OBITER DICTA.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18237, 22 November 1924, Page 12

OBITER DICTA.

(By K.) There seems to be a widespread impression that the Presbyterian Assembly haa condemned dancing. This is a complete mistake. It recognised frankly, with a humility that was a little surprising, "the liberty of all Christian men in matters not forbidden in the "Word of God"; it merelyforbadothose who trill attend to it t6 indulge in "all forms of amusement tending to weaken spiritual life." and it merely hinted that dancing is one of theso amusements. The first clause of this resolution is the fruit, no doubt, of somebody's following the advice recently tendered in these notes that Spurgeon on smoking was worth a little study. Altogether the resolution was quite moderate; tho Assembly might easily have maintained that the Bible forbids dancing as emphatically as some people say it forbids drinking, betting on tho totalisator, and playing golf on Sundays. Indeed, it might have been maintained that it- is but an accident that tho Biblo omitted to do this in express terms. In "The Way of All Flesh," some may remember, Ernest Pontifex had t« worry out a problem of this class * Tobacco had nowhero been forbidden in tho Bible, Lut then it had not yet been discovered, and liad probably only escaped proscription {or tliisr- reason. can conceive of St. Paul, 01- even our Lord Himself, as drinking a cur> of tea, but we cannot imagine either of them as amoking a cigarette, or a churchwarden. Ernest could not deny this, and admitted that Paul would almost certainly havo condemned tobacco in good round terms if he had, known of its existence. Was it not then taJdng a mean advantage of tho Apostle to stand on his not having actually forbidden it? On the ether hand, it was po?«ible that God knew Paul would havo forbidden' smoking, and had purposely arranged tho discovory of tobacco for a .period at which Paul should bo no longer living.

Into the theological difficulty which this raises others may enquire. I. have done my beat for the Assembly, and it now remains to ask how the members of the Assembly can know that dancing "weakens spiritual life." That it strengthens a lady's ankles cannot be denied, and it must bo admitted that ladies' ankles are not as uplifting an influence as a yearly subscription to the "Sunday Banner." But the members of the Assembly can hardly speak of the effect of dancing from personal experience, and they cannot know'anything of the spiritual life of other people# One fancies, however, that by spirituality these censors of dancing mean gloom. For Dr. Gibb said that "the whole development of dancing a»d of the dancing spirit in recont years is most serious." As who should say, They call this a Christian country and yet young people are really happy-. Bat why should any of us fret ourselves over this matter, after all f The Assembly will go on deploring, and the people will go on dancing, unless, indeed, thoy desert Dixieland en masse and apply for inem r bership of the Bible Class which holds socials, according to Dr. Gijbb, at which games are played "entailing what ho might call more body-handling than some dancing." ,