Why did Christianity spread so fast?

“Why, then, do we think that this is enough, why do we not observe that it is their benevolence to strangers, their care for the graves of the dead and the pretended holiness of their lives that have done most to increase atheism?”

“For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galilaeans support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.”

“Then let us not, by allowing others to outdo us in good works, disgrace by such remissness, or rather, utterly abandon, the reverence due to the gods.”

“For when it came about that the poor were neglected and overlooked by the priests, then I think the impious Galilaeans observed this fact and devoted themselves to philanthropy.”

“And they have gained ascendancy in the worst of their deeds through the credit they win for such practices.”

“But as it is, every one of you allows his wife to carry everything out of his house to the Galilaeans, and when your wives feed the poor at your expense they inspire a great admiration for godlessness in those who are in need of such bounty”

“Now I do not know how any good man could endure to see such things in your city, and for my part I am sure that it is displeasing to the gods also.”

“Orphans and ancient widows might be seen hanging about the prison from break of day.”

“The activity of these people, in dealing with any matter that affects their community, is something extraordinary; they spare no trouble, no expense.”

“All this they take quite on trust, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property.”

“These are persons who abstain from lawful marriage, and who fill large colleges, in many cities and villages, with unmarried men, incapable of war, or of any other service to the commonwealth.”

“These men, by their arts, have from that to the present time acquired possession of extensive lands, and under the pretext of charity to the poor, have reduced (I might almost say) all other men to beggary.”

“I happened soon after to attend one of his sermons, in the course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me.”

“Another stroke of his oratory made me asham'd of that, and determin'd me to give the silver; and he finish'd so admirably, that I empty'd my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all.”

“Some of Mr. Whitefield's enemies affected to suppose that he would apply these collections to his own private emolument; but I, who was intimately acquainted with him (being employed in printing his Sermons and Journals, etc.), never had the least suspicion of his integrity, but am to this day decidedly of opinion that he was in all his conduct a perfectly honest man; and methinks my testimony in his favour ought to have the more weight, as we had no religious connection.”

“But there is not the shadow of a doubt, at least at Jerusalem, that these holy fishers of men use a golden net, and every one who chooses to inquire about the matter will receive this reply.”

“If we could only close our eyes to the object which the mission has in view—but we cannot close our eyes to that which is immoral and bad—we should readily admit that it has conferred many material advantages on the Jews, and done much to promote civilization in the highest sense of the term.”

“The mission has a well-managed hospital, with 36 beds, prepared for the poor of every creed; a sewing-school, which affords employment to from 80 to 100 women; a house of industry with 6 pupils, Polish boys, who are taught to be joiners and turners; and an agricultural establishment, which employs 100 men.”

“Unless and until the Hindus can take care of their own orphans themselves and show that the Missionaries really stand in their way, they have no right to attribute the motive of conversion to the noble and disinterested Missionaries.”

“Cholera also broke out at that time, and mortality from that cause would have been very heavy but for the untiring energy and activity of the Missionaries to check the spread of the disease.”

“Whenever they heard of a cholera case, they at once ran to render assistance.”

“Their labours, too, during the Madras and Bombay famines cannot be forgotten, whereby they saved the lives of hundreds of children.”

“Although the Bishop has saved these 16,000 children, and given them as it were a new lease of life, yet a Hindu cannot bear to see so many helpless and ignorant ones taken hold of to be initiated into the doctrines of a foreign religion.”

“If the Hindus do not come to the fore now and exert themselves, every future famine will see thousands of ignorant orphan Hindu children taken into the fold of Christianity.”

“In the year 1837, the year of the great drought, the step which was taken of rearing orphans in the principles of the Christian faith, was looked upon throughout the N. W. P. as an example of the schemes of Government.”

“It was supposed that when Government had similarly brought all Hindustanees to a pitch of ignorance and poverty, it would convert them to its own creed.”

“Why need foreigners trouble themselves about this work? for in showing that they have good desire to relieve the poor, they only arouse suspicion and ill-will.”

“It is on these grounds that, though it has been fully proved, since the riot at Tien-tsin, that there was in that city no gouging out of eyes, or cutting open hearts, even to this moment people retain their former fears and suspicions.”

“They do a little charity in feeding the people, and by small acts of virtue impress the eye and the ear and delude the people with talk about great happiness and abundant rewards, and so they deceive their hearts and transform their inner being, till they are befooled so that they cannot return to their former state.”

“Their converts regard neither gain nor loss, neither life nor death but what they are told they simply follow.”

“No doubt the Protestant hospital and Catholic orphanage are the means of doing good to a number of individual Chinese.”

“Considered therefore as a mere scheme of charity, I ask is it not an open secret known to every disinterested foreigner in China, that the whole missionary enterprise in China is but a huge scheme of charity for the benefit of unemployed professional persons from Europe and America?”

“Yes, gentlemen, try sending lay people to the naval hospital in Senegal, where yellow fever reigns; you will find two or three of them.”

“The sick man must know that the sister expects to catch his illness, that she may die, that another will take her place and that he will not suffer for it.”

“With the nun, you have none of that to fear: if she catches the contagious illness, she expected it; she dies, she is replaced by another nun, and that is the end of it.”

“It was our revenge upon them for having humiliated us by feeding us.”

“A man receiving charity practically always hates his benefactor—it is a fixed characteristic of human nature; and, when he has fifty or a hundred others to back him, he will show it.”

“We could not strike back, for we were starving; and it is the way of the world that when one man feeds another he is that man’s master.”

“The “soul-snatchers” (as these men call all religious propagandists), should study the physiological basis of psychology a little, if they wish to make their efforts more effective.”

“One of the nuns came to me a little hesitantly and told me that it was a fast day for them: would I like their meat.”

“But what strength of character was necessary to refuse such a rarity as meat!”

“Every one of them takes the benefit and runs away and does not even stop to consider what must be the merits of a religion which renders so much service to humanity.”

“Historically speaking, service to humanity is quite foreign to Hinduism and to Hindus.”