HINDOO AND CHINESE MISSIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 229, 25 September 1894, Page 2

HINDOO AND CHINESE MISSIONS.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—Will you allow me, as an old mission; ary, a few words in reply bo " Zamiel's' very rai_dom Bhot at missions. He seems bo see something foolish and absurd in the attempt made by Christians to converb Hindoos and Chinese bo Christianity. Now, one would have expected, in these days of altruism, that that parb of the Auckland Tabernacle reporb which showed bhab bhe church and congregation were nob conbent bo enjoy bhe advanbages of bheir religion bhemselves, bub were working and spending money bo benefib bhe people of India, and bhe Chinese here, would have commanded his sympathy and commendation. The folly of our mission work, he thinks, would be seen if bhe heathen were to send missionaries bo converb us to their faith. Now, it is one very clear condemnation of their religions that there is in them neither the power to purify and elevate those who believe them, nor to impel their votaries bo send messengers to promote either the spiritual or material good of others.

" Zamiel " insinuates that missionaries ridicule tho religion of others, and that the reports of conversions and spiritual good done amongsb bhe heathen are nob brue. Now, without Undertaking to justify every report of results, it may be safely affirmed that bbose insinuations are gross libels. If Hindoos and Chinese came here and sent brue reports of large numbers of conversions bo their faith, what reason would there be for any "yell of indignation?" As for legislative interference, the day ior thab in British dominions has forever passed away, and Mrs Besanb, now converted bo Hindooism, will be quite ab liberby bo converb us all bo her faibh if she can ; no one wishes to forbid her or the Theoßophists,. who are doing what they can to converb people bo Buddhism or some obher ism bhab is nob Chrisbianism. If Mrs Besanb or a Chinaman were ill-treated for attempting bo converb us to their views, they would be protected by British law, and the Chinaman no lesß than the British subject. Nor would he have to wait until China bbreabened us if we did nob avenge bhe wrong -done by a mob to one of her Bubjects whom by treaty wo had allowed bo live amongsb us. " Zamiel" makes a very sbrange application of the golden rule "Do unto others, ebc. ;" his language can only mean tbab we should nob complain when an unaubhorised mob of Chinese kills an English missionary, since we should nob iike China to complain if our larrikins slaughtered the Chinese here or a Chinese missionary whom we had allowed to come amongst us ! His complainb aboub* bhe Auckland Tabernacle reporb really amounbed bo bhis (and he might'have pub ib in so many wordß) —tbab Christians are very foolish bo abbempb to obey bhe command to preach bhe Gospel to the whole world, and the Christ himself was guilby of gross, folly when, by such a command, He senb His disciples bo converb our forefabhers from Druidism, and bhe nations of bhe Easb, whether in ancienb or modern times, from bheir various systems; and'that He was also very conceited in supposing thab His system was so much better than theirs that it was worth while to convert them. Evidently, if Christ had been half as wise as "Zamiel "He would have considered how He would have liked the Gentiles to try to converb Him and bhe Jews in general bo paganism, and so would have avoided giving such foolish instructions about the conversion of the whole world.—l am, ebc, Chas. Carter, ,