The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-06-05
DR., TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: The benefits of Rational Amuse~
ments - Evils of Straitiacket Religion
-Depraving Influences-Warm Heart
cd People Most Tempted.

cd People Most Tempted.
tCopyright 1scll
WASHINGTON, D. C.-This discourse Of
DR.. Talmage is in accord with all innocent
hilarities, while it reprehends amusements
that bellrtle and deprave; text, II Samuel
ii, IA, Let the young men now arise and
play before US"
There are two armies encamped by the
pool of Gideon. The time hangs heavily
on their hands. One army proposes a
game of'sword fencing. Nothing could be
more healthful and innocent. The other
army accepts the challenge. Twelve men
against twelve men, the sport opens. But
something went adversely. Perhaps one
of the swordsmen got an unlucky slip. or
in some way Mad his ire aroused, and that
lence, each one taking his contestant by
the hair and then with the sword thrust
ing him in the side, so that that which
opened in innocent fun ended in the mas
sacre of all the twenty-four sportsmen.
Was there ever better illustration of
what was true then and is true now-that
that which is innocent may be made de-
structive?
What of worldly nature is more i'm.
portant and strengthening and innocent
than amusement, and yet what has count
ed more victims? I have no sympathy
with straitjacket religion. This is very
bright world to me, and I propose to do
all I can to make it bright for others. I
never could keep step to dead march. A
book years ago issued says that Chris.
tan man has I. right to some amqsements.
For instance, if he comes at night weary
from his work and, feeling the need Of
recreation, puts on his slippers and goes
into his garret and walks lively round the
floor several times there can be no harm
in it. I believe the church of God has
made great mistake in trying to suppress
the sportfulness of youth and drive out
from men their love of amusement. If
God ever implanted anything in us, He
implanted this desire. But instead of pro-
viding for this demand of our nature the
church of God has for the main part ig-
nored it. As in a riot the mayor plants
battery at the end of the street and has it
fired off so that everything is cut down
that happens to stand in the range, the
good as we'll as the bad, so there are men
in the church who plant their batteries of
condemnation and fire away indiscrimin-
ately. Everything is condemned. But
Paul, the apostle, commends those who
use the world without abusing it, and in
the natural world God has done everything
to please and amuse us.
And I am glad to know that in all our
cities there are plenty of places where we
may find elevated moral entertainment.
But all honest men and good women will
agree with me in the statement that one
of the worst things in these cities is cor
down under the blasting influence, never
on in many of the places of amusement by
the pictures on board fences and in many
Of the show windows, there is not much
lower depth of profigacy to reach At
Naples, Italy, they keep such pictures
locked up from indiscriminate inspection.
Those pictures were eXhumed from Pom
peii, and are not fit for public gaze. If the
efrontery of bad places of amusement in
hanging out improper advertisements of
what they are doing night by night grows
worse in the same proportion, in fifty
years some Of our modern cities will beat
Pompeii.
I project certain principles by which
you may Judge in regard to any amusement
or recreation, finding out for yourself
whether it is right or wrong.
! remark, in the first place, that you can
judge of the moral character of any amuse-
ment by its healthful result or by its bale
full reaction. There are people who seem
made up of hard facts. They are combi-
nation of multiplication tables and statis-
tics. If you show them an exquisite pic
ture they will begin to discuss the pig
ments involved in the coloring. If you
show them beautiful rose they will sub
NIT it to botanical analysis, which is only
the post-mortem examination of flower.
They have no rebound in their nature.
They never do anything more than smile.
There are no great tides of feeling surging
up from the depths OF their soul in billow
after billow of reverberating laughter. They
seem as if nature had built them by con-
tract and made. bungling job of it. But
blessed be God, there are people in the
world who have bright faces and whose
life is song, an anthem, paean of VIC
tory.
Now, it is these exhilarant and sympa-
thetic and warm hearted people that are
most tempted to pernicious amusements.
In proportion as a ship is swift it wants
strong helmsman, in proportion as horse
is gay it wants stout driver, and these
people of exube-ant nature will do we'll to
look at the reaction of all their amuse-
ments. If an amusement sends you home
at night nervous, so that you cannot sleep,
and you rise up in the morning not be-
cause you are slept out, but because your
duty drags you from your slumbers, you
have been where you ought not to have
been. There are amusements that send
man next day to his work with his eyes
bloodshot, yawning, stupid, rauseated, +, and
they are wrong kinds of amusement. They
are entertainments that give a man dis
gust witt the drudgery of life, with tools
because they are not swords, with work
ing aprons because they are not robes,
with cattle because they are not infuriated
bulls Of the arena.
If any amusement sends you home long
ing for life of romance and thrilling ad-
venture, love that takes poison and shoots
itself, moonlight adventures and hair
breadth escapes, you may depend upon it
that you are the sacrificed victim of un.
sanctifed pleasure. Our recreations are
intended to build us up, and if they pull
US down as to our moral or as to our ply
sical strength you may come to the con-
clusion that they are obnoxious.
There is nothing more depraving than
attendance upon amusements that are full
of innuendo and low suggestion. The
young man enters. At first he sits far
back, with his hat on and his coat collar
up, fearful that somebody there may know
him. Several nights pass on. He takes of
his hat earlier and puts his coat collar
down. The blush that first came into his
cheek when anything indecent was enacted
comes no more to his cheek. Farewell,
young man! You have probably started
on the long road which ends in consum;
mate destruction. The stars of hope will
90 out one by one until you will be left in
utter darkness. Hear you not the rush OF
the maelstrom, in whose outer circle your
boat now dances, making merry with the
yhirling waters; But you QUA, are ,,11 1R1elhns Ing
come terrific AGITATION You cry for help
in vain; you pull at the oar to put back,
but the struggle will not avail. You will
be tossed and dashed and shipwrecked and
swallowed in the whirlpool that has al
ready crushed in its wrath 10000 hulks.,
Young men who have come from the
country residence to city residence will do
we'll to be on guard and let no one induce