Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-03-26
TIL, Church and THE World"
ISt. Louis Globe Democrat

u
A Retired Methodist Preacher"
writing TO the INDEPENDENT, is con-
WINGED that the rasicnaisn preached
in present-day pulpits is less effective
for salvation than the old-fashioned
stirring of the spirit. i have seen SER
vices tina, could not be dismissed" he
wrirees. I remember one camp meet
ing service which lasted continuously
from 5 o'clock in the afternoon until 5
o'clock the mex, morning. Every phase
OF the experience of twice born men
and women WAS Illustrated during that
memorable twelve hours. II is more
than twenty-five years since then. but I
can s;ill hear the songs and shouts and
prayers and groans and rejoicings of
that glorious night at that old camp
ground The world Gid not scoff at such
demonstrations then as much as some
in the church do today
There is in this glimpsing Of a
truth which theologians too eeldom
recognize. The world never has been
given to scofhng nucn a, what it has
believed TO be manifestations of a deep
spiritual feeling The world" in fact
as every man Of the world knows. has
its own moments Of !ntrospection. when
it looks into Itself and. finding itself
unclean wishes for cleansing. 1t re-
spects the sincere conviction of such as
strive after righte business. The world
has never stoned prophet nor burned
a martyr II the world" with its vast
rSjority, had ever set its face against
the church the church never could
have grown ats il has If scoffing ever
destroys the church. the scoffers will
be within the temple and not without.
The Retired Methodist Preacher" is
wholly right in his opinion that scot
fers within the fold are more to be
dreaded than the world
Yet he leaves unanswered a question
growing logically, as conclusion. out
Of his own premise. The conclusion he
reaches, thru ignoring the question. is
that both the church and the world
are worse for the disappearance Of the
shouting. grcaning and other visible
mamie stations Of sudden. conversion, or
strivings Of the spirit with the powers
Of darkness TO make conversion pos
sible. His conclusion is that such evil
dences of strife. accompanied by many
victories for the powers of light over
thcse darkness. made the church mill
tant and the church triumphant. Then
the question remains: How does he &C
count for the change in the church
which he claims has taken place? Can
the church militant. and the church tri-
umphant, have lost that dominion Of
the soul Of man which it gained with
the sword Of the spirit. SO that the
fruits of .ts old victories are now
turned to ashes upon its lips? If SO.
evan gelism failed. An obvious answer,
if we could admit the decay. would be
that it is due TO laying down of the
old sword. But more obvious answer
it Stems to us. is that the work of the
old evangelists was not lost; that the
shoutings and the groanings. and the
travail Of soul were not in vain and
J that, If such storms no longer rage in
religion, 1t IL only because In religion.
high expression Of nature, the storm
precedes the calm in which q real ex-
altation Is easiest to the human mind
And we are sure that II church mill
fancy has been killed by .scoffing it il
not the soothing OF the world"