p. 16 | A Living Religion by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 16, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 16.

A Living Religion.

By Editor

Some of the more intellectual people of Japan are seeking a new religion, "a supreme doctrine," according to an article in Public Opinion. Shintoism and Buddhism are condemned; Protestantism is preferred to Catholicism, altho the former is set aside. The leader in this quest declares that "all religions are superannuated because they are based upon words and external ceremonies." And all religions that have only these for bases are indeed superannuated, or mere form. If the form is not the expression of the life, it is worse than nothing. Let these souls seek their desire in Christianity apart from all professing sects. There are many forms and ceremonies, even in Protestant churches, that are parasitic; they are not the expressions or outgrowth of life. And when these forms and empty words are made pre-eminent, the life has departed. But true Christianity is a life, the life of God, and it is the only religion that is life.