the unscientific language as accelerated social evolution, or evolution under pressure of an urgent force which has been introduced by a process of involution. They grapple at close quarters A majestic power inherent in Christ's teachings. with social conditions which may be regarded in of social transformation the light of moral standards as in a measure chaotic, "without form, and void." They have to contend alone at first, and perhaps for several generations, with primitive social conditions, the confused result of the age-long struggles of humanity. The spirit of order and moral regeneration has never brooded over that vast social abysm. It has never touched with its reconstructive power the elements heaped together in such strange confusion. Christian missions enter this socially disorganized environment with its varying aspects of degeneracy, ranging from the higher civilization of the Orient to the savagery of barbarous races, and in most cases without the aid of any legal enactments engage in a moral struggle with those old traditions and immemorial customs which have long had their sway as the regnant forces of society. They deal with a religious consciousness almost painfully immature in spiritual things, so that the splendid task of a matured Christian experience as represented in missions is to take by the hand this childhood of the heart and mind, and, by the aid of the rich and effective resources of our modern environment, put it to school-lead it by the shortest path into the largeness of vision and the ripeness of culture which have come to us all too slowly and painfully. What we have sown in tears let them reap in joy. In many foreign fields missions must face conditions which are so complex, so subtle, so elaborately intertwined with the structure of society, so solidified by age, and so impregnably buttressed by the public sentiment of the people, that all attempts at change or modification seem hopeless, and yet slowly and surely the change comes. comes through the secret and majestic power of moral guidance and social transformation which seems to inhere in that Gospel which Christian missions teach. It In this aspect of their work, however high may be the estimate put upon evangelism, they deserve appreciation also as a social ministry, and should have the support and sympathy of every lover of humanity.1 1 "We cannot doubt that God is calling us in this age, through the characteristic teachings of science and of history, to seek a new social application of the Gospel. We cannot doubt, therefore, that it is through our obedience to the call that we shall realize its divine power. The proof of Christianity which is prepared by God, as I believe, for our times, is a Christian society filled with one spirit in two formsrighteousness and love."-Bishop Westcott, "The Incarnation and Common Life," p. 237. They are worthy of the notice and the admiration of every student of social science, and should receive the credit which is their due in recognition of their pioneer work in the direction of world-wide social reconstruction. They represent the advance-guard of sociology in its march. into the realms of partially civilized or wholly barbarous society. They are partly based upon and largely inspired by the well-founded conviction that the noblest possible synthesis of social phenomena is that in which Christian ideals exercise a guiding and determining influence. In fact, it is the lesson of history that no high ethical product is possible unless Christianity has a controlling power in moulding society. According to the most scientific conception of sociology, Christ is a great sociological leader in human history. He founded a cultural association which has had a mighty influence upon the inner experience and ethical development of society in almost every aspect of its multiform structure and life. The "consciousness of kind" which Professor Giddings emphasizes as the psychological basis of social groupings, and to which he gives such prominence as the controlling influence in social development, is especially prominent in religious life, and is simply the spiritual secret of Christianity as a unifying and sympathetic force in history. Christians are united to Christ by a living, spiritual tie, personal in its character and quickening in its impulses, and are united to one another by the bond of brotherhood and a common faith. The "consciousness of kind" is based upon spiritual likeness and community of life, and this gives to Christianity, as representative of Christ, its power in the social development of mankind. The quality, spirit, power, and inspiration of this consciousness are what give to Christianity a supreme place in moulding social progress. If this kind of consciousness, as well as the consciousness of this kind, could become more potent in the world, there would be a brighter social outlook for the race. It is worthy of note that sociologists of eminence, including such specialists as Professors Giddings, Small, Ely, Patten, Bascom, Henderson, Mathews, Lindsay, and Mackenzie place an appreciative estimate from the scientific standpoint upon missionary effort. Whatever may 1 Giddings, "The Principles of Sociology," p. 360; Small and Vincent, " An Introduction to the Study of Society,” pp. 363, 364; Ely, cf. “Social Aspects of Christianity," and his introductory note to Fremantle's "The World as the Subject of Redemption"; Bascom, "Sociology," pp. 249, 263, and "Social Theory," pp. 520526; Henderson, "Rise of the German Inner Mission," The American Journal of Sociology, March, 1896, p. 592; Mathews, "Christian Sociology," ibid., November, 1895, p. 379; Lindsay, cf. Annals of the American Academy, March, 1896, p. 202; Mackenzie, “An Introduction to Social Philosophy," p. 327. Prof. S. N. Patten writes, "I regard the missionary movement as one of the greatest forces in modern. civilization." be the special theory of the genesis and growth of society which they hold, yet the missionary idea, as representing the most ardent and persistent effort for the establishment of high ethical standards and the planting of the best cultural agencies among people of retarded or arrested development, commands their respect and approval. The larger vision of God's purpose in missions. God often uses men The fact that devout men have gone to the mission fields with the single aim of saving individual souls and securing to them a portion in the spiritual benefits of Christianity does not at all indicate that this is all there is to missions. The aim was Christ-like, and was a sign of sublime faith and true heroism, and yet it may not fully represent the length and breadth of God's purpose. of one special aim, with a somewhat contracted although vivid and intense conception of their mission, to accomplish through them a work of larger and grander scope than they realize. His intentions are not limited by man's comprehension of them. Many of the most magnificent movements of history have been a surprise to those who have, unwittingly perhaps, contributed by their labors and leadership to bring them about. Duty often means much more than we think it does. God frequently honors a faithful and obedient servant by accomplishing through him more than he expects. In obedience to divine direction, he sows the seed without knowing what the fullness and glory of the harvest will be. In fact, "the work of the Christian reformer," as has been well said, "is that of the sower, and not that of the conqueror." What a chapter of hope, what a vista of beneficent results, open up in the work of missions when we regard it as a chosen instrumentality for the accomplishment of the larger plans of God for human society! The trite sneer at missions, unfortunately so common even among professing Christians, is a miserable anachronism in our age. It is the acme of religious provincialism; it is simply the old Phariseeism in a modern garb. Christian missions, as we shall see more fully later, have evidently entered upon a crusade not alone for the spiritual redemption of individual souls, but also with a larger purpose to re deem the life that now is, so that the social desert The sublimity and comprehensiveness of of the non-Christian world shall some day bloom their task. and blossom as the rose under the ministry and culture of Christianity. They are of necessity charged with this sublime task. The religion of Jesus Christ can never enter non-Christian society and be content to leave things as they are. The life that now is in lands as yet but partially touched by Christianity has in it depths of misery and sorrow, heights of cruel, audacious wrong, lengths of far |