The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-07-25
"r
HALLERON'S WAR DANCE
The Pastor of Simpson M. E.
Church Makes a Fierce
Attack on the
Waltz.
SOME SHOCKING SUGGESTIONS.
Prurient Motives Imputed to
Young People-Their Just
Wrath Deprecated.


Tue clergyman selected his text from
Matthew XIV. 6, "The daughters Of
Herodias d~anced-and pleased Herod."
The pastor said:-
MY young friends. we are now drawing
near the closs of this series of sermons
Next Sabbath evening will be the last.
Then L hope to preach on proper amuse-
ments. Tonight we take the modern
dances. Some persons have suggested
that l should not preach on thu topic as
the young people would1be offended and
SO it would tend to disrupt the pleasant
relations between me and them. l would
like to know how people are supposed to
PREJUDICE my posilion.s 1t Il taken for
granted hat l am opposed to dancing.
Why? do not remember having pu.-
licly stated my position.
but now uppose l were to defend the
dance and dance myself, what would you
young people Think. VI ould you say, our
pasJor is right? Wouldsyou not say, Well
while l favor dancing on general Drinci-
pies, and Indulge in it myself, yet I can
not endure Inc thought tnaJ my pastor
should be the friend OF that amusement
l ask why il it Is not wrong tor you, how
eau it be wrong for; him? Is there one
class OF sin for the pew. Il another for
the pulpit? If 1t be wrong in me, it is
wrong III YOU. Ii | should defend the
lance you would not be pleased.
But recurring to the alienation of the
respect of The young females by my
course on the theatre aud the dance, To
which we are coming. my idea of young
people is that they admire honesty and
would rather listen VI q minister VINO op-
poses some Of their hobbies through con-
scientious motives than TO a man who is
ali the lime afraid TO preach what he con-
ceives the truth but turns to catch the
sounds of praise.
Is IT INNOCENT?
The dance is SAID To lac an innocent
amusement for the young. Here we OBJ
jet at once, for this assumes the whole
controversy. 1 believe in proper amuse-
mente for old and young, but to insist at
once that the dances are Innocent amuse-
lnent is TO shut OFT all controversy. l am
asked what else can young people do
to amuse themselves? They cannot sit
sill like old people and talk gossip, I am
asked Is not dancing better than the
various kissing games that are 80 popu-
lar, such rs Copenhagen and forfeits?' l
say that for such games | have no SYM
pathy, nor can any Well behaved young
ladies and gentlemen indulge in them
aud maintain their self-respect. Well,
then, would 0 rather have young
people dauce than to play the 10 games?
What do you adviser 1t is simply this,
d neither But 10 assume that there
is nothing else Tor young people to atnuse
themselves with but such games or dane
ing is again to assume too much. for |
propose 10 show next Sabbath evening
the broad scope tina is afforded at the
present day for genuine pleasure.
1.-The dance is word wide. In tracing
the matter historically, :he Syrians.
B~abylonians. Egyptians. Indians, Per-
slams, ChlueSe aud most barbirous races
in the tropics ',anced. Indeed the Hebrew
danced for David Il danced before the
LORD; but you will remember that his
wife was so disguised with him that she
chided MIN. Dancing became aworship
TO please imaginary divinities aud in
many nations it was the signtl for san
culinary wars as well as the precursor
of the feasts of cauniDalism. Danclug
Indictment to depravity. We ali remeul-
Der the outcome of the dance before
Herod. for the daughter of Herodias
asked as her remuneration the head of
John the Baptist.
GRACE N HEALTH.
"We are tod that daucing is conducive
to graceful motions. | claim tnat dancing
Is positively injurious to health. There is
a fascination III the amusement that car
ries q per-on beyond himself. Enrap-
tured with the light, fantastic, the maze of
the waltz eXcites Il so that all unnatural
stimulus is supplied until one stops from
sheer exhaustion. When reaction takes
place the TecuperaJive energies are at a
low ebb, and this is SO especially with
young ladies. The dance is executed at
night when nature seeks regeneration.
The day is for labor and The pursuits OF
good. If the animate aud inanimate
need the quiet and darkness of night,
truly we Of more delicate mould need
to observe the law of nature.
THE MORAL QUESTION.
1.-THE dance is injurious to inurals. Here
we enter a higher fed. Whatever is in
furious to morals shenld at ouce be aban-
uoued. for selfish reasons, for social rea-
SONS and for godly reasons by nol doing
so we commit Il triple SIN. The white
impossible to dance. Mature enters its
protest to them. The young are impress
%sIouaDle. The gentle passions seek the
mastery. and in every indulgence grow
stronger, while the Will is correspondiugly
weakened. There is in the dance the
proniiscuous touching of hands and the
forms of embrace, and the tlltilalions of
head. These. with tender years, Stir the
fires of the soul, arouse appetite aud often
end in disgrace.
SOME VILE TALK.
"Phe dance IN the puriieus of our cities
ever incites to criminal intercourse. Re.
member, | do not say hat in every house
where there is dancing there is bad, there
is this crying evil. On no! mol But GER
tain classes of evil ever seek the waltz and
The gliding of feet and the embracing of
person in the maze. | say the dauce has
too often had company, aud some kinds
of wickedness seek stimulation bv it. In
the dance we areliable to become ptrl-
ners of wicked persons. When / see in
Docent girlhood in close proximity to
painted denauchery. I Gremble. l do not
say that young ladies desire such com-
pauy, nor do l say Il lady and gentleman
cannot dance without immodest touches
and hints. They can; but the dance
makes it possible for these TO be given
without notice OF o~nlooKers."
In conclusion, under the head of the
testimony OF The churches against
dancing. the pastor said he had been In
formed that the members of most
churches danced. II say they break
their covenant by SO doing" The pastor
then quoted church authorities to sus-
tain his position concerning daucing. He
quoted from the Roman Catholic Pienarys
Council at Baltimore. 1866; from Bisif5p'
Hopkins. Protestant Episcopab
Vermont: Bishop Mead, of Virginfa;
Bishop Mc(lvaine, of Ohio; Bishop Cox.
of New York; the rules of the Methodist
Episcopal Church; the Baptist Quarterly
for October, 1867, the Gsneral Assembly
of the Presbyterian, 1850; the Synod OF
Missouri? Dr. Alexander, DIR. Potts, DR..
Price, DR., Palmer, DR.. Wilson and 9TH
ers. .eSs an
uSTATE NOTES 80