Sunday Column.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 25 May 1912, Page 4

Sunday Column.

THE CHURCH AND WORLDLY AMUSEMENTS.

(By Rov. Hyde.)

Prov. 21-17: "Ho that livoth in sport shall bo a poor man."— Revised Version. fini. 5-6: " Sho that liveth in pleasure ig. dead while sho lives." In dealing with this subject of the "Churck and Amusements," I am fully aware that we are dealing with subjects upon which tlioro is a great difference of opinion. This in itself, however, is no reason why wo should leavo them untouched. Wo must faoe foote aa tbqj m* t-| 4tto church must take a clear stand as to its attitndo towards many of the present pastimes. lam more impressed every day with the need of seeing things from the standpoint of the world as well as from that oYtho churck, and I trust in dealing with the subject I may sot ho led into making dfctromc statements. At the same time I intend to make no compromise with sin, or with anything that leads to sin. I also hope to speak of the attitude of tho 'church' as a church, and not of tho individuals that make up the church. It is true the church and its members are in one «ense, one and the same, hut tho church, as a church, has often to take a certain line of action, whon tho right of private judgment nnd action cannot he denied to the individual. Tho Spiritual Side of the Church's Work.

Above «11 else, we must remember that the Churoh is a spiritual organisation. Its work kto attend and foster the spiritual life and to prepare men for eternity. Wo count eternity to bo more important and deserving of attention than time, the soul of more value than the body. It is our business to study mon, and to oppose all that opposes their spiritual good, and to aid and foster all that helps to make them higher and holier. As Christians, wo aro not our own, wo have boon bought with a price, and are commanded that whatever we do, we niHst to all the glory of God. If we do anything, except it bo for God's glory, we fall short of the ideal standard of Christ. The drinker will declare, "I pay for my drink and why should I not have what I can pay for?" Wo answer, "It opposes your highest good, it wrecks your life, and those depending on you, thoroforo we oppose it." Offtimcs tho action of tho I Church has been condemned by tho world, simply because we look at things from different points of view. If a man is unsaved and chooses the Devil as his loader, then ho has a right to follow him, and pay tho price for so doing, but when a. man professes Christ as tho heal of his life, he must take tho Bible as his rule of faith, and the standard of Christ as his standard of life. [With Paul we must Bay "I will neither eat nor drink nor do anything hy which my brother is made to stumble." All sports and pastimes that are not in themselves sinful, are permissible for Christians, but the tendency of some pastimes towards sin mmko it expedient for Christians to refrain from them. In tho Church God must havo first Tilace, and as aChurch wc havo often to ask concerning sports, etc., not is it lawful but is it expedient, and in the spirit of the apostlo say "If meat make my brother to offend 1 will set no more meat."

The Nature of Men. The Church Bhoukl bo the homo of all classes and conditions of men "'ho have sought a refuge in Christ. Tho reformed drunkard is thero, and sinners of all clas'ses who hare sought forgiveness now make it their sheepfold. If tin's is kept in mind it will bo clear that in many things the Wronger must deny himself for the sake of the weaker. If you have « weakness and know it, you shouldnot oven play marbles if in so doing you know you aro laying yourself open to bo tempted aiong tho lines of your acknowledged weakness. Football, cricket and hockey. These games, I beliovo, the Church can honestly recommend. First for health reasons. "A man who is Bitting all day at his woitc will do well to follow one, or all of these. Then they are an outlet for youthful vigor. We do not expect to make the young people old before their time, and, as a Church, w« ought to encourage the youth of the Church to follow these games, for if we do not give them some way in which to use their vigour they will find a way for themselves, and that, perhaps, not the best way. Then I believe that games teach honesty in strife. The j spirit of the game is to strive lawfully. If you do wrong you are penalised. Not only honesty in strife •s taught, but also self-control. T«> , bo ibesfc and yet willing to try again;. I to bo knocked down and get np smiP > mg, these aro hut a few of the lessons to bo learned. It is true that-

these games sometimes lead into temptation, or tend to develop the brutal side of nature. But I think this is the exception not the rule. Racing. Racing comes under a different head. It develops neither 'brain, muscle nor scfl-reliancc. It depends for its success on the downfall of others. It isn't the. moet fnfeg&y nor even the most experienced that get most out of it, but oftjmes the one who can stoop to the lowest acts of selfishness. It develops neither a useful kind or horse nor man, but rather dovelops laziness and a passion to live without work. This is admitted by most people who take an important view of it, and if such is the case, and wo believe it is, then the Church can in no way sympathise or foster, racing. Dancing. Perhaps of all amusements that our Church is up against, there is none- we have received so much criticism over as dancing. Again I would remind you that all things that are- lawful are not oxpedient. The chief objection to dancing is its tendency towards moral degeneration. This will perhaps bo denied by some, but while wo do not assert that harm always comes from dancing, yet in many cdfees it does, and \1 am inclined to think if it was my sister who received liarm from it, I would be glad of your self-denial on her account, and whon it is your sister that is concerned .methinks 1 ought to try and protect'her. Much can bo said on both sides of this question, but I will just put before you the Church's sido atid leave you to judge if we are justified in our disapproval of the dance room. 1 meroly state the facts: (1) fto person noted for dancing has ever been noted for religious devotion, «,g far as 1 know; {2) many innocent lives have been ruined by dancing, I never knew of ono being saved; (3) No person can add to their influence, even in the eyes of tho world, by going to dances; (4) dancing Church mem bens arc never noted for their praying qualities, ami they add no strength to tho spiritual power of tlio Oliuroh,

The Bible and dancing,

Ho far as I know I will simply put before you what the J3ible has to say about dancing: (1) It was a religious act both for true and idol worship; (2) It was practiced exclusively on joyful occasions such as feasts and other great victories; (3) it was performed in tho daytime and open air; (5) so far as I know there is no record where both sexes took part together either on joyful occasions or ub acta of worship. The only, three records of social dancing I fbid are: (1) Of the irreligious families described by Job; (2) the daughter of Horodians, wJiicti resulted in John Baptist losing his llfo ; 0) and that of "Vain fellows" devoid of shame. I make no furfiner comment, I leave you to judge if we, who profess to havo tho welfare of souls as our chief cause, can recommend ont members to dance. Sufficient it is to say that no one was even tho worse for not dancing and' many a tale of woo could be told as the outcome of the dance room. Let us seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous and we shall then find enough harmless sport and pastime to do us, without endangering our soul and the soul* of others by mixing in those things that havo been' tho downfall of others <md Against which we have, no guarantee that we will not moot a like fate.