The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-10-12
Rev. DR.. stuart Robinson on the Black


E'Om The FFee Christian Commonwealth, Sd.
| Our city gossips have been deeply
exercised all the week over the report
| in the secular papers that two clergy
men 1--WE know not who, nor care TO
| know,) one from the city, the other
| from the country, disguised themselves
/ and went to the theater with the crowd, ,
to see the 'Black Crook" performed,
and were there arrested by the police
as suspicious characters and thus ex-
posed.
We will not, of course, be understood
to be the advocates and apologists OF
the clergymen, II they were such, who
thus followed the multitude to do
evil,n contrary to the special warning
ofthe Word OF God, which it is their
| specific function 10 expound to the peO.
| pie. Nor have we word to say in the
| way of objection to the enforcing of the
most rigid ecclesiastical discipline
against men who, pretending to teach
and to represent the gospel OF Jesus
Christ, which forbids all conformity to
the worlds fashion and spirit,
should these ministers belong to any
denomination of Christians which en-
joins non-conformity to the world,
alike upon its ministers and private
members.
But we have several things to say In
the way of demurrer to the swift SEN
| tence oft the outside world, SO summa-
rilY condemning these so-called minis
| terB of the gospel. In the first place,
the principle suggested by our Saviour
is, that those who set themselves up as
judges to pronounce sentence should be
very careful first to see that their own
lives are free from all taint of
impurity. He does not allow those
who themselves are first to indulge their
worldly passions and tastes to least
the first stone" at their fellow Grim
inals-that is, to assume the position of
censors and judges, and to practice
that cheap sort of virtue which atOnes
| for ones own delinquencies by the
sharpness of ones insight in detecting
the sins OF other people. Whether,
| therefore, these detected ministers were
right or wrong in visiting the theatre to
witness an obscene play, is surely not
question TO be determined against
| them by those who were in the habit of
| indulging their prurient tastes when
| they discovered these ministers OF the
gospel stealing into their licentious
communion. We are not yet prepared
| to admit Il monopoly of licentiousness.
1t is legitimate indulgence of their
tastes for fashionable gentlemen and
ladies to witness, in the presence of
each other, the performance OF semi
nude dancing girls, 0rrayed, as Thomas
| Carlyle describes il, sin muslin sau-
GERS" we do not understand why they
should be SO swift TO judge OF "a couple
of ministers who happened to have II
passion for partaking in their very gen.
| teel and fashionable eDjoyments, ms
they deem them.
For, in the second place, We utterly
eschew the theory that the gospel min
istry of our times is to be John Bap-
tIst ministry, neither eating nor
the wilderness, out of the way OF the
fashionable, worldly people. 1t is
rather II ministry of the ''son OF man,
| who came eating and drinking" ming
! ling with the people sociably and un-
reservedly. There is no provision
made in this system for a ministry
which shall stand as proxies for a self
indulgent people, and, in consideration
of u pittance OF pew rent, Punctually
or unpunctually paid, perform all
the selT-deniAls, all the renunciations
of "the pomps and vanities Of the
world" all the fighting against "the
world, the flesh and the DEVIL" for
the people. Whatever il is proper for
any pure minded Christian man 10 do.
IL ia proper for minister to do, and
whatever 1t is competent to any pure
minded gentleman and lady to do; who
expects to go TO heaven, as all do, IL is
competent for Christian man and
woman to do. There is no such thing
as one ethical law OF God for people in
modating law of God for people out of
the church. II people in the church,
therefore, do only the same thing and
indulge themselves to the same extent
that others outside of the church do,
whatever sin they may have to answer
for before God, 1t lily becomes those
who are guilty of the same eindulgenees
to become their accusers and judges.
The most that can be said about 1t is,
that church members have failed to dis
charge an obligation after honestly
giving bond to perform it, while others
fail to discharge obligations, equally
strong, which they have dishonesty
refused to give their bond to discharge.
If, therefore, it is very wicked Ior
these Christian ministers to go and
witness the obscenities of the BLACK
Crook" or any other of the DEVILS
black arts of the theatre, it is equally
wicked for any Christian man and wo-
man to do so. The only popularity of
the ministers wickedness is that it is
done in disregard OF a certain official
obligation besides being done in disre-
gard of the ordinary solemn obligation
in common with other Christian peo.
pie. LFa1 - -. Laz.f
And If it is very wicked for any
Christian man or woman to do such
things, contrary to solemn obligations
honestly acknowledged, 1t is no less
wicked for men and women outside of
the church to do the samC thing, con-
trary to obligations which they dishon-
estly refuse to acknowledge. 1t is
simply the difference between failure
in one instance 10 pay just debt by IL
man who usually pays his honest
debts, and the failure in like instance,
to pay a just debt by man who has
the dishonest habit OF never paying his
debts.
But, aside from the casuistry of the
case, ii is rather singular instance of
how slow people are to see their own
wrong doings, and swift to see other
peoples, that men and women who
thus. .censure these ministers do not
perceive that In SO doing they admit the
delinquency on their own part OF in
dulgiug themselves in seeing and hear
ing what modesty and due regard for
their morals should forbid even a min
lister 10 see and hear, who Is supposed
to have even more self-restrainI than
ordinary people. Is it not rather odd
to hear of men of culture, who are es-
teemed as ranking high above the
senSuous and sensual masses, going to
places where it is "a shocking thing for
their minister to bear them company
Especially is 1t not a little odd to be
told of places where modest, refined,
and elegant ladies may resort without
offense 10 delicRcy or danger to their
to be visited by strong, full.grown
man, If he happen 10 be a minister OF
religion7
AS we have said, we make no apollo
gy for these foolish ministers. All we
mean to say is, that fashionable Chris
tians and the genteel outsiders, who
| themselves have INDUCED their Curl
osity, If not some baser passion, In go
ing to witness this DEVILS trick of
I .