159
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
April 1925
pM HM « .« .« I51S,,_S£|
=
“
MSI *"S
l,B=» =»MM<
HI ■ n §§ ton
Our Bible Institute in Hunan Province, China jj Dm fin urn m iHaaSBSS*lI!*!!Iilll!IfiIiIIIIilI**l«llISIiIiSSiiIIilIiit***iISliIi==IiiiSSi!Iii*!I!IIIiI!II!!IIilIliiIisiiIiiiSiiai!iII==iil!I!SiiB!SS!^! T h e H u n a n Bible I n s t it u t e (th e C h in a D e p a rtm e n t of th e B ible I n s titu te of L os A n g e le s) is o rg a n iz e d a lo n g s im ila r lin e s to the h om e In s titu te ,— tr a in in g n a tiv e C h in ese y o u n g m en a n d w om en fo r C h ris tia n w o rk , a n d a t th e sa m e tim e c a r r y in g on an. a c tiv e e v a n g e lis tic w o rk am o n g th e u n sa v ed . T h e w o rk (w h ich is re co g n ized b y th e d iffe re n t e v a n g e lic a l m issio n s a s one of th e b e s t in C h in a) h a s th r e e d e p a rtm e n ts : (1) A B ible I n s t it u t e a t C h a n g s h a '.(the c a p ita l c ity of H u n a n P ro v in c e.) ( 2 ) Tw e lv e E v a n g e li s t ic B a n d s w ith 13 m en in ea c h B and,' d e v o tin g th e m o rn in g s to B ib le S tu d y , a n d th e a fte rn o o n s to g iv in g th e G o sp el in th e n a tiv e hom es. (8) T h e A u tu m n Bible S c h o o l a n d C o n fe r e n c e a t N an y o h (one of C h in a ’s th re e sa c re d m o u n ta in s). H u n d re d s o f co n v e rsio n s h a v e r e s u lte d fro m th e w o rk done a m o n g th e th o u sa n d s of p ilg rim s. Superintendent
communism, which rushed in and flooded th e country with its poisonous doctrine. Changsha, th e home of th e w riter, is the headquarters of th e communistic propaganda for C entral and South China. In the present .“ period of criticism ,” the Chinese are con fused in th e ir conception of Christianity. This has been brought about by the rapid grow th of th e sp irit of nation alism w ithin the studen t bodies, and has led to a number of societies being organized in various larg e cities under the auspices of the “Anti-imperialism Association.” This Asso
THE ANTI-CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT IN CHINA T h e w r ite r o f t h i s ’e x c e e d in g ly e n lig h te n in g a rtic le on p r e s e n t d ay c o n d itio n s in C h in a, is th e R ev. C h a rle s A R o b e rts , a m em b er of th e H u n a n B ib le I n s titu te sta ff. T h e K in g ’s B u sin ess F a m ily w ill re m e m b e r th e in te r e s tin g a c c o u n t in th e D ecem b er iss u e of th e m a r ria g e o f M r. R o b e rts a n d M iss G race M. P ik e , a B.I.O.L.A. g ra d u a te . JHRISTIAN in te rest in China a t the present should be very vital. China is a t a crisis, not so much political, in the sense th a t it is lim ited to politics, b u t a crisis in a struggle between the old and new forces. F rom a m issionary standpoint,— a crisis w ithin the new forces.
ciation is directly opposed to Christianity and, as far as we are able to gather, is made up from stud en t bodies of both gov ernm ent and mission schools. As a resu lt of th e ir activities, a strong anti-Christian sp irit has been felt. To even the casual observer, it is impossible to ignore th e fact th a t an an ti-fo r eign movement is sweeping across China. F ou r years ago, foreigners in the in terio r noted its grow th and a t intervals since, from many different places, the feeling of antagonism has been repo rted w ith growing emphasis. A recent example may be taken from the studen t strikes in Hunan. The studen ts of the P resbyterian Boy’s M i d d l e School in Siangtan, (30 miles from Changsha, the capital of the province) followed the exam ple of the Yale Middle School s t u d e n t s in Changsha and walked out as a p ro test against the compulsory Bible teaching in the school. The S iangtan strike, however, took a more b itterly
The progress of Christianity In China has been slow and laborious. F rom the days of Morrison to th e p resen t time, the proud Chinese w ith th e ir phlegS m atic tem peram ent and m aterial istic though t have been stiff soil for the planting of th e Gospel seed. Nevertheless, progress has been made. In order to more adequately comprehend the situation in China today, we would call atten tion to th ree p e r i o d s i n C h i n e s e a tti tudes t o w a r d Christianity, w ithin the la st half .century. The first being the period of refusal, the second, the period of accep tance; th ird , th e period of criti cism. Generally s p e a k i n g , the “ period of refu sal” passed away with the quelling of th e Boxer uprising in 1900. F rom th a t date, the foreign missionary, together w ith his native col leagues, again united th e ir efforts to show China, by precept and practice, th a t Christ is the
(F ro n t Row) Rev. C. K. Cheng, Dr. Jo h n M. M aclnnis, Mr. M. K. H siao (A ssista n t Superintendent, H unan Bible In stitu te ). (B ack Row) Rev. W alter T. Steven, Rev. C harles A. R oberts (w riter of th is a rtic le ).
anti-Christian tu rn in. th a t the students to re up th e ir Bibles and scattered them over th é school grounds. In these actions however, some people see th e attem p t of th e pres en t ru lers to deflect the popular w rath caused by th e ir mis ru le from themselves to the foreigner, as well as th e growth of Christianity and the Bolshevist poison. The Anti-Imperialism Association in Changsha became unusually active during the Christmas season. Had it not been for th e prompt action of Governor Chao, the organiza tion intended making a public dem onstration on Christmas (Continued on page 180)
Saviour of mankind. To th is renewed effort, China swung open her iron door and th e Gospel had free course th rough out the eighteen provinces. Missions were established and schools opened, a church was bu ilt up, and its influence was fe lt th roughou t th e land. The Republic was divided in 1917 by th e action of the P ekin government in breaking off diplomatic relations w ith Germany. Since th a t time, China, in h er acceptance of Christianity, became very skeptical and began to look upon It as a sin ister movement and the fo rerunn er of imperial ism. This attitu d e has been an open door for socialism and
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker