[Several contributed articles have appeared recently in the Sabbath Recorder (Seventh-day Baptist) dealing with the Seventh-day Adventists and their work. In them an attempt has been made to account for the rapid progress made by this people, while the Seventh-day Baptists have barely held their own. The following article, which appeared in the Recorder of December 28, covers the ground so fully, and gives such a clear description of actual conditions as viewed by one outside the denomination, that we reprint it entire.—ED.]
I HAVE had more than a casual interest in the numerous articles which have recently appeared in the Recorder concerning the comparative growth of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination and our own, because I have many times been asked concerning this matter by those who were deeply interested in it. I am impressed that the question is worthy of our unprejudiced and careful study.
I can not understand how the preaching of the second coming of our Lord should account for the marvelous growth of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, nor do I think the true secret of their rapid growth is shrouded in any mystery whatever. I think it is very largely due to the following facts:—
As a rule, all members of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination are expected to be workers in spreading what they believe to be truth, and they are encouraged in all possible ways to enter the work and remain in it. As a result, their lay workers are to be found almost everywhere, busily engaged in selling their literature, and teaching their beliefs by the word of mouth, as they make their canvass. In this way their books, tracts, and other literature find their way into thousands of homes in almost every civilized country, and Seventh-day Adventists are known almost everywhere.
By other denominations which are jealous of the success of Seventh-day Adventists, this work is called “proselyting,” but by the unprejudiced it is regarded as an intense and laudable enthusiasm in spreading what is really believed to be God’s truth.
All Seventh-day Adventist clergymen are missionaries,—not located pastors,—and are busy preaching, teaching, and organizing churches the world over. A tent is erected or a schoolhouse secured, and the missionary begins a series of meetings. He preaches and teaches what he as a Seventh-day Adventist believes to be Bible truth, just as every true preacher will do. The result is a Seventh-day Adventist church is organized, a suitable person is selected to act as local elder, and the missionary goes on and enters some other new field, and the same results are repeated.
Very often these churches are small, but from the very beginning they are not only self-supporting, but by their tithing and free-will offerings and through their sales of denominational literature, these small churches send large sums of money to their various boards to aid in sending out more workers and to publish and scatter more literature. It is also worthy of especial notice that not a dollar of the vast amount of money that is each year placed at the command of the Seventh-day Adventists is raised by means of sociables, church fairs, missionary teas, grab-bags, or rummage sales, because the Seventh-day Adventists regard these methods as far beneath the dignity of Christian people, and therefore never stoop to them.
All money contributed by Seventh-day Adventists is used in propagating the truths that are held by the denomination, and for the sole purpose of winning people to the church which holds these doctrines to be true; and certainly this plan is commendable.
Seventh-day Adventist schools are maintained for the one purpose of laboring hand in hand with the church in training young people in the faith of Adventism and for labor in the church. They seek no state aid for their schools, by which it might be possible to build up large and popular colleges and universities; they hold out no compromising offers to induce First-day students to patronize their schools, and if any such students do attend their schools, they are instructed along the lines of Seventh-day Adventist faith. Their schools are strictly denominational schools, and are maintained for the purpose of aiding the church in spreading what the denomination believes to be Bible truth. This certainly is as it should be.12
The preaching and teaching of the Seventh-day Adventists is in plain, simple language that is easily understood by the most illiterate, and very much of their preaching is illustrated by appropriate charts and diagrams, by which it is rendered more attractive and more impressive; and, as a rule, “the common people hear them gladly.”
Seventh-day Adventists have never united with any of the modern popular organizations originated by First-day people, such as the National Y. P. S. C. E. or the Y. M. C. A., and have never wasted money in sending delegates to their large national conventions where Sabbath-keeping people have no influence whatever, and where they have frequently had no notice given them. So far as I know, the Seventh-day Adventist denomination has not united in the recent church federation movement that has drawn in so many evangelical denominations. Seventh-day Adventists have held aloof from all such alliances, and have gone straight forward with their specific work, expecting God to bless them and give them success, rather than depending upon modern methods and popular alliances to bring them success. The results are well known.
In their Sabbath-school work, Seventh-day Adventists publish their own system of lessons, and prepare their own comments upon the lessons. The lessons are selected, and the comments are made upon them, with reference to building up the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the special truths to which they adhere; and this is consistent. They do not use the International system of Sunday-school lessons nor any quarterlies published by First-day people; and I have never yet seen in any of their comments upon the Bible any criticism made upon the text, such as calling attention to so-called “interpolations,” “discrepancies,” “work of a later hand,” etc. I have never known them to encounter any special trouble over the six creative days of Genesis, or the supposed two authors of the book of Isaiah, nor over the many other kindred questions which are absorbing the attention of many persons of our day.
So far as I know, such doubts and criticisms have never entered the literature of Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath-schools, to poison the minds of their children.
Seventh-day Adventists are thoroughly imbued with the conviction that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” and they make this truth prominent in all their work. Wherever they go, they herald this rejected truth. They preach it, teach it, emphasize it, and press its claims home upon the hearts of people with a zeal that is commendable. They never unite in union meetings with other denominations, but hold their own meetings, so that no restrictions may be placed upon them as to what they may or may not preach, and the great truth of God’s Sabbath is never lost sight of or suppressed.
They teach that the violation of God’s Sabbath is as much sin as is the violation of any other of the precepts of the decalogue. They insist that such violation must be repented of and forsaken, the same as any other sin, and for the same reason. Such teaching is emphasized and pressed home upon the consciences of all who attend.
If people become angry, and cease to attend services where the Sabbath truth is proclaimed, the policy of Seventh-day Adventists has ever been to keep right on preaching the truth, believing it is far better to preach the truth to the few than to withhold it from the multitude who might be induced to come if less truth were preached.
And when a Seventh-day Adventist speaker has faithfully preached Sabbath truth in the presence of First-day people who happen to be present, none of his people apologize to the First-day people who have listened to the truth, or criticize the speaker for preaching God’s truth, or in any way neutralize the faithful effort the speaker has made.
So far as my observation extends, I find that Seventh-day Adventist ministers are not very popular among First-day pastors and churches, and are not very often asked to occupy First-day pulpits. They do not seek such courtesies, and are not disappointed when they are not extended. They have little faith in influencing people in favor of Sabbath truth by simply standing in First-day pulpits and preaching upon general themes. They recognize the fact that the more faithful a person is to the Sabbath truth and in proclaiming it in public, the less popular he will be among First-day pastors and churches, and the greater favor he will have with the “Lord of the Sabbath.” They do not count it any dishonor to be somewhat unpopular with ardent advocates of Sunday.
Seventh-day Adventists spend little time in hunting up their past history, and give little space in their periodicals to the publishing of it—they are too busy; and while other denominations are spending time and money in displaying their history before the public, Seventh-day Adventists are out on the broad and needy field making history. With them it is not so much “What we have been, and what we have done,” as “What are we to-day, and what are we doing, and what can we yet do?”
Seventh-day Adventists are never at a loss for a man to send out in Sabbath reform work; for all their workers are Sabbath reformers, and are thoroughly trained in this branch of work.
I have never known their workers to spend any time discussing the question as to which should be expected first, conversion or Sabbath observance, since they understand that to a person who has been rightly instructed conversion always means obedience; and I think so, too.
While we look the ground over and realize that we are not gaining ground as Seventh-day Baptists, and attribute our failure to the “commercial spirit of this age,”—our common cry,—let us notice that our Seventh-day Adventist friends are building on, despite the “commercial spirit,” and each year they have notable results to report at home and in almost every foreign country.
Let us also note that their small, pastorless churches are as active and as much alive and in earnest as many much larger churches among other denominations, which pay out large sums of money each year to support pastors, and still larger sums of money for sinful amusements; which sing Christmas carols and Easter anthems, and do many things that some persons regard as very nice and becoming.
Much more could be written upon the question I have been dealing with, but I will close.
I have tried to write in an unprejudiced manner, and have represented our Seventh-day Adventist friends as I have come to understand them. If I have represented them wrongfully in any particular, I shall be glad to be corrected. I am not a Seventh-day Adventist, and could not become such without passing through a radical change in my understanding of the Bible; but I do try to be a fair-minded man, and though I differ in many respects from Seventh-day Adventist people, yet I certainly admire their zeal, their courage, their devotion, their consecration and upright character, all of which bear testimony to what their religious faith does for them.
I long to see the time when all God’s children who love his Sabbath and observe it shall cease to criticize one another, and shall no longer say hard things of one another, but shall unite as one people in the spread of the rejected Sabbath truth.
Why do Seventh-day Adventists increase so much more rapidly than do Seventh-day Baptists? Since it can not be the preaching of the second coming of our Lord, why is it? Have I offered any suggestions as to why it is? Are there any lessons for us as Seventh-day Baptists to learn? May God help us to gather up useful lessons from every source, and profit by them.—A Candid Reader.
Trusting God in the Darkness
I READ the other day of a little girl who repeatedly awoke in the night, and was terribly frightened with the darkness. At such times she always insisted on coming into her mother’s room and bed. Nothing else would satisfy or soothe her. One night her mother said to her: “You should not do so, Olive; for there is nothing to be afraid of, and it is just as dark in this room as in your own room.” Then, nestling up beside her mother, the little one replied: “Yes, mother, but you are in this dark room.” The mother’s nearness made all the difference in the world to the child. When will we learn to disarm the soul’s fears and soothe its sorrows by an implicit and abiding trust in our God? “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will . . . uphold thee.”—Selected.
Dark Days
By Marianne Farningham
So little light,
So long the night,
So few the hours for labor!
And who can ask
A daily task
Of servant or of neighbor?
The fog and sleet
Within the street,
The poverty and sorrow,
Make the heart sad,
And who is glad
Fearing a worse to-morrow?
Nay, cease thy care,
Do not despair;
When shortest days are over,
And winter dies
'Neath sunny skies,
Thou shalt new joys discover.
A little while
And heaven will smile;
O friend, lose courage never!
Hope on, take heart,
Do well thy part,
And trust in God forever.
— Marianne Farningham.
Temperance in the Home
By Augusta C. Bainbridge
AUGUSTA C. BAINBRIDGE
“How’s this for a temperance quotation, mother? ‘O God, that men should put an enemy into their mouths, to steal away their brains!’”
“That is good, but what are you going to do with it?”
“A temperance lecturer is going to address the freshmen in the assembly room this morning, and Professor Willis asked ten of us to get quotations ready. We are to recite them as a sort of welcome to him. He asked us to select from some standard author. I found this in our ‘Temperance Lesson Manual.’ It is from Shakespeare’s ‘Othello.’ Will it be suitable?”
“Indeed it will. Suppose you should be asked some question about it, are you ready to answer?”
“I think I am, mother dear. I can tell of the enemy, alcohol, and how it acts upon the blood and the nerves and the brain. You and father gave us a good drill on that when we were studying the ‘Manual.’”
“Yes, I think you are well prepared, and don’t forget that it is because it steals that it is such a dangerous enemy.”
“I’ll try; good-by.” And he was away down the path, and out of the gate before Mrs. Ayers took her eyes from him.
“Father, I’m trusting thee to keep my darling from all the snares and pitfalls in the way,” was her prayer as she turned from the door, his good-by caress still warm on her cheek, to take up one by one the duties of the home she loved.
“The bread will be late this morning,” she mused aloud. Then drawing out the molding-board, she went to work with a will, not noticing that little Henry had left his blocks, and was watching her. So busy was she planning her work to fit the hours that would come speeding along until noon, that she hardly saw the boyish figure by the table until a little voice said, “Mama, who steals brains?”
She had been on such a long thought-journey since Walter left, that the stealing of brains seemed very far away.
“Why, dear, what do you mean?” she asked.
“Wallie said it,” was the answer; then the earnest question, “Who steals brains, mama?” showed that somebody else had been on a thought-journey, too, and had come to a high-barred gate. He knew who could help him over.
“What is your body like, Henry?”
“A workshop.”
“And who is the manager?”
“The brain.”
“That is right. Now what keeps the manager strong, and able to work, and also to plan the work for the whole shop?”
“The blood; and God made it go that way to keep us well.”
“Yes. Suppose I put a poison in my blood, what will it do to my brain, my manager?”
“It will make it sick, so that it can not work.”
“That is it; and if I know it is a poison, then I know that my brain will be sick, or stupefied, or suffer in some way.”
“But we don’t take poison, mama.”
“No, not often, dear. But suppose some one should tell me that this poison was good for me, sometimes, and talk to me about it until I was ready to think that he was right, and then I should drink something that had this poison in it, would it hurt me?”
“Yes, mama, if it was true poison, it surely would.”
“You are right, Henry; it would poison my blood and my brain, and take away my power to think; but if I did not know or believe that it would take away my power to think, and it took it away when I did not know it, what would it be doing? What do we call it if people take things when we do not know it?”
“We call it stealing.”
“Yes, and alcohol in any form, in any drink, whether there is just a little in it, or more, steals away our brains, because it takes away our thoughts, and we do not know it. Now, do you see what Wallie meant?”
“Yes, mama; but God gave us our bodies to take care of; you said so in the lesson.”
“That is right, Henry, and we are not taking care of them when we injure them. If we defile them in any way, they are not going to last us so well or so long.”
“That makes us study lessons to learn.”
“Indeed it does. Mama studies how to make your body strong; for God has told us just what to do to keep this body-temple a fit place for his Spirit to dwell in. And I hope to teach you to love these lessons so well that when you are a man, you will study them for yourself, and not let any enemy steal your brains, or your strength, or hurt you in any way.”
“First, I’ll build my block house,” said Henry, turning back to his play, his puzzling question answered.
“It seems to me that we have taken the block-house time for talking. See, my bread is all in the pans. Put your blocks away now, please, and sweep the porch, while I sweep the kitchen. That will be building our body-houses.”
San Francisco, Cal.
Hot Water for Baby
THE Medical Magazine tells us that, in cases where there is non-assimilation of food, accompanied by vomiting, purging, and even convulsions, physicians recommend giving a child all the hot (not so hot as to burn) water it will take through a nursing-bottle. In one case, where no kind of nourishment could be retained, and medicine had apparently no effect, the hot-water treatment was tried. The first bottleful was immediately vomited up, but the second was retained, and a peaceful sleep followed, the condition of the bowels greatly improved, and the vomiting gradually ceased. At the end of twenty-four hours a teaspoonful each of sweet cream, lime-water, and boiled water was given every hour; then a preparation of egg and water, and finally the usual condensed milk. For colic in young children, a bottle of hot water is often a quick cure. Care must be taken not to have the water too hot, but it must be quite warm.
Time Enough for Every Duty
No man has any more duties than he has time to do well. God assigns all duties, and all time, and all strength for the doing of duties; God expects good work from all his children; and God never expects more than is reasonable.
Therefore, when we think that we have not time enough to do all our duties as well as we ought, we are either wasting our time, or borrowing trouble, or trying to do what we ought to let alone.
The honey-bee has a heavy burden of work to do, and only limited time to do it in; but he gets it done, and well done; and he gives no evidence of worrying over it. We ought to do at least as well.
— Sunday School Times.
Progress in China
By LAW KEEM, M. D.
LAW KEEM, M. D.
The Lord is blessing the work here, and the people are willing to hear the truth, although the enemy is wide-awake, and doing what he can to keep them away. I thank the Lord he can not keep the honest ones from coming to hear the truth. Our little chapel is well filled each Sabbath, and the meetings during the week continue with a good attendance. Some wish us to leave Fat Shan, and go to some place where the people have never heard the gospel. They say that then there would be no confusion about which day is the Sabbath. Good Christians have talked thus. I always tell them that this truth is for them, as for every one else—not a few, but for all.
During the summer the people of the other denominations waged quite a fight against us, while we were away for a little time. Finally they wrote our young evangelist a long letter, challenging him to debate with the leading Chinese minister on the Sabbath question. Our Sabbath-keepers came together, and after talking the matter over, two of them wrote letters in reply. Our evangelist wrote one letter, in which he stated that if their minister wished to discuss the Sabbath question, taking the Bible as the proof, he was ready to do it at any time they should set; but if he wanted to prove the matter outside of the Bible, he had no time to waste on the subject. They never set a time. It seems that some members of the Congregational church asked their pastor if he would dare to debate with us. He said, “No; there is no use, for they have the Bible on their side. All this talking and fighting will bring no good, and you had better leave off.” Since then things have been quiet.
Two weeks ago our evangelist and two of our Bible students were baptized. The latter are our first converts in Fat Shan. They have been attending our special Bible class for a year. They come from the Congregational Church, and have been keeping the Sabbath for nearly a year, as it did not take them long to decide which was the Bible Sabbath.
We send a photograph of our Sabbath-keepers, our evangelist, and my nephew. At the left of the back row is my nephew. Next are the two brethren who were baptized. The first in the lower row at the left is Jo Yat Nin, a pen-maker. Next to him is the father of the two boys. The last one in the row is our young evangelist. These are well established in the truth, although the father and Jo Yat Nin were not baptized, feeling that, under the present circumstances, it was not best to take this step. Both are pen-makers, and have several men as apprentices, who began their training before these brethren even heard of the seventh-day Sabbath. As the men are determined to hold their original time of work, their employers feel compelled to allow them to work on the Sabbath. They hold worship with the men in the shop every Sabbath morning, and with their own family in the evening, also buy all supplies for Sabbath on Friday. They themselves do no work on the Sabbath. As soon as it is possible, they intend to close the shop, however. This seems strange Sabbath-keeping to our people in America, no doubt; but it is a hard question over here. No Chinese, either Christian or heathen, closes his shop on any day of the week or year except during a few days at the new-year time. Of course the places of business of our people must be shut on Sabbath; consequently these men must wait for baptism until they can close theirs.
GROUP OF SABBATH-KEEPERS AT FAT SHAN
Our Sunday advocates would certainly have a hard time getting all stores closed in China. Here it is a continual “dig” from the beginning of the year till the close. The women do the worshiping mostly, because they have time!
There are others who are becoming interested in this truth, and who we feel sure will take their stand with us soon. Two of these are ministers—one in the London Mission church, and the other the Congregational minister mentioned above, who is now attending our meetings. The London Mission minister lives at Macao, where we spent our vacation. He has already accepted the light on the Sabbath question, and desires all the reading-matter on the different points of truth that we can give him. He is to attend the Bible institute to be held at Canton this winter. He has been preaching for ten years, and can be a great help to us if he takes his stand for the truth. He has subscribed for our Chinese Gospel Herald for one year. This paper should have a wide circulation wherever there are Chinese.
While in Macao, we met a man and his wife from Scotland, who became much interested in this message, especially in the Sabbath, as they had never even heard of Seventh-day Adventists before. My wife gave her several numbers of the Signs of the Times to read, and they were much pleased with what they read. She said to my wife, “Well, I said to my husband, ‘Isn’t it strange the Bible everywhere plainly says that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, and we all are keeping the first day of the week instead?’” She wanted to know how and when the change came about, giving Mrs. Law a splendid chance to tell her. The Lord alone knows the result of the seed sown. They gave us an earnest invitation to come to see them whenever we go to Hongkong.
We wish the prayers of our brethren and sisters in America, that these interested ones may be brought to a full knowledge and acceptance of the truth, and also for ourselves, that we may be faithful in living and giving this last message.
The medical work has been secondary, so far, but is slowly increasing. This phase of the gospel message must be more fully developed, if we expect to reach the better classes; for they will not come to our chapel meetings. If they are sick, they will come to get help, and thus they will have an opportunity to hear the gospel from us, or we can give them reading-matter. Our workers feel the need of this work in reaching this class. As yet we have no suitable place to carry on this kind of work.
Our health is very good, and our courage is the best. We expect to push the15battle to the gates, and triumph with the message. We thank the Lord for a part in his work.
Fat Shan.
Outposts Moving Northward in Brazil
By F. W. SPIES
F. W. SPIES.
OCTOBER 3 I embarked on the steamer “Alagoas,” which was the only boat in prospect for some time for the northern ports of Brazil. This vessel was to sail at 10 A. M. that day; but it so happened—and this is often the case here, even in Rio de Janeiro, the nation’s capital—that the boat left according to Brazilian punctuality, at 8 A. M. the next day; so instead of enjoying the celebration of the Lord’s supper with the church on that Sabbath, I spent an unpleasant day on board, amid the noise and rumble caused by loading cargo, not daring to leave the vessel for fear of being left behind. I was, therefore, glad when we were finally under way. My destination was Maceio, the capital of the province of Alagoas. Five or six months before this I had received an invitation to come and assist in establishing the work in that place. It was then almost a year since some there had begun the observance of the Sabbath, and they desired baptism, and further instruction in the truth. This visit was the first one made by a Seventh-day Adventist minister to this province.
Our voyage was for the most part rather stormy. Still I succeeded in improving my time quite well in studying and writing. But the ship lost time on the way, so that, instead of arriving at Maceio in a little more than four days, we required six days and some hours. When we had finally cast anchor in the unsheltered port, it seemed quite an undertaking to reach the several-miles-distant shore in a small open sailboat, with the sea running so high. But we finally landed safely at Jaragua, a suburb of Maceio, where I was heartily welcomed by about twelve Sabbath-keepers who had come to the wharf to meet me.
Maceio is a city of forty thousand inhabitants, and is nicely situated, fronting the ocean. The entire province may have a population of eight hundred thousand. The chief products of export are sugar, rum, cotton, and hides. Cattle raising is carried on quite extensively. For home consumption, Indian corn, beans, manioc, and other products are raised. Sweet potatoes grow very well here. But the general impression made upon the newcomer is that poverty, ignorance, superstition, and vice rule supreme. While I have seen much superstition and fanaticism in other parts of Brazil, these seem to be much worse here than at any place I had visited.
I found twelve keeping the Sabbath here, and four others about three hours’ distant by train. These are all poor in this world’s goods; still they love the truth as much as those who are more favored in this respect.
Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, the province adjoining, is easily reached from Maceio by train in ten hours. This good connection between these two provinces will no doubt greatly facilitate the work.
The seeds of truth were planted in Alagoas by a nurse in government employ, who had received a partial knowledge of the truth in Rio, and, after being transferred to this city, began living the truth and teaching it to others, with the result already mentioned. The meetings held every evening are well attended by an orderly and apparently interested congregation, and we hope more in this long-neglected place will yet decide to obey the Lord.
We are certainly thankful that the outposts of the third angel’s message have, during the past year, been planted several hundred miles closer to the Amazon, and hope we may soon see them planted in districts still farther to the north.
VIEW OF MACEIO, BRAZIL
Of course this open door naturally creates a demand for a permanent worker here; but we are glad to have it so. I had planned to visit the Mucury church before the close of the year; but the interest manifested here will probably prevent my leaving this place ere that time.
Brother E. Schwantes also reports an interest in the city of Cachoeira, Bahia. Brother Joseph Lindermann, of Espirito Santo, relates some good experiences in connection with some of his recent trips in that province. Brother and Sister Prener, who recently arrived from the States, are working hard to master the Portuguese, in order to help draw the gospel net at our nation’s capital, where the work is also onward—perhaps retarded somewhat, especially in Nichteroy, by the terrible epidemic of smallpox, which is carrying away many victims. In Rio and the suburbs over five thousand deaths have been caused by this disease in the last few months; but thus far our people have been spared, for which we thank the Lord. So from the North Brazil Mission we have only good tidings. Still we ask the brethren to remember us at the throne of grace, that the Lord may ever protect and guard us, amid all the dangers that constantly surround us, and that his work may prosper in this difficult field.
Rio de Janeiro.
Modern Thought and Missions
The question of “The Foreign Missionary Imperative” has been more than once raised of late—whether there be not need of a restatement of the aims and motives of missionary enterprise, in order effectively to grip the hearts of disciples in this new century. At the late centenary of the Haystack meeting at Williamstown, Mass., President Hyde of Bowdoin College, undisguisedly treated the missionary motives of the pioneers of a century ago as largely based upon misconception and mistake, and now outgrown and antiquated. While honoring the self-sacrifice of these martyr spirits and their heroic consecration, it was like paying a tribute to the dead, in more senses than one—rearing a monument over what belongs to the sepulcher and may be left to decay. Dr. Thompson’s address [Dr. R. Wardlow Thompson is the secretary of the London Missionary Society, and as chairman of the Congregational Union gave the opening address in the City Temple, London, the church in which Dr. Joseph Parker formerly preached.—Ed.] is an echo, in the City Temple, London, of the voice heard two years ago in Massachusetts; and we can not avoid or evade the issue: Are we to treat the essential convictions and governing motives of the original leaders of the modern missionary century as based on misconceptions, narrow views, and superstitious notions, and forsake their platform for a new one, in which the planks are laid by evolution and Higher Criticism? Or is the main missionary motive essentially and eternally the same?
For ourselves, after watching step by step the advance of modern thought, we feel constrained to adhere to a conservative attitude. Many things have changed; but there are vital truths, as unchanging as God. This plausible argument about “progressive theology” and “enlightened opinion” overlooks largely the immutable elements in all service to God. While looking back to the deep convictions and inspiring impulses that characterized such men as Carey and Judson, Moffat and Livingstone, Duff and Scudder, Williams and Patteson, Martyn and Heber, it is well to ask how far their views and motives reflected those of Paul and others who were directly taught of the Master himself,—nay, we must go back still further, to him who was the Leader and pattern of all missionaries. The faith in the inspired Word, in one sole method of salvation, the conviction of the peril of lost souls, and the absolute necessity of the gospel for their rescue, reach back16for their roots to something deeper than the superficial and shifting sands of human opinions, and lay hold of the very Rock of Ages. We are not dealing with hyper-Calvinism, or misguided fanaticism, or traditional medievalism, but with the authoritative teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can see no medium ground; we must either stand upon the essentials of the old theology of missions, or impugn, as teaching error or at least defective truth, the written Word and the living Word. For example, as to the final and irremediable condition of those who die in sin, no words ever spoken are more awful than those of that very Saviour, who, as the Lamb of God, came to bear away the sin of the world. To accept the hypothesis of the religious evolutionist is so far to abandon the standard of a divine teacher. In matters of Christian faith and conduct, the decisive question is not, What does my reason approve as most rational and acceptable? but, primarily, What saith the Scriptures? “How readest thou?” To criticize God’s pronouncements as fallible, and treat his doctrines as untenable, is to assume for ourselves a superior knowledge, wisdom, and love. Furthermore, we venture to affirm, though we are in the minority, that in proportion as the convictions and motives that, from the days of the apostles, inspired missionary endeavor and endurance, service and sacrifice, are abandoned as antiquated, and displaced by these modern innovations, the work of missions will deteriorate and degenerate in quality, even if it does not decrease in quantity. No argument for the reality of the guilt of sin and the ruin of sinners is half so potent as the fact that the Son of God died on the cross to provide a salvation. So long as that cross stands in history, it is the unanswerable proof, not only that man needs a divine Redeemer, but that no evolution, but only a radical revolution, can raise him to his final perfection. Heathenism, left to itself, instead of developing upward, will decline downward. The gospel message is the only lever that can move the world, and the cross is the only fulcrum, and the Spirit of God the only adequate force to move the lever. We still believe in the missionary principles of the apostle to the Gentiles as the basis of all heroic work and witness in behalf of a dying world; and at risk of being classed as unprogressive, cling to the simple and plain teachings of the Master, leaving the dark mysteries of God to be hereafter illumined and interpreted in the light of the day that knows no night.—Missionary Review of the World.
