Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-12-01

1870 eOAAGy " eAClCo LIS peOPI0
20 an enthusiasm of religious frenzy. Ham
mond processes to be filed with zeal for the
salvation of souls, yet he will keep away
rom place where the fields are, already
Wn1te 1or the harvest unless he is guaranteed
two hundred de liars week. Mrs. Van Colt,
while depreciating the lust of wealth, insists
upon two hundred dollars week before she
Will engage in the business of s'saying
souls" Francis Murphy demands fifty
dollars day s'and board at the best hotel"
before ne will undertake to wean men from
the flowing bowl and gather them into the
church, and many revival season has been
checked at its height by the refusal of these
persons to continue their meetings unless
they had the cash in hand. They preach a
free gospel, yet tax the poor to pay the exor.
oltant salaries they demand, and refuse the
comforts of religion to thousands because of
their inability to pay. Moody has made
evangelism pay, but his method is not as re-
| prehenslble as are the practices of those we
nave mentioned. But even he makes the
boon OF religion costly luxury. He de-
nands that tabernacle of a certain cost
snail he constructed for his accommodation
before he will enter upon his work in any
city, thus imposing heavy tax upon those
VINO are sincerely DESTROYS of promoting the
cause and to make sacrifices to that end.
When he comes he demands no salary, but
accepts free-wili offerings and offers for sale
the Moody and Sankey hymn book. He is g
snreWc canvasser for this work, and from
the profits OF the sales and from free will
offerings he has grown immensely rich. To
| his credit be it said-we wish it could with
truth be said of all of his peripatetic breth-
ren-he does not keep all he receives, but
applies liberal portion to The promotion of
the cause III which he labors. He has built
one church and paid for it out of his own
| POCKET, and has given no inconsidarable
sums to ether churches and some to worthy
charities. We give him all praise for this,
but still insist that he makes religion too ex-
pensiye. Some who contribute to the cree
ton of his tabernacles can we'll afford to 90
so, bat the bulk of the money is obtained
from those earnest Christians who are poor,
yet feel compelled to dispense with home
iuxurles and sometimes comforts to agsis!
the cause
While Mr.. Moody's methods ara source
OF considerable injury, he moro nearly con
forms to the scriptural idea of what an evan
gellat should be. But his itinerant brethren
are simply reprcach to the cause of re-
llgion. They degrade the calling of an evan
gelist to the level of montebank; rob the
poor for their own enrichment: contract to
''get up a revival for stipulated sum of
money; make those who would drink of the
waters Of life deny themselves every other
creature comfort. They excuse their rapacity
by quoting, "The laborer is worthy OF his
hire,'' but refuse to do good when it lies
within their power unless they are well paid
for it. While they manage to excite a tenn
porary religious frenzy, they do incaIcuIable
injury to the. cause of the church, for when
the reaction comes, and the despicable char
acter of these so-called preachers of the word
becomes known, people learn to despise not
only them but that which they taught.
Until religion can be made less expensive.
the church cannot attain healthy growth.
Those who attend upon its ordinances for
the most part attend simply Jas they attend
any other public gathering to which they
have contributed-to get their moneys
worth. There will never be a true, earnest
Christianity, so long as it's first requirement.
is liberal contribution for the support of 8
fashionable establishment, an expensive
minister, or montebank evangelist, and
the sooner the churches understand it the
better.