Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

Missionary Number
LESSON HELPS FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 20, 1955
THE FIELD IS TH WORLD,
THE 5/rtD IS THE WORD OP GOD
"
VOLUME LIV WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 1955 NUMBER 9
World Strategy
DR. CLYDE W. TAYLOR
for Christian Missions
Executive Secretary, Evangelical Foreign Missions Association
In United Evangelical Action, used by Permission.
When something is genuine, there are without
doubt various substitutes or imitations. True religion
is no exception. People without the revelation of God
through Jesus Christ have their pagan substitutes.
King David wrote of them in the second Psalm,
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine
a vain thing" Satan fills the spiritual vacuum
in the hearts of men with satanic inspired religions,
each with its own satanic strategy. Whereas there
seemed to be a steady decline in the influence of
many of the "great" religions of the world twentyfive
years ago, we were deceived. These same reli
gions today are continuing to hold and dominate
the overwhelming majority of the world. It should
interest us and cause us to investigate their strategy
in conquering the minds and souls of hundreds of
millions. Let us look at some of these "man-invented"
religions, the ragings and imaginations of men, ac
cording to God.
Hinduism
About the time of Moses there began to appear
in the East, in India, the Vedas. Written in Sanskirt,
these mystical writings provided part of the teach
ings of what we know today as Hinduism. This
strange combination of pantheism (god in every
thing), many varieties of idolatry, social customs,
superstitions and demon worship today compose the
religion that holds in its grasp two thirds of the peo
ple of India. It is said there are over 200 million gods
in India not counting the millions of monkeys, cows,
snakes,
peacocks and other animals that are wor
Their belief in re-incarnation means that
every living thing, insect, animal, bird and reptile
was probably a man or woman in a previous exist
ence. Their gods are generally hideous or vile. Some
of the vilest, immoral objects are those most revered.
Some temples are adorned with such vile sculptures
that they almost exceed the wildest immoral imag
ination. To see them is to have one's soul and mind
contaminated. The temples are dirty, and women,
ministering in the temples by day, are prostitutes by
night. The caste system once completely dominated
social and economic life, and still does to a large de
gree. How can such a system dominate an intelligent
race such as the Indian What is its strategy It
dominates society and did long before Christianity
arrived. The people are intensely religious. Society,
their economic strata, and custom make a change of
religion exceedingly difficult. 85% of the Indians live
one knows everyone. Who
in small villages. Every
has the courage to leave the faith of his fathers It
might mean complete ostracism, economic disaster,
or death. The satanic
strategy is fear, superstition
and oppression.
Independent India has religious liberty but the
huge Hindu majority dominates the political life of
the country and small but intensely zealous Hindu
parties are fighting bitterly to stop the expansion of
Christianity. Its worst enemy, however, is supersti
tion, fear and ignorance of the masses. While visit
ing one of the most famous temples in Calcutta in
1950 we first entered the outer court and saw where
the blood of goats used in sacrifice to a horrible god
dess had mixed with the filth and water used in the
temple. What a contrast to the spotless Buddhist
temples! Leaving the temple I saw many mothers
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