THE KING ’S BUSINESS
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of the islands. Soon the interest became intense, and for two years there was a continual ^Pentecost. A meeting house seat ing two thousand was too small for the number of Christians, who met in divisions, one crowd after another. On one Sabbath Mr. Coan baptized 1705 tested converts. Before 1870 Mr. Coan himself had received into* the church about 12,000 persons. He lived to be eighty-two years old, working with unfailing ardor, and success. Rabbi Shanfarber, Chicago, speaking of the religious condition of the “modern” Jews, gives a sad picture of their apostasy. He says, “We Jews have given religion to the world, but we have, little ourselves. We gave God to the world, but we have little of God in our hearts. The Jews are not studying the Bible—other people are study ing it. One tremendous difference is our worst ailment. We are troubled with the teachings of agnostics, materialists and Christian Science.” As another Jewish teacher says, “The Jews know more of Christian Science than of the Bible.” And still another Rabbi, Dr. Melamid, says, “The Jews have now scarcely anything in com mon with the Jews of the Bible.” Reproached for becoming an Episcopalian a Jew in Indianapolis replied, “Why not? In the church I’m told to be good; in the temple I’m told to be good. In the church the organ is playing; in the temple the or gan is playing. In the church Christian choir girls are singing; and in the temple Christian choir girls are singing. Why should we not all pray together?” Asked how he could believe in Jesus?” he said, “The Jewish Rabbi preached that Jesus was a great Hebrew Rabbi; the Episcopal Rabbi, that stress was no longer laid on the im maculate conception.” And this had “set his conscience at rest.” So “is the offense of the cross ceased”—not by Jews becom ing acceptable Christians, but by Christians becoming acceptable Jews! In the late crisis in China when Chris tians were called by the Chinese authori-
A business man was talking with the head of a missionary society about the work in the interior of uncivilized Paraguay among the Indians of that land. “Don’t you ever feel in any sense wrong,” the business man asked, “in sending out a young girl into the hardships and perils of the field?” “No,” answered the missionary, “for I know that those who go, go trusting not in me,-not in a society, but trusting in God. We may take unlimited risks, both with ourselves and with others, when God is the guarantee to them and to us.” Rev. W. P. Merrill, D. D., preached a sermon on “The Call of the Hour,” allud ing to the crisis in China as a great mis sionary opportunity. We quote a para graph : “The people of China are reaching out their hands for the very religion you and I are professing. Are you going to fail them? It is not a question of the truth of Christianity in the abstract, of the power and love of God. We believe all that to be true. But the Christianity that will min ister the grace of God to the needy and longing world is your Christianity and mine. John Williams was one of the pioneer missionaries to the Society Islands in the Southern Pacific, to which he went nearly a hundred years ago, at the age of twenty. He had learned the work of a mechanic, and used his skill in his missionary labors, teaching the natives how to make houses and furniture and boats and articles of metals and many other things. He reduced the -language to writing and drew up a code of laws. He explored many groups of is lands in a, remarkable vessel which he made himself. He was finally murdered by the fierce natives of the New Hebrides, who mistook him for a cruel trader. Titus Coan was probably the greatest mis sionary to Ha,waii. After a thrilling mis sionary experience in Patagonia, he went to the Sandwich Islands in 1834. Amid tre mendous difficulties he preached in all parts
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