PREPARATORY   CONDITIpNS  29

and  Papal  arrogance  in  1801,  the  action  of  the  Holy  Al-
liance in  1815,  which  restricted  the  civil  power  of  the  Papacy
to  the  ten  states  of  Italy,  all  conspired  to  set  an  'open  door'
before  the  church.  ...  In  1804  the  British  and  Foreign
Bible  Society  was  incorporated,  and  between  that  year  and
1830,  fifty-three  other  Bible  Societies  were  instituted  in
various  parts  of  the  world. "^

Various  missionary  societies  were  formed.  Dr.  Bliss,
in  Appendix  A,  of  his  Concise  History  of  Missions,  gives  a
list  of  twelve  missionary  societies  organized  from  1649
up  to  1799,  while  in  the  first  forty  years  of  the  nineteenth
century,  twenty-eight'  societies  were  organized.  In  the
decade  of  the  forties,  nineteen  were  organized.  Early
in  the  century  came  the  religious  movements  which  re-
sulted in  the  organization  of  that  body  known  as  Christians
or  Christian  Connection,  and  also  of  that  called  Disciples
of  Christ,  and  a  little  later,  the  great  revivals  wl^ich  ac-
companied the  preaching  of  the  famous  evangelist,  Rev.
Charles  G.  Finney.  Great  success  is  said  to  have  attended
these  various  wide-spread  movements,  and  thousands  were
converted  to  Christ.
3.  Under  the  influence  of  current  popular  teaching  of
the  Whitbyan  brand,  these  events  were  deemed  by  many
as  auspicious  evidence  of  the  approaching  conversion  of
the  world,  and  thus  the  ancient  faith  and  hope  were  per-
verted, obscured,  forgotten.  *  That  these  movements

MIGHT  .NOT   BE   MISINTERPRETED

that  they  might  be  sanctified  and  deepened,  and  that  the
church  might  be  sobered  and  saved  from  the  perils  of
prosperity,  the  apostolic  teachings  needed  to  be  revived.
That  the  church  might  nobly  measure  up  to  the  enlarged
opportunity  of  these  opening  doors  on  mission  lines,  and

'Wellcome,  History  of  the  Advent  Message,  page  37.
