E CHAPTER IV. EVANGELISM IN INDIA. VANGELISM in India is by no means a new thing. Tradition points with some show of likelihood to Mt. Thomas, near Madras, as the last resting place of India's first Christian teacher:St. Thomas, the Apostle. "To this day, the Church of St. Thomas, however shattered and defaced, still owns many thousands of worshippers." There are perhaps 750,000 of them in Malabar. In the second century of our era, Pantaenus, of Alexandria, eloquently and effectively preached the gospel in India. Roman Catholicism has had at least six Historical centuries of wavering influence in India, with some most remarkable achievements. There exist in Old Goa today, ten magnificent cathedral-like churches, in one of which, the Bon Jesu, stands the casket containing the body of Francis Xavier, that wonderful worker for God in his day. Our hearts burned within us as we stood before the altar of this flaming, evangelistic missionary of other centuries. We cried out to God for such another mighty tongue of fire as would kindle and light up in our day the whole heathen world with the gospel flame. Roman Catholicism claims 1,500,000 followers in India at the present time. |