The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-06-21
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION

by c. H. B. Floyd, in Pensacola
News)
You know that you can arrive at
Mobile by going east from Pensacola,
provided you continue going east.
Also you can get back to religion
by continuing to go away from it.
There is revival of religion COM
ing over the world All the vigorous
doubters are beginning to doubt their
doubts. Those who are from Missouri
are beginning to lead in prayer The
lawyers for unbelief are withdrawing
from their clients case.
THE greatest preacher now living
is Gilbert X. Chesterton. He was
converted by Herbert Spencer, Thorn
as Paine and Robert G. Ingersoll. He
was raised an atheist, and when he
had worked UP to the leaders of athe-
ism and read their books he was as
tonished. why, there must be
something in religion if this is all
they can say against it," That is
what occurred to Chesterton
Now, with laughter and paradox
and epigram, and with eloquence as
fresh and wistful as the roses that
this morning ceased to be buds, he is
arguing the case of religion and
twenty million people are listening to
the ravishing music he makes.
Irreligion is 1anked, surrounded,
bottled up, defeated, captured, trans
ported to a barren rock in the barren
sea. The long winter of unbelief is
thawing out and poetry and faith
and devotion are springing again out
of the seeds planted in the heart of
humanity"
1t is getting Intellectually fashion
able to be exceedingly religious, and
| if Lord Byran were in college today
he would be a strict Methodist or
Baptist because to seriously profess
faith in commonplace religion is in
teilectually the daring position in a
world so long dead to militant faith
in things spiritual.
Let me try to make myself under
stood more thoroughly. l will put it
this way-say there is one mountain
1900 miles high and for whimsical
reasons small group of people hap
pen to be on top of that high hill.
Now say that it has been dark for
1900 years and no sun has shone, but
there is a dawn starting far below
the common horizon. 1t will first be
visible to the small group of people
who happened to be on that mountain
top doing survey work, making meas
urements or foolishly peeping through
telescopes at stars. For a long time
the crowded millions in the valley
will not see the new dawn, but how
excited after 1900 years of night those
in the mountain crow-nest will be
with the news of the new dawn!
| was up on that mountain top and
| 80" NAS yum Va ACQ III bhC cast lStk
down below the common horizon, and
ever since l have been clambering
over glaciers and snow-fields, down
abysses, toward the sombre valley
that is cursing in the gloom of FIVE
hundred and thousand years, and
now, through this medium, / an
nounce to you the dawn.
I do not speak of little peanut re-
vival, popcorn affair; I speak of a
universal revival inclusive as the at
mosphere and democratic as the sun
shine. tell you there is hope ris-
ins in the hidden caves OF the heart
OF the world. The rumor of holiday
advances as though rain had begun
to be common over all the northern
half of Africa and the camel trails of
the Sahara, old as the human race. all
across the desert. were tender now,
yellow with cowslips and coy with