A FIRST CLASS MOB
Children in Revival: 300 years of God's work in Scotland
By Harry Sprange
Christian Focus. 415 pages. £8.99 ISBN 1 85792 789 3
This is an account of the revivals which pulsed through Scotland from the 18th to the 20th centuries, from Whitefield through Sankey and Moody to the author and his 'Kingdom Kids'.
It is a long read, consisting of contemporary accounts. The reader has to get used to pious language and large claims. As the author warns, verification is difficult and what he offers is a collection of 'available data'. It may be a valuable source for the student, but it is wearisome for the general reader as the comment is sparse.
Most church members now would be frightened of the title, preferring to follow the biblical advice to 'train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it'. Revival can be a mixed blessing. Some children were pressed into responding: 'made anxious, falling prostrate, weeping, groaning and fearing the imminent Second Coming'. Of course, many like Robert Anderson of Kilsyth 'never tried to frighten them about the divine wrath but kept before them Christ's love for them.' The Sabbath schools gave children a 'sound education (in the Scriptures) which is the basis for a satisfactory revival and the making of intelligent decisions'.
