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July 1925
THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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F I N E G O L D OR THE P E A R L OF G R E A T P R I C E JOSEPHINE HOPE WESTERVELT 1
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(Continued from last month) CHAPTER 7 A CALL, TO KNIGHTHOOD
very special manner makes us responsible for her. My descriptions shall be mainly of Peru, in which I have worked for years, but in describing her, I shall be indicat ing the conditions of practically the whole continent. There are three distinct classes of people in Peru, indeed we might sày four: the Peruvians, the descendants of the proud old Spanish conquerors of the Incas, who are the ruling class; then the Indians; then the half breeds of many nationalities, but particularly of the two classes above; and finally the various foreign elements,— the foreigner who has, ever' since the days of the conquest, been willing to exploit Peru. “Four centuries ago the land was conquered by the Spaniards, and the Roman Catholic religion was forced upon the people. Mind you, I do not say they were con verted or Christianized. It was not, and is not, the Roman Catholicism we, see about us in America today, but the
JILLIAM returned full of enthusiasm over his trip, and boy-like, he told it all over to Uncle Jack. Sev eral other trips were planned, both on land and water, but in these trips Jack Harmon was included and seemingly enjoyed them as much a s ■the younger members of the excursions. At last the summer was over. William Harmon was to go to the Seminary, and for the first time since his admission into Jack Har mon’s family he was to be separated from his uncle. He felt the separation keenly, as did Uncle Jack and Aunt Fanny, but all looked forward to the holidays which' now were enjoyed all the more keenly. Almost always one com panion at least came with William for the briefer holidays,
Catholicism of the days of the Spanish Inquisition'/, a repetition of the days of Bloody Mary. Not until 1821 was the Inquisition abolished in Peru. The effects of the Inquisition are still in evidence in the cruel treatment of the Indians, the conquered race, and exploitation of the people by the priesthood still continues today, although conditions are a little better than a century ago. A church that could burn thirty thousand persons at' the stake, that could torture with the most fiendish cruelty hundreds of thou sands of others, was the .church and the type of Roman Catholicism that was forced upon Peru and its inhabitants. Cut off from the progressiyeness of the old world, Peru was held in the place of cruel oppression, and is still being held under it to a very real extent,— the poor
and, it was at the earnest invitation of Uncle Jack that this was so. In this way he could best keep in touch with William’s life, his aims and ambitions. He was much pleased with what he; saw and heard. .William was his father over again in his popularity, his .winsome ness, and his earnest desire to lead his fellows to Christ. With the keenest kind of scrutiny Jack Harmon watched for the possible weaknesses of that loved father, whom the boy seemed to idolize in his memory. From all he could gather, William was a leader; but not easily led. His whole training, as well as Jack Har mon knew how to train, had been against any such tendency, and thankfully but watchfully and helpfully he prayed that the boy might be strong where the father had been weak.
How many v o i c e s there are to allure one from the right way. It is very dangerous for a Christian young man or woma n to form close friendships with ungodly compan ions. “Wh a t com munion h a t h l i g h t w i t h darkness? or what part h a t h he that believeth with an infidel?”
down-trodden Indians especially. When'this religion was brought into the old pagan religion of the land, and the two were combined, a hideous paganized Catholicism was the result, and the stultifying results are still evident. “It is true that they have images of Mary and thé Christ; it is true these names are forever on the lips of a poor, ignorant people and priesthood, but the meaning of the crucified Christ, indeed the very fact that he was crucified for their sins, is unknown. They worship idols, as they worshiped their' old heathen idols. It is to these idols, with their various names, that they look for help, I wish I could paint for you the many religious processions, where the image of Christ, or a gaudily dressed doll called Mary, is borne aloft by reeling, drunken carriers, followed by intoxicated throngs, men, women, girls, and children dancing in hideous figures, the remants of old heathen dances, , Ask them the meaning of the figures, and they simply tell the names of the images. Not one in the throng , (Continued on page 332)
In William’s senior year, his old resolve to go as a mis sionary to Peru was very materially strengthened. One morning at chapel the president introduced two men to the students, one a Peruvian and the other a missionary from Peru. Both men were good speakers, and both caught and held the attention of the students. But it was the mes sages themselves that gripped their hearts and made more than one resolve to go forth into heathen lands with the message of salvation. Mr. Alvin’s appeal was enlightening and direct. “Many people all over this land are asking, ‘Why send missionaries to South America? Is it not a Catholic coun try, and is it not Christianized by the Catholics?’ It is my purpose to answer these questions and describe the •con ditions of these, and each can then judge for themselves. “South America contains almost one-seventh of the land surface of the world. It has eleven republics; and Brazil, the greatest of them, is larger than the United States. The continent-is our sister continent- The Monroe Doctrine in a
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