Our foreign missionary enterprise

Front matter

UR FOREIGN ISSIONARY- ENTERPRISE ed Brethren*

Book ..Mfe,

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Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I SIERRA LEONE, WEST AFRICA 1

By Rev. W. R. Funk, D.D.

Foreword

About two years ago the Foreign Mission Boards of our Church decided to send a deputation to each of our foreign fields to make a thorough investigation of our missions, and of the present conditions of the people whom we seek to evangelize.

Bishop J. S. Mills, D.D., went to Japan, China, and the Philippines; W. R. Funk, D.D., accompanied by John W. Ruth, went to West Africa; and S. S. Hough, D.D., accompanied by Messrs. Alfred Baltzly, C. M. Benson, and W. L. Hough, went to Porto Rico. They all returned in safety in the spring of 1908.

The laymen in the delegations went at their own expense, making a worthy precedent which we earnestly hope many other laymen will follow.

As there is no one volume from which a knowledge of all our foreign missionary enterprises can be obtained, the production of such a book was planned from the beginning of these journies. For this purpose observations were constantly recorded, and valuable information obtained from the latest literature, and from missionaries and natives, and especially from our own superintendents and their associates in these several fields. Grateful acknowledgment of indebtedness is hereby made to all these friends and sources.

We found everywhere the fields "white unto the harvest," and the weary laborers praying the Lord of the harvest to send forth more laborers. Paul's vision of the Macedonian was always present.

The counterpart of this conscious need among all nations is the Providential awakening of all Christians and their desire and purpose to "preach the gospel to every creature" — "to make disciples of all the nations."

xiii

To accomplish this end more money is needed for new buildings, and to train and employ a larger native ministry; and more consecrated, cultured, capable, Christ-like missionaries, teachers, and physicians to plant and to train the Church of Christ in foreign lands.

As the members of the deputation visited the missionaries at work, and observed them under trying circumstances, their admiration for these workers constantly increased as their knowledge of them enlarged. The ability, character, and efficiency of our foreign workers, as well as those in the home field, are of the highest order. There they are, laboring patiently and faithfully, often in unsanitary places, tried by anxieties unknown at home, deprived of congenial fellowship and dying daily for Jesus' sake. They are true heroes, who, in the midst of this pleasure-loving and money-mad age, are seeking to bring the gospel to the millions of our fellow-beings who are without the knowledge of the riches of glory in Christ Jesus. They are a living illustration of the spirit of our Master who sought "not to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

The Authors.

By W. R. Funk, D.D.

"Where is light most needed? Without question in dark, dark Africa. Then let my light blaze out for Christ in Africa."

— Bishop Hill.

"The battle royal for Africa's redemption is on, and must be fought during the present generation. No easily won laurels here, for 'there are many adversaries' — dense ignorance, immoral customs, an aggressive, degraded rum traffic, and an unhealthful climate, but the banner of King Jesus must and will wave victoriously. The next ten years will witness a greater advance in the evangelization of Africa than the past one hundred years. We expect every United Brethren to join in the battle, and participate in the shout of final victory."

— From one of our missionaries.

I

SIERRA LEONE, WEST AFRICA.

General Conditions.

The great continent of Africa is a land of mysteries, geographical, commercial, and religious. The explorations have been comparatively recent achievements, and much local and. detail investigation remains yet to be made before Africa shall be considered a known country. Its possibilities are yet to be discovered. Religiously, only beginnings have been made in different parts of the Dark Continent, and the conquest of this land of great possibilities is to be the splendid achievement of the church of Christ in this century. No more hopeful field for missionary activity can be found anywhere than among these whole-souled people, who seem quite ready for the gospel.

The great surface areas of the African continent are not well understood. Its location is between forty degrees north and forty degrees south of the equator. It is nearly five thousand miles long and over three thousand miles wide, and is large enough to furnish food for the whole human family, if its productive soil were

A Land Largely Unknown

Location and Extent

Compared With Other Countries

Productive Soil properly cultivated. Bishop Hartzell says: "There is room enough in the lower end of the continent for the whole of the United States with her eighty-two millions of people; Europe, with her many states and hundreds of millions, can be placed in one side of Central Africa ; China, with her four hundred millions, could be accommodated in the other half of Central Africa, and there is room for all India and Wales, Scotland and Ireland in the lower valley of the Nile and along the coasts of the Mediterranean."

On account of the location between the seas, the southern part of Africa has a very mild climate. The mountains snow-capped, with the lakes and large rivers, modify the climate, which, without these influences, would be very hot. Even the northern and central parts of the continent are favorably affected by the physical conditions, and it is a matter of record that the average temperature in the Sudan region is but a little above eighty degrees. In Sierra Leone the temperature is, on the average, about seventyeight degrees. The coast line, with the mountains and great desert, gives to Africa a great variety of climate.

In Sierra Leone the soil is as productive as can be found on the continent. There seems to be a spontaneity in the soil which produces without a reduction in the fertility. It has, therefore, an unlimited productiveness, such as cannot be found in land that has been weakened by tillage. The growth of bush, vines, giant trees, fruits, and vegetables, all so luxuriant and splendid, attests the vitality of the soil and the continuance of its productive power.

The latest estimates place the population of Africa at 160,000,000. In the vast Sudan region there are supposed to be from 50,000,000 to 80,000,000 people. Outside of this territory there is mixed blood, as in Egypt and the Nile region, where Arabian blood controls, while south of the Sudan we find the Pygmy, Bushman, and Hottentot. As our mission work is in the extreme western part of the Sudan country, we have the opportunity to train the best type of the negro race. Sierra Leone is not densely populated, having not nearly so many inhabitants per square mile as England, Germany, or Italy. Freetown, the capital city, has a population of forty thousand.

The life of the people is very primitive. Where Christianity has not effected a change, they are very decidedly the children of nature, and live in squalid habitations.

Their houses are nearly always grouped into little towns or fakai. A house is built of bush poles placed in the ground and fastened together at the top with strips of tough bark. These poles are usually set six to eight inches apart and describe a perfect circle. The poles stand perpen-

Children of Nature

A Native

House

Described

• dicularly, eight to ten feet high, and upon them other poles are fastened, making the support for the roof. Between the side poles soft clay is packed, which, when it becomes dry, is very hard and almost impervious. The roof is made of long grasses or palm, both of which are plentiful. As to the interior, there is no floor. On the bare ground rudely-constructed sleeping-places may be found ; but, in most cases, a mat of leaves or grass furnishes a bed for the raw native. As civilization touches their lives they change their

House_ way of living. Since' the houses are entirely

keeping lacking in conveniences, of course the women

are poor housekeepers. Indeed, they have nothing in the way of cooking utensils with which to keep house. One pot serves for all the cooking done. No knives, forks, plates, or dishes. They eat their food out of the pot in which it was cooked, and use their hands to convey it to their mouths.

Dress Their dress is very simple. The boys and girls

under twelve years, in purely native communities, have little or no clothing. The little tots from one to eight years, and even up to ten and twelve, are satisfied with a string of beads. In no case do you find among the adults of native communities more than a breech or country cloth worn.

Customs Much could be said of the customs of the

people. It must be remembered that the African is not naturally an energetic person. Nature has been so kind to him in the abundant supply of food, and the climate is so mild that little clothing is necessary. This being the case, he has not felt the need of being industrious in order to obtain a livelihood. This yielding to climate has led to very bad customs. The native does not know how to care for his health. He surfeits himself at one meal for fear he may not have an opportunity to obtain another. He goes on the theory that he has only what he eats. Hence he is a stranger to regular habits of eating, such as in civilized countries are known to be healthful. In Sierra Leone there are found almost everywhere some of the results of Christian civilization, so that the customs of the people are decidedly changed for the better when compared with those of the interior, where only leaves of palms or grasses are used as clothing.

The barbarous method of having women do all the work is the result of the pagan notion that man is superior to woman, and, on that account, she must be a slave. The change wrought where men get a vision of their responsibility in labor is most encouraging. In sharing the burden with the weaker sex, the finer qualities of manhood, such as protection and gallantry, are developed, and womanhood is exalted. The custom of slavery, known as "domestic," is prevalent, even in Sierra Leone. The paramount

Christianity

Changes

Customs

Labor

Marriage

Polygamy

Food chief directs the public service, such as highway and railroad building. He draws the wages for all service rendered by his people, and apportions it to the heads of families, the individual getting little or nothing more than his allowance of rice for his toil.

Marriage is not a question of affection. It is a bartering custom that has fastened itself upon the native people, so that a little girl is bought for so many hides or goats or pieces of cloth, when she is from five to ten years of age. There is no marriage ceremony among the native people. The deal is complete when the transfer of the goods or animals has been made to the one controlling the child.

Polygamy is extensively practised even in Sierra Leone, where a great many men and women speak English. Mohammedanism favors it, and the English government has not yet prohibited it as a custom of the people. As a result, the family is a loose organization.

The food of the people is quite simple. Rice plantain, cassada, yams, bananas, oranges, with fish, chicken, goat, cattle, and small animals, form the staple bill of fare. The people use palm oil instead of fat, and it serves them very well, and is undoubtedly healthful.

The custom of personal adornment is very striking. The hair is carefully dressed and many charms are used to decorate the body.

The most barbarous customs prevail in regard to the sick and dying. No special medical attention is paid the sick, even if dying, while singing and dancing around the sick may be used to drive away the evil spirits that are causing the malady.

Funerals are often seasons of debauchery. Pomp is a part of the life of the native African, and he buries his dead with great ceremony. The custom is followed of burying the dead in the hut where they lived or near by, so that they may be protected from the evil spirits. This is a common practice. Witches or cannibals may steal the body if the grave is remote from the dwelling, and that is another reason for burying a body near or in the house. A person dying with a contagious disease is sometimes buried in this manner, and frequently no more than two inches of earth cover the body.

That sin has wrought great havoc in the life and character of the people no one will doubt who has been brought in touch with them, although it must be remembered that their vices, in the main, are not very different from those found among civilized people. The only question is that of degree. There can be little doubt that there has been a development of parts of the human race and a retrogression of another part. The former is seen at its best in the Anglo-Saxon, while the latter is seen in its awfulness in the de-

Treatment

of the Sick

Burial Customs

Effects of Sin

Vices of the Africans graded lives of the raw Africans. This is especially true of the Hottentot, where the lowest strata of human life may be found.

The list of vices known among them is as follows: Stealing, lying, gluttony, drunkenness, lust, with promiscuous living, witchcraft, murder, polygamy, slavery, wife-slavery, childslavery, human sacrifice, cannibalism, burial alive, and suicide.

The African a Religious Individual

Belief in Evil Spirits

Brutality Caused by False Religious Ideas

Religious Conditions in Sierra Leone. Paganism.

The African is, above everything, a religious individual. His places of worship are to be seen wherever he is found. The devil-house is the center of every native town or village. The chiefs have their devil-houses in order to be sure they are safe and to satisfy the feelings of their people when they visit the chief's compound.

All spirits, of whatever kind, are gods,' and the evil spirits exert a slavish influence of fear over the native mind. To appease these spiritual personalities, the pagan offers his sacrifice.

Rev. W. S. Naylor well says: "Nearly all of the pagan's gods are demons. . . . The cruel barbarities of the pagan do not necessarily spring from an inborn brutality of nature, but from his ideas of gods and religion." This gives a true view of the awful state of mind in which these

Africans live. The conception that a god should love is to them almost an impossibility.

To satisfy the evil and debauching spirits they make sacrifices of possessions and even of human life. It is a common thing to find offerings of rice, meat, cloth, and charms in the devil-houses, put there to win the favor of the gods that, to the mind of the pagan, are in control of everything about them. When, in some of their villages, I ventured to examine these devil-houses, going so far as to lift the curtain door and shout, the people all ran in panic to places of seclusion, expecting me, as I was told afterwards, to be destroyed by the devil or devils, as the case might be.

It is this same idea that controls the people, restraining them from entering on any ground where a certain sign is found. These signs are like our "Keep off the Grass" or "No Admittance," except in Africa they are not printed in words, but are in the shape of a peculiarly-cut twig, with some cloth or grass about it, to attract the attention of the passerby.

Such signs are placed by the big man of the Poro Society. This is a secret society, but it makes its appeal to the religious ideas of the people for the control of its members, as well as those who are outside of its mysteries. The "devil" is the principal personage recognized in the work of this organization, and fear of the

Offerings to Evil

Spirits

Controlling by Signs

Secret Societies

Cannibalism

Controlled by Fear evil spirits is the only element of power in it. The same can be said of the Bundu Society for women. Bishop Mills, in his splendid book, "Africa," pages 67-69, gives a true statement of these societies, and I refer the reader to his description.

Even the cannibalism that is practised is almost altogether a religious ceremony, in which "medicine" made from certain parts of the human body is regarded as almost perfect protection from all evil spirits. As they worship the evil rather than the good spirits, you can readily imagine the slavishness of their devotion.

Fear and dread enter into all of their religious rites and services. To appease the wrath of the bad spirits is their only desire, as the good spirits, if they believe that such exist, will not in any way ever harm them. It is hard to make comparisons between those who are in the darkness of sin, especially when living under the different forms of paganism; but it does seem reasonable to suppose that the mind that finds its satisfaction in the worship of evil spirits only, is in the greatest need and deepest gloom. This, in a word, is the state of the heathen African mind untouched by the light of divine revelation.

Mohammedanism.

Mohammedanism, or Islam, as it is called, is rapidly gaining headway in many parts of

Africa, and its present field of conquest is in the Sudan country, and especially in Sierra Leone. Mohammedanism is a better system of life than paganism. It has elements of truth in it, which makes it a dangerous foe to Christianity. It has been truly said, "The better is always enemy to the best."

Mohammedanism certainly has done some good for the African. It has given him a better view of his needs and corrected some of his worst customs. Under the teachings of Islam he wears more clothes and is instructed against infanticide, witchcraft, burial alive, cannibalism, etc., but it places its approval upon slavery, polygamy, and social impurity, thus making it very difficult to convince the native mind that these things are sinful or even socially wrong.

In fact, the religion of the Moslem does not change the heart. Outward appearance may be better while the spirit is still unclean. Any religion that sanctions such vices as stealing, intemperance, lying, slavery, social vice, and murder, with a promise of an immoral life beyond the portals of death, will certainly not elevate its followers very much in this life. All this, and more, Mohammedanism does.

As a religion, it appeals to the untutored mind of the African. It presents ceremony in all it does. A strong, formal, ritualistic service is furnished in its worship. This pleases the people.

Some Good Results

No Change of Heart

Ceremonies

Mohammed's Childhood

Assumes the Role of a Prophet

Then this religion urges a loose-flowing costume for the people. It is usually white, with bright headwear, and in some cases, especially among those who would rank higher socially, a rich garment of fine cloth of some pronounced color ; all this in distinction to the close-fitting garments worn by the English people. The latter is uncomfortable, at best, in that tropical climate, and not nearly so spectacular as the loose-flowing robes.

This is not all that can be said of this system of religion. Its founder, Mohammed, was born about the year A.D. 570, in the town of Mecca, Arabia. The personality of this boy, born to a widowed mother, who died when he was but six years of age, leaving him a complete orphan, soon manifested itself in a remarkable manner. It is supposed that when he was twelve years of age he came in contact with our holy Christianity, and from meeting some monks he gained his first conception of fastings and sacrifice, and gathered the thought or inspiration which doubtless led him finally to assume the role of a prophet. In this relation, Mohammed, in the cave of Hira, received what he claimed were divine communications, and after seasons of continued depression and revelation, he entered upon the work of preaching.

It is claimed that "inside of one hundred years from his birth his name was joined to that of the

Almighty and was called out in ten thousand minarets five times daily from the Persian Gulf to the Atlantic, and his new religion was sweeping everything before it in three continents." This shows very clearly the strong personality of the man, the strength of his system, and the devotion of his followers.

Of his character much could be said. Sir William Muir, in his "Life of Mohammed," gives the most comprehensive and also, perhaps, the most analytical description of this marvelous man to be found anywhere. Samuel M. Zwemer, F.R.G.S., in his book, "The Moslem World," presents a condensed and yet complete history of the prophet and his religion down to the present day.

It seems very probable that Mohammed wTas sincere at first, but, becoming intoxicated by success, he lost his position of strength. As Zwemer says: "It is possible to measure the prophet by three standards — the law of the pagan Arabs, the law he himself professed to reveal, and the law of the Old and New Testaments, which he professed to approve and supersede. By the New-Testament law of Jesus Christ, who was the last prophet before Mohammed, and whom Mohammed acknowledged as the Word of God, the Arabian prophet stands selfcondemned. He repeatedly broke every precept of the Sermon on the Mount, not only in his pri-

Best Books on Mohammedanism

Condemned by New Testament

Breaks the Arabian Laws

Disobeys His Own Laws vate life, but in his prophetic office, and the Koran itself proves that the spirit of Jesus was entirely absent from the mind of Mohammed.

The Arabs among whom Mohammed was born and grew to manhood also had a law, although they were idolaters, slave-holders, and polygamists. Even the robbers of the desert, who, like Mohammed, lay in wait for caravans, had a code of honor. Three flagrant breaches of this code stain the character of Mohammed. It was quite lawful to marry a captive woman, whose relatives had been slain in battle, but not until three months after their death. Mohammed waited only three days in the case of the Jewess Safiyah. It was lawful to rob merchants, but not pilgrims, on their way to Mecca. Mohammed broke this old law and "revealed a verse" to justify his conduct. Among the pagan Arabs it was incest to marry the wife of an adopted son, even after his decease. The prophet Mohammed fell in love with the lawful wife of his adopted son, Zeid, prevailed on him to divorce her, and then married her immediately. For this, also, he had a "special revelation."

Mohammed was not only guilty of breaking the old Arab laws and coming infinitely short of the law of Christ, but he never kept the laws of which he claimed to be the divinely-appointed medium and custodian. His followers were to be content with four lawful wives. According to tradition, he took to himself eleven lawful wives and two slave girls. In all these particulars Mohammed was not an ideal character; yet his life and character have become the ideal for millions.

Of the spread of Mohammedanism we give the following as the latest figures, and they are accepted by such men as Naylor and Zwemer. To-day there are two hundred and twenty-five million Mohammedans. Fifty million of these are in Africa; sixty-two million in India; thirty million in China; twenty-nine million in the Malay Islands. Thus they have been gaining under a well-directed" missionary effort, for it must be granted that Mohammedanism is one of the strongest missionary religions of the world. Tactful and artful, as well as warlike, they have adopted every opportunity to enter new territory, and, if need be, crush by war the inhabitants and establish the system of their "Allah."

Their beliefs and practices are not at all consistent, for the teachings of Mohammed are much better than the lives of his followers. This might be said of all religions, but it is especially true of the creed of the Moslems.

They teach six cardinal doctrines — "God. Angels, Divine Book, Holy Prophets, Day of Judgment, and the Predestination of Good and Evil." "The monotheism of Mohammed must be distinguished from that of the Bible." James Freeman Clarke savs the Mohammedan is a

A Propagating Religion

His Followers Inconsistent

False

Conception of Monotheism

Attacks the Trinity

Perverted Ideas About Jesus Christ monotheist, but it is the worst kind of monotheism, and sums up the distinction thus: "Islam saw. God, but not man; saw the claims of deity, but not the rights of humanity ; saw authority, but failed to see freedom, therefore hardened into despotism, stiffened into formalism, and sank into death. . . . Mohammed teaches a God above us ; Moses teaches a God above us, and yet with us ; Jesus Christ teaches God above us, God with us, and God in us."

In conversation with a Moslem prophet at Ronietta I soon learned that the main attack on Christianity was on the trinity, denying Christ a place in the God-head. Their false conceptions of the relation of Jesus Christ to the world are summed up in the following from The Moslem World:

"A Christian studying the faith of Islam soon learns not only that Christ has no place in the Moslem idea of God, as they deny the trinity, but that the portrait of our Savior, as given in the Koran and in tradition, is a sad caricature. According to Moslem teaching, Jesus was miraculously born of the Virgin Mary ; he spoke while still a babe in the cradle ; performed many puerile miracles in his youth; healed the sick and raised the dead when he reached manhood. He was specially commissioned to confirm the law and reveal the gospel. He was strengthened by the Holy Spirit (Gabriel). He foretold another

1 , "%

A Tillage in Sierra Leone.

Native Chief and Councilors.

Preparing the Ground for Rice Sowing.

Construction Conrs, Sierra Leone Government Railroad.

prophet, whose name should be Ahmed (Mohammed). They believe that Jesus was, by deception and substitution, saved from crucifixion and taken to heaven, and that he is now in one of the inferior stages of celestial bliss; that he will come again at the last day, slay antichrist, kill all the swine, break the cross, and remove the poll-tax from infidels. He will reign as a just king for forty-five years, marry and leave children, then die and be buried near Mohammed at Medina. The place of his future grave is already marked out between the graves of Omar, the Caliph, and Fatima, Mohammed's daughter."

There is not much required of the convert to Islam in the way of a creed. It is very short: "There is no god but God; Mohammed is the apostle of God." You find these words shouted everywhere, and engraved and emblazoned on posts and banners. This is about all the Sierra Leone Mohammedan knows of his religion, t/ihe danger we face in our work in Sierra Leone is in relation to the propaganda of the religion of Islam. The uprising of the native people in Sierra Leone in 1898 was, without doubt, a result of Mohammedan agitation made possible by the attitude of the government on the question of taxes. The formidable stand taken by Mohammedans all over the protectorate has caused the government to respect them with unusual courtesy.

Their Creed

Our Danger in Sierra Leone

The English Government and Mohammedanism

Must be Measured by Its Results

Some of Its Evils

Islam influences have caused all religious teaching to be excluded from the government school at Bo. This is carried so far that the government has appointed a committee (and pays all its expenses), whose duty it is to visit the school quarterly to investigate and learn if Christianity is being taught in any form. This board of inspectors is composed of leading Mohammedans.

This is a sad condition, for it is well to remember that we must measure Mohammedanism by its results on the people who have lived under its rule for centuries. Who can study the history of the Semites, Aryan, negro, and Slavic races and not mark the weakness of the teachings of Mohammed as manifest in the social and moral sinfulness of their people? The countries of Morocco, Persia, and Arabia are distinctively Mohammedan in belief and practice. They have been under the sway of Mohammedanism for many centuries, and it is in these countries that you find the lowest ideals and the most corrupt practices that can be found in any country that even approaches civilization.

It must not be forgotten that polygamy and slavery are in perfect accord with the Koran and all the sacred books of the Islam faith. Under its teachings marriage is a form of slavery, and wife-beating is allowed by the Koran. Zwemer, in The Moslem World, says :

''Here is a sketch of the slave-market at Mecca, within a stone's throw of 'the house of God/ at the center of the Moslem world. 'Go there and see for yourself the condition of the human chattels- you purchase. You will find them, thanks to the vigilance of British cruisers, less numerous and consequently more expensive than they were in former years ; but there they are, flung pell-mell in the open square.' . . . The dealer, standing by, cried out : 'Come and buy ; the first-fruits of the season, delicate, fresh, and green ; come and buy, sfrong and useful, faithful and honest. Come and buy.' The day of sacrifice was past and the richer pilgrims in their brightest robes gathered around.