The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-03-24


only 10000. We presume it is little
better IN the immaculate city OF Chicago.
ct ace are arraigned as neglecting our
Christian duties and that by man who
was spewed out for heresy by his own
people. There are 50 Protestant church
es in the city of Richmond, with mem
bership of 25,00o The population is
about $4,000. By the census of 1870
Illinois had more than double the popu-
lation of Virginia, and in Virginia there
were 765, l27 church sittings as against
l POI ,403 in Illinois.
That our readers may learn something
of who DR.. Swing is, we publish the fol-
lowing which appeared some two or three
months ago in the correspondence of the
~ Y Evangelist
To sum up the matter, Prof Swing is man
made IN spirit widely abroad in this day
And there is the secret of his success as a public
speaker Like audience, like preacher; like
man, like congregation. In great city like
Chicago, there are a multitude of people who
are more or less religously ahoat good
many OF them have cut loose from the old forms
OF religious thought and worship. But they
read, and their minds are active, sometimes to
excess Their reading is largely fiction, the
magazines, newspapers, with m Ore or less of sci
! ence, especially that so called" They are
theatre-goers, club men, card and billiard play
ers; and with fierce devotion it may be, to busi-
ness, they try to take life easy-especally the
seventh part of it, their Sabbath being Sunday.
And yet they like some religious service once at
least, especially if without too much religion in
IT, In the Sunday evening many of them will
be at the theatre a concert" The sermon
to which they will listen must be keenly intel
lectual and aesthetic
Now If any man has the power to draw and
satisfy these sorts of people, in such city, he
VIII have a, large congregation. Those who
| know can Judge how far this description meets
the case In hand. But some such man will such
hearers seek: 1t may be Robert Collyer and it
may be David Swing
Now as to the value of this kind OF preaching
with such supposed au liences-a common idea
Is that multitude who will not eat at any other
table, are fed here; and though the viands NAV
not be so substantial, they may still be sufficient
10 sustain life. Perhaps that is thehope of most
But after listening with what attention and can
dor could command, my reluctant conclusion
was that Prof. Swing will be likely to produce
more skeptcism than he will cure. Whether he
is aware of the general effect which that style of
teaching is calculated to produce is uncertain
but II seemed, while listening, that he had some
perception of it; for he commonly managed to
stop where the next natural step would have
been into open denial of some belief sacred to
religious people
1t is clear enough now that he is not Cal
whist nor Presbyterian. And my conviction
is, what it was from the first, that if let alone.
he would soon have found out where he did not
betonq and without any considerable CONFUSION
would have taken his place But the ardent
and the Jealous who thought differently, are
Justified in their conclusions, whether or not in
their methods.
Chicago rebuking the South for irreli-
gion With its Sunday theatres, and beer
gardens, and its general reputation as
centre of ungodliness even among the
Western cities And DR.. Swing selected
to deliver the reprimandl That is like
Gen. Butler admonishing Gen. Jackson on
the Importance of considering the.ques-
ton of personal religion