His fervid imagination
was stirred as never before, by the tramp of armies, the blood
and dust of battle, and the wail and whirl of social upheaval.
He stood dumb and motionless before the whirlwind: what
had he to do with it? Was it not the Lord's doing, and
marvellous in his eyes? Joyed and bewildered with what
came, he stood awaiting new wonders till the inevitable Age
of Reaction swept over the nation and brought the crisis of
to-day.
It is difficult to explain clearly the present critical stage of
Negro religion. First, we must remember that living as the
blacks do in close contact with a great modern nation, and
sharing, although imperfectly, the soul-life of that nation,
they must necessarily be affected more or less directly by all
the religious and ethical forces that are to-day moving the
United States. These questions and movements are, however,
overshadowed and dwarfed by the (to them) all-important
question of their civil, political, and economic status. They
must perpetually discuss the "Negro Problem,"--must live,
move, and have their being in it, and interpret all else in its
light or darkness.
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