THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
BOOKS IN THE SERIES
First Year:
Part I — Student Standards of Action, by Harrison S. Elliott
and Ethel Cutler.
Part II — Christian Standards in Life, by J. Lovell Murray
and Frederick M. Harris.
Second Year:
Part I — A Life at Its Best, by Richard Henry Edwards and
Ethel Cutler.
Part II — A Challenge to Life Service, by Frederick M. Harris
and Joseph C. Robbins.
Third Year:
Part I — (In course of preparation.)
Part II — The Faiths of Mankind, by Edmund D. Soper.
Fourth Year:
Part I — The Social Principles of Jesus, by Walter Rauschen-
busch.
Part II — Christianizing Community Life, by Harry F. Ward
and Richard Henry Edwards.
COLLEGE VOLUNTARY STUDY COURSES
THIRD VEAE— PART II
THE
FAITHS OF MANKIND
By
Edmund Davison Soper
Professor in Drew Theological Seminary
Written under the direction of
Sub-Committee on College Courses
Sunday School Council of Evangelical
Denominations
AND
Committee on Voluntary Study
Council of North American Stttdrnt Movemfnt^
ASSOCIATION PRESS
New York: 347 Madison Avenue
1920
^ AS
398153 A
Copyright, 1918, by
The International Committee of
Young Men's Christian Associations
The Bible text printed in short measure (indented both sides) is taken from
the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible, copyright, 1901, by
Thomas Nelson & Sons, and is used by permission.
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I . Where Fear Holds Sway i
II . Who Is My Brother? 15
III . Like Gods, Like People 27
IV. Vanity of Vanities, All Is Vanity 43
V. The Wheel of the Excellent Law 58
VI . Honor Thy Father and Thy :M other 72
VII . Religion and Patriotism 87
VIII . We Have Abraham to Our Father 100
IX . A Prophet Who Missed the Way 11 1
X . There Is No God but Allah 125
XI . The Dream of Religion Come True 140
XII. What Manner of Man Is This? 153
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COLLEGE VOLUNTARY STUDY COURSES
"The Faiths of Mankind" takes sixth place in a series of
text-books known as College Voluntary Study Courses. The
general outline for this curriculum has been prepared by the
Committee on Voluntary Study of the Council of North
American Student Movements, representing the Student
Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations
and the Student Volunteer Movement, and the Sub-Com-
mittee on College Courses of the Sunday School Council
of Evangelical Denominations, representing twenty-nine com-
munions. Therefore the text-books are planned for the use
of student classes in the Sunday school, as well as for the
supplementary groups on the campus. The present text-book
has been written under the direction of these Committees.
The text-books are not suitable for use in the academic
curriculum, as they have been definitely planned for voluntary
study groups.
This series, covering four years, is designed to form a
minimum curriculum for the voluntary study of the Bible,
foreign missions, and North American problems. Daily Bible
Readings are printed with each text-book. The student view-
point is given first emphasis— what are the student interests?
what are the student problems?
INTRODUCTION
This book is intended for those who have never made a
study of the religions of the world. The purpose has been to
present the various religions in such a manner as to create
intelligent and sympathetic interest in every form of reli-
gion. The attempt to make this volume conform to the other
volumes of this series has been by no means easy. This has
been felt in three particulars.
1. The need of daily Bible readings has been recognized
and they have been provided, but they are of necessity very
short. The fact that in each case they deal with some phase
of the religion under consideration should count for some-
thing in making up the loss of a more extended reading.
2. The division of the book into twelve chapters of about
equal length has rather arbitrarily determined the number of
religions treated. When in four cases two chapters have
been given to a single religion the limitation is the more
evident. It was quite obvious that only living religions should
be included, but when living faiths like Zoroastrianism and
Jainism are excluded the drawback of the method is very
apparent.
3. More difficult has been the effort to make possible a
correct and adequate acquaintance with the religions pre-
sented. Much has had to be omitted which is necessary to
a full understanding of the religions. Almost no references
have been made to religious literature and very few to the
cults. The aim has been to convey as clearly as possible the
meaning of these religions to their adherents, and to point
out their effects on life and character. The religions have
been presented in their historical development as the only
method, even in a brief sketch, of understanding their sig-
nificance.
vii
viii INTRODUCTION
The need of an introductory chapter has been keenly felt,
in which the proper attitude of those who are Christians
toward adherents of other faiths might be shown. It is
hoped that the spirit of the book and the method used will
make clear what is not thus formally stated. The writer
can only say here that while he is firmly convinced of the
uniqueness of Christianity and looks upon it as the final
faith, he cannot but feel that in every religion men have been
trying to find the true God and are reaching out after Him
who "by divers portions and in divers manners" has mani-
fested Himself to men of all faiths. Realizing this, the only
attitude of a Christian is that of sympathy — a sympathy the
more deep and full of pity that the need of Jesus Christ is so
universally present.
(For every subject dealt with in this volupie the great
mine of information is "The Encyclopedia of Religion and
Ethics," edited by James Hastings, the articles in which are
contributed by authorities on the various subjects* treated.)
CHAPTER I
WHERE FEAR HOLDS SWAY
Where shall we begin in this study of the faiths of man-
kind? Shall it be with the more developed faiths, like
Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity? Why not begin with
religion in its simpler forms, religion as found among the
savage or uncivilized peoples of the world? The religion
of the primitive peoples is largely a religion of fear. It will
prove helpful before studying primitive religion itself to
discover the attitude toward fear taken by Hebrew and
Christian writers in the Bible.
Daily Readings
First Day : Is it true that fear and dread destroy the
happiness of many of the men and women you know?
Looking at the surface facts this seems to be a pretty strong
assumption. But can we judge by what we ordinarily see and
hear? Joy cannot be hidden, but fear can. Were we to know
what is going on in the inner hearts of men, what a revela-
tion it would be ! We might find many whose experience
would match that of Job :
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery,
And life unto the bitter in soul ;
Who long for death, but it cometh not,
And dig for it more than for hid treasures? . . .
For the thing which I fear cometh upon me.
And that which I am afraid of cometh unto me.
I am not at ease, neither am I quiet, neither have I
rest ;
But trouble cometh. — Job 3:20, 21, 25, 26.
If such experiences are to be found among ourselves, what
T
[1-2] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
must be those of the crude backward peoples, whose gods
are unfriendly and malevolent?
Second Day : Fear disqualifies a man for constructive work.
What can you do with a terrified man? Nothing until he is
pacified and calmed. Even where lesser fears prevail, such
as dread and anxiety, usefulness is curtailed. What is
needed? Is it not confidence and courage, like that Joshua
was told to have?
Be strong and of good courage ; be not affrighted,
neither be thou dismayed : for Jehovah thy God is
with thee whithersoever thou goest. — Josh, i : 9.
Such courage comes to a Christian through confidence
in God and his protection. To him God is good. Many a
man in the worst kind of trouble has been able to repeat the
reassuring words, "The eternal God is thy dwelling-place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. ZZ'-^?)-
What would it mean to you to have this invincible con-
fidence in God's goodness?
Third Day: There is another and deeper kind of fear
which comes to men — that caused by a troubled conscience.
Can peace come and the fine flowers of character grow, with
this unhealed sore in the life? Notice the contrasts of
peace and distress in Psalm 2>^:
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven.
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man unto whom Jehovah imputeth not
iniquity.
And in whose spirit there is no guile. . . .
I acknowledged my sin unto thee.
And mine iniquity did I not hide:
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah;
And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. — Psalm
32: I, 2, 5.
In the New Testament the terribleness of sin is, if pos-
sible, lintensified. Could any one except a man who had
2
WHERE FEAR HOLDS SWAY [I-4]
known the terrors of a troubled conscience have written that
vivid verse, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God" (Heb. 10: 31)? Is a man justified in being
afraid if he has a bad conscience?
Fourth Day: One of the great words in the Bible is "Fear
not." The place of fear is to be taken by peace. What is
peace? Can we not look on it as a kind of atmosphere in
which everything good can grow? Here is an idyllic picture
of the "good day coming" when peace shall reign.
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and
the young lion and the fatling together ; and a little
child shall lead them. . . . For the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters
cover the sea. Isa. 11:6, 9.
Can you see even through the thick clouds of the world
war the possibility of a day like that? And for us as indi-
viduals today we have Jesus' word, "Peace I leave with you;-
my peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be fearful" (John 14: 27). John goes
a step farther.
There is no fear in love ; but perfect love casteth
out fear, because fear hath punishment ; and he that
f eareth is not made perfect in love. — I John 4 : 18.
What kind of love is it that can exterminate fear? Where
does it begin?
Fifth Day: There is a fear which is quite different: it is
the fear which is synonymous with awe and reverence, re-
spect for rightful authority, deference. Consider how dif-
ferent your attitude is when possessed by this kind of fear.
It actually ceases to be fear in the ordinary sense. "Ye shall
fear every man his mother, and his father" (Lev. 19:3),
surely points to a very different experience from that of
fear in the previous readings. "Honor all men. Love the
3
[1-6] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king" (I Peter 2:17).
What does fear mean in these two verses?
Sixth Day: "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wis-
dom" (Prov. 9:10). What place should respect and rever-
ence play in life? Could the state continue to exist without
respect for law and constituted authority? Can a friend-
ship be strong and wholesome unless based on respect and
reverence? Can individual character be built on any founda-
tion but that of self-respect? With these questions in mind,
consider how the fear of Jehovah may be said to underlie
all these other kinds of fear. Read the account of Isaiah's
call. What was his attitude in God's presence? To what
did it lead?
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord
sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up ; and his
train filled the temple. Above him stood the sera-
phim : each one had six wings ; with twain he cov-
ered his face, with twain he covered his feet, and with
twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and
said. Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole
earth is full of his glory. And the foundations of
the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried,
and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I,
Woe is me ! for I am undone ; because I am a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of
unclean lips : for mine eyes have seen the King, Je-
hovah of hosts.
Then, flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a
live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the
tongs from off the altar : and he touched my mouth
with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips ; and
thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven.
And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom
shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said,
Here am I; send me. — Isa. 6:1-8.
Seventh Day : Listen to the song of adoration in the clos-
ing book of the Bible.
4
WHERE FEAR HOLDS SWAY [I-s]
Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God,
the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou
King of the ages. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and
glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all the
nations shall come and worship before thee ; for thy
righteous acts have been made manifest. — Rev.
15:3, 4-
Why were the worshipers to be in fear of God? Should
our attitude be any different now? What effect should such
an attitude of reverence for God and all His creation have
upon our daily conduct?
In all this we have the example of Jesus Christ Himself.
Are we not to follow "in His train"?
Who in the days of his flesh; having offered up
prayers and supplications with strong crying and
tears unto him that was able to save him from death,
and having been heard for his godly fear, though he
was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which
he suffered ; and having been made perfect, he be-
came unto all them that obey him the author of
eternal salvation. — Heb. 5 : 7-9.
Study for the Week
I
All primitive peoples have some, form of religion. Their
religion may be a dance more than a belief, it may have
more to do with their heels than with their heads, but for
all that it is religion. We start with a religion very simple,
very naive, very crude, but still a real religion.
Who are these primitive peoples? They are the Indians
of North and South America, the Eskimos, the Negroes of
Central and South Africa, the peoples of the South Sea
Islands (including the great islands of New Guinea, Borneo,
Sumatra, and the Philippines), the black men of Australia,
and the aboriginal tribes of Japan, China, and India. Not
only do they live in widely scattered areas ; they are not in-
considerable in numbers, even though the population is not
5
[I-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
dense in any one place. Their very mode of living makes
it impossible for them to remain in large groups. One
recent estimate gives their number at about 157.000,000, an-
other 173,000.000. There is one other reason for the study of
the religion of these people. When we describe their reli-
gion we are describing the religion of our own savage fore-
fathers, who roamed the forests and plains of Northern
Europe. For the religion of all primitive peoples is essen-
tially the same.
II
What kind of being is a primitive or savage man? He is
like us and yet he is not. He looks out on the same universe,
yet he looks at it differently. We see the same thing in our
homes. We all live in the same environment, but it is a very
different world to the little children from what it is to us.
A child lives in fairyland. "Alice in Wonderland" is just
as real as tables and chairs. It would be no more wonderful
to see a shoe turn into a real live grinning monkey than to
watch a willow stick made into a whistle. To him anything
might be anything else just as easily as be what it is. Now
a savage is very much like a child. He has a man's body,
developed and strong, and a man's experience in many re-
spects like our own, but with a child's outlook and way of
thinking about the world. The chief difference is that the
savage is mature physically, has picked up a lot of useful
information, and is expert in forest and animal lore. With
all this, however, he has retained the same naive attitude
toward nature and the inner world of his own life. He
seems to have but one method of explaining what happens,
and that is by referring it to the way he makes things happen.
If the wind blows, some one must be blowing or letting the
winds out of a bag. He carries this out to the last detail,
until his universe is filled with spirits. He never asks, what
caused my toothache, but always who caused it? He is an
"animist." He lives in a world that is alive.
He reasons this way all unconsciously to himself. He has
6
WHERE FEAR HOLDS SWAY [I-s]
never investigated his mental processes. True, he cannot
see the spirits which surround him, but they are very real to
him. He thinks he does see them at times, on dark nights
and in secluded places, and he has countless ghost stories.
We hear them told even among ourselves, showing that we
have not gone as far as we think from the animistic way of
looking at things-.
But why does he think he sees ghosts and how can he
believe in so many spirits, which are for the most part invis-
ible? It is scarcely possible to escape the conclusion that he
came to believe in spirits through the experience of dreams
and through the coming of death into his family. In dreams
he wanders over the universe. No bound can be set to his
travels. He does it all in a few moments. To him it is all
just as real as eating and drinking. But he has learned
from what others say that while he was out on his wonder-
ful journey his body was just where he lay down and where
he found himself when he waked up. A spirit then can leave
its body and journey anywhere, disembodied and invisible.
Death also is hard to understand. It is very much like
sleep to him, but why does not the spirit come back as it has
done so often before? This is the mystery to him, and it
becomes all the more mysterious and horrible when the body
begins to decay and to grow repulsive. He lives in a world
which he cannot understand. It is full of spirits and spirit-
ual influences which can do what he cannot. He is in a very
real sense helpless before them.
Ill
This primitive man is religious. The animism we have
been describing is not his religion, but it is very close to it.
The spirits or gods he worships are the spirits of his ani-
mism. In what sense can they be called gods or deities?
Probably in no deeper sense than that they are stronger and
more cunning than he is, and that he must have dealings
with them. In Japan the earliest term for gods was Kami,
7
[I-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
which means "something above." Anything that is higher
or stronger or more cunning than I am may be a Kami.
All the greater objects of nature have thus served as
gods. The ocean, the mountains, the clouds, the dawn, the
stars, the moon, and the sun all have been looked upon as
divinities and have been worshiped. The Ipurinas of Brazil
speak of the sun as "our Father," and think of him as a
little old man, who was their progenitor and still cares for
his children. It would not be so hard to understand how
men should worship the greater and grander aspects of
nature. We think of them as uplifting and purifying, as they
stand out in their isolated grandeur. But primitive peoples
are not able to read into their interpretation what we have
learned from other sources.
The strange thing is that the savage prefers other deities.
The lesser powers of nature fascinate him. The spirits in
trees, springs, streams, rocks, caves, and dark recesses are
deified to a far greater extent than are the stars. Certain
stones are sacred to the Zulus, because their ancestors are
said to have emerged from one such stone split in two. How
does it happen that one object is chosen rather than another
to be worshiped? In all probability, the savage to whom you
might put this question could not answer. He does just as
his fathers did, and that is all he knows about it. But there
must be some reason. It is in all likelihood because of
something strange or awesome or uncanny about it. This
doubtless accounts for the reverence given certain animals
like the snake, whose worship is very widespread indeed.
The very aversion man has for a snake would lead a savage
to consider it as out of the ordinary.
In many parts of the world another form of worship is
found — the worship of ancestors. Fathers and grandfathers
especially are held in reverence and have offerings made to
them when they have died. When a man dies, his spirit,
going into a new and unknown realm, becomes mysterious
and hence stronger and more to be feared than when em-
bodied here among his fellows. He can now do harm or
8
WHERE FEAR HOLDS SWAY [I-s]
possibly ward off danger from his descendants, according
to the treatment offered him. His spirit is not very far
away and takes note of all that is happening. The worship,
then, that is offered springs not only out of the respect which
the memory of one of their own departed ones would inspire,
but far more out of dread and fear. A spirit is not a thing
to be trifled with. It must be fed and treated well, or else
it will wreak vengeance upon the neglectful descendants who
have dared to do so unaccountable a thing.
A strange phase of savage life is the relation of man to
animals. The line between them is not very distinct. Among
many people there exists the fear that men might be turned
into animals with little difficulty. Tales are told of how it
has happened, and these tales have come down into our folk
lore, where we have gruesome stories of were-wolves and
other unnatural combinations. The form in which this belief
is found today among primitive peoples is Totemism. Now
a totem is an animal (or in some places a plant) to which
the people of a tribe who belong to that totem clan are sup-
posed to be related. All the people belong to one or another
of these clans, the supposition being that the animal was the
ancestor of the clan. This makes the animal sacred or tabu,
which means that it must not be killed by members of that
totem clan. The only exception is when the animal is eaten
religiously, as a symbol of the closeness of relationship be-
tween the clan and its totem. An Alaskan totem pole is
nothing else than a representation of certain animals which
are the totems of tribal clans.
IV
We are not yet at the end of the list. In various parts
of the earth men are found acting in very queer ways with
what we might call deities or gods only with apologies.
They are fetiches. The name comes from the term fcitico,
which the Portuguese sailors gave to the strange objects
which were a part of the religious paraphernalia of the
West Africa negroes. The word as these sailors used it
[I-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
means "something made" or "concocted." A man who
wanted a fetich would go to the medicine man or witch
doctor and have him make one for him. It was usually a
diabolical mixture of all sorts of horrible and repulsive things
put into the hollow of a gazelle horn, which was then sealed
and hung around the neck of the possessor. In other places
no such elaborate preparation was needed. Anything that
struck the eye of the savage as queer or grotesque he might
take as his fetich. The important thing is that a fetich is
any object which is supposed to be the abode of a spirit,
which will be of service to the user. The object then is
worshiped only because of the spirit living in it. But this
so-called worship is a peculiar thing. The spirit is told to
do what the owner desires; it is often cajoled into doing it.
In reality it is more of a slave in the possession of its owner,
than a spirit to whom he comes with a request. It has been
called "a god at man's disposal." If it does not do what is
expected, the fetich is scolded and even beaten. Then if it
continues to be obstinate in its disobedience, it is thrown
away as being of no use — the spirit has departed ; it is only
a stick or stone or horn like any other.
Fetichism is the negation of all true religion and worship,
where prayer and supplication and humility are the fitting
attitudes. Whatever may be its origin, there it is — a force
in savage life, always hurtful and tending to drag what little
helpfulness there is in savage religion down into the mire.
For the most part it is anti-social, a man securing a fetich
to get even with an enemy or to secure luck at the expense
of some one else. It is one of the darkest sides of a heathen-
ism already clouded over by superstition and dark deeds.
Looking at fetichism broadly, we can see that it is one
of the manifestations of the all-prevalent magic which is to
be found in every part of the world among these animistic
peoples. What is magic? It is hard to define. A savage
is frequently in difficulty and confusion; he has wants of all
kinds and he is at his wit's end to supply them. He is will-
ing to do anything to get relief and secure what he desires.
10
WHERE FEAR HOLDS SWAY [Is]
Whatever he does must be with the help of the spirits about
him. He will try to placate them by offerings and make
request of them for what he desires, and we call this religion.
But this is not all he can do. In various ways he has picked
up some bits of useful information — for example, that by
striking two stones together a spark may be produced. This
is the beginning of science, man's start in progress, but to
the savage himself, controlled by his belief in spirits, there
is no real difference between this and the other (the reli-
gious) method. In each case he believes that what is ac-
complished is the work of spirits or the result of spiritual
influence. He does not see what we see, that in one case he
is appealing to spiritual powers and in the other he has dis-
covered one of the applications of the law of cause and
effect, that he has started on his long course of scientific dis-
covery and invention. He does not think about it at all ; he
finds that it works, he feels sure some spiritual influence is
present. When any distinction is made by the savage him-
self, it is between that use of magic which is directed toward
the public good, called white magic, and that which is private
and selfish and directed toward hurting somebody, called
black magic. Whenever a man secures what he desires from
spiritual beings, not by prayer and dependence, but by com-
pulsion and by a sense of superiority, of "knowing the trick,"
he debases rehgion and himself and thwarts any possibility
of advance.
V
Almost nothing has been said about the character of these
deities or spirits. They are just like the universe from which
they are taken. They can be as kind as a summer afternoon ;
they can also be as cruel as a volcano. We have heard tales
of the idyllic life of the simple uncontaminated savage.
The dreadful fact is that for the savage the kind deities
seem to have withdrawn for the most . part, and he must
have nearly all his dealings with cruel, malevolent gods,
always seeking to do him harm. He has no one among the
II
[I-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
spirits whom he can trust. Faith and confidence have no
opportunity to develop and so lie dormant. "Animism seems
devised for the purpose of tormenting men, and hindering
them from enjoying life. . . . Gigantic spirits stride through
the villages scattering epidemics around them. . . . They
are not laughing fauns or mocking satyrs, but merciless
messengers of death, enemies swollen with envy, who would
fain hurl the living into the kingdom of the dead."
Having no faith in his gods, the savage can develop little
faith in his neighbor. Distrust is everywhere present in his
personal life, as tribal wars are the rule in his larger world.
With little or nothing to restrain his impulses a man is
controlled by his natural instincts. Being the stronger the
man lords it over the woman, who is little better than a
chattel. She is the drudge and the despised bearer of chil-
dren and doer of chores. No advance in civilization can be
made on this basis. Something must come in from the out-
side and turn the life into new channels before any change
can take place. He gives to the gods what he thinks they
need and want, and he determines this by his own needs and
desires. But he offers these sacrifices to placate angry
deities, to buy them off, so that they will not carry out their
malignant designs. His life is on the low level of material
wants and desires, and never gets above them. It is sick-
ness and loss and death he wishes to avoid, and good crops,
increase in his herd, and many children that he desires. His
idea of salvation is merely to be saved from want and illness
and bad luck. There is nothing morally elevating or spirit-
ually progressive about it in any way.
VI
What is to become of these forms of religious life? When-
ever they come into contact with higher forms of religion,
they go to the wall. With no literature, no firmly intrenched
priestly class with a well established tradition, with no
founder and splendid history to look back upon, there is little
to hold them when the elaborate worships and the uplifting
12
WHERE FEAR HOLDS SWAY [Is]
teachings of the higher faiths are presented to them. As
a matter of present-day history, it must be regarded as sig-
nificant that the aboriginal tribes of India are being absorbed
into the great body of Hinduism. Buddhism has won the
allegiance of many animists in her long history. Islam is
making phenomenal progress in the Dutch East Indies, and
in Central Africa and the Sudan. And in many places Chris-
tianity has won thousands of the primitive people and com-
pletely transformed their life. There seems to be no resist-
ing power when once the battle is joined. Man naturally
craves a God he can trust, who is interested in him and
cares about his welfare. When such a God is presented, the
sway of the old malignant spirits and demons ceases.
But this is not the whole story. It is not so difficult to
bow animism out of the front door, but before long, dressed
in a slightly different garb, it comes around to the back door,
always finds its way into the house, and usually remains. It
seems perfectly willing to travel incognito. It enjoys just
about as much power, even though the house where it lives
is in the possession of another owner. The Burmans have
been Buddhists for hundreds of years, and all Burma is
studded with the pagodas of an orthodox faith, but when-
ever a Burmese gets into trouble, he has recourse to the nats,
the old spirits of Burma in pre-Buddhist days. The Christian
Church overcame the paganism of the Roman Empire, but
the old spirits and gods who had been dispossessed came back
in the form of saint worship ; they had new names, but to the
people who had been pagan it was the same thing in another
garb. It gave them the same old satisfaction in the same
old way.
Have we entirely escaped in our Protestantism ? What
does it mean that there are many who are afraid to sit down
thirteen at a table, who still "knock wood," who do not
want to begin anything on Friday, who are afraid of Room
13, so that our hotels cannot have the number, who carry
luck pennies and like to have a horseshoe over the door?
These are but remnants of an animism long left behind, but
13
[I-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
still active as an influence and at times as a real power. We
are not so far away from the savage after all. We have
many beliefs and practices which are not worthy of our
civilization and our religious profession. A little houseclean-
ing might not be amiss before we point the finger of scorn
at the "poor benighted" animist in far-away New Guinea and
Borneo.
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. The Place of Fear in Religion
Distinguish between the kinds of fear men have. What
is the difference in the effect on life between these different
kinds of fear? What is it that can turn one kind of fear
into another? What is meant when a man is spoken of as
God-fearing?
II. Animism— What Is It?
What is the difference in intellectual outlook between
an American college student and an animist? What would
stand in the way of the college student becoming an ani-
mist?
III. The Religion of Animists
What leads an animist to worship his gods? Why would
a spring be worshiped, or a dark cave, or an oak tree, or
a mountain? What would lead to the worship of the small-
pox demon? W^hat effect on life would such worship be
likely to have?
IV. Magic and Religion
What is the difference between the two? What differ-
ence can we see which an animist cannot? What magical
practices are to be found in our own home communities?
Why do people practice them, or believe in them? What
influence do they have?
(For a view of animistic religion in its actual working,
an excellent volume is 'The Living Christ and Dying
Heathenism," by Johann Warneck.)
14
CHAPTER II
WHO IS MY BROTHER?
The question, Who is my brother? stares every Hindu in
the face. For more than two millenniums Hindus have tried
to imagine that the question was settled, and settled forever.
The attempts on the part of reformers to make it an issue
have done little more than irritate them. The caste system
through all the centuries has remained intact. To the Hindus
their brothers are only those who are fortunate enough to be
born into their own limited circle, and that is all there is to
be said. Yet it is the burning question in India today. On its
solution depends the future of the teeming millions who now
call themselves Hindus. The readings which follow are
passages chosen to throw light on the problem of brotherhood
from the standpoint of the Bible.
Daily Readings
First Day: The Jews have always been an exclusive race.
They have held themselves aloof from others, and despite
persecutions and humiliations almost without parallel have
considered themselves superior to their compatriots in every
land. They consider themselves a select people, in God's
special favor. Hosea expresses it most tenderly : "When Israel
was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of
Egypt" (II : i).
What impression would probably be created among a people
by the habitual reading of such passages as this?
Praise Jehovah, O Jerusalem ;
Praise thy God, O Zion. . . .
He showeth his word unto Jacob,
His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel.
He hath not dealt so with any nation.
Psalm 147 : 12, 19, 20.
15
[11-2] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Second Day : This unwarranted exclusiveness was their
undoing so far as God's purpose was concerned. They
wrapped themselves about with their mantle of smug satis-
faction and became more and more bigoted and narrow. We
have in the story of Jonah a sermon in parable directed
against this narrowness. Jonah typifies Israel in not desiring
to go to a despised city like Nineveh with a message from
God. When, however, he did go and preach, we are told "the
people of Nineveh believed God" and repented. Now read
the sequel :
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was
angry. And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, I pray
thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying, when I was
yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto
Tarshish ; for I knew that thou art a gracious God,
and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-
kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore
now, O Jehovah, take, I beseech thee, my life from
me ; for it is better for me to die than to live. And
Jehovah said, Doest thou well to be angry? . . .
Should not I have regard for Nineveh, that great
city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons
that cannot discern between their right hand and
their left hand ; and also much cattle ? — Jonah 4 :
1-4. II-
What definition of brotherhood do you think Jonah must
have had? What can you gather as to the definition of the
writer of the sermon story?
Third Day: Paul was a member of this same race. Few
in his day had carried their devotion further. Yet what is
his attitude?
If any other man thinketh to have confidence in
the flesh, I yet more: circumcised the eighth day, of
the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a He-
brew of Hebrews ; as touching the law, a Pharisee ;
as touching zeal, persecuting the church ; as touching
16
WHO IS MY BROTHER? [II-4]
the righteousness which is in the law, found blame-
less. Howbeit what things are gain to me, these have
I counted loss for Christ. — Phil. 3 : 4-7.
What is it that had made the change? This new loyalty
to Jesus Christ had made a profound difference in all his
relationships. He had put his pride of race behind his devo-
tion to Christ, and lo, it ceased to be pride at all. How would
our attitude toward despised people be affected if we should
become deeply interested in them?
Fourth Day : This new attitude on Paul's part influenced
his theory as well as his practice. Not only was he a brother
in fact, but it became impossible for him to look on his own
people in "the same selfish way as before.
And he made of one every nation of men to dwell
on all the face of the earth. — Acts 17 : 26.
With all this he did not cease to feel that his own race was
in a unique position with a unique mission to fulfil.
I could wish that I myself were anathema from
Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen according
to the flesh : who are Israelites ; whose is the adop-
tion, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving
of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ;
whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as con-
cerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for
ever. Amen. — Rom. 9 : 3-5.
Is patriotism then unjustifiable? Must patriotism mean
exclusiveness and a sense of haughty superiority? What
attitude should a patriot have toward alien peoples?
Fifth Day: Peter had a much harder time than Paul to
be true to the spirit of his Master.
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him
to the face, because he stood condemned. For before
17
[II-6] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
that certain came from James, he ate with the Gen-
tiles ; but when they came, he drew back and separ-
ated himself, fearing them that were of the circumci-
sion.— Gal. 2:11, 12.
Yet this same Peter wins his victory over Jewish narrow-
ness and is able to write to a Christian church, whose mem-
bership was Gentile as well as Jewish, such words as these :
But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye
may show forth the excellencies of him who called
you out of darkness into his marvellous light : who
in time past were no people, but now are the people
of God. — I Peter 2:9-10.
Try to put yourself in Peter's place and realize what it
meant for this Jew to call Gentiles "the people of God."
What are your prejudices? Is Peter's new experience to be
yours?
Sixth Day: Jesus' life is full of illustrations of liberality
and broadmindedness. He sat down and talked with a de-
spised Samaritan woman. More than that, he made to her
one of the most significant revelations of the wideness and
universality of His kingdom to be found anywhere in the
gospels !
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour
Cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jeru-
salem, shall ye worship the Father. . . . The hour
Cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and truth : for such doth
the Father seek to be his worshippers. — John 4: 21, 22,.
There are no bounds to such a Kingdom. All are brethren
who come to their common Father in spirit and in truth.
Seventh Day :
And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question,
trying him : Teacher, which is the great command-
18
WHO IS MY BROTHER? [lis]
ment in the law? And he said unto him, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great
and first commandment. And a second like unto it is
this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On
these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and
the prophets.— Matt. 22 : 35-40.
What then does it mean to be a brother? What is the
measure of our obligation? What relation does brotherhood
have to our relation with God?
There is a picture in the Revelation of the consummation
of all things. It is really a rapture, in praise of Jesus Christ,
our Lord. But notice the inclusiveness of the list of those
who have been redeemed. Where do they come from? Who
are to be our brothers in the great Kingdom of Jesus Christ?
And they sing a new song, saying. Worthy art thou
to take the book, and to open the seals thereof : for
thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with
thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people,
and nation, and madest them to be unto our God a
kingdom and priests ; and they reign upon the earth.
—Rev. 5 : 9, ID.
Study for the Week
Of all lands India is the land of religion. Many things
can be said of this strange land, but the first and the last
thing is that India is religious. In what other country have
priests always been placed ahead of soldiers and statesmen?
In what other country have famous kings been remembered
because of their connection with religion? Her literature
from top to bottom has been the literature of religion. More
than in any other country in the world the people are com-
pelled to be religious from the cradle to the grave, which, by
the way, is a most happy use of language since they have
neither cradles nor graves! To change their religion means
19
[II-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
in a real sense to change their whole life. Let us go then
to this God-intoxicated people and seek to discover what
religion means to them.
• II
Our first impression will surely be one of confusion. In-
dian religious life is a labyrinth, a tropical jungle of tangled
beliefs and forms. There is a perfect babel of sounds.
There are Buddhists in Burma and Bengal, Animists in the
hills and jungles, Parsees in the west, Jains scattered here
and there, Jews, Christians, the largest group of Moham-
medans in the world, and finally Hindus, the most important
and by far the most numerous body of religionists in the
country.
We are now to study Hinduism, whose numbers were given
as 214,570,000 by the last census (1911). But when we open
the door and step in we do not know which way to go —
there are so many paths. Hinduism is a maze whose intricacy
no one has been able to reduce to any kind of order. Various
statements may be made about Hinduism, all of which are
true and which at the same time are in glaring contradiction
with each other. Then how can there be anything called
Hinduism, representing a real unity, when nothing can be
asserted of belief, conduct, or worship on which there can
be any agreement?
The question which arises is serious. What is Hinduism
then, if a man can do as he pleases and believe what he likes
and still be considered orthodox? We m.ust be prepared for
a strange revelation. Hindu orthodoxy is not one of belief
or conduct or religious ceremonial ; it is an orthodoxy of con-
formity, conformity to custom. Hinduism is primarily a
form of social organization, known as caste. This is the great
fact confronting one in India. Caste determines everything
in the life of the individual and of society. It is the one
bond which binds all these people together into what may be
called a unity, for they all believe in it and cling to it with a
death-like grip. At the same time caste is the most divisive
20
WHO IS MY BROTHER? [II-s]
element in their life, for each caste is a kind of water-tight
compartment exclusive to the last degree.
Ill
Caste means that a man must conform to a rigid code in
respect of marriage, food, occupation, and residence. Of
these regulations those governing marriage are the most
important. One must not marry outside his own caste, or,
as in many cases, his sub-caste. When it is remembered that
everyone in India marries, that to be an old bachelor or an
old maid is a disgrace, it is quite evident that there must be
some difficulty in making matches in strict conformity to
these rules. Particularly would this be true if match-making
were unduly delayed. This led many centuries ago to the
marriage of mere children, and all attempts to modify the
system have been fought with great bitterness by the people,
almost without exception. The law of child marriage is thus
stated in the earliest Hindu law book, the Code of Manu,
"A girl should be given in marriage before puberty."
With high child mortality as it exists in India, this system
involves the constant presence in the country of an enormous
number of widows, 26,000,000 and more, according to the last
census. A large number of these are mere children, little
^girls in many cases not yet in their teens. These girls and
women are not allowed to remarry. By a strange and ter-
rible perversion womark is looked down upon in India ; she
is a kind of inevitable evil which must be borne. Compelled
to live in the home of her deceased husband, the widow has
been a slave and a drudge. Of all women her lot is most
miserable. The theory is that, being married, she is bound
to her husband forever. If he sickens or dies she is held
responsible, so that it is not unjust to treat her as one guilty
of crime. It has been considered meritorious for her to
ascend her husband's funeral pyre and be burned to death
with his body. An old text puts it thus, "If a woman's hus-
band dies, let her lead a life of chastity, or else mount his
21
[II-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
pyre." The British government has happily put a stop to this
inhuman practice, but even yet a case of suttee, as it is called,
comes to light occasionally, showing how deeply ingrained
the old custom is. This is what caste has meant for woman.
It is needless to say that man labors under no such restric-
tions. He may marry other women, even during the lifetime
of his first wife.
No matter how loosely the other caste regulations may rest
on an intelligent Hindu, he is like adamant regarding mar-
riage. But caste does mean more to him than this. He is
not to eat with men of other castes. He carries this out to
the letter in many cases and insists, according to the old
formulas, that his food be prepared by one of his own caste.
He cannot always be sure of this, but the more scrupulous
he is the farther he goes into all the details of the regulations.
Certain castes have been given over so long to certain occu-
pations that to be a member of that caste means following
that occupation. It is against caste regulations for a Hindu
to leave the sacred soil of India, the land of the gods. So
technically every Hindu who travels abroad or goes to
Europe or America for his education breaks caste, but this
has become so common that it is winked at calmly.
IV
Caste cannot be accounted for completely, even by those
who have studied it most deeply. Even so simple a fact as
the exact number of castes is not known. There are so many
subdivisions, conditions differ so greatly in different parts
of the country, and caste lines are being so altered that
much uncertainty exists.
The Hindus were early roughly divided into four classes.
First came the priests, called Brahmins, then the warriors,
called Kshatriyas, then the farmers, the Vaisyas. Under-
neath and not considered worthy to associate with the others,
were the Sudras, the menial laborers, who were probably
Aryans with aboriginal blood, or even pure Dravidians, as
22
WHO IS AIY BROTHERT [lis]
the old inhabitants are called. The system of caste started
then with these four classes. The key to the whole system
has always been the Brahmin. He early made himself in-
dispensable to the life of the people, and then made his posi-
tion all the more secure by the imposition of the caste sys-
tem. So long as this condition exists, he is in the place of
supreme influence and honor.
When the Aryan ancestors of the Hindus first came into
India, the father was the priest of the family. Each head
of a family was considered competent to conduct the whole
ritual of sacrifice without help from any outsider. But great
changes gradually crept in. Worship consisted largely of
sacrifice and its attendant ritual. More and more the con-
viction grew that the efficacy of a sacrifice consisted in the
correctness of the ritual. The sincerity of a man's intentions
and the quality of his life had nothing to do with the ac-
ceptability of his worship to the gods.
As the importance of sacrifice and ritual grew in the minds
of the people, the burden of mastering the details of a
growingly elaborate worship naturally increased greatly. A
man busy with the cares of life, with a family to support,
simply could not take the time to become expert and exact in
matters connected with sacrifice and ritual. He must turn
them over to the pries.tly class, who undertook to conduct all
the sacrifices in exact accordance with the regulations. The
priestly class soon came to dominate the whole life of the
people, who were helpless and in the hands of men who held
the keys of life and death, and were determined to maintain
their control.
The Brahmin came to be regarded as a god among men.
"Verily, there are two kinds of gods, for indeed the gods are
the gods; and the Brahmans who have studied and teach
sacred lore are the human gods." Not all the Brahmins
today devote themselves to the sacred calling, but by virtue
of his caste every Brahmin is sacred and inviolable. Whether
he be a rich merchant, a trusted civil servant of the govern-
ment, or a poor beggar on the streets, he is holy and revered.
2Z
[II-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
No bondage has ever been so complete or unquestioned as
that of the Brahmin priesthood.
The leadership of the Brahmins was based on real ability.
As a class they have always been superior to all others in
intelligence and learning. They guarded the sacred books,
which had come down out of the past, with jealous care, not
allowing the profane lips of the lesser castes to utter the
sacred texts. They protected the purity of their blood more
successfully than did others, and preserved with religious
care the old traditions of their people. They have been the
priests, the writers, the poets, the philosophers of India from
the beginning, with few to offer effective resistance. No
wonder they moulded India according to their own will, and
today stand as a bulwark against all attempts to change the
current of Indian life. A Brahmin may be abreast of all
the learning of the west, he may be a graduate of Oxford
or Cambridge, but as a leader of his people he still stands for
child marriage, the enforced celibacy of widows, and all the
superstitions of the ages — a strange paradox, to be sure, and
exceedingly difficult to be patient with, when millions of our
fellow beings now in the clutches of a debasing superstition
might be liberated by the magic influence of so powerful a
priesthood.
V
Some good things may be said about caste. In many cases
it acts like a trade guild or a labor union in our country. It
looks after its own members and prevents suffering and want
in times of scarcity or famine. A man feels he has friends
who can be counted upon. A real solidarity is thus attained,
which tends toward stability and its consequent well-being.
But when all has been said in its favor, the count against
caste is overwhelming. In our time it is the chief obstacle
in the way of Indian nationalism. Not patriotism but loyalty
to caste is the Hindus' supreme obligation. Many Hindus
recognize it and bemoan the condition, but the fact is, believe
in it or not, they all conform. All the reformers of the past
24
WHO IS MY BROTHER? [II-s]
and present have in one way or another planted themselves
against the stream, only to be swept aside by the irresistible
current. With all that can be said against caste, nothing
more unanswerable has ever been charged than this, that it
makes impossible unity and brotherhood among the Indian
peoples. "Who is my brother?" asks a Hindu. "Only those
in mj'^ own caste," comes the inevitable answer. He is
despised by those of higher caste, while he in turn holds all
those below him in like contempt. And when it comes to the
50,000,000 outcastes in India, the poor miserable dregs of the
population, even their touch is polluting. Yes, more than
this, even their shadow falling on the food which has been
prepared, for a high caste man contaminates it so that it must
be thrown out.
The splendid opportunity which the priestly class possessed
was used, it would seem, primarily to increase their own
power and render the people more hopelessly dependent upon
them. The pitiable condition of India today m.ust be laid in
large measure at the door of these misguided leaders. Se-
cure in their own power, they have allowed the people to
remain in abject ignorance. Claiming to be inherently better
than any other class, they have bound even more firmly the
bonds of caste upon the whole land. The rest of the people
have taken their cue from them and are consequently split
and divided up into innumerable exclusive communities,
incapable of united action. The India of today, with its de-
sire after new life and independence, finds the way blocked
by caste. With no true unity, no real sense of brotherhood,
no mutual sympathy, India is paying the price of her age-
long subservience to a proud, priestly class, whose ideal was
not service but self-aggrandizement. The old question, who
is my brother? is clamorously asking to be answered anew,
and not until the answer given is based on the rights of
man as man and on the equality which comes through Jesus
Christ, the Son of man, can India hope to take her place
among the nations which are warring and struggling to make
sure the day of true democracy.
25
III-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. What Brotherhood Is
Give the best definition you can of brotherhood. What
is the most convincing test of brotherhood? How could
a man who understands only a strange language find out
what you meant by brotherhood?
II. Caste and Brotherhood
What led the Indian people in the beginning to form
castes? Were they justified? Do we have castes or a
caste system in this country? Are we justified?
III. The Brahmins and the Cotmnunity
What do the Hindus owe to the Brahmins? Wh'at is the
net result in the whole community of their dominance?
What responsibilities accompany intellectual and moral
power? Have we any Brahmins in our civilization? What
are the distinguishing marks? What steps must we take to
fulfil the American promise of complete intellectual de-
mocracy ?
("A Primer of Hinduism," by J. N. Farquhar, is an ex-
cellent handbook to use in connection with this and the fol-
lowing chapters.)
26
CHAPTER III
LIKE GODS, LIKE PEOPLE
Every religion has its definitions of purity and cleanness.
Physical, ceremonial, moral, and spiritual purity are but dif-
ferent sides of the question, What does it mean to be clean ?
India furnishes answers of all kinds. An outline study of
the meaning of these terms in the Bible will serve not only as
a basis of comparison between Hinduism and our own reli-
gion, but will clarify our minds as to what really is pure and
impure in the life we live and in the people around us.
Daily Readings
First Day : The ideas entertained by the early Hebrews
as to what was clean and unclean were rooted in traditions
extending much farther back than their existence as a separate
people. All peoples in the savage state have very distinct
ideas on the subject. A most useful service was rendered by
these strict prohibitions : they kept alive in men's minds the
fact that there was a distinction between clean and unclean.
The book of Leviticus is the great repository of the cere-
monial laws of the Hebrews. As an illustration of its rules
and regulations read the following :
And Jehovah spake unto Moses and to Aaron, say-
ing unto them, Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying. These are tlie living things which ye may eat
among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatso-
ever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and chew-
eth the cud, among the beasts, that may ye eat. . . .
And the swine, because he parteth the hoof, and is
cloven-footed, but cheweth not the cud, he is unclean-
unto you. Of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their
27
[III-2] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
carcasses ye shall not touch ; they are unclean unto
you. — Lev. 11:1-3, 7, 8.
We eat pork today — why do you think it was excluded
from the diet of the Jew? If you cannot answer the ques-
tion, remember at least one thing, that the Jew felt very
deeply that he would be morally contaminated by eating it.
Second Day : These strict laws resulted in separating the
Hebrew people from their neighbors. They were not allowed
to do what they saw others do.
Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all
mine ordinances, and do them ; that the land, whither
I bring you to dwell therein, vomit you not out. And
ye shall not walk in the customs of the nation, which
I cast out before you : for they did all these things,
and therefore I abhorred them. , . . And ye shall
be holy unto me : for I, Jehovah, am holy, and have
set you apart from the peoples, that ye should be
mine. — Lev. 20 : 22, 23, 26.
Is there any wonder they felt themselves to be a chosen
people, separate and distinct from the nations around them?
"Gentile" and "unclean" became almost synonymous, and the
fact is, they did have in their law and traditions what others
lacked and sorely needed. If the attitude they took was
right, on what basis could it be justified? What did the
distinction between clean and unclean have to do with it?
Third Day : We must not think all the laws on which the
distinction between pure and impure was made were cere-
monial laws. This would be to discredit the legal sections of
the Old Testament and hide their chief glory. A clean man
was one who not only obeyed the restrictions as to food,
touching carcasses, etc., but was morally uncontaminated.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image. . . .
Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God
in vain. . . .
28
LIKE GODS, LIKE PEOPLE [ni-4]
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . .
Honor thy father and thy mother. ...
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness. ...
Thou shalt not covet. — Exodus 20 : 3-17.
Yet the tendency to emphasize the ceremonial over the
moral became a characteristic tendency among the leaders of
the people. To be clean was very frequently to observe the
ceremonial and to neglect the more important moral re-
quirements.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites !
for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have
left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice,
and mercy, and faith : but these ye ought to have
done, and not to have left the other undone. Ye
blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow
the camel ! — Matt. 22, : 23-24.
Fourth Day : In two important respects Jesus introduced
revolutionary ideas into the conception of clean and unclean.
Keeping in mind the regulations from Leviticus in the read-
ing for the First Day, read Jesus' word about the same
thing :
There is nothing from without the man, that going
into him can defile him ; but the things which proceed
out of the man are those that defile the man. . . .
For from within, out of the heart of men, evil
thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adul-
teries, covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness,
an evil eye, railing, pride, foolis-hness : all these evil
things proceed from within, and defile the man. —
Mark 7: 15, 21-23.
If you had been a strict follower of the Levitical code„
what difference would it have made in actual conduct to be-
come a follower of Jesus?
29
[III-5] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Jesus went further than this even. He revolutionized our
whole idea of what morality itself is. A clean man is not
only one whose outward acts are above reproach, but one
whose thoughts and motives are pure.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites !
for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which out-
wardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of
dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so
ye also outwardly appear righteeous unto men, but
inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. —
Matt. 23 : 27, 28.
Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see
God. . . .
Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time,
Thou shalt not kill ; and whosoever shall kill shall be
in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, that
every one who is angry with his brother shall be in
danger of the judgment. . . .
Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not com-
mit adultery : but I say unto you, that every one that
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart. — Matt. 5 : 8,
21, 22, 27, 28.
Could anything be more scathing or searching? What now
is your definition of purity?
Fifth Day: Jesus was altogether consistent in his attitude.
No man was unclean in his estimation because of any out-
ward circumstances whatsoever. The ceremonial was en-
tirely subordinated to the moral. "Blessed are the pure in
heart," are his words. The Pharisee in proud disdain mar-
velled at the company he kept.
And it came to pass, that he was sitting at meat
in his house, and many publicans and sinners sat
down with Jesus and his disciples : for there were
many, and they followed him. And the scribes of
the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with
the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples,
30
LIKE GODS, LIKE PEOPLE [III-6]
How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans
and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he saith
unto them, They that are whole have no need of a
physician, but they that are sick : I came not to call
the righteous, but sinners. — Mark- 2: 15-17.
In everything formal and external these classes were far
inferior to Jesus' critics. What indication does this give us
of the standard of Jesus' estimate of men?
Sixth Day : Jesus' conception was so exalted that it was
not easy to learn. Peter had an experience which opened his
eyes to the wonder of the new teaching about cleanness and
uncleanness. Recalling the story of Peter's vision, we can
hear him saying,
I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance
I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending, as it were
a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners ;
and it came even unto me : upon which when I had
fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw the four-
footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creep-
ing things and birds of the heaven. And I heard also
a voice saying unto me, Rise, Peter ; kill and eat.
But I said, Not so. Lord : for nothing common or
unclean hath ever entered into my mouth. But a
voice answered the second time out of heaven. What
God hath cleansed, make not thou common. — Acts
11:5-9.
The account states that when Peter went to Caesarea his
first words were, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no
respecter of persons : but in every nation he that feareth him,
and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him." (Acts
10:34-35.)
Seventh Day: Paul tells us he learned what sin was by
that commandment which said, "Thou shalt not covet" (see
Rom. 7: 7-11). It was the only commandment which was
a prohibition of an inner desire ; all the others had to do with
31
[III-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
conduct, with outward acts. He found those not difficult to
obey, but he went to pieces at this point — he could not con-
trol his desires. He never forgot the lesson that cleanness
is first a matter of the inner life and that all else is secondary.
But food will not commend us to God : neither, if
we eat not, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we
the better.— I Cor. 8 : 8.
I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that
nothing is unclean of itself : save that to him who
accounteth anj^thing to be unclean, to him it is un-
clean.— Rom. 14: 14.
To the pure all things are pure : but to them that
are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure ; but both
their mind and their conscience are defiled. — Titus
1:15.
Remember in thinking about these verses that Paul was
-most scrupulous about his conduct ; what he is emphasiz-
ing is that nothing which God has made is impure in itself.
All uncleanness is man-made and comes from the abuse of
what God made pure and good.
Study for the Week
The statement was made in the last study that orthodoxy
in Hinduism is conformity to caste regulations, and that be-
yond this anything might go. This is very far, however,
from saying that a Hindu is indifferent to questions of belief
and worship. He takes these things very seriously and
looks upon them as indispensable. The strange thing is, there
is every kind of belief and every kind of worship. Nothing
is too extravagant or outlandish to be included in the theology
and ritual and even the ethical code of Hinduism. There is
no limit to its powers of assimilation. The one reason why
Jesus Christ is not enumerated among the gods of Hinduism
is that there is something in Christ Himself which seems in-
evitably to defy such an appropriation. The attitude toward
32
LIKE GODS, LIKE PEOPLE [III-s]
Jesus Christ which the Hindu objects to most strenuously
and cannot understand is that expressed by Peter to the
rulers of the Jews, when he said, "And in none other is there
salvation : for neither is there any other name under heaven,
that is given among men, wherein we must be saved" (Acts
4: 12).
Hinduism is so broad that almost any way of salvation
will do. So long as the man is devoted to his gods, it makes
little difference what kind of gods they are. And in Hindu-
ism we have every kind, representing every degree of moral
attainment and even moral failure. The individual Hindu may
view all the gods and all the methods of worship in the land
as legitimate, yet at the same time he has his own particular
gods and ceremonies to which he devotes his attention. In
general a man believes what has been handed down to him,
and here the traditions of his family are most influential.
II
Looking over Hinduism broadly today the people are seen
to be adherents of one or the other of two great sects, the
worshipers of Siva and the worshipers of Vishnu.
The worship of Siva is found principally in the South of
India. The Sivites, as they are called, worship not only the
great and terrible Siva himself, but his wives, among whom
the best known are probably Kali and Durga. Ganesa, the
son of Siva, the elephant-headed god of wisdom, is very
widely revered and worshiped. Where Siva himself is wor-
shiped, no images or idols are to be found, the ever present
phallus, the emblem of the sect, being the chief symbol and
object of worship. Kali is represented in her temples as a
devilish woman hungry for blood, with her tongue hanging
over her breast and with her feet planted on the body of her
husband, whom she has just killed. She holds the head of
her dead spouse in one of her numerous hands, and is
rendered the more repulsive by a necklace of skulls and a
hideous face. Kali is the only prominent divinity of India
who demands bloody sacrifices. At regular periods her
33
[III-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
tongue is spattered with the blood of calves and goats to
appease her thirst for blood.
Siva and his wives represent in part the stern, cruel, de-
structive forces in the world. Why anyone should be led
to worship such deities is hard for us to understand. It can-
not be doubted, however, that in each of us there are ele-
ments of the tragic, and that the dreadful has a strange
fascination for us. Had we been brought up where the cruel
forces of nature seemed to be able to vent themselves against
us, then might we not hope to be better of? if we offered them
worship and devotion? It would not fill us with hope and
joy, but it might seem the only thing we could do. At any
rate, whatever may be the explanation, millions of our fellow
beings are doing just this thing. What effect can worship
of such gods have upon these whose horizon has no place
for nobler, truer conceptions of divinity? To say the least,
there can be little to lift life out of its dreary fears and set
it on its way rejoicing in joy and peace.
Ill
The worshipers of Vishnu are to be found principally in
the North. Vishnu is worshiped not so much in his own per-
son as in that of his various incarnations. The most famous
of these are Rama and Krishna, the latter being worshiped
in all probability more than any other of the gods of India.
The idea of incarnation has just been mentioned. Not found
in the worship of Siva, it is one of the leading conceptions
among the Vaishnavas, as the worshipers of Vishnu are
called. Krishna is Vishnu in the flesh, to borrow a Christian
term. He was a man and lived a human life like Jesus, yet
how unlike Jesus ! Whatever good might come from the
clear revelation of a god in human form, it is vitiated by
the career and character of Krishna himself. The story of
the human-divine warrior in the great epic, the Mahabarata.
and elsewhere pictures him as falling in love with an end-
less succession of shepherd maidens and begetting children
by the thousands. No purity, no high ideals of home life,
34
LIKE GODS, LIKE PEOPLE [III-s]
no conception of an ennobling relation between men and
women mark his earthly life. What must be the thoughts
suggested to the minds of those who read the ancient poem
and worship at his shrine?
A further factor must be taken into consideration. The
new element in worship is called Bhakti, which means devo-
tion to the god, a kind of faith or trust in Krishna. A wor-
shiper is not compelled to consider himself as estranged
from an angry, far-away deity. He may pour out his soul
to his god. in adoration and devotion, and feel sure there is
a response. All this is a movement in the right direction,
just as is true with the idea of incarnation. The trouble with
the whole thing is that the god who is worshiped and
to whom men are asked to devote themselves is unworthy
of the best, even in man himself. And when it is realized
that men tend to become like the objects of their worship,
the seriousness of the situation in India is apparent.
Together with Siva and Vishnu, and forming a kind of
trinity, is the figure of Brahma. He is looked upon as an
exalted, personal creator, a kind of necessary background
to all things. He has one temple, and little worship is
directed to him, but he is there as a conception, a necessity
to the Hindu mind as it looks out into the great unknown.
The significant question is, how do the Hindus really look
on their gods? Here we get very far down into the depths
of the Hindu soul. He has never been able to get away
from the haunting suggestion that the gods are not the
most important thing after all. This tendency has ex-
pressed itself in various ways. The people tend to neglect
the gods even while they worship them. They have raised
the priesthood and sacrifices and prayer, the various elements
of worship, to a place of such importance that these have
seemed in reality more necessary than the gods themselves.
It does not make so much difference what god is worshiped,
provided it is done correctly! Could anything be stranger?
But India is strange, so we must not be surprised at any-
thing.
35
[III-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
IV
This same feeling that there is something back of the
gods and more important than they has another and even
more significant expression. Away back in the beginnings
in the Rigveda many gods are mentioned and praised. To
read any one of these hymns, to Agni say or Varuna, one
might conclude that it was written by a monotheist, that this
one god filled his horizon and was the sole object of his
adoration. But to our amazement the same attitude is as-
sumed toward another and still another of these mighty
beings. This attitude, however, seems to have been only a
stepping-stone. The Hindu could not remain long at this
halfway house. Before long these various gods were looked
upon as manifestations of some being or power back of them
all. The Hindu was reaching out after a unity, and the
wonderful thing is, he found it. Over and above and in all
things, constituting and comprehending them all, was Brahma,
or Brahman, You say this is pantheism, and so it is, the most
extreme form of that doctrine ever held by any large group
of men. Of course it was elaborated by the learned Brahmin
at the top, but in no country has a philosophical theory pene-
trated so deeply the whole life of a people as in India.
Whether they realize it or not, the people of India are bound
by the fatalism and pessimism of the doctrine of their lead-
ers. The sense of the unreality of what is seen by the eye
and felt by the hand is abroad in the land — a kind of world-
weariness ; a far-away, wistful look is in the eye, as though
men would escape from the bondage of the physical and ma-
terial and fly away to their real home in the unseen beyond,
Brahma is all the reality there is. Nothing else exists at all,
not one single thing. Then how does it come that we our-
selves seem to be real beings, and that trees and houses exist?
All this is Maya,- illusion. We are completely mistaken,
sadly misguided by our senses. It comes about then that the
great object in life is to get rid of this illusion, to realize
that nothing exists except Brahma. We are to carry this con-
36
LIKE GODS, LIKE PEOPLE [III-s]
ception to the extreme limit, until we can enter fully into the
meaning of the thought that we are Brahma and that Brahma
is ourselves, and that there is nothing else in the universe.
This has led to the practice of meditation and all kinds of
austerities to induce a kind of self-hypnosis, all with the aim
of ending the illusion and losing ourselves in Brahma.
The outlook is hopeless. About all we can expect in this
life or stage of existence is to make a little progress. What
we have to look forward to is an almost endless series of
transmigrations, during the weary course of which we shall
be born into other forms, some higher, but alas ! some per-
haps far lower. All this is determined by the action of
Karma, the law by which we inevitably reap the fruit of our
present actions in the next life, and so on until — what? Until
in the end our illusion is completely dissipated and we ar-
rive at our goal — but such a goal ! It is to drop back into
the nothingness of Brahma out of which we came. As a
matter of fact, all Hindus, whatever else they may hold, be-
lieve in transmigration and in the effects of the law of
Karma. This theory hangs like a pall over the fair land of
India. There is scarcely the slightest flicker of hope; ac-
tivity and endeavor are frustrated by the fatal working of
Karma, and there can be little or no development of per-
sonality. How could there be, when personality is denied in
the Brahma into which we sink back, when our misspent
existence finishes its miserable tale?
All the significant acts in the life of a Hindu are con-
nected with religion. There are certain domestic ceremonies,
the observance of which "is absolutely binding on every
man who wishes to remain a Hindu." There is the cere-
mony of "name-giving" and that of "food-giving" in baby-
hood, which are usually observed together. The ceremony
of initiation is highly important. It is a boy's mtroduction to
his religious training. Sacred texts are muttered over him
2>7
[ITI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
by a Brahmin priest and he is invested with the sacred
thread, which is placed over his shoulder. He is born into
a new life, hence all those really belonging to the Hindu
community are known as the "twice-born." The last essential
ceremony for the young man is marriage, which becomes
doubly significant in view of the stringency of caste rules.
Even to the end of his life he feels bound by caste regula-
tions.
Then there is ancestor worship. The bodies of the dead
are burned in India, the ceremony being carried out by low
caste men, because everything connected with death is inaus-
picious and even polluting. For ten days funeral ceremonies
are conducted, the most characteristic feature of which being
the offering of a ball of cooked rice to the spirit of the de-
parted. On the eleventh day an elaborate ceremony is ob-
served. For the first year this ceremony is repeated each
month, and after that time the ceremonies become annual
affairs.
The worship of the gods takes many forms. As Mr.
Farquhar classifies them, we have "(i) Daily prayers, con-
nected with bathing and teeth-cleaning, and daily sacrifices.
. . . (2) The daily worship of the household gods. . . .
(3) The recurrent festivals, fasts, and holydays. . . . (4)
The worship of the temple. This takes a large place in the
lives of all Hindus except modern educated men, who very
seldom go near a temple at 511, at least in the North."
The religious life is stimulated by the great festivals or
in das, held periodically at well known centers, like Puri and
Benares and Allahabad. Here the people gather in thousands,
some traveling long distances in their religious devotion.
They are frequently attended by devotees, who in fulfilment
of a vow have measured the whole distance in the dust and
dirt with their bodies. Here also are to be found the "holy
men" of India, the fakirs, who by various forms of self-
torture are seeking to please their divinities — that is, when
they are sincere, for among them are many who are true
fakirs in the American county- fair sense, seeking to win
38
LIKE GODS, LIKE PEOPLE [III-s]
shekels by a show of devotion and suffering. Great crowds
gather at Benares and there in the holiest city of India bathe
in the sacred waters of the Ganges. Cleansing is what they
want, but how can cleansing be found in dirty offal-laden
water?
All these popular manifestations of religion are looked at
askance and even with scorn by the educated, cultured Hindu.
He considers them childish and meaningless. He pities the
poor, benighted crowd which gives itself to this form of re-
ligious expression. Yet with all this he is a Hindu. He
observes caste rules and is enamored of the wonderful past
of his country and its religious literature. He claims to be
in the true line of succession with the sages of old, only he
has risen to the place where gross manifestations, such as the
crowd takes delight in, mean nothing to him. He pities them
all and will have nothing to do with their worship. Yet he
considers himself a member of the same community and is
extremely sensitive to any movement away from the ancient
landmarks.
VI
And is this all, even in outline? By no means. "With the
exception of the cultured few, the whole people live in terror
of evil spirits." They are hemmed in by superstitious fears
on every side. How disconcerting it is to read, after our dis-
cussion of the beliefs and worships of India, that ninety-five
per cent of the Hindus are demon worshipers 1 Of course
this is alongside the worship of the other divinities, but what
confusion! There is nothing these people, particularly the
simpler people in the villages, do not worship, literally
nothing. They are ignorant and full of fear, they turn to all
the gods and spirits they hear about. The pathos of their
condition stirs the heart. India is god-intoxicated or god-
hungry, which? The masses of the Hindus are in deplor-
able ignorance, and subject to all kinds of superstitious fears.
Does it not indicate a lack of fundamental strength in the
Hindu system when after thousands of years such failures
39
[III-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
mark its path? Something might be said if real improve-
ment could be discovered. The contrary is the case — never
was Hinduism less able than today to accomplish moral and
spiritual regeneration among the people of India.
VII
One of the best evidences of the statement just made is
the prevalent religious unrest in India today, and various at-
tempts are being made to render Hinduism fit to meet the
changing conditions of the new age. More than a score
of recent attempts have been made to put life into the decrepit
body of Hinduism. There are reactionary movenients seek-
ing by devotion and enthusiasm to make the old forms pulse
with life again. One of the most significant of these is that
led by Mrs. Besant, an Englishwoman who lives in Benares
and has founded the Central Hindu College, where Hinduism
is taught and extolled in its entirety. Mrs. Besant does not
stop at anything. She accepts all there is in Hinduism, and
seeks to show that every element, lofty and degrading, is a
real element of an ideal religion. Discredited though she may
be in the estimation of many, she has a great hold. Hindus
are flattered by such praise as this brilliant woman pours on
all things Indian, and look on her as a defender of their faith.
But the modern spirit and modern ideas cannot be kept
out, and we find movements, like that of the Arya Samaj,
which are passionately loyal to Hinduism but seek to intro-
duce reforms. Child marriage is prohibited and under cer-
tain conditions widows are allowed to remarry. But with
these good regulations are to be found others most repulsive
to our moral sense. Thus to a bitter hatred of Christianity
is added a smattering of reform, which does not go to the
fundamental defects of the Hindu system at all. But the
Samaj has grown and the latest figures give a membership
of 243,000.
From one viewpoint then we see the ancient faiths mak-
ing the strongest efforts to retain their old position of
40
LIKE GODS, LIKE PEOPLE [III-s]
dominance over the life of India. "But there is another
aspect of the situation which requires to be clearly realized.
The triumphant revival of the old religions, with their grow-
ing bodyguard of defence organizations, has been accompanied
by continuous and steadily increasing inner decay."
The Hindu mind has also tried to find some half-way stop-
ping place between Hinduism and Christianity, The most not-
able attempt in this direction is the Brahmo Samaj. Founded
nearly a century ago by a remarkable Hindu, named Ram
Mohan Roy, it has attracted the allegiance of a small but
influential group of cultured men, and is still a force in India.
To this group belongs the well-known Bengali poet and
lecturer, Rabindranath Tagore, wl^ose recent visit to this
country attracted so much attention. Influenced far more
by the Christian spirit than in many cases they are aware,,
these men have discarded all the crude and idolatrous feat-
ures of Hinduism and seek to exemplify the best ethical
principles of Jesus and other great religious leaders. But
halfway houses in religious history have always been built
to accommodate too few people, and the Brahmo Samaj, with
its little handful of members, is a striking illustration of the
futility of attempting to mix Christianity with what is alien
to its genius and in the end to make a convincing appeal to
the human heart.
The air is full of expectancy. India has already been deeply
moved by Christianity. With all the many movements and
counter-movements, one thing we may be sure of— India will
remain intensely religious. The old forms still have tre-
mendous hold, but India is asking questions, arid this shows
she is not content. Have we anything which will help her to
a solution more satisfying? What is it?
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. Ceremonial and Moral Cleanness
Can a man be clean outwardly and not inwardly? Now.
turn it around, can a man be clean inwardly and not out-
4?
IIII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
wardly? But what about life in the trenches? State as
nearly as possible the ideal relation between outward and
inward cleanness.
II. Gods and Their Worship
Distinguish between the worship of Siva and that of
Vishnu. Which is the higher form of worship? Why?
What would prevent either form from being compared
favorably with Christianity?
III. Philosophy and Life
What is there about the prevailing philosophy in India
which fosters a pessimistic outlook on life? H9W general
is this pessimism? What kind of a philosophy or theory
of life is needed to give moral energy and a joyful opti-
mism to these people? Where can such an outlook on life
be found?
IV. The Changing Situation
What has changed the situation in India so that men are
no longer quite satisfied with the old theories? What is
being done by the Hindus to meet the situation? Have
these attempts the promise of success in them? Give rea-
sons for your answer.
42
CHAPTER IV
VANITY OF VANITIES, ALL IS VANITY
Buddhism is the subject of study for this and the next
week. For a Buddhist, "all the constituents of life are mis-
ery," to use a phrase taken from the sacred literature. Life,
then, is not worth living. What is the Christian attitude
toward life? What is its meaning? What makes it worth
living? These and other questions are bound to arise in
contrast to the negations of Buddhism. What backing have
we in our Scriptures for a hopeful, optimistic view of life?
Daily Readings
First Day : The book of Ecclesiastes has, iii a number of
its features, the ring of Buddhism. A surfeit of pleasures
has resulted in disgust. Life seems meaningless and full of
vanity. This is so much like the attitude of the typical Bud-
dhist Sutta (a collection of wise sayings) that it may be well
for us to start just there.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of
vanities, all is vanity. What profit hath man of all
his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun? . . .
All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it:
the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled
with hearing. — Eccl. 1:2, 3, 8.
A "world weariness" had seized this man and nothing
seemed bright or cheerful. Not even is there any hope in
the future. Life is simply not worth living. But for us there
is something else, and that is to ask how a man could manage
to get into such a fix.
Second Day: We must try to find out the cause of such
deep-dyed pessimism. We have not far to go. In the chapter
43
lIV-3] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
immediately following ample cause is given, enough to drive
the stoutest heart into a cynical, blase attitude toward every-
thing.
I was great, and increased more than all that were
before me in Jerusalem : also my wisdom remained
with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept
not from them ; I withheld not my heart from any
joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor;
and this was my portion from all my labor. Then I
looked on all the works that my hands had wrought,
and on the labor that I had labored to do ; and, be-
hold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and
there was no profit under the sun. — Eccl. 2:9-11.
No wonder he was glutted with pleasure. "And whatso-
ever mine eyes desired I kept not from them ; I withheld.not
my heart from any joy" (v. 10). We need go no further;
here is all the explanation we need. Run over in your mind
the names of any who are more or less like this man. How
can you account for it? With what kind of a life do cynicism
and pessimism go? Has selfishness any connection with it?
Third Day: But what shall we say of life? How can we
be true to all the facts? What must our attitude be in view
of all the ugly and evil things, as well as of the fine, encour-
aging things around us everywhere? The first chapter of
Genesis may give us a lift. Seven times it is said that what
God created was good. It is a universe with goodness at
the heart of it.
And God saw everything that he had made, and,
behold, it was very good. — Gen. i : 31.
W^hen all was complete and God had looked at it, "behold,
it was very good." In this word-picture of a great poet, life
and all the activities involved in living are altogether worth
while. Is there any reason today to change that verdict?
Fourth Day : How are we to preserve an attitude of hope-
fulness and good cheer? Following the path of natural in-
44
VANITY OF VANITIES [IV-5]
cHnatioii without restraint will bring anyone out just where
the "Preacher" in Ecclesiastes found himself. Paul knew
that and paints a picture of the contest of the two natures
within man most vividly.
I find then the law, that, to me who would do good,
evil is present. For I delight in the law of God after
the inward man : but I see a different law in my mem-
bers, warring against the law of my mind, and bring-
ing me into captivity under the law of sin which is
in my members. Wretched man that I am ! who shall
deliver me out of the body of this death? — Rom.
7:21-24.
There is no other way out of it, we must take sides in this
conflict. If there were no hope of victory, there would be
good grounds for discouragement.
Paul found, however, that he was not to remain a slave.
He knew what victory meant and lived with the assurance
that all things work together for good to them that love God.
(Rom. 8 : 28). Recall his classic statement of this great optim-
istic truth.
For they that are after the flesh mind the things of
the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things
of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death ; but
the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. . . . But
if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the
dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus
from the dead shall give life also to your mortal
bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you. —
Rom. 8:5, 6, II.
Fifth Day: The human body, which is to the Buddhist
an object of loathing, is honored greatly in Christianity.
A sane view is taken of all bodily functions. In one discus-
sion of the diversity of spiritual gifts, Paul uses the human
body as an illustration of his meaning. He thus indirectly
testifies to the honor to be given the body by followers of
Jesus Christ. ^
45
[IV-6] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
But now hath God set the members each one of
them in the body, even as it pleased him. And if they
were all one member, where were the body? But
now they are many members, but one body. And the
eye cannot say to the hand. I have no need of thee:
or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
. . . And whether one member suffereth, all the
members suffer with it ; or one member is honored,
all the members rejoice with it. — I Cor. 12: 18-21, 26.
The highest honor of all is that our bodies are looked upon
as templfes, that is, sacred and inviolable. After speaking of
the base uses of the body which are to be shunned, Paul
makes this statement :
Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from
God? and ye are not your own; for ye were bought
with a price : glorify God therefore in your body. —
I Cor. 6: 19, 20.
Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man de-
stroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy;
for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye. —
I Cor. 3 : 16, 17.
Sixth Day: Family life, the relationship between husband
and wife, which a Buddhist must repudiate to make any per-
ceptible progress in religion, is most sacred and holy in Chris-
tianity. In the epistle to the Ephesians Paul uses this rela-
tion as analogous to that existing between Christ and his
Church. Could any higher honor be imagined?
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also
loved the church, and gave himself up for it; that he
might sanctify it, having cleansed 'it by the washing
of water with the word, that he might present the
church to himself a glorious church, not having spot
or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be
Jioly and without blemish. — Eph. 5 : 25-27.
46
VANITY OF VANITIES [IV-7]
Christianity has emancipated woman by placing her on
an equaHty with her husband in the life of the family. This
one result, produced wherever Jesus Christ is honored, has
b^en the most wholesome single social product of Christian-
ity. It has made possible the building up of a unique insti-
tution, the home, which is known only where the influence of
our religion has reached.
Seventh Day : Life is very different because Jesus Christ
lived. He became one like us. His daily life was in no
sense ascetic. He lived a normal life among men, and sym-
pathized with them in all their joys and sorrows. He worked
hard in the carpenter shop as a young man. His life of public
service was most strenuous, but in it all He shows a zest for
living. He loved childhood and its innocence. He was never
too busy to give some attention to children.
And they were bringing unto him little children,
that he should touch them : and the disciples rebuked
them. But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with in-
dignation, and said unto them. Suffer the little chil-
dren to come unto me ; forbid them not : for to such
belongeth the kingdom of God. , . . And he took
them in his arms, and blessed them, laying his hands
upon them. — Mark 10:13, I4> 16.
His whole healing ministry and His feeding of hungry
people are windows into Jesus' soul, showing the sympathy
He had with men and women and their joys and sorrows. The
picture we get of His attendance at the marriage at Cana puts
the seal of His approval upon the merrymaking of a wedding
feast.
We sum up Jesus' whole attitude by those words of His
recorded by John, "I came that they may have life, and may
have it abundantly" (John 10: 10).
Study for the Week
I
It is a far cry from Japan to India, but the entire distance
47
[IV-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
between these lands is covered by the religion known as Budd-
hism. Korea, China, Tibet, Manchuria, and Mongolia hear
the sound of the yellow-robed monks as they beg their bread
and drone out their prayers at the stated periods each day.
To the south of the great barrier of mountain and jungle
which separates these northern peoples from those of
Southern Asia, Buddhism is also to be found. The form is
somewhat different, but the faith of the great Buddha is the
established religion. Beginning with French Indo-China,
Siam and Burma reach entirely across the most eastern of
the three peninsulas which Asia sends out into the southern
ocean, and here the tinkling of the temple bells is always
heard and the graceful pagodas greet the eye at every turn.
One other land must be mentioned to complete the circuit
and that is the entrancing island of Ceylon, far. to the south,
where the whole history of the people is little more than the
history of Buddhism on the island, and where today the
religion is to be found in as pure a form as in any Buddhist
land.
But what about India? That is the great surprise. The
land of the Buddha himself, where he lived and taught and
died, the sacred land to which pilgrimages are still devoutly
made, has no followers of the Buddha ! All these statements
are true ; yet Buddhism as a religion in India is dead. It is
gone, gone we may believe never to return, swallowed by
the Hinduism which once it seemed almost on the point of
driving out of the country.
II
With all the differences and contradictions between Budd-
hist sects and Buddhism in different countries, the beginning
of the whole movement is in the life and character of a man
who lived in North India in the latter part of the sixth and
the earlier years of the fifth century B, C. Gautama Buddha
was the son of a petty prifice of an Aryan tribe, dwelling
under the shadows of the great Himalaya range. Very little
is known of his life until he was about twenty-nine years old.
VANITY OF VANITIES [IV-s]
There is much legendary material, but few facts to mark the
years of early manhood. He grew up like most young men
similarly situated, is reputed to have been brave and strong
and to have excelled in manly sports. He was married and
became the proud father of a son.
One tradition, if any truth can be placed in it at all, shows
him to have been of a thoughtful, meditative cast of mind,
but this was nothing uncommon in the India of that day.
He is said to have seen in turn an old decrepit man, a man
lying by the roadside ill and covered with loathsome sores, a
corpse already some time dead and decayed, and last of all a
mendicant monk. All these intensified his growing conviction
that human life was full of woe, that no good thing could be
counted on to last, and that the best thing to do was to
desert the world and become a religious wanderer. At any
rate, when he was about twenty-nine years of age, he tore
himself loose from his home and became a mendicant, ex-
changing his princely robes for the rags of a penniless way-
farer. The birth of his son seemed to have been a last straw
for young Gautama, his heart being so strongly drawn out
to the little fellow that he felt he must make the "great re-
nunciation" now or never be able to make it at all.
In all this Gautama was a typical Hindu. There would
have been no Buddhism had this step been all. Whenever
a man in India felt the tug of the unseen in his soul, the only
thing he thought of doing was just what this young man
did — leave his home, renounce all relationships, and become
a wanderer or a solitary hermit. For five or six years he
lived this life, at first going from teacher to teacher, recluses
like himself, to find peace and satisfaction for his soul. None
was able to lead him out into freedom and einlightenment. He
then gave himself to a most extravagant asceticism. So far
did he carry his penances that he became the center of a little
group which naturally offered him the palm of excellence.
He became so emaciated that nothing seemed left but skin
and bones. He all but robbed himself of life itself. When he
fell over in a swoon, his band of faithful followers thought
49
[IV-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
him dead and wondered at the fortitude which they could not
attain.
When finally he recovered consciousness, a great convic-
tion was born in his mind, that no satisfaction could be had
by any amount of self-mortification. Had he not tried it,
and gone to the farthest bound in his experiment? And was
he not quite as far from the goal of his desires as he was
when he began? He had left his home because his heart
craved what could not be secured there ; he now renounced
asceticism as being quite as futile. His decision so disgusted
his erstwhile admirers that they turned their back on him
with scorn. He had surrendered to a lower ideal, they
thought. They little knew then what was surging through
the mind of their hero of a few days before.
In turning away from asceticism, Gautama declared that
he would travel the "middle path" between luxury on one
side and asceticism on the other. Neither of these had given
him satisfaction, so he would eschew both. This was surely
wholesome. He believed that a man ought to live a normal
life, keeping his body in good trim, and living as long as
possible a healthy, robust life. Had he only carried this
theory into all the relationships of life, incalculable good
would have come to the millions of Asia. But he stopped
short, and by the institution of an order of monks condemned
multitudes of eager religious souls to a life of mendicancy
and unproductivity, and by insisting on celibacy for all earn-
est minded seekers after religion struck a severe blow at the
home and the position of woman in it.
Gautama had settled conclusively several very important
things, but they were purely negative. His empty soul was
still craving an answer to its questioning, and he must persist
until he find it. He was plunged into a dreadful mental and
moral conflict, which is described most vividly and realistic-
ally in Buddhist literature. He was torn by the suggestion
to give it all up and go back to his home and its joys and
responsibilities. Troops of demons sought to seduce him,
but he remained 'steadfast. He had started out to find his
50
VANITY OF VANITIES [IV-s]
heart's desire and he would allow nothing to stand in his
way.
One morning he sat down under the now famous and sacred
Bo tree, or tree of wisdom, to eat the meal which had been
given him by a villager's daughter. Here he remained all
day ; here he had the last battle with his lower nature ; and
as the day sank to rest his victory was won. Doubts which
had assailed him so long now departed, and their place was
taken by the peace for which he had thirsted these many
years. He had now become the Buddha, which means the
"Enlightened." He had grasped the meaning of life and
its sorrow, and could cure it !
Any one who could do that would surely have a gospel to
which men and women would respond. What was his secret ;
what his cuje? On what did his peace rest? The Buddha's
discovery was that rest and peace could be had by self-
mastery, by the suppression of our desires. This is to be
brought about by self-discipline and self-control. He had
already proved that no benefit was to be derived from pen-
ances and vigils, and he had turned away from the teachers
of his time with a feeling of their utter inadequacy. And
now, with sublime self-confidence and assurance, he pro-
pounds a new means of salvation. It is to be attained solely
by one's own efforts ; it is literally .y^//-conquest. We shall
see a little later the completeness of his sweep, how thorough-
going his assertion that with not a particle of help from the
outside each man for himself was to work out his "own sal-
vation with fear and trembling." Would that he might have
added with Paul, "For it is God who worketh in you both to
will and to work, for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12, 13);
but of course that would not be Buddhism. The Buddha's
word was "Each man is his own helper ; there is none other
to help him."
There was another side to his victory under the Bo tree.
When the new truth had - dawned upon him the temptation
came to go off alone, and in solitude bask in the sunlight of
his new attainment. This temptation he repudiated and went
51
[IV-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
at once to Benares and was able to win back the five disciples
who had abandoned him a short time before. He declared
his purpose to "turn the wheel of the excellent law," that is,
"to set rolling the royal chariot-wheel of a universal empire
of truth and righteousness."
Gautama the Buddha was now about thirty-five years old.
Beginning at once his travels, he spent the next forty-five
years journeying back and forth in Northern India proclaim-
ing his message and winning converts on every side. During
the wet season he and his disciples would remain in one place,
he giving instruction, answering questions, and expounding
more fully his theory of life. As soon as the dry season came
he was afoot again in his work of love and sympathy, cease-
lessly carrying his message to great and small, and exemplify-
ing his teaching in his own life and practice. He continued
his instruction until the very end, reiterating the essential
points of his system with great care and elaborateness.
Then passed out of the world one of the purest and noblest
of the sons of men. Few can compare with him, only one or
two can surpass him. All honor to one who lived so purely
and bravely and left so fragrant a memory for all future gen-
erations !
HI
The life of Gautama Buddha was singularly simple and his
character without dissimulation and guile. His teaching, how-
ever, was subtle and intricate. Not that there were not simple
aphorisms and moral rules which the humblest layman could
understand, but that the slightest movernent toward an under-
standing of his doctrine involves one in the closest philo-
sophical and psychological thinking. We must try to under-
stand what are called the "Three Fundamental Signs." The
first one of these truths or "Signs" may be stated in the lan-
guage of the sacred literature, "All the constituents of life
are impermanent," which means that everything in the uni-
verse i^ changing. There is nothing stable ; all is in flux. This
sounds very much like our theory of evolution or "the
52
VANITY OF VANITIES [IV-s]
philosophy of change" of the French philosopher, Henri
Bergson, and it is like it. This is one of the remarkable
things about early Buddhism, that it seems in many features
so closely in accord with modern thought.
Now, the Buddha carried this theory of change to the
farthest bounds. Nothing was to be excluded, absolutely
nothing. He did not go to the length of saying there were
no gods, but what if there were? The gods are bound fast
to the wheel of change as much as any other beings. They are
gods now, but they might become less than a human being —
a crawling snake or a maggot — in their transmigrations. So
man was left entirely to his own resources. With no god
above there could be no prayer and worship, and this is the
fact in this strange religion. The best that man can do is to
study himself and, learning from the examples of others,
start out on the path of attainment as best he may. It is a
cheerless, hopeless path, we say, and Buddhists have said so
too. The theories of the Buddha are too high for men and
women out in the world amid the trials and difficulties of life.
There are few Buddhists today who hold to what the
Buddha taught. The reason is easy to find. He was attempt-
ing to do the impossible. That fundamental craving of all
men for a god to love and worship, for one whom they can
trust, to whom they can pray, and who loves them, cannot
be eradicated. Even in Burma and Ceylon, where the doc-
trine has remained purer than in the north, the cult of the
Buddha and his relics is to be found in full bloom every-
where. The Buddha who repudiated all gods and any sense
of dependence on them is worshiped and addressed in prayer
himself! Could there be any stronger testimony to the impos-
sibility of imposing a system which runs counter to this crav-
ing of the human heart after God?
IV
The second of the "Signs" is stated thus, "All the con-
stituents of life are full of misery." This sounds like pes-
53
[IV-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
simism run mad. To live is to be unhappy. This is literally
what the Buddha meant. His study of human nature led
the Buddha to see that life is dominated by desire. Men
want things; it is this that makes life go. But this same desire
or thirst is the very thing which makes men miserable. Eaten
up by this craving for more, whatever it may be — pleasure,
gain, honor, length of days — man is made the more discon-
tented by the very desire he feeds upon. Is not this just as
true today and among ourselves as in India so long ago? No
wonder the Buddha is looked upon as one of the greatest
psychologists the world has ever known.
So far was this attitude carried that nothing in life seemed
worth while ; it was all a vain show. The monks were taught
to look with loathing on the human body, to consider one
after another all the nauseating things which could be
enumerated about it, the idea being to inculcate disgust and
a real desire to get away from it and what it stood for. Here
is a quotation taken from one of the sacred books — there are
many others.
"This body is a nest of loathly sores ;
A dank and slippery skin doth wrap it round;
And from a thousand thousand oozing pores
It sendeth out its stenches, like an open wound."
Buddhism has always had a low idea of woman, She is a
kind of stumbling block to man. He can never proceed far
in the way of attainment in her company. In his depreciation
of life Buddha put a ban on marriage and held that it was
entirely foreign to spiritual attainment. One of the old writ-
ings contains this stanza : •
"With handmaidens and jewels rare,
Of womankind surpassing fair,
Our little boy upon her arm.
My wife came, seeking me.
54
VANITY OF VANITIES [IV-s]
But I, of evil lures aware,
Beheld in her a subtle snare,
Designed to do me deadly harm,
Disguised by Mara's treachery !
Such bonds have lost their hold on me,
They chain him not whose mind is free."
Clinging to life is what brings misery. Then let go, cease
desiring, and all will be well. This is to be accomplished by
following what was called the Noble Eightfold Path — right
belief, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right live-
lihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right contemplation.
Those who had passed through all these stages were called
Arhats.
This "path" was far better than any men knew of in India
at that time. There was attached to the system an abound-
ing love of men. The Buddha exemplified it, and his early
followers were ardent missionaries. They felt they had made
a discovery and that they owed it to men far and near to
proclaim it. And again, their great Teacher had been very
insistent on the acceptance of a rigorous moral code. All
who called themselves Buddhists were to obey five precepts —
not to destroy life, not to steal, not to tell lies, not to drink
intoxicating liquors, and not to be unchaste. These sound
something like our Ten Commandments. They were most
wholesome and have been like a sheet-anchor to the Buddhist
community.
So then, while the attitude toward life was primarily
pessimistic, there was a real optimism in early Buddhism.
These early monks felt they had really learned the secret of
doing away with misery. There is a pathos in the songs
composed describing the joy which came into the lives of
these men and women released from the chains of discontent
and anxiety. Yes. women too, for after much persuasion, the
Buddha at last and very reluctantly founded an order of
women mendicants— nuns we would call them. The pathos
lies in the fact that to us they seemed to have so little. Even
55
[IV-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
this little soon ran out. Not for centuries have men been
able to claim that they have reached the end desired. There
are no true Arhats today, nor in the memory of living men.
The enthusiasm was comparatively short-lived and has long
since disappeared.
V
And now the third of the "Signs," "All the constituents
of being are without a soul." In some ways this is the most
startling declaration of early Buddhism. There is no self or
soul to anything. The Buddha himself laid great stress on
this point ; it was central for him. Try to think how the
Buddha could hold fast a belief in the transmigration of
souls when there was no soul to transmigrate. What he
claimed was that each new birth, the rise of a new individ-
ual, was literally a new creation, if we may use that term,
with this added factor, that this new individual inherited the
Karma of that individual which had preceded him in the
series in which he formed one link. He was just what he
was because of what all the others who had preceded him
were, and the one who came after him would be what he had
added to the net result of the lives of all who had gone be-
fore. How long was this process to go on? Until some one
should arise, join the Buddhist order, travel the noble Eight-
fold Path, become an Arhat, and thus crush all desire out of
his life. Then his Karma would be used up and no more
individuals would be born — the series would come to an end.
According to this scheme there could be no immortality.
Each individual simply ceased to be when his life ended. He
did not have a self at all, so when the bodily and mental
elements which made up his life dissolved he ceased to be,
"and that was the end of it." Should any individual be
fortunate enough to become an Arhat he wobld thereby and
at once enter Nirvana, even while still alive. Nirvana is a
condition of perfect peace and calm, unruffled by any cling-
ing after life and any of its relationships. The Arhat has
risen sublimely above all these things and has perfect equa-
S6
VANITY OF VANITIES [IV-sJ
nimity and poise. His only desire is for what he now enjoys
and to see others enter into his experience, but all craving
and discontent are gone and gone forever. When at last he
dies he enters complete Nirvana, which is, so far as we can
make out, little better than annihilation or extinction. Since
he never was a self or a soul, there can be nothing to be
alive when body and mind dissolve into nothingness.
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. Is Life Worth Living f^
What makes life worth living? What is the cause whent
a man becomes disgusted with life and sees no good in it?
How can one be an optimist when he is crippled or has
lost his fortune, for neither of which he is responsible?
What effect does unselfish service have on one's outlook ort
life?
H. The Life of the Buddha
Try to explain what led the Buddha to leave home and
renounce his heritage. In what did his enlightenment con-
sist? What effect would a man preaching such a gospel
have upon an audience today? Why would the effect be sa
different?
HI. His Teaching
What is the most striking difference between the Buddhist
theories and our own? What effect on life is most signifi-
cant? Compare the moral teaching of the Buddha with
the Ten Commandments ; with the teaching of Jesus. What
do you consider the chief defect in the system of the
Buddha?
(For this and the next chapter a very useful volume is
that by K. J. Saunders entitled "The Story of Buddhism.")
57
CHAPTER V
THE WHEEL OF THE EXCELLENT LAW
The Buddha declared his purpose "to set rolling the royal
chariot-wheel of a universal empire of truth and righteous-
ness." This week we are to travel from country to country
in Asia to investigate what the "Excellent Law" has done iij
these lands where the poorly clad, shaven-headed monks
carried the message of their master. We shall doubtless be
amazed to find how changed the religion has become in its
travels. The Buddha essayed to found a religion with no
gods and no worship. Now "gods many and lords many"
are worshiped with elaborate ceremonial in the lands where
Buddhism has been carried. This has led to the choice of
worship as the subject of our Bible readings at the beginning
of this study.
Daily Readings
First Day: The Bible takes worship for granted. The
thought never seems to have occurred to any one of the
writers in either the Old or New Testament that men should
not pray and offer sacrifices to God.
And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a
tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came
to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground
an offering unto Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought
of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. —
Gen. 4 : 2-4.
The author assumes the existence of altars, and of the
custom of sacrifice, without giving any account of their origin.
At the close of the story of Noah and the Ark we find these
interesting verses :
58
THE EXCELLENT LAW [V-2]
And* Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took
of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and
offered burnt-offerings on the altar. And Jehovah
smelled the sweet savor; and Jehovah said in his
heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for
man's sake. — Gen. 8: 20, 21.
How simple and naive the conception that God should be
pleased with the sweet smell of the burnt offerings! The
point to be made is that in the days of his simplicity man
turned to God in worship. This is the testimony not only of
the Bible but of all the archeological findings and the sacred
literatures of the world. Do you think we shall ever be able
to eradicate a tendency so deeply implanted in human nature?
Second Day : Abraham was a very religious man. He has
been called the Friend of God and the Father of the Faith-
ful. As soon as he had reached the land of promise he per-
formed a religious act.
And he removed from thence unto the mountain
on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having
Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east : and there he
builded an altar unto Jehovah, and called upon the
name of Jehovah. — Gen. 12:8.
The great test of Abraham's faith came late in life when
he was commanded to offer his son Isaac on an altar.
And it came to pass after these things, that God
did prove Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham ;
and he said, Here am I. And he said, Take now thy
son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac,
and get thee into the land of Moriah ; and offer him
there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains
which I will tell thee of. — Gen. 22: i, 2.
Back of this lesson of obedience and faith is the historical
fact that human sacrifice was known in Abraham's day and
that with the testing of his faith came the setting aside of
59
[V-3] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
this horrid custom. We find then how God leads His people
■out of crude conceptions of Himself and of what pleases
Him.
Third Day:
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor
any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or
that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water
under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself
unto them, nor serve them ; for I Jehovah thy God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth
generation of them that hate me, and showing loving-
kindness unto thousands of them that love me and
keep my commandments. — Exodus 20: 4-6.
In the long second commandment, which was such a terror
for us to learn exactly before we reached our teens, wor-
ship again is taken for granted, only the Hebrews were told
not to worship images. Their God was a jealous God who
alone must be worshiped. He desired the entire devotion
'of His people ; He expected them to worship Him and not be
led into the devious paths of idolatry.
Does it strike you as strange that the same Ten Com-
mandments which warn against sins of robbery, adultery,
and murder should include a command relative to worship?
Is there any connection between high moral living and wor-
ship? Is it safe, to say the least, for a man to give up prayer
and the service of God's house?
Fourth Day: The Psalms are full of the spirit of praise
and worship. Try to enter into the spirit of these men whose
words we read today. >^
How amiable are thy tabernacles,
O Jehovah of hosts !
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of
Jehovah ;
My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God.
—Psalm 84: I, 2.
60
THE EXCELLENT LAW [V-5]i
These were the days when the Temple was in its glory.
The external beauty of the building may be more in evidence
than is possible with us, but even a simple, rustic church may-
have for us memories which make it a sacred place.
Fifth Day : The danger of what is merely external in.
worship was as evident in the Old Testament days as now.
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no
delight in your solemn assemblies. Yea, though ye
offer me your burnt-ofiferings and meal-offerings, I
will not accept them ; neither will I regard the peace-
offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from
me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the
melody of thy viols. But let justice roll down as
waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. — Amos
5:21-24.
What a condemnation heaped upon men who had troddeo
on the rights of the poor and had forgotten the great pre-
cepts of the moral law, yet were impudently performing all
the sacred offices of religious worship ! Strenuous moral
endeavor is a necessary foundation of sincere worship.
Toward the end of the wonderful Psalm of penitence come
these words of a truly worshipful heart :
O Lord, open thou my lips ;
And my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give
it:
Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit :
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise. — Psalm 51 : 15-17.
The inwardness of true worship is here made very clear.
Our worship must spring from the heart, which realizes
what it means to be in the presence of the loving God who is
at the same time pure and holy.
61
[V-6] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Sixth Day: Jesus inherited the spirit of devotion and wor-
ship from the Old Testament and filled it with a new mean-
ing. Read His answer when the temptation came to win the
kingdoms of the world by prostrating Himself and worship-
ing the Tempter.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan :
for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
God, and him only shalt thou serve. — Matt. 4:10.
Luke gives a glimpse of Jesus' habits as a young man.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up : and he entered, as his custom was, into
the synagogue on the sabbath day. — Luke 4 : 16.
"As his custom was," He entered into the synagogue on
the Sabbath day. Why do you suppose He made this His
custom? Why wouldn't it have been just as helpful to stay
away from public worship and meditate and pray alone?
Seventh Day : Jesus inculcated worship both by precept
and example. He was also very particular about the motives
and the spirit of worship.
Two men went up into the temple to pray ; the one
a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank
thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast
twice in the week ; I give tithes of all that I get. But
the publican, standing afar off, would not lift so much
as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying,
God, be thou merciful to me a sinner. I say unto
you. This man went down to his house justified
rather than the other: for every one that exalteth
himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth him-
self shall be exalted.— Luke 18: 10-14.
Of what use are prayer and fasting and tithing in a self-
62
THE EXCELLENT LAW [V-s]
righteous man like that Pharisee? How could a man keep^
from prayer who is in the condition of the publican?
Jesus has another remarkable word about the nature of
true worship :
God is a Spirit : and they that worship him must
worship in spirit and truth. — John 4 : 24.
True worship is "in spirit and truth." "In spirit" means
that it is spiritual worship, the communion of one spiritual
being with another, the Spirit of God in touch with the spirit
of man. Mofifatt translates the other Greek word not as
"truth" but as "reality." The true worship is sincere^ the
genuine expression of our real selves to God. Could any
definition of worship be more searching than that contained
in these words of Jesus?
Study for the Week
Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia, Tibet, Siam, Burma, and
Ceylon — all these are Buddhist to a greater or less extent,
but what a strange Buddhism as contrasted with that of the
great Gautama ! He could not believe his eyes were he to
awake and see what is being said and done in his name.
So great is the divergence from the original teaching and so
varied are the views and practices of Buddhism in different
lands at the present time that the question may be seriously
asked, what is Buddhism? What right have all these differ-
ing and even antagonistic beliefs to the common name of the
founder?
All Buddhists have certain things in common. They all
realize and are proud of the fact that the movement to which
they belong had its earthly origin in the life and work of
Gautama Buddha. They are inspired by the unsullied record
of a pure, unselfish life devoted to the good of others. There
is an intellectual and spiritual atmosphere typical of all lands
which have been influenced by Buddhism. Asia is stilL
63
[V-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
haunted by the sense of the impermanence of all things which
the Buddha taught. Man's sorrow in being bound fast to
the ceaseless wheel of transmigration in accordance with the
inexorable law of Karma is as much in evidence today as
five hundred years before our era. A kind of world-weari-
ness, settling down into a wistful pessimism, is an inescapable
mark of Buddhism's presence. These are moods of the soul as
much as definite doctrines, but they are quite as useful to us in
putting our finger on what a religion really is as are written
creeds and rituals. They have indelibly marked all these
strangely variant communities as being in the true succession
of tl|e great founder, Gautama Buddha.
II
Almost immediately after his death legends began to ac-
cumulate about the birth and personal history of the Buddha.
He came to be regarded as "omniscient and absolutely sin-
less," claims which he never made for himself. Then came
the belief that he was born of a virgin and this was ex-
panded to include her spotlessness, too. "At the conception
of the Buddha, thirty-two signs take place; the 10,000 worlds'
are filled with light, the blind receive* their sight, the deaf
hear, the dumb speak, the crooked become straight, the lame
walk, the imprisoned are set free, and so on, all nature
blooming, and all beings in earth and heaven being filled with
joy; while by a bold figure* of speech even the fires of hell
are extinguished, and the tortures of the damned are miti-
gated." From the beginning to the end of the life of this
prodigy such wonders and many more like them accompany
his steps.
Is there any wonder, then, that the Buddha should be
worshiped? But could anything stranger than this com-
plete turning of the tables be imagined? He who deprecated
all belief in the gods and scouted any suggestion of worship,
himself the object of worship! What the Buddha had at-
tempted was an impossibility. " 'Never mind about the gods !'
said Gautama. 'We cannot help minding,' replied the heart
64
THE EXCELLENT LAW [V-s]
of India." Only a very limited circle during his own day
and the years immediately following really held the doctrine
taught by the Buddha.
Gautama was soon said to be only one of a long series of
Buddhas, each new Buddha having been needed to restore
the purity of a faith well nigh lost. Twenty-four of these
were named who had preceded Gautama, and after five
thousand more years another was to come, Maitreya Buddha,
the Buddha of kindness, who would restore all things — some-
one like the Messiah of the Jews. The air began to swarm
with spiritual beings. They were called Bodhisattvas, beings
who in the unseen world had not arrived at complete enlight-
enment and were postponing their final emancipation in order
to help men here below. They, too, could be worshiped, so
that this religion rapidly became polytheistic. And when after
some time images were made and set up in temples, Buddhism
became one of the most idolatrous of all the religions of
the world.
We can account for the changes partly by the suggestion
already made — the natural reaction of the human spirit
against a prayerless, godless creed, which could never satisfy
more than a few intellectuals who had come under the magic
influence of the Buddha's personality. But this does not
explain all. Another cause was at work whose influence
must have been tremendous. Within the first few centuries
this new faith came in contact with alien peoples, some of
whom already lived on the borders of India in the foothills
of the Himalayas, while others were wild Mongolian tribes
who came pouring into India from the northwest. These
rude nomads brought with them notions which they would
not cast aside when they embraced the religion of the mild
and gentle Buddha. No theory of the non-existence of the
soul could ever hold them. They were vigorous as the
Hindus were dreamy, and this robustness influenced the
Buddhism of all the northern countries. Nirvana, with its
annihilation of conscious existence, held out no pleasurable
anticipations to them. They pushed it aside and found more
65
[V-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
to their taste a heaven of bliss where beyond the western
mountains they might enjoy the rewards of a virtuous Hfe.
And to correspond to this paradise they could find nothing
to object to in a hell where the wicked were tortured in a
most realistic fashion.
Out of all the confusion occasioned by this unparalleled
development two distinct schools of thought were at last
evolved. Those who departed most widely from the master's
teaching called their doctrine the Mahayana, or the Great
Vehicle. They claimed not to be held by the narrowness of
their more conservative brethren, who would not accept all
the features of the newer doctrines we have just been out-
lining. These conservatives became the type of the Buddhists
of the south. They were called the Hinayana, or the Lesser
Vehicle, by their northern co-religionists, who used this
name as a term of reproach.
Ill
The Buddhism of southern Asia, the Hinayana, is to be
found in Burma and Siam, and the beautiful Island of Ceylon.
Buddhism has had a most interesting history in the island.
The cult of relics soon sprang up, a collar bone of Gautama
and one of his teeth being held in great reverence. The
most noted temple in the island is that of the "Holy Tooth,"
which, by the way, is larger than a horse's tooth! "By dim,
uncertain lamplight the doors of the casket are opened for
the faithful to see it, and amid the benumbing perfume of
countless flowers (which are brought here daily as offerings)
the devotee kneels before it and allows his uncritical gaze to
fall upon what may rather be imagined than actually seen."
A sad fact is that the intellectual and moral level of the
monks is low. There are splendid men who form an excep-
tion to this rule, but the average monk leads an idle life, per-
forming his religious duties in a purely perfunctory way.
There are those who represent a reform movement, striving
after "a purer, more inward Buddhism, one more in accord-
ance, in many respects, with European taste." They have in-
66
THE EXCELLENT LAW [V-s]
troduced preaching halls and sermons and a recitation of a
creed. There is also a European influence seeking to bring
about an understanding of essential, primitive Buddhism,
from which the practice even in Ceylon has so widely de-
parted.
Unfortunately the ordinary man and woman has not been
made deeply Buddhist. His religion is a matter of observ-
ances, with much superstition mixed in. Reading the sacred
books "is a kind of charm which brings a blessing by the
mere reading and hearing, even although utterly unintelli-
gible to the hearer, and which averts illness and exorcises
evil spirits." What really controls the inner life of the people
is their ancient nature and demon worship. The people live
conscious of the presence and influence of these spirits, who
are seeking to bring evil upon them. Here in Ceylon is where
Buddhism is found in its purest form, yet it is unable really
to lift the people into peace and freedom.
In Burma much the same conditions exist, except that the
religion has penetrated more deeply into the life of the
people. The whole education of the people is in the hands of
the Buddhist monks. That has given them enormous influ-
ence and power. Further it is customary in Burma for a
young man to devote a certain period of his youth to the
monastic life. Everywhere the landscape is studded with
the graceful pagodas containing relics of the Buddha and
other holy men. "Anyone who has seen the golden pagoda
at Rangoon shimmering in the moonlight will no longer
wonder that Buddhism appeals to the people. Moonlight in
Burma is almost intoxicating to the senses." Naturally happy
and light-hearted, the Burmese have not allowed the pes-
simism of their religion to cloud their festive occasions.
What a paradox to see these people worship at these times
and repeat the creed of Buddhism, "All is impermanent, all is
suffering, all is unreal," and then beHe its whole spirit and
spend the night in merry-making!
Their Buddhism is strangely mixed with the propitiation
of nats, the old sprites of their pre-Buddhist native worship.
67
[V-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
These nats are more real to them than the Buddhas. "A
Burman with childish inconsistency will sacrifice animals to
the nats and drink spirits in their honor — committing the two
worst sins in the Buddhist decalogue." They are Buddhists,
to be sure, but what shall we say of a religion whose adher-
ents treat so lightly the teachings of their creed?
IV
The Buddhism of China, Korea, and Japan is in a class by
itself. The religion in these countries, particularly in Japan,
has departed farther from the teaching of Gautama Buddha
than in any other. In China Buddhism came into contact
with the dominant Confucianism and has never been able to
dislodge it. The chief reason why Buddhism was able to
get any hold on the Chinese at all was that it provided, in
its Mahayana form, a spiritual faith with worship of gods
worthy of their adoration and a belief in a blessed immor-
tality.
The religion has suffered greatly from persecution in the
course of its history. The backbone of Buddhism has always
been the monks and the monasteries. Without these Budd-
hism could not continue to exist. To the practical Chinese
there is something incongruous in seeing tens and even hun-
dreds of thousands of men and women separating them-
selves from productive occupations and living upon the bene-
factions of the populace. It was even more repugnant to
Chinese feeling for these men and women to repudiate family
life and live as celibates. Monasticism was a body blow at
ancestor worship, which lays a duty on every man to have
at least one son to carry on the worship of the family an-
cestors. The ranks, of the monks are recruited from children,
some even being bought from poor people to fill up the needed
quota. For the most part the monks lead lazy, useless lives.
Despite all this the people come to the monks for all kinds
'of help. Buddhism promises to deliver them from the pains
of hell. Even educated men and officials who are proud
Confucianists and would feel humiliated to have it known,
68
THE EXCELLENT LAW [V-s]
go in secret to these monks. Yet they go, not because of
any Buddhist convictions or because they wish to be ad-
herents of the faith, but simply because it is the only way
they know to supply certain needs they feel in their lives.
The only real Buddhists in China who should be counted as
such in the census report are the monks.
Japan is a Buddhist country and the religion is alive and
active. Instead of meeting a resolute antagonist as it did in
China, ' Buddhism swallowed Shintoism, the ancient faith of
Japan, and all but completely assimilated it. Japanese Bud-
dhism came from China, as we have seen, and is much like
that of the older country. The most marked feature of the
religion in Japan is its sectarianism. These sects are
something like the denominations in our Protestantism.
The earliest sects were imported from China, but Japan
herself has developed this feature of her religious life to a
far greater extent than China. In several of these sects we
have the farthest departure from the teaching of the Buddha
and of the original faith to be found anywhere. The one
which has the largest following in the country is the Shin
sect. It has gone the full length of declaring that salvation
can come only by faith in Amida, the ruler of the western
Paradise. This sounds like our doctrine of "justification by
faith" and it is like it, with this important difference, that
Amida is a mere figment of the imagination, while Jesus
Christ is a historical character. This Shin sect is the pro-
gressive sect in Japan, using western methods and being
missionary in spirit. They have opened preaching halls and
have services on Sundays. They conduct Sunday schools,
have organized Young Men's Buddhist Associations, and
issue books and periodicals from the press.
, But unfortunately the monks even in this sect are not
highly respected. Of course there are splendid exceptions,
but among the educated classes in Japan Buddhism is not
in high favor. The common people are not concerned about
philosophical Buddhism and the ancient literature. The
idea of transmigration has taken firm hold and dominates
69
[V-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
their thinking. The educated who are Buddhists look down
on the superstitious observances of the common people and
construct their own system in harmony with modern science
and philosophy.
What shall we say of Buddhism in a closing word? Orig-
inal Buddhism as taught by Gautama can never become, as
it never has been, the religion of any people. It is too subtle
and intellectualistic for that. Then, by trying to suppress
the instinct to worship, it ran counter to what is a necessary
feature of the religion of all save a few cultured individuals
at the top. This has been proved over and over again in the
history of the religion. When we consider the form taken
by Buddhism in Asia today, the sad fact which emerges is
that it has failed to root out the puerile superstitions of the
Animism which preceded it; and thus no land is truly Budd-
hist. What must we say of a religion which after over two
millenniums has not been able to make its own .standards
and beliefs in any complete way the belief and practice of
any people? Do the defects lie in the religion itself or in
abuses and misunderstandings? What is the verdict of its
history?
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. Religion and Worship
Consider the relation of worship and social service. Why
spend time in worship when so much need abounds on
every side? What is the chief danger in worship? How
can worship be kept vital and significant?
II. The Buddha Is Worshiped
How can this innovation be accounted for? Can a reli-
gion exist without some form of worship? Give reasons
for your answer. Get clearly in mind the difference between
the later Buddhism and the earlier. In what ways can the
70
THE EXCELLENT LAW [V-s]
Buddha be said to be the founder of both forms? Which
one is the more adequate as a reHgion? For what reasons?
III. Buddhism as a Present-day Force
What is the condition of Buddhism in the various Budd-
hist countries today? How do you account for the condi-
tion ? What is needed to make it an effective moral and
social force? Is there hope that such a change can be
effected? What is your reason for thinking so?
71
CHAPTER VI
HONOR THY FATHER AND THY
MOTHER
Ancestor worship is said to be the real religion of China.
Chinese society, even Chinese civilization as a whole, is built
upon the foundation of the family. The Emperor, in all
ages of Chinese history, has been looked upon as the Father
of his people. The Christian idea of the family is a growth
of centuries and only through the appearance of Jesus Christ
did the noblest conception of the family and the relationship
of members in it find a voice. Let us look at that develop-
ment in the readings this week.
Daily Readings
First Day : The picture of the family presented in the Old
Testament is badly marred. Polygamy was accepted as a
normal relationship by everyone who could afford to sup-
port more than one wife. Divorce was easy for a man to
secure for any one of a number of reasons, reasons which
the Christian conscience cannot allow today. So long as
these wrongs continued to exist, woman could never come
to her own.
But even in those days there was a higher ideal. Read
the account of the creation of woman in the second chapter
of Genesis, remembering that it is an ideal rather than literal
history.
And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon
the man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof: and the rib,
which Jehovah God had taken from the man, made
he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And the
72
HONOR I^ AT HER AND MOTHER {VI-2]
man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh
of my flesh : she shall be called Woman, because she
was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave
his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his
wife: and they shall be one flesh. — Gen. 2:21-24.
Do you think this ideal of marriage could be fulfilled if a
man should have more than one wife?
Second Day : With all the Jewish people lacked in Old
Testament days, they were far ahead of their neighbors.
There was a purity in the family not to be found among
other peoples. Children were taught to obey their parents.
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days
may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God
giveth thee. — Exodus 20 : 12.
A more detailed picture of the dutiful son is given in
Proverbs.
My son, keep the commandment of thy father,
And forsake not the law of thy mother :
Bind them continually upon thy heart;
Tie them about thy neck.
When thou walkest, it shall lead thee ;
When thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee ;
And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. —
Prov. 6 : 20-22.
Women were held in high honor. Beautiful pictures are
presented of the worthy woman, and her place in the family.
A worthy woman who can find? •
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband trusteth in her,
And he shall have no lack of gain.
She doeth him good and not evil
All the days of her life. — Prov. 31 : 10-12.
Third Day: Ascetic ideas concerning marriage cannot be
justifiably derived from Jesus' words and attitude. Read the
7^
[VI-4] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
account of the wedding at Cana, where His desire that the
joy of the occasion should not be broken took so remarkable
a turn.
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana
of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and
Jesus also was bidden, and his disciples, to the mar-
riage. And when the wine failed, the mother of
Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. And
Jesus saith unto her. Woman, what have I to do with
thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith
unto the servants. Whatsoever he saith unto you,
do it. Now there were six waterpots of stone set
there after the Jews' manner of purifying, contain-
ing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto
them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled
them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw
out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast. And
they bare it. And when the ruler of the feast tasted
the water now become wine, and knew not whence
it was (but the servants that had drawn the water
knew), the ruler of the feast calleth the bridegroom,
and saith unto him. Every man setteth on first the
good wine ; and when men have drunk freely, then
that which is worse : thou hast kept the good wine
until now. — John 2 : i-io.
This simple and beautiful picture should be in the mind of
anyone who desires to understand Jesus' whole attitude
toward marriage and the relationships of the home. Jesus
did not fail them. How could He, when He entered so heart-
ily into the significance of suc!i an occasion?
Fourth Day: But Jesus was exceedingly severe in His
condemnation of certain practices of His day relative to mar-
riage. He knew quite well the passage from Deuteronomy
on which the practice of divorce was based :
When a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, then
it shall be, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he
hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall
74
HONOR FATHER AND MOTHER [VI-5I
write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her
hand, and send her out of his house. And when she
is departed out of his house, she may go and be an-
other man's wife. — Deut. 24:1-2.
Now read the words of Jesus when the Pharisees came to
Him about this matter :
And there came unto him Pharisees, trying him,
and saying. Is it lawful for a man to put away his
wife for every cause? And he answered and said.
Have ye not read, that he who made them from the
beginning made them male and female, and said. For
this cause shall a man leave his father and mother,
and shall cleave to his wife ; and the two shall be-
come one flesh? So that they are no more two, but
one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together,
let not man put asunder. They say unto him. Why
then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce-
ment, and to put her away? He saith unto them,
Moses for your hardness of heart suffered you to put
away your wives : but from the beginning it hath not
been so. And I say unto you. Whosoever shall put
away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry
another, committeth adultery ; and he that marrieth
her when she is put away committeth adultery. —
Matt. 19:3-9.
Fifth Day: In all his dealing with the question of the
family, Paul is attempting to apply the meaning of Jesus'
words as to the details of family life. His position was
immeasurably ahead of the age in which he lived. In prin-
ciple he was entirely with his Master. The complete equality
of all "in Christ Jesus" is most clearly stated.
There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can
be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and
female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus.—
Gal. 3:28.
Now read the classic passage on the relation of husband
and wife as he interprets it from a Christian viewpoint.
75
[VI-6] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as
unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the
wife, as Christ also is the head of the church. . . .
But as the church is subject to Christ, so let the
wives also be to their husbands in everything. Hus-
bands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved
the church, and gave himself up for it ; that he might
sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of
water with the word, that he might present the
church to himself a glorious church, not having spot
or wrinkle or any such thing ; but that it should be
holy and without blemish. Even so ought husbands
also to love their own wives as their own bodies. —
Eph. 5 : 22-28.
Mutual love and thoughtfulness mark the relationship,
which is so close that Paul likens it to that between Christ
and the Church. Can we do anything better today than go
back to this passage from Paul to get the most beautiful
and highest interpretation of the meaning of Christian mar-
riage ?
Sixth Day : Paul dealt with other family matters, espe-
cially the relation of children and parents.
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this
is well-pleasing in the Lord. Fathers, provoke not
your children, that they be not discouraged. — Col.
3: 20, 21.
Obedience is the rule for children. There was nothing new
about that. The new feature which has come into the world
through Christianity is that fathers are bound to respect
their children. It was Jesus who discovered and sanctified
childhood.
Seventh Day : Paul says even more about the relation of
servants and their masters, probably because it was the more
necessary.
76
HONOR FATHER AND MOTHER [VI-sl
Servants, be obedient unto them that according to
the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling,
in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ ; not in
the way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers ; but as serv-
ants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart ;
with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and
not unto men : knowing that whatsoever good thing
each one doeth, the same shall he receive again from
the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye
masters, do the same things unto them, and forbear
threatening : knowing that he who is both their
Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no re-
spect of persons with him. — Eph. 6 : 5-9.
We do not have servants todaiy in the sense Paul here has
in mind. As the margin tells us, they are "bondservants,"
slaves, as we should speak of them. Faithfulness on the
part of all who serve, and kindly consideration on the part
of employers — how far do these prevail today?
Study for the Week
Who is not interested in China these days? The oldest
nation in existence, whose origin nobody knows ; the largest
number of people in any country in the world; a people just
waking to its opportunity and asking admittance to the
modern family of nations — is there not good reason to be
intent on what is happening there? Conservatism has long
been a mark of everything Chinese. To do things as they
were done in the good old days of Yao and Shun, who are
supposed to have ruled China more than 2,200 years before
Christ, was considered a signal mark of orthodoxy and of
loyalty to China and her institutions. The revolution in
191 1 accomplished the first radical change in the form of
government since the year 221 B.C. China has waked up to
the fact that all she has, her national integrity included, de-
pends for its preservation 'on the adoption of western
77
[VI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
methods. Many blunders are being made, but the eye of
sympathy is able to discern through all the confusion the
steady purpose to make China worthy of the glorious tradi-
tions of the past.
A China completely renovated is the ideal which they have
set before them. This, of course, includes religion. With a
people whose hold on the past is so tenacious, it is impos-
sible to believe that the past will not be strong enough to be
a dominant influence in the religion of the future. Even
with the coming of Christianity the break cannot and ought
not to be complete.
II
What is the religion of the Chinese? The answer which
comes immediately is that the Chinese are for the most part
Confucianists, Taoists (pronounced Dowists), and Buddhists,
with a plentiful sprinkling of Mohammedans. Confucianism
and Taoism were not known until the 6th century before
Christ, and Buddhism was not brought in until the first cen-
tury of our era. ^hat was the religion of China during the
centuries, even millenniums before that? The practices and
the beliefs which prevailed in the earliest days persist even
down to the present time. Here again we see the fundamental
conservatism of the Chinese people. What is it that lies
back of the formulated religions and in many ways domi-
nates them now?
What we find in the earliest day, what we find today, is an
undercurrent of belief in a great number of spirits and de-
mons. There are millions of them, they are everywhere, no
one can escape them. These spirits are good and bad, strong
and weak. The shining sun over head, the source of all mate-
rial good, is looked upon as a good spirit and everjflhing
connected with him as effective to drive out demons. So, when
a boatman starts down the dangerous rapids of the Yangtze,
it is not an uncommon thing for him to kill a cock and let
its blood drip into the rushing waters. Since the crowing of
78
HONOR FATHER AND MOTHER [VI-s]
the cock heralds the rising of the sun, there must be some effi-
cacy in sacrificing the fowl itself.
Yet very unfortunately the bad spirits occupy the atten-
tion of the Chinese more than the good spirits. He lives,
in fear that these imps will bring him ill luck in any one of a
hundred forms. He wants to neutralize their influence and
looks on religion as a means to that end. The religion of a
Chinese is very largely a means of securing material blessings
and of averting physical disaster and inconvenience. He
lives in dread of smallpox and famine and fires and floods.
There have always been some earnest, wistful souls, but this
describes few, very few, of the Chinese. The average Chinese
looks on religion as a doctor called in when things go
wrong.
The most common form of appeal to spirits is the worship
of ancestors. It is a real worship — no sham, no mere rever-
ence. The thought lying back of ancestor worship is that
death does not break up the family ; that the dead Chinese is
alive, and is as much a part of the family as he was before.
J. Dyer Ball, in one of his books, has a chapter on "The Life
of a Dead Chinaman," Not only is he alive and a member
of the family, he is the most important member of the
family. Family plans must be made with the dead in view,
rather than the living. They must receive offerings or they
may do great injury. The tablets to ancestors have their
place in every Chinese house on the god-shelf. So ancestor
worship, which in the beginning may have sprung out of love
and reverence and which doubtless is influenced by these
feelings today, has as its dominant motive the fear of offend-
ing the spirits of the departed.
HI
Up to this time we have been looking at the religion of the
masses of the people. But even in the earliest day of which
we can know anything there was another very important
side to Chinese religion. Based on the same animistic founda-
tion, there has always been an elaborate wor^ship of the higher
79
[VI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
forces and powers of nature, the climax of which is the wor-
ship of Heaven. The over-arching Heaven in all its magni-
ficence has been worshiped from time immemorial. At the
dead of night, the longest night of the year, the Emperor of
China has from the earliest times proceeded to the Temple of
Heaven and there under the open sky, with no shelter what-
soever and in the light of flaming torches, has offered sacri-
fice to the great Shang-ti, as Heaven is called. He is assisted
by a large company of his courtiers, yet the worship is his own.
He alone of all Chinese has the right to offer this sacrifice,
but he does it as the representative of his people. The patri-
archal idea runs through the entire scheme of this state reli-
gion. He worships for his people.
The elaborate ceremonial connected with the worship of
Heaven is carried out on the night of the winter solstice.
On this night the forces of darkness and cold, having had
full sway for six months, begin to retire before the forces of
light and summer heat. Many weary weeks of cold and
snow may intervene, but from this night the days begin to
grow longer and the coming of the spring is only a matter of
time. Like the religion of the masses of the people, this
worship is directed toward material benefits and for China
alone. With all its magnificence it is narrow and selfish.
How different China is from India ! There we find people
spiritually inclined ; here a practical people intent on secur-
ing material benefits. It is worthy of comment that Yuan
Shih-kai, the late President of the Republic, continued to offer
sacrifice to Heaven as the representative of the people, and
the late President Li Yuan-hung stated that he would do
likewise.
IV
It has been emphasized that every feature of the religion
of China existed and was in full operation before any of
the formal religions were known or their prophets had been
born. Each of these religions made a contribution to Chinese
life, but did not alter the foundations.
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HONOR FATHER AND MOTHER [VI-s]
Confucius lived from 551 to 478 B.C. His life was spent
in North China during the days of feudalism. Many petty
princes vied with each other and scarcely acknowledged the
right of the emperor, who was but little stronger than some
of the princes. Confucius was born in the state of Lu. When
a man he was given an official position and succeeded so
splendidly that the state of Lu became the envy of the
adjacent states. The prince of one of them determined to
end this prosperity and did so by sending to the Prince of
Lu a present of fine horses and dancing girls. In spite of
all Confucius could do the prince gave himself to pleasure
instead of the affairs of state. The result was demoralization,
and Confucius lost his position. Then began many years of
wanderings, visiting the capital of state after state, seeking
to induce the prince to employ him, with the assurance that
prosperity would come if only his methods were followed.
Not one prince was convinced and Confucius was compelled
to return to his old home and retire from public life. Here
for many years, with his disciples gathered around him, the
old sage laid down his rules of life and compiled the books
which have come down to us bearing his name.
Confucius added nothing to the religious life of China,
and, although the state religion is frequently called by his
name, he did nothing to change its form or give it direction.
What Confucius did was to give China its ethical code. Yet
even here he disclaimed all right to be called an originator,
preferring to be known as a transmitter of the heritage of
bygone ages. Yet he did put the stamp of his personality
and ideas on China so effectively that China is still the work-
manship of the great Teacher.
To Confucius the individual was -of little value, and then
only as a link in a chain or as a factor in the life of the
state. Man must live in relationships, and the relationships
seem to be more important than the people who are held to-
gether by them. The ancients knew what was good better
than we do, so the orthodox thing was to fill one's appointed
place and hope for nothing more. We may see how this
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[VI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
works out in his teaching of the "Five Relations," those of
father and son, ruler and subject, husband and wife, elder
and younger brother, friend and friend. In each pair there
is a superior and an inferior, one who had the right to issue
orders and one whose duty was to obey.
A wife is considered inferior to her husband. Her duty
is obedience, her function is to raise up sons to continue the
family line and to offer ancestral sacrifice after the parents
have passed on. "Of all the sins a man could commit," said
Mencius, "the greatest is not to have sons." But suppose a
man should have no sons, what then? Either he must adopt
a son or he must bring in another wife. Thus polygamy fol-
lows in the train of the idea of family solidarity. Woman
suffers most, being looked upon as a mere means to an end.
She has little value in herself ; only on becoming the mother
of a son and because of that fact does she have any real
place in Chinese life. A child has no rights in China; the
rights belong to the parents. So it has always been, and it
is exceedingly difficult to change. In this and in every other
respect, the old beaten tracks have been the accepted modes
of procedure, and change has been scouted as an intolerable
outrage.
While Confucius was a teacher of morals, his name is now
used to cover the state religion, as well as the popular wor-
ship of the people. Temples by the thousands are to be found
filled with images to all sorts of deities. Gods of the earth
and of wealth, patron divinities and benefactors, gods to cure
illnesses, gods who are patrons of various callings, and so
through a long list, are worshiped everywhere in the Em-
pire. The temples are the center of the religious life, but
religious rites are also performed in the homes of the people.
Side by side with the ancestral tablets are little images of
the special gods worshiped, or written characters which repre-
sent them. Cash or incense or tea are offered before any
request is made. The saddest thing about it all is that every-
thing connected with the worship is so selfish and on so low
a material and physical plane.
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HONOR FATHER AND MOTHER [VI-s]
V
A little before the period of Confucius' greatest activity,
there lived a great teacher in North China whose name was
Laocius. Little is known of him. He wrote a short but very
enigmatical book called the "Tao Te King" (pronounced
Dow Day Ging) which represents a high idealism. The
great theme of the book is the Tao. But what is Tao?
Many, many definitions have been given, and often they
are very far apart. Here is one : Tao is "the eternal and
ubiquitous impersonal principle by which the universe has
been produced and is supported and governed." The prac-
tical purpose of Laocius' book is to induce men to follow the
example of Tao. We are to be imitators of the "Way," the
"orderly processes of nature," or whatever it is, and thus ful-
fil our destiny.
The imitation of Tao being the leading idea, and Tao
being looked upon as impersonal and eternally quiescent, the
outcome was a philosophy of inactivity. No wonder Con-
fucius and Laocius could not understand each other ; they
were at opposite poles of thought. Confucius was the apostle
of activity and eager striving, Laocius the philosopher of
quietism. Confucius was the maker of China, while Laocius
is remembered only as an impractical dreamer.
Yet Taoism is one of the religions of China, and a strange
religion it is. "Instead of limiting itself to the mysticism of
its master, and pursuing his reasonable speculations, it gave
itself up, at an early date, to the magical side of Chinese
philosophy and practice." While no silly practices can be
laid at the door of the mystical Laocius, his successors are
reputed to have been able to do marvelous deeds, such as
walking through the solid rock, leaping off precipices with
no injury, and walking through fire unscathed. Many tried
to acquire wisdom and immortality by physical means. A
pill of immortality is mentioned, and men attempted to be-
come ethereal by starving themselves into insensibility. The
Taoist priests of today are experts in all kinds of magical
83
[VI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
and demonic lore. They impose on the people in a hundred
ways, amazing them by walking up a ladder of swords, and
pushing needles through their cheeks, wandering through the
streets in this gruesome fashion.
The ignorant people resort to these charlatans in all their
troubles, to expel demons of cholera, to give them good luck
in business, to choose the correct site for a new house, to
determine wh-en a dead body should be buried, and to meet
a hundred other wants of a people eaten up with dread and
fear of the malign influence of ten thousand evil spirits.
The secret societies to be found everywhere in China are of
Taoist origin. The Boxers who terrorized north China in
1900 and massacred so many native Christians and mis-
sionaries were under Taoist influences. "Thousands and hun-
dreds of thousands believed that, possessed of Taoist charms,
weapons could not harm them, and that the horsehair whip
blessed by the priest could turn back upon the marksman the
bullet he fired."
VI
Buddhism, as we have seen in the previous study, came
into China in the first century of our era. At the present time
it is a pitiable remnant of a departed glory. Buddhist
monasteries are often found in places of great natural
beauty. Buddhist temples abound, but, like everything in
China, look dusty and dingy. This religion is able to exist
today because it has a message not contained in other reli-
gions. Poor as it may seem, there is a spiritual element in
Buddhism. Immortality is vividly depicted and the help of
the Buddhas is assured. The Chinese are in sore need of
just this element, and with all their abhorrence of monasti-
cism and its idle unproductivity, they have had an ear for a
message which has come to them through this channel alone.
When a Chinese feels the solemn issues of life and death,
he will listen to a Buddhist monk and take what comfort he
can from the promises of help and the prospect of immor-
tality which come from these imported gods of India.
84
HONOR FATHER AND MOTHER [VI-s] ,
Finally, these three religions supplement one another. They
answer to varying moods of the Chinese soul. Taoism deals
with the fear and superstitions of the present life ; Buddhism
with death and what is beyond death; while Confucianism,
as enunciated by the sage, furnishes the rule of everyday
life. All Chinese are Taoists, Buddhists, and Confucianists
as occasion demands — they are not mutually exclusive.
A great change is taking place in China. The political
revolution is but an outward evidence of a profound inner
development. For a people as remarkable as the Chinese,
the religions of the country are singularly inadequate. What
other nations have long since left behind as unfit for the
advancing civilization of the new times, China with a kind
of instinctive conservatism has held fast to with bull-dog
tenacity. But now she is letting go, and is willing to be
taught of the West.
With all that China needs, the former President of the Re-
public, Yuan Shih-kai, placed his finger on one of the weak-
est spots in all Chinese life. At the close of a conversation
with Dr. John R. Mott, the President made the statement
that he saw this great difference between Christianity and
Confucianism, that, while in China they had splendid ideals,
Christianity was unique in that it possessed a power which
made it possible for men to accomplish what the religion
laid down as a duty. How great is the need in China just
now for such a dynamic !
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. The Family and Religion
What differences exist between the Old and New Testa-
ments with respect to the family? What can be gathered
relative to the place of children in Jesus' estimate, from
His treatment of them? What are the characteristics of a
Christian home?
H. Religion in Its Beginnings
What kind of a religion did China have to start with?
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[VI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Why were not the people allowed to worship the great gods
of the state? What led the people to worship their an-
cestors? What effect has this worship had on Chinese
society? In what respects was this early religion lacking?
III. Developed Religion
Contrast the contribution of the two great leaders,
Confucius and Laocius. Why did Confucius gain the as-
cendency over the people? State the strong and weak
points in his ethical system. What lack still remained which
Buddhism filled? Why was Buddhism persecuted? State
what you consider the religious needs of China today.
(A helpful volume for further study will be found in
"The Historical Development of Religion in China," by
W. J. Clennell.)
S0
CHAPTER VII
RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM
Japan is above everything else patriotic. Separated from
the mainland of Asia and yet in touch with its civilization,
sharing many features of their life with their continental
neighbors and yet considering themselves superior to them,
the people of the Island Empire of the East have developed
an intense nationalism. Loyalty is the word printed large
over everything Japanese. So deeply is Japanese religion
impregnated with this spirit that religion means little more
than patriotism to many of the people today.
The Bible readings for this week are selected to present the
attitude of the biblical writers toward nationality and loyalty
to country. They present some of the general principles which
do not change, dealing with what we might call the founda-
tions of a prosperous and lasting state.
Daily Readings
First Day : The Hebrew state was founded on a covenant,
an agreement between God and the nation, according to
which each accepted certain responsibilities and was to be the
recipient of a certain recognition on the part of the other.
The beginnings were in the days when God entered into such
a compact with Abraham, the Father of the Faithful.
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,
Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am
God Almighty ; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
And I will make my covenant between me and thee,
and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell
on his face : and God talked with him, saying, As for
me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt
be the father of a multitude of nations. — Gen. 17: 1-4.
[VII-2] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Can you wonder that this nation, thus founded on God's
promise, should have looked on its history as sacred and a
glorious destiny as sure?
Second Day : The covenant made with Abraham was re-
newed with the Israelites through Aloses at Sinai. Here
quite explicitly the conditional nature of the obligation resting
on God is stated.
And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called
unto him out of the mountain, saying. Thus shalt
thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children
of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyp-
tians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and
brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will
obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye
shall be mine own possession from among all peoples :
for all the earth is mine : and ye shall be unto me a
kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. . . . And all
the people answered together, and said, All that
Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses re-
ported the words of the people unto Jehovah. — Ex-
odus 19 : 3-6, 8.
The responsibility assumed by the people was that they
should obey God's voice and thus keep the covenant. The
Hebrew nation was founded on strict moral principles. Can
a nation hope to continue and be prosperous which is not
founded on these same ethical principles?
Third Day: When, a few years later, the people had
passed through the desert and were ready to settle down in
the Promised Land which they had partially conquered,
Joshua summons them together and renews the covenant.
And Joshua said unto the people. Ye cannot serve
Jehovah; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God;
he will not forgive your transgression nor your sins.
If ye forsake Jehovah, and serve foreign gods, then
he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after
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RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM [VII-4I
that he hath done you good. And the people said
unto Joshua, Nay ; but we will serve Jehovah. And
Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against
yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah, to serve
him. And they said. We are witnesses. Now there-
fore put away, said he, the foreign gods which are
among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, the
God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua,
Jehovah our God will we serve, and unto his voice
will we hearken. So Joshua made a covenant with
the people that day, and set them a statute and an
ordinance in Shechem. — Josh. 24: 19-25.
Here the condition laid down is that the people were to be
loyal to Jehovah and to him alone. What application can
this have to the life of nations today? Does it touch the
continuance of China and Japan as nations?
Fourth Day : What connection can there be between the
observance of the Jewish Sabbath and the preservation of the
Jewish state?
And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken
unto me, saith Jehovah, to bring in no burden through
the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to hallow
the sabbath day, to do no work therein ; then shall
there enter in by the gates of this city kings and
princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in
chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the
men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and
this city shall remain forever. . . . But if ye will
not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and
not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of
Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a
fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the
palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. —
Jer. 17:24, 25, 27.
How different is our attitude toward the Sabbath, or even
Sunday, our day of rest and worship ! Jesus' words relative
89
IVII-5] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
to its observance have changed our whole outlook. The
Sabbath, according to Jesus, is our servant — it was made
for our use. But must there not be in national life some
recognition of God and of our obligation to Him? Are we
in any less need of such recognition than the Jews?
Fifth Day : The day came when the Northern Kingdom of
Israel was taken away captive, only to be followed after
about a hundred years by her southern sister Judah. What
was the reason for allowing them to be plunged into such
misery? The inner life of these people was rotten. Social
injustice and flagrant immorality were eating out the life of
the nation. Stability could come only by mending their ways
and living righteously.
Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel;
for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants
of the land, because there is no truth, nor goodness,
nor knowledge of God in the land. There is nought
but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and
stealing, and committing adultery ; they break out,
and blood toucheth blood. — Hos. 4: 1-2.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel,
Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause
you to dwell in this place. — Jer. 7 : 3.
Sixth Day: Nationality was to Israel so absorbing and
uplifting a conception that her sweetest singers return often
to bless Jehovah for His goodness.
God be merciful unto us, and bless us,
And cause his face to shine upon us ;
That thy way may be known upon earth,
Thy salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples praise thee, O God;
Let all the peoples praise thee. — Psalm 67: 1-3.
The psalmist has in this song touched on a broad theme.
We are but beginning to catch its significance now— that all
nations belong to God, that all have their contribution to make
90
RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM [VII-7I
to the world's life, and that, therefore, all should be respected
and all should be mutually helpful.
Seventh Day: Little is said about nationality in the New
Testament. The Roman Empire was the dominant political
feature of the age, and it was simply taken for granted by
New Testament writers. The general attitude was one of
gratitude that peace and order were insured by so powerful a
government. Only in the Book of Revelation, after Rome
began to persecute the Christians, is there resentment and
bitter denunciation of the powers in control. But when Paul
wrote his letter to the Roman Church, he expressed himself
strongly on the duty of Christians toward the government.
Let every soul be in subjection to the higher
powers: for there is no power but of God; and the
powers that be are ordained of God. . . . Render
to all their dues : tribute to whom tribute is due ;
custom to whom custom ; fear to whom fear ; honor
to whom honor. — Rom. 13 : i, 7.
This was high ground to take — a pagan power "ordained
of God." Wherever order is maintained and justice is ad-
ministered in the world today, there in Paul's view is a divine
institution worthy of respect and rightly demanding obe-
dience.
Study for the Week
What is to become of Japan? This question is of large
significance when we consider the dominant place Japan has
been occupying in the Eastern world. The entrance of
Japan into the family of nations during the last fifty years
is one of the marvels of the history of civilization, and her
future is a matter of deep concern to all who are interested
in world problems. It is fitting that we ask about her reli-
gious life, for only by so doing shall we understand the
91
IVII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Japanese .and penetrate to the heart of the motives and fears
and hopes which actuate her as a nation.
Japan's own contribution to her religious life has been
meager. What she has received from others has been far
greater in bulk and more significant in many ways than her
own original deposit. Yet Japan has always put her own
stamp on whatever she has received, adapting it to her pur-
poses and fitting it into her own characteristic mold. There
is never any difficulty in identifying anything Japanese — it
is her own and no one can mistake it.
II
The primitive religion of Japan was puny and simple, as
compared with the additions later made. But while this is
so, we must look well at this original deposit, for without a
clear understanding of its meaning one of the most import-
ant clues to the whole subsequent development would be lack-
ing.
Japan's early religion has been called Shinto, or Shintoism.
It is today listed as one of the three religions of Japan,
Buddhism and Confucianism being the other two. Shinto is
a borrowed Chinese word whose Japanese equivalent is Kami-
no-michi, which means in English "the way of the gods."
The clue to the whole system, if it can be dignified by such
a designation, is the word Kami. What does this word
translated "gods" really mean? In its simplest signification
it means "what is above." But this meaning grew until
Kami came to signify "any object or natural phenomenon
that might arouse the feelings of wonder, awe, or reverence."
It is quite clear that this simple religion was a form of
animism or nature worship. The particular quality or feature
which led to the worship of any object as d. Kami was power.
The Japanese felt himself to be in the presence of beings
stronger than himself, on whom he was dependent and to
whom he should offer worship. This worship was most
simple — never was there a form of worship more unpreten-
tious. There was no doctrine and no code of morals. At a
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RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM [VII-s]
later period a Japanese writer naively explained that while
other peoples might need rules and regulations to keep them
decent, the Japanese were different, all they had to do was to
follow the natural bent of their hearts and they would not
go astray !
Closely connected with this worship of nature and grow-
ing out of it was ancestor worship, which still prevails every-
where in Japan. Every house has its god shelf, on which
offerings are placed to ancestors as well as gods. The theory
back of all the thoughts the Japanese have had about them-
selves is that they are a special creation of the gods. The cen-
tral nerve of this belief about themselves is that the imperial
line is descended from their first Emperor, Jimmu Tenno,.
who is said to have begun to reign 66g B.C., and who was
a direct descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu-no-Miya.
A most remarkable fact about the dynasty which occupies the
Japanese throne is that it has provided an unbroken line of
emperors from the earliest day to the present. The ruling
Emperor, Yoshihito, is said to be the one hundred and twenty-
second in the direct line of descent. No other imperial
family in the whole history of the world can show such a
record.
But what has this to do with religion? Much in every way.
There has always existed in Japan a reverence for the impe-
rial house and throne, which has amounted almost, if not
fully, to worship. Despite all the changes of the centuries
and the flood of foreign beliefs and practices which have
poured into their land, the Japanese have never lost this sense
of reverential attachment and worshipful allegiance to the
imperial line. This Japan did not receive from abroad; it is
indigenous and original, and in many ways has been deter-
minative of her history and character. The Japanese are
first of all patriotic, loyal to the ruling dynasty. They are
proud of their descent, of their history and their country,
but most of all of the person, the divine person, who rules
over them in perfect security and with no fear.
As the late Dr. Knox happily put it, everything in the
93
[VII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
ancient religion might be summed up in the injunction, "Fear
the gods and obey the Emperor." He speaks of this prim-
itive Shinto as "essentially nature worship, married to the
worship of the Imperial house." And now at the present time,
after all the vicissitudes of her history and the introduction of
alien faiths, Shinto is the embodiment of the spirit of patriot-
ism and of loyalty to the reigning house of Japan. Shinto
expresses the confidence of the Japanese people "that there is
a something more than their present strength and wisdom
which directs and aids and on which they may rely."
Ill
No one can conjecture what would have become of Japan
and her religion had she been left to herself. In the sixth
century of our era, and even before, influences from the
mainland of Asia made themselves felt and in a century or
two Japan had entered the stream of Eastern Asiatic civil-
ization. There came from China literature and letters, silk-
worms and horses, architecture and the crafts, and among
many other things a new religion and a new morality — that is.
Buddhism and Confucianism. Buddhism became the pre-
vailing religion of Japan and Confucianism the ethical code.
The conquest of Japan by Buddhism was not without
opposition. The final victory was not won until a Japanese
Buddhist monk, named Kobo Daishi, opened the way to an
understanding between Buddhism and Shinto. By a stroke
of genius, shall we say, this astute monk proclaimed that the
old Kami of Japan were nothing more nor less than incarna-
tions or manifestations of Buddhist deities. By this ruse
Shinto sank to a place of inferiority and might have disap-
peared, had it not been for the political motive which made
it stand for reverence and veneration of the imperial house.
From that day to this, Buddhism has remained the religion
of the masses of the Japanese people, and for a thousand
years it continued the religion of the upper classes as well.
The question must arise. What contribution did Buddhism
make that it should thus stand first as the religion of these
94
RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM [VII-s]
people? Shinto was simple and bare; Buddhism most com-
plex and gorgeous. Shinto shrines were plain unadorned
buildings with no idols and with the simplest accompaniments
of worship; Buddhism stimulated art, provided an elaborate
ritual and showy paraphernalia for worship. One of the
beauties of Japan today is the sight of Buddhist temples
tucked away amid the trees in the solemn stillness of some
secluded valley. All this was unknown before. A priesthood,
in so far as Buddhism can be said to have a priesthood, was
everywhere evident. Many splendid divinities were intro-
duced to the people ; the other world was opened up before
the wondering gaze of the simple natives ; for the first time
a paradise was promised and a real salvation preached. The
most splendid of all the divinities was the merciful Amida,
who presides over his paradise beyond the distant western
mountains, there to receive all worthy ones to bliss and im-
mortality.
The writer can remember the visits he paid as a boy to
the great Buddhist temple at Asakusa, in the city of Tokyo.
The whole scene is a strange mixture of solemn worship
and pleasure seeking. Shops with toys and candies and all
kinds of souvenirs, places for fun and amusement, remind-
ing one a little of Coney Island, vie with the desire for
worship to draw thousands to this most popular resort. The
temple itself is very unattractive and dirty within, yet here
are persons throwing their cash into the enormous coffer,
and witJi bent knees offering their petitions to Kwannon, the
Goddess of Mercy. "Perhaps no deity plays a bigger role
in popular Buddhism, and the famous Asakusa Kwannon
temple in Tokyo is the most frequented spot in all Japan,
though it must be admitted that in recent years the crowds
are drawn, perhaps, more by the 'movies' which flank two
sides of the temple." Under the same roof, but open to
access by the people, is the famous image of Binzuru, the god
of Healing, which has been rubbed by poor afflicted people so
long that it has lost all human features and is a shiny mass
of wood. According to our ideas, this image must be a
95
[VII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
spreader of disease far more than a healer, but the belief
of the ignorant people is so great that the Tokyo Board of
Health has not dared to forbid the touching of the idol in
worship. This is a picture of popular Buddhism today and
as it has been for centuries.
IV
Buddhism gave Japan a religion, but it did little in provid-
ing the people with an ethical code. Its rules were for the
most part for the monks. Here was the opening for Con-
fucianism. But again the unique stamp of Japan must be
put on this exotic before it can be called Japanese. And
nowhere is the Japanese sign-manual more deeply impressed.
Confucius based his whole system on the family and made
the first relation that of parent and child. Such a thing could
never be allowed in Japan. The state must precede the family
in devotion. The first relation is that between ruler and
people. Loyalty, not filial piety, is the first virtue. Rever-
ence for parents follows as an undisputed second, but it has
lost its place of preeminence. Then again, in China peace
is the condition most desired, and in society the most honored
member is the scholar-sage. Not so in Japan. The most
important concern is to maintain the ascendency of the rul-
ing house — this must be accomplished at all costs. The soldier
has always been the first man in the Japanese social scale.
But strange to say, the soldier in Japan was also the scholar.
The martial and the scholarly were united in one' person,
thus making a unique and fascinating individual. Confu-
cianism was scarcely Confucianism, when it became accli-
mated in Japan.
After a thousand years, Buddhism ceased to be the power
it once was among the higher classes. What religion they had
seems to have been a refined and elevated Confucianism, a
conception that there was a power — indefinable and impersonal
to be sure, but real — in the universe, a power which myste-
riously included everything in its benevolent embrace. Prac-
tically this could amount to little more than a quietism, a
96
RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM [VII-s]
stoic acceptance of whatever came as inevitable, a contempla-
tive attitude of acquiescence in all that happened as decreed
by high heaven. On the positive side, loyalty to one's feudal
lord and defending his honor was sufficient to call out all the
desire for activity in the life of an ordinary man.
V
For a second time in her history, Japan began about a half
century ago to feel the influence of an alien civilization. This
time it was the influence of the Western world. Her response
has been wonderful. Profound changes are taking place in the
religions.
Officially Shinto has declared itself not to be a religion,
though practically the old native divinities are worshiped in
the old way, particularly in the out-of-the-way places. It
exists for most people as the cult of patriotism and as such
its influence is very powerful. Many Japanese, particularly
members of the military caste, look upon this semi-religious
patriotism as about all the religion Japan needs. This
extreme attitude is responsible for the question which is a
vital one in Japan today, Can a man be a Christian and a
Japanese patriot at the same time? Both answers, affirm-
ative and negative, are still given, many ardent patriots refus-
ing to be convinced of their loyalty by the bravery displayed
in two wars by Japanese Christians,
The coming of a new day has made Buddhism attempt to
clean house and adapt itself to Western ways. A number of
leaders now interpret Buddhism in accordance with Western
philosophy and even Christian ideas. It would be hard to
recognize as old-time Buddhism, but we must expect more
of this same thing as a religion seeks to accommodate itself
to the pulse beats of the new life which surrounds it. With
the coming of Western education the old morality based on
old beliefs begins to lose its hold. This presents one of
the most serious situations ever faced by a nation. Recently
a census was taken of the 5,000 students in the Imperial Uni-
versity at Tokyo. 450 were willing to put themselves down
97
[VII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
as Buddhists or Shintoists, 1,550 registered themselves as
atheists, and 3,000 as agnostics. The old rehgions have lost
the allegiance of the rising generation. The result is con-
fusion, uncertainty, and anxiety, morally and religiously.
Moral lapses are so frequent as to become the concern of
the government; suicides are increasing rapidly; Japan is a
nation like a ship at sea, not knowing its bearings and with-
out a rudder. Desperate attempts are being made to incul-
cate moral principles, but with little effect. No nation in the
world is in a more dangerous situation concerning the deeper
things of life than Japan.
Is there any need for Christianity? Listen to the words of
President Harada of the Doshisha University, the leading
Christian institution of Japan, whose declaration is that in
a sense not true of the old faiths Christianity has power to
satisfy the deepest needs of the heart. It does this by pre-
senting God as a Father, by exhibiting the personality of
Jesus, by presenting a positive view of life, by giving a com-
paratively satisfactory world-view, and by producing ex-
amples of a transformed life. In all these respects the reli-
gions of Japan have failed. The uncertainty of the pres-
ent time was expressed in a cable from the volunteers in
Japan to the Student Volunteer Convention, meeting at
Nashville in 1906, "Japan is leading the Orient — whither?"
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. Religion and the State
What was the connection between religion and the state
in the Old Testament? What was the attitude of the New
Testament toward the Roman Empire? What connection
should there be between religion and the state now? How
can patriotism be saved from narrowness and intolerance?
II. The Imperial House and Religion
Why do the Japanese hold the Imperial House in such
high honor? What connection does this attitude have
98
RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM [VII-s]
with religion? In what way is Japanese patriotism differ-
ent from ours? Is there any fundamental incompatibility
between patriotism and internationalism?
III. Buddhism in Japan
What difference between the Buddhism of Japan and that
of Gautama Buddha? What did Buddhism do for Japan?
What distinctive points in Japanese Buddhism? What is
the hope of the future?
(The best volume of reference on the religions of Japan
is "The Development of Religion in Japan," by George W.
Knox.)
fl»
455"^
99
CHAPTER VIII
WE HAVE ABRAHAM TO OUR FATHER
In the readings this week we are to study the Jew in the
light of the Bible. This means that we are to look at him
through the eyes of the Old Testament and through the eyes
of the New Testament as well, for these men who gave us
the New Testament were followers of Jesus Christ, the
most illustrious of the sons of Abraham.
Daily Readings
First Day:
Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of
thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
father's house, unto the land that I will show thee:
and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee, and make thy name great, and I will bless
them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will
I curse : and in thee shall all the families of the
earth be blessed. — Gen. 12: 1-3.
Note two things, that a promise is given to Abraham which
affects not only him but his descendants, and that the pur-
pose of this call is very far-reaching. How can we today
justify God's choice of a particular people? Can it be
merely to make them His favorites? What was the ultimate
purpose of God in this selection, as given by the writer in
verse 3? It is well to keep this purpose in mind in all our
thought of the Jewish people.
Second Day: The long history of the Hebrew people is,
we may say, the history of God's difficult task of training a
100
ABRAHAM TO OUR FATHER [VIII-3]
people to fulfil its purpose among the nations. The highest
mark of God's favor in the past was the wonderful deliver-
ance out of Egypt.
When Israel went forth out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange lan-
guage ;
Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
The sea saw it, and fled;
The Jordan was driven back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.— Psalm 114:1-4.
With all its beauty, is there not a danger in this attitude
of narrowness and exclusiveness? Does not this danger exist
quite as really today in the life of any nation which is self-
centered, and gives little thought to the contribution it may
make unselfishly to the life of the world?
Third Day : God's plan for this people became evident to
a small group — He did have an aim and they had caught it.
And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and
let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the
house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of
his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of
Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah
from Jerusalem; and he will judge between many
peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations
afar off. — Micah 4 : 2-3.
Jerusalem is of course the center still, but the overflow of
its religious life will touch even "strong nations afar off."
God's purpose in addition was to build up a people from
whom might come a great Deliverer, a Saviour of the whole
world. Was any nation ever more highly favored?
Fourth Day: The crisis of the history of the Hebrews
was the awful experience of the Babylonian captivity. The
lOI
[VIII-5] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
nation as a nation was destroyed, and so far as God's purposes
were concerned only a "Remnant" was left.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the rem-
nant of Israel, and they that are escaped of the house
of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him that
smote them, but shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy
One of Israel, in truth. A remnant shall return, even
the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For
though thy people, Israel, be as the sand of the sea,
only a remnant of them shall return : a destruction is
determined, overflowing with righteousness. — Isa.
10 : 20-22.
In the very midst of the captivity a prophet arose who has
been called the "Evangelist of the Exile." He caught the
significance of Israel's call as few others did, and we have the
marvellous Servant passages in the latter part of the book of
Isaiah.
Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in
whom my soul delighteth : I have put my Spirit upon
him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. . , .
He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set
justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his
law. — Isa. 42: I, 4.
Yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou
shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel : I will
also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou
mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. —
Isa. 49: 6.
Fifth Day : Jesus came of the Jewish race. He came de-
claring that the Kingdom of God was at hand, that, despite
their blindness and hardness of heart in the past, the chosen
people might receive Him and thus meet God's expectations
for them.
But this was not to be. He was rejected by His own people,
through the hatred of whose leaders He was finally crucified.
102
ABRAHAM TO OUR FATHER [VIII-6]
We have but a hint or two of the anguish of this experience
to Jesus.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets,
and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often
would I have gathered thy children together, even as
a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and
ye would not ! Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate: and I say unto you. Ye shall not see me,
until ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord. — Luke 13:345 35-
Like a desolate house no longer inhabited, Israel was in a
sense abandoned — God no longer needed this race to carry
out His purposes.
Sixth Day: Paul had several experiences of rejection by
the Jews when he attempted to preach Christ to his fellow
Jews as the fulfilment of prophecy.
And the next sabbath almost the whole city was
gathered together to hear the word of God. But
when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled
with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were
spoken by Paul, and blasphemed. And Paul and
Barnabas spake out boldly, and said. It was necessary
that the word of God should first be spoken to you.
Seeing ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves
unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying,
r have set thee for a light of the Gentiles,
That thou shouldest be for salvation unto the utter-
most part of the earth. — Acts 13 : 44-47.
But to the very end Paul longed and labored that his
people might be saved and might join the company of be-
lievers in Jesus Christ.
Brethren, my heart's desire and my supplication to
God is for them, that they may be saved. — Rom. 10: i.
103
[VIII-7] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Seventh Day: Paul makes it very clear that membership
in the Jewish race was of no advantage to a man. He even
interprets circumcision, the distinctive outward mark of the
Jew, spiritually.
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly ; neither
is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but
he is a Jew who is one inwardly ; and circumcision is
that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter ; whose
praise is not of men, but of God.— Rom. 2 : 28, 29.
There is then no longer any middle wall of partition be-
tween the Jew and the Gentile. All stand on the same foot-
ing before God. Have we ever imagined it possible for the
Jews to come to Christ? But why not?
Study for the Week
I
"The Jew, Sir," said his minister to Frederick the Great
when asked to give in a single word a proof of the truth of
the Bible. Has any race been through what the Jews have
and still survived with undiminished vigor? For centuries,
yes, ever since the days of the opposition of the Roman
Empire to the despised Jew, this race has been banned and
persecuted. Shut up in the Ghetto in the cities of Europe,
they lived a life apart, and only in comparatively modern
times have they been allowed to participate in the life of the
nations. Yet they have persisted and by sheer force of
ability and pertinacity they have made a valuable contribu-
tion to the life of the peoples among whom they have lived.
They have proved themselves skilful money makers and
this has given them power and influence.
In the realms of music and philosophy they have made a
name for themselves. Mendelssohn in the former and
Spinoza in the latter are names to conjure with. More
recently have they distinguished themselves in political life.
While Disraeli was Prime Minister in England, members
104
ABRAHAM TO OUR FATHER [VIII-s]
of the same race occupied similar positions in three other
European countries. While it would thus be possible to re-
count great names in many fields, the chief interest to us lies
in the race itself and in the religion which they profess.
Scattered over the world the Jews number about 11,500,000.
The ''ubiquitous Jew" is found in nearly every land where
trade holds out its lure, even though in some of these places
he forms but a very small colony. But he is always the same
Jew, readily distinguished from the ahen population among
whom he has taken up his residence.
II
He is distinct in race and in religion. Intermarriage with
other people is known, of course, as it was in biblical days,
but is frowned upon. Ostracism usually follows such a
marriage. It is difficult for an outsider to realize how tena-
ciously purity of blood is insisted upon as a sine qua non
in any Jewish community. The Jews come into relation with
others in business, in education, and in political life, but all
their social life is within their own brotherhood.
All who are Jews racially are counted by outsiders as Jews
religiously, with little consideration of the great differences
between individuals and different communities. The differ-
ences which exist are those of greater or lesser adherence to
the customary teachings and practices of the community, but
even an extreme variation is not sufficient to cause a sever-
ance of relations. They come and go as Jews and are recog-
nized as such by their own people and by others. How many
there are who seem to care little for the religious observances
of their religion ! They are proud of their race and yet take
no share in the religious life. For the sake of avoiding
criticism and as a matter of outward conformity, they attend
the synagogue occasionally and participate in a perfunctory
way in the most important feasts, but they have no heart in
what they do. They are engrossed in business and have no
time for such things.
One of the most serious aspects of the whole situation is
105
[VIII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
that agnosticism and even atheism have made serious inroads
into the ranks of those who are students in the great univer-
sities. They are lost to Judaism so far as religion is con-
cerned, with little hope of their recovery. The same is true
among the young men and women who belong to the ranks
of the extreme socialists and anarchists. They become bla-
tant deniers of the sanctities of life and religion. To hear
gifted young Jewish orators haranguing crowds on the fool-
ishness of believing in a personal God or on free-love is to
make one shudder with apprehension. Go to any thoughtful
Jewish Rabbi and he will be found to be in genuine distress.
With the loss of the hold their religion has on these young
men, there is inevitable moral slackness. Even those who
are in middle life in this country can remember the day
when the Jew was pointed to as the man seldom if ever seen
in a criminal court as the defendant. He was singularly fret
from crime and the more flagrant forms of immorality. Now
a .very different situation faces the investigator. It has even
been said that the most striking fact in the criminal records
of some of our cities is the growth of crime among Jews —
a most remarkable testimony to the close connection between
moral deterioration and religious decay.
The other side of the shield is full of encouragement. No
class in our country is showing more interest in social and
moral reform in all its branches than these keen Jewish stu-
dents. Leaders in charity organizations and beneficence,
advocates of child labor legislation and of prison and other
reforms, the Jews must be looked upon as an invaluable ele-
ment in our civilization. They are one with us politically and
commercially and in all movements of progress and improve-
ment.
Ill
And now, what about his religion? The first distinctive
religious fact we observe is that the Jew keeps the Sabbath,
going to service on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Through all the centuries from the time of Moses he has not
io6
ABRAHAM TO OUR FATHER [VIII-s]
deviated from the practice, but has remembered the Sabbath
to keep it holy. Through the portals of the Sabbath, then,
we may enter the house of Judaism and find what kind of a
religion it is.
One of the most important discoveries we shall make is
that the Jew has received a priceless legacy from the past
in the Old Testament. How much of the past to which the
Jew looks back is identical with that of the Christian! But
there is one very significant and striking difference. The
Jew is directly descended from the race whose story is the
center of interest throughout the volume. They are proud to
say, as their ancestors said in the days of Jesus, "We have
Abraham to our Father." Their Temple is gone, to be sure,
sacrifices are abolished, nationality is extinct, they are scat-
tered among all the nations ; yet despite all this the old cove-
nant relation between God and this people is very precious
and real to them. They are still conscious of a mission, they
are still the chosen of the Lord.
Without the Temple and without the priestly and sacrificial
system, they were driven in upon themselves and their own
spiritual resources. Along with this deepening of spirituality
has come the regulation of life and conduct, even down to the
minutest details. The basis of it all was the law of Moses,
in addition to which various codes have been formulated.
The one under which the great bulk of the Jews still live is
that of Joseph Caro, called the "Table Prepared," which is
an arrangement of the whole traditional law. The Law has
always been looked upon as "the expression of the will of
God." But in it lurked a danger which the Jews have not
escaped, that of placing such emphasis upon the strict keep-
ing of the law that all else is considered of secondary im-
portance. Today law is looked upon by many of the pro-
gressives as a curtailment of personal liberty. A new spirit
is abroad, the effect of which no one can prognosticate. In-
deed it is stated thus, "The chief modern problem in Jewish
life is just this: to what extent, and in what manner, can
Judaism still place itself under the reign of Law?"
107
[VIII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
IV
. While in conduct a Jew was bound by the exact require-
ments of the written Law, in belief he was free. The essen-
tial elements of the Jewish religion have never been stated
authoritatively. No one dared step in to compel the local
synagogue to do anything counter to its own judgment. To
put this thought in the words of a Jewish writer, "Since
the time of Moses Mendelssohn (1728-1786), the chief Jew-
ish dogma has been that Judaism has no dogmas."
This does not mean that no scholars have drawn up
sets of beliefs, nor that many Jews have not recognized
them as true. On the contrary, this has been done many
times. In 1896 the American Jews prepared what they called
the "Proselyte Confession," as a statement of beliefs for the
benefit of outsiders and seekers, who desired to know what
Judaism stood for today. It consists of five brief state-
ments, as follows: (i) God the Holy One; (2) Man His
Image; (3) Immortality of the Soul; (4) Retribution; (5)
Israel's Mission.
In. the very forefront of all statements of their belief is
monotheism. There is but one God and He only is Lord of
heaven and earth. This is the most important feature of the
heritage from the past, and it is heralded with great clarity
wherever the Jew is to be found.
An important feature of Judaism has always been its
feasts. The interest has persisted, Passover, Pentecost, the
Feast of Tabernacles being still celebrated, and there are
many others. But these feasts are losing or have lost their
primary significance and are being interpreted "ideally and
symbolically." What will happen more and more is their
modification and adaptation, so that they may continue to
be a pleasing and significant feature of the religious life of the
community.
V
One of the difficulties in making any statement about the
Jewish religion, however brief, is caused by the divisions
108
ABRAHAM TO OUR FATHER [VIII-s]
among the Jews themselves. Even among those who call
themselves orthodox there are extremists, like those, for
example, in Poland, who attempt to preserve intact all that
Judaism was in the early period. They look upon their Bible
and the Talmud as alike inspired and authoritative, and have
changed little in their expectation of a Messiah who is to
come and fulfil literally all the prophecies of the Old Testa-
ment. From this extreme, gradations lead down through
others still called orthodox until a hazy line is crossed and
the confines of the Reform or Liberal Jews are reached.
As they have absorbed modern culture and have come into
contact with the currents of modern thought, they find it
difficult to hold the old views without modification.
Most Jews still possess the Messianic hope. In the words
of one of their leaders, "The Messianic hope promises the
establishment, by the Jews, of a world power in Palestine to
which all the nations of the earth will pay homage." The
recent fall of Jerusalem has vivified this expectation. On
the other hand, "The Messianic idea now means to many
Jews a belief in human development and progress, with the
Jews filling the role of the Messianic people, but only as
primus inter pares. It is an expression of a genuine opti-
mism." In orthodox circles the principle may be said to be,
"Judaism for the Jew," but in contrast "modern reformed
Judaism is a universal Judaism." The national aspects are
waning and the bold step is being taken of asserting that their
religion is for all men. They are steering their bark out into
the full current of modern religious life.
What the outcome will be, who can say? The old ortho-
dox Jews are distinct and separate, both in belief and as a
community, from all other religious bodies. The modern
liberal Jews lose their distinctiveness in belief and practice
and can scarcely be distinguished from the rationalistic theist
to be found so frequently these days. Their belief is very
tenuous indeed, scarcely sufficient to hold believers together
were it not for other considerations. And other conditions
do exist. They are Jews in race, and that means much even
109
[\'III-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIXD
among the most liberal. They must hold together as a dis-
tinct community. They have a mission to perform. Put in
the words of the London Jewish Religious Union, "Till the
main religious and moral principles of Judaism have been
accepted by the world at large, the maintenance by the Jews
of a separate corporate existence is a religious duty incum-
bent upon them. They are the witnesses of God. and they
must adhere to their religion, showing forth its truth and
excellence to all mankind."
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. The Jczi'ish People in the Bible
For what purpose were the Jewish people called to be a
chosen people? In what way were other peoples affected
by God's call of this one race? What may we expect of
this race in the future religiously?
II. Characteristics of the Race
Note their importance in the life of the world today.
What is their present religious condition? What are the
dangers to be found at the present day?
III. Religious and Moral Situation
What is the unity of the Jewish race today? What reli-
gious authority do they recognize? What is the basis of
their moral life? What is their expectation in the future?
What do they consider is their mission as a people?
(A small book entitled "Judaism," by Israel Abrahams,
will be found helpful in studying this chapter.)
1 10
CHAPTER IX
A PROPHET WHO MISSED THE WAY
Mohammed is always thought of as a prophet. His own
claim was that he was the last, the climactic figure, of a suc-
cession of prophets. Of the prophets six are eminent above
all others : Adam, the Chosen of God ; Noah, the Preacher
of God ; Abraham, the Friend of God ; Moses, the Converser
with God; Jesus, the Spirit of God; Mohammed, the Mes-
senger of God. With the doctrine of prophets so prominent
in his teaching, we may profitably take up the same subject
from the standpoint of the Bible.
Daily Readings
First Day: Let us seek to discover the kind of a man a
prophet must be. He is to deliver a message, a message
which is not his own, and much depends on his personal
character and outlook. Recall the account of the call of the
prophet Isaiah, which closes with these words :
And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying. Whom
shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said,
Here am I ; send me. — Isa. 6 : 8.
Earh^ in his career Isaiah recognized that character, inner
purity expressing itself through his lips, was essential in a
messenger of God.
Second Day : Isaiah's ministry was most varied. He ap-
pears in the role of a statesman giving advice to kings. Read
the account of the word he sent to King Hezekiah after the
defiant speech delivered to Jerusalem by the Assyrian officer
whose master was invading the country. When the people
III
[IX-3] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
in Jerusalem were being persuaded to surrender to the Assy-
rians, Isaiah plays the part of th^e statesman.
And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to
your master. Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of
the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the serv-
ants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Be-
hold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear tid-
ings, and shall return unto his own land ; and I will
cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. — Isa.
2,7 ■■ 6-7-
Hezekiah in his alarm would doubtless have paid respect
to the summons to open the gates of the city. Isaiah with
rare wisdom sees that another course is advisable. God has
endowed at times unselfish men like Isaiah with the ability
to see far more clearly than their fellows. Our picture of
a prophet now includes purity of heart, unselfish devotion
to his own city, the gift of the seer, and above all, the con-
sciousness of responsibility to God for his conduct.
Third Day: Jeremiah, the suffering prophet of the last
days of the Israelitish nation, stands out as one of the great-
est in the prophetic line. His call differs greatly from that
of Isaiah, and it has its unique lessons for us.
Now the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
•Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and
before thou camest forth out of the womb I sancti-
fied thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the
nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold, I
know not how to speak; for I am a child. But Je-
hovah said unto me, Say not, I am a child; for to
whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and
whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.
Be not afraid because of them ; for I am with thee to
deliver thee, saith Jehovah. Then Jehovah put forth
his hand, and touched my mouth ; and Jehovah said
unto me. Behold. I have put my words in thy mouth :
see, I have this day set thee over the nations and over
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A PROPHET WHO MISSED THE WAY [IX-4]
the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to
destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. —
Jer. I : 4-10.
Not so much the consciousness of sin as the fear of being
too weak to deliver God's message fills Jeremiah with appre-
hension. How are his fears allayed? Jeremiah was a prophet
because the hand of God was laid heavily on him.
And if I say, I will not make mention of him, nor
speak any more in his name, then there is in my
heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with forbearing, and I cannot con-
tain.— Jer. 20 : 9.
This passage brings out forcibly what is perhaps the chief
function of a prophet, to be one who speaks out for God,
delivers His message. He is then primarily a preacher, a
preacher of righteousness, a herald of doom, or a harbinger
of good tidings.
Fourth Day : Not only were there true prophets in Israel,
in a number of places a class of men is mentioned called
"false prophets," professionals, whose only right to the title
is their own claim.
Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith
Jehovah, that steal my words every one from his
neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith
Jehovah, that use their tongues, and say. He saith.
Behold, I am against them that prophesy lying
dreams, saith Jehovah, and do tell them, and cause
my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boast-
ing: yet I sent them not, nor commanded them;
neither do they profit this people at all, saith Jehovah.
—Jer. 2Z:2C>-3^'
A prophet must be judged by the fruits of his ministry,
nobility of character, wisdom in utterance, and unselfish
devotion to the Kingdom of God.
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[IX-5] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Fifth Day: The sincerity of a man's profession is tested
by persecution, A noble example of constancy is found in
the experience of Jeremiah, who would not say smooth words
to tickle the ears of a perverse people. Read the story of his
imprisonment.
And the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and
smote him, and put him in prison in the house of
Jonathan the scribe ; for they had made that the
prison. When Jeremiah was come into the dungeon-
house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained
there many days ; then Zedekiah the king sent, and
fetched him : and the king asked him secretl}' in his
house, and said, Is there any word from Jehovah?
And Jeremiah said. There is. He said also, Thou
shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Baby-
lon. Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah,
Wherein have I sinned against thee, or against thy
servants, or against this people, that ye have put me
in prison? Where now are your prophets that
prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon
shall not come against you, nor against this land? —
Jer. 37- 15-19.
How much a man can endure when he knows he is right !
Sixth Day: The last of the line of Old Testament prophets
is John the Baptist. Read Jesus' appraisal of this gaunt son
of the desert, who had suddenly appeared calling on men to
repent :
And as these went their way, Jesus began to say
unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye
out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with
the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man
clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft
raiment are in kings' houses. But wherefore went
ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and
much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it
is written,
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A PROPHET WHO MISSED THE WAV [IX-7]
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
Who shall prepare thy way before thee.
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born
of women there hath not arisen a greater than John
the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he. — Matt. 11:7-11.
"Yea, and much more than a prophet" — a man living the
simple life not as a fad, but because the call of God had
driven him out into the desert. He was the last of that glori-
ous band of prophets who for a thousand years and more had
heard God's call, had found the trail, and had not missed the
way.
Seventh Day: Technically speaking, the order of prophets
came to an end with the appearance of Jesus. But there are
references to men in the Apostolic Church called "prophets."
Read Paul's estimate of the work of such men in the Chris-
tian Church.
Follow after love ; yet desire earnestly spiritual
gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that
speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but
unto God ; for no man understandeth ; but in the
spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth
speaketh unto men edification, and exhortation, and
consolation. He that speaketh in a tongue edifieth
himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
Now I would have you all speak with tongues, but
rather that ye should prophesy : and greater is he
that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues,
except he interpret, that the church may receive
edifying. — I Cor. 14:1-5.
He places prophesying above the mysterious "gift of
tongues." This means that the "gift" of speaking out plainly
God's message so that men can understand it is to be prized
highly. We speak today of Christian ministers as bearing the
mantle of the prophets, in so far as they faithfully declare
the message God has planted in their souls. Are they not
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[IX-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
prophets also who, with broad vision and depth of life, direct
the attention of men and women to the judgments of God
as they see them writ large in the events of the day?
Study for the Week
I
La ilah ilia llah; Mohammed resold Allah. This simple
short creed of the Mohammedan world, "There is no God
but Allah, and Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah," re-
sounds from ten thousand minarets five times each day.
From the day when Mohammed appointed a crier, the sound
of the human voice has been the summons to private devo-
tion and to public worship in the mosque. Two hundred
millions of Mohammedans, whether within sound of the
voice of the Muezzin, as he is called, or out in the desert
sands, lay down their burdens five times each day and,
reverently facing Mecca, prostrate themselves to the ground,
repeat the creed, and make known their requests to Allah.
Two hundred millions of them, yes and it may be more,
as some believe. They are found in China, in the vast table-
lands of Central Asia, in the Dutch East Indies, where they
are the dominant religious force, and as far to the east as
the Sulu archipelago of our own Philippines. From India,
west through the entire distance to the Atlantic coast of
Africa, the Mohammedan has made a clean sweep. Afghan-
istan, Persia, Arabia — the "Cradle of Islam" — the Turkish
Empire, Egypt, and all the states as far as the extreme north-
west corner of Africa, are almost solidly Moslem. The ex-
ceptions are the remnants of so-called Oriental Christian
churches, like the Armenian Church in Turkey and the Coptic
Church in Egypt. South of these north African states
stretches the mighty Sahara, whose nomadic peoples are all
followers of the Prophet. And south of the Sahara is the
populous Sudan, where the tribes not now Mohammedan are
falling rapidly an easy prey to the emissaries of Islam. Here
and in the East Indies Mohammedanism is advancing most
ii6
A PROPHET WHO MISSED THE WAY [IX-s]
rapidly, making converts and capturing tribe after tribe. The
advance is so swift that, up to the present time, Christianity
has not been able to thwart the progress. In Africa especially
the question must be asked. Is the continent to be Moham-
medan or Christian? Paganism cannot hold its own before
any higher faith, so the question has narrowed itself down to
this simple alternative, Mohammed or Christ. What is the
significance of this alternative?
II
The chief factor in Mohammedanism is Mohammed. To
believe in him is as necessary as to believe in Allah. So we
must try to understand Mohammed if we would know his
religion. Islam is not a "bolt out of the blue"; it was not
born full-fledged out of the brain of Mohammed, as his
followers still fondly believe. The investigations of European
scholars enable us to fill in many details concerning the
Arabs before Mohammed's time. One feature in the picture
is altogether favorable to Mohammed. He is shown to have
been a true reformer. He made war against the prevailing
infanticide, particularly of the girl babies ; he abolished the
blood-feud between tribes by proclaiming a new brotherhood ;
he was relentless in his opposition to polytheism and the use
of idols, and he succeeded in establishing the worship of one
God, Allah, in the land.
Allah was a well-known God in Arabia before Mohammed's'
time. What Mohammed did was to raise him to the position
of sole God of the universe, denying the existence of all
others. Mecca was already a "Mecca" when Mohammed was
born. To this city as a religious center the tribes flocked at
certain seasons and performed their rites. Mohammed seized
upon these practices, gave them a new interpretation by con-
necting them with the name of Abraham, and made pilgrim-
age to Mecca and the exact performance of a striking ritual
an essential part of the faith. Not only were these features
taken over from the existing heathenism; there were a few
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[IX-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
men in Arabia who, it would seem, had lost faith in the old
paganism and were longing for a purer faith. Mohammed
seems to have been in touch with these men. Then there
were scattered over the land communities of Jews and of
Christians, from whom, particularly the Jews, Mohammed
picked up many things which he incorporated in his religion.
Ill
Mohammed was born in Mecca in the year 570, and died in
Medina in 632 A. D. He came of a well-known and influ-
ential family, but, being left an orphan at an early age, was
brought up first by his grandfather, and then by his uncle
Abu Talib. These experiences left a deep impression upon
a very impressionable young boy. To the very end of his life
he was most kind to the widow and the orphan. Not much is
known of his boyhood and young manhood. It is probable
that he was subject to attacks of the nature of epileptic seiz-
ures. Throughout his whole life Mohammed gives indications
of being not quite normal. As one writer put it, he is a
"pathological case." He was called by his companions Al
Amin, the Trusty, or Faithful. Why or when we do not know,
but the giving of the name alone would indicate that he was
regarded favorably by his fellows.
When he was about twenty-five he was recommended to his
kinswoman Khadijah, a well-to-do widow, as one to be
trusted to conduct her affairs upon one of the caravan jour-
neys which were the source of Mecca's commercial prosperity.
He accepted the mission, performed it successfully, and so
pleased his employer that she offered him her hand in mar-
riage. Though she was fifteen years his senior, Mohammed
accepted her offer and they were married. For twenty-five
years they lived happily together, Khadijah being his only
wife. Until the time of his marriage Mohammed had been
of necessity a man of affairs. The old epithet, "The Camel
Driver of Mecca," may be more or less truly descriptive of
him. But now, married to a woman of means, he had leisure.
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A PROPHET WHO MISSED THE WAY [IX-s]
Dreamer that he was, he now had ample opportunity to in-
dulge his tastes. This fact made possible the rise of the new
religion.
IV
At some time about the year 6io, while Mohammed and his
family were seeking to escape the torrid and enervating heat
of Mecca on the heights of Mt. Hira, not far away, Mo-
hammed received what is known as the first revelation. To
us it sounds curious enough. According to tradition this is
the word which came to him, as recorded in the 96th Sura or
chapter of the Koran.
"Recite thou, in the name of thy Lord who created; —
Created man from Clots of Blood : —
Recite thou ! For thy Lord is the most Beneficent,
Who hath taught the use of the pen ; —
Hath taught Man that which he knoweth not."
He is told to proclaim something, in the name of the great
God, one of whose recent benefactions was that he had taught
the Arabs reading and writing. Very indefinite and very
inconsequential, we say. We must judge, however, by the
effect on Mohammed. He was greatly agitated, his whole
being was profoundly moved, he could never be the same man
again. Is this all that was to be revealed? That was the
question Mohammed asked over and over again. His mental
condition became such that he is said to have attempted to
take his own life, and was only prevented from doing so by
his good wife, Khadijah. She was his stay during this
period when no further revelation came. She assured him
that God had in reality spoken to him, and that the voice
would come again.
And sure enough another message came. Two years are
said by many to have passed before the silence was broken.
Then came the words recorded at the opening of the 74th
Sura.
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[IX-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
"O thou, enwrapped in thy mantle!
Arise and warn ! I .
Thy Lord— magnify Him!
Thy raiment — purify it!
The abomination— flee it! •
And bestow not favors that thou mayest receive again with
increase ;
And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.
For when there shall be a trump on the trumpet,
That shall be a distressful day,
A day, to the Infidels, devoid of ease."
From these words Mohammed took it that he was now
commissioned to "arise and warn." And the main contents
of the message are given, too— he is to magnify Allah his
Lord ; he is not to consider what men may say or do ; and he
is to herald "the day," the "distressful" day of judgment,
which is surely coming. This describes quite faithfully the
mission of Mohammed during the period he spent in Mecca.
He was a "Warner," the sounds of the Day of Judgment are
always ringing in his ears. The Almighty Allah is seated on
his throne of power, jealous of his prerogatives, and de-
manding utter submission and implicit obedience. Hence the
name of the religion, Islam, which means "to submit"; hence
the designation of the individual Mohammedan, Moslem,
"one who submits." It is, according to the new prophet, a
religion of submission to Allah; from this center all Moham-
med's preaching radiates.
V
Now for ten or twelve years Mohammed preached his doc-
trine to all who would listen. As the years passed a small
group of influential men gathered around him, men who in
the years to come were to play an important role in the his-
tory of the religion, but for the most part the Moslems were
from the poor and the slave class. They were so seriously
persecuted that twice a group found it advisable to go to
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A PROPHET WHO MISSED THE WAY [IX-s]
Abyssinia to find refuge. Mohammed himself received the
protection of his uncle, Abu Talib, and thus escaped. So
serious was the opposition of the Meccans that it became more
evident as the years passed that his mission had no chance of
success in his own city.
From the time the" second revelation came Mohammed
seems never to have faltered in his belief that he was God's
messenger. Not only m the days of success in Medina, but
during the period of persecution and opposition in Mecca,
he was ever the same, the uncompromising herald of God's
judgment and of his own high office as God's messenger.
There is much evidence on which to rest an argument for
Mohammed's sincerity during these years in Mecca. His
was the spirit of the reformer, of the genuine preacher oi
righteousness and the wrath of God on all disobedience.
After the long period of which we have spoken when no
revelation was granted, a complete change takes place. There
is a steady flow of revelations until the end of his life. When
he had died, these fragments were collected and brought to-
gether into a book which we know as the Koran. The mean-
ing of the word is "what is recited," the participle of the very
first word which came to him at the first revelation. So the
Koran is simply the collection of these inspired utterances
of Mohammed. In the Meccan days the utterances were
short and energetic outbursts of poetic fire. He is the "Poet-
warner," and he preaches his message with vigor. He be-
lieved that as occasion demanded God sent him the appro-
priate message by the hand of the Angel Gabriel.
About the year 620 Mohammed suffered the loss of two
friends. One was his protector, Abu Talib, and the other was
his wife, Khadijah. There was little now to hold him in
Mecca, and he began to seek a suitable center from which
he might preach his religion with more hope of success. Two
years passed, before the step was taken. In the memorable
year 622, the year one in the Mohammedan calendar, oc-
curred the Hegira, or "Flight." Mohammed left Mecca and
secretly made his way to Medina, a city about 250 miles due
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[IX-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
north. The people of Medina, as well as his own followers
who had preceded him, received him cordially. Here Mo-
hammed settled down and lived the remainder of his life.
VI
The Hegira marks an era. Mohammed is no longer a
mere preacher of righteousness, a warner ; he is now a ruler,
an administrator with civic problems on his hands and a reli-
gious community to build up and make a force in Arabia.
The community was frequently almost in destitution in the
early days, so Mohammed would send out and even accom-
pany foraging expeditions, whose purpose was to waylay
caravans and secure booty. Our immediate reaction is that
this is sorry business for one who claims to be a prophet of
God. The hand of necessity is laid on him, one says, but still
there is incongruity here.
Mohammed's eager desire from the beginning was to be
recognized in his own city. Stout resistance was offered for
some years, but as time passed Mohammed's prestige rose so
steadily that the only thing for the Meccans to do was to
open the gates of the city and let him in. Mohammed
entered Mecca in triumph. It was a victory without blood-
shed or loss. Mohammed had become the first man of
Arabia.
At first Mohammed sought an alliance of friendship with
the Jews, but it was not long before such a relationship was
found impossible. Of three leading Jewish tribes in the vicin-
ity of Medina, two were cruelly banished from the country
and the last had a more tragic end. The men were beheaded
in cold blood in the center of Medina, and the women and
children were sold into slavery. Again it is said that these
severe measures were justified by the unfriendliness and the
treachery of the Jews. But when it is remembered that Mo-
hammed was posing all this time as a God-inspired prophet of
righteousness, the case grows desperate.
If his treatment of the Jews deserves such condemnation,
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A PROPHET WHO MISSED THE WAY [IX-s]
what of his relation with women? During the lifetime of
Khadijah, she was his one wife and he seemed satisfied and
happy. But as soon as she was taken away from him, he
married one woman after another until in the end he had
about a dozen. As much as we recoil from such gross polyg-
amy, it was not uncommon in Arabia, and his Arab followers
might not have given the matter a second thought. He
found slavery, polygamy, and divorce in the land when he
came, and never thought of doubting their right to continue.
He even mitigated the condition of slaves and gave women
certain legal rights they had never possessed before.
But this is not the whole story. We have many evidences,
both in the traditions and in the Koran, that Mohammed
transgressed even the ideals and customs of that lax age,
and was able to save his face and hold the admiration of his
followers by recourse to the dreadful expedient of a special
revelation from. God. His marriage to the wife of his
adopted son Zeid, who divorced her in order that she might
become the wife of Mohammed, was so gross an infringe-
ment of the proprieties in the estimation of the Arabs that
the justifying 'revelations in the Koran are very careful to
make his act the result of a direct command of God. Only
considerations of space and the desire to draw the veil as
soon as possible prevent a fuller expose of Mohammed in this
sad and unhappy role.
VH
Such was Arabia's prophet, such the man now pointed to as
a paragon of excellence, such the example now held up as
worthy of admiration and imitation. Two events, crucial in
the character of Mohammed, help to explain the strange para-
dox of his character. One was the death of his wife Khadijah.
His life while she lived was exemplary, as far as w^e know ;
the debasement of polygamy did not touch him during these
years. As soon as her restraining influence was gone he
began his downward course. The other great event was
Mohammed's assumption of the powers of a worldly potentate.
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[IX-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
He became autocratic and vindictive. His character could
not stand such an increase of authority. He fell from the
high estate of a prophet to the position of an unscrupulous
despot, seeking by every means in his power to enhance his
own authority and suppress all rivals. As much as we feel
the strange anomaly of the situation, we are compelled by
the facts to hold that the Medina period is vastly different
from the earlier Meccan period. It is not the same Mo-
hammed. The prophet started out on the right trail, but he
had missed his way. There is a possible tragedy in being a
genius, a tragedy in being able to cast one's spell over mil-
lions of human beings for so many generations, when the
character of the genius falls so far below the high standard
which men should set for their leaders.
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. The Prophet in the Bible
What was the business of the prophet in Old Testament
religion? What the marks of a true prophet? How did he
differ from the priest? What need is there for men of
the prophetic spirit in our modern life?
H. The Prophet in Islam
Note well the important place held by Mohammed in his
religion. What was the secret of his influence? Recount
the factors which he contributed to make Islam what it was.
III. The Prophet as a Man
Contrast the admirable and unlovely traits in the life of
Mohammed. Why did not his moral delinquency turn his
followers away from him? What about him kept them
loyal through all his inconsistencies ? What conclusion have
you reached relative to his sincerity?
("Muhammad and His Power," by P. DeLacy Johnstone,
will serve as a good source for further facts concerning
the Prophet.)
L24
CHAPTER X
THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH
The "eternal truth" of the Mohammedan creed is that
there is but one God. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity
are the three great monotheistic religions of history. It
might appear that to say a religion is monotheistic is to say
all that is necessary about the God of that religion, but a^
study of Islam will show that it is altogether inadequate.
What kind of a God do we take the one God of the universe
to be? This is as necessary as to ask if he is the only God.
So now we use the opportunity ofifered to make a brief study
of the kind of a God we have presented to us in the Bible.
Daily Readings
First Day: God is one and there is no other power in the
universe to be compared with Him. To arrive at ,such a
conclusion was an achievement. Many centuries passed
before the Hebrew prophets were able to lift the people to
that high level. Jehovah had long been their God, but He was
their own and did not belong to any other people. A* curi-
ous passage relative to David shows how such a belief works
out in practice.
And Saul knew David's voice, and said. Is this thy
voice, my son David? And David said, It is my
voice, my lord, O king. And he said, Wherefore doth
my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I
done? or what evil is in my hand? Now therefore,
I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of
his servant; If it be Jehovah that hath stirred thee up
against me, let him accept an offering : but if it be
the children of men, cursed be they before Jehovah ;
for they have driven me out this day that I should
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[X-2] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
not cleave unto the inheritance of Jehovah, saying,
Go, serve other gods. — I Sam. 26:17-19.
David's interpretation of Saul's actions is that in driving
him out of the land of Israel he v^as sending him out of Je-
hovah's jurisdiction and saying, "Go, serve other gods."
Read the closing verses of the story of the cleansing of
Naaman the Syrian, when he comes back to offer thanks to
Elisha for his recovery.
And Naaman said. If not, yet, I pray thee, lee there
be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth;
for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-
offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Je-
hovah.— II Kings 5 : 17.
"Though Jehovah has revealed Himself to the conscience
of Naaman as the only genuine God, yet He can properly be
worshiped only on Israelitish soil."
Second Day : When Amos, the herdsman of Tekoa, came
walking through the streets of Bethel with his warning,
"Thus saith Jehovah," a new note was to be heard. The
message God had to speak was not for Judah and Israel
alone, but for Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and
Moab. Jehovah was God not of Israel alone, but of other
nations as well.
Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto
me, O children of Israel? saith Jehovah. Have not I
brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the
Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the
sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the
face of the earth ; save that I will not utterly destroy
the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah. — Amos 9:7, 8.
Third Day: In the later prophets the thought is worked
out with great power and beauty. The Prophet of the Exile
returns to the theme time and again.
126
THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH [X-4]
Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his
Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts : I am the first, and I am
the last ; and besides me there is no God. And who,
as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order
for me, since I established the ancient people? and
che things that are coming, and that shall come to
pass, let them declare. Fear ye not, neither be afraid :
have I not declared unto thee of old, and showed
it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a God besides
me? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any. — Isa.
44 : 6-8.
Here is monotheism full-fledged and majestic. There is no
God except Jehovah.
And this God is omnipotent, He holds all things in the
hollow of His hand.
Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the
heavens, and stretched them forth ; he that spread
abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it;
he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and
spirit to them that walk therein. — Isa. 42: 5.
I have made the earth, and created man upon it :
I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens ;
and all their host have I commanded. — Isa. 45 : 12.
Fourth Day : God was not only great and powerful, He
had a distinctive character. He is first of all the Holy One
of Israel.
For I am Jehovah your God : sanctify yourselves
therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither
shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creep-
ing thing that moveth upon the earth. For I am
Jehovah that brought you up out of the land of
Egypt, to be your God : ye shall therefore be holy,
for I am holy. — Lev. 11 : 44, 45.
But Jehovah of hosts is exalted in justice, and God
the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness. — Isa.
5:16.
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[X-5] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
God is just and righteous. He is not capricious, He can
always be counted on to be true to Himself.
He is also kind and merciful to the children of men. Read
the whole of the 103rd Psalm, of which we quote here a
few verses.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins.
Nor rewarded us after our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is his lovingkindness toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west.
So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children.
So Jehovah pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame ;
He remembereth that we are dust. — Psalm 103 : 10-14.
Fifth Day : The great contribution made by Jesus was to
show God as Father. The 103rd Psalm speaks of God as
being like a father, but Jesus filled the conception with a
meaning never known before.
Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love
thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy : but I say unto
you. Love your enemies, and pray for them that per-
secute you; that ye may be sons of your Father who
is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the
unjust.— Matt. 5: 43-45-
A new relation of intimacy with God is made possible by
Jesus Christ. In a new sense men belong to God's family.
Sixth Day : Every feature in the character of God as de-
picted in the Old Testament is emphasized in the New. He
is the one God, Lord of heaven and earth, the one high and
lif ted-up, who hates sin and loves righteousness. He is all-
wise and merciful and gracious. But other aspects are
introduced.
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THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH [X-7]
The God that made the world and all things therein,
he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in
temples made with hands; neither is he served by
men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing
he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all
things; and he made of one every nation of men to
dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined
their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habi-
tation ; that they should seek God, if haply they might
feel after him and find him, though he is not far
from each one of us: for in him we live, and move,
and have our being; as certain even of your own
poets have said.
For we are also his offspring.— Acts 17 : 24-28.
No chasm separates man from God.
_^ "Closer is he than breathing,
In Nearer than hands and feet."
We are made in His image; we live in Him; we are to be
like Him as we see Him in Jesus Christ, for God is a Christ-
like God.
Seventh Day: The climax of the whole revelation is to
be found in the conception of God's love. Repeat to your-
self the well-known words of John 3 : 16. It was God's love
that sent Jesus Christ to men. Also read two of Paul's
mighty passages :
But God commendeth his own love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom. 5:8.
Nay, in all these things we are more than con-
querors through him that loved us. For I am per-
suaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.— Rom.
8 : 37-39-
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In Christ God's love is to be seen full and free. As we
might expect, we must go to the writings of John for cer-
tain characteristic utterances about the deeper things of
God which are not to be found elsewhere.
Beloved, let us love one another : for love is of
God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God,
and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not
God ; for God is love. Herein was the love of God
manifested in us, that God hath sent his only be-
gotten Son into the world that we might live through
him. — I John 4 : 7-9.
So then, God not only loves, He is Love; it is of the very
essence of His nature. And we may know that we abide in
Him if we possess His Spirit, and can that Spirit be any
other than the Spirit of Love?
Study for the Week
I
The faith of the Arabian prophet is alert and aggressive. Its
followers believe in its divine origin and in its destiny. There
must be something about the religion to influence men in
this .fashion, and we must try to discover what it is.
Take the case of a pagan tribe in the Sudan in Central
Africa — what is the appeal of Islam there? In the very first
contact with the Mohammedan trader or teacher, the pagan is
conscious of his own inferiority. The Moslem may be
haughty and overbearing, but this only heightens the respect
in which he is held — such an attitude is an evidence of
superior knowledge and ability. Then the Moslem dresses
in such a manner as to increase his dignity in the eyes of the
simple pagans. He treats with disdain their religious prac-
tices, and performs his own religious ceremonies with such
regularity, precision, and awesome reverence that the natives
cannot fail to be impressed. More than that, the Moslem
stranger is not so far removed in customs and culture but
that the pagan can understand him. The Moslem will inter-
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THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH [X-s]
marry with the natives and thus establish a strong bond
between them. He holds out the advantage of belonging to
a community scattered over the earth in which all men are
brothers. The Moslem lives on a level appreciably higher
than the pagan, and it influences him greatly. The fact that
Islam tolerates polygamy and divorce is of no consequence,
for no other ideal has ever entered the native's mind. He
may at times be surprised at the immorality of the stranger,
but that is easily counterbalanced by so many other things,
that it makes little difference in the final decision. In a
short time the village is imitating the Moslem in his worship,
and reciting the creed as he does. They have made the
transition and are Mohammedans ; they have put away their
pagan ceremonies and pagan deities, and are worshipers of
Allah, and Allah alone.
Can they be counted on to remain loyal Moslems? Usually,
even though little intelligence may accompany their worship.
Of one thing the Moslem missionary is sure, the second
generation will be stanch believers, "dyed in the wool." They
have an advantage over their fathers, they know far better
the meaning of what they are doing. Now these people are
lifted to a level a little higher than the one they had occupied
— there can be no doubt of that. The difficulty is that once on
the new level they remain stationary. They are deaf to all
appeals made by Christian missionaries, whose standard is so
much higher. Instead of Islam being a half-way house be-
tween paganism and Christianity, it is a barrier between the
two and increases the problem of lifting the backward
Moslemized pagan peoples tenfold.
II
What is there about the faith itself which furnishes reli-
gious satisfaction to its followers? One thing must be
emphasized, that there is nothing which calls for privation
or sacrifice. Mohammed knew human nature well and ac-
commodated his teaching to the weaknesses as well as to the
aspirations of mankind.
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[X-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
The practice of Islam rests on what are called the five
Pillars of the Faith. We must know what they are if we
would understand what being a Moslem day by day means.
1. The repetition of the creed, "There is no God but Allah,
and Mohammed is the prophet of Allah." This is repeated
times without number each day by every Mohammedan. It
is a part of the call of the Muezzin as he announces the hours
of worship. It is the test of loyalty, and furnishes a signi-
ficant declaration of a man's conversion to the faith. If he
asserts that he believes there is no God but Allah and that
Mohammed is his prophet, he thereby proclaims himself a
Mohammedan. No questions are asked as to his intentions
or sincerity — he is a Moslem and a member of the brother-
hood.
2. Prayer, at five stated times each day, as well as at any
other times when need arises. These five prayers are defi-
nitely prescribed and are one of the chief outward marks of
the religion. They occur as follows: the first just before
sunrise, the second at high noon, the third in what we would
call mid-afternoon, the fourth just after sunset, and the
fifth soon after night has closed. All in sound of the
Muezzin's voice are summoned at the appropriate times ;
others far out in the desert determine the times for them-
selves by simple rules which people who carry no timepieces
know so well. At each of the five times, a form of worship
is carried out, a ceremony fixed with great care by the
prophet himself, A prayer rug or mat is spread on the
ground and, turning toward Mecca, each worshiper proceeds
to bow himself low before Allah and to utter the prescribed
prayers. The actual prayer is always preceded by the most
careful ablution, with water usually, but with clean desert
sand if no water is to be had. The whole ceremony can be
learned easily, though it would be difficult to describe it
accurately.
Who can say that the constant practice of these daily
prayers has not done as much to preserve Islam intact as any
other single thing? Moslems not only believe in their reli-
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THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH [X-s]
gion, they act it out in prostration and prayer five times each
day, without fail and without any deviation. The effect is
heightened when all together in the mosque, led by a prayer
leader, arranged in long regular rows, go through the cere-
mony with the precision of a West Point dress parade. Yes,
formality and mechanical ritualism to be sure — that is our
criticism thousands of miles removed from the actual facts.
The impression made on the careful observer is that real awe
and reverence characterize the proceeding. At the conclusion
of the service the worshipers slip away in solemn hush. Allah
is a reality to them — no one can doubt that who has seen
them pray.
Closely connected with prayer in Islam is the use made of
the Koran. The Moslem now believes that the Koran was
handed down to Mohammed as need arose, but that it is
really eternal. They assert that it is uncreated and has
always existed as a finished product at the right hand of
Allah. Can any theory of inspiration be more drastic than
this? The Sacred Book is read and recited with great dili-
gence and very frequently. To quote from an article by
Theodore Noldeke, "And since the use of the Koran in public
worship, in schools, and otherwise is much more extensive
than, for example, the reading of the Bible in most Christian
countries, it has been truly described as the most widely-
read book in existence." How does that statement sound in
our ears?
And what is this Koran, this book of Mohammed which
dominates the minds of so many human beings? With all
we may say of its poetic beauty in the earlier Suras, and of
the blazing denunciations of any conception save that of
God's absolute unity ; despite its rhythmic flow in the original,
the book is to us rather dull reading. Carlyle, not without a
touch of exaggeration, wrote of it : "I must say, it is as
toilsome reading as I ever undertook. , . . Nothing but
a sense of duty could carry any European through." About
the length of our New Testament, written in Arabic, the
"Language of the Angels," it is not to be desecrated by
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[X-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
translation into profane tongues. Composed with a rhythmic
swing, and regarded as the standard of all literary excel-
lence, the Koran binds together the whole Moslem world in
language as well as in religion.
3. Almsgiving. Mohammed never ceased to inculcate the
duty of succoring the poor, especially the orphan and the
widow. In the early days, when in the Moslem world church
and state were one, the matter of charity was carefully regu-
lated and was placed in the care of state officials. Now that
most Moslems are under the government of Christian powers,
almsgiving has become of necessity a matter of the individual
conscience, yet faithful Moslems continue the practice of
relieving want and suffering as opportunity offers.
4. Fasting, particularly during the month of Ramadan.
The regulation is that not a drop of water or a particle of
food shall pass the lips of a Mohammedan during the day-
time throughout this month. Of course, exception is made
for sick people and those who may be in a battle or military
campaign. Not a thing must be taken after the time when
one can distinguish a white thread from a black by daylight.
Such is the regulation and so it is observed. Observed?
Yes, in the letter, but surely not in the spirit, by hosts of
Moslems. They make this month the greatest month of
feasting and revelling in the whole year — fasting all day
and feasting all night — so that in Persia medical missionaries
assert that they have more cases of indigestion and kindred
troubles to deal with in Ramadan than at any other time!
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca, called the Hajj. Once in his life-
time every Mohammedan is supposed to make the pilgrimage
to the Holy City, Mecca, and also to Medina, the City of the
Prophet. It is not an absolutely binding rule, and many of
course do not go ; but it is the ambition of everyone to be
able some day to make the pilgrimage. He is honored when
he comes back and is called a Haji, one who has made the pil-
grimage. Mecca and the pilgrimage stand for the unity of
Islam. There a Moslem from China, for example, mingles
with his fellow-Moslems from the west coast of Africa.
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THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH [X-s]
This experience is to him the symbol of the unity of the
Brotherhood. It is real to him, has he not seen it with his
own eyes?
Ill
And now let us penetrate a little deeper. We have taken
a look at the outward observances of the religion, let us see
what a Mohammedan believes. Again we revert to the creed,
"There is no God but Allah." Here is the core of the teach-
ing—the doctrine of God fills about nine-tenths of all their
Moslem theological systems. And the first thing to say
about Allah is that he is the only God, the sole creator and
sustainer of the universe. Here is monotheism as clear and
as uncompromising as in Judaism or in Christianity. The
unity of God makes the religion universal, for there is but
one God and he is the God of all. The hope filling the breast
of every Mohammedan is that his religion may extend farther
and farther until it has become the religion of mankind.
Coming as he did six centuries after Jesus Christ, Mohammed
is the last of the prophets, the consummation of a religious
development in which Jesus played an important though
subordinate part.
Allah, this one "God of the universe, is almighty. Nothing
can withstand his power; he can do what he will. No re-
straint of any kind is to be thought of. This leads to two
practical results. One is the fatalism which dominates the
thinking of the Mohammedan world. There can be no
question that Mohammed himself held to at least a certain
amount of freewill in man, and at the same time to the
irresistibility of God's eternal decrees. This is not hard to .
understand when we remember that he was no theologian and
was incapable of forming a system of thought. He simply
spoke out what was in his mind at the time, and did not
trouble himself about inconsistencies, even if he saw them.
But as the Koran advances, determinism becomes more and
more evident. This trend became distinctive of Islam and is
now well-nigh universal. Man is in the hands of an Al-
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[X-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
mighty Power who can do with him as he wills, Man's part
is to snbmit in humble acceptance of all that comes. Hence
Islam became the name of the religion— it is submission to
the almighty will of Allah, who determines all things,
even down to the most insignificant details. Like a pall the
thick cloud of fatalism hangs over the Islamic world, making
moral enthusiasm impossible and cutting the nerve of spiritual
aspiration.
The other result which flows from the doctrine of God's
unlimited power is that Allah's almightiness is capricious.
He does what he will, uncontrolled by any other influence.
Righteousness and love do not determine the direction Allah's
will should take. That would be to limit him, and even though
it is an inner limitation, one in his own nature, the Moham-
medan will have none of it. What has really happened is
that, without realizing it, Islam has transferred a typical,
irresponsible Eastern potentate to the heavens, endowed him
with irresistible power, and called him God. So high is
Allah above all his creation, so unique and unapproachable,
that a great chasm separates him even from man, the highest
of his creatures. To say that man is created in the image
of God is blasphemy to a Moslem. That were to drag God
down to man's level, and that is too dreadful to contemplate.
Man must be kept entirely separate from God, not a child
and an heir of his glory, but only a slave whose duty is un-
questioning obedience. Man is not spiritual as God is; he
is carnal and carnal must he always remain. Everything in
the teaching is made to suit this conception. If he be carnal,
man can never hope to share the divine nature. All he has
to do is to obey God and as a reward of his obedience will
be allowed to enter paradise, a paradise devised to give him
the sensuous and sensual gratifications which he desired on
earth and which are the only kind he is capable of under-
standing. Islam is surely a religion of the natural man, unre-
lieved by any lofty spiritual idealism.
And yet, with these palpable weaknesses, Islam continues
to lead men spellbound through their lives. They see none
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THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH [X-s]
of these things as defects, and actually turn on Christianity
and point the finger of scorn at a doctrine of God which they
look upon as far inferior. Like the blazing sun in the desert
wastes of Arabia, so Allah, the divine Sun in the heavens,
blinds men to all else. He is all powerful; they care little
about other things, provided he is allowed to remain in the
heavens alone, with all power and dominion as his exclusive
possession.
IV
But no men, even Moslems, can be confined within the
compass of a doctrine, if the limits are too narrow for an.
expanding spiritual life. Such is the case in the religion of
the Prophet. The real spiritual Hfe of the religion is to be
found among the mystics, who are organized in what are
called Darvish orders. They are widely scattered in the
Mohammedan world. This mystic longing is an expression of
the desire to experience union with God, and all the exercises
are calculated to produce that efifect. Thus the human heart
is seen to repudiate the cleavage between God and man which
the Moslem orthodox theologians have asserted so vehe-
mently. Great saints have arisen in Islam who know that they
have had communion with God, and their memory is highly
venerated and their graves visited by large companies of
people. This phase of Islam is the key to understand the
inner meaning of the religion and its vitality, for here there
is life and the possibility of progress.
Islam is in a serious plight. She is tied fast to an obsolete
theory of the universe, to religious customs and teachings;
which refuse to fit into the modern view of the world, to a
book whose claims to originality cannot be substantiated, and
to a character, the great prophet himself, who was only a
man and whose deeds and ideals cannot be defended in a
world of growing moral convictions. Add to this the pres-
ence of slavery and the sanction of. polygamy and almost
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[X-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
unlimited divorce, which still obtain in all Moslem commu-
nities, and the burden must prove unbearable. Think of the
indictment against Mohammed, who, because of his ungov-
ernable jealousy, caused his own and all wives in Islam to be
secluded in their own homes and behind a veil when they
appeared on the streets. Women in Islam must live in an-
other world from the men. All advantages are denied them ;
they live for their husbands and have little or no value as
human beings fit for noble lives and companionships.
Cannot Islam change? Can she not throw off the weight
of tradition and emerge into the light of modern day? It is
a real question, which many have answered with a decided
negative. A reformed Islam is no longer Islam, they say.
But the fact is, Islam has changed much in the past and
will doubtless do so in the future. Savings-banks are in
direct opposition to the Koran, which forbids all interest on
money, and life insurance is blasphemy in that it presumes
to plan for the future, which should be left entirely in God's
hands ; yet savings-banks and life insurance are both making-
headway among the more progressive Mohammedans.
Nothing can retard the march of events, not even religious
conservatism, when men begin to desire better things. And
men are beginning to feel new desires and are seeking to
accommodate their theories to them. What the end will be
no one can say, but Islam will not continue the same. But can
Islam ever come to her own religiously with Mohammed in
the lead? That is a question the Moslems must settle. In
the meantime we who have Jesus Christ, have we any duty?
That is a question we must settle.
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. What Kind of God Have We?
What were the early ideas of the Hebrews about God?
How do they differ from complete monotheism? What
did Jesus add to the old conception of God? What are the
most important elements in God's character?
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THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH [X-s]
II. Islam as a World Force
What is the secret of Islam's ability to make Converts
today? What does Islam do with a people when it has
secured their allegiance? What is your judgment of Islam
when compared with your ideas of what a religion should
be?
III. Islam in Theory and Practice
Keep in mind the "five pillars" of the faith. What is
good and what questionable in each? In what respects
does the Allah of Islam differ from the Father-God of
Christianity? What connection is there between the fatal-
ism of Islam and the freedom of Christianity and the
conceptions of God on which they rest?
("Aspects of Islam," by Dr. D. B. Macdonald, may well be
used in connection with this chapter.)
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CHAPTER XI
THE DREAM OF RELIGION GOME TRUE
After our study of some of the living religions of man-
kind we come in the end to our own faith, Christianity.
It is not at all strange if, in our admiration, we feel that
in Christianity the dreams men have had of what religion
might do have actually come true. What we should do in
these last studies is to apply ourselves to discover what right
we have to make such high claims. What does Christianity
ofTer to men in seeking their allegiance? What may a man
expect in his own life when he comes to Christianity and
seeks its help? In all frankness, is our confidence in Chris-
tianity justified?
Daily Readings
First Day : Is there anything more in a man than we see
when we meet him on the street?
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness. , . . And God created man in his
own image, in the image of God created he him. —
Gen. 1 : 26, 2^.
Made in God's own image ; animated with God's own
"breath of life," as we are told in the more picturesque ac-
count in the second chapter of Genesis ; given dominion over
all creatures ; and having it said of him, as of all other parts
of creation, that he was "good" — surely man had an envi-
able origin and an ideal relation to God, as these ancient
records maintain. What do you think is meant by being made
in the image of God? How far do you think man can
lose or has lost this stamp of the divine nature?
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DREAM OF RELIGION COME TRUE [XI-2J
Second Day : But as we see men day by day, something is
surely the matter. Man is out of joint with himself, with his
fellows, and with God. The Bible is full of references to
man's pitiable condition.
There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none that understandeth,
There is none that seeketh after God;
They have all turned aside, they are together be-
come unprofitable;
There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as
one. — Rom. 3 : 10-12.
The indictment is very severe — is it too severe? What
would you say is man's malady? Recall the answer as stated
in the form of a vivid story in the third chapter of Genesis^
where the first temptation was to be disobedient to God.
t
Third Day : Yet with all this, man possesses dignity and
is prized as worthy of honor. He is still a child of God.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers^
The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
And the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him but little lower than God,
And crownest him with glory and honor. — Psalm 8 : 3-6,
With all his weakness and disability, man is related to God
in a unique manner. What do you think is necessary to turn
his possibilities into realities?
Fourth Day : There was a word Jesus used, one of the
most wonderful in His whole vocabulary, the word "forgive-
ness." It was wonderful because it gathered up into itself
so many great ideas, that of God's sorrow because of man's
sin, of His love for the one who had gone wrong, of His
purpose to bring the sinner back to Himself. We recall the
scene of the boy's return home:
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[XI-5] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
And he arose, and came to his father. But while he
was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved
with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and
kissed him. And the son said unto him. Father, I
have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight : I am
no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father
said to his servants. Bring forth quickly the best
robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand,
and shoes on his feet : and bring the fatted calf, and
kill it, and let us eat, and make merry: for this my
son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is
found. — Luke 15: 20-24.
One of the things this story teaches is that God is anxious,
more anxious than we can tell, to reestablish the old rela-
tions of confidence and trust which had been broken, and
that is what is meant by forgiveness. Christianity then,
according to Jesus, is primarily a religion of restored rela-
tionships.
Fifth Day : Paul's letters are full of this same subject,
forgiveness.
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through
whom also we have had our access by faith into this
grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of
the glory of God. — Rom. 5:1,2.
"Justification" is a legal word and as such is liable to mis-
understanding, but what Paul had in mind was such a change
of relationship between God and man that man could feel
free to go to God as a child goes to a parent. So remark-
able was the change in a man who had entered into this re-
lationship that to Paul all idea of patching up an old thing
to ''make it do" was excluded — the man who had been
changed was like a new creature.
Wher.efore if any man is in Christ, he is a new
creature: the old things are passed away; behold,
they are become new. — II Cor. 5 : 17.
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DREAM OF RELIGION COME TRUE [XI-6]
Sixth Day : Man's moral life has been covered with
blotches. He hates the thought, and wants to be able to live
honorably and purely. What are his prospects?
But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not ful-
fil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against
the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ; for these
are contrary the one to the other ; that ye may not do
the things that ye would. . . . And they that are
of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the pas-
sions and the lusts thereof. — Gal. 5 : 16, 17, 24.
A new spirit possesses a man. Yes, but more than that is
true — an influence from the outside, yet acting upon him in-
visibly and from the inside, makes certain things possible
which otherwise he could not do at all. It is very plain,
too, that he cannot lie down and take it easy. In every pas-
sage where the moral life is mentioned, the necessity of man's
doing his part is shown. But when a man is honestly doing-
his part, his confidence may be complete.
Seventh Day : Man's life lasts so short a time here below
that inevitably he peers out into the future to discover, if pos-
sible, what is in store for him. He needs two things, the as-
surance of immortality and an immortality of such a kind as
shall prove worthy of his highest ideals here in this life.
We are told that it was Jesus Christ who "brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel" (II Tim. 1:10), so
that for a Christian all the assurance he needs is in his Lord.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth : for the
first heaven and the first earth are passed away. . . .
And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying.
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he
shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples,
and God himself shall be with them, and be their God :
and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes ;
and death shall be no more ; neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first
things are passed away. And he that sitteth on the
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[XI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
throne said, Behold, I make all things new. . . . He
that overcometh shall inherit these things ; and I will
be his God, and he shall be my son. But for the
fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and mur-
derers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burn-
eth with fire and brimstone; which is the second
death.— Rev. 21 : i, 3-5, 7, 8.
Sum up the characteristics of the life in the new Jeru-
salem, the City of God. Who is to inherit all these things
and enter into these relationships? We shudder at the
thought of the cleavage, but what an inestimable boon it is
to know that all which in any way would debase and degrade
is conspicuous by its absence in that life. Only "new crea-
tures" could enter into and appreciate such a world, and all
that is there will be worthy of their highest and purest
dreams. Only then will man come to his own. The secret
of the blessedness of the coming experience is that Jesus
Christ will be there, and in Him we shall have all.
Study for the Week
I
We have found the men of every nation religious. A
universal craving after God makes some kind of religion
imperative. Our object has been to exhibit the various reli-
gions in such a way that the sincere yearning of men for God
might be seen in its true light. In the course of our wander-
ings much truth has been encountered as well as error. And
truth is always truth, wherever found and by whomsoever
proclaimed. It makes no difference how much of the false is
mingled with it, it is God's truth nevertheless, and is to
be cherished and appropriated as a priceless possession.
If there be truth in all the religions and if it is our duty
to acknowledge truth wherever found, why is not an eclectic
faith the only religion a truth-loving man can make his
own? Why is he not in duty bound to pick out all the good
points in all the religions he knows anything about and
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DREAM OF RELIGION COME TRUE [XI-s]
formulate a statement which will embrace them all? In what
other way can he win the reputation of being candid and
fair-minded? Is not the acceptance of a single and more or
less exclusive faith the stark repudiation of his sense of
justice and broad-mindedness?
If religion were a matter of beliefs only, much could be
said for this view. But let us look at religion more closely.
Is it a matter of the head only? Is it even primarily intellect-
ual ? Some have thought so and have acted as though all that
was necessary had been done when coherent beliefs ar-
ranged in systematic order had been presented. But religion
must carry the whole personality or not be adequate to meet
the demands made upon it. To embrace a religion is not
primarily to believe certain things or to act in such and such
a way, though both are essential. The first thing in religion
is devotion, surrender, putting our trust in God. Of course
there are beliefs on which this trust is built and practices
which grow out of such a faith, but in essence religion is a
matter of personal relationships.
A most excellent illustration is to be found in our Chris-
tian view of marriage and family life. The promise a man
makes is exceedingly exclusive, "forsaking all other, keep
thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live" — exclusive
to be sure, but essential if the heart is to find rest and peace.
It is a condition of happiness found in the very structure of
the human heart. The analogy with religion is almost exact.
The human heart wants rest and peace, it is seeking an alle-
giance, it desires to trust, it is looking for a worthy being
in whom to repose confidence. A religion in its central alle-
giance must be to a certain extent exclusive, because the
human personality is built that way. Augustine's famous
saying is quite to the point, "Thou hast made us for Thy-
self, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee."
But when this central point is seen and our confidence
fixed, there is no limit to our right and duty to discover and
appreciate every good thing in every religion and use it as a
gift from God Himself. Our own conceptions will grow
145 ?
[XI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
richer and our moral perceptions sharper by the discovery of
what to us might otherwise be hidden or dimly seen. God
speaks in manifold ways. > There is no contradiction in hold-
ing that in Christ "are all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge hidden" (Col. 2:3). It were a pity if the wisdom
hidden in Christ was not so many-sided and ample that each
race did not possess some element of it not discovered by
others.
II
Christianity has a method of salvation which is possible of
attainment. To make such a claim becomes all the more sur-
prising when what is meant by salvation in Christianity is
understood. It is far more than to be assured that certain
consequences of our wrongdoings are abrogated. It is a
sense of having found God and of having Him as our great
Friend, on whom we may count for all we need. We were
lost and could not find our way, but now the path is clear and
we walk in it, and peace and gladness are ours. A very great
change has taken place — a sense of trust in God has changed
our whole relation to others. Our confidence is such that
nothing present or in the future, in this life or the other, up-
sets us so that we cannot recover ourselves. The experience
may be vivid or it may be in the softer colors — the important
thing is that we are possessed of an assurance that things are
right, and that we have good reason for this conclusion.
Running over the religions of the world, we find that all
have some idea of salvation and all teach some method cf
attaining it. Of what good were religion if it did not claim
to save? Now when all the schemes of salvation have been
collected and are compared, they are seen to fall into two
great classes. That is, in principle there are just two con-
ceivable methods of securing salvation: one is to win it for
oneself and the other is to receive it as a gift.
Sitting on beds of spikes, attempting to keep without in-
fringement a set of moral rules, trying to throttle one's in-
clinations and desires, losing one's self in absorbed contempla-
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DREAM OF RELIGION COME TRUE [XI-s]
tion, have all been used and are now in use to bring peace,
to win the approval of God. Failure is written large over
every one of these attempts. Something is always lacking.
Our resolution breaks down somewhere and we are undone.
Christianity proclaims salvation as the free gift of God.
The condition of its coming is that we shall want it and want
it sufficiently to ask for it and trust God that it is ours. We
call it faith; it means taking a certain risk, that God does
actually do what He has promised, and then acting accord-
ingly. Faith means devotion; a giving of oneself up to an-
other, in this case to Jesus Christ. We call him Saviour be-
cause we are saved from our lower selves, from our fears,
from the things which destroy, and we are alive to things
which are true and noble and pure. Our attainment may at
times be very slow, even to the point of discouragement,
but so long as our attitude toward Jesus Christ is one of
eager desire to win His approval and of trust in His ability
to make good with His promises, we are saved.
in
The beauty of the method of salvation just spoken of is
that it is open to all. Anyone can trust another if he has con-
fidence in him. But we must go further. The moral task still
stares a man in the face. It is here he has been stumbling
and falling all his life. It is this that has caused him re-
morse and bitterness, that has broken up his peace a thou-
sand times, and almost led him to the verge of despair. "Con-
science doth make cowards of us all," and unhappy, despairing
men as well. The religion which makes such claims as Chris-
tianity ought to have some good method of cracking this
hard nut, or fall to the level of other religions almost bank-
rupt morally.
Now it will be clearly understood that Christianity does not
attain its end by lessening the moral pressure. Far from it
— the very opposite is true. No religion can compare with
Christianity in moral strenuousness. Mohammedan morality,
and Confucian, and Buddhist, compared point by point, show
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[XI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
the uniqueness of the Christian position. We are judged not
only by our acts, but by the desires and thoughts we harbor.
We are to be judged by the most rigorous of all standards,
that of love. No one can hold his head up when such tests
are applied. The pride of the Rich Young Ruler that he
had kept all the commandments Jesus cited did not last, when
Jesus probed to the heart of his indulgent selfishness. Our
moral ideal constantly recedes as we make progress. It keeps
ahead of us with its tantalizing demands until in despera-
tion we wonder why we cannot reach the summit.
How can there be any peace or gladness in such a religion,
a religion which is always demanding more than we can
fulfil, and which promises this kind of an experience to the
very end? There are two things Christianity has to say to
us in this strange plight. One is the word of forgiveness.
God restores the old relation of companionship for which we
were intended. That is the "good news" of Christianity.
Now God could be convicted of immorality in His forgive-
ness, if it were bestowed on anyone who was not in the moral
battle to win. Otherwise He would be implicated in wrong-
doing by passing over it lightly. Not so with our God, the
God revealed by Jesus Christ. But if this be true, the wonder
is that foreboding and discouragement do not take possession
of the Christian as he feels his weakness and looks out into
the days to come with their temptations. No joy over God's
forgiveness could last in such a chilly atmosphere of appre-
hension. What is there to do? The other word Christianity
has to speak is Christ's message that He has not left us alone
in the world, but has sent His Spirit everywhere among men
to be tlieir Helper. Invisible yet present and active, this
Holy Spirit makes His abode in the lives of Christian men
and women as a kind of moral and spiritual dynamic. He
helps them to do what would otherwise be impossible.
IV
Christianity does more than this. It reveals a God who is
at the same time a Father. Does that sound commonplace?
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DREAM OF RELIGION COME TRUE [XI-s]
We do hear it very often these days, but do people really
understand what it means when God is spoken of as Father?
He is far more than father in the ordinary sense ; He is father
in tha,t He was like Jesus. This revelation was made in the
only manner in which men could understand it. It was
made in human form, in the language men spoke. In Jesus
Christ we see God come down as a man among us. He passed
through a human experience among us, and we see Him in
our own light and hear Him in our own tongue. In Jesus
Christ we see manhood at its best; we see also God liv-
ing a human life. Mr. Lloyd George was once enjoying one
of his trips to his native Welsh hills and valleys. He was
asked how it was he understood so well and sympathized
so completely with the cottagers in the little villages. His
answer was that he knew what it meant to look out at the
world from the inside, through those cottage windows. In
Jesus Christ God was looking out at our world from our own
human cottage windows. So He understands and sympathizes
with us completely because He knows, not so much by the
divine and majestic attribute of omniscience, as by experience.
Our God was revealed perfectly by Jesus Christ, so He is
a Christ-like God.
Now this is what all the world's a-seeking — to know God.
It is the deepest longing in the human breast. We may see
this at a point we should scarcely think of as giving us light
here. What is the real meaning of image worship, of idols?
It must be based on some innate desire, some fundamental
need of men. Is it not to have a God brought near? to have
something tangible and visible to make God real to their
minds? This is surely a worthy desire. See how Christianity
meets this need fully in Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of "Christ,
who is the image of God" (II Cor. 4:4), and the author of
the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of Jesus, "the Son," as
"the very image of his substance" (Heb. 1:3). Yes, men
want to know God in a manner and form they can understand.
They zvill have an image. The one essential of an image is
that it worthily and adequately represent its object, and
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[XI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
here all man-made idols fall down. Is God such as they
have pictured? If so, what a God He must be! No wonder
the non-Christian religions are inadequate. But in Jesus
Christ we have a perfect image of the one loving God, and
when we see Him we see God as He is.
Christianity points to a cross, which symbolizes its victory
over the world's suffering and sin. It is the preaching of the
cross that breaks the heart of stone. Sin and suffering are
everywhere. And a religion making universal claims must
qualify here, or be out of the running. We live not in an
ideal world, full of beauty and goodness, but in a disordered
world, full of misgiving and malice and sorrow.
We might debate how much of the sneering in the world
is the result of wrongdoing, and come to different conclusions.
But since things are as they are, a religion is bound to deal
with sin, and do it in such a way as to give men hope. Until
we begin to see the problem as God does, we cannot appre-
ciate the meaning of that feature of Christianity which down
through the Christian ages has been its chief basis of appeal.
The life and death of Jesus Christ and His rising again
was God's response to man's need. Jesus Christ suffered and
died; He sounded to the depth the meaning of human suffer-
ing and sin. Is there any wonder He could say as He did,
with this whole experience in view, "Be of good cheer ; I have
overcome the world" (John i6: 33) ? He had passed through
and was victorious. The assurance of all for which we strive
lies in the power of the living Christ, who went to the bottom
of the pit and rose again the victor.
The great barrier between God and man was the fact that
man had sinned. Sin is like dust in the eyes, it cuts off our
view. Man lost sight of God and became a wanderer in the
world. Everything was askew because God and man were
not friends. With all their attempts, the great religious
leaders of the world could not bring about the kind of con-
tact which would seal a friendship. This Jesus did.
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DREAM OF RELIGION COME TRUE [XI-s]
It is in Christ's death on the cross that we arrive at the
heart of the reconciliation. Sin was so terrible that Jesus
died — not in the ordinary sense, for He gave up his life.
There was purpose and meaning in it for Him and, if we will,
for us. If sin was so terrible that it was necessary for Christ
to give up His very life, how great must have been the love
of God in sending His Son for this very purpose ! If sin was
so terrible, what a necessity rested upon God to make it
appear dreadful by such a sacrifice, in order to save His
forgiveness of sin from becoming cheap ! How much farther
Christianity penetrates to the inner meaning of the world's
malady than any other religion ! What other religion can
burst out in praise like this: "O death, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting? The sting of death is sin; and
the power of sin is the law : but thanks be to God, who giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Con
15:55-57).
VI
Such a religion is universal — not because Jesus Christ issued
a command to carry His Gospel to the ends of the earth, but
because it fits the needs of men. It is all summed up in the
life and character of Jesus Christ — our religion is essen-
tially what its name indicates, the religion of Christ,. Chris-
tianity. Paradoxical as it may seem, the only way to make
democracy safe is to make Jesus King in the hearts of men.
He is the world's onl}' hope, because He is the only figure who
looms up larger than Confucius or Buddha or Moses or Mo-
hammed. None greater than they have lived, yet how full of
mistakes and failures ! Yet here is Jesus, immaculate in His
purity and stainless in all His deeds.
Thou alone, Oh "Crystal Christ," art worthy to lead all the
world's noblest.
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. The Bible and Man
Try to formulate all the biblical passages have to say
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[XI-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
about man. In what respects is he to be blamed for his
present condition? What kind of a start did he have?
What is his hope?
II. Religions True and Incomplete
What does the presence of truth in all religions indicate?
What is the central fact about a religion, the fact that de-
termines its position? Why cannot we succeed in mak-
ing a religion out of all the true things in all religions?
III. The Appeal of Christianity
What is there which is attractive about the Christian
method of being saved? How is salvation attempted in
other religions? How can a man who wants to live the
Christian life look forward with joy, when he knows he
is weak and has so often failed before? How does Chris-
tianity deal with the problem caused by sin? What makes
such a religion as Christianity essentially universal?
(Among many books, such a volume as "The Main
Points," by Dr. Charles Reynolds Brown, will be found
most stimulating.)
152
CHAPTER XII
WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS?
The world has had, as we have discovered, a number of
great rehgious leaders. We have studied Mohammed, and
Confucius, and Gautama Buddha. What is the place of Jesus
Christ among the religious geniuses of the world? Is He one
among many, is He to be classified with others even though
with the distinction of being easily first, or has He a unique
place which He alone occupies? What do the records tell
about Him? What did He say about Himself? What im-
pression did He make upon His immediate followers? What
has been accomplished by the religion He founded? What
is His place today?
Daily Readings
First Day: The way was not unprepared for Jesus. Had
not certain of the Old Testament prophets spoken of a
"coming one," a Messiah, who would be the Deliverer? They
had not labored in vain. There was a sense of expectancy,
the looked-for Messiah would surely come soon.
And as the people were in expectation, and all men
reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether
haply he were the Christ ; John answered, saying unto
them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but there
Cometh he that is mightier than I, the latchet of
whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall
baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire : whose fan
is in his hand, thoroughly to cleanse his threshing-
floor, and to gather the wheat into his garner ; but the
chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. — Luke
3:15-17-
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[XII-2] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
John introduced Jesus to the Jewish people ; his word was,
this one, this very man Jesus, is He who is to fulfil the ex-
pectations aroused by the prophets.
Second Day: Two aspects of the life and work of Christ
are to be presented today.
And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent
them to the Lord, saying, Art thou he that cometh, or
look we for another? And when the men were come
unto him, thev said, John the Baptist hath sent us
unto thee, saying. Art thou he that cometh, or look
we for another? In that hour he cured many of
diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and on many
that were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered
and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which
ye have seen, and heard ; the blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf
hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good tid-
ings preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever
shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.— Luke
7 : *i9-23.
Has civilization ever entered into the meaning of such a
program? Yet it was the program of Jesus.
At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank
thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou
didst hide these things from the wise and understand-
ing, and didst reveal them unto babes: yea, Father,
for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. All things
have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no
one knoweth the Son, save the Father ; neither doth
any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whom-
soever the Son willeth to reveal him. Come unto
me. all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of
me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and
my burden is light.— Matt, ii : 25-30.
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WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? [XII-3]
Jesus knew God His Father. Has anyone ever claimed to
share such knowledge with Jesus? How could Jesus know
God so intimately?
Third Day: Jesus was a teacher. He spoke words out of
a heart of sympathy and understanding. He attracted men.
and women and children by His gentleness and consideration.
And all bare him witness, and wondered at the
words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth. —
Luke 4 : 22.
The common people heard him gladly.— Mark
12:37.
More than that, Jesus spoke with authority.
And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these
words, the multitudes were astonished at his teach-
ing: for he taught them as one having authority, and
not as their scribes.— Matt. 7 : 28, 29.
The people who heard his words knew by an unerring
instinct that Jesus had the right to teach and to command.
Fourth Day: The authority Jesus possessed and exercised
was founded on something within Himself. Jesus passed
through the same experience of temptation as we do.
For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted,
he is able to succor them that are tempted. — Heb.
2:18.
For we have not a high priest that cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one
that hath been in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with
boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may re-
ceive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time
of need.— Heb. 4: 15, 16.
Is there any power which is to be compared with the
power to meet all temptation triumphantly? Jesus throws.
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[XII-5] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
out this startling challenge, "Which of you convicteth me
of sin?" (John 8: 46). Jesus had no consciousness of sin,
yet His moral sensitiveness surpassed that of any of the
sons of men. He was like us, yet what a gulf lies between
Him and ourselves !
Fifth Day : Jesus not only lived a unique life ; Me died,
and in the estimate of His followers a unique significance
attaches to His death. Then He rose from the dead and
appeared again to His disciples.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which also
I received: that Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that
he hath been raised on the third day according to the
scriptures ; and that he appeared to Cephas ; then to
the twelve; then he appeared to above five hundred
brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain
until now, but some are fallen asleep; then he ap-
peared to James ; then to all the apostles ; and last of
all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me
also.— I Cor. 15:3-8.
This was the Gospel of the early Church— "so we preach
and so ye believed." Is there any wonder that Easter stands
out as the most significant of all the days of the Christian
year ?
Sixth Day: Not only were* the disciples convinced that
Jesus was alive, and "alive for evermore"; they were also
conscious of His continued activity. He was present with
them though unseen, doing His characteristic work.
Howbeit what things were gain to me, these have
I counted loss for Christ. Yea verily, and I count all
things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the
loss of all things, and do count them but refuse,
that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not hav-
ing a righteousness of mine own, even that which is
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WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? [XII-7]
of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ,
the righteousness which is from God by faith : that I
may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming con-
formed unto his death ; if by any means I may at-
tain unto the resurrection from the dead. — Phil.
3:7-11.
Here we have the testimony of Paul, who had met Jesus
first on the road to Damascus.
Whom not having seen ye love ; on whom, though
now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly
with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the
end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
—I Peter 1:8, 9.
This was the experience of the vacillating Peter, who had
become rock-like. And what shall we say of the same Lord
Jesus, when men and women around us are finding the same
things true of themselves?
Seventh Day : Jesus, then, was Saviour as well as Risen
Lord. The writers of the New Testament went even further.
Who delivered us out of the power of darkness,
and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of
his love; in whom we have our redemption, the for-
giveness of our sins: who is the image of the invis-
ible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him
were all things created, in the heavens and upon the
earth, things visible and things invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers ; all
things have been created through him, and unto him ;
and he is before «.ll things, and in him all things
consist. And he is the head of the body, the church:
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead ;
that in all things he might have the preeminence. For
it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him
should all the fulness dwell. — Col. i : 13-19.
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[XII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
Think of some of these phrases, "the image of the invis-
ible God," "all things have been created through him, and
unto him," "in all things he might have the preeminence,"
''in him should all the fulness dwell." Jesus made such an
impression on His followers that in sheer honesty they were
compelled to make some change in their idea of God Him-
self. The best they could say about God, now that they
had seen Jesus, was that God must be like Him. They
went even a step further and linked Jesus with God so
intimately in their thought and in their language that they
found themselves treating Jesus just as they did God Himself.
Study for the Week
Christianity is the religion of Christ. The most superficial
glance ^ over the churches which call themselves Christian
reveals one fact, that they are one in loyalty to Jesus Christ.
In their common loyalty to Jesus Christ all these bodies,
Roman Catholic, Greek, and Protestant, have certain fea-
tures in common. Their practice and worship vary greatly,
but still give evidence of a common origin. Worship and
praise are offered to Jesus Christ by all alike. Each is jeal-
ous of its loyalty to Him and would scout the suggestion that
any practice or belief is out of harmony with His will and
purpose. The same Bible is looked upon as containing an
authoritative deposit of faith and practice. Two sacraments,
baptism and the Lord's Supper, have been preserved by all,
save a few small Protestant bodies.
In belief the likeness is even more striking. Certain prim-
itive doctrines are accepted by all. All have held during the
centuries to belief in God and in His existence in a Trinity,
and all have strenuously defended the reality of the incarna-
tion of God in Jesus Christ. All have continued to believe
in a special significance as attaching to His death and His
resurrection. Forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in His name.
The presence of the Holy Spirit guiding and giving strength
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WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? [XII-sJ
to men and leading the Church in its course is a doctrine
maintained wherever Christians are to be found. With all
their differences and their inability to unite, the truth seems
to be that Christianity is not so seriously divided either in
belief or practice as other great religions, like Islam and
Buddhism.
II
The most significant historical and geographical fact relative
to Christianity is that more than any other faith it has justi-
fied its claim to be a world religion. It is found literally
the world over. Jesus Christ was a Jew and He built His
religion on a Semitic foundation. His immediate followers
were all Jews and their early preaching was at first ex-
clusively to members of their own race. Paul, the "apostle
to the Gentiles," was the first who saw with eye undimmed
the universal outlook of his Master, Jesus Christ, and suc-
ceeded in carrying the great majority of the Church with him
in breaking down all the barriers between Jew and Gentile
in the new Church. With Paul Christianity started on its
career as the religion of the peoples of Europe. These
peoples were conquered by the new religion, so that from an
early day the prevailing features of Christianity have been
European and not Semitic and Asiatic.
The story would be a long one, were we to recount the
whole history of the conquest of the European races by
Christianity. Two great stages mark the course of the ad-
vance. The first may be said to extend from the day of
Pentecost, when Peter preached the first evangelistic Chris-
tian sermon in Jerusalem, to the Council of Nicea in 325,
when, under summons of the Emperor Constantine, who
had accepted the once despised Cross of Jesus Christ as his
emblem, the first great Christian council met to unify Chris-
tian belief and practice, as the Emperor had just succeeded
in uniting the Empire politically. In large districts of the
eastern part of the Empire, notably the whole of Asia Minor,
Christianity was the dominant religion. In other places the
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IXII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
new faith was not so strong, but in every place it was the
growing, enthusiastic faith. The future was hers. In ways
unknown by us today little churches had been started in
every part of the Mediterranean littoral and even as far
away as distant Britain. The significance of Constantine's
act in making Christianity the officially recognized religion
of the Empire lies in the fact that he was keen enough to see
what the actual conditions were, that the only hope of his
uniting a divided Empire was to make use of the single force
which was an effective bond of union. Christianity was found
everywhere and the Christians were bound together in a
brotherhood as strong as bands of steel.
Ill
What was the secret of this remarkable achievement? The
most famous answer is the five-fold summary of Edward
Gibbon : "I. The inflexible and . . . intolerant zeal of the
Christians. ... II. The doctrine of a future life. . . .
III. The miraculous powers ascribed to the primitive Church.
IV. The pure and austere morals of the Christians. V. The
tmion and discipline of the Christian republic." But 'were
we to have talked with one of those early Christians, a very
different story would have been told. Jesus would be the
burden of his message — had He not spoken peace to his soul?
Had He not saved him from the evil life which had been his?
Had He not brought happiness and unselfish consideration
into his dealings with his wife and children? Did He not
hold out to him the promise of eternal life when this short
life was ended? Listen to the words of the venerable Poly-
carp before the tribunal, when asked to deny his Lord and
thus save himself from the lions, "Fourscore and six years
have I been serving Him, and He hath done me no wrong;
how then can I blaspheme the King who saved me?" When
all the facts are taken into view, the truer account of the
success of the Christian Church during these three hundred
years would be to say that the presence of the living Christ
1 60
WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? [XII-s]
in the hearts of His people made possible what otherwise
would be entirely unintelligible. There was a new power
in the world. Not merely a new doctrine to teach, nor a
new rule of life to practice, but a living Person energizing
all their thoughts and actions, was transforming the world
before their eyes.
Is there any wonder, then, that during all these formative
years the Church was continually asking itself, "What manner
of man is this?" This Jesus now living within them and
filling them with a glory they had never thought possible
among men, this Jesus, whose life and teaching and death
and resurrection are given in the gospels and interpreted in
the letters of their beloved apostles, could be no ordinary
being. They worked at the problem with all their intellectual
and moral and spiritual powers. No human analogies were
capable of expressing what Jesus Christ meant to them, and
yet they must be able to tell of His wonders and His grace.
And so they made definitions and formed creeds. Many, in
attempting to simplify and make more clear their meaning,
fell below what the main body of the Church thought ade-
quate. They were dealt with roughly at times, far too roughly
in our estimation. Many centuries were to pass before men
learned the lesson of Christian tolerance. The Church in
this early day was deeply exercised over the honor to be
paid to Christ. They looked upon it as a matter of life
and death. All they had came from Him. He was regis-
tering His presence in their lives every day, and they must
give Him the honor which His deeds in their lives and in
the Church demanded. Nothing less than His preeminence
would satisfy them. Their experience led them to fall down
before Jesus with the exclamation of the apostle Thomas,
''My Lord and My God."
The second stage of the Christian conquest of the European
people falls in the Middle Ages. The feat accomplished by the
Christian Church during these centuries was the winning of
i6i
[XII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
northern Europe to the Church. When the period opened,
the center of European civilization was on the shores of the
Mediterranean ; when it closed, the scene had shifted to the
North. The gift of Christianity to northern Europe was
not only a new and satisfying religion, but civilization itself.
The history of northern Europe virtually begins with the
coming of the religion of Christ.
A very different picture presents itself in this period from
that in the old Empire, when the early Church was making
its influence felt. Christianity, in a way not true in the
old day, is dominated by the Church. Did we say that men
were won to Christ in the days of the Empire? It would be
truer of the Middle Ages to say that they were won to the
Church. Not that Christ had been forgotten, but that, as
His representative on earth, the Church of Christ obscured
to a greater or less degree the vision of the Christ Him-
self. Men were more anxious to obey the behests of the
Church than to listen to the voice of Christ within and to
study the tale of His life as found in the simplicity of the
gospel story. Unsurpassed heroism was manifested by a
thousand devoted missionaries, whose relation to Christ in
many cases was beautiful to behold. But with it all the
presence of a dominant Church made a great difference.
Nominal conversions, formalism, insistence on outward con-
formity took the place of vital contact with the living Christ
in so many cases that they became characteristic of the
period. Add to this the use of coercion to force unwill-
ing peoples into the Church and the tale of an unfortunate
period is complete. Northern Europe was won, won to
the Church and to at least a nominal acceptance of the teach-
ings of Christianity, but much was left to be desired.
V
Is there any wonder a Reformation was needed? Chris-
tianity languished and was well-nigh sick unto death, when
the great change came in the Protestant Reformation of the
sixteenth century, under the leadership of Martin Luther.
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WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? [XII-s]
What was the great religious significance of this upheaval,
under whose influence we still live? Again it is concerned
with the great center of the Christian faith, Christ Himself —
not now to settle the question of His dignity and the honor
which is His due, but to secure the access to Him which the
human soul demands. The Christ was a living Christ, to be
sure, but the Church stood between the individual believer
and his Saviour. Forgiveness could come only through
priestly absolution. The Church was the necessary channel of
communion between the believer and Christ. Now the gist
of the Reformation is that any human being may have imme-
diate contact with the living Christ, irrespective of church or
creed or ceremony or priest. Protestantism has stood for
this one vital thing. It has considered it a matter of life
and death to keep the channel of communication between
Christ and the believer securely open and unobstructed.
So earnest have Protestants been to protect the rights of
the individual believer, to see to it that no authoritative hier-
archy or assembly dominate the life and prevent the free
movement of the human soul in its approach to Christ, that
all kinds of splits have taken place. No matter how small the
difference, a new church must be formed to give expression
to the particular truth which had been discovered. So far
has this been carried that all earnest minds in our day are
turning in the opposite direction, and seeking ways and means
by which lesser differences can be laid aside or placed in
their rightful place of unimportance. By emphasizing the
points of likeness, the day is being looked for when there
may be a return to greater unity than now exists. To this
end every Christian should work and pray. Is it not in line
with our Lord's thought when He prayed that all His fol-
lowers might be one?
VI
Since the Reformation, and in these latter days, Christianity
is proving in a more marked degree than ever before its
universal claims. The missionaries of the Cross of Christ
163
[XII-s] THE FAITHS OF MANKIND
have gone to all lands and have established the Church among
all peoples. Mohammedans have been converted, as have high
caste Hindus, Chinese literati, and patriotic Japanese. No
other classes are more antagonistic to the gospel message than
these, yet representatives of all have kneeled down to do
homage to Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. In many
lands and in divers tongues the name of Jesus is sung by
children and His power to save proclaimed by men and
women, whose first ray of light in the midst of heathen
darkness came from the story of His love and sacrifice.
The seedtime lasted long and is not yet complete, the first
fruits have appeared in nearly every land, and now rich re-
wards are appearing. Nothing fills the heart of the Chris-
tian with more joy and confidence for the future than the
spirit of unity which fills the breasts of those who have been
won to Jesus Christ. With comparatively little interest in
the differences which have kept believers apart in Europe
and America, they are asking with increasing emphasis why
they should be kept apart when they feel that they are
brothers together. Do they not sing and pray together and
work and live together? Why then should they be kept apart?
It is a wonderful testimony they bear to the unity of be-
lievers in Christ, untouched by the influences which have
kept the churches in Christendom apart.
VII
Finally, what manner of man is this that such results have
flowed from the preaching of His name? His word has
proved to be true in actual practice, "I am the way, the truth,
and the life." Christianity means many thing3 in theory and
practice, but all that is truly and necessarily Christian may
be summed up in one word, Christ. Christ is the living center
of His own religion and is the standard by which everything
must be judged. All else takes on value as it finds some place
of usefulness in relation to Him. In a very true sense Chris-
tianity is Christ. And just as clearly as men heard His voice
164
WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? [XII-s]
on the Galilean hills they may hear His summons today. He
would woo them to Himself so that they might feel the
warmth of His love and catch the fervor of His spirit. He
would send them out into a wild and fear-tossed world with
His word of courage and kindness and power. This is the
message of the Christ. Do we hear? Do we heed?
Suggestions for Thought and Discussion
I. Jesus Christ in the Bible
What expectations did the Old Testament create in antic-
ipation of the coming of a Messiah, a Deliverer? Why
were the Jews disappointed when Jesus appeared? What
differentiates Jesus from other characters? What was the
source of His inspiration and authority? What do we mean
when we say that Jesus is alive today? How do we know
it?
n. Jesus Christ in Human History
Trace the course of Christian history to see how the
knowledge of Jesus has been carried to the ends of the
earth. What is the secret of this expansion? Does it shed
any light on the kind of person Jesus is? Why did the
Church attempt to formulate a doctrine about Jesus Christ?
Why are we trying to do the same thing today?
HI. Jesus Christ and the World's Need
What may we hope Jesus may be able to do in the world
today in view of the story of the past? What is the part
men must play to make His work effective? What connec-
tion is there between the unity of the Church and its work
in the world? How best can we honor Jesus Christ?
("The Jesus of History," by Prof. T. R. Glover, will help
the discussion of this chapter greatly.)
I6S
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