The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1875-11-17

of the 9th inst 1t is gratifying to observe that th'
leading secular papers of the country treat this grea
religious movement seriously and falrly.-CENTRAl
/ PRESBYTERIAN.
THE REvIvALISTS.
There are very probably as marked diff,
ferences in the opinions of the public con-
oerning the work of Messrs. Moody and San
key as there are in the classes of people who
so to hear them Every Intelligent man has
made up bis mind about this revivsl move
msnt, and of course holds that he alone looks
at it from the true point Of view. One
ranks it little higher than panic or great
trial, or any other cause which surges up a
wave of popular excitement; another, though
not himself professedly Christian, acknoWl-
edges the elevatipg and wholesome effects
of religious aspiration sweeping through q
community, and hopes for the best from this
one. There is just ss.much difference in
the views Of the members Of Christian church
es about it, although almost all have give it
their official sanction. Earnest and devcut
men of certain denominations discourage any
excitement as apt to be short lived and pure
ly emotional, even when it does not give low
views Of religious truth while others just as
earnest and devout esteem these two men
evaDgelists as truly as were the apostles,
and regard the fruits Of their labors as little
inferior in the power and manifestation of
Gods Spirit to that of the day of PentecoSt.
There is 3 common sense view to be taken
of this matter as of every other. In the
first place, why should we sneer because
large part of the multitudes crowding into
the Brooklyn Rink are drawn there only by
curiosity? So they we're when they follow
ed Christ into the streets of Jerusalem or
the wilderness; yet they went to the healing
of their souls. Or that still larger part
already profess Christianity, and believe all
that Moody and Sankey teach ? There is
not one of them who will not be the better
for little quickeniDg of his faith, and, we
may add, of his movements too. In the Sc
cond place, with regard to the men them
selves, there can, we think, be but one opin.
ion as to their sincerity. They are not
money-makers; they are not charlataus.-
DecOrous, conservative England, which rep
rotated both their work aud the manner of
it, held them in the full blaze Of scrutiny for
months, and could not detect in them sim
gle motive which was not pure. Earnest
and sincere men are rare in these days; is it
not worth our while to give to these dis
passionate, unprejudiced hearing? Thirdly,
with regard to their message. They preach
no new doctrine, no dogma of this or that
sect; nothing but Christ. and the necessity
among US of increased zeal in His service
Which of US will controVert that truth ? If
the Christian religion is not the one hope
for our individual and social life, what is?
Aud lastly, with regard to the method of
these men in presenting Christ and his teach
ing. Men of high culture, or exceptional
Of taste, shrink from the famili-
arity of words and ideas in which subject
they hold as reverent and sublime beyond
expression is set forth to the crowd. They
call it vulgar and debasing to the truth
Granting that their opinion is right from
their point of view, what is to be done with
the crowd? They cannot all be men of fine
culture or exceptional senstiveness they
are not moved to believe or trust in Jesus
through philosOphic arguments or cOntem-
plstion of Nature, or logical conviction, or
appeals to their aesthetic senses by classical
music, stained glass, or church architecture;
they are plain, busy people with ordinary
minds and tastes, yet certainly as Christ
died to save them it is necessary they should
be brought to Him by some means and per-
suaded to live cleaner, higher, more truth
ful lives. Christianity is not matter of
grammar for libraries and drawing rooms,
refined taste, delicate sensibility. 1t was
not to the cultured classes that Christ him
self preached, bat to the working people, the
publicans, fishermen, tax gatherers, and he
used the words and illustrations which would
appeal to them most forcibly, If Messrs.
Moody and Sankey or any other teachers
bring Him directly home to mems convic-
tions and lead them to amend their lives
for His sake, let US thank God for the
preacher, and let bis taste and grammar take
care of themselves.
When Whitfield went up and down Eng
land preaching, the wits and macaroni and
fine ladies of Georges court called the little
man commonplace and coarse. But many
of them, when they heard him, were driven
By his fierce earnestness, as by Scourge, to
the foot of the Cross, and became, like him,
faithful servants of Christ, and we're not
ashamed to live humble and godly lives in
the most corrupt court that England ever
knew.
KINKs.-A kink is spontaneous twist in