The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-02-13
The influence of Amusements.


The Influence of Amusements.
The Rev. DR.. s. A. Keen preached . sermon
on amusements at Roberts Park Church yes
terday morning. that created something moro
than ordinary interest. He took strong grounds
against people, who pretend to be Christians,
patronizing the theater, euchre parties and va
rious other amusements, and offered the opinion
that members of his congregation could not be
examples of Christianity and 90 to such places.
He took for his text this passage from Matt. XII.
lip:
Many shall come from the east and the west,
the kingdom OF heaven. But the children of the
kingdom shall be outinto outer darkness; there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth"
He said in beginning, that the great problem
of evangelization not how to evangelize the
world, but how TO evangelize the church; not
how to save sinners outside the church, but how
to save them in the church 1.-THE salvation of
the world is progressing well" said he, but the
salvation of the church is slow. They COM
ing from east and west to the church, but the
children of the kingdom, those whom it would
be thought naturally would accept saliva
ton, not doing so in considerable numbers.
The children of the kingdom comprise those
young people who are in Christian homes. in
our Sabbath-schools, and are nominally
nected with OR churches; yet not religious,
indeed are unsaved. It is noticeable that in ali
greater numbers are coming into the church from
the unRodly masses and non-church goers than
are coming from the habitua adherents and
facts, and should give the pastors and peoples
of our churches concern. The evangelization of
the young people who are under the auspices of
the church is not progressing encouragingly.
What obstructs this2 Something binders The
inferior style of religious life exhibited by the
natural guardians of youth is one hindrance
Parents, teachers. employers, friends and those
CONDITION
personal power. welding influence over youth,
often present false. formal or fippant Christian
profession. The sanction given by these persons
to pernicious amusements, such as card playing.
dancing and theater going. is destructive
OF faith. These amusements are PERM.
cious. not only because they tend
toward vice. but because they
paralyzing to spiritual sensblity. A promi-
nent lady leader of an operatic troupe said
The most that can be said of the opera is: 1t
is inimical to spirituality That is the worst
that be said of it, for what inimical to
to the soul. 1t has been demonstrated that those
who devotees of these amusements
are the least impressble religiously, and are the
last reached By revivals and special religious
efforts; that those who attempt to hold on to a
religious life and pursue the amusements even
occasionally, lose their relish for religion and
its services, and that those Christians who coun
tenance these amusements, whether minister.
parent teacher or friend, forfeit their influence
for good over the people of the world
'sNine out of ten of the respec able young peo-
pie who are not religious. yet are attendants up
the church, with whom we have conversed
and urged to profession of Christ, have given
the reason for their refusal that they love amuse
ments- They still were frank enough to say
that they did not believe any one
could be a. Christian and. not for
people in the church who were once active aud
saved, but now backsliders, we do not
know one who has assigned any reason other
than that they have become ensnared by cards,
dancing, the theater 1t is not the vices that
are running the children Of the kingdom. but
the folles And is not this largely chargeable
to the countenance given them by Christian
people to whom youth look for example, of
whom they should expect better things.
another bindrance to the salvation of the chill
dren of His kingdom is the cu1pable of
those who have the spiritual guardianship of
youth in their hands. Parents, teachers, friends
ants of Sabbath-school and church services, but
not earnestly active for their salvation.
The calamity that ensues from the failure OF the
church to evangelize bring to Christ the chill
dren of the Kingdom is evident. The cause of
Christ is reproached by it. Infdelity to day
taunts the church that it saves others but cannot
save itself. The old serpent Kisses at it: L
have your young people You may have them
: in your synagogues on Sabbath. have them
six days in my synaeoeues, the euchte syna-
gogue.' He chuckles, with his finger pointed at
the church. saying Preach, teach,
sing. / pray hold your revivals. get
countenance and consent of their natural
guardians, who sanction popular amusement
Moreover. II the children OF the kingdom are
not saved Ichabod' will be written upon Zion.
Soon they will abandon Zion. Young people are
thoughtless, frivolous. but have common
and frankness, and they are not going to go into
a church that is not church, accept sal
walton that won't save them. Worse
than ALL, the young people are to
suffer. They are to be cast into
outer darkness Bewildered and b1unted
in their spiritual sensbiities by the sxcitements
of the amusements they to gradually lose
their moral determinations and their apprehen
sons of religious truth, and to plunge out into
the darkness of skepticism. and to rush to
doom with that multitude of souls whom the
God of this world has blinded DR.. Keen's APP
peal to the church and friends of youth to
them powerful and almost the whole
congregation rose to their feet pledgiug they
would seek to save the children of the kingdom.