference be instructed to nominate the members of this Continuation Committee,
The resolution was seconded by Dr. Arthur J. Brown, Secretary of Presbyterian Board, U.S.A., supported by —
Mr. Newton W. Rowell, Methodist Church of Canada ; Dr. Julius Richter, of Germany ;
and also spoken to by the following : — The Rt. Rev. the Lord Bishop of Durham ;
Jonathan B. Hodgkin, Friends' Foreign Missionary Association in London. The Chairman of the Conference then read a telegram announcing the death of the Rev. Dr. H. Grattan Guinness, senior, of the Regions Beyond Missionary Union, London.
The Conference united in singing a portion of Hymn 25, " For all the saints who from their labours rest," and Dr. Wardlaw Thompson led in prayer.
The session was closed at i o'clock,
AFTERNOON SESSI0N-2ist June
The Conference resembled at 2.30 p.m., Dr. John R. Mott in the Chair.
After the singing of Hymn 3, "All people that on earth do dwell," Dr. Eugene Stock led in prayer.
The Conference resumed the consideration of the resolution for the appointment of a Continuation Committee, and the following members of the Conference spoke in support of the resolution : — The Rev. Lord William Gascoyne-Cecil, Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel. The Rev. Dr. Wm. H. Roberts, Chairman Executive Committee of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. The Rev. Dr. J. Campbell Gibson, Presbyterian Church of England. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Montgomery, Society for the Propagation o f
the Gospel. The Rev. J. R. Callenbach, D.D., Special Delegate from Holland. COivi. IX. — 7
98 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
Dr. Eugene Stock, Church Missionary Society. The Rev. Dr. R. Wardlaw Thompson, London Missionary Society. Bishop J. E. Robinson, Methodist Episcopal Church, India. The Rev. A. Wallace Williamson, D.D., Special Delegate from Great Britain.
On the suggestion of the Right Rev. Bishop Roots, it was agreed that the Business Committee should have power to make verbal alterations in the form of the resolution not affecting the substance thereof.
The Chairman put the question, " Shall the vote be now taken ?" and the Conference unanimously approved. The Chairman then called upon Sir A. H. L. Eraser, as the mover of the resolution, to close the discussion.
As Sir A. H. L. Eraser did not desire to speak further, the resolution was put by the Chairman and unanimously carried.
The Conference then joined in singing, " Praise God from Whom all blessings flow."
The Conference then entered upon the consideration of "The Possibilities and Principles of Co-operation at the Home Base," and Mr. Silas McBee, Vice-Chairman of the Commission, spoke in support of the recommendations of the Commission.
The following members took part in the discussion : — Mr. H. D. Wootton, London Missionary Society, Melbourne, Australia. The Rev. J. P. Jones, D.D., Ameiican Board of Commissioners for
Eoreign Missions, U.S.A., in India. Mrs. Romanes, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The Rev. Dr. W^. T. Stackhouse, Baptist Foreign Mission Board of
Ontario and Western Canada. The Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Gippsland, Australian Church Missionary
Association.
The discussion was closed by the Rev. J. H. Ritson, Secretary of the British and Eoreign Bible Society, a member of the Commission.
After a few moments of silent prayer, the session was closed by prayer and the benediction, pronounced by Bishop Bashford, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., in China.
EVENING SESSION— 2ist June
The Conference assembled at 8 p.m., wiih Sir John Kennaway, Bart., President of the Church Missionary Society, in the Chair.
After the singing of Hymn 6, " Praise to the Holiest," the Right Rev. Wm. Lawrence, Bishop of Massachusetts, led the meeting in prayer.
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 99
An address on "The Demands made on the Church by the Missionary Enterprise " was delivered by Mr. George Sherwood Eddy of India, and the Rev. President Goucher having led in prayer, the same subject was again spoken to by the Rev. Prof. James Denney, D.D.
Hymn 4, " Father of Heaven," having been sung, the meeting was closed with the benediction by Dr. Denney.
MORNING SESSION— 22nd June
The Conference assembled at 9.45 a.m., with Dr. John R. Mott in the Chair. A few moments were devoted to silent prayer.
The Rev. Professor O. E. Brown, Vanderbilt University, U.S.A., led the devotional service. After the singing of Hymn 2, " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty," Professor Brown led in prayer, and gave a brief address on the Great Commission. •
The Conference united in singing Hymn 7, "Jesus calls us: o'er the tumult." ' /
The minutes of the meetings of 21st June were presented and approved.
After a few announcements from the Secretary, the Chairman called upon President W. Douglas Mackenzie, D.D., Hartford Theological Seminary, U.S.A., and Chairman of Commission V., to present the Report on "The Preparation of Missionaries." After the main points of the Report had been outlined, Mrs. Creighton, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and member of the Commission, also addressed the Conference.
The following took part in the discussion on " The Responsibilities and Methods of the Mission Boards in Seeking, Selecting, and Appointing Candidates to the Mission Field."
The Rev. D. H. D. Wilkinson, Church Missionary Society, London.
The Rev. Dr. Fred. P. Haggard, American Baptist F. M. Society.
Sir \V. Mackworth Young, K.C.S I., Church of England Zenana
Missionary Society, London. The Rt. Rev. Bishop J. M. Thoburn, U.S.A., of India. Missionsdirektor Gensichen, D. D., Berliner Missionsgesellschaft. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Ridley, Church Missionary Society, formerly
Bishop of Caledonia. The Rev. Dr. Alexander P. Camphor, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A.
The Chairman read a cable from the Changsha missionaries in China, and asked for prayer on their behalf.
The Conference united in the central service of intercession, entering upon it by the singing of Hymn 29, and the repeating of the General
100 RECORDS OP THE CONFERENCE
Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer. Dr. Kenry T. Hodgkin, Friends' Foreign Missionary Association, London, read Isaiah vi. and led the thoughts of the Conference, while all engaged in prayer.
After the singing of Hymn 30, " O Christ, Thy love to all the world," the Conference turned its attention to the topic, " Is the Present General IVeparation of Various Classes of Missionaries Adequate?"
The following delegates spoke : —
The Rev. Father Herbert H. Kelly, of Kelham College.
Miss Belle H. Bennett, Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, Methodist
Episcopal Church, S., U.S.A. Miss Rouse, World's Student Christian Federation. Miss Ellen Humphry, Chairman of the Women's Candidates' Committee,
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Miss Mary A. Greene, American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society,
Vice-President, Woman's Auxiliary. Mrs. F. D. Wilson, Zenana Bible and Medical Mission. Miss Jane L. Latham, Special British delegate, recently the Head of St.
Mary's College in London for Training Teachers. The Rev. R. H. Dyke, Paris Evangelical Missionary Society, Principal,
Normal Institute, Basutoland.
The session was closed with the benediction, pronounced by Dr. Mackenzie.
AFTERNOON SESSION— 22nd June
The Conference reassembled at 2.30 p.m., Dr. John R. Mott in the Chair. After the singing of Hymn 23, " Fight the good fight," Principal Miller, of Madras, addressed a few words to the Conference, and then the delegates continued the discussion of the general topic, "Is the Present General Preparation of Various Classes of Missionaries Adequate ? " The following spoke : —
Rev. W. J. Wanless, M.D., American Presbyterian Mission in India. Dr. Charles F. Harford, Principal of Livingstone College, London. General James A. Beaver, American Presb}terian Church. The Rev. W. H. Frere, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Bishop Honda, Methodist Church in Japan.
The Conference then entered upon the consideration of —
" III. What should be the Range and Method of Special Missionary Preparation ?
" IV. As to the Study of Languages.
•'V. How shall this Special Preparation and Language Study be Provided ? "
MINUTES OF THE COiNFERENCE loi
Dr. Edward W. Capen, a member of the Commission, spoke upon these questions, and was followed by the following members of the Conference : —
Mr. Walter B. Sloan, China Inland Mission.
Dr. A. r. Parker, Methodist Episcopal Church South, U.S.A.,
Shanghai. Rev. Joh. Biltmann, Danish Mission. The Rev. A. B. Leonard, D.D., Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A.
(Secretary of Board of Foreign Missions). The Rev. Dr. Arthur II. Smith, American Board of Commissioners for
P'oreign INlissions, Peking. The Rev. C. G. Mylrea, Church Missionary Society, Lucknow.
The Rev. George Robson, D.D., Chairman of the Business Com- mittee, presented the following Report of the Business Committee : —
The Business Committee recommend that the following be the members of the Continuation Committee : —
From Great Britain.
Mrs. Creighton.
Sir Andrew Eraser.
Dr. H. T. Hodgkin.
Sir G. \V. Macalpine.
The Rev. J. N. Ogilvie.
The Rev. J. PI. Ritson.
The Rev. George Robson, D.D.
The Right Rev. The Lord Bishop of Southwark, D.D.
Mr. Eugene Stock, D.C.L.
The Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, D.D.
From North America.
The Rev. T. S. Barbour, D.D.
The Rev. James L. Barton, D.D.
The Rev. Arthur J. Brown. D.D.
President Goucher.
The Rev. Bishop Lambuth.
Mr. Silas McBee.
Dr. John R. Mott.
Mr. N. W. Rowell, K.C.
The Rev. Canon Tucker.
The Rev. Charles Watson, D.D,
I02 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
From the Continent of Europe.
Professor Haussleiter (Germany).
Bishop Hennig (Germany).
Herr Wiirz (Germany).
Dr. Richter (Germany).
Dr. Boegner (France).
Inspektor Dahle (Norway),
Ds. Gunning (Holland).
Count Moltke (Denmark),
Missionsdirektor r\Iustakallio (Finland
Bishop Tottie (Sweden).
From South Africa.
Professor Marais.
From Australasia.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Gippsland.
From Japan.
Bishop Honda.
From China.
Mr. Cheng Ching-Yi.
From India.
The Rev. Dr. Chatter] i.
With power to fill vacancies and to appoint their own officers.
On motion of Dr. Robson the Report was unanimously adopted.
The consideration of the Report of Commission V. was resumed, and the following members of the Conference spoke : —
Professor Meinhof, Berlin IVIission.
Professor H. P. Beach, Yale University Foreign Missionary Society.
The discussion was closed by President W. Douglas Mackenzie, D.D., Chairman of the Commission.
The session was closed by the benediction, pronounced by the Very Rev. J. Mitford Mitchell, D.D.
EVENING SESSION— 22nd June
The Conference met at 8 p.m., with Mr. Samuel B. Capen, of Boston, U.S.A., in the Chair. After the singing of Hymn 8, "Jesus, Thou joy of loving hearts," the Rev. Dr. Wallace Williamson led the meeting in
MINUTES OF THE COxNFERENCE 103
prayer. The subject of the addresses was "The Sufficiency of God." The first speaker was the Right Rev. Charles Brent, Bishop of the PhiHp- pines. At the conclusion of his address the Conference sang Hymn 9, "When I survey the wondrous cross," following which the second address was given by the Rev. R. F. Horton, D.D., of Hampstead. The meeting was closed with prayer by Dr. Horton.
MORNING SESSION— 23rd June
Dr. John R. Mott took the Chair at 9.45 a.m., and the Conference stood in silent prayer.
The opening devotional service was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Young, Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland. The singing of Hymn 17, " O Spirit of the Living God," was followed by the reading of Isaiah Ixii. Dr. Young gave a brief address and led in prayer.
The Conference united in the singing of Hymn 31, "Thou whose Almighty Word."
The minutes of the meetings of 22nd June were presented and approved.
The Rev. Dr. Robson stated that though no formal votes of thanks were to be submitted, the delegates were deeply indebted to those who had toiled in various capacities for the success of the Conference. As Chairman of the Business Committee he read the following draft of a resolution to be proposed : —
" That the Conference place on record its grateful sense'of the welcome given to the members of Conference and their associates by the Lord Provost and Corporation of the City of Edinburgh ; of the recognition of this gathering by the University of Edinburgh in the honorary degrees conferred on distinguished members of this Conference ; of the most kind hospitality and generous help given by the Minister and Kirk- session of the Tolbooth Church and other ecclesiastical and civic bodies too numerous to mention, and by the large number of private citizens in Edinburgh and its vicinity who have entertained delegates ; and of the manifold services rendered by the great army of willing helpers who have co-operated to make the way of the Conference prosperous. It is the earnest prayer of the Conference that the blessing of God may rest on the City of Edinburgh and on all its institutions that are helping unto the furtherance of the Kingdom of God."
The resolution was proposed by the Rev. Dr. A. J. Brown, as repre- senting North America, seconded by the Rev. Bishop La Trobe, representing the Continent of Europe, and unanimously carried by a standing vote.
104 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
The Rev. Dr. Robson laid before the Conference the following Messages drafted by the Business Committee, and moved their adop- tion : —
(For text of the Messages, see pages 108-110.)
The adoption of these Messages was seconded by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Roots, of Hankow, and unanimously accepted by the Conference.
As Mr. J. H. Oldham rose to announce the arrangements for the evening meeting, the Conference took the opportunity of expressing by its applause its deep and heartfelt sense of gratitude to him for the splendid service rendered, and the spirit in which it had been rendered. Mr. Oldham paid a warm tribute to the devoted labours of his colleagues.
The Rev. James L. Barton, D.U., Secretary of the American Board of Commissioners, and Chairman of Commission VI., presented and commented upon the Report on the subject, "The Home Base of Missions."
The first topic to which consideration was given was " How to present the world-wide problem, that confronts Christianity, to the imagination of the Church so that it shall become an impelling and dominating motive in all its life."
The following delegates addressed the Conference : —
The Rev. Canon L. Norman Tucker, Church of England in Canada. The Rev. C. R. Watson, United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. The Rev. C. C. B. Bardsley, Church Missionary Society, London. Miss E. Harriet Stanwood, Congregational Women's Board of Missions,
Boston, U.S.A. Sir Robert Laidlaw, Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, London. Dr. T. H. P. Sailer, Young People's Missionary Movement, U.S.A. Mr. T. R. W, Lunt, Church Missionary Society, London. Mr. W. T. Ellis, Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.'
The Rev. Professor D. S. Cairns, D.D., United Free Church of Scotland. The Rev. H. M. Hamill, D.D., World's Sunday School Association.
The Conference paused in its business for the Central Service of Inter- cession. After the singing of Hymn 24, " Soldiers of Christ ! arise," the Rev. J. Ross Stevenson, D.D., Baltimore, U.S.A., read selected portions of Scripture bearing on the theme for the day — " The Awakening of the Whole Church to its Missionary Duly."
After a period of silent prayer, the Conference was led in prayer by Mr. Fletcher Brockman and the Rev. Dr. Alexander, and the service of intercession was brought to a close by prayer by Dr. Stevenson and the singing of a hymn.
The consideration of Report, Commission \ I., was resumed, and question
MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE 105
ii., "The vital secret of an adequate offering of lives for Foreign Mission- ary Service," was taken up, and the following members of the Conference spoke : —
Mr. R. P. Wilder, Secretary, Student Volunteer Movement, Great Britain.
The Rev. Bishop La Trobe, Moravian Church.
The Rev. Tissington Tatlow, General Secretary, Student Christian
Movement of Great Britain and Ireland. The Rev. Dr. S. M. Zwemer, Reformed Church in America,
Candidate Secretary, Student Volunteer Movement. Miss Saunders, Student Volunteer Movement, Great Britain. Mr. H. W. Hicks, Young People's Missionary Movement of the
United States and Canada, also American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions.
The session was closed with silent prayer, and the benediction pro- nounced by the Rev. Dr. Carroll, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A.
AFTERNOON SESSI0N.-23rd June
The Conference reassembled at 2.30 p.m., Dr. John R. Mott in the Chair. After the singing of Hymn 45, "His name for ever shall endure," the Conference took up the consideration of the question : —
HI. " The real crux of the problem of influencing the clergy to devote themselves with conviction and self-denial to promoting the missionary plans of the Church. What can our theological and other Christian Colleges do to stimulate the passion for world conquest, and to provide the equipment for leadership in the Foreign Missionary activities of the Home Church ? "
The following members of the Conference spoke : —
The Rev. S. J. Porter, D.D., Secretary, Foreign Mission Board,
Southern Baptist Convention, Richmond, U.S.A. The Rev. S. A. Donaldson, D.D., Master, Magdalene College,
Cambritlge. The Rev. J. Henzel. Utrecht Missionary Society. The Rev. Judson Swift, D.D., American Tract Society The Rev. G. Reynolds Turner, M.B., London Mission, Amoy,
South China. The Rev. O. E. Brown, D.D., Methodist Episcopal Church South,
U.S.A. The Rev. Bishop Hasse, Moravian Church.
IV. " How can laymen of strength and'influence be led to consecrate /' their time and efforts to a systematic Missionary propaganda?" was -^ ■ introduced by Mr. J. Campbell While, General Secretary of the Laymen's
io6 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
Missionary Movement, a member of the Commission, and, after the singing of Hymn 12, "Crown Him with many crowns," was spoken to by the following members of the Conference : —
Sir A. H. L. Fraser, Vice-President of the Conference.
Dr. Samuel B. Capen, President of American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions. Captain Alfred Bertrand, Geneve, special delegate. Mr. Mornay Williams, American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society,
Vice-Chairman of Laymen's Missionary Movement. Mrs. Thomas S. Gladding, Chairman, Foreign Department of
Y.W.C.A. of U.S. of America. Rev. Dr. Cornelius H. Patton, American Board of Commissioners.
V. " How to increase the missionary gifts of individual Christians who are able to do much more financially than they are now doing in order that their gifts be far more nearly commensurate with their increased financial ability and with the present need," was then considered, and the following members of the Conference spoke : —
Dr, J. W. Ballantyne, Edinburgh Medical Missionary Societ)'.
Mr. Charles A. Rowland, Chairman, Laymen's Movement, Southern
Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. The Rev. A. E. Armstrong, Foreign Mission Committee, Presbyterian
Church in Canada. Mr. A. E. Marling, Presbyterian Church in U.S.A.
The consideration of the Report was brought to a close by a brief address by the Rev. J. P. Maud, a member of the Commission, in which he emphasised the importance of all members of the Conference returning to their homes in the spirit of prayer, and determined to put a new spirit in all their work.
The session was closed with silent prayer, and the benediction pro- nounced by the Rev. J. P. Maud.
EVENING SESSION.— 23rd June
Sir Andrew II. L. Fraser took the Chair at 8 o'clock, and the Conference united in silent prayer, and then sang Hymn 37, " Our God, our help in ages past."
The Rev. J. N. Ogilvie, Convener, Church of Scotland Missions, led in prayer, after the reading of Psalm xlviii.
The Rev. Dr. Robson proposed that the Continuation Committee be authorised to ratify the minutes of the three meetings of 23rd June, and the proposal was unanimously agreed to.
MINUTES OF THE COxNFERENCE 107
Sir Andrew Fraser then addressed the Conference. Hymn 5, " O thou my soul, bless God the Lord," was sung, and the Rev. W. H. Findlay, Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, conducted a service of thanksgiving.
The Conference joined in the singing of Hymn 25, " For all the saints who from their labours rest." Dr. John R. Mott led tKe delegates in a service of consecration to God, and after all had united in Hymn 45, " His name for ever shall endure," tlie Rev. Dr. Henderson, United Free Church of Scotland, pronounced the benediction.
MESSAGES FROM THE CONFERENCE TO THE CHURCH
(See Minute of 23rd June, p. 104)
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH IN CHRISTIAN LANDS
Dkar Brethren of the Christian Church, — We members of the World Missionary Conference assembled in Edinburgh desire to send you a message which lies very near to our hearts. During the past ten days we have been engaged in a close and continuous study of the ^gosition of Christianity in non-Christian lands. In this study we have
In ! ' surveyed the field of missionary operation and the forces that are avail- aT)Te for its occupation. For two years we have been gathering expert testimony about every department of Christian Missions, and this testimony has brought home to our entire Conference certain conclusions wiiich we desire to set forth.
Our survey has impressed upon us the momentous character of the present hour. We have heard from many quarters of the awakening of great nations, of the opening of long-closed doors, and of movements which are placing all at once before the Church a new world to be won for Christ. The next^Jen years will in all probability constitute a turning-point in human history, and may be of more critical importance j in determining the spiritual evolutign of mankind^than many centuries ot -^' ordinary experience. If those years are wasted, havoc may be wrought that centuries are not able to repair. On the other hand, if they are rightly used, they may be among the most glorious in Christian history.
We have therefore devoted much time to a close scrutiny of the ways in which we may best utilise the existing forces^ of missionary enterprise by unifying and consolidating existing agencies, by improving their administration and the training of their agents. We have done every-
l\M thing within our power in the interest of economy and efficiency ; and in this endeavour we have reached a greater unity of common action than has been attained in the Christian Church for centuries.
MESSAGES FROM CONFERENCE 109
But it has become incr^singly clear to us that we need something far greater than can be reached by ariy_economy or reorganisation of the existing forces. We need supremely a deeper sense of responsibility to Almighty God for the great trust which lie Hascommitted to us in the evangelisation of the world. That trust is not committed in any peculiar vfay to our missionaiics, or to societies, or to us as members of this Conference. It is committed to all and each withm the Christian family ; and it is as incumbent on every 'meml^^oX.,tfie_Church, as are the elementary virtues of the Christian life — faith, hope, and love. That which makes a man a Christian makes him also a sharer in this trust. This principle is admitted by is all, but we need to be aroused to carry it out in quite a new degree. Just as a great national danger demandsj^ a new standard of patriotism and_ service""1rom "every citizen, so the\ present condition of the world and the missionary task demands from \ every Christian, and from every congregation, a change in the existing l scale of missionary zeal and service, and the elevation of our spiritual ) ideal.
The old scale and the old ideal were framed in view of a state of the world which has ceased to exist. They are no longer adequate for the new world which is arising out of the ruins of the old,
It is not only of the individual or the congregation that this new spirit is demanded. There is an imperative spiritual demand that national life and influence as a whole be Christianised : so that the entire impact, commercial and political, now of the West upon the East, and now of the stronger races upon the weaker, may confirm, and not impair, the message of the missionary enterprise.
The providence of God has led us all into a new world of opportunity, of danger, and of duty. ~"~~"=~~~-"°— —-.— »,-^.~— -
God is demanding of us all a new order of life, of a more arduous and self-sacrificing nature than the old. But if, as we believe, the way of duty is the w;ay of reyelation^ there is certainly implied, in this imperative call of duty, a latent assurance that God is greater, more loving, nearer and more available for our help and comfort than any man has dreamed. Assuredly, then, we are called to make new discoveries of the grace and power of God, for ourselve^not.the Church, and for the world ; and, in the strength of that firmer and bolder faitli in Ilim, to face the new age and the new task with a new consecration.
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN NON-CHRISTIAN LANDS
Dear Brethren in Christ, — We desire to send you greeting in the Lord from the World Missionary Conference gathered in Edinburgh.
/
no RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
For ten days we have been associated in prayer, deliberation, and the study of missionary problems, with the supreme purpose of making the work of Christ in non-Christian lands more effective, and throughout the discussions our hearts have gone forth to you in fellowship and love.
Many causes of thanksgiving have arisen as we have consulted together, with the whole of the Mission Field clear in view. But nothing has caused more joy than the witness borne from all quarters as to the steady growth in numbers, zeal, and power of the rising Christian Church in newly a:^akening lands. None have been more helpful in our deliberations than members from your own Churches. We thank God for the spirit of evangelistic energy which you are showing, and for the victories that are being won thereby. We thank God for the longing after unity which is so prominent among you and is one of our own ' deepest longings to-day. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for all the inspiration that your example has brought to us in our home.-lands. This example is all the more inspiring because of the special difficulties that beset the glorious position which you hold in the hottest part of the furnace wherein the Christian Church is being tried.
Accept our profound and loving sympathy, and be assured of our con- fident hope that God will bring you out of your fiery trial as a finely tempered weapon which can accomplish His work in the conversion of your fellow-countrymen. It is 3'ou alone who can ultimately finish this work : the word that under God convinces your own people must be your word ; and the life which will win them for Christ must be the life of holiness and moral power, as set forth by you who are men of their own race. But we rejoice to be fellow -helpers with you in tlie work, and to know that you are being more and more empowered by God's grace to take the burden of it upon your own shoulders. Take up that responsibility with increasing eagerness, dear brethren, and secure from God the power to carry through the task ; then we may see great marvels wrought beneath our own eyes.
Meanwhile we rejoice also to be learning much ourselves from the f great peoples whom our Lord is now drawing to Himself; and we look for \ a richer faith to result for all from the gathering of the nations in Him.
There is much else in our hearts that we should be glad to say, but we must confine ourselves to one further matter, and that the most vital of all :
A strong co-operation in prayer binds together in one all the Empire of Christ. Pray, therefore, for us, the Christian communities in home- lands, as we pray for you : remember our difficulties before God as we remember yours, that He may grant to each of us the help that we need, and to both of us together tliat fellowship in the Body of Christ which is according to His blessed Will.
MESSAGES OF GREETING TO THE CONFERENCE
It would occupy too much space to record in full the numerous communications addressed to the Conference by representative bodies and eminent friends of missions, nor does it seem necessary to print a separate and complete list of these.
Among those received were the following : —
Resolutions of the Upper and Lowe}- Houses of Convocation of the Province of Canterbury expressing an earnest desire and hope that the deliberations of the Conference might prove instrumental in promoting an increased interest and greater enthusiasm among Christian people in wise and comprehensive efforts for the advancement of Christ's Kingdom.
A resolution of the Central Board of missions of the Church of England expressing the earnest desire that the work of the Conference might, by the guidance of Almighty God, lead to a wider and deeper recognition of the duty of Christian people in regard to missions over seas, and to a more thorough understanding of the problems encountered in missionary work ; and assuring the Conference of their prayers that God's continual blessing might be granted to its work.
A deliverance of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland looking forward with the greatest satisfaction and thankfulness to the approaching Conference, and commending it to the prayers and sympathy of the whole Church ; further welcoming the delegates and visitors from other lands, and earnestly hoping that to all the Churches of Reformed Christendom there may come through the Conference a notable quickening of the missionary spirit.
A deliverance of the General Assembly of the Ujiited Free Church of Scotland praying that the Conference might be instrumental in awaken- ing the Churches to a deeper sense of the importance of the foreign mission enterprise, and might result in more united and systematic action abroad.
A resolution of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland expressing its hearty sympathy with the Conference, and hoping that the labours
112 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
of the Commissions, together with the discussions taking place at the Conference itself, may result in a fuller recognition of missionary work as the primary duty of the Church, and in larger and more enlightened efforts to spread Christ's Kingdom on earth.
A minute of the Yea7-ly I\Ieeting of the Society of Friends sending a message of warm brotherly greeting in the love of Christ, and earnestly praying that under the guidance and control of the Holy Spirit the deliberations of the Conference might largel)' promote the efficiency of the missionary enterprise and the quickening of the whole Christian Church.
A resolution of the Primitive Methodist Conference sending warm greetings to the Conference, and praying that the Divine Lord might so guide its deliberations that all Missionary Societies may receive practical guidance in their great ambition to bring the whole world into willing submission to Christ.
A resolution of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., commending the Conference to the prayers of the whole Church, and conveying the Christian salutations of the Assembly to the Con- ference.
Greetings from the Conference of Federated Missiotts of Japan sending greeting to the Conference and declaring that the most advanced, and the most advancing, of the non-Christian nations is earnestly seeking the best that the world can give, and that the first fifty years of missionary work in the country prove that Japan will accept the best religion if pre- sented by the best men and women and through the best institutions in the quickest possible time.
A message from the Calcutta Missionary Conference greeting the Conference and discussing the work of the different Commissions in relation to the evangelisation of the world.
A memorial from the World^s Sixth Sunday School Convention held at Washington, U.S.A., in May 1910, greeting the Conference, and urging the importance of Sunday School work in both Christiap and non-Christian countries as a valuable and necessary adjunct to other types of missionary work.
Greetings from the National Brotherhood (P.S.A.) Council with 2000 societies and 500,000 members welcoming the Conference and assuring it of their prayers.
MEDICAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCE
In connection with the World Missionary Conference, a Sectional Conference was held to deal with some of the medical aspects of mis- sionary work. It was attended by 130 members, of whom 57 were delegates to the World Missionary Conference, 46 were medical mis- sionaries not delegates, and 27 were medical practitioners resident in Edinburgh or its neighbourhood, or visitors to the city. Three sessions were held : the first in the Edinburgh Cafe on the morning of 20th June, the second on the evening of that day in the Hall of the Royal College of Physicians, and the third on Tuesday morning, 2 1st June, in the Edinburgh Cafe.
FIRST SESSION
Sir Alexander R. Simpson^, M. D. , presided. Dr. X._W. Ball^slxynj:, President of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society, opened the discussion on the training of medical missionaries, and at the close of his address, moved the following " findings," which had been carefully prepared by a joint London and Edinburgh Committee : —
"This sectional meeting of medical delegates, medical missionaries, and other medical practitioners interested in the medical aspects of missionary work, desire to represent to the Commission on 'Carrying the Gospel to all the World' their unanimous opinion —
"(i) That medical missions should be recognised as an integral and essential .part of the missionary work of the Christian Church— 2-.;-
"[a) Because we are led by the example and conimand of ^y j?
Christ to make use of the ministry of healing as a '^' "*
means of revealing God to man ; and -■'^ ■' '*«h..^I«-
" {b) Because the efficacy and necessity of such work as an evangelistic agency have been proved in many lands again and again, and such work has been sealed by the blessing of God. . -
COM. IX. — 8
114 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
"(2) That medical missions should be continued and extended, and that they should be under the charge of fully qualified medical missionaries, with properly staffed and equipped hospitals, and, where possible, European or American missionary nurses to super- vise the native staff of nurses.
"And to the Commission on 'The Preparation of Missionaries' their unanimous opinion —
"(i)That the medical missionary should be in definite charge of the spiritual work of the medical mission, and that this meeting heartily indorses the recommendations in the Report on Commission V. in regard to the spiritual preparation for such work.
"(2) That the professional preparation of medical missionaries should be as thorough as possible, that no one who has not passed through the complete medical curriculum and obtained a diploma or degree in medicine from a recognised examining body should assume the title of medical missionary.
"(3) That seeing it is impossible for each denomination to have a medical missionary training institution to itself, such interdenomi- national institutions as exist, namely, taking them in their chronological order of foundation —
"i. The Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society in Edinburgh ; "ii. The London Medical Missionary Association in London ; "iii. The American Medical Missionary College at Battle
Creek, Michigan ; " iv. St. Luke's College (Guild of St. Luke), London ; and "v. The Medical Missionary Institute for Germany and
Switzerland at Tubingen, Germany, —
should be encouraged in their work, and warmly commended to the sympathy and prayer of all interested in medical missions.
" (4) That every medical missionary should, before proceeding to the foreign field, have held (where possible) a resident post at a recognised hospital, and post-graduate study in special departments, and in particular eye and tropical diseases."
Dr. J. H. Cook, of Uganda (Church Missionary Society), emphasised the importance of a course m tropical diseases.
Dr. H. Lankester, Secretary of the Churd Missionary Society, spoke of the absolute necessity of having medical ^en on missionary committees to deal with medical matters.
Dr. W. T. Wanless, of Miraj, West India (American Presbyterian), referred to the great value of the larger mission hospitals in the field in affording opportunity for post-graduate study and work.
MEDICAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCE 115
Dr. Olpp, Medical Missionary Institution, Tubingen, formerly of the Rhenish Mission in Tungkun, China, described the work which had commenced auspiciously in Germany.
Dr. F. D. Shepard, of Aintab, Turkey (A.B.C.F.M.), drew attention to the importance of the medical missionary acquiring the language of the country, and for this purpose recommended that he should be placed at first at a strong medical mission centre, where he would not have too much medical responsibility, but opportunity for language study.
Dr. C. F. Harford, London, Honorary Secretary of the Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene ;
Dr. J. L. Maxwell, of the London Medical Missionary Association ; Dr. O. L. KiLHORN, of Chengtu, West China (Methodist Church, Canada) ;
Bishop Lambuth, M.D., of Nashville (Methodist Episcopal of America) ;
Dr. T. KiRKWOOD, of Tientsin (London Missionary Society) ; Dr. Basil Price, of London ; and
Dr. Sargood Fry, Secretary of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society, also spoke, and thereafter the proposed findings were put to the meeting and carried unanimously.
The second matter discussed at this session was "The Training of the Missionary Nurse." A paper on this subject had been submitted by the Executive of the "Nurses' Missionary League," the Secretary of which is Miss H. Y. Richardson, 52 Lower Sloane Street, S.W.
Miss Macfee, Editor to the "Nurses' Missionary League," emphasised the absolute necessity of the full three years' training, in most cases, she would say, in hospitals of not less than one hundred beds.
Mr. W. M'Adam Eccles, F.R.C.S., London, spoke of his fifteen years' experience in the training of nurses, and his firm conviction that missionary nurses must have a personal knowledge of salvation, and be fully qualified by at least three years' training for their work. It would be their duty to train native nurses, and by these, after all, the great work of the future would be done.
Nurse Fear, of South India (London Missionary Society) ; Dr, Edith Brown, of Ludhiana ;
Dr. P. W. Brigstocke, Gaza, Palestine (Church Missionary Society) ; Dr. Mary Dodds, of Poona (Church of Scotland) ; Dr. Catherine Ironside, of Persia (Church Missionary Society) ; Dr. H. T. HoDGKiN, Secretary of the Friends' Foreign Missionary Society, London ;
Dr. J. F. Morse, American Medical Missionary College, Battle Creek, Michigan ;
Dr. D. Christie, of Moukden (United Free Church of Scotland) ; and Dr. D. p. Main, of Hangchow (Church Missionary Society), also spoke.
ii6 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
Miss Margaret C. Outram, on behalf of the Nurses' Missionary League, emphasised the sentence in the printed paper on "Nurses' Training": "It is, of course, absolutely imperative that the spiritual standard of a missionary nurse should be quite as high as that of any other candidate. It is her life, as much if not more than her teaching, that will tell, and the very best and most consecrated women are needed for such work," and asked the meeting to approve of the following finding : —
" (i) That there is still a great need for qualified nurses in the foreign missionary field.
" (2) That an adequate training for such nurses is essential.
"(3) That the training should be —
" (a) General — Three years in a properly equipped hospital, or infirmary, with a resident medical officer.
"(h) Special — After obtaining their certificate, such nurses should, if possible, receive further training in such subjects as mid- wifery, dispensing, elementary hygiene, cooking, district work in the slums of a city, and ophthalmic and fever nursing."
This was unanimously carried.
Sir Alexander Simpson closed the meeting with prayer.
SECOND SESSION
Mr. W. M'Adam Eccles, M.B., M.S., F.R.C.S., who presided, in introducing the subject of " Elementary Training in Medicine for Missionaries," said : —
" By elementary training in medicine should be understood that elementary training in medicine, surgery, and the allied sciences which will fit a foreign missionary in a practical manner to maintain his or her own health, to help to preserve the health of his or her fellow- missionaries, and to alleviate some of the diseases and injuries of the surrounding natives in regions where qualified medical aid is difficult or impossible to obtain."
Professor Alexander Macalister, M.D., Camliridge ;
Dr. J. Howard Cook, Uganda (C.M.S.) ;,
Rev. Dr. Robert Elliott, Secretary C.M.S. Medical Missionary Auxiliary.
Dr. Rutter Williamson, of Poona, India (United Free Church of Scotland) ;
Dr. F. M. Graham, Edinburgh ;
Dr. D. Christie, of Moukden (United Free Church of Scotland)';
MEDICAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCE ii;
Dr. W. Froiilich, of Assuan (German Sudan Mission) ;
Dr. A. H. F. Barbour, Edinburgh ; and
Dr. Basil Price, Physician to the London Missionary Society, having spoken ;
Dr. C. F. Harford, Principal of Livingstone College, proposed the following findings, which were carried nein. con.
"This sectional meeting of medical delegates, medical missionaries, and other medical practitioners interested in the medical aspects of missionary work, desire to represent to the Commission on ' The Pre- paration of Missionaries,' their opinion —
"(i) That all the societies should send fully qualified medical mis- sionaries to every district where missionaries are located, when other qualified medical assistance is not available.
"(2) That all missionaries going abroad should have that knowledge which shall enable them to safeguard their own health, and that of thtir families.
" (3) That those missionaries who are compelled to live in districts where there are no 'medical missionaries,' and where no qualified medical or surgical assistance is available, should have that knowledge which shall enable them to treat minor ailments and accidents..
" (4) That inasmuch as there are risks that missionaries should use this knowledge indiscreetly, or assume a position which they are not qualified to take, this training should be given in recognised institutions where the course of training is planned out suitably for the particular need, and where they will not be trained together with medical students.
" (5) That missionary societies should not permit such missionaries to fill esponsible medical posts, nor should they allow them, under any circum- stances, to take upon themselves the title of 'medical missionary,' or assume the position of a qualified practitioner."
Mr. M'AuAM EccLKS then led the meeting in prayer and thanksgiving.
Dr. G. Basil Price, Honorary Secretary of the Association of Medical Officers of Missionary Societies, then submitted his paper on "The Need for the Home Base (Medical Department) systematically to Collect and Record Statistics, such as relate to the Health of Foreign Missionaries."
Dr. Charles F. Harford, Physician to the Church Missionary Society ;
Dr. F. D. Shepard, of Aintab (A.B.C.F.M.) ; and
Dr. A. H. F. Barbour, Edinburgh, having spoken, the following finding was unanimously carried : —
"This sectional meeting of medical delegates, medical missionaries, and other medical practitioners interested in the medical aspects oT
118 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
missionary work, desire to represent to the Commission on ' The Home Base of Missions ' —
" (i) That there should be a definite medical department in connection with all foreign missionary societies ; that this department should deal with all questions relating to the physical fitness and the preservation of the health of missionaries, their wives, and families ; that it should be under the supervision of an honorary medical board, composed of medical missionaries and other medical practitioners, some of whom at least should have had foreign medical experience ; and that there should be a medical officer, preferably salaried, who should deal with all such questions, under the general direction of the medical board.
"It is further suggested that in the case of the smaller societies there might possibly be one medical board and medical officer representing several societies.
" (2) Also that there is urgent need for the collection and systematic recording by the Home Medical Base, or their medical representative, of such statistics as relate to the health of foreign missionaries, including causes of death, or retirement.
" That deductions obtained from these and other data will have an important bearing upon such problems as —
" (i) The frequency aiid duration of furlough and holidays.
"(2) The necessity for issuing or revising of health regulations from time to time.
"(3) The insurance of lives of missionaries against sickness, breakdown, and death.
"(4) The need for missionaries to receive elementary medical in- struction as to preservation of their health abroad.
"This last statement is emphasised by the fact that, as a result of a recent investigation under the Kgis of the Association of Medical Officers of Missionary Societies of the causes of death in missionaries who had died since 1890, over sixty per cent, were victims to the so-called preventable diseases against which many safeguards may be taken.
"Such information will also bring into prominence the chief diseases in various countries, and risks to health which missionaries have to face, and the best methods for combating such conditions.'"
THIRD SESSION
Chairman — Dr. J. \V. Ballantyne, President of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society.
Dr. W. T. Wanless, of Miraj, W. India (American Presbyterian Board), President of the Medical Missionary Association of India, intro-
MEDICAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCE 119
duced the subject of the medical training of natives. He said he had been requested by the Medical Missionary Association of India to bring the two following findings before the Conference : —
"That branch dispensaries are a valuable extension of hospital work, and are especially so in districts where Christians are scattered amongst the villages. Only trained and experienced ^'assistants should be placed in charge of branches, the connection with the central hospital should be close and the supervision thorough.
" That in view of the desirability of providing for furlough and vaca- tion, without closing hospitals which have once been established, and in view also of the great responsibility entailed by serious operations, the necessity of having two fully qualified doctors on the regular staff of each medical mission station should be urged upon the home Committees and Boards, especially in the case of women's missions.
Dr. D. D. Main, of Hangchow (C.M.S,);
Dr. Edith Brown, Principal of the Ludhiana Medical School for Women ;
Rev. Dr. James Shepherd, of Rajputana (United Free Church of Scotland) ;
Dr. Van Someren Taylor, of Foochow (C.M.S.) ;
Dr. p. Anderson, of Formosa (English Presbyterian Church) ;
Dr. O. L. Kilborn, of Chengtu, West China (Methodist Church of Canada) ;
Dr. Charles C. Walker, of Bangkok, Siam (American Presbyterian Church) ; and
Dr. J. H. Cook, of Uganda (C.M.S.), having spoken ;
Dr. D. Christie, of Moukden (United Free Church of Scotland), moved the adoption of the findings of the London and Edinburgh Committee as follows : —
" This Sectional Meeting of medical delegates, medical missionaries, and other medical practitioners interested in the medical aspects of missionary work, desire to represent to the Commission on ' Education in Relation to the Christianisation of National Life ' their unanimous opinion —
" (i) That more and more thoroughly equipped medical schools should be established in suitable mission centres, and that as many natives as possible should be trained for the various branches of medical missionary work, for the double reason —
"(a) Because the work gathering round mission hospitals, and the work of medical evangelisation, can never be overtaken by foreign physicians ; and
" (6) Because the native can reach his fellows in a way in which the foreigner can seldom do ; is more easy to secure ; is more
I20 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
economical to support ; and has proved, in various mission fields, to be capable of becoming an efficient nurse, hospital assistant, physician, surgeon, and medical missionary, and in many cases in China can occupy positions of importance in connection with Government and other public service, where Christian medical men could exercise a povveiful influence for Christ.
" (2) The meeting also is of the unanimous opinion that the tlioughts of some of the more highly educated natives should be directed in incntasing measure towards the medical mission schools and colleges which are springing up in many lands.
" And to the Commission on ' Co-operation and Unity ' their unanimous opinion —
" That in the Christian medical colleges now being established in increasing numbers in China and elsewhere, the fullest co-operation possible between the missions working in ,any particular region is eminently desirable, and that not only because of the spiritual gain which is sure to accompany union, but also for the purpose of economy, efficiency, and permanence in the preparation of native workers for the medical missionary field."
These findings and those submitted by Dr. WANLESSwere unanimously carried.
Dr. C. F. Harford moved, and Dr. Frohlich seconded, the following : —
" This Sectional Meeting of medical delegates, medical missionaries, and other medical practitioners interested in the medical aspects of missionary work, is of opinion that there is urgent need of some means of communication between the medical missionaries in the field and medical workers at home, whether in the department of medical missions or in the health department, and considers that this can best be done by drawing together the existing organisations in the mission field and in the homelands, and requests the Committee which has organised the present medical conference to take this matter into consideration, and to take such action as may be required to achieve the desired result."
This was unanimously carried.
The meeting was closed with the doxology.
PROGRAMME OF SYNOD HALL MEETINGS
OPENING MEETING— Wednesday, isth June
8 p.m.
Chairman— Sir A, H. L. Fraser, K.C.S.I., LL.D. Christianity the Final and Universal Religion : —
(a) As an Ethical Ideal.
The Rev. A. Wallace Williamson, D.D. {i') As a Religion of Redemption.
The Rev. Elvet Lewis, M.A. (c) The Privilege of Ambassadorship.
The Lord Bishop of Durham.
Thursday, i6th June
10.30 to 12.30 — Presentation of Report of Commission I.
Carrying the Gospel to all the Non-Christian World.
Report presented by the Chairman— The Rev. George Robson, D.D. "The Evangelistic Situation in China"— The Rev. Harlan 1'.
Beach, D.D. "The Evangelistic Situation in India "—Pastor JuHus Richter, D.D. " Some Needs of Women's Work " — Miss Rouse. "The Relation of the Missionary Enterprise to the Spiritual Life
of the Home Church "—The Rev. J. P. Haggard, D.D.
12.35 lo I P-'n. — Intercession Meeting.
Led by Rev. R. S. Simpson.
2.30 to 4. 15 p.m.—" Problems of Japan, China, and India."
Chairman— General Jas. A. Beaver, LL. D.
Speakers— The Rev. J. D. Davis, D.D., The Rev. A. H. Smith, D.D., Mr. G. Sherwood Eddy.
122 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
8 to 9.30 p.m. — " The Lessons of Earlier Afissionary Epochs." Chairman — The Rev. P. M'Adam Muir, D.D.
"The Expansion of Christianity in the First Centm-ies" — The Rev.
Professor MacEwen, D.D. "The Evangelisation of Great Britain" — The Rev. Professor
Stalker, D.D.
Friday, 17th June
10.30 to 12.30 — Presetitation of Report of Cornmission VI.
The Home Base of Missions.
Chairman — The Rev. J. L, Barton, D.D. Speakers — Sir G. W. Macalpine.
Dr. H. Lankester.
Mr. J. Campbell White. 12.35 — Intercession Service.
Led by the Rev. W. Bolton.
2.30104.15 — '■'The Frobletiis of Africa, Islam, atid the Untouchea
World:'
Chairman— The Rt. Rev. Bishop Ingham. Speakers— Dr. Parkin, C.M.G.
The Rev, S. M. Zwemer, D.D.
The Rev. C. R. Watson, D.D.
8 to 9.30—" 77/^ Place of the Native Church in the Work of Evangelisation . ' '
Chairman — Mr. Eugene Stock, D.C.L.
Speakers — The Hon. Ilun Chi IIo, of Korea.
The Rev. K. C. Chatterji, D.D., of India.
Saturday, iSth June
10.30 to 12.30 — Presentation of Report of Commission III.
Education in relation to the Christianisation of National Life.
Chairman— The Lord Bishop of Birmingham.
" Problems of China and Japan " — The Rev. Professor E. C.
Moore, D.D. "Co-ordination and Co-operation" — The Rev. T- P- Goucher,
D.D. " Literature "—Tlie Rev. A. R. 15uckland, M.A. " The Education of Women " — Miss Richardson.
SYNOD HALL MEETINGS 123
12.35 to I p.m. — Meeting jor Intercession.
Led by the ]s.ev. G. Goforth.
2.30 to 4.15 p.m. — fleeting for Men only.
" The Contribution of Laymen to tJ:e Missionary Enterprise of the Church."
Chairman— Col. R. Williams, M.P.
"The Layman's Share in Support" — Mr. Newton W. Roweil,
K.C. "The Layman's Share in Advocacy" — Pres. Samuel Capen,
LL.D. ' ' The Layman's Share in Administration " — Mr, T. F. V,
Buxton.
8 to 9.30 p.m — Meeting fir Men only.
Chairman — The Hon. Seth Low, LL.D.
"Missions in Relation to Religion as a Basis of Education" — •
Prof. M. E. Sadler, " Missions in Relation to Commercial Conditions" — Mr. F. S.
Brockman.
8 to 9.30 p.m. — Meeting for Women only, in St. Georges Unitea Free Church.
" Women's Contribution to the J Fork of Missions."
Chairman — Mrs. Barbour.
" A Much Neglected Field for Womanhood" — Mrs. Gladding.
" Lessons for the Future" — Miss Small.
" The Basis of Missionary Appeal to Women" — Miss Rouse.
SUNDAY, 19th June-MEETINGS for MEN only Afternoon Meeting-
3 P-m-
Chairman— The Most Rev. the Archbishop of York.
" The fnfuence of Modern Life upon Christian Faith and Practice.'''
The Rev. F. W. Macdonald, M.A.
" The Resources of the Christian IJje'^
The Rev. R. F. llorton, D.D,
tU RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
Monday, 20th June
10.20 to 12.30 — Presetttation of Report of Coiiiinission IV.
" The Missionary Message iji Relation to Nojt- Christian Religions."
Chairman — Professor D. S. Cairns, D.D.
Speakers — The Right Rev. The Bishop of Ossory,
Professor W. P. Palerson, D.D.
Mr. Robert E. Speer D.D.
12.3010 I — Meeting for Intercession.
Led by the Rev. W. H. Frere.
Afternoon Sectional Meetings
2.30 to 4.15 p.m.
Ministers — Tolbooth Parish Church.
" The Responsibility of iMinisters with regard to the Evangelisation of the World.''''
Chairman — The Rev. C. C. B. Bardsley.
Speakers — Robert E. Speer, D.D.
The Rev. J. II. Odell, D.D.
Followed by open conference.
Women — St. George's United Free Church.
" Positions of Special Crisis in the Mission Field in Relation to M 'omen's Work.'"
Chairman — Miss Grace Dodge.
" The Crisis in Educational Missions : India " — Miss Latham. " The Crisis in China"— Mrs. Bashford. " Present Day Needs of Chinese Woman " — Dr. Ida Kahn. "The Urgent Claim of Women's Work in Japan" — Miss Macdonald.
Evening Meetings 8 to 9.30 p.m.
Chairman — Sir John Kennaway, Bart.
" Christianity in Relation to R ewe Problems." Rev. A. J. Brown, D.D. " The Unity of the Human Race in Christ." The Lord Bishop of Southwark.
SYNOD HALL MEETINGS 125
Tuesday, 21st June
10.30 to 11.30 — Presentation of Report of Comviisston I'll.
" Missions and Governments.^'
Chairman — The Hon. Seth Low.
Speaker— The Rev. A. B. Wann, D.D.
1 1.30 to 12.30 — Presentation of Report of Commission IT.
" The Church in the Mission Field.'''
Chairman — The Rev. J. Campbell Gibson, D.D.
" The Growth of the Native Church." The Rev. W. Goudie.
" The Task of the Native Church."
The Rev. Bishop W. R. Lambuth, D.D.
12.30 to I- — Intercession Meeting.
Led by the Rev, Preb. Webb Peploe.
Afternoon Sectional Meetings
2. 30 — Medical Missions Meeting. Synod Hall.
Chairman— Sir Donald Macalister.
" Medical Missions and the Uplift of Africa"— Dr. J. H. Cook. " The Medical Training of the Native of India" — Dr. Wanless. " Medical Mission Colleges in China" — Dr. Christie. "Medical Mission Work as seen from the Outside" — Professor Macalister.
2.30 — Meeting for Ministers. Tolbooth Parish Church.
Chairman — Rev. John Young, D.D.
" The Challenge of the Conference."
"What Response will Mean" — Rev. J. Ross Stevenson, D.D. "The Possibilities of a Daring Faith"— Rev. R. ¥. Horton, D.D.
Evening Meeting
8 to 9.30 — The Demand of Missions on the Church.
"In Relation to the Individual"— The Rt. Rev. Bishop
Robinson, D.D. "In Relation to the Church Corporately "— Rev. G. C. B.
Bardsley. - - ■ - - "
126 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
Wednesday, 22nd June 10.30 to 12.30 — Presentation of Report of Commission VIII.
' ' Co-operation and the Promotion of Unity, " Chairman — Sir Andrew Fraser, K.C.S.I., LL.D. " Unity" — The Lord Bishop of South wark. "Co-operation at the Home Base" — The Rev. A. J. Brown, D. D. " Co-operation in the Mission Field" — The Rev. W. H. Findlay, M.A.
"Co-operation as leading to Unity" — Mr. Silas McBee. 12.30 to I — Meeting for Intercession,
Led by the Rev. V. S. Azariah.
Afternoon Sectional Meetings, Synod Hall, 2.30 p.m. " Missions to the Jews,"
Chairman — The Right Hon. Sir John H. Kennaway, Bart., C.B. Speakers —
'* The Place of Israel in the Church's Missionary Programme " — The
Rev. Prof. Thos. Nicol, D.D. "Past Achievements and Present Position of Jewish Missions in
Christian Lands " — The Rev. S. Schor. "Past Achievements and Present Position of Jewish Missions in
Non-Christian Lands " — Sir Andrew Wingate. "Problems of the Evangelisation of Israel" — The Rev. Louis
Meyer and the Rev. S. B. Rohold.
ToLBOOTH Parish Church, 2.30 p.m. " Children and Missions."
Chairman — The Rev. Professor D. S. Cairns, D.D. Speakers —
"The Need of a Science of Missionary Education" — The Rev.
W. Hume Campbell. "The Possibilities of Work among Children "—Mr. H. Wade
Hicks. " The Policy of the Future"— Mr. T. R. W. Lunt.
Synod Hall — Evening Meeting, 8-9.30 p.m. " The Sufficiency of God,"
Chairman — The Rev. Geo. Alexander, D.D. Speakers —
The Rev. J. D. Adam, D.D. ; Mr. Robert E. Speer, D'.D.
SYNOD HALL MEETLNGS 127
Thursday, 23rd June
10.30 to 12.30 — Presentation of Report of Conunission V. — " The Preparation of Missionaries.''^ Chairman — President Douglas Mackenzie, D.D.
" Training of Women Missionaries." Mrs. Creighton.
"The Home Church in Relation to the Training of Missionaries." The Rev. J. O. F. Murray, D. D.
1 2. 30 — Meeting for Intercession.
Led by the Rev. H. Gresford Jones.
Afternoon Sectional Meetings
SvNOD Hall, 2.30 p.m.
" Bible Society and Literature Work.''''
Chairman — Sir Samuel Chisholm.
" Bible Translation for Non-Literary Peoples."
The Rev. J. Nettleton.
" Bible Translation for Literary Peoples."
The Rev. W. D. Reynolds, D.D.
"Bible Societies as an Auxiliary of Missions" — The Rev. R.
Wardlaw Thompson, D.D. "The Bible Society as a Missionary Agent" — Mr. Eugene Stock, D.C.L.
ToLBOOTH Parish Church, 2.30 p.m.
" Mission Study among Young People.''^
Chairman — The Rev. Geo. Robson, D.D.
" The Need for Missionary Education in the Home Church " —
The Rev. Tissington Tatlow, M.A. "Movement for Missionary Study among Young People" — Mr.
Harry Wade Hicks. " The Significance of Missionary Study in the Life of the Church "
—Mr. T. H. P. Sailer, Ph.D.
Synod Hall. — Evening Closing Meeting.
Chairman — Pres. Samuel B. Capen, LL. D.
Speakers — Prof. D. S. Cairns, D.D. Mr. R. P. Wilder, M.A.
PROGRAMME OF PUBLIC MEETINGS
IN THE TOLBOOTH PARISH CHURCH
Wednesday, 15th June
Chairman — Duncan M'Laren, Esq.
" The Underlying Motive and Significance of the Conference.''''
The Rev. Dr. John Timothy Storie (Chicago).
" A New Day for Africa.''^
The Rev. A. P, Camphor, D.D. (Birmingham, Alabama).
" The Serious State of Affairs in Cent7-al Africa^
Dr. H. Karl Kumm, F.R.G.S.
Thursday, i6th June
Chairman — The Master of Polwarth. " The Crisis in China."
The Rev. Professor Harlan P. Beach, D.D., Yale University.
Prof. Tong Tsing-en (Shanghai).
The Rt. Rev. Logan PI. Roots, D.D., Bishop of Plankow.
Friday, 17th June
Chairman — The Rt. Hon. Lord Kinnaird.
" The Fruits of the Tree."
The Hon. William Jennings Bryan.
Saturday, i8th June Chairman — The Rev. A. Wallace Williamson, D.D. " Christianity in Japan and Korea'' The Rev. President Ibuka (Tokyo). The Rev. IL K. Miller, M.A. (Tokyo). The Rev. George Hcber Jones, D.D. (Korea). The Rt. Rev. Bishop Merriman C. liarris, D.D. (Korea).
198
MEETINGS IN TOLBOOTH CHURCH 129
Monday, 20th June Chairman — The Rev. John Kelman, D.D.
^^ Medical Mission Work in India."
Mr. W. J. Wanless, M.D. (Miraj).
"Indians Genius for Religion.'"
Bishop W. F. Oldham, D.D. (Singapore).
'• The Awakening of India."
Mr. George Sherwood Eddy.
Tuesday, 21st June
Chairman — The Rev. Prof. Martin, D.D. " The Situation in the Mohammedan World To- Day."
The Rev. W. H. T. Gairdner (Cairo).
The Rev. C. R. Watson, D.D,
The Rev. S. M. Zwemer, D.D. (Arabia).
Wednesday 22nd June
Chairman — Sir Andrew Fraser, K.C.S.I., LL.D.
" The Uprising of Men."
Dr. W. T. Stackhouse.
" Some Reaso7is why the Missionary Enterprise should Appeal to
Young Women."
Mrs. S, T. Gladding.
' ' Men and Missions. "
General James A. Beaver, LL.D.
Thursday, 23rd June
Closing Meeting
Chairman— The Rev. Principal Whyte, D.D. The Rev. J. Ross Stevenson, D.D. Mr. J. Campbell White.
COM. IX. — 9
PROGRAMME OF MEETINGS IN GLASGOW
Midday Meetings 1. 15 to 2 p.m.
St. George's Church, Buchanan Street
Monday, 20th June
Chairman — Mr. R. H. Sinclair.
" The Literest of American Business Men in Missions." Mr. Wm. Jay Schieffelin, D.Phil., New York.
Tuesday, 21st June
Chairman — Mr. Alexander Sloan, C.A.
" The Present Great Need of Chitia." Mr. Archibald Orr Ewing, Kiukiang, China.
Wednesday, 22nd June
Chairman — Mr. Richard H. Hunter.
"A Straight Talk to Business Men on Foreign Missions." Mr. Alfred E. Marling, New York.
Thursday, 23rd June
Chairman — Sir William Bilsland, Bart.
" The Missionary Motive."
Mr. R. Mornay Williams, New York. 130
MEETINGS AT GLASGOW 131
Afternoon Meetings
3 to 4.20 p.m.
St. George's Church, Buchanan Street.
Monday, 20th June Chairman — The Rev. Prof. Harlan P. Beach, D.D., Yale.
" Carrying the Gospel to all the World." Pastor Julius Richter, D.D., Germany.
" Present Movements in China." Rev. Bishop Bashford, Peking, China.
Tuesday, 21st June Chairman— Rev. W. Goudie, Secretary, Wesleyan Missionary Society. " The Chtirch in the Mission Field.'''' Commission II. Rev, C. E. Wilson, Secretary, Baptist Missionary Society. ^^ Present Status and Prospects of Christianity in Japan." Rev. President Ibuka, Japan.
Wednesday, 22nd June Chairman — Mr. Eugene Stock, LL.D., Church Missionary Society. " The Home Base of Missions.'''' Rev. Bishop Lambuth, D.D., Nashville.
" The Work of Women for Foreign Missions.'''' Miss Harriet Taylor, Foreign Secy., Y.WX.A. , New York.
Thursday, 23rd June
Chairman — Sir Arch. Campbell, of Succoth, Bart.
" Report of Commission VIII.'" Rev. J. H. Ritson, Secretary, British and Foreign Bible Society.
" Co-operation and Promotion of Unity.''' Mr. Silas McBee, New York.
Evening Meetings
St. Andrew's Hall
Sunday, 19th June, at 6.30 p.m.
Chairman — Sir A. H. L. Eraser, K.C.S.I. , LL.D., Vice-President of Conference. " A Statesman's Impressions of Foreign Missions." The Hon. William Jennings Bryan, Nebraska, U.S.A.
132 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
Monday, 20th June, at 7.30 p.m.
Chairman — Rt. Rev. P. M'Adam Muir, D.D., Moderator of Church of Scotland.
" Foreign Missions, a Man's lob." General James A. Beaver, LL.D., late Governor of State of Pennsylvania.
" An Adequate Mission Policy." Mr. John W. Wood, Secretary, Protestant Episcopalian Foreign Mission Board.
Tuesday, 21st June, at 7.30 p.m. Chairman — Rt. Rev. A. I. Campbell, D.D., Bishop of Glasgow. " The Present Position in /apan." Rev. Sydney L. Gulick, D.D., Japan. " The Call to the Present Generation." Mr. Ed. D. Soper, Young People's Missionary Move- ment, New York.
Wednesday, 22nd June, at 7.30 p.m.
Chairman — Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, D.D., London Missionary Society. " The Possibilities of the Indian Church." Rev. V. S. Azariah, South India. " Transition in the East." Rev. Arthur J. Brown, D.D., New York.
Thursday, 23rd June, at 7.30 p.m.
Chairman — Rt. Rev. John Young, D.D., Moderator of the United Free Church.
" The Position in Korea." The Hon. Yun Chi-ho, Ex-Minister of Education, Korea. " The Sufficiency of God." Mr. Robert E. Speer, D.D. (Edin,), New York.
Wednesday, 15th June
Meeting in Queen's Rooms for school girls. Speakers — Miss Saunders, Miss Grace Dodge, New York.
Sunday, 19th June
Meeting in Queen's Rooms for school boys. Speakers— Sir A. H. L. Fraser, Mr. George Sherwood Eddy, New York.
PART III
THE CONTINUATION COMMITTEE
THE CONTINUATION COMMITTEE
In one respect — and that of great significance — this
Conference stands distinguished from all preceding
international conferences. It appointed a Committee to
perpetuate its idea and continue its work. No previous
Conference was so constituted as to be able to do this,
for in none was there a proportionate representation by
official delegates from Missionary Societies, and consequently
a suitable basis of authority was lacking. Moreover, no
previous conference had assembled to take in hand a
definite task such as was set before this Conference in the
Reports of the eight Commissions, namely, a co-operative
study of the common outstanding problems in their common
missionary enterprise with the view of helping one another
to solve them and achieve together the evangelisation of
the world. This task was far from being completed at the
Conference : it was in fact only begun. The more clearly
the task was apprehended by the Conference, the more
manifest became the need for fuller investigation of the
situation in various directions, and for the most careful as
well as diligent maturing of plans and methods for such
further co-operation as was practicable. All that was
attained in the Conference was that the Societies came into
touch with one another, and in so doing realised their
underlying unity and realised also a reciprocal regard,
confidence, and love which made it morally and spiritually
impossible for them not to be desirous of ascertaining what
further measure of co-operation might be agreed upon by
them severally. This was the basis of the appointment of
the Continuation Committee.
The authorisation of the Committee and the purposes of
i;4
CONTINUATION COMMITTEE 135
its appointment are recorded in the Minutes of 21st June on pages 95-7. The Committee consists of thirty-five members, ten from America, Britain and the Continent respectively, and one each from Australasia, South Africa, Japan, China, and India. Their names are recorded in the Minutes of 22nd June on pages 10 1-2.
The Continuation Committee held a brief meeting on the afternoon of Thursday, 23rd, three prolonged meetings on Friday, 24th, and another long meeting on Saturday, 25th June.
It elected Dr. John R. Mott as Chairman, Dr. Eugene Stock and Dr. Juhus Richter as Vice-Chairmen, and Mr. Newton W. Rowell, K.C., of Toronto, as Treasurer. It was decided that these four officers, together with Sir Andrew L. Eraser, Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, D.D., Rev. Arthur J. Brown D.D., Rev. James L. Barton, D.D., and Count Moltke should form the Executive Committee. The Continuation Committee appointed Mr. J. H. Oldham as its Secretary, to devote his whole time to the work.
In the rules of procedure provisionally adopted, it is provided that at least five countries should be represented on the Executive Committee, and that the members of the Executive hold office until the close of the next regular meeting. Further, that the next regular meeting of the Continuation Committee shall be held in 191 1, and thereafter the Committee shall meet biennially ; fifteen members shall constitute a quorum, provided that at least six different countries are represented. Special meetings, however, may be called by the Executive, who may also call meetings of members in different countries or groups of countries for special purposes. Meetings of the Executive shall he held at least annually, a majority of the members constituting a quorum, provided that at least three countries are represented. A vote of the Executive may, however, be taken by correspondence, but for a decision a majority of two-thirds of all members of the Executive, including four countries, is necessary. Minutes of all the meetings of the Executive are to be sent to all the members of the Continuation Committee, together with such other
136 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
information from time to time as may help to keep them in touch with the work. It is also provided that special Committees may be appointed, composed wholly or partially of members outside the Continuation Committee, to secure information and to carry out the other purposes of the Committee, but wherever practicable the Chairman of such Committees shall be selected from the Continuation Committee.
The Continuation Committee made arrangements for the due circulation of the Messages from the Conference to the Christian Church in Christian and in non-Christian lands. They also agreed to prepare and issue a letter to missionaries in the mission field conveying to them the deep appreciation of their contribution to the work of the Conference, and informing them of the plan and constitution of the Continuation Committee.
The Committee resolved, in pursuance of the terms ot its appointment, to carry further in certain directions the investigations begun by the Commissions of the Conference, and to undertake certain fresh investigations which the proceedings of the Conference showed to be desirable. For this purpose special Committees were appointed, in ac- cordance with the provision above mentioned, to deal severally with the following subjects. In the cases in which the composition of the special Committee in respect of the appointment of members from outside of the Continuation Committee is not yet completed, only the names of the Chairmen are mentioned.
I. Ufioccupied Fields. — Chairman, The Rev. Charles R. Watson, D.D. The Executive Committee to be in America, with an Advisory Council in Europe.
II. Formation of a Board of Study iti Great Britain for the Preparation of Missionaries. — The Committee to consist of the British members of the Commission of the Conference on the Preparation of Missionaries. Chairman, Mrs. Creighton.
III. Develop7nent of Trainiiig Schools for Missionaries. — Chairman, Dr. H. T. Hodgkin. The Executive Committee to be in Great Britain, with an Advisory Council in America.
CONTINUATION COMMITTEE 137
IV. Christian Education in the Mission Field (with the special purpose of continuing the study of the educational situation with reference to particular mission fields, and of considering the means of fostering co-operation and co- ordination in educational missionary work). Chairman, Sir Andrew L. Fraser. Vice-Chairman, President J. F. Goucher, D.D. The Committee to work in two co- operating sections ; the European section to consider specially the educational situation in India and Africa, and the American section to give special attention to the educational situation in Japan, China, and the Levant.
V. Christian Literature (with special reference to the promotion of co-operation in the production and circulation of Christian Literature in the mission field, especially in the vernacular). Chairman, the Rev. George Robson, D.D. The Executive Committee to be in Great Britain, with an Advisory Council in America.
VI. The Securitig of Uniformity in Statistical Returns. — Chairman, Dr. Julius Richter.
VII. The Fonnatioti of an International Committee of Jurists to draw up a Statement of the Recognised Principles tinderlying the Relations of Missions to Governments, as suggested in the Report of Commission VI I. Chairman, Mr. Newton W. Rowell, K.C. The Executive Committee to be in America, with an Advisory Council in Great Britain.
VIII. The Best Means of Securitig a Larger Place for Missionary Information in the Secular Press. — Chairmen, Dr. Eugene Stock, for Great Britain and Ireland ; The Rev. James L. Barton, D.D., for America; Dr. Julius Richter, for the Continent. The three sections to work as in- dependent Committees in close touch with one another.
IX. To confer with Societies and Boards upon the Advisability of creating some Organ or Body for dealing with Questiofis arising between Missions and Governments. — Chairman, Dr. John R. Mott. The Committee to consist of the members of the Executive, together with the Bishop of South wark.
A small Committee, with the Rev. J. N. Ogilvie as Chairman, was also appointed to consider the possibility of
138 RECORDS OF THE CONFERENCE
publishing in whole or in part the evidence received by the
Commission on the Missionary Message.
The appointment of further special Committees was left over for consideration at the next meeting of the Continua- tion Committee.
From this statement it will be seen that the charge committed to the Continuation Committee is of no small importance. The work to be done along the various lines of action in view must needs be arduous ; it demands prudence and patience as well as industry ; but it is fraught with possibilities of incalculable gain to the missionary enterprise. The co-operation of many efficient and devoted workers in the cause of missions is being sought, and their united labours may, by the blessing of God, contribute materially to the realisation of the vision which rose before the hope of the assembled Conference of a new era in the history of the missionary enterprise of the Church. But this will only be if the whole work is kept and carried forward under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in His power. To all who have prayed for the Conference and have witnessed in it with thankful hearts the answer to their prayers, to all who through the Conference have received enlargement of faith and hope and love in the service of Christ, to all who have won a new vision of the unity of His Church and the coming of His Kingdom throughout the world, the appeal is made for earnest prayer that the Holy Spirit Himself may direct and energise and make abundantly fruitful for His own ends the whole work of the Continuation Committee and of all the Special Committees appointed by it.
PART IV
ADDRESSES
DELIVERED AT THE
EVENING MEETINGS
OPENING ADDRESS
BY
The lord BALFOUR OF BURLEIGH, K.T.
Delivered in the Assembly Hall on Tuesday Evenings \d,th June
Message from the King
Your Grace, Ladies and Gentlemen, — I am charged with a message from His Majesty the King, which you will no doubt receive with due honour and respect. The message is :
' ' The King commands me to convey to you the expression of his deep interest in the World Missionary Conference being held in Edinburgh at this time.
"His Majesty views with gratification the fraternal co-operation of so many Churches and Societies in the United States, on the Continent of Europe, and in the British Empire, in the work of disseminating the knowledge and principles of Christianity by Christian methods through- out the world.
"The King appreciates the supreme importance of this work in its bearing upon the cementing of international friendship, the cause of peace, and the well-being of mankind.
"His Majesty welcomes the prospect of this great representative
gathering being held in one of the capitals of the United Kingdom, and
expresses his earnest hope that the deliberations of the Conference may
be guided by Divine wisdom, and may be a means of promoting unity
among Christians, and of furthering the high and beneficent ends which
the Conference has in view."
»4i
14 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
I think, ladies and gentlemen, that the Executive Com- mittee should frame an appropriate answer to His Majesty's gracious message.
I am charged with the duty, in opening this Conference, of extending to all those who come from beyond the seas the most cordial welcome Scotland can offer to you. As a Jt nation and an Empire we are under the shadow of a great " loss in the death of our King, a loss in which every civilised country has sympathised with us. In the message which I have just read there are allusions to fraternal co-operation and to international peace which will find an echo in the hearts of every one who is present here to-night.
We are no small and unimportant gathering. We are constituting the first meeting of a Conference of which there are about 1200 members, representing 160 different Churches and organisations, all with their representatives in the mis- sion field. There are representatives here to-night from many countries on the Continent of Europe, from the United States of America, and the British dominions beyond the seas. We have with us some hundreds of those actually engaged in mission work in Asia, Africa, and in the islands of the sea. When we look at the list of those who constitute this Con- ference there will be, I think, two feelings dominant in all our minds. There will be, first, profound sorrow that our differences should make necessary so many different organisa- tions, but there will also be a feeling of joy and of thank- fulness that if we are separated in some respects, we are drawing together now as perhaps we have never before been drawn together, in the prosecution of the great enterprise in which we are all interested. We are divided in some respects, but we are united under one great command, " Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." We have the same marching orders — orders the validity of which are not only generally but universally accepted. No one denies, no one can deny, the obligation. Yet is it not a humiliating thought that, though that com- mand was given nearly twenty centuries ago, it has not yet been adequately fulfilled ?
It is probably true to say that not one-third of mankind
LORD BALFOUR OF BURLEIGH 143
are even yet Christians even in name, and it is probably also true that the majority of the humanrace living to-day in this world of ours have not even heard the message. Yet it is a command which is distinct ; it is of universal application, and it endures for all time. We may be divided, we may be independent, we may come from different lands, and we may pursue diverse methods, but we recognise the same duty and we acknowledge the same object. No divisions free us from the obligation, and the great lesson which we are learn- ing is that none of us can discharge it alone. If we are to be successful a greater amount of unity must be attained than has ever been the case in the past. When we think of it we cannot deny, and we do believe that the meeting of this Conference will make us still less inclined to deny, that overlapping and its waste of energy, its waste of men and women, its waste of material resources, are nothing short of treason to Him whom we acknowledge as our common Master. Surely there is much more which should unite us than keep us apart.
It is not for me to make light of the importance of the things upon which we differ, but we are beginning, I hope, to feel that those on which we are united transcend in import- ance in every way those which keep us apart. It is not to be forgotten that as a Conference we express no opinion, we enter into no debate on any matter of doctrine or of Church government on which we differ. This has been deliberately arranged, and will, I am sure, be honourably adhered to. But yet we seek to call the human race into one fellowship, to teach the way of eternal life. The fatherhood of God, the love of the Son, the power of the Holy Ghost, the purity of Christian life, and the splendour of the Christian hope are common ground. We want to get into closer touch with one another. We want to become more familiar with each other's methods, with each other's work ; we want to rejoice in each other's successes, we want to sympathise in each other's failures, and each other's disappointments, and, above all, we want to learn by the experience of both. In the con- cluding part of the Report of the eighth Commission, which deals with the question of unity, there are these comforting
144 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
words, " Missionary workers who have once been drawn together are not readily sundered, and the sphere of co-opera- tion widens with experience. The testimony is very striking, that while there is sometimes difficulty in making agree- ments as to work before men know each other, there is seldom difficulty in carrying them out when once the workers have been brought into touch with one another."
If it were to do nothing else than bring home to the minds of Christian people how great is the variety of problems which have to be faced, this Conference would not be without its use. In that Commission with which I have had more especially to deal, this point is strikingly illustrated. There is the problem, of perennial difficulty, of the due relation of the civil and the spiritual power to be faced. You may have a civilised Government, with a civilised and yet not Christian people ; you may have an ancient yet backward civilisation like that of China ; or you may have a Christian Government ruling over a Mohammedan or Hindu population. There are European protectorates over regions as yet wholly un- civilised, and in the varying degrees of civilisation every class of varying problem is presented for consideration and for dis- cussion. Cast your minds to Japan, to China, to India, to the Dutch East Indies, to the specially Mohammedan countries on the Continent of Asia, such, for example, as Persia and Turkey, Egypt and the Sudan, to North Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and to South Africa, and you will find that it is true to say that the difficulties with which you are confronted vary not so much with the political but with the religious differences. There are certain spheres of civil government which are practically the same everywhere. There are missions which have the same object, but the difficulties which arise, arise mainly from the fact that in so few of those cases which I have mentioned do the Government acknowledge in the abstract the principle of freedom of conscience. You cannot in this matter lay down even the most general principles which will carry you further than the threshold of questions of ever varying degrees of difficulty and complication with which you are confronted. The Government may be neutral, it may be hostile, it may
LORD BALFOUR OF BURLEIGH 145
vary from the lowest to the highest civilisation, and it may perhaps have its own domestic difficulties with those under its sway, owing to the fanaticism with which they cling to their own beliefs.
Let me pass to another point. By common consent there is just now a great opportunity. Nations in the East are awakening. They are looking for two things : they are look- ing for enlightenment and for liberty. Christianity alone of all religions meets these demands in the highest degree. There cannot be Christianity without liberty, and liberty without at least the restraint of Christian ideals is full of danger. There is a power unique in Christianity of all religions to uj)lift and to ennoble, and for this reason, that it has its roots and its foundations in self-sacrifice and in love. We express the devout and earnest hope that God may use this Conference to increase in the minds of pro- fessing Christians their deep responsibility to the whole world.
Let me add one word in conclusion. The hope has sprung up in my mind that unity, if it begins in the mission field, will not find its ending there. It is a thought not without its grandeur that a unity begun in the mission field| m"ay'extend its influence and react upon us at home and throughout the older civilisations ; that it may bring to us increased hope of international peace among the nations of the world, and of at least fraternal co-operation and perhaps a greater measure of unity in ecclesiastical matters at home. God grant that by and by, as the direct outcome of the self- sacrifice of the men and women in the mission field, whose motto is expressed in the refrain of the well-known hymn —
Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the Cross of Jesus Going on before !
we at home may be able to use the other lines with a force and with a truth to which at present we cannot attain —
^ Give the word ; in every nation I Let the gospel trumpet sound, i Witnessing a world's salvation To the earth's remotest bound. COM. IX. — 10
THE CENTRAL PLACE OF MISSIONS IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH
By the archbishop OF CANTERBURY
Address delivered i7i the Assembly Hall 07i Tuesday Evenings \i,t]iju7ie
Fellow-workers in the Church Militant, the Society of Christ on earth, Lord Balfour has reminded you, and few men could do it with more lucidity, effectiveness, and simple weight, what it is that brings to this hall to-day an assemblage which, if men be weighed rather than counted, has, I suppose, no parallel in the history either of this or of other lands. Yes, gentlemen, this Conference is in some respects unique, not merely in missionary annals, but in all annals. Where and when have 1200 thoughtful men and women met who could contribute a like amount of know- ledge acquired at first hand, for that is the real point, from literally every region of the round world, about the forces, past and present, seen and unseen, which are moulding the lives of the peoples, civilised and savage ? And you come, not to talk casually and irresponsibly, not to tell us at haphazard what you know, but to bring from a hundred work-fields, the thought-out, argued-out conclusions to which you have been led. The written reasons, the ripe experi- ences, which have led you to those conclusions and resolves have already been sifted and pondered and compared. That, my Lord Balfour, makes our gathering unique in character. God grant it be unique in fruit. The Lord God grant it, for it is to Him that we bring it all to-night.
Gentlemen — I say it in all earnestness — it is with
146
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY 147
reverence and holy fear that I obey the call to be the first speaker in these debates. I can contribute nothing that is new ; very little that is my own. But if I interpret rightly the privilege which you have offered me, I stand here for a special purpose. It is to say, from the standpoint of one who holds of necessity a position of central responsibility in our country's religious life, that we whose actual work lies prosaically at home, feel, with an intensity beyond all words, '^ that, among the duties and privileges which are ours in the Church of Christ, the place which belongs of right to /y missionary work is the central place of all. As regards opportunity of knowledge I have, I suppose, some qualifica- tion to speak. Four times, at intervals of ten years, I have in one capacity or another taken part in the great gatherings of bishops at Lambeth, men who bring from near and far afield the knowledge which leaders gain about the work of one great section of Christ's Church on earth. In our last gathering in 1908, 240 bishops took part, and it is perhaps not presumptuous to say that probably to the desk of no other man in the British Isles does there flow in weekly, daily, almost hourly, so varied a stream of communications about the Church's activities and problems, its mistakes and^^ c^ its failures, and its victories, as flows in steady volume from the whole circumference of the earth to my room, not, of course, as to a place of authority or governance — pray under- stand that — but as to a central pivot or exchange. And happily it is not letters only that flow in ; it is also men and women.
Brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ, I tell you deliberately that with that increasing knowledge — and even the dullest man must in such a position gain some increase of knowledge — there comes a deepening conviction that what matters most, what ought to loom largest in it all, is the directly missionary work, such work as we are gauging and planning in this eventful fortnight. Many a time, after quiet talks with some simple-hearted worker who is spending himself ungrudgingly in the Master's service — be it under an African sun, or in the Arctic circle, or in the islands of a stormy sea — I have found myself literally tingling with a
148 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
mingled sense of humiliation and of eager enthusiasm as I have set the value and the glory of his persistent self- sacrificing devotion to our Lord against the value of our own poor commonplace work at home ; and I have fallen on my knees and asked that He who seeth in secret will show us how to co-operate in some more fruitful way, and to link the two tasks, that man's and mine, more wisely, more effectively than we seem to link them now. Well, it is for that sort of endeavour that we are here this week. We meet, as has been well said, for the most serious attempt which the Church has yet made to look steadily at the whole fact of the non-Christian world, and to understand its meaning and its challenge. We look at it from standpoints not by any means the same, geographical, racial, or denominational. Not one of us bates a jot of the distinctive convictions which he deliberately holds. Therein lies in part the value of the several contributions which will be made to pur debates. But we are absolutely one in our allegiance to our living Lord. To Him we bring it all. When the disciples returned from their first missionary work they told the INIaster both what they had done and what they had taught. They must also have told one another. And the outcome we know.
Your deliberations this week will deal mainly with the special opportunities and the special difficulties of our own day. About the opportunities, I venture upon a single word of caution — not exactly of warning, but of caution. It is dangerous, it is perhaps presumptuous, to dogmatise too decisively about the particular opportunities of one generation or epoch as con- trasted with another. We believe in the continuous guid- ance of Him who knows, and weighs, and understands. To some of us — to me personally — it is frankly incomprehen- sible why the Christian leaders and teachers of former generations in the last few hundred years gave so com- paratively small a place to direct missionary endeavour. The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. He has guided our fathers, as we believe He is guiding us. It may be that by spoken word or busy pen the men whom we reverence for what they did served their generation best, and used the opportunities which were theirs, not ours.
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY 149
" It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath set within His own authority. B^ut^ye shall receive power " — that is quite certain — " ye shall receive power when the Holy Ghost is come upon you " — power to see the present opportunity and to use it — " and ye shall be witnesses unto Me . . . unto the ends of the earth." What- ever the facts of other days, there can be no manner of doubt about the facts of our own. The opportunity is almost limitless. It is urgent and even clamorous. It is perhaps; temporary and passing. And it is ours. And for its use — " ye shall receive power." The work of this coming fort- night, and of the eighteen preparatory months which have led up to it, is capable, I verily believe, of indirectly doing more for the right manner of "telling out among the heathen that the Lord is King," than any fortnight of Christian history since the days of the Apostles. I need not re-paint the picture, familiar to everybody here, of what to-day's opportunity is and means. The whole world in closest, speediest touch. The millions of the farthest East awakening like some giant from the stupor of ages, and deliberately, even eagerly, calling for the very knowledge and intercourse which they had hitherto barred out. Nationalism, with all its powers and perils, feeling its way to life among Asiatic races, with a call to us to show what is Christ's definite message for nations, and what the claim He makes upon each several race for its separate contribution to the common good. And then the great new nation bounding into strenuous manhood on the Canadian plains, in touch at once with the Eastern and the Western worlds, and capable of bringing strength to each. I could easily run on. But you are famiUar with it all. The when and the how are His. The work is ours. " Ye shall receive power." He will show us when and how.
And with the opportunities, the special difficulties to us: European knowledge, European science taken eastwards and assimilated there without the sanctions and the history and the long discipline which gave it birth, and nurture, and virility for ourselves ; material wealth and comfort made the appar- ent deity or goal among the " Christian " nations from whom
^*'
f_~¥^.-^>-- -: 1 lr'"'^-*--^'^seS^
i'ft
/'
''C^y^C'
150 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
the message goes ; the un-Christian Hves of the representa- tives of Christian lands ; and perhaps, above all — if you doubt it, read the gathered testimony from a hundred mission fields — the apathy and lukewarmness of the home Church, that is to say, of religious. God-fearing, Christian people, in the face of all these possibilities and perils. There, at least, we have a clear-cut task, an open road to tread. If the work is to be done, we must make men know and feel — yes, and make them live as men who know and feel, not in abstract theory, but in living, burning fact — that there is none other name under heaven, given to man, in whom and through whom, we or any other folk, can receive health and salvation, but only the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the sense, strong and eager and aglow, of what we owe to God in Christ which can alone quicken the pulse and nerve the arm for the battle which is not ours, it is the Lord's. But, brothers and sisters, that means effort, that means ■ the sort of sacrifice which Christ looks for and demands when He bids men count the cost of discipleship, and that means a courage that ten thousands of our shy, reticent people wholly lack. Be it ours to hearten them. Once more, God will show us how. But be quite sure — it is my single thought to-night — that the place of missions in the life of the Church must be the central place, and none other. That is what matters. Let people get hold of that, and it will tell — it is the merest commonplace to say it — it will tell for us at home as it will tell for those afield. Secure for that thought its true place, in our plans, our policy, our prayers, and then — why then, the issue is His, not ours. But it may well be that if that come true, " there be some standing here to- night who shall not taste of death till they see," — here on earth, in a way we know not now, — " the Kingdom of God come with power."
CHRIST THE LEADER OF THE MISSIONARY WORK OF THE CHURCH
By ROBERT E. SPEER, D.D., New York
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Tuesday Evening, 1 4//; Ju}ie
Our very presence here together this evening will already have been felt by all of us to be an evidence of the leader- ship of our Lord Jesus Christ in the missionary enterprise. Our corporate experience testifies to the headship of our Lord as the most real fact in our common life, and we know ourselves to be gathered here this evening in this corporate relationship because He has been governing our ways and is assembling us here in His name \ and that in which we believe as the deepest fact in our corporate experience, we know to be true also in our personal life. There is not one of us from near or far who is not sure that he can trace in his own life the guiding hand of the Saviour, who is his Master and his Friend. I am to speak this evening of this conviction, that Jesus Christ Himself is the Leader of the Missionary Enterprise. There is nothing that one can say that is not already familiar and dear to our hearts. I can only simply bring back our minds to that with which we are already familiar regarding — first the fact, and second the way, and third, the meaning of this great leadership, which is our dearest and deepest conviction.
From the very beginning of our Christian faith, loyalty to this leadership has been the spring and principle of all Christian conviction and Christian spirit. The first call of our Lord to men while He was here on earth was the simple
151
ju
152 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
personal call, " Follow Me." Through all His earthly ministry He was simply ever varying the terms of that call, and ever revealing to men in newer and richer ways its significance and its sanctions : " Come unto Me," " Learn of Me," " Abide in Me." And when He was gone, the sense of His personal leadership, instead of being weakened, became ten thousand times intensified. He went away, He told them, because it was expedient for Him to go that they might enter into a yet deeper consciousness of what He was to them, and of His eternal presence with them as they went on His errands throughout the world. Their life they conceived in terms of His own continuing presence with them, of their personal relationship to Him : " To me to live is Christ." The message which they spoke to men was expressed in the same personal terms, " We preach Christ crucified." Through all the ages since, men have lived the Christian life in this very same sense of Christ's personal leadership. The testimony of the growth of the; Christian Church in the world has been an ever-fresh and expanding expression of the consciousness of the fact of Christ's leader- ship in this enterprise. We rest our hearts in that great conviction as we are gathered here this evening. If it were not that Christ had led us, we should not be here. If it were not that we are sure that we shall be under His leadership during these days, it were better that we should part to-night.
The way in which this leadership has been exercised, and is exercised still in the life of the Church in the missionary enterprise, witnesses to the fact that it is deep and true. We know the whole life of the Church to be swayed, as we know our own lives now to be swayed, in so far as they are true, by the principles which the world first learned in the life and work of our Lord. His principles have spread out through the world. The missionary enterprise is the embodiment of these principles. There are scores here this evening who could bear their testimony to this great supernatural guidance of their lives. We realise as we look back over the ages that a greater mind and will than any human mind or will has planned and led our lives. Not
DR. ROBERT E. SPEER 153
only in the teachings of history, but in this great fashioning of men's thought which makes things possible in one genera- tion that were not possible in another. It is under that leadership that we are gathered here, believing that He has been moulding the thoughts of men in the generation to ^ which we belong, and has made ready the hearts and minds . ' of Christian men now, at last, after all these twenty centuries have gone by, to fulfil what we know to have been the great purpose and desire of our Lord. And in deeper ways even than this, we have met here this evening believing in the leadership of our Lord in the enterprise of missions. Our faith is in the living Spirit who is guiding men to-day. We believe in that presence with us to-day — a living, abiding, controlling leadership exercised by that Spirit, who, within our minds, our spirits, and our lives, is fashioning, con- trolling, and shaping us to the fulfilling of the commands of God.
Last of all, this leadership of Christ in the enterprise of Missions has its own deep meaning and significance for us here. The leadership of Christ involves the subjection of the whole world. No one can follow Him without following Him to the uttermost parts of the earth. No one can stand under his guidance without having his vision directed to this task. In so far as we follow the leadership of Christ, we shall follow Him to all the races of men. His leadership prescribes the aim and the principle and the method of the '-^<
missionary enterprise : the aim, to communicate a life which ''^^c we have in Christ to all the world ; the principle, a principle f'
of hope which sees in all humanity the possibility of redemp- tion ; the method, a method of love that wins as the fu*-^- Saviour won. It brings us to ah ever-fresh consideration of the clarity with which we have conserved this aim and this principle and this method and made them our own. We know that we have not come wholly into the mind of Christ, and we are gathered Bere to see whether we may not learn something which we could not learn apart regarding that mind and its embodiment in the enterprise of making Christ known to all the world. And this leadership means for us such a relationship as must always exist among those
154 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
who follow a common leader. Where there is one leader, there must be one body to be led. This common leader- ship of Christ summons us now to achieve that which only in that leadership is it possible to achieve, viz., the impossible for the Christian Church. " What are Christians in the world for, but to achieve the impossible by the help of God ? " Are there any tasks too difficult for that leadership ? Is there anything that we cannot do, when we are behind One who has waited long for His victory. One whom no power on earth or beneath the earth can deprive of His victory ? We are not misled by any foolish optimism. We are looking at the facts of the w^orld. We trust we are under no illusions with regard to the difficulties that are to be over- come, or the foes who are to be vanquished, or the magni- tude of the task that is to be achieved. We are gathered here in this Conference to be freed from any such illusions, if we possess them. We know how great the undertaking is ; but we know also that centuries ago One sat down before that undertaking undismayed, though failure in the eyes of the world was written clear and full across the face of it, and saw far away through the centuries the result that could not be for ever stayed. We may rest confident in the same patient hope in which He rested, believing that the centuries cannot go on for ever without His great and hope- ful prophecies at last coming true. The time he has waited for may now have come. Who are we that we should set limits to the power of God in the redemption of men ? Who are we that we should postpone the day of the triumph of our Saviour and our Lord ? If we believe that He is our Leader and the Leader of His Church, we must believe that it is in the weakness of our faith that these hindrances bar the speedy coming of the day of His triumph. And if such a realisation of Christ's leadership is awakened wdthin us, that living faith will make it possible for Him to make use of us for the immediate conquest of the world. We are here in His name, and looking beyond all men to One who will be standing here in the midst of us, and forgetting ourselves, our prejudices, our pride, our self-sacrifice — to lay our lives open to Him that He may mould us. We may hope to
DR. ROBERT E. SPEER 155
come to that rich blessing which we believe He has in store for us here, just in so far as we are enabled by His Spirit to look far, far away from much which has absorbed our vision — as we look away unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith.
•-;
CHRISTIANITY, THE FINAL AND UNIVERSAL RELIGION
I. AS REDEMPTION
By the Rev. Professor W. P. PATERSON, D.D., Edinburgh University
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Wednesday Evening, \^th June
Mr. Chairman and Fellow-students, the Foreign Mission
Movement is a gigantic enterprise which rests upon a
tremendous assumption. The assumption upon which it
rests is, that the Christian religion is superior to every
other religion that exists or has existed upon earth, and
that consequently we are both entitled and bound to try to
persuade every tribe or nation which has not already become
Christian to exchange its ancestral faith for our own. I'o-
night I mention a few considerations which justify this
tremendous assumption.
The best test, I think, is to ask what is involved in the idea
of religion — to ask what is the common purpose in the religions
of the world — and then to consider how Christianity stands
forth clearly and imperially as the absolute or perfect religion.
Now, I would have you observe that, innumerable as are the
differences betwixt the various religions, there are three
respects in which they can all be compared one with another.
The first is that every religion that has struck root upon the
earth has claimed to bring a deliverance from very great
evils, and to put men into the possession of true and lasting
156
REV. PROFESSOR W. l\ PATERSON 157
good. The second thing, as I conceive, is, that it is always expected and hoped that in and through union or friend- ship or alliance with a Divine Being or Beings this purpose can be secured. The third point is, that in every case you have the theory of what a man has to do, or what a man is to be, so that he may possess the friendship of this Divine Being or Power in union with whom he gains the victory over the evil that is in the world. Now, inasmuch as every religion in some sense claims to be a redemption, it seems to me that the truest way in which to realise the pre-eminence of Christianity is to compare it with the other religions in respect of these three points — first, the Boons which it pro- mises ; secondly, the Idea of the Divine Being or Power ; and third, what we may call its Theory of Salvation. I shall endeavour to develop my theme by a brief comparative study of Christianity from these three points of view.
In the first place, I have said that every religion that has been of any account at all has claimed to be a deliverance, a salvation, a redemption of some sort. In modern times we give the name of religion to other things. When a man stands filled with awe in contemplation of the illimitable, we perhaps call these feelings of his the essence of religion. We also sometimes speak of a system of ideas as being a religion. Then, at other times, we say morality and religion are identical. " The virtue of the good man is the core of his religion, and it is all the religion that any man needs to have." Now, the fact is that these conceptions of religion which identify it with esthetic feeling or morality are utterly and entirely wrong. Religion has always claimed to be a provision which does work in satisfaction of human needs, atialogous rather to agriculture or to manufacturing, and has undertaken to protect man from evil and to give him the possession of what he regards as his highest good. When we consider further, what it professes to do for man, I find that there are three outstanding answers which are given. The first is the purely heathen answer that what man gets through religion is material blessing. He looks to his re- ligion to protect him from sickness, from disease, and from death. He looks to his religion to give him, if he is on the
158 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
savage plane — perhaps if he is on a higher plane — to give him such things as rain, an abundant harvest, a sufficiency of wives and children, and victory over his enemies. The purely heathen conception simply is that religion is a valu- able commercial and military asset. That view is confirmed by the general testimony of the schedules which I have had the opportunity of reading regarding the religions on the animistic level. The second type is very different. It is what I call the pessimistic, and it is represented by the idea that lies at the heart of the great religions of India. In Brahmanism and Buddhism nothing is looked for at the hand of God from the blessings of this world at all. The world has become an illusion, and the things of the world are nothing and less than nothing. The idea gains force that existence itself is an evil, and the true deliverance for which man looks is escape from a weary and unprofit- able maze by an inward deliverance that leads to extinction or absorption in the Infinite. With this pessimistic valua- tion, there is something that in some moods we can all sympathise. But while we admit how much greater the conception is, that it is inner wealth that is to be secured through religion, not mere material blessing, one asks. After all, is the last word on the chief good that it is a mere nega- tion ? Are we not entitled to take a bolder and more con- fident, a more positive view of the blessings that are in store for those who put themselves upon the side of the Power that rules the universe ? And so we come to the third, the Chris- tian answer, which to some extent coincides with the reply of the great religions of India, but which also differs from it in some important respects. It agrees with Brahmanism and Buddhism, in respect of the idea that the cardinal blessings that we look for as the end of religion are an inner salvation and possessions of the soul. No doubt there have been times when Christian people have had the purely heathen idea about God — that He exists to guarantee us external blessings. There have been nominal Christian people who have lost their faith in God, because disaster overtook them in their business, or because their home was desolated by the death of wife or child ; but the distinctive Christian
REV. PROFESSOR W. P. PATERSON 159
idea, according to all trustworthy authorities, is of course different. It is that the supreme blessings of religion are of the nature of a spiritual salvation. In the words of our Catechism, the supreme blessing is a justification, " wherein God pardoneth all our sins and accepteth us as righteous." It is a sanctification, " whereby we are enabled more and more to die unto sin and live unto righteousness." In the same context we have a list of the things that accom- pany this central blessing, namely, " assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end." To that extent there is coincidence, but mark next the difference. While for the higher mind of India existence is the cardinal evil, for Christianity the cardinal evil from which we have to be delivered is not existence but sin. Further, note how it breaks with the pessimistic strain in its teaching on the subject of immortality. It is said by a great modern writer on the philosophy of reli- gion that what religion exists for is the conservation of values ; and if it be so, surely that is not the perfect religion in which character, the noblest product of time, is either annihilated or lost in unconsciousness by absorption in the Being of God. Surely it is a note of the perfect religion that it teaches the conservation of personality. The other great contrast may be put in concrete form in this way, that a begging friar is the ideal of India, while the Christian ideal is represented rather by the Christian statesman or the Christian man 01 science, or even by the Christian merchant or farmer. In one word, while we hold as Christians that the cardinal boons of our religion are inward and spiritual, we are far from despising the world. We hold that God's promise is that we shall inherit the earth. We hold it to be His purpose that we should fill the earth, not only with holiness and righteousness, but with the machinery of civilisation, and that the tribes and peoples of the earth, with all the elements of worth and of human well-being that are realised or realisable among them, should be incorporated in the more comprehensive whole of the Kingdom of God.
My second test, upon which I will dwell more briefly, is the Idea of God. We are told that there are atheistic religions
i6o ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
— I do not believe in them. I think that what is essential to the religious idea is that in alliance with a Divine Being or Beings, or at least with the principle of a Divine world- order, man is delivered from all evil and is made the possessor of true and enduring good. Now, notice again the ascending scale. Down on the animistic plane, to whom do men look for these blessings ? There is often in the background a vague conception of a Supreme God, but for all practical purposes their gods are the ghosts of their ancestors and other spirits. That, of course, is useless. Some of you may remember that when Heine looked upon the Venus of Milo he w'ept because while she was entranc- ingly beautiful, she had no arms. That is the condemnation of the worship of the animistic tribes. There is something beautiful in the sentiment ot ancestor-worship, but as a religion it is a delusion and a snare. It contains at most some elements of Spiritualism, whatever that may be worth. As regards the second type of religions, I think it can be taken, on the basis of the evidence submitted to the Conference, that on the whole the idea of God cherished by the higher Indian mind is the pantheistic conception. What does it mean ? I will put it in two brief sentences. It is that " God is to be addressed not as Thou but as It." The other sentence I will quote from on^~oF~~f!re "schedules, and is to this effect: "The Hindus have never fallen so low as to believe in a personal God." Now, if the annihilating criticism of ancestor-worship, from the religious point of view, is that the beings wor- shipped have no arms to help, the fatal criticism of the pantheistic systems is that their God has no eye to pity and no heart to sympathise. The choice must abide with one of the three monotheistic rehgions. It cannot be Judaism, because that is confessedly the preliminary stage of Chris- tianity. It cannot be Mohammedanism, because though it contains many elements of theological truth and some morality, its God seems to include among his attributes something of the caprice and of the cunning of an Oriental despot. We are left finally with Christianity, the religion of the God of the infinite attributes, the religion also of the
HEV. PROFESSOR W. P. PATERSON i6l
Incarnation. We are left with the Idea — surely the most sublime and adequate that ever was conceived — the idea of a God who has all the power and who has all the will to bless the sin and sorrow-laden children of mankind — a God who on the one hand possesses all the might and all the wisdom of the Infinite Godhead, and who on the other hand has in His heart the love wherewith Jesus Christ the Incarnate Son loved sinful men and women, and loved them to the end.
My third point I will touch on briefly. It is the Theory of Salvation — the question as to how we are to enter into terms of friendship with this Being who can give us the victory over the world. Every religion has addressed itself to that problem. Here, again, we have three answers. I begin with the lowest answer — the heathen answer — which is a very intelligible one. Supposing that we want to pro- pitiate a very powerful man, and supposing that we have not very lofty principles about the methods we employ, we shall make him presents and offer him adulation. That is the true heathen idea, to offer presents, usually in the form of sacrifices, to the god, and to chant his praises in prayer or in song. How worthless that conception is, when it is the whole theory, we know from the contempt and scorn that are poured upon it in many a page of Old Testament prophecy. The second theory is represented generally in the great ethical religions of the world. You find it in Buddhism, to some extent in Brahmanism and Mohammedanism, — in Babylonia, in Assyria, in ancient Egypt, — you find it even in the literature of Greece and Rome. The idea is, that the way to please God is to follow the paths of virtue. God is the author and the upholder of the moral laws. The way to His favour is to render obedience to these moral laws. If we do, He will pr otect us and bless us, while if we break these laws He will visit us with punishment, or it may be with destruction. Th e Old Testament religion gave expression to this idea in its clearest and strongest form. " Of what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me, saith the Lord " — there is the repudiation of the purely heathen idea. " What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and
COM. IX. II
v^-
1 62 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
to walk humbly with thy God ? " One might have supposed that that was the highest level that could be reached in the development of religious thought : Be a good man and you will enjoy the forgiveness and the protection of the Great Father in Heaven. And yet there is another and a more profound conception that was to come to the world in the Christian revelation. Christianity, of course, is also one of the great ethical religions. Christianity is the most ethical of them all. In none is the standard of duty so highly pitched — in none has there been generated such an earnest- ness and enthusiasm for righteousness and for service. And yet, according to the Apostle Paul, it does not put right- eousness in the same position which it occupies in ethical religions. Their message was, " Keep the moral require- ments of God and you will attain His favour." But Christianity turns it round and offers the full forgiveness of our sins for Christ's sake as the starting point, and under- takes that we shall then go our way under the impulse of gratitude, and under the influence of God's Holy Spirit, to accomplish a righteousness greater by far than the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. First evangelical and then ethical, I take to be the distinctive note of the Christian religion at this point. " By grace are ye saved through faith." " I beseech you by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." A religion without grace is as useless as a religion without morality is contemptible ; and we may well regard as the perfect re- ligion that which, while making effective provision for morality, puts in the forefront the unspeakable magnanimity of God, and terms of salvation which even the weakest and worst may find power to fulfil.
I am aware that this argument is not entirely con- clusive as to the truth of Christianity. I do not think that it is difficult to prove that Christianity is superior to every other religion — superior in respect of the bless- ings which it promises to man, superior in respect of its conception of God who unites infinite power with in- exhaustible love, superior in its marvellously profound
REV. PROFESSOR W. P. PATERSON 163
conception which we describe as justification by faith. But, even after you have proved it to be the perfect religion, there still remains the question of questions as to whether it is trustworthy and true. It might be that it only re- presented the last stage in a long series of attempts in which the human mind has endeavoured to find some protection, even if it were only imaginary, from the woes under which the human race groans and travails. In regard to that there are two concluding observations I should like to make. The first is that if Christianity be the perfect religion — perfect in idea — then we are entitled to trust it. Along every other line of human activity, in science, in art, in morality, we see that we are advancing to a goal, and it would be to contradict the order under which we live if we held that in this chapter of history alone it was different — if we held that here alone we were to make the discovery that the greatest that had been achieved was to be described as the baseless fabric of a vision. The second consideration is this, that every religion that has been in the world has claimed to do work, and if we test the truth of Chris- tianity by the work that it has done, its claim, I uphold, will stand. We cannot test all its works, for some of the results lie behind the veil, but some of them we can test. We see its power in the regeneration of character ; in the opening up of sources of the highest moral energy that has been seen in the world ; in a degree of religious assurance to which no other religion can lay claim : and inasmuch as men do not gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles, we say that this religion, which has contributed the highest elements of the spiritual life to mankind, must be rooted in everlasting truth.
CHRISTIANITY THE FINAL A^D UNIVERSAL RELIGION
II. AS AN ETHICAL IDEAL B Y THE Rev. HENRY SLOAN COFFIN, D.D.
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Wednesday Evening, i^lhjune
Christianity finds its ethic, as its religion, in Jesus Christ Its God is the God revealed in Jesus' religious experience— His Father, the eternally Christlike God. Its ethical ideal is the Kingdom of that God — the Kingdom which Jesus proclaimed and for which He laid down His life. • This Kingdom is a redeemed social order under the reign of the Christlike God in which every relationship is Christlike, and each individual and social group — the family, the trade- organisation, the State — comes not to be ministered unto, but to minister, is perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect, and the whole of human society incarnates the love of God once embodied in Jesus of Nazareth. d The Christian ethical ideal is primarily social — the King- dom of God. The 'individual 'finds his private standards only in relation to the Divine social purpose. He is not to think of his rights, but of his obligations, and to attain per- fection not by seeking it, but by consecrating his whole heart, soul, mind, and strength to bring in that social order which means perfection for all his brethren. This Christlike social order is not to be identified with any particular
economic or pohtical regime. It is incompatible only with
164
REV. HENRY SLOAN COFFIN 165
self-seeking and injustice, with tyranny and unbrotherliness, with whatever is un-Christlike in motive and effect. There is one significant exception to this lack of fixity of form in the expression of the Christian ethic — that is, in the family. The Master Himself decisively pronounced the Divine ideal to be the marriage of one man and one woman. And in the Christian home we find the most convenient starting- point from which to derive an ideal for all other social groups within the Kingdom. Whatever political or economic arrangements produce the most family-like, the most home- like relationships are those most congruous with the Christian principle. But this by no means furnishes us with forms that must be universally established. We do not confront the social structures and political regimes of the non-Christian world with a particular method of industrial organisation or a specific mode of government as essential to the King- dom of God. We proclaim a religion and an ethic of the Spirit, and are confident that the Spirit of Jesus Christ will take and transmute and employ in any generation and in any land forms for the expression of His religious con- victions and for the embodiment of His ethical principles.
It is this spirituality of the Christian ethic, its independ- ence of fixed forms of expression, and its compatibility with any form that yields to its controlling touch which enables it to be universal. It can incarnate itself in the simplest tribal life, or be embodied in the most complex international relations. It can be the inspiration of the humblest cooHe and the controlling principle of the statesman and financier. It can be applied to the most elementary system of exchange between bartering savages and the most far-reaching and complicated transactions of the stock market. Its one insistent demand is for "a body of its own," a personal character and a social order in which the mind and heart of Jesus Christ are given unhampered expression.
So, while we identify the Divine social order with no fixed economic or political form, we are compelled to scrutinise all existing forms in the light of the Kingdom, and to point^^ out antagonisms to it in commercial relations, in educa-'. tional ideals, in political arrangements. We cannot content
1 66 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
ourselves either at home or abroad, with the proclamation of individual righteousness merely. That is to lose sight of the Kingdom. Doubtless the modern missionary must often, like St. Paul in his treatment of slavery, attack hostile social arrangements indirectly ; but, like the great apostle, we must have a clear vision and a plain message of the Christlike relations of man with man, so that, when not openly assailing, we quietly set in operation principles which eventually will destroy every unfraternal social adjustment. And, in our Christian propaganda, we must carefully distinguish between this Christlike order and what is called " modern civilisa- tion." Unthinking people at home, and hostile critics abroad, speak frequently of " Christian civilisation." It is almost always a misnomer. While we recognise with gratitude to God the leavening influence of the Gospel upon the ideals of the home, of trade, of amusement, of education, of govern- ment in lands where Jesus Christ has been long preached, we must frankly face a world where the Christian ethical ideal as yet lacks a social incorporation. We see its indivi- dual incarnation in Jesus, and to some extent in the lives of His followers ; but there is no community or nation as yet in which we see all things subjected to Him. We would not ■ have the peoples of Asia and Africa turn to the couiitries of Europe and America for disclosures of the Kingdom of God. We confess with shame that the dominant motives in com- merce and diplomacy, in the administration of justice and in education, which are, perhaps, the chief points of contact between so-called Christendom and the lands beyond, arc oftener motives of Belial than of Christ.
" Modern civilisation " is probably the greatest hindrance to-day to the proclamation of the Christian Gospel. The more earnest the Church is in world-wide evangelism, the more insistently will it be forced to attack the inconsistencies in the practice of Christendom. The more vigorously the Church pushes its extensive campaign the more thoroughly must it do its intensive work, and make Christianity no mere veneer but an all-pervasive leaven in our society.
And while we cannot point to the ethical ideals of nominally Christian lands as expressions of the Kingdom of
REV. HENRY SLOAN COFFIN 167
God, we are quick to recognise that the Christian ethic does not go forth as the antagonist of the ethics of non-Christian peoples. It goes not to destroy but to fulfil. It sees in the ideals of Hinduism and Buddhism, of Confucius and Mohammed, much that is akin to the Spirit of Christ. Their codes, like the Jewish law, are schoolmasters to bring men to Christ. The Fulfiller is often compelled to draw sharp contrasts : " Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, but I say unto you." But as Jesus occasionally found in Gentiles qualities which He had not met in Israel, does He not discover in those trained in the ethics of other faiths characteristics which, despite the Christian centuries behind us, we have not yet attained? It would be easy, were there but time, to amass from the sacred books of other religions a vast quantity of ethical sayings which closely resemble the utterances of the Hebrew prophets and the teaching of the New Testament. And it would be possible to point out how, under the stimulus of these ideals, virtues have been developed which approximate the Christian ethic more nearly than the corresponding virtues as we see them to-day among ourselves. We "Triight instance especially the passive quaUties — patience, meekness, contentment, gentle- ness, serenity ; the religious virtues of reverence, devoutness, reflectiveness, and the social loyalties to ancestors, to kindred, to fellow-workers, to the commune. Not that the Christian ethic needs supplementing, and that the ideal of the future is to be an amalgam of elements derived from various faiths ; but the Spirit of Christ will find less to do along certain lines in perfecting the adherents of some of the ethnic religions than He discovers in many of us, the pro- ducts of generations of imperfectly applied Christianity.
To those who oppose Christian missicnis on the ground that there is so much that is of value in the ethics of Buddhism, of Islam, of Confucianism, that it would be a serious loss to the race to do away with the distinctive characteristics, some of them admirable, nurtured by these ideals, we can only reply that nothing worth preserving will be destroyed. All that is good in Saul of Tarsus remains in Paul the Christian. Nothing precious has been subtracted
^^^■C.,
i68 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
from the life of the peoples who have already come partially under the sway of the Gospel. On the contrary, as the prophets of Israel enunciated ideals which had to wait for their effective embodiment until Jesus Christ and the Chris- tian Church, so Gautama, Confucius and Mohammed will , come to their own, purified from dross and completed by that which supplies all deficiencies, when the kingdoms of life over which their ideals have ruled become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ. The Christian ethic is fitted / : to be universal because it conserves everything of value in ^ other ideals and perfects them.
But our recognition of points of kinship to the Christian ethic in the ideals of other faiths does not mean that we fail to claim for it uniqueness. Its uniqueness is the singularity of Jesus Himself. As His character towers aloft incom- parable, so a social or personal ideal to which we attach the adjective Christlike has its own distinctive and pre-eminent qualities. Every virtue in the Christian ideal has passed through the alembic of His personality, and comes forth dis- tilled by His Spirit. We aim " to present every man perfect in Christ," and to transform society until it attains unto the measure of the stature of His fulness.
It is in connection with the practicability of the Spirit of Jesus Christ as a controlling motive that the Christian ethic meets its two severest arraignments to-day. On the one hand we are told that it will not work because it is at variance with nature. Certain natural scientists emphasize its contrariety to the laws of the physical universe, and practical men declare that it disregards "human nature." Nietzsche and his followers denounce the " slave morality " of Jesus and cry up "the superman." Their ethics are entirely congenial to many in our commercial and political v worlds, and not a few in our universities and clubs reflect their attitude.
Nature to the Christian does not give the rule of right, but furnishes the material to be subdued to the reign of right. We must never ask, " What is natural ? " but " What can be made out of the natural, and so become * natural ' ? " We discover what nature really is, not by enquiring only
REV. HENRY SLOAN COFFIN 169
what has been yesterday, and what is to-day, but what may be on some to-morrow. And when so viewed nature^ cannot be quoted as an argument against Jesus. Professor Thom- son, approaching the question as a scientist, in his recent Murtle Lecture, says : " The ideals of ethical progress- through love and sociality, co-operation and sacrifice — may be interpreted, not as mere Utopias contradicted by experi- ence, but as the highest expressions of the central evolu- tionary process of the natural world." And as for human nature, we decline to judge it by infra-natural, sub-human types, even when they boast themselves as supermen, but by the normal, typical man, the Man Christ Jesus.
On the other hand, many tell us that Jesus may be fitted to inspire a saint here and there who detaches himself from human society, but His ideals can never control those who carry on the world's business or mould its social institutions. A brilliant Englishman puts into his " Letters of a Chinese Official " the following comment on the teachings of Jesus ; " Enunciated, centuries ago, by a mild Oriental enthusiast, unlettered, untravelled, inexperienced, they are remarkable not more for their tender and touching appeal to brotherly love than for their aversion or indifference to all other elements of human excellence. . . . The production and dis- tribution of wealth, the disposition of power, the laws that regulate labour, property, trade — these were matters as remote from his interests as they were beyond his comprehension. Never was man better equipped to inspire a religious sect ; never one worse to found or direct a commonwealth."
The only satisfactory answer to that statement is to accept it as a challenge. Can the Spirit of Jesus Christ direct a nation, control a productive business, guide men and women moving abroad in a world where this Spirit is admittedly not yet dominant ? There is some basis for the cynical remark that Christianity cannot be pronounced a failure because it has never been seriously tried. There has been far too little application of its ethic to social relations. And when it is applied the Master tells us plainly what His followers must expect — a cross. It is " through many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdom of God." No individual and no
I/O ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
nation can enter that Kingdom who is unwilling to take up his cross and follow Christ. Jesus waits to-day for followers who as citizens are prepared to vote that their country shall for the Kingdom's sake risk a crucifixion, who as business men will dare to encounter failure rather than be motived by a mind other than the mind of Christ, men who are not willing to postpone to some indefinite future the application of the Spirit of their Lord to every relationship, but are ready as much as in them is to embody in the institutions of to-day and in their own dealings with men the love that beareth, believeth, hopeth, endureth all things and never faileth. " The good seed are the children of the Kingdom," but the harvest-producing seed must be prepared to fall into the ground and die. The Christian ethic calls for men of faith to whom the Kingdom of God is so good that it must be true, so ideal that it can and must be made actual, and who for the joy set before them endure the cross, despising the shame. The rulers of one land crucified Jesus on the ground that if their fellow-countrymen believed on Him, they would lose their place and their nation. As a matter of fact they not only lost place and nation, but also their opportunity of becoming God's Messianic people in the establishment of His world-wide Kingdom, because they knew not " the things which belong unto peace." Is there none of the nations of so-called Christendom with faith enough to venture to let the Spirit of Christ motive its policy at home and abroad, and become God's servant to lead the world into the era of peace and goodwill, to lighten it with the glory of the Lamb (not the lion and not the eagle) shining in redeeming love through all its contacts with the as yet unredeemed garts of the earth ? Shall it be Great Britain, Germany, the United States of America? Or, we knowing not the day of our visitation, must deliverance_arise from some other place? f;,?,--.*"''* /• ,'
The finality 6f the Christian ethic cannot be demonstrated. Nothing can be proven until the facts are all in, and in this case more than time is required. The Christian ideal de- mands eternity for its realisation. Immortality is a necessary postulate for every man who expects to become Christlike.
REV. HENRY SLOAN COFFIN 171
We stand amid eternal ways. Death is but an incident to labourers for the kingdom of love. Time cannot enter into the calculations of those who serve an ideal which puts enough into one day to make it seem as a thousand years, and who believe in it with enough confidence to last out a thousand years as one day. We are prepared both to work tirelessly and quietly wait for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Nor does the finality of the Christian ethic mean that we are infallibly guided in our attempts to set up in human society the Kingdom of God. Christianity assumes that we are children, and that God takes the risk of our blunders in order that with free initiative we may be educated into independent and companionable sons and daughters. But Christlike love can make no serious mistakes, and is the * highest wisdom if God is love.
It is this conviction that gives us our assurance that the Spirit of Christ is our ultimate authority. For us the ethical idea revealed in Jesus is not merely the highest product so far of an evolving humanity : it is the disclosure of the character of the everlasting God. The social order in which every relationship is Christlike is related with the structure of the universe itself.
" Deep in the world-heart Stand its foundations, Tangled with all things, ^ Twin-made with all." ^ ^>«*i-
It is the eternal purpose which stars in their courses, the rolling centuries, the generations of men were designed to fulfil. The Father of Jesus Christ is Lord of Heaven and earth, and where the seed is the Kingdom of God, the earth beareth fruit of herself.
This faith of ours is not wholly groundless. We point with joy to the characters of those out of every kindred and tongue and people who through the centuries have sought first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and to their achievements for liberty, for truth, for justice, for love. But the demonstration of the universality and finality of the
172 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
Christian ethic resolves itself into the practical question, " Can we make the Kingdom of God seem supremely desirable to all men?" Jesus Christ challenges our faith, our courage, our consecration. We can commend His Kingdom only as God commended it when His Son laid down His life for us. The supreme worth of our ideal cannot be proven by logic ; it must be demonstrated by redeeming love. We have to fill up on our part that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ until all things are subjected unto Him, and His God is all in all.
tHE MISSIONS OF THE EARLY CHURCH IN THEIR BEARING ON MODERN MISSIONS
By the Rev. Professor H. A. A. KENNEDY,
D.D., D.Sc.
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Thursday Evening, i6th June
I. The Preparation jar Christianity. — In comparisons of the modern with the primitive situation on the mission field, it is common to find a sharp contrast drawn between the preparation of the Grgeco-Roman world for the Christian mission, and the attitude of mind which now confronts the missionary as he enters on a campaign among heathen peoples. There are elements in the contrast which may be frankly admitted. The Jewish Synagogues of the Dis- persion, by their active propaganda of such doctrines as monotheism and retribution, had, unconsciously, been fertilising the soil of paganism. There was a wistful gaze turned towards the East, and men were ready to assimilate the mystic speculations and ritual presented to them by the travelling preachers of Oriental faiths. As the old naive religions decayed, the needs of the moral consciousness asserted themselves. There was a widespread craving for victory over the material in all its aspects, and for com- munion with the Divine. External conditions also bore witness to the "fulness of^ the ~time." The common language, the affinity of sentiment, the generally attained order of civilisation, the unity of government- — all these phenomena were influences ofno"orarnary value in "pre-
*73
174 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
paring the way of the Lord." The very mention of those helps is Ukely to call up definite hindraiic£S-iQ_J;.he_mmd of the modern missionary. The^iTecessity of shaping innuni- eraBte^'languages into suitable instruments for spiritual quickening and instruction, the extraordinary variety of levels in culture on the mission field, the complex array of social structures which confront him, the constant lack of civil or political organisation among heathen peoples — what perplexing problems do the existing facts of the situation suggest, as contrasted with those of the earlier times. And yet there are counterbalancing forces which must not be ignored. The evidence for these is amply available in the Reports presented to this Conference.
Of paramount importance is the remarkable accessibility of the non-Christian world. In close correlation with this accessibility is the diminishing hold of the non-Christian religions on the educated and influential crasses. This general feature is not discounted by the fact that there I J./ are sj)oradic revivals of these ancient faiths, such as the "^ renewed vigour of Buddhism in Burma and Ceylon, the recent deification of Confucius in China, the activity of neo-Hindu schools of thought in India, like the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj, with their curious religious syncretism. Rather do such phenomena directly recall the environment of the earliest Christian missions. And when we view \vilh thankful v."onder the flowing tide of spiritual life in Korea, the moving towards Christianity _of.. the '• " depressed " masses in India, the stirring of aspiration both in the educated classes and the illiterate population of China, we realise, without questioning, that the laborious preparation of years has at length opened a new era of spiritual possibilities.
2. 2'/ic; Creative Fe7-sonalliy in Alisswn- Work. — The prepared field of the Grseco-Roman world was claimed and cultivated for Christ by the A£ostle_JPaul and his fellow- workers. Here, at the very outset, v.-e are confronted with tlie supreme value for the missionary enterprise of the in.spiring, comjjeiling personality. The first missionaries, men likePaul aiid Barnabas and other nameless labourers,
REV. PROF. H. A. A. KENNEDY 175
through their invincible faith in the Uving Lord, and their complete self-surrender to His service, were iiiasters. of extraordinary spiritual resources. They were unique religious forces. St. Paul's ' character' was truly creative^ The nature of his contact with those whom he brought under the sway of Christ is made plain by the Epistles. Take the earliest missionary document in Christian literature, the First Letter to the Thessalonians. Chapter 11. contains a singularly attractive description of the relation between the missionary and his converts : " We_ were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own children : even so, beingjffec^qnately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were become very dear to us " (vv. 7-8). There is the situation in a sentence. Tf sets forth a splendid missionary ideal, whose significance for the communities which St. Paul evangelised can scarcely be over-estimated. For it is a commonplace that "the best instrument in all mission work is the personality of the ^ missionary himself" (Weinel). We have numerous examples of this throughout the early history of the Christian mission. I need only remind you of the extraordinary importance of Origen of Alexandria for the irifluence and diffusion of the Christian faith among the educated classes of his time.
Indeed, at this point, we seem to light upon one of the chief explanations of the spiritual solidity with which Christianity was estabhshed aT^so many centres in the first epoch of missionary enterprise. Apart from the workings of that Divine Spirit, whose energy is ever almighty, the earliest Christian communities were built up on the genuine devotion of individuals to the self-sacrificing -" men who had brought them the good news of Jesus Christ.
The earnestness with which St. Paul strives to maintain this affectionate personal relationship shows what it meant for him. And its effects on the mission field are no less noteworthy. On the ground of it, St. Paul could say to his converts, "Beye_imitatQi"s tog^ether of me" (Phil. iii. 1 7). The full significance of this bold language for the missionary enterprise of to-day is illumined by the following sentence
i;6 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
from Herr Inspektor Warneck's Living Forces oj the Gospel : "Jesus as a pattern for Heathen-Christians implies a higher stage of Christian Ufe than many have reached. The majority of Christians in the Indian Archipelago look to the elders and teachers as examples, and they to the mis- sionary" (p. 275, Eng. Tr.). But it would be a complete^ misconception of the circumstances to regard these inspiring Christian personalities of the early mission as isolateq-^ individuals, who laid all the emphasis on their personal presentation of the redeeming benefits of Christ. As a matter of fact, what differentiated the missionary activity of St. Paul and his fellow-workers from the travelling preachers of the second century, as described, for example, by Eusebius, was the invariably close connection of the former with the Church from which they had gone forth. So prominent was this feature that "the work of the individual was practically regarded as the operation of the Church through him " (Hauck). One has only to refer to such passages as Acts xiv. 26: "Thence they sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled."
3. The Nature oj Missionary Preaching. — " The ministry of the Word stands forth pre-eminently as a missionary instrument in the early Church " (Lindsay). We must attempt in the briefest fashion to estimate the main features of early missionary preaching. This is by no means easy. I am not sure that we can form a very definite picture even in the case of St. Paul himself Nothing is more noteworthy in the Christian literature of the second and third centuries than the divergent descriptions of the presentation of^ Christianity, and of those elements in it whjch appealed to the hearts of men. Still, certain guiding principles of the primitive preaching may be ascertained. And for these we naturally turn to the Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles.
Various scholars have pointed out that the first three
chapters of the Epistle to the Romans give a typical example
i of the lines on which St. Paul laid down his appeal to the
heathen world. The facts are specially suggestive in two
directions. On the one hand, the Apostle assumes a
REV. PROF. H. A. A. KENNEDY 177
natural or instinctive knowledge of God in Gentile as well as Jew. On the other, he starts with the presupposition that aUhave_simied, and stand in need of redemption. We are safe in believing that these two elements were always prominent in St. Paul's missionary preaching. Good evidence for the one fundamental position is to be found in such passages as i Cor., ii. 2 f. : " I determined not Jo know anything among^ you save Jesus.Xhrist. and Him crucified." The other is powerfully attested by the reports of St. Paul's addresses at Lystra and Athens. Now these two main positions are extraordinarily illuminating for all missionary preaching. The one is immediately derived from St. Paul's ojwn religious experience. He has proved for himself that Christ can redeem from sin and moral failure, and that as the Redeemer He has completely unveiled the fatherly heart of the all-holy God, who yearns to draw all men into living fellowship with Himself. This is a Gospel for all time and for all people. Whatever resources the missionary may possess, he must have a message which he can interpret in the light of his own spiritual experience. St. Paul's second basal standpoint is summarised in the famous passage of i Cor. ix., which concludes with these words : "I am become all things to all men, that I may by all A means save some" (ix. 22). Here the Ap6sl:Ie~^reveals his marvellous insight into the essential principles of missionary effort. He knows howjnany of the religious and ethical conceptions of those to whom he preaches must ultimately be transformed, if they are to be worthy followers of Jesus ;- Christ. But he will begin by constructive rather than Wi destructive operations. And so he seeks a point of contact I'" ' witirnhis "hearers in what he calls " the truth of God " (Rom. i. 25), a truth possessed by mankind, which many " hold down " or " hinder " " in unrighteousnes " (Rom. i. 1 8). Nay, more. His vista embraces the widest possible range. \ " Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are reverend, whatsoever things are righteous, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are Jjayely, whatsoever things are of ; good report ; if there be any virtue, and if there be anything ' worthy of praise, take account of these things " (Phil. iv. 8). COM. IX. — 12 ""
i;8 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
It is difficult to estimate precisely the extent to which these mutually complementary methods were followed in the first three centuries. There could not be many missionary preachers who penetrated so profoundly into the depths of the Christian revelation as St. Paul did. But redemption from sin and moral helplessness was a fact, and the pro- clamation of Christ as the Saviour in the widest sense to a society which, whether half-consciously or earnestly, craved for moral and spiritual deliverance, remained in the forefront of early missionary preaching. Alongside of this, there were interesting developments of the other strain in St. Paul's appeal. This is especially evident in the work of the Chris- tian apologists. These men emphasised the ideas common to Christianity and the highest pagan thought. But in seeking to demonstrate that the religion which they had embraced included within itself the worthiest ideals of Gentile aspiration, these converts from heathenism did not take up the position of cold observers, but, as Kahler aptly remarks, " gave expression," in their apologies, " to _the rj inner rnoyements of their own lives " {Angewandte Dogmen, p. 421).
The bearing of St. Paul's method, as illustrated by these two great principles, upon the modern missionary_ent^p.rise, is too obvious to require lengthened comment. It is super- fluous here to lay stress on the unchanging need of genuine evangelism. This is strikingly emphasised in the Reports of the Commissions presented to the Conference. For example, " There is virtual agreement that the first need of India is for the preaching of the Gospel message" (Vol. I., p. 132). But what of St. Paul's normative principle of finding common ground with his audience ? Here is one of the most urgent problems for the missionary enterprise. We know how manfully it is being grappled with. The Report of Com- mission IV. tells how, in China, Christian teaching and preachers have largely appropriated Buddhist terminology. From Japan we hear, for example, of Mr. Arthur Lloyd's remarkable attempt to interpret the faith of Christ to Japanese Buddhists through the medium of the Shinshu theology. In India, a deepening knowledge of the religious
REV. PROF. H. A. A. KENNEDY 179
thought of Hinduism is indicating avenues of approach to the religious consciousness of the people, which possess extraordinary possibilities. " If Christianity," says Canon Robinson, " can be defined as a personal surrender and devotion to Jesus Christ, the passionate devotion to Rama or Krishna, which is the essential characteristic of the bhakti worship of India, ought to prepare the minds of its worshippers to understand the meaning and basis of the Christian faith" {The Interpretation of the Character oj Christ to Non-Christian Races^ p. 44). The suggestion has been made in one of the Reports that "a few prominent missionaries should devote themselves entirely to the apologetic work of overcoming the pantheism of India from within." A splendid example of the lines on which such a suggestion might be carried out is found in Mr. A. G. Hogg's masterly study of Kar)na_a7id_Redemption^ which is ^ itself a proof of the gain that may come to Christian ^ theology from the sympathetic study of Eastern religions.
4. The Effects ofMissiofTlVork as Causes of the Expansion of Christianity. — There is nothing more plain in the history of the first three centuries than that the effects of the mission work accomplished became, in turn, the causes of the propagation of the Christian faith. Christianity was seen to be an acUianorce,^an actual fact, in the Uves of men ^ and women by their heathen neighbours. Certain evidences of this were peculiarly impressive. There was, e.g., the banishing of the spirit of fear from an existence haunted by an environment of evil spirits. Its place was taken by the joy which sprang from the consciousness of salvation. " If God be for us, who can be against us ? " This was newness of life, eternal life, a Hfe hid with Christ in God. And the new spirit was far more than emotion. Its fruits were, in the highest sense, practical. It expressed itself pre- eminently in the attitude of love and brotherhood. Com- passion extended far beyond its ordinary limits, as exempli- fied in the guilds and associations of contemporary society. "The power of this helpful love," as Prof. Warneck suggestively observes, " lay in the fact that it went forth from persons who had been heathens themselves, i.e. from native
i8o ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
Christians" {Allgem. Missions-Zeitschr., xxx. p. 410). In such an atmosphere social distinctions were largely obliter- ated. It was possible for a slave to be Bishop of Rome about A.D. 200. And this same temper of brotherhood, linking one Christian community to another, speedily created a mighty society, whose very existence became a powerful instrument for winning adherents to its cause. Most of these phenomena have their parallels in modern missionary work. One in particular must be mentioned, which reminds us how vividly the conditions of the apostolic age are mirrored in our own. Already, from the Epistles, it is clear that there could exist side by side in the earliest Christian communities a very real faith and a very_defec- tive morality. Light is slie3~on1he situation by the fact emphasised more than once in the Reports presented to the Conference that the seiiS£-of_sin is a comparatively late L growth in the coriscip.i;snfi§§,of .tbe-converl from heathenism, arKnTasreaiiy to be created by his new relation to Christ. But the phenomenon, as a whole, is, of course, intimately connected with the social organisation to which the indi- vidual belongs. Here the unit is, as a rule, I need scarcely remind you, the family, with all its traditions and heritage of customs.
5. The Relation oj Christian Missions to Heathen Social Life, — Thus we are confronted with thejoroblem which the U early missionaries had to face, and which atilLperplexes the worker in the foreign field. What attitude ought the mission to take towardsj.mportant elements belonging Jo the very /texture of 'hekh^Ji- thought . and__serxtimeDt ? Here some issueTare^rfectly clear. In writing to the Thessalonians, St. Paul selects as fundamental for their new oudook their " turning from idols ^o serve thejiying and true God " ( I Thess. i. 9). At this point a complete break with their past is inevitable. " Ye cannot," he urges upon the Corinthians, " drink the cup of the Lord and tjie.cup of demons " (i Cor. X. 21). This attitude was^normative for early Christian missions. There could be no compromise with idolatry. The practical significance of the situation is interpreted by the remark of Herr Inspektor Warneck, that_rareliLidoes
REV. PROF. H. A. A. KENNEDY i8i
an apostate seek Divine forgiveness, but apostasy implies a ^- Uie^ serious deadening of the conscience {Living Forces of the 5, ^ Gospel, p. 294). But many ethical situations on the ^'^ mission field are far more complex. St. Paul's masterly handling of two prominent difficulties in the Corinthian Church, mixed marriages, and the partaking of food which had been used in pagan worship, is full of suggestion, because of its ri^ejnoderadqn^OTd tact. While he J^
raises the discussion to a high religious level, the Apostle is ^ careful not to lay down rigid rulesl But that is a very different course from favouring laxity. In the early days of Christian missions there was not always available a balanced wisdom like that of St. Paul, and serious consequences followed. Asia Minor, where the faith had won its most rapid victories, was the region within which Paganism re- appeared in the Church. In that age it was the chosen ^ home of religious syncretism. So that, inevitably, certain ^^^ foreign elements became fused with Christianity, which detracted from its spirituality and tended to externalism. Even more. We find, for example, that the famous Church \ leader, Gregory Thaumaturgus, deliberately relaxed the f earlier discipline, and "allowed the rude multitude to enjoy their festivals," but now " in Christian guise." "The cult of the martyrs " (I quote from Plarnack), " took the place of the ^'^=^V>t<^ old local cults, and the old fetishes were succeeded by the relics of the saints" {Expansion, ii. p. 208). Christianity undoubtedly became popular, but at too great a cost. , Everything points to a similar combination of circumstances as likely to confront the modern missionary enterprise. Already mass movements towards Christianity are taking shape. As in the third century, these are the channels through which alien ideas will flow into the Christian society. To realise the good in them, and to ward off the evil, will demand a high degree of spiritual insight and practical wisdom. For, unquestionably^^all arbitrary action_^ must be avoided. The missionary dare not sEutTiTs eyes against forcesof religipus^value which may reveal themselves P^ in_heathen Ideals. These may prove veritable stepping-' stones towards a solid Christian position. In any case the
^
1 82 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
ideas and the customs which are the very substratum of heathen society must be studied without prejudice. " The religion of Christ," we read in the Report of Commission II., " interpreted in the light of the incarnation, finds everywhere j traces of that Light which lighteneth every man, that seminal j/ Word, giving fragments of Truth even to those not privileged ^ to know God in Christ. The missionary so instructed asks of any custom, What is the ^n^ in it, by which it has lived through these many centuries?" (Vol. II., p. 113).
This problem is exemplified in the supremacy of caste in India (see pp. 115,116). A problem of a similar kind emerges with reference to ancestor-worship in China. In any case, we have to be reminded, as the Report just quoted aptly suggests, " of the deep reverence which our Lord and St. Paul paid to the personality of those with whom they had dealings, and that the one end of law, and of discipline as guarding law, is the development of the sense of sin ; in other words, the training of a Christian conscience within theif Church under our care " (p. 1 18).
Deep penetration and a far-reachjng outlook are needful for determining the relation of the Christian mission to elements in heathen society which seem, for the present, at least, to form an integral part of racial thought and feeling, and differences of judgment are sure to reveal themselves as regards the application of apostolic principles to definite situations.
6. TAe Nature atid Organisation of the Church on the Afission Field. — But there appears to be practical unanimity of conviction as to the last question which I wish to emphasise, the necessity of an indigenous Christian Church. Hereji/" indeed, greatliivergence of view maypfevailTegarding ultimate forms of organisation and administration. But most, if not all, 'competent observers seem to believe that the non- Christian races must be evangelised by Churches composed of their own kith and kin. Perhaps this is the sphere in which most mayT)(r learned for the modern campaign from^' a careful survey of the earliest Christian missions. I must here remind you, that by the end of the second century there was no regular organised system of what is technically called " missionary " effort. There were, indeed, to be found
REV. PROF. H. A. A. KENNEDY 183
certain travelling preachers, but theirjvgrjc does not seem to ^ '^''^ have been of primary importance. And yet this was a period ^>'uA. when Christianity extended its sway by leaps and bounds. '^'
The secret is to be discovered in the missionary enthusiasm '^% of the organised Christian communities. St. Paul's plan of operation is familiar to us all. He chose strategic positions, planted strong congregations at these points, assured that Christian influence must inevitably radiate from them in all directions. It is needless for our purpose to dwell on the organisation of these communities. On the one hand, those founded by a prominent apostle like St. Paul, and acknow- ledging him as their spiritual father, were for that very reason linked to one another by powerful ties. On the other hand, it is evident from early Christian literature that, for the first two centuries at least, each of these communities was more or less an independent local 'jmit, a representative in itself of J^^ the Church of God. To this condition of things there corresponded, in the earlier era, the existence of a prophetic and a local ministry ; the one common to a wide range of communities, the other belonging to a definite congregation. Unquestionably these separate congregations came at a very early stage to have the consciousness that they were parts of one great Church. This: was, as TertuUian says, " because\ they gave each other the salutation of peace, regarded each p wt»4^ other as brethren, and practised the jnterchjirige of hospi^ u^'^^. tality." The various Christian communities therefore, in A^i-fCx each province of the Roman Empire, became the centres of missionary activity. Probably the first^onverts in each came to take a leading part in the teaching and administration of their congregations. In any case, those who primarily directed the work of the Churches were natives of the soil. Hence the Churches of Asia Minor, or of Africa, or of Italy developed jj in accordance with the genius of the country. There was nothing exotic about them. TK^~ were' sjlTgoyerning, self- ./ supporting, and in the highest degree self-propagating. Their methods of organisation and evangelisation must have grown ^ spontaneously out of their environment. This could be '.groyed^y^examples. 'Now, their powerful impulse to expan- sion bears witness to the intensity of Christian inspiration
1 84 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
/ which they had received from their founders. St. Paul had trained his converts with immense pains in his own spirit. They felt that they were debtors to their neighbours. And they embraced all sorts of opportunities to win men for their Lord. In the Odavivs of Minucius Felix, e.g., there is a charm- ing story of three friends on a pleasure excursion, in which the two Christians of the group shaped the conversation so as to influence the heathen for Christ. This effort went on in all directions, in households, in the street, in places of business, among artisans, and in circles of the educated. Another feature of incalculable value for the success of the Christian movement lay in the common ground occupied by f ''"W the members of the Church and^hose whom they sought fo~bTing into its fellowship. A common heritage of customs and ideas, a common education, a common social life, that impalpablecornmunity of sentiment which no outsider can h' fuTly~appreciate — these must always be factors of decisive moment even for th'Flntefpretation of a Gospel which tran- scends national limitations. And all this eager activity was buttressed by the splendid development of the Christian society, " from the local to the provincial Church, and from that to the larger league of Churches, in Synods." The direct bearing of these facts of primitive Christianity upon the modern situation requires little emphasis.
The history of the earliest Christian missions is an eloquent testimony to the assimilative power of indigenous U Churches. Much energy has been concentrated, and wisely concentrated, on the establishing of healthy organisations. These organisations have, like those of the Early Church, been often modelled according to the framework of native institutions, a course which seems essential to their success. Perhaps more attention must be given " to the development of the native gifts of spiritual and mental energy (I quote from the Report of Commission II.), to secure for the Church in the mission field, in every case, room for its own characteristic development." The example of the Early Church suggests that the time has fully come to deepen, in the native Churches, the sense of responsibility to the non-Christians wlio are about them.
REV. PROF. H. A. A. KENNEDY 185
Missionary experience in Uganda, and more recently in Korea and Manchuria, most impressively attests the wisdom of the~nieth6ds followed in the opening centuries of our era. And the recommendations of Commission I. on this subject (pp. 368, 369), embody a wise adaptation of the fundamental principles of the ^arly-Church to the modern situation.
I have attempted to bring into prominence certain selected factors and methods in the missions of the Early Church which seemed to be of permanent value for the modern missionary enterprise. But the force of that splendid ex- ample will inevitably be lost, unless we share with Apostolic Christianity its__profound impression of the unspeakable worth of Christ, unless we ~are~possessed in heart and soul by the supreme conviction of the chief Apostle that the Gospel of Christ " is the power of God_unto salvation to every one that believeth."
MEDIiEVAL MISSIONS IN THEIR BEARING ON MODERN MISSIONS
By the Rev. W. H. FRERE, Superior of the Com- munity OF the Resurrection, Mirfield
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Thursday Evening, \bthjune
Brethren in Christ, Mediaeval Missions, or in particular the missions of the earlier mediseya,! times, have, I venture to say, a great deal to teach us in matters of method, and in other respects as well. At the same time it must be recognised that there is no systematic account of the missions that were undertaken in those days, so far as I know, and therefore our information on the subject has to be collected here and there in small pieces, and gathered very largely from incidents in the lives of the great saints, and, to a very limited extent, from other "historical documents. I propose to take, first of all, a few of the more obvious points, and deal with them very shortly — they will hardly need comment — and then to pass on later to one or two points selected for further discussion.
First of all, then, we see much in the record of the missionary effort of the early mediaeval times which is exceedingly familiar to us in the present day. We see the preacher going forth to preach, itinerating about from tj( village to village. Again, practically every one of the great missTonafies of whom we read had the policy, quite deliberately adopted and most thoroughly carried out, of selecting here and there the most promising boys, that they might be taken off to be educated so as to form the
i86
REV. W. H. FRERE 187
labourers of the new generation. We may even see, I think, without being too fanciful, the beginning of industrial missions, when we see Wilfrid in Sussex teaching a very desolate and starving people, and setting them to work by teaching them to fish, which, up to then, they had been unable to do. Again, we may note the extraordinarily rapid development of the autonomous and indigenous Church. There was no hesitation, difficulty or delay, such as we have so constantly presented to us to-day. Take a single instance. As soon as St. Augustine had gone to France, within a very short time after his landing in England, and had come back a consecrated Bishop, there was, from the very first, an Ecclesia Anglicana : z>. within a few months of the landing of the first missionaries. There was no difficulty ^ about it at all. His instructions from the Home Base at ^^ Rome were conceived in an exceedingly^JiberaL . ajid enlightened spirit, which is perhaps well worthy of com- mendation to men of^bur own days. Further, when we get a brother missionary coming from the north — Aidan from another Home Base — there is the same hberality and -^ freedom, and, as a result, there is again growing lip, not another body, but the same Ecclesia^nglicana. The two simpljT forrned into one, becoming part of the Church of the country. It is well worthy of our serious consideration. I take another point which I must mention, but only just mention. As topics have to be selected it seemed to me that was not so appropriate to our discussion as some others, but yet it is one that cannot be ignored or forgotten. I mean the supreme value of monastic institutions as evangelistic agencies in the whole of the Mediaeval Missions. They were all built upon the monastic^princi^le : and again, I think, that is a thing which has to be laid to heart.
Further, the questions of organisation and Church j)olity need some consideration. It is not a topic which we can well take up to-night ; but it is important for us to draw from these mediaeval precedents whatever we can, and there is an immense deal of value awaiting any one who can study out the bearing of Church organisation and polity upon the science of missions. We are at present engaged in
1 88 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
missionary work, partly in conflict with great world religions, and partly in contact with religions of a very much lower type. Now the Mediaeval Church, except in one instance, did not touch or come into contact with any great world religion, until it came into conflict ratEeOS^te ih " tTie day with Islam ; and then its dealings were more military than missionary. The single exception to this is the conflict in Persia and the East with Zoroastrianism. The early part of this conflict lies outside our period, but the later part of it lies well within, and therefore may well be considered. This later part, the missionary zeal of the Syriac-speaking Church, is largely unrecorded. We only know very dimly the way in which they bore right across into China, but the methods are to us unknown. We know little but the mere fact of it. Still, there is something to pause over, something, I think too, of immense importance. These two great world religions came into conflict. We can sum up, I think, the result in one sentence. First of all, the Persian duahsm contami- ±/ nated the Christian faith, and splittjheXliurch as an organisa- tion into fragments : but, secondly, when purified and unified, the result" was an immense strengthening of the grij) which the Church as a whole had upon its Christian organisation and faith. Both these .points and the result are, I think, v>rorthy of our attention to-night. It is well that we should dwell upon the really serious contamination and splitting which resulted from the conflict between Christianity and that world religion. It involved an immense disorder, not only in faith, but in practice. But from all that the Church emerged all the stronger, purified in its faith and solidly entrenched in its position. For we must never forget, in viewing the unity of the Mediaeval Church, that it possessed that unity and unquestioned sway over the Christianised world, not because it had inherited it from the past, but because it had proved itself to be the only form of Christian organisation which was fit to survive, the other divisions being unfit to survive. And its dogmatic force was the ; only power that could bring the contaminated faith into reconciliation at last with the great Nicene faith.
The significance of this for us is obvious, but immensely
KEY. W. H. FRERE 189
important. We also have now to come, and shall have increasingly to come, into conflict with world religions. ^^^
Let us weigh well the probability that it will bring with it ^'^<:^
these same difficulties, that it will bring with it necessarily a great contamination of the faith. It is a formulated dogmatic faith that has survived the attacks, not semi- Christian or imperfect statements of faith. It is that alone that can come through these impending conflicts and survive. Similarly, amid the immense variety of organisation which already exists, and which will perhaps be increased in its variety before we are done, only those organisations will be able to survive which reaUy~sIpidrt1ie~Iest'onTiTs"tr^^^ impact. Therefore, I can see that nothing which I can say to this Conference is more important than this. We must be well warned beforehand that it is only the most comprehensive and yet most dogmatic faith that can ever emerge from such a conHicFas is lying before us, and it is only the most closely knit organisation — closely knit and yet leaving plenty of room for elasticity — which can jstiu^ ever possibly survive The various conflicts which will arise as ' ' - we come more and more to grips with the Eastern religions. '"''^„,^ But at the end of it all our confidence is this, that those who come through will come through immensely strengthened, united, and enriched, and that our whole Western Chris- tianity, now perhaps too exclusively ethical, and too brutally practical, will be balanced as the result of this great conflict by Oriental conceptions, predominantly mystical, and more deeply theological in the strict sense of that term.
I turn now to the other branch of our subject, which, after all, has most bearing upon the Mediaeval Missions ; for nearly throughout their whole course they were face to face with the loY>'er type, with all sorts of religions, which I should roughly class under the title animistic. We will confine ourselves to four questions which emerge in this conflict. I will not presume to do more than raise the questions, leaving it to your greater wisdoms to answer them.
First, let us take this point, the medieval mind saw no element of good _at_ all , in. Paganism. It said frankly that it was the work of devils. The consequence of that
/
190 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
was that the missionary, wherever he went, was extraordi- M narily and uncompromisingly aggressive. The typical act, as you well know, of a missionary hero is that he goes and destroys a temple, or cuts dowTi_. an idol, or in some way shocks the Pagan conscience. We see it, for example, when Boniface goes and deliberately cuts down the sacred oak 3t Geismar, and Willibrord profanes the holy island of Heligo- land. He profaned the sacred stream by baptizing three people in it, and slaying the sacred animals. He wanted to put the greatest affront he could upon this devilish superstition. We are told in our Fourth Report that this method is no longer admissible. We are told that it only shocks the heathen ; that he does not anticipate possibly that the missionary himself who does these aggressive acts will be any the worse off, but that they will inevitably recoil upon himself — a very great difference of view, you will see, from the mediaeval idea. But in this connection we may well remind ourselves that there are instances to the con- trary. It was Coifi, the high priest of Northumbria, who himself mounted a horse, which was forbidden to him, took a spear, which was equally forbidden to him, and rode off to the great temple at Godmanham, and there profaned it him- self. Clearly, then, it was in accordance with the newly enlightened conscience of that time that such a thing could be done. This aggressive policy then commended itself. I ask then the question : may not this precedent have its value still ? The policy, at any rate in the Mediaeval Church, was quite deliberate and quite uniform. It is all the more remarkable, because, as you may remember, that was not the policy which was adopted towards the temples in Rome itself. In Rome itself the heathen temples were preserved — cautiously, carefully, and decently preserved, — nor was it until the middle of the sixth century that there was any conversion made of a heathen temple into a Christian Church. It was not then the policy of Rome to break down temples. This was a position quite deliberately taken up by those who undertook it, and we may add at the same time that it was successful. We are told that it may shock the Pagan conscience. But may it not be possible
REV. AV. H. FRERE 191
that the perverted Pagan conscience needs such a shock, and that if we do not give it such a shock they may think we are tolerating it, and misjudge our consideration ? I do not mean that there is to be no policy of conciliation — far from it. Everywhere there was a policy of concession, there were the things which they adopted, and the things which came to hand and were incorporated. Our Christmas itselt is one of them ; the wedding ring is one of them. Such accommodalions with heathen practice were made in large maftersTsometimes even on great test occailon^.- "Yon will remember, perhaps, that wonderful scene at which Patrick made his quite deliberate attack in a friendly way on the Pagan ceremony of the sacred fire. On the day on which the king had collected all his people in his own castle, when every other fire was out, the astonished people looked across the plain and saw a light. It was Patrick's. In great agitation the wise men said, " That light must be extin- guished to-night, or it never will be extinguished at all," and to do the task the king, and two Druids, and eight chariots went to interview Patrick. As you may imagine, the result was not the extinguishing of the light. On the contrary, Patrick came back the next day to Tara and there proclaimed Christ, and there made it clear that he had come to give a healthy and harmless equivalent for that custom. We f^^ have~similarly~a double duty of aggression and conciliation ' ^^ to-day before us.
Secondly, pari passu, the mediaeval missionary struck high. He aimed at the conversion of the king, and thorough the king, the conversion of the people. This was the usual method in all places outside the Roman Empire. From the day of Gregory the Illuminator, in Armenia, in the third century, and forward, it prevailed. We can dimly see it in the missions to Goths and Slavs ; it becomes more clear in all the dealings with the Germanic tribes. It was practically uniform. We see it here in various forms, but always the same thing. Ethelbert of Kent is fairly rapid in his accept- ance of the faith hlmselE He puts no pressure upon his courtiers, but they foUqWj^ and his kingdom is converted there and thenT Further north, Edwin of Northumbria is
192 ADDRESSES AT EVENLNG MEETINGS
slow to come to any personal conviction of faith. When he does, he leaves it to the leaders to debate at that most wonderful debate which _Bed^ so vividly records, and to make their decision ; and it was when the Council had dis- cussed it that the people gave themselves over to the Chris- tian faith. I take these as typical instances. Now, what lay behind those conversions of a king and his kingdom ? First, and perhaps very prominent, the wish to come into the line of progress. It was distinctly so near the border of the Empire. Our report tells us that we must not be too much dissatisfied with somewhat insufficient motives. Secondly, there was the wish for deliverance from a bondage to fear, and from rites which they themselves knew to be profitless. Thirdly, there was the desire to secure the immortality that was promised. Fourthly, there was the desire to escape from the hell which the missionary invariably said was the necessary end of every unbeliever. Now the last arose from a presentment of the message that was universal in our period. In the thirteenth century the friars, who went as missionaries to the Tartars, did little else but call on them to surrender on pain of eternal damnation. Vv'e may put aside that last motive from our present consideration, but the rest of the motives operate, I think I may say, as strongly as ever to-day. May we not then consider this method more seriously ? The method went on continuously. One of the last instances on the historical page is that extra- ordinarily pathetic appeal of St. Francis to Saladin to finish the trouble of the Crusades by becomiiig a Christian. We have, I think, to consider the question, secondly, whether this method is not applicable to-day to a certain extent ; whether, where civilisation is pressing upon the body of the people, where there is no _ _d£i:eloped sense of individuality,-, iL where the king counts for much, and tHe~peopIecount for relatively little, it is not a right method to deal with the whole mass and to aim simply at dealing with the whole mass.
Thirdly, there was bound up with this the habit of indis- criminate baptism, and almost equally indiscriminate con- firmation. That was quite natural in view of the beliefs of
REV. W. H. FRERE 193
the times, and the absolute essentiality of baptism for salva- tion. The attendant djsadvantage.s.weiX-thfilow'. tone, of the new Christians, and the immense relapses that almost always followed ; but without denying that the revived catechu- menate and careful preparation for baptism which now prevails is better in the case where converts are few and individual, it may still be asked whether the opposite rneThod, wftlTalT its disadvantages, is not after all justifiable in the "^ case of great mass movements, always supposing that they come into the support of a strong corporate life with discipline -^ ^ and sacraments, definite practice as well as faith. It was by "^"^ ^ such a process that our own country was Christianised for - ;>^V^ the most part, and we, at least, are the last people who "^/c
ought on occasion at any rate to disregard such a hopeful method.
Lastly, wherever the Church went with its full power of faith and ordinances and saintly lives, there arose a group of phenomena which we must consider sympathetically, chiefly miracles and exorcisms. No doubt we should be inclined to adopt a different^^itude_ towards some of the medisey^iL miracles. We^shoiHdnSe' incTIhed to think that some might be put down possibly as the result of fraud, others as the result of simplicity, that others might be perfectly explicable in these more enlightened days._ It is well that we should do all that. At the same time, I submit to you that we should also try to clear out of our own minds some of the rehcs of the nineteenth or even the eighteenth century sGepticIsm : - and when we have done that we are in a better position to realise the remaining miracles. Are we not right to expect more of the same sort of manifestation at the present time ? We are only working at halfjKiffier. The kingdom of God comes with power, and when we see how in the old days those signs or won"35rs were perfectly direciJuotiKes^iot con- v^rsion^jnay we not again believe, in people of the same sort, and in circumstances of a similar sort, that some force may be imparted, and God may give us this wonderful mani- festation, so that quite evidently the kingdom of God may be coming in power ? Ought not the sick still to be healed ? Are there no demoniacs now from whom the man of God COM. IX. — 13
194 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
by the finger of God should cast out the devil ? That is the question that I ask. It is the only question of these four to which I venture to give an answer, and my answer is an unhesitating Yes. For three reasons. First, I have seen enough even in our own prosaic home work to know \ that the sick are healed, and that the de\als are cast> out. Secondly, that though we call these things sometimes miracles, or more rightly signs, and may perhaps wonder if they are possible, we must never forget that beside the miracle of a converted soul such things as these are small ; and while we have before our eyes day by day the miracle of God's work in the conversion of a soul, we are surely foolish if we despair about such lesser things. My last reason is that our Lard_JHimself has promised that these signs shall follow. Far, therefore, from saying that It is/ ^^. ^ preposterous that in this twentieth century we should believej'' A such things, I say it is preposterous if we do riot. So we come lastly to see that the Mediaeval Missions have to teach us very much of the power of faith. Let us close our meeting therefore with the prayer that the Lord will increase ^ our faith.
THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE EARLY CENTURIES
By the Rev. Professor A. R. MACEWEN, D.D.,
New College
Address delivered in the Synod Hall o?i Thursday Evening, i6th June
The title given to the subject has been taken, it may be assumed, from Dr. ^Jiarnack^s erudite and impressive treatise, and I shall '^follow Harnack so far as to confine myself to the first three centuries. When at the beginning . of the fourth century Christianity became a State religion, and the Emperor resolved to convene an ..CEcumeriical Council^ the expansion of Christianity assumed a new character. Everything I shall say refers to the ages pre- ceding that momentous change — to the ages when the Church had no "Home Base," when in every land she was a stranger, when the history of the Church was the ///v- r
history of a Foreign Mission. '■ — '■
The progress made by Christianity in this period was more important and determinative than any other change in the religious history of mankind. In the first three centuries Christianity was so _planted_and-^ rooted in the centres of progressive civilisation that it inevitably became the most influential religion in the world, the most potent ^ factor in the development of human life.
Further, this result had been achieved in face of strong,
deadly opposition. Although a few of the emperors had
wavered, not one of them had rendered any real service
to the Christian cause. The wisest of them, the most
J 95
196 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
statesman-like and far-sighted, had been its keenest opponents — opponents far more skilful than any Chinese Empress or Turkish Sultan. As its rivals, it had religions of almost unlimited variety with attractions for men of every mood and grade — from the classical mythologies made glorious by Greece and imperial by Rome, to the soothing, dreamy theosophies nurtured in the Near East. Some of these religions had wise thinkers as their advocates, but neither philosophers nor moralists showed any fair appreciation of Christian teaching.
On the Christian side of the contest there were ranged few men of conspicuous ability. Between New Testament times and Constantine, not more than two Christians reached the frontjank of genius^ and of these two, the oneJOi'igen) was deposed from office as a heretic, and the other (Tertullian) abandoned the Church, and denounced her for her worldliness. The closest survey of the personal, social, and intellectual forces by which the Christian mission ^was suj)ported yields no explanation of its success.
Although the praise must be ascribed to the operation of the Holy Spirit, He worked, as always, through human agencies, and therefore the methods and the spirit of the men and women whom He employed call for our close attention. If it be said that the methods and the spirit of the early centuries cannot be reproduced or even imitated in our day, the answer is — (i) that many parts of the /, modern mission field closely resemble the Europe, Africa, and Asia Minor of those^IImes ; and^(2y~tHat we are called not to parrot-like reproduction or formal imitation, but to thoughtful consideration of their work. I shall indicate ^^, generally the lines in which guidance may be found.
Let us begin by setting aside a few mistaken notions which have, the Conference papers show, a place in some men's minds.
I. The progress of Christianity was _not due to external unity nor to uniformity of method. There was no central authority or general organisation. The pioneering of St. Paul was splendidly devised, but after his death and the downfall of the Church in Palestine, no plan can be traced.
REV. PROFESSOR A. R. MACEWEN 197
The fijst. known Church councils were held a full century after the Council of Jerusalem, and they were strictly local, convened to deal with local heresies. Another century passed before councils became frequent, and then they accentuated instead of removing differences which had arisen. There was, indeed, a growing disposition to look to Rome as an example and a guide, but the disposition dis- appeared whenever Rome became unreasonable or imperious.
Accordingly, in the absence of central control, the methods of government and administration varied in different localities, and this was not found to be a hindrance or a drawback to effective work. On the contrary, the Church gained strength h from elasticity and pliancy. The separate missions adapted themselves to the temper, culture, and political habits of the districts in which they were planted. They were held to- gether to a very remarkable extent by deputations and corre- spondence, by the reading of the same sacred books, the use of the same sacraments, and the inworking of the same Spirit, but there was no fixed organism or visible authority, no machinery for issuing edicts or prescribing creeds, or even for adjusting discipline and dioceses. It was only after the battle with paganism had been won that external unity was secured.
2. Although there was adaptation to local conditions, there was not the slightest accommodation to paganism either local or imperial. The antagonism to idolatry in all its phases was unqualified and keen j'^ometrmes it was almost proud. Take the martyr Polycarp as an example. His life would have been spared if he had consented to bow before the genius of the Emperor — a concession which an easy judg- ment might have tolerated. When the pro-consul in charge urged him to say, " Away with^the atheists ! " he looked severely upon the pagan crowd, praying, " Away with these atheists ! " Then the pro-consul, who wished to save Poly- carp's life, called him to present his case to the people. " To thee," he replied, " I would willingly speak . . . but those men are unworthy to hear my defence." These con- temptuous words, which are quoted with admiration by the survivors of the saint, fairly represent the convictions of
198 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
most of the early Apologists, whose tractates addressed to the heathen were the_only missionary literature. Some of them, indeed, recognised that there had been Christians before Christ, and that God had never left Himself without a witness, while a very few acknowledged that the old idolatries had been part of God's training of the Gentiles, and attempted to measure their religious worth. Yet even these last were unsparing in condemnation of the religions of their own times, and repudiated any proposals to blend pagan usages, or traditions, or ideals with Christian worship and beliefs.
3. The expansion of Christianity was not due to strong tides of the Spirit affecting crowds of men. As a jrule_ con- versioii was a jjuiet 4)roces&, reaching individuafs through what we call "personal dealing." There was nothing like the collective impulse roused by the famous preachers of the Middle Ages, or the intense excitement which swayed crowds under the preaching of Francis Xavier or John Wesley. These mass movements have had their own place in the economy of grace : we can give thanks for them, as they have been reproduced recently in Korea and Manchuria; but, after New Testament times, they had no place in the foundation of the Church. We read, indeed, of rushes into Church communion, but these were made when persecution was abated, and the persons who joined in the rushes showed little stability, and usually lapsed into idolatry when perse- cution was renewed. Of revivalist preaching in the modern sense history has scarcely any record. The wandering evan- gelism of sub-apostolic times soon came to an ignoble end. The aim of the later evangelists was to convince in conver- sation and to win by friendliness rather than to excite or to impress. I say this, after reading regretful statements sub- mitted to the Conference, that the conversion of multitudes has had no place in certain mission fields. Where it is so we have a reproduction of those early times. It was by the gradual persuasion and attraction of individuals that the Roman Empire was won for Christ. ^ So we pass from negations to things positive — to the beliefs and the liieTo which the world was converted,
REV. PROFESSOR A. R. MACE WEN 199
The old world yielded to three spiritual influences — the doctrine of God, the doctrine of heaven, the community or brotherhood of the Cross.
I. First among the persuasive truths of early Christian teaching must undoubtedly be placed the unity of God, His sole authority and exclusive power over every^department of man's life. The Reports presented to this Conference con- tain several impressive accounts of the essential misery of polytheism, the nervous anxiety and spiritual feebleness ^ which TT "creates. In the Roman world, the ordinary mind ) was so perplexed, burdened, plagued by the multiplicity of / deities which seemed to have some claim to be propitiated, that monotheism as presented by the Jews had won many proselytes. But Christian teachers set it forth with an entirely new attractiveness. They not only freed it from exclusive nationalism and broke down " the fence of the Law," but cleared it from austerity and gloom by teaching the incarnation of God and the mediation of the God-man. The identity of Jesus with God lay at the root of their message ; it was, indeed, their message. He who from the beginning had been with the Father as His word, His reason. His counsellor in the plan of redemption, was born of a Virgin, clothed Himself in humanity, and bore the burden of sin in order that the very life of God might be imparted to man. The incarnation and atonement were variously defined. The most distinctive statements are those of Irenseus and Tertullian : " He became what we are, in order that He might make us what He is ; " " He took our place, in order that we may have His place." ^ But all teachers agreed that after offering His sacrifice He returned to the place He held before incarnation, to share with the Father the functions of judge and saviour, so that when Christians praised Christ and prayed to Christ they were praising the one God and pleading with the one God. Neither incarnation nor atonement was so presented as to impinge_upon the unity of God, or to suggest that there ^:^^^
^ Harnack calls these "epoch-making" statements. "Epoch-mark- ing " would be a more accurate epithet : so emphatically does Irenceus disclaim originality.
.>^.
i
*
200 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
had been a redeeming plan distinct from the purpose -of^-tbe- Creator and Sustainer of mankind.
Now this truth, that the whole of hfe could be entrusted to one gracious 'personal Being, who could ward off everj attaclT^oT evil, dawned upon the pagan hearer as a serene and welcome light, and drew him out of the distracting darkness in which he was the daily victim of many gods and many lords.
II. The second persuasive truth of the mission was the certainty of immortality and of unprecedented bliss in heaven after the day of judgment.
Here, again, reference may be made to the Conference Reports, for their account of the vagueness and coarseness of non- Christian beliefs in immortality gives a fair idea of the beliefs of pagans in the early centuries. The pale and shivering shades of Hades gained no colour and no warmth from the Greek and Roman classics. Marcus^_Aurelius. surmised that at death the soul might be extinguished or absorbed. But in the Christian Church, to the lowliest and most backward disciple, all beyond the grave was bright and beautiful. His true place was in the coming world, not in this perishing and polluted fabric. It is a common habit . even among Christians to depreciate " other-worldliness," | and to say that you will win men for Christ by calling them to fix their eyes upon their daily interests and their present duties. The life of the earh^Christians, as Gibbon recog- nises in his analysis of the causes of the growth of the Church, was avowedly and steadfastly an other-worldly life. Their apologisis argued that they fulfilled their civic and social obligations faithfully, but their explanation of this fidelity was that Christians expect a day of judgment, and look forward as strangers and pilgrims to unspeakable hap- piness in their true home. " Christians," says the Epistle to Diognetus, "a^e not of this world. . . . They are kept in the world as in a prison. . . . The soul holds the body together till it finds incorruption in heaven." So Aristides closes his Address to the heathen : " Let all those who do not know God approach the words of immortality ; . . . our teaching is the gateway of life everlasting."
REV. PROFESSOR A. R. MACEWEN 201
These ideas pervaded the daily living of ordinary be- lievers. Their pagan neighbours saw that their character wg,s changed andTheir course shaped by expectation of recompense and joy in heaven. After the martyrdoms of Lyons and Vienne, the savage persecutors, eager to stamp out the new religion, burned the bones of the martyrs and threw the ashes into the Rhone. " There," they said with a stupid sneer, " they are beyond the help of their God : they will now give up that hope of heaven which enables them to bear tortures?'" So plain was it that belief in resjirrection was the source of Christian courage. ~ ^
It is difficult for us at home to know what notes sound loudest in the teaching of modern missionaries ; yet one can gather with deep thankfulness that the sure truths of immortality do not falter on their lips. TtTost friends of missions will remember the martyr scene in Canon Dawson's Life of James Hanningto?i — how the martyrs faced death singing happily : " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." It ^l,^^^, was through that very view of death and heaven that the Christians of the early centuries drew their wondering neighbours into the Kingdom of God's grace. ^
III. So we come to speak of the Christian community or brotherhood in its attractive power.
Although it was a separate community marked off from the world, new members were admitted readily. There was a period of probation and instruction, but less caution was :^ shown than in modern missions, and unworthy men and women were often baptized — people who accepted the Gospel without counting the cost, and also people who were thorough hypocrites and " made a trade of Christ." In times of peace such persons stained the fair name of the brotherhood, and, if persecution arose, they went straight back to paganism. When the persecution ended, they usually applied for re- admission, involving the Church in the same perplexities as
^ On 14th June it was reported to the Church Missionary Society that the daughter of Busoga, the chief who gave instructions for Hannington's murder, has been baptized. Of modern as of ancient missions, TertulHan's words, so often clumsily paraphrased, hold good — " sanguis Christianorum semen" . . . " seminavimus sanguinem."
202 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
faced Mission Councils in Manchuria after the Boxer riots. The leaders had to consider not only the claims of sinners to forgiveness, but the effect upon the community of drawing no distinction between those who had denied Christ before men, and the martyrs who had witnessed a good confession. In the main mercy triuniphed over judgment, but sometimes they were exceediSgly severe.
Further, the fact that when brethren fell into idolatry or lust, the mission came into contempt, made it imperative that all should avoid scenes of temptation, and led to regulations which may well be called " puritanic." There is, for example, a surviving series of canons drawn up at the very end of our period, in 305 or 306, by nineteen bishops in the town of Elvira, which prohibits dice-playing, excludes play-actors from communion, forbids the marriage of Christian girls to heretics or Jews, and declares that a magistrate who is a Christian must not enter church during his magistracy, since civil office involved some participation in idol-worship. In one canon, Christians who persistently absent themselves from church are sentenced to ten years suspension. Another canon declares that no pictures are to be admitted into churches, " lest the Object of adoration and worship should be painted upon walls." This last rule shows that we are speaking of a time when pagan ritual was not yet blended ,vith the Christian simplicities ; but it is still more important to note that local churches were occupied in defining both terms of communion and methods of worship, and that the success of each mission depended upon the wisdom that was shown. It was possible to make the_brotherhood so hard and narrow that it repelled Jii^Jieathen, or so lax and worldly that it lost moral and religious value. In the one case it shrivelled up into a useless and pretentious sect ; in the other case it melted into the pagan world.
We speak of the " social mission " of the Church^as_if we had discovered_a„new kind of Christianity. In those times Christianity was specifically a social mission. Although there was no approach to communism, each congregation had its fund from which the pressing wants of church members were supplied. Widows, if widows indeed, orphans.
REV. PROFESSOR A. R. MACEWEN 203
brethren in prison or in the mines, strangers on travel, trades- men who had lost employment by professing Christianity — these were the reasonable burden of the brotherhood, and it was a burden that could be borne only by the self-denial of the brethren. Therefore preachers frequently urged their congregations to fast — not in the Roman but in the Salvation Army^ sense — to abstain from food and to bring the money thus saved to the place of worship in eucharist, as eucharist, proof or pledge of God's infinite grace. The neglect of a needy brother was indeed an offence of the same kind as the denial of Christ.
For this brotherhood, this visible, working unity, was not a secondary matter, a corollary, an added duty, but a primary obligation. To ".communicate," to impart to one another endowments and possessions, to recognise in practice identity with Christ, with God, with man, was the bond of believers, the ideal of churchmanship. The best churchman was the man who gave up all he had received, nay, sur- rendered himself, his redeemed, consecrated, endowed self, -^ '^'' upon the sacrifice and service of faith. He was the most /rg^..,^.,,,..^ honoured and successful missionary. ' t.4-- £i^^s-^
And yet, with all this intensity and realism, a remarkable sobriety prevailed, with a disposition to insist upon orderly /^Wc and gracious conduct, which, as the centuries passed, com- mended the Christian cause to the ruling powers and to the pagan observer. The age of ascetic monasticism had not yet come : before the fourth century no monks were mis- sionaries. Household life was ruled by new ideals and per- vaded by a new tone, for husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves, were united by Christ's laws of purity and peace. Let me concentrate the truth about this by quoting without comment three inscriptions from the catacombs : —
" These two lived together without complaint or quarrel, without giving or taking offence."
" Here Gordian, ambassador from Gaul, and his whole family, rest in peace : their maid-servant Theoptala erected this."
" To Felix, their well-deserving son, who lived 23 years and
204 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
I o days, and went out of the world a virgin and a neophyte in peace. Buried on the 2nd of August."
That was the hfe by which Christianity expanded.
One other feature of the mission must be named : its clieerfulness, its optimism, its happiness.
The cheerfulness which prevailed was largely due, as we have seen, to bright hopes of the future, but these had their forecast in the actual charm of the Christian course^n_-earth. I speak not of th"e"relief of burdened consciences — those were not introspective days — but of the deliverance from vice and greed and contention and spiritual darkness. It was an immediate blessing to be lifted out of cesspools of social filth, to be washed from all spots, and to be set in circles where men and women were wedded in Christ, where chil- dren were taught reverence, where maidens blushed and young men were unstained, and the very name of unnatural vices was suppressed. It was a blessing to the poor man and the slave to be treated as an equal by his neighbour, and it was a blessing to the rich to be guided in the use of their wealth. The deliverance from idolatry was a boon — escape from the hard, crushingclaims of the gods of the Empire and from the sophistical coils which the mystical religions of the East wound round spiritual aspiration. And it was more than a boon to be led out from pagan credulity and blind stoical submissiveness into the presence of the living and true God, and to listen as a free man to the words of His grace and peace.
It was the concentration, the inward identity of these attractive forces that gave the Cross of Jesus the same spiritual significance for ordinary men as it had for the Apostle of the Gentiles. The way of the redeemed, the way of light and purity, of brotherhood, order, and freedom, was marked by a cross from the beginning to the end — from the day when a man washed off the sl^ugh_of sin in a fountain that seemed to flowjFrom the wounds of the Nazarene, all througTi the times wiien lie wrestled with the desires of the flesh, turned aside from the seductions of idolatry, stood forth in the eye of the public as a witness that God was one, or, if he had not that honour, carried the denarius he had
REV. PROFESSOR A. R. MACEWEN 205
earned at his trade up to the Communion Table and placed it in the hands of the bishop or presiding elder, down to the day when he passed into the perfection of the heavenly life. The power of the mission lay in the fact that no distinction was drawn between faith and life, between the spiritual and the moral, between the cross which Jesus bore and the cross borne by His servants.
And the hopefulness, the promise, the strength of the mission that lies before us, is that in the work of our mis- sionaries, and in the 'hearts of those who support them, there is the same coiicentfation, the same inward unity, the same deliberate purpose to make known a message for faith which is also a message for life.
If in any mind the thought arises that our faith is not the same as the faith of the early centuries, we have before us this week an answer which no man can gainsay. Out of the heart of those centuries there emerged one statement of beliefs. No one knows by whom it was drafted or where it first appeared. We find it in Africa, in Gaul, in Italy, on the Danube, and in Asia Minor, with slight variations, but ^^ identical in its essence and almost in its form — a statement ^"''^ so scriptural an 3"^ evangelical that it" wa^s" ascribed to the Apostles. Now in the Conference Reports you will discover an item, simple buFgrand, repeated by many missionaries — Episcopalian, Wesleyan, Baptist, Presbyterian — that the state- rneiit of faith which they find to have most value, and on which they lay most stress, is that same Apostles' Creed. In the seventeen centuries that have passed since it was shaped, the Holy Spirit has taught the Church much. He will teach us more if we listen to His voice, but the founda- tions of the Kingdom stand, although the things that were shaken have been removed. The central beliefs^ which our missionaries teach were the centfaTbeliefs of the men through whose mission Christianity first expanded, and if we set therii forth it will continue to expand, for they will take the same blessings to the non-Christian world.
THE EXTENT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF GERMAN MISSIONS
By Professor Dr. MIRBT, Marburg
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Friday Evening, iTthJime
Protestantism has not developed into one Church organisation. That is why its opponents have kept declaring for four centuries that it will soon die. There are hundreds of Churches and no one can tell how many more will arise.
For Protestant missions this peculiarity of Protestantism is of great importance. With us there is no congregatio de propaganda fide which gives directions for the choice of missionary fields and missionary ways, and we shall never possess such a central authority. Like Protestantism itself, Protestant missions have been built up on the principle of freedom. Nevertheless, they show when compared Avith Catholic missions a relative uniformity. This is most remarkable, considering that every Missionary Society pro- ceeds quite independently, and can do and leave undone as it likes. On the other hand, this uniformity is not astonishing, because Protestantism in spite of its varieties gives the nations that have adhered to it in Europe and America a singleness of character that is rooted in single- ness of faith.
But there are also differences, both in the conception of the aims of missions and in the method of work. Every nation has its own character, its superiorities and its weaknesses, its gifts and its limitations, and it is just the working together of these many forces in the service of the
so6
PROFESSOR DR. MIRBT 207
propagation of the Gospel that makes the richness of Protestant missions.
In approaching the task of describing the peculiarity of German missions, I have to make two preliminary remarks. A thorough scientific treatment of the subject would require me first to consider the points in which all Protestant missions harmonise, and then to state the peculiarity of German missions. There is no time for this. Secondly, I beg you to remark that the words " German missions " represent as little a fixed quantity as the expressions " English missions " or " American missions." In saying so, I do not only think of the differences given by the different countries where missions are at work, nor of those only that result from the shorter or longer duration of missionary work ; no, I think also of the pecuHar interests, which are alive in the different Missionary Societies. So, in trying to characterise German missions as a unity, I am well aware of the fact that the representative of each Missionary Society would, perhaps, under the visual angle of his own society, accentuate differently many a point, show it in a different light.
What I say here is not an official declaration in the name of our German Missionary Societies ; it is only the result of some observations which I, as a friend of missions, have made in studying German missions.
I will first try to characterise our missionary affairs at home and then the peculiarities of our work in the mission field.
I. I begin by stating the important fact, that, in general, it is not the Protestant churches but the so-called Missionary Societies that carry on mission work. There are, indeed, some Free Churches which consider missions a function of the Church (Moravians, Baptists, the Hanoverian Lutheran Free Church), but among these only the Moravians, pioneers of missions from the time of Zinzendorf, have shown consider- able activity. By far the greater part of our actual German mission work is done by members of German State Churches.
2o8 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
As these State Churches for a long time showed reluctance or indifference towards missions, the friends of the latter among their members were compelled to take the matter into their own hands, and did so by creating Missionary Societies. As this form of organisation was successful, and as corporations with self-administration allow greater mobility and initiative than State Churches, which are exposed to the dangers of bureaucracy, this policy of uniting the friends of missions into societies was kept up even when the time came when Church Boards adopted that friendly attitude towards missions which they are now everywhere manifesting.
The boundaries of the different societies are not identical with the boundaries of our churches. We do not have societies for Prussia, Saxony, or Bavaria. The principle of division is given by the different religious groups and opinions. The result is that every society has members in different churches.
The greater number of the more important societies found directly or indirectly their origin in the quickening of religious life at the beginning of the nineteenth century. That is why to this day the keynote of a considerable part of our mission life is " Pietism." Other societies were founded when a new understanding of the value of the Lutheran Confession in contrast to the Reformed faith grew up. In the middle of the nineteenth century the starting of Home Missions led to the formation of new societies. When at last in 1884 the German Empire entered the list of colonial powers, Protestant Germany followed suit in founding still more societies for the German colonies. At the same time theological liberalism started a mission work of its own. The modern revival movement (Gemeinschaftsbewegung), which is so remarkable in our church life, did the same. So that now all groups, parties, and subdivisions of German Protestantism have their own societies, which, unlike each other in organisation and tendency, give a true picture of the manifoldness of our church life.
These numerous societies bear witness to the power of
PROFESSOR DR. MIRBT 209
the triumphantly advancing idea of missions, and are so far a welcome symptom. On the other hand, such division leads to waste of strength and money.
By far the greater part of all German mission work lies now in the hands of the eight oldest societies (Moravians [1732], Bale [1815], Berlin [1824], Rhenische [1828], North German [1836], Leipsic [1836], Gossner [1836J, Hermannsburg [1849]). They are helped by eighteen other societies. Since 1877 the number of German societies has been trebled. Let us hope there will be no more new societies, and that the present ones will find it possible to become more closely connected. It would be premature to say that the " Committee for German Missions " had already solved this problem.
2. The words "Missionary Training College" cover an important part of our missionary life. This institution results from a quite definite comprehension of the word " missionary," and influences strongly the ways of our mission work. I know well that other countries have training colleges for missionaries ; but they have not the same importance as with us. In England and in America the name of missionary is given to all who give themselves to the service of missions. In doing so they do not enter a new, a particular calling ; they only change the scene of their activity. This applies to the preacher, the teacher, the medical man, the workman. They devote a few years to the mission in practising their own calling in its service ; and when, for any reason, they leave the mission, they return to their own country, continuing work there as preachers, teachers, medical men, and so on. Not a few indeed remain permanently in the mission work, and the example of Alexander Mackay in Uganda shows that even an engineer may do evangelising work.
This proceeding has several advantages ; it facilitates the task of gaining men and women for mission work, and puts sometimes a missionary society in the happy position of having a choice among a larger number of persons. But with this method the getting together of a missionary Stafi" may be influenced by chance. Special preparation COM. IX. — 14
2IO ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
for mission work is wanting. It is not likely that every one of the before-mentioned persons will feel obliged to learn the language of the natives. It is difficult in this way to get fixed traditions for missionary work.
It is otherwise in Germnay. There the work of the missionary is considered a special calling, selected for a lifetime, and differing from every other calling. Its character is a purely religious one, and involves preaching, pastoral office, and the administration of sacraments. We, too, send out teachers, medical men, and artisans; but we do not — strictly speaking — call them missionaries ; they are rather missionary helpers.
The consequence of missionary work being with us a calling for life is, that nearly all Missionary Societies have set up establishments, where young people — about eighteen to twenty-four years of age — are given in a course of six years a complete professional training. The great amount of labour and money required by these institutes is gladly sacrificed by the Missionary Societies, because, according to our experience, this system has great advantages. During this long time of training, not only the young man's religious and intellectual qualifications as well as his character may be tested, but also the special intellectual outfit for his calling is given to him. We so attain an intellectual and professional homogeneity of missionaries, which is of great importance for the homogeneity of our whole mission work. As only those are received in the seminary who wish to make mission work their calling, it is not usual with us to send out missionaries for a limited time.
This college education is undoubtedly exposed to some dangers. Perhaps a few helpers are lost to the mission, who with the English system — to call it shortly so — would have easily found an opportunity to serve it. We also are aware of the fact that the college training may lead to one-sidedness. So the subject is much discussed in Germany with a \iew to finding the most expedient form. There are difficult problems : the quantity of information to be given to the pupils; the intellectual standard of instruction; the relation to the general knowledge and
PROFESSOR DR. MIRBT 211
intellectual culture of our day; the teaching of languages, and so on. If the number of pupils were to grow con- siderably, the question would arise, whether one should not attempt, during the last year of their tuition, to make them specially acquainted with the language, the history, and the religions of the mission field to which each of them was to be sent.
3. The manner in which in Germany the interest for missions is propagated also bears an individual character. I do not speak here of the literary work to be found in all countries, nor of the reports of missionary progress given by church papers, nor of the numerous missionary associations whose task it is to find the required money — all that is to be found everywhere. But I think we may consider specifically German what follows : —
Our aim is not only to win individual mission friends and to join them in associations, but we try to lead the church communities or parishes to the conviction that mission work is a Christian duty and so to make them helpers of missions. That is why in Sunday schools, and during the instruction given to candidates for confirmation, the subject of missions is brought near to our children. That is also why special services are held for missions, and on certain Sundays missionary sermons are preached. In most parishes, once a year, missionary festivals are arranged, where open-air festivities follow the church service. They are much in favour, and are the only popular fetes Protestant- ism has introduced in Germany. In our Synods missionary reports are given — in short, we try to give the mission a prominent place in church life.
Generally a parish interest in missions will depend on the view the clergyman takes. We have reason to be very grateful to clergymen on that point. But they might do still more. With a view to this. Dr. Warneck summoned the first "Missionary Conference" at Halle in 1879, when a new way was found of propagating a thorough knowledge and understanding of missions, by means of scientific lectures followed by discussions. On those occasions problems and difficulties are openly discussed, which would not be suitable
212 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
for larger congregations. And our experience has been that this arrangement has greatly promoted the study of missions. From the first the intention was not to work during these meetings in the interest of one society only, but to pick out from the history and practice of all societies the points and questions likely to promote love and under- standing for mission work. Very similar to the missionary conferences is the mission week at Herrnhut, where every third year the deputies of numerous Missionary Societies meet. On this spot, alive with truly missionary spirit, they give, before an audience of hundreds of clergymen from all parts of Germany, their reports on the affairs and progress of evangelisation. Further, there are missionary reading courses for clergyman and teachers arranged by somiC of the Missionary Societies, which are held at their mission-houses. These arrangements also have been a great success.
The attempt to start a missionary movement amongst laymen, as in America, has been less successful. The theologian is brought into contact with missions long before he becomes a clergyman, even during the time of his studies, the time of his university life. I think I am not mistaken in the belief that the treatment of mission matters in the university is peculiar to Germany.
Will you, please, reaUse that the faculties of divinity in Germany are not private institutions dependent upon certain churches, but that they are parts of the universities, main- tained by the State. So they have the same freedom of instruction as the other university faculties. I purposely accentuate this independence of the faculties, in order to show that the fact of mission subjects being treated in uni- versity lectures is not due to any pressure from the church, but rather proves a free recognition of the importance of missions on the part of thelogical science. I do not mean to say that this appreciation is a general one ; but we have gained a good deal of ground in this direction during the last twenty years. Of course, in a German university, missions can only become a subject of teaching on condition that they are treated in a truly scientific way. Our notion of universities would not allow the treatment of the subject
PROFESSOR DR. MIRBT 213
in a merely practical or edifying manner. Lectures are not sermons. We are convinced that missions can stand scientific enquiry, and that they will profit by it.
The task of science on this point is a triple one. First, to describe the development of missions, the sum of the con- stituent factors, and the results of the work. This means writing the history of missions, honestly and in a matter-of- fact way, without apology or dyeing in fine colours. We may rely upon the power of facts ; and the impression of the history of Christianity is the more imposing the less the reader has the feeling that the historian tries to be an advocate. Secondly, theology has the task of working out the difficult missionary problems, which are not to be solved by practice ; that is, it has to fix the theories of missions. Lastly, it is the duty of theology to examine the relations between Christianity and the religions it comes into contact with ; that means. Theology has to study Comparative Religion. On all these points work has been started. It is the merit of Dr. Warneck to have recognised the import- ance of this connection between theology and missions, and to have laboured accordingly.
I may add that for two years in the Colonial Institute of Hamburg also lectures are given on mission subjects. It was interesting for me to read a few weeks ago in the British U-eekly — Robert Drummond has written it — that neither in the Royal Colonial Institute nor in the Imperial Institute in London has a similar course ever been held, and that this was to be considered an omission.
So our missionary life at home is ruled by the notion that we will do thorough work and not be content with enthusiastic emotion.
Our work in the mission field follows the same principle.
II
If in this assembly we were to ask every one present, " What is the aim of missions ? " we should get many different answers, but we certainly all would unite in the one notion that missions have to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
214 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
There are great differences possible on this common ground, as past and present times prove.
I. During the second half of the nineteenth century in Germany the notion has almost generally been accepted that the aim of missions is the founding of national Churches. Pietism did not recognise this ideal. Its ultimate purpose was to lead the heathen individually to God and to gather them into small communities, well shut off from their heathen surroundings.
The power of heathendom could never have been broken in this way. At the best a great number of such "ecclesiols" would have been possible. It was a great advance when the conviction prevailed that Christianity in new countries, as in the old ones, was to penetrate customs and manners, to fill with its spirit all circumstances of life, family, law, all social contracts, and to influence popular thinking and feeling ; that it was the right and the duty of converted natives to govern themselves and to help to propagate the Gospel.
A nation is not only the sum of individuals, gathered under one government ; the nation as a unity possesses forces that are only called into life through the contact of its members ; produces a feeling of community that can become very powerful, and owns peculiar traits, that prove the fact that man is not only an individual but also a social being. That is why evangelisation of nations has become our aim. We well know that a mission does not always come into contact with "nations" in the true meaning of the word. It works also among tribes and parts of nations. Under the touch of European culture, as well as through their own weakness, national unions are broken up, and new groups are formed. The problem of the missionary aims will take other shapes under a heathen government than under a European one ; it is one thing to have to do with a rising nation and another to work among a dying one ; there is a great difference between work in India, China, and Africa ; in short, many modilications will be required. Ail the same, the end aimed at remains : not only to bring the gospel of peace to individuals and communities, but to
PROFESSOR DR. MIRBT 215
enable whole nations to develop their peculiar gifts under the influence of Christianity, and to take their independent position in the process of mankind's development towards God. As yet we have no native Christian churches able to govern themselves, and we have every reason to be cautious with any declaration of independence. A want of discretion on this point may destroy the work of long years. Some nations will most likely never reach the stage of development required for self-government. Our most advanced German native churches are in South Africa and in the West Indies, in British India, and among the Battaks in Sumatra.
2. The before-mentioned aim of missions made a systematic education of natives the leading principle of all mission work.
The first thing is to get acquainted with the people in question, and to that purpose it is indispensable that the missionary should understand and speak the language of the country. As the native nationality is to become the bearer of Christianity, it is not to be destroyed but to be preserved as much as possible, that is as far as it is compatible with Christianity. Germans do not find it difficult to acknow- ledge the peculiarity of other nations. This is even a danger with us ; but in missionary life it becomes an advantage. The temptation to Germanise heathen nations is far from us.
In reading the mission reports of different nations we observe that the means selected to influence the natives are very much alike. Still there are differences. We do not know, for instance, the distinction between members and adherents in our statistics ; we attach less importance to the raising of means for the support of churches ; we accentuate less the tasks which Bible and Tract Societies have taken upon themselves.
The centre of our work is a thorough instruction of catechumens, a firm handling of church discipline, a careful education of native helpers ; in short, the founding of congre- gations able to become a solid ground for native churches. Besides religious education, we attach great importance to schools, especially elementary or board schools. These schools are the foundation for higher schools and semiriaries.
2i6 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
More than formerly women participate in mission work. They are teachers and nurses. It is in accordance with our German customs that they mostly join the missionaries' families.
As to medical missions, we have for a long time kept in the rear ; but we now have an institute at Tubingen, from which we hope much. As the number of our missionary doctors grows, the question will arise, whether they are to be considered as medical men or as preachers, and perhaps this question will find with us an answer different from that which our English and American friends would give.
3. Thorough work demands time. But this does not exclude mobility in the missionary taking possession of a country. On this point we have undergone great changes. The earlier German mission put all its work in the strengthening of stations. Circumstances would have it so, and the notions Pietism had of Christian communities justified this way theologically. But the drawback of this concentration on a few points only is easily understood ; and as the aims of our mission became higher ones, we have dropped this want of mobility. This is proved by the manner in which the Bale mission acted in Kamerun ; by the success with which the Rhenish Missionary Society mastered the difficult circumstances in South-West Africa after the revolt ; also by the great energy shown by German missions in East Africa. The new method allows us indeed only a few missionaries in each station ; but the similarity of their systematic studies makes this possible.
4. Anybody knowing German missionary literature, and especially the "general missionary journal" {Allgefuetne Missions Zeitschrift),yNi\\ agree with me when I say that German missions are not wanting in self-criticism. We have tried to learn from history and from our mistakes, and are well aware that if our final aim is always the same, the ways leading thereto will differ according to time, circumstances, and personalities : our working methods must undergo changes. But our German matter-of-fact way, and the conviction that only thorough solid work will find lasting success, prevented us from taking up the programme — " the
PROFESSOR DR. MIRBT 217
evangelisation of the world in this generation." We thank- fully acknowledge that the great religious energy of the men who devised this watchword has, in a remarkable way, quickened the interest for missions. We rejoice in this enthusiasm, but we cannot join in it.
5. You will wish to hear something about the extent of our missions. We have more than 3700 stations; 1340 missionaries are in active service, assisted by 6098 natives. In our congregations we had, in the year 1908, 550,000 baptized natives, and 50,000 more candidates for baptism. We have more than 3000 schools with 150,000 pupils. We have spent more than i oh millions of marks.
I shall limit myself to these few numbers, and it is purposely I have put them at the end of my observations. All statistics have something lifeless. The numbers only become living quantities when the circumstances under which they have been won are closely examined ; when, for instance, the expenses for missions are compared to the national capital or to the sum of expenses for other church matters ; when we compare the number of converts with the difficulties the missionaries met with ; when we try to take the actual standard as the result of a long development. We are never sure of possessing in the statistics a reliable indicator of true missionary success. The events most important to us, the mysterious proceedings in the heart of a heathen seeking God, can not be registered in numbers.
Time does not allow me to interpret the short statistics I gave you. I shall restrict myself to the remark that German missions have gone to all parts of the earth, that they are making steady progress, and that the Lord's blessing has been upon them.
It is an oecumenical council that is gathered here. May it send out rays of oecumenical spirit into our work at home and abroad, rays of the spirit of love that embraces the world, that will not rest until every " tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
THE CONTRIBUTION OF HOLLAND AND SCANDINAVIA TO MISSIONS
By the Rev. HENRY USSING, Dean, Lie. Theol.,
Copenhagen
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Friday Evening, lyth June
The task that has been set before me is rather difficult : in twenty minutes to give you a review of the missionary achievements of five countries : Holland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. And I cannot presuppose that many of you know very much of these things before. You members of the great nations are accustomed to reckon with such big measures that we — the small countries and peoples — are likely to disappear before you. Nevertheless it is our glory that we began our mission work a long time before you. Even before America, the white Christian America, was formed, Holland had a great mission, and long before Great Britain awoke the Gospel was proclaimed to the natives of India by Germans and Danes. And if you will kindly listen, I will try to show our kinsmen of the great nations that we exist still, and that we have even now our own allotted share in this the greatest work of all, the work for the salvation of all nations.
Holland
As the first Protestant naval power, Holland acquired already about the year 1600 large and mighty colonies. Even now that small country, with about five million inhabit- ants, rules over colonies whose area is sixty times as large,
218
REV. HENRY USSING 219
and whose population is not far from fifty millions. There was from the beginning a tremendous missionary task laid upon the Dutch East India Company, and through its sup- port a widespread work was done. No doubt the outcome was to a great extent only outward forms kept up by force. Still Holland had in the seventeenth century a number of zealous and gifted missionaries. AndJ^the proof that the work of old was not in vain is the fact that the progress of later missions has been greatest where they were able to build on the foundations laid by the forefathers.
But when the Rationalism of the eighteenth century ravaged the Church of Holland, the Dutch East India Company not only lost its interest in missions, but became — in the same way as the English East India Company — an antagonist and a hindrance to missions, nay, sad to tell, it forwarded the Mohammedan propaganda, which in the Dutch colonies has gone so far, that now about thirty-five millions are counted as Mohammedans.
Thus the old mission started by the Government, and supported by the Company of Commerce, came to a stand- still. But then the living waters broke forth in the con- gregations in connection with the general missionary revival at the end of the eighteenth century.
Van der Kemp founded the Netherland Missionary Society in 1797 before he went out himself as the famous pioneer of the London Missionary Society in South Africa. Soon a new and better work was taken up in the old field, and especially in Celebes (Minahassa) the Netherland Missionary Society gained a wonderful victory through a number of able workers, above all the Germans, Riedel and Schwarz.
Unfortunately, the Netherland Missionary Society did not succeed in keeping together the missionary forces of Holland. In the beginning- the strong denominational party was against the Society, and later, when the Society (about the middle of the nineteenth century) was infected by the liberal theology, the faithful seceded and founded nev/ Societies. This fact has in some ways forwarded the missionary movement in Holland, spreading the interest
220 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
in new and wider ranges. But it has injured the work abroad, partly because there could be no unity in the management, partly because the old central society was weakened to such an extent as to be unable to maintain the work in hand. The Netherland Missionary Society was obliged for want of funds to hand over a great part of its work — among other parts the promising field of Mina- hassa — to the Colonial Church establishment, that was governed without congregational liberty, and had a State School System without any religion.
But in spite of all, the Dutch Mission has reached very considerable results. The number of native Christians in the Dutch colonies has within the last century risen from 60,000 to 478,000 (the 30,000 Roman Catholics not included). Of these 102,000 belong to the (German) Rhenish Mission, but by Holland's own work more than 300,000 natives have been won for Christ, and in the present Dutch mission field the doors are opened for the Gospel almost everywhere, as the heathen seek for a new religion. And most of them prefer Christianity to Islam — nay, even among the Mohammedans a movement is felt towards Christ.
In the home country the Netherland Missionary Society has its stand now wholly on the old foundation of faith, and a voluntary co-operation has begun between the principal missionary organisations. At the same time, public opinion has turned very much in favour of missions, several com- mercial firms support the work, and no colonial government in the world gives a similar grant to aid missionary purposes, especially the more social part.i All the Missionary Societies in Dutch India have united in establishing a missionary con- sulate, that for some years has with good results taken care of all missionary interests in face of the government. The government has even begun to understand the advantage of leaving to the Missionary Societies the management both of church and school, and steps have been made to repeal the religionless school system in Minahassa and hand over the whole education to the mission.
^ Three hundred thousand gylder in the year, while the donations to all Missionary Societies in Holland amount to 480,000 gylder.
REV. HENRY USSING 221
In concluding these remarks on Holland, I mention only two special features of Dutch missionary methods : first, the great stress laid upon the social aspect of Missions ; and secondly, the earnest effort made by Dutch missionaries to penetrate into the intellectual life of the natives by a most thoroughgoing study of their religion and language, in order to form their new life not in a foreign, second-hand way, but as their own mental product. Here is to be remembered the epoch-making work of A. Kruyts on the religion of Animism, and the peculiar Dutch plan of postponing as long as possible the giving of names to the new things, that the people themselves may invent the designation.
Scandinavia
On turning to the North, we find in Scandinavia, as in Holland, old missionary traditions. The great king who secured for Sweden the blessings of the Reformation, Gustavus Vasa, was the first Protestant ruler who realised his missionary duty in sending preachers to the heathen in the north of Sweden. And in Denmark and Norway, which then were one kingdom, we find at the beginning of the eighteenth century not less than three considerable missionary undertakings. Thomas von Wesler gave his life's best strength to the Laplanders in the north of Norway. Hans Egede is rightly named the Apostle of Greenland, and has opened the way to all missions among the Eskimos of the Far North. And the King of Denmark sent in 1705 the first Protestant missionary to India, Ziegudealg, the com- mencement of the Danish-Halle Mission, wherein Germans and Danes, during more than a century, did a great work for South India. The name of C. F. Schwarz, the king- priest of Tanjon, will always shine among the greatest in the history of missions. No doubt to Halle is due the great honour for the spiritual force. But we are in the right to remember, that the white cross of the Danish flag waved over the undertaking just as the same flag, later on, had to defend William Carey in Serampore against English persecution.
222 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
But all these things are memories of the past. Since then the greatness of the Scandinavian kingdom has faded, and for a long time the coldness of Rationalism paralysed the strength of the Church. Therefore, we had to begin anew in the north, and only little by little the missionary work was able to extend, as the growing spiritual life in the home awakened the people of God to its missionary duty.
I shall give a short review of each of the Scandinavian countries separately.
Norway
came first, because the mighty revival connected with the name of H. N. Hauge here first broke up the coldness and death. And although Norway has the smallest popula- tion of the three Scandinavian kingdoms, and is considered the least wealthy, Norway is still foremost among the northern missions, with the most solid experience, the greatest results, and the largest contributions from the home base.
It was in 1842 that the Norwegian INIissionary Society was founded, and soon after the Norwegians sent their first man, the late Bishop Schreuder, to Africa — probably in accordance with the advice of Moffat — hoping from Natal to reach the Zulus. Here they experienced abundantly the trials of missions. The Zulus boasted of having a shield over their hearts, and wild wars distracted the country and the stations. Nevertheless the steady Norsemen went on, and at the present time have reaped good and solid fruit in Zululand. Nay, the present Norwegian Bishop in Zulu- land is dreaming great dreams of the Zulus as the people especially called to carry the Gospel right into the heart of Africa.
However, the work in South Africa was in some ways only a preparation for greater things. In Natal the Norwegians felt as neighbours to Madagascar, whose wonderful history of martyrdom had in these years stirred all Christian hearts. And when in 1862 the doors were unexpectedly opened again, the Norwegian Missionary Society heard the call of the Lord to come over and help the brethren there.
REV. HENRY USSING 223
The Norwegians began their work in Madagascar un- pretentiously, but, alas, were not immediately welcomed by the English missionaries. Besides, they were suspected by the natives, because they were neither English nor French, nor even had a Consul to back them up. But with the boldness of faith the Norwegians answered : " Then the word of God shall be our Consul," and so it has been to this day. Quietly they made their way into the province of Betsileo, and soon the results were visible. During a series of years they had to baptize from 3000 to 5000 heathen a year, and 40,000 children crowded their schools. It was a solemn test of the faith of the Norwegian Society when in 1882 the missionaries wrote back and showed the urgency of so enlarging the work that the yearly expenses would increase from 200,000 to 300,000 kr. But the Norwegians ventured in faith and were not put to shame.
We know all the later tribulations that came upon Madagascar : the French invasion and annexation and the insurrection of the natives, through which 70 Norwegian churches were burned down, together with their glorious Leper Asylums. Jesuit machinations, and lastly the tyranny of French atheism, have put the coping-stone on ; but the Norwegian Mission has ridden out the gale with greater strength and less detriment than any other mission in the Island. And it looks as a seal from above on the intelligent, faithful and persevering work : that wonderful revival among the natives in Betsileo, that broke forth at the commence- ment of this century, proving evidently that the seed of the Kingdom has taken root really and mightily in the soil of Madagascar.
The Norwegian work in Madagascar is their epistle of commendation before the whole world, compared with which the other new mission fields of the Norwegians (e.g. in China) are small.
Sweden
The largest of the Scandinavian countries has not been privileged as its sister-land to the west, Norway, to retain the great bulk of the missionary love of its people within
224 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
one Society. The divisions in the spiritual life of Sweden have influenced necessarily also the missionary develop- ment
A Swedish Missionary Society was founded in 1835, but it was the Swedish " Evangeliska Fosterlands-Stiftelse " (Evangelical National Society) that first succeeded in arousing the Low Church circles (1865).
Their first and principal field is Eastern Africa on the coast of the Red Sea, where the Swedish Mission has all to itself a mighty field, measuring 16 degrees of latitude by 20 degrees of longitude. It was the veteran missionary Kraxf who gave them the idea of penetrating into the interior to the proud and strong people of the Galas. And with admirable tenacity the Swedes have stuck to their purpose during forty-five years in spite of all sorts of tribulation. Their attempts to make their way into the interior have been checked over and over again. Meanwhile they have got a foothold in the region of Massana, and a solid work has grown up there, aiming also at the revival of the old decayed Ethiopian Church in Abyssinia. At the same time the daybreak draws nigh for their final aim — several young Galas having been baptized. One of them has translated the New Testament into the language of his people, and the Swedes have succeeded in sending a small body of natives into the Gala country, where the first germs of evangelical congregations have shot forth.
From the Swedish National Society seceded later the Swedish Missionary Union, a strong congregationalist move- ment in Sweden, which began mission work about 1880 in five different countries. But the region which the Lord has made their principal field is the Congo Free State, where Mukimternay is their head station. The Swedish Congo Mission is well known for its excellent schools with 5000 children, the linguistic merits of some of its men, and the part which its missionaries have taken in the efforts to unveil the atrocities of the Congo Free State Government.
On the other side leaders of the Established Church in Sweden started in 1874 the Swedish Church Mission, which has the merit that " the Swedish Church as a Church " has
REV. HENRY USSING 22$
been enabled to take its share and get the blessings of mission work. This mission has sent intelligent and earnest men to the Zululand, whence a few heroic pioneers have penetrated right into Rhodesia. And in India it has taken over the older Swedish work, done with solidity and success in connection with the Leipzig Missionary Society, in the regions of the old Trankiba mission.
There are several other Swedish missions which time forbids us to dwell on, but we cannot leave Sweden without mentioning a further point. The people of Sweden that has so glorious a history under the leadership of hero-kings, admired throughout the world, has even in its mission justly acquired the hero-name. I do not think that any other people can show such a percentage of missionary martyrs as the Swedes. In the Red Sea Mission nineteen Swedes have fallen, some the victims of murderers, some of the climate. In the Congo Mission 48 out of 127 {i.e. 38 per cent.) have succumbed to the dangerous climate. And in China several Swedes have fallen on various occasions. And lately in the Boxer upheaval of 1900 all the missionaries of a smaller body in Sweden, gathered to conference in Soping, were stoned to death — ten in number. And in many other places a great wumber of Swedes (partly of the Scandinavian Alliance, partly of the International Missionary Alliance) were, with their wives and children, persecuted, tortured, stoned, and murdered in the most awful way. Among the Western martyrs of the Boxer persecutions no fewer than forty adults and children, or fully one-third of the whole number, were Swedes. And their letters testify still to the courage of faith that was ready to face all sacrifices and sufferings for the Master and for China. What a seed and what promises of the future harvest for Swedish Missions !
Finland
is the most eastern outpost of Protestantism in Europe. As regards politics we — all the free Protestant peoples — have the most hearty sympathy in the difficulties of the noble Finnish people. As regards Christianity and missions the COM. IX. — 15
226 ADDRESSES AT feVENING MEETINGS
Finns stand fully on a level with the three Scandinavian peoples.
The origin of the Finnish Missionary Society is touching. In 1857 Finland celebrated with great solemnity the seventh centenary of the introduction of Christianity into the country. Gratitude for all the blessings thereby bestowed upon the people moved their hearts so deeply that it was felt as a call of God to take part in the great Avork of missions. A national collection was taken, and next year the Finland Missionary Society was founded.
The Society has a great work in Finland itself, partly for the Jews living in the country, partly for reviving and spreading spiritual life and missionary interest in the Finnish Church. In 1868 it took up its own mission work among the Ambo people, now belonging to German South-West Africa. Here began a sowing in tears, which has lasted till our own days. The people were so unresponsive that in thirteen years not one was baptized. The chiefs caused innumerable troubles, famine devastated the country over and over again, and several missionaries succumbed to their long-continued exertions. Nevertheless, the Finns have persevered with warm praying hearts, and God has blessed their faithfulness. In the first twenty years 200 were baptized, in the next twenty years 2000. The hope of victory shines over the African field, and the society has opened up a new mission in China, while at home the Foreign Missionary Society has grown to be the favourite of the people, supported by low and high, leader of a manifold spiritual activity.
At last I come to my own Fatherland.
Denmark
in spite of its former renown, has been for a long time rather behind in missionary work.
Among the Eskimos of Greenland the Church of Denmark had from the time of H. Egede a missionary task. And this has been accomplished partly by Danes and partly by the Moravians, sO far, that Greenland at the end of the nine-
REV. HENRY tJSSING 227
teenth century was considered to be a Christian country, and the Missionary Board of Herrnhut generously handed over their stations and congregations to the Danish Church. It may appear strange that a hew missionary problem should have arisen just at the same time.
At the east coast of Greenland, hitherto considered as unpopulated, five to six hundred heathen were discovered in the region of the Polar circle. Immediately Denmark took up this new work (around the station of Angmagssalik), and it is gratifying to learn that not only one-third of the heathen are baptized, but that the purifying and elevating power of the Gospel is evidently known through the whole community.
And yet again, only three years ago, another colony of about two hundred heathen were found in the furthest north, at Cape York, the people lately famous as the helpers both of Cook and of Peary. With warm hearts this task also has been overtaken by the Danes, and last sum.mer two native Greenlanders reached the place and found it the northern- most of all missionary stations in the world. They were received with thankfulness and confidence by the Eskimos, and the last letters tell that the children have begun to read very fluently.
In addition to these very small but interesting things the Danish Missionary Society has (from 1864) found its main field in the region of the old Danish Mission, among the Tamils of South Arcot, where a solid work is quietly grow- ing; and later (from 1892) in the Liaoding peninsula in Manchuria, where the field is very promising in spite of the devastations of mighty wars.
In the north of India the Dane Boerresen, with his German wife and the Norwegian Skrefsrud, started the "Indian Home Mission to the Santals " in 1867, by and by mainly supported from Scandinavia. This is a mission rich in the romance of pioneer work, in miracles of prayer, and in wise national education, and one which has succeeded in planting amid these degraded aboriginal tribes a native Church that bears its missionary fruit already in a spon- taneous native mission among other heathen.
There are smaller Danish missions in other places, but
228 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
as my time has expired I am only able in conclusion to underline three of the more prominent features of Danish missions.
First, the Danish taste for personal truth, fulness, and spiritual realism, which has shown its worth in missions several times by our fear of formalism on one hand and of vague enthusiasm on the other.
Secondly, the friendly co-operation with other missions. We do not wish, by national or doctrinal singularity, to keep aloof from the bulk of the missionary force, but rather to be loyal to our common cause.
And, thirdly, I mention a feature which is not certainly peculiar to the Danes, but rather a merit of all the small countries I represent, I mean the greater facility we have in obtaining a true understanding with the natives on more equal terms, because we are without any pretension to be the ruling race or nation, and without any temptation to rely on political power — the greater stress being put on using the native languages and developing the new life of the peoples in their own national way.
Mr. Chairman, Christian friends, in the famous picture of Raphael in the Vatican, called the " Disputa," we see the dove of the Holy Ghost flying out over the earth, surrounded by four angels, carrying the four Gospels. I believe that every Christian nation has its own angel, and all the angels of the evangelical peoples have the commission to carry the Gospel to all nations. We, the small peoples, have also our angels ministering in that work. Let us stand together, let us run, let us fly side by side in this most glorious work of all, as servants to, nay, as co-workers with, the Holy Ghost; for the salvation of the whole world.
THE MISSIONARY TASK OF THE FRENCH PROTESTANT CHURCH
By M. LE PASTEUR BOEGNER, D.D.
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Friday Evening,
17 th June
*' I AM he that came out of the army " : this is the motto, dear brethren, that I am anxious to put at the beginning of my message. A message, and not a lecture : because to speak, as I am called to do, of the missionary task of French Protestantism is to speak of a battle of which it is difficult to say which is the more striking and awful, the greatness and importance of the fight, or the weakness and the in- sufficiency of the army. Consider both, and draw the conclusion yourselves.
I
Consider first, the battle.
There was a time, not very long ago, when it would have
been rather difficult to speak freely, before an assembly like
this, of the task of the French Protestants. The European
nations were in a state of diffidence and of latent struggle,
and even between Christians of different nationalities the
sympathetic understanding of each other was not always
easy. Now we see and enjoy better things, and although
clouds may remain on the sky, still mutual confidence and
earnest desire for peace have made progress. This is a time
of splendid opportunity for unity and for co-operation, both
in prayer and in effort ; a time — to come back to my
message — when it is with a feeling of perfect freedom that
I undertake to explain, before the representatives of the
229
230 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
whole evangelical world, the work entrusted by Gcd's providence to the sons of the Huguenot and other French Protestant Churches.
The present vocation of these Churches, brethren, is different, but not inferior to their vocation in the past. Their first vocation was suffering for Christ. Three centuries of persecution have put them in the first rank of martyrdom. But now their calling is work. Circumstances have put before them, both in France and in the world, a task the exceptional magnitude of which I am anxious to explain to you.
First of all, in France itself. I say it without hesitation : to win France for Christ would be a conquest of first missionary importance. In order to understand it, consider, please, the position occupied by the French-speaking Pro- testants as the chief representatives of the pure Gospel in France, in the Latin world, and in that still larger world which is reached, penetrated, influenced by the French spirit. This influence cannot be denied, I am sure. It derives from the special gifts and especially from the clear- ness and simplicity of thought, and from the classical beauty and strength of expressnon, which God has bestowed on that nation. Every nationality has its advantages and mental powers; the gift of the French genius is to find out that form of the truth which renders it fit for transmission and diffusion, which transforms it into a currency easy to circulate from hand to hand, from mind to mind, up to the extremities of the thinking world.
Now measure the importance, for good or for evil, con- nected with that circulating power of French expression of thought. Consider the tremendous influence, through the whole world, of works like those of Voltaire, of Rousseau, of Renan. Consider the present, continued influence of political and social formulas stamped by the French Revolution ! Of course we all, in France as well as anywhere else, admire the English liberalism, and that beautiful combination of conservatism and progress which characterises both the British constitution and the British method. Still, is it not a fact that, on every point of the world where the sap of
M. LE PASTEUR BOEGNER 231
liberty and of progress is fermenting in the minds, they instinctively have recourse to the French mottoes and emblems ? We may regret it, or criticise it, but it is a fact : look at the revolution in Turkey, in China, sometimes even in other parts of Europe, and in the heathen world itself! Is it not, therefore, a question of capital, of world-wide importance, to know whether this powder of clear expression may be lost for the service of the Gospel, or put in the service of it, as it has been in the last century by a Vinet or an Adolphe Monod ; in the seventeenth century by a Pascal; and, first of all, in the sixteenth century by a Calvin ?
This is the reason, brethren, that makes the future of French Protestantism a question of oecumenical importance. Of course, each soul is of infinite value ; as Christians you are interested in the smallest progress of evangelistic work in France. In the human family, the Latin nations, and France amongst them, are important and beautiful branches ; and as members of that family, as men, you are interested in the spiritual welfare of those nations. But what I mean is still more central : the tie between them and you is deeper. You not only owe them your sympathy : you need them ; you need their special gifts ; God needs them for His work, as in the past He has needed the Greek and the Latin genius, the Greek and the Latin languages, for the diffusion of the Gospel and the progress of His Kingdom. Is it not, then, for the evangelical and missionary Church of the world, a vital duty to love, to encourage, to strengthen the French Protestants ?
I do not forget the still vivid and sound elements in the Roman Catholic Church of France, but how hindered, how imprisoned, how powerless they are ! Therefore I say : French Protestantism is perhaps not the only, but certainly it is the best and the most available means of influencing the French genius in the direction of pure and evangelical Christianity; of " bringing " — even in France — " into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ " ; of putting, in a word, the French spirit and language into the service of the Gospel.
232 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
Therefore, brethren, come over and help us ! I say " come," because there is no sufficient help where there is no personal interest and presence. Without General Beck- with (a Scotsman !) settling in the Waldensian Valleys, the Waldensian Church would not have become the instrument it is now for the Gospel in Italy. Without a MacAU settling in Paris, the Mission Populaire would not have been started. Yes, come and help ! Help our Churches ! Help our works of evangelisation ! Help us to be in France not a dying remainder of a beautiful past, but a powerful leaven which must penetrate the meal, until the whole shall be leavened.
II
Am I wTong, brethren? But I cannot help fearing lest some of you will consider my statement exaggerated. You think we are too ambitious ; you think it is not possible that so tremendous work and responsibilities should have been entrusted to so small a body as is our Protestantism. Let us confess it, brethren ; your doubts do not surprise us, because they are our doubts. We, too, can hardly believe that God may have such high intentions concerning us. Willingly enough we would say, like Moses : " O my Lord ! send, I pray thee, whom thou wilt send ! " But the Lord Himself forbids us to turn aside from the work He has put before us. As He did with Moses, He forces us, by decisive signs of His power acting through our weakness, to trust Him and to obey His orders. And these signs are : our Missions.
The chief temptation of old nations is to rest on their glorious past, and to accept silently decay in the present. And the chief temptation of long persecuted Churches, having scarcely escaped from destruction, and left as a trifling minority in the country, is to accept defeat and sterility. Such temptation we, French Protestants, know only too well. But God has counteracted it in giving us the direct proof of our still existing fecundity. He has given us our Missions as a demonstration of our capacity of bringing forth children for Him. Once more the old
M. LE PASTEUR BOEGNER 233
apostolic word has proved to be true : the Church, the Protestant Church of France, as the woman, has been saved in child-bearing.
Two years ago the delegates of France, of French Switzerland, of the Waldensian Valleys of Italy, of all the Churches and Missions working in South Africa, were attending the Jubilee of our Mission of Basutoland. Seventy-five years earlier the first missionaries, three young Frenchmen, Casalis, Arbousset, Gosselin, had made their first appearance in the country. It was desolated by war ; the population reduced to a small number ; cannibalism born out of famine and misery ; a dying nation under a wise chief. — Now the tribe numbers 450,000 souls ; it still occupies, under the British protectorate, its own country as a native reserve ; a Church of Christ has been established numbering now 17,500 communicants and 7000 cate- chumens. A native pastorate ; a native work of evangeliz- ation of the country; a native share in our Upper Zambesi Mission ; a splendid and complete system of schools : these were the facts which it was given to our delegates to witness and to report to us. What a joy, what an awful surprise for the old Huguenot Church ! It seemed to me, when they came back and brought to us their testimony, as if this mater dolorosa of the Reformation, as it has been called, was extending her arms, like Jacob, saying : " Who are these ? " — and as if the angel of God was answering : " They are the children which God has given to thee : two children, a Church and a nation." Yes, a Church, strong by God's grace, growing up to self-support and self-govern- ment ; and a nation, kept alive and sound by the Gospel. Such are the proofs God has given to the Church of France of its capacity to bring forth for Christ !
But Basutoland is only the first of a series. Twenty-five years ago F. Coillard, one of our Basutoland missionaries, started for the interior, and out of his labours a new Mission is born : the well-known Barotsi or Upper-Zambesi Mission, of which we hope, although it is still hindered by many difficulties, that it will become, by and by, a second Basutoland !
234 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
Moreover, the Zambesi Mission is not the only offspring of Basutoland. Some years ago, before Coillard went out, two young missionaries, belonging to French Switzerland, after some years of apprenticeship in Basutoland, went out under the leading of Mabille, and established a Mission of their own, quite distinct from ours, amongst the Gwamba of the Northern Transvaal. The work grew and extended itself up to a second field, the Portuguese east coast of Lourengo Marquez, and still is making great progress. We cannot speak too highly of this work of the French-speaking Protestants of Switzerland, known under the name of Mission Roniande. Its chief supporters, the members of the Free Churches of French Switzerland, have not ceased to be the warm friends of the Paris Missionary Society. The two works are entirely independent of each other, but they can also be considered, from a higher point of view, as two branches of the one missionary enterprise of French- speaking Protestantism.
Are not these three Missions — the Basutoland Mission, the Transvaal and Louren^o Marquez Mission, the Zambesi Mission — strong proofs of the apostolic calling of our Churches? And do they not justify the kind help already extended by some of our British friends and give us a strong claim on still larger assistance, so much the more that they are carried on in the sphere of British dominion, and are quite free from any national connection with France itself?
But I hasten to add this : if our Mission in South and Central Africa appear to us to have strong claims on your sympathies, we dare to claim these sympathies with the same energy, and, perhaps, with more emotion, for those other Missions which the Providence of God, by means of historical events, has committed to our care in the vast area of the French colonial empire.
Of course that empire cannot be compared with the British dominion. But still it is second only to it. It extends over nearly a quarter of Africa, over Madagascar, the half of Indo-China, and important groups of Islands in the South Seas. Now for this large empire we, French Protestants, are made by circumstances directly responsible.
M. LE PASTEUR BOEGNER 235
God be thanked, there are still English and Norwegian missionaries in Madagascar and in the Loyalty Islands; there is still an American Mission in the Gaboon ; there are English missionaries in French North Africa, and to maintain, as much as possible, this policy of the open door for the Gospel has been the effort and the glory of the Paris Missionary Society. But every one who is acquainted with the facts knows that, notwithstanding our good will, the chief responsibility for the heathen and Mohammedans in the French Colonies rests on the French Protestants.
Now, what have we done in order to fulfil this re- sponsibility ? The foundation of the Senegal Mission, fifty years ago ; the taking over, at the same time, of Tahiti and of the Society Islands; more recently, the taking over, from the London Missionary Society, of one of the Loyalty Islands, and the starting of a Mission in New Caledonia ; the taking over, from the American Presby- terians, of their stations on the Ogowe River, in the French Congo, and the creation of new stations there; and, last but not least, the entering into the field of Madagascar, not to weaken or to drive out, but to help and to supplement the English and Norwegian Missions, — at what a cost of labour, of suffering, of money and of life, many of you know — this is the work we have done and for which we have trebled in ten years our expense and our staff. Does it not show how and to what extent we have accepted the task which God has entrusted to us in the Colonial Empire of France ?
But now I ask you, brethren, this work, done in the French Colonies and by Frenchmen, is it a [purely French work ? Is it not, as well as our South and Central African work, a work of deep interest for the whole of Evangelical Christendom ? Yes, it is. Evangelical Christendom, which you represent, cannot turn aside from a work which concerns such a tremendous portion of the field — perhaps fifty millions of heathen or Mohammedans — it cannot turn aside from it and say coldly : It is a French work ! I tell you, you cannot abstain from that work, because, if you do so, the work itself will be partially left undone, as it is already
236 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
now ! Look at the Report of Commission I. ; meditate the chapter on Unoccupied Fields ; look at the Atlas you have received the day before yesterday, and consider the portions of the French Colonial Empire where noticing is done. Not one evangelical missionary in the interior of Senegal and in the French Sudan ! Not one evangelical missionary in the interior of the French Congo State, from the upper Ogowe up to Lake Chad ! Portions of Mada- gascar left without the light of the Gospel ! The whole of French Indo-China without one single Protestant mission- ary ! And even in the Missions already in progress, what weakness, what insufficiency of men and means !
Ill
Now, who is responsible for this state of things ? — Is the work not entrusted to the care of us, French Protestants ?
Of course it is, and the question arises : Flave we done what we could? — Ah! French Protestants! well may the question re-echo in the depths of our conscience, while we seek before God the reply which truth obliges us to give !
But while .dealing honestly with ourselves, we may justly turn to our friends, and ask them in turn : Do you know what French Protestantism is, upon which circumstances have imposed such a crushing charge ? Compare us, I will not say with Churches of England and America, but only with the Churches of the Continent. The Scandinavian nations are Protestant ; Holland is Protestant ; Germany, in its largest and strongest portion, is a Protestant nation. The task resting upon it, at least in its colonies, is in pro- portion to its power. But for us, brethren, this proportion does not exist. We are utterly insufficient for our work. God knows it, but you must know it also. We are in France a small minority, scarcely one to sixty ; not more than six hundred thousand souls ; not quite one million, if we include the French-speaking Protestants of Alsace, of Switzerland, of Italy, of the Netherlands.
Now, do you know what it means for one-sixtieth of the whole French population to counteract the effort of the
M. LE PASTEUR BOEGNER 237
other fifty-nine sixtieths? And of these 600,000 Protest- ants, do you know that only a small proportion bears its part in the burden of our work ? And this minority in a minority, do you know how it works and lives? Do you realise what it is to struggle in isolation with scattered forces, against the pressure of surroundings which are either Roman Catholic or indifferent, if not free-thinking and atheistical, in many cases hostile ? More than that, do you know what it is to find these same hostile forces in the mission field, and after having heard, in former times, a French Minister of State saying, " France abroad means Catholicism," to hear now a French Colonial Governor saying, " France abroad means atheism " ? And finally, do you know what it feels like for a Church, itself often half-frozen, to consume its own heat in keeping itself alive, and nevertheless to go out to fight and to conquer? If you realise all this, you will be astonished that enough warmth remains to sustain, not only its own life, but also its various home evangelisation and its far-off Missions, and you certainly will admit that a large portion of this work exceeds its strength and means.
But it is time to conclude. You will not be surprised if this conclusion is a very earnest and solemn request for help. In the presence of God, I call upon you to consider our work as being not only our work. I take this work and I throw it on the heart and on the conscience of every Christian man or Church able to take a share in it ; I throw it on the heart and on the conscience of the whole of evangelical Christendom. I commend it to the affection, to the prayers and to the help of all true friends of the Kingdom. It has been done for Christ : for Christ only. For Him we have held the fort until now. I trust this Conference will not pass away without having let us see the helping troops appearing on the hills.
CHANGES IN THE CHARACTER OF THE MISSIONARY PROBLEM
I. IN THE FAR EAST
By the Right Rev. Bishop J. W. BASHFORD, Ph.D., Peking, China
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Saturday Evening, i%th June
I AM asked to report upon China, Japan, and Korea. Our subject falls naturally into two divisions :
I. Recent Changes in the Character of the Missionary Problem.
II. Their Effect upon Missionary Enterprise.
I. Recent Changes
These may be summed up in the phrase : The Awakening of the Far East ; and this phrase may be considered under the Intellectual, the Spiritual, and the PoHtical Awakening.
I. Intellectual Awakening. — In the intellectual awakening Japan clearly leads. It is not necessary to present a single illustration of Japan's awakening. Her acknowledged posi- tion in war and commerce, in industries and education, shows that Japan now holds a leading place among the nations of the world.
In Korea the awakening is not yet so fully in progress.
But with the Japanese in control, building roads, establishing
238
REV. BISHOP J. W. BASHFORD 239
schools and hospitals and courts of justice, with the profound agitation which the loss of nationality has brought to the Koreans, and with the great religious awakening, the Koreans probably will make as rapid though in part compulsory pro- gress during the next ten years as any other nation in the
Far East. ~ '
China has more completely changed front in her attitude toward modern progress during the last ten years than any other nation in the Far East. Her educational system, which had remained substantially unchanged for a thousand years, theoretically has been revolutionised since the Boxer uprising, and great practical changes have been inaugurated. Four thousand Chinese students are studying in Japan, 1200 in the United States, and a thousand more in Europe. Under Protestant missionaries in China over 900 students are in college, 20,000 in preparatory departments and board- ing schools, 55,000 in day schools. In a word, 80,000 children and young people are under Protestant Christians in China, of whom 16,000 are girls and young women. Seventy- five thousand are in Sunday schools. In addition to mis- sionaries teaching in the Empire, some 700 other foreign teachers are employed, chiefly by the Government. Text- books of Western learning are being introduced, a single Chinese publishing house in Shanghai selling over a million dollars' (Mex.) worth a year. A telegram from Peking, June 1 1, says that the Board of Education has recommended and the Regent has issued a decree making English the official language for all scientific and technical instruction throughout the Empire, and English is made compulsory in all high schools where science is taught. Summing up the educational situation. Western learning in principle has been adopted in China, and this reform when carried out will effect an intellectual _ revolution among some 400,000,000 people. Twelve separate lines of railway are in operation or under construction throughout the Empire ; and the change in transportation will revolutionise China industrially, as the new sch'Sols^promise to revolutionise her intellectually. Letters and newspapers passing through the Chinese post-office rose Trom 113,000,000 in 1906 to 306,000,000 in 1909. Anti-
^f
240 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
foot-binding societies, originally organised by foreigneis, are now carried forward by the Chinese ; and while the decrease of foot-binding is scarcely perceptible, nevertheless these bands upon 150,000,000 or 200,000,000 women probably will be broken before the century is half over. Indeed, we believe China to-day leads the Orient in her willingness to elevate woman to her true position by the side of man.
No other nation on earth has~grappled with a great national evil more earnestly and upon the whole more successfully than China is grappling with opium vice. In the winter of 1904 and 1905, travelling for thirty days in the Szechwan Province, I saw one-third of the arable land devoted to the poppy. The opium evil was the most dis- couraging fact in China in 1904. Last winter I travelled over the same roads in the same province and did not see a single poppy growing. Doubtless some opium is grown in some out-of-the-way places, and Chinese merchants foreseeing the shortage bought and buried vast quantities of opium, which they are now selling. But the fact that while the consumption of opium has decreased yet opium is selling for five times as much as it brought two years ago, shows that there has been a vast decrease in its production throughout the Empire. Upon the whole, the opium reform is the most encouraging fact in China in 1 9 1 o.
But the strongest proof of the awakening of China is found in the 300 or 400 newspapers published throughout the Empire, in the Provincial Assemblies which met in 1909 for the first time in Chinese history, in the National Assembly which will meet in Peking in 1 9 1 o, in the new law code pro- mised at an early date, and in the preparation being made under an impulse from the Throne for the inauguration of Constitutional Government a few years hence.
2. Spiritual Awakenifig. — Along with the eagerness for Western civilisation, the minds of the Far Eastern people are open to the Western religion. This ogennessjo Christianity provides such an opportunity among some 400,000,000 or 500,000,000 people as never confronted Christendom before. But in addition to this mere openness to Christianity, there is — not a general spiritual awakening but — a distinct awakening
REV. BISHOP J. W. BASHFORD 241
in many parts of the Far East. Korea leads in this spiritual awakening as Japan led in the intellectual awakening. The loss of independence has affected deeply the masses, and led them to turn from their dead idols to the living God. The deep peace following the surrender to God is in such contrast to the gloom through which many have turned to Him, that converts instinctively begin telling their neighbours of the peace of God wTiich passeth understanding. Partly on their own initiative and partly under the direction of missionaries, the converts form themselves into groups of from two to five and go out to tell the good tidings. A single church some- times has twenty to fifty such groups. As many groups as can get the opportunity report at the week-night prayer- meeting, bringing their converts with them ; hence the week- night prayer-meeting is often attended by from 500 to 1200 persons, and enthusiasm runs high. Bishop Harris thinks that the campaign in Korea for 1,000,000 souls may result in an addition of 100,000 enquirers this year. The activity of the Koreans is furnishing all other mission fields a lesson in the self-propagating power of the Gospel, and is revealing new resources for the speedy evangelisation of the world.
Japan a quarter of a century ago constituted the most important and hopeful mission field on earth, with the pos- sible exception of India. The remarkable success of Arch- bishop Nicholai and the Greek Church illustrates the former opemiess of the Japanese to the Gospel. Christianity will suffer for centuries through the failure of the Churches at that time to capture for Christ a nation then peculiarly open to the Gospel — a nation destined to become for a time at least the leader of the Orient. Recent external successes have led the Japanese as they would have led Americans, '.
Englishmen, or Germans, to jpride and worldliness ; and (^^'^^^'^^ these are not the most favourable conditions for the spread of the Gospel. Moreover, the energies of the Japanese Christians, and even of the missionaries, have been absorbed recently in problems of ecclesiastical independence and Church union and self-support. Hence the work of evan- gelisation in Japan probably is proceeding more slowly to-day than a quarter of a century ago. COM. IX. — 16
242 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
In China the testimony of Mr. Hoste, Mr. Brockman, Mr. Goforth, Bishop Lewis, Dr. Brewster, Dr. Corbett, Chang Po-ling, Ding Li-mei, Liu Mark, and others shows — not a general spiritual awakening, but — a distinct awakening among choice spirits in various parts of the Empire. Dr. Arthur Smith writes: "The most important feature of the triennium unquestionably has been the great religious awakening in the churches and schools, in many provinces wholly unrelated to each other." The Korean revival spread into Manchuria with unusual spiritual manifestations. Churches in many parts of the Empire are crowded as never before, and people listen to the Gospel with unusual interest. During the recent Hinghwa revival a tent seating five thousand people was crowded, and large overflow meet- ings were held. Similar crowds attended revival services in Nanking and Yangchow. Preaching in some of the revivals in different parts of the Empire has been attended by remarkable convictions of sin and remarkable confes- sions. Among Chinese students studying at Tokyo, more than one hundred, many of whom will become future officials and possibly leaders of the Empire, have been baptized within a year. May there be a Daniel or a Joseph among them ! At revivals under Ding Li-mei at four of our Christian schools and colleges this spring, five hundred and one students signed a written card to devote their lives to the evangelisation of China. This is the most hopeful Student Volunteer Movement yet witnessed in the Empire. Upon the whole, therefore, there has been a sweeping revival in Korea and distinct spiritual awakenings in various parts of the Far East.
3. Growth of the Spirit of Nationality. — While this is one of the most important divisions of our subject, it demands little discussion, for the facts are patent. In Japan patriotism has become a religion under the name of Shintoism. In Korea the loss of independence leaves the people very unhappy under Japanese rule. The new spirit of nationalism in China consists not so much in a love of the Empire, especially of the present dynasty, as in the dread of foreigners. Hence it finds manifestation
REV. BISHOP J. W. BASHFORD 243
in the opposition to foreign loans and foreign enterprise. All who live in the Far East recognise this spirit of nation- ality springing up in very recent years. Similar reports reach us from India and the Philippines. The growth of this spirit ought not to seem strange to Western nations. The surprise arises from the suddenness and the universality and the intensity with which this national and race spirit Hamed up all over India and the Far East after the Japanese victory over Russia. The United States, Canada, and Australia have excluded the yellow races. Great Britain conquered China, and she is ruling India. Russia was dictatorial toward Japan and aggressive in the Far East ; Germany and France also have been unduly aggres- sive. Should the domineering policy of the white races result in the unification of the yellow races, they might attempt to drive the white peoples and their commerce from the Orient, and a world-wide conflict might ensue.
Summing up the first part of our subject, therefore, we are sure that there has been an awakening of the Far East, and this aw^akening has found manifestation in intellectual and spiritual and political forms.
II. Effect of these Changes upon Missionary
Enterprise
I. We should concede a large measure of local autonomy tojhjgjapanese, the Indian, and the Chinese Churches. We should insist only upon the essence of our faith, namely, salvation through Jesus Christ, the experience of the new birth, and the fruits of the Spirit in the lives of our converts. We ought indeed to look for some finer interpretation of u \jj.i Christ and some higher embodiment "of' His Spirit in the ^ j new Christian life of the Orient than we have thus far ^--f s^ realised in the Occident, so that we should be ready to learn as well as apt to teach. Indeed, we may heartily encourage in Japan or some other field the plan of a National Church for that nation. If all the Churches can be united into one in any nation, and such action proves to be the forerunner of Church union in the home lands, then we shall all know
244 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
that the movement was of God, and we shall rejoice that we encouraged it. But^a^jiniversiil Church of Christ should
.4'' ■hs.-.our goal ; and we should encourage distinct, separate national movements, only so far as they prove to be pro- vidential steps towards that goal. Certain facts suggest doubt as to whether the severance of the ties which bind mission churches to their mother Churches in the home lands, and the attempt to gather them into national Churches, is a providential step toward the universal Church of Christ. While the cry is for union, the argu- ments among the Chinese and Japanese by which the cry is supported are for independence. But union and inde- pendence lie at opposite poles ; both goals cannot be reached by the same movement. This helps to account for the fact that while most of the Japanese Churches have secured independence, they have not secured Christian union. Again, self-support is the correlate of independence, and already is being thrust upon the Japanese Churches. But
. /' this cuts the nerve of missions, leaving the mission Churches to struggle against hopeless odds and the home Churches to die of parochialism and of devotion to interests centred only in themselves. Once more, a long period was required for the Church of the early centuries to shake herself loose from the principles of a pagan philosophy and the practices due to her pagan environment. Is it wise or fair to leave a handful of Christians in each non-Christian land to struggle unaided against a similar environment? Above all, must we not aim at Christian unity on a vastly larger scale than a National Church on each mission field could furnish ? Have we not already a far broader and more direct method of universal co-operation furnished us by the Young Men's Christian Association ? In this organisation representatives of some two thousand colleges and universities in some fifty nations are banded together in perfect equality under the headship of Jesus Christ and for the advancement of His kingdom. This co-operation has become possible by dwelling upon agreements rather than differences, by fellowship in work and play and prayer, and by the unifying power of a tremendous task. This association has served
REV. BISHOP J. W. BASHFORD 245
as a model for a practical and spiritual, but not ecclesiasti- cal union of the Protestant Churches in West China, The bands binding these Churches are so elastic that if on any question one of the Churches wishes for a time to drop out and not co-operate, it can do so with no challenge of its motives. Here is a federalion which, without compelling any brother to yield a single article of his creed and with- out thrusting a single belief of practice upon others, recog- nises for practical purposes the perfect equality of all churches which take Tesus Christ as their ^charter, and 0(.^yjt*.* agrees with Ignatius, " Where Christ is, there is the Catholic or Universal Church."
Cannot this Conference go far enough to arrange for an International Missionary Commission which shall continue in'eXtste'nce until our next World Conference — a Comrhis- sion which shall have only advisory authority, and which £?^i/ shall decline even to give advice where doctrinal or denominational differences are involved; a Commission whose authority will grow in proportion to its character, its service, and the number of mission boards it eventually represents ; a Commission which shall serve as a sort of Hague Tribunal for the Missionary World ? Such a Com- mission, enabling us to co-operate and to conserve our resources, furnishing^us" with a statesmanlike plan for the conquest of the world, and, above all, demonstrating to the non-Christian races the essential unity of Protestant Christendom, would be of pricefeVs value to us in the Far East.
2. There should be a marked change in the attitude of y? the white races toward the other races of mankind. Thank God, the missionaries already are leading in such a change. There would not have arisen the unrest which at times and in places had characterised the attitude of Christians in the Orient, had they been placed by us^upon an entire equality with ourselves. Even this Conference, like the Shanghai Conference of 1907, is criticised in its composition. Christ has won on mission fields as able and consecrated workers as sit in this body. Who so well could tell us how they were won for Christ, what most repelled and what most
^Ck^
246 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
attracted them in our presentation of the Gospel, and what is most needed to win their brothers and sisters, as those who are one in blood and speech with the millions we must yet win for Christ ? Surely they are worthy to sit beside us, for many of them have risked all for the Master. But we are here assembled as a World Conference to plan a campaign for the evangelisation of eight hundred or a thousand million people, and we have invited so few of them to our council-table, that only the great character and ability of the few who are present can save us from humiliating failure. The awakening spirit of race and nationality demands a rapidly increasing change of attitude toward those among whom we labour.
3. The awakening of the Far East demands a vast in- crease of faith and prayer for power from on high, and a large increase of men and means to meet the opportunities which now confront us. While there should be a large increase in the number of missionaries, even more stress should be laid upon the quality than upon numbers. Some of the best evangelists in Christendom should be sent to Korea this fall, and preach through interpreters at least long enough to determine whether the national unrest can be turned from political into spiritual channels, the con- viction of sin deepened, and the people gathered into the kingdom by tens of thousands. In China substantially one- ^ fourth of the human race is awakening. Civilisation is to be *. " recast. No less than fifteen imperial edicts were issued last year bearing more or less upon Christianity. Dr. W. A. P. Martin reports that these decrees are not so favourable as we could like, but he pronounces them more favourable to Christianity than preceding edicts. Within fifty years the new civilisation in China will be largely leavened by the Gospel or else will have hardened into materialistic moulds. In a word, in the Far East as a whole, more than one-fourth of the human race stands at the parting of the ways. Not since the days of the Reformation, not indeed since Pente- cost, has so great an opportunity confronted the Christian Church. Oh that out of this Conference may come the spiritual power for the evangelisation of the Orient !
REV. BISHOP J. W. BASHFORD 247
4. Under God we must attempt to Christianise as well as -.•^' evangelise the Far East. While much remains to be done in the evangelisation of Japan, yet here the problem of Christianisation comes to the front. Japan brings us back c^y<M^ to the problem which meets us in the home field, simply because she is in advance of the rest of the Far East, and is nearer the stage of civilisation at which the Western nations have arrived. In her late war she was led by the scientific test of experiment to jl)andon Herbert Spencer's conception C-^^ of the State, and the people en masse almost unconsciously , passed over to the Christian conception of the State. Japan /// #^«^ is now standing at the parting of the ways ; she is now halting between national selfishness and international benefi- cence. She has taken Formosa and Saghalien, with some three million people ; she now holds Korea with some twelve million more. For fifty million Japanese to attempt to assimilate fifteen million people of alien races, confessedly dissatisfied, and then attempt in addition to exploit some twelve or fifteen million more in lower Manchuria, means a military programme which must increase her indebtedness and absorb the energies of her people. The military spirit says : Follow on in the path in which already you have won such glory, exploit these peoples to reimburse in part your losses, undertake the federation of the yellow races, control and, if the necessity arises, supplant the Manchu dynasty, and as opportunity offers rise to the leadership of the Orient. | Satan is taking Japan, as he took the Master and as he has taken many a nation, up into a high mountain, and is show- ing her all the kingdoms of the world, and is saying, " All these will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me." The Christ spirit suggests continuance in the path of sacrifice — such justice and generosity toward the Koreans as pre- sently will make them as proud of the flag of the Rising Sun as Australians are proud of the Union Jack, such respect for the territory of China in Manchuria as will assure Japan without a war the moral and intellectual and commercial leadership of the Far East. At this time, when the Japanese have discarded the Spencerian for the Christian philosophy of the State, when Christian Japanese are rising to leadership
248 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
out of all proportion to their numbers, but when only one hundred thousand Japanese out of fifty million are Christian and forty million practically are unreached, the Christian Church, instead of retiring from the Empire, should push forward her ablest and her most apostolic spirits to help capture for Christ and lead to her own highest destiny the present leader of the Orient.
5. The Christianisation of the home lands is another imperative need of the Far East. Were the so-called Christian nations really free from worldliness and selfish- ness, missions would sweep the pagan world with irresistible power. Our greatest obstacles in the Far East are not Buddhism or Confucianism, but sensuality and commercial greed upon the part of some from the home lands, and auto- cratic methods and the war spirit at times upon the part of so-called Christian nations. The dread of Japan in the Far East to-day is due to the fact that Japan has foUov.'ed so closely in the footsteps of the Western nations ; and unless we speedily change at home, China must follow the so-called Christian nations and become a military power. That a people who have survived and multiplied for four thousand years, partly because they have ranked their scholars highest, and their farmers second, and their merchants third, and their warriors lowest — that such an empire, on awaking to
!' modern life and looking to Western nations for guidance, should be compelled to turn herself into an armed camp for self-preservation, is a disgrace to Christendom. We are not meddling with alien and distant problems when in the name of the people of the Far East we plead for international righteousness and peace. In a word, the highest and finest effect of the awakening of the Far East, and the turning of the world into a neighbourhood, is not only the pressing demand for the speedy evangelisation of the non-Christian ', races, but also for the speedy Christianisation of home lands.
6. The tasks which confront us are altogether beyond human power of accomplishment. But no man can forecast the future who leaves God out of the reckoning. Christianity, which already has been the source of several civilisations, is rising unwearied by past tasks and undaunted by the
^f
REV. BISHOP J. W. BASHFORD 249
problems which confront her to inaugurate the Missionary Era. Religious history will recognise down to the present time three great eras in the kingdom of Heaven on earth : the Era of Preparation, the Era of Incarnation, and the Era ^ of the Reformation. To-day the Christian Church stands at the dawn of the Era of Evangelisation of the World. God chose the Mediterranean basin, with its forty to eighty million people, as the theatre for the inauguration of the -5 Incarnation Era. He chose the Atlantic basin, v/ith its ^' -^ population at that time of some two hundred million people, as the theatre for the inauguration of the Reformation Era. Is He choosing the Pacific basin, including the Indian Ocean, with its population of some eight hundred million people, as the theatre for the inauguration of the Era of ^^ Evangelisation? ...,-- a..— ^
God directed the Greeks in the preparation of the most perfect language on earth, for the preservation and the spread of His truth at the Era of the Incarnation. He guided Gutenberg in the invention of printing, for the spread of His truth at the Era of the Reformation. Has He not also guided us, in the translations of His Word and in the inven- tions for its multiplication one hundred fold more rapidly than the Gutenburg hand-press, for an era of world evangel- isation ?
God chose as the best available governments for the Incarnation Era, Judea, which indeed had given the world the Old Testament, but which failed Him in the crisis, and delivered up the Son of God to crucifixion ; and Rome, which indeed preserved the peace of the world and protected the first evangelists, but which remained pagan at heart, and at last hurled herself against the Rock of Ages, crying in her dying agony : " Galilean, thou hast conquered." God secured as the political agents of the Reformation Era the European governments of the sixteenth century, fighting among themselves indeed, but far more Christian at heart than Judea or Rome. May it not be a providential pre- paration for the Missionary Era that, under the stern law of the "survival of the fittest," He has committed nearly two-thirds of the population and four-fifths the area of the
250 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
globe to the Christian governments of earth, and indeed over five hundred millions of the people to the Protestant governments of the Anglo-Saxon stock ?
Finally, we ourselves are witnessing three strange and unforeseen movements within the Church which, combined, reveal the Divine eagerness to inaugurate the Missionary Era : first, a movement upon the part of the students of the colleges of Christendom, which is securing the young men and women for the evangelisation of the world ; second, a movement among the young people of the Christian Churches of the world toward a larger intelligence for the evangelisation of the world ; and third, a movement among the laity of the world toward a larger beneficence for the evangelisation of the world. Surely these three movements, combined, constitute a crusade for world evangelisation quite as striking, and far more providential, than the crusade of Peter the Hermit for the recovery of the Holy Land.
And now, what wait we for, save _power from on high ? — power such as came in the Era of theTPreparation at Sinai, such as came in the Era of the Incarnation at Pentecost, and such as came at the Reformation through justification by faith and the witness of the Spirit. Surely that power is promised us in the Bible. "Ye therefore shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." Listen to Paul's prayer for us : " For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inward man ; that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith ; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to appre- hend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God. " " Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations, for ever and ever. Amen."
CHANGES IN THE CHARACTER OF THE MISSIONARY PROBLEM
II. IN MOHAMMEDAN LANDS By the Rev. W. H. T. GAIRDNER, Cairo
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Saturday Evening, iSt/t June
Mr. Chairman, Fathers, and Brethren, — The question is not so much, where do we find evidences of the modern movement in Islam to-day ? as, where do we not find such evidences ?
We are, of course, famiUar with the modernist movement c^-^/- which is affecting the middle Moslem" realms of Turkey, r, .. / Egypt, Persia, and India, — all of them countries into which European ideas have found their way, and have produced political and intellectual fermenting, both of which in turn are reacting on rehgion. But these are not the only countries in Islam that are being modified in some new way by events^ which, directly or indirectly, have had their origin in the West. In Russia the promulgation of religious liberty on the 17th April 1905 has resulted, as I am informed by a Russian lady who has made a special study of the subject, in the return to Islam of 50,000 forced conformists to the Greek Church ; and they have been accompanied or followed by not a few who embraced Islam for the first time. There is no doubt that events like these will stimulate the Moham- medans in Russia in Europe, the Volga districts, Russian Central Asia, and perhaps Siberia itself. For ideas are like electricity ; they move fast, especially when the metals of a
252 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
railway line conduct them. So that no doubt the Trans- caspian railway, which will in time be continued from Russian Turkestan into Chinese Turkestan, ^U carry ideas with it, and so the historic trade-routes that cross the middle of the heart of the Asiatic continent into China, may soon become nerves organising Moslem Central Asia into a much closer organism than it has been before. Or turn to China ; if there is one country in the world the Mohammedans of which might be confidently supposed not to be sensitive to im- pressions from the outside v/orld, that country is China, for the Chinese Moslems have been the standing example of the most stagnant and unintelligent possible form of Islamism. Yet we hear of the dispatch of a Turk to be the first resident Moslem missionary in China, and more striking still, of thirty Chinese Mohammedan students drinking in Western ideas at a Japanese University, and editing a quarterly magazine for distribution to their fellow-religionists through- out China with the significant title " Moslems, Awake ! " Or turn to Malaysia ; the modifying innuence here is the steamship, which is enabling an ever-increasing number of Javanese, Sumatrans, and other East Indian Moslems to make their pilgrimage to Mecca, with the natural result of welding Islam into a much more compact and unyielding whole throughout Malaysia. Or turn to Arabia itself; the tomb of the Prophet at El Medina resounds to-day to the whistle of a railway train. From x^rabia indirectly came the great — you cannot call it modernist — but the great modern or recent movement ofJLl Senussi, the influence of which is being felt right away thr"oiigh the Sudan to Lake Chad and the heathen tribes on the extreme north of the Congo basin. Otlierwise the Moslem movement, so fearfully extensive through Africa, is essentially a reaction consequent ^ on the action of European Governments, for the establish- ment of settled governments all the way from the Nile to the Zambesi has weakened or broken down tribal exclu- siveness, and opened up a hundred thoroughfares for the peaceful penetration of Islam ; which being so, we shall probably before long see Islam assuming the attitude of the heaven-sent uniter and vindicator of the African race,
REV. W. H. T. GAIRDNER 253
reaping most of the harvest sown by the Ethiopianism of to-day.
This rapid preliminary survey assures us, then, that even from the view-point of a modern movement, the Moham- medan problem is practically co-extensive with the whole world of Islam. And may I not, in this great Conference, make yet one more preliminary remark. This problem of Islam is one ^ which we simply cannot overlook — ndf even in the face of the indescribably urgent situations facing us in the Far East. And this, first, because Islam is at our doors ; from the far- flung North African coast it fronts Europe, actually touching it, so to speak, at either end of the Mediterranean, — at the Pillars of Hercules and at Constantinople. And secondly, because it is a central problem also. Think of that enormous central block of solid Mohammedanism from Northern Africa into Western and Central Asia ! Like an immovable wedge, it keeps the Christian West from the pagan or heathen East ; and I would have you recollect. Fathers and Brethren, that even were our Japanese, our Korean and Manchurian, our Chinese, our Indian problems solved, their present crises happily met and surmounted, and a Christian Far East added to the Catholic Church, that great central un- sympathetic, alien, and hostile wedge would cut Eastern and Western Christendom absolutely in half, keeping the twain apart, insulating them from each other, and exhibiting to God and man not merely a seam, but a rent, from top to bottom, in the seamless robe of the great Catholic Church, — of a humanity wholly, but for Islam, won for Christ. Truly, then, we cannot postpone the problem of Islam. It is a problem of to-day, as we have seen. Let the same " to-day," then, be tKe day of solution and salvation.
My task and privilege then this evening is to seek to unfold to you, representatiyg&j^f theH^^hurch milijgrit^n all the earth, ."- the situation as it is to-day, in view of the modern or modern- ist movements within Islam ; our object being unitedly to take measures, to the utmost extent of the resources at our <^5*1^ disposal, by which the situation thus realised may be met. And this last sentence reminds us that " the resources at our disposal " is a phrase capable of two interpretations, and that
254 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
in our consultation this evening both must be kept in our minds. In the narrow sense, those resources are utterly insufficient to meet the situation to-day, though they could doubtless be more wisely disposed, more economically
A- Ji distributed, more richly used. But at our disposal also are the resources of the living God, and this thought will keep us reminded during this session also of the root, lesson of this Conference, that only a new realisation of the meaning of a
't/jk/ living God will avail us to accomplish or even continue our superhuman task.
There is not time to indicate more than the foci where
j ( the particular crisis of to-day are centred. Fathers and
brethren, our motto must be Verbum Sapientibus ! In this
hall, and on this subject, I must and may emphasize each
of these two words.
7?^ is Beginning, then, with the Ottoman Empire, we find a movement which can broadly be described as one towards freedom, political first and then intellectual. Ultimately a double movement of this nature must react on religion slowly '\ but surely. The inner attitude of the young Turks them-
selves to religious toleration is probably an advanced one. The very fact that Christianity and Christians have been to
^y<? ■^ such a large extent at the bottom of their movement must produce far-reaching and important consequences. Already in many parts of the Turkish Empire, notably Syria, the liberty of the press is making very great advances. Already some leaders of Islamic thought are disposed to query the whole elaborate fabric of Islam as historically evolved and elaborated, and to go back to the Koran, into which some of them read as much Christianity as they are able. Are not these facts a call to the Societies at work in the Ottoman Empire to stand by and to strengthen their work so as to be ready to take advantage of the expanding situation ? May ' not the day for reaping the fruit of the marvellous endurance of the Armenian martyrs be nigh ? It must come, as sure as there is a just God in Heaven !
The following steps, then, seem incumbent : first, to strengthen the already splendidly successful work done for and amongst the several Eastern Churches in the Ottoman
REV. W. H. T. GAIRBNER 255
Empire, whether Anglican or non-Anglican. Secondly, to -^ occupy the unoccupied districts through the Societies con- ^ tiguous to them — these districts are mentioned in the Report "^
oTTommission I. Thirdly, to place literary work on a ^- ^ stronger and surer footing. (I will return to this point in a moment.) Fourthly, to put wise, continuous, and cour- ageous pressure upon the Government to make full religious ''^_j.-^ equality and liberty an actualfact in the Empire. Fifthly, to make a" wise and courageous advance in direct work for Moslems. In an informal conference lately held in Beyrout, which I had the privilege of attending, one heard witness after witness dwelling on the extent to which such direct work is already being done, and the far greater extent to which, in the opinion of all, it might be now done. At the end of the day that informal conference expressed its opinion, with this Edinburgh Conference specially in view, as follows : —
"(l) That direct evangelistic work among Moslems, which has been going on quietly for several decades in Syria and Palestine, is more than ever possible to-day, whether by means of visiting, conversation, the production and careful distribution of Christian literature, Bible circula- tion, medical missions, and boys' and girls' schools. (2) That the promulgation of the Constitution has already, in the more enlightened centres, made this direct evangelistic work easier, and will, we trust, as the constitutional principle of religious equality becomes better under- stood by the people, make it increasingly so. And, on the other hand, we are face to face with a Mohammedan educational and religious revival which makes necessary this missionary advance if the prestige gained iii the past is to be preserved and increased, (3) For which reasons it is certain that the time has come for a wisely planned and carefully con- ducted and intensely earnest forward move in work among Moslems in Syria and Palestine, and the attention of all the Societies already working in the field is to be directed towards immediately making that forward move."
Fathers and brethren, Verhuni Sapieiitibus !
Passing to Egypt, where the larger measure of civil free- dom makes the possibilities of direct Moslem work practically unlimited, we find that Cairo is still „t,p-day the intellectual ^n^re of Islam. It has been so ever since the decays of Bagdad under the Abbasides. It is therefore at this point
256 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
that it is proper to emphasise another critically necessary line of advance which the Christian Church must make without delay. I mean an advance in the quality and quantity of A the scholarship of those who work among Moslems all over ^- the world, and especially in those parts where the enlighten- ment is going on. There are two main lines along which this increased study must be directed, and Moslem Cairo stands for both : the first is the old traditional theology and philosophy, represented by the Unfversity of El Azhar ; and the second is the modernist movement, which more or less touches every young Moslem,.who receives an education after the Western model, and which consists, as I have said, in an attempt to get behind the actual historical evolution of Islamism, and to re-think out a new policy, a new theology, a new philosophy, and a_^new society, upon the'basis of the Koran, unsupplemented by'all tradition whatever. This movement, which is strongly represented in India, has also a firm footing in Cairo, where the well-known Sheikh Mohammed Abdu lectured and gained disciples. One of these disciples, the editor of the Cairo review. El Manar, is the man who at this moment is busying himself about founding a missionary college for Turks in Constantinople, the graduates of which shall go forth to teach the principles of this new Islam, specially in the further East ! Whereby you may see that this new Islam aims at spreading and propagating. Now both these lines of intellectual activity imply a force of scholar missionaries, more numerous and many degrees more learned tha'n at present exists. For even though the learning of traditional Islam be supposed to be on the decline — and the supposition remains to be proved, though it is hardly questionable that El Azhar is a decaying institution, and its influence abroad a mere shadow of what it was — yet that traditional learning is still the learning that underlies the life of the enormous masses of Mohammedans all over the world, masses whose very vis inertice will always be a formidable and potent thing. That traditional learning, then, demands students as much as ever it did, and those same students must add to their programme the task of watching, studying, and meeting this Neo-Islam
REV. W. H. T. GAIRDNER 257
with its several almost contradictory aspects. I do not know where that study can be fully carried on, except somewhere in the Arabic-speaking Avorld ; and that somewhere, beyond all dispute, can only be Cairo. Therefore it seems to many of us that a school of Arabic study must be quietly founded and carried on there — a school which shall be at the service of missionaries from every part of the Moslem world. I say this without prejudice to schemes of Oriental Colleges and courses in the home lands, schemes which will certainly have their place, but will not, I believe, be more than supplemen- tary or complementary to what I am indicating. At Cairo, then, this school can only be started and maintained. Gen- tlemen, by your Societies taking thought — if not anxious thought, still thought — and that immediately. Verbum Sapientibus I
Moving East from Egypt, we come to Arabia, the Cradle of Islam. Besieged as it is by Moslem countries where modernist actions and re-actions are taking place, ought it not to be more effectively besieged by us ? I would call your attention first, to the recommendations of Commission I., that ten important points along the coast should be occupied with medical missions, like so many encircling light-centres ; secondly, to the reminder recently given by Mr. Garland, the Jewish missionary, that Islam may yet be reached by the Jews of greater Arabia, if we remember " to the Jews first " ; thirdly, to the following words of Dr. Young of Aden : —
" I think the Church should seize the present opportunity of entering the open door of Arabia, and specially should it try to start a large united mission in Mecca or Medina. It may seem Utopian even to dream of starting a mission in Mecca or Medina, but until an effort has been made no one can tell whether or not it will b"e "successful. At any rate an attempt should be made to begin work in Jiddar(I;He port of Mecca) and a properly equipped hospital established there would do much to teach the pilgrims the meaning of Chris- tian love." Dr. Zwemer told me yesterday that he con- sidered Jidda even more important — it is certainly more practicable — than Mecca.
Turning to Mesopotamia, may I remind the Conference COM. IX. — 17
258 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
of the enormous importance that region is going to have in the future when the Bagdad railway scheme and Sir William Willcock's irrigation scheme have been worked out ? Is it not vital that the Church should initiate work there on a totally different scale than exists at present?
After Mesopotamia, Persia. The ferment in that country is not a call to retreat or stand still, but to go forward (a thing which is everywhere true where the minds of men are at last feeling the need of something they have not got). The Bakhtiari Chiefs who carried through the recent coup d'etat and became the de facto governors of Teheran, were, before they came into this startling prominence, the firm friends of the C.M.S. missionaries. Does not this one fact make it crucially important to strengthen and reinforce those work- ing for the gospel in that land, the importance of which as dividing Sunni Islam is so great? The opportunity was greater a few years ago than it is to-day. Is it to slip entirely ?
In India we have the same phenomena noted in Egypt, constituting the same call. We have the same enormous mass of popular Sunni Islam, and to a still greater extent a modernist movement, which has never yet been adequately dealt with. In addition to all this we have the serious intelli- gence of some millions of outcastes in Bengal or the Punjab, who before very long must be claimed by either Islam or Hinduism if the Christian Church does not gather them to herself. Is not the latter fact a call to the Church immedi- ately to do this vital work of taking preservative measures ? In this case, by how many thousand times is prevention better and easier than cure ! For the rest the Report of Commission I. registers the impression that in India Moslem Missions have been sadly neglected. Hardly any men are set apart for this work in S. India, and nowhere I believe, in India as elsewhere, is the proper training being given to men who are to engage in modern work, and who have now not only to study traditional Islam but the modernist movement and literature that have their source and spring at Aligarh.
In the East Indies we have already mentioned the new activity consequent on increased facilities for travel and
REV. W. H. T. GAIRDNER 259
inter-communication. Our Dutch and German brethren are doing a magnificent work here both in winning Moslems and in preventing the Islamising of non-Moslems. All this great Conference can do is to encourage them to make even greater exertions in the name of the Lord ! In particular, may we not pray that they and we may be enabled to strengthen our hold on Borneo, that great island in which but little is being done, and which, I am informed by the Rev. G. Allan, S.P.G. missionary there, is full of fanatical and very influen- tial Malaysian Moslems. It is a marvel that the Dyaks and other aborigines have not been Islamised, such being the circumstances. It seems that we owe their present escape to their unparalleled relish for pork ! But that is not a satis- factory thing for us to rely on, and with this Malaysian environment the danger is imminent. Even in the case of the enormous island of New Guinea, hitherto as far as I know unaffected by Islam, we may well let fall the appeal in passing to hasten its evangelisation, lest, if we tarry, it too become as Java and as Sumatra.
In China until recently the problem of Islam has hardly been even studied, much less worked at. We have read in the Report the significant message of young Chinese Moslems studying at Tokio, " Moslems, awake ! " Is not the trans- lation of this simply, " Christians, awake ? " It is, in fact, a sharp admonition to us that the laissez /aire attitude of the past must now cease. The Report a4vises the focusing of Christian effort on certain known strategic centres and the setting apart of men for the purpose. It adds : " Such workers would need a knowledge of both Chinese and Arabic." This is only one more indication of the necessity of having an Arabic Seminary at some centre like Cairo.
From China through to Central Asia, Turkestan, and Russia is an historic route. From what I learn from three first-rate informants, the thing of paramount importance to pray for is the revival of the Greek Church, and the according to other forms of Christianity a more complete freedom to be and to work. The Greek Church has the means and the men had §he the vision and the passion, yet I am in- formed of two small Greek Church missions among the
26o ADDRESSES AT EVExNING MEETINGS
i8g,ooo Moslems of Siberia in the Tomsk and Obolsk districts, and of the conversion of three Moslems in Siberia in 1908. A small harvest, truly, yet it shows that the task is no impossibility. We know of the great evangelistic work done by the Greek Church in Japan. Why should not the word of the Lord yet come to that Church to do a similar work wherever Moslems are found in the Russian Empire ? May it be that, at the next Decennial Conference, Greek Church delegates and Roman Church delegates will be found sitting here with us and rehearsing to us the mighty acts ot the Holy Spirit at their hands in Asiatic Islam ?
Lastly, Africa. I need not say one word to you, fathers and brethren, to tell you of the crisis in which practically all Africa is involved between the religions of Christ and Mohammed. The thing is notorious, and this Conference at least is well aware of its seriousness. The two main causes are, first, the influence of the Senussi movement, which has radiated from the North-East Sahara, and is felt, I believe, wherever Islam is advancing between the loth and 5th degrees of latitude North ; and secondly, the influence of traders, who, taking advantage of the security given by the various British, French, or German occupations, carry Islam everywhere. This applies generally to East Africa and the Central and Western parts of the Sudan.
How can these things be dealt with ?
In regard to the first, Dr. Kumm in his recent journey across Africa and along the Moslem fringe, everywhere found tribes on the Shari River and North Congo streams up to the 5 th parallel in process of being Islamised ; and he found that the impetus was coming from the Senussi movement. The Senussi monasteries and not El Azhar are the true fountain head of North African Mohammedan extension, and Senussism, though utterly anti-modernist, is nevertheless not orthodox. No Senussite could study at El Azhar, that home of an unmilitant orthodoxy. The only contribution El Azhar makes to Central or West African Islam is the vague prestige of its name, and a certain amount of con- solidating influence exerted by the few Azharite graduates who find their way back to Hausaland and other parts of
REV. W. H. T. GAIRDNER 261
the Western Sudan. As Pastor Wiirz writes, the blow at the heart of the extensionist movement in the Central region would be a work carried on in the Senussi centres of the Sahara. This seems impossible. He adds : " What can we do in this matter but pray and wait ? " This then is what it is the duty of the Church to do. And then there is that advancing fringe — from the Shari River to the Bahr-el-Arab. A Christian traveller has now been across that fringe. Is not that fact a challenge to your Churches and Societies, fathers and brethren, to advance along the path thus indi- cated, eastward from the Cameroons and Nigeria, westward from the missions on the Upper Nile ? And before leaving this aspect of the subject let me point out the importance of praying down the French opposition to non-Roman effort in all its vast African Islamic Empire.
Turning from the Central Sudan to the Western, I should like to quote some words of Pastor Wiirz of Basel, who has devoted so much attention to the subject. "For the moment," he says, " North Nigeria seems to me the most important point. The countries round Lake Chad, on the British or German side, may be second. If French territory were open to the Gospel some great centre further west might be of the same importance." So far Pastor Wiirz ; and here I wish I could quote to you the whole of an important letter, written last New Year's Day by Mr. T. E. Alvarez, Secretary of the C.M.S. North Nigerian mission. You would see how completely it endorses the words, " For the moment North Nigeria seems the most important point." He points out the enormous work that might be done there to-day, both preventive and direct ; how essential it is that it should be done at once in view of the rapidly approaching linking up of the Lower Niger, Hausaland, and Calabar by railways. May I remind you also yet once more of Dr. Miller's appeal for forty educationists or evangelists for Hausaland, that the Hausa nation may lead the way in stopping the Moham- medan rush? Fathers and brethren, I fall back earnestly upon my motto, verbiim sapientibus I
I return to Pastor Wiirz : "There is almost no unity in African missions. Look at the west coast. A score of
262 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
separate starts from a score of separate points on the west. No attempt at unity as far as I am aware. I wish for this reason that all West African missions might make a vigorous attempt to work among Moslems. This would give them an obviously common task at least. Islam might link us together ; this done it would be time to try to settle on an intelligent common plan of operations. But we are far from that yet."
Are these closing words not indeed a challenge ? In this hall are representatives of the Churches or Societies working in West Africa. Were it not glorious if one result of this Conference should be that that which seemed to that writer to be so far should suddenly, at this time, take place and come about ? Here is a work for the International Board for promoting local co-operation, which we all so earnestly hope will be born from this Conference.
And last, East Africa from British East Africa right down to the Zambesi. The clear call, is, first, to hasten on with the evangelisation of the tribes threatened by Islam, and specially the most influential of them. Thank God for churches like those in Uganda and Livingstonia. It is sometimes said that such churches will be as islands in a sea of Islam, as lodges in a garden of cucumbers. But let us not be enslaved by dreary metaphors. Let us rather say that such churches will be centres of life, and heat, and light, serving and saving the Islamic peoples round them, if Islam is really to fill up the spaces round them. But is Islam to do this ? " Christians, awake ! "
So much'for prevention. But the direct work should not for a moment be neglected, and that for five excellent and weighty reasons advanced by Pastor Wiirz, which I would there were time to quote. And there is much to encourage the prosecution of this type of work. For example, I have it on the very best authority, that " according to the observa- tion of a senior missionary who has been on the spot thirty- four years, the actual power of the Moslems in German East Africa has decreased. In slaving days the power of strong individuals was exercised over all the coast tribes. This is almost entirely broken, very much through the influence of
REV. W. II. T. GAIRDNER 263
missions." I hear, moreover, that the German Government is alive to the danger that the triumph of Islam would in- fallibly mean, and wishes to keep Islam out and encourage missions. Would that British administrators in Nigeria and elsewhere saw this point equally clearly ! Mr. Chairman, is this Conference to pass without an official representation being made to the British Government as to its Moslem policy in East and West Africa ? We have in our President one who has stood before kings, and even prime ministers, and not been ashamed. Might we not ask that he should voice us before a Secretary for Foreign Affairs ?
Can then we sum up the appeal to the Church and to this Conference which the situation in East Africa constitutes ? It is done for us in a weighty communication that has reached me from. Bishop Peel, one of God's responsible chief-ministers in that part. Here are his four points —
(i) "That a Christian Government should never let the Christian religion be regarded as one of many, but as the one religion it can recognise as paramount. While showing no partiality in courts or administration, a Christian Government should make all the people feel it values most for rule and office in all branches the persons who have the spiritual education of the Christian religion, and will use such in preference where it can. The Germans are doing this."
Are not these words a challenge to this great Conference to bring this point of view in some earnest, definite way before the three Governments interested in East African administration ?
(2) "To occupy strongly every strategic base or centre (in the Islamised part of East Africa) in order to hold it in check."
This requires in the east coast the same consistent co- operation which we have been desiderating in the west.
(3) " To offer sound education from lowest to highest in chosen places, with Bible teaching open to all, but not compulsory. Only thus can the sons of many a Mohammedan be kept in touch with Christian teachers and under evangelistic influences. The alternative is looking on while rival Moslem schools spring up, draw away the few Moslem pupils from the Mission schools, and educate powerful antagonists to all that is Christian."
264 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
Friends, our survey is over. We have only been talking about work of immediate critical and strategic importance, and lo, even this has appeared (has it not?) to involve im- possibilities, to involve making calls upon the Church for which we know perfectly well she has no present resources. But once more this word brings us up sharp. Is not the primary, nay, the entire object of this Conference to make us believe and feel and know that the resources of the Church are not what she is ready to produce at this moment, but what she has in God and in the Spirit of His Christ ? And now, therefore. Lord, what wait we for ? Our Hope is in Thee ! So we pray : while in our ears ring that question and that answer which come antiphonally in perhaps the greatest of the Epistles of the great St. Paul —
"Who is sufficient for these things?"
And the antiphone —
"Our sufiiciency is of God."
CHANGES IN THE CHARACTER OF THE MISSIONARY PROBLEM
III. AMONG PRIMITIVE AND BACKWARD PEOPLES By the Rev. R. WARDLAW THOMPSON, D.D.
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Saturday Evenings \%th June
In considering the nature and the difficulties of the missionary problem, we speedily discover that the work which is assigned to us varies in its character and require- ments most seriously, as the result of local and varied conditions, and that we must understand the people and the conditions of their Ufe if we would perform our task effectively and wisely.
I find that underlying all local differences there is one very broad and unmistakable line of demarcation which divides the whole of the non-Christian world, for missionary purposes, into two very distinct parts.
On the one side are all those races and communities which have definite and organised systems of religion and ethics, usually in association with a distinct religious litera- ture, and often in connection with an ancient civilisation. All these are now in a state of remarkable wakefulness under new intellectual and political influences.
On the other side there are the races which we often
describe as " primitive," and which are invariably in a low
state of civilisation, without a written language or literature,
without any intellectual stimulus, and whose religion is best
described as Animistic or as Fetish worship. The only
265
266 ADDRESSES AT EVExNING MEETINGS
wakefulnesss and progress which has been manifested among these is due to the work and influence of the missionary.
I have to speak of these and of the changes in the con- ditions and requirements of Mission work which must result from the changed relations of such people to the rest of the world in recent years.
The missionary to primitive and barbarous peoples is in a totally different position from the worker among Chinamen or caste Hindus. He is admittedly one of a superior race — everything about him is superior, his clothes, his tools, his medicines, his knowledge on many subjects are all far, far beyond the wildest dreams of the people to whom he goes. The poorest habitation he erects for himself is far better than the best hut the native lives in. He makes some strange marks on a piece of bark and sends it to a fellow- worker by the hand of a native, and the bark talks and tells what the writer wants. Instead of a dug-out canoe he brings pieces of iron and puts them together, and the iron swims. Little wonder if the savage regarded the early missionary pioneer with awe ; little wonder if even the ordinary equipment of a very poorly provided missionary gives to the native of many regions an idea of unbounded wealth. Such a position is in many respects one of signal vantage in claiming the attention and impressing the imagina- tion of his hearers. At the same time it is a situation which presents its own serious difficulties.
There is no race, however degraded, which has not some dim '•eligious ideas. The animistic races have a profound conviction of some mysterious connection with the spirits of their ancestors, and they are haunted by an awful fear of the prevalence and power of evil spirits. To turn away from the customs of the past, even at the invitation of the great white man, may involve unknown troubles. His great God is evidently good to him, but, nevertheless, the spirits around them are the spirits which belong to their less fortunate land and ought not to be offended. Thus the first barrier to the progress of the gospel has been raised.
The undeveloped intellectual life of such races, the absence of any sense of sin, and the gross materialism and corruption
REV. R. WARDLAW THOMPSON 267
of their natural state, have proved further barriers, every- where operative against the reception of the gospel.
These difficulties, however, are not of the same stubborn and" "poweffur character as those which present themselves among the more highly civilised and religiously developed races. They have melted away after a time under the influence of the simple and wonderful story of the love of God for the degraded and the ignorant, proclaimed to them first of all and most effectively in the life and conduct of the missionary, who is to them the living embodiment of the Christ of whom he speaks. The result has been that the largest and most remarkable ingatherings to the Church of Christ in the early stages of missionary effort have been among the primitive and barbarous races, and amongst the depressed and ignorant classes.
The most serious difficulties of the Christian worker among such peoples begin after they have come under Christian instruction, and have commenced the slow up- ward course of the Christian life. It is essential that the missionary among such peoples should constandy remember in his work that growth in moral perception and Christian character must usually be very slow. We can only take one step at a time, and people who for ages have been sunk in gross materialism, and who have known no moral stimulus rfnd no control of passion save fear of consequences, have to take many steps before they can reach the most ordinary standard of moral principle and character recognised in Christian lands. Work among such peoples must, under any circum- stances, demand untiring patience and the undying optimism of those who are able always to see in the raw material among which they are working the vision of the far-off Christ.
If only such tribes and peoples when they have come under the tutelage of the Church of Christ could have been kept separate from the great World, and allowed to develop a new life under Christian influence, one is tempted to think there would in due time have evolved, in slow and natural fashion, new Christian communities, intelligent, virtuous, devout, exhibiting the beauty and strength of a simple
268 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
Christian life. This, however, is not the line of true life of any kind. Strength of character and intelligent develop- ment of principle come ever as the result of struggle. No race, however vigorous in its natural character, can rise to true strength and dignity until it has been tested by conflict with adverse circumstances or external foes. Thus it has happened that again and again the new spirit born from above has had to be proved under the fires of persecution. If there are among these primitive races to-day churches whose record is the joy and crown of missionary enterprise, and which are signal evidences of the power of God's re- vivifying and renewing grace, they are those that have attained to their present progressive and influential position through much tribulation.
Now a new set of conditions has arisen which is going to try the Christian communities among primitive people all over the world still further. The same opening of the world which has made it possible for the missionary to find his way to them is producing amazing changes everywhere.
To take Africa alone as an illustration of the changes which have come : Keith Johnston's atlas of 1858 contains a map of Africa with the little lake Ngami just indicated ; farther north, near the mysterious Mountains of the Moon, a dotted space indicates a rumoured great lake ; and across all that vast region watered by the Congo and its tributaries is marked " Unknown, probably desert." Think of the change to-day. The great chain of inland seas, the mighty river systems, the dense populations ; railways in construc- tion and largely in use from the Cape to Cairo and from both coasts to the far interior ; steamers plying on the inland seas and in the great river basins. The map of Africa is now like Joseph's coat of many colours. Portugal, Spain, Britain, France, Germany, have all their spheres of influence and their claims.
It is even so all round the world. Wherever there is a strategic position on coast or island which is assumed to be of importance to some world power, political necessity has hoisted a flag and made a naval base. Wherever there is a chance of a market for the commerce of western
REV. R. WARDLAAV THOMPSON 269
activity, enterprising firms have their representatives. Regions which within an ordinary lifetime were the home of the nomad wanderer are now peopled, and thriving townships are springing up in lands, the very names of which your fathers did not know. It is truly an amazing change.
But what of the primitive peoples who for ages have occupied these territories? What is their relation to the change ? What is its effect on them ? What is their future to be? The influence of the new conditions cannot fail to be, and is, very marked. The white man's example sets a new standard of life. The white man's trade stimulates new j]<*^t, tastes and gratifies them. The white man's irreligion, alas, . too often his open scoff at religion, powerfully affects thought and deadens conscience. New vices are added to old evil habits, and the appeal of Christ has no effect on deafened ears.
What is the duty of the Christian Church under these j. changed conditions ? One thing is plain. The old order in Mission work as well as in the life of such peoples has ^'"' ^^ gone. The slow and quiet labour and progress of former days are no longer adequate to the new conditions and the new tasks. Christian work must take broader and fuller forms if it is to prove the means of fitting these primitive races for a new and larger future. The broad foundation of a civilised state is industry, not as the barbarous man works, fitfully and to provide for his individual needs, but steadily in combination with others and for the common interest. The progressiveness of a civilised state is by growth of intelligence, i.e. of growing knowledge applied to the under- standing and improvement of the conditions of work and life. The permanent strength and happiness of the civilised state rest in the development of character through the main- tenance and cultivation of the fear of God, and of altruistic regard for our neighbours. It is our duty as Christian workers to see that the peoples to whom God sends us are prepared as well as we can make them to take their places in the new world which is being formed everywhere around them. In most cases the dignity of labour is an elementary lesson which needs to be earnestly inculcated \
270 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
the hunger for knowledge as a source of power and as enhancing a man's value to the community has also to be stimulated and met ; above all, Christian principle has to be instilled and cultivated.
These are no new tasks. Every Society which has been at work among primitive peoples has long since attempted them with some measure of success. What is required now is that they shall be more thoroughly recognised and more adequately provided for. Industrial training, which has only a partial and limited value while the native is living under primitive conditions, becomes absolutely necessary, and requires to be thoroughly technical and efficient when he becomes a member of a larger and a mixed community. The knowledge of reading and writing which in his primitive condition has been valuable only in connection with religious teaching, and usually as a means of training for the ministry, becomes valuable in an entirely new and practical sense when the native has to deal with the trader, and it is indispensable if he is to rise into positions of respect and trust in any civilised State. We have to see to it that our Industrial Schools are so thoroughly equipped that they can turn out workmen of whom we need not be ashamed. We have to reorganise and develop our educational system from its most elementary stages to its highest standards, so as to provide for and encourage growing intelligence, and steadily to raise the general standard of knowledge. Above all, the nurture and development of the Church of Christ by the quality of its ministry, by the provision made for Christian litera- ture, and by maintaining high ideals of Christian character, must be our constant and assiduous care.
The work has often none of the inspiration which comes in trying to meet the needs of the awakening life of the great races of the East, but it is an unspeakable honour. Natural selection means that the weak go to the wall. Christ's miracle of grace is to renew the strength of the weak and to save that which is ready to perish.
The perfect body of a renewed humanity will not be complete until all races have contributed their own special elements of grace or dignity or strength or intellect or spiritual
REV. R. WARDLAW THOMPSON 271
quality to its glorious nature. They are surely specially honoured who are trusted by the Master with the task of caring for His Uttle ones, and of winning and leading out into the light those that have gone furthest and sunk lowest in the downward course of degradation. We look for the day when the black man with the yellow man, and the brown man with the white man, shall become one great brotherhood in Christ, and He shall be King of all the earth.
THE DUTY OF CHRISTIAN NATIONS
By the archbishop OF YORK
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Sunday Evening, \<^th June
We are assembled here as comrades in one common cause,
yet you may permit one who unworthily occupies one of the
most ancient, perhaps the most ancient, bishopric in the
lands belonging to the British race to express the pleasure
with which he finds himself, if only for one evening, in the
midst of a Conference which, at the beginning of a new
epoch, is facing new problems with the courage of the old
faith, and is holding forth visions for a new age of a
Christendom more united than it has been in its loyalty to
its Lord. The subject on which I have been asked to
speak is the attitude of Christian nations in their relation
to non-Christian races. We have duties laid upon us, not
only as members of Christian bodies or of Missionary
Societies, but also as citizens of the respective nations to
which we belong. National policy has the deepest and
most far-reaching influence both upon the conduct of
missionary enterprise and, what is perhaps equally important,
upon the presentment of Christanity to the world. National
policy is, after all, the expression of the public opinion of
the nation, and whether that policy does or does not tend
to the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ throughout
the world, depends on the ideals and the activities of
Christian citizens. I must content myself with trying to
lay down three general principles.
27a
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK 273
The first is, and the most obvious, that it is the duty of Christian nations to make the aim of their poUcy, not only their own advantage, but the good of the non-Christian races whom they rule or with whom they come in contact. The history of the treatment of non-Christian races by professedly Christian races is one long illustration of the difficulty which human nature finds in its national policy to be true to this primary Christian law. We need not be surprised. The very instinct which leads Christian nations into contact with non-Christian races is itself necessarily independent of the Christian law. The instinct is not the good of the nations, but the pursuit of wealth. The first instinct which brings a Christian nation into contact with a non-Christian race is the desire to secure or open out markets for its trade. Let us at once acknowledge the good which incidentally the traders, the advance guard of Christian nations, very often do through the kindness of their hearts. But admitting that, we must also admit that their primary motive must always be a return for their own investments and the progress of their own trade and commerce. It is natural, it is almost inevitable that Governments at home, pressed by the economic conditions which they have to consider, should be keen to follow up the trader in the opening and securing of new markets in the world. It is also almost inevitable that they should follow in the wake, not only of the journeys, but of the motives of the trader. The trader, the company, the corporation, are always at the ear of Governments, which have the most obvious motives of interest to listen to them, and to further them. And what is of fundamental importance in the life of a Christian nation is this, that there should be also at the ear of Governments a counteracting influence acknowledging a higher law, insisting upon moral ideals as well as upon material advantages. In other words, a Christian nation cannot be true to the fundamental principles of Christian policy unless there is always a strong and active body of Christian public opinion, insisting that no native race shall be exploited merely for the benefit of trade and commerce. • There are, perhaps, three illustrations which, af once arise COM. IX. — 18
274 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
to our minds both of the need and of the danger of which we are thinking. The first is the history of the Congo Free State in Africa. There we have seen unfolded before our eyes what happens to non-Christian races when the activity of Christian citizenship has been allowed to go to sleep. Need I remind you of the principles, the professions, with which that great tract of the world was taken over under treaty responsibilities by Christian nations ? All the powers exercising sovereign rights or having influence in the said territories undertook to watch over the preservation of the native races and the amelioration of the moral and material conditions of their existence, and to co-operate in the suppres- sion of slavery. So much for Christian profession. Need I remind you of the sordid tale of actual practice ? It is the tragedy of selfish interest, of money advantage, of what was rightly described here the other day as the Yellow Peril — the lust for gold — left to work its own way without the restraint and the activity of Christian citizenship. We are called upon in this Conference to find some opportunity of record- ing our conviction, representing many Christian nations, that if now we have to exercise some patience, it is a patience not less strong than our indignation, a patience made persistent by a set purpose that we shall never rest satisfied until the last traces of these indignities have been removed. Alas ! we can make no reparation to the natives whose lives have been either lost or darkened, but at least there is time to make some reparation to what ought to be the outraged conscience of Christian nations.
But there is another lesson to be drawn from this sordid drama, and it is that, for the future. Christian citizenship must be alert before it is too late ; and when we see around us signs of a desire to make rapid wealth out of the same rubber that has cost the Congo so dear, we must be sure that Christian citizenship at once makes it plain that no Government can be supported unless it takes prompt and immediate measures to see that that wealth is not obtained by wrongly exploiting the labour of the natives of other districts.
The second illustration which rises to our mind is, of
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK 27^
course, the equally sinister and sordid story of the opium trade in China. Can we reflect, we of the British race, without shame upon the fact that we made wars, we extorted treaties, in order that, for our commercial advantage, we should force on a non-Christian race the purchase of a drug which was ruining its moral character ? Here, again. Christian citizenship can never rest until that shame has been removed. Our need is the greater because we are called to make a response to what I will venture to call the noble efforts of the Chinese themselves to throw off this peril. Could there be anything more prejudicial to the credit of Christianity in the eyes of the world than this, that when a non-Christian race shows itself eager to liberate itself from a moral curse, a Christian nation should be backward or suspicious in co-operating with its desires ?
The third illustration is the traffic in liquor among non- Christian races. You have, perhaps, read the proceedings and the report of the Commission appointed to consider this matter in Western Africa, and there you can see (I make no comments on a difficult matter) the bias of Governments to protect the interests of trade and the bias of the missionary to protect the independent rights of self- development on the part of the natives. We can only too easily trust the bias of the Government to prevail. It is for Christian citizenship to see that the bias of the missionary obtains at least fair play.
The time has come when Christian nations must recognise missions and the missionary spirit which they rouse as an essential element in their corporate public life. Without the spirit of Christian missions, the instinct of expansion must inevitably go wrong. We cannot check that instinct ; it is part of a great world movement. It is rather for us to use it and ennoble it ; but, left to itself, it inevitably degrades both the people who are conscious of it and the people whom it reaches. It is for us, as Christian citizens, by our vigilance, by the way we keep public opinion informed of what is passing in all parts of the world, to see to it that the spirit of Christian missions is a public power.
The second principle is this — and it is not less im-
Z'jG ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
portant — it is the duty of Christian nations, even when they have accepted the principle of seeking the independent good of the non-Christian races whom they reach, to remember that it is perilous to give the benefits of material civilisation without strengthening moral and spiritual forces. Western civilisation, where it reaches non-Christian races, must inevitably disintegrate and dissolve. It cannot be too often repeated that it is not the missionary who breaks up the national life, the traditional religion and morals of the people ; it is the white man himself. If he trades he unsettles. Still more, if he brings in, from sheer con- scientiousness, the principles of justice, of government, of education, which he thinks to be involved in his own civilisation, he unsettles still more. British India is a case in point. There you see the white man's rule at its best. And because it is at its best, because it has gone furthest in bringing all the opportunities of civilisation, including education, within the reach of the natives, it has been most profoundly unsettling. It is not too much to say that the constructive work of material civilisation in India is gravely imperilled by the destructive influence it has had upon the traditions of morality and religion among which the people have been brought up. What we have to see to is this, that a Christian nation is not, so to say, allowed to begin a work which cannot but be full of the gravest moral danger, unless it is carried on in the way of securing that there shall be a constructive work restoring and re-establishing the moral and spiritual bases of national life. But what a Christian nation is bound to do its Government is bound not to do — it is pledged to the principle of neutrality. And, therefore, what the Government cannot do on its behalf, the Christian nation must ask missions to do. The Christian r>ation must turn, as part of its public policy, beyond the Government to the missions and ask them to undertake on its behalf the constructive moral and spiritual work which its Government is unable to perform. The difficulties are great, but they must be faced. The only reconstructive moral and spiritual force which can at once preserve what has been done by material civilisation ^.nd carry onward and
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK 277
preserve the best life of the peoples, is the faith of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all men throughout the world.
The third principle is this : It is the duty of a Christian nation, in view of its responsibilities to non-Christian races, to maintain its own allegiance to Christian principles in its national life at home. Not only do Christian nations move in the midst of non-Christian races, but non-Christian races come into the midst of Christian nations to learn and observe. Our schools, workshops, and colleges are filled with the keenest intellects from India, China, and Japan. What are they learning of our boasted Christian civilisation ? A Japanese minister came to me some years ago to ask if I would give him facilities for studying the way in v.'hich Christian civilisation in England had dealt with the problems of our cities in the east end of London. I knew what he would learn. I prayed that he might forget it. What are they learning of the place of Christianity in the real Hfe of our people ? I was told the other day of two brilliant Japanese students who spent a year in boarding- houses in the neighbourhood of the British Museum, and they had returned to Japan to say that, during their whole residence in the capital of a Christian nation, they had never met a family that so much as once observed the ordinances of its Christian religion. And what are they learning of our allegiance to the principles of the Christian moral law ? For instance, they hear of us abroad doing everything we can to redeem and purify by Christian principles the stability of the family life. What will they think if they come to Christian nations and find them growing restive under the restraints of the Christian law? I think one of the messages of this Conference to Christian nations is the simple one, the direct one, the necessary one — see to it that your own nations are being made and kept Christian.
Here, in this Conference, we have assembled to do honour to those who, in the simplest and most sincere way, have accepted the challenge of the Lord Jesus Christ for immediate obedience — our missionaries. The challenge comes to us who occupy a humbler place as Christian citizens. I pray God we may accept it with an equal loyalty and courage.
THE DUTY OF CHRISTIAN NATIONS
II. By the Hon. SETH LOW, LL.D.
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Sunday Evenifig^ 1 9M June
The Report of Commission VII., of which I am a member, will be presented to the Conference to-morrow. It deals with the relations of Missions and Govern- ments, and it necessarily deals with the practical issues growing out of the contact of Missions with the Govern- ment either of the country in which the Mission is con- ducted or of the country from which the missionaries go forth. This evening I should like to discuss some of the larger aspects of that relationship between Missions and Governments. l"he missionary goes to non-Christian peoples primarily, of course, to carry the message of the Christian Gospel ; but when he goes he understands perfectly that, in order to commend that Gospel to his non-Christian hearers, he must illustrate its ideals in his own life. How faithfully, how patiently, how nobly many missionaries in many fields have done that, and are doing that, God knows, and we only partially know. It is of much less consequence to the missionary to enjoy the political support of his Government at home than it is that he should have the moral support of that Government. And by that moral support I mean that whenever the Government of a country whose public opinion is predominantly Christian illustrates in its dealings with
non-Christian races, and generally in its international relation-
378
HON. SETH LOW 279
ships, high ideals of justice, of fair deahng, and of respect for the rights of others, even when they are weak, the cause of the missionary is powerfully reinforced. On the other hand, when the Government of a country whose public opinion is predominantly Christian fails to illustrate such ideals, the work of a missionary is made infinitely more difficult. The missionary can face with equanimity risks to his own life, because he knows that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church ; but not the best missionary of them all can avert the disaster to his cause which comes when such a nation fails to live up to its own ideals.
His Grace the Archbishop of York has referred to some of the particular questions of a public character as to which the missionary testimony received by our Commission exhibits an impressive unanimity. I should like to point out, for our own encouragement, that the missionary protest against opium, so long continued and so eloquently voiced, has not been in vain, because within a month or two from now there is to meet at the Hague an International Con- ference upon that subject, which will be presided over by a member of this Conference, Bishop Brent of the Philippine Islands, and we may be reasonably sure that whatever wise and good men can suggest will be suggested by that Con- ference. It is our opportunity, and the opportunity of all the Christian nations represented here, to see to it that when a practicable programme has been presented to the nations, the public opinion of the nations shall demand that it be put in force. Public opinion has not moved so far yet as to the liquor traffic or the problem of enforced labour, but it is certainly legitimate for the missionary to encourage himself with the reflection that even in the moral world things move. There is, however, one matter where the nations of the world can powerfully aid the missionary cause, as to which, fortunately, the stars in their courses are fighting for us. Lord Balfour, in his opening address, stated that wherever a Christian Mission went the question of freedom of con- science was raised. Happily, all the enlightened nations of the world now concede to their own people freedom of
28o ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
conscience. Have we not the right, we who belong to nations whose public opinion is predominantly Christian, to ask our Governments to do everything that they can to. make freedom of conscience the birthright of every human being? It is the peculiar glory of Japan that she is the first non-Christian nation to ensure to her own people by law that priceless privilege ; and it is highly significant that in the Report which our Commission will submit to this Conference to-morrow, not a complaint, certainly no substantial com- plaint, comes from Japan as to friction between missionaries and the civil authorities. May we not hope that the far- spreading influence of Japan throughout the Orient will carry with it, wherever it penetrates, that great boon to mankind? Japan has assimilated Western education, and much of Western political thought ; but I venture to believe that she has gathered from the West no boon for her people to be compared for one moment with the boon of freedom of conscience, because when you set the human spirit free, you have laid the foundation for endless progress. But freedom of consience is not altogether a matter of public law; it is perhaps even more a matter of public opinion, m India, for example, under British rule, freedom of con- science is well established by law ; and yet, I suppose, there is no place on the face of the globe where the social obstacles to becoming a Christian are so great as they are in that country, where caste is at the very heart of it. How is that to be broken down ? Missionaries have done something, and they will continue to do even more ; but I venture to think that from the enlightened Christian nations of the world there can go forth a public opinion which, as India comes more and more into contact with the Western life, will one day break down even caste, and will secure to every Indian native, from the lowest to the highest, that freedom of conscience which is born, I think, essentially of the Christian religion, because it is of the very essence of Christianity that it shall be the choice of a man's heart. Not a missionary would leave his home to preach a Christianity that was enforced. What they want are willing converts to the Lord Jesus Christ.
HON. SETH LOW 281
Now let me ask you to consider another aspect of this question. We have all read of the conquests of Alexander the Great, and we remember that he sighed because he thought that there were no more worlds to conquer. I wonder if we ever realise how immense are the consequences to those of us who are living at this day of these conquests of Alexander the Great. Broadly speaking, I think it is true to fact to say that all the countiies on this side of the line where Alexander's march stopped have developed with the civilisation of the Mediterranean. Our political life, our social life, our religious life spring from that basin ; but all the countries lying beyond the line of Alexander's march — India, China, and Japan — for these two thousand years have developed a civilisation of their own, different socially, different politically, different religiously ; and now, all of a sudden, almost with the suddenness with which aviation has come upon us, the East and West find themselves, I will not say looking into each other's eyes, but actually obliged to commingle. For two thousand years, one may say, they have lived apart as if there were two worlds. For all the future, so far as man can see, they have got to live together in the same world.
Let me try very briefly to suggest some of the questions involved in that statement. Shortly before I left home I met an officer of the United States Steel Corporation. He told me he had recently seen at Hangkow a rolling mill worked by Chinamen. He said that, judged by the amount of output, the efficiency was 90 per cent, of that of the best American mills at home, and the wages paid were one-fifth of what were paid in America. What does that mean for every industrial nation, when the Chinese with their capacity, and their great industry, and their overwhelming numbers, have learned to manufacture not pig-iron only, but everything that the rest of us manufacture ? I think it means at the very least new problems, the magnitude of which we cannot easily foresee. You see the first instinctive answer of the West in the attitude of the white race all along the Pacific, not in the United States only, but in Canada, Mexico, South America, South Africa, and in Australia,
282 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
They do not want Asiatic labour to be introduced. That is not because the men of our race despise the Asiatics, it is rather the instinctive action of men who feel that the standard of life developed in the West is suddenly put in peril. There again you can see new opportunities for friction between the nations of the East and the nations of the West. If those questions, and questions like them, are going to be met in the light of natural law, so that it is to be a question of the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest, I do not wonder that men speak of the Yellow Peril. But if we can place side by side with that struggle for existence, as an effective and working force, what Henry Drummond called " the struggle for the existence of the other man," — in other words, if Christian Missions can carry into those Oriental countries a really deep and abiding sense that at the heart of a Christian civilisation, no matter what mistakes it may make, there is profound respect for man just because he is man, and that the Christian nations will unite with the non-Christian nations as they are to-day in develop- ing, or in trying to develop, out of this new contact, some- thing finer than the world has ever known — then we may escape what otherwise would be assuredly a battle of Armageddon, and see a future ushered in wherein the Yellow Peril shall be converted into a golden opportunity for the cause of Truth and the everlasting brotherhood of man.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF NON-CHRISTIAN RACES TO THE BODY OF CHRIST
By President TASUKU HARADA
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Sunday Evening, \()th June
My Lord, Ladies and Gentlemen, — This subject which I
have to treat this evening calls for a great deal of knowledge,
insight and judgment, and a sympathy with all faiths and
ideas which are alien and even antagonistic to those with
which we are more familiar. I do not for a moment assume
any large measure of knowledge or insight, but there is one
thing 1 am sure 1 have, and that is a deep sympathy with
the non-Christian faiths and the non-Christian lands, because
I was born and bred among them. I owe more than I can
adequately express to the old faith and ideas for the
preparation of myself for the acceptance of the Gospel and
for the enjoyment of the present Christian life. The world
is God's own : nothing exists separate from Him. Our
motto therefore should be, " Have we not all one Father, has
not one God created us, is God the God of the Jews only,
is not He the God of the nations also ? Yea, of the nations
also ! " The non-Christian races are no less God's own than
the Christian races of the present day. The Master said,
"Think not that 1 am come to destroy the law or the
prophets : I am come not to destroy, but to fulfil." The
Body of Christ in its true realisation will be broad and
comprehensive, to take in whatever is true and good
wherever it may be discovered.
The word " non-Christian " is an indefinite term. It may
include the larger proportion of mankind, but time will not
283
284 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
allow me to take up all those non-Christian nations. I shall limit myself to three of them only, with which I am more or less familiar, and to which I think I am related, viz. India, China, and Japan. They are the representatives of the leading non-Christian religions, Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shintoism.
Let us consider for a moment what contributions we may expect from these nations in the upbuilding of the Body of Christ. India, I need not tell you, is the land of religions, " the land of the Vedas, the home of Brahmanism, the birthplace of Buddhism, the refuge of Zoroastrianism and Mohammedanism." Nowhere on the face of the world do you find a more religious people than the Indians are. Religion is the life of the Indian people. No doubt their religious ideas are full of superstitions, and the idea of God is phantastic and often non-ethical. Indians lack the synthetic faculty — practicability is not their characteristic; but, after all, the undeniable fact remains that the Indian race is a race with a deep religious consciousness, a feeling for the unseen, an unquenchable craving after something real and fundamental. Nothing short of getting to the very bottom of things will satisfy the Indian mind. Mr. Slater, the author of Higher Hinduism, says : " Religion has been an aspect of his very existence, — indeed, to him existence has no other meaning than the realisation of religion." Then he goes on to say, " The demand of the Indian heart is for a fixed unchangeable foundation on which the soul may rest amid the changes of this world. The God whom the Indian seeks and must find is a God who is eternal and unchangeable and who abides in the heart, whose true home is the innermost soul of man." This reflective spirit of the Indian race could not but be a substantial contribution to Christian life. When I was in India four years ago I was deeply struck by the intense spirituality of the Indian Christians. To commune with God continuously for many hours a day, or even through the whole night till the dawn, is not considered extraordinary. It is no wonder that the Brahmins emphasise the use of Yoga as a means of spiritual development. The highest state of mind as signified in
PRESIDENT TASUKU HARADA 285
Yoga is death to self and death to the world, whole-hearted surrender to the complete overcoming of the self. Does it not essentially agree with the Spirit of Christ who said, " If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me"? India produced Chunder Sen and Mozoomdar, both captivated by the life of Christ — though perhaps not to the fulness we might wish. Professor Satthianadan, among the Christian leaders, a philosopher and educationist, whose untimely death four years ago was most lamented ; the late Hon. K. C. Banurji, a scholar, orator, and statesman ; Father Goreh, a philosopher and saint ; and, besides them, a multitude of Christian ministers and professional men and women may stand side by side with the great names of Christendom, and I believe more and more will arise in the future. Shall we not expect much from the reflective mind of the Indian Christians ?
When we turn from India to China you will simply be astonished by the great contrast between them. The Chinese, if I may be allowed to characterise them, are a most practical people. Dr. Williams characterised them as thrifty, industrial, and practical. Confucianism may not be called a religion according to the more common definition of that term. It is a code of morality for the proper Way of human life ; but after all, Confucius had the greatest religious influence on the Chinese people. His whole system is founded on the idea of the obedience of inferior to superior. For more than two thousand years they have been trained under this fundamental idea. Dr. Williams says : " If there be any connection between their regard for parent and superior, and the promise attached to the Fifth Commandment that ' thy days may be long in the land which thy God giveth thee,' then the long duration of the Chinese people is a stupendous monument of the good effects of even a partial obedience to the law of God." Their patience is another well-known characteristic. Do you not wonder at the great crowds of Christian martyrs at th^ time of the Boxer trouble? Those ten thousand men, women, arid children who died in the faith during the
286 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
trouble stand as a stupendous witness to the power of the Gospel in Chinese Christians.
When I come to Japan I am able to speak with a little more authority. Of course there is this disadvantage at the same time, as was well said by an ancient writer, " One who is in the mountain cannot see the real mountain." I shall simply point out two of the most important characteristics. The loyalty of the Japanese will be recognised by all. Their patriotism and loyalty to the Emperor are unbounded. It must be said that the spirit of loyalty and the spirit of patriotism have been greatly developed since the Restora- tion and Japan's intercourse with foreign nations. The dauntless courage exhibited at Port Arthur, and the bravery shown throughout the war with China and Russia, must be taken as some of the expressions of their patriotic spirit and loyalty. Professor Royce of Harvard University defines loyalty as follows : " Loyalty is the will to believe in something eternal and to express that belief in the practical life of a human being." Is not such a loyalty a religious virtue? Would you not think that the Body of Christ could be enriched by the intense spirit of loyalty of the Japanese ? Take, for example, Dr. Neesima. A truer patriot it would be hard to find. When he was in Northfield in America on his second visit to the States, Mr. D. L. Moody asked the congregation to pray for him, and he at once protested — " Not for me, not for me, but for Japan." He used to tell us boys, " We want you to be men willing to live and die for the sake of jw/r country ^ The late Hon T. Miyoshi, chief justice, and the late Hon. K. Kataoka, the Speaker of the House of Parliament for more than ten years, and the late Admiral Serata are the type of Christians who have shown their loyalty to their faith as well as to their country.
I should mention in the second place, and lastly, the Japanese worship of ancestors and great men and, I must add, great women. The greatest ancestor of the Japanese imperial dynasty is a woman who has been worshipped as the Great Heaven-Shining Goddess. The spirit of hero- worship may be a fruit of Shintoism fostered by the teaching
PRESIDENT TASUKU HARADA 287
of Confucius. I do not believe in ancestor worship, but I do believe in paying veneration to ancestors and to great men. The admiration of great characters is a prominent Japanese characteristic, and is a most influential factor for the maintenance of a high standard of morality. Japanese history is not lacking in men of character as well as men of learning and culture through centuries of peace and war. They are enshrined in all parts of Japan, but their admira- tion is not hmited by national boundaries. Since I came to Edinburgh I have read an account of the memorial services for your late august and beloved King Edward held in Tokyo and Kobe and other centres in Japan. In the Cathedral in Tokyo, where the English service was held, there were present the Crown Prince of Japan and the Crown Princess, as the representatives of the Emperor and Empress respectively. Besides them there were eight royal princes with their princesses, the members of the Cabinet, the chief officers of the army and navy, leading statesmen and representatives of various associations and unions, about three hundred in all. On the 20th of May, the day of the funeral, it is said that all the shops, except a few minor houses in the city of Kobe, were closed, and the whole city expressed mourning for the occasion. Would you believe that this could be where, only forty years ago, the religion of Jesus was forbidden on pain of death ? A more remarkable thing than that, it seems to me, is that a memorial service was held in the largest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. The service was conducted by the High Abbot, with seventy or more priests assisting. There was a tablet for the late King placed upon the altar and worshipped by the Abbot and the other priests, as well as by the audience. I suppose King Edward is the first Christian saint ever wor- shipped in a Buddhist temple. This shows the Japanese regard for a great person, disregarding racial and even religious distinctions. Japan that produced Nichiren and Shinran, religious reformers, Hideyoshi and lyeyasu, states- men, Nakae and Ninomiya, educationists, cannot, I believe, fail to Contribute Christian leaders for the future Church of Christ.
?88 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
In the description of the various national and racial characteristics I have not mentioned any of their defects and errors, because, with Carlyle, I am a " firm believer in the maxim that for right judgment of any man or thing it is useful, nay essential, to see his good qualities before pronouncing on his bad."
If I had time I might say something about the Koreans and the Africans, and the people of Polynesia. I am sure they will one and all contribute something to the glory of Christ. Mr. Slater, whom I quoted before, says that " the West has to learn from the East, and the East from the West. It is no accident, but a Divine purpose, that has brought East and West together so that each may recognise the other's strength and each understand and appreciate the other's best ideals." Just as the religion of Christ triumphed over the religion of Rome, not by destroying, but by absorb- ing all that was valuable in the older faith, so the appropria- tion of all that the ancient culture of the Orient can contribute will be for the Glory of God, our Father, and of our common Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
THE PROBLEM OF CO-OPERATION BETWEEN FOREIGN AND NATIVE WORKERS
I.
By the Rt. Rev. BISHOP ROOTS
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Monday Evening, 20th June
Let me ask you first of all, what is the problem of co- operation between native and foreign workers ? It is the problem as to how and when the foreign workers and foreign Church may rightly turn over their responsibilities and work to the native workers and native Church. That is the problem and the answer is, in general terms : Just so soon and so Jar as the native workers and the native Church are able to sustain that responsibility and do that work. And we give this answer because our aim throughout our missionary work is, or ought to be — and I believe more than ever from the expressions we have heard in this Conference, that our aim is — to develop the native workers in the native Church so completely that they may, as far as possible, take charge of all the Christian work in their own land ; and when this stage has been reached the presence of the foreigner and the foreign worker will be unnecessary and they should with- draw entirely. But why do we have specially at this time to consider this problem ? It is because the earliest stage of mission work has in most countries passed, while the final stage has not yet been reached. The native workers and the native Church are no longer infants, neither are they COM. IX. — 19
290 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
fully grown ; but they are in that most perplexing of all stages, whether of the individual or of the corporate life, the stage of adolescence.
It is hardly possible to deal with the problem on general principles alone. I think that the principles involved in the aim above stated are sound, but, as is always the case, the point of the principle is in its application. The scope of what I wish to say is therefore not world-wide, but it is limited to China only, and that from the foreign missionary's point of view. It would be presumption or affectation for me to attempt anything else. In the next World Missionary Conference we look forward with confidence and great joy to hearing this subject treated, not simply from the foreigner's point of view as I must treat it, but also, though of course not solely, from the Chinese point of view. One further pre- liminary remark with regard to the terminology of this subject as it appears on this evening's paper. Should we speak of our Chinese fellow workers as native workers ? Although that may be right elsewhere, I am convinced that we had better not use the term " native " in speaking of the Chinese people.
Let us consider first of all what signs there are showing that the stage of adolescence has been reached in China. The first of these signs is the grovvth of the national spirit. Ten years ago a national spirit in China was hardly known, but now throughout the length and breadth of China there is an enthusiasm which the old China never knew. Further- more, we find that in many of the most serious-minded Christian young men patriotism operates as a twin motive with the love of Christ and His Church, leading them to offer themselves for the work of the Christian ministry. In the second place we find this sign, a wonderful development of our Chinese staff of workers, and of Chinese ability within the Christian Church. This ability of Chinese Christians is one of the most significaiit signs of the times. Chinese Christians of ability arc in the greatest possible demand wherever they can be secured — in Government ser\-ices, in private families, and in positions of great commercial re- sponsibility and trust. The salaries which are being offered
RT. REV. BISHOP ROOTS 291
to these young Christian Chinese prove that in the eyes of their countrymen they take a foremost place in the Hfe of the country. In the third place, we find everywhere in China an enthusiasm for any organisation which tends to develop the Chinese Church. For example, that which called forth the greatest enthusiasm in the meeting of the Anglican Conference in Shanghai in the spring of 1909 was the proposal to adopt the name " The Chinese Church " for the Anglican communion in China, a name not ecclesiastical but patriotic. Another indication of this enthusiasm is found in the success which the Young Men's Christian Association, more than any other Christian organisation in China, has had in rousing an active and liberal spirit amongst Christian workers and young Christians. I believe that this is due to the fact that it offers to Chinese young men an opportunity to show their patriotism and their Christianity at the same time. These three indications all point to a demand for the transfer of more responsibility to Chinese shoulders. Let me add that these signs of growth, although they lead us into great perplexity, are a cause not for discouragement but for the most profound congratulation.
Passing now from these signs, showing that the stage of advanced adolescence has been reached in the Chinese Church, let us ask ourselves what need there is to recognise Chinese leadership more fully. In the first place, we need to recognise Chinese leadership more fully than has yet been done in the authoritative councils of the Church, whether conferences or synods, or representative assemblies, or what- ever we call them. Further — and here, it seems to me, is in many respects the crucial point at the present moment in the Church of China — we need to recognise Chinese leader- ship more fully upon the staffs of salaried workers, pastors, teachers and physicians. We must place on these staffs of Chinese workers, the ablest Chinese Christians. These Christians, Vv'ho are being called for in the Government service, should be claimed first of all by the Christian Church. They should not be allowed, because they have no place, or are not v.'elcome for any reason whatever, to use their energies outside the Church. They are needed
292 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
in the Church more than anywhere else in their country. And in order to secure these ablest Christian young men for the service of the Church, we need to see first of all that their salaries are not too small. It is not right for us to claim the services of Chinese, willing men of ability in the Christian Church, at salaries which do not give them sufficient to live upon honourably and in accordance with that state of life to which they have been developed by our labours. Perhaps even more important than this is the need to see that, once within the employment of the Church, these willing men of ability are given ample scope for their powers in preaching, in pastoral work, in the administration and government of the Church. Furthermore, we need to see that these young men of ability within the Church — I am thinking now especially of young deacons, clergymen — are given also opportunity of further study and self-development. I believe nothing will more readily repay the Christian Church than to give these young men, when they are proving to be men of true Christian ambition, every opportunity to develop to the very utmost their powers of mind and heart and soul.
Now, if this is all true, we come to the last point. What is the place of the foreign workers ? I believe at the present time the position of the foreign missionary in China to be first of all that of preacher and teacher. It has, I believe, been truly said that every missionary should be an evangel- istic missionary. This is a sweeping statement which should, in my humble opinion, be paralleled by another equally sweeping statement, namely, that every missionary should also be a teacher. I am sure those of you who have read the Reports carefully will have seen how insistently in nearly every one of them the responsibility of the missionary to be a teacher is emphasised. That is why we say that mis- sionaries should be given more training in the art of teaching. Whatever they are to be — teachers, preachers, physicians even — they should be trained in the art of teaching. It is absolutely necessary that the missionary understands the work of teaching, the supreme element in which is not technicality, but which requires the use of every art and
RT. REV. BISHOP ROOTS 293
device, along with the prompting of a heart full of confidence and love. It seems to me that the first ofifice of the mis- sionary to be handed over to Chinese leadership is that of the teacher. The Chinese Christian teacher will come, not as a foreigner, but as one who has lived his life in China, who knows and loves and honours the Chinese people, and who approaches every problem with an open mind, and with a mind full of sympathy. It is the business of the Christian Church at home to say that its missionaries in China shall produce such teachers from among the Christian Chinese.
But the missionary in China must not be simply preacher and teacher. He must realise always that he stands, at any rate for the present, as Mediator with the Church universal ; and foreign workers must never withdraw from China until there are Chinese workers able in their own persons to maintain touch with the universal Church. We must never think of leaving the Chinese Church, however it may develop in independence and power, until we have first developed that contact with the universal Church.
Finally, I come to the most solemn thought that can possibly come to our minds, namely, that we in China, either personally or by our representatives, are considered as the embodiment of the Christian life. We stand truly in the place of Christ before this wonderful people. We stand with all the richness of our inheritance from a Christian past. We stand in a position of peculiar responsibility, because, while living in China, we are free from local influences which frequently tend to obscure the moral and spiritual vision of Chinese workers. Our sense of responsi- bility to the Chinese finds its expression in the words of St. Paul to the Galatians : " My little children, of whom I am in travail until Christ be formed in you." Is Christ formed in us ? Is He formed in the Home Church ? — for ultimately the relation of which we are speaking is not a relation between worker and worker, it is a relation between Church and Church, between the Church of our land and the Church of China. It is our responsibility to lead the Chinese Church, directly or indirectly, so long as we retain real, intellectual, moral and spiritual power for leadership.
THE PROBLEM OF CO-OPERATION BETWEEN FOREIGN AND NATIVE WORKERS
II.
By the Rev. PRESIDENT K. IBUKA
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall 07i Monday Evening, loth June
The history of the introduction of Christianity into a non- Christian country may be divided into three periods. During the first period, from the very nature of the case, the influence of the missionary is nearly, if not quite, predominant. The third period begins when the Church is firmly established, when it is sufficiently equipped with the institutions necessary to its vigorous maintenance and advance, and when foreign missions have given place to home missions in strength. The second period is the intermediate one : the period when the missions and the Church, co-workers for a common end, are active organisa- tions standing side by side, distinct from one another, yet in many ways closely related. During this period practical questions of great importance and no little difficulty are certain to arise. This is the period now present in Japan.
I know very well that circumstances alter cases ; and that right answers in Japan may be wrong answers elsewhere. To which I will add that right answers somewhere else may be wrong answers in Japan. But the best contribution that I can make to the discussion is to select a few questions
that have come up in Japan, and to give a brief account of
294
REV. PRESIDENT K. IBUKA 295
them — questions that have come up between the Church of Christ in Japan and the missions related to it, but which sooner or later are likely to come up in other countries also, if they have not already done so. The precise forms in which they will present themselves will no doubt differ. They will probably be chiefly determined by ecclesiastical and national characteristics and tendencies. But in some form or other such questions will surely arise in every country as the Churches in those countries come to self- consciousness as Churches, and as Churches of the countries in which they are planted.
I have just referred to the Church of Christ in Japan. That is the Church of which I am a minister ; and to make what I am to say clear without explanations in passing, I should say this by way of preface. In its organisation the Church of Christ in Japan is Presbyterian ; and it belongs to the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. It was founded by the missionaries of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., the Reformed Church in America, and the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. For many years all the missions of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Japan have been closely related to it, and have laboured together for its establishment. In many ways this has been of great advantage. To say nothing more, it is manifestly far better to establish in Japan one strong Church Presbyterian in polity than a number of feeble ones. Obviously, however, when questions arise, it is much easier to come to agreement with one party than with four or five. And, finally, it is not unbecoming, I think, for me to say that the Church has found it much more difificult, at times, to persuade some of the missions to look at things from its point of view than others.
I. The Question of the Creed of the Church
If Jude, the brother of James, was inspired when he exhorted his readers to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints, the question of the creed of a Church cannot be one of slight importance. Nor
296 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
is it strange that missionaries of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches, more than thirty years ago, when the Church of Christ in Japan was to be fully organised, should propose that it adopt as its Standards of Doctrine the Doctrinal Standards of their own Churches, namely, the Westminster Confession, the Canons of the Synod of Dort, the Shorter and Heidelberg Catechisms.
The little group of Christians which formed the beginnings of the Church, and of which I myself was one, had formed a simple Confession of its own. Very simple, and no doubt very crude, but really a confession of its faith ; and it was very reluctant to exchange it for an elaborate system, of theology with which it was very imperfectly acquainted, however excellent the system might be. I do not mean to say that those Standards were imposed upon the Church by the missionaries; but it is certainly true that they were accepted, not cordially and of choice, but simply out of deference to the judgment and wishes of the missionaries, to whom so much was due.
Two or three years afterwards a proposition was made to drop the Westminster Confession and Canons of the Synod of Dort, thus limiting the Standards to the Catechisms. Perhaps it is proper for me to say that the proposition was introduced by myself But a number of the missionaries were opposed ; the matter was left ifi statu quo ; and no change was made for some ten years more, when the Synod which revised the Constitution met. Then a new Con- fession of Faith was adopted.
"The situation in 1890 (says Dr. Imbrie, a missionary of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.) was this : —
" The two Catechisms had been widely taught, and a com- mentary on one of them was in general use ; but the West- minster Confession had failed to gain a hold, and the Canons of the Synod of Dort we.re hardly known by name. The leaders of the Church were now older in years and experi- ence ; and with most of them the feeling had strengthened with the years that no one of the Standards was the Confession of Faith adapted to the requirements of a Church in Japan. Some were in favour of writing a
REV. PRESIDENT K. IBUKA 297
new Confession, but the difficulties in the way of that were obvious.
"When the Synod met, a resolution was introduced making the Apostles' Creed the Confession of the Church ; and then followed a memorable discussion. The argument in favour of the Apostles' Creed was this : —
". . . . The Church in Japan is face to face with Budd- hism, Confucianism, and Agnosticism. Its Confession should therefore set forth the great essential truths of historical Christianity; but it should not be a symbol dividing those who worship Christ as Teacher, Master, Saviour, and Lord. The Apostles' Creed meets these conditions. It is brief and simple ; it is a Confession for ministers and people alike ; it proclaims the essential facts of Christianity; and it is the Confession of Faith of the Universal Church. That was the argument in favour of the Apostles' Creed. The argument in reply was this : —
" Admitting the duty of a Church to adopt a Confession suited to its own needs, admitting also that so much may be said in favour of the Apostles' Creed, it still remains true that the Apostles' Creed alone does not meet the needs of the Church of Christ in Japan to-day. There are truths of transcendent importance which are contained in it, if at all, only by implication : the atonement, justification and sanctification in Christ, the need of the regenerating grace of the Spirit, the supremacy of the Scriptures. These are vital truths which are denied in Japan to-day ; and they should be proclaimed in the Confession of the Church.
" In the afternoon of the second day further discussion was postponed, and all sat down together at the table of the Lord. The next morning a Confession was presented for consideration. In form it was the Aposdes' Creed which so many desired, with an introductory statement containing the truths which it was generally agreed called for confession. On hearing it read, one after another expressed approval. It was then copied on large sheets of paper and tacked on the wall behind the pulpit, so that all might study it. This went on for two hours ; and then the Confession was adopted with deep feeling.
298 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
" It had been a time of great anxiety. Some had feared the discussion would end in schism ; and the relief that followed a unanimous decision can easily be understood. The Moderator gave thanks from a full and overflowing heart. Sobbing was heard all over the room. Tears of sorrow were exchanged for tears of joy."
The Confession is so brief that I will read it —
"The Lord Jesus Christ, whom we worship as God, the Only Begotten Son of God, for us men and for our salvation was made man and suffered. He offered up a perfect sacrifice for sin ; and all who are one with Him by faith are pardoned and accounted righteous ; and faith in Him. working by love purifies the heart.
"The Holy Ghost, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, reveals Jesus Christ to the soul ; and without His grace man being dead in sin cannot enter the Kingdom of God. By Him the prophets and apostles and holy men of old were inspired ; and He, speaking in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the supreme and infallible Judge in all things pertaining to faith and living.
" From these Holy Scriptures the ancient Church of Christ drew its confession ; and we, holding the faith once delivered to the saints, join in that confession with praise and thanks- giving."
Then follows the Apostles' Creed.
II. The Question of Co-operation
If the importance of a question may be measured by the feeling which it excites, the controversy it calls out, and the difficulty attending its settlement, this is by far the most important question which the Church of Christ in Japan and the missions related to it have ever had to face. For fifteen years it has appeared and reappeared ; and for three or four years it has been engrossing. It would be quite impossible in the time at my disposal for me to give its history, which is highly complicated, or to set it forth in detail. AH that I can attempt to do is to define the
REV. PRESIDENT K. IBUKA 299
question clearly ; to speak of it in general ; and to state the conclusion at last reached, and which it is hoped will work out satisfactorily.
The missions of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Japan, for more than thirty years, have had for their title, " The Missions Co-operating with the Church of Christ in Japan." In the broad sense of the word they have always been co-operating missions ; and for that co-operation the Church always has and always will cordially own itself a debtor. But the word co-operation in the present question, for historical reasons which I cannot now take time to give, is used in a particular and closely restricted sense. Unless this is clearly understood everything will be in a maze.
The word co-operation as used in connection with this question means co-operation in administration. Or to be still more definite it means an equal share in the general care or supervision of a certain kind of evangelistic work carried on by the missions related to the Church. Note carefully that I say " a certain kind of evangelistic work." For this is a most important limitation.
Missionaries do much and highly valuable evangehstic work that may be described as purely personal; a work of the individual for the individual. They visit in hospitals and in private houses ; they have visitors who come to their homes for Christian conversation ; they distribute Christian literature ; they give instruction in the Scriptures to various classes — students, soldiers, and others ; they hold meetings regularly in public places ; they make evangelistic tours. With evangelistic work of this kind — /.>?., work of the individual for the individual, apart both in fact and in purpose from anything of the nature of ecclesiastical organisation — the question of co-operation has nothing to do.
But the missionaries of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches are closely and peculiarly related to the Church of Christ in Japan. From the beginning they have been of their own choice either full or associate members of its Presbyteries. It is only recently and as an outcome of this question of co-operation that a number of them have ceased
300 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
to be such members. And a most important part of their evangehstic work has been and will continue to be the formation of companies of Christians with the express pur- pose of building them up as congregations, eventually to be organised as churches, of the Church of Christ in Japan. The phrase which has come into use to describe evangehstic work of this kind is work done by the mission " within the Church or in connection with it." And it is with work of this kind, and this kind only, that the question of co-opera- tion has to do.
But what is meant " by an equal share in the general care or supervision " of this kind of work ? By an equal share is meant that the general care shall be exercised by a Joint- Committee composed of equal numbers of missionaries chosen by the mission, and of Japanese ministers or elders chosen by a Presbytery, or the Board of Missions of the Church. And what is meant by general care or supervision ? It does not mean that missionaries in evangehstic work are to be set aside and left without duties of their own. What it means is perfectly clear from all the plans of co-operation that have been agreed upon and are now in operation. General care includes four things — (i) The Joint-Committee shall decide regarding the places to be occupied. (2) It shall appoint the Japanese evangelists to be employed. (3) It shall prepare annually estimates of the funds which it regards as necessary for the work of which it has the general care ; these estimates to be forwarded through the mission to its Board. (4) Subject to the appropriations of the Board, it shall determine the salaries to be paid to Japanese evangelists and the amount of aid to be given to congrega- tions under its care. This is what is meant by general super- vision. The immediate or particular supervision remains with the missionary unless the mission prefers to relegate it to the Joint-Committee. Or, as it is expressed in one of the agreements now in operation, " The executive responsibilities of the work shall be exercised by the members of the Joint- Committee appointed by the mission."
I have already said that the question has been before the Church and the missions off and on for fifteen years, and
REV. PRESIDENT K. IBUKA 301
that for several years it has been acute. I will now try to state the arguments pro and con as fairly as I can.
The argument of those opposed to co-operation is this : — The missions related to the Church have for many years co-operated with it much to its advantage. They are now no less devoted to its interests than they have always been ; and there is no good reason why they should be asked to co-operate in this restricted sense of the word. To relegate this general supervision to a joint-committee, even though the committee be composed of missionaries and Japanese in equal numbers, is to curtail the inde- pendence of the missions in the management of their affairs. The funds expended in this work all come from Churches in America ; the missions are the representatives of those Churches, and as such representatives should have exclusive control in the administration of such funds. The Japanese ministers or elders who would be appointed to serve on the joint-committees are pastors, or teachers, or editors, or other busy men in other callings of life. They have not the time at their disposal that is necessary for the due performance of the duties required ; and even if they had the time, they are not so fully fitted for the work as specialists by training and experience in it.
The argument in favour of co-operation is this : — It is now more than thirty years since the Church was first founded ; and there are among its ministers and laymen many whom the missions often and cordially recognise as deserving of respect and confidence. It has a history and a life of its own ; and it has long felt itself to be a Church. It has a Synod with six Presbyteries, comprising eighty churches financially independent, support- ing their own pastors, and doing the work of churches. During the last year its contributions were fifty thousand dollars.
In its spirit the Church is evangelistic ; and for fifteen years and more it has had a Board of Missions of its own actively engaged in evangelistic work and in bringing aided congregations to financial independence. Two years ago a Presbytery was organised in Formosa, which was wholly
302 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
the outcome of the work of this Board ; and in economy, in insistence that aided congregations shall give as they are able, and in general efficiency of administration, it will bear comparison with any of the related missions. It is reasonable to suppose that the Japanese members of joint-committees will bring to such committees the same qualities that the members of this Board of Missions have brought to this Board, the same knowledge of Japan, of the people of Japan, of the congregations, and of the evangelists to be employed.
The question of the administration of funds — especially of trust funds — is not one to be considered lightly. But it does not necessarily follow that the gifts of foreign Churches should always be administered exclusively by the missions because the missions are the missions of those Churches. The essential thing is that the funds shall be administered by men accounted worthy. Nor are funds, im- portant as they are, everything. The congregations already established are largely the work of the Japanese ministry ; the same will be true of those yet to be established ; and life work as well as funds has a title to consideration.
But the central point in the discussion should always be kept clearly in mind. The question has to do with evangelistic work " within the Church or in connection with it." Nor is it contended that the general care of that work shall be exercised by the Church to the exclusion of the missions, though the contrary has sometimes been intimated. The right of the missions to the general care of work done by the missions has never been denied. In all the plans of co-operation now in operation the adminis trative body is a joint-committee in which all have equal powers. In one of these plans it is expressly stated that the mission does not " disclaim its right to an equal share in the general care of the work." The Church has always recognised this right as a right of the missions. What it asks is that the missions recognise the right of the Church. And in asking this the Synod believes that it is asking only what a General Assembly or Synod in America or Scotland would ask if the conditions were reversed.
REV. PRESIDENT K. IBUKA 303
In 1906 the Synod adopted two resolutions deiining a co-operating mission, and inviting the related missions to formulate plans of co-operation in accord with the definition. With the explanations now given, the meaning and intention of those resolutions will be clear, and I will now read them.
They are as follows : —
"A co-operating mission is one which recognises the right of the Church of Christ in Japan to the general care of all evangelistic work done by the mission as a mission within the Church or in connection with it ; and which carries on such work under an arrangement based upon the foregoing principle, and concurred in by the Synod acting through its Board of Missions."
" The several missions hitherto known as the missions co-operating with the Church are cordially invited to formulate plans for co-operation in accord with the foregoing resolution, and approved by their respective Home Churches or Boards of Foreign Missions ; and to confer with the Board of Missions of the Church of Christ in Japan regarding them."
Three of the related missions have accepted this invita- tion, and are now carrying on their work under plans of co-operation. But three of them declined to accept it. Accordingly the Synod, at its last meeting, offered to these missions an alternative ; which, to distinguish it from plans of co-operation, is commonly called the plan of affiliation. The main features of this plan are as follows : —
1. Men doing evangelistic work under the direction of affiliated missions shall be men licensed or ordained by a Presbytery ; and ministers so ordained shall be associate members of Presbytery and Synod.
2. Congregations connected with affiliated missions shall be reported in the statistics of the Church as belonging to affiliated missions ; but they shall have no organic connection with the Church. They shall be mission organisations.
3. When such organisations have attained to financial independence, and desire to be organised as churches, they shall apply to the Presbytery for organisation ; and when
304 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
so organised shall be churches of the Church of Christ in Japan.
This plan of affiliation was offered by the Synod, not because it was what the Synod wished, but in remembrance of the past, for the sake of harmony, and to prevent the forma- tion of new denominations. The plan has been accepted by the three missions which declined co-operation, and thus all the related missions are now either co-operating or affiliated.
Before leaving the subject I am anxious to make one thing perfectly clear. It may have been inferred that the mission- aries of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches as a body have opposed co-operation. That is by no means the case. While many of them have been opposed — some strenuously — many others of them have stood firmly with the Church, and have done all in their power to bring about co-operation. And I should be strangely lacking in appreciation if I failed to add that throughout the discussion the Church has always had the most generous and helpful sympathy of a majority of the Boards of Foreign Missions. So true is this that I cannot refrain from quoting two extracts from the official correspondence.
The secretary of the Board of the Reformed Church in America writes thus : — " The Board holds that the Church of Christ in Japan has an undoubted right to say on what conditions it will accept and recognise the work of a mission as co-operating with itself. In the action of the Synod it seems to the Board to have asked nothing more than it had a right to ask."
And the secretary of the Board of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. writes as follows: — "There is one further thought that we wish to suggest. The problem now raised is inevitable. It has arisen, or it will arise, in every land where the work of founding the Christian Church is under way. We are sure that the problem can be solved, and we believe that the privilege of solving it is now given to the Church of Christ in Japan. It is the problem of cordial, harmonious, co-operative work with the missionary force in the field, during the period intermediate between that of the
REV. PRESIDENT K. IBUKA 305
first founding of the Church and that of its full establishment, when foreign missions shall be needed no more because their place will have been taken by home missions in power. The solution of this problem in Japan will be a rich gift to the Church of Christ in other lands."
I said when I began that the introduction of Christianity into a non-Christian country may be divided into three periods. The first period — the period of the first founding of Christianity in Japan — is now past. The third period is yet to come, and for that period other men must answer. The period now present is the intermediate one — the time of transition ; and times of transition are commonly times of difficulty. For this period we are responsible, and for the way in which its difficulties are met we — Churches and missions alike — shall be judged.
COM. IX. 20
THE PROBLEM OF CO-OPERATION BETWEEN FOREIGN AND NATIVE WORKERS
III. By the Rev. V. S. AZARIAH
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Monday Evening, 20th June
The problem of race relationships is one of the most serious problems confronting the Church to-day. The bridging of the gulf between the East and West, and the attainment of a greater unity and common ground in Christ as the great Unifier of mankind, is one of the deepest needs of our time. Co-operation between the foreign and native workers can only result from proper relationship. Co-operation is en- sured when the personal, official, and spiritual relation- ships are right, and is hindered when these relationships are wrong. The burden of my message is that, speaking broadly, at least in India, the relationship too often is not what it ought to be, and things must change, and change speedily, if there is to be a large measure of hearty co-opera- tion between the foreign missionary and the Indian worker.
I desire to say that personally my relation with my foreign fellow-workers has been simply delightful, and that in all my travels throughout India I have received nothing but true courtesy and kindness from missionaries all over India, in many of whose homes I have been a welcomed guest. Moreover, in all that I say I want it to be clearly understood
that I am fully aware of happy exceptions.
306
REV. V. S. AZARIAH 30;
Having safeguarded my remarks with these preliminaries, I proceed to state plainly some of my convictions in regard to this subject. My personal observation during a period of ten years, some of which have been spent in travelling through different parts of India, in mission districts worked by different Missionary Societies, has revealed to me the fact that the relationship between the European missionaries and the Indian workers is far from what it ought to be, and that a certain aloofness, a lack of mutual understanding and openness, a great lack of frank intercourse and friendliness, exists throughout the country.
This is not only my own impression, but what I have gathered from a large number of my Indian brethren, and even a few European missionaries.
This feeling is stronger and more in evidence in some missions than in others. Some Missionary Societies are in great advance in this respect over others. In the Young Men's Christian Association we have a body that stands foremost in having successfully solved the problem. Now, if this separation is more or less widespread, and I am here to say that I know it is, we will agree that this state of affairs cannot but affect the co-operation of these two arms of missionary work, and it cannot but hinder the growth and development of the Church in India. So far as such a spirit exists, and wherever the spirit exists, it is impossible for the Church to fully develop a vigorous life and exhibu a united front to the non-Christian forces round about.
I do not deny that there is blame on both sides. That cannot but be so. I do not overlook the fact that hind- rances to a proper relationship exist also on the side of the Indian Christians, but since my audience is not composed of these, I feel that it will serve no useful purpose to detail them here. Before my Indian friends I have endeavoured to remove the hindrances on their side, but what I plead for here is that the difficulties on the foreign missionary side may, if possible, be entirely done away.
I. Let us first consider the /^r5(9;?a/ relationship that ought to exist for effective co-operation. For the ideal of this relationship we look to our Master and Lord. The relation-
3o8 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
ship between Him and His immediate disciples and fellow- workers was not only one of Teacher and pupils, Master and disciples, but, above all, that of Friend and friends. He placed Himself alongside of those weak, frail, and stumbling disciples as their Friend and Brother, and lifted them up to a clearer vision, stronger faith, and nobler life. The dis- ciples were admitted into the closest friendship with their Divine Teacher, they learned to love Him, confide in Him, follow Him, and walk even as He walked.
Can it be truly said that the foreign missionary has be- come a friend to his fellow-workers ? Can it be said that this has been his aim? I am afraid in many cases the answer must be in the negative. If it has been the aim, as I trust it has been, at least it has not been sufficiently avowed, nor always made manifest in action. I thankfully remember that there are scores of missionaries all over the country who are justly proud of the fact that they can count some at least of their Indian Christian fellow-workers among their truest friends, and there are Indian Christians in all parts of India who are deeply thankful to count among their closest friends many foreign missionaries. But such are far too few.
Friendship is more than condescending love. I do not for a moment deny that the foreign missionaries love the country and the people of the country for whom they have made such noble sacrifices, but friendship is more than the love of a benefactor. I cannot do better than quote the words of one who is himself a foreign missionary in South India. He writes : " The popular appellation in use about missionaries in this country is ' father ' ; but a time comes when children ought to begin — and if they develop nor- mally, do begin — to think for themselves and to have aspirations and plans of their own. That is a critical time for the father in his relation to his children. His continued influence for good, at any rate for the greatest good, in his son's life now depends on his becoming the son's friend. This change from benefactor to friend implies that a new element of reciprocity is introduced. If I rightly regard a person as my friend, I respect his individuality and remember
REV. V. S. AZARIAH 309
that he has pecuharities, rights, and responsibiUties of his own, which require, in some measure at any rate, that a feeUng of equahty and freedom shall pervade our relations and our intercourse with one another. This is the point where we find ourselves in India to-day."
But while " East is East and West is West," is such a friendship possible between two races, that in habits, customs, and modes of thought are so diametrically opposed to each other? I know in my own experience that such friendships are possible. I am thankful to say that some of my best friends are among the foreign missionaries. I can testify to the great enrichment that has come into my own life through these real friendships. This very enrichment impels me to plead with my missionary brethren that they will lay themselves out to form friendships with their Indian fellow-workers.
I quote another authority, this time from North India, the Lord Bishop of Lahore. He says : " With abundance of kind feehng for, and unsparing labour and self-denial on behalf of Indian Christians, the missionaries, except a few of the very best, seem to me to fail very largely in getting rid of an air of patronage and condescension, and in estab- lishing a genuinely brotherly and happy relation as between equals with their Indian flocks, though amongst these there are gentlemen in every truest and best sense of the word, with whom relations of perfect equality ought easily to be established." Do not these voices from North and South call attention to the same danger and the one remedy ?
The pioneer missionaries were " fathers " to the converts. The converts in their turn were glad to be their " children." But the difficulty in older missions now is that we have a new generation of younger missionaries who would like to be looked upon as fathers, and we have a new generation of Christians who do not wish to be treated like children. If the Christian community of the second and third genera- tions, through the success of missionary work, has risen to the position when they do not any longer care to be treated like children, should we not be the first to recognise this new spirit and hasten to strengthen the relationship, by
310 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
becoming their friends ? Is it not such a relationship, and such alone, that can, more than anything else, prevent the growth of the spirit of false independence, foolish impudence, and flagrant bitterness against missionaries that we often meet with in Indian Christian young men to-day?
The Bishop of Lahore goes on to make some practical suggestions. He says : " If we could get into the way of treating Indian Christians with perfect naturalness, exactly as we treat English friends, asking them more frequently to stay with us in our houses, and genuinely making friends of them, realising in how very many things we have to learn from them, and how large are the contributions which they can bring into the common stock — this, I believe, would do more than anything else to draw us more closely together again, and it would be to the non-Christian world an illus- tration of boundless potency and effect, of the unity into which our races can be brought within the body of Christ." Much can be done along these Unes.
Let me give some extreme cases of the contrary attitude. I do it with the deepest pain in my own heart, feeling that if some of my missionary friends have failed, I am also responsible for it. I can now think of one Indian super- intending missionary, for over fifteen years in responsible charge of large districts, who said recently that he had never been invited to a single meal at the house of any of his European missionary brethren. I think of a pastor, who is confessedly the right hand of a station missionary, who said to me that during the eighteen years he had been a pastor, his missionary had never once visited his humble home. Two men, holding very high positions in a native State, said to a friend of mine recently that though they had been for several years in the city, and even called on the missionary, the missionary never thought of returning the call. I re- member two or three younger missionaries who have told me that while they themselves like to go and call on the leading Indian Christian gentlemen, their senior missionaries are against such innovations. I recall how years ago a young missionary told me of what he called the impudence of an Indian clergyman, who was a graduate of one of the
REV. V. S. AZARIAH 311
Indian universities, in going forward to shake hands with him. " This man," he said, " thinks, that because he is a graduate and has put on European costume, I must shake hands with him ! "
I do not want you to think that these instances represent the general state of affairs, nor do I want you to think that these are but solitary instances. Even if they were solitary instances, occurrences of this extreme type ought to be impossible.
On the other hand, I can never forget a sight I saw near the foot of the Himalayas, on the borders of Kashmir. At dinner at a missionary's table the British Civil Surgeon of the district, the missionary, an American Secretary of the Y.M.C.A., a native pastor, and an ordinary catechist sat round the table, with the wife of the missionary presiding at the table. It was not a got-up show. The perfect ease with which the pastor and the catechist conducted them- selves was proof positive that there the relationship was natural and customary. I noticed that that mission on the whole was far ahead in this respect of most others.
Let me not be misunderstood. I do not plead for returning calls, handshakes, chairs, dinners, and teas, as such. I do, on the other hand, plead for all of them and more if they can be expressions of a friendly feeling, if these or anything else can be the outward proofs of a real willing- ness on the part of the foreign missionary to show that he is in the midst of the people, to be to them, not a lord and a master, but a brother and a friend.
II. The effective co-operation will only be possible with a proper official relationship.
The official relationship generally prevalent at present between the missionary and the Indian worker is that between a master and servant ; in fact, the word often used in South India by the low grade Indian workers in address- ing missionaries is ejafnan or master. The missionary is the paymaster, the worker his servant. As long as this relationship exists, we must admit that no sense of self- respect and individuality can grow in the Indian Church,
A missionary of the American Board said to me years ago
312 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
that the last words his Board Secretary spoke to him in New York harbour were, " Make yourself unnecessary in the field." I can bear testimony to the fact that that missionary is endeavouring to do it in the most tactful way. The aim of the Missionary Societies, we know, is to develop self-governing Churches and to give freedom and scope to indigenous leadership, and to strive to make themselves unnecessary in the field. But the Societies have not convinced the natives that this is their aim. Nay, in some missions Indian Chris- tians truly, though I know erroneously, believe that the missionaries are against any full self-support and real self- government, because that will make them unnecessary in the leadership of the work. It is commonly supposed that the man of independent thought and action is the man least consulted in the administration of the mission. I know some instances where independent action in the smallest affair has been repressed, and indigenous efforts — even indigenous missionary efforts — have been looked upon with suspicion and distrust.
There can never be real progress unless the aspirations of the native Christians to self-government and independence are accepted, encouraged, and acted upon.
I do not forget there is too often a danger of Churches claiming complete self-government and full independence without any regard to the problem of self-support, and of individuals claiming equality in salary and desiring to be called " missionaries " of a foreign missionary society. While I am fully aware of these and similar dangers, I cannot but feel that in most older missions there is great room for advance in the direction indicated at this Conference.
In an article that appeared in a leading Anglo-Indian paper on the World Missionary Conference, the writer says : "The Indian Christian is kept in leading strings. It is true that of late years there has been among the leading missionary agencies a considerable advance in the way of giving Indian Christians more control over their own affairs, yet the reform movement is all too slow. Is it to be wondered at that young Indians of abiUty turn aside to the various secular professions where the powers they feel they possess will find a fuller scope
REV. V. S. AZARIAH 313
for their exercise? It is obviously unwise to go on from year to year drifting along in the old way, for it leads to the drifting away of the flower of the Indian Christian youth from the ministry of the Church."
Let me not be understood to say that this is the only cause why educated Christian young men do not enter the ministry. The question of salary, I am afraid, often takes too prominent a place in their minds. The spiritual life too often is not vigorous enough to overcome the temptations to earthly greatness. But at the same time it cannot be denied that some are kept away from the ministry because of the condi- tions existing in the missions.
I plead, therefore, that an advance step may be taken by transferring from foreigners to Indians responsibilities and privileges that are now too exclusively in the hands of the foreign missionary. Native Church Councils should be formed, where Indians could be trained in the administration of their own Churches. INIissionary Conferences should find a place for Indian leaders, so that the Indian and the Euro- pean may consult and work together for the welfare of the common work. The favourite phrases, " our money," " our control," must go. Native Christian opinion ought to be constantly consulted in regard to any fresh step taken. In short, all along the line, the foreign missionary should exhibit unmistakably that he is not afraid to give up positions of leadership and authority into the hands of his Indian fellow- worker, and that his joy is fulfilled when he decreases and the Indian brother increases.
I am fully aware of the fact that all advance in responsi- bility should be transferred gradually and not by the sudden withdrawal of foreign funds and control. But gradually, but none the less steadily, it should be done. For, without grow- ing responsibility, character will not be made. We shall learn to walk only by walking — perchance only by falling and learning from our mistakes, but never by being kept in leading strings until we arrive at maturity.
If such an advance is to be made, what should be the relationship of the foreign missionary to the Indian Christian leaders ? Surely, that of a friend. To quote again :
314 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
"The foreign missionary's official connection with the Indian Church must cease some day. If, when that day comes, the leading Indian Christians are looking upon us as old, jealous fathers, who did not seem to like the idea of their children trying to stand on their own feet, we are not likely to be consulted by them at those junctures when a word of advice or encouragement might be badly needed. Even if the situation is felt to be difficult, it will be a matter of honour to the children who have set out to build their own house to show that they can manage their own affairs. But if we are regarded by them as friends, they will continue to be willing, when need arises, to seek and receive advice from us, even though they are no longer under any obligation to be guided by us."
III. True co-operation is possible only with a proper spiritual relationship.
No personal relationship will be true and permanent that is not built on a spiritual basis. India is a land that has a " religious atmosphere." To the Hindu " the one and only ultimate is God : his great and only reality the unseen : his true and eternal environment the spiritual."
In such a land, therefore, the easiest point of contact with the heart is on the spiritual side. The Indian nature has aptitude to develop devotional meditation and prayer, resigna- tion and obedience to the will of God, the Christian graces of patience, meekness, and humility, the life of denial of self, the cultivation of fellowship and communion and the practice of the presence of God. These elements of Christian mysticism find a natural soil in the Indian heart. Not by decrying this aspect of the Christian life, but only by cultivating it and developing it in himself can a foreigner win the heart of an Indian. It is then, and then only, the westerner can impart to him what naturally he has not : elements of Christian character. Christian activity, and Christian organisation. These characteristics which the westerner has developed often fail to appeal to the Indian, because too often they are advocated by men who have not reached the heart of the Indian through finding the point of contact.
Whatever others may think, I do not myself look forward
REV. V. S. AZARIAH 315
to any time in the near future when we in India will not need the western missionary to be our spiritual guides and helpers. Through your inheritance of centuries of Christian life you are able to impart to us many things that we lack. And in this sphere I think the westerner will be for years to come a necessity. It is in this co-operation of joint study at the feet of Christ that we shall realise the oneness of the Body of Christ. The exceeding riches of the glory of Christ can be fully realised not by the Englishman, the American, and the Continental alone, nor by the Japanese, the Chinese, and the Indians by themselves — but by all working together, worshipping together, and learning together the Perfect Image of our Lord and Christ. It is only " with all Saints " that we can " comprehend the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fulness of God." This will be possible only from spiritual friendships between the two races. We ought to be willing to learn from one another and to help one another.
Through all the ages to come the Indian Church will rise up in gratitude to attest the heroism and self-denying labours of the missionary body. You have given your goods to feed the poor. You have given your bodies to be burned. We also ask for love. Give us friends !
THE DEMANDS MADE ON THE CHURCH BY THE PRESENT MISSIONARY OPPORTUNITY
I.
By MR. GEORGE SHERWOOD EDDY
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Tuesday Evening, 21st June
We are asked to-night to face the demands which the present Missionary opportunity makes upon the Church, to soberly endeavour to estimate what will be the cost of this enterprise, to count the cost and see whether or not we are to be able to bear it. It seems to me that the present missionary opportunity makes a fourfold demand upon the Church.
First of all, the demand for power as the prime necessity of the work. Our work is supernatural or it is nothing. As well might we try to shovel the continent of Africa or Asia into the sea as to lift without supernatural power that Dark Continent out of its superstition, or to change and transform the traditions of Asia. But we believe that we have this supernatural power. We have one mighty leverage whereby we may do the work. In the enthusiasm of new discovery we may also say, " Give me where I may stand, and I will move the world." We have where we stand in the promise of God. We have that whereby we may move the world in believing prayer. If there were not a Christian beyond the walls of this room we could go out alone to win this world for Him if we believed in God as did the Early Church. More than the Twelve, the One Hundred and Twenty, the
316
GEORGE SHERWOOD EDDY 317
Five Hundred, greater in numbers are we, better in organisa- tion, in education, in wealth, in everything save the one thing needful — the missing link of believing prayer. Have we used this power of prayer? Is not the deepest need of our generation to win back the unshaken conviction of the efficacy of prayer, and to use that forgotten secret of believing apostolic intercession? Have we prayed? We have toiled, we have organised, we have advertised, we have amassed statistics, but have we prayed as we might have prayed? Have we really tested and utilised and appropriated this provision of omnipotence whereby we may do our work ? Have we as missionaries proved this power of prayer ? Have we on the field gathered about us a little inner group of believing men from our native brethren, to join with them, not only to teach them to pray, but to overcome the great obstacles of our work, to win victories, to advance upon our enemies ? Have they found us men of prayer, men of God ? Have they caught from us the habit of prayer ? In our Missionary Societies at the Home Base does there go up a mighty volume of believing prayer to sustain that far-flung battle line of men, hard pressed, facing the forces of evil out at the front ? I know we pray, but have not the inadequate results been at least up to the measure of our prayer ? Is not this the prime necessity of our work, the first demand which the missionary opportunity makes upon us, the demand for power won by believing prayer ? And if this great Conference separates as a praying body to the ends of the earth, will it not tell mightily upon our work?
There is a second demand which the modern missionary opportunity makes upon us — the demand for life, for leader- ship in the conduct of the work, for men to go to the front. We confront to-day an awakening Orient, an awakening World. All Asia is awakening — from Japan to India, from Korea on the East to Persia on the West, from China away to Turkey, that vast mass of Asia with more than twice the population of Europe, more than four times that of Africa, or six times that of North and South America combined more than half the world ! Does that make no demand upon
3i8 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
the Christian Church? Asia, the cradle of the race, the birthplace of civilization, the teacher of the West, the mother of all the great religions of the world, Asia is at last awaken- ing, and what is to be the answer of the West to the call of the East ? Shall we meet this demand for life ? Will there be men to go ? God give us men ! A time like this demands them. There are young men here, and there are men beyond the walls of this room. We need the best. Give us of your best, your youngest men of statesmanship to grapple with those great problems, national, educational, to mould whole empires ; men of scholarship, not only to pro- duce literature, but to train an infant Church in producing its own indigenous literature ; men of power for leadership. Will you not come over and help us, and meet this demand for life, for men to conduct the work ?
But there is a third demand which the present opportunity makes upon us — the demand for sacrifice as the blessed means of the participation of every member in the work. By prayer and sacrifice, those two golden chains that bind the Home Church to the Foreign, and make the most dis- tant worker dependent upon the Home Base, every member is given a participation in this blessed work. And is there no immediate and pressing demand for sacrifice and for a better conception of stewardship at home ? We have had the Student Movement touching the conscience, the student body placing their best in the interests of the world ; we have had the Women's Missionary Movement ; we have had special effort for the clergy. What lack we yet? Is it not to reach the very heart of the Church, that greatest potential asset, that great dormant power of the laity that might be roused for the evangelisation of the world ? Thank God there is a ray of hope. I never expected to see what my eyes have seen this year. In God's providential awaken- ing of the Home Church, through the Laymen's Missionary Movement, I have seen, night after night, in city after city, a great band of a thousand to two thousand men, the leaders of business, gathered there for three hours to listen with eager interest and enthusiasm to missionary addresses, and then coming for three days to give their business genius and
GEORGE SHERWOOD EDDY 319
enterprise to this great concern of the Kingdom of God. I see men before me in this room giving to-day more than half of their income because they have been touched by this new spirit of sacrifice. It was the appeal of the whole world to the whole Church, and the whole Church to the whole man, and I believe that was the secret of its success. It was that united appeal that reached the laity of the Church, it challenged their attention, it won their sacrifice as no divided appeal has ever done or ever could do — the united appeal of Christ's Church.
Fourthly, I believe that the present missionary oppor- tunity makes a demand for unity as the condition of success in the work. What are the mighty motives that move us to unity to-day ? We look at the uniting forces of the opposi- tion, the gathering forces of national movements, an united Orient demanding an united Occident — surely these united forces that oppose us call us to unity. Again, can we afford to have our forces divided in the face of those vast un- occupied fields that we are called upon to enter? And there are motives that concern not only the demands of our work, but the great Master of the work. Have we not all one Father ? Have we not one blessed Lord and Master of us all, whose we are and whom we serve, who not only prayed that we might be one, but, ever living, prays to-night as He bends down in love ? Have we not the motive of the constraining love of the Holy Ghost, whose work it is to unite us into one ? Can that be impossible, that which God has purposed, that for which our Lord has prayed, that for which the Spirit strives ? The future is as certain as if we touched it.
What will be the conditions of unity? I mention only one. The great Apostle of unity, in the fourth chapter of Ephesians, says, " Keep the unity of the Spirit," and a little later, "till we attain to the unity of the faith." The unity of the faith seems dim and far distant, so serious are the things that divide us. But, brethren, while we have not reached the goal, and cannot reach it at a bound, we can keep the unity of the Spirit in love. He does not say to " create " it ; he says to " keep " it. We shall not hasten
320 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
unity by being blind to the measure of unity that we already possess. Brethren, we have so much common ground. Believing as we do in one God, in one Lord and Saviour, looking up to one Head as members of His body, united by one Spirit, drinking of the same fountain of living waters, drawing our guidance and inspiration from the same Holy Word, having a common task, a common end, based upon a common authority, in unconscious brotherhood binding the self-same sheaf — may we not in conscious brotherhood together do the self-same work ? Not only have we much common ground, but we have much common weakness. Not one of us individually or for the body that he represents would take up the pharisaic attitude of thanking God that we are not as others. Each of us confesses that we fall short in much. We know in part and therefore imperfectly ; we love even less than we know. Weighed in the balances of love, are we not all found wanting? We see not only our own weakness, but so much of good in others. We see individuals and whole communities that put us to shame, and whether they follow with us or not, we see them casting out devils, and see God's Spirit working in their midst. We have also much common ground for gratitude, grati- tude this very day, this historic day, gratitude for what God's Spirit has been already able to do, as it were, almost in spite of us, though we have long grieved Him and delayed His work. Thank God for the measure of unity ; we regret that it is far from the goal. I have seen coming together there in our South Indian field, all the Presby- terians, all the Congregationalists, all the Dutch Reformed Christians, and the missions of America, England, and Scotland united into one Church, the United Church of South India, one hundred and fifty thousand strong. And just as we coveted that great strength and conserva- tism and power of the Presbyterian Church, so we covet to-day the blessing and power of some other great historic Churches. Brethren, if we can unite on the foreign field, why can we not also on the home field ? If we have united in this measure at this Conference here, why can we not unite hereafter, at least in work ? Can we not unite in
GEORGE SHERWOOD EDDY 331
doing the will of Him who called us to be one flock and one shepherd? Thus may we meet the demand for power in believing prayer ; the demand f . • life, for leadership, for the conduct of the work ; the demand for sacrifice as the blessed means of the participation of every member in the work ; and the demand for unity as the condition of victory in the work ; and may we keep the unity of the Spirit, till we all attain to the unity of the faith !
COM. IX. — 21
THE DEMANDS MADE ON THE CHURCH BY THE PRESENT MISSIONARY OPPORTUNITY
II.
By the Rev. Professor JAMES DENNEY, D.D.
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Tuesday Evening^ 2ist June
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, — The subject that is occupying our attention to-night is one that in ahuost any aspect of it is intimidating. Whether we think about the dimensions of the missionary work that has to be done, or whether we turn our minds to the condition of the Church at home on which so great a work is to be laid, we may well feel afraid to think or to speak of it. It is not indeed that there is no interest in missions at home. Everything that has been happening here in these last days proves the contrary. The numbers that have attended these meetings, the messages that have been read at them from distinguished persons, the large space that has been given to reporting them in the newspapers, — all these things prove that there is interest. The work of missions has attained to such dimensions, and has entered so largely into the general movement of human things, that it is impossible for intelli- gent people not to have some kind of interest, but the closer you come to it in many cases the more you feel that the interest is not of a kind that is of any particular value to those who are engaged in the work of missions. It is a
disinterested interest. It is the interest of curiosity, of the
322
REV. PROF. JAMES DENNEY 323
intelligent bystander who cannot afibid to be utterly ignorant of what is going on in his world, but very little of it is the conscientious and responsible interest of people who feel that the work of missions is their work, and still less is it the enthusiastic and devoted interest of those who feel the work laid upon their hearts through the consciousness of what they themselves owe to Christ.
One who lives at home cannot help thinking about the Home Church itself when he is asked to face these tremendous responsibilities that have been urged upon him at this Conference. I believe the most urgent duty of the Church at this moment is to recover the consciousness of itself, of its own nature and vocation, so as to be able to assert itself and maintain its existence and fulfil its calling and function in the world. I will mention one or two facts that I think go to show how necessary that is at this present hour. I speak only of the Church to which I myself belong, but something similar I believe is true of almost every Church in Christendom. The United P>ee Church has 1700 con- gregations or thereby, and during the last five years the average increase in its membership has been about 850; that is to say, every second congregation in the Church has added one and every other congregation has added none. The number of candidates for the ministry is much smaller at the present time than it was a good many years ago ; it is hardly a sufficient number to keep up the staff at home, to say nothing of supplying men abroad. The truth is, that for large numbers of people at home the Church exists as an institution, but to a large extent it has ceased to exist as an attraction or as something that offers them a natural and effective career. Men arc not coming forward as ministers, nor coming forward as missionaries, because they are not coming forward into the membership of the Christian Church at all. One is tempted to say that there is no use calling for reinforce- ments at the front while recruiting is stopped at home, and that is to a large extent the grave situation with which we are confronted. Something must happen to the Church at home if it is going even to look at the work that has been put upon it by this Conference.
324 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
First of all I would say that the Church must have a revived and deepened sense that God has given us some- thing wonderful and incomparable in giving us His Son. A great part of the weakness of the Church consists in or arises out of the diffusion in it of a kind of Christian secularism. There are large numbers of people in the Church at home to whom the Church is something of — I was going to say exactly, but at all events of very much — the same kind as a great many other institutions that exist for the amelioration of society. They can belong to a Church as they belong to any other society that does the world good, but they do not feel under any obligation to belong to it. Very often the distinctive and specific things that ought to characterise the Church, that ought to be prominent in its testimony, that ought to be the testing things of its life — -the forgiveness of sin and the presence of God in Christ and the indwelling of His Spirit and the reality of eternal life — these things are not the things that are prominent, but they are dulled and in the back- ground somehow, and the souls of men do not live in these things, but in a kind of good works such as they might do anywhere else in the world as well as there. There is another thing that goes to weaken the Church — and sometimes, strange to say, it is supposed to be a reflex effect of the work of foreign missions themselves. There are other religions in the world besides our own, and you are familiar with the idea that those other religions have a place and function in the providential government of the world. The whole question of the existence of other religions and of their relations to the Christian religion and of their relative right to exist and to function in the life of the world, is so difficult a question intellectually that many people make it an excuse for refusing to interpose in such a complicated situation, and even begin to say to themselves something like what Ezekiel heard the Israelites say nearly six hundred years before Jesus came, " We will be like the heathen, like the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone." People say to themselves, " We are not going to interfere in this ; we will leave this whole affair to
REV. PROF. JAMES DENNEY 325
Providence to work it out in its own way; we will not assert anything intolerant or exclusive in our own faith ; we will take our chance and sink or swim with mankind." That kind of feeling has tainted the mind of Christendom, and even the mind of the Christian Church. Now those two things have done a great deal to weaken the Church, and I believe we need in the Home Church preaching directed against them both ; preaching that will bring out what is distinctive and peculiar in the revelation that God has given us in His Son, preaching that will make men feel that we cannot evade the responsibility of that incomparable gift that God has given, preaching that will make everybody feel that the difference between the Christian and the non- Christian attitude to Jesus is not the difference of more or less or the difference of better or worse, but the difference of life or death. And it is because that is not believed, it is because the distinctiveness and exclusiveness of the Christian religion has been allowed to fade to a certain extent out of men's minds, that the compulsive attraction of the Christian faith is less felt at home, and that the men are not coming into the Church by whom the work of missions ought to be done.
Then another thing. If the Church is to look at this work with success, it must not only cast itself on God for a new sense of what Christ is, but it must recognise that its duty is to unite. The work to be done is so great that it is impossible for the Churches even to contemplate it so long as they stand apart. Now, the unity of the Church is not an end to be attained by human effort ; it is part of the being of the Church as the Church lives and moves and has its being in God. The Church is one, not as having the same legal constitution which we construct, or the same theological con- fession which we draw up ; it is one, and it can only be one in this, that all its members represent the same attitude of the soul to Christ. Circumstances at home have tended to obscure that in the mind of the Home Church, but it is one of the happy results of foreign mission work that men of different theological and ecclesiastical traditions have found it quite possible and even quite easy to work together on the basis
326 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
of their common loyalty to Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of sinners. But what people have not found out is the conclusion to which that experience leads. It leads to the conclusion that the only element in which the unity of the Church will ever be realised is that pure unmingled element of loyalty to the Lord Jesus. We are very anxious about unity in this country, and are pursuing it, I be- lieve, with an earnest mind, and I believe many of us in quite false and hopeless roads. The basis of unity is not to be found in any number of carefully digested theological propositions, or in any ecclesiastical constitution, however carefully it be framed. I do not think it is to be found in the Westminster Confession or in the Thirty-nine Articles. I think these are vain attempts to look for unity where it is not to be found, and that it will not be found anywhere but in the common loyalty of all sinful men who call Jesus Saviour and Lord.
One of the advantages of seeing what true unity is, is that it delivers the Gospel once for all from all kinds of intellectual difficulties. It ought to be difficult to become a Christian — it is difficult to become a Christian, infinitely difficult — but it should not be inteUcdually difficult, and we do not find in the Gospel, in the dealings of Christ with men, a single example of Christ raising any intellectual per- plexities or embarrassments with the Gospel. Hence, if we find in our presentation of the Gospel that intellectual diffi- culties are created, the one conclusion we ought to draw is, that we are presenting the Gospel in a wrong way. We are putting stumbling - blocks in somebody's path instead of making his path straight. We are making sad the heart of somebody whom the Lord has not made sad. The one fundamental and essential thing in which all Christian workers agree, the one thing therefore which is the only essential in the Christian religion, is something that has no theological, no intellectual embarrassments about it at all — the question whether or not a man will be loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ. The second advantage is this : we get rid of a great part of the temptation or tendency to professionalism in religious work. If our business is to teach Christianity
REV. PROF. JAMES DENNEY 327
according to a creed, or to introduce it in the form of an ecclesiastical constitution, you can do that from the outside, and professionalism is as certain as mathematics ; but loyalty to Christ is a thing that cannot be counterfeited so easily. That cannot be put on and worn as a cloak, and it would be an immense advantage if our minds were so clarified and our idea of what was the Gospel was so simplified, that we could see that loyalty to God is the one thing needful, and that no other fashion of union among Christians will ever come into the region of reality at all. If I thought that all the Christians in Scotland could ever by any kind of arranged basis, theological or ecclesiastical, be brought into one great legal corporation, I should think it an elementary Christian duty to do everything in my power to frustrate such a project.
Then the last thing on which I would say a word is this. I do not think the Church can contemplate the great missionary work, without recognising the indispensableness of sacrifice. We are called not only to pray for a new sense of what Christ is to man, and a new sense of the sufificiency of loyalty to Christ as the basis of unity, but we are called for Christ's sake to renounce. Now, I feel how difficult it is to speak about this, and how few there are who have any right to do it at all. What business have men like most of us at home, who have everything that heart could wish or that the world can give — what business have men with wives and children and houses and incomes and honour and leisure, to speak about sacrifice? Most men are ashamed to speak of it and do not speak of it at all, and I do believe that a great piece has been left out of the preaching of the Gospel in many Churches at home just because of the feel- ing in the preacher that there were things in the Gospel that he had forfeited his right to say, that he had been afraid to say to himself and did not dare to say to anybody else. We know, too, how unabashed selfishness is in the world and in the Church. We know how many people there are who are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, people who resent it as a kind of insult that they should be asked to give up anything, people who will not part with money, who will
328 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
not give up their week-ends, who will not come under any kind of obligation that fetters their liberty so that they can do something regularly for the good of the Church, people who will not sacrifice an atom of their spare time or of their opportunities for mental culture or even for self-indulgence. They simply will not do it, and they refuse even to look at the idea that it should be done seriously. I say the world is full of people like that, and what is worse, whoever is to blame for it, the Church is full of them too. Now, what are we to do in a situation like that? Well, I do not think that the conscience of such people is to be reached by holding up in all its dimensions the magnitude of the task with which this Conference has confronted the Church. I do not think it really makes a strong impression on the minds of the people I am speaking of when you say that there are a thousand millions of the human race that have never yet heard the name of Christ. They just feel that a thousand millions are something that is not humanly imaginable. They do not take it seriously. Just as little does it impress people to talk about how many thousands of men and how many hundreds of thousands of pounds are required to evangelise the world in a generation. I believe we have to begin at the other end, and make men feel how much it cost Christ to bring into the world the knowledge of the Father and the for- giveness of sins and the hope of immortality, and to persuade them that love like that can only be answered by a love in kind, and that for a Saviour who came not only in water but in blood there can be no adequate faith, no adequate response, which is bloodless. There must be a passion in the answer of the soul to Christ that answers to the passion of His love to us, and there must be emphasis laid on Christ's demand for renunciation. Whoever would be Christ's disciple must not only cling to Christ's Cross but take up his own cross. And if there are people in the world who will not give up anything, if there are people who will not for Christ's sake give up the hope of being rich, or the hope of having a happy home, or the hope of a studious leisure, or the hope of social ambitions, — if there are people who have that for their last word, then as far as these people
REV. PROF. JAMES DENNEY 329
are concerned the Christian religion is dead. We cannot hope for anything for the cause of missions or of the Church unless we can revive devotion to Jesus Christ. I believe that often we get little because we do not ask enough. I am quite sure the Church has erred in trying to make the Gospel too cheap, and in bringing it continually to lower and lower terms. There are no terms in the Gospel at all. Christ never offered less than Himself in all His grace and truth, and He never asks anything less than the surrender of the whole man to Himself; and it is when great things are asked that they are given. Christ asks for men to give themselves to Him, and not to an easy service, but to some- thing the symbol of which is the Cross. When Garibaldi summoned young Italy in 1849 he said, " I do not offer pay, provisions or quarters ; I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles, and death." And it was to that cry that the deep heart of his people responded, and when a voice like that is uttered in the Church by men who have the right to utter it, then we can be sure that the thin ranks will fill up again and our King go forth conquering and to conquer.
THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD
I.
By the Right Rev. BISHOP BRENT, D.D.
Adih'ess delivered in the Assembly Hall 07i Wed?iesday Evening, 22?id June
Were it not that I believe most profoundly that God is our sufficiency, I would not dare to stand in your presence to speak to-night on this theme. He can take my defective life and my stammering words and so use them as to point our lives to Himself and bring refreshment to His children. No one can deny, no one would care to deny, that God has given man prodigious tasks, and in so doing that He has dignified and honoured His creature. We are so constituted that we need the challenge and the constant challenge of difficulty. No young life can grow unless it has before it a hard task, not daunting it, but luring it on. We are sons of God, and being sons of God, it is not fitting that we should have any- thing less than a task that will bring out all the capacity of God's children. During these past days a new vision lias been unfolded to us. But whenever God gives a vision He also points to some new responsibility, and you and I, when we leave this assembly, will go away with some fresh duties to perform, and perhaps as we have thought of the new responsibilities that this Conference has suggested to us, we have been somewhat troubled, because already our load is heavy. While we have been sitting and sharing in all that has been undertaken here, the hearts of many,
if not all of us, have at the same time been filled with
330
RT. REV. BISHOP BRENT 331
thoughts of those for whom we are immediately responsible in a spiritual way, who live in the far-off parts of the earth. We have been, many of us, as mothers separated from their children, filled with solicitude, perhaps over-anxious because we have been separated from those whom we love. That fixed responsibility has been constantly with us, sometimes to make us over-anxious, sometimes to inspire us. Then in addition to the things that we have been called upon by God to do, in addition to the fresh tasks which are now confronting us, there rises that ultimate ideal, an ideal the realisation of which none of us shall live to see, but which somehow we feel to be part of our responsibility. We must make our contribution towards the realisation ot that ideal before we die, and in the face of it all the human heart cries out to God, " Who is sufficient for these things ? " and the response comes from God, " I am your sufficiency, you. My children, are sufficient for these things."
God works in us and through us, and were we not assured of that fact it would be impossible for us to undertake our common responsibilities. But God does not work merely in us and through us ; He also works beyond us, and that which God does without us is much greater than that which God does in us and through us. What a restful thing it is in the midst of our great activities to think of God working with an effectiveness that we can only dream about and imagine, an effectiveness far beyond anything that as yet we have seen through merely human lives ! It is not belief in God that is the great regenerating force in the world ; it is God. There is nothing short of God sufficient for men. A stanza of a poem which I learned long years since has been ringing the bells of my memory ever since I knew that I would have to stand before you to-night and speak on this most profound theme, the Sufficiency of God.
"Not Thy gifts I seek, O God,
Not Thy gifts, but Thee, What were all Thy boundless store Without Thyself ? what less, what more ?
Not Thy gifts, but Thee."
332 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
And those words of Augustine so oft quoted may well be quoted again as summing up the whole truth, "The human heart was made for Thee, O God, and it cannot find rest until it find rest in Thee." God's gifts are insufficient for man, and in this practical age it is a good thing for us to be reminded of this once and again. What an insult to God to think of Him merely as one from whom we may receive benefits, to think of Him merely as a treasure-house from which we may draw riches to gratify ourselves with. There is the danger of that new mq.dern philosophy known as Pragmatism. It may have its value as a philosophy, but if it is pushed to an extreme it puts us in a relation to God that is an indignity to our Creator, our Father, our Lover.
"Not Thy gifts I seek, O God, Not Thy gifts, but Thee."
No, not even righteousness can come before God. We cannot get righteousness until we have received God Him- self. Righteousness is not the goal of man. " This is Life Eternal, to know Thee and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." It is impossible to express Christianity in terms of the virtues. Men have striven to do so, but they have failed whenever they have tried. To-day all morality that makes righteousness the end of life is an anxious morality, and more than that, a self-conscious morality. A self- conscious righteousness is an imperfect righteousness. Self- consciousness is one of the things from which we can be delivered only by realising that God is our sufficiency and losing ourselves in friendship with Him ; and having lost ourselves in friendship with God, then there comes to us that proper kind of righteousness which is the fruit of love, which has as its motive love. God is first of all not the Thrice Holy One ; He is a Father and then He is the Thrice Holy. God is not first of all Judge and Critic ; He is Father. And we must interpret God as Judge in the light of God as Father, Friend, and Lover.
Our theme is the sufficiency of God, but if we are to be accurate to the teaching of Jesus Christ, must we not say that it is only God's abutidance that is man's sufficiency ?
RT. REV, BISHOP BRENT 333
" I came," said the Master, " that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." God does not give to His children a dole for paupers, but a dower for princes. So it is that we must take God at His word, and we must seek to bind our lives to Him so that our relationship will be indeed that of children of their Loving Father. We worship Him not primarily that we may be good, but that we may know Him. When we look to God merely as a Giver ot gifts, merely as a storehouse of treasure, and do not look to Him in the filial light that we are His sons, we prevent God from giving us His best. But if we do accept God as our sufficiency, if we think of God's abundance as being man's sufficiency, then there is a far-reaching result.
In the first place, it releases us from that most gnawing and most serious disease which has been called the disease of the age, namely, anxiety. Nothing else can cure us of anxiety. We may be distracted at times by various diver- sions from our anxious thoughts, but it is only the profound belief that God is our sufficiency that will cure us of the disease. Again, as soon as we feel and act upon our con- viction that God is our sufficiency; our whole mode of think- ing is changed. There is a dismissal of trifles, trifles are regarded as trifles and not taken as serious things. If we believe God to be our sufficiency, our lips will never dare to utter an unworthy or a weak argument on behalf of Chris- tianity ; our preaching will be stronger and purer and simpler ; we shall not insult God, Who is our sufficiency, by attempting to prop Him up ; we shall put only good stones into God's temple. We shall be saved from rash charges against those with whom we disagree ; we shall be afraid to attempt conversion by negation. We shall have courage to dare, because our God is daring, — and what tremendous things you and I are called upon to dare !
Think of some of the ideals that are in the minds of men in our day and generation, the ideal, for instance, to bind all the nations of the world together, the East to the West, in spite of its strange and seemingly at times insuperable diffi- culties, in the face of the fact that national life has been in these past years acutely individualised. Think of the desire
334 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
and ihe effort on the part of right-minded men and of right- minded nations to banish war; think of our purpose not merely to evangeUse the world, but to Christianise the world, to make all men realise their sonship of God in Jesus Christ. Or, again, our ideal as it is in our minds to achieve a perfect unity, not merely the unity of those various portions of Christendom here represented, but the whole of Christen- dom. It is for us to shame Rome out of her proud loneli- ness ; it is for us to startle the Greek Church out of her starved orthodoxy. That is the task before us. Let us be satisfied with nothing less, and we cannot be satisfied with anything less, because God is our sufficiency.
Courage to dare will be the result of this conviction, and also courage to bear. Our God is a daring God, and He is also a bearing God. The Cross is a witness to that, and there is no woe of the human heart, there is no suffering, be it ever so small, that God does not take into His own life and feel as mere human life cannot feel it. We shall have courage to bear the discipline of waiting, which I think for an eager, impetuous generation is perhaps the hardest dis- cipline of all, to wait for God's time. We want results, results : but God tells us that results come only when they are due. So we have to wait, to wait His bidding for our results. It takes a great deal of courage sometimes to do, but there are occasions when it takes a great deal more courage not to do, but to stand and wait and see the Salva- tion of God. Then in addition to these things that we have to bear, and with God as our sufficiency we are ready to bear, there are all the sufferings of this present time, which are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed hereafter.
Am I wrong in thinking that there are in this great gathering some whose minds at this present moment are turned toward their far-off mission stations with a mixture of hope and apprehension ? It is a very easy thing — and I speak from experience — for a missionary to go to the mission field for the first time. He is carried on the wings of emotion, he has not yet experienced all the difficulties and the commonplaces and the hardships which are in store
RT. REV. BISHOP BRENT 335
for him ; but when he goes back the second time and the third time with the consciousness of all his past failures, all his grave difficulties before him, then, unless he was sure that God's abundance was man's sufficiency, he could not go. And there are those of you to-night — oh, how I honour you ! — who are going back to your fields, some of you never to return, but there is no self-pity, there is no desire for commiseration, because God is your sufficiency. You know that you are always going to be obscure, you, the silent multitude in this assembly. There have been many speakers, but there have been multitudes of the silent ones who will always play the modest part and do the unseen work and die in the obscurity in which they have lived, vvho leave a monument behind for which future generations will bless their names. And it is to you who are rejoicing in your obscurity, who are ready to go back in the face of your perils and hardships, it is to you I speak when I say that God proves His sufficiency for man when He enables you to return to your task in the spirit in which you are returning. God's sufficiency ! It is a theme that declares itself, and if I were not sure of that I should feel depressed at the very imperfect way in which I have tried to present it to you, but I am not depressed. I have said but little ; God has said an infinite deal to your hearts, and my last words will be in the shape of a prayer —
' ' Lord of the mountain peaks piercing tlie sky, Quicken our faith to reach Thy Life on high ; .Vbove our feebleness let Thy Best tower Till wc, weak sons of men, rise sons of power."
THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD
II.
By the Rev. R. F. HORTON, D.D.
Address delivered in the Assembly Hall on Wednesday Evenings 22nd June
As during these days the Conference has deployed before
our imagination the vastness of the missionary task — 220
millions of souls in lands which are not occupied, imperfect
covering of the ground which we call the occupied fields,
the difficulty of obtaining the men and women who are
qualified by the gifts of grace, and the difficulty of training
them and giving to them the gifts of knowledge and
experience which are also needed, the difficulty of raising
the money, the difficulty of working together and removing
the obvious waste of our divided actions, — I say that as this
Conference has deployed before our imagination the
vastness of this task, not only every one who is in the
Conference, but the Conference itself, has been asking with a
much deeper meaning, with a much more trembling sense
of its reality, the question, "Who is sufficient for these
things ? " But, at the same time, the Conference has been
answering with a voice ever clearer, carrying it home with a
conviction ever deeper, day after day, — the Conference has
been answering its own question in one word, "God."
Therefore, naturally, as the end of the Conference approaches,
we all turn from the vastness of the task to the vastness of
our God. Before I came to the Conference I had a partial
vision of the ways of God. It was a strange and unexpected
336
REV. R. R HORTON 33;
preparation for a Missionary Conference, but somehow my mind turned to the thought of the world as it is seen, not by the eye of the Church but by the eye of modern science. I happened to read those curious Hnes of Morrison's expressing the scientific faith. They sound strange in this audience, but I wonder whether any of you will feel how they came as an inspiration : —
" We were amphibians scaled and tailed,
And drab as a dead man's hand, And we coiled at ease 'neath the dripping trees
Or sprawled through the mud and sand, Croaking and blind with our five clawed feet
Writing a language dumb, With never a spark in the empty dark
To hint at a life to come."
And then, later on —
" There came a time in the last of life, When over the nursing sod The shadows broke and the soul awoke In the strange sweet dream of God."
It seemed to me, for a moment, as if I could see the long slow purpose of God in the world, and see how He was sufficient to lead life upward to the life of man, how He was sufficient to lead man upward to the life of Christ, and how He is sufficient and obviously intends to lead the life of mankind — all of it — upwards into the fulness of the measure of the stature of Christ. And I hesitate to-night to say that the process is too slow. I question whether He has lost a moment. I believe He has been moving as rapidly as it is possible to move. This Conference was never possible until the year 19 10. Directly it was possible it was called. This combination of missionaries would have been incon- ceivable a century ago, and it has only become gradually conceivable during the century that has passed, and directly it is conceivable it is accomplished. I do not, brethren, believe that God has lost a moment in His mighty plan, beginning in those aeons that are past, ending in those aeons that are to come, but controlled from the first to the last by COM IX. — 22
338 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
the hand that is ali-sullicient, the hand that has given us our Gospel and our Christ.
Now I am going to tell you that while that was a great encouragement in prospect of this Conference, this Confer- ence of nine days has been to me a great transformation. It has brought to me — and I beUeve it has brought to you, and it will bring to the wide Christian world in the course of the coming weeks — such a vision, such an uplifting, such a revelation of our God and His ways, that the things we knew ten days ago seem small, and the truth we held when we came seems dim compared with the truth we see to-day, a certainty that has settled down upon our hearts. First, this Conference has shown me what a wonderful truth we have to teach the world, what an incomparable truth, what a Book we have in the Bible, and especially in the New Testament. I wonder if you happen to remember a letter which was written towards the end of his life by Professor Max Miiller, who may be regarded as the founder of the science of Comparative Religion. He says, "How shall I describe to you what I found in the New Testament ? I had not read it for many years, and was prejudiced against it before I took it in hand. The light which struck Paul with blindness on his way to Damascus was not more strange than that which fell on me when I suddenly discovered the fulfilment of all hopes, the highest perfection of philosophy, the key to all the seeming contradictions of the physical and moral world. The whole world seemed to me to be ordered for the sole purpose of furthering the religion of the Redeemer, and if this religion is not divine, I understand nothing at all. In all my studies of the ancient times I have always felt the want of something, and it was not until I knew our Lord that all was clear to me. With Him there is nothing I am unable to solve, and yet there are some people who push the New Testament aside as if it had no message for them." And Max Miiller, a German Christian, an English Christian by adoption, had himself pushed the New I'estament aside as if it had no meaning for him until he had studied all the sacred books of the world, and then came back to hnd that this was the only
REV. R. F. HORTON 339
book, the one thing needful. Brethren, it has been forced upon me this week that we may say what the Apostles said at the beginning, "We are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ." With all our increased knowledge of the re- ligions of the world, with all our deepest sympathy, with all our longing to do them justice and to find in them whatever is true, and to welcome those who profess them as on the way to the light we know and love, with all this added knowledge and deeper experience, we need not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. It is the power of God — it is proved to be the power of God — unto salvation, and there is nothing like it. It is what the world needs, and it is the only thing that meets the need of the world. What has passed in this room is a clear enunciation of the positive demonstration that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the great saving power in the whole world.
But now may I tell you of the other thing that has been borne in upon me with irresistible conviction? We have been declaring to-night the sufficiency of God and confess- ing the insufficiency of man. The Church is not sufficient. So far from being sufficient to meet the emergency, it has not proved itself sufficient to meet the present situation. Then the question comes. Why is the Church insufficient, why does not the power of God work through the Church, why does not the power of God elicit the missionaries and the money, and bring us together in one and make us act together as one for the work that is obviously needed ? It has been borne in upon me all through this week that the real answer to that question is this : that the Church, speak- ing broadly, does not realise that the sufficiency of God for man is mediated by Jesus Christ alone, that in Jesus Christ it has pleased the Father that all the fulness should dwell, that in Jesus Christ are the treasures of wisdom and know- ledge and power. The reason why the sufficiency of God does not come to the help of the chariots whose wheels are off, and the Churches that are dead or dying, is that we do not keep our eyes concentrated on Jesus, Jesus only. He is the only channel of that power ; He is the only storehouse
340 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
of that sufficiency. It is vain to expect the operative power of the sufficiency of God except through Jesus Christ. And it is because the Church in our days has, to a large extent, obscured or lost the supremacy of our Lord that the sufficiency of God is withheld from us.
The sufficiency of our Lord ! Yes, that is the point of practical application, the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. It is not necessary to formulate a doctrine of the person of Jesus. We may well hesitate to press that upon men. But you can in the light of facts form the doctrine of the sufficiency of Jesus, and you can bring them to Jesus with the clear conviction that there is none other name given among men whereby they can be saved but this, and there is none other power outside for God to use for the salvation of the world except the power that He has stored in His dear Son, and in His Cross and Resurrection and Intercession. Without Him we are powerless, and all our power is in precise proportion to the concentration and exclusiveness of our belief in Him, the perfect, all-sufficient Saviour, the Head of the Church, the Captain of the embannered host that ought to be marching to victory, but is in barracks worshipping its idols instead of following its Captain.
There is one other word that I venture to say to you before 1 close. There has been given to this Conference from the first a most extraordinary vision of the world. The whole world has been held before us in this room day by day, and there has been given to this Conference a most extraordinary conviction that it is the duty and the power of the Church to give the Gospel to that whole world; there has been given to this Conference, I believe, a quiet, growing resolution that it must be done, that it can be done, yes, and though we speak it with unutterable humility, that even we can do it. Whence has come this penetrating vision of the whole world, whence this profound conviction of the meaning of our duty to the whole world, whence did it come ? There can be no doubt who did this. We give all credit to our secretaries and organisers, but we know well that they have only succeeded because they have been agents and obedient agents. It was God who did it. They have never dared to
REV. R. R HORTON 341
take a step without referring it to Him again. They have hardly ventured to write a letter unless they realised Him. It has been His doing. He drew us together from the ends of the earth, He made us of one mind, He has given this perfect order to the proceedings, He has given this unity and direction, so that now as we approach the close we know by Whom we were led. Is it likely that He Who has given the vision. He Who has drawn us together, He Who has marked His presence by unmistakable signs, will dis- appoint us ?
" Therefore to Whom turn I but to Thee, the ineffable Name ? Builder and maker, Thou, of houses not made with hands ! What ! have fear of change from Thee Who art ever the same ? Doubt that Thy power can fill the heart that Thy power expands ? "
Who can doubt it ? If God has given the vision, if God has breathed upon us the thought of the whole wide world for Jesus, if He has wrought it upon us, — not a number of children in the nursery singing children's hymns at their mother's knee, but a number of bronzed, weather-beaten men who have fought the fight and borne the brunt of the world, hardened sceptics some of us, hardened rebels many of us, guilty, unworthy — if He has fixed it in our mind that we were called together in Edinburgh to take steps to move on the Army of Christ for the Conquest of the World : can we doubt that He will fulfil the thought and the purpose that He has in-breathed ? Shall we question ? No, we will not question. We will come to Him as the day is closing, as the Conference passes into a blessed memory — we will come to Him, and on our knees with all our hearts bowed, with all our souls surrendered, with all our brains offered and our bodies laid upon the altar — we will come to Him and ask Him to do it, and tell Him that though our lips are so unclean, yet if He will touch them with the coal from the altar, we will say " Here am I, send even me."
VALEDICTORY ADDRESS
By sir ANDREW L. FRASER, K.C.S.I., LL.D.
Delivered in the Assembly Hall on Thursday Evening, 2^rd June
This has been a very wonderful gathering. I can fancy
what an experience it has been for some who have come
from the far and lonely places of the field, to see this great
assembly of men and women engaged in the same work as
theirs gathered together from all parts of the world. How
they have rejoiced to see pictured before them visibly the
greatness of the cause that they are engaged in ! How
this thought has come upon us during our meetings day
by day : the magnitude of the task that is before the
Church, the greatness of the interests involved — the interests
of immortal souls, the interests of the nations of the earth,
and the interests of the human race. We have had unfolded
to us day by day the greatness of the questions which are
arising in the mission field. We have seen some of the
greatest intellects in the country, because they belong also
to the Church of Christ, giving themselves to the solution
of those problems and recognising their greatness and their
complexity. We have realised something of the greatness
of the work. We have surely realised this also, the
tremendous demand that that work makes upon all our
energies and upon all our resources. Nothing is too great
to give to this work. Nothing is adequate for it. We have
realised that all we have been giving, all that the Church has
been giving, is little compared with what is required for this
great work. We realise that it requires all the resources of
342
SIR ANDREW L. FRASER 343
the Church, all the statesmanship of the Church to use these resources, and that every effort must be made to work together to economise resources, to prevent friction, and to carry out the work in a way worthy of the greatest cause committed to men.
What a wonderful thing it must have been to men who have been living solitary lives in the midst, not only of heathenism, but also too often of carelessness and indifference of those who are called by the Christian name, away in the lonely parts of the field, in the solitude which is worse than any physical loneliness — to come and find gathered round about them men, not only from all parts of the world, but from all sections of the Christian Church, animated by the same spirit and drawn together in unity by the same aim and purpose. There has been a far greater amount of unity in the meetings than in the speeches. It has been the atmosphere in which we have lived. But we do not for a moment think that we have had anything to do with this. We should not care for it half so much if we did not realise that it was the Lord Jesus Christ in our meetings that produced this spirit of unity. We have felt this unity, not because we have wanted to feel it, not because we have striven to get up a sentiment and an enthusiasm in our meetings, but because we have gathered round the one Lord realising the one work that He has given to us all to do. It is to the Lord Jesus Christ that we have been drawn. We remember that the work is His, that the claim is His, that His is the right to reign. It is not our denomin- ation that we want to advance. It is not our prosperity that we want to secure. Oh that the Lord would cleanse our hearts to-day, as surely we desire our hearts to be cleansed, that there might be nothing of self-seeking in us at all, but only devotion to the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ !
Our hearts have been gathered round Jesus in another way. We have felt that the work was far greater than any- thing we could achieve. We have felt that the work was beyond — we have said it over and over again — beyond a divided Christendom. It is altogether beyond even a united Christendom except for the Lord Jesus Christ. " Apart
344 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
from Me ye can do nothing." And in this great work of ours it is this Lord Jesus whom we acknowledge, to whom we are looking for help and for strength, in whom is all our hope of victory. How our hearts have burned within us, brethren, day by day, when we have heard men in short quick speeches one after another telling of what He has done, of progress made, of victories won, of the cause going on because the Christ is leading. We have been stirred in our hearts because we have met with our Lord. We feel that we have seen Him. We have seen Him as the main- spring of victory and of action. We have seen Him as a sympathising fellow-worker. We have lived happily for these days under the influence of our beloved Master, and we desire to carr}^ with us the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ from this Conference, We desire to go from this Conference realising His presence as our power for His service, — hearing His call for service and answering it be- cause it is a call to Himself; not dissociating His service from Himself, but taking up the burden that He bore and following close to Him. We want to present our Saviour to the world : we know no other name. We want also to to give that same Lord Jesus Christ to our brethren. In all our association with our brethren we want to cany Him with us. We do not want to leave Him behind in any sphere of human fellowship at all. We want to carry Him and His presence to the Church and to the world.
How the Lord Jesus Christ the Crucified has laid hold ot our hearts ! You know it is so — you know it is so. There are many that might look upon us and judge us and say, " Poor hearts that have not loved their Lord." But Thou that knovvest all things, Thou knowest that we love Thee. Thou hast bought us with Thy blood. Thou hast given Thyself for us, Thou hast died for us. We are Thine and we love Thee. We want to carry this love of Christ to our brothers and to the world. We want to know nothing save Christ and Him crucified : to know Him in the power that He has over our own hearts, to know Him in the power that He has over the Church which He has bought, and to know Him in the power that He has to draw sinners to
SIR ANDREW L. FRASER 345
Himself and save them through His blood. And it is He who says, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." I do not know whether our hearts could dare to say, " If Thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence," whether we would rather cease to move than move without Him ; but I do know that this alternative is not before us. We have His own promise. Hear the voice of the Truth, hear the voice of the true unchanging Friend, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever : " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
Now we have to scatter. I cannot say but that this word is a painful word to say after these ten days of happy fellow- ship. We have to scatter and go every man to his work ; and yet is it not well? The work is waiting. His work is urgent. We are going to the work ; and we are not going as we came. We have better views of the work, clearer views of its magnitude, brighter views of its prospects. We know each other better. We have looked one another in the face, and we will never get this vision that we now have before us out of our minds. When you are far away, you that are going to the distant places of the field, you will remember that you have left behind you in this town of Edinburgh, — ay, and in hundreds of places to which these delegates are being scattered, — men who are praying for you, thinking of you, loving you, sympathising with you, holding up your hands.
We have firmly determined to continue the spirit and to carry on the work of the Conference. We want more than that, we want to carry it on in our own hearts, each one of us for himself, to go away with a heart full of what the Conference has given, of what the Lord Himself has given at the Conference. We want to go away and put it into our lives. We have not had time yet to understand it all. We will go in the strength of this food for many days. We will carry forward the spirit of the Conference, what it has taught us of the work, and what it has taught us of our brethren. But there is one thing above all things, dearly beloved, that we will not forget. We will remember what the Conference has taught us about God. It is a mighty army this of ours,
346 ADDHESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
even here as we are gathered together. It is a mighty army when we think of the things it has accomplished ; but it is a mighty army above all because God is in it. " God is not a man that He should lie, neither the Son of man that He should repent. ... He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel : the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. . . . Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought ! " Let us, as we separate from one another, go in the strength of God, and stay ourselves on our God.
CLOSING ADDRESS
By JOHN R. MOTT, LL.D.
Delivered in the Assembly Hall on Thursday Evenings
lyrd Ju7ie.
The end of the Conference is the beginning of the conquest. The end of the planning is the beginning of the doing. What shall be the issue of these memorable days? Were the streams of influence set in motion by God through this gathering to come to a stop this night, the gathering would yet hold its place as truly notable in His sight. Has it not widened us all ? Has it not deepened us all ? Has it not humbled us increasingly as we have discovered that the greatest hindrance to the expansion of Christianity lies in ourselves ? Has it not tried us as though by fire ? Gathered together from different nations and races and communions, have we not come to realise our oneness in Christ ? There- fore though there have been few resolutions, though there have been no signs and sounds and wonders as of the rushing wind, God has been silently and peacefully doing His work. But He has infinitely greater designs than these. It is not His will that the influences set forth by Him shall cease this night. Rather shall they course out through us to the very ends of the earth. In a few hours we shall be scattering our- selves among the nations and the races of mankind, and God sends us forth to large things. He is a great God. He is summoning us to vaster, greater plans than we had in mind when we came here, plans, adequate in scope, in thorough- ness, in strategy, and in the spirit that shall carry them out. He is summoning us to larger comprehension of the peoples
347
348 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
to whom we go, and the message that we bear. He is summoning us to this larger community which we have realised during these hours. He is summoning us to larger sacrifice, one that is like unto a new experience, like unto a revolution, a transformation. Our best days are ahead of us and not in these ten days that we have spent together, still less in the days that lie behind them. Why ? Because we go forth to-night with larger knowledge, and this in itself is a talent which makes possible better things. We go out with a larger acquaintanceship, with deeper realisation of this fellowship which we have just seen, and that is a rich talent which makes possible wonderful achievements. Our best days are ahead of us because of a larger body of experience now happily placed at the disposal of all Christendom. Our best days are ahead of us because we have a deeper insight into the character and purposes, the desires and the resources of our God. Our best days are ahead of us because we have a larger Christ, even one who requires, as we have learned increasingly these days, all of us, and all nations, and races, and communions through which adequately to express His excellences, and to communicate His power to our generation. We have a larger knowledge of the purposes and designs of God, and we have come to see that these are immeasurably greater than we had dreamt. Therefore, with rich talents like these which we bear forth, surely our best days are ahead of every one of us, even the most distinguished person in our great company.
But if this is to be true we must let two things strike deep down into our lives to-night, and in the days that shall follow. One is the need of reality. Better might it have been in many ways had we not come to this hall if this note is not to have full expression in our lives. Infinite harm will have been done to have gathered here and have had facts and arguments burning in our brains with convincing force, to have had our hearts stirred with deep emotion, unless we give adequate practical expression to all these emotions and convictions. There is something subtly and alarmingly dangerous in acquiring any knowledge of the
JOHN R. MOTT, LL.D. 349
needs of man and the designs and desires of our Saviour, if these convictions and feelings do not escape in genuine action. There has been a steady stream of facts and truths poured in upon heart and brain until we fairly recoil under the pressure of what has been recorded in these days. Wc have looked out beyond this whole hall into a situation throughout the non-Christian world absolutely unique in the history of our religion, unique in opportunity, unique in danger, unique in responsibility. These and other things that press upon the whole emotional and mental nature of the delegates constitute our undoing and our peril if they issue not in performance. If these things do not move every one of us, if these things do not move us to enter with Christ into larger things, I ask it reverently, what can the living God do that will move us ?
This need of reality means much — may it mean much to each one of us, and especially to the one perchance who is most indifferent to it at this time. What does it mean? It means that all of us who have been entrusted by God with large responsibility in the direction of this missionary enterprise shall go quietly out of this hall to revise our plans, not in the light of our resources, but of His resources and wishes. I make bold to say that the Church has not yet seriously attempted to bring the living Christ to all living men. Reality means that we will not only revise our plans concerning the Kingdom, but we will revise with even greater faithfulness the plans with reference to our own lives. There is something strangely pathetic in seeing delegates at a gathering like this, perchance going out to feed with emaciated hands those who want the Bread of Life. May there be that revision of plans, of life, of habits, which will make possible our own enrichment and our own constancy of touch with our living Head, that these plans may have at the back of them right motives, and disposition, and temper, and the Spirit of God. Reality means that some of us will place our lives where we least expected to place them, when we came to this Conference. Well may each one ask at a time like this. Is my life placed where it will count most in this unprecedented situation ?
350 ADDRESSES AT EVENING MEETINGS
In this great company are some to whom the note of reality will mean a giving of substance, the entering into a life of self-denial. A life of reality will mean that some of us who have become ashamed in the quiet half-hours of these days of the flatness, and timorousness, and self-consciousness of our intercessory life, will seek to school ourselves to greater faithfulness in this greatest ministry. A life of reality will mean that we will all to-night go with Christ into the garden. " If it be possible let this cup pass from Me," He said ; and I think you and I have reached the place where we actually see things so clearly with reference to the world's needs that, like our Saviour, we shrink back from what we see it is going to cost. May we steal among the olive trees with Him this night, and say as He said, " Neverthe- less not My will but Thine be done."
There is the need not only of reality but the need ot immediacy. A sense of urgency should strike into the core of each one of us — even the most obscure delegate. Christ seemed to live under the spell of this sense of urgency by day and by night, and one here has in mind not so much that our lives may be cut off quickly but that our oppor- tunity will slip away. How true it is that —
"The work which centuries might have done Must crowd the hour of setting sun."
As one of the sons of Scotland has written : —
"Time worketh, Let nie work too ; Time undoeth, Let me do.
Busy as time my work I ply, Till I rest in the rest of eternity.
Sin worketh,
Let me work too ;
Sin undoeth,
Let me do.
Busy as sin my work I ply,
Till I rest in the rest of eternity.
JOHN R. MOTT, LL.D. 35 1
Death worketh,
Let me woik loo ;
Death undoeth,
Let me do.
Busy as death my work I ply,
Till I rest in the rest of eternity."
God grant that we all of us may in these next moments solemnly resolve henceforth so to plan and so to act, so to Hve and so to sacrifice, that our spirit of reality may become contagious among those to whom we go : and it may be that the words of the Archbishop shall prove to be a splendid prophecy, and that before many of us taste death we shall see the Kingdom of God come with power.
INDEX
Absoluteness of Christianity, i 294-300 (cf. Index, " Ani-
See Christianitj'. 1 mism ").
Abyssinia, i. 205, 206-7, 212, .Apologetic value of missions, i.
214, 269, vii. 57-8. I 45-6.
Administration of Missionary Apportionment plan in financial
organisation of American
Mission Boards, vi. 147-9, i53- Arabia, i. 169-70, 173, 180-1,
187-8, 282, ix. 257. Arbitration Boards, viii. 23-6,
149-50, 151.
Societies. See Missionary Societies. Afghanistan, i. 193, 201, 280,
vii. 33- Africa, general survey of, i.
203-45, 405-8 (cf. Index,
" Africa ") ; education in, Argentina, i. 247.
iii. 166-213, 267-77, 312-7, Armenia, i. 169, 172, 177-8.
418-22 (cf. Index, " Africa") ; Arya Samaj, iv. 165, 178, 313.
Christian literature in, ii. Assam, i. 40, 138, 139, 159.
240-4, iii. 347-50 ; Animism Atlas. See Statistical Atlas.
in, iv. 6-37, 218, 294-5, 297 ; Atonement. 5ee Cross, doctrine
relation of missions to ' of the.
Governments in, vii. 51-87. Ausschuss der deutschen evan-
Agnosticism. 5ee Rationalism. gelischen Missionen, viii. 121.
Algeria, i. 216, 269, 281, 405. Australasia, i. 125-7.
American Indians. See Indians. Attitude of the missionary to
Amida Buddhism, iv. 76-7, 84, non-Christian religions. See
98-9, 103, 106, 222, 307. j Missionary,
Amitabha, iv. 40, 57, 227. ! Awakening of non-Christian
Ancestors, worship of, among animists, iv. 6, 26, 219 ; in China, i. 12, 89, ii. 114-5, IS3» 328-9, iii. 251, iv. 39, 40, 41-2, 46-7, 222, 225 ; in Japan, iii. 253-4, iv. 73-4, 80-1, 82, 87, 286-7.
peoples. See National Spirit, Opportunity.
Babism, i. 144, iv. 123. Bahais, i. 172, 174, iv. 123-4, 131, 143, 239, 288. , 102-3, i^- Bantu tribes, animism among, I iv. 7-37 passim.
Anglican Communion, union of Baptism. See ii. Index.
missions belonging to the, ii. 289-93, viii. 97-9. Anglo-American communities, co-operation in religious ser- vice for, viii. 81.
Basutoland, i. 227, $$y, iii. 184, 349, 422, vii. 84. See also South Africa.
Bechuanaland, i. 230.
Besant, Mrs., iii. 15.
Angola. 5ee Portuguese Congo, i Bhagavad Gita, IV. 159-61, 179, Animism, i. 115, 117, 121-2,149, i 196, 313.
207-8, 365, iv. 6-37, 218-21, Bhakti. See ituder Kinduism.
353
COM. IX.
-23
354
INDEX
Bhutan, i. 2S0, 285, 366, vii. 32. Bible, the, a missionary book, vi. 31, 91, 313 ; importance of the missionary study of, by intending missionaries, ii. 334-5. V. no, 167-8, 322-3; translation and circulation of, | i. 56, 75, 161, 178, 183, 303-4.' 310, 313, ii. 235-8, viii. 53-6,1 126. j
Bibliography of literature on , preparation of missionaries, V. 291-6. i
Bibliography of missionary !
publications, vi. Bigamy. See under Polygamy. Blythswood Institution, iii.
270-1. Board of Missionary Studies, proposal for creation of, v. ' 189-92, 306, 334-5- Boards, missionary. See Mis- sionary Societies. Bokhara, i. 280. Bolivia, i. 246, 248, 250. Borneo, i. 41, 113, 115, 117, 284
See also Dutch East Indies. Boxer outbreak, vii. 101-2. Brahmo Samaj, iv. 165, 178,
184, 245. Brazil, i. 246, 248, 250. British East Africa, i. 236-8,
281. See also Uganda. British Malaya. See Malaya. Buddhism, in Burma, i. 11, 14, 153, iv. 281-7 ; in Ceylon, i. II, 14, 164, iii. 354. iv. 281-7 ; in China, i. 11, 87-8, 97, iv. 38-72 passim ; in Japan, i. II, 14, 52. 54, iii. 160, iv. 73-121 passim ; in Korea, i. II, 73 ; in Siam, i. 11, 108, iv. 281-7; in Tibet, i. 195, 197; weakening influence and in- sufficiency of, i. 11-12, iv. 78, 90-2, 232, 304 ; revival and activity of, i. 14-15. 164, iii. 160, 354, iv. 76-8 ; points of contact with Christianity, iv. 56-7, 98, 100. Burma, i. 11, 14, 40. 10?. 138, 139, 153, 160; education in,
iii. 11-13, Zl, 36, Z7. 42, 46, 292, 354 ; animism in, iv. 7-37 passim.
Calabar. See Nigeria. Calcutta Missionary Conference,
rules of, viii. 29, 45. Canada, Laymen's Missionary
Movement in, vi. 186-8 ;
National Missionary Policy
of, vi. 187-8. Candidates, missionary. See
Missionaries. Candidates' Committees. See v.
Index. Cape Colony. See South Africa. Caste, i. 138, 142, 150, 151, 314,
315, ii. 1 1 5-6, iii. 246, 278,
283, 286, iv. 157, 164-6, 168,
^95- . ^ ^
Catechumenate. See 11. Index.
Catholicity, a root principle of Christianity, iii. 238-9.
Celebes, i. 41, 115. See also Dutch East Indies.
Centenary Missionary Confer- ence, Shanghai (1907) general character of, viii. 40-1 ; re- solutions of, regarding evan- gelistic work, i. 103, 305-6 ; regarding ancestor worship, ii. 114, 328-9; regarding Chinese Church, viii. 10, 83, 103-4, 166-70 ; regarding the Chinese ministry, U. 329-31 ; regarding education, iii. 108 ; regarding Christian litera- ture, ii. 264, 335-6 ; regarding the study and use of the Bible, ii. 157-8. 334-5; regarding ' ' The Missionary and Public Questions," vii. 21-2 regard- ing Women's Work, ii. 332-4 ; action of, with regard to the formation of a Christian Federation for China, viii. 108-9, 171-2.
Central America, i. 252.
Central Asia, i. 6, 191-202, 284, 289, 414-
Ceylon, i. 7, 11, 14, 40. 164-7. iii. 13, 259, 291, 354.
INDEX
356
Chengtu Conference. See West China.
Children in non-Ciiristian lands. See Education, Sunday Schools.
Children, promoting a mission- ary spirit among. See vi. Index.
China, general survey of, i. 81-107, 409-10 (cf. Index, " China ") ; education in, iii. 64-121, 247-52, 293-300, 304-7, 426-7 (cf. Index, " China ") ; Christian litera- ture in, i. 93, 95, 106, 303-4, 315. 11. 250-1, 335-6. iii. 355-8, 451 ; rehgions of, iv. 38-72, 221-9, 300-3 (cf. Index, "China"); relation of missions to Chinese Government, vii. 7-22 (cf. Index, "China"); co-operation and movements towards unity in (sec viii. Index, " China").
Christ the leader of the mission- ary enterprise, ix. 151-1;,
343-5-
Christian community, import- ance of education in relation to the development of. See iii. Index.
Christian literature. See Litera- ture.
Christian nations, duty of, toward non-Christian races, ix. 272-82.
Christianity, elements in, that awaken special opposition. See iv. Index.
Christianity, elements in, that make special appeal to non- Christian peoples (see iv. Index) ; appeal of, in early centuries, ix. 198-205.
Christianity, expansion of, in the early centuries, ix. 179-80, 195-205.
Christianity, the final and ' universal religion, iv. 97, 176- ' 7, 232-4, 268, ix. 156-72.
Church of Christ in Japan, con- stitution of, ii. 294-6.
Church buildings, ii. 129-30. Church, the home, responsi- biUty of, for the evangelisa- tion of the world, i. lo, 13, 45. 49. 297, 362-4, 403 ; its resources adequate for the task, i. 10, II, 366, vi. 269, 284, 295 ; necessity for a fresh vitalising of its powers to meet the emergency, i. 351-2, 359-61, 405, iv. 214-74, VI. 6-7, 14-5, 327-9, ix. 323-4 ; reflex influence of missionary work upon the life of, i. 44-8, 350, vi. 258-68. 296 ; its relation as a whole to the preparation of mission- aries, V. 211-9 ; its intimate relation to the Church in the mission field, i. 344-50, 405 ; its responsibility for studjdng and furthering the movements towards unity in the mission field, ii. 33-5, viii. 138, 143-4. 189-90 ; need for the mission- ary education of, vi. 271-7. See also Ministry, Laymen, Children. Church m the mission field, significance of the, ii. 2-3, 38, 267, 340-1 ; world-wide extent of, ii. 6-10 ; its development a fundamental missionary duty, j- 312-3, 434-5. ix. 214-5 ; its importance as a factor in evangelisation, i. 161, 295, 308, 318-27, 332-4, 368-9, 404, ix, 182-4; importance of developing and raising up leaders for, i. 66, 79, 93, 104-5, 166, 229, 295, 301, 302-3, 308, 369, 426-8, ii. 171-206, 271-2, iii. 7, 17- 20, 54-5, 65-9, 75-8, 85,
127-9, I3I-2. 173-4, 219-21,
252,369-71,374-6,408-9; con- stitution and organisation of, ii. 11-38, 267-8; self-support of, i. 55, 65, 75-7, 167, 330, 332, ii. 198-206 ; conditions of membership in, ii. 40-92, 268-9; exercise of discipline in.
356
INDEX
ii. 93-121, 269; edification of, ii. 122-70, 269-70, 360 ; spiritual fruitfulness of, i. 65, 75-6, 161-2, 167, 220, 302-3, 330-9, ii. 207-33, 272-3, 360-1 ; movements towards unity in, viii. 87-118; relation of foreign missionaries to, i. 327-30, 334. 428-32, ii. 32-8, 198-206, 345, 349-55. 358-9. viii. 96-7, 100, ix. 289-315 ; bearing of its growth on preparation of missionaries, V. 1 1-2, 98.
Civilisation, western. See
"Western.
Classes of population demand- ing special consideration, i, 55-7. 94-5. loo-i, 106.
Clergy. See Ministry.
Climate, relation of, to mission- ary policy, i. 291.
Collection of funds for foreign missions, vi. 37, 153, 185, 282. See also Financial Support.
Colleges at the home base. See Educational Institutions,
Theological Colleges.
Colombia, i. 246.
Comity. See viii. Index.
Commerce, influence of western, i. 22, 25, 345, iii. 170, V. 8-9.
Commercial undertakings, auxil- iary to missionary work, iii. 298-300, 302.
Commissions, scope and pro- cedure. See Index to each Report under " Report of Commission."
Committee, missionary. See Missionary Societies.
Committee of Reference and Counsel in America, vi. 254-5, viii. 26, 123-6.
Communion, admission to the Holy, ii. 78-81, 164-8.
Comparative religion. See Non- Christian Religions.
Compensation, advisability of making claims for, vii. 5-6, 17-8, 1 08-1 1, 148-9, 174-5.
Concentration and diffusion as
missionary policies, i. 54, 61-2, 103, 290-4, 365, 419-21. 435.
I See also Disposition of Forces.
Concentration of effort, need for,
in education, iii. 8, 380. : Conditions of membership in the j Church in the mission field, ii. ! 39-92, 268-9.
Conference, World Missionary. See World Missionary Con- ference.
Conference of Federated Missions in Japan. See Standing Com- I mittee of Co-operating Mis- sions in Japan. j Conferences, at the home base, vi. 74-6, 104-10, 202 ; for secretaries and leaders of Missi onary Societies, vi. 242-3, 250-7, 277-80, viii. 119-26, 129 ; annual conferences of foreign mission boards in United States and Canada, vi. 250-1, 253-6, 278, viii. 122-6 ; conferences on the mission field, ii. 149-52, viii. 27-51, 1 40- 1 ; conspectus of, viii. 178-83.
Confucianism, i. 12, 15, 16, 87, 89, 97, iii. 249-51, iv. 38-121, 221-9, 231-2, 303.
Congo, i. 21, 40, 223-6, 242, iii. 422, vii. 64-73. "3-4. 121, 176-83, viii. 37, 46, ix. 274.
Congregation, promotion of missionary interest in the local. See vi. Index.
Constitution of the Church in the mission field, ii. 11-38.
1 267-8.
Consul, appointment of mission- ary, in Batavia, i. 120, vii. 38-40, 162, viii. 80.
Continuation Committee of the Conference, viii. 145-8, 202-
i 18, ix. 95-8, 101-2, 134-8.
Contribution of non-Christian races to the body of Christ, ix. 283-8.
Contribution per capita of j Church members to different I Missionary Societies, vi. 152.
INDEX
357
Conversion, hindrances to {see Hindrances) ; as an aim of Christian education {see iii. Index, "Conversion"); com- parative importance of con- version of individuals and of leavening influence of Chris- tianity, i. 421-6.
Co-operation, urgent need for, in view of the present situa- tion, i. 296, 367, 404, iii. 8, 38i-2,409-io,viii. 5-7, 131-3; essentially a moral problem, viii. 142-3, 229-30, 234-5 ; in educational work (see iii. Index, " Co-operation " ; viii. Index, "Education"); in the production of Christian literature, ii. 273-4, iii. 364, viii. 56-61, 142 ; in the pre- paration of missionaries, v. 52, 189-92, 286 ; at the home base {see vi. Index, "Co-opera- tion " ; viii. Index, "Home Base"); suggested formation of an International Com- mittee, i. 297, 368, 394, 404, 432-3, vi. 252. 256-7, 279-80, viii. 144-8, 204, ix. 245 (see viii. Index, "Co-opera- tion " ; i. Index, " Disposition of Forces").
Coptic Church, the, i. 206, 207, 212, 213. I
Cremona, letter from the Bishop | of, viii. 220-3. I
Crisis in the non - Christian I world. See Opportunity. j
Cross, the doctrine of the, its effect on non - Chris- tian peoples. See iv. Index. j
Dahomey, i. 218, 281.
Decennial Missionary Confer- ence, Madras, 1902, i. 158, ii. 264, iii. 15, 337. See also viii. Index.
Deficits, the problem of, vi. 207-2 1 .
Delimitation of territory. See viii. Index.
I Denationalising, dangers of. See
j iii. Index,
■ Depressed classes, effect of missionary education in rais- ing the, iii. 25-6, 258, 366, 406. Deputation work by mission- aries and secretaries of Societies, vi. 38-40, 241.
; Diffusion. See Concentration
i and Diffusion. Discipline, exercise of, in the Church in the mission field. See ii. Index. Disposition of missionary forces.
See i. Index. Druses, the, i. 171, 184, iv. 126.
I Dutch East Indies, general
i survey of, i. 114-20; educa-
' tion in, iii. 391-6 ; Christian literature in, iii. 361 ; religion in, iv. 7-37 passim, 125-55 passim, 218-9; relation of missions to Government in, vii. 38-42, 137-9; co-opera- tion in, viii. 80.
Dutch missions, the work of, ix. 218-21.
East Africa, i. 233-8, 242, 281, 407-8, iii. 275-6, 316, 350, viii. 106-7. 5ee a/so Uganda.
Eastern Churches. See Oriental Churches.
Ecuador, i. 247, 248, 249, 250.
Edification of the Church in the mission field, ii. 122-70, 269-70, 360 (cf. iii. Index, " Christian Community, De- velopment of the").
Education, Christian. See i. Index, iii. Index.
Educational institutions at the home base, missionary in- struction in. See vi. Index.
Educational methods of the early Church, iii. 241-6.
Educational missionaries, pre- paration of. See iii. Index, Missionaries"; v. Index, " Educational Work,"
368
INDEX
Efficiency in education, im- portance of. See iii. Index.
Eg5rpt, i. 29, 32, 205, 206, 209, 211, 213, 215, vii. 51, ix. 255-7 (cf. iii. Index, " Mohammedan Lands ").
Elementary education. See iii. Index.
English language, use of, in education. See iii. Index.
Enlistment of missionaries. See Missionaries.
Enquirers, dealing with, in the mission field, ii. 40-2, 81-4,
Eskimos, i. 264-7.
Ethical ideal of Christianity, ix. 164-72.
Ethiopianism, i. 229. See iii. Index, under " Africa."
Europeans and Eurasians living in the mission field as part of the home base, vi. 301-2. i
Evangelistic work {see i. | Index) ; co-operation in, viii. 76-7 ; evangelistic aim in education (see iii. Index, " Conversion ") ; evangelistic efforts of the Church in the mission field, i. 318-43, ii. 224-6 ; emphasis on, in the expansion of the Early Church, ix. 176-9. Evangelists, training of lay
missionary. See Lay. Everlasting life. See Immor- tality. Exhibitions, missionary, vi.
1 1 2-7. Expansion of Christianity in the early centuries, ix. 179-80, 182-3, 195-205. Extra-territorial rights, vii. 5, 6, 105-8, 149.
Faith in relation to the problem
of financial support, vi.
206-11, 221. Family, influence of Christianity
on the life of the, ii. 217-9. Family worship in the Church
in the mission field, ii. 143-6,
270.
Fear, place of, in animism, iv.
7-9. 19. 169, 218-9, 299;
appeal of Christianity as
delivering from, ii. 2"ii-3,
iv. 30-1. Federation movement, in China,
viii. 108-11, 171-2, 173; in
India, viii. 111-5. 174-7; in
Japan, i. 63-4, viii. 115. Female education. See Women. Fernando Po, i. 222. Feudatory States in India. See
Native States. Fiji, i. 133. Financial support of missions.
See vi. Index. Forced labour, vii. 116-7. Forces, disposition of mis- sionary. See Disposition. Formosa, i. 6, 65, 68-70, iii. 126. French Protestant missions, the
task of, ix. 229-37. Fundamental value of missions
to the Church, the, vi. 258-
68. Funerals, as an occasion for
inculcating Christian ideals,
ii. 152-4. Furlough of missionaries, v. 59,
196-S, vi. 235-45, 289. Future life. See Immortality.
Gambia, i. 219.
German East Africa, i. 234-6, 281, vii. 7S-9, 163.
German missions, the work of, ix. 206-17.
German South-West Africa, i. 226-7, vii. 84-5. See also Kamerun.
German West Africa, vii. 62-3.
Girls, education of. See Women.
Giving to missions. See Finan- cial Support.
God, conception of, in Christian and non-Christian religions compared (see iv. Index), ix. 159-61 ; influence of preaching of unity and sover- eignty of, in early centuries, ix. 199-200; the sufficiency of ,
INDEX
359
for task before the Church,
ix. 330-41. Gold Goast, i. 219, 220. Government, relations of, to
missionary work (see i.
Index, vii. Index), ix. 278-9 ;
Governments and education
(see iii. Index) ; united action
in approach to, viii. 45-6,
124-5- Grant-in-Aid system. See vu.
Index. Greek Church, i. 3, 172, 402,1
viii. 4, 201, 210, 216, 233-4. I Guiana, British, i. 248, 249, 250. j Guinea, French, i. 218, 281. Guinea, Portuguese, i. 218,
281.
Hampton Institute, iii. 203, 213,
277. 302, 326. Hausas, i. 205, 219, 221, 222,
iii. 317. Hawaii, i. 127. Health of missionaries, vi. 287-
90. Higher criticism, influence of, in
the mission field. See iv.
Index. Higher education, importance
of maintaining Christian col- leges, iii. 372-3, iv. 158. See
also Education. Hindrances to the acceptance
of Christianity. See iv.
Index. Hinduism. See iv. Index (cf.
i. Index, " India "). History of missions as a subject
of study. See Missions. Holy Spirit, the work of the, i.
351-7. 370. iv. 254-6, 258-
67, vi. 4-5, 7, 270-2. Home base of missions. See
Church, the Home, Missionary
Societies. Home, importance of missionary
training in the, vi. 85-6, 284. Home Unions for missionary
preparation, v. 24-5. Hong Kong University, iii. 105. Hostels, i. 154, 155, ii. 138-43.
iii. 22-4, 29, 63, 106-7, 151. 227, 372, 409.
Humanitarian aspects of mis- sions. See Philanthropy.
Hymns in the mission field, ii. 124-5, 252-3 ; co-operation in production of hymn-books, viii. 33, 60-1.
Immortality, belief in, among non-Christian peoples — ap- peal of Christian doctrine of the future life (see iv. Index) ; in the early centuries, ix. 200-1.
India, general survey of mis- sionary situation in (see i. Index) ; education in (see iii. Index) ; Hinduism in (see iv. Index) ; animism in (see iv. Index, " India") ; relation of missions to Government in (see vii. Index) ; co-operation and movements towards unity in (see viii. Index).
Indians, in Canada, i. 260-2, 289, iii. 396-9 ; in Central America, i. 252 ; in South America, i. 246-50, 414, iv. 7-37 passim ; in United States, i. 253-5, 289, iii, 399-400. Indigenous, the problem of
I making Christianity, iii. 238-
I 66, 373, 406-7, 420-1, ix. 181-4.
[ Indo-China, French, i. 108, 109,
i no, 281.
I Industrial missionaries, training
of. V. 22, 46-8, 130-3,173, 274.
Industrial training. See i.
Index, iii. Index. Intelligence, promotion of mis- sionary. See vi. Index. Intercession. See Prayer. Interchange of members between
I different Christian bodies. See
viii. Index. International Committee, pro- posal for creation of, i. 297, 368, 394, 404, 432-3. vi. 252, 256-7, 279-80, viii. 144-8, 204, ix. 245.
360
INDEX
Islam. See Mohammedanism. Itineration
Work. Ivory Coast, i. 218-81
See Evangelistic
Jamaica, i. 251, 336, 7,2,7-
Japan, general survey of mis- sionary situation in [see i. Index) ; education in {see iii. Index) ; religions of {see iv. Index) ; relations of missions to Government in {see vii. Index) ; co-operation and movements towards unity in {see viii. Index),
Java, i. 20, 32, 41, 115, 116. 118, See also Dutch East Indies.
Jews. See i. Index.
Joint action. See viii. Index.
Jubbulpore Conference, viii. 1 1 1-4, 174-7.
Kafiraria, i. 337.
Kamerun, i. 222-3. ^^^ o,lso
German South-West Africa. Karma. See iv. Index, under
Hinduism. Kindergarten, iii. 99, 123, 124,
131, 162. Knowledge of missionary work.
See Intelligence. Korea, general survey of mis- sionary situation in {see i.
Index) ; education in {see iii.
Index) ; co-operation in {see
viii. Index). Kurds, i. 170, 172, 177, iv. 125,
143-
Labrador, i. 264.
Labuan, i. 113.
Languages. See Linguistic train- ing.
Laos, i. II, 26, 37, 108, no, 365, iv. 25.
Lay evangelists, preparation of. See V. Index.
Laymen's Missionary Move- ment {see vi. Index), viii. 128, 226-7.
Leaders, raising up of, through Christian education. See iii.
Index, " Christian Com- munity," " Native Leaders."
Leadership of the Home Church. See vi. Index.
Leadership, the power of, as a missionary quahfication, v. 104-7, ix. 317-8.
Leavening influence of missions in comparison with conver- sion of individuals, i. 421-6 ; leavening influence of Chris- tian education. See iii. Index.
Legacies, methods of dealing with, vi. 220.
Levant, the Asiatic. See i. Index ; also iii. Index, "Mohammedan Lands."
Liberia, i. 219, 220, 281. See also West Africa.
Libraries, missionary. See vi. Index.
Linguistic training of mission- aries {see V, Index) ; co- operation in, viii. 33, 77-8.
Liquor traffic, vii. 116-7, 165-7, 168, ix. 275.
Literature, Christian. See In- dices to i., ii., iii., iv., viii.
Literature, missionary. See vi. Index.
Literature, native, use of, in Christian schools, iii. 262, 265, 373 ; need for thorough study of, iii. 259-60, 264, 408.
Livingstonia, i. 40, 241, 295,
329. 335. 338. 339- See also Nyasaland.
London Secretaries' Association, viii. 120.
Lourenco Marquez. See Portu- guese East Africa.
Lovedale, iii. 199, 268-9.
Lutheran Churches, movements towards unity in, viii. 101-2.
Madagascar, i. 40, 239-41, iii.
171, 201-2, 273, 343, 361, vii.
85-7, 161. Madras Decennial Missionary
Conference. See Decennial. Madras Missionary Conference,
INDEX
361
constitution and rules of, viii. 29.
Magazines, missionary, vi. 51-4 ; for children, vi. 33-4 ; in the mission field, viii. 49, 60.
Malay Peninsula, i. 20, 37, 109, 1 1 1-3, 282, 365.
Manchuria {see i. Index) ; co- operation in, viii. 34-5, 68, ^y.
Manual training, importance of, iii. 169, 213, 301, 376-7.
Mass movements towards Chris- tianity, i. 8, 38-9, 1 10, 148-50, 291, 357, 423-4. ii- 85-91, ix. 181.
Materialism. See Rationalism.
Mauritius, i. 240.
Mediaeval missions, ix. 186-94.
Medical Conference in Edin- burgh, ix. 30 ; findings of, ix, 113-20.
Medical missions (see i. Index) ; preparation of medical mis- sionaries [see V. Index) ; medical education in the mission field {see iii. Index) ; co-operation in medical work (see viii. Index) ; the medical department of Missionary Societies, vi. 286-90.
Melanesia, i. 128, 129, 365.
Men and missions. See vi. Index.
Mesopotamia, i. 169, 171, 180, ix.
257-8.
Methods, missionary. See Mis- sionary Methods.
Micronesia, i. 129.
Ministry, securing and training of a strong native. See i. Index, "Church"; ii. Index, "Theological Training"; iii. Index, " Christian Com- munity," " China."
Ministry, the home. See vi. Index.
Mission field, Church in the. See Church.
Missionaries, services rendered by, iii. 6, 166, 365, vii. 95-7 ; need for increase of (see i. Index) ; means of enlisting (see vi. Index) ; preparation
and training of (see iv. Index, V. Index) ; health of, vi. 286- 90 ; relation of, to the Church in the mission field, i. 331-2, 340-2; ii. 32-8, 198-206, 349- 55, 358-9; ix. 289-315 relation to Governments (see vii. Index, "Missionaries") attitude of, to the non-Chris tian religions (see iv. Index "Missionaries"), iii. 263-5, ix 189-94, 197-8.
Missionary colleges, proposal for establishment of central. See V. Index.
Missionary magazines. See Magazines.
Missionary methods, comparison of different (see i. Index) ; in the expansion of the Early Church, ix. 176-9, 196-8, 201-3 ; in mediaeval missions, ix. 186-94.
Missionary policy. See i. Index, " Missionary Methods," " Dis- position of Forces," "Leaven- ing Influence " ; iii. Index, " Education."
Missionary Societies, work and responsibilities of (see vi. Index) ; in relation to the preparation of missionaries (see V. Index) ; problems of administration, vi. 207-48.
Missionary study. See vi. Index.
Missionary training colleges. See V. Index.
Missions, central place of, in the life of the Church, ix. 146- 50.
Missions Consul in Java, i. 120, vii. 38-40, 162, viii. 80.
Missions, science and history of. as a study, v. 162-4, 326.
Mohammedan lands in the Near East, general survey of missionary situation in (see i. Index, "Levant"); Educa- tion in (see iii. Index, "Moham- medan Lands"); relation of missions and Governments in
362
INDEX
(see vii. Index). See also Turkey, Persia, Egypt, Syria.
Mohammedanism as a religion {see iv. Index) ; spread and influence of (see i. Index, iii. Index), ix. 251-64; support of, by British Govern- ment, i. 209, 213-4, 221, 406, iii. 419-20, vii. 51-7, 59-60, 76-7, 113, 152, 157, 167; urgency of missionary pro- blem in relation to, i. 19- 21, 364, 365 ; missionary methods best adapted to meet, i. 186-7, 189, 310-1, 420, iii. 231-6, 419, ix. 251-64.
Mongoha, i. 7, 82, 84, 90, 91, 99, 280, 366, 413-4-
Moravian Church, missionary zeal of, vi. 307-8, 316.
Morocco, i. 216, 268, 281. See also North-West Africa.
Motives, leading to offers of service, vi. 133-7 ; leading to gifts to missions, vi. 159-60.
Mysore, iii. 37.
Natal. See South Africa.
National missionary policy, for Canada, vi. 187-8 ; for United States, vi. 189-90.
National spirit, growth of the, i. 32-5, 96, 142-4. 364. ii- 184-7, 197-8. 201, 346-7, iii- 6-7, 30-2, 66, 84-5, 122, 136-7, 171, 192-4, 196, 225, 232, 253-4, 258, 378-9. ix. 242-3, 246-7.
Nations, duty of. See Christian Nations.
Native affairs. Commission on South Africa, iii. 267-8.
Native Christians, rights and positions of. See vii. Index.
Native Church. See Church in the Mission Field.
Native literature. See Litera- ture.
Native States in India, vii. 30-3, 94, 152-3.
Native workers. See Workers, Church in the Mission Field.
j Natives of foreign countries,
I appointment of, as mission-
j aries to their own people, vi.
I 246-8.
Naturalism, conflict of Chris- tianity with, in the Far East,
j iv. 225-7, 231-3. See also Rationalism.
I Nepal, i. 280, 285, 366, vii. 32.
■ Netherlands India. See Dutch
East Indies. New Guinea, i. 41, 119, 129, 131 ,
330. 336, 365- New Guinea, British, i. 128. New Guinea, Dutch, i. 114, 115. New Hebrides, i. 131, 290, viii.
j 96.
1 Newspapers. See under Press. Nicaragua, i. 252. Nigeria, i. 21, 220-2, 281, iii.
189-90, 197, 200, 276, 348,
vii. 58-62, 152, 165-6. Nippon Sei Kokwai, ii. 289, viii.
98. Non-Christian religions, waning
power and inadequacy of, i.
11-3, iv. 51, 78, 90-2, 232,
303 ; revival and aggressive [ movements in, i. 14-20, 54,
97-8, 144-6, 164, iii. 30-1, 160,
232, iv. 78, 132, V. lo-ii ;
attitude of missionaries
towards (see iv. Index, I "Missionaries"); need for
thorough study of (see iv.
Index, "Study"), v. 165-7,
283-4. North China Educational Union,
iii. 107, viii. 66. North -East Africa, i. 21 1-4.
See also Egypt, Sudan. North -West Africa, i. 215-7.
See also Algeria, Morocco. , Numbers, legitimacy of viewing ! missionary problem in terms { of, i. 204, vi. 298-9, 317-8. [Nurses, preparation of, v. 21-2,
45-6. 143-5. 290. Nyasaland, i. 232, iii. 185-8, 193-4, 196, 200, 271-2, 274, 314-6, 349-50, vii. 79-80. viii. 36-7, 46.
INDEX
363
Occupation of the field. See Disposition of Forces, Un- occupied Fields.
Oceania, i. 127-34, 414-5.
Opium traific, vii. 116-7, 164-5, ix. 275, 279.
Opportunity, extent and ur- gency of present, i. 5-49, 341-2, 362-3, 403 (cf. Index), iii. 21-2, 65, 82-3, III, 1 13-4, 171, 232-5, 378-80, 426-7, iv. 215-6, 221-9, 229-36, 266-7, 292-3, V. 4-12, viii. 5-6, 132, ix. 145, 148-50,
238-43- Ordained missionaries, prepara- j
tion of. See v. Index. Organisation of the Church in '
the mission field, ii. 11-38,1
286-311. Oriental Churches, i. 172, 177,
178, 179, 182, 185, 335. Oriental studies in London,
report of Treasury Committee
on, V. 176, 185-6, 190-1.
253-6, 257-9, 305. Orientals in Canada, i. 262-4 ',
in South America, i. 246, 249 ;
in the United States, i. 255-8 ;
in West Indies, i. 251 ; in
the West generally, i. 417-8. Outcastes. See Depressed
Classes. Overlapping. See i. Index,
" Disposition of Forces " ; viii.
Index, " Delimitation." Oxford and Cambridge Uni- versity Scheme in China, iii.
107, 108, viii. 69-70.
Palestine, i. 169, 179, 268, iii.
216-7, 422-3. Pantheism. See iv. Index. Papuan Industries Company,
iii. 298-300, 302. Papuans, iv. 16. Paraguay, i. 247, 248, 249. Parish, missionary organisation
of. See under Congregation. Parsees, i. 8, 172. Past students, importance of
keeping in touch with, iii.
29-30, 61-2, 81-2, 119. 157-8,
212-3, 322-4, 328. Pastors. See Ministry. Payment of native workers.
See Workers. Pedagogy, study of, iii. 324-6,
V. 172-4,273-4, 325. Periodicals. See Press. Persia, i. 181-4, 188-9 [see
a/so Index, "Asiatic Levant"),
iii. 217-9, 224, 424-5, vii.
43-6, 89, ix. 258. Personal canvass of Churcli
members, vi. 190. Personal touch with mission
field, importance of, vi. 40. Peru, i. 246, 247, 249, 250. Philanthropic work of Christian
missions, i. 56, 78, 315-6 ;
co-operation in, viii. 79-80 ;
philanthropic aim of Christian
education, iii. 70-2, 114, 221,
369-71- Philippine Islands, i. 32, 12 1-4 ;
evangelical union of, viii. 14,
33-4. 159-60. Plastic conditions of Asiatic
peoples at present time, i.
25-31. 67-
Policy, missionary. See Mis- sionary Policy.
Polygamy, ii. 64-74, 321-7.
Polynesia, i. 129.
Portuguese East Africa, i. 233-4, 242, 281, 407-8, iii. 185, 199- 200, 349, viii. 59.
Possibility of world evangelisa- tion, i. 5-1 1.
Prayer cycles, vi. 9.
Prayer for missions, i. 43, 360, 370, vi. 5-16, 270, 328, ix. 316-7 ; in the Church in the mission field, ii. 232-3, 270, iv. 30, 36, 105, 219 ; among non-Christian peoples, iv. 27-8, 40, 45, 55, 71, 127, 128.
Prayer meetings at the home base, vi. 12-4 ; in the mission field, viii. 27, 42-3, 82.
Preaching, evangelistic. See Evangelistic Work.
364
INDEX
Preparation of missionaries. See Missionaries.
Preparatory influence of Chris- tian education. See Leaven- ing.
Presbyterian bodies, union of, in the mission field, ii. 294-308, viii. 88-97
quacy of the, i. 10, 11, 366, vi. 269, 284, 295.
Results of missionary educa- tion. See iii. Index.
Resurrection, effect of the Chris- tian doctrine of, on non- Christian peoples. See iv. Index.
Press, the secular and religious. Revivals of non-Christian re-
See vi. Index Primary education. See iii.
Index. Primitive races, missionary
work among, ix. 265-71. Probation, period of, required
from enquirers. See vi.
Index, " Catechumenate." Problems of administration.
See under Missionary Societies. ■ Professorships of missions, vi. i
Public schools, missionary in- terest in. See vi. Index, " Schools."
Rationalism, spread of western, i. 24, 53, 66, 97, ii. 197-8, iii.
ligions. See Non-Christian
ReUgions. Revivals, spiritual in the
mission field, i. 36-9, y^,
146-7. 3SS-6, ii. 227-32, Rhodesia, i. 210, 230-2, iii.
274-5-
Roman Catholic missions {see i. Index), vii. 4, 11, 16, 158, 163, 182, viii. 2-3 ; educational work of (see iii. Index) ; rela- tion of, to question of co- operation, viii. 198-9, 201, 216, 233-4.
Roman Empire, Christianity in the, iii. 238-46, ix. 173-85, 195-205.
Russia in Central Asia, i. 194-5. 226, iv. 46, 67-8, 86-7, III, i Russia, the Christianisation of.
113, 1 1 5-7, 200-4.
Redemption, the message of. See iv. Index," Cross, Doctrine of the," " Hinduism."
Reference and Counsel, Com- mittee of, in America, vi. 2 54-5
m. 243-4. Russian Empire, Mohammedan- ism in, i. 9, 20, 194-5.
Sacraments in the Church in the mission field, ii. 123-4. See Baptism, Communion. Reflex influence of missions on Sacrifice, the need for, i. 44, vi. the home Church, i. 44-8, 263, 296, 299-300, 324, ix. 350, vi. 258-68, 296. ! 318-9, 327-9.
Refugees, protection of, vii. 1 Sarawak, i. 113.
48-9, 1 1 1-2. Scandinavian missions, the work
Rejected candidates, use of, for of, ix. 221-5.
Schools, missionary instruction in (see vi. Index) ; schools in the mission field. See Education. Science of missions. See Mis- sions. Scottish Mission Industries Com- pany, iii. 298-300, 302.
service at the home base, v.
33, 212-4. Religions of the world, study of.
See Comparative Religion. Religions, the non-Christian.
See Non-Christian Religions. Religious instruction. See iii.
Index. Reports, annual, of Missionary Scriptures. See Bible.
Societies, vi. 40-2. Secretaries of Missionary So-
Resources of the Church, ade- 1 cieties. See vi. Index.
INDEX
365
Self-government and self-sup- port of the Church in the mis- sion field. See ii. Index.
Seminaries, theological. See Theological Colleges.
Senegal, i. 218.
Seychelles, i. 240.
Shanghai Missionary Associa- tion, viii. 153-4.
Shanghai Missionary Conference. See Centenary.
Shangti, worship of, iv. 45, 55, 63. 6s-6, 72.
Shangtung Christian University, iii. 107, viii. 66-7.
Shiah sect. See iv. Index.
Shinshu sect in Japan. See iv. Index.
Shinto. See iv. Index.
Shrinkage of the world, i. 344-5.
Siam. See i. Index, iv. 281-7.
Sierra Leone. See West Africa.
Sikh, iv. 184.
Sin, absence of sense of, among non-Christian peoples. See iv. Index.
Sin-kiang, i. 82, 90, 91, 99, 194, 196.
Societies. See Missionary So- cieties.
Sociology, as a subject of study, V. 168-72, 325.
SomaUland, i, 211, 212, 282.
South Africa, general survey of {seei. Index) ; education in {see iii. Index) ; animism in {see iv. Index) ; relation of missions to government in {see vii. Index) ; co-operation in {see viii. Index).
South Africa General Missionary Conferences, viii. 41, 44, 60, 151-2.
South America, i. 246-50, 414.
South India Conference (1900), viii. 38-9.
South India Missionary Associa- tion, %'iii. 21, 32-3, jy, 155-8.
South Indian United Church, ii. 309-11, viii. 87, 104-6.
South Sea Islands, i. 127-30, 330, 336.
South East Africa, i. 21.
South-West Africa, i. 222-7. Southern Central Africa, i. 230-3. Special missionary preparation.
See v. Index. Specific purposes, gifts for, vi,
32-3. 153-9-
Spiritual resources of the Church, i. 351-61, iv. 214-74, vi. 6-16, 294, ix. 154-5.
StajBF, necessity of providing an adequate, for educational in- stitutions. See iii. Index.
Standards of Missionary Societies in selection of missionaries. See V. Index, " Missionary Societies."
Standing Committee of Co- operating Christian Missions in Japan, viii. 35-6, 57, 161-3.
Statesmen and missions, vi. 193,
Station classes, ii. 133-6. j Statistical atlas of Christian missions, i. 2, 3, 98, 273, 401-2.
Straits Settlements, i. 1 1 1. ' Student Volunteer Movement {see vi. Index), viii. 128.
Study of the non-Christian , religions. See iv. Index.
Sudan {see i. Index), vii. 56-7, 167. See also North-East i Africa. I Sufficiency of God, the,ix. 330-5,
336-41- I Sufism. See iv. Index.
Sumatra, i. 20, 41, 114, 115, 117, 338. See also Dutch East Indies.
Sunday, official non-observance of, in Egypt, vii. 53, 55, 167.
Sunday Schools, promotion of missionary interest in {see vi. Index) ; work of, in the mission field, ii. 155-64, 270, 334-5. iii. 119-20, 158-9.
Superhuman factor in mission- ary work, the, i. 11, 351-61, 370, ix. 152-5, 248-250.
Supernaturahsm of Christianity, iv. 251, 259-67.
Supreme Being, behef in. See iv. Index. " God."
366
INDEX
Supply of btudeuts for the
ministry, ii. 184-7. Survey of world field, need for.
See i. Index, " Disposition of
Forces." Synod Hall, meetings in, ix.
28-9, 121-7. Syria. See i. Index, iii. Index,
" Mohammedan Lands." Syrian Protestant College,
Beirut, iii. 216, 233.
Taoism, i. ^y, 97, iv. 38-9, 57-8,
64. Teachers, training of, in the
mission field (see iii. Index) ;
training of teachers at home
to give missionary instruction,
vi. 21, 27, 31. Tenrikyo religion, i. it;, iv.
93-
Theological colleges, supreme importance of, from the standpoint of the home base. See v. Index, vi. Index.
Theological training in the Church in the mission field. See ii. Index.
Theology, need for a living, iv. 5, 214-68.
Theosophy, i. 17, -146
Tibet. See i. Index, vii. ^t,.
Togo, i. 219, 220. See also German West Africa.
Totemism, iv. 11-2.
Training of missionaries. See Alissionaries ; of native workers. See Workers.
Transfer of Church members. See Interchange of members \ between different Christian 1 bodies.
Transvaal. See South Africa.
Trinidad, i. 251. i
Tripoli, i. 215, 281.
Truthfulness a fruit of the i Gospel, ii. 214-5. '
Tunis, i. 216, 269, 281, 405. I
Turkestan. See i. Index.
Turkey. See i. Index, " Le- vant, Asiatic," ix. 254-5. | See also Mohammedan Lands.
Tuskegee Institute, iii. 203, 213, 277, 302,
Uganda. See i. Index, iii. Index,
vii. 7Z-7- : Uganda Company, iii. 298-300,
302. Unification of the world, i.
344-5, 402. United Boards of Missions of the Church of England, viii. 120. United Conference on Mis- i sionary Education, vi. 30, 63, i 69-70.
United States, government of, relations with foreign mission- i aries, vii. 123-34. United Study of Missions Com- mittee, vi. 67, 75. Unity. See ii. Index, viii. i Index, ix. 142-;, 319-21,
; 325-7. 343-
1 Universities at the home base. ! See Educational Institu- tions. j University, proposals for a I Christian, i. 60, 301. See iii. I Index, viii. 67-8, 72-3. Unoccupied sections of the world. 5eei. Index.
Value of missions to the Church.
See Reflex Influence. Venezuela, i. 247, 250. Vernacular, use of the. See iii.
Index. Visits to the mission field. See
vi. Index.
Wahabis, iv. 125.
Weddings as an opportunity 01 inculcating Christian ideals, ii. 152-4.
West Africa, i. 217-22, 281, iii. 190-2, 197-8, 200-1, 276-7, 317-8, 548.
West China, co-operation and unity in, ii. 314-6 {see viii. Index) ; educational co-opera- tion in, iii. 88, 107, 429.
West Indies, i. 251, 337.
INDEX
367
Western civilisation, influence of (see i. Index), v. 5-10, ix. 276.
Women, work among, by women {see i. Index, ii. Index) ; education of {see iii. Index) ; women's work at the home base {see vi. Index) ; train- ing of women missionaries {see V. Index).
Women's Boards and Societies, vi. 222-34.
Women's Missionary College, Edinburgh, training given in, V. 250-2.
Work parties and working meetings, vi. 204-5.
Workers in the Church in the mission field, importance of raising up and training, i. 66, 79, 93, 104-5. 166, 229, 295, 301, 302-3, 308, 313, 369, 426-8, ii. 171-206,271-2,329- 30, 342, iii. Index, " Christian Community " ; need for giving increased responsibihty to, iii. 32-3, 137, 165, 255, 374, 407-8 ; comity between missions regarding, viii. 20-1,
23, 140 ; payment of, i. 327-30. 334, 428-32, ii. 198- 206, viii. 23. World Missionary Conference, preparation for, ix. 3-17 ; constitution of, ix. 7-8 ; general account of proceedings of, ix. 18-31 ; minutes of, ix. 72-107 ; committees of, ix. 35-8 ; delegates to, ix. 39-71 ; associated meetings of, ix. 14, 28-30, 128-132 ; message from the King, ix. 141 ; messages of greeting to, ix. 111-2.
Yale University, provision for special missionary training in, v. ^y, 246-9.
Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, i. 56, 61, 155-6, 301, 314, iii. 91, 120, 149, 150, 157, viii. 168-9.
Young people, importance of awakening missionary interest among. See vi. Index.
Young People's Missionary Movement, vi. 23, 63, 68-9, 121, 274, viii. 126-7.
|
r |
|||
|
1 |
noisog; 'nviiana iaraan h ^p^h |
||
|
• ,1 |
„-3nj xspni -ja^,, MBj iapnn |
||
|
"J; CI ^ |
Of* o •> o Oh •1* |
)3>|30r| PJBO XjBjqn »HI3V |
|
|
•japoj ^^ |
|||
|
O C\2 CO |
o < o |
siqj uiojj/ |
|
|
Us to |
JOU OQ \. |
||
|
n U * |
|||
|
0 |
AavHan |
||
|
Auth Title |
mmi JO ummm |
||
|
1 |
^--^1 |
'f-:^%
i'*-' . ^.«S«(: ■'•"■'^-.. .*^ji. '■ f. '^■^^•' "''
.j,>., ;^.f. t7.». ■■■■*'. -;.
t^-:.:m
W::.M
^ m^ m'
m... .',?■
|
;'»■-. *' ' |
.^: |
- ;.* |
|
. %■ |
' -iii::' |
,1? |
|
^ |
||
|
■"#\ |
||
|
«v |
' ™- |
•J |
|
F-^, |
M |
^Ifc |
||
|
4< , |
% |
|||
|
?!i: \ |
..^ |
%:■. |
■»:, Si.-- |
'M |
»..,: .m.
.?*,^^ '
■: m.:.w- i-
*>■ tS^'i W'
-^■^ "' IT/: ^•:: Ml
'w m
f -'S m.