Shin-men, a Chinese deity, said to be the son of Fo or Fi)-lii, and to correspond with the Hindu god Ga- tiesa.
Shin-moo, a goddess worshipped in China as the supposed mother of Fo, and styled the (Jueeii of Heav- en. Her image is generally placed in a niche behind the altar, sometimes having an infant either in her arms or on her knee, and her head encircled with a glory. — (iardner, Faiths of the World, s. v.
Shinn, Asa, a minister of the IMefhodist E|)iscopal Church, was born in New Jersey, May 3, 17HI. He was Cf)nverted at the age of seventeen years, and in his twen- tieth year entered the itinerancy in the Baltimore (Confer- ence. In 1H24 .Mr..Sliinn took a prominent part in thedis- cussion of lay re]ireseiitation in the Mettuxlist ICpiscopal Cinirch; and when the discussion cidminated in the dis- ciplining of a number of the advocates of the measure, he withdrew from the Church, and identilied himself with the lay-representation movement. I le took an active part in the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church, and received the most important oHices in the gift of his const ituent."*. He was frecjuently elected |ircsident of the Animal Conference, and twice (lH;i8 anil 1H12) presi- dent of the (ieneral Conference. In 1H;M he was elect- ed, with Rev. Nicholas Snethen, editor of the AfethodisI Protestant of Baltimore. Owing to an accident received in his youth, and overstrain of work and care, he had four attacks of insaiiily— in lHi;{, 1H19, IXJH, and iHi:5. From the last he never recovered, but was sent to ai°. asy- lum in Philadelphia, and then to another in Braltlebor-
ough, Yt., where he died, Feb. 11, 1853. He was a strong and effective speaker and a ready and forcible writer. He published, Essa;/ on the Plan of ^Salvation (Baltimore, 1813; 2d ed. Cinciiniati, 1831): — The Benevolence and Rectittide of the Supreme Beimj (Baltimore, 1840, 12mo). He also wrote a series of articles in the Mutual Rit/hts. See Sprague, A muds of the A mer. Pulpit, vii, 360 ; Simp- son, Cycloj). of Methodism, s. v^.
Shinn, John, a minister of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, was horn in Warren County, <_)., JIarch 2, 1824, and united with the Church at the age of fifteen. He was received into the Cincinnati Conference in 1854. In 1862 he entered the Christian Commission, and after- wards became an army chaplain. After the war he was county agent of the Bible Society for one year. In 1866 he again entered the pastorate, and labored until death (by paralysis), which occurred at West IMansfield, O., Sept. 26, 1871. See Minutes of Annual Conferences, 1872, p. 107,
Shinshiu (meaning Neiv Sect) is the name of a Japanese sect of Buddhists, who are the adherents of one of the most remarkable developments of Buddhism, unique in many points. Buddhism has been called the Protestantism of Asia; the Shinshiu followers are the Protestants of Buddhism. Many of the distinctive ten- ets of Buddhism so called are repudiated by the Shin sect. Their priests marry and rear families, eat flesh and drink wine. Nuns, monks, and monasteries are un- known within their pale; schools, or rather real theo- logical seminaries, taking their place. Penance, fast- ing, pilgrimages, prescribed diet, isolation from society, and, generally, amulets and charms, are proscribed. The Protestant doctrine of justification by faith in Buddha is their central tenet, in opposition to the common Buddh- ist idea of salvation by works. Devout prayer, purity and earnestness of life, and trust in Buddha himself as the onh' worker of perfect righteousness, are insisted upon. They scornfully reject the worship of most of the idols venerated by the other sects. The Scriptures of Shinshiu, instead of being kept in the Sanscrit and archaic Chinese, as in other sects, are translated into the vernacular, and their daily reading urged. The Shin temi)les are built, not on mountains and in se- cluded places, but on the main streets, and in the crowded and business centres of great cities, with altars gorgeous in their magnificence. The Shin priests are more highly educated than those of any other Japanese sect, and the average intelligence of their worshippers is superior. They profess never to intermeddle with political affairs, receive no government aid, and pride themselves on their self-reliance. When travelling, the}' assume the lay dress, and in time of war claim the right of del'ence. Whole battalions of sacerdotal sol- diery have been recruited from the Shin sect in the wars of the past. Their influence is probably greater than that of any other sect in Japan. Within the last decade, they have organized their training-schools on the model of Christian theological seminaries, and have carefully studied the weapons and methods of Christian missionaries. They have lately sent out successful mis- sionaries to China, Corea, and the Riu-Kiu (Loochoo) island.s. There are six subsects or divisions in Shin- shiu, who have in all 13,718 temples. Other names for the Shin sect are Monlo ("Followers of the (Jate") and fhhi), from the initial of, one of their canonical books, both terms referring to their singleness of aim and unity of organization. Shiiisbiu was founded by Shinran ( l)orn 1171, died 1262), who was a pupil of Honen, founder of tiie .loilo sect, and a man of noble descent. When in Kioto, at thirty years of age, he married a lady of noble raid<, and thus set the example of mar- riage, and gave the newly founded sect a prestige it has ever since enjoyed witii both mikado and shogun (ty- coon). So great has been the numerical, intellectual, and religious influence of Shinshiu upon the nation, that the mikado Mutsuhito, by a rare act of imperial favor,