Wilmington daily commercial., 1872-02-05
The PulpIt.
MAY GO TO THE THEATRE?-A NEGATIVE VIEW OF
THE suBIECT.

MAY GO TO THE THEATRE!- "A NEGATIVE VIEW OF
THE sUBJEcT.
At st. Pauls NJ L. Church, last evening, the |
pastor, Rev Robt. W. Todd, preached from the |
text, "Wbatsoever ye do, whether ye eat or |
drink do all to the glory of God" and reviewed |
the sermon of Rev. Mr. Thorne, OF the previous |
Sabbath, III which he defended theatres and |
theatre-goers.
A view of man in his several relations he said |
was necessary to an intelligent view of his re. |
sponsibilities and obligations, and he then pro-
ceeded to consider man in his creature, business
and social relations-the three divisions contem-
plated by the Apostle Paul.
In elaboration of the latter view, he said that
to mans social nature belong his domestic i'm
pulses, his friendships, his recreations and
amusements, which are sought mostly, in
laugh, and it is his privilege and duty to laugh
and be merry on all proper occasions. He be-
lieyed there was philosophy in the old adage to
laugh and grow fat" and said the man who
wouldn't laugh at Coughs descriptive relations
of his practical jokes was only fit to be buried.
Men want sunshine more than sympathJ-al
the world wants sunshine. God has told man
how to be happy, and he quoted the prescrip-
tions OF the Psalmist, of Solomon, and OF st.
Paul, as to the manner in which this happiness
/ is to be attained.
| But in these latter days we have teachers.
| profeHsedly Gospel ministers, who have found
| out that God and his servants Of the olden times
| didn't understand the perplexities of the case
and have made great mistake. And their pre-
scrption amounts to about this in plain English
" II you want to glorify God and be happy, go
to the ballroom and the theatre and one of
| the arguments by which this preposterous promo
sition is supported is that human nature Graves
| unreal and fAncful excitements and therefore
ought to be furnished with them. In opposition
to this argument, he maintained that it was be-
cause men transgress the laws of their being
that they want unreal excitement, and said that
the attempt to justify the theatre on this ground
would also justify the manufacture and sale Of
intoxeants, because mans appetite Graves them
In reply to the argument that the theatre
most hourished under the highest and purest
civilization, and ought therefore to be support
ed, he said that fraud and rascalty could be
defended under the same plea. II civilization
had not built New FORK and given her her beau
ehnl theory OF government and her appropriate
institutions Of justice and charity Boss Tweed
, and his associate scoundrels could never have
go astounded the world with their raseahty and
il civilization had never built the Erie r. r., the
champion thief of the age (Jim Fisk could nov
or have stolen it, Moreover, prostitution gam
bling and all vices could be defended upon the
same theory
: The third argument that " the Christian church
must patronize the drama for the benevolent
purpose Of reforming it," contained an admis.
sion, he said, which deprives it Of much Of Il,
pausibihty, if it is not entirely fatal to it, viz
that the theatre needs reforming. II, as il
claimed for it, the theatre is reforming, be re
ioiced in it, for it needed a refor1aation as m,
ton. He would not defame the actors for. TO
> aught he knew, they might be Virtuous people
Nor yet would he want our theatre to burn down
it was beautiful building, and an architecture
credit to the city. The sin was not in the hous
itself. He thought the church would lose NOR
than it would gam, il it attempted to reform tn
f theatre, and that the theatre itself would gai
% proportionately for evil. The support Of tn
church would only strengthen it as at presen
n constituted, and doubly arm it for its hellis
work of seducing souls And this, too, notwitb
g standing the assertion that the drama teache
it az reformatory institution, read Olive Ic
gans Before the Footghts and Behind III
Scenes"
81 The world can never be reformed by fictior
r Man, God and Eternity are real and sinners ca
ID only be reformed by something that is real III
s. drunkard who has failed to heed the teaching
y Of his own experience would scarcely be like
le to be reformed by the drama of Ten Nights
n. a Bar-room," and the young who will not |
9! warned by the real and tragic end Of the liceI
s. tious Fisk will not be likely to be moved to
ar pure life by witnessing the exciting tragedy
Faust and Marguerite.
II it is not wrong to patronize the DRAMA it
not wrong TO be an actor; and If church men
Ders may go to the theatre their pastor may {
too, and take part in the performances.
In conclusion he said that Christians may n
go to the theatre because they cannot DESTROY
injure their influence with the world and Ii
church for the glory of God because they ca
not innocently and to the glory of God engage
anything that has a tendency to mental dissip
tion or toward uniting the soul for holy dew
ton and christian work. and finally, as Meth
dists they cannot patronize the theatre M
similar places of amusement because they cann
Al, to the glory of God violate the solemn VOWS tn,
h. have taken around some Methodist altar upo
being admitted to full membership in the Met
odist Episcopal Church,