The Work and the Counterwork, Or, the Religious Revival in Belfast: With an Explanation of the Physical Phenomena

The Work And The Counterwork, Or, The Religious Revival In Belfast: With An Explanation Of The Physical Phenomena by Edward Adderley Stopford examines the Belfast religious revival of 1859, focusing on the bodily affections and the counterwork. Stopford scrutinizes claims of conversions accompanied by hysterical symptoms, arguing that many phenomena are ordinary disease manifestations of hysteria, not divine operations. He traces signs—cries, tremors, visions, and convulsions—to the nervous system, the self-feeling phenomenon, and imitative contagion, and contrasts them with genuine spiritual awakening. He contends that preaching can stir hysteria if not carefully handled, and calls for medical guidance, prudence among clergy, and the separation of emotional religious experience from pathological self-feeling. The work offers proposals to reform revival practices: cultivate emotional feeling through Christ-centered teaching, extend empathy to those affected, daylight services, and accountable leadership. It acknowledges some good outcomes but warns about harmful effects on women, morality, and the integrity of truth. It closes with appeals for unity and informed reform.