106 



ON ISLAM AND ANIMISM. 



animism of past centuries. Thus we find animism in a gross form 

 growing up in a so-called Christian country in the twentieth 

 century, called the century of light, reason, and science. He 

 sympathized with the feeling that so many had expressed that it 

 was a great loss that they had not had Dr. Zwemer present on the 

 occasion. 



Miss HUSSEY expressed an opinion that animism and a belief in 

 Jinns were not later additions to Islam, but had the authority of 

 the Koran itself, notably in the stories about King Solomon. 



Lieut.-Col. Alves, in proposing a vote of thanks to the writer of 

 the paper, said that animism seemed to be a corrupted form of 

 something that had a real existence and warranty from Scripture, 

 which, however, did not teach that form of animism which was set 

 forth in the paper. In illustration we have our Lord's words : " I 

 tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would 

 immediately cry out " (Luke xix, 40) ; also the earthquakes and 

 signs from heaven accompanying certain great events. But for 

 these the word " animism," which connotes conscious existence, is 

 scarcely right. Regarding incantations and divinations, these have 

 been strictly forbidden to both Israelites and Christians ; but 

 Scripture has not said that they are not realities of a demoniacal 

 kind. Indeed, the terrible judgments denounced against their 

 practisers hint that they are far more serious than mere 

 impostures. 



The Chairman supported the vote of thanks to the writer of the 

 paper. The discussion had, he said, shown that those present were 

 deeply interested in the subject. 



