The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-08-19
New York SUM-
Emotional Religion.

ue detSHipG " >Ao 70
iump at once into the enjoyment OF re-
suits which are only to be reached by
long and patient labor, is 4 mistake
which causes most OF the discrcdit into
which religion and its advocates have
fallen with the world at large. The
transient excitement produced by sing
ing, praying, and impassioned exhort-
Ing which multitudes esteem the chief
element of religious experience, Is found,
in practice, to be OF 50 little avail in
making men honest and good, that it
has ceased to command the respect OF
sensible people, and the real article OF
which it is Il counterfeit comes to be de-
spised along with it.
Whatever gushing orators and sensa-
tional preachers may say to the contra
ry, it is ne more possible, in the ordlna-
|ry course of things, to pass directly
from a state of sintulncss into a truly
Religious state than it is for a confirmed
! invalid to be at once restored to health
There have, it is true, been cases OF mi
raculous spiritual as Of miraculous cor
poreal healing, but they do net occur
often. The only means that can be re.
lied on, as a rule, to effect q radical and
permanent cure reqiies tine for ats ep-
plication. The spiritual teacher: who
promises Instant salvation to his follow
ers is as much ola quack as the self
styled physician who advertises to cure
diseases by simply giving his pills,
without change OF diet or interference
with business Both may succeed in
giving temporary relief; but both in the
end are sure to leave their patients worse
off than they found them.
In religion, as in the management
of bodily health, the one great point to
be steadily kept in view is abstinence
from sin. Every physician of expert
ence knows that. if men could only re-
traiu from improper eating, drinking,
and exposure, nine-tenths of the sickness
of the world would Immediately cease,
and the remaining tenth would not be so
slow in passing away likewise. The
science of medicine is every day becom-
ing less one Of drug-giving and more
one of regimen. TO find out the cause
ofsickness and put stop to it, is seen
to be a much more sensible proceeding
than to let the cause 60 OH working,
and only try to remedy its effects.
When the teachers Of religion come to
the same conclusion, they. will have rea-
son to expect success in their efforts to
reform the world, and not before.
Christianity, the prevailing religion
of this country, is, as we all know, based
upon Judaism. Its Founder cmphati-
cally declared that he did not come to
abrogate the Jewish law, but to explain
and amplify it. The basis Of that law
is the Ten Commandments, which both
Jew and Christian accept as still bind
ing, and which, indeed, are an integral
portion of every religion in the world.
| Of these Ten Commandments, all but
one point out sins which are not TO be
committed, without saying anything of
church going, rcvivals, prayer meetings,
or hearing sermons. We are com
manded not to worship other than the
one true God, not to take His name in
vain, not to labor on the Sabbath-day,
not to steal or tell lies, nor murder, nor
commit adultery, and, finally, not to
cherish even the desire of doing such
things. 1t requires no argument to
show that, if men would only faithfully
follow these few simple precepts, there
would be an end of sin, and earth would
become like heaven.
The difficulty is, that, simple as these
laws appear to be, they are amazingly
hard to obey in practical life, and all
sorts of expedients have been invented
to get around them. In devising these
expedients none have been more Jealous
than the ministers of religion themselves,
One fiction, which they have popular
lied, is that it is impossible to obey the
Commandments, and that. therefore,
obedience is not necessary. As If God
would trihe with His creatures by en-
Joining upon them an imposslbllity!
Another infiction is that membership
in certain ecclesiastical organizations is
protection against the consequences OF
disobedience-a kind Of insurance poll
cy, as it were, against hell fire. Anoth-
er is, that no matter what sin we COM
NIT, Jesus Christ has suffered our pun
ishment for us, and therefore we shall
escape. To come fairly and squarely
out with the scriptural doctrine. "rhe
soul that sinneth, it shall die" is the
last thing that seems to be thought OF.
Ofcourse, it has been found that none
of these devices are successful in pro-
ducing that peace and joy and content.
ment which are the fruits Of truly re-
Iligious life, and further measures have
had to be restnred to to supply the def
cheney. TO continue the parallel of the
body and of the soul, the glow of health
being wanting, its absence has been sup
piled by stimulants just as the glutton
takes brandy to relieve his indigestion.
or as opium is administered to destroy
the sense Of pain. 1t is not too much
to say, that nine-tenths Of the existing
machinery of religion has had its origin
in the effort to produce semblance of
genuine fervor, in breasts which are so
filled with natural bad passions that
there is no room for heavenly affections.
The corporeal Utilization of exquisite
music and architecture, the thrill of
oratory, and the rousing fervor of con-
gregational singing are made to do duty
for the nobler and higher earnestness
that results from a life Of strict obedi-
ence to the law Of God. And the con-
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