The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-10-22
Religious Reading.
SHALL CHRISTIANS DANCE?

SHALL CHRISTIANS DANCE?
The Christian Advocate having been asked
for advice as TO dancing, replies Those Of you
who are Christians cannot dance without break
ing the solemn VOW you made at the altar, in
the presence of God, and his angels. and the
Church, TO renounce the devil and all bis works,
the vain pomp and glory Of the world. And
surely that which has ruined thousands, soul
and body. is of the devil. If there be any
amusement which is essentially worldly it is
the dance Holy. consecrated Christian min
listers, faithful, devoted Christian workers.
never dance. This is the favorte amusement
of the wicked and the world. And many and
many man and woman can trace their down
fall TO the day when they first indul ged In the
dance. So, if you are not Christian. if no
VOW Restraints you. let the Cesire to be pure and
true keep YOU from this evil. If you could
hear the remarks made by some of the young
men who invite you to dance. after 1t Is over.
You would Indignantly refuse.eyer TO let their
arms encirce you again.
CONCERNING MISSIONARY WORK.
The Christian World says that the mission
AIRY work of the world now includes 100 socie-
ties-50 American and 30 European-which re-
port an income of 50, .23 $50, Of which 81 420,-
613 came from America. S6,203, 49, from Eu-
rope. The American societies report 60 or
dained missionaries, l29 Law missionaries. 1873
female missionaries. 1.102 ordained native
preachers, 1886 other native helpers. and
24S,0l0 communicates In churches. In connec-
ton with the European societies there are 1,1S0
ordained missionaries. $40 lay missionaries. l.
03O women missionaries. pa ordained native
preachers. 1920 other native helpers and &c
1l5 COMMITMENTS in churches. The total Prot
estant missionary work Of the world has, there
fore, :, 100 ordained missionaries, 2.162 women.
2.243 ordained native helpers, and GA. 1S4 com
municants in churches These totals show a
gain over the preceding year of S656, $50 in in
come, % ordained missionaries, 20 lay mission
aries, 40 women. 1873 ordained natives. 3,G31
native helpers, and 26131 commitments.
A SPICY PICTURE OF CHCRCI-GOING.
The Rev. DR.. Mark Trafton. # Boston, a
weil-knoWn Methodist clergyman Of pronuun-
ced views, appeared AT the Methodist ministers
meeting Monday. and made plea for non
church-gOers. He took the ground that the
seeming falling of In Attendance in Protestant
churches IN Boston was due largely 10 the in
crease of the Catholic population and the in
crease also of Hebrews. The rapid growth of
suburban cities, the bedrooms for Boston, also
took away thousands Of church-gOera from the
city churches. High pew rents were another
bar to large congregations. the speaker said.
ard cited fremont Temple and the Peoples
Church (both free) TO prove his assertion.
Let me start out, now, to 60 TO church and
worship God" he went on. ''At home we have
had our private deyotons. We come TO the
church door-l'm saying hat took place exact
Iy-and we see plenty of seats vacant. We
ask one of the young snipper-snappers, with a
rosette in his butonhole, for seat He SAYS
You wait awhile and I'll see By-and.by.
when the bell stops toliing, The man saws. Il
guess you can find .eat i'll lie gallery La
the gallery you see four young persons talking
and laughing. Suddenly the organ starts, ard
then as suddenly the four grow solemn. jump
up and begin to squat. You can't understand
word they say. They sing hymn you never
heard before. and never want to hear again.
You can't sing with them. Call that singing
Gods praise It's not only folly, but its bias
phemy. You've no business TO introduce such
trash as that and call it devotion. Well. it was
at last over, and then the man read the Bible
(iiere the speaker read in imitation in monot-
onous, low and ''angsong" way passage from
the Scrptures.) Now | said to myself: "What
fool you are to think that reading the Bible in
that wav has any other effect than to create dis
gust. There is way to read the Scripture by
which you can fix the attention of the people,
Then our hymns" continued DR.. Trafton.
1--WE read them so carelessly that the people
don't get the sense of the words Then the
prayer-in the old times the minister used to
pray, to supplicate, to impore, just as if he eX-
pected something would come, and something
did come. Now, this brother who prayed de-
livered a homily, an address to the people, a
strained effort 1t wasn't praying. / confess
it didn't touch me at ali. kept saying to N.Y.
self: %, nonsense! tddlestck.! | say this
ought not to be. We ought not to 90 away dis
gusted, as do. | won't say that; / ought not
10. There is too much caste in our churches
What We want is the real oldfashioned sociabil-
lty, that will reach the people"