LECTURE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1372, 30 July 1885, Page 3

LECTURE.

On Sunday evening last the Rev. Geo. Barclay delivered the fourth of his series of lectures in the Presbyterian Sabbath schoolroom, Geraldine, there being a very good attendance. The subject of the lecture was the “ Religion of the Mohammedans in Contrast with the Religion of the Bible.” Mr Barclay took for his text 1. John iv., Ist verse i “ Beloved believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because there are many false prophets gone out into the world.” He then went on to say that the Apostles seemed to be well acquainted with the past history of the world, and also had the power of predicting what was to happen in the future. There was one person who had a claim to be one of those false prophets spoken of by the Apostles, this person being Mohammed. He was born in the year a.d. 570, and was the founder of the sect called Mohammedans. The lecturer, after describing the manner in which Mohammed was brought up, related a few of the stories and legends which are connected with his birth. When he was 25 years of age he entered the employment of a rich widow who was carrying on a large trade with Syria. Mohammed was very successful while in her employ, and he married her. At this time the condition of the Arabians was yery degraded. They lived amidst idolatry and all other kinds of wickedness. Mahomet seems to have had his religious feelings aroused at this time and had come to ask himself such questions as these : Is there a God ? Are these people obeying His will in living in such a manner 1 Is there an after life ? It would appear he was considerably assisted by several people with whom he came in contact, who talked to him of the past religious history of the world. The result was that he withdrew himself from the superstitious rites which were performed by the people, and ha lived for a time as a public teacher. He informed his wife one day that in the previous night he had had a dream : that the angel Gabriel came to him and told him there was only one God, and Mohammed was His prophet. He endeavored to instil this dream or illusion into the minds of the people, but three or four years hard work found him with only fourteen or fifteen converts. Finding that something more must be done, he appealed to a strong tribe called the Korash and told them of the mission with which he was invested by the angel Gabriel. His attempt, however, to convert the Korash ended in a failure. Mohammed then removed to Medina, where he lived for ten years, lie had new visions, and started new institutions, and prospered in his reformation, and his followers before his death, which occurred in the year 632, numbered tens and hundreds of thousands. By the end of the 7th century Mohatnmedism had spread as far as the Indus in the East, to Spain in the West, and to some of the countries in the North of Africa, Then began the wars of the Crusades, in which some of the old English Kings, notably Richard I, was engaged. From Spain Mobammedism was withdrawn, and at last Constantinople, the greatest stronghold of the Mohammedans, fell before the sweeping hand of the Christian. Mr Barclay then went on to point out some of the contrasts between the respective founders of the religion of the Bible and the religion of the Mohammedans, taking Christ as the head of the one, and Mohammed as the head of the other. He then pointed out the diversity of opinion among different writers as to the character of Mohammed. Some held he was the very impersonation of evil, and others that he was all that was good. His (Mr Barclay’s) conception of the man was this; Both he and his mother betrayed symptoms, which medical men say belong to the disease known as epilepsy ; epileptic persons are subject to hearing strange sounds and seeing visions, hencs the illusions he was under are fully accounted for. This was his opinion of Mohammed, borne out byDrMaudsley in his book “Responsibility in Mental Disease,” and other writers. He (the lecturer) thought Mohammed was partly deceived and partly an impostor. In early life he was serious, but his teachings afterwards (in his, the lecturer’s, opinion) were not sincere. On one occasion, when not making sufficient headway in the conversion of the Arabians, he pretended, in order to strengthen his cause, that he had had new revelations. When he wanted a new wife he told the people that he had had a visitation from the angel Gabriel, and he had given him parmission to taka another. The lecturer’s authority for this wa« the Koran itself, the Mohammedan’s Bible. Mohammed was continually planning and carrying out attacks on caravans, and cmying the spoils to Medina. Here was a founder of a religion : a man who carried on pillage and licentiousness I How could such a man be compared to Christ, the son of Mary ? Look on his exaltation above all worldly lusts! Another point of contrast was between their respective scriptures : between the Christian Bible and the Koran, the Mohammedan’s Bible. This latter is divided into 114 chapters, each of which have a heading, some of which give an idea of the subject of the chapter and some which seem to have no oonneotion whatever. Mohammed is claimed to be the author of this book. He was accustomed to scrawl notes upon whatever came near his hand—stone, pieces of leather, bone, etc. —and these were afterwards put together and made into this book. All the substance in the Koran could, however, have been contained in a book one-tenth of the size. There are some stories in It which appear to have been taken from the Old Testament, though from their incorrectness it does not seem that Mohammed had one before him when writing. As to the doctrines of the Koran, there is the doctrine of one God, of retribution and of prayer. The Mohammedan is very particular in regard to this latter doctrine. He is very devout, and will pray openly in the street. The Koran was also the law book of the State as well as of the Church. There are queer theories in it, too, about the angels and about genii. What a strong contrast there was between the doctrine of this book and the doctrine of our Scriptures ! There is offered to us in this Bible of ours—which has the marks of a true religion—an everlasting life, which brings it nearer and nearer to our hearts I There was a great

difference between the propagation of Mphammediem and Christianity throughout the world. At the time Mobammedism was propagated the state was divided against the church, and there was an absence of activity in Christian life. Christians were to be found everywhere but they were steeped in the deepest vices. Mohammed had a powerful ally in the shape of the sword. It is stated he went forth with a sword in one hand and the Koran in the other. It was either death or conversion, and it was the sword that was the secret of the Mohammedan conquest. The genius in the hand of Christianity is peace, yet the Almighty is strong enough to pull down strongholds. The wars of the Crusades were wrong, and instead of being for Christian purposes were only for the defence of political power. Omitting the blighting effects of the Mohammedan religion upon the people and the degrading position their women occupy, it has no foundation upon which the affections can be placed. There was no Cross, speaking of a Son’s suffering and a Father’s love. Let us then all the more heartily appreciate our Bible, for the blessed promises it holds out to us. The above are only a few points of the subject treated upon at great length and lucidity by Mr Barclay. The lecture lasted some two hours, and it was most attentively listened to throughout.