The Evening Star MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1874

Evening Star, Issue 3523, 8 June 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1874

Considerable interest is felt in Otago with regard to the remarkable “ religious awakening” which is now taking place in Scotland. Of course we have nothing to do with the purely religious bearing of revivals, but these movements have, like most other things, a secular aspect, and so far they come fairly within the province of the journalist. Perhaps the easiest way of dealing with revivals is to set them down at once as mere outbursts of fanaticism—of religious disease—which, like measles or small-pox, will affect a certain proportion of the population, be attended with symptoms of more or less severity in different cases, and then gradually die out. Unfortunately, however,

for those who would thus treat the subject of revivals, their theory will not meet the facts of the case. There ia more in these religious movements than this philosophy will account for. Epidemics can gene rally be traced to some well-defined cause. They have a certain number of victims, and when they have worn themselves out, things go on much as usual. But with these revivals the case is different. They are very often not to be traced to any cause that is appreciable by us. They do a great amount of good, and (we believe their advocates will- allow) a certain amount of harm Besides this a religions revival has before now changed the whole character of a country, and in some cases the whole course of the world’s history. In whatever way, then, we may be inclined to look at revivals, we can scarcely afford to pooh, p -oh them. If we may place any Teliance on history, it would appear that two things are necessary in order that a great revival of any kind may take place—the first is a certain receptivity on the part of large numbers of people, the second is a man fitted by nature and education to act upon the minds of these people. Now it seems certain that the receptivity alluded to, the susceptibility of being affected by religious teachers, is the element which is not constantly in existence. There are never wanting earnest, and eloquent preachers who might be fairly expected, if this susceptibility woe not of a temporary nature, to keep up a constant religious excitement. But they cannot, even when they wish to do so. Whence then does this susceptibility come ? Possibly the safest answer to this question is the Spaniard’s ever ready, Quien sabe ? who knows? At all Jevents, we are not called upon to propound a theory on the subject, There are, however, one or two facta that we may mention that will have a tendency to show that revivals may not be a disease at all, but that they are rather indicative of a half-unconscious effort on the part <>f a nation to throw off -,ome moral disease, just as in the case of scarlet fever the effort of Nature to throw off the morbific matter produces violent and alarming symptoms, a copious eruption being often the best guarantee of the patient’s ultimate safety. It is, of course, always more or less unsafe to use the “ Post hoc, propter hoc ” style of argument—to say that because one thing happens after another that therefore the second has been caused by the first. We give the following facts only for what they are worth, leaving our readers to decide what their worth may be. To say nothing of the Reformation and of the labors of ICnox, Calvin, and Cranraer, the rcligi us revival initiated by John Wesley and George Whitfield was followed by the greatest general advance in morality, public and private, that had ever been made in Kngland. There can be no doubt that at the period in question, the morality of all classes in England was as low as it well could be. One has only to read the contemporary literature, and to compare it with the ‘ Spectator’ and the 'Tattler’ of Queen -nne’s time, to see that, even in a few years, the public taste had been very much degraded : there can be no doubt that things were going from bad to worse. bo sooner did these two men on the scene, however, than matters begin to mend. There was soon a very decided improvement, and we believe that few who carefully consider the history of the people of England from that time to the present will doubt that we owe very much of our pres-nt comparatively advanced state of morality to the revival which took place at the time referred to. Be this as it may, we are inclined to think that even non-religious people won d do well not to feel too sure that revivals are “ all humbug.” Whatever tends to make men strive even temporarily after a purer and better, and less sordid life, is not to be despised. As was said in a recent number of the ‘ Woatm nster Review ’ by no means a fanatical periodical), it would give us the greatest pleasure if we could learn that the inhabitants of 'shanteehad a ! l bec-.me Particular Baptists, or that those of Romeo were staunch believers in Baptismal Regeneration, in the same way, to say the very least, we are almost bound to wi hj success to any movement which seems likely to place considerable numbers of pe .pie under the influence of nobler mot ves than they have previously been actuated by. Few will be found to deny that it is better that men should belong to the straitest of strait sects, and live a decent life, than that} they should have no god but whisky, or something worse.