. Among the Burmans; a record of fifteen years of work and its fruitage. They are priest-ridden,and bound down by teachings and customs neverdreamed of by the founder of their religious sys-tem. Pharisees decreed that if any man shouldconfess Jesus to be the Christ, he should be putout of the synagogue. Where there were noPharisees to agitate against the Christian mis-sionaries the common people heard them the Karens, as a nation, have alreadypassed the transitional stage, the Burmans arestill held back by their pharisaical priests, whonever lack willing instruments for the execut
. Among the Burmans; a record of fifteen years of work and its fruitage. They are priest-ridden,and bound down by teachings and customs neverdreamed of by the founder of their religious sys-tem. Pharisees decreed that if any man shouldconfess Jesus to be the Christ, he should be putout of the synagogue. Where there were noPharisees to agitate against the Christian mis-sionaries the common people heard them the Karens, as a nation, have alreadypassed the transitional stage, the Burmans arestill held back by their pharisaical priests, whonever lack willing instruments for the executionof their malice against converts to in communities where there are no priests tohold the people in awe, native evangelists havelittle difficulty in securing a good hearing. Thisindicates the real spirit of the people when un-trammelled by intimidating influences. Humannature is much the same the world over. En-vironment and inherited custom make men todiffer. Results already achieved (to be discussedin another chapter) show that Burma is in a state. « A Nation in Transition 165 of transition religiously as well as politically,though less conspicuously. The sure promise of God that Christ shallhave the nations for His inheritance; the utter-most parts of the earth for His possessions, hashere substantial beginnings of fulfillment. Uhl-horn said of the Roman Empire in transition: The most mighty of forces cannot change in aday the customs and institutions of an Empiremore than a thousand years old. In Burmathese forces are arrayed against customs and in-stitutions that have developed during a period oftwenty-five hundred years. Change of govern-ment effects outward changes in the life of a peo-ple; but more than mere change of governmentis required to work changes for the better in thesoul of a people. Aping European customs maygive an air of increased respectability, but theaping of European vices, always first in order,makes the man Tenfold more a child of
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