Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-01-29

Aplopos of the vigorous and scathing
manner in which balls were denounced in
two OF the pull pits of Rock Island Sunday
and the commotion that has been aroused
in the community as a result, the remarks
of the eminent Chicago preacher. Prof.
Swing, on this same subject will be of
much interest. The Tribune of yesterday
morning thus reports the discourse:
Prof Swing took for his text yesterday
these words of Luke: I'VE have toiled
all night and have caught nothing"
This gave Prof. Swing an opp ortunity
to criticise a certain class Of clergymeu
who have of late been wasting their own
time aud that o. their listeners in discus
sing Inauguration balls and receptions.
Our age demands" said Porf Swing,
among other things. that what powers
we possess shall be wisely applied. If
| there are any evils worse than the dance
and the Sunday newspaper they should
first be assaled. Some clergymen are
asking why their city brethren do not at
tack charity balls, inauguration balls and
the like. 1t is an injury to the dignity of
the christian minister TO raise the inqui-
ry. What an inquiry? Have the mills
| lions Of this country all the education we
| would wish to see them have. Are they
morally perfecis Are our laws all We
wish them to be. If there are
| moral chemistries to detect the differs
ence between an inauguration recep,
ton and ball it would be a question.
| The cause of Christianity has suffered
long enough from synodicsl power. In
the eighteenth century woman was a
slave; man either despot, beggar, or
scoundrel. And in this nineteenth cen
fury, when Christianity wants to benefit
mankind, certain moralists arise who
shed tears because man would keep time
to music with his feet"
Prof. Swing related little anecdote.
| Thirty years ago. in an Ohio village, a
poor widow was accused of breaking the
commandments by a neighbor. This
sanity man wanted the presbytery to
expel her. The poor widows crime was
that she had carried in the house on Sum
day OVERLOOKING buckets of maple sap
When the trial came on an elder, prob
ably little more reasonable than the
sanity man, arose.
The crime, It seems to me-" he said
lis that this good man allowed poor,
weak woman 10 carry in these weighty
buckets herself without helping her"
The inference" said Prof. Swing, lis
not that the clergy needs help, but that 1t
may well pass by many forms of human
action to throw their weight against
sins that threaten the public. If the
church DEGREES that the playing of cards
for money is wrong that is well. But
| il it adds: You must not play cards
at all, you must not 60 TO dramatic
| entertainments, good or bad, you must
not dance. you must not go to parties,
| you must not read novels-all these many
DEGREES detract from the one, and the
| church becomes an enemy of the young
rather than its friend. If the young
folks are coming back to the church it is
| only because she has become less despot>
ic and more LIBERAL The fewer the rules
| of conduct the more impressive great laws
become. The greatest church will be that
which accomplishes the greatest tasks for
| the greatest ends.
"A scolding pulpit is powcrless; see
| the result in the middle ages. How shall
we educate the millions, make humanity
more moral, end intemperance, an1 fit
men for this great world and the next to
conner These are questions large en- ough
for our city pulplts. For 1900 years
during the dark and middle ages. Christ
was absent from the human heart; the
church dragged useless net IN an empty
sea. Jesus did not drag His net in vain
He didn't talk against smusements. His
teachings were so full of self-evdeut
truths that He caught 5000 souls at one
| time. The crowned heads tremb!ed and
were alarmed lest all should be caught
IF our critics." concluded Prof. Swing,
will also 60 out and teach great truths
they Will not Ia to empty benches"