The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1877-03-15
Moody and Sankey.

secular press and the quiet Indifference toward
them and their labors which prevails among
another and greater portion of The public Jour-
mails.
The explanation Of the course Of the press
on this subject perhaps lies first in the fact that
all editors are busy in discussing the events of
tremendous political importance that are trans
piring in these latter days and have no time to
give to the study of the ''Evangelsts,' and the
second reason rests in the fear that some editors
possess of offending the tender religion prciu
dlces of a minority of their readers. Now to
the writer the advent Of Moody and Sankey in
New England is an event of great Importance,
and we'll worthy of close attention and dispas-
sionate inquiry. Your correspondent has in
the past awaited himself of frequent opportuni-
ties of hearing Moody and Sankey. and Of study
ing their peculiar methods of work Here is
the question that has always first suggested it.
SELF to him: Is not the tendency of their doc
trines retrogressive instead Of progressive?
Are they not unconsciousy trying to set mod
ern civilization back fifty or one hundred years:
Mr.. Moody is charged by Mr.. Ryder in the
celebrated ''open letter." with persistent efforts
to show the worthiessness of morality as an ele-
ment iii the souls salvation. "Character counts
for nothing" Mr.. Moody certainly believes,
like one Of the characters in "Achsah," that
people put on religion as they 60 into fits
Steps of goodness are a trick of liberalism in
his opinion. "A man to approach God must
first call himself sinful worm. aud afterwards
a miracuously created saint. Sometimes the
two phrases get strangely mixed, as we all
know, and the saints crawl and groye most
disgracetuly, while the worms put on wings
and soar to the very shy in noble sentiments
and glorious actions
Moody makes literal fetch Of the blood of
Christ. A drop of that blood, and that only.
can save, according 10 his preaching. Hear
him in a recent SERMON
Of YOU will read yonr Bible in the light OF Gal
vary, you will ii nd that there is no other way Of
coming to Heaven int b4 bl06d. The devil don't
fear ten thousand preachers who preach d lloodless
religion The man who is preaching boodltss re
ligion Is doing the devil work, and don't cdre who
| he is"
| And moreover, he 5aY that good WORKS With
out faith amount 10 nothing: ana 'fuh it
seems, consists only in believing the peculiarly
| hard, coarse and hateful doctrines which he 20
a2gressiyely breaches and the blatant ,,ankey
sing. 1nc other day, ~ one Of tl,e big meet
| lngS, PRAYER wa requested ana offered for can
Old gentleman very careful to provide ior the
wants of other, but who neglects lis own
soul" The inference drawn IL that the old
gentleman will be lo9t--h, soul will 50 ,iown
to eternal tormonts unless rerchance the prayers
OF these seleonstitntrI jt.ige7 move The Great
Judge TO rule otherwise. What ahsuriity
We fancy we thr noble old gentleman al
home among his children, mindful every hour
| Of them physical and moral need, and active
IN serving them. 1ender-htulIPd, sweet cd
man. Now he walks abroad seeking to dc
good, and his generous face hetIn$ with hen,.y
olenrp. He stops 10 encourage. b, cheerful
words, some stumbling neghhnr whose hlt.i-
ness cares weigh heavily, he smile- men
Of high and low degree; he how all thai he
loves his iellow-lnait and his rronrpss down
the street il like passing. hrnriiriion. lie
seeks ont suffering and want, and gives from
his bounty instant and substantial relief with
out disgusting the recipient with 4 cant phrase
or hypocrltn'al .tnonlllon. In fact he is really
very $ careful 10 provide for the wants oi
others" but he il loo unaeIlielI and iull OF All
charity to think Of hinself-to reason ON the
question OF whether he i working through I'M
pulses Of love or sense OF dnlv. And yet this
sanity old man il 10 be damned, and 60 down
into everlasting lire, How monstrolls. " ny
he is working out the very law Of love. Hut
does this inference in regard to Tile t;,le of the
old man agree with the plain teachings Of he
very Bible from which Moody processes to
preach: AsSuredy not. look al the 18th
chapter OF ST. Matthew ana read the ,escrip-
ton Of the last judgment. In the 40th.yerse it
S'N efhf say unto YOU. ina~Inuch rs Sc
have done it unto one Of the least of these my
brethren, We have done it unto me.
In his letter Mr.. Ryder makes the following
strong points against tile narrowness OF Mooly'S
theology.
You insist that can be saved except by a,,-
proprlating 10 himself the merits of Christ and that
the substituonal or transferred righteous must
De accepted by the sinner previous to the death of
the body. All who die without this samctitcation
are lost, and can never God.
My brother let us make few figures. There are
now on this earth, according to recent data. Las:
$4,000 human beings. These distributed as fol
lows Europe, 309,l7s30O; Asia, s2454S, 800, Al
rica le9, 900, Australia and Polynesia doo
America s. 3D. 600.
OF this billion and one half how many think YOU
will be saved. according to your theory Asia with
her Ssl ooo,o 600 must be thrown out almost wholly
would hardly furnish enough for Tabernacle audi
ence And as to Europe and America, while the
case i, more hopeful the proportion Of those who
could be saved according to your rigid test is very
small. Remember NJ you phrase it, it is not char
acter, nor honesty of purpose nor doing the best
one knows, that saves, but the actual appropriation
by the sinner of the blood Of Christ with the con.
sciouS acceptance of the imputed righteousness
which he possesses. How many, think YOU in Iu-
rope and America, have complied with these confi-
tions? Take the saved on these terms. even in this
very city OF Chicago or in any other large comma
nifty, basis, and will have figure very ill.,
orally to make more than 4o,oIooO0-the presrut
population OF the United States Forty millions
out of one billion and about four hundred ana TWEEN
tytonr millions! My brother. ponder these figures
In view of them, who rules the universe, God or the
devil? Is this the best that the grace Of God can do
for mankind? You say "rhat only shows thar nm |
man nature il failure. that the grace Of God
is. But you right in this If the grace Of tiod
save only one small fraction OF the integer OF The
race, what is it but failure? God created man |
and fashioned him rs He chose, and from the begin
ming He has controlled every other element that en-
tiers into this question Of salvation and if now il Is
made to appear that He has lost the control of ali
but mere remnant of His great family, and that |
devils have risen up and mrested the scrptre both
from Him and the son Of His love, whom lie sent TO
r-deem the world, | respectfully submit on thls |
showing mat the government " God is failure |
and that He'll and the rulers OF ii, aud NOT Heaven
and it, rulers have gained the victory.
The plain truth il that such belief, "a
Moody's Iand he borrons from tayin) are |
immeaSura,ly too unreasonable lor any stand |
ard OF Christian practice which common sense |
permits us TO follow. Supernatural beliefs de- |
mand supernatural lives. And it j. utterly |
foolish 10 profess the one without living the |
other. The wise author OF '.pame Nuropa's |
school struck the Keynote when lie wrote
No man with one Grain Of sense if lie soherly |
heeN Ell he to live upon this earth for three |
score years and ten, and then 10 live in heaven |
or he'll for three store million of centuries ten |
times toi, would consent 10 spend one short |
minute Of lii4 liz in ANY WORK which did not |
obviously tend to makt his aviation more 4p-
"ure."
The Moody and StnLe, movement is II lun-
~ attempt 10 rtStlscitatr thrulnqical ideas which
rational and Women have long ago out
grown. 1t is not Christian worship, bu! il
emotional extravaganza, combined with iur-
lect,ial sterity. The who'll. thing strongly ~
for- of humbng. Aud while it has been
claimed that no money whatever i being made
,t