The sun., 1900-12-30
The Inuaence Of the Great Rcvivaiists.

To THE EDITOR or TIE SJN-Sh: Tho
Rector Of St Thonas's Church. Ravenswood.
Long Island, contributed to THE Sun. on
Dec 90 an article entitled Evansellzlng
the World" The rector remarks that.
The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
have given IA aashing metcors In Wesley
a Finnsy. a Whitslsld. a Moody. and others
As individuals they did splendid work.
from which tho Church kept aleof 80 the
work slssed With the life OF the nan himseh,
the exception being extremely rare" This
Is almost an imparionable bunder. IL
seems causeless. inopportune. and without
the statement Of the least provocaion.
Looking at the tit.s one might think IL
covert attack on the wisdom and expediency
of the Student Volunteer Movement WIN
the propriuty, integrity and possibilities
OF this enterprise / have nothing 70 40 lhose
vaIiant Young crusaders are aoundonuy
ab,, TO talte care OF themselves. We cannot
however, alo~y an aspersion SO miscnievous'
SO cruel, so misleading, to be cast upon the
four greatest and most honored evanSeiists
OF modern times,
Tho religious narrowncss that can dis
cover no living continuity OF the splrltha'
forces generated in the life and laborS OF "es-
ley, Finney, .Whitefeld and Moody is cnuse
for o,en and severe rebrke That "r cir ~ork
closed
for denial. Pinney Is dead But the Lighted
candle God put In his hand has not gone out.
Those mighty sermons. and tho rosthumous
ira,lencrs of that flaming messenger OF the
Covenant are ringing still across continent
and sea whltefeld's eloquence is hushad,
hut his work goes on. The spirits touoheu
bv tongues Of FIRE under thc spell" or his
wonderful preaching have encircled the
world and proclaimed Christ undcr every
sun The trcruulous music OF his eloquehce
i, sweeping still the passions OF lowlahd
hoyel and highland palace His WORK
closed" not when he died Moody Is
there any one so audacious as 10 pronounce
the evan gciic1l forces OF his lifes mission
paraiv.ed? Yet, forsooth. the rector OF st'
Thonass arises 10 say. Moody is dead. ms
work Is ended. We will write lchaooa
on his tomb.
1t is passing stran &c that man OF AVERAGE
Intelligence. especially a New EnSiander.
ono resting almost under the shadows OF
Harvard and Yale. should indulge In such a
delu.Ion Is II to be now as In the days OF
Wesley, whnefleld and Tinney, that an eoclesi-
astlc1l arlstocracy IL 10 hold "aloof' from
nopular and inten sely personal endeavor TO
evan ccllze tho worldY
The work closed with the life Of the mani
Is there only al echo left OF all the labor
o, Moody1 Did Mortified and Chicago
Institutes for Bible study vanish with his
feeting BREATH Does the coming OF q.
Campbell Morgan moan nothing! Ana
what shall We say OF vision so blurred that
the imperial cohorts OF American. yea world
wide, Methodism cannot be seen? or all
the bodies OF men in the world that empha-
size the Apostolic culogy. He being dead
vet speaketh,' Methodism Ia chief. Wesley
is embalmed In the vast ard mighty organ
ization that sprang as the child OF Provi-
dence out OF his ministry.
Phenomenallv rreposterous Is that stu
pidity. or arrogance. that concludes that
his work closed with his nfe."
s. +. WATSON.
Pastor First Methoi!t E. i'copal Church. |
South. |
ADMISSION. Ala, Dec. -.