The Universalist., 1897-03-27
SATURDAY, MARCH 81.
EDITORIAL.

NEXT week, unless
missionary Numper all signs fail-and it
Next week. is not "dry" time
we shall have the privilege of present
ing a valuable missionary edition of The
UNIvERsALIsT. 1t will be a General
Convention number, issued under the
auspices of Secretary Rugg and the
Committee on Missions, who have sell
ected the subjects and secured the wri-
ters of sufficient number of articles to
make up the main body of the issue. A
large extra edition will be printed for
distribution among our parishes. All
our papers next week will Sound the
slogan" of the Convention and seek to
impress our people with the duty OF
generous response to the call OF the Con-
yention in aid of the various church en-
terprises which are now in it's charge.
Let our Western constituency next
week "read, mark, learn and inwardly
digest" the ample material which will
then be presented. We sincerely trust
that in this time of need the financial
response will be reassuring and give
new hope and courage to those who have
the interests of our church solemnly at
heart.
The Moody revival in
The MOODY this city is to begin
Revival next month wit
meetings in the Auditorium, and we
are promised "a tempest OF fire." Of
course this is fgurative, for Mr.. Moody
and his assistants are too wise to
dwell too exclusively on the now gen
orally repudiated doctrine of material
flames as the possible eternal environ
ment of the damned. 1t will be a
milder form of orthodox teaching that
will be presented so far as doctrines
are concerned. The expense of the Au-
ditorium meetings is estimated at $500
per day, and the revival will be expected
to pay its way. How long it will be con
tinued at these figures, it is impossible
to say, but it will require more than the
results achieved in New York and Bos-
ton during the Moody services for the
Chicago churches to consider the revival
a paying investment.
Mr.. Moody's work at present is
apparently directed to reviving the
churches and stirring the membership
up to their Christian duties. So far 80
good. but revivals generally are directed
to the immediate salvation OF souls.
There is room in Chicago for good
deal of work in this direction. 1t re-
mains to be seen how far Mr.. Moody's
services will pay for the large expendi
ture which will be required. The Audi
torium meetings will reach some re-
spectacle sinners that need thorough
shaking up, and some of these are men,
bers of churches, but the sinners of the
sums and the lAvee are not likely to be
reached by efforts directed from the
fashionable Auditorium. The Salvation
Army method of establishing services
where the devil holds high carnival is
more in the line of what Chicago needs.
There would be more hope for Mr..
Moody's revival if Battery D. or some
more common enclosure, were the scene
of his services.
500
The Number of more, the American
the Damned Tract Society issued
document of startling importance to the
generation then existing upon the earth.
1t was nothing more nor less than tabu-
lation of the statistics of damnation,
covering the entire world in its survey.
We do not remember the exact figures,
but the statistician made out frightful
case for the inhabitants of earth, and
his figures swept enormous multitudes,
including the vast heather world. into
hell. Since that time we do not recall
any further attempts to number the
Israel of the damned. But now we no.
tice that Baptist minister in Colum-
DuS, OQlO, cldlHl5 tudI bHoEb are Ou6
billion human souls to be lost. How he
reaches this conclusion, we cannot say,
but place the interesting fact before our
readers as another indication of the need
that still exists for propaganda against
the old pagan horror of an endless hell.
In view of such teaching. the words of
Bishop Foster. of the Methodist church,
are refreshing. and rebuke in splen-
did manner such enumeration of the
damned as contained in this Baptist
ministers deliverance. The good bishop,
who is not far from the kingdom, says:
.sIf could cOncede for a moment
hat the world as l know it-and know
it rim to rim, having travelled in all its
lands. having seen its despicsble mill
ons, having seen it in shame and filth
aud if l were compelled to think that