Show A RELIGIOUS AWAKENING AWAK EMNy looking back upon we the year that la Is nearing its ite end one feature of it la Is noticeable among abou amou many others it has bae been a r rr one for religious conventions imad movements toe the meeting of tot tnt society ot of christlen atlon endeavor at boo BOB tou ton was waa one of the largest and most successful ever held bold then oame came the meetings ol of which were unusually well attended the rhe recent conventions of Epise at min ne nea polia were of great moment to that tho the COUF of the me roman Cat hoJlo hierarchy aud and the up ae of the have been marked features fea turea of abe religious gatherings during the year and the interest manifested manifest ea IQ in all these meetings has ban been cuore widespread than usual I 1 the religious world in the earlier part of the century eufie from the effects of the great revolutions revolution a by which was waa remodelled remodel led with political liberty and enlightenment that so suddenly burst upon d ensued people were momentarily menta rily unable to discern between realty reality and appearances appearance their im prem ions were wrong lilke the ablina man in the Gospel who when his hie eyes were opened at first fancied he coule see aee people like trees 10 they lacked the sound bound judgment necessary to form correct COE coc captions and to their first vision it appeared that a voltaire a strauss a regada paine were as reliable authorities ties in matters mattern of religion as they were sincere in their efforts to brear the chains ot of ignorance and giov lt it was waa supposed that tb the new light of would reveal the absurdity of everything connected with a supernatural being the was boldly that the 0 d of the bible would meet the same tate late as the idols of time heathens athens he and be found to be but a creation of mans mana man a imagination nothing of all this has taken place however science has baa advanced with gigantic strides in this century but every new discovery has tended ended to confirm that on which true ligon rel re lgon is based liBil delity io in its ita various forma bus remained about stationary even log lag ersoll to in his hie most recent attack on the foundation of faiths faith has been unable to prudum anything now new he continues to ridicule doctrines long jong ago abandoned and to base bin bia criticism on difficulties that have been explained and on translations and readings admittedly corrupt without one single new ground on which to balotta baba refusal to believe this is the present situation religious truth bee baa been vindicated hy by biblical critic lem by arel sai logy anciel t history astronomy and abd even apology ty as far as this goes while inal la fidelity bag bao remained without advancement today where it took up its position in the infancy of these sciences and at a time when darkness still covered the land this Is one of the chief reasons reasons why today thereto there la a general tendency manifest toward a religious awakening that ia 4 a feature of this time lime 1 enough to be seen amid the noise ano hurly burly burly of the corlus material interests the gravest question that from now DOW on will confront the ibe standard bearers of the christian wonlu it if no longer how to t defend religion from outward attacks but how to satisfy satiety the souls fujil of moo men who will demand at their hands bands the spiritual power without which of faith holeve true are mere empty forms are the churches of the world prepared to satisfy this just demand recently Becent ly a clergyman of oakland complained oi 01 the fact that that city Is cursed with as 88 many tome as the egyptians wc were re witti frogs and flies at every street corner some olim is in holding forth and preaching preach oe some cranky religious dec a and this is the situation all over the world ti T e remedy against this thin condition Is ili only oue in the early church the lord appointed apostles prophets i pastors fasten teachers for we be express espreu pu purpose of pre probert preserve ing the unity of faith and the perfection of the saints that it Is direct inspiration from the ibe lord t rough hr his appointed servants Berv aota la Is what the ibe christian world now deeds neeck through ehst means meana alone can religion meet the awakening inte and be in the latter days daye an a anciently the power of salvation but it will come assemblies inasmuch as aa they are honest lu in heart will seek some acme then than that which rests solely ou theological they will reach beyond that and cry out for their godsend He Het beir their father will hear bear their voice coloe and tend to thorn them the light that shone ebone to joseph the prophet revelation will be given aud and religion reli eion appear in lie its ancient power and glory |