The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-09-26
THESE LATTER DAYS.
Sam Jones Speaks Of Changes
That Have Taken Place.
Camp Meetings as They We're Fifty Year,
AgO-Mors DigRtsy and Lear Plety u
the Order Now-NeW
Not An Wrong.

NAA(A - - A11AA
ings, and be sees the latter days are
not like the former days. Everything
is different. While / write / am in the
midst Of an eight days engagement at
Asbury Grove camp meeting, near Bose
ton, Mass. In thought have been conn
pairing the old-fashioned camp meeting
to the new-fashioned camp meeting.
This is a beautiful camp groundt Per
haps near 1900 people tented in the cot
tags on the grounds, and 20 miles out
rom Boston, on the Boston & Maine
railroad. The congregations attendant
upon the services have been large; the
interest has been good; the people Older
ly. / hear the old preachers talking
about the camp meetings held in the
former days. The great crowds gath
cred here; all classes, the religious peo-
pie and the irreligious people. The
DEVILS crowd came with their bottles Of
rum and the appetite for drink. Ten
or twelve policemen were necessary to
keep them within the bounds of order,
but the people tented upon the camp
grounds these latter days T orderly,
quiet, good people. They come out from
the cities before the camp meetings be-
gin and domicile themselves in the cot.
tages on the grounds and remain some
of them for weeks after the camp
meeting closes. 1t is true of nearly all
the camp meeting grounds, they are but
summer resorts and they regard the re-
ligious meeting as a helpful and pleas
urable recreation more than other
wise. The great crowd of roughs and
toughs have made for themselves other
resorts. The baseball grounds, the golf
ground, the bicycle races; the steam
boat excursions, the beer gardens, ETC.,
claim their own crowds these days, and
a mar may take his choice and go to the
place most c~ongenial to his spirits and
habits.
The good seem to be getting further
from the bad, or the bad are drifting
from the good. The good are getting
better, and it is equally true the bad are
getting worse.
The social features on these camp
grounds give pleasure to all the cot
tagers. They seem to be an agreeable,
pleasant, affable class of people, ass
sembled here. We have three preacli-
ing services a day, besides the social
prayer meeting class meetings and Ep-
worth league meetings. The old-fash~
toned altar service in which thousands
have been. converted has well-nigh lost
its efficiency at the camp meetings.
True, the altar remains, but sinners do
not GcpKd eal sRmb meetingpr preach.
err seems to be a thing of the past. His
foghorn voice, his earnest exhortations,
and the tremendous truths he preached
are passed away, largely. We do not
expect great results now as we did then.
l am sure we do not see them.
The educated ministers, the output
of u theological seminaries, the re-
fined worldliness of the day; all these
tend to relegate to the rear the earnest
Christianity Of our fathers. We have
more learning and less loyalty: more
dignity and less downright piety than
our fathers seemed to have. The same
truths our fathers preached will bring
the same results our fathers witnessed.
Truth is as Interchangeable as human
nature, but u preaching is more scien-
titic, philosophical, and many of us for
get Paul's promise to the Corinthians
when he said to them: 81 am deter
mined to know nothing among you ex-
cept Christ and Him crucifed." Our
fathers were tremendously in earnest.
Bible truth mixed with -earnestness
would be as effective to-day as it has
been in the past. The million men who
r travelling from the cradle to the
grave conscious that there is but one
step betwixt them and death can be
moved and stirred to-day as they have
been in the past if right truths and con-
secrated efforts are put forth.
lam not crying for the good old times.
Some things are better now than then.
| believe in progressive theology and
progressive methods, but / sickle for
primitive Christianity and apostolic
power. The heads of men, the inteIli-
gence of men, may help them to see
things in different lines, but the con-
science Of humanity will ever respond
to truth, and conscience is the target
at which all earnest preaching must
be aimed. Live conseiences must be
stirred; dead c-onsciences must be res
urrected. Conscience is always on the
SLUG VI truth, truth coming IN con-
tact with conscience produces conyic-
ton, and every upward movement of the
soul is from conviction.
We still have many OF the oId-fash-
Toned camp meetings in the south.
Primitive in style; Astounding in hos
pitality, and rich in results; but they
are passing away. In the north and
east each family has its own cottage.
In the south every cottage is yours,
and every table ministers to your wants.
The grove prayer meeting; the altar
full Of penitents; Christian people work
ing. No wonder results come. But
where religious meetings r regarded
as simply p~leasurable ~recreations, we
do not expect much for the soul. and
we are not disappointed.
There are scores Of preachers in at
tendance upon those camp meetings.
They enter into the spirit of the services,
and no doubt go to their ~pastorates
better equipped for the work before
them. They say so. They thoroughly
enjoy these meetings. The dudes and
dudines, the society people give the
Damn mnpfinUo khaua 7a4te~ Ioxrr ! ~-f5o