The New York herald., 1871-02-26
Slang In tho Pulpit.

VI oPoo05 An WHICH uOctrlneS, organization,
dogmatic assertion and other phases have
been more OF less prominent. We are now in
the secular period Of its history, and as one Of
the results, which must be apparent to the
most casual observer, there is far less rever-
ence for the house Of God and for the ordi-
nances of the Gospel than existed in other
epochs. It is no uncommon thing now to find
receptacles for tobacco juice in the pulpits and
in the pews of churches of every denomination
in the land, or, if not so provided those places
smeared with the filthy compound Ministers
and people enter upon the worship of the great
Jehovah with their mouths stuffed with the
weed, which they may or may not remove If
one or other Is engaged orally in the service
OF the sanctuary. Those very men would not
dare to enter the presence chamber of an
earthly sovereign to ask petition at his
hands or to press a claim in any such manner;
but this common courtesy is denied to the
King of kings in the temples dedicated to His
worship. This want OF reverence may be the
natural and necessary counterpart of the
almost alteration which was offered in other
ages to the Christian Church and its institu-
tons but far better would it have been for the
Church and for the world spiritually, had the
former continued until now. And in this
regard we believe ''the former days were bet
ter than these"
Such irreverence for sacred places and
sacred things could not fail to lead to irrever-
ence for that revelation upon which the Church
and its institutions are founded. And such
we find to be the fact. The ministers of Christ,
with the pledge of their faith still fresh in their
,, hearts and in their hands, and with the holy
commission of the Master, $50 preach my
gospel" ringing in their ears, will enter
the place of prayer and take the
oracles of God and expound them with
the same Indifference as if they were COM
menting upon a chapter in the ''Araban
Nights" or in ''Robinson Crusoe" Had Paul
adopted the style Of some of his modern sue
cessors when he stood before Felix or
Agrippa ald reasoned about righteou sness,
temperance and judgment to come, the
Governor would not have trembled nor the
King have been almost persuaded to embrace
Christianity. Who can imagine this sturdy
man Of God standing before promiscuous
assembly trying to convince them of the
truths Of Christianity and telling them in the
same breath that he chad knocked the bot
tom out Of hell some time ago and meant to
hammer away at the sides," as one of his
modern confreres is reported to have publicly
declared? Or, suppose Peter, on the day OF
Pentecost, as he stood before that throng Of
Parthians and Medes, and Elamites and dwell
ers in Mesopotamia, and iu Judea and Capa-
docia, in Poutus and Asia, Phrygia and Pam
phylia, in Egypt and the parts Of Libya about
Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and
proselytes, Cretes and Arabians-a mighty
and promiscuous multitude-and as he illus
trated to them his divine commission as .
fisher of men, had thrown out line, real or
imaginary, and bid his audience "take that
or be damned" as one of our modern man
fishers is represented to have done short
time ago, we can hardly conceive that three,
not to say three thousand souls should have
been baptized into the Church that same day.
The prevalence of slang in the Christian
pulpit is deplorably common, and it is destroy
ing the spiritual power and vitality of the
Church. 1t is an old adage and true one,
that ''like priest, like people," and Uice Oerso.
And if the men who stand in Gods stead and
pretend to utter His words to us can COM
placently use this style of language, either as
illustration or otherwise, the people cannot be
greatly blamed if they manifest want Of
respect for the message and the messenger.
If it is right on the Lords Day, in public
address to a Christian or miscellaneous
audience, for a minister or any Christian man
to relate an anecdote as far as certain point,
and then suddenly break off and in q subdued
tone of voice add, s'You know how it is your
SELF" it cannot be wrong for the people to
laugh or to repeat the slang and to have
little respect for the truth for whose illustra-
ton it had been introduced. We have heard
minister's who thought they had said good
thing in sermon. tell their audience to s'stick
pin there" or TO put that in their pipes and
smoke it" and more Of the same sort, with
evidently no more idea of any impropriety in
the use Of such slang in such place than IL
they were quoting the very words Of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We are not giving imaginary
incidents or illustrations, but stating simple
facts, and we might multiply such slang
phrases almost indefinitely which we have
heard uttered in the pulpits of this city and
vicinity at one time or another. But we for
bear. Every church-goer can satisfy him or
herself that what we state is true; and we
might go step further and pronounce great
deal of what are courteously called sermons,
and which are not composed Of slang, to be
the merest twaddle and trash. While we be-
lieve and admit that minister of Christ
should use whatever natural or acquired
talents he may possess to instruct and enter
tain an audience and to glorify God and edify