The Red Cloud chief., 1879-09-18
FoINn IN NEIGmnoKI>G CnINn.
ann. Meetings. Old and New.

This i the c~amp-m.cting season. lsut
the modern camp-mrcjin" isn't at AL
like the old-fa>hioncd camp-m"r,inS ni
~ years age. That was a real camp
ground. The pre-cn: style gives M
camp; it, a town or village Of summer
cottages. Then. We brought our tents.
teams. wives. families: slept on the
ground. cooked ont If doors. lived III
clean straw and hung the tca-kcttlr on u
green cro>>->tick Ia boil. Now, We live
in Il regular hard finish dwelling,
with Il piano in the p%arl"r, Il rangr in
the kitchen, and sometimes Il mortgage
over the whole house and lot. Three
CLASSES Of people attended the old camp
meeting the ferveut and dr,nui, the
worldly and careless who came "ut "i
curiosity. and outside If all these aud Ia
prey on all the gamblers. hor>c-j"ckcy-
and scalawag> generally. Tn" old
camp-mccting va noisy, %fcrycnt. cnthu-
>~ia>tic. The present i quiet. refined,
cultivated. The old one had more vim
and lu>tine>>. the present more elegance,
There has been Il similar change in TIA,
preaching. | asked Il minister the other
day if il was not 81.
Certainly" said he. do they have
the power now? Ne. Then whole
ow> Of people would bc Frustrated with
it."
ITO what do You attribute the
change"
"L.ack If po>itiV. belief in Gospel
truths. The preaching then Wa pos
tive and personal. II asserted C;"d A.
a living power in our midst. II dealt
with heaven and hell ~ material real
itie-. Ii took the sinner and suspended.
him over the bottomlc>> pit until he
cried for mercy"
And now"
Now half our ministers are ON the
fence. They don't preach. They argue.
.Analyze much of their preaching closely
and You find they are really airing their
own doubts about their own creed. The
old time rcvivali>t had no doubts ~ Ia
the nature If hell. He couldn't tell
where il WAS. He never bothered him
self Ia speculate where il was. But hr
could tell YOU what il was. IL WAS u fiery
pit full IF flame. sulphur. devils aud
eternal misery. Millions on millions wer.
hopele->ly booked for it and millions
more We're likely Ia be"
Does this change of belief emauaic
from the people or the minister's"
perhaps both. The minister i Il part
of the people and i influenced by the
views If the people. The old-fa>hioned
belief i'm IL personal God. a vicious. per-
Sonal devil and Il flaming he'll, and vi
cariou> atonement i - w, more or less,
Sandwiched. modified and weakened by
mental solutions. 81 Ia speak. If Oar
wini>m. Materialism. Sp~irituali>m, Uni
yerSali>m. Observation-Disclosures
merciful- Providencei-m. and a general
Don't-cart-and -hope-it ll-come-out-all-
rightiSru."
..Then the actual faith of the Protest
ant Church If to-day i not that of. -ay.
80 wears ago?'
mo. II i not. The people know or
think they know too much to hold to the
uncompromising faith If old. The av-
erage religion IF 1879 i a general twist.
squirm and wriggle in the endeavor Ia
make modern ideas fit the frames of old
belief. Our religion. 81 Ia speak. j. al
ways turning and dying it, old dress in
modern colors. and can't see that the
out-and-out outsider. unbeliever and
>keptic. whose vision in this respect i
clearer than ours. sees the inconsistency
of the whole thing: and sees. too, that
the modern designs in the texture are
81 thin that the old ones show through
them"
..Then the preaching If TO-DAY has
not the power If the old style?"
mo. Preachers with half beliefs.
hating beliefs. compromising and tenn
PORTING beliefs. and ~emi-religious and
philosophical beliefs are shorn IF their
power Ia move the masses. It, the
difference betwiNt a mans shouting
d. Fire at night with all his might and
main. and one hesitatingiy saving May
be there's a fire somewhere.
But Moody and Sankey have great
success As revivali>fs.
Apparently. Lift the real converts
out Of six months standing after their
wave of excitement has passed and YOU
find q small residuum. Moody believes
thoroughly in his own preaching hat
is one reason Of his success But even
his method is tinctured with the tempo
rizing spirit Of the times He deals
largely with the love and sympathy of
the atonement. He threatens little.
Even his are not old-fashioned ~r-vival>-
The wrestling. groaning and misery of
sinners under conviction. the power
and all the wild and stormy scene, If a
revival Of fifty years ago are lacking
Moody's is as much 4 show and n
rs a revival. But the conversion scenes
are comparatively quiet and orderly
With such audiences under the preach
ING Of a Whitfield OF a Peter Cartwright
il would have required 4 dozen u>hers
( o carry out the entrancei." -Ner York
Graphic.