Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1875-11-18
z.REhlQIoUs .RPFQRIR.

The present seems, toibe A.time when
the whole. country, we may say the whole
world, Is awakening to the necessity Of
salvation, but the idea prevails that the
work must be pr"jrcted and.carried for
ward upon grand scale-that i, must b.
supervised by high church tu"c'ionaries.
and b. lei by professional experts in the
work Of convicting and converting sill
ners. just now M""de, AID S,nkey are
'thonght to'be the a)moners of divine favor,
and that all spiritual blessings must come
through their mediation. Men to-day,
1i&e'those Of old, arc A"oleing for some
wonderful interp,sition by which they
are I" be- freed from the consequences. of
sin, rcnouncing their sinful practices and
be made holy without having been "bedi,
ent to the Divine bcllcsts. 1t is the fash.
ion nowadays to Convert sinners by the
hundred. under contract just as men
agree t" build given number If miles Of
Ealr"ad, and il they fail to complete the
job according to specifications they are
turned off without amy pay, and the work
is re- Leland thus there arc in spiritual
matters rs in temporal more failures than
successes, and the boss preachers like the
boss contractors arc compelled ut last to
come down from their positions uf Us.
sunled authority and take their places IN
the ranks OF the common lab"rers' In
this aye of enlightenment the land filled
with bibles anu CHRISTIAN people residing
eycrywherc-thc trophies Of Gods grace
decorating the homes of half of the civ.
ilized wor'd-the voice Of prayer and the
hymn Of praise ascending from family
affairs, and from churches, there would
seem to he but little occasion for those
extraordinary efforts which arc being
made in some parts Of the country to adj
vance the cause of the Christ ian religion.
It locks t. us ~ though there were
a disposition to start religious "wavc,'
and that too, with no purpose other than
to supplant the ordinary christian agen-
cies with something else, and thus to de.
monst. ate that The world progresses ii,
spiritual things in some more extranrdi-
nary way than it does in temporal and
physical. For our own part We desire to
sec the legitimate work ut tht chul cl, gn
forward, and 10 see men converted every
where, nor will We cavil as 10 the means
employed. yet We cannot but regard
rs not only dangerous but positively sub
vcrsive If all lasting good, those spas
m"dic efforts by which specialists seek to
create religious enthusiasm. Religion
docs not consist is feeling ali"gelher-it
is not mere ebulli,i'n,a bubble upon the
surface of life otherwise sl,lid from he
effects of sir and Of ind iffcrencc to the
claims Of the gospel; it is deep convic-
ton, a development, growrh 1t Is the
exact measure Of the difference between
what man is as a christian, and what
he was az sinner. and that difference
represents transition in character
hence religion is progress in the work of
obcying God. These facts are tunda.
mental in the system Of christianity and
they must he acc' p''d intellectually be-
fore men will improve the character or
the purpose OF their living. To teach
these facts is the duty of all christians,
and espt c'ally Of The clergy, and it occurs
to us that it zach would bear his part
in the work faithfully and cLeerfuIly,
without special reference to what is
TRANSFERRING around him. except as he may
get encouragement from it for more wig
orous effort, the cause would be more
prosperous, and the results far more salts
faelOrY.