quare mile, or the densely
populated valleys of the Ganges and lower Nile, should receive
attention commensurate with the massing of the people.
(4) "Previous neglect. With a gospel intended for all mankind the
policy of the Church should be influenced by the existence of any
totally unoccupied field, like extensive tracts of the Sudan.
(5) "Conditions of gross ignorance, social degradation, and spiritual
need. Christ came in a special sense to seek and to save that which
was lost, and the history of the Christian Church has abundantly shown
how the blessing of God has attended efforts to reach the most
unfortunate and depressed classes and peoples, such as the Pacific
Islanders, the outcasts of India, the lepers, and the aboriginal
tribes of the East Indies.
(6) "As has already been made plain, the Church, while recognizing the
importance of advancing along lines of largest immediate promise,
should, under divine guidance, direct special attention to the most
difficult fields of the non-Christian world. In the light of this
principle, Moslem lands present an irresistible appeal to the Church.
(7) "The prospective power and usefulness of a nation as a factor in
the establishment of Christ's kingdom in the world, and the probable
weight of its example as an influence over other nations. Japan is
especially fitted to become, in intellectual and moral matters no less
than in material civilization, the leader of the Orient. This attaches
transcendent importance to its attitude toward Christianity.
(8) "The principle of urgency should as a rule have the right of way;
that is, if there is to-day an opportunity to reach a people or
section which in all probability will soon be gone, the Church should
enter the door at once; for example, if there is danger that the field
may be preoccupied by other religions or by influences adverse to
Christianity. Equatorial Africa in a most striking degree is just now
such a battle-ground. It is plain to every observer that unless
Christianity extends its ministry to tribes throughout this part of
Africa the ground will in a short time be occupied by Mohammedanism."
=Increase in the Number of Missionaries.=--Not only does the expanding
spirit of conquest express itself in organizations to extend
Christianity, but also in the increasing number of lives that are
dedicated to the service.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the missionary force was a
mere handful. There wa
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