Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1898-06-23
HEALTIlFUL AMUSt MENT
Il is Essential to the Making OF a
Healthful Christian.
u ~ Not the True spir.t of the hurch Ia
Iruu "n Harml"sS and Inv eor,ting
sport sermon bN ErN T. De
Wit Ia!uI.C, I'D.

From an unusual standpoint DR.. Tai
mage in jhi> di>courS, discusses
amu>cmrnt~ Hnd applies tests hr
which they ihay 10, hnoNn aS good or
bad. The text il Judges xvi. -: And
IL came to pass, when their hearts
we're merry, that they said, 'call for
samson, that he may max us sport.
And they called for samson out ~
the prison nous; and he made them
sport
There were 5000 people assembled
in the temple of Dagon. They had
come To mai,c Srort of cyclcSS samson.
They were all ready ."r the entertain
mcut. They began To clap aud ruund,
impatient for the amusement Ia begin.
and they cried. Fetch him uuii Fetch
him OUT" Wonder see The blind old
giant coming. he'd 10y the hand of II
child into the very midst of
the temple. At his first APP
pCarancr there goes up
shout Of laughter and dcri>ion. The
blind old ginnt prctcnds he i tired
and wants Ia rest himself against the
pillars of the huu>c. 81 lac says IN the
Ia who leads him, Hiring me where
the main pillars are. The lad does
81. Then the strong man put his
hands ON one of the pillars, ami, with
the mightic>t push that mortal ever
made. throws himself forward until
tine whole house comes down in
thundy rous crash. grinding the audi
cncc like grapes in Il wine press. And
81 il came To pass when their hearts
were merry, that they said, Call Tor
Samson, that he may make rs ort
Aad they called for Samson out of the
Prison house; and he made them
sport. In other words, there are
amuscmentS that are destructive and
bring down disaster and death upon
the heads of those who practice them
While they laugh and cheer, they die.
The three thousand who persisted that
day in GAIA are nothing compared
with the tens of thousands who have
been destroyed. body, mind and soul.
by bad anus cmcnts and by good
amuscmcnts carried to excess.
In my sermons You must have noticed
that have no Svmrathy with CcclcSi-
a>ticai straitjackct>, or with that
whole sale pronunciation of amu>cments
To which many are pledged. believe
the church of God has made a tre-
mcEdnus miStak in trying To suppress
the >portfuluess Of youth and drive
ont frcm men their love Of umusc-
mcnt. II God ever implanted any
thing in us He implanted this desire.
But instead of Trovidiug for this de
mand of our nature the church of tod
has for the main part ignored it As
in a riot the mayor plants a battery at
the end of the street and has it fired
off, 50 that everything is cut down
that happens To stand in the range.
the good as well as the bad, so there
are men in the church who plant their
batteries of condemnation and fire
away Unfortunately. Everything is
condemned. They talk as if they
would like To have our youth dress in
blue uniform. like the children of an
orphan asylum, and march down the
path of life To the tune of the Dead
March" in Saul. They hate blue
sash. or Il rosebud in the hair. or a tas-
seled gaiter. and think n man almost
rea iv for the lunatic asylum who ut
tiers a conundrrm.
Young Mems Christian aSsocia tons
of the country are doing a glorious
work. They have fine reading rooms,
and all the influences are of the best
kind, and are now adding gymnasi-
ums and bowling alleys where, with
out any evil surroundings, our young
men may get physical as well rs spir-
itual imI rovement. We-are dSyindling
away to a narrow-chested we ak arur-4-
feeble-voiced race. when God calls us
to a work in which lie wants physical
as well as spiritual athletes. would
to God that the time might soon come
when all our colleges and theological
seminaries, as at Princeton, gymna-
stun shall be established. We spend
seven years of hard study in prepara-
ton for the ministry, and come out
with bronchitis and dyspepsia, and
liver complaint, and then crawl up
into the pulpit, and the people say,
Doesn't he look heavenly" because
he looks sickly. Let the church of
God direct, rather than attempt to
suppress, the desire for amusement
The best men that the world ever
knew have had their sports. William
Wilberforce trundled hoop with his
children. Martin Luther helped dress
the Christmas tree Ministers have
pitched quoits, philanthropists have
gone a-skating. Prime ministers have
played ball.
Our communities are filled with men
and women who have in their souls I'M
measured resources for sportfulness
and frolic. Show me a man who never
lights up with sportfulness, and has
no sympathy with the recreations of
others, ami will show you a man who
is a stumbling block to the Kingdom
of God. Such men are caricatures of
religion.
They lead young people to think
that man is good in proportion as he
groans and frowns and looks sallow,
| and that the height of a mans Chris
tian stature is in proportion to the
length of his face. | would trade off
500 such men for one bright-faced, rad
| liant Christian on whose face are the
| words, Rejoice evcrmore!' Every
morning by his cheerful face he
| breaches 80 sermons. will go further
and say that / have no confidence in a
man who makes a religion of his
| gloomy looks. That kind of a man al
ways turns out badly. l would not
want him for the treasurer of an or
phan asylum. The orphans would
suffer.
Among 40 people whom l received
| into the church at one communion,
there was only one applicant of whose
| piety l was suspicious. He had the
longest story to tell; had seen the most
visions, and gave an experience so
wonderful that all the other applicants
were discouraged. | was not surpris-
ed the year after to learn that he had
run off with the funds of the bank
with which he was connected. Who is
this black angel that you call religion
wings black, feet black, feathers
black? Our religion is a bright angel
feet bright, eyes bright, wings
bright, taking her place in the soul
| She pulls a rome that reaches to the
skies and sets all the bells of Heaven
| a-chiminp There are some persons