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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 86

Brief History and Importance of the Different Great Religions of the World. — And a Cosmopolite Religion Advocated by Chang Wah Ho, A Chinese Priest

page 40

Brief History and Importance of the Different Great Religions of the World.

And a Cosmopolite Religion Advocated by Chang Wah Ho, A Chinese Priest.

"Confucius" was not a prophet; he did not claim to be a prophet He was a teacher, like Socrates, and many other great teachers. They expounded the laws; they both claimed to be human. Confucius and Socrates did not have miraculous births; they were bom regularly, and were teachers and philosophers. The prophets Zoroaster, Buddha, Mahomet, ami Christ, history tells us, had miraculous births.

The first great prophet was Zoroaster—the founder of the Persian religion. We are told he was born supernaturally 600 years before Christ. Then followed Confucius, forty-three years afterwards, and fourteen years later came Buddha; 543 years after Buddha came Christ, in Syria. Zoroaster, Confucius, and Buddha came almost together—within fifty-seven years; and then, 570 years after Christ, came Mahomet.

Zoroaster brought fire from heaven, and had a personal interview with God Himself, who gave him his religion. There are now 250,000 of his followers in Bombay and Yezd—a few more than Mormons.

Buddha was born in the seventh heaven; his mother was Maya, a virgin. After his birth he descended to the earth as a white elephant. Seven days after his birth his virgin mother died, and Buddha declared his mission. He won his wife, Gopa, by showing pluck in a public game, had five pupils, performed miracles, and withstood temptation. When he died they could not light a fire to burn him; then a miraculous flame burst out of his bosom and consumed him. Buddha has 350,000,000 followers in Asia to-day.

Christ, who was born in Syria 543 years after Buddha, has now about 300,000,000 believers as followers—180,000,000 Catholics,

75,0, 000 Protestants, and 50,000,000 Russian or Greek Catholics.

Mahomet (history tells us) had a miraculous birth. He was born at Mecca 570 years after Christ. When he was born the sacred fires of the Parsees were extinguished, and the great palace was shaken. He retired to a cave, saw miraculous visions, and had con- page 41 vulsions. He married nine wives, was expelled from Mecca, and went to heaven, where God made him His most beloved messenger. He called the followers of Zoroaster, etc., heathen infidels, and the Christians in turn call him an impostor. The angel Gabriel, we are told—the same angel that appeared to Moses—gave Mahomet his appointment as the prophet of God. There are now in the world over 200,000,000 followers of Mahomet.

All the great teachers and prophets have taught about the same code of morals. Confucius, who came 557 years before Christ, gives this rule for all men. It is called the Silver Rule of Confucius: "Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you."

Christ says—and it is called the Golden Rule of Christ—"Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you."

Buddha also took this teaching, and put it in this form : "The hat that burns thine own head, force it not upon the head of thy neighhour,"

All the various teachers and prophets forbid murder, theft lying, stealing, swearing, adultery, covetousness, parental disobedience, and command everybody to love. Buddha said, "Love all men," while Christ says, "Love thy neighbour as thyself." All great and good men adhere to the moral teaching of all the prophets and philosophers of the past; but very many will not admit that any of these prophets were anything more than good and wise men. Galileo, Dante, Raphael, and Boccaccio, of Italy, denied this; Schiller, Humboldt, Goethe, and Bismarck, of Germany; Maribeau, Danton, Voltaire, Rousseau, Roland, Leon Gambetta, and Comte, of France; Ben Jonson, Shakespeare, Bacon, Goldsmith, Disraeli, Reynolds, Huxley Tyndall, George Eliot, and Spencer, of England; Franklin, all the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Tom Paine, Jackson, Jefferson, Robert Ingersoll, James Munroe, and John Q. Adams, of America—these are only a few of the names that are well known among millions believing the same in the different countries mentioned, besides 192,700,000 in other parts.

The Chinese Priest suggests this: There are 1,300,000,000 believers in God, and love and worship Him. Of these 300,000,000 believe in Christ; 200,000,000 believe in Mahomet; 350,000,000 believe in Buddha; 7,000,000 (Jews) believe in Moses; 150,000 believe in Joe Smith; 350,000,000 believe in Confucius; 150,000 believe in Zoroaster; leaving 192,700,000 called Pagans, who love and believe in the same God, but they never had any prophet to believe in. So does it not seem absurd for 300,000,000 Christians to damn page 42 10,0,000,000 outsiders, who believe in the Christian's God, but reject his prophets? And how absurd for 350,000,000 God-fearing, God-worshipping partizans of Confucius to damn 8,500,000,000 Godfearing and God-worshipping Christians and others because they do not believe in the inspiration of the great Chinese law-giver? What the world should have is a cosmopolite religion—a religion based on good, sound, practical common sense; a system of public worship that all the world can indorse; and if they desire they can hold their party opinions at home. Why should a little priest-ridden town of some 5,000 or 6,000 people have ten churches and pay ten ministers to pull against each other, and which is often a stumbling block in the way of loving one another? Rather let us have one great church in each town—a grand temple like King Solomon's, where all the people can gather together as one great family, and listen to words of instruction, and pray straight up to God, without any wrangle over their ritualism and antagonistic dogmas.—Chajjg Wah Ho.