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VOL.
XXVI
ALLEGHENY,
PA.,
FEBRUARY
1,
1905
No.3
Hear,
O.
"Christendom,"
the
voice
of
another
of
thy
famous
prophets
!-another
of
thy
wise
men!
But
know
assuredly
!he
word
of
the
Lord,.
"The
wisdom
of
thy
wise
men
has
per
~~~eti.
the
understandIng
of
thy
prudent
men
vanished."-Isa.
The
gentleman
has
dreamed
of
a
"world
peace"
without
the
second
coming
of
our
Lord
and
the
realization
of
his
prarer;-"Thy
kingdom
come,
thy
will
be
done
on
earth
even
as
It
IS
done
in
heaven."
His
dream
will
never
be
realized
but
the
Lord's
promise
will
be
fulfilled.
'
He
dreams
of
industrial
education:
that
we
are
having
and
'Yill
ha,:e
with
very
different
results
from
what
he
dreams.
The
IndustrIal
classes
are
indeed
being
educated
but
not
in
t~e
school
of
Christ;
and
the
Bible
clearly
sho~s
that
they
WIll
soon
be
learned
in
all
the
branches
of
self-defence
and
aggression
which
ere
lon~
will
sweep
peace
from
the
earth
and
involve
the
world
in
socIal
chaos.
He
d~eam~
of
a
unific~tion
of
religion
and
may
live
to
see
a
umftcatIOn
of
sects
'bound
in
bundles
for
the
great
day
of
trouble."-Matt.
13:
30.
He
dreams.
of
the
atheistic
or
pantheistic
views
of
Dr.
~bbott
attractmg
the
masses,
and
will
find
that
such
a
rejec
tIOn
of
the
Word
of
God
has
more
attraction
for
the
clergy
than
for
the
masses,
who
more
generally
will
be
repelled
by
such
a
cutting
of
all
anchorage
of
faith
within
the
vail.
WHAT
REV.
CARTER,
D.
D.,
THINKS
Rev.
Carter,
not
holding
fast
the
Scriptures
has
made
shipwreck
of
his
faith;
but
we
are
glad
to
see
that
his
eyes
are
open
to
at
least
some
of
the
inconsistencies
of
the
creed
he
is
still
attached
.to.
Indeed
it
evidentlr.
was
these
very
e~rors
that
drove
hIm
to
his
present
pOSItion.
His
wrong
VIew
of
the
,Bible
was
induced
by
his
faith
that
the
Westmin
ste~
<:onfessIOn
was
a.
truthful
representation
of
its
teachings.
ThIs
IS
the
tendency
of
errors,
and
now
God's
people
must
be
helped
out
of
them-to
see
the
true
teachings
of
God's
Word.
A
few
of
Dr.
Carter's
presentations
we
quote
below
with
the
comment
that
the
Bible
is
in
harmony
WIth
common'
sense
and
that
it
is
the
creeds
that
are
absurd:
.
"I
was
brought
up
to
believe
that
all
the
heathen
and,
m
fact,
by.
far
the
grea~er
portion
of
all
the
dead
generations,
were
consIgned
to
a
lIttle
hell
of
fire
and
brimstone
and
for~ver
and
ever.
How
any
kindly
disposed
man
could
~eally
beheve
that.
and
have
another
happy
moment
1
fail
to
see.
If
the
c~nscIOusness
that
he
had
escaped
himself
would
be
any
consolatIOn,
then
1
am
sorry
for
him.
"The
Westminster
Confession
still
remains
the
creed
of
~he
Pres~yterian
church.
If
an
eff?rt
were
made
to
depose
It
from
ItS
place
there
would
be
VIgorous
opposition.
The
men
who
oppose
the
revision
would
oppose
the
retiring
of
the.
creel.
~e
confession
remaining,
with
it
remains
this
terrIble
teachmg:
That
for
the
single
sin
of
Adam
the
whole
ra.ce.
of
man-remember,
millions
upon
millions,
countless
mIllIons-were
condemned
by
God
to
eternal
torment
and
t~t
he
intervened
by
His
election
to
save
certain
ones'
from
thIS
awful
fate.
I
do
not
believe
that
this
is
a
true
statement
of
.
th~
facts.
1
think
that
men
in
general
do
not
believe
that
thIS
IS
a
true
statement
of
the
facts.
I
think
that
nobody
does~
unless
h~
has
be.e~
screwed
up
to
it,
or
down
to
it,
by
a.
stiff
theologIcal
tram
mg.
I
have
unbounded
confidence
in
the
greatness
and
goodness
of
God
but
if
any
man
could
per
suade
me
that
this
is
the
true
sta~ment
of
God's
management
of
the
human
race
I
should
lose
my
faith
in
God.
1
think
such
a
statement
makes
atheists,
and
how
delightful
it
is
that
no.
word
of.
C~rist's
ever
hints
at
any
such
terrible
fact.
If
thIS
be
so,
It
IS
a
monstrous
blunder
to
put
this
as
the
very
foundation
teaching
of
Christianity.
"I
hear
men
say
that
t~ey
arEJ
glad
to
live
today
be
cause
of
the
great
modern
Improvements,
schools,
libraries.
telegraphs
and
such
like.
1
a;m
glad
to
live
today
because
our
chIl~ren.
ar~
not
taught
thI~
fire
and
brimstone
teaching.
Th~
rehef
IS
mcalculable.
NeIther
does
any
sensible
man
beheve
that
he
can
do
wrong
and
escape
the
inevitable
con
~equence.
'Whatsoever
a
man
soweth,
that
shall
he
also
reap.'
IS
true
forever..
Such
truths
time
has
no
effect
upon.
They
belon,!
to
eternIty.
But
we
are
practically
held,
in
the
Pres
bytE'rian
church,
to
the
endless
torment
theorv
though
the
fire
and
brimstone
part
has
been
dropped
out.
it'
we
are
allowed
in
the
Presbyterian
church,
to
hold
conditional
immortality
or
any
other
reasonable
modification
of
the
endless
torment
theory,
then
I
wish
some
one
would
say
so.
No
one
has
as
yet.
and
I
fear
the
man
would
find
himself
in
trouble
who
would
rise
in
presbytery
and
say
so.
"A
Presbyterian
minister
told
me
that
some
one
put
into
Other
accounts
which
reach
us
seem
to
indicate
a
consid
erable
degree
of
fanaticism
and
hysterics
associated
with
the
movement,
and
the
suggestion
has
even
been
offered
that
it
is
the
work
of
the
evil
spirits
operating
as
tlley
have
done
in
the
"holy
rollers"
and
others
who
in
the
name
of
religion
and
the
holy
Spirit
have
caricatured
these.
However,
we
have
seen
no
accounts
that
would
seem
to
justify
the
latter
view.
It
will
nevertheless
be
well
for
us
to
watch
the
movement
and
thus
"try
the
spirits,
whether
they
be
of
God."
One
of
the
favorable
features
is
that
it
has
but
few
marks
of
Babylon
and
is
carried
on
by
the
laity,
rather
than
by
the
clergy.
WHAT
A
FAMOUS
PREACHER
SEES
Rev.
H.
W.
Thomas,
D.
D.,
formerly
pastor
of
the
People's
church,
now
a
resident
of
Florida,
reached
Chicago
recently
to
conduct
a
funeral
service.
He
remarked:-
"My
travels
through
the
country,
and
my
study
of
the
trend
of
modern
movements,
show
me
that
within
the
life
time
of
the
present
younger
g-eneration
three
former
dreams
of
mine
will
work
into
eventualities.
World
peace
will
shortly
be
realized,
industrial
education
will
rapidly
develop,
and
the
unification
of
religion
is
but
a
matter
of
time.
The
religion
of
Lyman
Abbott
will
soon
be
general
and
attract
the
masses
to
worship."
VIEWS
FROM
THE
WATCH
TOWER
WILL
THE
WELSH
REVIVAL
EXTEND?
Many
earnest
souls
all
over
"Christendom"
are
asking
this
question
and
hoping
that
the
answer
in
the
affirmative
may
prove
true.
Conditions
in
Great
Britain
favor
its
spread.
Experience
shows
that
a
time
of
adversity,
when
poverty
hum
bles
the
hearts
of
the
masses
is
more
favorable
to
religious
revivals
thaD
are
prosperous
times.
It
~s
stated
on
good
authority
that
a
million
and
a
quarter
(1,250,000)
of
the
British
people
are
out
of
work
and
on
the
verge
of
starvation:
times
are
depressed
and
there
is
no
work
for
them,
we
are
told.
Collections
for
their
aid-to
barely
keep
them
alive-are
being
taken
up
in
Great
Britain
and
in
Canada.
People
in
that
condition
incline
to
look
to
the
Cre
ator.
This,
too,
gives
us
the
thought
that
the
great
"time
of
trouble
such
as
was
not
since
there
was
a
nation"
(in
which
this
age
will
terminate
and
the
Millennial
age
begin)
will
be
the
precursor
of
the
mightiest
and
best
revival
that
the
world
has
ever
known.
As
the
Scriptures
declare:
"When
the
judgments
of
the
Lord
an'
abroad
in
the
earth
the
inhabitants
of
the
world
will
learn
righteousness."
The
Welsh
revival
commenced
in
a
little
country
church
in
Cardiganshire,
and
at
once
spread
through
the
Glamorgan
shire
coal
fields-a
region
noted
we
are
told
for
its
irreligion.
Editor
Stead
thus
describes
it:-
"The
most
remarkable
thing
about
the
meetings
which
I
attended
was
the
extent
to
which
they
were
absolutely
with
out
any
human
direction
or
leadership.
'We
must
obey
the
Spirit,'
is
the
watchword
of
Evan
Roberts
and
he
is
as
obe
dient
as
the
humblest
of
his
followers.
The
meetings
open
after
any
amount
of
preliminary
singing,
while
the
congre
gation
is
assembling-by
the
reading
of
a
chapter
or
a
psalm.
Then
it
is
go
as
you
please
for
two
hours
or
more.
"And
the
amazing
thing
is
that
it
does
go
and
does
not
get
entangled
in
what
might
seem
to
be
inevitable
confusion.
Three-fourths
of
the
meeting
consists
of
singing.
No
one
uses
a
hymn
book.
No
one
gives
out
a
hymn.
The
last
per
son
to
control
the
meeting
in
any
way
is
Mr.
Evan
Roberts.
People
pray
and
sing
and
give
testimony;
exhort
as
the
spirit
moves
them.
As
a
study
of
the
psychology
of
crowds
I
have
seen
nothing
like
it.
You
feel
that
the
thousand
or
fifteen
hundred
persons
before
you
have
become
merged
into
one
myriad-headed,
but
single-souled
personality.
"Large
numbers
of
'sudden
conversions'
are
reported,
and
men
of
careless
or
evil
lives
stand
up
and
'testify'
to
their
faith
in
Christ.
In
some
places
the
public
houses
are
almost
deserted,
the
police
magistrates
find
their
work
materially
reduced,
and
colliery
managers
are
surprised
at
the
steadier
work
and
the
absence
of
the
accustomed
blasphemies
from
the
pit
galleries.
In
not
a
few
cases
football
matches,
which
in
'Wales
not
less
than
in
many
regions
of
England
have
been
tainted
by
gambling
and
brutality,
have
been
abandoned
be
cause
the
members
of
the
teams
were
ashamed
of
their
'for
mer
con
versa
tion.'
Even
if
we
allowed
for
possible
exaggeration
by
sensational
journalists,
and
if
we
take
into
account
the
emotional
nature
which
distinguishes
the
Welsh
even
more,
perhaps,
than
the
Celts
of
other
lands,
there
can
be
no
doubt
that
an
extraordinary
wave
of
religious
enthusiasm
is
rush
ing
over
the
principality
and
for
the
time,
at
all
events,
is
changing
the
lives
of
thousands
of
its
inhabitants."
*
*
*
[3497]
(35-36)
Vou. XXVI ALLEGHENY, PA., FEBRUARY 1, 1905 No. 3 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER WILL THE WELSH REVIVAL EXTEND? Many earnest souls all over “Christendom” are asking this question and hoping that the answer in the affirmative may prove true. Conditions in Great Britain favor its spread. Experience shows that a time of adversity, when poverty humbles the hearts of the masses is more favorable to religious revivals than are prosperous times. It js stated on good authority that a million and a quarter (1,250,000) of the British people are out of work and on the verge of starvation: times are depressed and there is no work for them, we are told. Collections for their aid—to barely keep them alive—are being taken up in Great Britain and in Canada. People in that condition incline to look to the Creator. This, too, gives us the thought that the great “time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation” (in which this age will terminate and the Millennial age begin) will be the precursor of the mightiest and best revival that the world has ever known. As the Scriptures declare: “When the judgments of the Lord are abroad in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” The Welsh revival commenced in a little country church in Cardiganshire, and at once spread through the Glamorganshire coal fields—a region noted we are told for its irreligion. Editor Stead thus describes it:— . “The most remarkable thing about the meetings which I attended was the extent to which they were absolutely without any human direction or leadership. ‘We must obey the Spirit,” is the watchword of Evan Roberts and he is as obedient as the humblest of his followers. The meetings open— after any amount of preliminary singing, while the congregation is assembling—by the reading of a chapter or a psalm. Then it is go as you please for two hours or more. “And the amazing thing is that it does go and does not get entangled in what might seem to be inevitable confusion. Three-fourths of the meeting consists of singing. No one uses a hymn book. No one gives out a hymn. The last person to control the meeting in any way is Mr. Evan Roberts. People pray and sing and give testimony; exhort as the spirit moves them. As a study of the psychology of crowds I have seen nothing like it. You feel that the thousand or fifteen hundred persons before you have become merged into one myriad-headed, but single-souled personality. “Large numbers of ‘sudden conversions’ are reported, and men of careless or evil lives stand up and ‘testify’ to their faith in Christ. In some places the public houses are almost deserted, the police magistrates find their work materially reduced, and colliery managers are surprised at the steadier work and the absence of the accustomed blasphemies from the pit galleries. In not a few cases football matches, which in Wales not less than in many regions of England have been tainted by gambling and brutality, have been abandoned because the members of the teams were ashamed of their ‘former conversation.’ Even if we allowed for possible exaggeration by sensational journalists, and if we take into account the emotional nature which distinguishes the Welsh even more, perhaps, than the Celts of other lands, there can be no doubt that an extraordinary wave of religious enthusiasm is rushing over the principality and for the time, at all events, is changing the lives of thousands of its inhabitants.” * * Other accounts which reach us seem to indicate a considerable degree of fanaticism and hysterics associated with the movement, and the suggestion has even been offered that it is the work of the evil spirits operating as they have done in the “holy rollers’ and others who in the name of religion and the holy Spirit have caricatured these. However, we have seen no accounts that would seem to justify the latter view. It will nevertheless be well for us to watch the movement and thus “try the spirits, whether they be of God.” One of the favorable features is that it has but few marks of Babylon and is carried on by the laity, rather than by the clergy. WHAT A FAMOUS PREACHER SEES Rev. H. W. Thomas, D. D., formerly pastor of the People’s church, now a resident of Florida, reached Chicago recently to conduct a funeral service. He remarked :— ‘My travels through the country, and my study of the trend of modern movements, show me that within the lifetime of the present younger generation three former dreams of mine will work into eventualities. World peace will shortly be realized, industrial education will rapidly develop, and the unification of religion is but a matter of time. The religion of Lyman Abbott will soon be general and attract the masses to worship.” [3497] Hear, O. “Christendom,” the voice of another of thy famous prophets!—another of thy wise men! But know assuredly the word of the Lord, “The wisdom of thy wise men has perished, the understanding of thy prudent men vanished.”—Isa, The gentleman has dreamed of a “world peace” without the second coming of our Lord and the realization of his prayer—“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth even as it is done in heaven.” His dream will never be realized, but the Lord’s promise will be fulfilled. He dreams of industrial education: that we are having and will have with very different results from what he dreams. The industrial classes are indeed being educated, but not in the school of Christ; and the Bible clearly shows that they will soon be learned in all the branches of self-defence and aggression which ere long will sweep peace from the earth and involve the world in social chaos. He dreams of a unification of religion and may live to see a unification of sects “bound in bundles for the great day of trouble.”—Matt. 13:30. He dreams of the atheistic or pantheistic views of Dr. Abbott attracting the masses, and will find that such a rejection of the Word of God has more attraction for the clergy than for the masses, who more generally will be repelled by such a cutting of all anchorage of faith within the vail. WHAT REV, CARTER, D. D., THINKS Rev. Carter, not holding fast the Scriptures, has made shipwreck of his faith; but we are glad to see that his eyes are open to at least some of the inconsistencies of the creed he is still attached to. Indeed it evidently was these very errors that drove him to his present position. His wrong view of the Bible was induced by his faith that the Westminster Confession was a truthful representation of its teachings. This is the tendency of errors, and now God’s people must be helped out of them—to see the true teachings of God’s Word. A few of Dr. Carter’s presentations we quote below, with the comment that the Bible is in harmony with common sense and that it is the creeds that are absurd: “I was brought up to believe that all the heathen and, in fact, by far the greater portion of all the dead generations, were consigned to a little hell of fire and brimstone, and forever and ever. How any kindly disposed man could really believe that and have another happy moment I fail to see. If the consciousness that he had escaped himself would be any consolation, then I am sorry for him. “The Westminster Confession still remains the creed of the Presbyterian church. If an effort were made to depose it from its place there would be vigorous opposition. The men who oppose the revision would oppose the retiring of the creel. The confession remaining, with it remains this terrible teaching: That for the single sin of Adam the whole race of man—remember, millions upon millions, countless millions—were condemned by God to eternal torment, and that he intervened by His election to save certain ones from this awful fate. I do not believe that this is a true statement of the facts. I think that men in general do not believe that this is a true statement of the facts. I think that nobody does, unless he has been screwed up to it, or down to it, by a stiff theological training. I have unbounded confidence in the greatness and goodness of God, but if any man could persuade me that this is the true statement of God’s management of the human race I should lose my faith in God. I think such a statement makes atheists, and how delightful it is that no word of Christ’s ever hints at any such terrible fact. If this be so, it is a monstrous blunder to put this as the very foundation teaching of Christianity. “I hear men say that they are glad to live today because of the great modern improvements, schools, libraries, telegraphs and such like. I am glad to live today because our children are not taught this fire and brimstone teaching. The relief is incalculable. Neither does any sensible man believe that he can do wrong and escape the inevitable consequence. ‘Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’ is true forever. Such truths time has no effect upon. They belong to eternity. But we are practically held, in the Presbyterian church, to the endless torment theory, though the fire and brimstone part has been dropped out. If we are allowed in the Presbyterian church, to hold conditional immortality, or any other reasonable modification of the endless torment theory, then I wish some one would say so. No one has as yet, and I fear the man would find himself in trouble who would rise in presbytery and say so. “A Presbyterian minister told me that some one put into (35~36)
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