Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-06-02
Feeling not Religion.


Momentary experiences Of strong feeling
are not unwholsome. On the contrary, they
are frequently cleansing and inspirational.
But to be under the dominion Of emotions for
any considerable time, which die in you as
emotions, but produce nothing, do not change
themselves into intellectual conditions, do not
change themselves into yoitions, do not change
themselves into courses Of goyornment--that
is unwhosome.
Every particle of feeling that you have
more than you can reduce to conduct and yo-
lition is so much surplusagc. An engineer
wants to have head Of steam enough but he
knows very well that if he has so much that
he is obliged to throw it off at the whistle, at
the saiety-valve, and at the smoke-stack, he
is racking the engine uselessly. Five pounds
more steam than you want is five pounds
against you-not FIVE pounds for you. Some
men are so constituted that the least touch Of
feeling sets them all afight They are un-
fortunate until by training they can reduce
emotion to some more useful and practical
result than merely emotion. But that is not
the current impression. People think that
that is the Christian who lies back in his chair
and has glorious visions and experiences.
" Oh such good time such joyful time,
US have had ~ a man says. Well, let me
see him a day or two afterward, and [ can
tell better whether it is genuine Christian
experience or not.
A man that takes his excess Of moral, social,
and religious excitement, to raise the tone
Of his moral and emotive feelings, is just as
dissipated as if he raised the tone of his
physical feelings by physical stimulants. |
am not institutng a comparison as to which is
the better and which is the worse. | merely
say that one is intemperance just as much as
the other, though one is grosser than the
other, and is more disastrous in undoing the
very structure of the body itself. And men
ought to be made to understand that there is
such a thing as moral intoxication aud that
a man can take religious feeling, and that
he can-what shall say2-imbibe and i'm
bibe, and imbibe, for no other reason than
because it feels so good. 1t is a self-ndul-
gence. 1t is luxury-a high luxury to be
sure Aud he imbibes, and imbibes, aud is
more joyful. He is not better man but
he is much happier man. And he imbibes
and imbibes, until by and by he swigs, aud
swigs, and swigs; and the man is besotted.
have seen men that were literally debauched
at the top of their brain, and who had gone
into systematic indulgence. They never
we're happy except under circumstances where
they had this peculiar form of enjoying
themselves.
If | found that the whole form of this en-
ljoyment was a mighty spring that was press
ing them towards self.denial for the sake o
their fellow-men if found that it wa
securing their morals as white as snow; if
found that it was multiplying the avenues o
their usefulness; if found that they wer'
gentle and meek in following Christ-than
should say that there was no debauch there
that there was no moral intemperance there
Feeling which, beginning as feeling, has trans
muted itself into life and conduct, and ha
become wholesome-that is genuine piety
that is true Christian character; but tn
mere feeling without the transmutation is moth
ing Of the kind, and it is not desirable. |
it is not going to be transmitted into any
thing but emotion, it is not only an undesira
Bile thing, but it is a dangerous thing.