p. 13 | THE HEATHEN by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 20, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 16.

THE HEATHEN.

By Editor

THE present difficulty between Russia and Japan has caused many readers, no doubt, to puzzle themselves as to the direction in which they should give their sympathy, whether to Russia or to Japan. Russia is considered a Christian nation, where the Greek Catholic Church is established by law. Japan is known to be a heathen nation. Some readers suppose that if Russia should gain the upper hand, Christianity is thereby furthered. This is an error. Russia is not open to missionaries, nor to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Japan is open to missionaries.

We may as well open our eyes to the fact that there is a Christianity which is not Christian. A Christianity that persecutes Finland, that seizes the property of the Armenian Church in Russia, that massacres the Jews because of their religion, is not a Christianity that we wish established in any part of the world.

It may be stated that in America we have lynchings. But the lynchings are for crime, whereas the massacres in Russia are because of religion.

We have missionaries in Japan, but in vain would we try to send one into Russia.

But heathenism itself is sin. It indicates that a race has wandered from God. It is debased and degraded. It has abandoned the doctrine and worship of the one true God, bowing down to false gods, and adopting the sins of man-made gods, until the nation itself is morally corrupted. In Japan vice, loathsome vice, is common. . . . We should Christianize the heathen, and we should have no hesitation in sending missionaries into so-called Christian lands, where the type of the religion is only heathenized Christianity. Russia is a nation of that kind.—Herald of Gospel Liberty.