The Minneapolis journal., 1905-11-19
"SUGGESTl0N' IN
REVIVAL WORK
HOW PSYCHOLOGY SIZES UP RE
CENT EVENTS IN THIS CITY.
Harlow Gale Speaks Of the Use of Hyp-
notis,n in Religions Work---1deo-
Motor Reactions That Do Not Need
the Hypnotic. Sleep to Work Them
selves Out-Psychological Laboratory
Study of This and All Other Revivals.
To the Editor Of The Journal:


In reviewing the evangelistic services
in our city it may be of interest and
helpfulness to some of your readers to
consider honestly and charitably the
mental workings of this revival. Ac-
knowledging with gratitude the ethical
results Of the emotional awakening to
beautiful ideals and the sudden be-
ginnings of better habits of living (al,
tho these are naturally overestlmated
in their extent and permanency), there
is the proper psychological question as
to how these valuable results have been
really brought about. 1t is SO difficult
or impossible to get any evidence or
scientific proof for the theological ex,
plantations that the thoughtful observer
IS forced to compare these religious
phenomena with other religious and
secular sudden changes of character. 4.
AS chanced to be reading again last
Sunday of the crusades, | could not but
be struck with the similarity of their
enthusiastic zeal and stirring religious
chivalry to the present religious aWak-
eninga Not merely the contagion! from
St. Bernard, but the pathetic contagion
of example in the three armies of the
children's crusades are among the
world s mightiest conversions to a re-
ligious ideal. Tho this is theologically
explained, according to Catholicism, the
sweeping Arabian foundation OF new
religi ion five centuries earlier is differ
entity explained by Islam. Our Protest
ant explanations begin with Luther 8
and Calvin s religious reforms. All the
multitude of subsequent sects have fol
lowed thru "revivals' and 'conver-
sions'' by means Of the Wesleys and
WHITFIELD up to Mormonism' &c General S era
Booth, Mrs. Eddy and Dowie The rat.
ter-day mingling Of bodily cures with
some. special theological doctrines and
sacred leadership has had host OF
forerunners and successors in the mira.
cles at Lourdes and Holywell, the bones
of the saints and the king S touch, down
to Schlatter and the countless spiritual,
faith and magnetic healers.
The never-ending procession of
pseudo scientific medical prophets, and
sects all gain some following. Every
imaginary political and social idea,
from monarchism thru anti-Semitism,
abolitionism and Henry George to So
cialism are propagating themselves by
making converts. The worlds wars,
from the mythical Troy thru the Mos
lem and Christian. wars, the English,
French and American revolutions, up
to our civil and Spanish wars, all ex-
listed in the devotion to an idea.
After such momentary review Of the
greatest mental movements of the
world. what.have they all-various and
cAnflic ting as are their own explana-
tions-in common with religious re-
vivals? Most evidently, the natural
instinct of acting out our ideas. No
heads, whether by example, command,
exhortation or reason, if they are there
With enough emotional force behinu
them, they are translated into action
and done AS the child instinctlvely
grasps at all new objects within its
ol,t nf t,1r n
spite of having painfully learned the
self-control and circumlocution neces,
sary to act out his larger thoughts, still
tries at least to live out his inner life
This fundamental law of our being, the
ideo-motor law, thus runs thru our en-
tire individual and race history. Since
little is known further OF the mlnutel
action of this observed law, except that
the brain and nerve connections OF oul
thoughts and actions are coming to be
found more and more Intimately asso
ciated together, the word suggestion
is taken from the special field of re
stricted and more direct ideo-motor re
ing applied to the entire variety ant
range of thoughts more immediately
acted out History and experience unit
in the modern psychological conviction
that there is probably nothing which ;
considerable body Of people cannot b.
moved to believe and do, if it is onl,
impressed upon them with enough tim
and force.
What was remarkably interestin!
psvchologically i'm the late evangelism
services was the accumulation 0
methods for enforcing the suggestion
The old-time solitary voice of the pre-
phet crying in the wilderness is gon
by. What he could get people to be
lieve and do is now enormously magn
fed by the concentrations of all tn
church people into a score of simultar
eous meetings. While thus the twent
preachers may be individually much be
low the single Moody, yet the cumuls
tive suggestive force Of mere number
even tho scattered about the city, ma
thus exceed The results Of a single 6
gantic meeting. The apparently sue
evangelistic corps, with the unobtrusiv'
ness Of all the necessary complicate
business and executive, machiner,
whilesomely heightened the marve
Then the wonderful articulation b.
tween the preacher and his music;
forces was marvellously effective. II
singer, pianist, cornetist, organist, COZ
ductor. and chorus were always on tt
alert to take any suggested hymn {
gospel song, which then went off
apparent spontaneous contagion. I'll
big and rich voice Of the singer, even
the verses and music had little poet
or art value, declaimed the words wit
rare. .clearness and earnestness.
The predominantly moderate vol
and manner of the preacher tended
reinforce his occasional climaxes
voice and hands. While. after the a
cumulatecl similarity of his examples
his text, all this indirect suggestion
preaching and music was focused in t.
reiterated direct exhortation or gu,
commando: "Put up your hand, don
be afraid. that $ it, one. two, three, ;ju
moment, right here before me, ho
up your hand up in the gallery the1
another, another. several down the1
raise your hand, put up your hand
These persistent and direct suggestion
without any harangue or morbid exei1
ment, were thus powerfully effective
raising the hands as the sign of sta
ing for new and better ideals of livir
Many were undoubtedly as surprised
see their own hands go up as were the
spectator friends; the hands seemed
90 up of their own accord But t
Ideal. having made IT'S initial action
confession and desire, was then INN
diately strengthened i'm it's ideo-mot
tendency by the personal interviews
the workers and after meetings and
the continual encouragement of paste
and friends ~
= Such a view Of the evangelists VIC
and methods, even tho it does not +
ognize the supernatural beliefs
which it theologically claims to
chiefly based and much as it may reg
AZ g 4f,,l