New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-24

tn. religious revival thai has been going on
In Hrldeclon. ~ j.. Is unique, for other rcyivalS
~ recent times have not taken such hold on
= whole community Il this one appears 10 have
done Even Mr. Moody no longer draws the
,,r.at crowds he drew in the earlier days Of his
career rs IN evangelist though. in the opinion
~ good iudccs he Is Just ~ effective n he ever
was bui in other directions The truth Of the
matter IS that the revival NJ longer occupies the
promncn, place that it once held in the sO-called
evangelical churches. 1t is essentially an APP
ne,l io IN, emotions: ard. whether rightly or
wrongly. the emotional side Of religion is looked
upon to-day with suspicion. 1t Is quite true lila'
emotion can never hc wholly divorced from re-
i..'on. aal It &, we'll that 1t cannot. for. when
r.lrlr directed. u is most valuable stimulus
to moral activity Eut the emphasis at present
{. laid npon religion Is life ~ service rather
than IN c.,ia'ir apprehension Of certain doe
trin..
or course all genuine rrvivals do imply a
,i,ns.of III. rs w,n ~ a change Of mind. But
IL still remains a fact hat the type n religious
lfc produced Icy the rcyival' Of thirty or Forty
,.ir, ago WAS distinctly different from the oral
uar,. tvpo ~ r, gous lifc seen today. Douhil'''
thrr. were many bach~dcrs in the old DAYS ~
revival made religion; that WAS inevitable "h'1
such tremendous appeals were made 10 tie emo
tions ~ We find In The addresses 81 the great
r.vivalists II those days. II must BE- admitted
however, on the other hand. That when the re-
yty.l lid make "a saint II man II made him
lno.t thoroughgolng saint. lie was fanatic or
= visionary perhaps. from our matter oi fact
mint ~ view: but he wrought well and vAllantly
I'm. what 4. conceived - be the right; ana
though this generation misht have found 1t some
what uuulrasant to live with him. his diSnter-
cs,cd goodness compcls our instructive rcver-
cncc
In the town ~ Brdgeton there seems to be
. rcnrulucton Of the old-fashioncd revival The
cn,mipotlon was reached on Tuesday Of last
week when Mayor Applegate issued proc
lamatlon in his official capacity. calling upon the
citizens II Bldgcion 10 observe the day as a
d,y Of humiliation for sin and repentance TO
God. AMI asking that places of business should
H.. closed from O'Clock to 3 o'clock In the after
noon The reports say that the appeal OF the
Mayor was generally needed; and Brdgelon is,
therefore, officially on record rs desiring To re-
nent ~ It's sins 1t docs not appear that the
neoplr Of the town are sinners above the people
~ .thcr towns in Ncw,Ierscy or that the re-
vlyalsts who are working there are men or ex-
ceotlonal power But that only adds to the won
dor of II all In the Middle Ages 1t was not at
all unusual for men to gather In the marketplacc
and discuss the various theories of the Trinity;
md the Church histories tell lis how keenly the
worldly minded citizens OF Alexandria used 10
orct,r over questions Of theology in the third ana
f.rr,h centuries But such Il spectacle ms mat
,rl,,ch has recently been offered in Bridgeton
is very unusual In these last years OF the nine
teenth century 1t Is. perhaps. too much to hope
that all the Bridgcton citizens who are now "un-
dor conviction Of sin" will confirm" to bring forth
fruIts meet for repentance. l'ut 1t Is some'n'hS
81, least to stir the sluggish conscience OF whole
community