The New York herald., 1874-11-23
THE PREACHERS ON THE ACTORS.
DR.. Fulton on Theatres.

The PREACHERS ON THE ACTORS.
DR.. Fulton on TheAtres.
! To moderately filed church the Rev. Justin D.
1 Fulton, D. D., delivered sermon yesterday morn.
1 ing In the Hanson place Baptist church, Brook
4 lyn, upon the question, "Can Christians Counte-
! nance Theatresgn He took his text from Proverbs,
xxlil.. 7-"For as he rhinketh in his heart, SO
\ Is he"
| He said Christians are driven to take radical
position. and the lines are being drawn between
those who serve God and those rho serve Him
not The discussion about the influence Of theat-
rical entertainments has the good effect OF show.
ing those who prefer Baa to God, pleasure to
righteousness and sel-denial 10 the gratncatiOn
OF desire. Tdo not say that all theatre -goers have
proven that they are destitute OF the love OF
Christ but say that for Christians In Brooklyn
benceiorth there Is no excuse. Men may cling
TO error Of some kind and yet be champions OF
the TRUTH as many do upon the questions
or wine and tobacco; and in the same way, be-
cause some actors are honorable and kind, others
think that they ought to sustain dramas full OF
wickedness and lust and OF every other kind or
vice and crime. Religion IS IN the heart, and
many an infde! whose theology has been all
wrong has shamed many Christian who al
though right in head, was wrong IN heart Religion
is to believed in the head but received into the
heart. when II becomes power, and It's tendrls OF
love grasp trutn and bind il to life. A believer
is not only man who thinks OF God in the right
way, but one who loves Him in the rignt
way, and as such a true believer is a lover and
Gods ally. All hts interests are bound up in
Gods. Snow to sucn man that theatres. dane
ing, billiards and cards initiate against Christ in
the soul, and without arguing he will STAND with
God and stop 1t. The church has reached posi-
ton in which IL is compelled TO ADVANCE or TO con-
front ruin. To stand still Is to dishearten; to
retreat is to be destroyed: but to go for
ward win summon up ali the latent power
and energy OF the soldlery and inspire them with
confidence and selt-rescect. The necessity is lad
upon the Church and Christians who have become
separate from the world with Christ to deny them
selves ana take up their ana follow Him; for
swnat concord has Christ with Belial ?n We are
told to come out and he separate and touch not
the uncean thing, and this injunction was never
more neeued than at the present moment. The
thoughts oil millions are stirred. The pinch OF
poverty and want OF labor are already severely
ielt, and the threatened starvation may haply
DRIVE MEN TO GOD.
Will the Church make use of her opportunity
Success in religion must harmonize with Gods
fixed laws The water wheel must be put at the
bottom and not at the top OF the fall, and the
farmer must raise his grain In the summer
and not in the winter. 1t Is thought that
makes man, and there is nothing more sense
less than the ot-repeated saying, "No matter
what Jou believe, only be sinceie." mans
heart either Kills or saves MIN, and belief In the
heart the lle influence, IN anything else or any
one else III preference to Cast, IS dannatIon. /
not Obliged TO ne run over Dy train OF cars in
order TO discover that danger whicn lnperils lie,
nor 10 cast myself into q pit 10 know what viii
SOIL ana pollute me. IL Is Known that theatres
are sustained 10y the mos.
DIssIPaTED, THRILLING AND PASSIONATE
Z nnrfi f,f no nrpr md 10 raF FAys IN
that tney must meet the wants Oi those VINO come.
Plays, consequently, are not written ior the pure
the chaste and toe re1ncd nut Tor the reverse, ana
the revenne derived from them comes from the
qualification oi the bad that is IN you ana that
when you know aegrades Ia her tnan exalts. A
distinguished playwrignt ard actor says, keep
theatres open on Sunday, because when tney are
words, the thieves and the enact outside
what the theatre performer lnculcates before the
crowd. Ministers do not SO argue. Tne lesson
i learned the sanctuary restrains the Christian
from vice, violence, iutemperance, debaucneiy and
i crime, and those who near nun do not go from u
pestlentiai air TO the polluted qualification or
carnal desire. II IS oltllcut TO describe the tend
ency Of attending theatres upoL the neart and
life. The air is poisoned. the thoughts awakened
VILE, PERyrcrous AND DEGRADING,
and they bring Iorth lruIt aDundantly They tried
at the fremont Theatre TO exclude prostitutes but
the theatre iailcd. without wine between the
acts the part IS not Wen played. Prostitutes
| abound Ia theatres TheJ are beautiful Ia appear
ance and dress. they become tolerabie 10
your sons and daughters Perhaps they
prostitutes suppore theatres ana tney
I again swell the ranks OF prostitution. Tue
theatre, IN iact rs the stream described by the poet
wherein "those who plunged dd straight forget
sheir God and curse themselves and dIe,n ana
/ tney reduce physical, moral and mental nature 10
a wreck of dissipation, sensuaity and crime.
Tragedy sprung rom wild ana ucmoralizlng fcsti-
walls held IN nonor OF BacChus, and both tragedy
ana comedy are the outgrOwth oil the carnal heart.
IDey excite anltlse and please the vile an regard
not the restraints Of virtue or the interests OF
religion Could you invite Christ TO go with you
i TO o theatreY God VIII not tolerate a rival. would
you take your wife 10 the house OF iriend into
wh Gu you could not introduce her, ana. leaving
4 her at the door, send her home ai0nef Could you
i expect that she would ever meet you aRainy And
wnen you leave Jesus at the door OF the theatre Is
/ 1T not terrible uncertainty whether you may
/ ever meet HIM agan?
CHRIST IL REJECTED
1T the theatre, ana no disciple Will 20 where his
Lord IL cast out any more than good husband
Will enter society rom which MS vile Is excluded.
Play actors feel that TO save their souls they must
give up their profession. A converted actor came
TO me and told me that he could hnd no peace
IN til lie gave up ms position. and be enlisted as
common soldier prelerrng TO serve Christ rather
than remain in theatre and lose his SOUL
Another wnom know adhered To MS profession
Is now without nope and pushing on TO rum. That
there may he virruous and moral play actors
NEITHER AFFIRM NOR DENY;
but n such there are taey ought 10 change their
expressed ana the seed sown upon the heart 0y
tie performer should cOfnOel CHRISTIANS 10 reuse
their countenance To theatres. Toe plays, the
bad and the good the great and the mean, WIS
dom q nd folly mrth and grief, J0stle one anotner
In nextricable confusion, and ff S0.called Chrls-
shows only that their love for God has got cold
! Wneu they n tmpuriky R00