Revival

Thinking about revival has led me to read about revival. I am impressed with much of what Brian Edwards writes about the subject. His definition of revival is a "remarkable increase in the spiritual life of a large number of God's people, accompanied by an awesome awareness of the presence of God, intensity of prayer and praise, a deep conviction of sin with a passionate longing for holiness and unusual effectiveness in evangelism, leading to the salvation of many unbelievers." I don't know that such a thing has occurred in my lifetime--on a large scale at any rate. It seems that we in the West are much too aware of our "freedom in Christ" to do whatever we want and are too consumed with busy-ness to pray for such a moving of God's Spirit in our lives--or my life anyway. The revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in large scale social action--and had a long-lasting effect on individuals and culture.

The BBC last night reported on the arrest of the polygamist in the US. The reporter was asked why America seems to be more prone to the growth of these huge and dangerous cults centered on one dynamic figure. He replied that he wasn't religious at all, so he didn't really understand the phenomenon. However, he said since America is so religious, he thinks authorities aren't willing to prosecute such people because of fears of stepping on people's rights to religious freedom.

Are we so religious? I'm not sure we are anymore, although I know George Bush was elected by the religious right as much as anybody. If we are religious, it doesn't seem that we're striving after holiness....

We had lunch with an Indian couple today. She is a convert from Hinduism and he grew up in a Christian home. I couldn't help but reflect on the difference in attitude toward spiritual things. As young people they grew up learning more than 1,000 Bible verses. Their 6-year-old son is eager for Sunday School to start back up on Sunday so he can learn his Bible verses!

My own spiritual state is really the only one I can address, although I can pray for spiritual revival in the lives of those around me as well as for myself. I have been personally seared by reading about God's rejection of Cain's sacrifice. Cain's worship was off-base; I wonder how often my own worship (corporate or personal) is off-base?

Something about this techology

Okay, I've tried to establish my URL four times now, and I certainly hope it works this time! Maybe I'm not really meant to waste my timing on blogging....

I'm really curious, though, and I wonder if anyone out there knows the answer to a question that's been bothering me for months now. Apparently, there was a religious revival in Ulster, Ireland in 1859. What I'd like to know is if it had any effect on how Catholics and Protestants treated each other? There doesn't seem to be any evidence of this, but I'm sure there must be someone who has information about spirituality and social reform in Ireland--if it ever occurred. I don't have time to write more on this subject now, but will come back to it tomorrow. Of course, something else may be on my mind by then.