AMERICAN FOREIGN MISSIONS.
In former letters I have mentioned the missionary work being done
by Americans in the Orient, and I deem the subject important
enough for an article, in view of the conflicting reports which
have been brought back by tourists. We had an opportunity to
investigate the work done by American missionaries in Hawaii,
Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, India, Egypt, Palestine and Turkey.
We met representatives of nearly all the churches in the various
departments of missionary work, and as a result of our observations
our interest in foreign missions has been quickened. In Hawaii the
missionaries laid the foundation for the present civilization in the
islands and exerted a most beneficial influence upon the natives.
In Japan the missionary work has spread rapidly and is carried
on under four heads. The religious teacher presents the gospel
and establishes churches; the school teacher arouses an interest
in education and establishes schools; the medical missionary, by
unselfishly rendering obvious service, opens the way for both the
preacher and the school teacher, while the Young Men's Christian
Association and its accompanying organization, the Young Women's
Christian Association, weld the church membership into a religious
but unsectarian working body. The rapid growth in public instruction
has somewhat dwarfed the relative importance of the mission schools
in Japan, and the spread of the science of medicine has made the
work of the medical missionary less conspicuous there, but the
religious teacher in Japan has a field which is not surpassed
anywhere. The Japanese people are rapidly drifting away from
Buddhism, which until recently was the national faith. Shintoism,
which has become the state religion, is not a religion at all,
but a reverence for ancestors. Japan must have a religion, for no
nation is likely to avoid decay unless its morals are reinforced by
religion. If I had the authority to decide the question, I would
send some of the leading men of each denomination to Japan to
present Christianity to the educated Japanese. English is taught in
the schools of Japan, and one can speak to the Japanese without the
aid of an interpreter. This proposition I tested several times.
While it would be an advantage to have preachers who could speak
the Japanese language, still, it is more important that we should
send our ablest divines there--men who can meet the most intelligent
of the Japanese upon an equal footing and defend before them the
Christian philosophy of life.
Japan is the gateway of the Orient, and is to-day exerting an
influence upon China greater than the combined influence of all the
European nations. Western civilization is likely to enter China
through Japan. In fact, I believe that the Christian religion,
presented to the Chinese by the Japanese, would spread more rapidly
than if presented in any other way, for China has come to regard
Japan as a leader of thought. More than five thousand Chinese
students are now at schools in Japan, and Japanese teachers are
being more and more employed in China. Some of the most earnest
Christians whom we met are natives of Japan. At Tokyo, at Kioto,
and at Kagoshima I was especially impressed with the sincerity and
enthusiasm of the Japanese Christians. I could not but recall the
lines "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love" as
I saw how much stronger this heart tie is than the ties of blood or
race or language.
In Seoul, Korea, we found a very successful medical mission and a
flourishing Young Men's Christian Association. We also learned of
several Christian congregations.
In China mission work has made great progress, although it has
had to bear the brunt of the fight now being made against foreign
influence. During the Boxer trouble there were examples of heroism
among the Chinese Christians which recalled the early days of
martyrdom. There were those who suffered death because of their
devotion to the Christian faith, and thousands more who did not
hesitate to take the part of the white Christians against members
of their own race. It takes time to educate a race or to make an
impression upon a great population like the population of China,
but the next quarter of a century is likely to see the Christian
religion spread more rapidly among the inhabitants of the Flowery
Kingdom than it has during the last century.
That our missionaries often make mistakes need not be denied.
They are human, and to err is the lot of all. A missionary among
strangers must exercise more sagacity and discretion than one
who works among people of his own race. The wonder is not that
missionaries make mistakes, but that they do not make more than
are now charged to them. It is even possible that a missionary
occasionally proves untrue to his calling--is it strange that this
should happen to a missionary almost alone and with but little
sympathetic support, when it sometimes happens to ministers who are
surrounded by friends and hedged in so that a fall would seem almost
impossible?
One part of the missionary's work has received scant notice,
namely--the planting of western ideas in the Orient. The daily life
of a missionary is not only a constant sermon, but to a certain
extent, an exposition of western ways. His manner of dress and his
manner of living are noted, and even if he did not say a word, he
would make an impression upon those about him. It would be worth
while to send Christians to the Orient merely to show the fullness
and richness of a Christian life, for, after all, the example of an
upright person, living a life of service according to the Christian
ideal, is more eloquent than any sermon--it is the unanswerable
argument in favor of our religion.
It is sometimes suggested by those unfriendly to missionary work
that missionaries live in too great comfort. This criticism will
not have weight with those who have attempted to live in the Orient
upon the salary of a missionary, but even if the missionaries lived
more luxuriantly than they do, that would still exert a beneficial
influence. As the Chinaman becomes educated he learns of the manners
and customs of the people of other nations, and the home of the
missionary gives an opportunity for comparisons. In China there is
polygamy, while the missionary has but one wife. In the Chinese home
the birth of a son is the occasion for rejoicing; the birth of a
daughter an occasion for less rejoicing, if not actual mourning. In
the missionary's home the girl child is as welcome as the boy. The
missionary's wife is not only a standing rebuke to the practice of
foot-binding, but is a stimulus to the movement now setting in for
the education of women.
The Catholic missionaries reach a class which might not be reached
by Protestant missionaries and Protestant missionaries appeal to
some who could not be reached by the Catholic missionaries. Each
church does its own work in its own way, and the result is better
than if either church attempted to follow the example of the other.
The celibacy of the priest and his voluntary sacrifice of home and
its joys that he may more fully devote himself to religion--these
appeal to some, especially to those who have been impressed with
the asceticism of the religious teachers of the Orient. There are
others, however, who are more impressed with a form of Christianity
which does not deny to its ministers the advantages of the family.
In other words, the different branches of the Christian Church, each
pursuing its own way, meet the widely different needs of the heathen
better than any one church could do it.
Missionary work in the Malay states has been very slow because the
Malays are nearly all Mohammedans, and it has been found difficult
to make headway against this religion. The Mohammedan believes in
one God, accepts most of the Old Testament, and regards Christ as
a great prophet, but claims that Mahomet was a later prophet and a
greater one.
Burma, the home of Buddhism, is one of the best missionary fields,
and great success has attended the Baptist mission, which has its
headquarters at Rangoon.
For many years American missionaries have been establishing schools
and churches in India. While this field has also been developed by
the English missionaries, I was informed that a majority of the
Sunday school children are now attending American Sunday schools.
It is one of the indisputable proofs of our country's supremacy in
altruistic work that though drawing nothing whatever from India in
the way of revenue, it sends into India every year for religious and
educational purposes almost as much as England does, notwithstanding
the fact that England draws something like a hundred millions a year
from India.
We found the various departments of Christian work growing
vigorously in India. Medical missionaries are winning the confidence
and the affections of the unfortunate; teachers are bringing
increasing thousands to a higher level of intellectual development;
and the ministers are explaining to the people why it is that the
Christian is sympathetic and benevolent. Simply stated, the medical
missionary compels attention, the school teacher takes the one whose
attention has been aroused and furnishes an education which enables
the pupil to see things in their proper relation, while the minister
points out the philosophy of the efforts of the other two and
presents the conception of life, which leads both medical missionary
and teacher to separate themselves from home and friends and devote
themselves to people who are connected with them only by the primal
ties which bind each human being to every other.
I shall long remember two meetings which I addressed in India. One
was held under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A. at Allahabad, one of
the centers of the Hindu religion. At the conclusion of my address
an Indian arose and addressed me as follows. "Mr. Bryan, you can
not judge of the influence of Christianity upon our country by the
number of church members. The spirit of Christ and the Christian
ideal have made an impression far wider than the church membership
would indicate. Tell your people that the Indians are grateful to
them for the missionaries and teachers whom they have sent among us,
and tell them how few these are in number compared with our needs.
Send us more, and assure your people that we appreciate the benefits
received from America."
This unsolicited testimonial to the good work of our missionaries
and teachers is entirely deserved. The influence of Christianity
upon the Orient is vastly greater than one would think, if the
church membership were the test. The stimulus which is given to
Eastern thought is enormous, and already the Hindus, Parsees and
Mohammedans are imitating the methods of the Christian world and
establishing schools independent of the government. The education of
the boys is proceeding more rapidly than the education of the girls,
but the latter is not entirely neglected. One Mohammedan woman, of
Bombay, of unusual mental strength and character, outlined a plan
which she had formed for establishing a school for the women of her
religious faith.
The Bombay meeting was in some respects the most remarkable meeting
that I ever addressed. Rev. Mr. Mell, an American, is pastor of
the Methodist Church in Bombay. While in Calcutta I received a
letter from him asking me to deliver in Bombay, in his church, the
lecture entitled "The Prince of Peace," which I delivered at Tokyo
and at Manila. As the time approached for the meeting, he concluded
that his church would not be large enough for the audience and
arranged to secure the Town Hall, which accommodates about three
thousand people. He was somewhat fearful that this hall would be
larger than necessary, but it was the only audience room that he
could secure. When the time came for the meeting, the hall was not
only filled to overflowing, but the crowd outside was such that it
was difficult for us to effect an entrance. On the platform were
prominent Hindus, Mohammedans and Parsees, and three-fourths of the
audience, at least, was made up of non-Christian Indians. Yet these
people listened for more than an hour to a defense of the Christian
religion--listened as attentively as any audience ever listened to
a political speech, and when I went from the hall, the younger men
were massed along the way and cheered as our people cheer during the
campaign. The next day I received a letter from one of the young men
thanking me for shaking hands with him as I passed out.
In the letters on India I have referred to the Presbyterian college
at Allahabad. At Bombay we found a Congregational school for boys
and girls and a school for the blind. It touches one's heart to see
these sightless little Indians cared for by American philanthropy
and, under the teaching of sympathetic friends, made more capable of
self-support and raised to a higher intellectual level than millions
who can see. Many of the children taken into these schools are
orphans whose parents died during the famines. What a history might
be written if the events of their lives were put on record, and how
much evidence would be furnished to those who endeavor to trace the
providence of God in the lives of individuals as well as in the
course of nations.
I have in another article referred to the work of the United
Presbyterians in the valley of the Nile. It would be difficult
to overestimate the influence which these pioneer Americans have
exerted over the descendants of the Pharaohs. The government is
giving more and more attention to educational matters in Egypt,
but the first work was done by the missionaries, and no one can
appreciate what this work means who has not had an opportunity to
compare the boys and the girls in the schools with the children
who are growing up in ignorance outside. In Jerusalem the Catholic
school for girls most interested us, and I need not add that the
Catholic missionaries have in many countries been the first to risk
their lives in the spread of the the gospel and in the establishment
of schools, orphan asylums and hospitals.
In Syria and in Turkey the Americans are very active. For half a
century they have made Beyrout headquarters for Syria, and their
churches and schools are scattered all over this portion of Asia. At
Constantinople also we met a large company of the representatives of
the various American churches, and their schools have been built on
both sides of the Bosphorus.
Why spend money on foreign missions? If the Oriental is happy in his
idolatry or in his worship of God through other religious forms,
why disturb him? These questions may be answered in various ways,
but one answer will suffice for the purpose of this article. The
Christian ideal of life is the highest ideal. There is no more
beautiful conception of life than that it is an overflowing spring.
There is no true measure of greatness except the Christian measure,
namely--service. If this ideal is good enough for America, it is
good enough for all the world. If truth must, according to eternal
laws, triumph, then this ideal must triumph over all lower ones,
and how can it triumph over lower ideals unless it is brought into
contact with them? If we see a man engaged in some useful work, but
laboring with antiquated tools, it is a kindness to him to offer
him an implement that will increase his effectiveness. If we see a
man following a low ideal and making but little of life, is it not
a kindness to offer him a higher one which will not only enlarge
his usefulness but his happiness as well? If the Christian ideal is
worthy to be followed in America, it is worthy to be presented in
every land, and experience has shown that it is an ideal capable of
being made universal, for it has commended itself to people of every
clime and of every tongue.
But it is said that we must not neglect home missions in our zeal to
carry the gospel and its attendant blessings to foreign shores. This
is a familiar objection, but as a rule it is urged by those who do
the least for home missions. I think I am far within the truth when
I say that the most liberal contributors to foreign missions are
also the most liberal contributors to home missions and that those
who are so afraid that work at home will be sacrificed for work
abroad are the very ones who themselves make few sacrifices for the
work at home. The same spirit which leads one to be generous in the
support of those benevolences which are immediately about him leads
him to take an interest in the needy wherever they are found. The
same spirit which makes one anxious to have the Sermon on the Mount
known in his neighborhood leads him to desire that the knowledge of
this sermon and the philosophy which it contains shall be brought to
the people of all the world.
There is another answer to those who say that we must confine
our efforts to the home field until we have supplied every moral
need. If an individual refuses to assist in the improvement of
others until he has himself reached perfection, who will be able
to aid others? In the effort to help others one often finds more
improvement than could come from a concentration of his efforts on
himself. So the country which refuses to extend a helping hand to
other lands until all its people have passed beyond the need of
improvement will do nothing for the world. As the contributions to
benevolences would be small, indeed, if only those contributed who
could do so without sacrifice, so the contributions to the world's
advancement would be but slight if only those helped others who were
not themselves in need of help.
"Let him who would be the chiefest among you be the servant of all;"
if this is the measure of national greatness, then our nation is
the greatest of all, for its contributions to the world surpass the
contributions made by any other nation. These contributions are made
in three ways: First, it contributes through the men and women who
have come from other lands to study here, and who carry American
ideas back to their homes; second, through the men and women who
have gone to other lands as preachers and teachers; and, third,
through books and printed reports.
I venture the suggestion that it would be worth while to establish
schools in the United States where representatives of other nations
could be brought and made acquainted with Christianity and with the
institutions which have grown up in Christian society. These could
then go among their own people and preach with greater effectiveness
than foreigners possibly can.
Next to this comes the education of the natives in schools
established in their own land and this, of course, is far less
expensive. From $40 to $50 a year will pay for the board, clothing
and tuition of a student in the lower classes of an Oriental
Christian college. If the hundreds of thousands of Christians who
could, without sacrifice, educate one student a year could be
induced to contribute money for this purpose, what an impetus would
be given to the cause of Christianity throughout the Orient! And
who, when he remembers what has been accomplished by one trained
mind directed by a high and holy purpose, will attempt to estimate
the beneficent influence of money thus spent? Who will set limits
to the good that may be done by those Orientals who are preparing
themselves for larger work under the instruction of American
missionaries and teachers?
Making due allowance for the frailty of human nature and for the
mistakes which all are liable to make, it may be said without fear
of successful contradiction that the missionaries, physicians and
teachers who consecrate themselves to the advancement of Asia's
millions along Christian lines are as high minded, as heroic, as
self-sacrificing, and, considering the great destiny of the race, as
useful as any equal number of men and women to be found in any other
part of the world.
[Illustration: A MISSION SCHOOL]