Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1877-11-16
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Plain Words From the Pulpit.


Plain Words From the Pulpit.
A PLAIN STATEMENT ABOUT ROUND
DANCING AT
THE CIRCUS.
Last Sunday morning, instead OF a ser
mon, Rev. w. @. Hullihen read the address
Of the Episcopal General Convention. At
night he preached a sermon of great power
and earnestness, appropriate to the matter
Of the address read in the morning, his
text being Glove not the world, neither
the things Of the world. Ii any man love
the world the love of the Father is not in
him." He promised by saying that should
a minister of the Lord Jesus, to whom had
been authorita lively committed the Office
Of teaching, expounding and rebuking-to
stand as a. Waterman on the walls of the
spiritual Zion, refrain from speaking from
fear Of giving offence, or becoming unpopu-
lar, he would be recreant to the solemn
VOWS he had taken at his ordination. You
may often go now -a-days, he said, into
what are politely called social gatherings,
and find it impossible to determine who
are the professed followers of Christ and
who the acknowledged votaries of the
world. The fashion seems to be to con-
ceal as far as possible the garb of Christ
under that of the world Most of all,
he said, we should be careful Of our
example. If worldly amusements be
taken up one by one, and the inquiry
be made, what is the harm in going
to this place or engaging in that amuse-
ment, [ suppose, unless it be forbidden in
the decalogue, any one can argue them
selves into unfolding its innocence and
propriety by referring, with Shame be it
confessed, to the example Of some Chris
tian man OF woman. But whatever opinions
there might be about unlawful amuse-
ments he thought one which was con-
sidered by the Baptist. Presbyterian,
Methodist, Lutheran and Roman Cath
ed. Or, to present the question Gin a
different way, if there was in one OF
the centuries of the Christian Era GER
tain kind of amusement which all Chris
tian churches with one voice utterly con-
demned; and if many young men vino en-
gagged in that amusement would under no
circumstances suffer their sisters to do so;
and if the chief of Police of one Of the
largest cities of the world should say that
q majority of the fallen women of his city
lad testified that they traced the beginning
of their downfall to engaging in this amuse-
ment, should it be considered lawful,
may I not say respectable, amusement
for Christian men and Christian fe-
males ? Such an amusement is what
is called the Round Dance of the 10Th
century. The speaker had said that
the Roman Catholic Church forbade its
members engaging in it, and he happened
to know a priest of that church, who ex-
planned, when required to do SO, that the
reason his church condemned it, was that
they had found out it's corrupting tendency
and corrupting power through the confess
sional. Could it be possible, said Mr..
Hullillen, that after being so explicit any
of those present should hereafter engage in
it Could it be possible that parents would
not exert the wholesome restraint recon-
mended by the Address of the Convention,
and see to it that in every way "guarded
habits and manners" be maintained be-
tween the two sexes.
The rector went on to urge strict honesty
in business affairs; to warn against ex-
travagance in dress and used language of
wholesome plainness and straightforward
ness. The sermon, of which we have only
given two OF three extracts, was one of
marked ability and boldness, and produced
marked impression on the hearers.
Sunday morning, Rev. DR.. Jno. S. Mar
tin, of the Methodist Church, preached on
the buffetings of Satan. He spoke Of the
variety of temptations that beset us, and
said they were the buffetings Of Satan.
They were TO be found in exhibitions given
in the public halls. He alluded to the fact
that the circus agents sent tickets to the
ministers to create the impression that it
was proper place to go to, and yet a lady
who had attended the last one had told
him that she should never go to another,
and that the entertainment was full of vul-
garity that was shocking.