, 1875-09-12
4 REVIVAL NEEDED.

| AL agree III this !: the difference is, rs tc
what it shall be revival Of The merchants
and manufacturers complain Of hard times
and no trade; and they want revival Of
business. It is seasonable DESIRE Poll
ticians have found o 1ong-continued apathy
in the people over the struggles of parties,
and they are busy agitating to produce re.
ViVd Of politics preparatory to the next Presi.
dental campaign And their arguments are
not without weight. Earnest Christian men
are mourning over widespread indifference
to the claims Of God, and are calling for a
| revival Of religion That, too, is rational
and seesonable demand But let US not mis-.
take words for things in any of these
realms. The business men must not
consider speculation and an increase Of
paper-money a revival Of trade; nor
must party leaders imagine that an empty
struggle for place and peH is genuine re-
vival Of political principles and aims. We
are doing our best, every day, to expose such
dclusions, and to bring both business and
politics back to sound basis Of reality, in
an exchange OF the products of actual indus
try, and in the use of specie or its true equiv
slent for currency. Shall we be less practical
in the matter Of religion? 4 secular paper
may be q little awkward, sometimes, in
handling religious questions of this Kind,
and our phraseology may not always have
boen the most happy for our purpose. But
we know what We mean, and what the pub
Lie good requires, and what common sense
teaches, and We have faith that c1ear-headed
Christian men will find themselves in har1no-
ny with our real doctrine, when they come
to understand it Let US See if it be
not so.
What would be the use Of revival of mere
dogma? Religion must of course have some
doctrine, preach some truth, or it would be
gush and sentiment. But who wishes q re-
newed zeal for abstract, metaphysical state
ments, such as the scholastic diyines used to
make, and such as jealous theological logon
achists still delight to fight over; as though
an Intellectual approval Of creed filled with
them made even an approach to that grand
virtue which the New Testament calls faith !?
An attempt to have revival of dogma would
only result in arraying the reyivalists in hos
tile squadrons, in a very few weeks. At
present, they are keeping very pleasant COM
pany, largely because they have consented to
waive their mutually repellant dogmas, and
to come together upon the basis Of q few sim-
pie facts and truths.
Do VIC want a ritual revival? Not much.
It is altogether too shallow. We have learned
that the mistake Of the ages is to identify re-
igion and religious ceremonies. The old
prophets Of Judaism thundered against that,
and the whole New Testament is a protest
against it.
Shall We have, then, revival of religious
ferver? It is rather luxury to have q
rousing excitement. Some minds take to it
as men do to liquor or opium. It
gives nervous pleasure. Truth requires us
to say that, psycho1ogically considered, the
meeting going Of one class Of people is often
very much like the theatre-going of another
class, though they do not suspect it. They
like to be excited; they will go, evening
after evening, for weeks, to secure this.
They like scene, also, provided it be in
church Nothing SO rouses them as the
chance to be in the midst of great demon
shation. This is human nature, and We have
nothing to say against it, except that it must
be kept within bounds, and must not be con-
founded with religion Ferror may 90 with
religion, as With score Of other things, but |
it is not religion end there may be great
revival Of it and no real advance in piety,
What lind Of rsviva1, then, do We need |
We Answer boldly: 4 Rsu;aal ef RaAtpu,. |