“Theology。”saysDr。Starbuck，“takestheadolescenttendenciesandbuildsuponthem；itseesthattheessentialthinginadolescentgrowthisbringingthepersonoutofchildhoodintothenewlifeofmaturityandpersonalinsight。Itaccordinglybringsthosemeanstobearwhichwillintensifythenormaltendencies。Itshortensuptheperiodofdurationofstormandstress。”Theconversionphenomenaof“convictionofsin“last，bythisinvestigator’sstatistics，aboutonefifthaslongastheperiodsofadolescentstormandstressphenomenaofwhichhealsogotstatistics，buttheyareverymuchmoreintense。Bodilyaccompaniments，lossofsleepandappetite，forexample，aremuchmorefrequentinthem。“Theessentialdistinctionappearstobethatconversionintensifiesbutshortenstheperiodbybringingthepersontoadefinitecrisis。”[101]
[101]E。D。Starbuck：ThePsychologyofReligion，pp。224，262。
TheconversionswhichDr。Starbuckherehasinmindareofcoursemainlythoseofverycommonplacepersons，kepttruetoapre-appointedtypebyinstruction，appeal，andexample。Theparticularformwhichtheyaffectistheresultofsuggestionandimitation。[102]Iftheywentthroughtheirgrowth-crisisinotherfaithsandothercountries，althoughtheessenceofthechangewouldbethesamesinceitisoneinthemainsoinevitable，itsaccidentswouldbedifferent。InCatholiclands，forexample，andinourownEpiscopaliansects，nosuchanxietyandconvictionofsinisusualasinsectsthatencouragerevivals。Thesacramentsbeingmorereliedoninthesemorestrictlyecclesiasticalbodies，theindividual’spersonalacceptanceofsalvationneedslesstobeaccentuatedandledupto。
[102]NooneunderstandsthisbetterthanJonathanEdwardsunderstooditalready。Conversionnarrativesofthemorecommonplacesortmustalwaysbetakenwiththeallowanceswhichhesuggests：
“Arulereceivedandestablishedbycommonconsenthasaverygreat，thoughtomanypersonsaninsensibleinfluenceinformingtheirnotionsoftheprocessoftheirownexperience。Iknowverywellhowtheyproceedastothismatter，forIhavehadfrequentopportunitiesofobservingtheirconduct。Veryoftentheirexperienceatfirstappearslikeaconfusedchaos，butthenthosepartsareselectedwhichbearthenearestresemblancetosuchparticularstepsasareinsistedon；andthesearedweltuponintheirthoughts，andspokenoffromtimetotime，tilltheygrowmoreandmoreconspicuousintheirview，andotherpartswhichareneglectedgrowmoreandmoreobscure。Thuswhattheyhaveexperiencedisinsensiblystrained，soastobringittoanexactconformitytotheschemealreadyestablishedintheirminds。Anditbecomesnaturalalsoforministers，whohavetodealwiththosewhoinsistupondistinctnessandclearnessofmethod，todosotoo。”TreatiseonReligiousAffections。