Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-06-07
ASCETICISM.
Drinking, Dancing, Music, and
Mustaches Versus Vital
Goodness.
The Action Of the southern Methodist
Conference Viewed from a Northern
New York World.

conference at Louisville must either
lead to falling away of the brethren
in large numbers and consequent de-
cay of the organization or produce the
revival of an asceticism that no part of
this country has known since the rigid
Puritanism Of the descendants of the
voyagers of the Mayhower died out in
New England. That the South, whose
ancestry was drawn largely from the
-puritanical element of the Old
World, should be the scene of this res
toration of the austerity of the middle
ages may appear surprising at
the first blush, but it should be
known that there Is a very consider
able part of the white people of the
Southern States who are devotedly
pious in their lives and simple In their
tastes and education, and they are to
be found principally within the MEM
bership of the Baptist and Methodist
Episcopal Churches. The strength of
the latter denomination in the South is
1921 churches and 2,900,249 mem
bers, making it much the largest of the
denominations there. The measures
recently adopted by the Louisville
General Conference, therefore, will
affect a large percentage of the
| population, and will necessarily lead to
important consequences.
The most remarkable and far-reacb-
ing in its effects of these new condi-
tions of membership is that which for
bids the making, buying, selling, or
drinking of intoxicating liquors by
member Of the Church on pain of ex-
communication. There is a great deal
of whisky consumed IN the South. and
though the good Methodist of that Sec
ton may be temperate man, he is not
as a rule teetotaler. The juice of the
rye still fingers as a sideboard orna-
ment in the rural parts, 'and is
regarded as an essential constitu-
emit of the hospitality which the
people pride themselves upon. But
it is swept away, with its cognate tip
pies and the more harmless products of
the hope, from every Methodist family
by this edict of the Church. The Gen
eral Conference was very decided upon
this point. There was scarcely any op-
position to it, and one delegate declar-
ed that he would vote for it even If it
caused fifty thousand names to be ex-
plunged from the roll of the Church.
The attempt to make men abstinent by
fear of church penalties viii be watched
with curious interest. Efa
Sumptuary laws, whether secular or
ecclesiastical, have heretofore failed TO
regulate mems appetites. So much
of the good wishes of the worlds peo-
pie cannot accompany the Southern
Methodist rulers in their efforts to re-
strain and limit the musical yearnings
Of their focks. The love of music is
heaven born, and where it takes the
shape of an aspiration for the best
music it is flying IN the face of heaven
to seek to bind II. But the General
Conference has decided that choirs,
solo singing, and operate music" are
out of place In Christian Churches, and
that the singing and musical
accomplishments should be confined
to the plainest psalm tunes to be
found in the regular edition ofsithe
Church music. Even preludes and in
terludes on the organ are forbidden,
and the organist is deprived of the COM
partnership Of the soprano and con-
tralto, whose propinquity during SER
mon time so often allevlates his wearl-
ness of soul. They are relegated to the
body of the congregation and required
to moderate their voices to Its average
loudness. A more questionable rule
than this is that the ministers shall
have entire charge of the music. I'm
less the Circuit riders" of tine South
have cultivated their talents IN this re-
spect the kind of melody that viii some
times float upward from the little meet
lighthouses will rather amaze the listen
ing choirs on high.
Another important question settled
by the Church is that there shall be no
more dancing. 1t was not enough that
the "round dance" should be con-
demned, bat the staid and innocuous
square dance" was put under the ban
also. The ground taken by the General
Conference is that no diversion should
be permitted that cannot be taken In
the name Of the Lord Jesus" This is
an implication that the Shakers and
the descendants of Tristram Shandy
will not be slow to resent. The rule,
T.
ment, and the young brother or sister
who INDUCES in the forbidden pleasure
will be cut off from fellowship with the
Church.
An attempt was made in the Gener-
eral Conference to revive the old law of
the Church that the female members
shall not wear jewelry, colors, frills,an
furbelows, but the married men among
the delegates were evidently In major
iJy, and discreetly voted down the
proposition.
Simultaneously with the sessions of
the General Conference of the South
ern Methodists the body of Christians
calling themselves Dunkards were
holding national convention at Gil
lard, Ill. Their asceticism is to be
even more pronounced than that of the
Methodists. The length and shape of
the beard and mustache are to be SUI
pervised and regulated; the male
Dunkard, moreover, is to eschew to-
bacco, liquor, lawsuits, and So
cieties. and the female Dunk
ard is to eschew ornament
and fashionable clothing. Neither
may nOlO pOllJlc4 ONuCes AOT
bear arms, nor use a hymn-bOok, nor
play on piano or any musical instru-
ment whatever. Upon these points of
worldly discipline the Convention was
agreed, but a storm of threatening pro-
portions arose over the question of the
holy kiss with which the Dunkards of
both sexes are required to greet each
other upon meeting. Should it be OBJ
ligatory to salute the colored Dunkard
thus? Upon the negative of this prop
osition the Virginia delegation took its
stand, and it was only when the danger
was imminent that the Southern States
would secede from the Convention that
compromise measures were introduced,
and it was agreed to leave the matter
to the conscience Of each Church So
ciety.
These movements towards asceticism
/ Of the religious bodies among us which
are composed mostly of the humble
classes are feature of the time, and
1t is worth while to inquire what their
influence may be upon the future of
| American society. Certainly the deci-
! -, oF ., lo-.,o . hnIxr Of Christians