RmMTIONAL
Lesson
Zj Rev. William tCrans, I). !., Director Biblo Conn
MouUy Itibla lnstituto, Chicago.
LESSON FOR JANUARY 28
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N this world, according to the latest
estimates, there are about 200,000,000
Mohammedans. Of these, no less than
95,000,000 live under British rule a
total of 5,000,000 in excess of the Chris
tian population of King George's do-
fra nanlfl try rmn ci Hn c thsso vast
hordes of Moslems, never for a mo
ment think of them as militant follow
ers of the Prophet. They look upon
the Islam world as quiescent so far as
the propagation of its doctrines is con
cerned as yielding more and more
to the teachings of the armies of Christian mis
sionaries spread out over it.
But, according to a number of these very mis
sionaries, who have gained their knowledge in
the battle-line formed by Christianity against Is
lam and other religions, this Is by no means thj
case. From the front they bring the news that
Mohammedanism, far from being quiet, Is pulsing
with new life; that Us missionaries, tilled with,
fanatic zeal, are making hosts of converts the!;
doctrines, not only among pagans, bu( .among
peoples previously converted to Christianity-
Africa is where the pitched battle for covert,
between Christianity and Islam Is being w8fe5
most furiously. Those who have been over tts,
ground declare that the religious fate of the v
Dark Continent hangs in the balance. Moham-
meaamsm nas maae sucn progress mere oi
late, they aver, that it Is a question whether
it will not soon become Africa's dominant faith.
Nor i3 that portion of the earth the only
"place where Islam is striding triumphantly for
ward. Pan-Islamism, sedulously fostered by
Abdul Hamid, deposed Sultan of Turkey, has
eerved to stimulate the aggressiveness of the
Prophet's followers in India, Malaysia, Central
Asia, Siberia, Russia and other lands.
Thi3 aggressiveness is noticeable not only
among those Mohammedans who seek to recon
cile their time-worn religion to modernity, but
also among the blind fanatics o orthodoxy,
who will not give up one Jot or tittle or the
doctrines handed down to them by their fore
fathers straight from the days of Mohammed.
The one great characteristic of the Moslem
world today Is unrest.
Like the prodigal son In the parable, islam
fs coming to ItEelf and Is becoming conscious
of its need. Three great movements in the
Moslem world at the present time are all of
them Indicative of this unrest the develop
ment of the great dervish orders, the growth
of the pan-Islamic spirit and the attempt of the
new Islam to rationalize the old orthodoxy
all of them due to the sani cause, namely, the
readjustment of Islam to the progress of mod
ern thought and western civilization, either by
way of protest and defiance, or of accommoda
tion and compromise.
The modernist movement touches every Mos
lem who receives education on western lines,
whether in Java, India, Persia or Egypt, and
compels him to adopt a new theology and a
new philosophy and new eocial standards or
give up his religion altogether. How far the
advocates of the new Islam go In throwing
cverLoard their cargo to save the ship is illus
trated In a book. "'The Truth About islam,"
Jost published at Cairo by Dr. Muhammad
Badr, a graduate of Edinburgh University. No
orthodox Moslem would recognize this pre
sentation of Islam as the same religion which
he professes.
The enormous increase and activity of Mos
lem Journalism in all the chief centers of the
Moslem world is also an indication of Intel
lectual and social unrest. Some of the leading
papers are already the mouthpiece or intol
erance and show a sullen attitude toward
Christianity.
The religious movements in Islam oday are
radically progressive or retrogressive. The
dervish orders and the Mahdis in Somaliland,
Yemen and the Sahara, all believe in a Pan
Islamlsm utterly opposed to modern civiliza
tion, and their cry is "Back to Mohammed."
The advocates of reform in Java and Per
Ela, the preachers of the new Islam in India,
and the nationalists in Egypt, cn the contrary,
are trying to get away from Mohammed and
the early standards of Arab'.an civilization, re
ject most of the traditions, and make rational
Ism the basis of their faith.
According to them, Mohi:mried neither
Immaculate nor infallible. Their ideas aud
their Ideals are at the opposite pole or or- -Utodoxy.
However, as has been stated, orthodox Islam
and up-to-date Islam seem to be alike in one
ttig they are both moving forward.
To turn first to Africa, the great battle
ground, evidences cf this progress appear on
every side. In central Africa a dozen sects or
dervishes are at work proselytizing foremost
among them the powerful Senusi, who yearly -Eer.d
out large bands of missionaries. In short,
as one Christian worker puts It, "Every Mo
hammedan is a missionary."
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KAABAH ATMSCCA
One striking thing
about thic spread of the
doctrines of Islam is
that European colonial
governments tend to
help rather than hin
der it. The pacification
of heathen countries
and the suppression of
the slave trade, it
seems, have been fav
orable to Mohammed
anism. One missionary ex
plains why Islam is al
ready in possession of
great sections of. north
and east Africa, and is
steadily advancing, in
this wise:
"It has often been
said that the transition
from paganism to
Christianity Is very
much more abrupt
than that to Islam. But
in addition to this, the
Mohammedan recog
nizes In religion as in(
other matters, a vari-'
ety of intermediate
stages.
"He is satisfied, es
pecially at the begin
ning, with a very slight
degree of adhesion to
Islam. It is by no means all converts, but only
a few individuals here and there who pay any
attention to the deeper religious requirements.
No abrupt break in polygamous conditions is
demanded, as is the case In Christian missions;
while magical practices and ether supersti
tions are tolerated.
"The convert thus loses nothing, but on the
contrary gains in social position and considera
tion, so that his adhesion is almost a matter
of course."
How Islam forges ahead in India is shown
by these figures:
In 1871 there were, in Bengal, 17,000,000
Hindoos and 16,600,000 Mohammedans. In
1901 there were 18,000,000 Hindoos and more
than nearly 19,500,000 Mohammedans.
Thus, in thirty years, the Mohammedans,
who, at the start, numbered half a million less
than the Hindoos, had not only made up that
deficit, but placed themselves 1.500,000 in the
lead. -
Basing his statement on these figures, Lieut.
Col. Mukerjee, of the Indian Medical Service,
In hl3 book entitled "A Dying Race," maintains
that in Bengal the future is with the Moham
medans. In explanation of the 'success of Moslem
methods in India, a Christian missionary who
koovvs that land says:
"The Moslem propagandist is Asiatic; we
are not. He can Ingratiate himself with the
people; he can make himself one of them in
every detail of social life; he will give his
daughter in marriage to the convert, and while
we are learning to speak the language! he
growa into their very life.
"The Moslem propagandist Is a keen
itinerant; why should not our preachers and
catechist3 move about among the people with
less show of European tent and boat?
"Martyn Clark says that as ninety-five per
cent, of the people live in villages, it were wis
dom to learn from the Moslem monarchs, who
propagated Islam In the villages; their power
perished, but their religion remained.' "
lie sums up admirably the difference be-
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eases' -' rr iliJWflOSTlSS
tween the proselytizing method of Christian
and Moslem by saying that the former, in or
der to succeed, "must be less of a combatant
and more of a wooer."
In the great islands of Malaysia Islam la
likewise meeting with marked success. A
Christian missionary in those remote parts de
clares that the population of large portions or
Java, Celebes, Sumatra, and other less im
portant islands is already quite Islamlzed.
In Borneo, he adds, Moslem iniiuence is in
creasing steadily In the same proportion as
Paganism is declining. Only at such places
where there are Christian missions is this prog
ress checked successlully. But, in the greater
part of the Island, the Mohammedan propa
ganda goes on without resistance.
"The Moslems of Malaysia," he says, "who
leave their native country in order to establish
themselves on the shores of other countries,
whether temporarily or permanently, are gen
erally anxious to make proselytes. It is not
especially religious conviction that drives
them, but rather commercial interest. Those
who emigrate are always people who gain their
living by trading.
"Now pagan tribes in Malaysia live in com
munism. The family extends itself to a clan,
clans grow to tribes; and family relation Is
the only tie that holds together these commu
nities. Only among one's family does one feel
safe.
"It is a matter of course that the Moham
medan foreigner, as soon as be is established
on the chore of the heathen land, tries to en
ter into family relations with the native tribe
in the neighborhood of which he lives and
trades. In this he succeeds by marrying a
woman belonging to that tribe. He and other
fellow Mohammedans create Moslem family
circles; lor the wives have to adopt the re
ligion of their husbands, be it only superficial
ly. No one will expect the wife to fulhl! the
duties of her new religion, but her children are
sure to become better Mohammedans than
their mother.
"In this way a group of Mohammedan fam-'
illes is formed which by and
by grows. Into a Moslem com
munity, and at last becomes
a society with Its own chief.
"Thus, some centuries ago
Islam established Itself In
Sumatra, afterwards In Java
and the other Islands of Ma
laysia and in this way we see
It at present establishing it
self in Central Celebes.
"Sometimes a good . num
ber of Mohammedan families
settle at the coast, choose a
chief, and so from the begin
ning immediately form a po
litical unity. But whatever
Us origin may be, a Moslem
establishment always exer
cises influence on the heath
en tribes of the interior. Va
rious reasons bring about
this supremacy.
"The Mohammedan popu
lation does' not chiefly live
on agriculture. They earn
their living by trade and, Just
as In Europe, It Is considered more distin
guished not to be an agriculturist. The Mo
hammedan coast population do grow some
vegetables and fruit, but as for the principal
food, which is rice, they depend on the people
of the interior. On their excursions they have
always money with them and they never for
get to make a show of it.
"W.ie Mohammedans also dress in a better
way than the heathen, and they very cunningly
array themselves in clothes which excite the
covetousness and de6ire of their heathen
neighbors, who are very fond of buying new
articles. They like to perfume themselves and
constantly speak with contempt about eating
pork and of other customs of the people of the
interior. In short, they know how to behave
as people of higher rank and quality than the
simple pagans.
"Through all these means theMohammedan
traders arouse the people of the interior to im
itate their customs, and all these things are
profitable to a propagation of Islam."
From Asiatic Russia come similar surpris
ing tidings of Moslem encroachments in the
field of pagan conversion. A Christian work
er In that territory tells how, at the beginning
of the nineteenth century, the "Apostle of the
Altai," reverend Father Macary, crossed the
plains south of Tobolsk In Siberia to reach
the Altai, and perceived the state of the mil
lions of heathen Kirghis living there. He asked
the Russian government to allow h,im to begin
missionary work among the Kirghis, but he
was told that these people were too savage
as yet to become converts to Christianity.
Not long after that Mohammedan mission
aries entered the field, worked with great zeal
and perseverance, and won over all the Kirghis
tribes lo the faith of Islam.
As a result of this setback, the writer states,
"the Christian missionary has now to fight, not
the weak and beggarly elements of an animis
tic religion, but the seemingly Inaccessible
granite fortress of Islam."
Regarding the general situation In . Siberia
the same missionary, says:
"Moslem propaganda is gaining in strength
and Mohammedan influence Is growing, while
Christian influence, as represented by the Rus
sian church, is weaker. The unlucky war with
Japan and the proclamation of liberty of con
science have done their work. Forty thou
sand bsrptlzed Christians, formerly Mohamme
dans and heathens, have returned to pagan
Ism and Islam. Islam especially comes out of
this crisis strengthened and more aggressive
than ever before."
In China there are millions of Moham
medans, but, according to Christian testimony,
they are not markedly aggressive in propagat
ing the doctrines of the prophet. The same
seems true of Turkey and Persia.
In conclusion, attention should be called to
a phase of the Mohammedan situation, which
is especially startling from the fact that It is
"near to home,, viz.: the activity of Moslem
proselytizers in this western hemisphere.
In several of the West Indian islands and
. the Guiana territory of South America there
are thousands of East Indian Moharamedana.
In British Guiana there are 22,000;. In Dutch
Guiana, 5,800; In Central America and the
West Indies. 20,000. -
"Such a small fraction of the population
might well be omitted in our survey," stat
the editors of "Islam and Missions," "were It
not that undoubted testimony comes in regard
to the activity of Islam, especialy in Britisn
Guiana and the West Indies.
"If the results of a century's missionary ef
fort in British Guiana are to be preserved the
Christian church must make a more deter
mined effort to combat the Influence of th;
East Indian. The struggle of the future t:
British Guiana will be between Christ and Mi.
hammed."
PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE.
LESSON TEXT T,uke 2:22-39.
MEMOliY VEHSF.S 3, SO.
GOLDEN TEXT "For mine eyes have
jotn thy salvation, which thou hast pre
pared before the face of all peoplea."
i-.uke 2:30-31.
This lesson concerns the matter of
the presentation of the Christ child in
the temple forty days after his birth.
Ever since the redemption of the first
born ftf Israel on that dark night in,
Egypt, when the destroying angel pass
ed through the land and srnote all the
first-born of the Egyptians, the first
born son of every Hebrew family be
longed untc the service of God. As a
substitute for 'all the first-born, the
tribe of Levi was chosen to act as
priests. By this, however, the Hebrew
parents were not exempt from the pre
sentation of their first-born to Pod.
By reason of the choosing of the Le
vites, the first-born son of the family
was released from priestly service on
the payment of a certain amount of
redemption money.
Joseph and Mary being righteous
parents, obeyed this law and presented
the Christ child in the temple. In. thus
presenting the child, these parents
realized the great truth, which all par
ents should realize, that our children
belong to God, and are but loaned to
us. Christian parents should imitate,
the example of Joseph and Mary.
Mary also made a personal offering
as a token of her appreciation of the
goodness of God. It was a small gift,
It is true, but it was the best that she
In her humble circumstances life could
give,' and, therefore, -was as accept
able to God as any offering of much
higher value would have been. Would
it not be a good thing to celebrate the
birth of your child by making a spe
cial offering, or gift to" the cause of
God, to some needy work?
We have a wonderful description cf
the work of Christ in this lesson. He
Is the light of the world. Not one, but
every nation is to feel the effect of his
coming. On one occasion, when a
Japanese convert to Christianity was
summoned, before the magistrates and
called upon to give a reason why ho
had forsaken his national religion, ho
was told that Japan- had religion
enough and did not want any more;
that Confucianism was good enough
for scholars, and Buddhism for the
masses. The Japanese convert replied,
"If Confucianism is an all-sufficient re
ligion, why is it, since the founder liv
ed thousands of years before Christ
and taught during a long life, that it
has not spread beyond China and Ja
pan? And if Buddhism is. an. all-sufficient
religion, how is It, started by
Budda thousands of years before
Christ, and taught by him through a
long life, that it has not spread be
yond India, China, and Japan? If
Christianity is a bad religion, how is it,
since Its founder taught three years,
and was put to death when he was
thirty-three years eld, .that it has
spread over all the v.-orld?"
Jesus is the desire of all the nations.
There Is no satisfaction to be found in
any religion outside of him. Even
Simeon, representing the Old Testa
ment, did net find full satisfaction un
til he had seen the Christ child.
The salvation of the world centers
In Christ. He Is the only Saviour.
Christ is the only person who can save
the "world from its sin. The world
had had reformers, scholars, philoso
phers, philanthropists before Christ,
but It never had a Saviour.v Jesus
Christ is the only person born Into
the world with reference to the sl-s
of men.
We may learn ajesson of what it
means to have faith In Christ from tha
words of Simeon. He had seen nr
mighty works wrought by Christ; no
miracles had been performed . in his
sight; he had heard no words of king
ly dignity from the lips of Jesus ;
Christ had pressed upon . this good
man's heart no claims to Messiahship
and yet with the eye of faith he eaw
all these things in the infant Jesus.
Centuries have rolled by since Simoon
lived and died, and Jesu3 Christ fcas
been proven-beyond all reasonable
doubt to be all these things to be,
and to do all that Simeon in prophecy
claimed for him, and yet we may ask,
"Do we believe In Christ, the Christ
of tho past as he believed in the Christ
of the future?"
Christ is a revealer of men's hearts.
A man's character is judged by his at
titude toward Christ. We see in the
character of Christ absolute goodness,
love, truth, honor, purity. Therefore
to see Christ, to see truth, love, good
ness, purity, and not to love and
choose him Is to reveal a state of heart
which, like that of Galllo, "cares for
none of these things."
Simeon was satisfied when he had
seen the Christ. To see him 13 the
grandest sight in all the world. We -are
often asked, "Have you seen tho
sights In Rome, in Greece, in Italy?"
And If we reply In the negative, It is
hinted that wo have missed a great
part of life. But there is a light more
Important to Bee than any materia
vision, and that is, the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. Have you
seen this sight? Have you Eeen the
face of Jesus? Have you seen the
glqry of God In the person of Jesus?
Have you seen In him salvation? 11
rcu have not all la lost,