Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1872-01-24
WIT AND HUMOR IN THE PULPIT.
By THE REV. A. M'EBROY wYL1E-


" Wit IS the lightning of the mind,
reason the sunshine, and the ref1ee-
/ ton the moonlight And what,
then, is humor? 1t Is the steady,
undeI-running, broad current, passing
so near the surface as to cover the
whole breadth Of speech and carriage
with the freshness of 3 living green
No one can doubt that All these
powers are natural. Is there, then,
anything in the Office or work Of q
clergyman to require him to be less
broad in the pulpit than out OF it ?
Does the sacred Office cancel out Of
man any OF his natural gifts /? is
there not really 3 place for the use Of
every power which q minister may
possess !? II he be man of wit and
humor, may he not give them play
with real profit to his auditors?
Men will answer these questions
very much in the line of their own
predictions and tastes. Some will
decide the matter by their conceptions
of an ideal state. They cannot con-
oeive of a body Of angels sitting ronnd
Ia circle aud indulging in humOr,
or giving play to flashes of wit; nor
can they admit a place for the faceti-
Gus among those whose duty is to aim
at perfection. They claim that flashes
Of wit, quaint coneeits, broad humor,
find their place and play only among
inecngruities, and incongruities be-
long to state OF sin and folly; and
that sin and folly are to be fought
with seriousness, and got out Of only
by serious endeaYor. If serious en-
deavor means earnest and honest
effort, they are doubtless right; but
il they restrict the use of the term
merely to gravity Of manner, they
doubtless make that mistake which
inclines to fix upon the mere deport.
ment rather than upon the actual life
endsavors.
There are three linez Of oonsidera-
ton which may help US to decision
upon this subject; N-l
First Is the play of humor in the
pulpit admissible upon Scripture
grounds?
II the Bible gave a preeept upon
the subject, the Question would be
settled. But in the first place, there [
is no prohibition Of wit and humOr in
this connection; there is no Thou
shalt not in respect to the matter.
Then what can we find in the sacred /
text, or in the example of inspired f.
men, to aid US in our steps toward /
decision? In Hosea, Ephraim is said I
to be a "cake net turned Now,
certainly no man can doubt the wit
that Is in this. In single express
sion it sets forth, with no little drol-
lery, that miserable feature Of eharac-
ter which is sound on the side Of pro-
fession aud very soft on the side Of
practice. Picture the vigor of disgust
which would be portrayed upon the
the countenance of man who should
bite into cake snd find his mouth
filled with batter, and his hands
besmeared and stuck all over with
dough.
Perhaps one of the finest passages,
terse with the fullest vein of sup
pressed irony, is found in the four
teenth chapter Of Isaiah, where the
prophet is ridiculing the greatness of
the king of Babylon, aud represents
6. hell y (or Sheol) " from beneath" as
maved at his coming.
The Saviour called Herod that
fox, /" and certainly employed hum or
ous Illustrations as witness in the
case where, to set forth the unreasOn-
abie petulance of that generation, he
brought in the imagery of children
In the market-plaee, alternately play !
ing at wedding and at funeral rites.
Other Illustrations might be given,
put one citation, in the absence Of a
positive precept, is sufficient to prove
he permissibility of the use of humor
n those who are invested with the {
of the sacred Office.
The book OF Proverbs certainly flashes {
III through with the keenest light !
lings of wit, and is e0lOred by the
Iroadest tints Of humor. Ifthere are
exercises of wit in the Scriptures, 7
perhaps few wilt deny that there are Z
displays of all the other mental gifts :
gith which man Is endowed. Ger :
ainly every department Of fancy and I
he Imagination has its full sweep q
nd swing. The imaginery is often .
f the bOldest, and conceptions the ?
most sta-tllng spriRgup at the bidding L
( all the inspired authors.
In the second place, is the use OF 4
Yit and humOr in the pulpit natural? v
r, rather, is it consistent with the e
Is there anything &
q the emotions excited by humor to v
revent or eontravene the exercise Of a
ny Of the moral or religious prinei- a
les? lC
No one will claim that tears damage o
be work OF Feformation and il is a b
vet well known Inexperienced to orators b
nat an audience is much easier moved =
} tears after it has been moved to a IA
.eetiOus indulgence, just rs a pendu- cl
I'm lifted 10 one side is easier swung h
l the opposite direction. We know
no principle in the human soul b
-hich enters into the formation Of Il
Gbits of virtue which is weakened or c
lntFavened by the existence of wit OF
I'D humor. b'
IL It be said that character is dam Al