THE UNITY OF GOD; OR, THE MISSION HOUSE.
QUESTION V. _Are there more Gods than one?_
ANSWER. There is but one only, the living and true God.
——————
BEFORE the evening on which the next lesson of the Catechism occurred,
Mr. Dermott unexpectedly returned home. He was welcomed by the children
with almost boisterous affection.
And after relating many incidents which had occurred during his
absence, Helen exclaimed, "O papa, we do have such nice times at
the catechising! I never liked the Catechism before, because I did
not understand the meaning of the words. But now you may ask me any
question that you like. I mean about those mother has explained to us."
"Indeed!" cried Mr. Dermott, with an arch smile. "I must obtain
permission to join this wonderful class; for I confess there is much
that I could learn about these sublime truths. What is the lesson for
to-night?"
"We don't have to look out any of the references, as we did at the
Sabbath school," exclaimed Walter, earnestly. "We only commit the
answer to the question; and when it's Belle's turn, mother lets her
read it from the book."
Helen, having easily obtained permission for her father to be present,
gayly seated him between Isabelle and herself, and clasping his hands
affectionately, informed her mother they were ready for her to commence.
Anna having repeated the answer to the question in course, Mrs. Dermott
asked, "What are the gods of the heathen called?"
"O mamma!" cried Isabelle. "Ask father first; he is the oldest!"
The lady smilingly nodded assent, and Mr. Dermott replied, "I think it
is the prophet Jeremiah who calls them idols and images."
"Of what, Walter, do the heathen make their idols?"
"Of wood and stone."
"That great one, we saw at the Mission House was made of gold," cried
Helen, "and another was made of some old straw, stuck all over with
elegant red feathers. Some of them were worn off, and I peeped inside.
It was an ugly-looking thing."
"Here is an idol made of brass," added Mrs. Dermott, rising and taking
from the mantel a small calf, about an inch in length. "Dreadful as
it may seem, this little image has had a human sacrifice offered to
it. This was afterward given up to the missionaries, who sent it to
me. Probably this was made in imitation of the golden calf which the
Israelites worshipped; the sight of which caused Moses such wrath that
he threw down the tables of stone upon which the commandments were
written, and broke them."
"Beside images of every imaginable shape and size," remarked the
gentleman, "the poor deluded heathen worship many objects in nature,
such as the sun and moon, very many kinds of animals—cows, dogs,
crocodiles, and even mice. When I was in India, I saw the Hindoos
engaged in offering sacrifices to the sun. Early in the morning, men,
women, and children gathered together in an open field, carrying
fruits, sweetmeats, pigeons, kids, &c. These were all set in a row,
and a small pot of water placed by each person's offering, around the
edge of which they wove a kind of wreath in imitation of the sun. They
also had a small vessel of coals for incense, and a lamp, which was
kept burning all day, by each sacrifice. At sunrise they walked four
times around the whole row of offerings, with the smoking censers on
their heads; after this they returned to their former station, where,
I was informed, they stood erect all day, occasionally throwing a
little incense into the fire, but without tasting food. About sunset,
when I was told their ceremonies would be concluded, I returned. They
again took their censers, and walked three times around the field. The
pigeons were thrown into the air, and scrambled after for food, when
each one threw his lamp away, and hastened home. This was merely a
senseless and foolish idolatry. The next day one of the missionaries
invited me to the hook swinging, in which the deluded Hindoos had iron
hooks fastened into the flesh of their backs, and swung through the
air, to appease the wrath of their gods. I had no heart to witness so
cruel an exhibition. But no matter where I went, in every part of India
there were idols of wood, stone, and clay; some ornamented with silver
and gold, others in forms the most hideous and repulsive."
"How can they be so silly as to worship idols?" inquired the impulsive
Helen. "I stuck a pin through that old feather god, and it could feel
nothing; it only kept grinning with its two rows of ugly teeth; and I
might have screamed in its ears all day, it could never have heard me."
The children smiled, but Mrs. Dermott said, gravely, "In contrast with
these senseless images, which have eyes, ears, and hands, but can
neither see, hear, nor dispense favors, how great and glorious appears
the one living and true God, whose throne is in the heavens, but who is
so condescending that he stoops to listen to the earnest prayer of the
humblest child!"
"Walter," inquired Mr. Dermott, "is there no duty we owe these poor
heathen?"
"Yes, sir; we ought to send Bibles and missionaries to teach them about
our God; and then they would throw away their idols, as the Sandwich
Islanders did."
"Yes, my child; and we ought to pray for them, that their hearts may be
enlightened to see the folly of their worship."
"I pray for the heathen every night," faltered Isabelle, with tearful
eyes, "and I mean to save all my pennies to send them Bibles."
"A missionary," said Mr. Dermott, "once gave an account of a poor man
who came into his house. 'When he had sat down, he took up a book of
missions which lay upon the table, in which were plates of heathen
idols, hideous and ugly in their appearance.'
"'What game is this?' he asked my daughter.
"'They are not game,' replied the little girl; 'there are nations who
worship those things.'
"'O,' said he, 'how you tell fibs!'
"'No, I am not telling fibs. My mamma said so, and she does not tell
fibs.'
"'Well,' he said again, 'tell me what games they are.'
"'They are things that people worship, just as we worship Jehovah and
Jesus. If you do not believe it, go and ask papa.'
"He then came to me, and said, 'Look at that!' And repeated what Mary
had told him. 'Is it true?' he asked.
"'It is,' was the reply.
"Having gazed at me for a moment, in astonishment, he said, 'I know you
do not lie; but how can it be?'
"And laying the book down upon a piece of timber I was planing, he
looked at it, putting his hands to both sides of his head, and waving
it backward and forward.
"Presently he asked, 'Have those people that make these things of wood
and stone, heads like me?'
"'Yes.'
"'Have they got legs?'
"'Yes.'
"'Can they talk and think? Can they explain a difficult thing? Can they
speak in a public meeting, like our senators?'
"'Yes.'
"'Then never say that our people are foolish or ignorant.'
"Taking from his neck a whistle, made of ivory, and carved with some
device, perhaps a man's face, he nodded his head to it in a most solemn
manner, and said, 'If my people should see me worshipping my whistle,
which looks much better than those monsters, they would think I was
mad. They would throw me over a precipice, and cover me with stones.'"