Daily globe., 1879-06-15

lndiscrimlnately to everybody. Ihe more
sensible people will omit them altogether,
leaving their employment only to the vulgar.
RETIVALs.
Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized; and the same day there were added
unto them about three thousand souls.-THE
ACTs IL Al.
The first recorded revival of the religion
of Christ took place on the day of Pentecost,
and was marked by the astonishing results
recorded above in single day. But it did
not end there. It continued from day to
day until tens of thousands were compelled
to acknowledge Christ as their savior, and
did not cease until the apostles had been
taken away and the cause given over into
less jealous hands.
The modern revival differs very material
ly from the one mentioned in the early his
tory of the church. Then it is recorded that
the apostles continuing daily with one ac-
cord in the temple, and breaking
bread from house to house, did
eat their meal with gladness and
singleness of heart" Now the alleged evan
gelists enter upon their work as money
making enterprise, just as an actor appears
upon the stage, moving an audience tolaugh-
ter or tears, or filling their souls with the
most exalted aspirations. Without pay the
evangelist will not preach any more than the
actor will declaim his lines. While profess
ing to labor for the glory of God and his
church, they are simply laboring for their
own pecuniary profit. It is not to be wonder
ed at, therefore, that the general result of
revivals is pernicious and prostrating upon
the church. After the first frenzy has passed
few of those who were brought into the
church during it's ascendency remain, or, if
they do, they are simply stumbling blocks to
their brethren. They begin to reason, and
find that they we're affected only by impulse,
and that their religion has no basis in earnest
conviction. Their last condition, therefore,
is worse than their first. 1a ~
There is another phase of the modern re-
vival that receives little attention in the
church, and especially from the clergy. It
"get up revival" as the saying is, on their
own account. They patiently wait until
some professional revivalist comes along,
when they induce their congregation to enter
into contract with him to shake up the dry
bones for few weeks and frighted or cajole
few scores of persons into joining the
church. Meantime the minister regularly
employed simply acts as blower and striker
for the professional agitator, and after he
has been paid off and gone, endeavors, gen
orally with rather Indifferent success, to keep
up the excitement. It seems to us that this
is plain confession on the part of the min
listers that they cannot perform the. duty
they have undertaken, but must
call on outside aid. What would
be thought of q man who con-
tracted to keep the books of a firm, and every
time balance was to be struck, employed
some one else to do it for him? Would he
not be pronounced incapable of attending to
his duty and given summary notice to leave?
clergyman who makes the humiliating
confession that he IS incapable of attending
to the spiritual wants of his church, and
compels his. parishioners to pay good
round sum for the employment of profess
sional revivalist to attend to it, is not de-
serving of place in the pulpit, and ought
to be kicked out of it in the most summary
manner.
Revivals in these modern times are pro-
ductive of more harm than good. They
depend for their success upon degree of
excitement on religious topics that is wholly
abnormal and evanescent. The excitement
is of the intensest kind, and produces men
tai state akin to insanity. Indeed, our insane
asylums are crowded with men and women
whose reason has been dethroned by the
frenzy attending religious revivals. When
the excitement has passed reaction is certain
to come, and the converts drop off one after
another into their old ways. They find that
the belief that has been driven into them is
inconsistent in many instances with the
divine law; that they have, perhaps, been
compelled to give in their adhesion to doc
trines that are repulsive to their consciences,
and they are very apt to foreswear religion
and religious creeds altogether.
We are not opposed to religious reyivals
as they ought to be conducted. A church
chat has not revival in progress all the time
is wofully deficient in that which constitutes
true religion. The pastor is negligent Of his
duty if he fails to present the truth in such q
manner as to convince some one of its value
both here and hereafter, and he perpetuates
swindle every time he draws his salary if
he can show no good accomplished. A re-
yival of religion among the clergy is what is
most needed, for the conviction of everv per-
son who listens to discourse from the pul.
pit is that either the preacher does not be-
lieve what he says or that he does not care
whether or not those who hear him are con-
verted or not. No one who has closely
observed the effect Of the periodical out
bursts of religious zeal, miscalled revivals,
can dispute that they are decidedly injurious
to the cause of true religion. They qnght to
be universally discountenanced.