The Religious Life of London

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book The Religious Life of London by James Ewing Ritchie, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James Ewing Ritchie ISBN: 9781465546814
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: James Ewing Ritchie
ISBN: 9781465546814
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English
The Negro came to America with the pagan idea of his African ancestors; he acquired under slavery a number of Christian ideas, and at the present time he is slowly learning what those ideas mean in practical life. He is learning, not merely what Christians believe, but what they must do to be Christians. The religious ideas which the Negroes brought with them to America from Africa were the fragments of a system of thought and custom, which, in its general features, is common to most barbarous people. What we call “fetichism” is, I suppose, merely the childish way of looking at and explaining the world, which did not, in the case of the people of West Africa, preclude a belief in the one true God, although He was regarded by them as far away and not interested in the little affairs of men. But the peculiarity of their primitive religion, as I have learned from a very interesting book written by one who has been many years a missionary in Africa, consists in this, that it sought for its adherents a purely “physical salvation.” In the religion of the native African there was, generally speaking, no place of future reward or punishment, no heaven and no hell, as we are accustomed to conceive them. For this reason, the Negro had little sense of sin. He was not tortured by doubts and fears, which are so common and, we sometimes feel, so necessary a part of the religious experiences of Christians. The evils he knew were present and physical
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
The Negro came to America with the pagan idea of his African ancestors; he acquired under slavery a number of Christian ideas, and at the present time he is slowly learning what those ideas mean in practical life. He is learning, not merely what Christians believe, but what they must do to be Christians. The religious ideas which the Negroes brought with them to America from Africa were the fragments of a system of thought and custom, which, in its general features, is common to most barbarous people. What we call “fetichism” is, I suppose, merely the childish way of looking at and explaining the world, which did not, in the case of the people of West Africa, preclude a belief in the one true God, although He was regarded by them as far away and not interested in the little affairs of men. But the peculiarity of their primitive religion, as I have learned from a very interesting book written by one who has been many years a missionary in Africa, consists in this, that it sought for its adherents a purely “physical salvation.” In the religion of the native African there was, generally speaking, no place of future reward or punishment, no heaven and no hell, as we are accustomed to conceive them. For this reason, the Negro had little sense of sin. He was not tortured by doubts and fears, which are so common and, we sometimes feel, so necessary a part of the religious experiences of Christians. The evils he knew were present and physical

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book The Epistles of Ignatius by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book Conjugial Love by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book A Maiden's Dream by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book Account of a Tour in Normandy, Volume II by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book Feng Shui, or the Rudiments of Natural Science in China by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book The Black-Bearded Barbarian: The Life of George Leslie MacKay of Formosa by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book The Devil: a Tragedy of the Heart and Conscience by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book Franklin Kane by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book Woman and The New Race by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book Salaman and Absal by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book Cassell's History of England: From the Great Rebellion to the Fall of Marlborough (Volume III of 8) by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book Anne: A Novel by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book The Sundial by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book Kate Vernon: A Tale In Three Volumes (Complete) by James Ewing Ritchie
Cover of the book The Vicar's People by James Ewing Ritchie
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy