About Russia in these matters we hear
but little at the present time, but one guesses at parallelism. People
habitually religious have been stirred to new depths of reality and
sincerity, and people are thinking of religion who never thought of
religion before. But as I have already pointed out, thinking and feeling
about a matter is of no permanent value unless something is _thought
out_, unless there is a change of boundary or relationship, and it an
altogether different question to ask whether any definite change is
resulting from this universal ferment. If it is not doing so, then the
sleeper merely dreams a dream that he will forget again....
Now in no sort of general popular mental activity is there so much froth
and waste as in religious excitements. This has been the case in all
periods of religious revival. The number who are rather impressed, who
for a few days or weeks take to reading their Bibles or going to a new
place of worship or praying or fasting or being kind and unselfish, is
always enormous in relation to the people whose lives are permanently
changed. The effort needed if a contemporary is to blow off the froth,
is always very considerable.
Among the froth that I would blow off is I think most of the tremendous
efforts being made in England by the Anglican church to attract
favourable attention to itself _apropos_ of the war.
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