The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1928, Page 84

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84 THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

come to Duke Town, Old Calabar: “The greatest
social change which has been effected here is the
gradual elevation of the people from a state of
lowest barbarism to what might be called Christian
family life. The majority of our converts have
homes of their own, and although the ideal of
domestic life has not been fully realized, there is a
change in this respect that no one can fail to see.”
Renouncing wives and retaining only one was made
the test ofa man’s sincerity and a mark of that
self-denial for Christ’s sake which is required of
those who want to be new creatures. The mere
forsaking of idols was not a sufficient test of fleshly
lusts and appetites. The loose, immoral life which
polluted the whole community was greatly checked
in a proportionately brief time, and marriage unions
,pleasing to God were soon formed. The extent to
which the new converts conformed their lives to the
Christian principles of morality was a constant
cause of rejoicing to the missionaries.
As a result of the preaching of the Gospel the
cruel custom of compelling widows to remain in
filth and wretchedness after the death of their hus-
bands until “devil-making” was over, which some-
times meant a seclusion of seven years, was soon
- abolished, and widows were expected to mourn but
for one month, and after that no further restraint
was put upon them. Missionaries who, when they
first came, saw mothers of twins murder their own
flesh and blood were able to write some years later:
‘Parents are delighted with their twin babies and
tell us that they are sure that God will bless the
children. When we go to see them, the mothers are
so happy and bright that it is a real joy to meet
them.” Strange as it may sound, the missionaries
found it harder to bring about this reform than to
accomplish the abolition of human sacrifices. Their
efforts were at first stoutly opposed by the native
_ chiefs, and especially by the mothers themselves.
The first onward step was when the chief of Creek
Town decreed, five years after the coming of the
pioneer missionaries, that twins and their mothers
should no longer be murdered, but since the mothers
and babies could not be permitted to live in the

' town, a place should be found for them outside.
Some years later all restrictions were removed from
twins and their mothers.

More and More Light and Gladness.

When Christianity came to Old Calabar,
Owners of slaves had the power of life and death
over these. The law took no cognizance of free ser-
vants. Society was made up of slaveholders and

slaves. When it was necessary for slaveholders to
get rid of their slaves, they killed them. Less than
ten years after the coming of the first missionaries
the question had reached a crisis and had been
settled for all’ time. :

Human sacrifices, both as acts of worship and
tributes of honor to the dead, were common events
when the missionaries first came to Old Calabar.
Slaves by the hundreds were sacrificed in pure
wantonness and with absolutely no concern for the
value of human life. Five years later, when two
chiefs died, the missionaries, by showing tact and
firmness, succeeded in getting the chiefs with the
king to agree that human life should no longer be
taken except for crime. When some villages resisted
the law prohibiting human sacrifices on the ground
that the old people expected to be buried in the old
way, King Eyo said, “Then they should have died
sooner and not have lived till the world changed.”
When King Eyo died, not a drop of blood was shed,
and his Christian retainers without fear performed
the last offices of the dead.

When King Eyo’s house burned down and
property to the value of thousands of dollars was
destroyed, it was a distinct victory to the cause of
Christ that no one was accused, and no ordeal was
employed to discover the culprit, as surely would
have been the case but for the influence of the
Gospel upon the king.

When all is considered, it must indeed be
marvelous in our eyes that the Gospel was able in
so short a time to bring about such a great change
in the degraded and bloodthirsty natives of Old
Calabar. When we think of the present condition
of these former savages, we cannot but say that the
Gospel of Christ is truly the power of God unto
salvation. Triumphs such as the Gospel experienced
in Old Calabar should fill our hearts with joy and
lead us to pray and work more diligently than we
ever have for the extension of Christ’s kingdom and
the salvation of more and more of those souls which
Christ has purchased with His blood. -F.J.L.

Our Mission in Cincinnati.

Immanuel Church in Cincinnati is growing in
spite of the fact that we have little time for any
intensive mission-work. Services are held every
Sunday morning by the missionary, while Teacher
Klawitter superintends the Sunday-school, which
has an enrolment of approximately 30 pupils.
Every Friday evening we hold our weekly instruc-