CHRISTIAN IDOL-MAKERS.

Evening Post, Volume XLIX, Issue 134, 8 June 1895, Page 1 (Supplement)

CHRISTIAN IDOL-MAKERS.

The missionary world at Madras has been in terrible commotion over the nefarious conduct of a firm of European silversmiths in accepting an order for a silver bull to be worshipped at a certain Hindu temple. The purchasers covenanted that it must be a work of real art, horns, tail, and all, ,and be of full life-size. The firm in question agreed to the stipulations, and had begun the work before the contract came to public knowledge. Then, swiftly, a storm arose, on the question as to whether Christians can lawfully engage in the manufacture of idols, never mind how artistic, for heathen worship. Birmingham solved that problem many years ago ; it is affirmed that many of the metallic images which are brought home from Asia and Africa by enterprising globe-trotters as valuable curios were manufactured in the Midlands. But there is a marked difference between the two cases. " When idols are made by Christians within sight of Hindus, and for their use, those highly intelligent people are given occasion to scoff. It seems to them, and they give speech to the thought, that Christianity can be but a skin-deep faith when its professors are willing, for the sake of filthy lucre, to afford help to religions which they affect to despise. But a British-made idol creates no scandal of that sort, because it does not come into actual use until after exportation to some remote country. Moreover, it is not known to be of Christian workmanship ; a 6tory tells how a distinguished Hindu artist in such wares had them " invested with genius," and with everything else, at a Birmingham workshop, he himself "being no more than an intermediary. — Globe.