![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Home | Catalogues | CD ROM | Search | Contact Us |
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE WELSH REVIVAL 1904-5 A. T. Fryer |
<< Go to contents Go to next >> | |
Other Features of the Revival. | |
I now pass on to other features of the Revival.
Some letters have appeared in the newspapers on the wonderful eloquence displayed by unlettered persons in prayer and speaking, and not a few men have claimed that the eloquence is proof of direct Divine inspiration. I have inquired into this and find that for the most part the eloquence consisted in a number of persons being able under the excitement of the moment and the contagion of crowds to express themselves with unusual fluency, but nearly always in the words of the Bible or hymns which they have learned and known from infancy (8). It is not a Sais but a Celt who writes thus—“Excite a Welshman and he is not responsible for much that he does. If you can tell me exactly how it is that a Welshman is more susceptible to physical emotion than an Englishman, you have no difficulty in comprehending the secret of the Revival …….My wife happened to get a bit excited at a parish meeting two years ago and well-nigh staggered me and others with her eloquence. Under the impulse of the moment she spoke splendidly and made a great impression. She had never spoken in public before and nothing has occurred since to incite her into eloquence.’’ Without further discussion we may accept it as the only conclusion warranted by the facts that as the Welsh are by nature emotional, enthusiastic, ready speakers as a rule, and possess a language that almost of itself invites eloquence by the stately roll of its open vowels and musical syllables, ii is not surprising that those who are stirred to the depths of their feelings should break out into fervent utterance of the sonorous periods they have taken in with their mother’s milk. There are several cases reported of persons unable in ordinary conversation to speak without stammering who spoke with fluency and ease in prayer in public; but such instances of defective muscular power being made good under excitement are not confined to the Revival and are easily explainable. Dr. Starbuck in his Psychology of Religion discusses the relative values of the various motives to conversion. I must refer you to his tables and lists, but it is worth notice that in Wales, during this Revival, the motive of fear has found but a small place, if any at all. The burden of Evan Roberts’ teaching is love and gratitude, obedience and personal service, and joy. In the statements made to me by many I meet frequently with the remark—“I felt full of love and joy, I could love everybody.” And no one, whatever his views of the movement as a whole, can regret hearing that many reconciliations have been effected. From two very different and widely separated districts I have reports that a distinct change of countenance took place in some of the persons affected. A friend (8) says that “Young people became pale and their eyes wore a far-away listless look. One said that for days after he had prayed he saw people move like ghosts in the street, and he thought there was a thick mist.” Another writes—“I have been struck by one girl’s changed appearance during these months. Her expression has become much more gentle, her face, previously coarse, has become quite refined. As a man expressed it to me—she has a Madonna-like face.” I have met with no cases of levitation. One of the most striking narratives received collies from near Aberdare. The writer, a collier, gives an account of his studies in psychology and the numerous books he had read before the Revival He was secretary of the local Ethical Society and attended the Revival services purely as a critic. He wanted to know how “the moral consciousness became centrified into the conscience of these people.” The story and results of his investigations are given in the Appendix (9), and it is important to note, that the record is one extending from November 14th to March 4th—within a few days of four months. He gives instances of telepathy, of the hindrance to conversions through the presence of sceptics at the meetings, of a case of access of physical strength during religious excitement, and of his own experience of a “voice.” Taken as a whole it is the most interesting of all the communications received. No doubt there have been many other cases of apparent telepathy connected with the Revival. I quote two received; if others come to hand they will be reported as usual to the Society. The first occurred in the Llynfi Valley. A young man at a Revival service was suddenly seized with an irresistible impulse to pray for his father, although he knew of no particular reason why he should do so. The father up to that time, living about 16 miles away, was in good health. The next morning the young man had a telegram to say that his father had died suddenly. The case is given in full in the Appendix (8). The second happened in an adjoining valley. On December 27th, 1904, as on other days that week, there were long services held at a Church three times each day for the sake of the persons who had been won in the Revival. The wife of the layman who had charge of some of the services objected to her husband’s prolonged absence from home, and told him that if he had pleasure in the Church he should have none at home, so she started the weekly wash. On going to the wash-tub, she says, “There before me appeared the four children, and one of them spoke to me in English saying—’Mam, come,’ and then they disappeared. I could hear the singing of the hymn, ‘O Paradise,’ until it died away in the distance.” The four children had died in infancy. The husband’s report is that at the time of the vision he was in the Church praying for his wife, but without any thought of the children then or at any time of the day. There was no singing in the Church at the time. His prayer was that God would give his wife a desire to go to the meetings. On his return she asked what was the matter with him, as he looked confused. He saw a change in her, and he believeth that God had revealed Himself to her. She cried, went with him to the services, but said nothing about the vision until late that night. Clearly the case belongs to the class of visualised mental impressions of which we have many recorded. See Appendix (10) for the full account. The Vicar of Llangadfan reports that three of his parishioners, whose names are given, heard bells chiming during service on Sunday morning, January 29th, 1905. The sound was over their heads, but no one else in the congregation heard it. Another parishioner on the previous Wednesday heard what appeared to him as a thunder clap followed by lovely singing in the air. On Saturday the 14th of January a workman returning from work between 7 and 8 heard some strange music, similar to that caused by the vibration of telegraph wires, only much louder. The hill where he was is far front any trees or wires of any kind. And yet another man heard one evening in February some lovely singing on the road about half a mile from his house: it frightened him very much. The names are all given, but verification other than the Vicar’s is impossible without a personal interview. Whatever the explanation of this series of happenings, I think the evidence is trustworthy. Most of the persons concerned were men. Sec Appendix (11). The Vicar of a parish in Cardiganshire (12) was riding, a few days before Christmas 1904, to visit some parishioners who lived three miles up the hillside. As he was ascending he heard voices singing; he thought at first that it was pure fancy and took little notice. Gradually the voices seemed to increase in volume until they became overpowering. He tried to imagine that it could be nothing outside himself, but the harmony seemed to be borne in on him entirely from without. It was as real to his senses as anything he ever heard and the words were distinct, in Welsh. The refrain was started again and again, each time with increased power. Arrived at his destination the singing ceased suddenly. He does not remember that he ever heard the same words sung as he heard them that day, and it is the only experience of the kind that he has had. Many of us know what it is to be haunted by a tune or phrase until by a strong effort of the will we rid ourselves of it, and that one whose mind has been occupied with revival music should have a more vivid experience of the kind is perhaps not very extraordinary. Amongst the narratives deposited in the office of the S. P. R. is a long one from a young man in Glamorgan whose conversion attracted more than usual notice. From his story I will only quote what belongs to this section on sounds. One night he had spoken at a meeting but felt afterwards that he had said something detrimental to the cause, and he determined not to speak again. He proceeds—“I reached home at 11 very tired, with no appetite for supper. I laid on the couch but instantly felt full of the Spirit and on fire. It was so hot that I had to go outside, although the fire was nearly out. I went to bed about 12. I was sleepy but was not allowed to sleep. I heard a voice speaking distinctly. The Spirit said (in Welsh)—‘You said to-night that you will not speak for Me again.’ This was repeated several times. I answered—‘You know very well that I cannot speak, that I have nothing to say.’ The Spirit—‘I have a message, I want you to deliver it, and that in the most public place.’ ‘What is it?’ The Spirit—‘Tell them that hypocrisy is the worst sin against Me, and that there is not a hope of a hypocrite receiving a blessing from Me.’ I went now to think over the message. The Spirit again—‘You have not said whether you will say it or not.’ I promised I would. I said—‘Let me sleep now.’ But I was not allowed. . . . I doubted whether it was the Holy Spirit. He then said—‘Don’t you remember Me coming to you in Trinity Chapel, and that quite plainly? I was convinced and the next night delivered the message. That night I felt the presence of the Spirit but heard no voice. I had a vision, it was a beautiful light, pure, and brighter than any light I have ever seen, and clusters of something very soft and white falling upon me gently and covering me all over. I called them blessings.” Another night he saw a stick given to him as a help in rough places. Again he saw down an abyss, and marks as if some one had fallen down into it. Next morning he heard of the death of a woman who had delayed repentance. His other dreams related need not detain us; they have all the same character of being mental images formed by the reflections of the subliminal self upon things that had occurred to him, or perhaps that were passing through other minds possibly in telepathic contact with his own. In another town a young man who, through inability to accept the Creed, and for other causes, had been an irregular attendant at Church, was present at a Revival service during which he saw a lighted candle emerge from the font and the figure of an angel shielding it with his wing front the draught that came from the open door. The flame was very small, and the least breath of wind would have extinguished it but for the protecting wing. Before the service was ended he gave his adhesion to the Church. The imagery of a tiny flame, as representing little faith, might well occur on such an occasion. This case is included in Appendix (8). A resident in a Cardiganshire village on the night of December 12, 1904, was walking along the high road when he saw a faint light playing over his head. As it came nearer it increased in size, and thinking he was deceived he closed his eyes, but the light continued. Opening his eyes again he saw the light again as it were a man’s body in a shining robe. The figure had wings; it did not touch the ground. He looked at the hand and saw the prints of the wounds. He shouted—“O my Jesus,” and the figure ascended out of sight. He felt filled with love, and from that time he can love every one without difference. In the light of the vision there succeeded a view of the world as a wild wilderness. In answer to questions this correspondent says that never before had he had an experience like it: the vision was in silence. His wife has had some wonderful experiences, but the account of these is not forthcoming (13). A young man in Glamorgan having been much influenced by the Revival determined to do a certain thing unnamed. He failed to fulfil his promise and then when he tried to pray there came a reiterated vision of a large white throne empty, but with the word “Disobedience” written across the front in black letters. Obedience caused this vision to cease (14). A woman at Dyffryn writes that at the beginning of the year she was praying at midnight in a room without a light when suddenly she found herself in a glorious place in the midst of song and praise, but she saw no one. Thereupon a bright light entered the room in the shape of the Ark and Mercy Seat. It shone brilliantly, she thought there was but a thin veil between herself and the eternal world: and all passed away. She had a vision of Christ three years ago. I asked whether the vision of the Ark was like any picture of it that she had ever seen, and as her answer was ‘Yes,” we may place this incident amongst the cases of mental imagery, the mind utilising stored-up impressions. In all these instances we have to remember that according as individual idiosyncrasies and mental habits vary, so do the outcomes of suggestions and impressions. In some they are visualised, in others auditised, and again in some the bodily temperature is affected with no formation of an image or a sound heard. We may suppose that the whole of the mental and nervous apparatus within the subject is operative in these occurrences. Having heard that the Revival had caused an increase of lunacy I asked
the Medical Superintendent of the Glamorgan County Asylum for his opinion.
From his report (15) I learn that the increase of insanity cannot be
attributed to the Revival, for “in only one per cent, of the admissions
was religious excitement deemed to be a contributory factor in the causation.”
This was in the last quarter of 1904 and the same result has been found
in 1905. |
|
<< Go to contents Go to next >> |
Copyright Information |
Electronic Copyright © 2002-2004 Tony Cauchi, unless otherwise stated. Copying, printing, or any other reproduction of this electronic version is prohibited without express permission from Tony Cauchi, the publisher. Original website design by Jon Caws:
www.JonCaws.co.uk |
[ Home | Catalogues | CD ROM | Search | Contact Us ] |