TBS 0R9AN OF TBE NORTH CAROLINA BAPTISTS DEVOTED TO BIBLE RBLJUION, EDUCATION, LITERATURE AND GENERAL INTELLI&ENCeT
RALEIGH, N. CM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1889.
Number 25.
e Biblical Recorder.
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Sermon on the Theatre,
! n 8Ev, J. tm WHIT,-PASTOR OF THE FIRST
BAPTIST CHURCH, DUB HAM,
1 "There is a way which seemeth right nnto a
A bat the end thereof are the ways of deaths '
i "Etcb ia bnghter the heart is sorrowful; and
send of ibat tairth is heaviness." Proverbs
I The greatest danger to Christianity Is
leiety." There are now no amphilhea
' -sin which the fierce beast leaps upon the
arable follower of Christ; there are no
rtoons, do' deaths at the stake. Bat the
tbe " cat" which 1s used by some to
impel Christians to surrender their princi ;
let, is employed at the demand of the
.ioee of darkness. ? A young man ie often
iabooedn if he refuses to attend tbe thea-
s, tbe dance, the eaebre party, or the wine
-per. Against this spirit and these instl
;uon we speak. We use no " Purit&nle
'nentj? bat wish to pply argnmeat to
.. : . . . . .. .
We avow oar faith in recreation. The
JLiitiaa with hope and faith to sustain Is
Jie happiest person on the earth. He can
Sjdes ever more in the Lord. 1 He has
'Mores' untold. He Is enabled to enjoy
:on perfectly all the pore amusements of
j life. , He can have ton and laugh,
iaeare a necessity and are as harmless
i work when not associated with evIL
jsj amnseme.ts are not connected with
1 Bach are many parlor games which
irath the wearied mind.' There are many
itdoor exercises -whicxt sue h Hare ting.
"b ean engage in all such without encoar
.ing institutions blackened by sin. ;:-
i In Exodus S3: 6, we hare an example of
a amusement which was exceedingly ein
pL Because of Moses delay on the mount
nth Sod, the Israelites became dissatisfied
jti prevailed n pon Aaron to erect a graven
sage. It was fashioned alter the gods of
STPt. "They rose ap early and off ered
not offerings and brought peace offer
it: and the people sat down to eat and
drink and rase up to play. What was
'ere; in eating, drinking and playing!
.'hese. per se, are certainly harmless. Yet
Lord was offended at them. ' .The rea-
afo at hand. The Israelites were sup
;orung an institution that was exceedingly
sal idol worship, God bad commanded
iat they should make no graven Image.
3t7 broke his law. " They encouraged this
.Domination of Egypt. 4-.
I Amusements must draw their moral qua!
-2a from their association. When they are
Med with established institution of sin.
3ey are sinful.' The theatre is an institu-
ion. If it be one of sin,- then theatre-going
iuiai and must be avoided.- The instt
Jofionhasa - -
I . ' histobt: 1
I It was organized in Greece. : When Borne
xqaired the supremacy, it became the een-
,.w or me theatrical performances. - it was
raed by the empire, and was established
its aid. Yet, when in its glory, it was a
diopter ox tbe people. ; so said the sages,
By more recent historians and diecoT-j
-a Daring the twelfth century it was
rfred in Eogland; It reached its glory in
ESi&keepeariaa age,' Before this age no
vvta bad ever Appeared upon the stage.
jas forbidden by the laws. StUl tbe
-on were looked o pon as "vagabonds"
-4 u tramps." Shakespeare's great desire
I ae theatre of to-day is composed . of
tad women. The nature of theatrical
-orm&ncea, the essential demand of the
:H the eonstitatlon of bnm&n nature,
!ti it imposeible for the theatre to exist
i unaer the law of degeneracy, ussifivq
I The Wbm .nil um.l .hm L
yi immoral. Of course there are excep
ThU fact is eough.They are exi
v . x'ne . eoneesaton is .demonstra
i .luere are a few whose names are
CPwatively unsullied. But they are dan-;
oeeause they decoy to the iniamous.j
"f ,the ;,vast majority tyirtuo is ua
o. Lewdness is master. . A. friend pf
. AIleo- Ju- Cuyier who had been an ac
pointing to o thtrA A.il '. Behiad
canaujg lies Sodoui.
if l08titQtion results in "prostitution J
JJ 1 ?ot 8pe&k exclusively f the low or
7;tpf the 80 lied best- The manner
waich girls are forced to dress.' is degen?
The opera is undressed.. It is nu;
i'k of young girl entering such
Tr 'n her home training had ieen!
" is heathenish, It is barbarism'
, ,. -aSome years ago a ballot dancer
-; her experience in one of the great
, lu this she told how she was hori
1 J aenshe first dressed, and how.sh
begged the manager not to rubjeet her to
such atrial. "The public demand It," was
his reply. - A reporter tells how embar
rassed some girls were who came to an op
era company in answer to advertisements
how. some blushed themselves out of the
place when they saw the outfita which they
were to wear; how others struggled against
their modesty until, for the sake of thedol
lar, they submitted to such shameful expo'
sure of their persons. These women became
oraoen faced sinners, who! even endeavor
while befeVe an audienee, to give their be
witching glances to young men. ' They,
with their beauty of person, are iewels of
gold in a swine's snout. Dr. Cuyler, an
observer of men and of society, says : "The
American theatre is a concrete institution,
to be lodged as a totality. It is responsible
tor what it tolerates and shelters. We,
therefore, hold it responsible for whatever
of sensual impurity and whatever of irre
ligion there may be bound up in its organic
ate. The average theatre Is a gilded
nastiness.". V i - ,
The plays themselves are very corrupt
ing. Again we speak of the best plays.
Certainly tbe low are degrading. Just as
certainly are Shakespeare's and all the rest
in inese tne spirit oi revenge For insult is
taught, injured honor can Only be vindica
ted at the point of the sword. - Such is un
christian. It is contrary to the teachings
of our Lord, who said. "Love your ene;
mies, When the life of Christ, aa exhibit
ed on the cross, Is introduced, it is done for
ridicule and to excite the disgust of the
auditors. When good traits in character
are introduced, this is only to make bad
passions more prominent. If the bad be
killed by sword, pistol, or poisoned, the iui
pression left upon the young mind is hurt
ful in the extreme. The pictures which
are posted everywhere are enough to teaeh
one wno does not attend the corrupting In
fluence of the stage. vi - ---u
As I was walking down the street the
other day I saw some of these illustrations
There was a woman half -dressed led to
another fainting. There was also a picture
ox tne xaitnless wile or villianous husband,
tne intrigues 01 one and the heartless de
eertion of the other. It Is the trashy novel
and Folica GazetU illustrated before tbe
young mind. The law of North Carolina
prohibits these in the mails, and it ought
to forbid such in ths opera halls. It is the
divorce t court with ail of its scandals
framed apon the girls and boys, bringing.
its terrors into oar nomes.
Dr. Buckley, of New York, has carefully
examined the plays which have been per-
ormed in tne principal theaters of Hew
xora xorttne pass tnree years. "X pro-
enred aays he, "the copies of the plays
used in ail the prominent theatres of the
city. They number sixty. : It is a singular
fact that, with three or tour exceptions,
those dramatic compositions, which are
morally unobjectionable, are of a eomp&ra
lively low order of literary execution. But
if language and sentiment which would not
be tolerated among respectable people, and
would excite indignation If addressed to tbe
most uncultivated and coarse servant girl.
not openly vicious, by an ordinary young
man, and profaneness wbien would brand
him who uttered it as irreligious, are im
proper amusements for the young and for
Christians of every age,' then at least fifty
of these plays ar to be condemned."
It is well known that isdwm Booth never
allowed his children to attend the theatre
without first examining the play. Macready
advised -; against theatre -going. 7 " El win
Forrest. ' tipon bearing Dr. Brantly de
nounce the institution as immoral and cor
rupting, told him that be only did not pot
It strong enough. Airs, cutler, once iamous
as an actress. Decame nornuea , wiia lue
a - a fO. X tXL A. I
tendency of the stage, and gave it as her
decided opinion that the theatre should not
bepatronited.;it,"''1--i--"-" v--
1 - know its influence apon tne young,
The girls and boys of my congregations
who have attended now and then, or habit
ually, have had no positive Christian influ
enee. - insteaa ox neiping unneis sungaoai,
' . at S S
they hinder: instead of saving, they often
corrupt. .Their spiritual garment is not
always brought away "unspotted by the
flesh." Young men have frankly told me
that they have left the exciting scenes ot
the theatre and have sought gratification
for their aroused sensual passions; that
they have been led along in the giddy whirl
to. the bar-room and to the card table.
Young men always leave with base ideas of
woman. Verily, tbe steps of the theatre
take hold on hell, and its chambers are (he
chambers of deati Dr. Herrick Johnson,
of Chicago, says : 4 The stage ox to-aay is a
mnrn Abomination, it is trampling on me
Sahhath with defiant scon, it is aenimg
our youth. It is making crowds xamuiar
orith the ttiav ox criminal passioua. w
exhibiting woman with such approacn to
nakedness a can nave no oioer uraigu
than to breed ; lust bemna tne oniooaing
eyes. 1 It is furnishing candidates for the
hrothel. It Is a startling question asked by
a recent play writer : To what extent will
o -nntinnad nrOffress in Wie same uucuuuu
take ns in ue, nex f sweuijr uo s
With such gross immoralities and its cor
inpting ioilaence, is it not time tor gwou
m.r and arnmen. whether church members
or not, to stop giving it their presence and
pecuniary aiai vvoma you uuii ,
in.ta.mtt . Would you help t degrade
" " ' ...a It nnt'
snnnv wnmeD sua JUUUK "
, . fnr it Ana a all
"Can it not be reiormeacuv. tcu
the patronage of good peop
ef"
asks one.
How often this has been attetiptei !
How
signally It bas failed i V
Rev. O. W. Winchester, bf Brooklyn.
says: "The facts are, (1) thftthe theatre
in this city and country neve
had the sap
port and encouragement of ftioral and reli
gious people It now enjoys 1(2) that the
theatre was never so bad J Clearly, if
Christians patronage is going to reform the
theatre the reform oughtUq begin. But
the grade is downward. Tbe theatre is
growing worse and worse." 'l k
The managers plan to prefvent any de-.
licit. They work to make fioney. Like
bar room keepers, the end with them Justi
fies the means. They aim t4 please their
patrons. Christians, therefoife, in order to
influence theatrical management, must go
often enough and in nnmben enough to
compose a preponderating attendance.
lit. W. O. Wilkinson gives tbe following
mathematical argument J " The protestant
Christians of New York number about a
hundred thousand out of a million and a
half of inhabitants. Supposing a general
agreement among them ail that a regular
attendance at the theatre was the most
pressing' and most promising method of
evangelic effort, they would not then con
stitute even one tenth of the numerical
patronage which the management would
strive to please. Bather a slendor minority
to dictate the character of the representa
tions."
Another asks: " Are not some goodt
Can't we attend those!" I have already
granted that some are good, being exeep
tions. -But we should not attend-those
which are exceptions. They are a part of
the institution. They keep bad . company.
To patronize only the good is to patronize
the institution, which is a curse to the' na
tion. . Aaron "tried to mix good, with evil.
He worshipped the Lord before tbe calf.
Bat God did net accept It, because evil was
present. He cursed the people. He bad
the calf ground to powder and east into
their drinking water. The dust of tbe calf
cleaved to their lips as they drank of the
water. The church is suffering because of
unstable members who drift with sin. It
is best to eome on the side of tbe Lord as
the Levites did, and with a pure life pat to
flight the enemies of Christ. 4,
The Word of ttod condemns this institu
tion. The term theatre is not used, but all
manner of sin is condemned;' Tbe Scrip
tures sneak mainly against fofni
lewdness, against the lust of the flesh and
the pride of life. I have proven tbe thea
tre to be an institution of lust, that it en
genders and encourages lewdness.1 It de
stroys spiritual aspiration, it ridicules the
sufferings of Christ it corrupts the youth.
God has said, ."Thou ehalt not commit
adultery f "thou shalt not bear false wit
ness against thy neighbor." 'He has com
manded as to have no fellowship with sin;
to be separate; from the world; to avoid
the appearance of all eviL
If the institution described above does
not break the law of God, if it is not evil,
nothing in-this world is against His law,
there is nothing evil.
Friends, we offer you a more excellent
way. "Keep thyself pure." Live right
eously before God and man.' Count all
things loss for a good name, for the friend
ship of Jesus Christ.. 8hun, therefore, the
place and the people who would beguile
you and lead you astray. Better still, join
yourself to Christ by faith. Walk in the
strength of the risen Lord. Overcome evil
with good. Purchase for thyself a crown
of life. Lie down to die with hope in the
future and peace derived from a well spent
life. Angels will come to bear you away
on their Bnowy wings. Jesus will receive
you with tbe joyf al welcome, " Well done,
thou good and faithful servant, enter thou
into the Joys of thy Lord." .
The Western Recorder , says the Baptist
Courier, punctures the pretentious claim
of the Roman Catholics that one of their
number. Lord "Baltimore," was among the
earliest advocates of religious; liberty in
this country :
"The Roman Catholics in their meeting
in Baltimore are represented by the papers
as boasting of Lord Baltimore's establishing
a colony whose charter provided for reli
gious liberty ; and an effort is made to make
the impression that tbe Catholic church la
favorable to religions freedom and deserves
some of the credit for such freedom being
established In this country. ' The claim is
grotesquely absurd. In the first place the
charter Lord Baltimore got was obtained
from a Protestant country, and he could not
nave got a charter which required conform
ity to Romanism. He would greatly have
preferred such a charter II he could have
got oner. It was no love for religious liberty
that prompted him; In the second place.
that charter did not provide for religious
freedom at all., It provided only for tolera
tion broad enough to take in Kpmanists. . it
forbade Jews and Q ankers from exercising
religious freedom in the colony, Lod Bal
timore arranged for Just enough toleration
to get himself and those who believed with
him tolerated; no more. . And for these Ro
mish - prelates to represent him as a pioneer
of religious liberty, is a travesty, upon his
tory.: 1 presumes on the ignoraneerpi the
people. Roman Catholic prelates have
nevertolerated the exercise of any other
religion than Romanism, where they could
help themselves,' never." -l ' ' 1 " -
, . ; ' "
" Be careful in the selection of friends.' h
i The Christian Race.
In tbe Epistle to the Hebrews the Chris
tian'a career is viewed as a race. The lives
of some men suggest anything but a race.
There is no progress, no rapid passing on
wards, no intense hasting to a goal. List
lessness, vacillation, a sauntering dalliance
with , pleasure characterize many lives.
There is no steadfast and urgent pursuit of
a single object. Where this exists, even
though the object be unworthy and tbe
pursuit of it un Christian, the life may be
compared to a race. : For a race implies a
running towards a goal, a straight and
rapid making for a desired object or end.
The Christian's career is a race, because
with m1od made up as to tbe worth of his
object he makes for it with fixed eye and un
swerving tread.. Of the various attractions
presented to us, the Christian bas selected
one, and with undivided mind makes it his
single object to be all he can be, and do all
tbe good in bis power. The prize he aims
at is likeness to Christ in hi personal good
ness and power to do good. -
This is tbe prize he aims at; but be finds
that be cannot choose bis own way to It.
The raoe is "set before" him, marked out
for him, and measured and staked in by a
pOwer not his own. His birth, his natural
condition and temperament and talents, bis
opportunities, the vicissitudes of fortune
he encounters, are all arranged for him.
That is the course set before him, and be
must win tbe prize by running in it. He
may not leap the ropes and try a Short cut;
he may not demand some softer course,
some more elastic tun; ne may not asav
that the sand be lifted and a bard beaten
surface prepared ; he. may not require that
the ascents be levelled and the rough places
made smooth; but he must tike the course
as he finds it. In other words, he must not
wait till things are made easier for him ; he
must not refuse to run because the course
is not all he could wish ; but he must recog
nize that the difficulties of his position in
life are the race set before him. The Chris
tian must open his eyes to the fact that it
is in tbe familiar surroundings of the lite
we now actually lead, God calls us to run : i
in the callings we have chosen, amid the
annoyances we dally experience, where we
are and as we are, from the very position
we now occupy our race is set before as. It
is through your own actual circumstances
you mast win 'the prize. - A race is set be-
iorayoaby God..Yoa have your own sins
to subdue, your own troubles to overcome,
your, own, opportunities . to use, you are
yourself and not another person, and you
have your own raoe to run and no other
person's." i?fvi -' - -f,,;
, -The conditions of successful running are
that we look to Jesus and lay aside every
weight When we are sank from all hope
of ever being delivered from sin, when we
seem to have been deceived all along and
are ready to turn to scorn every other argu
ment that ean be used to show as that it is
reasonable to believe we may be holy and
pore, nothing shoots such a r.al hope into
oar souls as for any one whom we know to
have also bad his sins and his snares and
bis vices, to look us in the face and say:
"There is such a thing as sanctificatioo. I
know it. I am not more certain that I live
than that I live ss once I did not, that now
I am what once I was not." And the apos
tie says that we are surrounded wiih a cloud
of men giving ua just such testimony. . He
points us to hosts of instances of successful
attainment. Time would fail him were be
to attempt in the briefest manner to indi
cate how even the: most eminent among
them have won the position they now oc
copy. , There is a perfect cloud of them, he
says. Each a star in himself if you could
see him cloeoly bat there are so many like
him and so distant to oar feeble vision,
they are but a bright cloud, a milky way
in the heavens to guide and animate us.
Dr. Marcus Dods.
Give Kim a Cheer."
: " Give him a eheer."
The hearty words
came from the lips of
erowd gathered around
some one in the
a building envel-
oped in flames, and were prompted by the
momentary faltering of a brave fireman at
the final effort that was needed to save a
human life. Instantly hats were waving
in the air, and, above the eraokling and
roaring of the fire, the cheering of the mul
titude below fell upon tbe ears of the wa
vering flreman. Electrified by the applause
he renewed his efforts, beat back the flames
that scorched his face, burst In the window
that would1: not' yield to the yoang girl's
strength and. through a cloud of smoke
and fire bore his unconscious burden to her
weeping friends below. V V ; "r
C" . Give him a eheer," said c a voice in the
audience, as the young aspirant for aca
demical honors began to ; hesitate in the
midst of his well prepared oration. J "Give
him a cheer," and as the appreciated huzza
was raised the heart of the youth gathered
new courage, so that he succeeded in win
ning the scholarship, which to, him meant
much more than . empty honors. In tbis
Very .way the applause of a sympathetic
and ' responsive audience ' bears -, up the
peaker, i who otherwise -would J faila Mr.
Gladstone once said ; f'A speaker gets from
his hearers in .vapor tha which he gives I self by looking forward to things yoa can
back to them in. fliod" and when they I not see, and could not understand if yoa
" 6 nuejr lemra it lo mm Wit n in-
tercet. '.J-j.t s?i ivj j,
1 " TrtftT- "eec ' s Who! a .Why, that
young Christian k who has corns ont fmmJ
I the world, and in the midst of the temptaf
tlon is trying to live a eoneeerated life. He
needs more than an interest in your prayers.
Give him a warm band shake, a word of
praise, or a smile of recognition when he
begins to faint and falter by the way. Let
him know that yon appreciative his efforts,
and will be disappointed if he fails. If he
does a noble thing give him a cheer by tell- ; .
log him he has done well. - It will give him
strength to meet new trials and tempta
tions. ".- -
" Give him a cheer "the stranger with' .
in your gates. No matter bow brief a tar
rying he may make, bid him welcome. Do . .
not let him go away feeling that no one
feels an interest in his welfare.
I have in mind a young girl who went
through life under a cloud She bad many
things to discourage her. She was misrep
resented and misunderstood. No one spoke
a cheering word to her, or offered to lend a
hand when troubles thickened about her.
People did not understand her shrinking
nature. They mistook her exelosiveness
for pride, until in a fit of desperation she
took away the life God had given her, A
little note among her effects explained tbe
seemingly rash act. It ran thus: .' I ean
endure this strain no longer. If , I only
had help to carry my burden I would try,
to be brave and stand np under its weight, '
but in all this wide world I have not a
friend. No one has ever given me a cheer-
iog word, or dropped a tear of p'ty over my
bard fate." Then over her icy form the
neighbors lamented their lack of sympathy,
and tears of regret in plenty fell apon the
still white face now mute in death. Enough
appreciative, tender words to have glad
dened her whole life. were wasted around
her eofflo and over her open grave. Bat
what good did they do whea they fell upon
ears hushed in death! ? ..
" Give them a cheer." A host of weary,
toiling -&en and women are to-day calling
loud!) ' r cheering words and helpful min
istries. Do not keep the eheer that would
bless them lying idly in your hearts or
tremblingly unsaid upon your tips to scat
ter around their tombs when they are dead.
Bring tbe flowers that you are keeping for
their coffins and strew along their paths
to day while they are alive to inhale their
sweet fragrance. - -7 '.
, " Give them a eheer." Words of honest
praise will spoil no man. If yon gain a
blessing from a sermon or a prayer, it will
encourage the preacher to near you say sow
If some one's holy living strengthens yoa
and helps yoa oa to abetter life, would he
not be happier to know of the unconscious
influence he is exerting f
-" Give him a cheer." No- matter where,
or when, or how yon - eome into contact
with ; poor, straggling human souls, lend
them a hand give them a cheer that win
help them to live better, nobler Uvea
Christian Weekly.
The Study of the Bible
It is wholly out of my power to reply to
your letter In the manner which its purpose
would recommend and its object requires.
But I am unwilling altogether to withhold
a few words which may, at auy rate, serve
as an indication of sympathy with your de
sire to profit by the treasures of the divine
word.1 I will not dwell on the need of a
light from above, or the duty qf seeking it;
of being vigilant against the excuses of the
slothful spirit; of cultivating humility; of
bearing in mind that Gcd has, through tbe
long ages, had a people whom he has led;
that we are not the first who eome to the
wells of salvation opened by Christ and his
apostles. I will assume that yoa are strict
adherents of method in this great study, so
as to make your results comprehensive. In '
this view ' I recommend yon to consider
whether the table of lessons, old or new,
may. not be of much use. . Two things,
however, especially I commend your
thoughts. Tbe first is this Christianity in
Christ and nearness to him and his image
is the end of all your efforts. Thus the
gospels, which, continually, present to us
one pattern,, have a kind of precedence
among the books of Holy Scripture. I ad
vise your remembering that the 8criptoree
have two purposes one to feed the people
of God on green pasture, the other to serve
lor proof 01 doctrine. . These are not divided
by a sharp line from one another, yet they
sue provinces, on tbe whole distinct, and in
some ways : different. We are . variously
galled to various works; but we all require
to feed In the pastares and to drink at the
wells. For this purpose the Scriptures are
lncomparibly simple to all those willing to
be fed. -i The same eannot be said in regard
to the . proof or construction of doctrine.
This is a desirable . work, but not for us all.
It requires to be possessed with more exter
nal helps, more learning and good guides,
more Knowledge ox tne nietor.e&l develop
ment of our religion- which development is
one of the most wonderful parts of all hu
man history, and,' in my opinion, affords
also one of the strongest demonstrations of
its troth and the power and goodness of
God. Mr. t Gladstone to , a . Leader of a
Mens Bible Class in Manchester.
Do to-day's duty;' fight to day's tempta
tions: and do not weaken and distract your-
I Bw mem. Urtwte jvmysuiy
Solomon was led astray by hia wives. Be
mntinm vnnnir man aKrtnt f ha BAlpAtinn of :
a wife. Many have been ruined right here ,