Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-04
CHURCH PROBLEM
IS DISCUSSED
REV. C. C. BENTLEY TALKS ON
ADJUSTMENTS
Speaker says That the Church Has
Passed the "Thou Shalt Not"
Period Of Its Exist
ence

Popular Amusements" was the topic
OF Rev. c. G. Bentley, assistant pastor
of the Magnolia Avenue Christian
church, yesterday afternoon at the
monthly meeting of the Christian Min
isters OF Southern California. He said
in part:
THE church has passed the Thou
shalt not period of its existence. We
have come into a sensible position
from the standpoint of sacrifice, and In
this there is no necessity in cutting out
the good things in living up to its re-
quirements.
I'VE ought not to sacrifice amuse-
inents in the churches, and the problem
is the best method of furnishing them
for the churches can entertain as sue
cessfully as those on the outside. These
entertainments should be arranged SC
that there would be a clamoring to
attend them, and God made us so that
we must have amusements. It is not
sufficient merely for us to say our
prayers but to be enlivened with some
thing stirring and elevating that will
lead to spiritual achievements.
parents should open their doors fol
the amusement of the young people
and allow innocent games to be played
Many think more of their carpets than
of introducing amusements for the
munities.
while there is much wrong in
gambling with cards and other things
there is danger of a preacher overstep-
ping his good intentions by jumbline
everything up together in one bunch
as extremely wicked and using dyna-
mite in blowing it up in one fell swoop
Young people must have amusements
and they are determined to have them
in some way, and why not provide
them in the church relations?
Church Should Aid
MANY evil influences are brought
about in dancing halls and other places
of amusements, and it should be the
work of the churches to place other and
better amusements to draw the fire.
quenters OF the dance to them. And
many of the theater plays are filled
with idealism which units people for
the realities of life. The churches
should provide substitutes.
"Many of the fashionable whist clubs
are merely excuses for laziness an6
easy ways Of entertaining. The at
tributes of the church fall in line with
laziness of perhaps different charac-
ter, and it should arouse itself to action
for the good of the young people, for
they are not naturally inclined to seek
bad places of amusement
LOS Angeles is not enLlrely an an
gelic city, and is some distance from
the New Jerusalem, but why should
we not say to the young people that
we have places of amusement for them
in our churches and in the spirit OF
helping them? We should quit scold-
ing, and provide something in the
churches that will prevent people from
entering into evil influences on thu
outside, and to draw them within th,
God-given attributes of love and fel
lowship.'
The address was followed by a gen
eral discussion.
At the morning session Rev. George
Ringo of Ocean Park presided. Re.
ports were read, which were followed
by addresses on Echoes of the Nation
al Convention" by Rev. e. w. Thorn.
ton of Long Beach and Rev. j. N
Smith Of East Los Angeles.
After devotional service in the after.
noon, Miss Mosher amused the minis
ters by giving a negro dialect reading
bearing upon the reconstruction period
of the south