More Dabney on "Spurious Religious Excitements"

 

Here’s another snippet from Dabney:

Thus a synergistic theology fosters these “revival measures,” as they, in turn, incline toward a synergistic creed.  Doubtless, many ministers are unconsciously swayed by the natural love of excitement.  This is the same instinct which leads school-boys and clowns to run to witness a dog fight, Spaniards to the cock-fight and the bull-fight, sporting men to the pugilist’s ring, and theatre-goers to the comedy.  This natural instinct prompts many an evangelist, without his being distinctly aware of it, to prefer the stirring scenes of the spurious revival to the sober, quiet, laborious work of religious teaching.  But it is obvious that this motive is as unworthy as it is natural (Discussions, Vol. 3, p. 471).