Newspaper Page Text
September 4, 1912]
Worldly A
(Reproduced, by request, from the
Karnest Worker of August, 1912.)
Not long since a young man from the
theological seminary was In our building
here in Richmond looking for something,
and in the course of his search
he mot the Editor of the "Earnest
Worker" and asked for his help. He
was leaving the seminary In a few days,
and was going out into the active work
of the ministry, and he wanted some
short book or tract on the subject of
n-o- !dlv amusomentn wVi-t^v. Wo
put into the hands of his future parishioners.
He was given a list of several
such books, such as: "The Perils of the
Playhouse," by Dr. Cuyler; "The Dance,
the Theater and the Wine Cup," toy
Dr. Kerr; "Pleasures Whioh a Christian
Should Forego:" and, as summing ur
the whole subject, the little five-cent
tract which our Committee issues, entitled,
"Worldly Amusements?What the
Church Says," which gives the deliverances
of our General Assembly on this
subject.
Still another, and one of the very best
of the books on this subject, Is a little
S6-pnge volume by Bishop J. H. Vincent,
of the "Northern Methodist Church, well
known as the founder and leader of the
Chautauqua movement. This book has
the suggestive title, "Better Not" It
is remarkable for its brevity, and yet
for its completeness; it is written In a
kindly spirit in temperate language?
vet in nt ftlA ao mo Hma ann ?
? ? - owaivuiug,
solemn, convincing.
Dr. Vincent recognizee all the difficulties
of the subject chief among them
being the fact that the bhings which he
specifies and advises Christians to let
alone are supported by the universal
approval of "good society." Therefore,
at the outset the young Christian who
takes his advice and keeps clear of
these things, may count on being a
"wall-flower" at (most social entertainments,
or even worse?on being left out
of society entirely. While fully recog
nizing what this means, this faithful
Christian man, wise in the ways of the
world, and out of the ripeness of many
years' experience, still says concerning
such fashionable amusements, '^BettiT
not!"
Of course he does not condemn recreation,
outdoor sports ahd innocent
pleasures. These are needful, and useful
and legitimate. He narrows his
crU1ci8ms, however, to four things;
they are the customs of social wine
unnKing, card-playing, theater-going,
and dancing. "Old topics? Y?b, fall
young reader, and yet very new; new
as the young life that enters the parlors
of today to enjoy and to give tone
and character to Society, or to he
moulded and ruled by Society. No class
of topics has been more thoroughly discussed,
and none requires more faithful.
radical, and judicious treatment."
First, as to wlne-drlnking: "The
'wine-cup* is an Instltutlop. It is a
mighty Institution of manifold adaptations,
with great financial energies to
sustain It, with endless woes following
'is dominion, with forces of hell back
?f it. That harmless ltttle elf that you
loy with at the dinner-table, sparkling,
laughing, alluring, is one of a mighty
ai'my. You cannot make up with this
single member of the advance guard,
'h? pleket-Hne, harmless as he may be.
rmrfeot as your command over Mm may
hp?you cannot fellowship him without
pivlnir * - ?
l~v? unq power 10 me Kingaom
hp belongs to and represents. It is to
s;'v? the world from being a cemetery
^"'1 life a funeral procession that we
JOINTHE
L' H ? PBE8BYTERI
musements
say with emphasis to young people,
"Better not' drink wine at all."
"Shall Christians countenance the
card-table? We do not discuss the subject
from the standpoint of the world,
nor in the interest of worldly people.
It belongs to them to have 'a good
time,' as they estimate enjoyment, and
notto live for others at the expense
of their own pleasure.
"But as to Christian polcy?this is
the question. We cannot easily separate
the individual act from the institution
Itself. The one is a part of the
other. Take that fashionable form of
card-playing known as 'progressive
eucurq.- wnaic is it but gambling?
What difference In principle between
the forfeits of the one and the prizes
of the other? The fact Is, that the path
to the innermost hell of gamblng is
through the clover blossoms of fashionable
card playing. The victims in the
gambling dens of today were once votaries
In the parlors of fashion, where
no (or only nominal) Btakes were set
up, and where people were bent on
nothing but 'fun,' or 'to pass the time,'
or 'to be in the style.'"
Dr. Vincent also enforces his own
views on the subject of card-playing
with the following quotation from the
well-known editor and writer, the late
Dr. J. G. Holland: "I have all my days
had a card-playing community open to
my observation, and I am. yet to be
made to believe that that which is the
universal resort of the starved soul
and intellect, which has never in any
way linked to itself tender, elevating,
or beautiful associations?the tendency
of which is to unduly absorb the attention
from more weighty matters?
can recommend Itself to the favor or
Christ's disciples. The presence of culture
and genius may embellish, but it
can never dignify it. I have at this
moment ringing in my ears the dying
injunction of my father's early friend.
'Keep your son from cards. Over them
I have murdered time and lost
heaven'"
"Shall Christians patronize the theater?
Our answer, alwayB promptly given,
is in two words: 'Better not.' The
theater has made a history. Its quality
and its tendency and its fruits are
known the world over. It was in the
days of its glory in Greece and Rome
a corrupter of the people. So said the
sages then. So say the historians now.
Nor is the theater any better today.
Dr. Rticklev pIvps tha I/miM??..
- i .V,. > <">tftnony:
'Being aware of the fact that
the drama, like everything else which
caters to taste, has its fashions?rising
and falling and undergoing various
changes?now improving and then degenerating,
I. have thought it desirable
to institute a careful Inquiry into the
plays which have been performed in
the prinopal theaters of New York dur-.
ing the past three years. Accordingly,
I procured the copies used by the performers
in preparing for their parts,
and took pains to ascertain wherein.
In actual use, the actors diverged from
the printed copy. They number over
sixty, and. if language and sentiments
which would not be tolerated among
rt>?i>eciHDie people, ana would excite
Indication If addressed to the most
uncultivated and coarse servant girl,
not openly vicious, by an ordinary young
man, and profaneness which would
brand him who uttered It as irreligious,
are improper amusements for the young
and for Christians of every age, then
at least fifty of these plays are to be
condemned."
Pretbyterian pi
1 0/ The Soath ?
*
AN OF THE SOUTH
"As for reforming the stage, how
often has this been attempted! How
signally has the attempt every time
failed! Tigs Rev. C. W. Winchester, in
one of the best monographs on the
theater which we -have read, says:
The facts are, (1) that the theater in
this city and country never had the support
and encouragement of moral and
religious people it now enjoys; (2) that
the theater here w4fc never as bad.
Clearly, if Christian patronage Is going
to reform the theater the reform ought
to begin. But the grade is downward.
The theater Is growing worse and
worse'."
To these emphatic testimonials Dr.
Vincent adds his own judgment, as
follows: "The tendency of the theater
is, on the whole, exceedingly bad. This
statement cannot be contradicted.
Therefore, let who will patronize it,
the motto of the consistent, earnest,
unselfish Christian youth must be, 'Better
not.' And we say seriously to
young people who, although not Christians,
really want to be?this is a good,
safe rule for you touching the theater:
'Better not' The young people who
refuse to support the stage are not
weaklings, not irrational. Ilndeed, they
have a firm foundation for their practice,
and all right-minded persons must
respect them.
"And there is the dance. What shall
we say of it? It is not the rattle one
hears in the neighborhood of a rattle
miuive mac ue oujeciu 10. a. cniiu migm
play with it.
"Tne dance is the rattle, but the danger
is in the fang and the poison. The
dance cannot be considered abstractly.
It is a usage of Society. Its associations
and tendencies must come into
the count.
"Why should such a large-minded
man as Horace Bushnell speak of certain
forms of dance as 'contrived possibilities
of license which belong to
high society only when it runs low'?
And why should one of the most fairminded
and earnest New England Congregational
pastors say: 'Fashionable
dances as now carried on are revolting
to every feeling of delicacy and propriety,
and are fraught with the greatest
danger to millions? There must be
more than sparkling eyes and lively
rattle and shining skin in the bushes
yonder! Keep that child away!
"Now, in the dance there must be
at some point a peril, or such a man
as Bishop Coxe, of the Episcopal Ddopafio
a.# vt?v? ? 1- ?- ? * * a
..vo^iu 11CH iuia, WUUIU not
say officially to the clergy and laity
of his diocese: 'The gross, debasing
waltz would not be tolerated for another
year If Christian mothers in our
communion would only set their faces
against it, and remove our daughters
from its contaminations, and their sons
from that contempt of womanhood and
womanly modesty which it begets.
Alas? that women professing to follow
Christ and godliness should not rally
for the honor of their sex and drive
these shameless dances from society."
Such quotations could he multiplied
Indeflntely. They are given here to
show what certain men of "high and
responsible position think about a little,'
'simple.' 'fashionable* custom which
you and some of your friends may approve
and perhaps practice. Over
against your thought we put other
thought. We do it to Incite further
thought. It is possible that some of
this is too strongly stated, but, after
all. must there not be Are enough under
the smoke to Justify us in keeping the
fire away. After all. If such worthy
and experienced people, who know the
world so well, are fully persuaded of
ANO CLUI
(1023) 17
the evil of the dance, are you entirely
wise In your defense of dt, or in your
assertion that 'there Is no harm In It'?"
By the way, is there not some significance
in the fact that away back
in human history, this should he given
as one of the Items in that description
of the pleasure-loving, easy-going life
of the wicked found in the 21et chapter
of the book of Job?"Their children
dance"T
We know what Society saye. And
we must oppose Society. What right
has Society to say what Christian peonle
ahonlii f-1'- ? ""
uut lane u? Bo-cauea Society
of this world. What are its objects?
The good of the race? The
promotion of character, of self-control,
of high ideals of purity and conduct?
Certainly not. The key-note of Society
Is self-gratification. The radical element
in it is pleasure. Preference has full
swing. Conscience and its protests are
silenced by popular verdicts, by usage,
by the exuberant life of the crowd bent
on fun and frolic. Wbat gratifies the
palate, the sense of beauty, the love of
admiration and of conquest, is favored
and defended in Society. The world
and the flesh riot in Society; extravagance
and Immodesty in dress; hypocricy
in conversation; affectation in deportment;
"rivalries, .petty jealousies,
and dishonesties. The poor are rejected,
the rich courted, and simplicity
rimcuiea. snail such Society dictate
to Christian people -what they shall do
and allow? And shall it sneer at modesty,
good taste, true culture, and Christian
conscientiousness have weight
with followers of the hero and saint of
Nazareth?
This little book of Dr. Vincent's deserves
a wide circulation at this time.
Salbbath school teachers may well procure
it for themselves, and put it into
the hands of the young people in their
classes, who are constantly raising the
question?>Wby does the Church oppose
the amusements which Society not only
allows, but universally approves? Sabbath
school teachers, ministers and parents
are constantly confronted with
the Issues raised here, lit is well for
you to be able to give an answer that
ought to satisfy earnest and honest Inquirers
among the young people committed
to your charge.
NOT GREATER THAN OUR LORD.
It is a privilege of disclpleship to
suffer at the hands of those we love
and would help. This is the hardest test
that Christ asks us to endure, and therefore
the most to be rejoiced in. Many
a follower of Christ has had this experience,
of seeking patiently, by loving,
eelf-sacriflcing service and intercessory
prayer, to lead some one out into the
best riches that Christ can give, and
then being rewarded for this by cruel
thrusts and cuts; attacks upon the
things held most sacred, flings at one's
very motives, and a reckless disregard
of the duties and privileges that stand
for abundant life. All this is to be fervently
rejoiced in, as we sing with Paul:
"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your
sake, and fill up on my part that which
is lacking of the afflictions of Christ In
my flesh." And one reason tor mr
Joining is that we know that the cruel
treatment we are receiving Is only the
futile and Impotent assault of an Adversary
who is atready defeated. The
one for whom we lovingly labor and
pray cannot permanently withstand
Christ's power?if our faith and love
and Joy hold out. No wonder we rejoice!
It is better to suffer for a little
on the winning side than to be care-free
and defeated.?S. S. Times.
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