Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1893-03-16
A SATURDAY SERMON.
"a Sinner" Makes Scholarly Argu-
ment for Social Enjoyments.


Gospel Union Column" there is a
labored effort at argument, shamefully
mixed with false conception and erron-
eous quotations, bearing the title, "Im-
portance of Bible Study" The article
consists chiefly of sweeping attack
upon all forms of social enjoyment and
the writer attempts to support his
attack by quotations from the Bible.
Many upright, God fearing men and
women in our own community will
join in deploring such an effort, as
misleading, tending to evolve doubts
and perhaps to place a stumbling
block in the way of many who honestly
and sincerely seek true light on these
subjects and TO whom such statements
seem repulsive and at variance with
the most intelligent ideas of God, and
mans duty to Him.
There are many who are weak In
the faith" who are CROPPING around
after the truth to whom such unseemly
utterances under sanctiiled title and
professedly for the cause of religion
prove veritable stumbling block,
They look about them and observe an
intelligent, enlightened christian peo.
pie, a great majority of whom do
not agree with our student, and they
naturally become cynical, If not worse,
when they observe such variance in
beliefs based upon the same general
creed.
Let us examine the matter fairly and
without prejudice in order that we
may see if our student is justified in
either his denunciatior or characterize
ton of social enjoyment.
Let us proceed to study this question
along the lines which our student has
marked out, and like him, we will look
to the Bible for our authority. For a
central truth particularly applicable to
all these moral discussions let us look
carefully at Rom. 81, "Tberefore
thou art inexcusable, y man, whose.
ever thou art that judgest; for wherein
thou judgest another, thou condemnest
myself; tor thou that judgeSt dOeh The
same things
Passing over any just criticirm We
might indulge in upon the general
subject of sitting in judgment upon
fellow men and their actions, let us
look at that peculiar truism which
closes the verse: "For thou that judg-
est dosst the same things
The dual nature of good and evil
pervades all humanity. When Robert
Louis Stevenson evolved the strange
story of "Dr. Jekyl and Mr.. Hyde" he
illustrated great moral truth, All
mankind has the elements of both
these natures In 1t, and while one gem
orally predominates and holds in sub
lection the other, the opposite element
can always be discerned. 1 never yet
saw man 30 thoroughly bad that no
trace of good could be found in him,
nor yet man 80 good that no trace of
evil could be found in him. This same
truism must be extended to the assO.
Citations of men. There are crimes
which come in the line of human
association which are crimes in them
selves and wholly bad, as forbidden by
the universal law of God and man.
Outside these known crimes, prescrib-
ed by God and man, venture the
sweeping assertion that there is no
human being or association which is
wholly good or wholly bad. Au excep-
tion to this assertion may be urged by
some when it is applied to associations
actuated by pure self sacrifice. The
evil side Of such associations ia certain.
ly not discernable to the human intel,
lect, and for the'purposes of this paper
this class of associations may be-
expected. Applying the quotation in
this light we can see clearly why man
should not pronOuce judgment upon a
human action as sinful when nearly
every human action has some element
Of sin in it. That is the order of things
to which we were created. When al
association or thing becomes contrary
to the public good, whether forbidden
by God or not, then human law steps
in and forbids it.
1t Is one thing to say, if you dump
ashes in the street you will be fined OF
imprisoned, and quite another thing tc
say, If you do this, which is no crime
in itself, you will be damned. Oul
student has assumed the prerogatives
of Diety and announces, in effect, that
those who dance, or attend the theatre
will be damned. The Bible don't say
30; yet he does. He says of theatrical
productions that they are vulgar, LUST
feeding, virtue destroying, passion
arousing and degenerate" Is this
truep Is it even anywhere near truei
Our student either states truth OF a
falsehood. If he states a truth then
there is some show for his denuncia,
ton, not because it is theatre, but
because it is wholly immoral and there.
fore wrong Of itself. =
The natural presumption is that oul
student bases his statement about the
theatre upon personal observation. His