The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1860-08-08
From the Springfield Mass. J Republican,
sxyO TO TIE MAN WHO
CREATES A SIM

very suggestive anathemo, but he Is evia-
emily man who til 'n';s, and has power
to throw his thinking into strong and
striking form. Men arc not really SO SIN
ful as many good people think, because
some acts wlieh are sinful in the sight OF
men are no sins at oil in the sight .! God.
There are many acts that pass for IN
Christian community that have been
crecel Fby men. God never meant them
to be sins, yet they actually become such
because men commit them believing they
arc doing wrsng Their convictions have
been trletl with. Their conscience has
become sophisticated. They have been
m sled, wrongly educated, and taught to
believe that wrong which is not wrong
There are multitudes who go through life
in bondage to false ideas Of that which Is
right and wrong in social life. Reason
breaks iu upon their darkness and doubt
occasionally, but they dare not folio" hef.
They have been taught from childhood
to believe certain things to be wrong, and
thonel they know they are not, they can
| never do them without woanding II con
science that has cen perverted by a stu
created by men. Que Of the most dis
tre,sing and pcrplexing things that attend
Christian in his social walk is the ques-
ton what he may ami may not do,--a
question for which the manufacturer
is enti.eIy responsible.
Take the matter Of dancing, which ex-
cites so much horror in certain eirc,es.--
Who made dancing sin !? God never
did. The greatest and meanest humbng
ever pract cel upon Christian conmun-
ity is the representation of dancing rs a
SINFUL exercise. The whole publ, con
science is misIe'l on this matter. There
are many young meu and women who
dance with the belief that they are doing
wrong. Their conscience has been per
verified, and they sin against it, thus doiug
themselves double wrong. They Go
really SIN because tkey believe dancing to
be sin, and believing ii, they dance
| Every person who daucas believing he IS
!oing wrong, does himself great and
IN altogether unnecessary injury, while
hose who doubt iniur. themselves hard
less. Now The max ing that a sin which
: no sin-the putting stumbling blocks
/ n the way Of sensitive conseiences--the
/ institution of the will of sect. or num-
! Der of sects, rs rule of life which takes
rank with the laws OF God, is an act OF
rsuri,ation that may well call down the
aDatneina WOE to tho man ybo creates
a sim 1t is Outrageous that the youpg
are brought up 10 believe that this inno
cent exercise has an ingredient of SIP in it,
that this most hcal,hful and delightful
! FtcfeaCItfH silOuiti pc aeS[tptlSd 'S ttio
devils fayorito fundamentally for Ieaiing
souls astray.
There has been a grss. deal of stupidi-
ty manifested in the management Of this
whole dancing question. A great ball is
nuisance. 1t keeps people out late, it
costs great deal of money, it brings too
intimately together promiseuous company
it is in all its effectsa mode of dissipation
, and not of recreation. That settles the
question for balls, but It has no more rcla-
ton to dancing than balIooning
has to TIE apostolic succession. Dancing
in the family cicleand in the social circle,
when in proper hours, is right; and the
man who says it is wrong, and believes it.
simply shows what 81 .accursea thing
sin created by man is. When dancing
is carried on under such circumstances
that it is n minister of dissipation, it be-
comes by its peryersioa wrong; but when.
among associates, it is resorted for recre-
STOP and ezereise, il IS right 'Ah! but