Things as they are : $b Mission work in Southern IndiaCarmichael, Amy
Religion
Things as they are : $b Mission work in Southern India
Carmichael, Amy
India -- Social life and customs; Missions -- India
The second half of this last objection is, "_Why not do easier work?_
There are so many who are more accessible, why not go to them?" And
there does seem to be point in the suggestion that if there are open
doors, it might be better to enter into them, rather than keep on
knocking at closed ones.
We do seek to enter the so-called open doors, but we never find they are
so very wide open when it is known that we bring nothing tangible with
us. Spiritual things are not considered anything by most. Still, work
among such is infinitely easier, and many, comparatively speaking, are
doing it.
The larger number here are working among the Christians, the next larger
number among the Masses, and the fewest always, everywhere, among the
Classes, where conversion involves such terrible conflicts with the Evil
One, that all that is human in one faints and fails as it confronts the
cost of every victory.
But real conversion anywhere costs. By conversion we mean something more
than reformation; _that_ raises fewer storms. The kind of work, however,
which more than any other seems to fascinate friends at home is what is
known as the "mass movement," and though we have touched upon it
before, perhaps we had better explain more fully what it really is. This
movement, or rather the visible result thereof, is often dilated upon
most rapturously. I quote from a Winter Visitor: "Christian churches
counted by the thousand, their members by the million; whole districts
are Christian, entire communities are transformed." And we look at one
another, and ask each other, "Where?"
But to that question certain would answer joyously, "Here!" There are
missions in India where the avowed policy is to baptise people "at the
outset, not on evidence of what is popularly called conversion. . . . We
baptise them 'unto' the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and not because we
have reason to believe that they have received the Spirit's
baptism,"--we quote a leader in the movement, and he goes on to say, if
it is insisted "that we should wait until this change (conversion) is
effected before baptising them, we reply that in most cases we would
have to wait for a long time, and often see the poor creatures die
without the change."
Of course every effort is made by revival services and camp meetings to
bring these baptised Christians to a true knowledge of Christ, and it is
considered that this policy yields more fruit than the other, which puts
conversion first and baptism second. It is certainly richer in
"results," for among the depressed classes and certain of the middle
Castes, among whom alone the scheme can be carried out, there is no
doubt that many are found ready to embrace Christianity, as the phrase
goes, sometimes genuinely feeling it is the true religion, and desiring
to understand it, sometimes for what they can get.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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