St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-05-08
REVEALS TOUCHED.
Rev. w. S. Vail Tells Why
They Are Opposed by All
the Liberals.
Some Of the Best Known Eff
fects Produced by Public
Religion.
The Liberal Must ProIong His
Search for the Great
Truths.
Basso Cowles, OF the Bostoni-
ans, Leads Universalist
Music.

At the service of the Universalist
church Sunday morning an added inter
est was given to the whole result by the
fine singing Of Eugene CoWles. Of the
Bostonians, who rendered Mozarts
"Within This Sacred Dwelling" The
pastor. Rev. Vail. preached from the
text: 80 Lord, revive Thy works." an
swerlng the question as to why liberals
could not work in sympathy with re-
yiyal movements. He maintained that
one reason was that they were not
wanted. He said that they were not
wanted because they could not accept
certain points of theology usually en-
phasized in such meetings. He excused
his people from the general charge Of
being stiff-necked and stubborn, by say
ing that one could only decide this by
| taking the position of the accused-pos-
| sibly they would see it differently if
they occupied that position. The
preacher then pushed into the more
general discussion, saying:
But another problem comes clearly
before our minds. The proposition is
maintained that we are to accept
on faith, and then we shall
have internal evidence. Pray for
conversion, and then you will pray be-
| cause you are converted. And evil
dence is piled up from all classes and
conditions of men to show us that this
! is the one way in which to seek. We
| are told that if man will come in
faith; that if he will just come with the
! conviction that there is here message
FOr h l,o 10 VOL p6 n U
that message delivered in unmistakable
words. And then we are told OF spe-
| cifc cases in which this has happened
| A woman is told that il she is humble
| she will be specifically touched by evil
| dence; she waits, she pray5, and sure
enough at given moment the scales do
| fall from her eyes. Another brOodS in
| darkness, but the light comes, comes
suddenly, comes fully, comes strongly,
and she sees as in daylight And so
we are met all along with the statement
! that if we are humble. If we try to get
religion, if we seek for this change OF
heart and expect it, the change Will
come, and we shall feel the evidence
within ourselves. l do
NOT DOubt Tfsis Phenomenon.
l believe there are persons who eX-
poet and find very strange and peculiar
experiences at the revival meetings.
| Does it follow that the only explanation
for this is the spirit of the Lord? Is the
only explanation found in the one Of
| fered, that this experience implies the
miraculous influence Of divine char
acter? Let me give the exposition of
| another fact, and then judge for your
| selves. There is condition of mind
| called by scientific men ''eXpectant at
tention." The explanation OF this is
| that men who are earnestly looking for
some mental result are very likely to
unconscously find it. This fact has a
| wide range, and may be applied to many
mental conditions that are often other
wise explained. And not to pause with
| it in lower levels. what shall we say Of
| it in the higher manifestations? Let us
| take it in some alleged religious rela-
| tons.
A man went to one of the wild West
| ern revlyalS. He was brought under
the weird influence of flaming torches,
| Of dark foliage waving against dark
| sky, of tumultuouS music mingled with
! signing winds; and in the midst of such
surroundings he was told that if he
earnestly prayed for it, 1.-The power"
would come to him. Now the power"
was manifested when this man was
taken will: violent jerking, sometimes
accompanied by 'holy laughter" some
times by shouts of joy, sometimes by
bitter tears. And it was without doubt
a purely nervous condition. HeeXpect-
| ed it. and it came. SO at one time in a
nunnery in France Carpenter tells us)
nun at high noon
Viewed Like Cat.
She could not help it, she said. The
others, she declared, might expect to do
so, too. And they did; and soldiers
| were called in to break the spell. At
one time dancing mania broke out in
| Europe. Men expected to be caught in
| it, aud they were. They would be taken
in the church, at the counter. or at the
pillow, and would go Off at a gate that
would discount Dr.. PanglOss in his
glory. The whole history Of religion is
full of this kind of experience. Take
the average person and tell him (eSpe-
ciaily young person. that he Will meet
a certain change at revival i'll the in
curry room; explain to him the nature
OF the experience he is to meet; impress
it definitely on his mind, and then
let him 90 there with favorable
feelings, catch him in the influence
of melody and let him breathe the ex.
cited sentiment Of the place-do all
this, and in ninely-nine cases he will
find just that experience he expected tC
find and will teel every sentiment thai
was suggested. There are two ways tt
explain this. 1t may be the work OF the
Divine Spirit, but the same result car
be produced by any Sklllful man who
will use the means without Scruple
whether religious or not. In othe!
words, it may be divine and it may be
very exceedingly human. Here is the
plain statement of the case, and pro
pose to let you consider it for your
selves and then tell me what you con
clude on your own part. Is it miracle
i'll most cases or is it ''eXpectant atten
tlon?"
And when we look again another
divergence OF opinion appears regard
ing the real experience of the Christian
! religion. One mall emphasizes the sub
stitution of Christ in the place of man.
TO die for the sin Of man. 10 him re
iigion means the acceptance OF this
sacrifice in the place of
His Own Death.
And there is a magical efficacy in the
thought that electrifies and charms him
At most public meetings which | have
attended of an Evangelical character
this is the prevailing and predominant
idea. Another man claims that this is
purely pagan. To his mind it brings a
long series of pictures that are very
definite and In which he does not be.
lieye. He sees Cooking backward) the
Roman on the eve of battle, waiting &
moment to kneei before the shrine anC