The sun., 1893-08-05
No Religious Revival.

When the shipis going down In the storm.
even the most hardened sinners OF the crew
will cry out to GoD for the help no earthly
power can give. Though before they had
uttered that Name only with profanity. now
they use 1t with prayerful reverence. {.
After the panic and business depression
OF 1857. the Great Awakening occurred. It
was O religious revival remarkable for
It's extent and its fervor. At midday the
Fulton street prayer meeting was crowded
for months together with distressed mer-
chants. Religious services for prayer and
exhortation were held In theatres. The
churches had to provide extra meetings to
satisfy the demand for public opportunities
to make confession OF sin, and send up sup
plications for the mercy Of GoD. at a time
when the wit Of man was hopeless OF find
ing remedy for the prevailing distress.
The history OF this Great Awakening was
written by the late DR.. IRENEUs PRIME. q
Presbyterian minister and editor OF dis
tinction. 1t Is a marvellous record OF 81
multancous religious excitement extending
throughout the Union; and the historian Of
the development Of the American people
will be obliged to study 1t carefully and
profoundly. In Its spirit and Its character
the Great Awakening recalled the early re-
vivals which were the foundation OF the
Methodist and Baptist churches. in which
are now included the great majority Of the
Protestant believers OF the Union. the part.
moreover. that is least affected by the re-
ligious skepticism that is likely to prevent
present time.
In 1857 all the evangelical Protestant
churches believed absolutely in the Bible.
In heaven and hell. in the Immortality Of
the soul. In personal GoD. and In the
scheme Of salvation as proclaimed by Or
thodoxy, both Protestant and Roman
Catholic. In 1898 that belief has weak
ened. or it Is lost altogether among
great part OF the descendants Of
the men and women who went down on
their knees thirty-six years ago to pray for
succor from above. No signs Of the coming
OF prevalent religious revival now appear.
In both tho country and the town the
churches seem to be unusually stagnant.
To large extent the old camp meetings
OF religious exhortation have been changed
into schools for intellectual and physical
cultivation. Instead Of the warnings to sim
ners against hell fire uttered by terror-in-
spring evangelists. HoKKSM1TH talks about
the training OF children and Dr. McGLYNN
propounds theory Of taxation. Unbelief
prevails In the ministry itself. and heresy
trials awaken more interest than efforts for
the propagation Of faith. The revolt against
the doctrine OF hell is widespread. and 1t Is
freezing an impulse necessary to religious
awakening. Professionalism is preaching
the doctrine no longer. Clerical Biblical
scholars are telling the people that the
Bible Is Of human and not Of Divine author
ship. and consequently Is liable to err. and
does err proportionately to the limitations
Of human knowledge. Many people having
lost faith In the authority upon which their
whole belief depended are now doubling
all the dogmas OF religion. the personality
OF GoD. the Immortality Of the soul. re-
demption, and damnation.
Accordingly. the present depression In
business Is not leading to any general ex-
preston Of faith like the Great Awakening
Of 1857. 1t is occurring amid prevailing re-
ligious torpor. rather. The looking for re-
lief is not to supernatural agencies. but to
natural. 1t is change which indicates a
religious revolution Of tremendous i'm
portance. Instead Of crying out to GoD
for help, the sinking crow have no other
hope than that they may be able to save
themselves by their own exertions.